tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post6236987600386260903..comments2024-01-25T10:14:06.567-08:00Comments on L.A. Crossword Confidential: WEDNESDAY, June 3, 2009—Peter A. CollinsOrangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-73296748288967126772009-06-04T16:48:28.436-07:002009-06-04T16:48:28.436-07:00@Jan - HTTP://www.cruciverb.com has a link on the ...@Jan - HTTP://www.cruciverb.com has a link on the right for the LATimes in Across Lite, as well as access to Across Lite itself on the left hand side under Resources/Software. I believe you have to register, for free, to be able to access the puzzles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-5089026919100844792009-06-04T09:21:56.386-07:002009-06-04T09:21:56.386-07:00Thanks for explaining about the circles. I've...Thanks for explaining about the circles. I've been printing out the puzzles. Where can I see the Across Lite version?Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03149073433734971620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-21240797062594093412009-06-04T08:46:54.799-07:002009-06-04T08:46:54.799-07:00@Wayne - Yeah, it's a weird American colloquia...@Wayne - Yeah, it's a weird American colloquialisms. It's referring to jumping into (dangerous) waters instead of wading in. Come to think of it, it's not so weird.<br /><br />@Jan Hunt - Do you use Across Lite to solve? It shows the circles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-38734344326830189862009-06-04T05:52:55.069-07:002009-06-04T05:52:55.069-07:00Is there a website that includes the circles in pu...Is there a website that includes the circles in puzzles? I always play online.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03149073433734971620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35410862568413887912009-06-03T20:34:31.456-07:002009-06-03T20:34:31.456-07:00I want you to know that I didn't get bored wit...I want you to know that I didn't get bored with this blog, I do read it every day, I just don't always feel like commenting. I suffer from a chronic pain condition & between that and the meds it takes me a while to do the puzzles. Although, last week I did do two puzzles in which I did not use any outside references (other than my brain)!<br /><br />So, I do see some improvement in my puzzle solving & I attribute it to this blog. Between the Crosswordese & the background info on other answers I'm building a bigger word bank.<br /><br />As for today's puzzle, I found the clue "Took another plunge?" rather odd. I know when I was a kid I occasionally heard someone ask, "so you're going to take the plunge?", when someone was engaged to be married. It didn't make sense to me then & it still doesn't. What does taking a plunge have to do with marriage? Swimming, yes, or plunging a toilet, but matrimony? I guess it's another one of those weird American colloquialisms.Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16165259499917393643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-3900899636313534282009-06-03T19:31:23.891-07:002009-06-03T19:31:23.891-07:00As a beg puzzler - how pleased I was to recognize ...As a beg puzzler - how pleased I was to recognize that there was some crosswordese connected with 2 down - and (happy me) went immediately to the croswordese section for my first hint...with kind of a faint memory that there was some kind of a clay pot that began with a vowel and ended in 'as' - but no luck this morning. So this afternoon when I picked it up again for the bus ride home I actually got ollas from the crosses and googled it to find out that ollas are very neat irrigating. pots with thin necks and fat bodies that apparently one places underground and water seeps out slowly through the clay into the earth. So now I am hoping to use olla more frequntly in life than in crosswords and on my scorecard that's only one crosswordese for the day - which ewer definately is and I always forget.<br />Thanks much!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-74476799150585650572009-06-03T18:57:55.154-07:002009-06-03T18:57:55.154-07:00So embarassing. 25% of zero is zee. Duh? Where w...So embarassing. 25% of zero is zee. Duh? Where was my head. Funny about olla and ewer in the same puzzle. Perhaps that is why I had trouble ewer.<br /><br />Really was not sure where the circles were going til I got to 49across and saw there really was no gimmick to the circles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35602737464179359692009-06-03T14:40:03.492-07:002009-06-03T14:40:03.492-07:00Speaking of codes, do any of you remember the char...Speaking of codes, do any of you remember the character on (I think it was) The Electric Company. He was a private detective, and his name was<br />Fargo North, Decoder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-4574664489764405072009-06-03T14:02:00.530-07:002009-06-03T14:02:00.530-07:00@Orange: I'm glad he's better. Funny how t...@Orange: I'm glad he's better. Funny how those old things work best. On the other hand, why do I always a few pounds more on the old slide sort of scales at the doctor's office?machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-63967004423124392352009-06-03T13:25:37.526-07:002009-06-03T13:25:37.526-07:00@eileen is my new best friend.
@mac, you know...I...@eileen is my new best friend.<br /><br />@mac, you know...I finally dug out the glass oral thermometer and found his temp was totally normal, though the ear thermometer continues to show a 100+ temp. The doctor has no idea why his ear canals are warm now. They weren't before! So he's back at school this week, well rested from his lengthy recuperation at home.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-82404364379319520182009-06-03T13:23:52.622-07:002009-06-03T13:23:52.622-07:00You know that 3 letter word, super secret agency? ...You know that 3 letter word, super secret agency? Starts with "N"? Here, the cryptography department comes up with encryption schemes (codes) to protect (encode) messages. One floor below us, the cryptanalysists try to break others crypts, i.e. to decode encrypted messages.<br />A broken code is a failure for a cryptographer, a success for cryptanalysists.<br />Try <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cryptographer" rel="nofollow">Dictionaries</a>Anon 8:46noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-82602723681080729652009-06-03T13:00:25.881-07:002009-06-03T13:00:25.881-07:00@Anon 8.46: I'm pretty sure a cryptographer is...@Anon 8.46: I'm pretty sure a cryptographer is a decoder. What's an encoder?<br /><br />Nice easy puzzle, with good long answers. Didn't have any circles on-line, so I was happy to come here and find out what it was about. Nice write-up, let's forgive Orange, how could she possible have picked one. How's your boy?<br /><br />Nice Bowie video, with his old teeth.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-21785780657644634242009-06-03T12:49:09.511-07:002009-06-03T12:49:09.511-07:00I find nothing wrong with 2 crosswordese 101 lesso...I find nothing wrong with 2 crosswordese 101 lessons in one day every now and then. As a matter of fact, I really appreciated that Orange covered both words as I was clueless about their connections to the given rules. Thanks again Orange!eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08982438058437100914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-67197138336362482272009-06-03T11:41:23.174-07:002009-06-03T11:41:23.174-07:00Fun easy puzzle. Is this the first time the LATime...Fun easy puzzle. Is this the first time the LATimes has had a puzzle with letters circled? or should I say letters circled?chefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-81528940744166678632009-06-03T09:48:42.229-07:002009-06-03T09:48:42.229-07:00@Crocket - Sorry, cryptography is encrypting, cryp...@Crocket - Sorry, cryptography is encrypting, cryptanalysis is reading encrypted writings.Anon 8:46noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-34829480201064377902009-06-03T09:41:23.801-07:002009-06-03T09:41:23.801-07:00@anonymous @8:46 I think it's the cryptographe...@anonymous @8:46 I think it's the cryptographer's job to break the codes of the foes. Thus a broken code is a success, no?<br /><br />@*david* If we get ZAFTIG, can CALLIPYGIAN be far behind? Yes, that was intentional, LOL!Crockett1947https://www.blogger.com/profile/06404431645533093707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-39701167481402343592009-06-03T09:17:18.086-07:002009-06-03T09:17:18.086-07:00I like to hurl my WOO.I like to hurl my WOO.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35900138333140878562009-06-03T09:15:38.164-07:002009-06-03T09:15:38.164-07:00I like a puzzle where you have to work a little, b...I like a puzzle where you have to work a little, but it all makes sense in the end. Theme didn't do a lot for me either way and it took way longer than it should to parse the many multiword answers.Sandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03503942337165432288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-41683930715218556672009-06-03T09:12:59.887-07:002009-06-03T09:12:59.887-07:00Did the puzzle online as I'm out of town playn...Did the puzzle online as I'm out of town playng with a new grandchild. The grid on the LA TIMES website didn't have the little circles in the squares to pull out the letters for the theme so I spent a bit of time trying to figure what the letter O's in the longer answers could possibly hold that would be relevant (air? space? nothing?) but LIKETHEDICKENS had no O's, so I gave up and came here. I really appreciate this blog. I've done crossword puzzles for years but had no way to check an answer that I didn't understand or even notice a theme that got past me. My embarrassing admission for today is that I had GOOSE for "Long-necked mammal" for a fairly long time. Yes, all those fur-covered, gosling-nursing geese look so cute running around the barnyard!gjelizabethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-60740927622349662612009-06-03T09:04:28.159-07:002009-06-03T09:04:28.159-07:00The online version that I solved didn't have t...The online version that I solved didn't have the circles, so that didn't come into play for me. Still, not a bad puzzle. Went pretty quick.Lime D. Zezehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13761921798135076146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-80108425407560328822009-06-03T08:46:14.657-07:002009-06-03T08:46:14.657-07:00Wouldn't a BROKENCODE be a cryptographer's...Wouldn't a BROKENCODE be a cryptographer's failure?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-65036541181422365732009-06-03T08:25:25.336-07:002009-06-03T08:25:25.336-07:00This puzzle went slow for me. The themes fell read...This puzzle went slow for me. The themes fell readily but I had lots of one spaces to fill in the corners. Loved to see the word SVELTE maybe next time we'll get BUXOM or ZAFTIG.<br /><br />I think if Orange double-dips, once we can give her the benefit of the doubt but the rules are the rules. Self-control is important.*David*noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-45878002287457832782009-06-03T08:17:42.901-07:002009-06-03T08:17:42.901-07:00Can you do anything with 'woo' besides pit...Can you do anything with 'woo' besides pitch it? It's like, <br /><br />"Hey, I'm throwin' heater of woo right over the plate!", or<br />"I've got this big fork and a stack of woo - stand back and I'll fill the house with it.", or<br />"If you accept this offer of woo before midnight tonite, you'll receive a free ginsu knife."Gary Lowenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-58353027093378088782009-06-03T08:15:55.055-07:002009-06-03T08:15:55.055-07:00Orange - loved the pic of the dog & kitty.
I...Orange - loved the pic of the dog & kitty. <br /><br />I was excited to finish it in under 15 minutes on a Wednesday (I know, for you speed solvers, quite slow) and was also happy to have figured out the theme before reading the blog. Maybe I'll be a crossworder yet!Carolnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-29449144634035179112009-06-03T07:16:06.225-07:002009-06-03T07:16:06.225-07:00i can understand the rationale behind one per day,...i can understand the rationale behind one per day, but OLLA and EWER in the same grid is just begging for a double-dip. at least she didn't name <a href="http://latcrossword.blogspot.com/2009/03/saturday-march-28-2009-robert-h-wolfe.html" rel="nofollow">every major world river</a> this time.Joonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07825085755390339668noreply@blogger.com