google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, November 11, 2021, Roland Huget

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Nov 11, 2021

Thursday, November 11, 2021, Roland Huget

 

 Our constructor today is Roland Huget who has made many visits to the Corner (over 40).   Here's a review by Gary from December 5, 2020, with a bit of biographical information on Roland.  One piece of information he mentions in that review is no longer true, as he finally stopped by for a Sunday puzzle, blogged by C.C on August 22, 2021.

I should start with a SPOILER ALERT.  This puzzle is an extended CSO to one of our tangier reviewers, who tag teams on Fridays with one of our wackier reviewers.  I'll leave it to you to figure out which is which.

Here are the themers:

20A Wind tunnel test object: AIRPLANE MODEL.  Here's a description of Wind Tunnels for grades K-4, a CSO to our Maître des avis, Husker.

34A. Keats work with the line, "She dwells with Beauty--Beauty that must die": ODE ON MELANCHOLY.  Here's the poem as published in  the spring of 1819 , although Keats shortened it before publication.

40A. Note instruction: PAYABLE ON DEMAND.  This usually applies to private loans, especially those between relatives. I've never loaned or have been loaned money with the stipulation that it be payable on demand, and if plan to you'd better read the fine print.

Here's the tasty reveal:

 50A. Tart drink concentrates, or what's literally found in 20-, 34- and 40-Across: LEMONADE MIXES.  I like mine with a sprig of mint, and toward evening a jigger of Stoli, the cruciverbalist's favorite. And of course chilled, with NO ICE.  Hi TIN!


 On to the main course:

Across:

1. __ cake: CRAB.  A subject near and dear to Marylanders' hearts.  The secret to good CRAB CAKES is good crab meat.  Teri insists on Jumbo Lump crab meat and uses this classic recipe from Old Bay Seasoning. BTW, the word CRAB is derived from the Greek Callinectes, meaning Beautiful Swimmers.

The Blue Crab

5. Floor plan unit: ROOM.  Something you might be urged "to get" if  you're caught in a PDA!

9. App runner: PHONE.   For an APP you may be interested in if you own a piano see 64A.

14. "It can't be true!": OH NO.

15. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA
Erma Louise Bombeck (née Fiste; February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) was an American humorist and columnist.

Erma Bombeck

16. Like some whiskey barrels: OAKEN.

17. Test version: BETA.  My 2012 Ford 150 was a BETA version.

18. Too much sun, they say: AGER.
 
19. Common chord: TRIAD
In music, a triad is a set of three notes that can be stacked vertically in thirds.  The term "harmonic triad" was coined by Johannes Lippius in his Synopsis musicae novae (1612). Triads are the most common chords in Western music. 

Types of Triads

23. Article in Die Zeit: EIN.  Today's German lesson.  "Die Zeit" is "The Times" and "EIN" is an indefinite article.

24. "Saving Fish From Drowning" author Tan: AMY.  Tan's sixth novel, published in 2005.  It's the story of a group of tourists walking the Burma Road, narrated by Bibi Chen, who has died under mysterious circumstances.
 

Amy Tan

25. Snares with loops: LASSOSA.K.A.
LARIAT, RIATA, or REATA  (trigger warning, contains verbification!).  Also TED LASSO, the protagonist of a popular streaming series.

29. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIAAbout the song.  The song:

31. Catch: NAB.

37. Was short: OWED.

38. TiVo predecessor: VCR. IMHO they've both been made obsolete by streaming.

39. Arabic for "commander": EMIR.  Had this guy last time.  Pass.

45. Mme., in Madrid: SRA.

46. Vega's constellation: LYRAVEGA is the brightest star in the constellation LYRA and the second brightest star in the Northern hemisphere,  SIRIUS in CANIS MAJOR being the brightest.   Here is a brief tutorial on the magnitudes celestial objects in the Northern hemisphere.

The Constellation Lyra
Vega is at the top


47. Drops in speaking: ELIDES.

48. Great Lakes' __ Canals: SOO.  The SOO Locks connect Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
 


49. Summer sign: LEO.

57. Showy bulb: TULIP.

58. Jazz guitar lick, say: RIFF.  Here's Wes Montgomery's riff on "Here's That Rainy Day", a
popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, published in 1953:
 

59. Daily delivery: MAIL.

61. Send over the moon: ELATE.

62. Play starter: ACT I.  With the exception of course of One-act plays.

63. One may be a lot: ACRE. We've got 2/3's of an ACRE and it's getting to be more than a lot.

64. Pitch adjuster: TUNER.   I'm not trying to put anyone out of a job, but if you own a piano and like to keep it "well-tempered", you might  want to consider these piano tuning apps.
65. Top-quality: BEST.

66. Shake off: SHED.

Down:

1. Cygnet's father: COB.  Also a popular way to eat "corn on".  It goes great with 1As!

2. Pampas bird: RHEA.  
Rheas are large ratites, in the order Rheiformes, native to South America, distantly related to the ostrich and emu (of whom we seem to see more in these parts).
Rheas

3. Contrarian prefix: ANTI. I think the current era will go down in history as "The Age of Contrarianism".

4. Beast with tusks: BOAR.  It is always my hope that I don't BOAR you too much with these reviews.

5. Truthful representation, in art: REALISM.  My favorite realist painter is Will Wilson of Baltimore, a friend of a friend.  Here's a painting of his wife:
 

The Painter's Wife, 2012

6. Instrument with pipes: ORGAN.  The "King of Instruments".  In Bach's time organs were the most complex and sophisticated machines on Earth.  Johann Sebastian Bach not only knew how to fix them, he was the king of composers for them:
 

7. Sign: OMEN.

8. Stable parent: MARE  56D's better half.

9. River to Chesapeake Bay: POTOMAC
The Potomac River  is found within the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands into the Chesapeake Bay. The river (main stem and North Branch) is approximately 405 miles (652 km) long.

10. "The Revenant" Oscar nominee Tom: HARDY.  I've not seen this film and first filled it with HANKS, until I saw it wasn't working.  Apparently the movie and the book are based on a true story.
11. Dust Bowl migrant: OKIE.   A native or inhabitant of Oklahoma.  Millions of migrants from Oklahoma and surrounding states were displaced from their homelands by the Great Depression and the storms of the Dust Bowl.  The privations of this period were the inspirations for artists such as John Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, Merle Haggard, and photographer Dorothea Lange:
Migrant Mother
Florence Owens Thompson

12. Sci-fi author Stephenson: NEAL.  Neal Stephenson coined the term Metaverse back in 1992, and it is now seen by some social media futurists as a way to fix the mess they've made of the Internet.  The solution to the problems caused by technology, is always of course, more technology.  IMHO it's déjà vu all over again.
 
Neal Stephenson

13. Tight __: football position: END.

21. Lowly laborer: PEON.  A Spanish word with a long history and many associations.

22. Primary: MAIN.

25. Froot __: LOOPS.  A Kellogg's brand of children's cereal.
 
26. Ugly marketing battle: AD WAR.

27. "Gotta go!": SEE YA.  Also ciao, with a derivation you might not expect.

28. Cream __: SODA.

29. AA, on the NYSE: ALCOAAluminum Company of America.  Aluminum is smelted from its ore Bauxite using a complex process co-discovered in 1886 by
by two chemists, American Charles Martin Hall, and Frenchman Paul Héroult, both 22 at the time.
30. Rats relative: DARN.

31. Wanderer: NOMAD.  For some NOMADS, it's a way of life, moving their flocks from one pasture to another to graze.  For others it is hopefully temporary, the result of religious persecution or some privation, e.g., the OKIES at 11D.

32. 1955 Dior innovation: ALINE.  Art, music, and fashion seem to cycle from simplicity to complexity, and then back again, e.g. from the "classical" to the "romantic", and then a return to the "neoclassical".  French designer Christian Dior, rather than to keep an old style afloat returned to simplicity with his A-line dress.

33. "Turn! Turn! Turn!" band, with "The": BYRDS.  Lyrics by
Qoheleth, the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3:

35. "Oh, when will they __ learn?": Seeger lyric: EVER.  From "Where have all the Flowers Gone", by
Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) , an American folk singer and social activist.   Both this and the preceding song were very popular in the 60s.  I wonder if Roland intended these two clues back to back?


36. Sphere opener: HEMI.

41. Gag reel scene: BLOOPER.   I don't think Mama and Eunice were playing from the same script on this one:

42. City on the Rhône: LYON.   
Lyon or Lyons is the third-largest city and second-largest urban area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, about 470 km (292 mi) southeast of Paris.

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
Dennis Jarvis, Halifax, Canada

43. Judge appropriate: DEEM FIT

44. Wells' fruit eaters: ELOI.  A reference to H.G. Wells' Sci-Fi novel The Time Machine.  The ELOI were fruit eaters and the MORLOCKS were ELOI eaters.

48. Hit hard: SMITE

49. Some lanes allow only them: LEFTS.  In New Jersey you can only make LEFTS from the RIGHT LANE, via a JUG HANDLE.  We have one  in Maryland (that I know of) in Finksburg.

50. Humdinger: LULU.  Also the "opener" to LuluLemon sports apparel.  I wonder if Lemonade gets royalties from this company?

51. Dashing style: ELAN.  Iconic of this style was the Englishman T.E. Lawrence, who led the ARAB REVOLT against the Ottoman Empire during WWI.
T.E. Lawrence in 1918

52. Many a Mideast native: ARAB.  Most, but not all are ARABS, the notable exception being the natives of IRAN, who speak PERSIAN, known to its native IRANIAN speakers as FARSI.

53. Board game pieces: DICE.

54. Time to put up lights, briefly: XMAS.  Contrary to what some moderns might believe, Xmas was not originally intended as a secularization of Christmas.  Here's the real story.  But  nevertheless we sign our cards "Merry Christmas".

55. A head: EACH.  Also PER or
A POP.

56. Equine parent: SIRE.  This refers specifically to the male horse.  The female is referred to as a BROOD MAREThe history of horse breeding goes back thousands of years.  In fact the 52Ds are masters of the art and ARABIAN horses are highly valued for their speed and stamina.

57. First day of spring, in Hanoi: TET
 
Tết at the Saigon Tax Trade Center (2012)
courtesy of Prenn, Vietnam

60. Commanded: LED.  Also an acronym for Light Emitting Diode
LEDs have many advantages over incandescent light sources, including lower power consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching. 

Here's the grid:

waseeley

And thanks to Teri for proofreading and constructive criticism.
And we pray for healing and a complete recovery for our good friend Lemonade.

Cheers,
Bill

54 comments:

  1. Well, an ode to Lemonade, of sorts, in a CW, whadaya know! I managed to FIR in 25, and even got the theme today. Humorist Bombeck I can never recall if it’s IRMA or ERMA; perps to the rescue. It seemed at first that there were gonna be a lot of names, but in the end, not too many. Very nice CW, RH, thanx. Clever clue: Rats relative. When DARN filled, I had to think what animal is called a “darn”? Took a bit for the lightbulb to finally turn on. Terrific write-up, Waseeley, thanx. Lots of fun and interesting links. I especially liked the one about XMAS. I learned something there, thanx again.

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  2. Good morning!

    Yes, d-o saw the circles, and d-o figured out that there was an anagram in them. But did he figure out what they anagrammed? Of course not. That's quite an S-O to our Friday Sherpa. This one broke the "one minute longer" experience this week, taking the same time as yesterday. Thanx, Roland (Is it pronounced Huggit, Huge-it, or Hoo-zhay?) and Waseeley of the Maryland shore.

    CRAB Cake: Dw loves 'em, but it's hard to find good ones in SE Texas. I use Old Bay when I make rice pilaf.

    ACRE: That's the size of our lot, though half of it is unimproved and tree-covered.

    LEDs: We no longer have any incandescent bulbs in the house, and we've seen an improvement in the electric bill as a result. It seems, though, that the bulb manufacturers have found a way to make the LEDs burn out quicker. We've had to replace at least three this year, making our annual bulb expenditures larger than they used to be. Four, if you count a $10 LED flood lamp that burned out within 3 hours -- got warranty replacement on that one.

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  3. FIRight. I am steamed about not getting to solve the theme fairly tho! Someone a day or two ago who gets to see the puzzles early had already revealed that LEMONADE was going to get a SO in a puzzle this week, and with that in the back of my mind, I saw the gimmick much earlier than I would have otherwise.

    The crossword rules have changed. No doubt about it. But since he has no other way to tell us, Rich is doing it by packing puzzles with the old rule breakers. Yesterday had a plethora of them, and today a particularly flagrant one with LOOPS at both 25a and 25d.

    Poetry: I misremembered the line "She walks in beauty", by Byron, and misremembered it as being from "My Last Duchess", by Burns, in which there is a implication that the narrator murdered her, and tried to fit that title into the middle spanner.

    Should I write an ODE ON MELANCHOLY?
    Keats has done that already, Charlie!
    When depression over-spills,
    I must take my Happy Pills,
    Then I can be both melan- and jolly!

    How does a cowboy throw his LASSO LOOPS?
    Is there some forbidden trick to hoops?
    If you ever check their ropes,
    They're so stiff they could have spokes,
    That's the technique to which they stoop!

    {B, B.}

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  4. With more time I went back to listen to the Wes Montgomery link and was reminded of why I so enjoy jazz. I will be listening to more jazz now. I like most music. Not much rap, or opera, but most other types, but have been neglecting my affinity for jazz, until Waseeley reminded me via the link. Thanx, Waseeley!!

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  5. FIR, but erased reality, then realize, for REALISM, and atmo for HEMI. Like Fred, didn't remember iRMA / ERMA, so I just fill "i" and make it an "E" if perps so dictate. I do the same with "olio"/"oleo" too, and don't count either as a correction.

    I DNK that Seeger wrote "Where Have All the Flowers Gone". I remember it sung by Joan Baez. I guess if she had released the song while she was dating Steve Jobs, she would have made it "Where Have All the Apples Gone".


    DO - Where did you find LED bulbs for your oven? I've been looking.

    Wes Montgomery was great. Add Jimmy Smith and you got magic.

    Thanks to Roland for the fun challenge, and to Bill for the fun tour. Bill, I think the key to good crab cakes is NO DAMNED FILLER!

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  6. Jinx, ya got me there. I had to go into the kitchen to check if there was a light in the oven. Yup. Don't think I've ever used it, and I certainly never replaced it. So, there is still one incandescent bulb in the house.

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  7. FIR today and agree with OwenKL that finding LEMONADE was easy due to yesterday's hint. By the way, best wishes on your medical procedure, Lemonade. The puzzle was tons of Thursday fun with perps needed to get on the right track often. Some WOs were HAnks/HARDY (Hi, waseeley) and spelling issues with MELANCHOLY and POTOMAC. Thanks, Roland and waseeley for today's challenge and helpful review.

    Hope everyone is doing well and fully adjusted to the time and season change. Hot drinks are more appealing now than iced ones. Enjoy!

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  8. This solved pretty steadily - I figured the first was LEMONADE but then I thought the others would be eg orangeade, limeade..but no, just LEMONADE multiple times. It must have taken quite a search to find the letters in ODE ON MELANCHOLY. I knew Keats wrote ODES - but the only one I know is the one with the Grecian urn. Fun that the LEMONADE theme was on a Friday for our Lemonade!

    I had to wait for perps on AA to get ALCOA - I thought it would be American Airlines but that has AAL as its stock symbol.

    Thanks Bill and Roland!

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  9. I drank this one down in 6:18.

    Oh joy, circles.

    inanehiker, I'm all in favor of looking forward to the weekend, but it is still Thursday.

    Based on the other comments, very uncool of whoever let out a spoiler for what's to come.

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  10. I finally went back and found the mixed LEMONADE. As I said fln, difficult for me, YMMV.

    Give me lots of ICE with my Arnold Palmer(unsweetened of course)

    Rats relative(DARN) fooled me.
    Long slog to FIR with a lot of blotch. West was clean but LEFTS and ACT I along with POTOMAC,MODEL ,TRIAD in North showed me down

    Re. "Arabian horses valued ", so valued that the Mongols lost their decisive battle with the Marmalukes because they wanted to capture those horses. Battle of Ayn Jalut

    WC

    Note. Thanks to constructive advice from Owen and Sandy I don't forecast on future xwords. "Difficult" I don't consider a spiiler.

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  11. Yes being me is an even stranger experience than usual. HG, you have corresponded with Roland, can you ask him his inspiration for this grid? Just saying...

    Equally impressive is how much fill was aimed at Waseely with his religious, musical, and geographic ties. This includes the inclusion of Pete Seeger who as Bill noted wrote the lyrics to WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE an adaptation of of older songe AND the adaptation of the lyrics to TURN, TURN,TURN . I had the pleasure of seeing Pete perform in person a few times including as part of the WEAVERS .

    What is the relevance of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière ?

    Thank you all for your kind wishes and thank all how have or who are serving in our military.

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  12. Pretty cool for Lemonade to have a SO in a CW! People unfamiliar with this blog wouldn’t make any connection. FIR in 25 mins after realizing I had misspelled the Ode as “MELONCHOLY” , the first “O” throwing me off. And I had to fix “GOB” for “COB”, duh, GRAB CAKE just didn’t seem right. Thanks for the fun challenge Roland, and Bill for the nice review :)

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  13. Good morning everyone.

    There's nothing MIXED up about our good friend LEMONADE, who got a phantasmagoric SO in today's puzzle. BZ.

    Finished it all without error. A few strikethroughs: had 'serf' before PEON, and 'realist' before the theme fill forced REALISM. Had the same experience as Inanehiker with AA; perps pointed to ALCOA, a frequent visitor. Having RIFF a short while ago helped, too. Nice doable challenge today from Roland.

    Thanks Bill for another fine intro.

    A special salute to all our Veterans today. Thank you for your service.

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  14. I need stronger morning coffee!!
    1. No paper delivered yesterday and so I did it online at school.
    2. I found a paper in the bushes this morning and so I started the puzzle, thought it looked familiar and it turns out it was yesterday’s puzzle in yesterday’s paper
    3. Since I had no paper this morning, I called up what I thought was today’s puzzle and solved it online but it turned out to be tomorrow’s. As kids say today, “I did it on accident.”
    4. Finally got today’s puzzle and solved it online!
    5. I’ve got Wed – Sat puzzles covered since I have already solved and blogged Saturday’s!
    6. I tore up my Mensa application! :-)
    7. Regarding yesterday's puzzle and date - My lovely bride loved the birthday good wishes you sent to her.
    8. Now I need to blog today's puzzle (I hope it's today's)!

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    Replies
    1. Husker, I enjoyed reading your comment almost as much as I enjoyed inking in the puzzle.

      Delete
  15. I’m very familiar with the SOO canals as I live fairly close to them. Saw a cool pic yesterday from 1974 which showed the Edmund Fitzgerald passing through the lock, fitting because it was the 46th anniversary of the sinking. RIP to all the sailors on that fateful voyage.
    Also, gratitude today to all veterans, including my dad, US Army WWII.

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  16. Good Morning:

    What fun to have an entire theme devoted to one of our very own! Way to go, Lemony. My only slow down was needing perps for Ode on Melancholy as my poetry knowledge is limited, to say the least. Loved the critter contingent with Crab, Cub, Rhea, Boar, Mare, Sire, and Leo the Lion. Mare and Sire made a cute duo, sort of like Ma and Pa would! I’ll admit that Lemonade might be difficult to parse w/o the circles, but for a Thursday level solve, not impossible, particularly with the straightforward reveal clue. My opinion, naturally.

    Thanks, Roland, for you Ode to Lemonade and a fun solve and thanks to Bill, the Jack of all Trades and Master of many. Thanks, also, to Teri, for being Bill’s Sous Chef, mixed metaphors be darned, or Rats, if you prefer!

    Lemony, best wishes for a full and successful recovery from your upcoming procedure. You know you have our support and prayers.

    Where or where is our much-missed bright Ray O Subshine? 🌝

    Have a great day.

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  17. From J.S. Bach to Wes Montgomery to The Cryptonomicon (and a screen name that I sometimes pilfer - Hiro Protagonist). What a great way to start the day!

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  18. FLN to Anonymous -T

    How did you know that Vermeer is my all time favoritest painter? I wasn't even aware of "Tim's Vermeer", but it's now on my short list of movies to see. I do however question the need for Vermeer to use a prosthetic to assist him with his paintings. The alternate explanation is that Vermeer saw the world in a way that we mere mortals can't begin to imagine.

    Back in 1995 there was an exhibition of 21 of Vermeer's extant 35 paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Teri, myself and some friends stood in the snow outside the Gallery for hours waiting in line to get free tickets to the show. It was incredible. BTW there are 4 Vermeers in the Gallery's permanent collection and we stop by and see them every time we visit. And we always visit Dali's amazing "Last Supper" as well.

    I suspect that Will Wilson, the Realist painter in today's puzzle was also a Vermeer fan.

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  19. Phil @9:08 AM I'll never forget Gordon Lightfoot's ode to those brave men.

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  20. Musings
    -I had to look up Bill’s French title for me and I now thank him.
    -Our KFC has great chicken and cole slaw but lousy LEMONADE
    -This Old OAKEN Bucket has been awarded to the winner of this game since 1925.
    -We were not “short” but paid $90 for Joann’s and my dinner last night with no appetizers, drinks or desserts
    -I’m not a big fan of ORGAN music but these work for me - Runaway, Light My Fire, Whiter Shade of Pale, The House Of The Rising Sun… Any for you?
    -On this Veteran’s Day where we honor our military - -This solemn site has a beautiful view down into the POTOMAC River Valley
    -Tight end Travis Kelce is 6’5” and weighs 260 lbs. You wanna tackle him?

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  21. Irish Miss @9:09 AM You've got that backwards IM, I'm Teri's Sous Chef, and the master of the mis en place. 🥗 😋

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  22. LEMONADE jumped out in the circles after AIRPLANE MODEL was filled. An easier than usual Thursday for BE. Tom HARDY the actor and NEAL Stephenson were both unknowns. My first thought on AA was American Airlines but knew it wouldn't fit so ALCOA filled the squares.

    CRAB CAKES- DW loves them but I can take 'em or leave 'em. Very expensive for what you get. People in NOLA love to order a dozen crabs and pick the meat; too much work for me. But I love to eat soft-shell crabs; nothing to pick.

    ADIA- thanks for the video. ADIA always shows up in puzzles but that's the first time I've heard the song.

    LEFTS from the right lane? Why that's a normal occurrence in NOLA to go along with running red lights and going through parking lots to avoid red lights. I looked up JUG HANDLE; never seen one. Most of our major intersections don't allow a left turn and have a U-turn lane past the intersection.

    Gary- I had to pay more last night. Grilled trout, grilled redfish, CRAB Maison at Galatoire's ($21), & drinks.

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  23. Here is Roland's answer to my query about this puzzle:

    Hi Gary,

    I'm always on the lookout for seven-plus-letter words that permute into lively theme answers. LEMONADE is an eight-letter word that has a nice fifty-fifty split between vowels and common consonants. Once I settle on an appropriate revealer, I use a regex search to look for themers containing permutations in an expanded word list that is about twice the size of the word list I use with Crossword Compiler. I enjoy constructing these kind of puzzles, but I am cognizant that not all editors or solvers appreciate them.

    Most people assume that my family name is French-Canadian, but my ancestors are ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe. It is pronounced Hoo-get.

    Roland.

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  24. Hola!

    Happy VETERANS' DAY, especially to all you who served!

    Roland's puzzle was fun and a fine CSO to Jason, our own LEMOANDE.

    ERMA Bombeck lived and died here in Phoenix though she was originally from Ohio.

    CSO at LASSOS to my late dad and uncles who were real cowboys.

    I love Amy TAN's books and did not realize she was such a prolific writer. However, my current favorite is GAil Tsukiyama. I'm reading, The Color of Air.

    My son-in-law asked for The Time Machine on his gift list but I'm having a hard time finding it.

    My next door neighbor already has Christmas lights!

    Enjoy your day, everyone!

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  25. Fun Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Roland. Loved the shout-out to our dear LEMONADE.
    And great commentary, Waseeley!

    One of the first items I penciled in was X-MAS, for time to turn on the lights.
    Woohoo! A long time later, the solution LEMONADE MIXER slowly filled in and my X turned out to right! Woohoo!

    Fun to see TULIP this morning.

    And, of course, always nice to have ERMA Bombeck turn up.

    Have a great day, everybody!

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  26. Thanx for solving the pronunciation mystery, Roland.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Puzzling thoughts:

    FIR with several w/o's - HANKS/HARDY; BEAR/BOAR; SERF/PEON; ONER/LULU

    Roland, great puzzle; super SO to LEMONADE714 (aka, Jason); and Bill S --> wacky is a very good descriptor for yours truly; wouldn't want it any other way!! ;^)

    Regarding NJ and JUG HANDLES for making LEFTS - they are also one of just a handful or less states who require gasoline to be dispensed into vehicle tanks by attendants. No self-service fueling in the Garden State

    No "spoiler alert" for tomorrow's puzzle, but just as an aside, I wrote and proofread mine yesterday and will not alter one of the comments . . .

    POTOMAC - CRAB CAKES - OLD BAY SEASONING --- sign me up. I spent a fair amount of time trying to catch blues and rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay back in the late '70's, early '80's. Had many a bushel of hard shells, as well as a fair number of CRAB cakes. Old Bay is used often in our kitchen

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  28. Lucina @11:21 AM Lucy, there are several editions of Well's Time Machine available on Amazon. Here's a link for a hard copy edition.

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  29. Lucy, the easy way to buy the DVD for THE TIME MACHINE (assuming you want the 1960 Rod taylor version is AMAZON.COM . This includes EL TIEMPO EN SUS MANOS . If you are reluctant to buy online, I would be happy to buy you choice and have it shipped to you. LMK.

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  30. How fun, Bill assumed you wanted the book and I didn't.

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  31. HG, thank you for writing to Roland Hoo-get, and as I expected, it was a CSO rather than an SO. Still fun...

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  32. Lemonade:
    Thank you for your kind generosity in offering to buy the Time Machine. I did not realize it had been published so long ago but I believe I will find it if I just keep looking.

    An AIRPLANE MODEL is another of my s-i-l's gifts that he wants, the Raptor F-14, which Hobby Lobby had in stock I'm happy to say. They must have every kind of possible kit and kaboodle.

    In fact, I have most of the gifts purchased and now have to wrap them so buying wrapping paper is my next project. I am really getting into the holiday spirit and am looking forward to Thanksgiving Day!

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  33. Sweet puzzle! Yay, LEMONADE! And my prayers join with all the others'.

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  34. With the ermine, "The Painter's Wife" is a riff on Leonardo's portrait, "Lady with an Ermine," of a mistress of his patron, the Duke of Milan.

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  35. Hi everybody.

    I enjoyed this puzzle but then I almost always enjoy the output of our team of constructors overseen by Rich.

    My father used to take me canoeing on the Potomac and some of its tributaries. Some camping in the area too. Good memories.

    Have you noticed when listening to the newscasts and commentary, you seldom hear the word 'affected' anymore? It has almost completely been replaced by 'impacted'. I wonder why?

    I guess I missed recent news regarding our Lemonade. What's up? Nothing serious I hope.

    Do you notice how often you hear someone say something is 'very unique' or 'more unique'? That seems wrong to me. Since unique means 'one of a kind,' how can something be more or less unique? Say 'very special' instead and leave 'unique' for when you want its unique meaning.

    ~ Mind how you go...

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  36. especially in science fiction, I find book titles tend to get recycled. But H.G.Wells seems to have bucked that, probably because of its classic status. Nevertheless, Amazon does have:

    The Times Machine!: Learn Multiplication and Division by Danica McKellar and Josée Masse
    The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
    Your Brain Is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time
    The Time Machine Did It by John Swartzwelder
    The Time Machine Girls by Ernestine Tito Jones (a series, Ages: 5 - 7 years)
    How to Build a Time Machine: The Real Science of Time Travel by Brian Clegg
    How to Build a Time Machine by Paul Davies
    So You Had To Build A Time Machine by Jason Offutt
    Dr. Bones and the Time Machine by Charles Shamey
    Alistair's Time Machine by Marilyn Sadler (Ages: 6 - 8 years)
    Colton's Time Machine by Rebecca Massey (a series)
    Max and Me and the Time Machine by Gery Greer and Bob Ruddick
    Sherlock Holmes and the Time Machine by Dr. John H. Watson and CJ Lutton
    Big Papa and the Time Machine by Daniel Bernstrom and Shane W. Evans (Ages: 4 - 8 years)
    DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown's Owner's Workshop Manual by Bob Gale and Joe Walser
    The Time Machine by Chris Sasaki, H. G. Wells, et al.(Classics Series, Ages: 7 - 9 years)
    The Time Machine by John Edens, H.G. Wells, et al.(A Stepping Stone Book Ages: 6 - 9 years)
    The Time Machine by Terry Davis, H.G. Wells, et al.(Common Core Editions Ages: 10 years and up)
    Classics Reimagined, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, Alessandro Lecis, et al.
    A Mighty Fine Time Machine by Suzanne Bloom (Ages: 4 - 8 years)
    The Definitive Time Machine by Harry M. Geduld
    The Ultimate Time Machine by Joseph McMoneagle
    The Ultimate Boston Red Sox Time Machine Book by Martin Gitlin
    The Ultimate Cleveland Indians Time Machine Book by Martin Gitlin
    T. Rex Time Machine by Jared Chapman (series, Ages: 3 - 5 years)
    Tiny Time Machine by John E. Stith and Nikolett Timar
    The Secret Time Machine and the Gherkin Switcheroo by Simone Lia (Ages: 7 - 9 years)
    The Paper Time Machine: Colouring the Past by Wolfgang Wild and Jordan Lloyd
    The Girl in the Time Machine by Debra Chapoton
    My Dojo has a Time Machine by Steve Borland
    It's Not a Bed, It's a Time Machine by Mickey Rapkin and Teresa Martínez (Ages: 3 - 6 years)
    The Race to Build the First Time Machine by Jenny Randles
    Time Machines Work by Frank Tate
    The Truth Chronicles: The Time Machine by Tim Chaffey and Joe Westbrook
    Time Machine 1,2,...21: various authors
    The Time Machine: a sequel by David Haden
    Come Find Me: A Sequel to H. G. Wells' The Time Machine by Mike Arsuaga (a series)
    Et cetera...

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  37. Excellent Thursday PZL. I thought I was stumped by Mr. Huget, but I broke through in the end with No Cheats.

    I don't remember ever learning of the SOO Canals, and yet I knew the fill straightway. The human brain is a marvelous mystery.

    Yes, to be sure, RHEA.
    On the Pampas. I did a report in Junior High on Argentina. I will never forget anything in it. I recall tracing an outline of a RHEA, then coloring it in.
    BOLAs rather than LASSOs were used by GAUCHOs or VAQUEROs on the PAMPAS.
    "¡AY YAI YAI!" they cry.
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR: JACKPOT!
    Four diagonals today, one close to hand, the other across the way...
    The near side anagram (a JACKPOT, a full 15 of 15 letters!) offers a bit of scientific insight into a procedure familiar to all epidemiologists.

    Read on, Grasshoppas!

    By now we have all heard of "herd immunity," right?
    Not everybody knows how scientists arrive at the figures needed to know if a given vaccine can tip the balance. In order to be sure testing is not guilty of cherry-picking results, certain test groups are assembled and checked against each other.
    Only some test groups (sub-herds) are given the true vaccine.
    At least one other group is assembled in the presence of a Priest, a Rabbi, a Minister, an Imam, and either a coven Witch or a Wizard.
    This group does not get the anti-COVID-19 serum.
    Instead it receives the most powerful Blessing these spiritual leaders can provide.
    Thus, they are said to...

    "CONSECRATE HERD X"!

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  38. I loved this puzzle. Lots of fun to solve. Laughed out loud at the clue for DARN.

    I also loved your recap, Waseeley, and enjoyed following your links. I learned a lot.

    Good wishes to you all.

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  39. Bill G, good to hear from you. By pure coincidence my wife and I were talking about how the newscasters can't seem to say "affected" but always say "impacted." My wife and I concluded they were trained to say it, and it has become a habit, because "impacted" is more sensational than "affected." We even roleplayed, me acting as a newscaster and her interviewing me. She asked me, "Would you please say the word affected for me right now?" And I replied, "Sure! A-a-a-a-f-f-f-f-impacted!" They simply can't utter the word! I blame the script writers and also the producers for forcing the talking heads to speak unnaturally. Another quirk my wife and I lament is the now-expected way to enunciate a number, a quantity. No longer is it, "The hospitalization rate increased to 5000 cases a day." Now it is always, "The hospitalization rate skyrocketed to five (inhale) THOUSAND! (exhale) cases a day!"

    Now the buzz phrase is "Breaking news!" Sheesh. Why should I care if it's breaking news or not?

    And finally, my last beef, at least for today, is that they no longer report the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of what happened. Now the only information they focus on is people's reaction to what happened, the outrage, the resentment. So many of the questions the reporters ask now are "How do you feel about that?" The content of the reporting is "Mobs are filling the streets in protest!" Okay, fine, but what actually are they protesting? No info on that.

    I'll cool down now. Anyway, good to hear from you Bill G. Take care!

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    Replies
    1. Jayce @4:49 PM Leading with who, what, where, when was the way of the old days, when news was delivered in fish wrappers. They used the classic inverted pyramid style: get the key facts out first, saving the details in descending order of importance for the remainder of the article. With enews the objective is to save what the article is actually about until the end, forcing you to wade through lots of ads and click-bait until you find what the title led you believe the piece was really about.

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  40. I share your beef, Jayce, regarding the lack of thoroughness of today's journalism, especially when it comes to the 5 "W"s.
    I usually have CNN on in the background; they don't slip up as often as the so-called "mainstream" news channels.
    In the evening, I usually watch ABC News (my DW likes David Muir), and I find myself like an old coot yelling at the screen, reminding David of which "W"s he's missing.
    Or what obvious question he--or his onscreen reporter--has failed to ask. Rats!

    A good quarter of the stories are not even worthy of being called "news." But an editor found some video, and that's all that seems to matter!
    ~ OMK

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  41. Two pet peeves for me with TV news. First, they use old video for b-roll on a current story, even when the b-roll has nothing to do with the story. For example, the story could be covering local rescue squads searching for a missing swimmer, while the b-roll might be old video of the USCG zipping around on inflatables doing anti-terror training. Second, everything must be present tense, even when it happened in the past: "Live at 5! Local man is arrested and charged with counterfeiting Girl Scout cookies!" The story goes on to report that the arrest was made three days ago.

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  42. Jayce @ 1648 - - I totally agree with you on how good it is to see Bill G checking in, and how terrible crappy the news reporting has become. I watch some because I'm a news junkie, but I bite my tongue a lot. One of my beefs is when they use days old footage to tell a story as if it just happened that day.

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  43. Good to read you, OMKeith. Frankly I can't stand David Muir. He (artificially) infuses his voice with so much tension, as if everything is a huge crisis, that it raises my blood pressure 10 points to listen to him. My wife likes Norah O'Donnell but I can't stand her because she does much the same thing: everything she utters is said with a tone of voice as if everything is a spectacle or a crisis. My wife love love loves to watch the news on TV, including PBS Newshour (with Judy Woodruff), which I must admit is not bad at all, but I do something else at the other times she is watching. At least we are both happy that we both enjoy watching "high quality" shows on PBS such as Masterpiece Theater, etc.

    When there's nothing worth watching on TV I read aloud to her. Last night we finished John Steinbeck's East of Eden. Whoo! What a book! So much in there! Steinbeck sure is a prolific story teller. Unlike Hahtoolah, who apparently has read it more than once, I'm not sure I could do it again. I'm gonna buy and read Cannery Row next.

    So who is one of your favorite authors, folks? I'll start the conversation by disclosing that John Grisham and Robin Cook used to be mine; I think I pretty much read everything they wrote. I also like Ken Follette and I very much Liked The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy (nothing else by him, though).

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  44. Thanks, Husker Gary, for reaching out to Roland Huget. In my mind, and without any reference, it has always been "you get", (said very fast).

    Irish Miss, Ray-O said sometime last week or so that he was going to be heading to Florida.

    I haven't noticed the impacted / affected usages, but good to hear from you, Bill G.

    Jayce, the only thing that bothers me about the nightly news is that they all seem to time their commercials to occur at the same time. I switch from ABC to NBC and CBS for the evening national news, and then turn to PBS NewsHour when it comes on. IMO, Judy Woodruff is a gem. Though, I do miss when she used to tag team with Gwen Ifill.

    Waseeley set me off today. I took one of his links (I don't remember which one) and then started reading and reading. And then reading. I closed over thirty-five tabs when I finally stopped. Don't know how I got there, but, among so many other things, I learned that I grew up near one of the southern ends of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau. That, in itself, is a revelation to me as it explains the dramatic change in the topography of my youth as I drove just a few miles south.

    I've never been there, but now I want to go to Hocking Hills and explore the area.

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  45. I realize I should have written geography, rather than topography.

    The people that live in the areas where I grew up know what I'm writing about. Dramatic changes within just miles.

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  46. Hi Y'all! Thank you, Roland Huget for this enjoyable challenge that Rich did DEEM FIT for a Thursday. Thank you, Bill Seeley for the fine expo.

    Yay! We heard from BillG. Wonder about you often.

    Four animals in the first block seemed a bit much but were gettable. Horsing around with both MARE & SIRE in the puzzle. I tried Stud first.

    Learning moment: didn't know POTOMAC flowed to Chespeake Bay. Few perps & a WAG.

    Wanted "bagpipes" but ORGAN fit better. With two ORGANists & a bagpiper in the family, you'd think I would have come up with it sooner. Took a while.

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  47. Jayce, I really relate to what you said about Muir's voice. I figured I could stand him for half an hour a night, but am beginning to think maybe NBC might be a better choice in future. Or CBS? I'm off cable news, because it's really commentary more than news. Actually prefer online newspapers over tv.

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  48. Thank you Mr. Roland Huget for a very nice puzz;e, and a shoutout for our "oldest resident", Lemonade ( May he and his tribe increase ..!) and Waseeley for an enjoyable review.

    Re: The News on TV ... I dont watch the news on TV ... unless my house gets blown off .. then its too late anyway. Its much easier and much faster to read the news online.

    Bill G, Good to hear from you.


    Waseeley, since you mentioned that you liked Vermeer's paintings, I thought you may like this real life documentary feature movie ... Tim's Vermeer ... a film.... Wiki article.

    It involves inventing a light box mirror that 'helps' in painting a scene with great realism, and hopefully replicating the style in which Vermeer used to paint....

    have a nice evening, all.

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  49. Waseeley @ 9.17 am ... I did not know that you were already aware of Tims Vermeer. Sorry.

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  50. Jayce @ 4:49 --

    Re: 'Breaking News' ... well, if it's breaking, why aren't the talking heads fixing it??

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  51. Bill G:
    It's so good to see you and read your comments. Please check in often.

    Today I found a new book by Ken Follet at of all places, Walmart. I was surprised because I try to keep up with his books as he is one of my favorite authors. It's called NEVER and I can't wait to read it. I'm almost finished with Gail Tsukiyama's book. Also at Walmart, I bought a new book by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, The President's Daughter. They seem to be collaborating a lot.

    Oh, how I love the anticipation of good books! It's definitely better than anything on TV though I've settled on Norah O'Donnel as the most appealing of all the newscasters.

    Jason, I wish you well with whatever health issues you are having.

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  52. Hi All!

    Late to the party.

    Thanks Roland for a fun, MIXEd up puzzle. Theme reveal filled early and helped the solve (AIRPLANE what? Foil?, Fuselage?, Windspeed guage?)

    Thanks waseeley for the expo - especially Carol Burnett outtakes & XMAS link.

    WOs: HAnks, LiRA
    ESPs: COB, HARDY, NEIL,
    Fav: clue for DARN... That ALCOA V8 can can hurt.

    Hands up for thinking AA was American Airlines considering their URL is aa.com.

    Day's Learning: No idea who Cygnet is so, post puzzle, I looked him up.
    "A male swan is called a cob, female swan is called a pen, and a baby swan is called a cygnet."
    Oh, I see...

    {B, B+}
    Jackpot! And imaginative, OMK

    HG - thanks for the inside-baseball with Roland.

    Nice to read you today, Bill G.
    To you and Jayce - maybe they just don't know the difference between affected and effected and don't want to be seen as dumb MIXing them up on TV.
    Oh, and that's why I don't watch news. The paper, NPR, and late-nite shows' monologs seem to keep me, well, informed(?) :-)

    I do agree with all that mentioned PBS Newshour but I'm seldom home in time for it.

    Lucina - My (CEO) Bro sent me a snap of his XMAS lights this eve. "But it's not even Thanksgiving!"

    Favorite authors? Usually, I read the latest non-fiction books on whatever. This year, I read my first fiction in >10 years. It was "A man called Ove" and now I'm reading another Backman book, "Anxious People."
    I just picked up "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" for MIL who'll let me have it when she's done.

    Backman's way of story telling (at least in what I've read so far) is you solving the story while you're reading (e.g. two chapters later - "oh, he's his father...") and his characters are oft set against their opposites but having to work/live together. And, the chapters are scenes of (usually) about ~3 to 4 pages.

    His Wikipedia page.

    See Ya!
    Cheers, -T

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