google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday August 6, 2010 Charles Barasch

Advertisements

Aug 6, 2010

Friday August 6, 2010 Charles Barasch

Theme: Oh, K! - K is added to the end of C (in one-syllable word), which is preceded by five different vowels (O, U, A, E & I), with pronunciation unchanged.

17A. Pre-1991 Russian veto? : SOVIET BLOCK. Soviet Bloc. Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

29A. West Florida currency? : TAMPA BAY BUCK. Tampa Bay Buc. Tampa Bay is on the west coast of Florida.

35A. Assault by killer trucks? : BIG MACK ATTACK. Big Mac Attack. Mack Trucks. Here, the middle Mac rather than the end Attack (2-syllables) is in play for the K-addition. Inconsistent with other theme entries. Maybe the constructor can't find a one syllable *AC containing common phrase to play around. Can you?

43A. Construct a microscopic house? : BUILD ON SPECK. Build on Spec.

57A. Jumpy bug? : NERVOUS TICK. Nervous Tic.

Though I am not fond of the odd entry 35A, I did like how the constructor placed it in the middle row (actually, K is in the very center of the grid) and combined the resulting end black squares with those of theme entries 29A and 43A to divide the left and right edges into two rather than our normal weekday three parts, bringing us long paralleled entries in the upper right and lower left corners.

Al mentioned that nearly half of Dan's puzzle yesterday comprises of three- or four-letter entries. This one has 42, out of a total of 74 answers. I am thinking that half of every puzzle is made up these small building units, just like half of every puzzle is consisted of vowels.

Maybe Santa or anyone who is fascinated by grid structure can count the total number of three & four entries and give us a ratio report for a week or two. Then we'll see the pattern.

Across:

1. Like some teeth : GAPPED

7. Recover : HEAL. Comforting word for our sharp-witted shenanigan-maker Lois.

11. WWII Normandy lander : LST (Landing Ship Tank)

14. '60s-'70s San Francisco mayor : ALIOTO (Joseph). Stranger to me. What was he famous for, besides the mayor-ship?

15. Business opening? : AGRI. Agribusiness.

16. National Poetry Mo. : APR.

19. Madre's brother : TIO. Mother's brother = Uncle. In Spanish.

20. Certain cardholder's cry : UNO. Had no idea that the card name is called out during the play.

21. Bit of tryst talk : COO

22. Boot : EJECT

24. Site of some adoptions : PET SHOP

27. Genes responsible for hereditary variations : ALLELES. Also RNA (55. Uracil is one of its basic components ). Both alleles and uracil are new words to me.

31. On __ with : A PAR

33. Reactor safety overseer: Abbr. : NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission). Established in 1974. Succeeded AEC (Atomic Energy Commission)

34. Opposing vote : NAY

40. Equi- ending : NOX. Equinox. Latin for "night".

41. Actress Scala : GIA. First encounter with this actress. Looks pretty.

42. He beat Okker to win the 1968 U.S. Open : ASHE. Not familiar with the Dutch Tennis player Tom Okker.

48. Out there : AT LARGE

49. Occupy : INHABIT

53. Developmental step : STAGE

54. E lead-in : BCD. Alphabetically. BCDE.

56. Chickadee relative : TIT. Oh, the bird.

62. __ Zion Church : AME. I forgot. AME = African Methodist Episcopal.

63. Gunk : CRUD

64. Easter Island attraction : STATUE. Wikipedia says Easter Island (an Polynesian island) is widely famous for its 887 extant monumental statues. Has anyone been there?

65. Not the color of money? : RED. Green is the color.

66. Directors' banes : HAMS. Well, all actors ham, don't they? Just that some are good, some are bad.

67. Respected ones : ELDERS

Down:

1. Get ready to travel : GAS UP

2. All by oneself : ALONE

3. Scissors feature : PIVOT. Always associate pivot with a living being.

4. Islands staple : POI

5. Time to tan in Cannes : ETE. Summer.

6. Web outfit : DOT COM. "Outfit" here means "company", correct?

7. Symbol of virtue : HALO. Raja has the same "halo" connotation, correct, Vidwan?

8. Kind of trip taken by oneself? : EGO. Nice clue.

9. Circle part : ARC

10. Plausible : LIKELY

11. Fashionable repast : LATE LUNCH. Needs a question mark, don't you think? Otherwise, why "fashionable"?

12. Tangy dessert : SPICE CAKE. Have never had this dessert. What makes it tangy?

13. One of the original Politburo members : TROTSKY (Leon). Assassinated in 1940 in Mexico.

18. Comet Hale-__ : BOPP. I am sure it's a gimme for Spitzboov.

23. Bush seen in Florida : JEB. He still lives in Florida?

25. Dateless : STAG

26. Hurt : HARM

27. Incantation beginning : ABRA. The beginning of the word Abracadabra.

28. Milk: Pref. : LACT. Literally ''milk''.

30. Singer Paul and family : ANKAS. OK.

31. "Finally!" : ABOUT TIME. Nice clue/answer.

32. Slightly eccentric : PIXILATED. Another new word. It's made of pix(ie) and (tit)illated.

36. Worked up : AGOG

37. Art film theater : CINE

38. Driver's gadget, for short : TACH. Thought of golfer "driver" first.

39. "May I __ favor?" : ASK A. Total 6Ks in the grid.

40. Magic, at one time : NBA STAR. Oh, Magic Johnson.

44. Hang back : LAG

45. Soak : DRENCH

46. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO. I forgot also. Al gave us a list last time.

47. Ultimate purpose : END USE

50. Shiny, in product names : BRITE. Bright.

51. Bring upon oneself : INCUR

52. Directors' units : TAKES. I like this noun clue.

54. Some underwear : BVDS

58. Notable period : ERA

59. Mai tai ingredient : RUM

60. Cardinal's letters : STL. St Louis Cardinals.

61. Pinch : TAD. A pinch/tad of. Not Tinbeni's sunset toast Pinch!

Answer grid.

Here is a recent photo of our irreplaceable and inimitable MOREL guy Dennis, who has been unfailingly supporting & helping me since the start of this blog and has been brightening our mornings with his consistently informative and entertaining comments. Thanks, Dummy!

C.C.

79 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - wow, a nice challenge today. I needed perp help in quite a few spots, but managed to get through the puzzle without outside help. I thought the theme/presentation was outstanding, from the symmetry to the use of five different vowels with the 'ck'.

'Alioto' really helped get the NW, which led to the first theme answer, and that simplified the remaining ones, but I still had numerous problems. I had forgotten what month was National Poetry Month, didn't know 'Ame Zion Church', didn't remember 'Gia' Scala, and (can't believe I'm saying this) forgot what a 'tit' is. I also confidently put 'error' for 'boot', only to crash and burn when I realized 23D had to be Jeb. At least I remembered 'alleles' this time. And as with C.C., I was thinking something golf-related for 'Driver's gadget, for short'. Excellent Friday puzzle.

Today is Wiggle Your Toes Day. Quite the aerobic month so far.

Did You Know:

- One hundred sixty cars can drive side by side on the Monumental Axis in Brazil, the world's widest road.

- The Netherlands and the United States both have anthems that do not mention their countries' names.

- Oliver Cromwell was hanged and decapitated two years after his death. Somebody must've been seriously PO'd at him, huh?

fermatprime said...

Hi puzzlers!

Just dropping by to let you know that I am still alive (barely)/enjoying this blog.

Reagle puzzle on Sunday was pretty tough but fun. (In Calendar Section of LA Times.)

Summer shows are starting to disappear. At least THE GOOD GUYS is coming back later in September!

Have a nice weekend!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and all. This puzzle certainly had its challenges, but not so difficult that I wasn't able to finish it. I do have a question about BUILD ON SPEC(K). Isn't the proper phrase Building Spec?

This puzzle was made for Tinbini, with both the TAMPA BAY BUCK and Pinch. (I only learned about the other meaning of Pinch yesterday.)

I immediately thought of PET SHOP for the Site Of Some Adoptions. None of my pets have ever come from a Pet Shop, however.

I liked Not The Color Of Money = RED. CC, to be "in the Red" means that you owe money. If you are debt-free, you are in the black.

I have never been to Easter Island, but it is on my bucket list.

It is always amusing to see BVDs in a crossword clue.

I never heard of PIXILATED, but got that through the perps. Mr. AILOTO was also new to me. Anyone want to venture a guess as to who the mayor of New Orleans was in the 1960s?

Happy Friday.

QOD: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~ Leonardo da Vinci

Dennis said...

Hahtool, no, the phrase 'build on spec' is very common. It means to build on specification, in other words, before a buyer is secured. During the housing boom, builders wouldn't hesitate to build on spec; not so much now.

Tinbeni said...

Well this was not to be.

First off, my St.Pete.Times didn't have the first LINE going across (my grid started at 14a).
Then the Across clues didn't have their numbers and the first two letter of the clues. Printing SNAFU.

So, I tried to do this only with the "Downs" ... then punted.

Actually got the TAMPA BAY BUCKS off my "est Florida rency" and STATUE off "ster Island raction."

So I came here to see what I missed. This would have been a DNF.

AGOG again? I'm not AGOG ...

Maybe I should just have a TAD of that Pinch.

Lemonade714 said...

Hey:

Busy Friday,

Mayor ALIOTO was an interesting, but controversial figure, who was often in the news for his good work and for accusations of misdeeds.

The genesis of LATE LUNCH, I believe comes from being fashionably late .

You have to feel sorry for GIA SCALA who is famous for the troubles in her life, and for helping the career of Angeline Jolie, who starred in the biopic GIA .

Actually, not to be nitpicky, SPEC means speculation, and it is when it is built without a definite buyer in mind.

Great weekend all, my oldest returns to the US from Italy Sunday

Dennis said...

Lemonade, right you are; I misspoke with 'specification'; thanks for catching it.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.

I had no lookups on this one, and even remembered Mayor ALIOTO from my "hippy" days. His career was dotted with conspiracies and allegations of Mafia ties, so he was in the headlines a lot.

Like you C.C., I wasn't crazy about the middle clue, but I think you're right in guessing Mr. Barasch couldn't come up with another ending one-syllable "AC" word.

I found some of the clues a bit "off", like 12d. "Tangy Dessert" for SPICE CAKE... I wouldn't describe spice cake as "tangy" because that word has a different connotation. According to the online dictionary "Tangy" would mean "Having a taste characteristic of that produced by acids" (like orange juice). Spice cake is certainly not acidic! It's ...well...spicy !

And 36d. "Worked up" for AGOG ? I guess if you are all excited about something you could be considered "worked up", but this is not the usual way the clue reads in puzzles, so I had AMOK until the perps showed me the error of my ways.

Ah well, but this is a Friday, and nothing is going to be easy. I am just glad I finished with no red letter help or going to the G spot !! Have a great weekend everyone!

windhover said...

OK,
I'll be the first to say it: the Anon who said the other day , "handsome men on this blog" is now vindicated. I had to physically restrain the Irish.
She kind of liked the car, too.


One note on spec building or build on spec. A common small town joke here in Kentucky (and very true in my town) goes like this:
What do you call an overgrown tract of land on the edge of town with an empty building? Answer: the industrial park. We have a brand new, never-occupied 15 year old building in ours that everyone, including the local newspaper, refers to as "the spec building". It's monument of sorts to the devolution of our (U.S.A.) gone but not forgotten manufacturing economy.

Hahtoolah said...

Lemonade and Dennis: Actually, when I asked my question, I was thinking of the term "Building Specification", as in working with contractors to build/rebuild facilities that are customized to my specifications. I wasn't thinking of the other term, which was in the puzzle, which contractors build on speculation. I think both "Specification" and "Speculation" are abbreviated to "Spec." Thank you both for your clarifications as to the Build On Spec.

thehondohurricane said...

The bottom half did me in today. Started out with lalaker for magic and soon found out that was wrong. Ditto 51 down when I put in cause and soon found that was wrong. Lots of inky smudges.

On the top side started off badly by entering capped for one across.

I didn't realize Gia Scala influenced Angelina Jolie. I remember her from The Guns of Naverone where she was cast as a German spy.

Good weekend to all.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC and All,

Challenging is an understatement. Took me forever to get a foothold on the bottom half with Pixilated, About Time, NBA Star and finally got a theme answer with Nervous Tick. Never did get the theme until coming here. Thanks CC. Alioto, Trotsky were had only with perps. What's Spice Cake?

I also continued to have drinking on my mind in the first pass as I put Rum for 4D, reminiscing about our trip to St Croix last spring.

I need a bike ride!

TGIF

Al said...

Another unambiguous (but Friday tough) clue today, to distinguish between RNA and DNA. Of those two, URACIL is only found in RNA. If the clue had said THYMINE instead, then the crossword answer would have been DNA.

Both Uracil (U) and Thymine (T) pair off with Adenine (A). The other two paired molecules are Guanine (G) and Cytosine (C).

A-T and G-C pairs, just four molecules in endless (but determined) combinations, make up the genetic code for all life on the planet. There is a very nice animated picture that shows the pairing structure of DNA on Wiki. If you watch the center as it rotates, you will be able to see small gaps where those pairs are joined together.

The gap is only a weak connection between the two halves of the DNA chain, so it can momentarily separate. As it does, each (now incomplete) half attracts floating single molecules of the opposite pairing and forms them into mirror-image chains, which are only a small portion of the original DNA chain, substituting (U) for (T) in the process. Those newly formed portions will also separate away from the main strand once they have been formed. This process is what creates RNA from DNA.

The (now) loose smaller RNA chains are then able to escape out of the cell nucleus to serve as templates, which in turn start making proteins by attracting free amino acids and forming them into chains.

Probably enough for today, for one three-letter answer, right?

HeartRx said...

C.C. and Maniac,

We used to have spice cake for dessert quite often when I was in grammar school. God bless the cook - her name was Lydia, and I still remember her wonderful food, even though it's been "a couple" years since I last had it!!

Spice cake is just a tender, moist cake made with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. Sometimes it is frosted, but Lydia used to serve it with applesauce on top. Yummm! Here is a good recipe if anyone wants to try it.

Dennis said...

Al, if you're not on C.S.I., you sure as hell should be; great explanation - even I understood it.

WH, two words: corrective lenses. Gotten any break in the heat yet? We're still sitting in the 90s.

thehondohurricane, thanks for mentioning Gia Scala's role in The Guns of Navarone; that's the role that stuck in my mind and I couldn't remember the movie.

Anonymous said...

Cool photo, Dennis.
Cool comments, HeartRx.
Cool blog, CC

Quiet Fan

kazie said...

Today is also National Root Beer Day according to our paper.

I fouled up quite a bit today. well, it is a Friday. I never did get ALLELES, never having heard of them. I'm not bog on science, but will take time to look at Al's links to see if I can learn something.

Other missteps include Capped (wouldn't have thought of road type trips, seems I always fly places), EOc, Paybuck, and hence no clue on ABRa. I had build on --eck, and b-d, leaving -i-o for PICO. I also can never remember LST, so Late LuncH never fully arrived either.

Having started really slowly, felt lucky to get this much.

Son #2 is in Madison and will be with us here for a few days, having driven up from Little Pock yesterday. #1 will arrive from Germany tonight for 2 weeks to complete their permanent moving arrangements. Sunday we're having an extended family day here, so I probably won't see any of you until after that.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Anonymous said...

Easier Friday than usual for me. Bush in Florida was "duh" for me. I liked pet shop and spice cake - haven't baked one in a long time. Might be a good choice for company coming next weekend.

Thanks, C.C. for a great blog.
Another quiet fan.

Tinbeni said...

Lemonade
GIA, the bio-movie starring Angeline Jolie, was about the '70s model Gia Carangi.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Thanks to Dennis and Karen P for yesterday's shout out.

Yes, C. C., I guess BOPP was a gimme. But it was clued in the July 28 puzzle by Mike Peluso. So I'm guessing lots of other solvers got it, too. Couldn't get equiNOX right away, but with the X, PIXILATED fell.

Not so difficult; the solve moved along. Thought the theme words were clever as were STL and TAKES. Did not know ALLELES. PICO was a WAG.

The Netherlands and the United States both have anthems that do not mention their countries' names.
The 'Netherlands' appears in the 10th stanza of their anthem.

Another nice day here.

Lemonade714 said...

Thanks Tman, of course you are correct about the movie. It was 630

ARBAON said...

AL: Whoever writes the clues for DNA vs RNA should read your treatise. The terms are not interchangeable as the clues sometime indicate.
Explanations such as yours are yet another reason I read this blog...that plus the camaraderie, the insights into personalities and the humor...(what did I leave out...) OH yes! The puzzle!

CC: You have created a unique community here...thank you!

Dennis, alias "Dummy" :)

Looking good, as "car candy." Done any auto shoes?

ARBAON said...

auto SHOWS.

MR ED said...

Dennis,
You mis-stated the the meaning of 'build on spec', I think you meant 'speculation'. The term 'build to spec' means to follow the specifications when building.

Dr. Dad said...

Good afternoon. Just finished the puzzle in about 15 minutes during lunch. Fairly easy one for a Friday.

Just stopped by to say hello to old Crossword Friends.

Anonymous said...

Spice cake is NOT tangy. also: poor clues are, - 1A like some teeth- 36D worked up- 38D drivers gadget, otherwise a decent showing for Chuck Barasch

MR ED said...

Anon 11:33am is me.

Dennis said...

HeartRx, thanks for the recipe for spice cake - haven't had it in years, but that may change soon thanks to you.

MR ED, thanks, you're right - I corrected it @6:38 after Lemonade caught it.

ARBAON, no, it's not a show-worthy car, but thanks. I'll look into the 'auto shoes', though.

Spitzboov, good catch. Jeezus, the tenth verse?? I'm betting they don't sing their anthem all that often...

Dr. Dad, good of you to stop in; please do so more often - you've been missed.

Welcome to our 'quiet' posters, and thanks for being 'unquiet' today.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

I had capped for 1A, and never thought of gapped, so I was stuck. I have spent a small fortune on caps, so I couldn't think of anything else.

I don't like pet shop as an answer for adoption sites. Pet shops sell pets often with no guarantees about health and dogs that come from puppy mills.

Aw, you heart-breaker, Dennis.

And Lemonade, what good news that your eldest will come home Sunday.

Cheers

Grumpy 1 said...

Greetings puzzleers

I got a late start on this one as we were out to the flea market for awhile this morning. The theme showed up by the time I got to the NERVOUS TIC(K) and I was able to go back and complete the first word(s) in the other clues. TAMPA BAY should have been obvious, but I had put in BARR instead of BOPP. It's amazing how one wrong short word can block your ability to see fairly obvious answers.

I have never seen PIXILATED used to mean slightly eccentric. I use the word to describe a digital picture that has been enlarged to the point that the individual pixels (picture elements) appear as square blocks. It is similiarly used when describing a digital television picture that has frozen and shows up on the screen as blocks. In other words, a picture of me may be pixilated, but no one has every described the eccentric me as pixilated.

Other than that, I liked most of the other clues. There were several words that have appeared recently (like AGOG) that were clued in a clever manor. To me, trying to get my warped way of thinking in sync with the constructor is half of the fun of solving the puzzle.

Lucina said...

Good day, C.C. and puzzle folk.

What a blast today! I love the word PIXILATED then there's AGOG, PIVOT, ABRA cadabra; and who could forget the Hale-BOPP comet and the people who sent themselves to it. Was that in the 90s? Don't recall the exact year.

Al:
You are a marvel! I was riveted by your explanation and plan to reread it later.

For me, however, RNA fell with BRITE and INCUR as well as TAKES.

Sadly, I had CAPPED at the start and never went back to check until reading the blog; the same with LATELUNCH. I filled PATE. Some of those three letter abbreviations just shoot me down.

And it took a long time to parse NBA STAR. In fact, the eraser took a good beating since I did have NOX, but couldn't reconcile NB together. Then aha! It clicked.

Anyway, loved the puzzle today.

And loved your photo, Dennis! We do have some eye candy on this blog

I'm hoping you all have a fantastic day!

Gunghy said...

Hand up for CAPPED and AEC. After 17A and 29A fell, slapped in TRUCK for the end of 35A. Also tried EVICT for eject and TERA (billion) for pico (billionth).

Alioto jumped in, that's when I was in Berkeley, but I immediately thought, "Who in the East will know that?"

Spice Cake, Tangy? I tried KEY LIME PI.

I'm waiting for Lois, what with TIT and PINCH. Should be fun.

Have a good one, one and all.

Gunghy said...

I just couldn't get excited about Pixilated.

Mainiac said...

HeartRx,

Thanks for the recipe. I think I'll make some for the boys.

Dennis, Fine looking pic. Obviously since your hair is combed its a pre-trip pic. I get the feeling that sweet looking Benz gets the juice now and again.

Al, Wow! Thanks for the explanation.

Got my bike ride in today and I'm feeling much better. Time to take the dogs swimming.

Outta here!!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Jerome said...

Tangy as a clue for spice cake is perfectly apt. Just as muleheaded is for the stubborn.

HeartRx said...

B.T.W. Dennis,

I forgot to mention earlier, "Loved the picture...VA VA VOOOOM !! " (that was for the car). And for you: "Nice Shirt" ;-D

Jeannie said...

Tough Friday for me. It seems I sound like a broken record every Friday, doesn’t it? I had to hit the g-spot for Alioto and Alleles was just a plain WAG. When I think of pixilated it has to do with pictures not being eccentric. Learn something new every day I guess. Loved “kind of trip taken by oneself”-ego. I must have taken a bad one as mine is slightly bruised today.

Dennis, you hunk, when are you going to take me for a spin in that car??

Lucina said...

I failed to mention the fine dining available at Alioto's Restaurant in San Francisco. Any time I've eaten there, it was outstanding.

Also, I have been reading about "gapped teeth"; apparently, it's a unique trait among many people including celebrities, Madonna comes to mind.

The Heaven's Gate cult committed suicide in 1997 in an attempt to unite with Hale-Bopp comet.

Now I'm going to load my new MP3 player. My grnddaughter advised me I should join the 21st century!

Anonymous said...

Jerome, that comment was not very P.C. Just who was that intended for?

Vidwan said...

C.C., Dennis , Lemon and all...
I had a little problem .. ATT disconn my phone and DSl service ?.. and I am not even in arrears. Anyway. I finished the Friday puzzle, all by myself... except for GIA, CINE and Agog.. I still cant understand ... how, AGOG ?

Lots of errors, at first, Molars for Gapped, Sitcom for dotcom, Agro for Agri, Gin for Rum.Bras for BVDs, AEC for NRC. Pigheaded for pixilated... but they eventually self corrected.

1. I always thought Scala's first name was 'La'...
2.Lots of countries have 'red' money ... in China, 'Hell' money has plenty of red... in India, blue, red and orange is much preferred to green.
3. CC, Halos for Rajas ?... Gods maybe... never Rajas.
Rajas were NEVER known for their virtues ( ... except for a tiny handful... ). Most of them were crooks, rogues and extravagant buffoons.
4. Dennis looks like a movie star ( and an ex-Marine, that he is).
5. Talking about anthems ... Rabindranath Tagore, is I think, the only person, whose poems, ( posthumously ... ) adopted as anthems by 2 separate countries ... India ( Jana Gana mana ) and Bangladesh ( Amar sonar Bangla - Our golden Bengal ).

CC, your blog as usual was very well written and very entertaining .... how can you afford to do this, day after day, after day.? One person's grateful thanks.

Anonymous said...

Vidwan, haven't you noticed C.C. has gotten lazy and only blogs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday?

Dennis said...

anon, you wanna try getting up at oh-dark-thirty every single day for a couple years to do the blog and see if you wouldn't welcome some help, there, slick?

Anonymous said...

She shouldn't have started a blog if she can't maintain it you pompous jerk.

Vidwan said...

To the Anon: (above )

I should have corrected my post ... I am grateful ... TO ALL ... the various contributors and rotating blogmasters and mistresses... Dennis, Lemonade, Al, Argyle ... and apologies to others, who don't immediately come to mind....

Thank you ALL for this tedious, thankless, VOLUNTARY, job...

Dennis said...

anon@3:24, but how else would we have met assholes such as yourself?

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Jerome et al,
Is Haltool correct about RED (65A. Not the color of money?)? I thought my rationale is rather solid.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Not too rough for a Friday. The real unknown was ALIOTO - never heard of the guy, but then I haven't lived on the Left Coast.

Then there's PIXILATED. It filled itself with perps, and I looked at in unbelievingly for a while. Like some of you I knew "pixelated", and wondered if it might be a typo.


Dennis - Don't let a big Mack attack your Benz!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

HeartRx,
Ha ha, you are not taking up the *AC challenge today.

Vidwan,
Oh, I confused Raja with Taj, which has the halo connotation then, correct? I remember you mentioned the Jerus Christ style illumination last time when Lemonade says it means "crown".

Jeanie,
I have never thought of sprinkling toasted coconut on watermelon. Very tasty. Thanks for the idea. I did not use the sauce because I don't eat any dairy product.

Dennis said...

Apologies to the group. I'll stop playing.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Anonymous @3:16 & 3:24pm,
You jerk! Go way.

Dennis said...

HeartRx, there's a reason whenever my picture's taken, I try to make sure it's with something pleasant to look at, for contrast.

Jerome, well said.

Vidwan, I'm waiting for the 'movie star' punch line.

Dudley, those truckers can't even see my little half of a car. I am saving up for the rest of it.

Jeannie, a "spin"??? Oh - in the car.

Jeannie said...

C.C. are you lactose intolerant? I don't know what I would do without cheese, butter, or ICE CREAM!!

Lemonade714 said...

Vidwan:

I for one appreciate your statement of thanks, but I assure you, this is not thankless work. We each receive more than our share of wonderful comments from people from all around the globe, as well as the personal education and entertainment gleaned in the process of blogging a puzzle.
We each also like to communicate, and this is a forum which permits us relatively free rein to express views, tell stories and amuse ourselves. I can not write up a puzzle without learning myself.

I do agree with Dennis, to do this seven days a week, as C.C. did for a very long time, was a most impressive accomplishment.

Dennis, do not feed the trolls; life is fine, we have a wonderful cast and crew and hear from newbies and old friends, as well as our requisite haters. This is life.

JzB and Melissa Bee are the others who present regularly.

Anonymous said...

When I was little and acted "silly"
my mother told me I was pixilated. She said I must have eaten some pixy dust and we'd all have to wait for it to wear off. I thought pixilated meant acting like a pixy.

My Friday is going to be a great one this week. My oldest daughter is coming to L.A. from Arizona. she, along with her three sisters, and I are going to see Nora Ephron's new play "Love, Loss, and What I Wore." Should be a fun evening and a fine way to start the weekend.

Doreen

Jerome said...

C.C.- There's no logic to clue RED as "Not the color of money" because money is green. Well, paper money anyway. RED is alluding to "In the red". Conversely, BLACK could be clued as "The color of money". Hahtool is right.

lois said...

Good evening CC, et al., Great puzzle, very enjoyable, flowed much more easily than any other this week. Have no idea why. Excellent job, CC, and thank you for the shout out and kind words.

NW corner was a little sticky. Like Sallie, 24A pet shop for adoptions? No, for sale maybe. And like Grumpy 1, 32D - just slightly eccentric for
'pixilated'? That's an insult! Shoot, if I were ever deemed pixilated I'd want to be fully eccentric w/out any doubts. It's my understanding, however, that only the rich are ever deemed eccentric. The rest of you are just crazy. Me? I'm just nickun' futs.

And since when do you have to have a tryst to 'coo'? Isn't that what lovers do, unless, and this is 'pivot'al, one (usually him) has 'gas up' the wazoo, then he's better 'alone', or else his 'ego' will very 'likely' 'incur' some serious r'eject'ion and he will become simply a 'nox'ious 'stag'. He can blame his RNA and his 'elders' for his indigestive trotsky's (unless there's a pet store nearby) but it's more likely 'late lunch', spice cake' or even a Big Mack Attack.
'A-par't from that, I did have one more concern: a chickadee is akin to a tit? Who knew? Since I do feed the birds here, I will be sure to alert my neighbors to be on the look out for 'tit's 'at large', since we do have chickadees around here. I can hear it now: Hey, Richard, there are 'tit's at large in your backyard not 'lact'ating and w/out 'a-bra'! Being the professional bachelor he is, I'm sure he will set a new record for 'ashe' 'eject'ion from a sitting position under one roof in BVDs w/out spilling and drenching himself w/ his favorite 'rum' drink ever! Gotta love this guy!

Hahtool: thank you for that BVD link...had a great time following the other links as well.

Tinbeni: Go ahead and have a pinch. I'll join you, so Cheers!

Dennis: So, hot stuff, is that you warmin' up your car to "come this way?" I love how you go topless. Me too.

Hahtoolah said...

CC: are you questioning my rationale! LOL! Well, I have been know to make a mistake or two along the way, but I was on pretty solid ground to state that being in the red means to be in debt and without money.

Tinbeni said...

Dennis
I never understand why you just don't "delete" the Anon 3:16 & 3:24 type of comments.
This troll adds NOTHING to the crossword puzzle discussion.

Vidwan
La Scala is generally clued referring to the Opera House in Milan built in 1778.

Lois
I went to IHOP for breakfast and pulled out the puzzle.
Soooo, I could have waited to print it off on-line ... or attempt to solve what I had.
I chose the latter.
Trust me "ui ending" doesn't give any traction for getting NOX.

But I'll include you and all the gang here in my PINCH toast at sunset. (It's a West Coast of Florida thingy I do about 330 times a year.)

Mainiac said...

I took the question mark after the color of money literally like the clue was asking if you didn't have any green? One of the few freakin' answers I got today.

No need for apologies Dennis. You just beat me to the punch as usual. Thanks!

Just put my suit on to take the dogs for a swim at the pond out back. Thunderstorm came roaring in and ended that. Now the pups are laying by the door staring at me waiting to go and wondering why I just poured a cocktail. They are too smart.

Cheers!

Dennis said...

Tinbeni, actually there's a ton of them that you don't see; ones that get deleted immediately by C.C., Argyle or me. Today I just felt like playing with that one, and I shouldn't have, which is why I apologized to the group.

Anonymous said...

12D Tangy dessert thought of Ambrosia-not enough letters.

Dennis said...

Well, my chili dog craving hasn't subsided, so it's off to Atlanta; probably leave Sunday. I'll try to still check in on the blog when I can, just 'cause I know a certain anon is gonna miss me terribly.

Lois, I'll try to work out a visit with you on the way back if you can - the trip down's probably going to be a bit of a speed run.

Husker said...

BLADE and FULCRUM had to go by the boards for scissors part.

Had the P for pixallated and put in PARABOLIC which is a math word for eccentric circles.

AEC for NRC speaks to my age and I had the trysters WOOing instead of COOing.

Fun solve - laughed out loud at BIGMACATTACK !when it revealed and I appreciated the RNA/DNA review. The scholarship on this site is amazing!

Vidwan said...

C.C. - I'm on a clients computer, so I'll be brief. Taj- which does mean crown ... in Common usage tho', it refers to honor, radiance or character of a person or institution - it is not reserved for royalty.

Taj Mahal was named for Mumtaz ( or Mumtaj ) Mahal Begum... the fav wife of Shah Jahan (Jehan), who died in her 14th (!@#) childbirth ... quite fecund. SJ was a lover of arts and culture, also a dope addict and a capricious man ( who wasnt ?). Altho Islam prohibits the drawing or painting of pictures or images of people, ... some Mughals were painted in miniature, and they had vertical halos ( as in behind their head ...)... however horizontal or angular halos are a judeo-xtian concept.

The word, 'Mahal' seems to be a misnomer as well ... it means a palace ( for the living... ).. a grave would be Muk-bara or kabbar... but to call it the latter would probably demean the marble edifice.

As a general rule, graves for muslim women are never noted, embellished or 'recognised' ... that is reserved for the males, ... none of the other Mughal wives were honored in this way.


Dennis: I wrote you looked like a movie star ... it was meant to be a sincere compliment ...there is no punch line. In this american culture, ... one man admiring another man's physical prowess or attributes, ... is often taken as a slang for a particular type of sexual orientation ... so one has to be quite restrained in his comments.


Lactose Intolerance: (REf; 'Before the Dawn' by Nicholas Wade ? ) ... At the dawn of time, ALL Homo Sapiens had the 'Alleles'?, or genes that 'sprung up'... or came into prominence, ... just before the onset of puberty ( say 10 yrs old).. which gave them a uniform lactose intolerance, in adulthood.

This was natures way, of ensuring, that the only milk available, at the time, ( mother's milk) was reserved for the newborns, who so urgently needed it.

Now, genes have mutated diversely since then, and the book says that the Chinese ( Mongoloid ) race still has the largest degree of lactose intolerance (hence no milky desserts ... ) and the indians have the least lactose intolerance ( hence lots of milk byproducts in main dishes, and lots of sugary milky desserts...)

End of rant.

Chickie said...

Hello All--I had two major mistakes today which led me down a blind alley or two. I put in Capped for Gapped so Cas-p didn't make sense. As I've never played Uno I couldn't finish the NW corner. I misspelled Alleles (Alleals)so My lunch was VERY late and Spice Cake never got finished!

The Tangy clue for spice cake was a bit iffy to my mind. I always think of tangy as something lemony. Others did a very good job of explaining about spice cake. I actually made an apple spice cake today.

Our apples are getting ripe and falling off the tree, so I peeled and sliced 6 trays of apples for dried apples, made a cake, and applesauce with the windfalls. Therefore, I'm late with the puzzle.

Gia Scala was unknown, but obtainable with the perps. All in all a challenging puzzle today.

Chickie said...

Al--A great explanation for RNA and DNA. Even I could understand the differences.

Former San Francisco mayor Alioto's granddaughter, Michaela Alioto-Pier, is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, carrying on her family's active political involvement. Even though she was paralyzed from the waist down at age 13 in a skiing accident, she has been prominent in the San Francisco political scene for a number of years.

Bill G. said...

I agree with everybody that had trouble with a spice cake being tangy. To me tangy would be a lemon bar or a key lime pie. I did get the answer with the crossing letters.

Husker, parabolic does not refer to eccentric circles. That would be more like elliptical. A parabola is an arc like the path of a lobbed baseball or a fly ball. It never curves back on itself.

MJ said...

Good evening C.C. and friends.

We've been enjoying great family time this week, so although I've done the puzzle each day, I didn't have computer time to follow the blog or visit. Spent this morning catching up on the blogging (thank you C.C., Lemonade, and Al--all great!), posts, and links.

The most difficult puzzle for me so far this week was Tuesday, and they've seemed easier each day as the week went on. I couldn't believe I nailed Dan Naddor's puzzle yesterday, as his penchant for proper nouns is often challenging for me. I had fun with today's puzzle, had only a few unknowns which perps easily revealed.

Gunghy- Thanks for sharing your trip with us. You are an excellent photographer.

KQ-Cute pix of your sons. Are these recent? I somehow was thinking that your children were a bit older.

JazzB-Lovely photo of your wife and darling granddaughters.

Dennis-You hunk! Great car, too.

Elissa-Glad to hear you're making progress on recovering your identity. What a mess!

Lois-Hooray for the walking cast, and I hope any other medical issues heal quickly.

Hahtool-I was surprised to read that the schools in your area began today. I just finished working summer school on Wednesday.

And finally, Happy Birthday to all who've celebrated this week--Lemonade's Troy, JazzB's Gloria, and Melissa Bee! Hope I didn't forget anyone.

Enjoy the evening!

bestbird said...

Grumpy1, notice the spelling difference between pixilated and pixelated. With an E, it does refer to pixels in a digital photo or on a computer screen. With an I, the following is from my Mac's Dictionary:

pixilated |ˈpiksəˌlātid| ( Brit. also pixillated)
adjective
crazy; confused.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: variant of pixie-led, literally [led astray by pixies,] figuratively [confused,] or from pixie, on the pattern of words such as elated and emulated.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Well, I have a case of the stupids today. Got the relatively obscure ALIOTO, ALLELE, DNA, and PICO, but couldn't parse GAS UP not NBA star.

Couldn't make sense of the theme.

Gotta Run,

Cheers!
JzB

windhover said...

Damn! I take the afternoon off to cut some more hay (Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment, but I've got it to do, so I do it), and miss some Anon fun. I've got to pay closer attention.

Dennis:
I'm guessing your most direct route will be 95 to 85? If you can figure out out how to get a segment of 75 into the return route, dinner and drinks are on us.

Speaking of speed runs, do you remember when Car & Driver magazine "informally" sponsored the "Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash"? As I recall, it ran from the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan to a beach front hotel in San Diego. There was no
set route, very few rules, and the winner was based on elapsed time. The cars left at 15 minute intervals. Dan Gurney and Brock Yates (of C&D) once made it in a few minutes over 24 hours. Yates story of passing an Iowa state trooper at 160+ mph (he never moved) was priceless.
In a somewhat less momentous experience, I once (1994, I think) rode a Honda 650 Nighthawk from Berea,Ky. to Deland, Fla. (15 miles West of Daytona) in 13 hrs, 10 min, including all stops. Seventy-nine mph overall, ninety plus while actually moving. The tem minutes was spent talking a Florida state trooper who was parked under the I-10 overpass on I-75 out of giving me a ticket. I still have warning citation somewhere. The return trip took a little longer. This was Bike Week (February), and the temp dropped 30 degrees while I was there.
My need for speed has diminished only slightly since then.

Husker said...

You're right Bill. It's been 44 years since college algebra and I did confuse Ellipse and Parabola. Thanks for the gentle reminder!

windhover said...

Funny,
No one mentioned Hiroshima today, at least that I noticed. I know some are too young, but others are not. Is this something we'd prefer to forget/ignore? We should not, I think.
Anyone?

Bill G. said...

Hiroshima. You're right, it certainly needs to be remembered. It was a terrible event. But it was also a very tough decision by Harry Truman. My not-very-well-informed opinion is that since Japan attacked us at Pearl Harbor and that since many more American lives would have been lost by a prolonged war, I think Truman made the best decision he could have. I seem to remember he warned Japan and they didn't believe him. So what else to do? The only other alternative I can think of is to demonstrate the devastation of an atomic bomb in an unpopulated area. But that probably wouldn't have worked either because even after Hiroshima, they kept fighting until Nagasaki. Wars are very sad things.

dodo said...

Evnin, all. Are you all having a bit of a cool spell? We are: high 80s for two or three days. nice!

Best bird, thank you for your definition of pixilated. I knew I'd seen it in reading!

Not a good xword day for me. But Icant complain; things have been pretty good up until now!

Chickie, you must be a ball of fire, energy-wise! Aren't there just two of you or do you have off-spring returning to eat your goodies? You must have a really full larder! And still time for handiwork! How do you do it?

I hope we'll hear from Clearayes soon. It's been a while and we all miss her, I know!

Al, thank you for your clarification of the DNA/RNA confusion. I'm printing it our so I can keep referring to it.

C.C. Nice blogging! I do appreciate your generosity of time and effort!

Dennis, Vidwan is right!

dodo said...

Windhover, I remember Hiroshima well, just never really noted the date. It was terrible, but I remember having such a sense of relief! Am I right in remembering that we were struggling to keep the Japanese at bay just before that? Yes, Harry Truman made a difficult decision! But it really opened a Pandora's box, didn't it?

Bill G. said...

Dodo, I'm not sure what you meant by Harry Truman opening a Pandora's box. But I do think the discovery of atomic energy opened the box. However, I think other scientists and their countries would have followed suite anyway and developed their own nuclear weapons even without Truman's decision.

Bill G. said...

Oops, I meant 'followed suit.'

Nite everybody.

Chickie said...

Dodo, No there is just the two of us, but I try to freeze enough apple sauce for holiday dinners,and for ourselves during the year. I also try to put in two or three cakes, apples crisps, and dried apples for serving at meetings, and for gifts to neighbors, and my family, especially at Christmas.