google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, May 20, 2022, MaryEllen Uthlaut

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May 20, 2022

Friday, May 20, 2022, MaryEllen Uthlaut

 

Title: Welcome to the New Age


I am here for my second Friday for the Varol/Iverson regime today welcoming back MaryEllen Uthlaut who recently appeared here on March 6 with a Sunday (her specialty) discussed by C.C. ME burst on the constructor scene with a puzzle in the NYT followed by many LATs. My last count has this as her 35th over time. Her theme is one frequently used on Friday with a trigram (3 letters) removed from a phrase, re-clued for maximum hilarity. We do not have circles but we do have the asterisk which should have sped up the solve, if D-O noticed them. Nah. 

But first, there are some sparkly fill which include words longer than some of the themers. We have AGELESS, DISCORD, SPRAYER, CHARADES, ERUPTIVE, ELEMENTARY, and SKY MARSHAL all of which are worthy of some discussion. But not now, as it is time talk about the theme which is a classic Friday remove letters from known phrases to make new phrases which are then clued to promote hilarity. ME removed three letters (AGE) also known as a trigram, from the end of one word of four two word phrases. Generously we have a central reveal which is quite cute but makes this a somewhat easy solve. 


17A. *Appendage capable of kicking a 60-yard field goal?: RARE FOOTAGE.(8). The before and after of this fill mirror each other. We have the unique toeless foot of Tom Dempsey who kicked the first 60 yard field goal in 1970. We also have the rare video (FOOTAGE) of the accomplishment. 

It was not until 14 years later that there was another 60 yarder, but now the record is 66 yards in a LIST of 26 such feats. Haha!

23A. *Result of a computer virus?: INTERNET MESSAGE (12). Viruses in people and machines wreak havoc, and they computer variety are often malicious bugs planted by hackers. This LIST is maintained by those trying to protect computers.

54A. *Purpose of a phone booth, to Clark Kent?: GARBAGE DISPOSAL .(12). This both the funniest and an outlier as the AGE is added to the first of the two words. Making a kitchen device morph into where Superman changes was extra special.

65A. *LEGO minifigure of Emmet Brickowski, e.g.?: MICRO MANAGE (8).You have to RESPECT this Master Builder despite his lack of stature. I did not know his name despite watching the movies with the grands.
Then we have the Friday reveal which was witty, but seemed too much and too soon as it appeared at:

39A. Like someone who appears untouched by time, and like the answers to the starred clues?: AGELESS. If you did not notice the missing letters, this should tip the scales to SOLVED!

Now to dissect ME's clue/fill.

Across:

1. Routine: ACT. Mort Sahl did political satire, that was his routine, his act.

4. Agitate: RILE. Like Lenny Bruce it did upset some people as neither had any...

8. Snob __: APPEAL. Do you think the word come from the Latin  "Sine NOBilitate" which means without nobility? 

14. Guessing game: CHARADES. I do not know  either, just guessing.

16. Metal framework: GRILLE. Do you like this?

18. Successfully lure: ROPE IN.

19. List-ending abbr.: ET AL. Al is really busy.

20. "Act Like You Don't" country singer Brooke: EDEN.

22. Like a March hare: MAD. A little Lewis Carroll. 

28. Communications platform that began as a chat service for gamers: DISCORD. The ironic concept and its HISTORY.

31. Deck out: ADORN.

32. Calligraphy supply: INK. Do you have ink in your pen?

33. Latvian seaport: RIGA. This is very close to the Ukraine action so please read their NEWS.

35. Uneducated guess: STAB

38. Farm house: STY.

43. Blonde __: ALE.

44. Browser button: HOME.

46. China setting: ASIA. Where we can get some...

47. Maki topping: ROE. maki is the entire Sushi offering including the Nori, the rice and the filling.

48. Subside: ABATE.

52. Hose attachment: SPRAYER. Very important when washing the car or watering plants.

57. Uncertain sounds: UMS. Ah, ok. 

58. Quash: VETO

59. Be without: LACK.

63. Sweater wool: MOHAIR. Merino?

69. Slow-cook, in a way: BRAISE. This is to fry (food) lightly and then stew it slowly in a closed container.

70. Volatile: ERUPTIVE. A new clue/fill for the LAT. 

71. Cried out: YELLED.

72. "I __ to recall ... ": SEEM. Usually by some bigwig forced to testify after being recorded. 

73. Wet blanket: DEW. A nice but common clue/fill.

Down:

1. Animal Crossing unit: ACRE. Is there more here than I see?

2. Zoom option: CHAT.

3. Strong who voices Miss Minutes on "Loki": TARA.


4. U.K. fliers: RAF. Royal Air Force.

5. Binding words: I DO. And you had better

6. Zodiac sign: LEO. Part August part September.

7. Aromatic compound: ESTER. Perfume

8. "It's settled, then!": AGREED.

9. Right away: PRONTO.

10. Apple seed: PIP.

11. Miller/Liu TV drama: ELEMENTARY. The show was okay and Lucy Liu was a fun twist for Dr. Watson, but Johnny Lee Miller was even less Sherlockian than Robert Downey Jr.

12. Assumed name: ALIAS.

13. Takes interest, maybe: LENDS. A great clue/fill.

15. Museum item: RELIC.

21. Genetic letters: DNA.

24. Bollywood dancer/actress Fatehi: NORA. This Canadian (yes another one) born actress was endowed with much including Indian heritage and a career in Bollywood.



25. Pre-calc course: TRIG. For all of out math people.

26. Periphery: EDGE.

27. Dash of flavor?: MRS. Do you splash a dash of Mrs. Dash in your dish?

28. Chef's creation: DISH.

29. Passionate about: IN TO.

30. In-flight officer: SKY MARSHAL.

34. __    provençale:  À LA.  Some fonts just do not cooperate. This mean a dish prepared prepared in the style of Provence typically with garlic and olive oil                                                                                                                     

36. The Body Shop balm: ALOE. For sunburn this is the bomb.

37. Ingredient in some batter: BEER.  A RECIPE for WASEELY and others who want what they but also want to be healthy.

40. Canadian gas brand: ESSO. Complicated? Esso is ExxonMobil's primary gasoline brand worldwide except in Australia, Guam, Mexico, Nigeria, and New Zealand, where the Mobil brand is used exclusively. In Canada (since 2017), Colombia, Egypt, and formerly Malaysia (until 2013, when Petron acquired ExxonMobil's Malaysian operations)[29] and Japan (until 2019), both the Esso and Mobil brands are used. In Hong Kong and Singapore, Mobil brand is applied on Esso fuel tank after Mobil service stations began to merge with Esso since 2006.

Mobil is ExxonMobil's primary retail gasoline brand in California, Florida, New York, New England, the Great Lakes and the Midwest. Exxon is the primary brand in the rest of the United States, with the highest concentration of retail outlets located in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states

41. Nurses: SIPS. A drink or ?

42. Indie pop duo Tegan and __: SARA. Their website tells us Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta, composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin. Canadian Eh, on your playlist?




45. Flow back: EBB. EBB keeps coming back here as well.

49. Counsel: ADVISE. My first solo business card read, "Counselor and Adviser of Law."

50. In layers: TIERED. When I get tired I feel like a cake.

51. Superlative suffix: EST.

53. Dole out: ALLOT

54. Claymation character with a horse: GUMBY.  They are now support toys for kids.

55. Love, in arias: AMORE. Because the sing in Italian

56. Apples, pears, etc.: POMES. Not de terre

60. Surrounded by: AMID.

61. Finally give: CAVE.

62. Had down cold: KNEW.

64. Feel sick: AIL.

66. Fury: IRE.

67. Shuffleboard stick: CUE. We have a relatively new court (de rigeur for 55+ communities in SoFla) and I do play some. I never called the stick anything but a stick.

68. Record no.: RPM. We spin out of here on a nice deception, not a record number but the number of revolutions per minute for record being played.

If this is the future, I am in; we had many fun food and Asia clues as well as more female prominence. Get on the train or be left behind and my behind ain't what is used to be. Thank you ME and all who read and/or write. Continued prayers and best wishes for boomer and who are suffering both from the Corner and the world.



49 comments:

  1. RARE FOOT
    FIRight. G/ood for a Friday!
    After yesterday, no unknown words today! Even the Bollywood star, I was expecting something exotic, and instead got a Christian name
    Got the theme before the reveal! But it took 3 themers to do it.

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  2. I got the theme pretty quickly today, unusual for a Friday. I was wondering if the chat service for gamers might be called "discard" but figured "Nora" was more likely than "Nara." In the end FIR, so I'm happy.

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  3. Good morning!

    Overslept this morning. A 10-second power outage overnight confused the coffeemaker, so there was no predawn "gurgle." I liked this puzzle. Got the theme, even though d-o didn't notice the asterisks and, as usual, failed to read the entire reveal clue. Noticed ALE crossing BEER. Only needed Wite-Out to change ROIL to RILE -- late-week puzzles usually require multiple applications. Thanx, MaryEllen and Lemonade.

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  4. Took just under 10 1/2 minutes today.

    I stumbled with cede instead of cave, and microman instead of micromen (despite the "e.g." in the clue). Eruptide made almost as much sense to me as eruptive.

    I didn't know Eden, Nora, or Sara.

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  5. Wednesday-like puzzle. Fast solve. I am with Subgenius, dicard/discord Nara/Nora
    Unknown names were perpable or guessable. The theme was helpful.
    RILE today, ROIL yesterday. Both can mean irritate/annoy or muddy the waters/make turbulent.
    Favorite was wet blanket = dew.

    I am 100% returned to normal for me. It must have been a minor closed fracture. After ordering X-rays, the doctor never returned to brief me. For hours I didn't know how bad the injury was or whether I would be hospitalized. No food or water or pain meds all day pending possible surgery. After many hours I complained several times and the nurse found I could be discharged. Still no MD visit. The discharge papers were handed to me with no explanation and no after care suggestions except follow up with PC and ibuprofen. My PC later complained how sketchy the discharge papers were. The only useful info in them was "closed fracture of the pubic ramus," the first I knew of it. The ER had many patients very sick patients, but they always do.

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  6. Good Morning:

    I had no problem with the solve, but it was slow going due to the many unknown proper names, to wit: Micro Man, Gumby and, as clued, Sara, Tara, Eden, Nora, and the common Acre and Discord. The theme was easy to spot, especially with the early reveal. My only w/o was Cede/Cave. Some fun duos were Beer/Ale, Rile/Ire, Ale/Ail, Pip/Sip(s), and Sara/Tara. CSOs to Leo III (Leo), Ray O and Anon T (Amore), CanadianEh (ESSO), Lucina (Ink), CC (Asia), and OMK (Act).

    Thanks, Mary Ellen, for a fun Friday and thanks, Lemony, for the wit and wisdom in your detailed review.

    I must apologize for being remiss in not saying this sooner:

    Lucina, Welcome Home! Glad you enjoyed your trip.

    Kazie, Montana, and NaomiZ, nice to hear from you and hope you won’t be strangers.

    Have a great day. (Tomorrow is supposed to hit 95, with high humidity. 😠)

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  7. Things are looking better with a Friday FIR! And it didn't take all day. Thanks, Mary Ellen, for an interesting and manageable puzzle.

    I needed the reveal to figure out the theme so I appreciated its location. As usual I had a few WOs, but most of the grid is fine. Aced/KNEW and Dud/DEW. Wondered about rNA/DNA and EriN or Eric/ EDEN, but perps to the rescue. Got PRONTO pronto!

    I don't get ACRE either, Lemonade. Animals cross roads, don't they? I enjoyed your review today, Lemonade, with your wit and background information. Thanks!

    FLN and recently: It was nice to see posts from Montana, Kazie, NaomiZ and Madame Defarge again.

    TGIF everyone.!

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  8. FIR, despite never hearing of "discord". Thank heaven for the perps!

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  9. Apparently "Animal Crossing" is a Nintendo video game, which still doesn't help understanding. Also didn't know NORA, EDEN, Maki but solved with crosses.

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  10. I didn't understand "ACRE" either. A google search reviewed this in reference to a game:

    Acres are grid elements measuring 16x16 spaces in the player's town. Each game in the Animal Crossing series arranges these preconstructed acres in novel ways to generate thousands of different possible town layouts. In all games prior to and including Doubutsu no Mori e+ there is an explicitly designated acre system viewable from the map screen. Subsequent titles (up until New Horizons) removed the explicit acre system in favor of an open and scrolling rounded-world design, although the acres are still used to determine perfect town status (Animal Crossing: New Leaf being the exception).

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  11. Hola!

    This was a bit tricky to solve but very doable. However, I see that CEDE did not make the cut yet it fit with MICROMEN. I'm not familiar with LEGO minifigure of Emet Brickowski but I should have noticed it was MAN not MEN which would have resulted in CAVE. I had CEDE.

    Otherwise, this was a fairly quick fill. I had no idea about DISCORD as a program but it emerged by itself.

    Thank you, Mary Ellen Uthlaut. And thank you, Lemonade, for an interesting interpretation.

    It feels good to be back in the routine.

    Thank you, Irish Miss for the welcome.

    Have a fabulous Friday, everyone! I see a movie in my future. Downton Abbey is back!

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  12. Musings
    -Speaking of guessing games, DISC_RD/N_RA didn’t like my vowel choice. NARA sounded more exotic befitting a Bollywood star
    -NORA and SARA cluing today were very Fridayish
    -George Carlin’s “Seven words you can’t say on television” routine got him arrested
    -Charlie rich sang of Fast talkin’, slow walkin’ good lookin’ MOHAIR SAM
    -LACK – with no seniors in school today, my last day of subbing will consist of five kids
    -Today I learned that PIP has a lot of meanings
    -Many years ago in TRIG, I learned sin^2ø + cos^2ø = 1
    -RAF – “Never have so many….”
    -Bienvenida de nuevo Lucina. Tenemos entradas para Downton Abbey para esta noche.

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  13. Irish Miss, you must live somewhere in the South, like me. I live in Richmond, Virginia, where it's going to be 96 or 97 degrees today. Whew!

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  14. Animals cross acres. Fun puzzle, Proper names were tough but doable due to crosses.

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  15. A very clever and well-executed theme. Would that I could shed some age.

    Thanks for the informative and entertaining write-up, Lemonade.

    I hope that it's not supposed to be kept under wraps but our own Ch. Moe has a Newsday puzzle on (I believe) 21 May (tomorrow) so let's "Get Cracking".

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  16. Thank you MaryEllen for some Friday fun. Missed a FIR by two naticks, but I think that's just our fearless editor trying to ROPE us INTO upping our game. Loved the theme, and which I didn't see until I hit the reveal, after which it was really helpful, especially for 65A.

    And thank you Lemony for another fine review. And thanks for the recipe, which I've stashed for later. While I generally prefer my beer NEAT, as a Brit sprout I also love fish and chips. I can always SIP some ale while battering, the equivalent of what Teri calls "the cook's wine".

    Some favs and nemeses:

    20A EDEN. DNK Ms EDEN or even whether Brooke was a first or last name and SWAGGED RNA over DNA to cross it. In retrospect DNA is more accurate scientifically.

    23A INTERNET MESS. Something that -T, Jinx, TTP, myself, et al have had to deal with cleaning up over the years.

    28A DISCORD. This was another of my naticks. I filled DISCARD because DISCORD sounded like an odd name for a "social" media site and the stem CARD seemed to suggest gaming. Also NARA sounded more like a Bollywood first name than NORA. Ironically and tragically it was this site that leveraged the IRE that led to the recent genocide in Buffalo. I'm sure the puzzle was already in press before the latter, or Patti would have probably re-clued it. I hope this is not considered too political.

    65A MICRO MANAGE. Anyone who has ever worked for such a manager can relate to this. They are usually ex-techies who can't come to terms with their slow slide toward obsolescence.

    11 ELEMENTARY. While I'm a big fan of Sherlock I've not seen this series.

    56D POMES. One of my last fills. I've always thought this was a recitation of verse by Bullwinkle the Moose.

    Cheers,
    Bill

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  17. OK, FIR but took 36 minutes, once again winning me the booby -prize for slowest FIR. My poor trophy case is stuffed! Looking back over the CW, it really doesn't LOOK like it should have taken so long. I didn't get "Animal Crossing unit" either, even after perps filled ACRE. DNK any of the proper names. Fortunately there were only 5, so I managed that too with perps. I never got the theme, but then again I never looked. Thanx, MEU for the interesting and clever CW. Thanx, too, to Lemonade for his, as always, wonderful write-up.

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  18. Great puzzle today. Proper names weren’t a problem and the theme was fun, although my first fill was ageless and my next one began with internet so I blindly entered internetless. But then what to do with a rare foot? That’s when I came to my senses and saw the missing age. Have a nice weekend.

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  19. Loved the AGELESS theme! DISCORD is big in the news now because the Buffalo terrorist killer used it to post his terror plans. The writer could not have known that was coming, so DISCORD/NORA cross not really fair. FIR.

    Here my friend Christa was practicing her CALLIGRAPHY skills in INK.

    Learning moments about ANIMAL CROSSING and ACRE and EMMET BRICKOWSKI. I do value learning pop culture if the crosses are fair.

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  20. From Yesterday:
    Tante Nique, Jinx Thanks for the further comments about printing. I always do Save to PDF, so the printer is not the problem. I use Windows 10.

    Here is a screen shot of the mess that it made.

    AnonT, Jinx, other tech wizards any idea what is going wrong here with the printing?. Mr Google was no help, nor were the Acrobat forums. It is not an Acrobat/PDF issue, either. It happens before even choosing the printer option.

    Wilbur Charles Thanks for the Riders of the Purple SAGE video. Never heard of it.

    As for trying to salvage YEESH from Iesus. Sorry. That will not fly. They did not have the letter "J" back then. His name started with the "J" sound, but "I" had to stand in for it in Latin. His name was actually Hebrew and would have been "Joshua". Although I see that in Hebrew it is pronounced "Yeshua". Now, THAT could salvage YEESH!

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  21. Subgenius @ 9:26 ~ I live in Upstate New York where the weather is subject to extreme heat and cold, depending on Mother Nature’s whims. High 90’s in May are not the norm but neither are they that uncommon. The temps for the early part of next week are low 70’s. Go figure! 🙄

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  22. Enjoyed seeing Tegan and Sara pop up as they are from my hometown of Calgary (Go, Flames) Read their biography High School a couple years ago. Very interesting. Super talented.

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  23. You all are being very kind. Thank you

    Bill please watch a few episodes of < b> ELEMENTARY and let me know what u to hii

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  24. Hi All!

    Fun Friday puzzle, MaryEllen; just what a Friday should be (sans names ;-))

    Thanks for the expo, Lem. Interesting it was the Saints that kicked the first long field-goal. At LA. Tech in the early '90's, I had a buddy that was a huge Saints fan so I got to watch Morten Anderson win a few games from the field.

    Animal Crossing is a farming (hence ACRE?) game the kids play [BillO & Brian beat me to it]

    WO: CedE->CAVE (Hi SSolver, IM, & Lucina!)
    ESPs: TARA, EDEN, NORA | RIGA
    Fav: LOL DISCORD - our team uses it for NSFW [not safe for work] communications. #DisparageVendors #Memes

    ALE xing BEER was also fun (Hi D-O!)

    Who else was noodling with wOMEN @65a? Just me? //No clue who Emmet Brckowski is and I've seen the LEGO movie(?)

    Guessing game? DW: "Do you know why I'm IRE'd?" Me: "UMs..."

    FLN - LOL manatees rescuing students, RayO. DW told me about one manatee that will be at the center his whole life (they can live to 60?) 'cuz he has to stand on his tail to breath and eat... I forget what she said was wrong with him.
    The group went spelunking this morning.

    YR - That's awful re: fracture treatment but glad you're OK.

    waseeley - INTERNET MESSes is the bane of my existence. I want a goat farm! :-)
    //Y'all don't let Lem's malware link scare you... Just remember: Don't click on shet in emails / web-ads and don't surf porn. #TheMoreYouKnow

    It's 89F here in South Houston and not yet afternoon. I don't mind the heat & humidity but anything below 68F is cold.

    Back to Work / Play Later [BtWPL? TTYL / TTFN]
    Cheers, -T

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  25. Isn't it the job of the editor to edit clues like; "Animal Crossing unit"? This clue seems quite obscure.

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  26. Fun Friday toughie, many thanks Mary Ellen and Lemonade.

    Haven't worn a MOHAIR sweater in hears, living in California.

    Well, maybe when I was in ELEMENTARY school in Pennsylvania.

    Also used to love to play CHARADES with classmates, back then.

    Had a lot of APPEAL to me, when I was young.

    Have a good weekend coming up, everybody.

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  27. Thank You MaryEllen Uthlaut for a challenging Friday puzzle, which I did complete ... fitfully. I did not get the theme despite solving all the long across messages.

    For that, and the sparkly blog review, I would like to thank Lemonade for his erudition and expertise - in an advisory capacity.

    Lemonade, I AM SURPRISED ... that you got the time-line of LEO of the Zodiac wrong !!!@!!!
    You, of all people, ( Folks, we both share the same birthdays ..... ) should have known that Leo occurs in late July/early August ....
    Our birthday, occcurs in late August, hence we are VIRGOs ... How could you forget.??

    I did not know many of the person(al) names .. especially the Bollywood actress /dancer (?) Nora Fatehi, ....but then, its been ages since I saw a Bollywood movie last.

    Nora Fatehi, of Moroccan parent-age, ... is primarily a dancer, presumably in the Bollywood wiggle-waggle style.
    So, the 'actress' part is apparently a distant second choice, and speaking and/ or understanding any of the languages, expecially the regional languages, ( which even I dont know -) is entirely unnecessary .


    Most of the acting roles in Indian regional languages are dubbed, so the actors or actresses do not have to learn the language, meaning or intonation.
    Never the less, Fatehi's dancing in this Youtube video ..... the song Dilbar ... which loosely translates as, Affairs of the Heart ... from the movie, Satya Meva Javatey ...... has hit a billion views.

    Enjoy the rest of the day, you all, and have a great weekend,

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  28. Vidwan I am having some internet issues from the storms we are having which somehow eliminated my full LEO comment and my name from my thank you earlier to you all
    Not liquid sunshine today

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  29. seareeferd:
    I kinda feel the editor's job is:
    1) No dupes
    2) Fact Check c/as
    3) Is it in the language / modern-day vernacular.

    Re: #3 - I worked a puzzle idea with C.C. and she (kindly) shot me down on a few entries. Basically, if there were less than 100k hits in Google - the clue was no good.

    Vidwan - I have no idea what Nora is saying or her dancing 'language' but it was fun to watch. Thanks.

    //story follows...
    When I was in Cairo w/ an Iraqi buddy [work trip], he wanted to stop at a restaurant on the way to the airport before the red-eye flight home. The restaurant was known for Belly Dancing(?)
    "No, -T, this is art. You have to see it."

    I told DW what I saw. "No, it was like [he] said, Art. I saw the main dancer talking with her mom after the meal & show. The mom was so proud."

    Later I remember airport agents absconding with my duty-free scotch :-)

    Cheers, -T

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  30. On my first trip to Spain and Morocco in 1973 our group was entertained with a belly dancer but 30 years later, no more belly dancing. On that trip we also drove through the Casbah and saw the poor living conditions. It was not repeated in the later trip. Very impressive was the dancing cobra! A man played the flute and the cobra slithered upwards. Another thing that impressed me greatly was the women walking behind the men. I don't know if that is still happening.

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  31. Hello to Brent, from Lethbridge! So happy to meet someone familiar with Tegan and Sara and who cheers for the Flames.
    Easy puzzle today, although acre was a complete unknown. I noticed that Animal Crossing was capitalized, but that didn't help. Thank you to Brian for explaining the reference. Wishing you all a great day!

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  32. I liked this puzzle. ROIL --> RILE. CEDE --> CAVE. ANGOLA --> MOHAIR. Unknown names were gettable via perps. WEES.

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  33. Oh, I have to say I did wrinkle my nose at MAKI. "Makizushi" means "wrapped sushi" and the word "maki" simply means "wrapped." However, upon looking it up, I see this kind of sushi can now apparently be called simply "maki." Is there nothing we Americans won't abbreviate into oblivion?

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  34. Gary, is there a story to those teeth filled with bling? IMO ugly and uncomfortable. With me all the bling would fall out and I probably would swallow some of it. I have a lot of necessary, expensive and uncomfortable dentistry. I don't need that.

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  35. Thanks, Lemonade, for your service in responding to Ms. Uthlaut's fine PZL--and for reminding us of my favorite old satirist, Mort Sahl!
    Much appreciated...

    We often read that XWDs get tougher as the week progresses. But Fridays of late have been relatively mild. Today's is no exception.
    Just be sure to buckle up for tomorrow!
    ~ OMK
    _____________
    DR:
    Just one diagonal today, on the left (sinister) side.
    Sadly, it contains only two vowels, and the best anagram I can come up with is a short one (only 8 of 15 letters), and probably more appropriate for a day when MalMan is on the job--for it is a marine reference.
    I mean...

    "NARWHALS"!
    Still, if we borrow two "I"s from the half-diagonal below, we can at least give it a religious spin, as...

    "NARWHAL P(i)LGR(i)MS"!
    Is that any better?

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous @11:42 AM Elementary is not on any of my streaming services and I'm maxed out.

    Anonymous T @12:05 PM Hang in there until you retire. You'll still be the victim of them, but you won't have to fix them.

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  37. MalMan: CMoe's puzzle runs today

    Link here

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  38. Sorry to hear of your medical experience, Yelowrocks.
    Thanks for the welcoming note, Irish Miss, ATL.Granny.

    Subgenius, I'm wondering about your koala pic. Any connections down under?

    I'm still feeling very much a newbie after such a long break from doing the xwords. It took most of the day to get done and I still missed the missing AGE trick.

    I did have several interruptions along the way though: a trip to a nursery for plants, a workman coming to fix the door of our chest freezer and also the dishwasher door, neither which was behaving. Unfortunately, despite his success there, our wall oven needs to be replaced because the controls are shot and parts are no longer available. I guess we were lucky it lasted almost 25 years!

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  39. Picard @ 10:53,

    That is one screwy print job!
    Never seen anything like it.
    I showed it to my Son in Law, and he says it's something in your windows 10 software and requires an update.
    In the meantime he suggests instead of saving to pdf, you can save to docexe and print it from Microsoft word.

    An even easier solution would be to take a screenshot and just print the screenshot...

    The puzzle theme, I dunno, I got sidetracked with Picard printing problems...

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  40. Ah nuts, the image caption did not print.

    It read, Picard is "ageless..."

    ReplyDelete
  41. Storms rule the skies and my skills today. I was the unexpected Anon at 11:42 and then again at 1:03. Moving on, Bill there are multiple free trials of streaming services by which you can watch and cancel before paying, but that seems unseemly you can see ELEMENTARY by going to this FREE WEBSITE .

    ReplyDelete

  42. Just 2 ( somewhat ) short comments ....

    Anon-T ... the dancer, Nora Fatehi isn't saying Anything !
    Maybe mouthing a few words ... Dancers do NOT sing, they often don't even lip sync ... they merely dance ( and slither - ).

    In Bollywood, and other 'regional' movies ... remember !!
    Actors don't sing / Singers don't act ... (generally)
    .... and dancers do neither....
    Each one is in a specialized occupation.

    If you open up the uploaders comments, ( the See More section - ) you can easily find out
    1. who the singers are,
    2. who the lyricist was,
    and also the original singers, of the original song that was remastered or remade.


    Lucina, I have no comment on the belly dancing, ... but, surely you know that the snakes and Coibras are generally deaf ... they merely feel the vibrations on the ground.

    The snake rises, because it is intimidated by the flute or 'been' or whatever the musical instrument is poking in their direction. It is merely trying to protect itself ... and is an unwitting performer in an unnatural act. .... sad, but true.

    Finally, this is a Youtube video of a scene in an old, old Bollywood movie 1954 ! ... With lots and lots of snakes and Cobras.

    ReplyDelete
  43. MalMan Lemony's comments on Chris Gross' puzzle are here. Lemony had to chew on the solve for a while and pick some ideas out of my teeth. There were a few "creative" fill - GHWB and Secretary, Lemony is looking at you; Lemony does admire his persistence and getting one more in the record books. Now if Chris will don his CMoe disguise and tell us his favorite clues which stayed and his favorite clues which were abandoned.

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  44. Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Mary Ellen and Lemonade.
    I FIRed in good time for a Friday and saw the AGE LESS theme.
    It seemed easy for a Friday but I will not complain, as I was short on time today.

    I noted ABATE crossing EBB.
    WEES by now.

    We haven’t seen my CSO ESSO recently. (Our gas is around the $2 per litre at the moment! That’s $5.95 US$/US gallon.)
    I did not know Canadian-born NORA. But I did know SARA (I do enjoy some of SARA and Tegan’s music, but it is not on my playlist).
    And I see that I am joined by other fellow-Canadians today. Welcome Brent (from Lethbridge?); you brought out LfromAlberta today. Before they know it, we will be taking over the Corner (and spelling everything correctly). Oh, Sorry.

    Misty- I loved your post today (almost like a post on the Jumble site).

    Wishing you all a good evening.


    ReplyDelete
  45. I often "time shift" my computer by telling it that I am in places where it is already tomorrow. That's why I sometimes don't know on what day various puzzles are published. Sorry for any confusion about the timing of Chris' puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I had BAREFOOT(age). The B works just as well. Editing oversight? I see lemony also couldn't grok ACRE for "Animal crossing " Aha, Brian has explained it. Video game, I hope the xers and millennial appreciate this stuff.

    Re. 11A. TV presentations depict Sherlock as arrogant. They miss the laidback humor. The Nero Wolfe series was much better

    Aha, Flames, Alberta that would be Calgary. Plus Edmonton,Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and ? Quebec (Nordiques). That's six, was that the question?

    I should have perped ACRE. ACBE made no sense. FIW on that one box.

    BTW, my emergency room visit received W's all around from reception, diagnosis and and an excellent Ace bandage wrap. I used VA Mission act but my Medicare B option probably would've covered it.

    WC

    This is late although I solved Thursday afternoon. I also solved Saturday earlier tonight. WC solved = doable. Typical clueing. (Jeff Chen et amie)

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  47. WC- From west to east: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal.
    The Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995 and are now the Avalanche.

    Glad you were well looked after.

    ReplyDelete
  48. AnonT:
    All I can say is, it was fascinating to watch and I can still recall the scene even after all these years. The flautist was kneeling on the sidewalk and the cobra was coiled beside him and responding to the music, in whatever it takes to do so.

    As an aside, the weather in Morocco was very similar to ours here as well as dry and dusty.

    BTW, I'm scheduled to return to California for an ordination but am having second thoughts because of the continued pain in my right leg. I have a few days to decide.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Lemony @ 4:45

    If my math is correct, about 25% of the clues were mine (some altered, slightly). As Stan pointed out, a Friday puzzle should have only 10% of the clues be immediately recognizable. I have a couple more Friday slots with him which I may have clued "better". Not many clues that I thought were overly clever; oration location was probably my "best"

    Getting "MOEs" into the puzzle was pretty cool for this Stooge ...

    ReplyDelete

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