google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, April 7, 2022, Bruce Haight

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Apr 7, 2022

Thursday, April 7, 2022, Bruce Haight


A Marvelous Morning to all of you cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with an mm mm good puzzle by Bruce Haight.  Let's start with the reveal because, while the theme is, ultimately, quite simple it's application is a bit less so and also exhibits unstated, but much appreciated by this author, alliteration.

61 Across:  Country leaders, and along with names in parentheses, a hint to 18-, 24-, 39- and 49-Across: HEADS OF STATE.

At four places within the grid, Bruce has started the answers with a two-letter USPS abbreviation for a  U.S. state name.  Left unsaid is that in all cases both words of the two-word answers start with the letter M.  MM.  He still holds "in reserve" an additional four states starting with M so, perhaps, we'll see a M&M Part II puzzle at some point in the future employing the other four.  On the other hand (see 32 Across), he has used all of the M-followed-by-a-vowel abbreviations so the Part II puzzle (employing (MT, MS, MD, and MN) would be more difficult to create.

Here are the themed answers:

18 Across:  Bracketology event (Cambridge): MARCH MADNESS.  Cambridge, MA (Massachusetts).  Tne NCAA basketball championship tournament concluded earlier this week.  Quite the comeback, Jayhawks.


24 Across:  Series that included Bugs and Daffy (Augusta): MERRIE MELODIES.  Augusta, ME (Maine)


39 Across:  Risky operations often with code names (Ann Arbor): MILITARY MISSIONS.  Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan)


49Across:  Science class visual aid (Joplin): MOLECULAR MODEL.  Joplin, MO (Missouri)

Here is how this looks in the grid:





. . . . and now for the rest of the story:


Across:


1. Reminder trademark: POST IT.


7. 1994 National Women's Hall of Fame inductee: OPRAH.  OPRAH Winfrey.  Is there another?

12. One having a ball: DEB.  DEButant

15. Kia model: OPTIMA.

2022 KIA OPTIMA

16. Magna cum __: LAUDE.

17. Get rid of: AXE.

20. Narrow waterway: RIA.  Often seen in crossword puzzles if rarely elsewhere.

21. Soup served with chopsticks: PHO.  Vietnamese.  Pronounced Fuh.

22. Chill-inducing: EERIE.  Spooky, not cold.

23. Sensed: FELT.

29. Paso __, Calif.: ROBLES.  While still overshadowed by it's more famous northern counterparts (e.g. Napa, Sonoma) there are several world class wineries in the Paso ROBLES area.

31. Radamès' love: AIDA.  An opera reference.

32. Texter's "But ... ": OTOH.



33. Lured: BAITED.

36. Frat letter: TAU.  One of twenty-four letters in the Greek alphabet although only six of them have three letter "names".

43. Tire pressure fig.: PSI.  Pounds per Square Inch

44. 12-step offshoot: ALANON.  Alcoholics Anonymous

45. A, B or C, but not X, Y or Z: NOTE.   A music theory 
reference.

46. Move like water: FLOW.



47. Acted as an informant, in Ipswich: NARKED.  An English English slang reference

55. Second word of many limericks: ONCE.   Nice interplay of Second and ONCE.  I think that I have shared this one once before:

There ONCE was a girl from Madras

Who had a magnificent ass

Not rounded and pink

As well you may think

It was gray, had long ears and ate grass


56. "Cheers" server: DIANE.  DIANE Chambers was a character on the TV show.


57. More than -er: EST.  EST as in the hostess with the most-est, e.g.  Not an Erhard Seminar Training reference.  Did you get it?

60. Pot part: LID.  This clue either refers to a kitchen item or a dope deal.  Our grandchildren will probably never know what "down to seeds and stems, again" means.  See also 37 down.

65. Group of scenes: ACT.  As in a stage play.

66. Triumphant cry: I RULE.  I have never heard anyone actually say this.

67. Anti-anxiety med: ATIVAN.  Trade name for Lorazepam.  
68. Gun, as an engine: REV.

69. Player in 18-Across: CAGER.  Slang for basketball player.

70. Firmly held ideas: TENETS.  Not to be confused with TENANTS.


Down:

1. Fanfare:  POMP.  Depending on the circumstances.

2. Large deep-water fish: OPAH.  Not OPRAH.

3. The Blue Fairy helped Pinocchio escape from him, in the Disney film: STROMBOLI.  Not, in this case, the pastry.

Stromboli

4. Eye twitch, maybe: TIC.

5. Arrival cry: I'M HERE.  If you are a cat it's likely "FEED ME".

6. They might hold chairs at a circus: TAMERS.



7. iHeartRadio fare: OLDIE.

8. "The Hunger Games" land: PANEM.  Not being a fan of the referenced opus I had to rely on the perps.

9. French way: RUE.  Français for street.

10. Some taxi toppers: ADS.


11. Fellows: HES.  

12. "__ say it?": DARE I.  Apparently, yes.  Or not.


13. Banish: EXILE.

14. Rhythms: BEATS.

19. NFL's Cardinals, on scoreboards: ARI.



23. OTC watchdog: FDA.



25. K-12, in brief: ELHI.  A term sometimes seen in crossword puzzles.  Elementary School through High School.

26. __ kitchen: EAT IN.  I first tried HELL'S.  I failed to notice that kitchen was not capitalized.

27. "Balderdash!": LIES.  Can you believe this?

28. Numbers with a colon: ODDS.  Ratios would not fit.

29. Lopsided win: ROMP.  Had to wait just a bit to see if it would be ROUT.

30. Publisher Chandler: OTIS.  Los Angeles Times publisher from 1960 to 1980.  My how the editorial slant of the newspaper has changed subsequently.

33. Game delay cause: BRAWL.  Rain would not fit.



34. Writer Rand: AYN.  She also visited us on Tuesday.



35. "If u ask me ... ": IMO.  IMOpinion.  OTOH, . . .

36. Said goodbye to, with "of": TOOK LEAVE.  Often used with "of one's senses".


37. Part of a pot: ANTE.  A card game reference.  See also 60 Across.

38. Exploited: USED.

40. Locker room powder: TALC.  The subject of recent law suits.

41. MLB family name: ALOU.  Major League Baseball


Felipe, Jesus and Matty ALOU

42. About: IN RE.



46. Charge: FEE.  Not run at.  A bit of misdirection.

47. Milk for losers: NONFAT.  Is this what the 1% drink?  The 2%?

48. Carol opener: ADESTE.


Adeste fideles - Luciano Pavarotti

49. It might be crowned: MOLAR.  A dental reference.

50. Cooled by rocks, in a way: ON ICE.  Rocks being slang for, well, ice cubes.

51. High-def screen: LCDTV.  Abbreviated clue.  Abbreviated answer.  This stands for Liquid Crystal Display TeleVision.

52. Flummox: ADDLE.



53. Choral platform: RISER.

54. World leader with a distinctive suit: MAO.


58. Assists, e.g.: STAT.  STATistic.

59. Till stack: TENS.  Till as in cash drawer.  Might have been ONES.

61. Brand with a Grabbin' Grape flavor: HI-C.


62. Laundry brand: ERA.  Fab!


63. Mo. named for an emperor: AUG.  AUGustus Caesar.  JULius (July) was the other possibility.

64. Pewter, mostly: TIN.  Pewter is a malleable alloy consisting of TIN (85-99%), antimony (5-10%), copper (2%), bismuth and sometimes silver.

And on that metallic note . . .


__________________________________

____________________________________________

41 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIRight. Typical for a Thursday.
Needed the reveal. Well, used the reveal to complete a couple themers I was FLUMMOXED on. I would probably have gotten them without the reveal, but that speeded it up considerably!

When the Homecoming game is a ROMP,
The band will exhibit much POMP!
In fact, DARE I say,
They had a good day!
And even their mascot went, "Honk!"

In My Opinion, IMO,
On The Other Hand, OTOH.
Such shortcuts used
Ease the texting of news,
And help keep the narrative FLOW!

{C, C+.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Crashed and burned. Not familiar with NARKED or ATIVAN, and never could see TOOK LEAVE. Thought it was TOOTLE..something. Bzzzzt. Also missed reading the full reveal clue, and missed seeing the leading postal abbreviations. Trifecta! Along the road to destruction, d-o also fell into the ROut/ROMP and ier/EST traps -- not an auspicious start to the day. Thanx, Bruce and Mal-Man (Fab, indeed.)

Jinx in Norfolk said...

SACRILEGE! BLASPHEMY! On the opening day of the Master's tournament, referencing an Augusta that isn't in GA? (Fine, fun puzzle that was mistimed, IMHO).

FIR, but erased carla for DIANE (sorry, Carla), men for HES, music and radio for OLDIE, must i for DARE I, ftc for FDA, rout for ROMP, ones for TENS, and jul for AUG. Whew! Not knowing ATIVAN makes me jittery.

Off on my annual golf boondoggle in Myrtle Beach. We play badly and repeatedly watch highlights of the Masters Tournament all weekend.

Thanks to Bruce and MalMan for the fun.

Subgenius said...

It was strange to see "narked" for "narced" but that's British English for you, I guess. Like Jinx, I had to replace "Carla" with "Diane." And "molar" took me a while ("polar?" ,"solar?") But once these obstacles were conquered, the rest fell into place. FIR, so I'm satisfied.

desper-otto said...

Had to bid farewell to a MOLAR on Monday -- one that I'd grown quite attached to. It's not a rear molar, so there's a gaping hole where it used to reside. Now begins the Co$tly replacement procedure. Yay. As a positive note, on Tuesday I found a dollar under my pillow where the "tooth fairy" had left it. As a negative note, dw had taken that dollar from from my wallet.

KS said...

FIR. Never heard of Paso Robles, but the perps helped me out.

ATLGranny said...

Thanks, Bruce, for a Thursday puzzle I could FIR. It went smoothly, with only two WOs where my pen outsped my brain. After that the coffee kicked in. Saw the M-vowel progression doubles but needed the reveal to confirm the cities part. I especially liked ANTE which surprised me and that later the expected LID came along.

Thanks go to you, MalMan, for a jolly review today. You were aptly assigned to this puzzle, MM. I have one comment about ALANON. Al-Anon is a support group for families of alcoholics (and Alateen for younger family members) with the names taken from Alcoholics Anonymous.

Sounds like your DW has a good sense of humor, DO! Hope you and everyone else have a cheery day!

Wilbur Charles said...

Al-Anon is the companion fellowship to AA. It's for people who have or had an alcoholic in their lives. Same step program. Both admit they're powerless

Maitre Corbeau sur un arbre perche'
Tenait(TENET) en son bec un frommage

OPAH not Orca. Nor tuna. Imaginative perp'ing necessary this morning

Let's see if ON ICE brings Tinbeni for a visit. Tin you missed IM'S bday

Solid Bs today, Owen. Nice narrative flow. And a CSO to boot

Like D-O, I thought Toodle? and did ATI?AN have B or V?
Then I reread the clue with (take LeaVe) "of" at the end

I too thought of OTC at NYSE and FTC or does FCC govern there?

Maloman, an enjoyable write-up and Bruce's clueing did not disappoint

WC

Anonymous said...

Oh, Oh (Cleveland), I get it. I think. Took 8:54. Was thrown by the non-capital cities, but I see that the "heads" of the answers are states.

Similar to the others before me: Carla before Diane; narced before narked; and, I was puzzled by "Too Kleave."

billocohoes said...

So the cities in parentheses are just any city in the corresponding state? And not the capital (head city?) The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, not Cambridge, and Jefferson City not Joplin MO.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

It’s been some time since we’ve seen Bruce’s byline and while this offering didn’t have his usual wordplay, it was an enjoyable solve. I had no clue about the theme until I filled in the reveal answer and I failed to see the vowel progression in both words of the themers until then. Nicely done, Bruce. It was a perfect Thursday level challenge with a few unknowns: Robles, Panem, and, as clued, Stromboli and Otis. My w/os were Carla/Coach/Diane (how did I not think of Diane first?) and Jul/Aug. Some fun duos were March Madness/Cager, Opah/Oprah, IMO/OTOH, Star/State, Tens/Tenet, and Romp/Pomp. CSOs to Tin (Tin and On _ _ _) and once again, OMK (Act).

Thanks, Bruce, for a fun romp and thanks, MalMan, for the many chuckles and visuals although, as usual, half of them didn’t come through so a return trip is in order.

DO @ 6:48 ~ I have mentioned before that I have a strange sense of humor, at times, which I really can’t explain, but your tooth fairy anecdote made my laugh out loud, a rare occurrence these days. 🤣

Have a great day.

Big Easy said...

Did I notice the double alphabetical MA,E, I , O but not U? Yes.
Was I thinking STATEs? No, because I didn't bother to finish reading the clue or look at the Parentheses. It's a crossword puzzle, not an ACT or SAT Test. No grades.

I had trouble starting because both OPAH, PANEM, & and the inedible STOMBOLI were unknowns that were all filled by perps. Smooth sailing after that with only NARKED as an unknown.

Magna cum LAUDE- I see that 5.0 is the new 4.0. Lot's of inflation to make my mere 3.65 from the 60s look like C's.

"40. Locker room powder: TALC. The subject of recent law suits." In the future a California jury will find Oxygen causes cancer.

Time to "TOOK' LEAVE. Have a nice day.

inanehiker said...

Finished this smoothly with not many hiccups - but I was glad to have the blog to come to so I could understand the HEADS of STATE- doesn't happen often these days like it used to

I know too well ATIVAN along with Xanax - the abuse of benzos are nearly as bad as the opiates. The amount some people take every day and then try a new doctor to get more -I don't know how people can walk down the street in a straight line!

Thanks MM and Bruce -a good combo!
Looking forward to see how far Tiger can last in The Masters this weekend

Picard said...

MalMan Thank you for explaining the theme. I got the MA, ME, MI, MO state vowel sequence. I got they were STATE names at the HEAD of each half of the theme answers. Very impressive construction. But I still feel I am missing exactly how to STATE the theme more clearly?

A Natick for me at DIANE/ADESTE. WAG to FIR. Hand up unknown NARKED made a bit of a mess in that area. Again, I am very impressed with this construction!

Here we visited our good friends John and Monique on their horse ranch in PASO ROBLES.

Sometimes we all just meet up downtown for lunch. PASO ROBLES has some of the best food now between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

CanadianEh! said...

Thursday Trial. Thanks for the fun, Bruce and MalMan.
I FIRed , but the STATE theme flew right over the HEAD of this Canadian. I did see the double Ms, but I thought of Cambridge University in England (no idea what bracketology meant!), Augusta for the Masters, Joplin music). No I RULE there.
Thanks for explaining MM; I feel better to see that Americans did not fare any better.

Irish Miss has beat me to the duos and CSOs to TIN.
EXILE and AXE are two different ways to “get rid of”.
I WAGged larked (as in sang) before lowFAT changed to NONFAT and forced NARKED. (IMO larked is better).

Hand up for waiting for perps to decide AUG or Jul.
ROBLES was unfamiliar to me. Loved the photo Picard.
BRAWL took a while to fill, as I was looking for a Rain delay.

Wishing you all a great day.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

FIR, but I Haight to admit the theme escaped me (Maine, O I C...guess I don't RULE). Sorry Canada eh MA is not for Manitoba (I know, I just LIU, "Man" or "MB") 😃

Inkovers: ban/AXE ,Altima/OPTIMA, Woody/Carla/DIANE,sheesh, worse than Jinx and Subg. IM you remember "Coach" too!😉

1994 NWHF inductee? perphelp required. Bracketology?

Emperor month: either Jul. or AUG. If Augustus Cæsar had used his given name Octavian we'd be in real trouble: two OCTs 😲

A TENET is an idea held so firmly that it doesn't change backward or forward!!...NARKED?, CHANDLER?

Never could figure why lion TAMERS held a chair? In case the ancient toothless lion got tired and needed to sit down?🦁

At first couldn't understand why MERRy MELODIES wouldn't fit... ELHI, yikes, it's back!!! (go away!). Thought it was PANAM like the old airline but then EERIE wouldn't work.

World leader distinctive suit? Nehru? the Pope? Nope, another famous "Chairman"
Two "pot" clues neither of the weed variety. HIC? oh, Hi-C

Climate change/rising seas result....EXILE
Progressive spokeswoman...FLOW
"I really like that"....ONICE
Twiggy or similar..MOLECULARMODEL
"Can't hear you in Boston MA, speak" ____ LAUDE.
OK frequent CW featured Native Americans..OTOH.
What the little hills in your lawn are...MOLAR

DO: The 🦷 fairy should have left an implant under your pillow. 🤓

unclefred said...

FIR in 21 on my cranky older laptop. W/Os IMHOME:IMHERE, TOOTH:MOLAR, TAN:TIN, SEC:FDA. Somehow my brain substituted IPO for OTC on that last one. DNK ROBLES. 6D and 47D are especially clever clues. Never saw the theme or reveal, only saw MM in theme answers. If I had taken the time to study the CW I suspect I would have figured out the theme….but I didn’t, so I didn’t. Nice CW, BH, thanx. Terrific write-up, MalMan, thanx.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Cambridge and MArchmadneSS had me thinking MASS at first.
-Most science teachers have had kids make a Mickey Mouse MOLECULE MODEL of water
-Grey’s Anatomy featured wedding vows written and signed on a POST-IT note
-3-letter Asian soup? I think I got this one.
-Our kitty’s “I’M HERE” announcement is to stand on one of our feet
-Teachers who got AXED this year will TAKE LEAVE of the building next month
-Joann had a MOLAR break off yesterday while eating a jelly bean. She was in the chair three hours.
-My sprinkler system has many RISERS. I hope they all rise next week.
-STATS

Monkey said...

Clever theme, too bad I didn’t discover it. I was too fixated on Augusta being in Georgia so I was at sea. I should remember not to be so rigid with my first answers and forgetting to consider other possibilities.
Apparently Carla was more memorable than Diane, because it took me a while when I realized Carla didn’t fit to come up with Diane.

Misty said...

Well, as I've said many times, Thursdays are the beginning of toughies for me, but no problem if they're enjoyable, like this one. So, many thanks, Bruce, and I always enjoy your comments, thanks for those too, Mal Man.

I figured out that all those parenthesized cities suggested states, but got their abbreviations wrong. Still fun clues.

Nice to see easy times like AYN Rand--though not a favorite of mine.

But nice to get DIANE from "Cheers."

Always enjoy music references like AIDA and ADESTE.

But the clue that cracked me up was "it might be crowned'. Got MOLAR instantly, since most of mine are crowned by now.

Have a great day, everybody.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thanks to Bruce Haight and MalMan for today's fun and games!

ROBLES(ROW-bless) are oak trees so I assume many exist in that town.

Only had to change LOWFAT to NONFAT and AIDS to STET so minimal use of wite-out.

Not familiar with ATIVEN but perps filled it.

New clue for AIDA. Very nice.

I'll take a CSO at ARIzona.

My previous car was a Maxima not OPTIMA. I don't see too many of either one on the road.

The ALOU brothers are back! We haven't seen them in a while whereas they used to appear almost daily.

NARKED is new to me.

My late sister-in-law attended ALANON meetings for years. She was a much reformed woman as a result.

My trips to the dentist for removal and CROWNing of MOLARs has cost many $$$$.

Enjoy your Thursday, everyone!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Oh, that STAT!
That was the only fill I did not understand.

Thanks, MalM, for ASSISTing me to finally grok it.

A fun PZL today, tough, but fair--and OPTIMAlly do-able.
~ OMK

ATLGranny said...

Canadian Eh @ 10:43 AM

It's interesting to read later posts and see similarities. I too thought of the cities in the themers just as you did. And BRAWL came after much time wasted thinking about rain.

Anonymous said...

My 2 cents:
Agree with billochoes about just any city; and Lansing not Ann Arbor.
Could’ve used a hint that narked is British lingo.
A singer thinks they stand on a riser, while a carpenter thinks they stand a tread.

desper-otto said...

Anon@2:00 -- "in Ipswich" was there to tip you off.

Anonymous said...

This was a fairly easy Thursday effort. Thanks,Bruce and MM.

Several clues I didn't see because the answer was filled in by the perps. Didn't get the theme, but what else is new?

I'll take a CSO at 39A, Ann Arbor, MI. I may be visiting that fair city in a couple weeks.

Unfortunately, DH broke a MOLAR over the weekend and yesterday he got prepped for a CROWN.

The Cheers server was immediately DIANE. Maybe because we recently had a puppy at the shelter named Diane.

It's a chilly day here today, but Old Man Winter and Miss Spring are still fighting for dominance! GO, Miss Spring!


Vidwan827 said...


Thank you Bruce Haight ( ? of ... Haight Ashbury ??? ... the flower power district of San Frisco, and the epitome of Hippie / counter culture and the Grateful Dead ...) ? ... for a relatively easy and charming Thursday CW puzzle. I finished the puzzle, and got the final theme answer, but could not understand the gimmick.

Thank You MalMan for explaining all, in your interesting blog review. I was 'looking' for actual names of state (world ?) leaders like Biden and Putin, but no luck.... Oh, he meant U.S. postal codes of the M---- states ...Oh, O.K. then.

I have heard and even used Valium, but never Ativan, both being Benzo Diazepines class of drugs to relieve anxiety ( What me ...worry ? .... The Mad Magazine, 1960's )
Unfortunately, one of my relatives who was on a first name basis with Al Anon, and Alchs Anon and etc., had to be given Ativan to prevent or lessen Alch withdrawal syndrome, at the hospitals.... hence it is embedded in my memory.

Thank you Malman for the molecular model of ...what is it ? I tried to analyze it ... the best I could do was CH3 CH2OH CH2 CO CH2 ... a st line 5 Carbon, alchohol and ketone group. Could be a higher analogue of Acetone ... If you can find out the answer from the site you picked it up, I would be grateful if you post here today or tomorrow.... Thanks.

A note on Trivia::: The Cleveland City Council and Cuyahoga County rejected an application for a dining place to be named PHO-Q ....

Desper OTTo ... your story of the One Dollar tooth fairy really really tickled my funny bones !!@#@!! I laughed so hard my wife had to come down, and I had to explain it to her, to her intense enjoyment.

She remarked that your DW should have used atleast a ten dollar note ... or all the money in your wallet !!#$$@@!

BTW, I also have a molar that should have been taken out, but it had an ultimate rootcanal done, so its dead ... and I chose to leave it in so there is resistance to the upper molar that bites on it. I believe, that unlike dead tree stumps, on our lawns, the dead stumps of molars do serve a purpose, unless you are prepared to have an implant !!

Have a nice day, you all.

















Vidwan827 said...


Two poems, er limericks to complement the ones MalMan had in his blog review...

on Asterisks,

Little Mary took her skates,
Upon the ice to frisk;
Wasn't she a little fool
Her little *

...and an old limerick, on another ancient indian city, Benares ...

There once was a midget from Benares,
Who caught a nudist colony unawares,
he made members weep
Cuz he just couldn't keep
His nose out of private affairs.


Except that, Benares ( the old name for the ancient city) was pronounced Ba-naa-russ. The name has changed about 20 years ago, to its original name of Varanasi ( Vaa-rah-na-see )

Malodorous Manatee said...

Vidwan, I looked at, but obviously did not elect to use, a graphic that identified the molecule that was modeled. Alas, I went with a graphic that did not do so.

Lucina said...

Sigh. No tooth fairy to leave me even a coin. However, my dentist does not need a tooth fairy. He has me and doubtless many other patients who surrender their money to him. His pillow would be bulging!
BTW, has everyone seen the MyPillow guy hawking his product? Poor man. He has to pitch it himself since he no longer has anyone in government doing it for him.

Anonymous said...

It's Pasa DEL Robles!!!! I LIVE HERE!!!!!

Jayce said...

I'll quote Lucina: "Thanks to Bruce Haight and MalMan for today's fun and games!" Well said!

Like Ray-O-Sunshine, I had WOODY then CARLA before DIANE. Also ALL before ERA. Good "Fab" joke, MM.

Actually, Kia makes pretty good cars.

My dad was an alcoholic and finally went regularly to AA meetings. My mom participated in Al-Anon. I feel fortunate not to have succumbed to that addiction, nor to smoking, although I have been a long time wine and beer enthusiast. Because of the condition of my liver I have made the decision to consume zero alcohol; it's been 40 days so far. (My doctor has finally given credence and respect to my claustrophobia and will arrange for my MRI to be done on an "open" MRI machine, with oral sedative to calm me. I hope it is done not simply to satisfy their curiosity, but to truly reveal significant information about the condition of my liver that they otherwise can't get, for the purpose of confirming (or not) the treatment (mostly diet) recommendations they have already made and life style changes I have already made.)

Good wishes to you all.

Lucina said...

Jayce:
I hope everything goes well with the MRI. I understand your fear of enclosed spaces. As for alcohol addiction, I believe I've mentioned that my mother was thus afflicted though when my brother became deathly sick she vowed to never drink if he would be healed. He was and she never drank again. I know that was likely one of the hardest things she ever did. Whether my brother was healed by divine intervention or the talents of exceptional doctors remains moot. He lived many years after that though when he was given a new kidney his body rejected it. He lingered for many months until finally leaving us at age 48.
I expect you, however, to remain among us for many more years.

Jayce said...

Lucina, interesting information. Thank you.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

DNF - ADES_E xing A_IVAN @67a

Thanks for the puzzle, Bruce. I completely missed the theme but I like what you did there.

Fun expo, MManatee! Thanks for spelling out the theme for me.

WOs: men->HES, FTC->FDA
ESPs: RUE as clued, AIDA, OTIS | ROBLES, above FIW
Fav: I love STROMBOLI

I have a pad of 4"x6" POST-IT pads on my desks and workbench. I have to clean-up and consolidate notes every couple of weeks.

CPA or lion TAMER? [4:46 - Monty Python]

I learned Ipswitch was a town in the UK from Python's Dead Parrot sketch. I've heard (and use) NARKED

{B, B+}

Knock on wood, I have no MOLAR problems. My dentist might correct me Saturday morning ;-)

Jayce - let us know how you fare after the MRI.

CED gave us Norm! last night we got DIANE today.

Picard - thanks for the pic proving Paso [Del] ROBLES is a real place ;-)

Y'all have a wonderful eve.

Cheers, -T

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

Thanks Bruce and MM

FIR

Same w/o's as others

Watched the first round of the Masters today - my early pick (Scottie Scheffler) is just 2 strokes back

There ONCE was a blogger named MOE
Who just tripped and stubbed his big toe.
He let out a scream
And now has a meme
That looks like a big bowl of PHO

(wait a minute; the last line doesn't rhyme!)

Wilbur Charles said...


Did you say Diane?

T's Python link took me to a better Cheers link but this will do

LEO III said...

Another one-square FIW. For some reason, I stuck in BELTS for 14D, and didn’t correct it with RIA. Refer to Red Foreman again.

I also got the reveal but couldn’t figure out the theme. Thanks, MalMan for explaining it, and thanks Bruce for a nice puzzle.

After all these years, I can still recite ADESTE Fideles (well, the first verse) in Latin, which is how I got the unknown (and soon to be forgotten) ATIVAN.

Beautiful horse, Picard! Yes, the rest of you look nice too!

Michael said...

Anon @ 4:04: "It's Pasa DEL Robles!!!! I LIVE HERE!!!!!"

The city seal reads "City of El Paso de Robles", so you're half right ... but our friends at the Postal Service say it's just "Paso Robles 93446" and the city web site seems to prefer the short form

My connection with Paso Robles was often nocturnal -- the Greyhound bus route that ran from the Presidio of Monterey to Pasadena (when I had a weekend pass, that is) ran down U.S.101, and would pull in to King City, Atascadero, Paso Robles, and so on, at horrid A.M. hours. I remember 04:40 for Paso, and the drive just called out 'Paso Robles.'

Michael said...

Vidwan et alii: I think that by IUPAC rules, the Manatee Molecule is ... Pent-2-ol-4-ene. (It may be that the unsaturated bond takes precedence -- I've forgotten which comes first -- so it might also properly be named Pent-2-ene-4-ol.)

Michael said...

Vidwan etc. Finally found it! The ManMol is properly 3-PENTEN-2-OL. It has a CAS number, is commercially available, and has some connection with kiwi fruit.