Dec 13, 2009

Sunday December 13, 2009 Joon Pahk

Theme: Teeing Off - FORE is inserted in common phrases. Immediately upon teeing off, golfers might yell "Fore!" if they fear that their wild shots could endanger the spectators/players ahead.

23A. Sharp rock used by early hominids?: BLADE (FORE)RUNNER. Does the base phrase Blade Runner refers to the Harrison Ford movie?

33A. Choose Mounds over Almond Joy?: (FORE)GO NUTS. Go Nuts. Reminded me of Dan Naddor's "Gone nuts, horsewise" suggestion for Jerome's GELDING.

53A. Like the elbow of Rodin's "The Thinker"?: (FORE)VER BENDING. Plays on Verb Ending. Hard base phrase to parse.

70A. Anti-park service career advice?: DON'T BE A (FORE)ST RANGER. Don't Be a Stranger.

87A. According to predictions in the show "Medium"?: AS (FORE)SEEN ON TV. As Seen on TV.

103A. What Ali did often at the Rumble in the Jungle?: HIT (FORE)MAN. Hit Man. Foreman here refers to George Foreman, who lost to Ali in the historic bout in Rumble of the Jungle.

119A. "Clear skies tonight," to an astronomer?: ALL STAR (FORE)CAST. All-Star Cast.

And PAR (81D. 72, often). What's your best round? I've only had a couple under 90.

Also a bit of car/traffic undercurrent:

19A. Mercury or Saturn: AUTO. Not planet.

22A. Last Olds model: ALERO

93A. Went two ways: FORKED. I tried PARTED first.

118A. Family auto: SEDAN. Don't like the auto/AUTO duplication.

94D. Like a road section with a flagger, maybe: ONE-LANE

Nice pangram. One more W, we would have had a double pangram, i.e., all the 26 letters would have been used at least twice.

I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. It held my attention throughout. Worked from bottom up and realized the FORE gimmick immediately, then filled in all the possible FORE's. When I first read the theme title, I thought letter T might be cut off from common phrases, but then the title would be "Tee Off" rather than "Teeing Off".

As usual with the Sunday puzzle. I double bogeyed my round. Had to peek at the cheat sheet a few times. Sunday puzzle is just too formidable to me. Always a few new names to learn and a few traps to fall into.


1. Archie Bunker oath: JEEZ. Shock and Awe scrabbly start.

5. Spice (up): JAZZ. Four Z's, two J's, two X'es, and Two Q's in this grid.

9. Refracting device: PRISM

14. Fashions: MAKES. Verb.

20. __ fixe: IDEE. French for "idea".

21. Soprano Mitchell: LEONA. Have never heard of this name before.

26. One paid to make hoops, briefly: NBAER. And CLE (35A. Cavs, on scoreboards) & SHAQ (107A. Teammate of LeBron). LeBron James and Shaq O'Neal are both with Cleverland Cavaliers now.

27. Get rolling: BEGIN

28. __ paradoxes: ZENO'S. Zeno of Elea. Don't confuse him with Zeno of Citium (the stoic Zeno).

29. Refinement: ELEGANCE

32. It might be given orally: EXAM

37. Former Giants manager: ALOU (Felipe, 2003-2006)

39. Prone to prying: NOSY

40. Rained out, e.g.: Abbr.: PPD. Postponed. Not a familiar abbr. to me.

43. Not gun-shy?: ARMED. Great clue.

47. Scary movie reaction: SCREAM

56. "The Kitchen God's Wife" novelist: AMY TAN. I love her "The Joy Luck Club". The stories echo with me.

58. Box: CRATE

60. Singer Vannelli: GINO. His name escaped me again. Gino is Italian for Gene.

62. Reproductive cells: OVA

63. Vino __: dry wine: SECO. Spanish for "dry". SEC is French.

64. Capital of Pakistan's Punjab province: LAHORE. Pakistan's second-largest city, after Karachi.

68. Earth tones: SIENNAS. Isn't this earth tone beautiful?

75. Monarch's spouse: CONSORT

76. 1980s timekeeping fad: SWATCH. Still a fad in China.

77. Omnia vincit __: AMOR. "Love conquers all" in Latin.

79. Prefix with fauna: AVI. Prefix for birds.

82. Briny greeting: AHOY

84. Ocho minus uno: SIETE. Spanish for seven. Eight minus one.

85. Wet floor?: SEABED. Ocean floor. Nice clue too.

92. Bald eagle relative: ERNE

95. Lasso: REATA. Or RIATA.

96. "That's right," quaintly: 'TIS

97. MBA subject: ECON

99. Language that gave us "khaki": URDU. Would not have got it without the crossing USNA (100D. Sen. McCain's alma mater).

101. "M*A*S*H" NCO: CPL (Corporal). And PFCS (40D. 101-Across's subordinates). PFC = Private First Class.

111. Ageless pitcher Satchel: PAIGE. Love the "Ageless" clue. He pitched until he's 60 years old. He said his aging secret is fried food and hot shower.

115. "Spamalot" co-creator: ERIC IDLE. Unknown to me. Always good to see a full name.

116. Major muddle: SNAFU

117. Turkish coins: LIRAS. I thought the plural form is LIRE as well.

123. Wind, as a river: SNAKE

124. When la luna rises, usually: NOCHE. Spanish for "night" I suppose.

125. Falafel holder: PITA. Have never tried falafel, not fond of chickpeas or any bean.

126. Blue-green hue: AQUA

127. Fished using pots, perhaps: EELED. True.

128. Turn out: END UP

129. Farm team: OXEN. Real farm team. Not the minor league affiliates.

130. Reading material for some?: LIPS


1. "Star Wars" gangster: JABBA. No idea. Have never seen "Star Wars". Jabba the Hutt.

2. Swiss mathematician: EULER. Same pronunciation as Oiler. Stumped me again.

3. Floor, in France: ETAGE

4. 12-part belt: ZODIAC. D'oh.

5. Skippy competitor: JIF. Chunky chunky!

6. Napping: ADOZE. Man, it's a real word.

7. Antifreeze brand: ZEREX. Keep learning and unlearning this damned brand. What's the name origin of Zerex?

8. Ethan Frome's sickly wife: ZEENA. Nope. Only know the basic plot line.

9. And: PLUS

10. "You eediot!" speaker of cartoons: REN. Stumped by the new clue. From "The Ren and Stimpy Show".

13. 4 Seasons hit of 1963: MARLENA. Waiting for Argyle for the correct link. I've never heard of the song.

14. Tropical fruits: MANGOS. Sweet!

15. Capital west of Boston, MA: ALBANY, NY. Abbreviation of the state in the clue, abbrevivation of the state in the answer.

16. Reeves of "Speed": KEANU. What's your favorite Keanu Reeves movie?

17. Upright: ERECT

24. Shackle: ENSLAVE

25. It's up the coast from Napoli: ROMA. Easy guess.

30. Bloated condition?: EGOMANIA. Bloated head. Awesome clue.

33. Convergence points: FOCI. Plural for focus.

34. Boondocks possessive: OURN. Ours?

36. Afore: ERE

38. Source of some '60s trips: LSD

41. Studied in detail: PORED OVER

42. Extremely unforgiving: DRACONIAN. Derived from the Greek harsh lawgiver Draco.

44. Richie's dad, to the Fonz: MR. C

45. African virus: EBOLA. Named after the Ebola River in Congo.

46. Joltless joes?: DECAFS. Another good clue. Thought of Shoeless Joe immediately.

48. Silly Putty holder: EGG

50. Amends: ATONEMENT

51. Vocalist who gave his farewell performance at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin: PAVAROTTI. Did not know this trivia.

54. Jackets facetiously called bum-freezers: ETONS. Was ignorant of this trivia also.

55. Not at all: NO HOW

57. Big name in showerheads: MOEN

61. Leb. neighbor: ISR. The answer always seems to be Israel.

65. __ pro nobis: ORA. Latin for "pray for us".

66. Pave over: RETAR

67. Artist who explored infinity in his work: ESCHER (M. C.). Did not know the "infinity" connection. Here is his famous "Drawing Hands".

69. Marsh of whodunits: NGAIO. Always have trouble remembering her name. Maori origin. Some kind of tree.

71. Rent: TORE. Rent here is the past tense of rend. Tricky clue.

72. Primary author of the Mayflower Compact: BRADFORD (William). Total stranger to me. Wikipedia says he is credited as the first to proclaim what popular American culture now views as the first Thanksgiving.

73. UFO pilots, ostensibly: ETS

74. More than that: THOSE. And "these" in Spanish ESTAS (114D. Spanish pronoun). Could also be ESTOS.

75. Docket item: CASE

78. Guns: REVS

84. Drink with a Real Fact on each bottle cap: SNAPPLE. Easy guess.

86. Some women's mag photos: BEEFCAKE. Ryan Reynolds, husband of Scarlett Johansson.

88. Arctic seabird: SKUA

89. Common office plant: FERN

90. Uneven?: ODD. As in number.

98. Neologized: COINED

102. Not of the clergy: LAICAL. LAIC is more often seen in the puzzle.

103. Frankfurt's state: HESSE

104. 1935 Nobelist Joliot-Curie: IRENE. Only know her mother Marie.

105. Word with basin or flat: TIDAL

106. Dieter's breakfast: MELON. I've got to eat real food for breakfast, or lunch/dinner.

108. Curly-haired pantomimist: HARPO. Harpo Marx.

109. Paste on: AFFIX

110. Dealer's offering: QUOTE

112. Kirkuk native: IRAQI. Lots of oil in Kirkuk.

113. Refuel: GAS UP

120. Calculator display, briefly: LCD

121. Moo __ pork: SHU. Cantonese again. Mu Xu Pork in Mandarin Chinese.

Answer grid.



eddyB said...

Good morning all.

It wouldn't be fair doing the puzzle after reading all of the answeres.
I'll down-load the answer sheet for later.
Now, I have to take some Vicodin and go to bed


Argyle said...

40. Rained out, e.g.: Abbr.: PPD. Prepaid?

Argyle said...


Good Morning and good luck on finding a clip for MARLENA; I haven't yet. Still looking.

C. C. said...

Are you originally from Germany?

I've corrected my error. Thanks. Was thinking of continuing the play of the previously rained-out golf. It's essentially prepaid.

Warren & Robin,
Yes, Zai jian means "Goodbye". Min tian jian means "see you tomorrow".

Argyle said...

"Marlena" was the B-side of "Candy Girl" ( #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles): it reached #36 on the Hot 100 for 2 weeks. Still looking.

Argyle said...

I found a very good cover of MARLENA. The lead singer is almost spot-on. I think the singers may be from Philly and got their name from this: (a sign Dennis may have).

Hahtool said...

Good Morning, CC and Friends. I had trouble with the theme this morning. I realized early on that FORE was a part of the answer, but the insertion of FORE seemed a bit inconsistent ~ sometimes being in the middle of the phrase, sometimes at the beginning, and (FORE)verbending didn't make sense to me at all.

There were some good clues, like 12-part Belt (ZODIAC) and Uneven? (ODD). My favorite was Farm Team (OXEN). I was expecting some variation on the baseball training teams.

I have always been fascinated by Escher. Waterfall is one of my favorites. I used it in a paper I wrote years ago on water conservation.

QOD: In politics, sincerity is everything. Once you can fake that, you've got it made. ~ Groucho Marx

windhover said...

Without a puzzle I can't comment on it, but will try to answer your Zerex question. Some of the Wiki aficionados may give a more definitive answer, but here's my intuitive answer: In the more temperate parts of the country, like where I live, the standard for really cold weather is zero degrees Fahrenheit. Up where you live, that occurs with some regularity, but in most of the country it's rare enough to be notable when it's happens. So as a marketing device, the product name Zerex suggests to the buyer that his car engine will be protected in what is subliminally believed to be the most extreme conditions.
As I said, Wiki may shoot me down, but that's what the name Zerex suggests to me.

Annette said...

Great Sunday puzzle! Last night, I swore I wasn't going to do the puzzle until after shopping hours ended...but it was calling my name this morning and I couldn't resist! It was worth it. Great new clues. Plenty I didn't know, but only needed outside help for 2 answers that I couldn't guess at from red-letters or perps.


New to me: ZEREX and ADOZE

C.C.: Glad to hear I'm not the only person who's never seen Star Wars! I don't care for falafel either, although I do like chickpeas and most beans, other than green beans! You're correct, NOCHE is night in Spanish. I'm not a huge Keanu Reeves fan, but did find him rather sexy in "Something's Gotta Give".

I am a big Four Seasons fan though, so I just needed the first letter and got MARLENA right off the bat, along with a big smile. Others that just made me smile: PRISM, OURN, 'Silly Putty holder' EGG, and BEEFCAKE. ;-)

EddyB: I hope the vicodin and rest help!

Anonymous said...

Eddy B, vicodin first of the morning doesn't sound good. Hope you get better. Sounds like me last Sunday.

Love Sunday puzzles and themes. Almost always get to use the theme to complete other answers.

Good clueing today and tight theme. A few unknowns, but got through most with some red letter help. All those z's and q's and scrabbly stuff.

Knew Xerex from years ago when I used to actually do some car work myself. No longer. I think we still have some in the garage, probably 20 years old. Should get rid of it.

Saw Spamalot in NY - realllly fun. Worth seeing. Gotta get going on those Christmas cards and a ton of other stuff.

Bill G. said...

That was a tough puzzle for me; tough but mostly enjoyable. It may be a real word but I don't like ADOZE. I never see words like ABOIL or AROAR except in crossword puzzles.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I seldom give up on a puzzle, but this morning was one of those days. (I woke up with a stuffy head and puffy eyes, so I have a little bit of an excuse.) I got about 90% of the puzzle done, but just couldn't stick with it and came here to get my share of "D'ohs!".

I usually like a lot of names, but I was discouraged early on by EULER, ZEENA, LEONA and IRENE (Joliot-Curie).

I like the 4 Seasons too, but I'd never heard MARLENA.

It was nice to see ERIC IDLE. I've been a Monty Python fan for years and still watch reruns.

Favorite KEANU Reeves movie? I liked "River's Edge", but since then, not anything I can think of.

lois said...

Good morning CC et al., fun puzzle but struggled a bit. Loved the clever twists but got caught on
95A 'reata' instead of 'riata' for lasso. Think we've discussed that be'fore'. I always thought it was 'poured over' instead of 'pored over'. Learn something new all the time here.

Started getting excited when 17D 'erect' "came up" in the same puzzle with 'amor' 'consort',
'beefcake', 'lips' and the 32A clue of..'might be given orally' . Holy Hotwick! That about put me in a permanent state of 'atonement' and I'm not even going to approach 64A, the capital of Punjab. My slant on things is 'forked' enough as it is.

WH: in answer to you about not starting a hoedown w/out you... no problem. I'm sure it'd be your calling that'd keep us coming...
back for more. Do si do, promenade, and swing your podner would never mean the same again.

CC, my favorite boondock's expressions are my-n & your-n.
LOL w/that 34D Ourn. Fun puzzle.

Enjoy your day.

kazie said...

I was gone all day yesterday and gave up on the puzzle with only two thirds done--mainly the middle.
Today I don't have time at all because I'm starting my Christmas baking with this tried and true family recipe:


1 LB MIXED FRUIT (RAISINS, SULTANAS (= golden raisins),

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or wait until pouring it in the pan).
2. Put in a large saucepan the butter, water, sugar, spices, fruit and prunes, bring to a boil, simmer 3 minutes, then allow to cool.
3. Beat eggs well, stir in baking soda, and add to fruit. Add cherries, walnuts and sifted flour (I never bother sifting, just fluff it a bit). Mix thoroughly.
4. Turn it all into a generously greased spring form pan (9” diameter). Decorate the top with blanched almonds, additional cherries, walnuts etc.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for ½ an hour, then reduce to 300 and continue baking about 1 ½ hours more or until a skewer comes out clean and the center has risen.
6. Remove from oven and immediately pour at least 2 Tbsp. rum and/or brandy all over it, while inhaling deeply!
7. Allow to cool thoroughly; then it may be stored several weeks if sealed carefully. The flavors definitely improve with time. I make it for Christmas if possible during November. I'm late this year!

If you hate normal fruit cake, this is different, believe me. It's moist and is mainly fruit held together with a scant amount of flour. Rich and dark colored.

Now I'm going to write our Christmas letter and start cards while the cake bakes.

MR ED said...

Enjoyed your post. What grade do you teach and what subject?

Your fruit cake sounds very healthful, what with all the spices, fruits, and nuts. A true fruit cake. How can I get a slice?

How do you say hello in your tongue?

Dennis is notably absent today.


PJB-Chicago said...

Hello, all. Lots of scrabblicious cleverness in Mr. Joon Pahk's Sunday best! Sparkly theme phrases were among the funniest I've seen.

The cry "FORE" can save lives: I learned this while dodging bad drives during 6 summers on a golf course, AND having knocked down a family member with a terribly "sliced" chip shot into the ribs---no long-term injuries sustained, but I'm STILL apologizing.

Similar to ClearAyes, I got stumped with several proper names, but thanks to well-placed and easier clues, I ended up with a full grid and two wrong squares--not too shabby.

Favorite fill: CONSORT, ERIC IDLE; OURN.

p.s. @ Kazie: I believe that "stoned prunes" is the same as "pitted," correct? Your recipe sounds great, because am not a fan of traditional solid-as-a- brick fruitcake. Most of my Aunt Irene's 1980s cakes ended up getting regifted, and I suspect are still circulating!

kazie said...

Yes stoned = pitted. I thought it sounded funny when I copied and pasted that, but left it as it was. Mostly these days it's possible to buy them that way, and then all I have to do is chop up everything except the raisins and currants or whatever other small dried fruit is in the mix.

Let me know if you try it what you think. I guarantee it won't get regifted, unless people don't like dried fruit. I always wonder why I don't make it more often.

Anonymous said...

Had "drunk apples" at the last bar-b-que restaurant I visited and now stoned prunes! What`s next? Sloshed dates? Oh wait...that was last night!

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Wow, that Four Seasons cover does sound spot on, but I don't recognize the song at all.

I like Windhover's take on Zerex. I can't uncover anything about the origin of the name. It goes back to at least 1941, and was originally a duPont tradmark. Now belongs to Ashland via their Valvoline subsidiary. Valvoline makes high quality products. (Unpaid testimonial.)

Tough puzzle and lots of fun. "JEEZ, JAZZ," is what Archie said to me when he wasn't busy dissing Meathead.

I appreciate earthy SIENNAS.

The whole West coast gave me a problem. PORED OVER it for a long time, then had to come here for a couple of fills. Clever theme, but not perfectly tight. FORE between some words, overlapping others. Couldn't parse FOREVER BENDING into (FORE) VERB ENDING.

Never heard of ZEENA. Interesting cluster with the ZENO cross and ZEREX parallel.

Then, when it's all finished, you END UP with OXEN LIPS.


eddyB said...

Helloo all.

Up and awake again. More or less.

The Vicodin is for chronic and servere pain. What I'm using is left-over from when a R1 tried to reset my nose with out an anesthetic. My screams must have woken half of the hospital.
CC. 2nd Gen. Born ,raised and edu-
cated in West.PA.
Family is from the lake region in what was East Prussa.
Still waiting for Santa to bring me a full page magiflying glass so I can read the clues. Maybe next year, he will bring me a wheel chair.
Am very tired of four days of rain and not seeing the sun.


Anonymous said...

windhover, what about zerone?

Dennis said...

Just a quick check-in; did this one at the store, between customers. Absolutely loved the puzzle, with challenges all over the place, and a great theme.

Favorite clue was 'joltless joes?'.

Hope it's a great night for everyone - GO EAGLES!

Anonymous said...

I have been lurking for a couple of weeks after printing out the LAT puzzles sometime on Sunday mornings. I find them quite difficult and come here to fill in the last clues. I "got" the theme fairly early today but it took me a long time to fill in a whole theme clue.
I liked Farm Team (Oxen) too.

I should say that I completed the Globe and Mail puzzle yesterday without resorting to any electronic help at all. First time ever!

I have copied the fruit cake recipe. Sounds really good and so easy! Even with the stoned dates! No fruit cake ever gets regifted in my family and people travel miles to get it. It could be summer by the time they can come but I still have to have some available.

Audrey in Ingersoll, Ontario

windhover said...

The watch or the ukelele?

Anonymous said...

Too many Spanish words.

Robin said...

Go Eagles!

To the rest I will send xxxx and 00000!

Hasta manana!!

Anonymous said...

Where is Embien?