google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 Daniel Bodily

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Nov 2, 2021

Tuesday, November 2, 2021 Daniel Bodily

Under the Weather.  Notice that each of the starred theme answers is in the Down position.  The first word of each theme answer describes a weather condition.  The second word, thus, is "under the weather." 

3-Down. *   1956 Burt Lancaster film, with "The": RAINMAKER.  The Rainmaker was a 1956 movie that starred Burt Lancaster (Nov. 2, 1913 ~ Oct. 20, 1994) and Katherine Hepburn (1907 ~ 2003).  The story took place during the Great Depression in a farming town in the mid-west that was suffering from a draught.  Burt Lancaster played a con man who promised he could make it rain.  It is appropriate that this clue and answer appeared in today's puzzle because today would have been Burt Lancaster's 108th birthday.

6-Down. *   Desperation gridiron pass: HAIL MARY.

8-Down. *   Big name in film festivals: SUNDANCE.  The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the United States.  It has been showing films since 1978.  The next festival will take place from January 20 through 30, 2022.

11-Down. *   Seven Dwarfs' housekeeper: SNOW WHITE.  The version the Brothers Grimm tells of Snow White is a tad darker than Disney's version.

Here's the unifier:

62. Out of sorts ... or where four answer-ending words (see starred clues) can be found?: UNDER THE WEATHER.

Across:
1. Fabled runner-up: HARE.  //  And 47. Like the 1-Across vis-à-vis the tortoise, ironically: SLOWER.


5. Deep cleft: CHASM.


10. "Tell me if you're coming" letters: RSVP.  Technically, this is today's French lesson as well as a lesson in manners.  Répondez s'il vous plaît, which translates into English as Please respond.

14. Pacific island ceded by Spain to the U.S. in 1899: GUAM.


15. The __: Europol headquarters: HAGUE.  Europol is the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement.


16. Meticulous to a fault: ANAL.  This word appears with some frequency in the puzzles.

17. Jazz club group: TRIO.  Everything you wanted to know about Jazz Trios, but didn't know to ask.

18. Detroit NFL team: LIONS.

19. Party hat shape: CONE.


20. Large-scale ride-sharing option: VANPOOL.  It's like a carpool, but bigger.


22. Limited-access internet area: DARK WEB.  Everything you wanted to know about the Dark Web, but didn't know to ask.

24. Surfing connection: MODEM.  Web surfing.

25. A bit off: ASKEW.

26. Hogwarts potions master: SNAPE.  Professor Severus Snape was played by Alan Rickman (February 21, 1946 ~ January 14, 2016) in the Harry Potter movies.


28. Raggedy doll: ANN.  I had a Raggedy Andy when I was a kid.



30. Significant __: partner: OTHER.


33. Acorn dropper: OAK.


34. How much it costs: PRICE.

36. Prez before JFK: IKE.  Dwight David Eisenhower, aka Ike (Oct. 14, 1890 ~ Mar. 28, 1969) was President  from 1953 until 1961.  John Fitzgerald Kennedy, aka Jack (May 29, 1917 ~ Nov. 22, 1963) was President from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963.

37. Monopoly's Atlantic or Pacific: Abbr.: AVE.  As in Atlantic and Pacific Avenues.


38. __ ignition system: hi-tech car starter: KEYLESS.  I love having a keyless ignition system.

40. October's number: TEN.  Because October is now the 10th month on the calendar.  In the old Roman calendar, however, it was the 8th month, hence, the OCT in its name.

41. Fozzie Bear's frog pal: KERMIT.  //  Not to be confused with 53-Across. Claymation green guy: GUMBY.


43. If all goes right: AT BEST.

45. Sign of healing: SCAB.

47. Diamonds or clubs: SUIT.



48. Backbone: SPUNK.



51. "You've got mail" ISP: AOL.  As in America OLine.  //  And 42-Down. 51-Across alternative: MSN.  As in Microsoft Network.

57. "Proven," in proofs: QED.  Today's Latin lesson.  QED is an abbreviation for quod erat demonstrandum, which means "which was to be demonstrated".

58. Tune that stays in your head too long: EARWORM.


61. Huntsville's st.: ALA.  As in Alabama.  NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is located in Huntsville, Alabama.



65. Tops, as a cake: ICES.  My mother used frosting on a cake.


66. November tally: VOTES.

67. "Magic" prop: WAND.


68. Lahr of "The Wizard of Oz": BERT.  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.



69. Golf or tennis: SPORT.

70. Ransom of auto fame: OLDS.


Ransom Eil Olds (June 3, 1864 ~ Aug. 26, 1950)


Down:
1. Channel for home flippers: HGTV.



2. General feel: AURA.

4. Expressive music genre: EMO-POP.  The best Emo Pop songs?  You be the judge.


5. Techie on "24": CHLOE.  The actress who played Chloe is Mary Lynn Rajskub (b. June 22, 1971), and she appeared recently in another puzzle I wrote up on recently.


7. In the past: AGO.

9. Western plateaus: MESAS.  Hi, Lucina!

10. Tennis need: RACKET.


12. Wind indicator: VANE.

13. Roman commoner: PLEB.

21. Poet's tribute: ODE.  A crossword staple.

23. "It's a Wonderful Life" studio: RKO.  The initials stand for Radio-Keith-Orpheum.



26. Enjoy a Jacuzzi: SOAK.


27. Central church part: NAVE.


Anatomy of a Church


29. Zero, in soccer: NIL.

31. Barely gets (by): EKEs.

32. Tenant's expense: RENT.

34. Fur-protesting org.: PETA.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.



35. Jacob's twin: ESAU.  A Biblical reference.  These brothers appear with some frequency in the puzzles.

38. Field goal expert, e.g.: KICKER.

39. Mark of shame: STIGMA.

44. A/C measure: BTU.  As in British Thermal Units.

46. Hit a bunch of pubs in one night: BARHOP.



48. News filler: SQUIB.  This was my last fill.

49. Trump's VP: PENCE.  Mike Pence (né Michael Richard Pence; b. June 7, 1959) also served as the Governor of Indiana.

50. Milker's handful: UDDER.  Not exactly.  If the milker is handling the Udder, he's not doing it right.


52. Be a debtor of: OWE TO.

54. Taj __: MAHAL.  India's most famous monument.



55. Button on a mixer: BLEND.



56. Football measures: YARDS.

59. Off-rd. transports: ATVs.


60. Catnap, e.g.: REST.

63. Ballpark fig.: EST.  As in an Estimate.

64. "Squared" power: TWO.

Here's the Grid:





חתולה




50 comments:

OwenKL said...

Prez before JFK was DDE. IKE was Prez before Jack.

FIRight, but didn't solve it because I didn't look hard enough for the theme before I read the reveal. I actually identified the 4 themers, but the weird grid layout confused me to think there were others as well.

Among the pantheon of the gifted,
The talented Mae West is lifted!
Her quips were PRICE,
"Ya'know, SNOW WHITE,
I used to be her, but I drifted!"

When you take a new car for a test,
The latest gimmicks are the best!
The fob on a ring
Is like how I sing --
We, both of us, are quite KEYLESS!

In football, a HAIL MARY pass,
Is with as fervent a prayer as at mass!
If caught, then a hole
May clear to a goal!
And if not, it AT BEST had some class!

Lately, I've been UNDER THE WEATHER.
My brain cells not working together.
Atmosphere highs and lows
Cause my arthritis woes --
But hear me complain? Well, I never!

{A-, B, B, B+.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I agree with Owen; needed to Wite-Out the DDE on my grid. Noticed the Burt in the clue and Bert in the answer. (113rd? Hahtoolah, did you mean 108th?) Tried RACQUE...and ran out of room. Not sure I've ever seen RACKET for that ball-swatter. Also needed Wite-Out to change TEATS to UDDER -- only 5 of the letters were wrong. Thanx for the diversion, Daniel, and for the expo, Hahtoolah.

GUAM: Spent 18 months there back in my Navy days. Was hoping to finish my tour there, but the Navy thought I should spend some time on a ship. Rats.

KEYLESS: I used to carry a bunch of keys, but with a keyless car and a keyless front door, I've retired the old keyring.

"The Rainmaker": Also a 1997 movie staring Matt Damon as a young lawyer, based on the John Grisham book.

"Free Kitten": We've been fostering a kitten for the past two weeks. It goes off to the shelter today. Very cute, clean, and well-behaved. She'll be a great pet for some lucky family.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Crossword friends.

Thanks, D-O, I made the correction. I don't do math! Also, your first inclination for the milker's handful was technically correct.

QOD: I had gained the summit of a commanding ridge, looking round with astonishing delight, beheld the ample plain, the beauteous tract below. ~ Daniel Boone (Nov. 2, 1734 ~ Sept. 26, 1820), American frontiersman

ATLGranny said...

A perfect FIR today. Thanks, Daniel! I waited just long enough to write in fill after checking on perps so I avoided WOs, for a change. Got the theme after the review although I wondered if there was more to it. But no, just the weather elements on top. Happy today, not feeling UNDER THE WEATHER at all.

Thanks, Hahtoolah, for an excellent review. SQUIB puzzled me too, with a fountain pen part coming to my mind. News filler, what? Learning moment....

Hope you all are doing well this week!

Anonymous said...

Took 4:31 for the fog to clear this morning.

Squib was my last fill too.

I'm beginning to think a certain puzzle editor may have an obsession with "24."

YooperPhil said...

Nice puzzle Daniel, and I enjoyed your narrative Hahtoolah, you always come up with good illustrations also! FIR in an average Tuesday time, was a little tripped up by the JFK clue as I, like probably most everyone first thought DDE, although I guess JFK was also a nickname like IKE and not just initials. Backbone had me thinking SPINE but the perps corrected that for me. Also not familiar with the term SQUIB, not in my vocabulary as with many regular puzzle words.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased scar for SCAB and spine for SPUNK. SWAGged the Natick EMOPOP x SNAPE.

I try not to park my RV under OAK trees this time of year. The acorns are annoying. When I had my travel trailer, they sounded like bombs going off.

PETA World HQ is a couple of miles from here. We call them "Pleasantly Eating Tasty Animals".

I think of VANPOOL as a medium-scale option. When I lived in LA, several coworkers were in bus pools to our office in Santa Monica. I remember one from Pomona and one from Garden Grove. GTE subsidized them. (You may have seen our building on TV. During the opening of Three's Company, Jack Ritter falls off his bicycle while looking at some babe's butt. The reaction shot looks right at my office in the Lawrence Welk building at the foot of Wilshire Blvd.)

FLN: Back in Kentucky I used to moonlight at a Pizza Hut. We were allowed to make pizzas to eat whenever we had a few moments. Problem was that those were community pizzas, and were fair game for any employee. Seemed like every time I would make my favorite pie it would be gone before I got a chance to try it. A pal told me to develop a taste for anchovies, and I started by building a snack of bacon bits, anchovy and Italian dressing on a Waverly cracker. I really liked it, and now enjoy the hairy little fish on pizzas, Caesar salads and in Puttanesca. Sure enough, adding anchovies greatly reduced consumption.

I think that Darby Conley, inker of "Get Fuzzy", must read The Corner. Today Bucky B. Katt tells Rob "I'd like to focus group you for a bit".

Thanks to Daniel for the fun, and to Ha2la for the engrossing tour.

Yellowrocks said...

Very easy today. Good thing. After ulnar tunnel surgery yesterday on my right hand, both filling the puzzle by pen and by clicking were awkward. I chose printing. Typing is okay, but you have to click constantly to fill the puzzle online.

What is correct racquet or racket?
Spelling. Racket is the standard spelling of the word. Racquet is an alternative spelling used more commonly in certain sports (squash, racquetball, badminton) and less commonly in others. The International Tennis Federation uses racket exclusively.

The udder is a single mass hanging beneath the animal, consisting of pairs of mammary glands with protruding teats. In cattle, there are normally two pairs, in sheep, goats and deer, there is one pair, and in some animals, there are many pairs.
The teats are part of the udder. In the same way, I can say I have a cut on my hand, even though saying a cut on my finger would be more exact.

JFK is short for Kennedy and IKE is short for Eisenhower. Both are short, but both are not abbreviations. Hi Yooper Phil.

Even worse that parking under oak trees, is parking under pine trees. That sap is the devil to remove. Birds who have eaten pine seeds and then fly over your car make an even worse mess.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

First of all, I apologize to Susan and Boomer for neglecting to thank them both for yesterday’s puzzle and explication. Apparently, my excitement at being back to the blog fogged my brain. On the same note, thank you for all the welcome back comments which were very heartwarming and appreciated.

I, too, fell into the DDE/Ike trap and also the Spine/Spunk choice. (Love that MTM scene). Gumby, Chloe, and Squib were unfamiliar but perps solved any doubts. It was fun to see both AOL and MSN and the timely November tally=Votes!

I got the reveal answer before I even saw the theme. I really enjoy Down theme puzzles because they are rare in appearance and always add an extra level of difficulty, at least for me.

Thanks, Daniel, for a fun Tuesday and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the usual fun and chuckles. Especially enjoyed the Free Kitten!

Have a great day.

Spitzboov said...

Good mornng everyone.

Another easy one. Only change was spine to SPUNK. OK theme. Just scanned it after finishing. FIR.
The HAGUE - Dutch Den Haag. Elision from a longer word meaning "The Count's Court(yard)". Haag means 'hedge'.
UDDER - Thanks Hahtoolah for setting this straight. Whoever composed this clue was udderly clueless about bovine anatomy and milking. The hands go on the teats and they are gently but firmly squeezed in a downward direction. If by machine, the teatcups go on the teats. There is no reason to place hands on the UDDER by the milker for normal milking.

May get our first frost tonight.

YooperPhil said...

Yellowrocks ~~ I hear ya about that pine sap. Where I live I’m surrounded by white pine, red pine and oak, and this year has been a banner year for acorns AND sap dripping from the pines. My wife’s truck is severely dotted with the sap, while mine is fairly untouched for some reason 🤷🏼‍♂️. Guess I have to google how to remove it.

Malodorous Manatee said...

FIR and while the theme was clever it did not assist much with the solve. I agree with the previous JFK / DDE comments. Thanks for the great write-up, Cat. The frog, fish and cows were my personal favorites (is that redundant?). Time, now, to moooove on,

unclefred said...

FIR in 16, same time as yesterday. As others said, SQUIB was my last entry. I’ve heard of a squib kick in football, but DNK it as a news filler. Also DNK SNAPE or EMOPOP, so the last P was a best guess. Very nice CW, thanx, DB. Clever theme. Nice job on the symmetry of the theme answers within the grid, too. Thanx too for the terrific write-up, Hahtoolah, I always enjoy reading your analysis and comments.

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Daniel and Hahtoolah.
I FIRed in good time and saw the weather theme. We have SUN today here.
There was a theme EasterEgg with ICES UNDER the theme reveal.

Hand up for Spine before SPUNK.
I waited for perps to decide between Scar and SCAB.
I did not fall into the DDE trap. (Politics today with IKE, PENCE, and VOTES. This Canadian had to LIU to see that Republicans were in the majority today. But we did have a MO DEM!))
After yesterday, I wanted Awry before ASKEW fit the bill.

I noted OAK crossing SOAK.
We had KICKER and YARDS, RACKET for another SPORT, and even a (VAN) POOL. I need a REST.
We had KERMIT and BERT, but no Ernie.
DARK WEB, MODEM, and TWO ISPs (AOL and MSN) for our computers today.
Numbers game today with TWO, TEN, and TRIO.

YR- healing thoughts for that wrist.
Hahtoolah- if we put that free kitten in the cake, will it still land icing side up? What about LIONS? LOL.
OwenKL- I don’t always comment, but all As today.

Wishing you all a day that is “over the weather”.

Sherry said...

I was between Ike and Dde, choose correctly. Filled in squib from other clues. Didn't know the answer.Fairly easy.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A teacher who I am told has “sleep issues” couldn’t answer the bell today and so here I am!
-The weather was 27F and FOGGY on the drive over
-My son-in-law is a “RAINMAKER” for his architectural firm, especially among school districts
-The LIONS are among four teams who have never been to a Super Bowl
-Our new MODEM has speeded things up
-I was at a NASA symposium for two weeks in Huntsville (HUNTS vull), ALA.
-HGTV had some Garden shows early on but now the gardening is an afterthought
-A PLEB and a PLEBE are the lowest on different totem poles
-It is painfully obvious when the usually smaller, slower KICKER has to make an actual football tackle
-Due to recent events, I will not post what a SQUIB is in the movie business
-I wonder why Canadian Football fields are measured in YARDS and not meters

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

GROUCHO: "Welcome to "You Bet Your Life." Say the secret word and divide a $100. It's a common word, something you find around the house." ...EMOPOP!!!! 🙄 Except for that..a typical Tuesday though I thought our paper had screwed up when I couldn't find any starred clues in the across section. The usual perp check on SCAB/r

Anyone who watched the latest American Horror Story miniseries "Death Valley" a week ago.. we learn that IKE signed a pact with aliens to experiment on Americans to create a hybrid alio-human in exchange for advanced technology (including a cellphone!!)..Mamie convinced him and later assisted in the births...all true

🐄 Cow humor...ugh...UDDERly ridiculous 🐮

Crucial to Gumby's well-being was the "gumbometer ..
a makeshift, probably unreliable gumbometer

One inkover: car/VANPOOL.

Didn't know the Hague was more than the site of the World Court. (Why "THE" Hague?..thanks for 'splaining, Spitz). SQUIB ARCHAIC: utter, write, or publish a satirical or sarcastic attack. "it is a sport now to taunt and squib and deride at other men's virtues". What? cuz I'm old, ARCHAIC, I'm s'pose to know that? 😠

After you hit a coupla bars betcha can't HOP any more. if Frosting is frosty and icing is icy it won't spread very well.

Small-scale ride-sharing option...MINIVANPOOL
What more can I do, I ____... ASKEW
He stole the tarts...NAVE

FLN...
Vid/Waz: My name does sort of rhyme with Marie's last name (Curie not Skłodowska).

But if you actually did find out my name I'd have to find you... and kill you.😃

waseeley said...

Thank you Daniel for a fine Tuesday FIR. It's RAINing here in Baltimore and I'm sure the HAIL and SNOW will be here soon enough.

And thank you Susan for another fine review, and for the splendid array of felines, including courageous ones (18A), one not so courageous (68A), and the one in box in your basement.🐯

22A DARKWEB. I ventured a few steps into the link on the DARK WEB, and as it kept gettting darker and darker, I decided not to descend any deeper.

58A EARWORM. Here's my favorite earworm, from the Rhapsody on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughn Williams. If you've seen the movie "Master and Commander, The Far Side of the World", you've heard it.

66A VOTES. Everybody's holding their breath for the tally in VA today.

6D HAIL MARY. Sitting in the NAVE of our Church today, we said a whole bunch of HAIL MARYs as a part of our celebration of All Souls Day.

35D ESAU. He was the HAIRY twin.

48D SQUIB. New to me, but not to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. I suppose a lot of them are DUDS.

Well it's about time for my 60D. TTYL.

Cheers
Bill

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Susan, for the CSO at MESA as well as your always appreciated commentary with cute illustrations. As a Catholic I will also take a CSO at HAILMARY.

I am more of a tortoise than a HARE but FIR after changing SPINE to SPUNK and GUMMY to GUMBY. Note to self: buy a new liquid eraser pen; it's almost empty.

d-o, I though of you at GUAM.

No problem with IKE since EKES was already in place.

My uncle Elias taught me to milk a cow, yes, by squeezing the teats, not the UDDER.
He would also aim some milk to my mouth which I found amusing and warm.

Owen: I always enjoy reading your poems and miss them when they are absent at the beginning.

Enjoy a terrific Tuesday, everyone!

waseeley said...

Jinx @7:49 AM A friend sent me this one for PETA.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Two spelling missteps but nothing to bring me UNDER.

Thanks Daniel for the fun-filled grid. Thank you Hahtoolah for the laugh-filled expo.
//Free kitty indeed :-)

WO: HAige & MESsa was a mess-a ink.
ESPs: CHLOE, SQUIB
Fav: Hi, Ho KERMIT de frog here. [4:30 of silly]
Runner up: I'm GUMBY dammit [4:13 - SNL: TV MA with some politics]

{A, A, B+, A}

SNOW WHITE kept DDE from filling.

HGTV made me think of HG's kin on TV. //what episode again?

YR - sorry to hear about your hand. Wishing you speedy healing.

Gotta run - work beckons.

Cheers, -T

waseeley said...

Phil, et. al @8:31 AM Don't have to worry about acorns or pine needles in our wooded neighborhood. But the tulip poplars drop leaves and buds all year round and latter can get sticky. The thing I really have to look for are black walnuts. I have to be sure to wear a sturdy hat when I'm mowing the lawn when the fruits have matured, lest one drops on my bean and knocks me out!

Wilbur Charles said...

Fln re. Boston Redskins*. I looked up another Boston NFL Team I was vaguely familiar with. The Boston Yanks Ironically the Indianapolis colts are five generations removed.

Owen, I really like the first two.

Much smoother than Monday. As was suggested, "Type of onside kick. SQUIB. Then again.

Just before starting hahtoolah's excellent write-up I checked out the theme. BERT ran afoul of the Witch of the East's WAND.

HR, hope hand heals quickly. Anon-T, your homework assignment is to write a program calculating which habd is used most in typing. fe. The Declaration of independence.

WC

** Originally the Boston Braves, George Preston Marshall bought the team and renamed it Redskins. Then moved it to DC.

waseeley said...

Ray - O @10:33 AM What's the Big Deal? You work for "The Company" or sumthin? 😎

Misty said...

Neat Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Daniel. And as soon as I saw all those great pictures, I knew this had to be Hahtoolah's commentary. Thank you, always, for that treat.

Loved working my way through this puzzle, with the bottom filling in first--giving me the UNDER THE WEATHER theme words before any of the weather poured down on us yet.

Laughed at being reminded about Ed Asner and his SPUNK line to Mary Tyler Moore, Hahtoolah.

Yep, November with its VOTE tally is upon us.

Have a great day, everybody

Yellowrocks said...

I can click the mouse better now! Things are looking up. Thanks for the kind thoughts.
I thought of squib only as a short news item, especially filler.
I see squib has many other meanings.
1a: short humorous or satiric writing or speech
b: a short news item
especially : FILLER
2a: a small firecracker
b: a broken firecracker in which the powder burns with a fizz
3: a small electric or pyrotechnic device used to ignite a charge

I don't understand the quibble over teat and udder. The teat is a part of the udder. It is like, "I told you not the let the dog on my bed." " She 's not on the bed. She is on the bedspread." Sheesh!

Farmer Joe said...

With all due respect, Yellowrocks, you need to accept that you are not always right. You made your point that you think Udder and Teats are equivalent. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, however, as others have pointed out, udder and teats are not the same, so the answer is not anatomically correct.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Bill, a SQUIB may be a dud (firecracker), but if you light them in the middle, throw them down and stomp on them they go BOOM. And thanks for the fine chicken link. I think I've seen that one in the last couple of days, maybe here. Finally, we had black walnut trees here I grew up. After the nuts would fall we kids would stomp on them to split the husks, then scatter the remainder to dry in the sun. Then we would crack the hard shell and pick out the meat. My mom made cookies and fudge with them, plus they are great to snack on by themselves. (The juice from the husks will stain anything it touches, including skin. And the sap is very hard to remove from glass and paint.)

Last night's TV news included a package on the addition of Native American contributions to the settlement of nearby Williamsburg. The paleface in charge explained how the Native Americans did this, the Native Americans did that. Then they interviewed a few of the ACTUAL Native Americans who were making it happen, and they ONLY used the term "Indian".

WC - Ever heard of the NFL Steegles? DW's uncle played for them during WWII.

When I was growing up, my neighbor used a product called Bag Balm on his cow's udders. As an adult I was amazed to hear that it became chichi for women to use it as a wrinkle remover.

Spitzboov said...


@1211 - To a dairy farmer, they are quite distinct, just like a finger and arm are distinct. Precisions is important when dealing with medical issues like mastitis or injury, or instructing a worker on procedure. Sorry, bad cluing on this one.

Irish Miss said...

YR, heal quickly. Hand surgery is not fun.

Anonymous T said...

YR - so a dud (firecracker) is a SQUIB too? Nice to know.

WC - not sure I understand the assignment.

However, typing The Declaration of Independence is 17/11 left-hand/right in touch typing (at least the way I do it - my fingers kinda float over the KEYboard).

So, I just read an article that the NL will consider the DH in the next player negotiations. Expected by 2022?
I'm with Dusty Baker on this. [article - hope it's not paywalled for yous].

There's the phone - they really do want me to work today :-)

Cheers, -T

PK said...

Hi Y'all! A fun puzzle & theme, thanks, Daniel. Great expo, Hahtoolah.

SQUIB? I wrote for newspapers for 20 years, edited 3 years. Never heard of SQUIB.

Also DNK: EMOPOP, CHLOE, SNAPE, LIONS, or QED as clued, but they perped easily. No red-letter runs needed today. YAY!

Got HARE at once. Always optimistic when 1a is known. No problem with IKE.

Story of my life = UNDER THE WEATHER.

YR: hope your wrist heals nicely & fixes your problem.

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you Mr. Daniel Bodily for a nice and interesting CW puzzle. Thank you Hatoolah for your always funny and charming jovial review.

I loved your tiger-in-a-basket picture. I wondered a) how the tiger even sat still, and ...b) the way his head is resting on the cardboard box edge ... did he /she take a bite off the edge, or is the edge 'biting' into his/her soft jaw ....

I had no problems with the CW ... I thought DDE would be more apropos with JFK, but IKE seemed more likely.
Also not familiar with SQUIB ... unless theres a seafood like a Squid. My uncle worked for a pharma company, SQUIBB, which merged to form Bristol Myers Squibb ... one of the largest pharm Cos in the US. They make laxatives, Ipana toothpaste, and Clairol, and Windex and Drano. So, you can p---, dye and drain, all in one. Also used to be the largest mfrs of penicillin.
Squib in Britain means a spiteful person, ... who gnu ?

Kamala Harris, is .... RS VP
snobbish General under President Reagan ... HAGUE
whats missing, when you call him 'Cid' ? .... AN AL
shortest distances between two points .... LIONS
Homes for pigs ..... Pence
Wrap, for those who eschew Furs .... PETA

Have a nice day, all.

CrossEyedDave said...

Waseeley @ 11:26
Hey!
I posted that very same chicken link on Sunday!
Jinx, you step on dud firecrackers to make them go boom?

Re: udders vs teats
Yeah, the clue seems a bit off.
However, in researching I did find out that when manually
Milking a cow you do have to wash the udder first,
So I guess in the stretchiest sense the clue might maybe be argued for?
(Link omitted as I would have no idea why you would click on it...)


Speaking of why would you etc...
would you want to meet a cross eyed cow?
These ladies are just getting there nails done,
Nothing squeamish here.

But, for some reason, my YouTube feed one day recommended this Nate the hoof guy,
(And the hoof GP) showing other videos of how they trim and fix hoof problems
(Definitely not for the squeamish)
We're talking removing stones, white line defects, ulcers, dermatitis,
Not something I would recommend,
And yet, somehow I got sucked into watching them fix all these problems!
There is something therapeutic about watching them slice thru and removing problems
Like they were slicing coconut, or Parmesan cheese!

Anywho,

here are more Corgis for Irish Miss!

Wilbur Charles said...

-T, yes I would assign L or R to each key depending on the hand used. So even though ratio is 17:11(it should equal 26, eh?) the final ratio might be different.

There are amazingly fast finger typists. Good to see that YR is coping with that hand issue

Speaking of... It takes strong hands to milk. Too much for a seven year old. The unvles farm was in S. NH but in the 50s seemed to take forever to get to. 20 questions*20

WC

Vidwan827 said...

YR, I hope your hand heals well, and you feel better soon.

Having never milked a cow, I'm sorry I did not even realize that the clue on Udders, was not anatomically correct. I was under the impression that teats and udders were one and the same....
There is a hand/body cream called Udderly Smooth ... originally made for the cow teats, to keep them soft and supple ... that was found to be useful for the milker's hands, as well. The mfg Co. could not afford the clinical tests to get FDA permission for humans, but the cream self marketed itself to become very popular in the Cleveland, OH area. It is quite efficient, and costs one half as much as brand name moisturizing lotions. By Redex industries Inc., Salem OHio 44460 .... 800-345-7339 ... www.UdderlySmooth.com

Ray-O-Sunshine, I did not mean to startle you in any sense. I mulled over the para I wrote last night, for several weeks, precisely for that reason. I assure you, your secret is safe with me. It will go no further.
But, as dear Lucina wrote a coupla weeks ago, ... thanks to the internet, no american has or should have any hope of complete privacy. If you have achieved anything worthwhile in life, you can bet you will become eminently Google-able. That is a fact. It means you have arrived, and like old age, it is a one way street. It cannot be undone.

It is not as if you have any skeletons in your closet ... save those on your X-rays.... be happy that you have reached a critical zenith in your life.

Oscar Wilde ( oh, that genius !) wrote,' The only thing worse than being 'talked about' in society ... is not being talked about, at all ...' ... atleast your history will survive you.

On the other hand, your bon mots and homonym jokes, on each blog, may not survive much more than the day's passing ... Peace.

Lemonade714 said...

What an intersting and odd group we are!

Susan, was Andy a neighbor? For your cake save, I think you need to skin the cat first. Vid, you are getting so introspective. These days I look around. Udders have already said it, but I do not see them as the same but these are puzzles not textbooks.

Cabbie picks up a Nun. She gets into the cab, and notices that the VERY handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her.
She asks him why he is staring.
He replies: "I have a question to ask, but I don't want to offend you"
She answers, "My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive."
"Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me."
She responds, "Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single and #2, you must be Catholic."
The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I'm single and Catholic!
"OK" the nun says. "Pull into the next alley."
The nun fulfills his fantasy with a kiss that would make a hooker blush. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.
"My dear child," said the nun, "Why are you crying?"
"Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I must confess; I'm married and I'm Jewish."
The nun says, "That's OK. My name is Kevin and I'm going to a Halloween party."

So how was your night?

waseeley said...

CED @11:26 AM Sorry! 🙃 I must have missed that post. I got it from my BFF. I've been trying to get him to join the blog for months. Maybe he's been lurking behind my back!

waseeley said...

OMK @2:26 PM Your comment was sufficiently apolitical enough to survive the censors, with the possible exception of the "--right?".

The "Free Kitten" looks suspiciously Photo-shopped (verbification that slipped into our vocabulary years ago).

Jinx in Norfolk said...

CED, we used to do that to dud firecrackers, when the fuse burns down but it doesn't go boom. We would let it sit for an hour or so just to be sure, then snap in two (they are then held together just by a little paper). If you hold it by the ends and light it, it will fizzle and smoke. But if you light it, drop it on the pavement or sidewalk, and stomp on it with your boot, it will blow up nearly like a "good" firecracker. Nice tingle to your foot, too. (Don't try it with an M80, cherry bomb, silverfish, etc.)

waseeley said...

Vidwan @2:55 PM In the early days of networking all we had was email. Somebody coined "Russell's Law" (you won't find it with Google), which anticipated what Lucina was talking about: "Never say anything in an email that you don't want to appear, attributed to you, in tomorrow morning's headline of the New York Times."

Interestingly enough there are some achievements in life that actually ARE suppressed by the Internet because they are not politically correct, or to be more precise SC ("Scientifically Correct"). I won't say more on that because it would quickly devolve into scientific politics.

But as the Internet was deliberately designed to bypass blockages, it insures the adage "Information is like heat. It always gets out".

waseeley said...

Lemony @3:33 PM LMAO!!! 🤣

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle and suffered no Bodily harm from it. Had to change SPINE to SPUNK.

waseeley said...

While reading the article on the TAJ MAHAL that Hahtoolah linked in, this EARWORM popped into my head.

Yellowrocks said...

From my reading of sentences like this I have learned to associate squibs with a short news story often used as filler:

“I hire a general manager to help run a billion-dollar business and there’s a squib in the papers,” he lamented to the New York Times.
Washington Post Oct 19, 2015

"He has written a squib rather than a full drama."
The Guardian Jun 30, 2012

"Throughout it all, he found one way or another to seize the gaze of the media, often by slipping to the press short bits of provocative writing, then known as squibs."

In looking for these examples, I found even more references to firecrackers, especially damp squibs. New to me.

Yellowrocks said...

"To a dairy farmer, they are quite distinct, just like a finger and arm are distinct."

My last post on this. The above begs for an answer. Many sites discuss the custom of wearing the wedding ring on the right hand, although it is really worn on the finger. Did you ever notice that a large number of crossword clues like this are not that exacting? By the way the above quote is dead wrong. The finger is not part of the arm, but the teat is part of the udder.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Vid...I certainly hope you realize I was joking with you.

Not sure word usage can be qualified as correct because it appears in a newspaper article. A venue where errors not uncommonly show up.

This is the first time I wondered walking into our polling place whether, with all the recent maneuvering, my ballot could be challenged because I didn't vote for the right party candidates.

Farmer Joe said...

Enough, YR! You are entitled to your opinion. Leave it at that! You are not always be right.

LEO III said...

Thanks Daniel and Hahtoolah!

FIW. I didn’t know the P in SNAPE or at the end of EMOPOP. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the Harry Potter movies, and I’ve never read the books. Upon further review, though, if I had taken the time to do an alphabet run I just MIGHT have recognized/remembered SNAPE.

I have an old high school girlfriend who now lives in HUNTSVILLE. She isn’t too fond of me these days. (So, what else is new???) If you’re ever in Huntsville, the US Space and Rocket Center is a MUST SEE!

I didn’t fall into the DDE/IKE trap, but only because I already had SNOWWHITE. Couldn’t break my habit of doing the DOWNS first, even though the starred clues were verticles.

Wilbur Charles --- Yes, and GPM changed the name of the football team because the Boston Braves were the city’s National League baseball team. Of course, those Braves eventually moved on to Milwaukee. I wonder where they are now??? Oh, yes! They are representing Atlanta in the World Series. Even though I am an Astros fan (although I’ve sworn off ALL pro sports), I would have loved to have seen the Braves win the World Series at home the other night. (It's political!)

-T --- Of course, I agree with Dusty Baker and you!!! The Designated Hitter rule is NOT BASEBALL!!! I hated it when it first started, and I STILL hate it!!! Of course, to show you how much MLB values my opinions, they've gone and messed up the game even more, which is why I don't watch anymore. Same with the other pro sports.

Misty said...

Forgot to say, I loved that FREE KITTEN picture. Hope the sweet critter has a good home.

Lemonade, I thought your nun and cab driver story was hilarious and totally cracked me up. (And I'm a Catholic).