google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, March 30, 2022, Seth Bisen-Hersh

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Mar 30, 2022

Wednesday, March 30, 2022, Seth Bisen-Hersh

Theme: WE'VE BEEN CONNED!

17. "Misery" co-star: JAMES CAAN.

28. Versatile award-winning Indian film star known by his initials "SRK": SHAH RUKH KHAN.

48. Oscar-nominated actress for "Paper Moon" and "Blazing Saddles": MADELINE KAHN.

63. Swindler ... or, phonetically, what each of three puzzle answers is?: CON ARTIST.

Melissa here. Four different ways to spell CON, all pronounced the same. Three out of four are names of actors. Misery is probably James Caan's most well-known movie, but I loved him most in Chapter Two, the semi-autobiographical story of Neil Simon after the death of his first wife. Marsha Mason, who played his second wife, also was his second wife. Charming movie.

Across:

1. Yoga aid that helps prevent slipping: MAT.

4. Weather report stats: LOWS. Low pressure, low temps, etc.

8. Recipe amts.: TBSPS. Tablespoons. One TBSP = three TSPs.

13. In the past: AGO.

14. Sale rack abbr.: IRREG. Irregular. Sometimes you can't even tell.

16. Linda Ronstadt's "Blue __": BAYOU.

19. Like most tennis shots: ARCED. Most sports shots - basketball, golf, etc.

20. In full view: OVERT.

21. "My turn to bat": I'M UP.

23. Cruise with a big price tag: TOM.

24. Equine control: REIN. Types and how they work.

25. Merged comm. giant: GTE. GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System.

26. On: ATOP.

33. Starting gun: PISTOL

36. Move slightly ... like a mouse?: STIR. Not a creature was stirring ...

37. Hullabaloo: ADO.

38. Cut (off): LOP.

39. Water source: TAP. Tap, faucet, spigot - what are the differences?

41. Pachuca pronoun: ESA. Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. Esa is Spanish for this.

42. URL ender: NET. As in, www.website.net.

43. Cycle starter: UNI. Unicycle.

44. Red letters in a dark theater: EXIT. Any Better Call Saul fans here? I am reminded of this poignant scene. Season six comes next month.


 46. Fly over Africa: TSE TSE. Nice clue.

51. Ultimatum word: ELSE.

52. Big noise: DIN. Small word for a big noise.

53. "Cornflake Girl" singer Tori: AMOS.

 
57. Obama __: ERA.

58. Spoken: SAID.

60. Food recall cause: ECOLI. Usually fruit and vegetables, but also undercooked meat.

61. Cop to: ADMIT.

65. Rachmaninoff's instrument: PIANO



66. Celebrity chef Eddie: HUANG.

67. Yellow or Red follower: SEA.

68. Group's belief: TENET.

69. Places to relax: SPAS.

70. Explosive letters: TNT.

Down:

1. Collegian's choice: MAJOR. Tough decision.

2. Tequila source: AGAVE.

3. "My Cousin Vinny" Oscar winner Marisa: TOMEI.

4. Suffix with craigs: LIST.

5. "LOTR" menace: ORC. Lord of the Rings.

6. Eerie apparition: WRAITH. A ghost or ghostlike image of someone, especially one seen shortly before or after their death.

7. Two-__: fastballs named for the grip used to throw them: SEAMERS. With a two-seamer, the ball moves in the same direction as whichever arm is being used to throw it (meaning a right-handed pitcher gets rightward movement on a two-seamer).

8. Undetermined: Abbr.: TBA.

9. "Bluebeard's Castle" composer BÈla: BARTOK.

10. Toady: SYCOPHANT.

11. Dickinson work: POEM.

12. South of France?: SUD. French word for south.

15. Animal that sounds fresh: GNU. Pronounced "new."

18. Dadaist Max: ERNST.

22. India neighbor: PAKISTAN. See in red?



25. Star systems: GALAXIES. A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter.

27. Wallop: THRASH.

29. Monopoly miniatures: HOTELS. Green houses, red hotels.

30. Sport-__: off-road vehicle: UTE. Short for Utility vehicle.

31. Fruit drinks: ADES.

32. A or E, but not I, O or U: NOTE. Nice.

33. Horner's surprise: PLUM. From the nursery rhyme, Little Jack Horner.

34. New Rochelle college: IONA. Private Catholic college in New Rochelle, New York.

35. Doctor Octopus foe: SPIDERMAN. Dr. Otto Octavius is a highly intelligent and prideful scientist, better known as the criminal mastermind Doctor Octopus

40. Bowler's target: PIN. Boomer!

45. Boring: TEDIOUS.

47. Sign into law: ENACT.

49. Friend of Jerry and George: ELAINE. Seinfeld.

50. Abduct: KIDNAP.

54. Damp: MOIST.

55. Elizabeth of "WandaVision": OLSEN. News to me. An American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision.

56. Occupy, as a table: SIT AT.

57. Actress Falco: EDIE. So talented. Loved her in Horace and Pete.

59. German gripe: ACH. Sounds stern.

60. Bits of work: ERGS.

61. Fitting: APT.

62. Two-year-old, say: TOT.

64. NHL's Ducks, on scoreboards: ANA. Anaheim hockey.



54 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIRight, It's Wednesday.
No problem with the puzzle, and got the theme after CAAN & KAHN, which led me to fill in KHAN even tho I had no idea who he is. Then I found the reveal. I thought they were closer to CAN then CON, but I'm deaf. They could all be pronounced FELIX so far as I know!

Not in much of a poetic mood today. I thought Bren had realized the scammers weren't legit, but yesterday she sent another $400. We're already overdrawn!
They mailed two checks, $500 and $14,500, and asked her to return $400 by gift card again. The bank has a hold on the larger one, but the $500 they accepted at face value, so there was enough in our account to cover $400. In a couple days we'll find out both checks are phony, and we'll owe the $400 back to the bank, plus whatever fees they'll charge. The scammers are $400 richer, we're $400+ further in the hole, and Bren needs to get her head examined!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

There were several proper names unknown to d-o: Eddie HUANG (that N was my final WAG), SHAH RUKH KAHN, and Elizabeth OLSEN. But the perps were kind. GTE was a CSO to the late, great Abejo. Nice effort, Seth. (Is this an LAT debut?) Thanx for the expo, Melissa Bee.

SYCOPHANT -- I was quite old when I learned that this word doesn't being SYN... Seventy-something.

HOTELS -- When did the Monopoly houses and HOTELS get chimneys?

EDIE -- America apparently wasn't ready for a TV lesbian L.A. police commissioner. Her Tommy was canceled after its first season.

desper-otto said...

Owen, I think it's time to remove Bren's signature authority from your bank account(s). What a sad situation.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Oh Owen, that is so sad. As hard as it might be, I think you need to close that account and open a new one in your name only. She fell for an old trick, again.

FIW. It started when I disqualified TBA because "undetermined" means you don't know, not that you haven't announced it. Like a baseball trade's "player to be named later", to me TBA implied that it is determined, just not for public edification. From there I flunked BAuTOK and SUs, thinking SUD was German. I also messed up my wag at WRAITe x SHAeRUKHKHAN, whatever that is.

I won't tell you how long it took for the V8 to hit for LOWS. Sometimes the obvious can seem obscure.

But I did get a CSO @ GTE. And Picard got one at UNIcycle.

I thought of Pink Floyd's masterpiece "Time" from "Dark Side of the Moon" at the clue for PISTOL:
"And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun"

FLN: Thanks for the backup advice, TTP. I think I'll keep a clone disc in the motor home for the home computer and a clone of the laptop in both the home and the motor home. Then I'll just back up data files to an external drive on my home network when I'm there, and a USB drive on the laptop when I'm on the road. Probably should store an incremental data backup from home in the motor home, too.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thank you Seth & Melissa. Good works.

CAAN we do this? Yes, we KHAN, KAHN, CON!

This went well considering how many unknown names, words, etc. had to be filled by those kind perps D-O mentioned.

Owen, how awful! Can you even get to the bank to deal with this? You need legal help bad or have her arrested. Are you sure she isn't the scammer herself?

Yellowrocks said...

Surnames with different spellings pronounced CON. Underwhelmed. SRK needed ESP.
I use tap, faucet, spigot interchangeably, but faucet slightly more often indoors and spigot slightly more often outdoors.
Many sycophants in teaching and many who toot their own horn.
When I publish square dance schedules I use TBA for not yet determined. If I know it, I always announce it. The more advance notice, the better the attendance.
My co-president and I, both in our 80's are realizing that there are no potential new officers in the pipeline. When we hang up our dancing shoes and for me, my trusty mouse, there will not be a club any longer. More and more clubs are failing for lack of leadership. Monte and I have not been able to find replacements for ourselves in years.
I am well! Rather than SNAFU, systems normal all fouled up, I am back to systems normal, life is a joy.
OKL, how awful. I hope you can get your account in your name only.

Anonymous said...

For the Pros, it was completed in 5:22.
For the, well, Cons, SRK was a stretch (and that's counting the 3 "free" spaces) despite being an unnamed "award-winning."

Seemed like a very high number of proper names (actors/actresses, songs, places) today, not even counting the three themers.

James Caan may be best known to the older crowd for playing Sonny in "The Godfather," or to the younger crowd for playing Walter Hobbs in "Elf."

TTP said...


Good morning. Thank you, Seth and Melissa.

Nope, not today.

Wasn't firing on all cylinders this morning. No clue on SRK, and got most of it by perps, but for some inexplicable reason I entered mOTEL for the Monopoly miniatures.

Also, repeatedly misread 9D and had no idea on the name of Bluebeard's castle. It was only after reading Melissa's write up that I noticed Béla and composer in the clue.

I guess I was tired. I stared at LO-S for what seemed to be the longest time before I realized it was LOWS and the cross was WRAITH.

HUANG was another answer that was completely unknown, but each of its letters perped in without pause.

"One TBSP = three TSPs" - We were trying yet another recipe for Salisbury steak last night. One of the ingredients was 3 tsps of Dijon mustard. It was just under 2 tbsps of Worcestershire, so it wasn't as if the author was trying to use the same units of measurements. The recipe was confusing. The end result was fine but DW didn't like the Dijon in this one.

Elizabeth OLSEN - I happened upon the beginning of a movie, "Liberal Arts" while flipping through the channels, and couldn't stop watching it until it was over. That's when I learned that she is the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley.

I too thought of Abejo and Jinx at GTE.

Owen, I would agree with both D-O and Jinx. I'd talk to the bank, and if you haven't already done so, alert the credit reporting agencies and possible even freeze them so no new accounts can be opened in your names. Also, change your online passwords. Yours and hers. If she's getting contacted by email, check her email for the scammer's email address, and the domain name for the scammer. See if your email client allows you to block email from that sender. She needs help.

KS said...

FIW. Misspelled Madeline Kahn's last name and got stuck not understanding " thrase". Doh!

Wilbur Charles said...

Blue BAYOU was one of those remixes that exceeded the original. And when the original was Roy Orbison that's saying something

I read it as Homer's (Simpson?) surprise. Atlanta had a slugger named Horner

This one went the fastest of the week although that actor with all the K's took perps

WC

Just a guess but Bren's CON artist probably used FB Messenger using an identity known to her. Thats a common hack out there.

TTP said...


FLN - Wilbur Charles, you'll recall that the powerhouses of the Big Red Machine and the Oakland A's were perennial contenders for the World Series rings during the early 70s, but the Pirates won it all in 71 and 79.

Gene Tenace played for the Pirates for a short time at the end of his career. But his claim to fame was forever cemented by his heroics in the 72 World Series. Oakland's power hitter Reggie Jackson was out for World Series, and seemingly out of nowhere light hitting Gene Tenace hit two homeruns in his first two World Series at bats, a feat that had never been done in all of baseball history.

The A's won that World Series matchup, and then won the title again in 73 and 74. One heck of a team, for sure.

ATLGranny said...

A Wednesday FIR, but not without questions. HUANG and ANA were unknowns but my WAG was right. I also wondered about craigs LIST. Are we talking about the selling website or a list of rock climbing areas? Not capitalized? OK. Otherwise, perps helped on the proper names and all was well. Thanks, Seth. First puzzle here?

The themers and reveal added some fun to the puzzle. DO, I also wondered about the spelling of SYCOPHANT. And Jinx, I had doubts about SUD, too, since I had the Spanish SUr in mind. PK, I liked your question, CAAN we do this? And YR, good news that you are feeling better. Rest up, TTP, and much sympathy to you, OwenKL! Hope you can resolve things.

Thanks, Melissa B, for your review today with extra information. I drink TAP water from the faucet. Which I should do now after my second cup of coffee. See you all later!

unclefred said...

FIR in 15. Got the theme with the second theme clue. DNK SHAHRUKHKHAN, took almost all perps, at which point I sussed the theme. Also DNK HUANG or OLSEN. Thanx, SB-H, for a nice entertaining CW, at just the right level for a Wednesday. Thanx too to Melissa Bee for the outstanding write-up. Owen I agree 100% with JINX @6:17: close that bank account, open another in your name only. The old saw, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!” applies. AND if she can be fooled again after discovering it’s a scam, I wonder if she might be getting a bit of Alzheimer’s. She cannot remain able to authorize W/D on the bank account, OR able to buy gift cards by any means. Sad situation. Jinx, you also mention Pink Floyd, my favorite group. And my theme song, which is fitting for most of us here at the blog, is Pink Floyd’s biggest masterpiece, “Comfortably Numb”. The lyrics in many Pink Floyd songs are stunningly good. “When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glance, out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now; the child is grown, the dream is gone. I have become…..comfortably numb.”

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you Seth Bisen_Hersh for a name heavy but interesting Wednesday puzzle. I enjoyed it, but was surprised by the name for .... SRK.... in the span girdling entry ... which I KNEW would upset and confound most of the blog crowd here ....

I don't watch many hindi movies, maybe one per year ... and SRK is not a favorite.

Thank you Melissa Bee for your illuminating and lucid explanations on your CW blog.

Youtube, Chaiya, Chaiya = a walk in the shade

... is a song and dance number set on a moving train. I hope they had plenty of insurance. The man is Shah Rukh Khan .... ,
the woman is Ms. Malaika Arora,
..... the movie 'Dil Se' =From the heart ... was made in 1998.

Both the stars and all other actors are lip syncing.
This is 25 yrs old !!!
Malaika has been married and divorced, I think, twice.

Other than this dance number, ... called in Bollywood as an 'item number' ... Malaika has no other acting or dramatic role in the actual movie ...

... this was her break through role, and she has actually acted in other movies.

Have a nice day, you all.

Anonymous said...

unclefred, good job in a good time. I've got a minor nit though, it was a fleeting glimpse
(there's something so cool about the way "fleeting glimpse" is sung).

I enjoy Pink Floyd too, and have only recently come to appreciate the lyrics.
"Dark Side of the Moon" is an all-time great album, tape, cd, or whatever they call them these days.

-Anonymous @6:55.

Subgenius said...

Naturally, I did not know the name of the Bollywood star. Also I was unfamiliar with Eddie Huang. But through P & P and (fairly) clear perps, I was able to prevail. FIR, so I'm happy.

Unknown said...

Owen...I hope you are working with your bank on this...they all have Fraud Teams now. My sister and I got phished on same day last month and my bank was helpful.Good luck.

CrossEyedDave said...

OwenKL,
I am so sorry to hear your news, but at the same time want to thank you for sharing what is obviously a very difficult situation. Learning moments, while mostly fun, can be very upsetting at times. I think you know it is time (or past time) to make some very difficult decisions. I wish you good luck, and hope for the best possible outcome...

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-I saw the gimmick after MADELINE KAHN but Natick candidate SHAH RUKH KHAN took every cross letter
-We are currently getting very high winds today from this LOW pressure system ATOP Chicago
-Yes, Wilbur, Linda does a nice job but, c’mon, this is the best version of Blue Bayou
-It’s was really difficult to get JH girls to get enough ARC in their BB shots when I coached
-THRASH settled the vowel jump ball for ESO/ESA
-I’m a big Better Call Saul fan. It was a prequel to Breaking Bad
-I knew my college MAJORS when I was 12 and have them for over a half century
-TEDIOUS – Have you ever been to a 4 p.m. teacher’s meeting with no snacks!
-Owen, I’m sure your brilliant literary gifts are a result of your being right-brained but I think it’s times to engage your left-brained side and be proactive!

Husker Gary said...

Addendum
-My new hearing aids arrived an hour ago and I had them up and running in twenty minutes. They are delivering great hearing and keeping $3,200 in my bank account. I have an online appointment with one of Lively’s audiologists who are going to fine tune them! Color me very satisfied so far.
-Hey, D-Otto, I heard that!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

DNF and a FIW. Square at BARTOK and KHAN is empty and I TBD [what Jinx said re: distinction] - ergo duCED for my tennis reference.

Thanks Seth for the puzzle. It was a slog as I don't know A&E [except as NOTEs - great clue]. I have never heard of who 28a is.

Thanks for the expo and filling in my knowledge-gaps, mb.

WO: MADELINE cAHN [ok, I did know her #BlazingSaddles
ESPs: JAMES CAAN, SUD, ESA, WRAITH, HUANG, OLSEN
Fav: the AHA! I got when LOWS filled. Duh
Sparkle: clues for NOTE, GNU, & TSETSE

OKL - What D-O @5:58 said; if you can, remove her from the account. BTW, this is a classic CON - I say I over paid you and ask for the money back via spent money (used to be a money-order b/f gift-cards).

YR - same leadership hold is happening to the Italian American War Vets Pop is part of. They are down to 8 members and Pop's the youngest and no one wants to (or has time to) be a joiner anymore.

ATLGranny - LOL, LIST of rock climbing areas!

I'm loving all the Pink Floyd lyrics; I can hear the tunes as I read 'em.
Well, I "Better Run, Run, Run, Run."

Cheers, -T

CrossEyedDave said...

Is it just me? Am I missing something?
The reveal is c"o"n artist homophone, but all the themes sound like c"a"n...

Is this constructor conning me???.

Learning moment: cornflake girl!
I actually liked the video! Catchy tune.
Even lol'd when the guy in the bathtub was making a stew out of himself, while the girls danced around him and pulled out lipstick like 6 guns...

The Bollywood train video looked like fun too!
I saved it to watch on a bigger screen later...

Well folks, be careful out there...

There are a lot of these Cons going around...

unclefred said...

Anon @10:14 You are correct! It is "glimpse" not "glance". How embarrassing to misquote the lyrics to my theme song. Oy. Too much on my mind lately. Speaking of Pink Floyd lyrics, another favorite is from "Brain Damage". "The lunatic is in my head; you raise the blade, you make the change, you re-arrange me 'til I'm sane. You lock the door and throw away the key, there's someone in my head, but it's not me!" What a concept!

Picard said...

Jinx Indeed I will take the CSO for UNICYCLE!

In the first minute of this video you can see me riding my UNICYCLE in our recent Mardi Gras parade in our little city.

DW captured those opening clips and I did the rest of the video. That big dance group La Boheme initiated this unofficial event and I was invited to participate. It was difficult to find space to fit in, but I did my best.

Hand up never heard of SHAH RUKH KHAN. Did any of his films make it into US theaters? Hand up also never heard of EDDIE HUANG. The nature of this puzzle required proper names, which made it difficult for me. But FIR.

OwenKL Hand up very sorry to hear things went from horrible to worse. Yes, definitely open a new bank account that is just for you. But see if the bank can track the source of the bad checks. That might give a clue to law enforcement. But the bad checks may also come from an innocent victim whose checks were stolen. Bren definitely needs a mental health exam, too.

Picard said...

From Yesterday:
Lemonade and Becky I missed something. Who is this "Jamie" with the Star Trek credits?

Irish Miss, Subgenius, Wilbur Charles, AnonT Thank you for the comments on HEATER and BACKSPLASH. Yes, I also did a Google search and found BACKSPLASH. What I really wanted to know is: Is this a word that you have ever heard before and/or actually used?

Wilbur Charles Thank you for the kind words about my FIREFIGHTING HOSE post. Just wanted to be sure you knew it was a video and not a photo? I have no idea how these things show up on "smart phones". Thanks!

Becky said...

James L Conway is his professional name. He directed a lot of Star Treks

CrossEyedDave said...

Response to Anonymous-T
(Posted here for any scooter enthusiasts)

Don't bother googling! The scooter is in the shop!

Sorry for the lengthy email the other day, I could not sleep and emailing you my problems at 4AM helped my realized what the true problem was. While the valve gap was terrible, (0mm exhaust 18mm intake) it was never an ethanol clogged carburetor!

It was an amazingly subtle (at the time) puzzle because all I had to do was adjust the carb idle speed low enough to stop the rear wheel from moving, but I could not get the speed low enough without the engine dying.

After emailing you that if it's a clutch problem it is beyond my abilities, I got mad at myself and ripped the damn thing apart!
While the wheel would not stop moving at idle, the wheel and the clutch would move freely if moved by hand. The reveal came when I thought, wait a sec! What if... And tried to turn it over with only the starter motor. When I saw that the wheel moved then, I knew it had to be a clutch problem.

While a very subtle problem at first, I drove it 4 miles to the shop, using my brakes to keep her still at lights while holding throttle at a bare minimum to maintain idle. ( yeh, 66 years old, and I still pop wheelies at every green light!) by the time I got to the shop she was smoking and smelling like it was about to catch fire... when I stopped, the rear wheel and clutch seized completely!

The mechanic took her apart and should me what had happened.

one of the 3 clutch pads had completely broken in half around its pivot pin, and was no longer connected!!!

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Melissa Bee for the informative narrative and Seth Hersh for the unusual puzzle!

It's strange to see PACHUCA as a clue. Last night on PBS I watched an entire documentary about the PACHUCO movement of the 1940s in L.A. I well remember the PACHUCOS in our neighborhood. They had an unsavory reputation.

This puzzle had an unusual theme but I managed to fill it all in spite of the odd spellings.

I love MADELINE KAHN and best remember her in Young Frankenstein. JAMES CAAN was excellent in Misery. And who can forget Marisa TOMEI in My Cousin Vinny?

HUANG was a pure guess.

Clever clue for GNU.

CSOs to ALL our TOMs on the Blog.

I had no idea about SPIDERMAN or OCTOPUS but perps knew!

YR: It's so good to know you are once again enjoying yourself.

Owen: please take the advice given here and protect yourself. You know those CON ARTISTs are relentless.

Have yourselves a wonderful day, everyone!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

CED, if I was sentenced to hell and had to help Satan create this puzzle, I would have tossed in "Cannes" just to watch the Cornerites debate whether it is pronounced "can" or "cahn". (No offense meant, Seth. Just not my cuppa.)

Mister Canoehead said...

I've only recently started solving on a near-daily basis, and I've seen ERA and ERG come up a lot, and this was the only problem I had here. Because I went with ERA and didn't think of ERG, I was stuck with a celebrity name and a German utterance that I couldn't guess... Once I clicked Check Grid I figured out too change ERA to ERG, then the start with a name that ended with UANG was obviously (to me) an H

Husker Gary said...

Mister Canoehead, Welcome to our little puzzle popsicle stand, I hope you continue to contribute.

Wilbur Charles said...

Gary, I beg to differ. Here is the Ronstadt version of Blue Bayou. I'll let the audience decide. RO or LR?

Picard, I remember that parade. How's that song go? Girls just gotta have fun.

WC

Ps, the comments at bottom of Ronstadt video are interesting

Jinx in Norfolk said...

LR

CrossEyedDave said...

LR!

but in all fairness, I don't have the hots for RO...

GMM... said...

42. There is no such thing as a 'URL ender'. NET would be a DOMAIN NAME ender (or HOSTNAME ender), eg en.wikipedia.org.

The URL is the whole enchilada:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL?wprov=sfla1


Ol' Man Keith said...

I watched very little Seinfeld while it was initially aired, as I was busy day and night throughout the '70s. (And we didn't do so much taping then.)
But I am currently streaming all of Seinfeld during my exercise workout, from season 1 onward (through infinity!). I am just finishing up season 5 now.
A remarkable series, no question.

An enjoyable PZL today (with a "CAAN-do" theme?), well & cleverly clued, fairly easy for a Wednesday. I only missed the "U" in SHAH RUKH KHAN. At first, I wondered if this Hindi name was somehow related to the long-running American singer, Chaka Khan.

Missing that "U" means I also missed the perp, UTE. I had settled for ATE, as in a "Sport-ATE" vehicle.
What was I thinking?!
~ OMK

Malodorous Manatee said...

CONfidentially, I CONfess to feeling CONtent to have solved this non-CONvoluted CONstruction. I'd like to CONvey my CONgratulations to Melissa for the CONcise recap.

Welcome, Mister Canoehead!

OwenKL said...

Thank you for all your concern and advice, but I'm afraid I cab use none of it. I only get a little over $1000 a month Social Security, she still has her librarian job working from home, so she earns $2000+. She is the breadwinner, and most things, like the bank account and credit cards, have her name as principal, and mine only as associate.
As for the police, I'm bedridden so I can't go out to the bank or anywhere else (and she's my essential caregiver). And I'm deaf, so can't use a phone. I guess there are still options for me, but if I e-mail authorities, what could they really do? She's not doing this at gun-point. I'm sure she doesn't know who the scammers really are. My only hope is that they've run out of scams, and/or when those checks bounce, she'll finally come to her senses.

Lucina said...

Owen:
Is there no one you can contact, such as a friend or some person who can advise you? I am so sorry for you to be in such a helpless situation.

Jayce said...

Fun puzzle. I pronounce all those names as "con". I cast my vote for Linda Ronstadt.

TTP said...


LR. Roy Orbison could sing emotion, and he's one of my favorites all time, but when it comes to Blue Bayou, she owned emotion.


GMM, actually, NET is a Top Level Domain (TLD), and more precisely, a generic TLD, aka a gTLD. Yes, it is part of the URL.


Owen, when I wrote "Talk to" I should have written "contact". My apologies. I think you should still report it. Here are a couple of links to review:

Report: New Mexico seniors lost more than $7M in online scams

CABQ.GOV - Fraud - Follow these tips

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Super busy day...

Not a bad Humpday puzzle.

Didn't know the Indian actor,KHAN.. One of Madelin KAHN's funniest roles was Victor "Frahnkensteen's" fiancée in "Young Frankenstein"

inkover: ATV/UTE

We've recently had a "hoopla" clue, HOOPLA answer, and today a "hullabaloo" ADO. "A or E" : vitamins and musical scales wouldn't fit. "Chef Eddie" and the crossing "NHL Ducks" was an N WAG. Held off on costly TOM Cruise.

*Always thought it was SYnCOPHANT.

improved go with....GNU
That'll ____ some time...BAYOU
Tavern banter....BARTOK
*Portmanteau for an ailing pachyderm...SYCOPHANT



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Jayce said...

Ray-O, great puns today!

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR with zero mistakes. Everything meshed together perfectly

Clever theme and entries; even though SHAH RUKH KHAN was unknown, the perpendiculars made filling it easy

FLN: TTP, I solved the Universal Crossword puzzle yesterday and saw "MOE" as an entry; thanks!

Here's a homophonic haiku for y'all:

Little Jack Horner's
Confidence grew stronger, now
That he has a PLUM

Misty said...

I had trouble with all those theme names in this puzzle, but still enjoyed it very much. Many thanks, Seth. And thank you, Melissa, for your always helpful commentary.

For some reason, my best start to all these weekly puzzles is the top right corner.
Today I got TBSPS instantly, and that gave me both Bela BARTOK and Dickinson's POEM. Then the rest filled in.

Lots more art and culture came up, like Dadaist Max ERNST, and Rachmaninoff's PIANO.

Since my native language is German, I like seeing a little German item in the puzzles on most days, like ACH this morning.

But my favorite clue was that "Fly over Africa." I kept thinking 'over what part of Africa is that plane flying?' until the letters made it clear it was a TSE-TSE fly.

Owen, all of our hearts go out to you, as you can see from the comments. Stay strong and take care of yourself and we'll pray things will settle down for you and take a normal course again before too long. And we miss your wonderful verses.

Have a good day, everybody.

Michael said...

Yellowrocks @ 6:48 -- Your square-dance group problem is, IMHO, because Americans have given up dancing for a while now.

Michael said...

Vidwan @ 10:05 Thanks for the SRK video. My vague interest in suicide by dancing on top of a train -- India or not -- has now been quenched.

Wilbur Charles said...

Looks like Linda Ronstadt is cleaning up the BAYOU. But Roy is still a
Legend in his time

That was my favorite Orbison and I so identified. Even when I was dating the girl that everyone else was chasing. But it was a summer romance; she went back to her fiance and I started playing my Orbison again.

WC

LEO III said...

Well, I didn’t have to wait long to discover I had an FIW today! There it was up at the top of the grid. I stuck in KAAN, instead of CANN for 17A. I saw the theme and the reveal, but I had some trouble in that area. I finally decided to stick in the K, since the other theme answers had them. I didn’t even make the JAMESCAAN connection.

BZZZZZZZ! Sit down, punk!

All of my other “unknowns” were cured via perps.

Thanks, Seth and Melissa!

Lucina said...

I forgot to vote. Linda R. but it's a tough choice as they are both so good.

GMM... said...

TTP, I know these things too, but they have nothing to do with the clue (url ender). The constructor, I feel certain, had something like www.mynetwork.net in mind when they made 'url ender' the clue. Obviously not TLDs.

Anonymous T said...

GMM - welcome to the corner. I'd love to... but, don't let me go into Liu's* book save to say .NET can be a URL if you build your DNS that way. And, pedantically, you still need a . at the end. :-)

Re: Blue BAYOU ballad Q.
I don't get a vote.
I know RO sits on a pedestal and LR is something else (aint she CED!), but its soooo! slow.

I want Rock & Roll!. Something that moves through phrases faster than a cowboy on a cactus chair. [I just made that up :-)]

I learned about RO through his work with The Traveling Wilburys.
//And that's still a bit slow for me :-)

Cheers, -T
*I met Liu a few years back. Nice guy.

Anonymous T said...

Didn't refresh b/f posting say...

GMM - I missed your response to TTP but I likes the way you thinks.

C, -T

OwenKL said...

TTP, Thank you for those URLs. I tried them both, but both ran into dead ends. One just went to info pages on how to avoid scams, the other insisted on information without giving any way to give it, and wouldn't let me finish the report.