Sep 12, 2008

Friday September 12, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: LINER (54D: Word defining 21A, 55A, 3D, and 30D)





I know cruise liner, eyeliner, and line drive, but I've never heard of album liner before.

It's a quality puzzle, only one letter (W) away from a pangram. But a hard, hard struggle for me. I was simply not familiar with this kind of "See 54D" style word-defining clueing. Felt very intimidated and hopeless at various spots.

I think I needed more sleep too.


1A: Of blood: HEMAL. Identical clue on Sept 2.

14A: Red Sea gulf: AQABA. Here is the map again. It's the gulf between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Barry Silk intersected AQABA with AQI (Air Quality Index) last time. We should be prepared for a future crossing of AQABA with FAQ & QED, both words have no U after Q.

16A: Bantu language: ZULU. It's also a Michael Caine film title ('64). Do you like his "Sleuth"?

17A: Perry and Wilson: LUKES. Know Wilson, not Perry.

24A: Nancy's comics friend: SLUGGO (Smith). Unknown to me. Only 10 cents, must be very old. Her hair looks strange.

26A: Rustling sound: SOUGH. New to me also. Same pronunciation with SOW. Dictionary defines SOUGH as "to make a rushing, rustling, or murmuring sound: the wind soughing in the meadow."

27A: Black-and-white bear: PANDA. USA Today clued PANDA as "It eats, shoots & leaves?" several months ago and raised quite a few eyebrows. I thought it was cool to play on Lynne Truss's punctuation book title, though to grammatically correct, the clue should have been "It eats shoots & leaves".

29A: Strong-arm man: MUSCLE. Are you OK with the clue?

33A: U.K. insurance group: AVIVA. No, not familiar with this AVIVA. What's the odds of a golf hack like Xchefwalt makes a hole-in-one? (Addendum: Syndication paper clue for AVIVA is "Walled Spanish City". And it's wrong. The city name is AVILA. There is no way you can get AVILA with the intersecting V from 25D: GAVE (Donated)).

39A: Perfect match: MATE. And EQUAL (2D: Match in value).

44A: Flock members: LAITY

45A: Answer to an accusation: I AM NOT. No, I AM NOT a DF.

52A: Flockhart role: MCBEAL (Ally). I've only seen a few episodes. I think I like Vonda Shepard more than Ally McBeal.

59A: R. Reagan's Star Wars: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). Always have problem remembering this acronym.

60A: Currier's partner: IVES. No idea. I've never heard of Currier and IVES before. Lovely scene. So idyllic.

61A: Cyrano's distinction: NOSE. I did not know who Cyrano is. He does have a big nose.

66A: Bonn waterway: RHINE. Remember the "Swiss City on the RHINE" clue we had several months ago? The answer is BASLE, and the clue had no "Var.".

69A: Stock lacking face value: NO-PAR.


1D: Stoppages: HALTS. I prefer the clue to be "Stops". I like actions. I like verbs.

4D: Tad's dad: ABE. Ha, I know this one. I like Doris Goodwin.

5D: Pasta dish: LASAGNA. Have some!

9D: Nordic chutes: SKI JUMPS

10D: Prague populace: CZECHS. Do you like Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"?

13D: "Candid Camera" man: FUNT (Allen). Foreign to me.

22D: City in Central Israel: LOD. Where is it? I can not locate this city.

31D: Alfred of theater: LUNT. Would not have got this one without the across fills. LUNT is clued as "Fontanne's partner" on a May puzzle.

33D: Dextrous beginner?: AMBI. Or "Valence beginner?"

34D: __ con Dios: VAYA. Where are you, Jimbo?

40D: Destination in Nepal: KATMANDU. I don't think Argyle and Dennis want to go to KATMANDU, they probably would like to spend "One Night in Bangkok", ... sans Lois.

41D: Door frame part: JAMB. Great Scrabble word.

43D: Leopold's co-conspirator: LOEB

44D: Speaker's stand: LECTERN

46D: Banned blast: N TESTS. Also, "The SALT concern".

48D: Static letters: EMI. Or the "British record label". U2 belongs to EMI, right?

51D: Football great Merlin: OLSEN. He is in Football HOF. But I've never heard of him before.

53D: Ancient Turkish city: ADANA. No, no, here is a good map. Why "Ancient"?

57D: Erotic: SEXY "It you want my body, and you think I'm SEXY, come on sugar, let me know..."

58D: Mythical queen: HERA . Queen of Heavens. Wife/sister of Zeus.



Dennis said...

Morning, c.c. and gang -- this was an enjoyable way to end the work week for me. I got through it without hitting the G-spot, but it was by no means a snap; the perps bailed me out a couple times. I learned a new word in 'sough'.

c.c., I think 'muscle' is ok - in movies, you'll hear someone say, "he brought his muscle with him". And you can protest all you like, but you're every bit as much a DF as any of us.

Hope everyone has an outstanding weekend; my thoughts are with those people in Ike's path.

C.C. Burnikel said...

I just noticed that 33A: AVIVA is clued as "Walled Spanish city" in syndication paper. It's wrong, isn't it? The city name is AVILA. How can you get AVILA with the intersecting GAVE (25D: Donated)?

Dr. Dad said...

Good morning all!
Sough? Laity? Aqaba? After they were filled in I had to G to see if they were really correct.
Other than those, not too much trouble.
It's been a long time since I heard anything about Nancy and Sluggo. Used to read the strip all the time as a kid. Her hair was indeed drawn strangely.
C.C. - Dennis is correct. You are a DF (maybe you don't want to be but nonetheless ---).
Cyrano's nose is not only big but (on hearsay alone) it's long and hard.
Doc Brown yelled "Vaya con dios!" in Back to the Future III.
Merlin Olsen also starred with Michael Landon in "Little House On The Prairie." He came to the show after Victor French left.

Today is Chocolate Milkshake Day (not a frappe or a cabinet but a real milkshake).
John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, 1953
"Monkees" debuts on TV, September 12, 1966
"Taxi" pilot episode debuts on TV September 12, 1978
It's also Video Games Day, A day for video game players to give thanks for the great waste of time, uhh, I mean fun video games have brought to their lives.

Have a great Friday!

Dr. Dad said...

C.C. - I believe you are correct. The walled city in Spain is AVILA. There appears to be a serious mistake here.

Dennis said...

c.c., you're right - I blew right by it. The walled city is definitely Avila, which negates 'gave'. Strange.

Dennis said...

c.c., it's clued online as 'U.K. insurance group'.

Dick said...

Good morning cc and DFs.

I struggled mightily with this one. Sometimes I just never get into the flow of a puzzle and today was one of those days. Guess I should just go out and try to get a hole in one today as I think my chances of that are better than completing this CW.

Cc Lod is just north west of Hebron.

CC I have no problem with "muscle" as it seems to be a common term in movies when referring to the boss's protectors as muscle (men).

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Well, I was going to mention that I'd never heard of a city in Spain called AVIVA, but I guess there's a reason for that. Bad editor! Bad! Fortunately, GAVE was easy enough, so I just assumed AVIVA was a city I'd never heard of (heaven knows there are plenty of those).

Overall, the puzzle wasn't too bad. I didn't know ADANA, SOUGH or LUNT, but I was able to eventually get them all via the perps (LUNT took the longest since LAITY didn't pop into my brain until I stopped thinking about sheep).

I agree this type of theme can be very challenging. I finally just concentrated on solving 54D and then went back to hit the theme answers. It helped immensely.

Oh -- and LINER is a synonym for the jacket or outer sleeve of a record album. That's where the LINER notes describing the contents of the album go.

Dr. Dad said...

Dennis and C.C. - Aviva checks out as the world's fifth largest insurance group and the biggest in the U.K. I wonder if that means that when Wayne Robert Williams edited the Xword for print in the papers that he screwed up.

Dennis said...

drdad, why does that make me happy?

KittyB said...

C.C. PLEASE blow your whistle for a time out, so we can get a little more sleep! (groaning) I am SO not ready to face this day.

I thought this puzzle was going to be easy-peasy until I didn't get BASEBALLHIT. I would NEVER get BASEBALLHIT, no matter how well rested I was, nor how long I sat at the puzzle. I had LINER and all the related clues in place and about half of the letters... _ _ S - B A L L - - T but I couldn't get my brain to focus on the downs to fill in the rest of the word. I think Barry's cold has moved to Illinois. (sniffle)

I concede.

Currier and Ives prints are frequently used for Christmas cards, C.C. And Cyrano was a lover of great repute.

I'm not accusing...but you know what they say about protesting too much!

I'm going back to bed around 10:00 when the house quiets down. I'll see you all later.

Those in the path of Ike...batten down or come visit. Whichever you do, I hope you stay safe.

Dr. Dad said...

Dennis - it makes me happy too but WRW will never admit his mistake nor apologize for it.

kazie said...

Despite some easy gimmes, I hated this puzzle for the same reasons already stated above. It was like doing a puzzle with half the clues missing. I still don't know what goes in 64A, 67A or 55D--those three tiles down the side are still a blank. And sough? Where did they drag that up from? Like kittyb, I'd have never gotten the baseball hit. What is a liner in that sense? aargh!

Argyle said...

Hello, everybody!

kazie, next, drys, and bind

Argyle said...

another difference between online and print was 1A stops and stoppages.

Aren't album liners considered to be the inner sleeve which record is in and fits inside the album jacket?

We have had sough before because I remember having to look it up before(as well as this time).

Vaya Con Dios
c.c., I think you will like this one.

Anonymous said...

I do believe its Kathmandu, not Katmandu.

kazie said...

Thanks Argyle. I was hung up with avow instead of aver again.

g8rmomx2 said...

Hi all,

I was one of those who had "Walled Spanish City". I knew WRW had made a big mistake then when "gave" was the only possible answer for donated, which of course made it Aviva not Avila.
He could have clued 25D as "strong wind" which would have been Gale and then Avila would have worked. Of course, he would have to have known he made a mistake!

Learned a new word "sough", only got it from the perps.

Argyle: I believe you are correct with Album Jacket liners and aren't they also called "sleeves"?

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Ken said...

Good morning, C.C. et al. I had many of the same whines this ayem. I like "GALE" for 29D.
Lots of one letter goofs had me mumbling to myself.
In Portland, we have a radio station that gives the background for a given artist. The DJ often cites "liner notes", that is, whatever is printed on the album jacket.
55A is often termed a line drive or liner by the sportscasters. It is a sharply hit ball, almost flat in trajectory. Dizzy Dean was hit by a line drive on his big toe, which cost him a longer career.
Merlin Olsen came to national attention as one of the Fearsome Foursome", the defensive line of the LA Rams in the 60s. Others were Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy. We later saw Rosey Grier in TV quiz shows. Btw, Merlin Olsen wears size 22 shoes.
Other defensive lines with nicknames were Minnesota's "Purple Gang" and Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain.

KittyB said...

argyle, thank for the link to Les Paul and Mary Ford. Les Paul is an incredible musician, with a very distinctive sound. I don't play guitar, but I understand that Gibson's 'Les Paul' guitar is one of the most frequently purchased guitars around the world. I always enjoyed Mary Ford because we sing in the same range, and I would try to emulate her style as a kid.

g8rmomx2, it's nice to see you posting!

I have two thoughts for today:

Clutch Cargo, Fractured Fairy Tales


Bucket lists.

kazie said...

ken, Thanks for the line drive explanation. I might even learn something about baseball eventually by doing these puzzles!

Dennis said...

argyle, yes, the album liner or 'sleeve' fits inside the album jacket.

anon@8:37, you're right, Kathmandu is the correct spelling.

kazie, those line drives are sometimes referred to as 'frozen ropes'; that may give you a better mental picture.

Just watched a CNN report on Ike - the weather person said this is the biggest storm she'd ever seen; there's strong sea surges already and it's still almost 200 miles away from land. Damn scary.

Oh, and if you want to see some brave-ass people, watch the Coast Guard Helicopter crews doing rescues in those winds.

Anonymous said...

I did very badly on this one. And despite C.C.'s help, I still don't know 62A or63D. I could not get the theme because I couldn't figure out Cruise Ship, and I had baseball hat.

Dennis said...

sallie, 62a is 'Ethan', 63d is 'tho', short for 'though'

DoesItinInk said...

This was a great puzzle, challenging without being overwhelming. I did not particularly like the 3D theme answer MAKE UP ITEM, but after seeing cc's comment, it made more sense.

I struggled for a bit over AVIVA, wanting to put in Avila, Spain which is also famous for it's ancient walls. My favorite walled city in Spain is Toledo.

I love the films of Joel and ETHAN Coen. After work today I am planning to see their new film "Burn After Reading".

The play "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edomond Rostand was a was a favorite of mine in high school. What a romantic play! Example this quote (though not my preferred translation): "And what is a kiss, specifically? A pledge properly sealed, a promise seasoned to taste, a vow stamped with the immediacy of a lip, a rosy circle drawn around the verb 'to love.' A kiss is a message too intimate for the ear, infinity captured in the bee's brief visit to a flower, secular communication with an aftertaste of heaven, the pulse rising from the heart to utter its name on a lover's lip." Steve Martin wrote and starred in a cute comedy based on the play called Roxanne. All you DFs should enjoy this clip.

My favorite restaurant in KATHMANDU is KC's Restaurant and the Bambooze Bar. I was delighted to see on-line that it still exists!

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Hi ya'll,

C.C. I'm still here, faithfully reading the comments every day. Just don't usually have anything to add.

I did finish this puzzle by making the most of the surrounds and only googled a couple .

Cruiseship gave me the answer to 54d and that pointed me to the other theme members.

Argyle thanks for the "Vaya Con Dios" link. I added it to my favorites.
My very favorite though is "La Paloma". One of my favorite artists is Nana Mouskouri. Have you heard of her?

Enough already,

Vaya con Dios

flyingears said...

“Power corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Check the pic sign...

Katmandu is an acceptable spelling too.

AVILA is the obvious choice. In other words, a major screwed up and quite mightily. I hate mistakes from good sources.

I found this puzzle puzzling... Not easy, but expected for Friday...

I still dislike hemal as a choice answer. In medicine, I have never heard this word used...

I appreciate Mr. G and my Thesaurus/Dictionary

DoesItinInk said...

jimbo: I love Nana Mouskari, have several of her albums and have seen her perform live twice, once in Montreal and again in Chicago. Is she still performing?

Anonymous said...

Ken, why do you have no information on your "profile" except your blog, which also has no info? Just that you are apparently from Oregon.

I ask because you answered why baseball hit was a liner. My husband played at U. of Illinois (a catcher) and said he would never had called a baseball hit a liner. So I wondered what your background is.
No offense meant. Just curiosity.

DoesItinInk said...

Jose Ferrer starred in the movie "Cyrano de Bergerac" that uses the translation I prefer. Here is the Stand Alone Passage, one of the famous monologues from the play.

Anonymous said...


I want to say she is still performing, because I have looked at almost everything about her on "Youtube" and in a couple of those appearances she looks to be in her seventies. (Still a beautiful lady)

Crockett1947 said...

Guten Morgen! A fairly unremarkable puzzle today. I think we had one that was similarly clued some time back, with the theme answers keyed to a single answer at the end, but I may be incorrect. AVIVA, MCBEAL and ADANA were new to me today.

C.C., thank you for the explanation on 33A. I also thought it should be AVIVA, and knew that it should be AVILA, but that messed up 25D! On your comment for 45A, methinks the lady protests too much! (tongue placed firmly in cheek) In the print version 1D clue is "Stops." I don't understand the Doris Goodwin link on 4D.

The Monkees were Jeanette's favorite musical group. She has all of their LPs.

I'm off in search of a chocolate milkshake after I donate platelets this morning.


Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, not too bad this morning. With a little age, comes, if not wisdom, at least some trivia that is handy for a crossword.

SOUGH will be added "what the heck is that?"

The classic movie, "Lawrence of Arabia" features AQUABA quite prominently. I wouldn't have known it otherwise.

ALBUM JACKET was easy too, with the perps. Kiddies out there, albums were vinyl recordings that were played on a turntable at 33 1/3 RPM. A couple of years ago, I spent weeks transferring our 400 plus album collection to CD. There were some too scratched to make the cut, but I got most of them....want to hear "The Chirping Crickets" (lead singer Buddy Holly) or "The Kingston Trio..Live From The Hungry I"? We've got 'em. We gave the albums to G.A.H.'s great nephew, who is a new teenage collector. He was over the moon to get them. I will miss the Liner Notes.

KATMANDU is the spelling for Bob Seger's Katmandu. Great song!

I just saw the new version of SLEUTH the other night on TV. Michael Caine is great and I thought it was fun to see the 2007 version and compare it to the 1972 version. I kind of liked Michael Caine as the young gigolo.

If you don't mind subtitles, "Cyrano de Bergerac" was also a 1990 French film, starring Gerard Depardieu.

We received our Dreyer's ice cream yesterday, packed in dry ice. We we are ready for our party tomorrow and for a milkshake today.

JOJO said...

Good afternoon C.C. and all. Interesting today as I solved this puzzle while at the beach. When there is no google nearby I work harder and get more enjoyment. I have to remember that and not be so impatient. That said, sough,
Adana and ,I am not, drove me nuts. Baseballhit didn't sound right baseball cap or baseball hat slowed me down. After album jacket I jumped to the conclusion that the them might be clothing or covers. Have a nice weekend.

C.C. Burnikel said...

What is a "backward razzberry"? What are the differences among tempo, overtone and beat?

You are a darling. I loved the song. How did you know that? Did you make up "Confounded-fillaramic-packaloomer-dirty-ricklefrats"? What is the theme music behind "What's Opera, Doc?" . I am very intrigued.

So you think the USA Today's PANDA clue was OK, right?

I was thinking of you this morning when I wrote down VAYA con Dios! So good to see you.

Obama is reading Doris Goodwin's "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln".

carol said...

Happy Chocolate Milkshake Day C.C. and all, and I hope they are REAL milkshakes so I don't have to practice my sucking talents on my garden hose to be able to enjoy one.

Dennis, thanks for the answers to 62A and 63D

I knew the word "sough" but as a sound that is made when the wind blows through the beautiful Douglas Fir trees we have in abundance in the NW. I never would have equated it with "a rustling" sound. It's more like a loud sigh.

As to 11D...cute, we have those on this blog.

24A I liked the memory it conjured up. I loved Nancy and Sluggo!

40 and 43A were gimmies for me due to my many years in International Steamship and freight forwarding.

Glad someone else (or several of you) caught the error with 33A and 25D.

C.C. Burnikel said...

Why did you "Hmmmm" the "orange hourglass" on the black widow's chest?

I ditto what Ken said. Very nice GALE. Great to see you back.

I loved your "Cyrano de Bergerac" quote. Very sensual: Bee + flower + verb "to love". Made me think of Melissa. I liked the nose clip too.

So what color of tulips do you like?

Do you like this TULIP chair? If so, why?

C.C. Burnikel said...

Welcome back! I missed your OFF comments. Were you kidding yesterday saying that you are a ISTS member? "I've got that black widow thing bass backwards. Too much Thalium. "DAME BRAMAGE!" What does it mean? What is "DAME BRAMAGE"? Why did you tell Clear Ayes that "Just as you can't sneak a "Rocky and Bullwinkle" past me."?

Clear Ayes,
Same question to you. What's behind this Grouchoism? Was it because Buckeye's golf "member" statement? What does "endowed like a stud parakeet" mean?

I felt sad reading what you wrote yesterday. I hope my AVIVA hole-in-one link can cheer you up a bit. Now tell me how to cook "coddled eggs" a la Lois and how you would like your eggs to be served for breakfast.

g8rmomx2 said...


Thanks, I appreciate it! I do always go on and read the comments, but sometimes I don't have anything to add. Plus, my daughter was here for 4 days so pretty much visiting, shopping, restaurants, etc. BTW,I told her about "The Walk".

Clear Ayes said...

C.C. "Grouchoism" - According to Wikipedia, quoting the book "Groucho and Me",p. 321, Groucho Marx sent a telegram to the Friar's Club stating, "Please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will have people like me as a member."

Most men would prefer to exaggerate on the side of "bigger is better". If you can imagine the size of a male parakeet genitals, it is laughable that Buckeye would consider that size to be comparatively admirable.

The " A Rocky and Bullwinkle" was close. I found this on a R. & B. fansite.

"Rocky: And now---
Bullw: Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat!
Rocky: Again?!?!
Bullw: Nothin' up my sleeve.....Presto! (pulls out a lion or tiger or rhino, then stuffs it back) (Then says something silly)
Rocky: And now here's something we hope you'll REALLY like!"

"And Now For Something Completely Different" was a "Monty Python" tagline.

g8rmomx2 said...


Thanks for your comments. I did want to say how I admire what you do: getting up early, finishing the puzzle, coming up with a theme, and then adding your comments plus wonderful links too!!!
Truly amazing, you are the Early Bird for sure. And, it is such a commitment to make that I am in "awe" of you. I know everyone feels the same and have made similar comments but just wanted to add mine. Thanks!

melissa bee said...

@c.c.: i favor deep, vibrant-colored tulips, like this.

i wonder why doesitinink's 'cyrano' quote reminded you of me .. did you perhaps know that melissa means honeybee?

Anonymous said...

C.C. "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" book jacket has a story on the back. "A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots into the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder." .... "Panda. Large black–and–white bear–like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
That's why the title and yes, a good clue.

KittyB said...

c.c. I hoped you wouldn't call me on the "backward raspberry." Dear Husband uses that term to refer to a fart. (insert blushing emoticon here)

Tempo is the speed at which a piece is played. Music is divided into measures or bars, and within a bar there are beats.

In the simplest meter, 4/4, there are four beats (or quarter notes) to a bar. The first beat is most heavily accented, and the third beat is lightly accented. Usually the second and fourth beats are not accented at all, unless the composer is creating "syncopation," which intentionally changes the accents within a measure.

So, when I was referring to finding the conductor's beat, I was talking about his use of the baton to establish where the first beat of the measure starts. You may have seen performances where the musicians tap their toes. They are tapping the beat of the music, so that they know where each beat of the measure falls.

I've forgotten what we were talking about when I used the term "overtone." Was it that unusual violin performance? If so, the musician drew from the violin some very unusual sounds. They were created through a combination of unusual bowing technique, and unusual use of the harmonic structure of the instrument. I know that won't satisfy your curiosity, but I lack the science to explain it any better. Perhaps Bill could interpret for me.

And, if it wasn't in reference to that violin performance, let me know what you are referring to, and I'll try again.

g8rmomx2....the four day visit with your daughter sounds wonderful! Have her practice looking tough or mean! *G*

doesit, that's a beautiful quote from 'Cyrano.'

flyingears, I can't read the sign in your pic. What does it say?
We use the 'absolute power.." quote frequently.

carol, I think of 'sough' as a sighing, too.

sallie, YEA U of I!!!

Great explanations, Clear Ayes. Enjoy that ice cream!

Mr. Ed said...

Good morning C.C. & all

Not a very spectacular xw this morning but, as usual, I ran into mental blocks. The 33A/25D stumped me until I guessed that someone had erred. My first blame, of course, was "editor". It took me a bit to figure out how 21A/55A/3D/30D worked with 54D. The individuals all fell into place but the connection just didn't escaped me till the "duh" light came on. I'm ok with 29A as it's commonly used. 16A... I wanted Tutu... don't ask!!! Just not enough coffee yet! 1A... don't like it but I've seen it enough in xwords to accept it.

@carol I'm with you on sough and the whispering of the wind. Have you ever noticed that each tree seems to have a sound and dance of its own? Webster leaves out 'rustling' in its definition with the emphasis on a 'moaning' or 'sighing' sound.

Ike looks like a real problem for Texas... Galveston in particular If you're there... be safe!

Just another beautiful day in "O"! So once again... another busy day and I'm outta here!

g8rmomx2 said...


Still hoping for Alabama or Florida as her residency program approaches so that she will be closer to us! Always the mom!

Clear Ayes said...

Sallie, thanks for the funny "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" story.

Kittyb, nothing seems to get by C.C. We always have to be prepared to explain, embarrassed or not!

Kittyb, thanks too, for the musical explanations. Although I love all kinds of music and even sing in a chorus, I don't read music. I could kick my little seven year old butt for not wanting to take piano lessons when they were offered! We are so fortunate to have such a variety of expertise on this blog.

I have to admire B. Obama for reading "Team of Rivals". I been on page 102 for the past two months. My husband gave it to me for my birthday in July. I started out pretty determinedly, but I've decided to wait until the rains come and I will have some cooler indoor time to concentrate. I like Doris Kearns Goodwin. I first saw her interviewed in Ken Burns' "The Civil War" series on PBS.

C.C. you may be familiar with Wang Wei, an 8th century poet and painter.

Lady Xi

No present royal favour could efface
The memory of the love that once she knew.
Seeing a flower filled her eyes with tears.
She did not speak a word to the King of Chu.

- Wang Wei

Unknown said...

To find Lod, Israel, you can type in the name in Google Maps and it take you to it

embien said...

9:28 today A pretty enjoyable puzzle, which I did online so missed the AVIVA/AVILA problem.

For those having a problem with LINER being a BASEBALL HIT, think line drive == liner. "liner" used to be common baseball terminology, but maybe that's not so anymore since so many are confused.

ADANA (the ancient Turkish city) and AVIVA (the British insurance company) were my only unknowns today.

C.C. Burnikel said...

Thank you. I've been enjoying this blogging and felt I've learned tremendous amount of knowledge from fellow solvers like you.

Clear Ayes,
Wow, there is something magical between you and Buckeye. Wonderful sense of humor. Yes, I know Wang Wei and this poem. I know why she has tears when she sees the flowers. I also liked "Jenny Kissed Me" yesterday. Very simple to grok.

D'oh! I made a mistake. It's "backward raspberry". (Sorry about it, Razzberry). Buckeye mentioned "overtone" in his "Candide" response to you yesterday. But I figured you could give me an easy to understand KittyB style explanation. And you did. Thank you.

Jeannie said...

I don't like the puzzles that have the re-occurring "see 54D" clue. Being a creature of habit, I start at the top left and work myself across and then down. So then I go to 54D and hate that clue too! Overall the puzzle was not to hard for me to complete however.

Enjoyed seeing sexy and erotic though. Puts me in a nice weekend mood.

Hope all is well for those in Texas and Louisana.

Gonna go have a chocolate milk shake. Does a white russian count? After all it is the start of the weekend.

C.C. Burnikel said...

No, I did not know that "melissa" means "honey bee". Good to know. The main reason I thought of you when reading the quote is because of words flower and bee (bee's brief visit to a flower, Melissa Bee & TULIP flower). And "lover's lip, a rosy circle drawn around the verb 'to love.' All very sensual words, just like ewe.

I don't understand why ADANA is clued as "Ancient Turkish city". It reads as if ADANA does not exist any more, when in fact, ADANA is still a very large city in Turkey.

Cokato & Crockett @ 11:01am,
I think this is the first time I encountered such an "See this" style word-defining themed TMS puzzle.

KittyB said...

Thanks, c.c. for pointing out that buckeye had responded to my comment yesterday.

Buckeye, what group did you conduct? 'The Overture to Candide' is a blast to play! I've never conducted it, but I wouldn't turn down the opportunity, if it was ever offered. I hope the piccolo player has recovered from her experience with you as the conductor. *G* We'll have to enroll you in Dalcroze classes before you give Candide another try.

I agree with your assessment of Leonard Bernstein. I always felt his conducting was more about Leonard and less about the music, and I agree that he was a superb composer. I think he may have been great at public relations, too.

Clear Ayes, it's nice to see one more thing that we share. Candide is beautiful, isn't it.

Carol, I'm glad that you enjoyed the Shel Silverstein poem. All the children in my extended family are introduced to it, and I've always been fond of it.

C.C., I just don't know about "overtone." I'll keep working on it.

Dennis said...

c.c., re your comment about Adana -- I'm ancient, but I'm still here.

flyingears said...

Just a funny comment... as a "satisfied wife as soon-to-become a widow"... "with an hourglass on her chest".

Anonymous said...

If the city has been there for centuries, it is ancient (old). If the city was there but is no longer, then it was an ancient city or it was a city in ancient time.

Clear Ayes said...

Kittyb, I laughed at your assessment of Leonard Bernstein and his skill at public relations. I remember seeing some of the "Young People's Concerts on TV in the '60's (I still qualified ;o). He conducted, but he also "starred". His ability to cross from classical to Broadway and back again was unusual. Fortunately, we "lowbrows" benefited from his talents.

Flyingears, love your new photo. Where was it taken?

C.C. Buckeye is a very funny guy, smart, edgy, somewhat irreverent, sometimes silly. I think we may have had some similarities in our backgrounds, so that I usually get the references when he is on a roll.

Ken said...

Hi Sallie. I didn't put any info on the fill-in-the-blanks area because I didn't think of it at the time and lethargy sort of sort of took over. I'll have to renew my de-lethargize medication and have a go at it. Thanks for your comment.

C.C. Burnikel said...

AH SO! I forgot that you are a MOREL legend, timeless and everlasting.

Thank you. Feel like you are always there for my question, so quietly. I vodka you.

Clear Ayes,
RE: Buckeye. I know. I've noticed the sparkles in your quick exchanges, though I do not always fully understand what you two are saying.

Razz said...

C.C. Well a lot of folks think I am a little (translated as "a lot") backwards...and I'm getting close to being an old fart! So as the saying goes "If the shoe fits..." ROFLOL

Razz said...

Oh and if we are going down that path...sdrawkcaB yrrebzzaR roflmao

C.C. Burnikel said...

Wow, what a clip! What a MOREL guy you are! So magnaminous. But maybe I should blame Lois. Had she blown you last time, I would not have made this mistake!

Dennis said...


C.C. Burnikel said...

What what???

carol said...

Wow geez whew - What is going on??? C.C., Dennis, Raz ???

Dennis said...

carol, lois must be slipping.

C.C. Burnikel said...

This is what Lois wrote a week ago when we had the BOOER (clued as "Raspberry blower") puzzle:

"Good evening CC & DF's: Holy hot pix! You girls are beautiful and like Melissa said: there's only one thing better than a man in uniform! Makes me think of johnson for sure and pure 'Magic'! Just about makes me have a '..voiced linguolabial trill'! or several of them more like it! Razzberries ain't what I'm blowin' baby!"

carol said...

C.C. thanks! (I see we're back to Johnson)(capitalized!) LOL

Buckeye said...

Good afternoon c.c. and all df's and kh's. I had problems with this puzzle, especially in the S.E. corner. The light came on with a dark "remembering" of Aly McBeal and SDI. I scratched my head bloody on Aviva. Searched every Atlas I own (1) and couldn't find it. Finally, in a sense of joy, said, "Even the editor can err." (Well, that's what I said with an expletive omitted).

@c.c. Daim Bramage is Brain Damage. Bass Ackwards is Ass Backwards, and Thalium is a nuclear product they inject (or used to inject) into a patient taking a radium-tread-mill-stress-test. (I don't know what they're using now-a-days). I had one Monday and attributed any errors to that substance. However, as you know, I never err, I simply find successful ways to do thing incorrectly.

I ditto clear ayes' 1:05 explanation of my other comments and was successfully incorrect in stating Rocky and Bullwinkle instead of Monty Python. Clear ayes and I must have crossed paths in a previous life, but I believe that we were separated at birth and have been searching to find each other ever since. I know our father, Apollo, did not want children. I can never sneak inane comments past her.

As for being a member of ISTS, I will let you ponder that one. Meanwhile, I'll ask Trident, my pet sea turtle, if we should tell you later.

Kittyb; I was student director for my H.S. orchestra and our director slipped "Candide" in to see the how much frustration high school kids -especially a cocky student director-could tolerate. It wasn't a pretty picture. (The piccolo player, God bless her, is still in therapy).

Bernstein did cross culture line very well. Again, clear ayes and I agree.

Awfully verbose for and man with 18 holes under his belt. Also, I see where Lance Armstrong is going back into competitive cycling. That takes "ball".

I must be off!!!

Crockett1947 said...

@buckeye Our HS band did the "Overture to Candide," and I was that poor piccolo player. Man, that was some work out. There was also "The Italian Girl in Algiers" that had a killer part. My favorite was "The 1812 Overture," though.

I'll have to dredge through the old pics and find the ones from out 1964 Worlds Fair concerts. They are something to behold, LOL!

Razz said...

C. C. - First you claim not to be a DF then you try to foist this Blowin' Razzberries frontwards and backwards off on others??? Yep, your down here in the dirty morel deep mud with the rest of the DFs!

lmao again!

carol said...

Razzberry, you are right about our C.C.
She is so coy about her D.F.'ness but we can recognize it.. I am glad of her comment about "blower" remark at 6:44, otherwise I thought there was a menage a trois going on with you and C.C. and Dennis!!!! We shall all await the comments from our Lois on this!!

Clear Ayes said...

1965 "big hair" photo. Still gazing wistfully to the horizon.

Gee, Buckeye, thanks for the connection to Apollo, a whiz of a god, but not exactly a concerned parent. It's been a while, so I had to check up on him. Seems he did manage to have one daughter, Parthenos, who "died prematurely". He managed to keeps the boys around longer, but not necessarily closer. He was definitely a love 'em and leave 'em type.

(Yes, I laughed at your Lance A. comment. As you know, I'm a sap for poor taste jokes.)

I also laughed at C.C.'s comment to Razzberry.

I can hardly wait until Lois checks in this evening. Her ears must be burning with the most recent comments.

Dennis, Razzberry or Raspberries...maybe Lois wasn't "slipping" enough.

carol said...

Buckeye, weird little funny comment (sick, but funny) about Lance Armstrong.
Hang onto yours buddy, could you do as well as he did? (Ball to the wall and all)

Buckeye said...

@Carol 8;41. Re; Lance Armstrong. "...could you do as well as he did?" Are you kidding me? I get tired just LOOKING at a bicycle!! But, I'll bet you could give him a run for his money if you still had that beautiful Columbia that's in your pic. My cousin had a Columbia and it was the Cadillac of the bikes.

@Clear Ayes: Aren't you glad we left when we did? I was always suspicious of what happened to sister Parthenos. I always thought Dad and Adonis had a strange relationship.

@ Crockett1947. I remember that you are originally from the Cincinnati area, I just didn't know you were THAT piccolo player. Are you better, yet?


Bill said...

Good Lord, people. I take a day off and y'all go bonkers!!
Garden hose suckin'; Rasp or is it Razz berry blowin'; Pickin' on poor Lances' lack!
I really think youse guys are on something and if I ever find out what it is I'm gettin' some too!!!
Needed help with:
LAITY (couldn't get sheep out of my mind)
JUNG ( Second time in two weeks and I forgor already)
AVIVA (but it was the only thing that fit!)
SOUGH ( looked for a pig in a poke but it was only the wind in the trees)
I thought the girls would run with RODS, SEXY, MATE, HULK, MUSCLE, and NEXXXT!!
IAMNOT,CC says!!
CYA Later. OK Tomorrow!!

Once I got ALBUMJACKET, and MAKEUPITEM then 54d snapped and the rest wasn't bad.

Argyle said...

C. C. said..@12:05 PM

Argyle, Did you make up "Confounded-fillaramic-packaloomer-dirty-ricklefrats"?

No, I googled fillaramic packaloomer and the rest came with it. Pretty sure it's from a cartoon character.


Click on "more info" that is just to the right of the video, it goes into the background for some depth.

Crockett1947 said...

The Wikipedia article on What's Opera, Doc? also gives a nice explanation of the music used.

lois said...

Holy blowing puckering hot lips! The minute I get distracted w/a new 'muscle' man, and look what happens! CC, my dear, you are 'full blown' DF and there's no denying it! I love it! Made me ROFLOL. Looks like I need to sharpen my orchestra conducting skills so that the 'sough' you hear will be the players of the 'wind instruments'. Or I could just sharpen my 'pipe' cleaning skills. Either way, the effects will bring tears to your eyes and fill all your senses.

I agree w/Clear Ayes, I need to slip a little more...never enough.

Anonymous said...

cc An album liner was used years ago.
the Jacket had a paper liner in it to protect the record.

C.C. Burnikel said...

Anonymous @ 4:51pm,
Thank you.