google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Robert & Marlea Ellis

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Showing posts with label Robert & Marlea Ellis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert & Marlea Ellis. Show all posts

Apr 5, 2019

Friday, April 5, 2019, Robert & Marlea Ellis

Title: I EE? OH!

Well, here I am back in the Friday saddle rested and ready to take you on a new ride into the wonderful world of words. This is our third creation by this couple, with the first two Thursday efforts. I was in Thailand when they had their debut and Steve was off watching LA LA LAND. Today we have a punny sort of letter substitution theme, requiring some imagination. The start was the end and the end snuck up on me. I had many missteps but I got'er done so now it is your turn. First I must say there were many 3/4 fill which helped move this along, though there were also many 7 letter fill as well  - ARMOIRE, DEMERIT, FATHEAD, FUSSPOT, GET THIS,  MELISSA, RETIREE, SILICON and THIEVES put some real sparkle in the mix.

The theme was a challenge to grasp, so let us look at each one. Notice the consistency of the letter exchange being:  last word, first word, last word, first word.

18A. Make some cote residents angry?: STEAM SHEEP (10). First,  you have to know that the definition of a cote is a shelter, coop, or small shed for sheep, pigs, pigeons, etc. I know the term from pigeons, so this was slow starting, but when STEAM SH__. filled I go the idea that this was a pun for Steam SHIP.

26A. Calf roper's target?: FEET TO BE TIED (12). FIT to be tied. This is where the penny dropped on the I to EE change.

48A. Birdwatcher's journal entry?: CARDINAL SEEN (12).  In FLIGHT. Cardinal SIN. Also known as Deadly,  there are seven of them, but I do not believe it is mandatory for one to violate all of them to become a Cardinal.

63A. Borden, in the 1870s?: TEEN LIZZIE (10). TIN Lizzie. Speaking of deadly, Lizzie Borden took an ax And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one. Tricky, as she was a teen in the 1870s, but the murder was in 1892. A wonderful article on the NAME of this car.

Across:

1. Triumphant exclamation: TADA. Reverse psychology beginning with the joy of the solve.

5. Illusion: FACADE. Not a direct synonym, but a typical Friday level clue/fill.

11. "The good is __ interred with their bones": "Julius Caesar": OFT. The speech posited by Shakespeare to be said by Marc Anthony is one of the most moving of Shakespeare's use of words. LINK.

14. Ostrich relatives: EMUS.

15. Payday lender, perhaps: USURER. So odd to see this after solving Peter Gordon's WSJ earlier this week. In Florida, there are special laws for these folks which allow them to collect what would otherwise be usurious interest. The latest litigation which I  am working on is a reply to a collection effort by someone who committed criminal usury (under Florida Law 687.071  ). Fun stuff.

16. Extract with effort: PRY.

17. Suffers: AILS. See 5A.

20. Singer Etheridge: MELISSA. CSO to our own.

22. One no longer working: RETIREE. Not me, I still work, just don't make big money anymore. 47A. Savings plan IRAIndividual Retirement Account.

23. Enjoy at a leisurely pace: SIP.

24. Pikelike fish: GAR. Gars are members of the Lepisosteiformes, an ancient holosteian order of ray-finned fish (easy for them to say). LINK.

25. Nihilistic art movement: DADA. If you want to know more, you can read this INFORMATION.

31. Put away: EAT.

32. Young one: TOT.

33. Storm components?: TWEETS. It takes constructor cojones to put this fill next to 37. Ranking suit: TRUMP.

40. Giant Mel: OTT. It sounds cute, but he is part of true crosswordese history. 45A. 40-Acr. is in it: HOFHall oFame.

42. Fund: ENDOW.

43. 2019 Grammy Awards host Keys: ALICIA. And an off and on judge on the VOICE.

52. "Frozen" sister: ELSA.

55. "Live __": Taco Bell slogan: MAS. At the core of Taco Bell's DNA is a slogan introduced in 2012, Live Mas (“Live More”), which animates its brand and encapsulates the company's philosophy of enriching the lives of its customers and employees in everything it does. Forbes. I bet Roberto Duran is glad they chose this.

56. Prop for Palmer: TEE. Arnold who now plays in heaven.

57. Valley element?: SILICON. A nice clue/fill combo based on the REGION which has become the basis of a popular TV SERIES.

59. Embezzlers, e.g.: THIEVES.

65. Cloud of gloom: PALL. A pall was originally a coffin's cloak. Now pall usually means that an event or situation is — literally or figuratively — covered in gloom, like disappointing news that casts a pall on your day. The noun pall comes from the Latin word, pallium, “covering or cloak.”

66. Golden __: AGE. There have been so many, so far.

67. Singer Grande: ARIANA. Some modern wholesome music. LINK.

68. Biblical twin: ESAU.

69. Risk: BET.

70. Identified: PEGGED. A sideways CSO to my ex.

71. Editor's notation: DELE.

Down:

1. Group of playmates: TEAM. So sweet.

2. Parisian love: AMIE.

3. Hardly inspiring: DULL.

4. Good Samaritan's offer: ASSIST.

5. Persnickety one: FUSSPOT. Here is some RESEARCH.

6. "The Thin Man" canine: ASTA.

7. Help in the theater: CUE.

8. Biblical mount: ARARAT.

9. Unfavorable mark: DEMERIT. Not a word I see used these days.

10. In the past, in the past: ERST.

11. Adams' "Nixon in China," e.g.: OPERA. The HISTORY of the music.

12. Let go: FREED.

13. Far from laid-back: TYPE-A.

19. Out of sight: HIDDEN.

21. Work for parents: SIT. They all get mad when you actually sit on your them.

24. Juicy tidbit lead-in: GET THIS. A generally conspiratorial phrase.

26. Greek salad topper: FETA. The cheese, a brined curd white cheese made in Greece from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is a crumbly aged cheese is protected by EU legislation and only those cheeses manufactured in Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Central Mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, and Lesvos can be called ‘feta’.

27. Bowling great __ Anthony: EARL. I think Boomer met this left-handed marvel who entertained me on the TV for many years.

28. Sewing case: ETUI.

29. "I can't get no satisfaction!": BOO. I guess booing is what you do when you can't get what you want, maybe?

30. Farm mom: EWE. A little rhyme time?

34. First name in the cast of "The Sopranos": EDIE. Referring to any first name of a cast member. This one plopped in immediately although there were other choices; AIDA Turturro; DREA de Matteo; and, TONY Sirico. Name the characters?

35. Sped: TORE.

36. Christmas song swimmer: SWAN. Did you know the Christmas Carol had religious  MEANING?

38. 2008 presidential candidate: MCCAIN. May he rest in peace.

39. Actress Zadora: PIA. One of the earliest media darlings with no talent but a rich husband. She has not been around in a while.

41. Heavy weight: TON. More trickery, as the difference between heavyweight and heavy weight is subtle.

44. Bedroom piece: ARMOIRE.

46. Dimwit: FATHEAD.

49. Polish seaport, in Germany: DANZIG. Another tricky clue, as the historic port city of  GDAŃSK.

50. Welcoming gift: LEI. Too many easy DF comments.

51. Leaked slowly: SEEPED. This is a creepy sounding word for me.

52. Founded: Abbr.: ESTAB. This actually slowed me down the most as I had ESTBD.

53. Feudal subject: LIEGE. This is very difficult, as the LIEGE is the Lord to whom the subjects are subordinate.

54. Reason for closed schools, perhaps: SLEET. Neither rain nor snow nor sleet.

58. Show appreciation: CLAP. Did you ever wonder where it started? LINK. I love Mozart's comment.

59. Stabber: TINE. This is a stretch, as befits Friday. We all know a tine is a prong or a sharp point, such as that on a fork or antler, but thinking of stabbing in relation to a French Fry...

60. Still-life standard: VASE. You all know this Van Gogh? Sold for $38,600,000.00 in 1987.

61. Airline known for tight security: EL AL.

62. Turn on an axis: SLUE.

64. Half a slalom segment: ZAG. A zig, a zag. The ZIG-ZAG of my youth.

I guess I remembered what to do; hope you enjoyed this ride. Thank you, M/M Marlea and all who read.


Notes from C.C.:

1)  Here are a few sweet pictures from Chez Lemonade. Owen is now a big boy. You can click here for more.
 





 


2) Happy 78th birthday to Irish Miss, the life of our little corner. Agnes cares deeply about all our blog regulars. Whenever someone is missing, she'll notice and ask on the blog. She sent a card to Argyle every week during his last few months. And her last card arrived to us when Boomer was struggling with his Zometa infusion. It brought tears and comfort to Boomer. Thanks for being an angel, dear Agnes! Please keep her sister Anne in your thoughts and prayers.


L-R: Anne, Agnes, Eileen, Mary, and Peggy.
St Patrick's Day, 2019


3) Happy Birthday also to Abejo (Bradley), who's always volunteering somewhere. He's also a certified master gardener, I think. Abejo is Persian for "beer". Bradley worked in Iran for a few years.

Left to Right: Abejo, WikWak, Madame DeFarge and TTP, 7/19/2018

Mar 22, 2018

Thursday, March 22 2018 Robert & Marlea Ellis

Theme: Odorless Wine - or "no nose". Actually, the reveal explains the theme nicely:

64A. Taboos, and a hint to the four longest puzzle answers : NO-NOS. Phrases which lose the opening "no"; and so we have

17A. Soda fountain come-on? :  [NO] GREAT SHAKES. Make three at once with this handy device on your countertop:




26A. Earthquake coverage? : [NO-]FAULT INSURANCE. You'd thing you'd need fault insurance in my home state. California isn't one of the no-fault insurance states.

43A. List in a quiz program recap? : [NO] QUESTIONS ASKED. Nice clue.

56A. Lower hulls fortified? : [NO] HOLDS BARRED. I think I'd have looked for a more elegant clue here. "Lower hull" seems a little contrived.

There was a similar theme by Jim Page in the NYT a few years ago, but he clued his theme entries as if they still had the "no" attached.

Let's see what jumps out in the fill:

Across:

1. Fall face first while skiing, say : EAT IT. I've done many a face-plant on and off piste.

6. Mighty silly : APISH. Nice word, took a while for me to see it.

11. Part of ROM: Abbr. : MEM. Read-only memory. Which leads me to the question - how do you get anything into read-only memory? We should be told.

14. Longest-serving prime minister of India : NEHRU. He of the eponymous jacket. India's first PM.


15. Austrian actress Berger : SENTA. Completely unknown to me, but the crosses filled her in.

16. Kanye West's "I __ God" : AM A. Nailed it! Thank you, crosswords past.

19. Monarch catcher : NET. Butterfly net.

20. Brooklyn Dodgers legend Campanella : ROY. Imaginatively nicknamed "Campy".

21. In questionable taste : TACKY

22. All excited : AFIRE

24. Radiant glow : AURA

25. Italian cheese : ASIAGO. Oddly, I always thought it was Spanish. Learning moment for me.

31. Aids in illegal activity : ABETS. I see "aid" as a synonym, but the crime is "aiding and abetting", so there must be a difference. We need legal help to explain this one.

32. Roberts of "That '70s Show" : TANYA. She's had some "work" done since this shot was taken, as a Google image search will confirm.


33. Comic Martha : RAYE. Thank you, crosses. Proper names are not my forte.

34. One-named singer with 15 Grammys : ADELE

36. Neeson of "Love Actually" : LIAM

40. Continue gabbing : RUN ON

42. Ship's seepage : BILGE. In the sub-lower hull.

47. Latin ballroom dances : TANGOS

48. Berlin octet : ACHT. Eight, in Essen, and elsewhere.

49. One of a Dumas trio : ATHOS. The Three Musketeers. Athos, Porthos and Aramis. D'Artagnan wasn't a musketeer when he met the three.

50. Civil rights leader Chavez : CESAR. 

52. __-tip steak : TRI. This cut of beef is unknown many places other than the West Coast. It's a triangular cut from the bottom sirloin, hence the name - it has three "tips".

55. Barnyard sound : MAA. It's a more accurate representation of the sound than "baa" although the latter is more commonly-used. "Maa maa black sheep, have you any wool?" doesn't have the same ring to it.

59. Directional suffix : ERN

60. Missouri tribe : OSAGE

61. Not-giving-up phrase : I HOPE

62. Completed : DID

63. Fishing boot : WADER

Down:

1. Career for a sci. major : ENGR. Engineer. Definitely not my favorite fill.

2. Flight-related prefix : AERO-

3. Unspecified folks : THEY. I had THEM first, but the baseball great Rom [sic] Campanella fixed that.

4. Sportswriter Berkow : IRA. Boxing, baseball, basketball among other sports. He was jointly awarded the Pulitzer Prize for journalism in 2001. Great writer.

5. Clucks of disapproval : TUT-TUTS

6. __ School: art movement featuring NYC scenes : ASHCAN. I've no idea how I knew this. Here's "McSorley's Bar" by John French Sloan.


7. Top out : PEAK

8. Very dark : INKY

9. Abbr. in some Québec addresses : STE. Ste. Jean sur Richelieu, par example.

10. Contributes : HAS A SAY

11. Oscar-nominated "Flashdance" song : MANIAC. I preferred "Flashdance .. What a Feeling" myself. In fact, let's have a Flashdance Flashback.

12. Arise : EMERGE

13. San __, California : MATEO

18. Asian dress : SARI

23. Contender for the crown : FINALIST

24. Steve Rogers, for Captain America : ALTER EGO

25. Composer of the opera "Alfred" : ARNE. Thomas Arne's score for the opera about Alfred the Great. The libretto was written by David Mallet and James Thompson. We'll have a test on this tomorrow, so pay attention.

26. At a distance : AFAR

27. Chicago-based law org. : ABA. At least this week's clue allows for no ambiguity, unlike last week's interpretation which brought all the knuckle-dragging anons out of hiding.

28: Illegal fwy. maneuver : UEY

29. Court worker : STENO

30. Co. that merged with Continental : UAL. United Airlines. My carrier of choice. It's been a good week not to be travelling, bad weather all over the place.

34. Queen's subjects : ANTS

35. "And how!" : DO I!

37. Sort : ILK

38. Sit in a cellar, maybe : AGE

39. Club __ : MED. Are they still going? Not seen these resorts advertised for quite some time.

41. Base entertainment : USO SHOW

42. Persian Gulf monarchy : BAHRAIN

43. Persian Gulf native : QATARI. I enjoyed the proximity of this clue pair.

44. Release : UNHAND

45. Egyptian leader for whom a lake is named : NASSER. Formed by the damming of the Nile at Aswan. It's the largest man-made lake in the world. The lake, was formed, that is, not the leader. The leader was formed by Mr. and Mrs. Nasser, presumably.

46. Union foe : SCAB

47. Gained control of : TAMED

50. Dressed : CLAD

51. Advantage : EDGE

52. 1982 sci-fi film : TRON. Plus the recent reboot Tron: Legacy in 2010.

53. Defaulter's risk : REPO

54. Time to beware : IDES. More ides. Shame there wasn't a month named "Tides". Then, when it was close to the middle of the month, you'd be able to say "The Ides of Tides Bides". Thank you, I'm here all week.

57. Spanish she-bear : OSA

58. Frat letter : RHO.

And - here's the grid, stick a fork in me, I'm done.

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

1) Argyle still has his phone off the hook due to the pain meds, but I'm in contact with his sister Klista. Santa is doing OK. Please continue keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.

2) Happy Birthday to dear PK, who turns 77 today. So happy that she's now on the blog regularly. PK is a Preacher's Child, but PK also stands for Passionate Kisser, and she's passionate about many subjects. She's always so attentive and observant. She was a reporter before.

3) Agnes just asked about Melissa's granddaughter Jaelyn yesterday. Here is a sweet picture of Melissa's daughter and Jaelyn. Look how she has grown.