google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Doug Petersen

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Jul 11, 2012

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Doug Petersen

Theme: Convenience Store Bandit!

The last word of each theme clue is typically writ large (at least 72 point) in tabloids to describe someone who has - oh, probably overstayed his time at a parking meter, or jumped the line at the ATM, or - of course! - held up the 7-11!

17A. "The Wonder Years" star : FRED SAVAGE He looked too innocent to have a name like that:



25A. Muppet with a voracious appetite : COOKIE MONSTER. His real name is Sid and he eats fruit and vegetables now.

45A. Online news site that merged with Newsweek in 2010 : THE DAILY BEAST. If you've never read Evelyn Waugh's satire on newspaper reporting "Scoop" I highly recommend you do.

59A. Onetime shelfmate of Count Chocula and Franken Berry : FRUIT BRUTE I needed the crosses for this - a cultural gap in my knowledge!

Hi everyone, Steve here and I thoroughly enjoyed Doug's puzzle. There's some really fresh stuff in here, some really nice cluing and a theme which was slick. I've got a couple of mini-themes myself which I'll wrap up with, but let's look at the rest of the puzzle.

Across:

1. As a shortstop, he won the A.L. Gold Glove in 2002 and 2003 : A-ROD. Alex Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees after 2003, and moved to third base. You'd wonder why on earth you'd do this, until you remember that Derek Jeter was doing rather nicely, thank you, at short for the Bronx Bombers.

5. Salsa scoopers : CHIPS

10. Predator of the deep : ORCA. Deep? Hmmmm ... I've seen film of killer whales pretty much dragging themselves onto the beach to grab a penguin or two. Shallows, much more apt.

14. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" co-star Rooney __ : MARA.

15. Convent outfit : HABIT

16. Shipbuilder in Genesis : NOAH

19. Tie with a cord : BOLO. Nice misdirection here, I was thinking of the verb, not the noun.

20. Seasickness : MAL DE MER. An awful thing in any language, but the French sounds a little more poetic.

21. Common cat name : FLUFFY. I'd be careful calling this dude "Fluffy" - it's MR Cat to you!



23. "You got it!" : YEP

24. Palomino's pace : GAIT. I was thinking "pace" in terms of speed, not in terms of method.

31. Hit on the noggin : BOP

32. Wise Athenian lawgiver : SOLON. We were taught the classics back at school in England in 1782 or something, and I remember this chap being known for legalizing brothels in Athens to promote "equality of opportunity". He looks a bit gruff to me.

33. November birthstone : TOPAZ

35. New coin of 2002 : EURO. I'd never really looked closely at one of these (other than to complain when the Coinstar machine rejected one from my change jar) but actually they're pretty neat with the map of Europe and the countries in the Euro zone identified.



37. English actor Hawthorne : NIGEL

39. Highest sudoku digit : NINE

40. Clog-clearing brand : DRANO. I love brand names like this. Now we have focus groups, test marketing and advertising agencies and we come up with bland. That's not the Ford Bland, or the Budweiser Bland, but it really should be. I think I'll go trademark it, it's only a matter of time.

42. Three-dimensional : CUBIC

44. Fire : CAN. I once set fire to a trash can and tried to put out the blaze by stamping on it, all that happened was the flaming trash can got wedged to my foot and shot fire up my pant leg. Hilarity in the office ensued.

48. Scandal fodder : DIRT

49. "Treasure Island" author's monogram : RLS. With a name like Robert Louis Stevenson you absolutely have to become a famous author so as not to waste a name like that.

50. Chemicals giant : DUPONT

53. Gazelle chasers : CHEETAHS. Gazelles can reach 50 MPH. They're feeling pretty smug until they get in a foot race with Mr. Cheetah, as he can hit 70 when he puts the paw to the pampas.

58. All-inclusive : A TO Z. Before the days of GPS, everyone in London had a copy of this classic Street Atlas in the car - we pronounced it the A to ZED of course.

61. Bogus : FAKE

62. Not yet firm, as Jell-O : UNSET. This could also be previously-firm.

63. Supportive contraction : ATTA. Only Girl or Boy. Never heard "Dad", "Mom" or "Cheetah".

64. Afterwards : THEN

65. Wild West show prop : LASSO. I always want to put another O at the end, then I run out of squares and leave it as it is.

66. Cuts off : LOPS. My LASSO always feels LOPPED.

Down:

1. Letters on a radio switch : AM/FM. Because Amplitude Modulation/Frequency Modulation doesn't fit on the switch.

2. __ avis : RARA. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that this means "Rare Bird". You can't look everything up on Google.

3. Russian city east of Kiev : OREL. Twinned with Hershiser, Pennsylvania. (OK, I made that up, but Hershiser, PA sounds totally believable).

4. Dude, to a hipster : DADDY-O.

5. Victor : CHAMPION

6. Privileged person : HAVE. As opposed to Have Not.

7. Support beam : IBAR. A place where Apple Computer fans hang out: iBar

8. Porky or Petunia : PIG

9. Tennis great Edberg : STEFAN

10. Thing to press to get started : ON BUTTON

11. Shingle site : ROOF

12. Farm youngster : CALF

13. "Yo, mate!" : AHOY

18. Goes looking for : SEEKS

22. Mention one by one : LIST. "Interminable" is often paired with this word at awards ceremonies.

24. Elapsed : GONE BY

25. Try to win over : COURT

26. TV tycoon born in Mississippi : OPRAH

27. Draw out : ELICIT

28. Skier's challenge : MOGUL. I once skied a mogul field in Verbier, Switzerland and only touched the first and the last one with my skis - for the rest (about 200 yards of downhill) I was bouncing from one to the next on my back.



29. Homeric works : EPICS

30. Charged : RAN AT

31. Gardener's preparation : BED

34. Branch of Buddhism : ZEN

36. Donut buy : ONE DOZEN. Two Cops.

38. Booklet for an operagoer : LIBRETTO. I've always wondered about this. I've never taken a Cliff's Notes translation to a Shakespeare play - why would I take a libretto to the opera?

41. Chief Norse god : ODIN

43. TMZ regular : CELEB

46. Crafty : ARTFUL

47. Starlike : ASTRAL

50. Bonkers : DAFT

51. Wyoming neighbor : UTAH. I'm going to Utah for the first time at the beginning of August. Completely the wrong season for MOGULS, which might not be a bad thing.

52. Elbow : POKE

53. Use bad words : CUSS

54. Makes haste : HIES

55. Prius, e.g. : AUTO

56. Internet address starter : HTTP. Because if we'd had to type "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Colon Forward Slash Forward Slash Double-U Double-U Double-U" the internet would never have taken off and you'd not be reading this blog.

57. Pirates' milieus : SEAS. Favorite clue today. Arrrr!

60. Basic biological molecule : RNA. Thank goodness for Ribonucleic Acid, or where would we all be?

Answer grid.

A couple of theme-lets made me laugh - we have CHIPS AHOY, COURT CHAMPION STEFAN and MOGUL CELEB OPRAH.

That's all from me - have a great 7/11 and try to keep cool!

Steve

76 comments:

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Steve and Friends. Finally a puzzle this week that I could just fly through! Loved this puzzle from the first fill. I immediately caught on to the theme with FRED SAVAGE. FRUIT BRUTE, however, was a new cereal to me. Probably more of a generational gap than a cultural gap, Steve

Favorite clue was Convent Outfit = HABIT.

My Internet service is down. On Monday, the company claimed it was an outage. Yesterday, they claimed it was my house only and will require a visit from a technician, who cannot come until Thursday. Something sounds a bit off about the whole thing.

Happy Wednesday.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Nice puzzle, Doug! Fun write-up, Steve! No complaints. Favorite answers: BOLO, MAL DE MER. Never heard of the cereal. In all of my life I (and families) have never eaten sugared cereal. Might as well eat the box.

Really hot and muggy here today. Couldn't go to sleep, so decided to put in my two cents.

Blogged very late last night, as usual. (BillG--have you seen it?)

Cheers!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Sailed through the majority of this one with the greatest of ease and then smacked into a wall in the SE corner. I had CHEETAHS, HTTP, SEAS and LOPS, but that was it. After a little thought, I got ASTRAL, but I was still looking at FRUITBR_TE and A__O and A_TA in complete bewilderment for awhile. I suppose had I thought about the theme I could have guessed the cereal, but I didn't. And I just couldn't figure out the clue "supportive contraction."

Well, my brain finally reengaged and I figured out ATTA and AUTO, which gave me the missing BRUTE. TADA!

On a more solemn note, my dad is back in the hospital for the nth time and it doesn't look like he'll be making it out this time. Kind thoughts are always appreciated, but just wanted to let you guys know that I may drop off the grid for a few days.

Nick said...

I don't know what's better, the fact that I solved today all my myself with no help/cheating, or the fact that I'm awake to comment!(I usually am asleep when this blog is in its prime.)

Unknowns I got from perps: MALDEMER (had to type guess the third vowel: e or o), SOLON, and DUPONT. Most others I could logically guess from what I had so far.

Hate to say it fermatprime, but the Mythbusters actually tested that ("Is the cereal box more healthful than the cereal?") and the fact is all modern sugary cereals have so many added vitamins and minerals, not to mention nutrients already there, that the myth is BUSTED. (Plus, common sense should say that sugar and milk is better than cardboard, period.)

FRUIT BRUTE (which I sussed out) can be seen in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, if you're interested.

Excuse me while I start screaming at my computer in regards to Cookie Monster succumbing to better health.

HeartRx said...

Fun, fun write up today Steve! When you are not blogging, do you have a stand-up comedy act??? Loved the paws to the pampas description of Mr. CHEETAH. And you totally reeled me in with your “Hershiser, PA” comment. It sounded logical to me!! (Your description of skiing that mogul run in Switzerland still has me chuckling…)

This was basically a top-to-bottom solve for me. But I landed on my butt at the bottom, kind of like Steve on the moguls. I was so sure that the last theme entry was FRUIT loops. But then I started looking at the perps and had to erase the letters in l-o-o-p-s one by one as they filled in. I’ve never heard of FRUIT BRUTE. But I see that he was a character who promoted FRUIT LOOPS, so I wasn’t too far off base.

Now that I look back over the grid, I see that NW corner of AROD-MARA-FRED SAVAGE with the OREL crossing could be brutal, especially when it’s thrown at you from the git-go. I have no idea how I got through that minefield…

Have a great day everyone!

Middletown Bomber said...

Not that hard of a Puzzle. Forgot that Fruit Brute (Per wikipedia it had lime flavored marshmellows.) was one of the monster cereals but I recall the commercials now. Though I never ate them as a kid. But I caught on to the theme at cookie monster Enjoy hump day all.

desper-otto said...

Technical DNF for me today. Oh, how I hate that. I'd written DADDIO which made "You got it!" = IEP. I wondered what that meant, but I just couldn't see that "Y"

Another hand up for not knowing FRUIT BRUTE.

Enjoyed your write-up, Steve. I can see why an opera-goer would want a LIBRETTO. It lists the lyrics which you probably couldn't understand as they were hollered at you in a high-pitched scream. Surprise! I'm not a big opera fan. Nor small operas, either.

Lemonade714 said...

Happy Wednesday.

Doug always delivers a fun challenge, and makes me use my whole brain. The OREL MARA crossing could be a toughie.

Barry, you have our prayers, take care.

HeartRx said...

Barry, I am so sorry to hear about your father. You and your family will be in my thoughts.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Doug Peterson, for a very good, puzzle. It was a little tough for me, though. Thank you, as well, Steve, for a great write-up.

This puzzle seemed more of a Thursday level for me. But, I got it.

Got AMFM and RARA right off the bat, but it took a while for the rest in the NW.

The North and the NE fell easily.

20A MAL DE MER was one of my last fills. OREL crossing it did not help. DADDYO came slow as I had HEP for 23A instead of YEP for a bit.

COOKIE MONSTER came easily. Never heard of THE DAILY BEAST or FRUIT BRUTE. Got them with perps and wags.

Had POSSE for 65A. Finally fixed that to LASSO once I thought about it. Never heard of LIBRETTO for 38D. Wagged that one.

DRANO was easy for 40A. Even though I refuse to use the stuff. Do not feel good about putting caustic stuff into our earth. Of course I occasionally have had to clean out a drain by taking it apart. But, I accept that.

It has finally cooled down. Last night was perfect. Our Drill team was marching and it was pleasant for a change. We just need some rain now.
Off to Pennsylvania tomorrow. Maybe near Hershiser, PA. I'll check the map.

Best of luck to your father and your family, Barry G.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

HeartRx said...

Oops...FRUIT BRUTE did not promote Fruit Loops - I misread the entry. That was actually the name of the cereal?? I don't think I have gone down that aisle in the grocery store for the past forty years or so, so it would be completely off my radar, anyway.

Lucina said...

Greetings, friends. Steve, you are a hoot! Thank you for that engaging exposition which had me chuckling. I liked your mini themes, too.

Since I just did all the weekend puzzles I recalled your quip about OREL being named for Hershiser and it stayed with me. Surprise!

This was an ARTFUL work by Doug Peterson and I enjoyed sashaying through it in almost no time.

Cultural note: the BOLO tie is the official Arizona state tie.

Barry G: I am so sorry about your father and be assured of my prayers for him and your family.

I'm going back to BED. Later.

Have a terrific Wednesday, everyone!

Mari said...

Fruit Brute didn't last long as his monster cereal counterparts - Count Chocula, Frankenberry and Boo Berry. They still sell the other three cereals in my area around Halloween. I tried the recently and they weren't as good as I remembered.

Great write up Steve. You had me laughing all the way. I loved our LASSO/LOPs comment and I'm trying to picture you stomping out that garbage can fire!

I didn't know SOLON, NIGEL or MAL DE MER. However, I'm sure I'd suffer MAL DE MER if I set foot on a boat as I tend to get motion sick fairly easily.

Thoughts and prayers to you and your dad, Barry. I hope you all have a nice day.

Yellowrocks said...

Quite easy Thursday puzzle with plenty of fresh cluing by Doug Peterson and really funny blogging by Steve.

I never heard of FRUT BRUTE, but the perps and the theme made is easy. Fermatprime I enjoyed your humorous remark that you'd rather eat the box.

Y'all have never heard of DADDIO? You make me feel old. It was very popular used as "dude" in the 50's.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your Dad, Barry.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Fairly easy sail through the SEAS today - no MAL-DE MER. Briefly paused in the SE at the AUTO/ATTA cross looking for a trip-up, but was sure about HTTP. Liked 47d, ASTRAL Wasn't too sure in the NW about MARA and DADDY O, but guessed right. No lookups needed, no other issues.

Barry G - We will keep your family in our thoughts and prayers

Another nice day here but we need rain.

Mari said...

Steve: I also loved your "Two cops" comment!

OK everybody, FLUFFY got me thinking. A lot of us are pet people - what are the names of your pets?

I have two black cats, Sam and Manson, and I have a grey tabby cat named Ozzy.

kazie said...

Barry,
Very sorry to hear of your Dad's situation. My thoughts will be with you in the next few days.

For me, this was a fun puzzle, despite being totally thrown at the start with the names in the NW. I had to guess them all--AROD, OREL, MARA. I do know FRED SAVAGE. However, like with OPRAH, it took me about 10 minutes cogitating to come up with FRED. Not only are names a problem because I don't take them in too much, but lately even the ones that are deeply imprinted in my memory take an age to surface. I hope that isn't the portent of things worse to come.

In the SE my only glitch was trying to think of something more specific than AUTO for Prius, but that wasn't a serious holdup.

Steve,
I also enjoyed your humorous touches today, and I figured Marti would appreciate your MOGUL experience.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Mr. Peterson for a very nice puzzle - and Steve, for your awesome blog. Your humor ( humour ? ) is not entirely wasted - I lost at least an ounce chuckling over your comments .... only 60 more pounds to go.

- I wanted a body part for a 'shingle' site, but it was not family friendly.
- Solon, is the biggest suburb of Cleveland, OH, by area, and up there in per capita income. Also, thanks to a large preponderance of certain minorities like Jewish and Chinese Americans, it is also considered one of the 'best' school systems in Ohio...

As the famous educator from Harvard said, the reputation of a school system is at least 50% dependent on the type of students it gets.

For teachers interested in innovative education, consider googling Salman Khan ( of the Khan Academy, NOT the movie star ! - ). His video courses are incredible !

- I am also a foodie ( like you ? ) and in effort to lose weight, I having been trying a 'strange foods' diet.... cooking strange foods, in the hope that I may not overeat. Hasn't helped so far.

desper-otto said...

Mari, we've got a black cat, Moe (Shemp and Curly have passed on), a Maine Coon named BOS (for the Big Orange Spot on top of her head), a siamese, Hymie, a tabby Auggie, a manx Tadpole, a white Tweety, and a grey and white named Eeoo -- as in Eeoo shall not be named. All of them are rescue cats. Half an acre of our lot is wooded with another three acres of woods behind us, so the cats have plenty of room to roam. It's odd that our neighbor across the road also has a passel of cats, and none of the cats (neither theirs nor ours) ever cross the road.

Anony-Mouse said...

Oops,

ALT QOD: If a farmer fills his barn with grain, he gets mice. But if he leaves it empty, he gets actors. ~ Bill Vaughn.

Mari said...

desper-otto: You have some great names there! I LOVE BOS and Eeoo - how clever!

Anonymous said...

Even though it was easy enough to get, 5D is a bad clue. Someone can be a victor but not necessarily a champion. Barry, I'm surprised you didn't nitpick this one.

Qli said...

Comforting thoughts to you and your family, Barry.

I got everything today except for 1A. I had AREL for the city, and ARAD sounded like it could have been a baseball player.....

MAL DE MER came easily, thanks to Sister Helen and her college French class.

Convent outfit was my favorite clue today. We kids used to pretend to be nuns by running around with dishtowels tied around our hair!

Thanks for an enjoyable puzzle. and Steve, you are a hoot!

HeartRx said...

Mari, we have two ten-year-old female cats (both rescues) named Cassatt (after the artist Mary Cassatt) and Zoe (from the book "Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger). I didn't name either one - those are the names they came with!

CrossEyedDave said...

Thoughts & prayers to Barry G.

Anonymous said...

Happy Wednesday! Love the blog and always go to it after I've done the puzzle.

I believe the reason for a Libretto is because most opera's aren't in English, but Italian or German, etc. Shakespeare is usually done in English, therefore no Libretto - it's not needed.

Warren said...

Hi gang, Best regards to Barry G during a rough patch.

I've never eaten any of the sugar laced cereals so I didn't know about Fruit Brute!

Here's a wiki article with more than you need to know about monster themed breakfast cereals.

Anonymous said...

The clue for Cookie Monster was wrong. Cookie Monster was on Sesame Street, not a Muppet! Had me stumped at first.

Hahtoolah said...

Barry G: sorry to hear about your dad. I remember when he was so sick last time. I know this is a very difficult time for your and your family. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Anonymous said...

How do you not love a puzzle that has Fruit Brute? I've never eaten it, but as pointed out, it has developed somewhat of a cult following thanks mainly to Pulp Fiction.

I agree that the schools in Solon, OH, have a great reputation. And, I'm sure the per capita income plays a large role, but I disagree with the remainder of the comment.

Barry: good luck to you & your family.

Anonymous said...

Never heard of FRUIT BRUTE.

Cookie Monster is indeed a Muppet. The Muppets started on Sesame Street!

Hahtoolah, have you checked your computer for the DNS Changer malware? Since it's just you, and started on Monday, it fits.

Argyle said...

Aww, you crazy Anons; just when we're ready to ban the whole lot of you, you come through with insightful comments. Too bad we couldn't weed out the snarky ones.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

Kudos to Doug Peterson for a fun romp. Never heard of Fruit Brute but saw lots of " habits" over 12 years of Catholic schooling. Great expo, Steve; your Irish wit and " humour" are much appreciated!

I no longer have a pet but did have a beautiful and loving Bichon Frise named, appropriately enough, Fluffy. We got her when she was 6 months old from a family who couldn't keep her for various reasons. They had named her Dakota but, no offense to the states, we thought Fluffy was a far more suitable name for the ball of fluff that she was. We had her for 12 1/2 wonderful years.

Barry, I'm so sorry to hear of your dad's condition; my thoughts and prayers go to you and your family.

Have a super Wednesday everyone.

Bill G. said...

Barry G., best wishes for you and your father. Those years when my parents were failing were the worst for me.

I wasn't real happy with CUBIC being the answer for "Three dimensional."

Fermatprime, I just went back to read your post late last night. I don't agree. You can get 34 with six 5s (30) and two 7s (14). I'm curious why none of the rest of the folks who seem to enjoy math gave this a try. Too easy? Tried but didn't like it? I enjoyed it years ago when I first saw it at a math conference, maybe because a friend of mine and I were able to puzzle it out.

Ron Worden said...

Good afternoon to all and happy hump day. Thanks to Doug P. for a fun puzzle and Steve always funny. My thoughts go out to you Barry G. as it is never easy dealing with sick family. We have one cat a grey and white american short-hair named Thomas. We got home from our weekend vacation last night. Had a great time in Orlando then Daytona beach. Now back to the normal stuff at home. Have a great day to all. RJW.

Bill G. said...

Oops! That's four 5s (20) and two 7s (14) with 20 + 14 = 34. I guess I need more V-8 and coffee.

Blue Iris said...

Barry, your Dad sounds like a strong, courageous man to have made it through 8 hospitalizations. Praying for comfort and peace for him and your family.

When we were a struggling newly married couple, my twin teenage brothers came to stay with us for the summer. They said they wanted Count Chocula and Boo Berry. I wanted to be the nice big sister and indulged them until I realized they were eating a whole box at breakfast between the two of them. Barely had enough money to feed them the rest of the day. FRUITBRUTE was not an enjoyable fill. Live and learn.

Steve,if you ever open at the comedy club I want to be there. Laughed all the way through your write-up.

Misty said...

Oh dear, Barry G., so sorry to hear about your dad, and my heart goes out to you.

Wonderful puzzle this morning, Doug--I just loved it. And, Steve, your themelets were delightful!

Hands up for never having heard of FRUIT BRUTE.

When we still had an opera company in our area, many of the operas were in Italian, or more rarely, in German or French. Luckily we didn't need a LIBRETTO because the dialogue was projected onto a screen over the stage. Otherwise we wouldn't have had a clue what was going on.

Desper-otto, you clearly are an ALLEY CAT's (see yesterday's puzzle) best friend!

Have a great Wednesday, everybody!

Husker Gary said...

These adjectives would have been an apt description of our weather last week.

Musings
-oRel/maRa was natickish but fell to common sense and some logic. Very straightforward otherwise.
-Wonder Years was a big deal for a few years. Danica McKellar’s new career is in writing math books for kids and appearances on Big Bang
-I keep thinking I’m going to check to see if the trainers are back in the water with the ORCAs at Sea World. Haven’t yet. Anyone know?
-I had a BOLO tie when I was 10.
-We have joggers pass our house. Talk about your different GAITs!
-Just down the watery pike from Athens, the brothels were doing great business in Pompeii. I wonder what happened to that city.
-Some EURO countries are stuck trying to bail out others who have unsustainable welfare systems.
-A teacher in Lincoln was mad at administration and so she set a FIRE in her waste CAN. It burned down the entire central office building and she’s now in jail
-Porky’s famous last words(:08)
-MIL has shingles on her legs and arms. Not fun.
-A dozen ears of corn here are anywhere from 13 – 15. It’s everywhere.
-Tom Cruises CELEB divorce does not interest me but I enjoyed his Valkyrie movie on AMC last night.

CrossEyedDave said...

Wees on Steve's write up, and the SE corner. I had to go red letter to finish.

Cookie Monster

Blue Iris said...

Desper-otto, love your creative cat names! Did you see the new Three Stooges movie? It didn't last too long at the theater. We may watch it on pay-per-view.

Mari, thanks for asking. My daughter said she was going to name a cat "Miracle" because it would be a miracle if she ever got a cat. We put a rescued tabby under the Christmas tree. It had a big red bow on the cat carrier that said Miracle. The kids gave it a middle name "Noel".

We now have a 11 year old dog, an American Eskimo. Her registered name is "Easter Lily". We call her Lily.

I received a black and white kitty for Valentine's Day this year. We decided to keep the tradition and name her "Valentine Rose". We call her Valentine.

Lucina said...

CED: That's a delightful cartoon of cookie MONSTER. Thank you.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Steve, you are a funny guy. Laughed out loud at your comments. Thank you for writing them. Very sharp of you to pick up on 7-11!

Fun puzzle today, even though the NW corner almost stumped me. Didn't know MARA or OREL, and was not sure about AROD. Once I realized MAL DE MER was not one word I was able to fill it, took a wag at AROD, and then the rest came along.

Never heard of FRUIT BRUTE but it was gettable from the perps, which is the whole idea of a crossword puzzle anyway.

Best wishes to you, your dad, and your family, Barry G.

lois said...

Good Afternoon Steve, CC, et al., here comes a Doug Peterson.. what a great week in puzzledom! Steve, thank you for the laughs. Loved the iBar for Apple computer fans hangout. LOL’d many times w/your write up. Very well done. That gazelle doesn’t have to worry about outrunning the cheetah, just outrunning the gazelle next to him. Safety in numbers…for some anyway.

Never heard of Fruit Brute either but then I miss a lot b/c I’m in a hurry and focused in the grocery store. I was wondering who ‘victor’ was for 5D champion, which the perps got for me. duh! Thought of Santa baby on the ROOF for ON BUTTON, on Comet, on Cupid, etc… guess I’m a little excited about him coming in my chimney soon. Wear your seatbelt, Santa darlin’.

Barry: so sorry about your Dad. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. There’s a lot of that going around here lately. I am so sorry.

Thank you, Marti, Lucina, and Lemonade for your kind words for Aunt Fra. 101 years old. Wow!

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Barry G. Please allow me to add my best wishes and thoughts to you and your family.

Steve: a terrific write up. Some very funny comments, as has been noted. And anonymous at 9:59 has it correctly. A libretto is needed if you want to know the words in that most operas are in foreign languages, but many of us know the plot and don't need to know the words. And your comment about a "high pitched scream" tells me that you have not appreciated the artistry in opera. To each his own. Before I lost 80% of my hearing opera was my favorite entertainment.
Now I can no longer appreciate what I'm hearing.

CrazyCat said...

Barry - my thoughts are with you and your dad.

Another lovable puzzle today! I thought the fill was delightful and there was not one irksome abbreviation. Thanks Doug. Great job!

Steve - I enjoyed your witty write-up. The description of your mogul experience was hilarious. So was your remark about FLUFFY.

I noticed a mini nautical theme with ORCA, NOAH, AHOY, MAL DE MER and RLS.

I have a FLUFFY gray named Jasmine or Jazzy for short. My part Maine Coon is Cuba or just Q and my youngster is Zinfindel or sometimes, Zinford.

Count me in for not knowing FRUIT BRUTE.

My alma mater, U of DEL, is often referred to as the University of DUPONT.

Doug P said...

Thanks for the fun write-up and comments. Rich was a little leery of the FRUIT BRUTE entry. That cereal's not exactly a household name. (Lime-flavored marshmallows!) I deliberately made it the last theme entry, so the theme itself would help make it more obvious.

Anonymous said...

I truly enjoyed this puzzle, even though I DNF because of the mid east. I wanted to spell it draino, which didn't fit, and even though we just returned from two weeks of using EUROs I couldn't suss that clue out. Sigh! (Some of the others were WAGS. And I didn't know 59A was talking about cereals. Guessed candy bars, but I still managed to get it, mostly from the perps.

Anonymous said...

Cheers

Yellowrocks said...

Hahtool and ANON @10:32.
I had trouble gettin on the Internet on Monday afternoon and suspected DNS chnager malware, but that should have shut me down in the AM. I ran Glary Utilities including Start Up Manager, and that brought me back on the Internet quickly. I thought of you, but hestitated to say anything because I am not a techie. This might help.

Warren said...

My wife and I also thought Drano should have an 'i' in it until I took a look at a can of crystal Drano I keep in my bathroom, the 'n' is elongated into a snake trap pipe.

lois said...

HG: Do you know what that teacher's issues were w/her administration that set her off so dramatically? I bet a lot of us on here could relate but not to the degree of combustion that she reached... close tho' LOL.

Doug P: thanks for stopping in. It's always so neat to hear from the constructors.

Crazy Cat: good catch on the nautical subtheme, esp RLS.

Bill G. said...

Gary and Lois, when our new middle school was built and after we moved in, there were lots of issues that peeved me though not enough to set fire to anything. The school was designed for A/C but to save money, the administration didn't install it. As a result, some of the rooms had poor ventilation and got too hot in the summer. The teacher would prop the classroom doors open with a doorstop and then were told that was against fire regulations. The new fire alarms were deafening. They scared and annoyed me and the students rather than just alert us. We were told it was 'code.' Ah well...

It's supposed to get up into the 80s here today but it's only 70 so far.

Mari said...

I agree that Steve would make a good commedian. I've paid good money to see boring guys do stand-up. Wish I could have swapped out Steve!

I love everybody's kitty names! Yesterday I made the mistake of logging onto the local humane society's website and looked at the animals up for adoption. There are some real cuties looking for good homes.

The strangest names I gave cats were Toni Lombardo and Joe Aiello. The real Tony and Joe were Chicago mobsters who started out as friends and ended up enemies. Joe had Tony killed in 1928 and somebody took care of Joe in 1930.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, A puzzle to give us some puzzling moments. Heart RX, I put in Fruit Loops also, and when Fruit Brute emerged, I just scratched my head. I've never heard about that cereal.

I loved the theme, though it was a bit "violent". Fred Savage was dredged up from way back.

Steve, great writeup. To answer your question about taking a libretto to an opera. When I was in college and taking a classical music course (we had time way back then to indulge our senses in music and such)the librettos we purchased as class texts were in English. For those of us who are Foreign Language challenged they made the Operas come to life and made much more meaningful. Once we understood the words, the story came to life.

Barry, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. Of course, kind thoughts will be coming your way from the West coast. Take care.

My granddaughter received a new kitten for her 6th grade promotion. She named her Catniss after the Hunger games heroine. I thought that was a super name for a kitten.

Have a great evening, everyone.

Lucina said...

Mari, I don't have a cat but my dog was named Menina. She was a lovable papillion who lived 17 years.

My daughter has had cats named Peaches and Cleo. She currently has two chihuahas named Sonya and Damien. Her previous dog was a chow mix named Keesha and her snake's name eludes as I'd rather forget about that!

Husker Gary said...

Musings

-Lois, here is what I could find on why the Lincoln teacher set the fire. Life can be a series of unintended consequences. I can’t think of anything I did in anger that turned out well. Can you?
-Bill, we had A/C in our cheaply built building but it only worked in the dead of winter and the day after the kids left in May. We could not open any windows and it got stifling in there. It was always 68F in the principal’s office. Hmmm…
-I thought maybe the FRUIT BRUTES were in the same aisle as the SCOOTER PIES.
-You don’t need the libretto to be moved by the music and the person singing this. Even Simon was impressed! Nessun Dorma is my favorite aria, BTW.

Irish Miss said...

HG @ 4:05

That is my favorite aria, also. Listening to it gives me chills. Did you ever see the movie The Killing Fields? This aria was played throughout a good part of the movie; it was so powerful against the backdrop of some horrific scenes.

Husker Gary said...

Irish, here is another violent scene from a movie, Charlie Wilson’s War with beautiful music in the background. In this case it is And He Shall Purify from Handel’s Messiah.

Marge said...

Hi all,
This was a nice puzzle,I got most of it done. More than I usually do on Wed.

Our 1st cat was Oringie Rippels as he was a typical yellow/white cat. Our first dog was Snoopy-he had that name when we got him. Our son had a Doberman named Charmaine (we called her Char). She was a nice dog,never mean. We had other cats thru the years the last one we inherited from our son, his name was Mouser. He earned his keep by being a good mouser.

Lucina, we also had custody of our son's snakes for awhile. One got loose in the basement when my DH was in Mo. visiting his mother. It was 6 foot long. Some friends came an helped put him back in his terrarium. I hate snakes!

Have a good evening all.
Marge

Yellowrocks said...

My all time favorite cat, a rescue cat, was named Kahlua for his dark brown silky, smooth coat. Beautiful.

His first rescuers returned him because as a kitten he liked to "play fight" and gently nipped fingers. He gentled as he aged and only "play fought" when encouraged to. He was very loving and a constant companion, part of my every activity at home. He sat on my lap and slept in my bed.

As a teacher, I frequently sat on the floor and sorted examples of my students' work into portfolios. Kahlua would get into the act rolling on the piles and redistributing the papers. I didn’t mind, because he was so precious and loving.

After 12 years he died of cancer. I sorely missed Kahlua and no other cat has ever been able to take his place.

Bill G. said...

My first cat was named "Cat" after Breakfast at Tiffany's. She was a sweet calico and would meet me at my garage when I got home from work. She would also walk about a block down the pathway to meet me as I was walking home from grocery shopping. She jumped up on my bed one morning and proceeded to have her litter of kittens. They slept on half of my single bed for several days until I decided to take my bed back. I put her and her kittens on a nice towel in front of the wall heater. When I got home from work, she had picked up each kitten in her mouth and jumped back up on the middle of my bed. I had several other nice cats but Cat was the nicest.

Warren said...

1st Cat's eh,

I called my first cat 'kitty' and she had 2 litters of kittens before I got her fixed. That was back in MN days when I moved from East Bethel to Minnetonka I took kitty with me but the first day I let her out of the new house she got run over by a car. I think that she was trying to find her way back to the old house.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Barry - Sorry to hear about your dad. Stay strong. We're all supporting you.

Steve - outstanding write up. Truly, I enjoyed it more than the puzzle, which to me, alas, is not one of Doug's better efforts.

The theme seems a bit inconsistent. Took a swag at "R" for the MARA - OREL Natick and got lucky, but am not appreciative.

Never, ever heard of a FRUIT BRUIT.

Really^ Nth power dislike Prius as a clue for AUTO. The thing about a Prius is that it is quite distinct from most other AUTOS. Would you clue LAS VEGAS as "city"? I think not.

That made a quasi-Natick out of a very simple word.

it's time to retire "RARA" and "A To Z".

Never knew A ROD played SS, and forgot he had a life before the Yankees.

We never were without internet access, as I was led to believe would happen. For the last several days, though, have been busy, distracted, and otherwise preoccupied.

U-Verse installation took the whole day yesterday, but all systems are now go!

Jazz Fest coming up Sunday - need to get in some practice time.

Cool regards!
JzB perhaps BUMPA-O should be my new alias.

Lemonade714 said...

My first and only cat was Desiree, a LILACSiamese. Smartest sweetest to me animal in the world, not very nice to anyone else. I only knew dogs, so she fetched and came when I called her name

CrazyCat said...

My very first cat was a big old tom named Lloyd. He was a sweetie, but also a ladies man, so he would disappear for days on end.

Then we had a little black and white named Solomon. He used to ride with us in my dad's convertible to the Dairy Queen. He just disappeared one day. Probably hitched a ride with someone else.

When I was 7, we got our Siamese, Shalimar. She fetched and retrieved like Lemon's cat. She lived until she was 21. I was married for two years when she went to kitty cat heaven.

Chickie, Katniss Everdeen is a wonderful name for a kitten.

We never had a snake, but we did have a pet rat named Frisky. She was very cute once I got to know her.

Hahtoolah said...

My black long-haired cat is named Midnight. How original is that!! She is 18 years old.

lois said...

HG: Thank you for the clip. I feel for that woman. Some ppl become power-mongers when promoted and can ruin lives. I've seen it too often here. I wish there were more checks and balances in this system besides filing grievances, which is what she should've done. What a waste and sad story. Thank you.

Love y'alls cat stories. Sweet. The Siamese I had growing up was named for an exchange student from Iran...Monooch..who lived w/us for a semester. Strange man. Stranger cat. The cat would get up on the highest point of a buffet in the dining room and pounce on the next person to enter the room thru a nearby door. Funniest thing when you're not the victim. He learned not to pounce on my dad. Loved to watch that cat. Funny stuff.

CrazyCat said...

Lois, my Jazzy did the same thing. Every time we had a house guest, she would terrorize them. I used to get cards mailed to my "cat from hell."

lois said...

Crazy Cat: that's hilarious! LMAO!!

fermatprime said...

Nick: Of course I do not believe in that myth. However, all that sugar is no good for you!

BillG: It is easy to prove that for a, b relatively prime, there are positive solutions to n = ax + by with n ≥ ab. I did not take the time to check out the 34 case for (a, b) = (5, 7). Shame on me! What is your generalization?

Barry: So sorry to hear of your problems.

I have had many cats over the years. My favorite was named Adversity. She drowned in the pool on July 4 when my @#$%^& neighbor to the north was shooting off an immense amount of (illegal) fireworks.

Cheers!

lois said...

Ferma: that is soooo sad about your cat! How terribly tragic! Thunder sends my Shelby under the bed.. but so does the door bell. She's the poster scaredy cat! I am so sorry for you. Dang!

Steve said...

Thanks for all the plaudits, but I do the easy bit, it's the poor constructors that do all the work and all you gals and guys that comment which makes it fun to do this!

Thoughts to Barry and his family.

Bill G. said...

Fermatprime, I got that the largest impossible number for (5,7) is 23. After a lot of experimentation and looking for patterns, my generalization for (a,b) is ab - a - b or ab - (a + b).

Lucina said...

Argyle: Thank you for explaining FWIW. I just don't understand why words have to be so abbreviated! Guess that's why I don't text.

fermatprime said...

BillG: Do you have a proof of this theorem?