google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, July 6, 2021 Paul Coulter

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Jul 6, 2021

Tuesday, July 6, 2021 Paul Coulter

Summer Grilling.  How would you like your steak cooked?

17-Across. Natural's ability: RAW TALENT.

24-Across. Cerium or yttrium: RARE EARTH METAL.

40-Across. Like prisons for not-the-worst criminals: MEDIUM SECURITY.

54-Across. Famous: WELL-KNOWN.


Across:
1. NYC theater award: OBIE.  The Obie is the Off-Broadway Theater Award.


5. Jackson 5 hairdo: AFRO.


9. Blue Ribbon brewer: PABST.  How Pabst got its Blue Ribbon.


14. Caleb's twin in "East of Eden": ARON.  East of Eden is my favorite John Steinbeck (Feb. 27, 1902 ~ Dec. 20, 1968) novel.


15. Bank claim: LIEN.  //  And 19-Across:  Bank offerings: LOANS.

16. Acquiesce: AGREE.

20. Willie Nelson album of pop standards: STARDUST.


21. Has coming: MERITS.

22. Banned bug spray: DDT.  DDT is the abbrevation of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.  It was first synthesized by an Austrian chemist named Othmar Zeilder (1850 ~ 1911) in 1874.  Rachel Carson (1907 ~ 1964) was the first crusader against the use of DDT due to its harmful impact on the environment.

23. Wrap for sandwiches: SARAN.


30. Acted alarmed, as a horse: SHIED.


31. Designer Saarinen: EERO.  We had a clue about Eero Saarinen (Aug. 20, 1910 ~ Sept. 1, 1961) just last Tuesday.   Eero Saarinen and his father, Elie Saarinen (Aug. 20, 1873 ~ July 1, 1950), were both well known architects from Finland.  Eero designed the Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.  As I noted last week, Eero appears quite frequently in the crossword puzzles.

32. Pretoria's home: Abbr.: RSA.  As in the Republic of South Africa.  Pretoria is just one of South Africa's capital cities.  The country has 3 capitals, but Pretoria is its administrative one.


33. Under-the-wing fuel containers: PODS.


34. Decrease: ABATE.

36. Like thick, green lawns: LUSH.

37. Suffix with meth-: -ANE.  The chemical structure of Methane:


38. Ex-Yankee with 696 career HRs: A-ROD.  Alexander Enmanuel Rodriguez (b. July 27, 1975) will celebrated his 46th birthday later this month.


39. French equivalent of the Oscar: CÉSAR.  It is a rather odd looking trophy.


44. Scandal-plagued energy giant: ENRON.




45. Musician Brian: ENO.  Brian Eno (né Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno; b. May 15, 1948) used to make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles, but we haven't seen him in a while.

Brian Eno ~ then and now

46. Composer Berlioz: HECTOR.  Louis-Hector Berlioz (Dec. 11, 1803 ~ Mar. 8, 1869) was quite a prolific composer.


48. Roads that avoid downtown: BY-PASSES.

53. Carrier that added "ways" to its name in 1997: US AIR.

55. ABBA's "__ Mia!": MAMMA.


56. Vowel-heavy baseball family name: ALOU.  The family baseball includes brothers and sons: Felipe Rojas Alou (b. May 12, 1935), Matty (né Mateo Rojas Alou; Dec. 22, 1938 ~ Nov. 3, 2011), Jesús (né Jesúu María Rojas Alou; b. Mar. 24, 1942), his sons Moisés (né Moisés Rojas Alou Beltre; b. July 3, 1966) and Luis (né Louis E. Rojas; b. Sept. 1, 1981).


57. Vowel-heavy end of a court game: ALAI.  Change the last 2 vowels from the above and you get the game of Jai Alai.fif

58. Holmes smoked them: PIPES.  Think of Sherlock Holmes.


59. Chimed: RANG.

60. Confined, with "up": PENT.

Down:
1. Dinghy movers: OARS.


2. Tough tyke to handle: BRAT.

3. "Field of Dreams" setting: IOWA.  Field of Dreams came out in 1989.


4. __'acte: intermission: ENTR.  Today's French lesson.

5. Hint at, with "to": ALLUDE.

6. Party with a piñata: FIESTA.  Also the name of a grocery store in Texas.


7. Cost of living?: RENT.

8. Toronto's prov.: ONT.  Hi, CanadianEh!


9. Sicilian seaport: PALERMO.  We visited Palermo in 2019.  We had to drive down a very, very narrow street to get to our hotel.  There was only about 6 inches leeway.  It was quite an experience.


10. Ancient Greek meeting places: AGORAE.  Today's Greek lesson.

11. FDR advisory group: BRAIN TRUST.

12. Dispatched: SENT.

13. Melanie's "Working Girl" role: TESS.  Working Girl was a 1988 rom-com movie that starred Melanie Griffith (b. Aug. 9, 1957).


18. Said further: ADDED.

21. 1984 Olympic slalom champion: MAHRE.  Philip Ferdinand Mahre (b. May 10, 1957) and his twin brother, Steven Irving Mahre (b. May 10, 1957) both competed in the 1984 Olympics.  They are fraternal twins.


23. Editor's "Let it stand": STET.  A crossword staple.

24. French wine region: RHÔNE.


25. Military assistant: AIDE DE CAMP.

26. Dorm, briefly: RES.  As in a Residence.

27. Aptly named English novelist: READE.  Charles Reade (June 8, 1814 ~ Apr. 11, 1884) was a novelist and dramatist.  Rather obscure for a Tuesday, I'd say.

28. Test, as ore: ASSAY.

29. Cowardly Lion portrayer Bert: LAHR.  Although he was quite a prolific actor, Bert Lahr (né Irving Lahrheim; Aug. 13, 1895 ~ Dec. 4, 1967) is best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.  Appropriate, I suppose, since he was a Leo.


30. Inbox annoyance: SPAM.
34. Knight's "suit": ARMOR.

35. Cap'n's mate: BOS'N.

36. Floral necklace: LEI.


38. Natural light shows: AURORAS.

39. Frog sound: CROAK.


41. Punctually: IN TIME.

42. Sri Lanka, once: CEYLON.  A brief history of Sri Lanka.


43. Disconnect from the socket: UNPLUG.


46. Camel feature: HUMP.  One hump or two?



47. Actor Morales: ESAI.  I learned of Esai Manuel Morales, Jr. (b. Oct. 1 1962) from his appearances in the crossword puzzles.


48. Composer Bartók: BÉLA.  Béla Bartók (Mar. 25, 1881 ~ Sept. 26, 1945) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.


49. "Oh, __!": "Whoa!": SNAP.

50. Exclusive: SOLE.
51. Obi-Wan portrayer McGregor: EWAN.  Ewan McGregor (b. Mar. 31, 1971) portrayed a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel.


52. Agitated state: SNIT.

54. High-card-wins game: WAR.


Here's the Grid:



חתולה


Note from C.C.:

Happy 74th birthday to dear 7-Across! So lucky you answered my email a while ago!


Hope I can make this embed work. If not, please click here.

74 comments:

OwenKL said...



Beware the meta-clue, and pun!
Self-referential questions with a catch!
Beware the made-up word, and shun
The theme no-one can crack!
...
Oh, hast thou slain the crosswordese?
Come to my arms, you perpish joy!
Oh VOWEL-HEAVY day, ALOU, ALAI!
He WAGgled in his joy!

{Lewis Carroll MERIT Award}

xtulmkr said...

Aren’t all words in their inception made-up?

KS said...

FIR, but seemed a little crunchy for a Tuesday.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, my Crossword friends.

Happy Birthday, 7-Across. I completed C.C. special puzzle so know your identity, but I'll let the others reveal it themselves. Hope you have a special day.

QOD: When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new. ~ 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso; né Lhamo Thondup; b. July 6, 1935)

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Zip, zip, done. Quicky. ARON is the disputed middle name of Elvis Presley. Interesting that we had AGORAE and AURORAS -- plural predicament? Nicely done, Paul and Hahtoolah.

STARDUST: Willie's done other "standards" albums -- My Way (Sinatra's music), Summertime (Gershwin's music).

ALOU: Hmmmm, 4-letter baseball name. If it's not Ruth, and it's not ARod, it must be ALOU.

Happy birthday, Waseeley. Got a 290 on your tribute puzzle. Is that good, bad, or indifferent? I have no idea what the score means.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased meade for READE, lohr for LAHR, momma for MAMMA and agoras for AGORAE.

I play "Stardust" so often that I'm afraid I'll wear out the 1s and 0s in the MP3. My favorite cut is "On the Sunny Side of the Street".

Could not care less about the Oscars or Cesars.

OK fly boys - are PODS where the fuel goes? I thought the fuel goes into drop tanks that are attached to PODS. Unless you need the POD for hellfire missiles. To smoke a camel.

I used to dread PC's puzzles; now they are among my favorites. As usual, plenty of unknowns, but fair crosses retain the fun.

Off to get a state inspection for my 20-year old RAV4.

Paul Coulter said...

Thanks, C.C., and Happy B'day, Waseeley. Owen, I loved your Jabberwocky tribute. The theme originally had JOBWELLDONE, since well-done is a more familiar term for meat than well. But then the set wasn't consistent between front and back, which is a no-no for editors. Personally, I like my steak bloody rare. But when I was a kid, my mom had to char mine to almost burnt for me. I wonder what happened to my taste buds? How about the rest of you?

Wilbur Charles said...

Maybe if Paul had clued "Stake out" I might have spotted the theme. Pretty obvious after the reveal

Was it Sunday that we had ENTR ACTE?

I see adding E or S for plural is random for LAT xwords as D-O ALLUDED to. And, yes, ALOU is the ISAO AOKI of baseball names

The MAH got me MAHRE. Wasn't there a Killy* about that time.

I don't think Charles is read much today. I wonder if our extensive readers have read any READE.

I donated my can of SPAM to our annual group pizza party for Hawaiian style. But SPAM needs to be cooked well. But it passed for ham to most attendees.

And we just had the HUMP discussion last Friday

Owen, that was a frabjous poem

Paul thank you for dropping by and providing a stress-free, Doable Tuesday. And since the cat...(etc) happy birthday WA from

WC



*Jean Claude but he was 60s. Won all three events in 68 Olympics

Wilbur Charles said...

Ps. I've given up RED meat but made a to-die-for salmon Mac'n cheese Sunday afternoon.

staili said...

Second day in a row that I had no idea what the theme was until after the puzzle was over, but I really enjoyed it once I figured it out. I am also somebody who likes their steak much rarer than when I was little.

inanehiker said...

Fun puzzle - but brain wasn't fully on track so I had to find out the theme from here!

I like meat MEDIUM but my husband likes his WELL done - so that is one thing we don't split like we do many huge portions that you get at a restaurant these days. We just bring half home for leftovers!

Thanks Susan for the musical blog - Willie Nelson & ABBA to HECTOR Berlioz & BELA Bartok that really spans the spectrum!
Thanks Paul for the puzzle and stopping by and HBD to Bill!

ATLGranny said...

A Terrific Tuesday today with a perfect puzzle from Paul! No errors, no WOs, just perpish joy for me. (Thanks OwenKL for today's poems). A FIR first for me and maybe I should frame it. As a bonus, I figured out the theme too. Thanks for coming by, Paul. And thanks to Hahtoolah for your rich review confirming my choices.

Happy Birthday to waseeley today! Nice picture from C.C. and mini puzzle tribute. Waggling in my joy, I wish you all the best...oh happy day, oh happy day....


Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I didn’t see the theme until I finished and then stared at the themers for a few minutes. Aha. Fun solve despite the plethora of proper names, all known, so no stumbles. Liked the Lahr/Mahre, Rent/Sent, Obie/Cesar, and Lien/Loans duos. CSO to CEh at Ont.

Thanks, Paul, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Hahtoolah, for a entertaining review. I especially enjoyed the musical clips and the closing cartoon.

Happy Birthday, Bill, hope it’s a special day. 🎂🎁🎈🎊 We’re very lucky to have you as one of CC’s elves who work so hard to entertain and educate us on a daily basis. Thank you and thanks also to Mrs. Bill for her contributions. Thanks to CC for the mini puzzle and for the photo of that dashing fellow in 7A. Cheers!

Stay safe all those in Elsa’s path.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A gimmick so obvious a reveal was not needed
-Using SARAN WRAP requires deftness not strength
-When Liza threw his slippers at him, Prof. Higgins said, “She SHIED them at me!”
-Our town will soon have three BYPASSES and we wil use them all
-AGORAE for a plural but AURORAS gets a pedestrian “S”
-Palermo is a 4hr drive to our favorite crossword volcano
-Gotta run, 9am tee time!

Anonymous said...

Took almost 7 minutes to cook this one, but too many proper nouns for my taste.

The map of southern Africa is a little outdated. Swaziland changed its name to Eswatini. There's some serious controversy happening there now (wholly unrelated to the name change).

ATLGranny said...

Paul @ 7:17 AM. I vote for medium-rare on the rare occasions I eat steak. As a kid I don't remember having a choice.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Happy birthday, Bill!

A RARE early week puzzle from Paul! It was a quick sashay that I worked almost exclusively across with only an occasional glance downward.

I'll take a CSO at AURORA(S), my grandmother's first name and my middle name. I was named after both grandmothers. Had I been a boy, I would be Jesus Benigno.

No, I've never read anything by READE but have seen his name many times in crosswords.

I'll take my steak MEDIUM, please.

Thank you, Hahtoolah and Paul for this Tuesday treat!

Today I will join my two sisters and four nieces for a group pedicure. Fun will ensue!

Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Solved it all without any wite-out. Saw the RAW - RARE progression but didn't think about it. Sorry. Like RARE EARTHMETAL. That, MAHRE, and CESAR on a Tuesday gave me pause. But perps were generous so things proceeded smartly. FIR.
ONT - Hi Can. Eh!
SPAM - Was our Saturday lunch entree when in port. Funny the things one remembers over 60 years.
MEDIUM - BH and I both prefer MEDIUM steaks. One Ontario Hydro engineer we hosted at dinner after a meeting explicitly preferred hers "blue". (very rare, I think.). (She is one of the top women North American duplicate bridge players. Another link to the ONT clue)

Guess I don't understand 7-Across.

Thanks Paul and Hahtoolah for the morning shove-off.

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks for the fun start to my Tuesday, Paul and Susan.
I caught the theme with RAW and RARE. I prefer medium rare steak. My sibs and parents preferred well done. I didn't appreciate steak until I was out of my family home and on my own. When I was a waitress and someone ordered well done steak, the chef threw done his towel and groused that he would not be responsible if the diner found the steak tough.
YMMV, when I see ACQUIESCE I sense reluctance.
It looks like the kids with the oars are about to tip over.
Plenty of perps to suggest the proper nouns. Only CESAR was new to me.
Happy birthday, Bill. I enjoy your blogs.

Tinbeni said...

Hahtoolah: Wonderful write-up & links.

Well I'm all set for ELSA ...

Got my Scotch, Rum, Ouzo, Cig's, Water, Small 7-Up, Snack food
Candles, Batteries, Car-Gassed Up, Extra Cash ... etc.

Looking forward to the projected 8 to 12 inches of rain today and tomorrow.

Cheers!

Malodorous Manatee said...

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Thank you, Paul. Todah rabah, Cat.

Agorae, agoras, aurorae, auroras....hmmm, there's a song in there somewhere.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

More of a Tuesday-ish appropriate puzzle compared to yesterday slog. Alas it's not "rare" but once again I didn't parse the theme.🙄 (I'll take my SPAM well-done)

if AGORA is a Greek word why is the plural in Latin?🤔 Totally "Wagged" READE with just the "R" 😊

LUSH? thought we were going to avoid those terms? "Captains mate" is a Bosnian? ..Almost put vicTOR instead if HECTOR.

Inkovers tony/OBIE , owedto/MERITS , ontime/INTIME (my first choice seems to fit better though), Saone/RHÔNE....CÉSAR must have been preserved somewhere in my cerebral cruciverbal lobe. My first thought is always "Union" of South Africa.(USA where Bruce Springsteen was born).

CROAK 🐸 ("Ribit" is more accurately onomatopoetic). BTW, EWAN McGregor is super in Netflix "Halston".... WAR was the first card game Dad taught me.🃏♣️

MAHRE...(Am I seeing double?)😳

Bert would have been a ____ if he said he didn't want the "cowardly lion" role....LAHR
Don't purchase if the _____ is broken....CEYLON
What did Balaam's? ____ ASSAY.
How you get into an arena ....BYPASSES

Happy 🎂🎁 Bill.

FLN: Owen KL ..An ass is a member of the horse family ergo a kin of an Ass...ASKIN. (I would never be savvy enough to come up with WC's sophisticated explanation 😟).

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Paul and Hahtoolah.
I FIRed but did not see the theme. D’uh. (Yes, HG, some of us need a reveal😮🤔)
But I’ll take my CSO at ONT. I lived in Toronto while at university.

Hand up for noting the discrepancy with plurals, AURORAS and AGORAE. My S on Agora held up RARE EARTH METALS. Plus I was having trouble parsing it.
I had Minimum SECURITY before MEDIUM. Don’t “not the worst” get the lowest😁 or do they have to be the “least worst”🤔

We had ENTR’acte and those camels again.
We had SHIED, not Skied.
I had Stop before SNAP. I don’t use that expression and thought it was like “oh rats”.
I had On TIME before IN.

Spitzboov- the 7D is in the CW that C.C. Linked, not today’s CW. And I think I may have sat with your bridge player at an Engineering dinner (but I think just her husband was the engineer). MT (and husband JCT) live in NOTL and are very active in the St. Catharines’ bridge club.

From the other day, great photo AnonT and Leo.
OWK 👍😊
Happy Birthday waseeley.
Wishing you all a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

In English the plural of AGORA is AGORAS or AGORAE.
"English has borrowed many common words from Latin and Greek, such as amoeba, appendix, aquarium, criterion, referendum, syllabus, and virus. In their original language the plurals of such words followed that language’s rules: the Latin plural of aquarium is aquaria, the Greek plural of criterion is criteria, and so forth. However, most of these words also form regular plurals in English by adding an -s, e.g. aquariums, referendums, syllabuses.

Which form to use?
As a rule of thumb, the Latin-style plural is appropriate to formal, scientific, or technical writing, while the English plural is better suited to everyday language. Rock guitarists use plectrums, and might be ridiculed if they called them plectra."

I liked that AGORAE and AURORAS followed different forms in the puzzle.

BTW, TESS was all perps for me, too.

Spitzboov said...

Canadian Eh! - - My colleague lived in the Toronto area last I knew. She and her husband keep different last names.
Part of her resume:
Retired Civil Engineer. Did her Graduate work in hydrology (water resources) and spent her career with Ontario Hydro/Ontario Power Generation in hydroelectric generation. When she left the company, she was heading up the Water Resources Division which did everything from performance testing of turbines to membership on International and Interprovincial Water Control Boards.

Spitzboov said...

Happy Birthday to Bill. You look good all gussied up there in a sharp tie. (I thought retirees eschewed cravats.)

Lucina said...

Wasn't Buddy Ebsen scheduled to be the cowardly lion but it turned out he was allergic to the body paint?

One of my nephews is AARON.

Yellowrocks said...

"Oh snap is a slang phrase that is an expression of surprise. It is similar to whoa and woah and also used when someone is insulted in an embarrassing manner. Dec 6, 2016." I have heard the WOAH said with a long drawn out O.
Sometimes when I have a computer glitch the screen reads OH snap!

We are between priests at our church and so we have a long term fill-in or substitute priest to celebrate Sunday services. He spent the weekend of July 26-27 at an out of state family wedding. On coming home he tested positive for Covid 19, in spite of being fully vaccinated weeks ago. I am surprised. He had mild like flu-like symptoms for a few days. Although he feels well, he is being quarantined for two weeks.

AnonymousPVX said...


I am of the opinion that PC is incapable of authoring a non-crunchy grid. This is NOT a complaint, but an observation. PC is one of the premium authors, IMO.

Whenever I have a plural form where the 2nd to last letter is A, I wait for crosses to fill the S…or E. Worked twice today.

My car was manufactured in South Africa.

My youngest son hated steak as a child…”too chewy”…yeah, right, I’ll finish that ribeye.

See you tomorrow.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Lucina, you are headed down the correct (Yellow BricK0 Road, but IIRC, he was cast as the Tin Man.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Another great puzzle by Paul. Thanks. Another great expo by Susan. Thanks.

Theme? There was a theme? Well, if Susan says so. I haven't had steak in years. After 31 years of having had a freezer full of choice steaks, I don't get excited about steak. Haven't eaten out in two years. My fav was med. rare, but would eat anything.

Last to fill: RARE EARTH. I had METAL from perps but wasn't familiar with either of the two element names. I couldn't come up with R, R, R, H from RHONE, RES, READE, MAHRE altho I had all the rest of those words. Duh! Wanted John Claude Killy too. Remembered MAHRE only after the fill.

Happy Birthday, Bill, a/k/a 7 across. (Is that related to 007?)

Tinbeni, good luck in the path of Elsa. Stay safe.

Misty said...

Delightful Tuesday puzzle, Paul--many thanks, and thanks, too, for stopping by. And enjoyed your commentary, Hahtoolah, thank you for that too.

Always nice to see Abba's "MAMMA MIA" in a puzzle. ALOU, ALAI, got them both. Also got ARON, EERO, ESAI, and BELA--hey, I was good with names for a change.

Owen, loved your Lewis Carroll play.

Happy Birthday, Waseeley.

Have a good day, everybody.

Picard said...

Finished the entire puzzle before I got the theme. RARE for me as I usually try to get the theme as soon as possible.

CanadianEh Hand up for MINIMUM before MEDIUM which took awhile to figure out.

Never heard of ARON, HAHRE, TESS, CESAR, HECTOR. But RARE EARTH METAL was a gimme. So much of modern society depends on these RARE elements and I wonder about sustainability for the future. Was I the only one to think of a different four letter word before SNAP?

Here is my short video of Chorus FROGs doing plenty of CROAKing near our home.

I have FROG pets that CROAK, too. Will have to look for a video and/or photos of that.

Picard said...

From Yesterday:
Wilbur Charles Ah, you are talking about Three and a Half Men? I forgot that they lived in MALIBU. I watched it when I visited my parents.

AnonT Thank you for the kind words about my MALIBU photos. Glad you liked the POT SHOTs story, too!

Jayce Thank you for clarifying your thank you for my photos! I was not sure if it was a reference to the travel ad for July 4th!

Lucina Thank you for the kind words about our MALIBU experience! And for the follow up on the travel ad. I never know how to respond to people who have never travelled outside the US but they have solid views of how the US stands relative to other countries. As for BEER it is indeed about associations. As a child in Europe I have happy memories of people drinking BEER socially and never seeing drunk people.

OwenKL I am so happy that you also have experienced the joy of Ashleigh Brilliant and his POT SHOT cards! Soon after I got here I met him on July 4th in front of the Santa Barbara Mission. I expressed my admiration. When he found out I was a physics student he invited me to his house a block away to set his clock. He admired my technical ability and a friendship began.

Here I was with Ashleigh at his latest POT SHOT book signing.

Jinx Wow! It seems we have much in common! I have the same happy memories at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum! And it seems we have shared the MALIBU experience, too! Did you live near MALIBU? That Gladstones restaurant looks to be outside our usual price range, but perhaps worth a try at least one! Crazy story about the ticket on a bicycle!

unclefred said...

Fun FIR in 18. Never saw the theme until I read Hahtoolah’s fine write-up. Only W/O, MOMMA:MAMMA. Overall, a nice Tuesday CW, thanx, PC!

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. TONY had to be changed to OBIE and ON TIME had to be changed to IN TIME. When I AGREE with someone I certainly don't feel that I have acquiesced, but I do understand that agreement can be acquiescence.
I AGREE with Jinx about the Oscars.
I have ridden a horse when it SHIED, and yes, I did fall off.
I used to think the manufacturer of small DC electric motors was PABST, but eventually learned their name is really Papst.
As a kid we all had our steak very RARE (because that's the way my dad liked it) but now I order it medium rare.
Hmmm, ARON and AROD are 75% alike! So are ALOU and ALAI!
I totally love HECTOR Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. I like his Harold in Italy too.
"Oh Sherlock boy, the PIPES the PIPES are playing..."
I like the way Lurch would say "You RANG?"
Super duper happy birthday wishes to you, Waseeley!
Owen, I love your play on Jabberwocky. Darn clever, man.
Hahtoolah, thanks again for your write-up and that last cartoon.
Good wishes to you all.

CanadianEh! said...

Thanks Spitzboov. Two different ladies it seems.

Kelly Clark said...

Thanks Paul for a JOB WELL DONE (I like my steaks RARE, too). Happy Birthday, 7-Across, and thank you for the review, Hahtoolah.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A fine PZL today, but I FIW.
I had ARON (a 2nd time) for A-ROD and KEANE instead of READE. (Actually REANE, because I failed to change only the "N.")
Ah, well.
~ OMK
___________
DR:
Three diagonals on the far side.
The main diagonal offers a sober anagram (14 of 15 letters), not particularly amusing, but one that reminds us of our ongoing responsibility to Iive decent lives.
In this case, the anagram points to certain ethical standards passed trough the centuries among Jews. I refer to behavior that conforms to a...
"TORAH PARAMETER"!

Anonymous said...

Well, this was fast and easy until it wasn't. Didn't know RAW EARTH METALS and hadn't done enough downs to get perps. I had a Minimum SECURITY prison until forced to up the security to MEDIUM. I prefer my steak medium-well.

Thanks, Paul C., for the fun. Thank you, Hatoolah, for the write-up.

Favorite:39D natural light show/ AURORAS. Here are a few pictures of Auroras. One of my brothers took the pics, I live too far south to see the lights.

Anon-T and Leo, nice pic! Glad you were able to meet up!

Happy Birthday, Waseeley!

Have a good rest of your day.

Yellowrocks said...

The rarest steak that was ever served to me was at a banquet. It looked like it had been waved through the fire for a few seconds and was as raw and bloody as if it had just come from the butcher shop. Almost none of us ate it, even those who usually ordered steak rare. The kitchen staff most have been short on time.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Picard, I lived in the Top O' Topanga mobile home park for a couple of years. Going from the coast toward the Valley, at the very top you can turn left on a fire road, right into our mobile home park, or go straight to Woodland Hills. I worked at the foot of Wilshire Blvd in Lawrence Welk's Santa Monica HQ building (he had one floor; we had 20.) I raced my sailboat out of Marina del Rey and Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, and drove up and down the coast all the time. Got me an all-over tan at the beach at the Ventura / LA county line. GL4-FISH (their phone number) was pricy even then, but for birthdays, anniversaries and promotions it was doable.

Jayce said...

Yellowrocks @ 11:31 AM, you mentioned your priest tested positive for Covid 19 in spite of being fully vaccinated weeks ago. I'm not a doctor, but here's what I understand about how that can happen. Even though one is fully vaccinated, you can still have the virus get into your body if you have been in close contact with people who are "shedding" the virus. You say he spent the weekend at an out of state family wedding, which sounds like exactly such a situation. He can be fully vaccinated and yet test positive for the virus because (1) those around him exhaled enough virus or virus particles for some to have entered his body, and (2) the test would find enough virus, or virus particles in his naso-pharyngeal passages to indicate positive even though he is vaccinated because his immunized system is shedding them.

The test, as I understand it, detects the presence of a specific protein on the "spike" of the corona, which is the protein that enables the virus to attach to and enter the human cells. Your priest may very well not have had significant quantities of whole virus to be detected by the test, because of his immunity, but could have had remnants of busted-up virus, including that particular protein, which are not by themselves infectious, to give a positive test result.

I hope that makes sense. I'm not sure I explained it very well. You folks in the medical profession, please correct me if I have given incorrect information. Thanks.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I like the taste of rare or medium rare steak, but I find that most are more tender when cooked medium. Gimme some extra hot horseradish sauce and I'm all set. When ordering prime rib I always ask if they have an end piece, and order it if they do.

Ol' Man Keith said...

YR @11:31.

Your priest may serve as a caution to us all.
Despite being fully vaccinated, there is a slim chance of contracting the disease. I don't have the exact figures on our current three vaccines, but they all promise something like 98.003% effectiveness.
This is pretty good, considering that many common vaccines are around 80% effective.
Your priest may have fallen prey to those 1 or 2 percentage points of vaccine failure.
It is good to know he only had a mild case of COVID. The vaccine did him some good after all.
~ OMK

waseeley said...

WOW! I'm absolutely overwhelmed. I could say that I'm at a loss for words, but I'm sure that no one would believe that!

Thank you Paul for a delicious puzzle and a theme which as usual I missed until our resident Kitty Kat revealed it. And thanks to her for another brilliant review. Loved all the music, and my fav cartoon was for 43D. So if I go on too long, will somebody UNPLUG my set?

A special thanks to C.C. for my very own puzzle, and the icing on the cake her CSO to Teri, my editor in chief.

And another thanks to Paul for stopping by with an HBD! BTW I like my steak to "MOO". And I could add one more themer - "TARTAR SAUCE".

And thanks to you all for all the good wishes. This is an incredible community and everyday I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

Cheers,
Bill

Yellowrocks said...

OMK and Jayce, thanks for the advice. I am wondering how many serious breakthrough infections have arisen in the US.

LEO III said...

FIR. Forgot to go back and look for the theme.

Thanks, Paul and Hahtoolah. Thanks, C.C. Happy Birthday, 7-Across!

I used like my steak a little more than rare, but I now prefer medium+. I want my ground beef cooked through. Never did like any pink in my hamburgers.

Again, I needed some perps for some of the names.

Nothing wrong with a sorta crunchy Paul Coulter Tuesday puzzle. A FIR for one of his always makes me feel good. (Watch him beat my brains out on the next one!!!)

No, Picard! You were NOT the only one!

Jinx --- FLN --- Come on down! As I tell everyone, just give me a little bit of notice, so that I can make myself available (which isn’t hard for me to do). Also, we aren’t the only one: The Lone Star Flight Museum is over at Ellington Airport (KEFD), over near Johnson Space Center. They are primarily military, while we concentrate on Houston’s commercial aviation history. We’ve got some friends over there though, so....

Now, if you want any more targets of opportunity, I only have almost 400 aviation museums in the US and Canada on my “Places to Shoot” (as in PHOTOGRAPH) spreadsheet. Be happy to lend you some.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

OMK and YR - It's important to recognize that in the USA it is an oddity when a fully-vaccinated person (+2 weeks after the final shot) or a person who has recovered from covid-19 gets the disease. It is even much more infrequent that such a person has to be hospitalized, and last I heard, no such person has died of the disease. And that is in a world where a terminally ill patient who dies, then tests positive for the virus is counted as a covid death. It is also important to remember what our original compact with the federal government was - Flatten the Curve. Well, mission accomplished.

It greatly bothers me that we are bullying people into getting the vaccine. I've heard estimates that maybe 100 million people have had the disease - about 35 million on record and maybe twice that many who are young, apt to socially mingle, and have had asymptomatic cases. There is no evidence I've seen that these folks need the vaccine. And there is a small percentage of our population who shouldn't get the shot, even though they are old enough to get one - often because of other medical treatments they are receiving. Finally, this vaccine is approved only for emergency use. I don't fault people who don't trust it, especially after a bunch of national politicians said that they wouldn't trust a virus developed under the Trump plan.

Unvaccinated people endanger themselves and other unvaccinated people, but not me. I won't sermonize to anyone who isn't immune but choses not to get it, I just think to myself "well, it's your funeral!"

Jinx in Norfolk said...

...wouldn't trust a VACINE... not ...wouldn't trust a virus under the Trump plan.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Aint gonna lie, that NW corner and the west-central were bears; I had to come back to the puzzle a few times.

Thanks for the grid, Paul; fortunately, I had steak (medium to medium well) Sunday night otherwise I may have drooled on the puzzle. Nice you could drop by The Corner.

Thanks for the (always) sparkly expo, Hahtoolah.

WO: Minimum... uhoh. (Hi Ch, Eh! & Picard)
ESPs: ARON (as clued), PALERMO | EERO, MAHRE, AGORAE, TESS, SHIED, RSA, CESAR,CEYLON, ESAI | HECTOR, BELA, ALAI
Fav: I'll go with FIESTA! Piñatas are fun.
//Not only is it a grocery chain, there's alsoSixFlags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio (Since you don't like heights, I'd advise you not to click IM)

{A}
Good advice in the DR, OMK :-)

Happy Birthday Waseeley! Glad you joined us at The Corner.

Jinx - In addition to 1940 ATM, and The Lone Star Flight Museum, there's also Space Center Houston where you can see the Saturn V that was going to be Apollo 18 b/f that program was canceled. There's also a mock-up of the Shuttle [we didn't get a real one 'cuz Obama stiff'd us - at least that's what most everyone in Houston thinks :-)]. I don't know if they still do, but there was a tram that would take you into JSC and tours through some of the rooms where they are building things for space - I saw the escape shuttle they were building for ISS the last time I went.

Stay safe, Tin, Lem, & unclefred (and anyone I'm missing *winces*).

Cheers, -T

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

the vast majority who refuse the vaccine use various excuses but the basis is always unfortunately political. So herd immunity will never be attained in this country. Those unvaccinated are petri dishes for vaccine mutation and may eventually be the source of a strain that is resistant to the vaccine the rest of us agreed to take. Good bye protection.

That means we will be back where we started...a spreading resistant viral strain affecting everyone even those vaccinated.

So then a new vaccine is developed for the new strain. Those who wouldn't take it the first time will likely refuse again and we theoretically end up in a never ending spiral.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

BTW I know of not one antivaxxer who refuses the vaccine because it was developed during the Trump administration. Just the complete opposite...the virus is a hoax...the flu is more common, the lashing out at Fauci scientists..etc..etc...etc.

CanadianEh! said...

waseeley- I hope the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, ONT, is on your list.
They have a great collection, including one of the last operating Lancasters

https://www.warplane.com/

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Ray, you may have heard of Kamala Harris. That is nearly verbatim what she said before the election. Hard to believe you haven't seen the replays.

Around here, the Black community has by far the lowest vaccination rates, about 25%. Hard to blame them for being skeptical, given prior medical misdeeds of our government. Here the health departments are sending mobile vaccination vans (look like bloodmobiles) into Black communities - exclusively. Claiming that they are mostly Trumpers just doesn't pass even the briefest examination. But you wouldn't know that if you get all your news from CNN, MSNBC, PBS, NBC, ABC, CBS, Twitter, Facebook, etc. I watch our local news from the NBC and CBS affiliates. They lean left, but don't ignore stories that don't.

Wilbur Charles said...

I wouldn't worry about Tin-beni, he survived Irma albeit with two 7ups. Perhaps a ½ gallon of Scotch.

As I type I'm 20 miles inland and 20 miles west of Ocala. I hit some driving rain on my trip up from Sun City but no big deal.

WC

Jayce said...

Misty, I recently discovered a pretty doggone good inexpensive wine called Barefoot. I buy and enjoy their cabernet sauvignon but I think they also make a merlot. A bit of a change-up from other brands. Just sayin'.

To all the people who don't want to get vaccinated. Stay away from me and my family and friends.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

So of all the groups, approximately 30% who refuse the vaccine based on religious, political and antiscience views, etc you single out African American community to blame for another wave of resistant virus.

sasses said...

Their drinks are now the price your dinner used to be. On the tourist circuit.

sasses said...

Barefoot Bynum has a charming winery on the Russian River in Sonoma County. Worth a visit and a welcome by the owner-winemaker.

Anonymous T said...

Not to start a flame-war say...

Ray-O: I don't think that's what Jinx was doing.
Though, Jinx, I've heard of Black Americans' hesitancy on NPR a number of times (sometimes news programs, sometimes shows like 1A (formally Diane Rehm).

When I first got past 2 weeks of dose 2, I still wore a mask because there was still a line to get jab'd.
Now there's not - we have an abundance of the vax.
Those (in the US) that choose not to, for whatever reason, are on their own now - there's no lines and no reason not to get it; the vaccine has been jabbed into millions of arms >6mo w/ only minor complications (blood clots in women 18-40 [see: J&J and Oxford-AstraZeneca] and some very rare cases of enlarged hearts/ death in younger kids).

Mutations will be a problem, I'm sure. But, well, see: flu.

That's my $0.02 (that and four bucks will get you a cuppa Joe :-)).

Cheers, -T

Covid Convulsant said...


This discussion, appears to be getting too po..

My proposal is that we should rename the anti-Covid 19 Drive as --- COVAID 21.

Some people will gladly line up, for the program, when they hear the word Aid. Har, har.

Seriously, there was a study done by the State of NY Health Dept., a year ago, before the vaccines even became available, which showed that the spread of the Covid 19, on a Per Capita Basis, in NY state, was by far the largest in the minority communities - both African-Americans and Latinos. This is a genuine scientific study, peer reviewed and statistically sound.




Jayce said...

I agree with you, sasses, about Barefoot Bynum. Nice folks.

Anonymous T said...

Takes the bait say...

Covid Convulsant - do you wonder why that is?
My well-paying white-color (shirt not the race :-)) job, as did many other in the 'computer age', continued just fine remotely. Sure Zoom / Teams was awkward, but we did our work and kept getting our paycheck w/o risk of exposure.

I have a feeling many in minority communities still had to report to the plant/restaurant/et.al. risking it 'cuz of their need for employment at their, maybe, own peril.

-T

Covid Convulsant said...


Anon-T, very well put.
Thank you for your lucid, cogent and scientifically reasoned explanation.
That appears to be very logical, indeed.
Although that study did not go into the possible reasons for their conclusion.

I wish I could delete my earlier posting.
Words written in haste, are a waste.

Chairman Moe said...

Happy Birthday Bill, from your fellow blogger. Cheers! Will toast you at sunset, a la Tinbeni 🥃🥃

Hahtoolah said...

On a lighter note: A Python Python escaped from a mini-zoo in the Mall of Louisiana today forcing a partial closure of the facility. Bet that gave some shoppers a bit of excitement.

Malodorous Manatee said...

...will the owner of the reptile please report to the information desk. Security to concourse B.

TXMs said...

Ray-O @6:23pm - succinctly well-said! Thank you. That's what I'm worried about - a recent study out of Israel says the Pfizer vaccine (my jab) is only what-60%? effective against the delta variant. I'll just wait to see what other epidemiologists/virologists advise and try not to worry about the future. Here in Houston, about 90% of Kroger shoppers are masked and at Lowe's about 75%. I'm still masking, but I admit if I'm the only one in an aisle, I'll pull the mask below my nose for a coupla quick needed breaths.

Yellowrocks said...

I am a Barefoot lover. Just now I am sampling Barefoot cab in my bare feet. I also like Barefoot merlot. My guests like Barefoot chardonnay. So does my wallet.

I am worried that anti-vaxers are allowing more virulent strains to develop. The thought "I am safe without a mask or a jab. Your health and our country's trying to defeat the virus is not my problem" turns me off.

Terrified in Texas said...

The python was in a Blue Zoo, inside of a Mall.

No wonder, the python saw all these Kate Spade and Gucci snake skin purses for sale, and drew its own irrevocable conclusion, that it was going to be next - sooner or later.

Only in Louisiana do they have a zoo inside a mall. So you can pet the animals before they are turned into burgers - like todays theme - raw, medium or well done.

Ha2Lah better lock up your cats and kitties for the next few days. Burmese Pythons are reputedly very fond of 4 legged animals as Spring Roll snacks for their afternnon delights.

Hopefully, Cara the python has not really escaped, but has hidden between the mink furs in the womens department, holding out for a more Zaftig specimen.


Anonymous T said...

Hahtoolah - I saw 'lighter note' and Python... my mind went straight to Something Completely Different [Trailer - 2:38] :-)

Another note, or rather bouquet... Jayce I don't drink much wine (#BEERSNOB), but DW enjoys, in addition to Barefoot, 14 Hands and Bonanza. The latter is quite good and affordable*.

MManatee - she said Louisiana, not Florida(man) ;-)

Cheers, -T
*compared to the $$$ my (CEO) Bro spends on a bottle.

Wilbur Charles said...

That's all the Mall proprietors need is something else to put the squeeze on profits

I knew where Anon-T was going re. Python.

I've seen a couple of bargain brands of wine: Twofa and Bogo. Actually Blue Moon (beer)* was on Bogo at Winn Dixie

WC

*My son drinks beer. I'll have a zero heinie.

Anonymous T said...

*wince* say...

I knew I'd miss someone(s) in the FL gang...

WC, you stay safe too.
//In my defense, you talk about upper-east coast baseball, like, a lot :-)

Cheers, -T