tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post4938540619006491734..comments2024-01-25T10:14:06.567-08:00Comments on L.A. Crossword Confidential: 09.29 ThuOrangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-29138879878474573472011-10-01T09:40:39.135-07:002011-10-01T09:40:39.135-07:00@Anon 9:45, Elba is the island Napoleon was exiled...@Anon 9:45, Elba is the island Napoleon was exiled to, and supposedly this palindrome commemorated it. He was ABLE (ruled as Emperor) before his exile to Elba.Margaretnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-44909436154238841672011-09-30T09:45:18.747-07:002011-09-30T09:45:18.747-07:00Knew the palindrome and got ABLE but wasn't su...Knew the palindrome and got ABLE but wasn't sure what it had to do with Napoleon?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-28045473336749449402011-09-29T17:22:56.309-07:002011-09-29T17:22:56.309-07:00I thought the SWIGS/drinks thing was just using a ...I thought the SWIGS/drinks thing was just using a different meaning of the word drink. As in, Take a drink of that and pass it along.<br /><br />GoG8ers: my Gramps owned a Piggly Wiggly in Jacksonville (Illinois, not Fla.) back in the 1940s-50s, but I'd never heard of Pig Swig. Sounds yummy. I don't think they have any more PWs north of the Waffle House line. But that is a great name for a grocery. Probably not too many vegans go there, I'm guessing.Alexscottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-76402663397527967052011-09-29T16:50:47.412-07:002011-09-29T16:50:47.412-07:00I had fun with this puzzle altho it took me all da...I had fun with this puzzle altho it took me all day, picking it up at odd moments between customers.<br /><br />Unlike y'all, I had no trouble with SWIGS. Here in the South we have a grocery chain named Piggly Wiggly--really. Their store brand beer is called "Pig Swig"--really.GoG8rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859105347104008578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-24999236458415618042011-09-29T13:11:08.587-07:002011-09-29T13:11:08.587-07:00wow, Gareth, free falseteeth?wow, Gareth, free falseteeth?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-46157087849194544152011-09-29T13:06:04.880-07:002011-09-29T13:06:04.880-07:00@Sfingi - I learned the $/PESO symbol the first ti...@Sfingi - I learned the $/PESO symbol the first time I went to Mexico City on business, went to what I thought was a nice mid-price restaurant (so as not to upset my boss who was signing off on my expenses) and when I got the check and it was for $1,200 I almost fell off my chair. It was actually about $40 US back in the days of a strong currency and economy.<br /><br />The FLOOR LIMIT you don't see nowadays - this was before credit card machines were wired online approve the transaction on every purchase. A store had a floor limit - a maximum purchase amount - above which the store had to call the credit card company by phone to authorize the sale; below the floor limit they just took the imprint of your card and you signed the top copy. Fraudsters were pretty good at knowing what the floor limit was in any particular store.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00485564817818402947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-70598685961935219432011-09-29T12:48:01.362-07:002011-09-29T12:48:01.362-07:00Another good one would be the so called Columbian ...Another good one would be the so called Columbian exchange. From the "New World" - tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes, maize (corn), maple syrup, sweet potatoes, prickly pear, true cactus, chili pepper, vanilla, rubber, cacao, turkeys, skunks, raccoons, possums - and the other way - small pox, guns, distilled liquor, apple, garlic, onion, coffee, horse, cat, sheep.<br /><br />Oliver North is retired from the Marines, for sure. He had gone to SUNY Brockport!, then transferred to the US Naval Academy.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-21003512627385405802011-09-29T10:38:23.899-07:002011-09-29T10:38:23.899-07:00Wonderful puzzle, with all the different layers!Wonderful puzzle, with all the different layers!machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-22904082306632892832011-09-29T10:16:41.090-07:002011-09-29T10:16:41.090-07:00This was a far better puzzle for me than today'...This was a far better puzzle for me than today's NYT. That's a rarity.Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-84790023355152616102011-09-29T10:01:04.432-07:002011-09-29T10:01:04.432-07:00Great puzzle.
Agree @everyone about SWIGS being ...Great puzzle. <br /><br />Agree @everyone about SWIGS being an odd clue. @Misty - no, you're right, they don't call them that! I'm guessing that the clue is trying to allude to the verb rather than the noun - you could take swigs of your beer in a pub. Hmm.<br /><br />Agree with @Margaret about ABLE - my clue of the week/month<br /><br />My personal almost-Natick was EBOLI/FLO but something about the "L" felt right.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00485564817818402947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-76118286232684530922011-09-29T09:51:06.292-07:002011-09-29T09:51:06.292-07:00Great Thursday puzzle! Finished up NE corner last....Great Thursday puzzle! Finished up NE corner last. Filler and theme strong. <br />Interesting to read US is now exporting CHOPSTICKS to China (from Georgia). <br />SILK should have been keyed into the crossword constructor Barry.<br />Almost put UOP (University of Phoenix) for school with a campus, but then remembered this school has no true campus to speak of.CPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-46975724573029356852011-09-29T09:39:30.077-07:002011-09-29T09:39:30.077-07:00I really liked today's puzzle. Took me a coup...I really liked today's puzzle. Took me a couple of minutes longer than usual and made me think instead of remember. Very enjoyable.Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14900988170432327664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-88087757734442252772011-09-29T09:34:27.137-07:002011-09-29T09:34:27.137-07:00Wow! That's a lot of stuff invented in China! ...Wow! That's a lot of stuff invented in China! I knew about 'silk,' 'gunpowder,' and 'fireworks'--but 'toothbrush'? Thank you, China! <br /><br />Very slow getting that northwest corner filled in, and finally had to cheat with the southwest. Haven't been to Ireland or U.K. for a while, so didn't get "swigs" for pub drinks. (Do they really call them that?) But Napoleon helped. And I loved "ghost" for "transparent personality"!Mistynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-55336034910159773282011-09-29T09:33:37.822-07:002011-09-29T09:33:37.822-07:00fan-freaking-tastic puzzle (another k!)
the less ...fan-freaking-tastic puzzle (another k!)<br /><br />the less transparent the theme, the greater the puzzle, for me and this one was super murky (k!)<br /><br />@pg - this ARON is the one who sawed his arm off with a pocket knife to escape from the rock. though his actions were superhumanly heroic, I'm thinking actual future cluing opportunities are going to be a bit grisly, and something i don't really want to think about during my puzzle time. Unless, of course, he goes on to do some more notable stuff which he certainly seems capable of.<br /><br />@tuttle - agree on swigs. a bit clunky (k!)hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627015904603641109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-30925513153143540202011-09-29T08:48:25.773-07:002011-09-29T08:48:25.773-07:00I skipped down to the reveal clue and everything f...I skipped down to the reveal clue and everything fell into place in a hurry.<br /><br />Only thing that slowed me down was putting 'punk' in instead of LUNK and refusing to believe they would go with SWIGS for pub drinks. Only weak clue in the grid though.Tuttlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-7848189787197537982011-09-29T08:46:34.887-07:002011-09-29T08:46:34.887-07:00Felt like I wrestled @PG's Hawkeyes this morni...Felt like I wrestled @PG's Hawkeyes this morning. Great theme! Mid-west fouled me up, with LUNK and FLOORLIMIT (obviously, that stayed in Vegas and didn't migrate to my head). And did not remember the palindrome until PG's reminder. ABLE totally came through crosses. My one peeve, Roman numerals...Not a speed solver, by any stretch!ddbmcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-3529035901539067002011-09-29T08:41:33.669-07:002011-09-29T08:41:33.669-07:00PAPER and SILK were the first two things I filled ...PAPER and SILK were the first two things I filled in, and I was pretty sure the theme was going to be anniversary gifts -- paper is the one year anniversary, right? As soon as I got down to TOOTHBRUSH (where I foolishly put TOOTHpaste at first) I knew the theme. Somehow the trivia of all the things we got from ancient China was already in my head.<br /><br />ABLE was my favorite answer!Margaretnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-60856187971293204792011-09-29T08:38:37.713-07:002011-09-29T08:38:37.713-07:00PaineWebber of the Wall Street fame...PaineWebber of the Wall Street fame...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-15974255363464657652011-09-29T08:00:44.938-07:002011-09-29T08:00:44.938-07:00I was very pleased with this puzzle. I wondered a...I was very pleased with this puzzle. I wondered all the asterisked diversity would pull together! Not many key overs (TOOTHpaste, eROO) but a few places where memory didn't cooperate. 23A: "How am I supposed to know who that actor from Wings partner is? Wait, that isn't how he spells his name. Who the H is Webber?"<br /><br />Loved the clues for NOODLES, ABLE & INKIN (which salvaged an ugly phrase!)CoffeeLvrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16473192190412844538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-44265869864834636012011-09-29T07:55:36.425-07:002011-09-29T07:55:36.425-07:00@PG - You're right!
I had already Googled for...@PG - You're right!<br /><br />I had already Googled for ACTI, CHINA, COTY, EPH, EMI, ARON and had one writeover, rOUt for COUP. Never heard of FLOOR limit, didn't know the PESO used the $, and tried to Google for the Hungarian SPA, but eventually got it by crosses.<br /><br />So the puzzle was hard, anyway. Since it was hard for Gareth Bain, I guess it was hard.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-28528480848893554242011-09-29T07:51:35.113-07:002011-09-29T07:51:35.113-07:00I'm too slow to be considered a speed solver, ...I'm too slow to be considered a speed solver, but I really enjoyed the change of pace.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-66229961059503712292011-09-29T07:40:25.583-07:002011-09-29T07:40:25.583-07:00Clues and answers are all listed at the bottom of ...Clues and answers are all listed at the bottom of the post.PuzzleGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06835502266781516627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-47390216257418870632011-09-29T07:15:03.424-07:002011-09-29T07:15:03.424-07:00My paper had the bottom chopped off. I called them...My paper had the bottom chopped off. I called them, and they don't know if they'll print the whole thing tomorrow or just the missing parts.<br /><br />Someone tell me what the clues are for <br />30D 31D 47D 48D 51D 59D 60D <br />I have the answers from PGs blog, of course.<br /><br />I've got a couple guesses from crosses, but I hate to wait for tomorrow.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-15534252476773812802011-09-29T05:27:25.341-07:002011-09-29T05:27:25.341-07:00One bruised, but, extremely happy not so speedy sp...One bruised, but, extremely happy not so speedy speed solver here! slowest thursday of the year by more than 3 Minutes! But what a fun theme! Especially as cc burnikel is a first generation chinese american! Whole puzzle was hard, but like pg the top left hit me the hardest. I didn't even have toothbrush to build on, putting falseteeth in its place and clinging to it resolutely. Turns out they're a Japanese invention...Gareth Bainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17770425154034935768noreply@blogger.com