google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday September 1, 2022 Hoang-Kim Vu, Jessica Zetzman

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Sep 1, 2022

Thursday September 1, 2022 Hoang-Kim Vu, Jessica Zetzman

 

 

Silent Movie - The Card Game


Rabbit Rabbit.  Care to try your luck at cards?

Husband and wife team Hoang-Kim Vu and Jessica Zetzman are veteran constructors for the NYT and Vu has published here as recently as last Thursday.  But today is their first pairing on the Corner. and they have some new tricks up their sleeves.  We'd better start by calling 'em:

62A. With 66-Across, images played in silent films, and what one might use to play the games in the first parts of the answers to the starred clues?: TITLE.
66A. See 62-Across: CARDS.

Spreading their themers on the table, we quickly see the names of 4 films or videos that begin with the TITLE of a CARD game:

23A. *Channing Tatum film series featuring strippers: MAGIC MIKE. Bling wise this clue was not a good opening.   No trailer for this one, as I'm sure Merl Reagle would agree that a flick on male strippers wouldn't pass the Margaret Farrar "Sunday Morning Breakfast Test". 

OTOH, if you want to try your hand at Magic The Game, here's everything you need to know.

39A. *Martial arts series based on the writings of Bruce Lee: WARRIOR. Bruce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍; born Lee Jun-fan, 李振藩; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, martial arts instructor, actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and philosopher. Here's the trailer for the 2019 TV series Warrior:


Here are the rules for WAR the card game.

28D. *Netflix series starring Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury: BRIDGERTONBridgerton is an American historical-romance television series based on Julia Quinn's collection of novels.


We have a friend who's been trying to get us to learn the game of BRIDGE for years.  He sometimes lurks on the Corner.  Perhaps he'll stop buy and post some corrections to this "complete tutorial": "Learn How to Play Bridge" (in 16 minutes?):


31D. *Emmy-nominated miniseries about a woman leaving her Hasidic community: UNORTHODOXUnorthodox is a German-American drama television miniseries that debuted on Netflix on March 26, 2020. The first Netflix series to be primarily in Yiddish, it is inspired by Deborah Feldman's 2012 autobiography, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots.  Here's the trailer:


Here are the rules for UNO the card game.

Here's the grid:

The following are the rest of our constructors' tricks:

Across:

1. Crushes it on the runway: SLAYS.  A bit of fashion hyperbole used only in the present tense.  You never hear "The model really SLEW them on the runway yesterday".  BTW this clue hath oft been used in crossword puzzles.

6. Disapproving sound: TSK.  Perhaps the politest way of expressing the increasingly widespread reaction to just about everything.

9. Wolf (down): SCARF.  "eat hastily," 1960, U.S. teen slang, originally a noun meaning "food, meal" (1932), perhaps imitative, or from nautical slang scoff "eat hastily or voraciously, devour" which is attested from 1846 (compare U.S. tramps slang scoffing "food, something to eat," 1907). This is said to be a variant of scaff (by 1797) in the same sense, and scaff (n.) "food, provisions" is attested from 1768, but the group is of obscure origin. Perhaps the word comes ultimately from some survival of Old English sceorfan "to gnaw, bite".  -  etymonline.com

14. __ butter: COCOA.

15. Med. condition with repetitive behavior: OCDObsessive Compulsive Disorder.  Varying degrees of this disorder are common among cruciverbalists.

16. "Culture Warlords" author Lavin: TALIA.  Subtitled My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy.  She may have spent just a little too much time there.

17. Get straight: ALIGN.

18. Average: PAR.  A CSO to Husker, Boomer, and TTP.  Not that any of them are average mind you.

19. Discontinued Apple devices: IPODS.

20. Angry with: MAD AT.  Oh, for the good old days when MAD meant this.

21. 27-Down garment: BRA.  I'm sure they're worn on the island that's the namesake for 27D.

22. Toothpaste choice: CREST.

26. "Waterloo" singers: ABBA.  Oh goodie, music ...!


29. "Don't get any __!": IDEAS.  Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?

30. Bubbles: SUDS.  Common slang for brewed drinks such as ...
 

15 facts about Guinness


34. Milk container: CARTON.  And you can use the milk to make your Guinness even sudsier:
 
Guinness Punch
recipe
36. __ route: SCENIC.

38. Yale student: ELIWhy they're called ELIS.

43. Artist Yoko: ONO.  Well before her famous partnership with John Lennon, Yoko Ono was the "High Priestess of the Happening" and a pioneer in performance art. Drawing from an array of sources from Zen Buddhism to Dada, her pieces were some of the movement's earliest and most daring. With unprecedented radicalism, she rejected the idea that an artwork must be a material object.
Yoko Ono

44. Finished: DID IN.  The past tense of do in.

46. Set out of bounds: BAN.

47. Hawkeye projectile: ARROW.  The clue and the fill connote the sagas of the French and Indian War, immortalized in James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans, popularized in the 1992 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe.  A minor nit is that while Nathaniel "Hawkeye" Poe was probably proficient with a bow and arrow, his weapon of choice was a "Killdeer" rifle not a bow and arrow.  Here's the trailer:


49. Baseball VIPs: GMS.  Even more important than the General Managers are the Owners.  Apparently a dispute has broken out in the Orioles organization among two sons of long-time owner Peter Angelos over the future of the team, raising the possibility of selling or moving it.  This is scary.

50. [shrug emoji]: IDK I Don't Know.  This immediately reminded me of a story by a priest I used to know.  He was describing questions his elementary school students used to try to trick him, e.g. "Father, can God make a rock so big that he can't pick it up?".  The priest paused for few seconds, and then shrugged "I don't know🤷".  But as this was before MS Windows, it looked more like this "¯\_(ツ)_/¯".

51. Nov. honoree: VET.  Veterans Day is always on November 11 so the day of the week changes each year.  Here is a calendar and a history of this day that we should always remember.



52. Sub (for): STEP IN.  Another CSO to Husker.

55. Collect: GATHER.

58. Lawn care tool: AERATOR.  Every thing you'd ever want to know about lawn AERATORS.

60. Upshot: OUTCOME.

61. Body art: TATS.  Plural to clecho 42D.

64. God of war: ODIN.  Hand up if you expected MARS or ARESODIN is the Norse god of war, aka WOTAN in German. Here's Wotan singing a touching farewell ("Abschied") to his disobedient  daughter Brunhilde, one of the Valkyries in Wagner's Die Walküre.  She has fallen from grace and is now banished from Valhalla to spend the remainder of her days on Earth as a mortal.  Teri and I saw this very same performance years ago sung by bass James Morris, a Baltimore native and protégé of  the great Rosa Ponselle (lyrics).   The soprano was Hildegard BehrensA CSO to opera lovers Jayce and Ol' Man Keith.


65. God of love: EROS. The Norse goddess of Love was FREYJA, who also makes brief appearances in Wagner's The Ring of the Niebelung:
Freyja
John Doyle Penrose
(May 9, 1862 – January 2, 1932)
67. Take down: NOTE.
 
68. "Auld Lang __": SYNE.  We'll be singing this before you know it.  This version has ALL of the lyrics:


69. Helen who was the first actress to achieve the EGOT: HAYESHelen Hayes MacArthur (née Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (an EGOT). She was also the first person to win the Triple Crown of Acting; as of December 2020, the only other person to have accomplished both is Rita Moreno.
Helen Hayes

70. Austin festival, briefly: SXSWSouth X SouthWest Festival.  Hand up from anyone who's been to it?
 
Down:

1. Con: SCAM.

2. Kinks woman with "a dark brown voice": LOLAThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s.  LOLA wasn't the only song they wrote.  Here's their SUNNY AFTERNOON:



3. Corrosive chemical: ACID

4. Studio rollout?: YOGA MAT.  A CSO to Lucina.

5. Nick name?: SANTAHow Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus.
 


6. Auction winner, probably: TOP BID.  In addition to Antiques Roadshow  the BBC had a long running comedy series (1986 - 1984) called Lovejoy about an antiques dealer extraordinaire.  Lovejoy was a "divinator" with a second sense that immediately told him not to BID on an antique that was fake.   Played by actor Ian McShane, Lovejoy did however occasionally fake antiques himself, as he was an all-around  rogue.  In Series 1 Episode 1 he first meets his friend Lady Jane Felsam, played by Phyllis Logan.  You may remember Phyllis for her later role as Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey:



7. In short supply: SCARCE.

8. TV series from Seoul, e.g.: K DRAMA.  As  Korean dramas (Korean: 한국 드라마; RR: Hanguk deurama), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular culture (the "Korean Wave"), and their widespread availability via streaming services which often offer subtitles in multiple languages

9. Selfie __: STICK.  In ancient Greek times they were called Narcissus Sticks.

10. Insalata of tomato, mozzarella, and basil: CAPRESE.  See the clue for the recipe.

11. Sunburn treatment: ALOE.  Very popular with constructors because of its VTCR of 75%.  Suntan lotion is much better though.  Not only does it prevent sunburn, but skin cancer as well.

12. Purges (of): RIDS.

13. Lickety-split: FAST.

24. Rodriguez of "Jane the Virgin": GINAGina Alexis Rodriguez-LoCicero (née Rodriguez; born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in  satirical romantic dramedy series Jane the Virgin (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Globe Award in 2015.
Gina Rodriguez
25. Playground comeback: IS SO IS NOT.

26. Served past: ACED.

27. Lingerie brand: BALI.  See 21A for one of their products.  And here's their eponymous island in the Indonesian archipelago:
Bali

32. T. rex, e.g.: DINO.  I think this may be a mistake.  I'm pretty sure DINO was a Snorkasaurus.
 
Dino

33. Freight boat: SCOWA scow is a small type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbors.  A CSO to Jinx.
 
Sailing Scow
New Zealand, circa 1900

35. Takes responsibility for: OWNS IT.

37. Ascot kin: CRAVAT.  What's the difference between an ASCOT and a CRAVAT?   OTOH this reference doesn't think it's that simple.

40. Result of a bases-loaded walk, for short: RBIRun Batted In, even though it wasn't batted in.

41. "Tubular!": RAD.  Surf culture slang for cool or awesome, derived from catching a wave and getting in the "tube".

42. Body art: INK.  Singular of clecho 61A.

45. Stalemate: IMPASSE.

48. Updates the backstory to accommodate new material, for short: RETCONSRetroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work which recontextualizes or breaks continuity with the former. [Hey,  I'm not making this up!]


52. Provides enough: SATES.  IMHO it may be impossible to SATE cruciverbalists.

53. Emotional: TEARY.

54. V-shaped cut: NOTCH.  A versatile word, e.g. a mountain pass, a degree of change,  a position, etc..

55. Speculate: GUESS.  Hand up if you had to speculate about any of today's fill?

56. Radiates: EMITS

57. Extend, in a way: RENEW.

59. Gold-certifying org.:  RIAA.  The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization formed in 1952 that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States". RIAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C.  I was 5 years old when they got their start, and they promptly pulled the plug on my business pushing bootlegged 78's.
60. Shoppe descriptor: OLDE.

63. Tackle: TRY.  I'm too tuckered out to tackle this one.

waseeley

And thanks as always to Teri for her proofreading and constructive suggestions.

Hoang-Kim Vu & Jessica Zetzman, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.

Cheers,
Bill

46 comments:

  1. I thought this puzzle was considerably easier than yesterday’s, with much fewer “ out there “ clues. The only word I really had questions about was “retcon,” but the perps made it necessary, so I went with it. Also, the gimmick sailed right by me, until I read the commentary. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning!

    RETCONS is a new one -- looked weird, but d-o let it stand. Whew! DNF avoided. Yup, tried RUN before RBI, TAT before INK (TATS came later), and ARES before ODIN. Mis-parsed another as K-D RAMA. Thanx, Mr. Vu (or is that your first name?), Jessica, and Waseeley.

    AERATOR: I really need to get one. When it's dry, the gumbo soil sets up like concrete, and nothing grows in it. I think aeration when the soil is moist would probably help.

    SCOW: Yesterday the WWI battleship Texas was towed from it's museum site to a shipyard in Galveston. They're going to spend $35 Mil to make the hull watertight. Seems like a waste, doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. FIR, unexpectedly. After I got all the spaces filled in, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I needed to erase to fix RETCONS. Unable to find a weak link, I gave up and came here for my surprise. Erased tat for INK, reedits for RETCONS, and, of course, ares for ODIN. DNK any of the theme showbiz, and didn't know the game MAGIC. I did know SXSW right off the bat, so I got that goin' for me.

    Amateur golfers almost never achieve PAR for a round of golf. Only 1 in 5 golfers manage to score better that 90 over their "careers" (PAR is usually 72, 71 or 70). But we all say "PAR for the course," meaning "that's about average".

    Here are some SCOWs racing near the Twin Cities.

    Thanks to Vu and Jessica for the fun, if showbiz-heavy, puzzle, and to Bill for 'splainin' it all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I played the last card in 5:52 today, despite several unknowns (RIAA, Hayes, the author).

    I interpreted the Hawkeye/arrow pairing to mean the character (called, "Hawkeye") in the Marvel Avengers who uses a bow and arrows. Jeremy Renner plays him.

    Good Thursday puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  5. FIR, despite the likes of "retcons", "k drama", and "caprese".

    ReplyDelete
  6. This zipped along even though the theme need the reveal answer to make itself known.

    Another day of whatever D-O said - I agree.
    I thought of Hawkeye of Avengers/MCU multiverse and his skill with an ARROW.

    With the explosion of Korean culture worldwide - I think it is similar to the popularity of adding an E for Evite, Etail, etc. in crowwwords- Now you can add a K to anything like Kpop, KDRAMA.

    I love CAPRESE salad - so that was a quick fill. WEES about RETCONS

    Gotta go - thanks to Bill and Teri!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good Morning:

    Despite numerous unknowns, I finished w/o help in my usual Thursday time.I never heard of the Magic card game, so I really didn’t understand the theme until coming here. Being half asleep while solving didn’t help. Besides the never-in-my-life acquaintance with Ret Cons, I was in the dark about Talia, ABBA, Lola, all as clued, and K Drama, Unorthodox, and RIAA, which I thought certified the gold that glitters. Oh, Tubular=Rad was another “oh, really?” entry. My w/os were the exact same ones as DO. Noticed Did In and Step In, but these dupes don’t bother me at all. Favorite C/A was Nick Name=Santa. RIP dear Argyle.

    Thanks, Hoang Vu and Jessica and congrats on your LA Times debut and thanks, Bill, for the generous dose of fun, facts, and frivolity. I appreciated your explanation of Ret Cons but remain blissfully ignorant of its exact meaning. Thanks to Teri, also.

    FLN

    YR, I am so sorry about your shortened vacation and your distressing health issues. I’m sure this has been very upsetting to Alan, too. Good luck with your treatments and outcomes.

    I can’t believe today is September 1st. But, OTOH, I’m looking forward to the cooler and crisp Autumn weather.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hola!

    Finished in spite of the obscure RETCONS and unknown UNORTHODOX as clued.

    It's too early to GATHER my thoughts on this puzzle but the thought of MAGIC MIKE suddenly awakened me! He makes me wish I was much, much younger.

    WARRIOR eluded me until RBI and RAD solved it.

    Had TAT at 42D, erased when 61A appeared then replaced it with INK.

    Never heard of KDRAMA but it was easily perped.

    My grandmother passed on her OCD but over time I've managed to control it.

    Ray likely knew 10D instantly.

    The last movie I saw with TITLE CARDS was THE ARTIST. It's excellent.

    I'm still sleepy so am going back to bed. Have a sensational day, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  9. FIR I am a writer and have never heard of RETCONS even though I have probably done it in my career.

    ReplyDelete

  10. Good morning.

    Bill, I started to read through the review and got to your comments about 23A possibly not passing the breakfast test. It's fine. The answer brought back some memories. That's all the farther I got because I wanted to put together some images to share.

    Not sure if I shared this before. I had heard of the movie and knew basically what it was about. At our Chinese Christmas Gift Exchange one year, the following unfolded.

    (After you open the link, click on the 1st pic so you can see the captions and detail. You can scroll through the pics by moving your cursor to the far right of the screen)

    Chinese Christmas Gift Exchange


    Having some connectivity problems this AM, and now I'm late for some tasks that I have to get to. I'll have to get back to the review sometime later today.

    ReplyDelete
  11. WEES about HAWKEYE. I've never ventured into the MARVEL UNIVERSE and that ARROW went right over my head!

    Irish Miss @8:00 AM The blurb on RETCONS was straight out of the WIKIVERSE. I'm still not sure I understand it. I can't think of any specific examples, but I believe RETCONS have been used multiple times in the British Dr. Who series to explain inconsistencies that have cropped up between current and earlier episodes. The series has been running off and on since November 23, 1963 (does that date ring a bell?) for a total of 862(ish) episodes, with multiple show runners, writers, and 100s of different actors. "Historical" contradictions are inevitable and are gleefully pointed out by rabid fans (aka "Whovians"); subsequent episodes try to correct these inconsistencies with RETCONS, which sometimes produce a need for even more RETCONS!

    ReplyDelete
  12. BRIDGE* and basketball were my downfall in college along with a few other B words.

    I finally added S to RETCON giving SXSW. I finally changed NINA to GINA and the unlikely FIR

    D-O covered my w/os.

    I see from Bill's link that Rex Stout pulled a RETCON in "Over My Dead Body" in which the original manuscript continued the tale of Wolfe being born in Montenegro. But American Magazine protested and Stout "RETCON'ed his birth to the U.S.

    Anyone try to fit Downton Abbey into BRIDGERTON? This xword was the ultimate pop-cul nightmare, just perp friendly enough to fill.
    WARRIOR the easiest

    WC

    TTP, is that lovely lady with the headband your daughter?

    ** I think I related the ChuLai Bridge game story with the deadbeat Major

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first "Hawkeye" that came to mind was Pierce of MASH (in)famy

      WC

      Delete
  13. Tough but interesting Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Hoang-kim and Jessica. And always enjoy your commentary, Bill, thanks for that too.

    Always look forward to food items in puzzles, but not many today. Okay, COCOA and CAPRESE, but that was about it, with questionable SUDS to drink but at least a CARTON of milk. And that ACID sure didn't SATEs anyone. This was more like a day of FASTing than eating.

    At least there were some games and activities. Exercise on a YOGA MAT, playing with I-PODS and some CARDS, and writing a NOTE with some INK, maybe to get some TATS.

    Well, at least we won't be TEARY after we played with all this.

    Have a fun day, everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I got the theme and reveal quickly, but butted heads on too many unknowns and not swift enough to guess some of them. Arduous puzzle for me. Congratulations to those who finished it right.

    ReplyDelete

  15. Did anyone else think of DINO as a shortened word for dinosaur, as "T" is
    also an abbreviation?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Just realized I FIW (again!l) had RETCONT (btw, "huh"?) figuring the unknown SXSW would be TXSW for "Texas". A super Natick....Got the card game theme. Thought MAGIC and GATHER came from the card game MAGIC: The GATHERing. (Actually UNORTHODOX slipped by me.) Didn't get the connection of a reenactment by two young actors of a 1924 silent film... O I C now TITLE CARDS are what the silent movie dialogue prompts are called, (wonder how much it cost to see a movie in 1924?)

    Held off on "knife" for Hawkeye's ARROW, (bet he had both).

    Mars, Ares, nope ODIN except he is the king of the gods like Zeus or Jupiter, not the god of war... "Týr is the Norse God of War, it makes him the Norse equivalent to both Kratos and Ares. Scholars often identified Týr with a Germanic God, called Mars by Roman historian Tacitus" plus "Tuesday comes from Old English “Tīwesdæg,” after Tiw, or Tyr, a one-handed Norse god of dueling. He is equated with Mars, the Roman war god." (Mardi: Fr., Martedí :Ital. Martes: Sp. for Tuesday)...BTW..Odin..Wodin...Woden's day..Wednesday,

    KDRAMA (seriously?) and WARRIOR were perped, the other titles I've either seen or heard of.

    Lucina: I almost put CAPRESa 😲, (CAPRESE= from Capri)

    Instills fear...SCARCE
    Bratty donkey....IMPASSE
    SANTA's ____ filled with toys...SLAYS

    I'm day two at our camp waiting for the DIRECT TV tech to show up for service. Got no less than 15 automated texts that they were coming between 8 to 12 yesterday then the 16th at 2pm that they weren't. Rescheduled for today between 12 to 4 pm. Already received 5 autotexts that they are coming, I responded with a text, "please don't cancel today". Got an auto response "so you want to cancel?"🤬

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm not sure what a 'title card' is in the sense of 'what one might use to play the games...'

    Magic and Uno are proprietary (I think) but Bridge and War are played with a standard 52 card deck (I think)?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Edward in LA here.

    Most politicians retcon their first terms.LOL

    ReplyDelete
  19. Edward have n LA here.

    Hands up: who else pens in the “ B”s backwards in ABBA!? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Bill, forgot to mention that I also like all those pictures you post along with your commentary. Thanks for those too.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Had to cheat to get the NW corner. Otherwise, this was a fair test of my solving abilities. Or, at least of their Thursday edition.
    Sadly, though, no diagonals on this one.
    But I wish the hard-working constructors well.
    ~ OMK

    ReplyDelete
  22. Busy day today prepping for a long drive with a quick return long drive over the long weekend.

    First rate write-up Bill. Those graphics with the "embedded" links are awesome.

    Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Y'all! Perped & WAGd my way through this to fill. Lot of unknowns. WEES. TSK TSK!

    Thanks, Bill & Teri.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Tired Of Crossed Proper NamesSeptember 1, 2022 at 3:30 PM

    Has anyone here heard of MAGIC as a card game? Anyone heard of GINA? Anyone heard of MAGIC MIKE? Could have been MANIC and NINA.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Musings
    -MAGIC had to be but I did not know it as a card game and CAPRESE and RETCON filled themselves in
    -I tried to get interested in BRIDGERTON but alas…
    -My OCD forces me to try to get the puzzles done so every line is full 1/3 of the way down, then 2/3 of the way and then to the bottom. Counseling? Who needs counseling?
    -81 today again – Eleven over PAR but I’m getting my swing down
    -I love ABBA but I also remember this 1959 hit
    -SCENIC ROUTE – Try the Pacific Coat Hwy from Seattle to San Francisco
    -NASA uses inert helium to purge fuel lines
    -UNO is a proprietary product but I prefer “Crazy Eights” which is the simple version played with a regular deck

    ReplyDelete

  26. YR - sorry to read of your health issues, best of luck to you.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Well, I managed to solve this puzzle without having to resort to looking anything up, but I feel as un-impassioned as I felt before beginning the puzzle. *shrug* As for yesterday's puzzle, frankly I hated it; all it did was make me angry and increase all my stress hormones.

    What I liked about today's puzzle:
    AERATOR
    YOGA MAT
    SANTA
    IMPASSE
    NOTCH


    As a father myself, I think Wotan's farewell song to his beloved daughter Brünhilde is one of the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, full-of-love arias I know.




    ReplyDelete
  28. A great scenic route is the rail ride from Portland to Seattle, then from Seattle to Vancouver. Outstanding.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dammit, I accidentally must have hit some keystroke combination that caused my incomplete remarks to post. I wasn't quite finished.

    To continue --

    What I did not like:
    TSK
    The cluing for COCOA, IDEAS, STICK, and SCENIC, though I like the fill SCENIC
    IDK
    TOP BID, which seems to be a made-up phrase
    K DRAMA
    DINO
    RETCONS
    Proper names of people I never heard of and which require Every Single Perp to fill because they cannot be GUESSed.

    Now I'm done.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi All!

    Thanks Hoang-Kim & Jessica for the card-tricks.

    Thanks waseeley & Teri for the chock full o' links expo.
    BTW, what SpeedySolver & inanehiker said: The clue (47a) references Marvel's Hawkeye.

    WOs: tat->INK, DID It->DID IN
    ESPs: TALIA, RETCONS, HAYES
    Fav: CAPRESE - with fresh ingredients and good balsamic, there's nothing better

    I've heard of K-Pop but not K-Drama. RETCON is a new one on me.

    FLN - PK, yes, I meant I'm sorry YR is having a rough go of it lately, not you.

    In 2015, DW and the Girls went to SxSW to see Gilmore Girls' cast 15 year reunion. [1:49:12]

    TTP - Thanks for sharing the LOL story with your "TITLE CARD"

    RAY-O: DirectTV does camp-ground calls?!?

    Time to go sit in traffic for 90 minutes. New house is nice but the commute sucks.

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  31. In spite of all the unknowns today I FIR. I'd never heard of any of the shows, TITLE CARDS, or the game MAGIC but the perps were solid enough to make it a fairly easy solve. Never noticed the WAR, UNO, or BRIDGE games. I had to look at RETCONS for a while to leave it.

    Other unknowns-TALIA Lavin, HAYES (as clued), K DRAMA, CAPRESE, GINA Rodriguez,

    LOLA- "You Really Go Me Now" so I don't know what I'm doin'.

    SLAYS- maybe one of those male strippers in MAGIC MIKE might 'slay' some woman but I can't imagine any man getting excited over one of those Twiggy-like models on a fashion runway.

    Jinx- I managed to shoot under 80 exactly ONE time playing golf on a 'real' course and only because I somehow managed to birdie 15, 16, 17, & 18.

    Jayce- I'm with you on this puzzle 100%. Knowing how much work is involved in getting a puzzle published I don't want to ever criticize any constructor but let's just say it wasn't my cup of tea.

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  32. AnonT @ 5:54..

    In Central NY "camp" means" anything from the Vanderbuilt's Great Camp Sagamore to a hunting shack...

    The Direct TV tech finally showed..As I feared two enormous pine trees are blocking the satellite signal. Moving it won't help.. But he tweaked the dish and got it working (until the wind blows).
    🙄

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  33. On a personal note, I was surprised and pleased to receive my renewed driver's license in the mail yesterday. I had applied online to renew it and paid the fee. The order confirmation I got via email led me to believe that I would soon be getting a letter with an appointment date to go down to the DMV to take the written test, to read the eye chart, and to get my photograph taken. But by golly the actual laminated driver's license was in the letter they sent me! I guess they used the photo of me that they had on file. No need to take a test or anything. And, to top it off, the license is good for 5 years. So I am a happy camper, er, driver :)

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  34. FIW. The SE corner DID (me) IN.
    FAV: Nick Name? SANTA
    Thank you Waseeley & Teri for all the bonus info!

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  35. TTP @ 10:00. Love the pic where "GG niece and you are both agape!"

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  36. Good afternoon. Thank you, Hoang-Kim Vu and Jessica Zetzman, and thank you, Bill.

    I read the reveal too quickly. Didn't see the words "first parts" and didn't notice that each of the beginnings were names of card games. So even though it was a FIR, it feels like a fail because I didn't see it until Bill's expo.

    SCARF or SnARF. This time, scarf down. Just enter S-ARF and check the perp. Today, insalata CAPRESE made the decision easy. I laughed out loud at Bill's comments on CAPRESE. "See the clue for the recipe."

    Husker had a nice round of golf the other day. And today. There must have been some PARs in his scoring. A longtime golfing friend framed his scorecard when he scored a par on all 18 holes. Also, 18 greens in regulation that round. He's good. I don't play him for money. Even quarters. I'd lose $4.50 every round.

    One of my coworkers that lives in Austin would take vacation days for SXSW every single year. Almost always the duration. I think he had gone to it every single year since it first started. It helps when you live there. Otherwise, good luck trying to get a hotel room anywhere near Austin. Maybe in San Antonio or Temple. It's a big deal.

    It took me a half hour of reading to understand why the many EGOT winners would not be Triple Crown of Acting Winners. Then it was, "Oh, duh !"

    I think "Chicago's very own" Jennifer Hudson is the latest and also the youngest ever EGOT winner.


    From earlier, Wilbur Charles, no, not my daughter. My great grand niece.
    The first pic is one of my many grand nephews (my niece's son) and one of my great grand nieces. His niece.
    The second photo is my great grand niece. She is my niece's daughter's daughter. So my great grand niece.
    That's her again in the third image, still wearing the Texas A&M Aggies headband.
    The fourth snapshot is one of my many grand nieces. Daughter of my niece, mother of my great grand niece, and brother of my grand nephew in pic 1.

    Confusing ? It gets really crazy when many members of the family tree get together. Especially when the younger ones want to know, for example, whether they are first, second or third cousins with someone else, and then you have to get into the once removed, twice removed etc. Throw in some step, or half cousins due to second or third marriages ... I send them to my oldest brother, the family genealogist.

    Lucina, you are welcome. I hope the captions worked for you. Glad you enjoyed it, Dash T.

    My pictured great grand niece is starting her senior year of college.

    Time flies while you are preparing for the future.

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  37. Ray, the azimuth for Dish is substantially different than that for DirecTV, at least it is here in Norfolk. You might want to download one of the satellite pointing apps to compare the two sight lines.

    Although not your idea of a camp, DirecTV will go to RV campgrounds if that's where your service address is in their system. (Other inquiring minds wanted to know).

    BTW, DirecTV had great customer service before AT&T bought them.

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  38. See, Wilbur Charles, I got in too much of a hurry. She is the SISTER of my grand nephew in Pic 1. I hope she never sees that comment, although I know she would forgive me for that gaffe.

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  39. Jinx

    The tech made the same observation about DISH but camp is surrounded by huge pines and deciduous trees

    Eventually need to switch to Cable

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  40. Commute follow-up: This eve was the first time I was able to make it in 67minutes. Folks from Houston will get this - My office is near Post Oak & San Filipe and I now live in Spring off TC Jester just south of Spring-Cyprus road. It's 20 minutes from house to freeway and loop 610 is always involved (and another 20+ minutes). Good thing I only go in 3 days a week.

    Jayce: As long as you know you can still drive, go for it! DW's aunt (83(?)) finally hired a driver after 3rd accident.

    TTP - I think everyone in my family gave up on trying to figure out how we are all related. Too many marriages & re-marriages (Pop's excuse: "I like wedding cake.").

    Ray-O: That’s an odd definition of camp :-). To me that's a real nice lake-house. I was thinking you were in a tent (with a dish?) or an RV roughin' it. BTW, your "camp" is DW's idea of 'camping' :-)

    Story follows:
    When DW & I were dating, we went to Petit Jean State Park in AK. I wanted to take her hiking & camping where I went with the Boy Scouts a year earlier. We hike up the mountain, pitch the tent, eat dinner, and hit the hay. Next morning, she asks, so where do I plug in my blow-dryer?
    Of course, I laughed thinking she was joking.
    Nope. We had to hike down the mountain to the visitors center so she could do her hair.
    //That should have been a #HighMaintenance Omen ;-)

    Cheers, -T

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  41. Hey, Anon-T, I know you've considered all alternate routes but since you live off of TC Jester, does your TC Jester continue south to the North 610 Loop around Ella Blvd? I know my TC Jester has stretches of only a few traffic lights, but of course it could be different in the Spring area. I bookmarked your link some years back of Houston's wacko city streets - as in "stop and start" somewhere else.

    Thanks, Bill, for the recap - I've forgotten about Elihu Yale. Lots of unknown proper names, but easy perps helped - this time. SXSW was my first fill. Glad to see SCARF (used down here) and not SNARF (sound of a sneeze).

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  42. Anonymous T you brought back memories of a long ago trip to Petit Jean state park. We had not been married very long. I don’t remember needing a blow dryer however.

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  43. USMC has Camps as Lejeune which has been in the news lately.

    TTP, I liked the excitement and smile of said lady.
    And….
    Speaking of Nero Wolfe… Was it Rubber Band or League of Frightened Men where the term "Ortho Cousin" is the clue that leads Wolfe to identify a killer.
    Lemonade??

    Between Texas and California geography I'd like to see a Natick (MA) Clue someday.

    WC

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