Apr 13, 2009

Monday April 13, 2009 Fred Jackson III

Theme: Gas Gauge

20A: Conceited: FULL OF ONESELF

38A: Plan not completely thought after: HALF-BAKED IDEA

57A: Much campaign rhetoric: EMPTY PROMISES

Ah, a puzzle from our own Fred Jackson III. What a pleasant Monday morning surprise! Congratulations, Fred.

This puzzle seems to be tailor-made for solvers at my level. No obscure dead actor/actress or old TV series name. Three lively theme answers. I really like 15*15 grids with 3 or 4 theme entries. My cup of tea. 5 makes the grid look busy. And weird abbreviations or obscure ESSY Persson style name tend to creep up when there are 6 or 7. Maybe advanced solvers adore them, I don't.

A bit of a French sub-theme:

19A: Parisian river: SEINE

30A: French love: AMOUR

69A: Canonized Mlles: STES

53D: Gallic girlfriends: AMIE

All of them are clued straightforwardly. No trickly "Parisian flower?" for SEINE misguide.


1A: Put below, as cargo: STOW. Why "below"? I don't grok it.

5A: Potentially painful precipitation: HAIL. Some flowers are surprisingly strong. ROSES (55D: Thorny flowers) are easily damaged by hailstorms.

9A: Treasure map measures: PACES. How come? I got the answer from down fills. I've never seen a treasure map. I suppose it has its own scale term?

15A: __ Domini: ANNO. AD. Nominative singular is ANNUS, and plural is ANNI (anniversary). This is confusing. Is ANNO in ANNO Domini dative singular or ablative singular?

18A: Composer Stravinsky: IGOR. Sometimes it's clued as "Operative prince". And IAGO (60D: "Othello" fellow). I used to confuse those two, both contains GO. And two ao in Golfer Isao Aoki's name.

23A: Brit. record label: EMI (Electric & Musical Industries Ltd.). Just found out this morning that the "Big Four" record companies are EMI, Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music.

24A: Former Egypt-Syria alliance: Abbr.: UAR (United Arab Republic, 1958-1961). Egypt continued to be called UAR until 1971. So Nasser was the president of UAR until his death in 1970. Don't confuse UAR with UAE (United Arab Emirates). Still remember the UAE Dubai port scandal?

25A: Beers and ales: QUAFFS. I thought ale is a kind of beer.

33A: Last: Abbr.: ULT

37A: Scott who sued for his freedom: DRED. And he lost. I finally remember his name this time.

42A: Suffix with hard or soft: WARE. My first thought is BALL.

43A: Seashell seller, in a tongue twister: SHE. I am not good at tongue twister, English or Chinese. Are you?

44A: Retirement org.: SSA. And "Seniors' org" is AARP. Many AARP members are not retired.

45A: "Slippery" tree: ELM. Easy guess. Why is it called "Slippery ELM"?

46A: Archaeological fragment: SHARD. I think the broken piece of my bobblehead is called SHARD too.

48A: Like some poetry: LYRIC. Some are EPIC.

52A: Prefix with sphere: STRATO. ATMO is also "prefix with sphere".

56A: "Foucault's Pendulum" author Umberto: ECO. Here is the bookcover. Wikipedia says the book has been described as a "thinking person's Da Vinci Code". I can't remember who, but one of our fellow solvers has read his "The Name of the Rose".

61A: Count with a keyboard: BASIE. Stumper for me. I can't figure out how one can count with a keyboard. Have never heard of Count BASIE. Is this nickname Count inspired by Duke Ellington?

63A: Warts and all: AS IS

65A: Group of eight: OCTET. Sometimes the answer is OCTAD.

66A: Stroll in the shallows: WADE. I kept reading the clue as "Stroll in the shadows".

67A: Head over heels in love: GAGA. I like this clue.

68A: Out of fashion: PASSE. Does Britney look sexy to you in this low-rise jeans?


1D: Fixed charge: SET FEE

2D: Psychological injury: TRAUMA. Like what we suffered during Chinese Cultural Revolution.

3D: Like many old-fashioned lamps: OIL-LIT. Aladdin's genie lamp is OIL-LIT.

4D: Wishing place: WELL. Odin traded his right eye for wisdom from the WELL of Mimir.

5D: Israeli port city: HAIFA. Here is the map. Third largest city in Israel, after Jerusalem & Tel Aviv.

9D: Charlatan: POSEUR

10D: Journalist __ Rogers St. Johns: ADELA. Learned her name from doing crossword. I don't understand how anyone can be surnamed St. Johns. Also at a loss over Edna St. Vincent Millay's name. How can they call themselves St? By the way, Fred Astaire's sister is ADELE, very close to ADELA.

11D: Hairdo: COIFFURE. Used to have difficulty rememering this word. Then I realized coif is the root, and ure is just a noun suffix, as in pressure.

21D: Words before sight and mind: OUT OF

26D: Dog collar target: FLEA. No idea. Why? I am not a dog/cat person. I thought the dog collar is used to control and restrain dogs.

27D: Benchmark: Abbr.: STD

29D: Dot on an ocean map: ISLE. "Dot in la mer" will be ILE.

35D: Air rifle ammo: BB SHOT. Will BB gun kill a squirrel?

38D: "Stop right there!": HALT. "Stop right here!" would be WHOA, right?

41D: Faith of more than 1 billion: ISLAM. Oh, that's a lot. Here is more information. There are about 2.1 billion people of Christian faith. That's about 1/3 of the world population. ISLAM literally means "submission" (to God).

42D: Craven of Horror: WES. The director of "A Nightmare on Elm Street".

46D: Tampa neighbor, briefly: ST. PETE. Wikipedia says it's nicknamed "The Sunshine City" because it has some 360 days of sunshine every year. Is it true? I find it hard to believe.

47D: Pooh-pooh: DERIDE

49D: Shoot again: RESNAP

51D: Marquee name, often: CO-STAR. Spencer Tracy received top billings in all the movies he co-starred with Katharine Hepburn.

58D: Swerves at sea: YAWS. "Swerves in the air" too. Someone please give me a lesson today. I can never remember the differences among roll, pitch and YAW. I do know Dennis's thrust though.

59D: Juniors' H.S. exam: PSAT (Preliminary SAT). Oh, I don't know it's for juniors only. How about LSAT? Are juniors allowed to take it also?

61D: '40 jazz: BOP. Did not know BOP was developed in the '40. I thought it existed in '20 already.

62D: Here, in Spain: ACA. Mine was ICA. Don't speak Spanish. I thought if French is ICI, why not ICA for Spanish?

Answer grid.



Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - great to see a puzzle from Fred.

Another Monday 'speed run', 4:10 on this one. That means that Dan Feyer probably did it in under a minute. The only one I couldn't remember was Eco Umberto, even though we've seen him numerous times.

I hope everyone had a great day yesterday. We had a nice, lazy morning at home, then dinner in the early afternoon with a bunch of friends, followed by an impromptu baseball game; gonna be a lot of people struggling to get out of bed this morning.

Today is Scrabble Day, and more importantly, Blame Someone else Day. I blame C.C. -- I'm working on the 'what for'.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "The woman who has a gift for old age is the woman who delights in comfort. If warmth is known as the blessing it is, if your bed, your bath, your best-liked food and drink are regarded as fresh delights, then you know how to thrive when old." -- Writer Florida Scott-Maxwell

And a few more Fun Facts:

- The Romans ate fried canaries.

- The shortfin mako shark is the fastest fish in the ocean, clocking speeds of up to 46 miles per hour.

- Emus cannot walk backward.

10 and a wakeup!

C. C. said...

I had a quick look. Dan's time this morning is 1:38. And he finished Sunday's puzzle in 3:49. What the heck. Blame away. Everything is my fault. Kangaroo cannot walk backward either. Both emu and kangaroo are in Australia's coat of arms. They signify Australia's forward progression. "Forward with Pride", the Aussi spirit.

How is the final grid different from your original submission? Any noticiable change of clues?

Argyle & Barry,
Re: "Rice Pad?" for DORM. I was tricked again. Saw those kind of clues before.

C. C. said...

I will pay more attention to the French words in the next few days. Maybe you are right. Thanks for GO I again.

Solvers criticize because they care. So don't get riled. It's the apathy and indifference that I fear. I always say "a historical moment".

Karen Q,
Yes, indeed, Superfund is a legit clue for EPA. I only wished it's clued in another way because SUPER is an answer in the grid.

What's your Chinese name? 马丁?

C. C. said...

Old Sage in Virginia Beach,
Interesting military HUT for one information. Thanks.

Whom do you like better, Johnny Miller or Nick Faldo? Adam Scott is going to win Masters some day.

Anonymous said...

At the risk of being labeled one of those "anonymous whiners" who can't get over the lost TMS daily, I have found the new LAT puzzles disappointing. Why? Not because of the challenge level, which I have found quite satisfactory, even late in the week. (I did this puzzle in about 20 minutes offline without help over my Saturday morning big breakfast). It's the general feel of the things. I have yet to run across anything in them that made me think I was really learning much of anything new or useful, something that the old TMS puzzles were more apt to deliver (usually later in the week) in the form of some peculiar new word, fact, or funny quotation. So far, I've found the LA puzzles favor shorter words (or phrases made up of them) over anything more esoteric. Maybe this sounds elitist, but I like puzzles that stretch my brain a bit, not just eat up my time filling in the word grid. A crossword puzzling relative of mine was more blunt. Without any prompting from me, they summarized the answers in the LAT puzzles (a Saturday one at that) as "dumbed down" (in comparison to the old TMS and alternative NYT puzzles). I hope I'm being clear that neither of us are complaining about the ease or difficulty of the new L.A. puzzles. It's the amount of pleasure they are able to provide us as we work them.

I HAVE been enjoying some of the new wordplay in the LA puzzles though.

Another difference between the puzzles that I've noticed is that the LA cluing style seems less precise. By that I mean that in general, the TMS crossword definitions and answers were more faithful to the wording in published English dictionaries. The LA cluing style feels looser to me, taking more liberties with words and their definitions that aren't quite as true to standard dictionary entries.

I have the sense that the NY Times daily crossword may be a better fit for my particular tastes, but I plan to hang around and give the LAT puzzle a fair shake and not jump ship just yet.

Martin said...

A "Benchmark" is a STandarD (but I didn't realise this until I saw the answer). I also wanted CRY for SOB, RELIC for SHARD, SURTAX for SET FEE and LODE for STOW (the difference being that you can LODE cargo on the top deck but you STOW things away on the lower decks, cf STOWaway, somebody who hides on the ship for the sake of free travel).


I found out just last week that Jolin now has a contract for Warner Music. She had contracts with Universal (1998-2001), Sony (2002-2006) and EMI (2006-2009). It's all downhill from here if she decides to change record companies again and isn't willing to go back to anybody. :)


Anonymous said...

Re pace and treasure maps, it's used as a distance measure using an average man's stride. E.g.
20 paces north then 50 paces west would translate roughly to 60 feet north and 150 feet west. One "paces" off distances on treasure maps.

T. Frank said...

Good morning, C.C. and all,

"stow" - below decks
"paces" - footsteps
"flea" - many dog collars are impregnated with flea repellant

This was a breeze, but enjoyable.

Have a blue bell day!

Dennis said...

C.C., regarding your question about roll, pitch and yaw, I can relate it to flying:
Yaw is rotation around a vertical axis; rotation around a front-to-back axis is called roll, and rotation around the side-to-side axis is called pitch.

Slippery Elm contains a musilage in the bark. No idea where the name came from.

And yes, a BB will kill a squirrel.

Lemonade714 said...

I believe in the early days of baseball, pitchers chewed on bark from a slippery elm tree to make their spitballs more difficult to hit; ah I looked up the reference and found SLIPPERY ELM.

Adam Scott certainly showed the promise to win, but so did Sergio. So far, Geoff Ogilvy has been the most consistent Aussie.

English crossword puzzles have always been wordplay over new information, and I do like an occasional quote in a puzzle, but these have been fun.

Lemonade714 said...

Oh, I forgot, congratulations Fred; please do tell us how much was changed, if you can. Thanks.

Dick said...

Good morning CC and all,...a nice easy puzzle today. Just back from a relaxing weekend in the mountains with the wife. Now, if it would just warm up a bit and stay warm. The temperature keeps oscillating between low 20's and mid 60's.

Only problems today were that I kept misspelling coiffure and could not remember ECO. Both fills came from the perps.

Hope you all have a great Monday. It's off to the gym for now.

Dick said...

@ Fred also please accept my congratulations on the publishing of your C/W.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning,

I took Germain in HS so I got hung up in a few spots when I had to run out and meet a contractor. The cold air must have jarred my brain because when I got back and took a couple guesses, everything filled in.

My sister came up for the weekend from Conn. with her family. My kids were thrilled to see their cousins. Eatin', drinkin' and playin' all weekend. I didn't think I had over done it that much until my knees reminded me of the "Airsoft" wars that occurred throughout the weekend. There is nothing soft about those hard plastic BB's. I was running, jumping and diving because those little buggers hurt!! Great time!

32 degrees with a strong NW wind today. Quite chilly.

Hope everyone has a great Monday.

Bill said...

Good job, Fred! Just right for a Mon.
Not being able to read and spell was my problem today. COIFFURE Had to wait for the other answers to get it spelled right. Wanted SHARD to be sp with a C til I figured I wasn't looking for herbs but a city in FL.
And a STROLL IN THE SHALLOWS read as a stroll in the SHADOWS the first few times I looked at it. Not knowing the answer I let it go and finally when WADE appeared I looked again and read it correctly. did the "V-8" thing and went "DUH"! So, all of my problems were self inflicted and I still did it in under 30 mins. For me, that's SPEED SOLVING!
CY'All Later

SandbridgeKaren said...

Didn't look at the author (sorry Fred) until I read Dennis' comments - how nice to see a puzzle from someone we know from the blog. Enjoyable puzzle - fairly straightforward but with enough twists to keep me thinking. How anyone could do this in a minute is beyond my comprehension - I do these for enjoyment not speed - is faster always better? Maybe in contests, but not other places. I can't even read the clues in a minute let alone the fills. My other challenge is the foreign language stuff - I'm a terrible speller there. Liked the Basie clue a lot plus a nice theme. Well done Fred. Very satisfactory start to my Monday morning after a very satisfactory weekend.

Lois - I think the flashing sign at the firehouse still has your name on it 'Lois was here'. How was the food at SB Island - haven't eaten there for a couple of month. Glad you played on 'my beach'

windhover said...

Anonymous @5:52,
Finally an anonymous with a brain! I don't think anyone here requires agreement as a litmus test. They're just tired of anons that seem to either not realize the old puzzles are gone or to want fill in the blank no brainers. And there seems to be particular vitriol for those who seem to buy a paper only for the puzzle, i.e. Not to read the news, which while often depressing, might actually contribute to their solving skills.
Your comments are obviously thoughtful, and I predict will draw no flames. I also do the NYT puzzle and there are clear differences. I found yesterday's NYT puzzle very doable, but most Sundays I make sure I throw the paper away after I crash and burn so that I am not tempted to waste even more time in a futile effort.
Your comments are appreciated, whether they elicit agreement or not.

I skipped your comments this morning because I won't get the puzzle until tonight.

kazie said...

Congratulations Fred!

PSAT is taken by high school juniors as practice for the real SAT the following year. I assume LSAT is in college for those wanting to get into law school.

Stow is a term derived from boats, putting stuff in the hold, which is below.

ANNO would be ablative, meaning in the year (anno Domini: in the year of our Lord)

I still haven't had time to tackle yesterday's puzzle. Today's went well except for the last D in DRED. I couldn't get my head around STD for benchmark either. I was thinking step or station, as in a stage in a progression, and Dred didn't sound like a Scottish name to me so I had Drea.

Anonymous said...

Good morning, C.C., et al
This is in response to Martin's comment Sat. P.M. & Calef's Sunday reply. re. the day of the crucifixion. We know Jesus rose from the tomb on the first day of the week because the Bible specifically says so. The early church celebrated the Resurrection based on the date of Passover so it did not necessarily fall on Sunday. However, in 325 A.D.when the Catholic Church established their calendar, they said it was to be celebrated on Sunday. They determined that He was crucified on Friday, because He was not allowed to remain on the cross on the Sabbath Day. Non-Jewish scholars would naturally suppose that the Sabbath referred to the 7th day of the week, or Saturday. But if one studies the Jewish festivals, there were other days that were called Sabbaths other than the seventh day Sabbath. (Linda or any Jewish scholar correct me if I'm wrong.) Several festival days throughout the year were also designated as Sabbaths. My understanding is that the first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread were celebrated by a holy convocation and resting from work. John 19:3l states. "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day,for the Sabbath Day was an high day....)According to the Bible dictionary the day of preparation was the first day of Passover (Lev. 23:5-7). This would lead me to believe that the crucifixion actually took place on Thursday. Jesus died at 3:00 P.M. He had to be buried before 6:00 P.M. In order to fulfill the prophecy that Jesus would be "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.", this would give us Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and Friday, Saturday and Sunday days. But to me, the important thing is not the particular day nor date, but what actually occurred. We are to remember His death and resurrection everyday - all year through.

Nate said...

Congrats on getting published, Fred! I couldn't get ANGORA until I saw the answer grid...doh! AS IS doesn't make sense to me (63A: Warts and all)....can someone explain it?

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & ...

A quick trip for today's puzzle, no online help and we finished it before she had to leave for work.

I found a good tongue twisters page for you C.C.

Linda said...

CC: Even if Mondays are excessively simple...any day I can do LAT and 95% of NYT without`s all good! Like "fruitoftheloom" makes me feel good all under!

Dot: None of us were there, the Scriptures are vague...scholars don`t agree, so your assessment fits as well as anyone`s. Your comment that it`s the "Event rather than the date" shows that you`re operating in the spirit of Titus 3:9.

Kazie: You will be my "go-to" on matters of grammar from now on!

Dennis: About emus...because bird "knees" bend backward...(so they can light/perch/roost safely), most birds would find it difficult to walk backwards.

Being a "seasoned" (out of necessity) husband can "pace-off" lots, board-feet of lumber and carpet yardage and is always surprisingly accurate.

Anonymous said...

re: ' anno '. it is the ablative of annus. when the preposition ' in ' comes before a latin word, that is the ablative case. in its complete form, it is ' in anno domini ' i.e. in the year of the lord ( jesus ).

it must be puzzling to non-catholics to know that the church and the papacy had such power and influence in the western world that a pope, gregory, could promulgate a new calendar to the world and refer to every event in early history as before christ ( b.c. ) and all else as after christ, stated a.d. they use the less offensive term today as ' in the common era '. what the western world follows today is called the gregorian calendar. i think the former one was the julian calendar, set up by julius caesar, but you can google that because i'm not sure of that.

i hope this gets to you because sometimes you say you don't understand this or that and many times i know the answer to your confusion and i'd like to inform you of why something is so.

for someone who didn't go to a university in america, i am in awe of what you know. e.g. the vocative or ablative, which as i think now, with ' annus ' the ' o ' ending is either the dative or the ablative. the vocative of annus is anni. ( us, i, o, um, i, o ). freshman latin, 1950.

I HATE THE L.A. TIMES PUZZLE! today, 4/13, the puzzle was far too easy. by wed. or thur. and after, the 2 creators of the puzzle gear their clues to the experienced puzzler. i am a rookie. i began the chicago tribune puzzle about a year ago. the new puzzle has vague, obsure clues that sometimes don't fit the answer and when i get the answer from you, i scratch my head because i never heard of the answer. there is a poll going on now about the new puzzle and so far, 73% of voters say they don't like the new puzzle. do you think the powers that be will change to a less esoteric but not too easy puzzle? ' in medio stat virtus ' in the middle, lies virtue. this phrase is often used to say, not too much and not too little. e.g. food: obesity vs. anorexia. by the way, vs comes from the latin, ' versus ', which means against. i'm not showing off but i had 5 years of latin and some of my philosophy and theology classes were taught in latin and the textbook was in latin.

my comments to you, in the future, will be brief. i really do want to help you out when you don't know some of the vagaries or slang of english.


Linda said...

CC: Remember our "tinker" discussion weeks ago? That tongue twister was,"Are you aluminuming them?" "No, I`m copper-bottoming them."

Since I love word-play...are you familiar with "spoonerisms?" Here is an example: Mardon me Padam, but you`re pitting in the wrong sew. May I sow you to another sheat?"

lois said...

Good morning CC et al., Great puzzle. Thanks Fred and Congratulations. Cute theme. Thought the dog collar clue/answer was clever. 'Empty promises' refers to 'amour' as well. One reason I called a 'halt' to the latest gaga 'sob'. What an 'oper'!
'Elm's aren't the only slippery things around here. He wasn't just 'full of one self' either. Had to 'wade' thru all that 'she't and finally said 'hail' with that! Besides he always messed up my coiffure. What a 'poseur'! So, will pedal my 'ware's elsewhere.
No 'trauma'. 'De-ride' wasn't that great anyway. 'St.Pete' and I will have a long talk when I go meet my 'maker', probably over a few 'quaffs'. It's all good.

SBKaren: LMAO Very Funny! Those firemen sure know how to handle a hose! Great guys! SB Island had some of the best scallops I've ever had. Will be there again next wkend. Beware!

Enjoy your day.

Anonymous said...

Yes CC Britney looks hot I like the see thru shirt!

Britney would look hot even if she were wearing a burlap sack!

Anonymous said...

Regarding the debate over the days of the week, and the fact that so many people were involved in the decisions, i.e the jews, julius caeser, constantine, gregory and the catholic church in general, how can this have anything to do with a god? Surely the bible should be called "the word of man". It has always been about power and control over mortal men, by mortal men.

Elissa said...

Didn't have any real problem with this puzzle, but did get hung up on two "T" intersections - TALL/SET FEE and ULT/STD - for a bit. I would say that "like NBA centers" was my favorite clue once I got it. DUH!

Dot: Jewish Shabbat refers only to Friday night/Saturday and the word shabbat means "cessation" or "rest". While it occurs weekly, it is considered the holiest holy day. The other important Jewish holy days are Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, followed by Passover, Shavuot (seven weeks after the end of Passover at the end of counting of the Omer), and Sukkot (festival of tabernacles). The Jewish calendar is adjusted so as not to interfere with shabbat. For instance, Yom Kippur, a fast day, never occurs on Friday, because you would not be able to prepare food on Yom Kippur and would resulting in having no food for shabbat.

Buckeye said...

YEAH!! I feel smart again. Went thru this puzzle "lickity split", a situation I would enjoy any morning. I was so pleased with myself, I didn't mind when Nurse Ratchet gave me my sponge bath. She uses these special sponges that has it's own soap in it. It comes in a box marked "Brillo". I should be able to poo again this Wednesday.

Speaking of eating, yesterday we enjoyed our annual Easter dinner here at the Pia Zidora's Golden Buckeye Retirement Village. We had our usual Easter fare of Spam, reconstituted WWII mashed potatoes and peas (I think). Chester Drawers leaned over to me and said;

"Billy, I love Easter".

"Why's that, Chester?"

"Well, they's this dude anamed a Jesus was rompin' 'round over there in the Middle East 'round Isreal, and he was fixin' gimpy folks and makin' alive again dead folks and feedin' a whole gang of his people with a loaf of bread and a fish -yeah, one fish- and he pissed off them Romans so they nailed the sorry bastard to a tree. They call that Good Friday. I guess the Romans call it that 'cause I don't think Jesus thought it was all that good. At any rate, after he died, they took his carcass and buried it in a cave and put a big-assed rock in front of it; and damned if two days later, on Easter Sunday if you can believe that, ol' Jesus pushed that rock aside and come walkin' outta there as alive as you and me."

"Yep! That's the story, Chester. But what's the significance of Jesus' resurrection?"

"Well, Billy! If Jesus sees his shadow, we got six more weeks of winter!"

Chester was off to a good start but.... As I told you folks, Chester ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

I must be off!

Anonymous said...

here's my favourite picture of Britney!

Boys by Britney with Austin Powers

Although I say She Drives me crazy!



kazie said...

dan@ 10:25,
Check out c.c.'s latin link. It shows the vocative plural ends in "i", the singular in "e". I also had 5 years of Latin, and also had forgotten some of these endings.

anon@ 10:48,
As I said a few days ago, the bible was written by men, with their own mortal agendas (agendae?), and we have to take that into account when digesting what's there. Everything should be adjusted for cultural relevance in today's world, and recognizing that they were doing the same for their world as they knew it.
Buckeye adjusts his reality for his world too. LOL.

I've finally gotten as far as I can with Sunday's puzzle, and unlike many here, did not find it easier than Friday or Saturday without g'spotting. Nuff said.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, It is nice to know that after the more difficult recent solves, we have returned to a pleasant Monday puzzle. I didn't have to start at the bottom today and most answers were solved straight across without having to go to the perps.

My favorite alliterative clue today was "Count with a keyboard".

Linda, I learned it from my Momma and Grandma as, " Mardon pee Padame, this pie is occu-pewed. May I sew you to a sheet." Then there was the altered last line of the song, Daisy, Daisy; "But you'll look sweet upon the sheet of a folding bed built for two". So naughty for the time, but general family hilarity ensued. (This WAS back in the 1940's, folks.)

C.C. I think it may have been PromiseMeThis who mentioned reading The Name Of The Rose. I've read it too. The protagonist is the friar, William of Baskerville, who uses his Holmesian powers of deduction to solve a series of murders that take place in a medieval monastery. it's an unusual and often funny take on a traditional murder mystery.

I've read ECO's book Foucault's Pendulum. For some "senior moment" reason, I don't remember much about it. I am familiar with an actual Foucault's Pendulum at Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles. It's a clear demonstration and explanation. One of the few times, I haven't been "blinded by science".

Anons at 5:52 and 10:48, you may be right.

Dennis, WoW, I'd never heard of Florida Scott-Maxwell, but I like what she had to say.

Karen Q said...

Good morning - or not!

Liked the puzzle today. Was very doable without any help. Only got one clue wrong - didn't know HAIFA. Otherwise was able to do it while holding online for my credit card company - where someone has been supposedly unsuccessfully trying to access my account. BUMMER!!!! Don't know whether this has to do with the stolen wallet from a few weeks ago or not, but very frustrating.

Hope everyone else's day is going better. I have two boys at home from school today also, with lots of running around this afternoon, so hope my time is not too dominated by this issue.

Had a nice Easter Sunday though with family. Back to the grind.

JD said...

Good morning CC and all,

I loved your puzzle,warts and all, Fred. I did it in pen, in bed, in 30 min. I still have problems with abbrev.(ult,uar,emi,aca), but the perps were there to help all along the way with unknowns like Dred, Eco, and Adela.Had steps for paces and ness for ware until I worked the perps. My fav clues were count with keyboard and dog collar target.

Buckeye, I am still laughing. I'm so glad Jesus didn't see his shadow. Spring is definitely here.

Has anyone else dyed eggs with silk neckties? They made a beautiful centerpiece yesterday; such unusual patterns.

jeannie said...

I thought this was a good puzzle for a Monday. It made me think, but not too much.
I wouldn’t have gotten poseur with the perp help.

Can someone explain why resnap would be the answer for shoot again?

I also had trouble with the crossing of std and dred. I had to hit the g-spot for dred.

C.C. re: as is, think of this saying…I’ll take as you are warts and all. Hence, as is.

JD, we used old silk neckties to dye our Easter eggs growing up.l

Karen Q said...

CC - Still on hold with the credit card company. Very disturbing stuff.

Where do you get those pictures of Brittany Spears? I think she looks skanky vs. sexy don't you? I will say nothing about her is PASSE though.

Yes, I do very well with the tongue twisters. I am good at speaking in general, as long as it is written out and practiced. Cannot do the ad lib stuff (as you can tell by my comments - the wittiness is not apparent).

I think ST PETE probably does have 360 days of sunshine. That must mean "some" sunshine each day. I know they have a season were it thunderstorms every afternoon, but it is sunny all morning.

Wish me luck on the possible fraud stuff. The internet banker is stumped, I am on hold, and my son is due at the baseball field soon.

lois said...

Jeannie: 'shoot' as in with a camera. Snapshot...thus resnap =shoot again. I thought that was another very clever clue/answer.

Hmmm, another use for silk ties. Interesting.

Dennis: Great WoW. I'm not just thriving in the warmth of old age, I'm reveling in it. It's my children's fault.

Anonymous said...

You're correct with "a historical moment." It used to "an" because in the case of a multiple syllabic word, if the accent was on the second syllable, the shift in stress changes the need to facilitate pronounciation. But the use of "an" with "historical" has become obsolete.

James said...

I think you left "Poseur" off of your French sub-theme list. It's "poser" in English....

windhover said...

Dan @ 10:25:
Have you heard the saying, " There's nothing in the middle of the road except yellow lines and dead skunks?". I think in Texas they say "armadillos". Either way, if you stay there long you'll get run over. Come on out to the edge.

Kazie@ 11:20,
Sure, Buckeye may have his own reality, but I notice it includes sponge baths from Nurse R. I'd be smiling too, Brillo or not. Sometimes I think he doesn't tell us the whole story. He seems a little sly (I don't miss the WRW puzzles, but I find his old clues (foxy) popping up all the time.

Buckeye, does NR do any outpatient work?
Windhover, donning the asbestos suit (with the silk tie).

PromiseMeThis said...

Good Afternoon C.C. and Co.,

Ale is a kind of beer.

Yes. I do remember the Dubai port scandal.

I am not too bad at tongue twisters.

I never even read the clue, 'Foucault's Pendulum author Eco' until I read your post. I guess I filled it in via the perps. I would have gotten it had I read the clue since I read Foucault's Pendulum about 16 years ago. It is quite a complex story that is much easier to understand if one has a bit of background in hermetic/esoteric/metaphysical subjects.
Clear Ayes, I have read a number Eco's books, but The Name Of The Rose is not one of them. I did see the movie, however. While in Italy, I picked up a set containing both books in Italian.

'Count with a keyboard' was my favorite clue. Apparently, BASIE was given the title 'Count' by fellow musicians prior to ever leading his own band. They likely dubbed Basie the Count because there had already been so many others with the title 'King' and 'Duke' was already taken by Ellington. Wikipedia has an article with some interesting information about "jazz royalty".

I like this OCTET.

Sexy would not be the word I would use to describe Britney Spears in that picture. The word that first comes to mind for me does start with an 'S', though. It's the same one that came to mind for KarenQ.

PromiseMeThis said...

Good luck with your bank problem.

I would think 'Trigger stopper?' might be better for WHOA.

Your wordplay is amazing :)

"But the use of "an" with "historical" has become obsolete. "
Not for me. Then again, I still double-space after a period. So what do I know?

How many puzzles have you had published?

Clear Ayes said...

PromiseMeThis, Senior moments all over the place. Maybe it was me who originally mentioned reading The Name Of The Rose. Do you speak/read Italian?

I agree with you and KarenQ about the Britney photo. Things that make me go hmmmm. Is the fact that she has a crucifix tattoo so strategically placed mean she is a good girl, or is it just pointing the way?

Mainiac said...

I would consider that picture of Brittany sexy even though I am definitely not a fan of hers. The whole head shaving/mental institution episodes were nauseating which have negative affects on my taste buds. There are many other pop stars that would be sexier in that outfit in my opinion.

I also consider this picture of Sophia very sexy. Would Sophia be considered sexy in Brittany's outfit?

Could Brittany do justice to Sophia's outfit?

I had a little time between meetings. Maybe too much!

It's Dennis' fault!

PromiseMeThis said...

Clear ayes,
I can read enough Italian to make my way through the Corriere Della Sera, the Italian national daily paper, and I can speak just enough to get myself into trouble. I purchased those two ECO books while in Florence in large part to read them with an eye towards improving my Italian. I had always meant to re-read Foucault's Pendulum and, as I said, had never read The Name Of The Rose. So I figured, "What the hell, why not read them in Italian?" I must confess, though: That was five years ago and I have yet to get around to them. I am confident that I can get through them, though, even if I do need some help from my Italian/English dictionary and 501 Italian Verbs.

Thomas said...

Hello C.C. & all

C.C., having lived in St. Pete for over 12 years, yes, it is a very sunny place. At one point in time, if it wasn't sunny for a whole day, you'd get a free paper. It's also known as the lightning capital of the USA, if not the world. Hence the name for the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning, who started their existence in St.Pete's Thunderdome, now known as Tropicana Field.

Fun, easy puzzle today. No red letters!

TJ in Osseo

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the help on the Basie clue, I was scratching my head. According to Wikipedia he did play with Duke Ellington, so perhaps there was some influence?


Crockett1947 said...

Good afternoon, everyone. I was away from computer access over the weekend and had an early morning eye appointment, so I am very late getting to the blog. Printed and solved Sunday and Monday and read through all of the comments. Not much to add to the puzzle or solving experience this late in the day.

The Oregonian will be going to Today's Crossword on April 20. They had more than 3000 votes on their survey. Newsday was second, LA Times was third, and the Sheffer one was last. We will have the last few of the TMS Williams puzzles this week, and then change over. I guess we'll all just have toe print them out now!

Have a great Monday!

SandbridgeKaren said...

Lois - hmmmmmm, another use for silk ties? Do tell!?! Somehow using them for egg dying is such a waste. Yep, we must have some of the 'best hoser's' around. I'll warn the neighborhood to beware this wkend - where do you 'camp out' when you're in town?

PromiseMeThis - I read "The Name of the Rose"a while back but to attempt it in Italian - my hat's off to you. Anyone who can do languages is my hero and there seem to be lots of folks here fluent in more than one language.

Thomas - as a big hockey fan I confess I did not know the source of the Tampa Bay Lightning's name - thank for sharing; interesting tidbit.

Anonymous said...

C.C. and Dennis -

Your description this morning of yaw, pitch and roll was exactly correct. However . .

Since C. C. remembers about 99% of everything she reads, I feel a nagging need to shine up your shaky terminology a bit.

The title of this bit of aeronautics 101 is called "The Axis' of Rotation".

The line going thru the center of the airplane from nose to tail is the Longitudinal Axis on which the airplane 'Rolls' - one wing goes down, the other one goes up.

The line going from one wing tip to the other wing tip is the Lateral Axis on which the airplane will 'pitch' - the nose goes up and down on this axis.

The line going up and down through the mid part of the airplane is the Verticle Axis - on which the airplane yaws. The nose and tail move from side to side on a flat plane.

OK, that's it and I feel so much better now - and I hope my primary flight instructor "Baylor" is watching from somewhere. This could be the first time he was ever proud of me.


Argyle said...

Hi Everybody,

The Sunday Observer was rather pleasant yesterday. Print it out at Sunday xword.

Fred said...

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Promise me This:
I've had around sixty puzzles published.

Maybe around 50% of the clues were adjusted to make them easier to fit a Monday puzzle. A couple examples:
"Parisian flower?" was changed to "Parisian river" for SEINE. For SOB, "Kind of story" was changed to "Bawl". Other clues were "tightened up" for better readability.
5-,7- and 8-Down in the grid were changed from LOOFA, TURN, and I SEE to HAIFA, INON, and LORE. I didn't notice the grid changes until after I had solved the puzzle myself today. I don't know why the change was made. Maybe LOOFA was too much for an easy Monday.

SandbridgeKaren said...

Fred - hope you can answer this. I never realized the editors changed any clues, let alone so many in the puzzles. Any idea why? I always thought they edited for correctness and content. Does it make you crazy? Are there times you feel it does not improve the puzzle you created? Do you take it personally or is it just part of the business of puzzle creating and publishing? Just curious!

jeannie said...

I guess it's double nickles today...April 13th....

1870 The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in New York City.

I have never been to NYC, but this would definitely be on my “to do” list. Oh, and see a Broadway show. Which one would you recommend?

1954 Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves.


I have never seen this movie. Is it any good? I like Sidney Poitier. I think he was hot in his day. What is your favorite Sidney Poitier movie?


He didn’t look so hot on Friday.

1999 Jack Kervorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of a man whose assisted suicide in 1998 was videotaped and shown on "60 Minutes."

I think assisted suicide should be allowed, if you are of the right mindset to make such a decision.

2004 Barry Bonds hit his 661st homer, passing Willie Mays to take sole possession of third place on baseball's career list. (Bonds is now the career leader in home runs.)

Dennis said...

Hayrake, I appreciate the elaboration/clarification - I was trying to keep it simple and I don't think I did a very good job of explaining it fully. I'm curious - what was your primary trainer? And what did you fly after primary?

Regarding Britney - at one time she would've been considered 'sexy', but now, especially since 'sexy' involves more than just physical appearance, I'd definitely invoke the 'ten foot pole' rule.

Fred, thanks for the response - sounds like the puzzle was certainly dumbed down for Monday use.

Anonymous said...

The Vancouver Province has changed their c/w as well. It was easy today, interesting to see how the rest of the week will pan out.
Best to all,

Anonymous said...

I agree that it's great to see a puzzle from Fred. Thanks for alerting me that that's the Fred. And it was a most enjoyable one. Especially since I could actually finish it by myself.
Liked Scott who sued for his freedom and Like NBA centers. The latter took me a while as I know almost nothing about basketball.
And I assume that by now, Dennis, you know that it is Umberto Eco and not vita versa.

cabrini said...

Hello everyone.

See "Lilies of the Field". It is a wonderful movie. Simple but very uplifting. Another movie to see with Sidney P. is the one where he helps and then falls in love with a blind, caucasian women. I should have googled to get the name of the movie since I'm having a senior moment and can't remember the name!
Now you have me nostalgic for other great movies. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" to name two.

Hope everyone has a good evening. Stay safe.

MarthaMartha said...

I've been so discouraged by the LA times puzzle that I haven't even been visiting your blog much, so missed your poll. You'd have to add me to the 73% missing the old TMS puzzle. I am just having a hard time getting the hang of the cluing,am rarely amused by the puns, and usually don't even bother with it from Thursday forth.
My paper (Concord Monitor, NH) is publishing both the LA Times and something called the Commuter puzzle daily. Most of the time the Commuter puzzle is way lame. I somehow really miss the comradery of the old group/puzzle. Visiting this blog was always a strong motivator to finish the puzzle asap to see what everyone thought. I was pretty addicted. Now I get so discouraged by mid week, it's no fun to see how stupid I find out I am. The only consistancy in life is change. Yessireee.

carol said...

Hi all, Late today - no special reason.

Great little puzzle today, I really had fun with it..helped my ego too. Congrats Fred, I hope we see more of yours.(puzzles, that is;)

Dennis, didn't we have 'blame someone else day' a short while ago? If so, I'll blame you...if not, I'll blame Buckeye.

Nate (10:12) 'Warts and all' just means you accept someone as they are, even if they are not perfect, take them 'as is'.

Buckeye - LOL You are too much, but we all love it!!

Lois - same goes for you!!

As to Britney, I know you guys won't agree (or maybe you will and think it's great) but I really think she looks like a street walker.

Anonymous said...

Dennis -

I'm relieved to find out you are a very gregarious person - not the pompous guy I heard you were. So you are testing my memory now. In primary I flew the usual assortment of N2S Stearman, Ryan PT-1 and finally graduated into the SNJ - the 600 HP monster that scared the crap out of me. The stories I could tell you here would be removed by our editor.
The Korean War had started up by then and there was a big demand for new blood (not a good way to say it) which is the reason I got what I asked for out of Primary - single engines. Was relocated to Cabaniss Field at Corpus and introduced to the F4U-1 and 2's for advanced training, combat formation training, air to ground, carrier pre-quals etc. These things were 2000 HP with engines so long you couldn't see where you were going sitting on the ground. Further, it was called "The Ensign Killer" and it also scared the crap out of me. After a lot more hours of flying, we were returned to Pensacola for final carrier quals in the F4U (6 landings and take-offs without breaking anything)and our Wings of Gold. A group of us babies were given orders to report to VF-72 (these were newer F4U-4's) aboard the Bon Homme Richard CV-31 in port in Puget Sound and off we go to Korea. That, too, is a long story but, thankful to say, my airplane and I made it back home in one piece.


Karen Q said...

We had a friend who worked at a golf course in Tampa and he talked about BOBS in the rainy season. Apparently, they are bolts of lightening that come out when it is sunny prior to the rain storm nearing the area. They had special systems to detect them, and when they blew the horn, they had a tough time getting people off the course because there wasn't a cloud in the sky. But it was very dangerous indeed. So the area is definitely known for lightening.


I have been to many Broadway shows. Hairspray is wonderful, as is Spamalot. I have seen Les Mis three times and Phantom, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Miss Siagon. Any one you go to is great though. The productions are so much fun.

Lillies of the Field is a great movie, as is almost anything with Sidney Poitier. I really liked To Sir With Love and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Tiger stank on Friday, but was pretty fun to watch Sunday, even if he didn't pull it off. You can tell that he and Phil had the ability to. Just doesn't always work.

Fred said...

The clues were definitely made easier for a Monday. I had clued OCTET as "Santa's reindeer,for example" and it was changed to "group of eight" which is more appropriate for a Monday puzzle.


Editors do edit clues for correctness and content, but most clues are changed to make them fit the appropriate day of the week. They'll also edit a clue if the same clue has been recently used, or for added clarity (not necessarily easier just clearer). Usually I try to guess what day of the week the puzzle will skew towards and write the clues accordingly but I didn't do it this time.

It doesn't bother me that the clues are rewritten by the editor,the puzzle is always the better for it(and it makes me look smarter than I really am!).

Someone(I forget who)asked if I had any more puzzles in the pipeline and the answer is yes. The LA Times has bought one more puzzle but it hasn't been scheduled yet.

Al said...

Pretty much everything about the puzzle has been covered already, so I'll just link this: She has it all over Brittany...

wolfmom said...

Quick puzzle...great job Fred!
Once the caffeine kicked in I finished it off w/o trouble(but it IS Monday). Really enjoyed the cluing and had fun with FULL/HALF/EMPTY progression through the puzzle. Looking forward to future puzzles, even though the editor mucked it about a bit. :o)

C.C./Dennis...Until recent years, when it was outlawed...a small bird called an Ortolan Bunting, was consumed whole and was considered a great delicacy in France. Françoise Mitterand even has a recipe for them named after him...your fun food fact for the day.

Cabrini: Yes! Gregory Peck in To Kill a that's hot!


KittyB said...

Good evening, all!

Fred, thanks for a fun puzzle!

I bow to Lois who surely has the best way of using silk ties, but here is one more way to use them:
Silk Tie QuiltBuckeye, I hope someone has collected all your "The World According to Buckeye" stories!

jeannie said...

Wow, what do you know afterall...I am number "69".

Cabrini, I believe the movie was "To Sir with Love" I also liked "Guess who's coming to dinner." Love the house of the parents.

KarenQ, believe it or not we have a lot of good theatre here in Minneapolis. I saw "The Technicolor Raincoat" when Donny Osmund was the lead. Fantastic. Before I die, I do want to see a "broadway play" in NYC.

JD said...

KittyB, your quilt is stunning! It looked like you need more than one copy of the same tie.But, I agree, Lois has us both beat.

Carol, I totally agree with your impression of Brittany Spears.

To Sir with Love is my favorite Poitier movie; Lulu singing the title song is not bad either. Was he in A Patch of Blue ?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a must see.When my sister was alive we spent a lot of time there. They have an excellent Egytian section. There is a great children's book,From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler , where a brother and sister run away to live in the museum . Some of you may have kids that love to read; good for ages 9-12.

Promiseme, I never thanked you for linking the ochre quarry. Thanks! I always thought ochre was the color Van Gogh used for many of his paintings.

JD said...

Woo Hoo! I italicized!
Little steps......

Crockett1947 said...

@jd Way to go! Now you need to BOLDLY go where you have not gone before!

Lemonade714 said...

Jeannie, oops I mean Lo-Li-Ta; Broadway is an amazing experience, with the talent and the productions really memorable. My favorite memory so far has been watching Yul Brynnerreprise his role in the King and I. I was staying at a friend's house in Orange, New Jersey, and one day, while we were driving into the city, we were passed by a man in a Mercedes convertible, shaving his head with an electric razor, as he drove. It was awesome, he blew by us but we caught up and he waved.

My favorites lately have been Wicked , Avenue Q, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Cats was amazing, and La Cage Aux Folles was spectacular.

Let me know when, I grew up driving in, or taking the train….

JD said...


Crockett1947 said...

@JD Amen, sister. Now, let's see you do a link!

jeannie said...

Lemonade, you can be my personal guide, esq. I would be a fish out of water in that big city. I might even need to have my attn there at close hand as I might do something to land me in the pokey so to speak. That's attourney....not attention. Gotta get those abbreviations straight. I don't think I'll be shaving my head though as you blow by.

PromiseMeThis said...

My favorite Sidney Poitier movie would be Blackboard Jungle.

Coco Lee certainly seems a lot more dignified than Britney Spears. I think something must have been lost in translation with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The fantastical elements lost me. It just seemed like another dumb Chinese martial arts flick to me. I can enjoy fantasy. Perhaps if I could have seen it and understood it in Mandarin it might have helped.

Tasteful vs. SKANKY.

600 hp would scare the crap out of me, too. Hell, there are cars with more than that. Nice to see you made it back in one piece.

KarenQ and TJ,
St. Pete's, 'The Lightning Capital of the World' designation might be a bit suspect. However, it does appear to be the lightning capital of the US. That being said, it probably only leads the rest of Florida by a small margin. The entire state is a major lightning strike region. It appears that Florida leads the country, and possibly the world, by a wide margin in total number of lightning strikes. I recall reading some years back that the number of actual lightning strikes in Florida (all lightning strikes, not just those that hit people) far surpass those of the rest of the country combined. Yet, the numbers, in terms of strikes that actually do hit people, are a bit misleading. It appears that places where people heavily participate in outdoor activities have the edge when it comes to actual strikes upon persons. This article explains.

PromiseMeThis said...

Thank you for the answer. I hope you have many more. :)
I am not sure about that. I am inclined to agree with Dennis. It seems clear that today's puzzle was dumbed down. I, for one, would have found 'Santa's reindeer' to be quite a bit more challenging. 'Group of eight' is just plain dull, by comparison. I think it is to the detriment of cruciverbalism that editors feel a need to placate solvers. After all, for those who want a quick and easy fix, there is always the TV Guide puzzle.

Well ...
We've had Gregory Peck ....
Here's Gregory Peccary.

You may be interested in this book. I recommend the paperback edition (which is the one that I own). It is over-sized at 13.8 x 9.5 x 0.6 inches and has marvelous illustrations to accompany the illuminating text.

Lemonade714 said...


I took all day to answer your announcer question, because it is a very close call. Johnny Miller was the first golf commentator to bring honesty to the broadcast booth. Nick Faldo, when paired with Paul Azinger is laugh out loud funny, in the way of snide British humor, but he does not play as well with any of the others sharing the booth. They both have total credibility and insight into what makes someone good, and what golfers fear. They both also think the game really well, as I agree that if Kenny Perry takes three wood on 17 and 18 he wins the Masters. I have learned as much about playing by listening to them as from lessons. I honestly cannot pick a clear winner.

I also was saddened by Sergio's classless attack on the course as being unfair; his management induced apology notwithstanding.

Saddened also describes my reaction to the passing of Harry Kalas, the voice of NFL films, and the Philadelphia Phillies, and the death of Mark "the bird" Fydrych, in his Massachusetts back yard, where he had gone to become a truck driver when he lost his fastball. Sometimes the 13th really is unlucky.

Lo-Li-Ta (have you tired of your sobriquet so soon?) watching you shave your head is not what New York needs, but it really is a fun place. Maybe in the summer after I marry off my oldest...

jeannie said...

Lemonade, save some money after that wedding....Lo-li-ta isn't a cheap date. And no, I haven't tired of the nickname....I kind of like how it rolls off the tongue. You must have liked my change my name answer. Maybe I'll temporarily change my profile. About the money thing...I know, I know, you have that retainer thing hanging over my head; but I tell you, I thought I had it all "tied up" with those two postal guys during that menage thingy. By the way, I thought it was all Pro-Bono anyway, ESQ. This is the final post so I will have to take this up for further discussion tomorrow. Night all.

Thomas said...

If you google "lightning capital of the world", you will find that Tampa Bay, the area of Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater, and more specifically Tampa, is listed as the "lightning capital of the world".

TJ (formerly) on Madeira Beach

kazie said...

I thought you were confusing Blackboard Jungle with To Sir with Love, but when I checked, Sidney Poitier was in both. In Blackboard Jungle he was the troublesome kid. I guess I was too young when I saw it to remember him in that. I only remembered Glenn Ford.

Clear Ayes said...

My favorite Sidney Poitier movie is A Raisin In The Sun. Even more for Ruby Dee than for him, but it's an incredibly moving story with any cast.

PMT, I haven't heard much Zappa music I haven't liked. My favorite Frank Zappa quote, is, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." That particular quote has also been attributed to Elvis Costello, Martin Mull, Steve Martin and even Thelonius Monk. To me, it sounds like something Frank Zappa would have said, so I'll stick with him as the source.

'Night all.

Martin said...

Skanky _is_ sexy. I refuse to elaborate as to why I think so.


Thomas said...

Quite the blog today.
From Dennis's speed ticket, to birds walking backwards, and more of Fred's Monday's puzzle cluing, I am appreciating more and more this LATS's puzzle!! Keep up the good work!

You "go", Fred!

TJ in Osseo