google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday March 5, 2010 Gary J. Whitehead

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Mar 5, 2010

Friday March 5, 2010 Gary J. Whitehead

Theme: M-ending - The last letter N of a three-letter word in a familiar phrase is changed into letter M.

17A. Suggestion to singer Lennox after a garlicky meal?: ANNIE GET YOUR GUM. Base phrase is the musical "Annie Get Your Gun". Singer Annie Lennox.

24A. Jamaican group winding down after a gig?: BAND ON THE RUM. "Band on the Run". Paul McCartney's song. Unknown to me. Jamaicans drink lots of rum? I don't understand the "Jamaican group" and RUM connection.

45A. Moocher at McDonald's?: HAMBURGER BUM. Hamburger Bun. Moocher = Bum.

58A. Feared words from an accountant?: HERE COMES THE SUM. "Here Comes the Sun". The Beatles' song.

Such a fun theme! Which is your favorite theme answer? ANNIE GET YOUR GUM made me laugh.

All our Friday puzzles seem to be letter addition/deletion/replacement. Rich Norris sure loves wordplay.

Maybe this constructor Gary J Whitehead is working on another puzzle with M to N replacement.

Across:

1. Bank statement no.: ACCT (Account)

5. The Miners of Conf. USA: UT EP (University of Texas, El Paso). Have never heard of Conference USA. Not a college sports fan.

9. One way to attend a party: STAG

13. Lincoln feature: BEARD

15. __ City: Baghdad suburb: SADR. Where Muqtada al-Sadr (al is Arabic for "the"), one of the most influential Iraqi religious/political figure, came from. Now exile in Iran.

16. Cook book: COMA. Robin Cook's thriller "Coma". I was fooled before.

20. Half of the Brady bunch, to Carol: STEPSONS. No idea. Have never seen "The Brady Bunch".

21. Clothes line?: CREASE. I bet Dennis nailed it. He loves ironing.

22. Samuel Johnson portraitist John __: OPIE. Cornish painter. Complete stranger to me. Here is his portrait of Samuel Johnson. The constructor must be very exited to discover a new clue for OPIE.

23. Traitors: JUDASES

28. "Yours truly calling": IT IS I

29. Downed: ATE

30. "Ditto": SAME

34. Warmup toss: LOB. Baseball. A pitcher will lob a few balls to get his arm loose.

35. City in Thessaly: LARISSA. Wikipedia says "Legend has it that Achilles was born here and Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, died here". Who knows?

39. "Oedipus __": REX. "Oedipus the King". Rex = "King" in Latin.

40. Sylvester's problem: LISP

42. Hägar creator Browne: DIK. Not on my radar.

43. Roman moon goddess: DIANA. "Greek moon goddess" = Artemis.

49. Acid neutralizers: ALKALIS

52. Outer area of an escutcheon: ORLE. Heraldry term. The border of shield. I did not know the meaning of "escutcheon", Latin for "shield".

53. Afternoon service: TEA SET

54. Fragments: SNIPPETS

60. Frankfurt's river: ODER. The Poland-Germany border river. Flows to the Baltic.

61. Canceled: NO GO. At NASA.

62. Emcee's job: INTRO

63. Nos. divided by dashes: SSNS

64. He played Obi-Wan: EWAN (McGregor). Gimme. Just listened to his interview with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air". Also learned the Sadr City from Terry.

65. Strong taste: TANG

Down:

1. "__ le roi!": French Revolution cry: A BAS. Literally "down with" in French. I wonder if anyone recklessly penned in VIVE without reading carefully the "Revolution cry".

2. Tiny amount: CENT. The answer is always IOTA.

3. Mr. Peanut prop: CANE

4. Surveyors' tools: TRIPODS

5. Online newsgroup system: USENET

6. Does lacework: TATS

7. Eponymous ice cream maker: EDY. Edy's Ice Cream.

8. Gets by special means: PROCURES. Great entry.

9. Roller coaster sounds: SCREAMS

10. Senate apparel: TOGAS. Roman Senate.

11. Tickle pink: AMUSE

12. Fun partner: GAMES. Fun and games. I blanked.

14. Pillage: DESPOIL. New word to me. Looks like the opposite of "spoil", doesn't it?

18. "__ Out of My Head": 1964 hit: GOIN'. Here is the clip.

19. Language heard in Karachi: URDU. One of the official Pakistani languages. Written in Arabic alphabet.

23. Flies, in a way: JETS

24. Law in the works: BILL. Once a bill passes the Congress and is signed by the president, it becomes a law.

25. Paris possessive: A TOI. French for "yours".

26. Writing points: NIBS. Pen points.

27. 17-syllable poem: HAIKU. The three-line poem.

31. Libyan, probably: ARAB

32. You might get one right after being seated: MENU. D'oh! Of course.

33. Checkup: EXAM

36. Ticket order?: ADMIT ONE. The "order" confounded me.

37. Barbecue order: RIBS

38. Long Island university: ADELPHI. No idea. Where did it get its name?

41. Sci-fi weapons: PHASERS

44. Words of atonement: I REPENT

46. Baldwin of "30 Rock": ALEC. He's going to co-host this year's Oscar with Steve Martin.

47. Recent Zippo acquisition: RONSON. Not familiar with Ronson lighter. I like that threesome ad.

48. Gumption: GRIT

49. Oldest musketeer: ATHOS. Was ignorant of this trivia. The other two are Porthos & Aramis.

50. It's on the Aire: LEEDS. Was unaware of River Aire, which passes through Leeds. Nice play on "It's on the air".

51. Carpenter with a soothing voice: KAREN. My husband loves Karen Carpenter.

54. Nintendo rival: SEGA. It stands for SErvice GAmes (of Japan).

55. This, in Tijuana: ESTA. Or ESTO.

56. Make a right, say: TURN

57. Industrial pollutant: SMOG

59. Cut: MOW. Cut the grass.

Answer grid.

I enjoyed the Sausage Sentence Links yesterday, thanks for playing!

C.C.

67 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - a good, tough puzzle for me today; I had problems right from the beginning.

I thought 1A must be 'acct', but was positive 1D must be 'viva', so I had to bounce around a bit to get traction. Never heard of 'abas le roi'. My first pass through the puzzle left a lot of blanks until the theme unveiled itself, then I was able to finally get through it. Some great clues, including 'Cook book' and 'Ticket order'.

All in all, a most enjoyable puzzle - and a nice way to leave gray NJ.

Lemonade714 said...

Happy Friday all, what a nice challenge to finish the week; lots of unknowns, and some new clues to old answers, as well as thought provoking fill.

For some reason I got ANNIE GET YOUR GUM immediately, perhaps because we have been speaking about the play, and the theme of transposing an N for an M, hit me so I could out the UM in.

COOK BOOK did not fool me, as I have read almost all of ROBIN COOK, who like Michael Crichton, weaves an interesting tale out of real life possibilities. From there we went to the deliciously misleading CLOTHES LINE, even with the ?, it took a while to get the idea. BAND ON THE RUM AND HERE COMES THE SUM (remember, the song which began Woodstock) slowed me down with the Macdonald’s one, because the first three theme answers were music related, but the B from RIBS set me straight.

Unknowns, SADR city, USENET were my last fill, and the S was just a guess, but it worked.

LEEDS and LARISSA also were only from the perps, and did not know ORLE or ODER. I did like HAIKU, as it reminded me of the challenge from my youngest when we were on long drives and made up poems to pass the time.

Hope everyone out there is doing well, and the reason we do not hear from you all is just life being busy; and the sun will come back Dennis I promise.

Dennis said...

C.C., that Ronson ad brought back memories. Back in the day, it seemed every family had a hefty Ronson lighter sitting on the coffee table. Anyone else remember this?

Great theme title, C.C.

MJ said...

Good morning, C.C. and all,
I thoroughly enjoyed today's puzzle. Luckily I got the theme right away which really helped with the perps, as many of the clues had taken me on incorrect mental tangents. Loved seeing a new clue for OPIE. Lots of fun fill with DESPOIL, PHASERS, SNIPPET, JUDASES, PROCURES, etc.

C.C.-Great write-up. You are amazing! For 24A, Jamaica is known for rum production and export. A group performing a gig is the band part.

Enjoy the day!

Bob said...

Pretty easy, relatively speaking, for a Friday. Took a little thinking here and there, and that was nice. No help or errors. 28 minutes.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC and All,

What a slog. I couldn't get footing anywhere. I threw the paper copy in the trash, did some work, and then plowed through it with red letters. Not much fun.

Dennis, have a great vacation!

Everyone else, TGIF

Anonymous said...

Wow, this was a tough start to the puzzle. My first pass got almost nothing, then started to get some traction the second time around. Wen't to red letter help to get a few in, and that got me going. Got the M for N right away with HAMBURGER BUM and that provided more assistance with the other theme fills.

Have been reading much about JUDAS during lent, so I was surprised that didn't come more easily. DESPOIL is a term frequently used in the Bible.

Lots of fun clues in this one, including Clothes Line, Cook Book and Afternoon Service.

CC, the Brady Bunch was a sitcom about a widow with three daughters and a widower with three sons who marry and raise their families as one.

Off to the swim meet. Unfortunately one son had the onset of a head cold last night. Lets hope all goes well anyway.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all; a real doozy. Agree with most of the previous comments. A few too many arcane clues; but did like ORLE. 45A was the breakthru on the theme. PROCURES was a lucky WAG, but helped get traction in the North. Had 'it's me' before perps gave IT IS I. Finally got SNIPPETS but had to google for SEGA, EWAN, and RONSON to end the kerfuffle in the South.

Favorite clue - Clothes line?

Still, all-in-all, an enjoyable puzzle

windhover said...

The Ronson ad sizzled, CC's comment about it even more.
Dennis, that ad probably caused people who didn't smoke to buy a Ronson for the coffee table. Those old admen (common xword fill) knew what they were selling and how to sell it.

Hahtoolah said...

Morning, CC. No newspaper today and for some reason, I can't get the puzzle up on my computer. Not sure if it because my computer is too full, or whether it's a problem with the LA times site. I'll it again later.

Happy Friday!

Anonymous said...

Drat! Our paper omits the puzzle title.

Disgruntled

MJ said...

Disgruntled @9:39--LA Times does not give the puzzle theme (title) on weekday puzzles.

stever said...

Tough clues today, typical Friday fare. Should 16a have a question mark? How about 23a??

eddyB said...

Morning all.

To bad that Frankfurt isn't on the Oder. It is on the Main which flows into the Rhine.

Re 23A: Oh, really.

eddyB

Hahtoolah said...

After several tries, I finally was able to access the crossword online. (I much prefer doing this on my newsprint.)

A fun romp through the clues. I especially liked COMA for Cook Book. It fell in line through the perps, and I scratched my head for a minute until I remembered Robin Cook.

I thought CENT for A Tiny Amount was a bit of a stretch.

In light of Robin Cook's writings, here's the QOD:

This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with great force. ~ Dorothy Parker

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, a super hard one for Friday, We only finished ~30% of it before my wife left for work. I went online after that and after I got 'band on the rum/run' I said aha and quickly got the other entries.

Does anyone remember how Lincoln was convinced to keep his beard?



Here's a link to the origin of Adelphia Academy.

"They opened in February, 1863, under the name Adelphi Academy. (The word “adelphi” translated roughly from the Greek as “brotherhood,” but the origin of the name almost certainly comes from the first location of the school at what is now 412 Adelphi Street.) "

I still remember the band on the run song from Paul McCartney.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, The theme answers came fairly easily, but so much of the rest of the fill had me scratching and banging my head. I'm not complaining. This was just right for a Friday.

USENET, portraitist OPIE, LARISSA and ORLE were complete unknowns. I thought I finally had a handle on UTEP, but "The Miners" was brand new. I'd heard of ADELPHI, but I didn't know the location.

My favorite fill was SNIPPETS. How great a word is that?

Dennis, I remember RONSON table lighters. My ex gave them as gifts to his best man and ushers at our wedding. They were nice guys, I hope they survived the gifts.

Gary J. Whitehead's talents are really impressive. I wasn't familiar with his poetry, but I did find Sisyphus. I will be looking for more of his poetry. Let's not forget his paintings. Then, when he isn't so engaged, he teaches AND constructs crossword puzzles. WOW!

Tinbeni said...

Warren - I think it was a little girl told him it looked good.
The BEARD crossing CENT was cute.

Cook book being COMA the best.

The themes were actually easy after I got the first one. The rest of the puzzle was tough.
LARISSA wasn't difficult since I have been there, otherwise I think it would have put me in the weeds.

With ALEC Baldwin, I realized that Obi-Wan couldn't be Alec Guinness but could not remember the later actors name.

Glad I passed the French Test; A BAS, ATOI, ORLE.
As bonus got the spanish too, ESTA.

All in all an appropriate Friday.

Jayce said...

Hello all,

Call me reckless; I pencilled in VIVE for 1D. Well, half reckless; I didn't pen it in.

I couldn't get ALEC Guinness out of my head for the actor who played Obi-Wan. Took the perps to finally change my mind. Ewan did a great job.

I loved Annie Get Your Gum; made me laugh too, and groan a little.

I think much of the best rum comes from Jamaica, hence the connection.

Cook book stumped me until I came here, then the light bulb went on. I love that kind of clue.

A good puzzle, lots of fun, lots of head scratching.

Gonna be sunny today.

Spitzboov said...

EddyB said: To bad that Frankfurt isn't on the Oder. It is on the Main which flows into the Rhine..

The clue refers to Frankfurt an der ODER, an entirely different city on the opposite side of Germany on the Polish border.

carol said...

Wow, typical Friday and a good puzzle for the day, but too much for me. I could not even come close to finishing it.

Loved the Cook Book clue/answer.

One thing is a mistake though...42A HAGAR CREATOR BROWNE...answer is not DIK, it is CHRIS. I looked at my comic page this morning. I think it is Dik that creates Hi and Lois.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Got only a few words in this one, 27 counting across and downs. I had a moi and Drudge, which lead me astray.

Yes, I had Ronson table lighters for years.

My happiest moment was "It is I". So few people know to say it correctly!

Cheers

Anonymous said...

P.S.
Yes, Hagar is created by Chris Browne.

Spitzboov said...

Carol said: One thing is a mistake though...42A HAGAR CREATOR BROWNE...answer is not DIK, it is CHRIS. .

I thought the same as you at first and checked my paper also. But then assumed maybe Chris is a son. Just checked Wikipedia, and that's what they say.

Warren said...

Thanks Tinbeni; I was just checking to see if anyone else remembered the story about Abe Lincoln's beard besides me.

"It was the fall of 1860. Abraham Lincoln was the Republican nominee for president of the United States. Election Day was less than a month away. Mr. Lincoln, a lifelong beardless man, received a letter written by Grace Bedell, an 11-year-old girl from Westfield, New York. Written October 15th, 1860, the letter urged him to grow a beard. Unedited, Miss Bedell's letter read:..."

Lemonade714 said...

o not jump to conclusions, the internet knows all, DIK BROWNE .

It is time we understood the constructors and editor really are careful....

Do you not like ROBIN COOK, Hahtool?

Where are you Mr. Hawaii, or Martin or fishy or any of those missing in action?

Lucina said...

Good Friday morning, C.C. and fellow bloggers:

And what a great start, isn't it? Fuuuuun, challenging puzzle, just my style.

I didn't fall into the viva trap because it had to be French, however I'm unfamiliar with "a bas" or couldn't recall it but beard came easily.

I usually jump around until I find traction which I did at the bottom and found the theme which definitely helped but I wanted Alec Guinness yet knew it wouldn't be repeated as in 46D. "Mow" finally lit the bulb.

Cook book and clothes line really amused me. I've had many students from the Middle East, so am familiar with Urdu and Farsi.

I'm with you, Carol, on "it is I", the correct form.

This is a really great theme amd fun to uncover.

I'll check the links later as I have to run now.

Dennis:
Have a wonderful vacation!

Have a lovely Friday, everyone.

Jerome said...

BAND ON THE RUM-

Tacit way to ask a Jamaican girl to dance?
NOD, THEN RUMBA

HAMBURGER BUM-

Scrooge's exclamation after having sex on the floor?
BAH! RUG BUMMER!

Hahtool said...

Sorry, Lemonade, but I am not a big fan of Robin Cook's books. There was a time when I read his books, but my tastes have changed. I don't much care for the chick lit genre either.

I agree with your statement about believing what you read on the Internet. If it appears in the virtual world it must be true - NOT. I am especially leary of using wiki as a primary source.

Won't let me sign in now. Bummer.

Annette said...

Tinbeni: Great catch – Lincoln’s BEARD and that Lincoln penny CENT!

Spitzboov: Thank you for the Frankfurt explanation. I had forgotten that there were 2 Frankfurt’s in Germany!

Carol: I did the same thing for Hagar! But research showed that DIK is correct. His son Chris later took it over, while his son Chance took over Hi and Lois. Can you imagine what fun that family must've had around the dinner table?!

My favorite clue was 21A Clothes line: CREASE. And ANNIE GET YOUR GUM, since my family often calls me Annie.

Otherwise, a lot of unknowns for me today. Used google to get UTEP, EWAN and OPIE. Doing so, also gave me DESPOIL and URDU, by accident. Also, had to G. TRIPODS because I was looking for the name of the tool that sits atop the tripod... Finally, the A’s in LARISSA were WAGs!

I think I need to take a French class if I’m going to continue doing puzzles…………………

Jeannie said...

This one kicked my prat and made me scratch my nob today. Too many unknowns and many visits to Mr. G today. Thessaly/Larissa; Karachi/Urdu. Got red letter help with Sadr, Dik, Orle, A bas. I had no clue WTH an escutcheon was either. Liked the theme though especially Annie get your gum. I’m with you Annette, it appears I need to take a French lesson.

It’s in the 40’s and sunny here though so as Lois would say, “it’s all good.”

Al said...

@KQ, your summary of the Brady bunch reminded me of this TV Guide blurb:

Movie: "The Wizard of Oz":
Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets, then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again.

Ah, the memories of Usenet. Kind of like reading the comments on a very specific blog such as this one, except the conversations were displayed in a threaded fashion so that a response that came later would be seen together with the original post and other responses. Here's a small sampling that was archived.

Lemonade714 said...

H.

You do not have to be sorry about COOK; I have not read him in years.

DIK BROWNE's creation, however, I did remember, and still read now and then

dodo said...

Annette, Thanks for explaining the connection of 'beard' and 'cent'. Sometimes I think I'm too obtuse to get all the nuances so many of you latch onto so easily. Same with the themes. I did get today's before I'd even completed any of the theme answers; I had 'your gum' from the perps in the NE corner but never even got the first part until I came here! I should have known better, too, as I saw that musical with Ethel Merman years ago! This one was really hard! 'Hamburger bum' and 'Here comes the sum' came along okay but I never did get 'Band on the rum'. Some really good words here, though. I wouldn't believe 'Opie' until C.C. enlightened me and I started out with 'vive' but caught it before it did any harm when I gave it a little thought. 'Vive le roi' could never be a revolutionary cry!
We do seem to be getting more and different French words, but don't bother to take a class; you'll learn what you need here at this rate.

Lemonade714 said...

Little Lolita, you are so cute; but, you have no NOB to scratch, or you have us all fooled. Those needing French lessons, the line is to the left; we will cover some words as well.

carol said...

Thanks to all who set me straight on Dik and Chris Browne. I should have checked the internet before making my statement, but I only looked at the comic strips themselves. Who knew?? Now I do!!!

Warren said...

It took me some time to find this one but here's a description (see the link for a picture) of what the hard to figure out escutcheon outer area orle looks like.

"In heraldry, an orle (crest-wreath) is a bearing, in the form of a fillet, round the shield, within, but at some distance from, the border. "

"Heraldry is the science of a herald's duties, or more commonly the knowledge of the forms, terms and laws which pertain to the use of armorial bearings or coats of arms."

Annette said...

Dodo: Trust me, I didn’t get that connection easily! When Tinbeni commented on it, I didn’t see the connect at all! I had to think about it before it came to me. I’d never have gotten it on my own, and now have more respect for a puzzle that I finished, but couldn’t say I enjoyed. It makes me wonder what other nuances I’d missed! BTW, I’d caught something about the theme having to do M & N being switched when I glanced at the blog this morning, but it in no way helped me with the theme answers! I had to work them all the hard way…

Warren: Thanks for the information on orle and shields. I tend to get complacent and just be happy I finish a puzzle, forgetting to learn a little something too by researching the ones I didn’t know. Of course, some days that could be awfully time-consuming!

Jerome said...

Today's puzzle has a symmetry and elegance that the casual solver might overlook. It has a balance that an editor would appreciate.
All the changed words are three letters long. They come at the end of each phrase. The middle letter is always U.

Nice job, Gary!

eddyB said...

Spitzboov. Stand corrected. Was thinking of the hospital and air base were wounded were flown.

Comment about 23A still stands.
Really?

Lemonade714 said...

Okay Eddy B., I will bite, what is wrong with considering Judases Traitors?

Main Entry: Judas !jU-dus
Pronunciation: \ ˈjü-dəs \
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek Ioudas, from Hebrew Yĕhūdhāh
Date: before 12th century
Results

1 the apostle who in the Gospel accounts betrayed Jesusb. ba son of James and one of the twelve apostles

2. traitor especiallyone who betrays under the guise of friendship

3. not capitalized peephole called also judas hole judas window

Annette said...

Jerome: Thank you for pointing out those features! I'm still relatively new to solving and often "miss the forest, for the trees", which is why I often forget to look for the theme. I seldom catch the more subtle nuances, such as the BEARD/CENT correlation, and am just awed by that level of detail the constructor was able to fit in, and the solvers that see them!

That's another thing I'm learning from this blog - a greater appreciation for the finesse and artistry of the constructors.

Buckeye said...

Guday, all. I'm creeping out of the forest to make a comment, then to dash back in again.

I LOVE THIS BLOG!!!

I was ready! I had both guns tied to my legs and was all set to start shooting. I knew there would be comments about Frankfurt and Dik Browne. I was gettin' ready to SHOW OFF my much maligned wisdom.

Like one Frankfurt is in the state of Brandenburg and the other in Hesse and they's on two different rivers. WOW! Only to discover that others had made the corrections with much better aplomb and gooder references than "ol' dad" ever could of, cents I ain't as gud as youse folks at string' them words together.

Honestly, if you read this blog carefully every day, and follow up on the comments, you will learn something new and fun every time through.

GREAT FUN AND THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH! WHAT A DELIGHT!!

I must be off!!

Buckeye said...

Sorry! Misspelled "Stringin'"!

IMBO

ipo said...

Buckeye said:

"I must be off!!"

butthat is why we love him....

ARBAON said...

Buckeye: .I`ll bet behind that mask you are a mensa member, high society matronly independant politician cum preacher. How close am I?

Anonymous said...

Where did you get "DIK" for Chris Browne? Creator of Hagar.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Tough puzzle today. Eventually, I go it all except the MOW EWAN cross. Oh, well.

ANNIE, etc. came to me right away. The others were much slower. Lots of guessing and perp help.

Busy day. Playing tonight. Gotta run.

Cheers!
JzB the in and out tromboist

Anonymous said...

I am a little upset with this one today. Wednesdays was harder. I breezed through this. What's up with all the French clues lately? Lucky I speak it!!! German too! Anyway hope its harder next Friday (I can't do Saturdays or Sundays, no time). Have a safe weekend everyone.


gmony

Buckeye said...

@ipo: Tanks!

@ARBOAN: Pretty dad-gum close 'ceptin' that mensus thang. Clearayes told me that's only fer girls.

Slide good - 'Bumpa.

Gotta go "run in place" for my coroner Wed. 10th to see if the pump's clogged. Scared s***less!!!!

IMBO

Tinbeni said...

Annette & Dodo
Spent my life analyzing things. Sometimes we probably read too much out of what could be just a coincidence.
Though I do think the constructors strive for things like Lincoln's Beard crossing the Lincoln penny, Cent.
I doubt the same thing could be said about the England city LEEDS crossing TEASET.


EddyB
Did 23A bother you because of the plural, JudasES?
I guess we would call a traitor a Benedict Arnold.
Would we need to add an 'S' to their group?

dodo said...

Tinbeni: This blog has already changed my thinking about crossword constructors. Of course, I was never under any illusion that it was easy to create a cw, but had no idea that within the grid there were all these little facets that, if you're much more observant that I am, you can find in each puzzle. I no longer question the fairness of the clues, as I formerly did. I'm sure it'll be a long time before I'll pick up all the things that you and our other friends here do.
I'll echo Buckeye: I love this blog.

ARBAON said...

Buckeye,

A family member recently had a chemical stress test where you just sit in a recliner. Running wasn`t an option...(unable) and while I`m leery of chemicals too...it did provide the data. Might ask.
Will this be your first stress test? If so...they are quite routine and not worth getting scared s#%&*---less about... Buck up, Buckeye!

Buckeye said...

@ARBAON: No, I'm no virgin to this stuff. Two heart attacks, one surgery, one angioplasty, eight angiograms and umpteen stress tests. I've been a little symptomatic recently and I'm concerned with what they'll find. But - better they find it now than Nurse Ratchet letting me lie in my own decay until the inmates - er residents - start to complain.

I can hear ol' Dick Enormous saying, after he walks into my room, "Ol'Buckeye don't look so hot and he's beginnin' to smell kinda funny. Better break out the 'Air Wick' and call a 'meat wagon'".

(Dick's so sympathetic).

IMBO

dodo said...

Buckey, I had a 'virtual' stress test a year or so ago. It's probably the same as what Rose is talking about. I was lying on a gurney not in a recliner and didn't feel a thing. I thought I was going to feel my heart pounding or something but not so. I hate those running stress tests and can't go more than a few minutes, I'm so short-winded. Maybe you can ask for the virtual kind.

Do you already have a heart condition or are they just checking?

Rose said her relative was unable to run and I don't walk very well, either. Why don't you develop a 'limp'?

ARBAON said...

Buckeye: If it is really true that a merry heart is good medicine, you`ll be fine. I don`t know anyone merrier. Does it come in a package or bottle?

Clear Ayes said...

Buckeye's comment about Dick Enormous (tough to keep a straight face while typing that one) reminded me of a joke from the movie, "A Prairie Home Companion".

The singing cowboys, Dusty and Lefty are singing a song called "Bad Jokes" and telling jokes between choruses.

Lefty: "You got another one?"
Dusty: "I got another one Lefty."

Dusty: "Sven said to his friend,
"O, I think my wife died."
His friend said, "What do you mean you think?"
"Well, the sex is still the same,
But the dishes are stacking up.""

TAH-DAH!!

Clear Ayes said...

Buckeye..merry? Hmmm.

I like to think of Buckeye and Windhover as my favorite people with curmudgeonly leanings. Now don't get up in arms folks, I'm a huge curmudgeon fan. My father was charter member of the club. This definition is by Jon Winokur, author of "The Portable Curmudgeon".

"A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. . . .

They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.

Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.

Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor."

MamaRuth1950 said...

I learned sentence diagramming from an old-fashioned teacher who thought it was useful even though it was not in the curriculum. I still use diagramming principles when I need to figure out things like whether to use "who" or "whom" in a sentence.

Do you guys really think that "then" is an adverb?
A comment on the pork issue. For years, I bought boneless pork pieces but one day I brought home pork chops with the bone in and cooked them the usual way on the grill. They had a lot more taste so that's what I have bought ever since.

windhover said...

ClearAyes:
My only objection to the title "curmudgeon" is that I almost always see the word preceded by the adjective "old". But since I am, truth be told, both, and since it would be really bad form (not to mention stupid) to object to anything that linked me to resident blog superstar (and, I'm sure good friend if we actually knew each other), I'll just say,
Thanks darlin'.

dodo said...

CA, Must a curmudgeon be male?

windhover said...

Dodo:
I think not, although I am.

(Thus rebuffing Rene)

Buckeye said...

My fifth and final! (If I drink more than a fifth, I get dizzy).

@Windhover: To extend Rene, is it also true that "I think (badly), therefore I am (bad)"? We are, indeed, friends.

@Clearayes: You promised mom and dad not to discuss my curmudgeonusosity (See Fred). You remember dad saying, "If they don't understand you, it's because they have their heads up their butts so far that if they fart, they'll blow their brains out".

(For you who did not know our dad, he won the Pullet Surprise for literature at the annual "Write It If You Think It" contest at our county fair. I still have his blue ribbonette).

IMBO

Clear Ayes said...

Buckeye, Ah yes, it brings a tear to my aye, Dad did have a way with words. About that promise, what is the point of belonging to the Aye/Eye family if you can't lie whenever the conveniosity presents itself? If I recall rightly, didn't you win the dairy division grand prize, "Butter Wouldn't Melt In Your Mouth Award" at that same county fair?

Bill G. said...

Dennis, are you leaving your hobby shops in good hands?

CA: "Well, the sex is still the same, but the dishes are stacking up." Good one! I enjoy Prairie Home Companion when I remember to catch it and I liked the movie...where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and all the children are above-average.

I don't think curmudgeons have to be male but they seem to be the ones referred to most often.

I found a movie on cable, recorded it and am watching it now called "The Mask of Zorro." I think we saw it when it first came out in 1998. It's fun in parts and laughably bad in parts but it was my introduction to Catherine Zeta-Jones. She is stunningly attractive.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

We has quite a good concert tonight. Not perfect, by any means, (remember, we're amateurs) but I was really proud of our performance on Brahm's 2nd Symphony. There are lots of places where somebody has a very exposed part, and it better be right - even the second trombone gets a couple chances.

It's a magnificent piece of music. Here is the finale. Overall, a bit brighter tempo than we took. Sounds a bit rushed to me, in places. Lots of good trombone stuff in last minute or so.

I got to sit in the audience with the LW for the Schumann cello concerto, since there were no trombone parts. Soloist was good, orchestra performed well, balance was nice.

Haven't read any of the comments here today. Too busy.

I am way overtired and am heading to bed.

Off to T-town tomorrow.

Cheers!
JzB the relieved trombonist

kazie said...

Finally I got here tonight --and just before tomorrow too.
Pleased to say that despite the slog that it was, all the unknowns and falling at first into the Frankfurt am Main trap, I ended up getting the whole thing out with no look-ups and only perp help. But it took me breakfast and most of a trip to Madison while a friend drove. I knew it could be either Main or Oder from the first, but figured Main would be more likely. The Oder, which was mentioned here not long ago, formed part of the old Oder-Neiße line of WWI fame.

Cook book was one I had no clue about even after solving, since I was not here to look it up.

See you all tomorrow, but since we have company coming, not sure when I'll make it here, or get the CW out.