LA Times Crossword Answers 8 Sep 2017, Friday










Constructed by: Alex Eaton-Salners

Edited by: Rich Norris

Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

Quicklink to comments

Theme: Pieces of 8

In today’s grid we have several instances of two letters O sitting one over the other. Each pair of letters O resemble the number 8, and are used as such in today’s themed answers:

  • 30D. Treasure chest coins represented graphically by two consecutive letters in six puzzle answers (including this one) : PIECES OF 8
  • 3D. ’70s-’80s show about a big family : 8 IS ENOUGH
  • 7D. Obsolete audio technology : 8-TRACK
  • 9D. Federal housing assistance program : SECTION 8
  • 32D. 1875 Alcott novel : 8 COUSINS
  • 40D. Budget motel chain : SUPER 8

Bill’s time: 8m 37s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Short pants? : TROU

“Trou” is short for “trousers”.

“Trousers” are pants, the garment covering the lower body and each leg separately. Ultimately, the word “trousers” evolved from the Erse word “triubhas” that described close-fitting shorts. Back in the 1600s there was a colorful saying:

A jellous wife was like an Irish trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle

5. “Gloria in Excelsis __” : DEO

“Gloria in excelsis Deo” is a Latin hymn, the title of which translates as “Glory to God in the highest”.

8. Where JFK, Nixon and Carter served : US NAVY

Future US president John F. Kennedy served with the US Navy during WWII. Famously, Lieutenant Kennedy was assignedto a Motor Torpedo Squadron. Kennedy’s most noted command was Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109. PT-109 was sunk in an engagement with a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands. The story of the crew’s evasion of the Japanese and subsequent rescue is told in the 1963 film “PT 109”.

Future US president Richard Nixon might have claimed exemption from the draft during WWII as he was a Quaker from birth. Instead, he sought a commission in the US Navy and was made a lieutenant junior grade in the Naval Reserve in 1942. After a year-long stint in Iowa, Lieutenant Nixon requested sea duty and was assigned to the South Pacific Theater. Nixon was in charge of several logistic operations supporting combat while stationed at Guadalcanal and Green Island in Papua New Guinea.

President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter (JEC) is a graduate of the US Naval Academy (USNA). Carter served in the Navy on surface ships and submarines, and chose to pursue a career in the submarine service as he was interested in nuclear power and believed it had a great future in submarine design. As a result, he became an expert in nuclear propulsion. In 1952, the Navy sent the young Carter to the Chalk River Laboratories in Canada to lead the US effort to shutdown the reactor after an accident and partial meltdown of a reactor core. He and his team had to be lowered into the leaking reactor core for mechanical disassembly, staying there for only seconds at a time to minimise exposure to radiation. Decades later as US President, it was this experience that influenced Carter’s decision not to complete the development of the neutron bomb.

14. Brazil’s largest city : SAO PAULO

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

16. Military builder : SEABEE

The Seabees are members of the Construction Battalions (CB) of the US Navy, from which the name “Seabee” originates. There’s a great 1944 movie called “The Fighting Seabees” starring John Wayne that tells the story of the birth of the Seabees during WWII. The Seabees’ official motto is “Construimus. Batuimus”, Latin for “We build. We fight.” The group’s unofficial motto is “Can Do!”

18. MLB single-season recordholder for most hits : ICHIRO

Ichiro Suzuki plays baseball for the New York Yankees. Suzuki holds quite a few batting records including the single-season record for base hits (262), and a record-breaking streak of 10 consecutive 200-hit season. Ichiro Suzuki is a huge celebrity in his native-Japan. His agent says that if you address fan mail to “Ichiro Suzuki, Japan”, he’ll get your letter …

20. Musical set in Manhattan’s East Village : RENT

The musical “Rent” by Jonathan Larson is based on the Puccini opera “La bohème”. “Rent” tells the story of struggling artists and musicians living in the Lower East Side of New York, and is set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic. We saw “Rent” on Broadway quite a few years ago and we were very disappointed …

22. Shooting marble : TAW

In the game of marbles, the “taw” is the shooting marble, and is shot at the “ducks”.

23. “Xanadu” gp. : ELO

The title song of the 1980 movie “Xanadu” was performed by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and Olivia Newton-John (who starred in the film). Despite the popularity of ELO around the world, the song “Xanadu” was the band’s only number one hit back in their homeland of the UK.

24. Youngest Simpson : MAGGIE

Maggie Simpson is the youngest child of Marge and Homer Simpson on the animated tv show “The Simpsons”. Maggie is voiced by Nancy Cartwright, who also voices Bart Simpson.

28. Somewhat, to Saint-Saëns : POCO

“Poco” is an Italian word for “little”, and is used in musical notation to mean “a little”.

Camille Saint-Saens was one of the great French composers in my opinion. Saint-Saëns composed during the Romantic Era, and it was he who introduced the symphonic poem to France. Even his light and airy “The Carnival of the Animals” is a lovely work.

31. Spanish pronoun : ESO

In Spanish, if it’s not “esto” (this) or “eso” (that) then it’s the “otro” (other).

32. Pen pal’s greeting? : OINK

That would be a pig pen.

36. No-hitter, usually : SHUTOUT

That would be baseball.

39. Hogwarts subjects : MAGICS

In J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” universe, The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by the four most brilliant witches and wizards of their time: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each of the founders lent their name to a House in the school, i.e. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

40. Ford maverick? : SOLO

Han Solo is the space smuggler in “Star Wars” played by Harrison Ford. Ford was originally hired by George Lucas just to read lines for actors during auditions for “Star Wars”, but over time Lucas became convinced that Ford was right for the pivotal role of Han Solo.

The concept of being one’s own person, going it alone, is popularly known as being a “maverick”. In the days of open range ranching, a maverick was a steer that didn’t carry a brand. An unbranded animal was usually the result of a branded animal giving birth on the open range, with the young growing up without having being captured and claimed by an owner. The use of the name “maverick” comes from Texas rancher Samuel Maverick, who refused to brand his cattle. He stated that he did not want to inflict pain on his cattle, and so laid claim to any cattle on the range that weren’t branded. His stubborn refusal to cooperate with the neighboring ranchers gave rise to our modern description of a single-minded individual as a “maverick”.

41. Windy City transit initials : CTA

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)

It seems that the derivation of Chicago’s nickname as the “Windy City” isn’t as obvious as I would have thought. There are two viable theories. First that the weather can be breezy, with wind blowing in off Lake Michigan. The effect of the wind is exaggerated by the grid-layout adopted by city planners after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The second theory is that “windy” means “being full of bluster”. Sportswriters from the rival city of Cincinnati were fond of calling Chicago supporters “windy” in the 1860s and 1870s, meaning that they were full of hot air in their claims that the Chicago White Stockings were superior to the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

42. Blue Shield offering : HMO

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association formed in 1982 with the merger of Blue Shield and Blue Cross Association in 1982. Blue Cross health insurance plans were established in 1929 based on a plan used at Baylor University in Dallas. Blue Shield plans were first developed by employers in lumber and mining camps in the Pacific Northwest in 1910.

44. Hardy title teenager : TESS

The full name of Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel is “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented”. When it was originally published, “Tess …” received very mixed reviews, largely because it addressed some difficult sexual themes including rape, and sexual double standards (attitudes towards men vs women). I suppose the most celebrated screen adaptation is Roman Polanski’s “Tess” released in 1979. Polanski apparently made “Tess” because his wife, Sharon Tate, gave him Hardy’s novel as her last act before she was murdered by the Manson family. There is a dedication at the beginning of the movie that just says “To Sharon”.

45. Carpathian Mountains locale : EUROPE

The Carpathian Mountains are the second longest range in Europe (after the Scandinavian Mountains), and run from the Czech Republic through Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Romania and into Serbia.

47. Do diner work : BUS

A busboy is a person who assists a waiter, mainly by clearing tables. The verb “to bus” arose in the early 1900s and is probably a reference to the wheeled cart that was used to carry dishes.

48. Roadie’s box : AMP

A roadie is someone who loads, unloads and sets up equipment for musicians on tour, on the road.

51. Product made from fermented rice : SAKE

We refer to the Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice as “sake”. We’ve gotten things a bit mixed up in the West. “Sake” is actually the word that the Japanese use for all alcoholic drinks. What we know as sake, we sometimes refer to as rice wine. Also, the starch in the rice is first converted to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. This is more akin to a beer-brewing process than wine production, so the end product is really a rice “beer” rather than a rice “wine”.

52. Game typically with 81 squares : SUDOKU

Number puzzles similar to our modern-day Sudoku first appeared in French newspapers in the late 1800s. The format that we use today was created by Howard Garns, a 74-year-old freelance puzzle constructor from Connersville, Indiana and first published in 1979. The format was introduced in Japan in 1984 and given the title of “Sūji wa dokushin ni kagiru”, which translates to “the digits are limited to one occurrence”. The rather elaborate Japanese title was eventually shortened to Sudoku. No doubt many of you are fans of Sudoku puzzles. I know I am …

62. Muesli bit : OAT

“Muesli” is a Swiss-German term describing a breakfast serving of oats, nuts, fruit and milk. “Muesli” is a diminutive of the German word “Mues” meaning “puree”. Delicious …

Down

1. Russia had one in the 20th century : TSAR

The last ruler of Imperial Russia was Tsar Nicholas II (of the House of Romanov). Famously, the Tsar and his family were murdered in 1918 in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, Russia by members of the Bolshevik secret police. The Tsar’s youngest daughter was 16-year-old Anastasia and rumors of her escape have persisted for years. The rumors grew with the help of numerous women who claimed to be Anastasia. In 2009, DNA testing finally proved that the remains of all of the Tsar’s immediate family, including Anastasia, have been found and identified.

3. ’70s-’80s show about a big family : 8 IS ENOUGH

“Eight Is Enough” is a comedy drama that originally ran from 1977 to 1981 on ABC. Star of the show was Dick Van Patten who played Tom Bradford, a newspaper columnist and father of eight children. The show was inspired by the real life situation of journalist Tom Braden who wrote a book called “Eight is Enough”. Braden co-hosted CNN’s “Crossfire” for ten years with Pat Buchanan and then Robert Novak.

5. “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” e.g. : DUET

“Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” is a lovely 1983 duet recorded by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack.

6. Brother of Peyton : ELI

Eli Manning plays as quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli’s brother Peyton Manning retired from football as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 2015. Eli and Peyton’s father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback. Eli, Peyton and Archie co-authored a book for children titles “Family Huddle” in 2009. It describes the Mannings playing football together as young boys.

7. Obsolete audio technology : 8-TRACK

“8-track” is a common term for the sound recording technology more correctly called “Stereo 8”. 8-track became popular for a while because its magnetic tape came in a cartridge that was convenient to use in a car.

9. Federal housing assistance program : SECTION 8

The Section 8 program provides federal subsidies to private landlords so that they can rent housing to qualified low income tenants. The title of the program is a reference to Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, which authorizes such payments.

24. Pyrénées peak : MONT

The Pyrénées is a mountain range that runs along the border between Spain and France. Nestled between the two countries, high in the mountains, is the lovely country of Andorra, an old haunt of my family during skiing season …

25. Mike of “Next Friday” : EPPS

Mike Epps is a stand-up comedian and actor from Indianapolis. Epps played Day-Day Jones in the 2000 stoner film “Next Friday”, and in the 2002 sequel “Friday After Next”.

27. Org. that inspects workplaces : OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector and regulates just one government agency, namely the US Postal Service.

28. Any of 12 popes : PIUS

There have been twelve popes named Pius, the latest being Pope Pius XII who led the Roman Catholic Church until his death in 1958.

30. Treasure chest coins represented graphically by two consecutive letters in six puzzle answers (including this one) : PIECES OF 8

The coin called a “peso” is used in many Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The coin originated in Spain where the word “peso” means “weight”. The original peso was what we know in English as a “piece of eight”, a silver coin of a specific weight that had a nominal value of eight “reales”.

32. 1875 Alcott novel : 8 COUSINS

“Eight Cousins” is an 1875 work by Louisa May Alcott, who is most famous for her 1868 novel “Little Women” and it two sequels. “Eight Cousins” tells the story of orphan Rose Campbell who finds her place with her guardian, Uncle Alec, and her seven boy cousins.

33. Uma’s role in “The Producers” : ULLA

Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.

“The Producers” is a 1968 satirical movie written and directed by Mel Brooks, the first film he ever directed. Brooks adapted the movie into a hugely successful Broadway musical that won a record 12 Tony Awards. The original leads in the stage show, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, then appeared in a 2005 movie adaptation of the musical version of the original film!

37. Fourth dimension : TIME

In the world of physics, spacetime is a 4-dimensional model that melds the three dimensions of space with a time as a fourth dimension. I’ve tried to understand spacetime so many times, but have never gotten very far. What I hear all the “time” is that the curvature of spacetime is … gravity.

40. Budget motel chain : SUPER 8

Super 8 is a budget hotel chain. The chain got the name as the original room rate (back in 1972) was set at $8.88.

43. Hunky-dory : A-OK

Our term “A-OK” is supposedly an abbreviation for “A(ll systems are) OK”, and arose in the sixties during the Space Program.

Surprisingly (to me), the term “hunky-dory” has been around a long time, and is documented back in the mid-1800s. Nobody’s really sure of its origin, but some say it is an Anglicization of Honcho dori, that back in the day was a street of ill repute in Yokohama, Japan.

44. Elizabeth I’s line : TUDORS

The Elizabethan Era, the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, is considered by many to be the golden age of English history, the age of Shakespeare and the English Renaissance. Elizabeth I was the last sovereign of the House of Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

47. “Hamilton” role : BURR

“Hamilton” is a 2015 musical based on the life or US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as described in the 2004 biography by Ron Chernow. The show opened off-Broadway in February 2015, and transferred to Broadway in August of the same year. Advance ticket sales for the Broadway production were unprecedented, and reportedly amounted to $30 million. The representations of the main characters is decidedly ground-breaking. The show is rooted in hip-hop and the main roles such as Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are all played by African-American and Hispanic actors.

48. Help with a job? : ABET

The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

52. Editor’s mark : STET

“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

53. Captain hanged for piracy : KIDD

William Kidd was a Scottish privateer who went by the name “Captain Kidd”. Although Kidd was a privateer, someone authorized by the government to attack foreign shipping, he was eventually arrested and executed for piracy. There is common opinion held today that the charges against Kidd were actually trumped up. Captain Kidd’s story was the basis of a 1945 film called “Captain Kidd” starring Charles Laughton in the title role. Laughton also appeared as Captain Kidd in 1952’s comic movie “Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd”.

54. Pac-12 team : UTES

The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin’” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less controversial “Utes”.

58. Spacewalk initials : EVA

Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) is the name given to any work done by an astronaut outside of his or her spacecraft. The term would encompass walking on the moon, as well as making a space walk i.e. floating around in space tethered to spacecraft.

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Short pants? : TROU

5. “Gloria in Excelsis __” : DEO

8. Where JFK, Nixon and Carter served : US NAVY

14. Brazil’s largest city : SAO PAULO

16. Military builder : SEABEE

17. “In my opinion … ” : AS I SEE IT …

18. MLB single-season recordholder for most hits : ICHIRO

19. Skier’s destination : RESORT

20. Musical set in Manhattan’s East Village : RENT

22. Shooting marble : TAW

23. “Xanadu” gp. : ELO

24. Youngest Simpson : MAGGIE

26. O’er there : YOND

28. Somewhat, to Saint-Saëns : POCO

29. Against: Abbr. : OPP

31. Spanish pronoun : ESO

32. Pen pal’s greeting? : OINK

33. Removes, as a temporary hem : UNPINS

36. No-hitter, usually : SHUTOUT

38. Shot with more detail : CLOSE-UP

39. Hogwarts subjects : MAGICS

40. Ford maverick? : SOLO

41. Windy City transit initials : CTA

42. Blue Shield offering : HMO

43. Energy field : AURA

44. Hardy title teenager : TESS

45. Carpathian Mountains locale : EUROPE

47. Do diner work : BUS

48. Roadie’s box : AMP

51. Product made from fermented rice : SAKE

52. Game typically with 81 squares : SUDOKU

55. “Scram!” : BEAT IT!

57. Make less vulnerable to earthquakes, say : RETROFIT

59. Straying : ERRANT

60. Countermanded : OVERRODE

61. Wee : TEENSY

62. Muesli bit : OAT

63. Repairs with turf : SODS

Down

1. Russia had one in the 20th century : TSAR

2. Level, in London : RASE

3. ’70s-’80s show about a big family : 8 IS ENOUGH

4. Induced the purchase of add-ons, say : UPSOLD

5. “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” e.g. : DUET

6. Brother of Peyton : ELI

7. Obsolete audio technology : 8-TRACK

8. Employing : USING

9. Federal housing assistance program : SECTION 8

10. “No thanks” : NAH

11. Somewhat : A BIT

12. Aloe __ : VERA

13. “That smarts!” : YEOW!

15. Flight-related prefix : AERO-

21. I problem? : EGO

24. Pyrénées peak : MONT

25. Mike of “Next Friday” : EPPS

26. Rural agreement : YES’M

27. Org. that inspects workplaces : OSHA

28. Any of 12 popes : PIUS

30. Treasure chest coins represented graphically by two consecutive letters in six puzzle answers (including this one) : PIECES OF 8

32. 1875 Alcott novel : 8 COUSINS

33. Uma’s role in “The Producers” : ULLA

34. Squirrel’s hoard : NUTS

35. Escape destinations : SPAS

37. Fourth dimension : TIME

38. Essence : CORE

40. Budget motel chain : SUPER 8

43. Hunky-dory : A-OK

44. Elizabeth I’s line : TUDORS

46. Shabby : RATTY

47. “Hamilton” role : BURR

48. Help with a job? : ABET

49. “A __ formality” : MERE

50. Shave : PARE

52. Editor’s mark : STET

53. Captain hanged for piracy : KIDD

54. Pac-12 team : UTES

56. Salon offering : TAN

58. Spacewalk initials : EVA

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14 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 8 Sep 2017, Friday”

  1. 23:33, 1 error on this. 44 minutes, no errors on the WSJ (a more or less traditional themeless, no doubt!), meta solved.

    Thanks, @Carrie!!

  2. I found this a tough puzzle, consistent with a Friday. The OO clues …. which probably are meant to be Eight, still have me confounded. But the OO clues did help down the line. Very punny and cute and clever clues. I guess, the 00 properly auperimposed could also stand for the ‘infinity’ sign. However, all is good.

    Before I forget, Jeff, my continuing prayers for you and yours and all the unfortunate souls who have been affected by this calamity. Losing your memories, through notes and pictures may be the saddest thing of all.

    The only Suzuki, that I have heard of, is the musical master maestro, who revolutionized the teaching and learning of playing musical instruments, for and by, children, ….. like the violin and piano.

    I thought that a Pen Pal would obviously ‘write’ ( what else ) in Ink, so ink would be a part of the answer. It took awhile to relate to pigs …. a convoluted way to arrive at the answer.

    Finally, …. Hans Solo was a space smuggler ….. what does a space smuggler, smuggle ?? …. rocks, oxygen, cigarettes, booze, energy …. or more ‘space’ ?

    I was not familiar with the book, ‘8 cousins’, though I have read most of Louisa May Allcott’s books – Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s boys … and also the best selling, Pulitzer prize winning, book by Geraldine Brooks about the (fiction ?) of L M Allcott’s father’s diary.

    Have a nice day all. and a great weekend.

    1. Who is this ‘Hans’ Solo you write of? The German cousin of Han Solo, perhaps? (g). Han Solo was actually a drug smuggler who was carrying a shipment of something called “spice” (an addictive drug) for Jabba when he ran from the ‘bad’ guys (the Imperial DEA?).

      After I finally got this theme the puzzle was easy. Before I understood the theme I was scratching my head and muttering to myself like a lune in June.

  3. LAT Friday lived up to its reputation. Challenging is an understatement.
    Tried WSJ crossword just out of curiosity. Actually liked it for the convenient way the A/D lists align. Also because there were no sports related clues. But I could not make out why the grid was called E-Mobility. Looking for a parallel between increasing levels of difficulty and real world Hurricanes, earth quake, Tsunami. Stay safe and dry, all.

  4. 11:52, no errors. Cute gimmick, relatively easy.

    I haven’t done the Newsday and WSJ puzzles for yesterday or today. My ex called to suggest another trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and I simply could not resist; any day in the the high country is better than the best day down here … ?.

    So what’s up with the earth? Harvey, Irma, and perhaps a few more hurricanes lined up behind them; wild fires all over the west, with days of thick smoke in my area; an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in an area I recently visited. Mother Nature is on a tear, for sure! … ?

    @Carrie … Loved your #ruinabooktitleinoneletter examples! Have to look for more. I’m a little surprised that someone hasn’t created a crossword puzzle with that as its theme. Maybe someone already has. Anyone know? Glenn? Bill?

    Okay. No more stalling. Things to do. Places to go. But maybe a short nap, first … ?

    1. Thanks Glen. Followed the link to your WSJXW blog. Now I get it.
      I am OK with HAS. “What to order for lunch?” “Oh, I’ll have a beer”.
      Your other observations are apt.

  5. The results are in: I did Newsday’s Thursday and Friday puzzles in 10:31 and 17:29, respectively, with no errors (and I’m beginning to have more respect for their Friday puzzles). Thursday’s WSJ took 13:43, with one stupid error due to inattention. Friday’s WSJ was done in 12:32, with no errors, but it was only after that nap I talked about that I figured out the meta. So, all caught up … ?

  6. 8:27…uhh…I mean 27:08. What a great NYT Thursday puzzle…. I’m just dazed and confused enough these days to think twice about what puzzle I was doing. Very clever theme. On a Thursday NYT, though, I’d have my dukes up waiting for something like this. On a Friday LAT it sort of blindsided me. I liked it anyway. I was very deep into the puzzle before I realized what was going on.

    Great write up as always. It’s quite apodictic (I remember that from studying for my SAT’s…) and interesting that Bill, as someone not born in the U.S. , has such an interest in knowing about U.S. Presidents. I imagine he thoroughly enjoyed writing those facts about Kennedy, Nixon and Carter.

    I guess all popes are pious, but not all are PIUS?

    Spacetime is easier when viewed empirically and mathematically..which is counter to most things in physics. The math works so we pretend to understand it….

    Ed White, one of the astronauts that tragically perished in Apollo 1, was the first American to do an EVA. I love the fact that he loved being out doing the spacewalk so much that when he was ordered back into the spacecraft, he said “this is the saddest moment of my life”. I have to think being in space cannot be explained in words. I’ve asked several people who have actually been there what it’s like, and they all hesitate, shake their head and struggle to explain it to me.

    I digress so as not to think about hurricanes. As per Dave’s comment, I imagine mother nature right now like the one who was fooled in the old Chiffon margarine commercials…(It’s not nice to fool mother nature..)

    House is pretty much gutted on the first floor at this point. Fans and dehumidifiers blasting 24/7 now. Not much else to do but wait for my insurance adjuster who doesn’t come for another week. After that, I’m off to Las Vegas.

    Best –

  7. Hiya gang! ?
    Had to cheat for PIUS. I was sure I was right with PAUL but I could NOT make the crosses work!! Otherwise, I did well on this, and I actually got the double-O thing quickly. This one wasn’t nearly as bad as that HORRIBLE double-U gríd from a coupla years ago– remember??! Also an LAX Friday.
    Hey Dave, yes it’s a fun idea isn’t it? Perhaps it’s been the theme for a puzzle, tho I like this game because WE have to think up the titles. ? I came up with “Little Bag Man” and “The Least of the Mohicans.” I guess the latter one isn’t legit, as I added a letter rather than change one–but it’s still a one-letter change so who knows?
    Just today I was thinking how interesting it is that President Carter is still with us among the living former prezes. Must Google his age!
    Be well~~™?

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