google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday July 31, 2010 Timothy L. Meaker

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Jul 31, 2010

Saturday July 31, 2010 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: None

Total words: 72 / Total blocks: 35

Average Word length: 5.28

FYI, 72 is the maximum word count allowed for a themeless.

This puzzle is anchored by three triple stacks of 10s in the top right and bottom left corners. A couple of 9s and 8s in Across build up the basic frame work. The Downs are mostly of medium and short length today.

I'd like to guess that the seed word is OPERA HOUSE (16A. Sight from Sydney Harbour). I hope it's a gimme for all of you, since Kazie devoted a whole episode focusing on Sydney Harbour in her Oz trip series.

E is the most used letters in crossword. Today we have 26 Es. S is very common too. 19 in this grid. Definitely not a scrabbly puzzle: no Q, V, X & Z. Still a tough slog for me. The names are killing me!

Across:

1. Not clear-cut : GRAY. Gray area. Most of the Saturday clues are "not clear-cut". Drive me nuts!

5. Census bureau, essentially : DATA CENTER. "Essentially" yes.

15. Artist Bonheur : ROSA. French artist. Died in 1899. Way too obscure for me.

17. Harpsichordist Kipnis : IGOR. Total stranger. Do you know anything about him, Jayce?

18. Aerodynamics research tool : WIND TUNNEL. Gimme for Dudley, I am sure. Warren was a pilot too.

19. Cares for : TENDS

21. Beginnings : SEEDS

22. Servers with wheels : TEA WAGONS. Oh, we call them tea carts.

25. Co. whose largest hub is at O'Hare : UAL. United Airlines.

28. Shooting sound : REPORT. Dictionary explain report as "a loud noise, as from an explosion", as in the report of a distant cannon. Learning moment for me.

29. Items in a nautical table : TIDES. Ah, for Spitzboov.

31. Pub employees : BARMAIDS. I only know bartender. Barmaids sounds outdated.

34. Show-off : HOT-DOG

35. Land in un lac : ILE. French. Island in a lake.

36. Lo-__ graphics : RES

37. Vigor : PEP

38. Suffix with string : ENT. Stringent. Even this stumped me.

39. Took off : DOFFED. I need "hat" in the clue.

41. Hands and feet : MEASURES. A foot = 12". A hand = 4". Both are measures. Stymied me.

43. Wind threat : SHEAR. Another aviation term? What does it mean?

44. "Samson Agonistes" dramatist : MILTON (John). All I know about Milton is "Paradise Lost".

45. Indirect route : ARC

46. White Sands and others : TEST SITES

49. Actress Van Devere : TRISH. First encounter with this actress.

51. Beaumont, Texas, university : LAMAR. Peeked at the answer sheet.

53. Old-time educator : SCHOOLMARM. I liked this entry.

58. Mystical amulet : MOJO

59. Where to find waiters : TRAIN DEPOT. Waiters = Those who wait. Not your restaurant waiters. Tricky clue.

60. Replacement for those left out : ET AL. Latin for "and others".

61. Weathers the struggle : SOLDIERS ON. Great fill too.

62. Rink fake : DEKE. Hockey "fake" move. Learned from doing Xword.

Down:

1. Abrasive bits : GRIT

2. Subject of Joshua Kendall's "The Man Who Made Lists" : ROGET. Roger's Thesaurus.

3. In unison : AS ONE

4. Spar part : YARDARM. Need our sailor Gunghy's explanation.

5. Stock page name : DOW. Dow Jones Index.

6. Bee: Pref. : API. Only know apian.

7. Stretching muscles : TENSORS. Thought the clue was asking for an ING ending word.

8. Hot-blooded : ARDENT

9. "Gremlins" actress : CATES (Phoebe). No idea. Wife of actor Kevin Kline.

10. Former Israeli prime minister Olmert : EHUD.

11. Judgment for insufficient evidence : NONSUIT. Is this the same as "dismissal', Lemonade?

12. Napa vessel : TUN. Wine cask.

13. Capt.'s heading : ESE. Well, it could be anywhere.

14. Family mem. : REL (Relative)

20. Oath taker : SWEARER. Only one er-ending word today, not bad at all. Our old TMS used way too many ER, RE, ED, S, EST affixes.

23. On foot, in France : A PIED. Literally "on foot".

24. Jupiter and Mars : GODS. Both Roman gods. Gunghy just mentioned yesterday that only planets are named after gods. The moons are named after the lesser characters: Titans, Fates, etc.

26. Scary snake : ADDER. Not "one who adds" ER word. Good.

27. Freetown currency : LEONE. Money unit in Sierra Leone. Freetown is the capital city.

29. Nursery purchase : TOPSOIL. Plant "Nursery", Dummy!

30. York and Snorkel: Abbr. : SGTS (Sergeants)

31. Orders : BIDS

32. Welcoming word : ALOHA. Five letters in Chinese too: Ni Hao.

33. Direct : REFER

34. Qualifying races : HEATS

37. Bombard : PELT

40. Elvis sighting, e.g. : FACTOID. I don't get this clue. Sightings are not really 'facts", correct?

41. Accidents : MISHAPS

42. Not tractable : UNTAMED

44. "Animal magnetism" coiner : MESMER (Franz). No idea. Just learned that "mesmerize" is rooted in his name. Interesting!

46. Symbol of equivalence, in math : TILDE. I don't get this clue either. I learned math in Chinese and I sucked.

47. Fake feelings : EMOTE. "Fake" is a verb here. I was in the adjective direction.

48. Man of letters? : SAJAK (Pat). Host of "Wheel of Fortune". Could be a clue for ROGET (2D) too. He is indeed a "man of letters".

50. Noodle __: old product name : RONI

52. Part : ROLE

53. Houston in NYC, et al. : STS. Houston Streets.

54. Zagreb's land, to the IOC : CRO (Croatia). I pictures a happy smile in Tinbeni. Are girls aggressive there?

55. Holbrook of "Evening Shade" : HAL

56. Eeyore pal : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

57. K2, for one: Abbr. : MTN (Mountain). K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth after Mount Everest. I've never understood what K stands for.

Answer grid.

Here is the final installment of Gunghy's bike trip series. Great to finally "see" him in his armor. He has more pictures to share, but I can't carry on due to my lack of time. I'll link once he uploads them to Picasa or some other website.

C.C.

56 comments:

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

Great BR* words yesterday, everyone, funny clues too. Here are my thoughts:

HeartRx's & GDS Husker's "bed" to "bread" change fits the theme pattern, so are Seen's "Breechcomber"(nice alliterative clue) & Vidwan's "Breed Necklace" (Your "brief" one is a repeat of the first theme answer.)

Jerome's "Brawny Doon", Dennis' 'Briar beware" (nice, unexpected change, punk!), Vidwan's "Bawny and Clyde", PuzzlePal's BRANDY COOT are all very clever. But the first word all have two syllables. The theme entries yesterday all have one. Spitzboov' "Brer Habit" has no spelling change, so those are all out.

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

Vidwan,
To avoid post duplication, maybe you should hit the PREVIEW button before you click PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT. They are placed side by side. Besides letting you spot any spelling error, this step seems to reduce the duplication problem.

Or you can turn blue. Blue status allows you to delete your extra posts. Here is a detailed instruction on how. You can fill in as much information about yourself as your wish, or as little as Seen's. Just a name.

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - I always anticipate a challenge on Saturdays, but I suppose over time everyone encounters a puzzle where the answers just jump out of the dark corners. Today's was mine. I actually got through this one with no outside help, although I needed perp 'priming' with several of the clues.

'Rosa' and 'tends' opened up the NW for me, and 'opera house' (a gimme for us thanks to Kazie) did the same in the NE. From there on, everything seemed to fill in quickly in spite of the unknowns such as 'Mesmer' and 'Lamar'. Very unusual Saturday, but a very enjoyable puzzle. I was feeling very smart right up to the point where I walked into one of the screen sliding doors w/a glass of OJ. Yep, still dumb as a bag of socks...

C.C., a 'factoid' is something that's thought to be true because it appeared in print or in other media. And yes, the 'BR' stuff yesterday was well-done by all.

Today is Mutts Day.

Did You Know: (a few legal warnings)

- In Cleveland, Ohio, it is illegal to catch mice without a hunting license.

- In Kentucky, it is illegal to carry ice cream in your back pocket.

- In Texas, it is illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow.

Dick said...

Good morning all, another slog for me today. I don’t know if the puzzles are getting harder or I am getting dumber. Again, for two days in a row, I needed quite a bit of outside help. Artist Bonheur, Igor Kipnis and actress Van Devere are a few of the ones that sent me packing to see Mr. G.

Even with the unknowns I found the puzzle to be entertaining, challenging and a good way to start the day.

I have many things to do today before we leave for Oregon tomorrow so I will be very busy.

See you in a week.

Hope you all have a great Saturday.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Nice informative write-up, C. C.

A good challenge today. Only needed red letter help with DEKE since I did not see the whole SAJA_ fill. D'uh. Thought GRIT, TRAIN DEPOT, MEASURES, and ETAL were quite clever. SOLDIERS ON was a WAG. Tried 'storm' before SHEAR became clear.

The ARC/REFER crossing had 'direct' in both clues.

A good Saturday romp with lots of fresh fill like DOFFED and TEAWAGONS.

Enjoy the weekend.

Anonymous said...

Hey Tim!

The measurement of a "hand" is used for horses heights. So if a horse is 16 hands, the measurement begins from the hoof up to the withers. It's weird in a way since the withers are actually part of the shoulder just below the mane-the neck and head are not included in the total height.

Thanks for all the help with the puzzle.

thehondohurricane said...

Unlike Dick, I know I am getting dumber, especially on Saturdays. My hang-ups were Kipnis, Sydney Harbour, Joshua Kendall, Gremlins actress, & Samson Agonistes.

The rest of it went sluggishly after I G'd the above with a lot of WAG's that amazingly worked out.

Dennis said...

thehondohurricane, they may seem like WAGs, but there's usually some knowledge buried behind them. It's always amazing how much we know that we don't know we know.

Al said...

ENT was my last fill today. Even after I got the happy pencil, I had to finally write it down to see why it was correct. Moving the "g" to the second syllable was just too hard to see, I guess...

The names were pretty tough for me too, but they all eventually fell with the perps. Definitely a step up in difficulty over the rest of the week.

This article is written in an informal style, so I don't know for certain that the K explanation here is true, but it seems reasonable:

T.G. Montgomerie was quietly busy in surveying the mountains of Kashmir. During this survey he saw, in the far distance, a tall and conspicuous mountain in the direction of the Karakorams and immediately named it K1 ('K' stands for Karakorams). Later on, it turned out to be the beautiful mountain of Hushe valley in Khaplu area of Baltistan, called Masherbrum by locals. He also saw another tall and dominating summit behind K1 and named it K2, which turned out to be "Chogori". The name K2, however, still stands.

Lemonade714 said...

Good Saturday, I thought this was deceptive, seeming very hard starting out because of proper names were Saturday obscure, ROSA and IGOR, though I had no trouble with TRISH VAN DERVERE not because I remember her work, but because she was married to George C. Scott for many years, and who does not like him. An actress who has not worked for 20 years…well it is Saturday.

And of course most red blooded boys remember this scene with PHOEBE CATES ; still talked about many years later.

There are many ways courts refer to a NONSUIT, but basically it ends an action; either because the Plaintiff did not proceed, or presented insufficient evidence. It is a dismissal, though the term is not used as much anymore, as directed verdict, or dismissal with prejudice are more common.

TILDE is exactly what the clue says it is, the mathematical way to say approximately.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.
Once again my daily salute was included in the crossword. This time twice - once as an answer for 60a. and once as part of the clue for 53d.

I had many of the same problems with the obscure actresses and names, but breezed through the north thanks to help from Kazies photos of the OPERA HOUSE.

For 34a. "Show-off", shouldn't the answer have been "HOT DOGGER"??

@Dennis, MUTTS
is one of my favorite cartoons, and I’m glad to see that they are being honored with their own day.

Spitzboov said...

C.C. Re: spelling change. Guess I was thinking along the lines of 'Brer Rabbit' having a 'beer habit'. When Brer Habit is voiced, the H is kind of lost due to the elision.

TILDE: Engineers of my generation use the ~ all the time to mean 'approximate'. ie. 98¢ ~ 1$. A great shorthand notation.

Dennis said...

HeartRx, I think 'hot dog' is ok; people usually say, 'what a hot dog' when someone's showing off.

Or at other times...

Lemonade714 said...

Heart Rx, The way you know it is Saturday, is the words are not necessarily their most common usage; e.g. (to) show off is (to) hot dog. The constructor used the verb not the noun to confuse.

Speaking of stuff people remember, I can understand remembering the BIG SLEEP a wonderful Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall movie based on the Raymond Chandler novel of the same name, but to recall Bob Steele playing LASH CANINO is pretty amazing, even if it took you a while to get there. Steele was an old western star.

Dick said...

Al, thanks for the great link on K.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good Morning gang.

At first glance I thought this would be really rough, as I saw several proper name clues that were total unknowns to me. OPERA HOUSE was pretty obvious, but I didn't rule out COAT HANGER (that beautiful bridge that people pay an insane amount of money to walk up to the top) until WIND TUNNEL and a couple of perps settled the matter. From there, I was surprised at how easily the rest of the puzzle solved.

Everywhere a name stumped me, there was perp help to bail me out. It still took awhile to complete, though.

All in all, a fun puzzle with some fun clues.

Husker said...

Was suspicious with Opera House and Wind Tunnel were gimmes especially after throwing up my hands for an artist and harpsichordist in the NW. Got it all done except for mistakes in 4 boxes so...

Did anyone put Fantasy for Elvis sighting? Art for string suffix?

I am a math teacher and a tilde (~) means aproximate not equal

I kicked myself for not recognizing Sgt Snorked from Beetle Bailey immediately!

Anonymous said...

Wind threat : SHEAR. Another aviation term? What does it mean?

Near airports, where planes are landing and taking off, residual blast trails are left behind. They can be crosswise to a prevailing wind. Where these two winds intersect, cross shear forces can be large enough to cause another landing or leaving airplane to veer. So Shear Wind is ok, but obscure!

Jsg

Atlantic beach FL

Husker said...

Sorry for the sloppy syntax and spelling in last post. I will use the Preview function from now on and "soldier on"!

HeartRx said...

Dennis and Lemonade,
Thanks for the additional clarification on "HOT DOG". You are right Lemondade, I was thinking of the noun, not the verb form. Siiiiiiigggggggghhhhhh... so much to remember when doing a Saturday xword ! But it was getting late in the AM and I was getting hungry. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :-P

daffy dill said...

OPERAHOUSE was my first entry, but I backed it out because I was sure "family mem." would be the usual "sis, bro, mom, dad, etc." I knew LAMAR and have even been on the campus, but couldn't dredge up the name from the old gray matter. (Mirabeau B. Lamar was the second president of the Republic of Texas.)

I wanted "monuments" for the White Sands clue because it is a National Monument. Also wanted "cobra" instead of ADDER. I didn't know any of the proper names, but they all came with perps.

Had to have red letter help on this one.

Lemonade714 said...

We were landing at LaGuardia one evening, when traveling with my brother on business and we hit WIND SHEAR and the plane dropped thousands of feet just before landing. I was not a good flyer and was upset, however it got much worse when we were disembarking and I saw the pilot who was slightly grey looking and shaking.

Mary said...

Gunghy, Thanks for the great SW pix. I was home in New Mexico last weekend and saw the Camel Rock, a favorite from my childhood when we were allowed to sit on it. Whitesands was too far south for your route. It reminds me of a book about the A-bomb testing called The Glass Sea.

I liked the fresh clues today, e.g. Harpsichordist Kipnis for IGOR. SCHOOLMARM was fun, OPERAHOUSE and WINDTUNNEL gave me quick traction.

Raymond Bednarz said...

This puzzle kicked my butt today. Had trouble from the start. The long answers were easy, but got stuck on the left center and southwest corner. Many breaks before finishing. Kept wanting Aloha to be ADIEU. Thought of EMOTE early, but wanted a plural. Way to much time spent this Saturday morning.

Tinbeni said...

C.C. Excellent, informative write-up.

Geez, I knew it was Saturday from the number of Proper Names I didn't know.
Dennis, you're probably right about how you keep working at it with the perps, then a light bulb goes off, and from the dark places in your brain comes a memory from long, long ago.

Dick, I'm starting to think I'm getting dumber or maybe just need stronger coffee on Saturday.

First fills were that SCHOOL MARM and TRAIN DEPOT. Then up top I got the OPERA HOURSE & WIND TUNNEL.
GRAY area gave me YARDARM, AS ONE, yielded ROSA & IGOR.

Then there were the write-overs or wouldn't-fits. Like that dismissal/NONSUIT or carhops/TEA WAGONS.

All-in-all, a total slog. With some great clues, some anwsers a bit obscure.

CC: Zagreb was my favorite 2yr. Ex-Pat location.
(Other assignments took me to Sydney, London, Paris, Rio & Sao Paulo, etal. And that little thing we had in Vietnam,)
I don't know what is in the water but the ladies there are striking.
It was like that all through Eastern Europe, stunningly beautiful women.
Alas, their men generally looked like the bad guy in a Clint Eastwood movie.
Other than the Serbs (at the time, remember the USA involment with Kosovo) they were all very friendly and loved America & Americans.

Spitzboov said...

Re:
Items in a nautical table: TIDES

Here is an example of a tide table for Albany, NY:

Albany, NY Tide Table

Gunghy said...

Did this late last night online. That's a first. Then I immediately came here to check and comment. C.C., I was really surprised to find only yesterday's. I'm so used to this being here when I finally arrive that I didn't put any thought into it. Well, at least I didn't have to clean up any OJ.

Barmaid = waitress. Bartender can be either gender.

This was another slog that I actually enjoyed. Well, except for the stack of ROSA and IGOR crossed with ROGET. There should be a law against obscure names together like that. (In my case I just want names outlawed from the puzzles.) Several fun, fresh clues and great misdirection. I read RING FAKE, so was stuck with DIVE. Then when I caught that, I couldn't get free from DINK.

Dennis, In California, you need a fishing license to catch snakes.
L714, I Knew Trish was right, but couldn't remember from where. Thank you.
HeartRx, Always hogdog, never hotdogger. Regional, maybe?

C.C., I'll have to get to yardarm later, family just intruded. Jeannie would be a better resource after her trip, She's going to see them up close and personal. No yardarms on small craft.

Anonymous said...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29828648/

Wind Shear.

Jsg

Gunghy said...

PS C.C., Thank you for pointing out the trash can. I missed the "how to post" article (Hey, I'm male, I don't need directions) and have never noticed the trash can. Good, now I can stop bothering Dennis.

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, a tough puzzle that my wife and I teamed up on again. Without the online red letter help it would've taken 1/2 the day?

RE: Wind shear?

I can still remember this accident from 1985:DAL flight 191

Anonymous said...

A factoid is a questionable or spurious—unverified, incorrect, or fabricated—statement presented as a fact, but with no veracity.

GarlicGal said...

Didn't any one else have "Santa" for Man of letters? I just couldn't let go of it! Screwed up the whole corner, needless to say... This was a tough one for me. But I'm okay. I'm over it.

@JD - Won tons work great. Try it! Also, the Garlic Festival was great fun. 97,000 of our closest friends visited over the 3 days. Garlic reigned supreme!!!

Zcarguy said...

Good morning all,,

Having had Tabouleh with lots of parsley last night, I thought i'd be more than ready for today's puzzle,and with a full pot of fresh Turckish coffee, I was sure am up to the task,,,WRONG..
After awhile I took some vitamine B complex and gave the puzzle one more shot,,finaly i befriended Mr.G
and got going.

Needless to say it was a slog..but for some reason I did enjoy it and I learned alot from it.

hope you all have a great wkend.

Tinbeni said...

I always thought that Factoids were just those little snippets on CNN about some insignificant, but true, fact.
40d Elvis sighting had me thinking of "urban legend."

CC: As to those Croatian ladies being aggressive?
No more so than ladies anywhere else.
But I was aware I was viewed in a different light than the locals. Maybe as a vehicle to get them to America.
As such, I kept things "pretty light ... on the down low." Though I do miss a certain Vesna very much.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody, and happy Saturday greetings to you all. Thank you, CC, for an interesting write-up.

Somehow I managed to finish today's puzzle with no lookups or cheating, which of course I feel good about.

Yeah, I knew Igor Kipnis, one of the few proper names I did know. I still have some records (remember records?) of stuff he recorded. Can't play 'em any more because my turntable broke down years ago and I never did get it fixed or replaced. One of these days ...

I also knew Trish Van Devere, more as the wife of George C. Scott than as an actress whom I had ever seen. Just the opposite with Phoebe Cates, whom I, being red-blooded, remember for her talents rather than as anybody's spouse. I had forgotten she was in Gremlins, though, so it was not a gimme.

The only entry I didn't know at all, even though I filled it from the perps, is DEKE. That's one of those that I would never have gotten in a million years.

StringENT fooled me big time!

I got hasty and pencilled in HELLO for Welcoming word. That'll teach me to act hastily!

I have actually eaten Noodle-Roni. TMI? (Rice-a-Roni is the "San Francisco treat.")

I agree SCHOOLMARM, TRAINDEPOT, WINDTUNNEL, and SOLDIERSON are magnificent fills. It impresses me to see how a constructor can line up 3 long entries on top of one another and have them work! My hat is doffed to them!

As an engineer I often use the tilde to indicate "is approximately equal to" but I usually write two tildes, one on top of the other, like a squiggly = sign. I bet FermatPrime would agree it symbolizes approximation, not equivalance. An acceptable clue nevertheless, IMHO, "good enough" for crossword work :)

Tinbeni, I too have observed that Eastern European women are, in general, strikingly attractive, at least until they grow up to become "babushkas."

Enough rambling. Best wishes to you all, even to you punks :P

HeartRx said...

@ Spitzboov
I'll bet all the surfers in Albany really get a lot of use out of those tide tables, eh?

@ Gunghy,
I usually associate "Hot Dogger" with fast or trick skiers. So it's probably not a widely used term? But I do remember the movie you linked. Sports Illustrated did a review of it and said "Not enough skiing to be a ski movie, and too little nudity to be a porn movie"

lois said...

Good afternoon CC, et al., Yep, this is Sat. A slog from beginning to end.

Had to laugh at 18A wind tunnel. That brought Dennis to mind and his way of detecting (and enjoying) wind speed and direction. Kind of all blends with 'measures', 'mojo', 'pep' 'soldiers on' (at attention, I'm sure), 'barmaids, 'hot dog', and 'opera house' where the fat lady sings when it's all over.

For those of you who do not know, Dennis is gifted in ways beyond most mortals. There is no 'gray' area here, and this is not up for debate. We are talking about a gift of the 'gods' - one that 'UAL' would love to possess-the incredible ability to detect wind speed and direction with uncanny precision, quickly and cheaply. This is a gift born from true 'grit' and refined with 'non suit'ed training(with clothes 'doffed') in the open air. Of course the 'ardent' 'school marm' fits snugly into the scenario too b/c altho' gifted, our Dennis had a penchant for brownies and often got distracted and 'mesmer'ized by their 'tea wagons' and cookies. Consequently, if the 'report' was not just so, it had to be done repeatedly until it was perfect and 'measures'
up to NASA expectations. Accuracy 'ros-a's did his large 'yard arm' (indicator equipment)and his enjoyment with practice. The 'test sites' were always random,'mishaps' were so few and far between, and his predictability was so precise that now Dow-Jones is envious. Yep, the 'tides' should be so in 'tun'e to Ma Nature as our Dennis. He and his gift are legendary. It's an honor to know him...and that's the truth!

Thank you all for the well wishes and kind thoughts this week. It's over, I passed and didn't even study. The verdict (diagnosis) and the sentencing (treatment plan) will be here soon. One step at a time.

Enjoy your night.

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

Hey guys,
Nancy Byron (the constructor for yesterday's Brrr! puzzle) just left a comment in yesterday's blog post.

Below is the copy:

"Thanks, all, for your comments! John, I wish there was some magic to share re: how the theme was developed, but it really just came down to thinking about every BR word that exists and taking it from there. I like BREAD POST - good one HeartRx!

I originally wanted to use BREAST IN SHOW (Superbowl wardrobe malfunction?), but thought it might not pass the acceptability standards. It's secretly my favorite, though."

Tinbeni said...

Jayce
I just googled "babushkas" and now I'm blind.

Maybe the ladies in Eastern Europe in general, Croatia in particular, looked so great was because their guys looked so blase.

I remember sitting in the main Zagreb square looking at the ladies thinking: "10,10,10, 9(how did she get in there),10,10!"
The girls checking out the guys were probably thinking: "5, 4, 5, 9(oh, he's that Florida guy), 4, 5."

The one thing I remember working in those places there always seemed to be a plethora of beautiful women.

But make no mistake, NOT NEARLY AS MANY as here in the good ol' USA.

bestbird said...

Hi all,

Another delurking! I've been reading your posts for a few weeks and love all the links you all supply. Very educational!

Tough, tough Saturday puzzle. So many I couldn't google, and lots I didn't know until I came here. My husband always starts the puzzles and I finish them. Today, I erased operahouse (doh!), re-wrote it in my handwriting, and I know when I show him the filled-in puzzle, he's going to say something!

Brenda

gGerry said...

Good Day All,
Now 2 days in a row of not getting diddly, so I'll just have to make a few inane comments. I lost my mojo and the XW gods pelted me again, leaving me mesmerized -- I just couldn't soldier on to ascend this mtn. Now a swearer I've become.

C.C. noted besides 'aloha', Mandarin has equal-lengthed 'ni-hao', so I'll add 2 more 5-letters: 'witam' ("I welcome You") and 'czesc' [with kreska accents over the s & last c] ("greetings" [literally, honor]), both of these being Polish.

On a roll here, so... my dad pointed out that Pat Sajak's name should really be spelled "Zaja_c" (pronounced something like "ZAI ohnts" - instead of my underscore there should really be a 'little tail' trailing from the a, nasalizing it somewhat), again Polish, and the name means 'rabbit'.

As a mathematician, I'd say that a TILDE is as an accent mark, placed over a letter, not used in-line to denote equivalence [notwithstanding claims to the contrary in wiki]. Oh well, sour grapes.

Nancy B. said...

Thanks, C.C. - I'm new to the blog, and didn't want to jump in on Timothy's Saturday comments, but I appreciate you copying my post. I think BREECHCOMBER and BREED NECKLACE are also very clever additions. Thanks again to everyone.

Jayce said...

Very cool that Nancy Byron posted a message.

Dennis said...

Gunghy, HeartRx, yeah, I remember that movie too. Back when I was instructing part-time in the Poconos, I had a pair of 'hot dog' skis, which were 180s - short enough for doing stuff like 'whirlybirds', etc., but fairly unstable at speed. And as to ski movies, anything by Warren Miller is just outstanding.

Bestbird, thanks for 'delurking' and joining us; it's a wonderful, eclectic group.

Nancy B. you guys do great work - I'm very much looking forward to your next offering. And thanks for taking the time to stop by here - twice.

Lois, jeez, I'm so not used to kind words directed my way on here, that I think I turned red. My face too. You certainly have a way with words, and no doubt other things as well.

Gunghy said...

Okay, tragedy averted. Now that I've finally got my morning coffee poured, let's discuss yardarms.

First, watch the first 40 seconds of Tall Ship sailing

The first action shot shows sailors climbing the shrouds. Shrouds are the support wires, cables and ropes that keep the mast from falling. The rope ladders of the tall ship are part of this system, so they are shrouds as well as ladders. They are climbing around horizontal beams that hold up the square sails that comprise most of the sails on a sailing ship. These beams are the yards.

If you need to hoist the sails, you use a pulley system (block and tackle) to pull the yard up into position, dragging the sail up behind.

Most sails aren't hoisted, they are unfurled. In this situation, the yard is fixed to the mast and the sail is dropped. (furl = fold or roll up, from Anglo-French ferlier to fasten) At 30 seconds, a sailor is out near the end of the yard so he can untie and unfurl the sail. When you aren't using that sail, a whole bunch of you must climb up and manually furl the sail. If the winds get to strong, you may partially furl sails. This is called 'reefing the sail'.

Finally, what's a yardarm? Well, if you look back at the first shot, you'll notice that the yard stands off the mast like the arms of a scarecrow? Yup, one yard consists of 2 yardarms sticking out.

One last thought to titillate, Hanging from the yardarm was much more common than walking the plank.

Kirk, the never-up-the-shroud sailor

dodo said...

Just lost my comment as I tried the "openID" thing. Didn't work!

I'll forgo my comments re: the Xword today, since it was not a good one for me.

I just want to report that Lucina's and my meeting and lunch were just terrific! What a wonderful adventure! I got to meet my 'cyberfriend' and her friends, Kathy, Joy and Jeanetta.
We got on as though we'd known each other forever, which those four have. All just super nice. Not long enough of course, but we'll take care of that next year! Maybe some of the 'coven' will join us! What fun! Lots of pix were taken, so you'll be seeing us soon! Thank you C.C. for making it possible!

Jayce said...

dodo, I'm so glad you had a good time!

Anonymous said...

FYI Jayce
Your 4:17 & 5:22 comments (Very nice comments, by the way) are the type that will get you in trouble with the "Number of comments per day" Police.

dodo said...

Thank you, Jayce! and 'anonymous' can, of course, enter any number of comments because no one would know whose were one person's. Anon needn't do the police work!
this is no. 2 for me, anon!

dodo said...

Sorry, c.c., I'm feeding the troll! He/she's a pain

Jayce said...

My posting number 4:

Grrrrrrrr!

Chickie said...

Hello All--This puzzle kicked me around the block. I had to look up almost all of the proper names and Deke was a total unknown. I've only watched a little hockey on TV and still don't understand all the terms.

I don't usually attempt Saturday puzzles, but started on this one and didn't want to give up.

I had three choices for Took off, Lofted, soared, and bolted, none of which were correct. Duh. This was the last area to be filled in today.

Dodo, I am so glad that you had a great visit with Lucina yesterday. Isn't it wonderful that you can make friends via the internet and feel as if you've known them forever?

K-2 was the mountain that Greg Mortenson was climbing when a friend needed rescuing. The friend was rescued but Mortenson was left so weak that he almost lost his life. The villagers in Korphe, Pakistan took him in and nursed him back to health. This resulted in his building the school for this village and the writing of his book, "Three Cups of Tea." If you haven't read this, it is well worth reading.

Dennis said...

Jayce, lol, perfect.

MJ said...

C.C., thanks for excellent parsing today. You are awesome!

Al-Thanks for the K2 link. Very informative, as your links always are.

My puzzling experience today was similar to what Dennis reported at 6:14AM. With so many unknowns, the answers somehow popped in, yet I didn't know I knew the answers. A wonderful creation!

GarlicGal-I also had Santa (48D-Man of letters?) for the longest time, and that was the last little corner to fall.

Enjoy the night!

Lemonade714 said...

I managed to delete my welcoming bost to Nancy Byron and our newest ex-lurker, and now I am tired, so peace oout and welcome to ur world.

Frenchie said...

C.C. Argyle and folk,

22. Servers with wheels : TEA WAGONS. Oh, we call them tea carts. ditto

34. Show-off : HOT-DOG. Heard this expression in Florida for the first time.

28. Shooting sound : REPORT. I seem to recall learning this word from, "Red Badge of Courage."

38. Suffix with string : ENT. Stringent. Even this stumped me. hand up; I was thinking in the 'shoe string or kite string." LOL

45. Indirect route : ARC Very clever!

58. Mystical amulet : MOJO. I feel mojo is an intangiblle quality and amulet is concrete or a tangible.

62. Rink fake : DEKE. My new FOD!

12d. Napa vessel : TUN. Wine cask. Is tun exclusive to wine storage ...not related to the nautical reference...is that ton or tunnage???

44a. Samson Agonistes" Dramatist. very interesting, this never gets old! Samson Agonistes/John Milton

@Lemonade714, great reminder of "Fast Times..." It never occurred to me to order a pizza in class...that was one of the funny scenes...there were so many. and concerning wind shear, my worst nightmare would be your experience! I guess that's what Zanax is for!

@HeartRx, though I don't typically enjoy comic strips, This MUTTS is really fun!

@GarlicGal, "Santa" for Man of letters? So clever!

@Chickie, A few months ago, you mentioned that book and I was able to get a hold of Stones For Schools and the whole thing with Greg Mortenson is just incredible! Now that I have an ebook, I'm sure I'll be able to get Three Cups of Tea more easily.

I'm out.