google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday August 17, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Advertisements

Aug 17, 2008

Sunday August 17, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Do Something

23A: Instruction to a drinker?: HAVE A SHOT

24A: Instruction to a take-out diner?: CALL TO ORDER

36A: Instruction to a battery maker?: PUT IN CHARGE

42A: Instruction to a lumberjack's assistant?: GIVE THE AX

56A: Instruction to a sculptor?: PLAN AHEAD

59A: Instruction to ship Styrofoam?: SEND PACKING

78A: Instruction to a talcum buyer?: TAKE A POWDER

80A: Instruction to a corporal punisher?: HIT BOTTOM

96A: Instruction to a wooer? GO TO COURT

99A: Instruction to a judge after a mistrial: TRY TRY AGAIN

116A: Instruction to a mime?: MAKE A MOTION

119A: Instruction to a comic?: FEEL FUNNY

I felt so uncomfortable with 42A. I know GIVE THE AX is an idiom, but I still wanted to add ME. The clue seems to be asking for "GIVE (ME) THE AX".

I would put "Follow the instructions" rather than "Do something" as the theme title. In fact, all the above theme answers feel more like orders rather than instructions to me. The constructor chose "instructions" probably because of 24A CALL TO ORDER.

I like this punny theme. If someone has been reading our comments lately, he should be inspired to create a "Beauty Salon Names" themed puzzle, using Argyle & KittyB's "Curl up & Dye", "Shear Magic", "Hair Port", "Clipper Ship", "Chop Shop" etc.

Anyway, it's a great puzzle. I can't imagine how much research work he did in order to come up with such an amazing list of theme entries with a perfect combination of letters. Look at the way he gridded those 12 theme answers - all 20-letter fills separated by 1 block, amazing! As a result, lots of 3-letter fills are necessitated in the Across. But no complaints from me today.

Some minor flaws:

1) I would clue KNELT (69D: Prepared to pray) as "Prepared to propose" because of PRAYER (108A: Supplication).

2) 76A: Parallel grooves: STRIA. The clue should be in singular form. The plural "grooves" demands STRIAE. At least, that's what the dictionary says. It's a new word to me.

3) 6D: ___ -la -la!: OOH. The clue needs a quotation mark.

4) 100D: Astern: ABAFT. Visually grating. "Toward the stern" should be fine.

I had to resort to google for help, there is no way I can finish a Sunday puzzle unassisted. It may take me another half year. But he did it. I should be able to DO SOMETHING too.

Across:

1A: Ring overhead: HALO

19A: Orphanage transactions: ADOPTIONS. "Transactions"? Sounds so impersonal and cold.

22A: Civic firm: HONDA. Great clue.

27A: Discombobulate: BEMUSE. Ha, now I understand the clue. Thought it was a made-up word yesterday.

29A: In a hopeful manner: ROSILY. I've never seen ROSILY being used in any article. ROSY, yes.

45A: Jack-in-the-pulpit, e.g.: ARUM. I missed it last time, and I missed it again today. "Jack-in-the-pulpit", what a strange name. But isn't ARUM kind of lily?

47A: Canary island: LA PALMA. Unknown to me. Shouldn't the clue be "One of the Canary Islands"?

48A: Brother of Rebecca: LABAN. I had ?ABAN for eons. Had to google. I tank on almost everything Biblical. Anyway, Wikipedia says LABAN is the father of Leah & Rachel.

52A: Play part: ACT II

63A: Spoke snake: HISSED. I was in the wrong direction, thinking the clue was asking for a special kind of spoke-shaped snake like yesterday's RALES (death rattles).

72A: Valley where David and Goliath fought: ELAH. I got it from down clues.

73A: Of bears: URSINE

85A: Hagar's dog: SNERT. From "Hagar the Horrible". Just saw this clue last week. ODIE is anther comic strip (Garfield) dog, so is OTTO (Beetle Baily). Here is a list of all those Comic Dog Names.

88A: Hindu teacher: SWAMI. The Hindu guru. The alternative spelling is SWAMY.

89A: Picked for the wrong part: MISCAST

92A: Disguised, briefly: INCOG. Short for INCOGNITA or INCOGNITO.

95A: Nagy of Hungary: IMRE. I simply forgot, again. How can I remember his name? I'm RE?

104A: Address of a DPL: EMB. DPL (Diplomat) is not a familiar abbreviation for me.

111A: Upolu resident: SAMOAN. I just learned that Robert Louis Stevenson spent the last 5 years of his life here.

121A: Van Gogh location: ARLES. This is the place where he painted "The Sunflowers". I pass by this painting every morning on the way to the kitchen. So easy to get lost in his vibrant yellow cast.

123A: Silent quality: TACITNESS. Only knew the adjective TACIT.

Down:

3D: Zero in tennis: LOVE. And 49D: Zilch: NADA.

4D: Autobahn auto: OPEL. It's part of GM.

5D: Cut apart for analysis: DISSECT

9D: Disqualified due to prejudice: RECUSE

16D: Salad green: ENDIVE. It's too bitter for for salad, don't you think so? I like Belgium ENDIVE.

17D: Aguilar of Ariana Franklin novels: ADELIA. Unknown to me. I've never heard of Ariana Franklin or any of her book.

18D: Voice box: LARYNX

28D: Molten rock: MAGMA

33D: Upright walkers: BIPEDS

36D: Insect's feeler: PALP. How quickly I forgot this word! P-ALP. Good Pedi-PALP picture.

37D: Russian range: URAL. Also the Russian river. The city Orsk is on the URAL River.

38D: Big, band tote: TUBA. What kind of clue is this?

39D: Somali model: IMAN. They seem to be very happy together.

40D: Up, in the ballpark: AT BAT

42D: Senator/astronaut Jake and family: GARNS. I've never heard of him. Wikipedia says he was aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985.

43D: NBA all-star guard: T-MAC. Rockets' Tracy McGrady.

44D: Type of artificial fly: HACKLE. Did not know this angling term. Here is a black gnat soft HACKLE.

47D: Stay sleeping: LIE IN. Dictionary explains LIE IN as "to be confined to bed in childbirth". So, how can it be "Stay sleeping"?

57D: Overly excited: HET UP

58D: Madrid month: ENERO. Ah, the Año opener.

60D: Drummer of Rush: PEART (Neil). No, he is totally foreign to me. I've never heard of this "Rush" rock band.

67D: Japanese drink: SAKE. I guess this is not really a SAKE ad. The language is in Korean, what the heck is George Clooney drinking then?

68D: Dynamic leader?: THERMO. "Hot"!

75D: That is: Lat: ID EST

77D: Touch of color: TINCT

79D: Fan extension?: ATIC. Fanatic. Or "Problem ending".

82D: Writer Janowitz: TAMA. One more unknown. She wrote "Slaves of New York". Was she a gimme to you?

83D: Actor Katz: OMRI. I googled his name. I was too deeply mired in this corner. Wikipedia says he was in "Hocus Pocus" & "Dallas".

87D: '84 Modine movie: BIRDY. Another google. Not familiar with "BIRDY" or the actor Matthew Modine.

94D: Girl's school athletic uniform: GYMSLIP. No, no, no. What year was this photo taken? 1950's?

96D: See red: GET MAD

97D: Chicago cow owner: O'LEARY (Catherine). Nope. I enjoyed reading this story though.

98D: Small bell sound: TINKLE. I wanted JINGLE.

103D: Preface: PROEM. One more new word. Kind of like preamble, isn't it?

107D: Pravda source: TASS. Ha, finally a gimme. TASS was founded in 1925. Pravda ("Truth" in Russian) was founded in 1912.

108D: Boater's walkway: PIER

113D: Unique individual: ONER

114D: Latin handle: ANSA. I don't understand why the clue is always "Latin handle"? Is "Vase's looped handle" too long?

120D: Author Umberto: ECO. I forgot his name again. He has appeared several times in TMS puzzle. I would not have any problem were it clued as "Green" prefix or something environmentally friendly.

C.C.

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to read that you've never completed a Sunday puzzle unassisted! That made may day! I don't feel so stupid: I usually don't even attempt a Sunday puzzle because I know I'm not going to finish it.

I LIEd IN this morning, ate breakfast, went back to bed, got up, ate lunch, went back to bed, got up, had dinner and then thought "I still have time to go buy the newspaper and try the CW" so I did.

I wanted REFUSE for RECUSE(?!), ADAPT for AD LIB, TINGE for TINCT(?!), NTH for PHD and SNRA for ANSA. (I was thinking of the slang term "What's your handle?" meaning "What do you like to be called?")

I don't like the abreviation DPL: it should have been Dpl. The way it was written it looked like an acronym!

To "tote" means to carry (as in "tote bag") so a "Big, bag tote" is a tuba because it has to be carried.

So what is AST? Atlantic School of Theology? "Days of Wrath" is a Latin hymn (DIES Irae) and a MUNI bond is a municipal bond.

Martin

Dennis said...

Good morning, c.c. & gang - thought I'd check this puzzle while I'm waiting for our paper (late) with Merl Reagle's version.

c.c., I agree about stria, as in striation - the plural is definitely striae.
Seeing Robert Palmer in the Iman picture reminded me of his great music videos featuring micro-skirted 'props'.
I believe Jake Garns was the oldest astronaut in space.
I have no idea what George Clooney is drinking, and I doubt the women will even notice the bottle. From the type of glass he's holding and the number on the bottle, I'd guess 17-year-old scotch.
c.c., your guess on the age of the gym picture made me feel ancient - the picture's from the '20s or '30s.

clear ayes, I saw where you checked in even later than I last night; you know it's a good party when you come home minus things.

Hope it's a great Sunday for everyone.

Anonymous said...

Dennis,

That wasn't Robert Palmer. That was David Bowie. David Bowie and Iman are married. I think C.C. was being sarcastic about them looking "happy": Iman looked happy but David Bowie did not.

Martin

Dennis said...

martin, right you are - I would've sworn it was an aged Robert Palmer. I'll blame it on a mild hangover and too little sleep, so I don't have to admit I'm stupid.

Still thinking about the 'props', however.

Anonymous said...

I had trouble on 45 across. i wanted this to be iris and tackle instead of hackle. Also i am glad toknow that some of the other folks use the google on the various unknown names. Most of the time i just guess and then check it later on google to see if there is such a person.(drummer of rush, Somali model,nagy of Hungary etc)

Anonymous said...

C.C.,

You asked somebody what a "mustache ride" is. I guess I might as well come out and say it: "ride" is a euphanism for sex, in this case oral sex.

I imagine there's so much that suddenly makes sense now.

Martin

Anonymous said...

Thought Rebekah's sister was LABAN.
Is Rebecca a different person?

Many misleading clues today. Was sleeping, no lie in. (Lying)
Just waiting to see which way Fay will travel!!!

lois said...

Good morning CC & DF's: travel day today, leaving Boston. They're going to miss us. We certainly helped the economy and made the men stand straighter. Such a good time.

Dennis: We had the same experience when Phelps was swimming. The whole bar was riveted on the tube, chanting USA, USA, then the place just erupted in a deafening roar when he won. Unbelievable ability and such a nice young man. The same thing happened the next night but details are a bit foggy...oh yeah, uh...no, those chants were about clothing...oh, yeah, I remember now....dang, no, that was a drinking game...Well, anyway, the Olympics in China are beyond fascinating; the local Olympics in bars and hotels are just 'beyond'.
Met, had photo ops and great conversations w/Philip Zimbardo and Thomas Bouchard -peak moments for sure. There were a couple of other great guys too but their work wasn't that impressive. They have to practice more - actually we have a session coming up right now. OOOOH, Yeah!

Enjoy your day.

DoesItinInk said...

I typically do not have time to do the Sunday puzzle on Sunday...I work on it throughtout the week... but I am still suffering from car fatigue from yesterday's drive to Winona, MN to talk my daughter to college. So I slept in, skipped piano class and enjoyed breakfast on the deck with the crossword puzzle instead.

I worked the puzzle in record time for me, unaided and in ink. I had only three words wrong (if you do not count that having one word wrong affects the cross words too, eh?)...a total of 8 wrong letters. I had Rubin instead of Laban for 48A, could only get L-PAL-- for the Canary Island of 47A, and tried IRNE instead of IMRE for Nagy of Hungary 95A.

Martin: Ansa is the Latin word for handle. The nominative singular ends in 'a', hence it is a feminine noun. The plural is ansae. I only got it from the crossing words, but for simple words, web site http://archives.nd.edu/latgramm.htm
might be helful, though it helps to be able to recognize Latin endings (-a, -ae, -us, -i, -um, etc.) as it uses the stem word and ending for the translation into English.

melissa bee said...

laban was the brother of rebekah (sometimes spelled rebecca).

c.c. said: I tank on almost everything Biblical.

here is an abbreviated family tree.

abraham (wife sarah)
|
isaac (wife rebekah)
|
jacob (wives rachel and leah)
|
joseph, et al.

jacob had 12 sons (and one daughter), which is the basis for the 12 tribes of israel. the book 'the red tent' is based, in part, on the story of jacob and rachel. a fictionalized account, but very good reading.

melissa bee said...

i can't imagine there's any other blog out there where you can read about mustache rides and biblical history in the same day ...

@dennis: i thought it was robert palmer too .. looks just like him.

KittyB said...

Ohhhhh doesitinink, you make my head ache! Usually I can get through the Sunday puzzle, but not today. I finished about 85% of the clues (with several errors), before I decided I'd rather visit here.

PALP, TMAC, TAMA and GYMSLIP were words I wouldn't get without the fills. I had TACKLE rather than HACKLE. I was going to guess that the picture was from the early 40s, but Dennis could be right about it being even earlier. By the 60s, in the Midwest, we were wearing a one-piece blue THING, with bloomer-style legs that ended several inches above the knee. We all thought it was a serious improvement when they changed the leg style to "little boy shorts" - still attached to the top. Ya had to be thin and agile to get the darned thing on!

I didn't particularly care for 'Big, band tote' as a clue. 'Brass bass,' 'Tubby, the ___,' or 'Lowest wind instrument' would all work. The word TOTE is what bothers me the most. Ask Crockett....you don't TOTE a marching bass. If I had to describe what the players do, I'd say they 'muscle' it.

C.C., thanks for all you do on this blog. I really appreciated your help with the puzzle.

g8rmomx2 said...

Hi to all:

Had to google Janowitz, Katz, Nagy, Laban. Had NTH first instead of PHd, Tinge instead of Tinct, but finally got the changes. I thought it was a fun puzzle today.

Have a fantastic day everyone!

DoesItinInk said...

Kitty(from yesterday's post): Thank you, I am weathering my "freedom" well. This is my second school year as an empty-nester, and I LOVE IT! After 20+ years as a single mom, I love coming home to an empty house and having responsibilities to no one but myself. ;-)

KittyB said...

doesit, I can appreciate how you feel. I've been my mother's care giver for more than 20 years. On the rare occasions the house is empty, I wallow in that freedom. Eventually, I get to wondering when everyone will return. I suspect that my sister will enjoy being less tied to her daughter's schedule, and more able to be spontaneous.

Anonymous said...

csw in ky
Had to laugh at your link to the girls in the gymsuits. I graduated from h.s. in 63 - those look like something my 95-year old mom might have worn. At my h.s. in Rockford, IL, we wore short one-piece suits like these: http://www.loti.com/then_now/Gym_Uniforms_of_the_50s_and_60s.htm

Anyway, I got a good laugh out of it.
Can't decide if I feel older or younger!! LOL

steve said...

Goodafternoon CC,

My news paper doesn't publish the sunday CW onlythe New York Times CW, but I had time and read the comments, what a hoot. Keep it going.

steve said...

Don't ask me why these things come out multiple. I'm at a loss

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

Martin,
AST: Atlantic Standard Time. I completely agree with you on DPL. It should be Dpl.

Dennis,
I got my first picture taken only when I was 7 years old. So I had no idea when that GYMSLIP photo was shot.

Melissa,
What on earth happened during your "Band camp" days? I still don't get the story behind this "Band camp" and flute connection.

Dennis said...

c.c., the picture is outstanding! And you know what's great about it? You can see the budding DF in your face.

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

Dennis,
I looked myself again and again and saw nothing dysfunctional. I wonder what I was thinking when the photo was taken. Do you still have your first picture? When was it?

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

Dennis,
I forgot to mention that my second photo was taken around 1982. The first time I saw TV was around 1984.

Dennis said...

Yes, I still have my first picture. It was taken by gaslight sometime in the 1800's.

And I'll bet my fellow posters will see that same DF in your face.

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

Dennis,
You've been incurably corrupted. I can vividly picture the DF look in your baby face when you were first born. My third aunt glued that photo in her homemade photo album and gave it to me around 1990, hence several dark spots and poor quality.

Anonymous said...

As to your comment on clue 94D...I can say we never wore those outfits in gym in the 50's! I can't imagine what year they wore those...never heard of gymslips. We wore gym shorts and coordinating shirts! LOL

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

Steve,
Can you see the garbage can at the end of your comment? You can always delete the repeated posts yourself.

Clear Ayes said...

csw in ky: Here‘s a link that will make it easier to see what we were forced to wear in the 50‘s and 60‘s. There isn‘t much that would attract the attention of our gentlemen bloggers. I‘m sure that was the idea back then too! My Gym Uniform LOL

Dennis: We stopped by last night’s party scene to help with cleanup. The hostess had my glasses. They were right where my husband had put them for safety and then promptly forgot to tell me where they were. Surprisingly, on a party site of about ½ an acre and dozens of chairs and tables, someone had found my earring and turned that in also. Even though I didn’t permanently lose anything, it was a memorable good-time party.

I can understand the confusion with David Bowie and Robert Palmer. D.Bowie’s post Ziggy Stardust looks Heroes is very much like R.Palmer, Simply Irresistable except that D. Bowie’s face is thinner. Too bad that Robert Palmer died so young.

C.C. A very cute photo, but so very serious! I think it would be fun for the bloggers to post an early photo. I’ll hunt around for one. I think this would be the perfect opportunity to show off your bearskin (bare skin) rug baby photos.

BTW, honestly I can’t help you with the “band camp” reference. Like you, I “got” the flute, but the rest of it (if there really is any “rest of it”) is beyond me.

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

Clear Ayes,
I am so happy to hear that you found your glasses and earring. You are right. I did look very serious. But there is absolutely nothing DF as Dennis claimed. He is beyond hope. What a good idea to have everyone post their first photo!

Anonymous said...

Does anyone out there have the crossword puzzle named "Final Touches" by Alan Arbesfeld? Not getting many answers!

Clear Ayes said...

This isn't my first photo, but previous ones were small black & white snapshots.2 Years Old How could anyone say that there is even a speck of a future DF here?

Clear Ayes said...

Anon 5:19 The Los Angeles Times has their daily crossword on line for 30 days. This link should take you to the puzzle you're looking for. Final Touches

Dennis said...

clear ayes, what a beautiful little girl! You're certainly living proof that when you got it, you got it, and it doesn't go away.

Anonymous said...

C.C.,

You didn't look like you were very happy in your photo. I can only assume you didn't want to have your picture taken.

We probably should be careful with the way we throw around the word "dysfunctional". It literally means "unable to function". Merium-Webster on-line defines "dysfunction" as "abnormal or unhealthy interpersonal behavior or interaction within a group". It's not usually meant as a compliment.

I'm sorry if I come across as a know-it-all. The fact is that, given that it is my job to teach English (at the university level no less!), I really should be good with words and, dammit, it embarrasses me when I don't understand things in these puzzles. I may be smarter than a fifth grader but I am apparently NOT smarter than somebody who never even went to school in North America at all. CC, my hat's off to you (if I were wearing a hat I mean)!

Martin

Dennis said...

martin, I first called our group the dysfunctionals as a joke; I don't think any of us care as to its literal meaning. We all know how it's meant, and I think most of us embrace it as meaning we're somewhat of a wacky collection of slightly skewed personalities. I, for one, would rather enjoy the company of my fellow DFs than worry about the specific meaning of the tags we may give each other.

Anonymous said...

Dennis,

I didn't mean any offense. It seems that while some of you are figuratively dysfunctional, I am apparently literally dysfunctional.

Martin

Dennis said...

martin, no offense taken; I just don't think any of us (well, maybe a couple) take ourselves all that seriously.
I do think your posts are extremely informative; seems like I learn something new every time I read one. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your insights with all of us.

Anonymous said...

Dennis,

Point taken. I guess being too serious is a form of dysfunctionality. I would have a hard time teaching kindergarten, for example: kids would be laughing and I'd say "Okay, I don't get it. What's so funny." I can suck the fun right out of a room that way.

Oh dear, I hope nobody here is offended by my kindergarten analogy. ;)

Martin

Bill said...

Dennis, Maybe a little "Off Center" or "Off The Wall"
(which happens to be the name of the group pictured) would also describe the multi-adventurous group here!!!

Clear Ayes said...

Here's a little music video I meant to share earlier. I mentioned yesterday that our party would have a couple of local cowboy bands. I found out that one of the groups have some YouTube videos. This particular one, about skinny dipping, should be enjoyed by all our sirens and siren fans. Faux Renwah

Barb B said...

Today I decided to drive 20 miles for an Oregonian newspaper so I could work the Sunday puzzle. I actually finished it without google and had fun with it, but when I came to the blog, you have a completely different crossword. Well. Huh.

The puzzle I worked was by Frank A. Longo, and had some fun theme clues and answers, like "Intelligent Londoner?" for "BrightBrit."

But where's the fun when you can't share it?

I love seeing your first picture C.C., and your's, Clear Eyes. Hope more people post theirs.

Anonymous said...

I didn't see a response to your question on the agaric in the blog so for what it's worth...the "stuff" on the cap is the remains of the "universal veil " which surrounds the mushroom in the button stage before it erupts from the soil.

D

Crockett1947 said...

@barb b, where did you drive to get The Oregonian?

Anonymous said...

@Barb B I also do the Sunday Puzzle in the Oregonian. It's a fun one to spend a lazy Sunday Morn with, and keep the ol' cluing skills honed for Monday. Since were both in the N/W and arrive at this party fashionably late we could share the agonies and ecstasies together. TTFN

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

Clear Ayes,
You were/are so pretty!

Anonymous said...

Martin said: "..I guess this is not really a SAKE ad. The language is in Korean, what the heck is George Clooney drinking then?"

I believe it's scotch. You must see Lost In Translation to understand that ad.

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

Anonymous 9:49am,
Thanks. I've seen the movie, could not remember the ads though.