THEME: No theme today—It's a themeless/freestyle puzzle
I don't have a good sense of how this puzzle's difficulty compares to the usual Saturday L.A. Times rigor—I was doing it on paper, out of the house, while engaged in conversation. I didn't really love it—I'm a big fan of ME TIME—47D: [Period of self-indulgence]—but the rest of the fill was just sort of there.
Bits and pieces:
- 1A: [Blended condiment] (GARLIC SALT). Yes, salt is a condiment, according to the dictionary. "Blended condiment" makes me think of my husband's various blends of mayo and ketchup or mayo and barbecue sauce.
- 15A: [She received a Best Actress nomination for "A Man and a Woman"] (ANOUK AIMEE). She's one of those film legends of crosswordese, along with Pola Negri and Nita Naldi.
- Military honors trivia: 17A: [2005 award for Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to win it since WWII] (SILVER STAR).
- We don't really like to see two answers including the same word unless it's a teeny little preposition like ON or an article. Here we get 20A: [Blind dates, e.g.] (SET-UPS) and 51D: [Not likely to be talked out of] (SET ON).
- 29A: [Bushmiller who created the comic "Nancy"] (ERNIE). My kid's teacher this year is named Ernie.
- 32A: [Finns' neighbors] (RUSSIANS). Both nations are represented in the Winter Olympics.
- 49A: [Parts of feet] (LITTLE TOES). I am not posting a photo for this answer. (You're welcome.)
- Odd jobs! We have our SERENADERS (63A: [Wooers, perhaps]) and our TOOTLER (40D: [Flautist]) and a SNOOZER (43D: [Slumber party?]). There's also a passel of TESTERS, but that is not an odd job, that's an actual job. They can be 44D: [R&D employees] or software testers like my husband.
- 3D: [Arrives at last] (ROLLS IN) is terrific. The person who ROLLS IN is tardy and just doesn't give a damn.
- I can't say I am so familiar with the term EDITORIAL WE (11D: [Opinion page perspective]). I'll bet newspaper folks know it much better than I do.
- 13D: [Old rubber?] (SCUMBAG). No, wait! That's a terrible joke. It's ALADDIN, who supposedly rubbed a lamp ages ago. Remember the time Will Shortz ran an NYT crossword with SCUMBAG in the fill? Most of us were fine with the word, but a certain subset (mostly men in their 60s, it seems) were aghast because back in their day, that word meant, um, an old rubber. Who knew? Crosswords sure are educational!
- 23D: Disneyland's Matterhorn, once (E TICKET RIDE). Did Disney World ever do the E ticket thing, or was it always an equal-opportunity wait-in-long-lines sort of place?
- 39D: [McCartney hit about his relatives] (LET 'EM IN):
Crosswordese 101: Ah, classic crosswordese! You know (but probably do not love) your [Jai ___]/ALAI from crosswords, but do you know the sport's terminology? It's played in a place called a fronton, the ball is called a pelota, and the wicker basket used to catch and throw the pelota is a cesta. So 25D: [Fronton gear], 6 letters? Could be PELOTA, but this time it's CESTAS. Jai alai is not an Olympic sport.
See you Wednesday. By then, I hope you will have forgiven me for posting this video to accompany 37A: [Bikini feature in a 1960 hit] (POLKA DOT):
Everything Else — 1A: Blended condiment (GARLIC SALT); 11A: Tricked twin (ESAU); 15A: She received a Best Actress nomination for "A Man and a Woman" (ANOUK AIMEE); 16A: Not sharp (DULL); 17A: 2005 award for Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to win it since WWII (SILVER STAR); 18A: "My word!" ("I SAY!"); 19A: Corner piece (ELL); 20A: Blind dates, e.g. (SET-UPS); 21A: Youngsters (TADS); 22A: Auvers-sur-__, where van Gogh spent his final days (OISE); 24A: Prompter's cue (TEN SECONDS); 26A: Common front (UNITY); 28A: Royale or Flying Cloud (REO); 29A: Bushmiller who created the comic "Nancy" (ERNIE); 30A: Campus big shot, often (SENIOR); 32A: Finns' neighbors (RUSSIANS); 34A: Take into custody, in a way (CUFF); 36A: "Toodles!" ("TA-TA!"); 37A: Bikini feature in a 1960 hit (POLKA DOT); 41A: NASDAQ neighborhood (WALL ST.); 45A: Dizzy (AREEL); 46A: Napoléon or Yves, e.g. (NOM); 48A: Despicable sort (SWINE); 49A: Parts of feet (LITTLE TOES); 52A: Deal busters, at times (EGOS); 53A: New __ (AGER); 54A: Magic 8 Ball maker (MATTEL); 56A: "Joking!" ("NOT!"); 57A: Author Hoag (TAMI); 58A: Provide armed forces for (MILITARIZE); 60A: Enclosed in (AMID); 61A: Weather station gadget (ANEMOMETER); 62A: Related business products (LINE); 63A: Wooers, perhaps (SERENADERS); 1D: Like neon (GASEOUS); 2D: Polyurethane compound (ANILINE); 3D: Arrives at last (ROLLS IN); 4D: Word on a candy heart (LUV); 5D: Turner and others (IKES); 6D: Proofreader's mark (CARET); 7D: Moon Unit, to Dweezil (SISTER); 8D: Radio part (AM TUNER); 9D: Is dramatically revealed to, with "at" (LEAPS OUT); 10D: To the point (TERSE); 11D: Opinion page perspective (EDITORIAL WE); 12D: Foster title girl (SUSANNA); 13D: Old rubber? (ALADDIN); 14D: Rutherford's predecessor (ULYSSES); 23D: Disneyland's Matterhorn, once (E TICKET RIDE); 25D: Fronton gear (CESTAS); 27D: Southern address (YOU ALL); 31D: Rural mail letters (RFD); 33D: Took in (SAW); 35D: "Suspicion" Oscar winner, 1941 (FONTAINE); 37D: Like some consonants, as the nasal "n" (PALATAL); 38D: Art that requires a folder (ORIGAMI); 39D: McCartney hit about his relatives (LET 'EM IN); 40D: Flautist (TOOTLER); 42D: Soft coal (LIGNITE); 43D: Slumber party? (SNOOZER); 44D: R&D employees (TESTERS); 47D: Period of self-indulgence (ME TIME); 50D: Samms and Lazarus (EMMAS); 51D: Not likely to be talked out of (SET ON); 55D: High holy man? (LAMA); 59D: Elmo's color (RED).
42 comments:
A beautiful grid.
I love all the long words, but it took me longer than most Saturday puzzles and I needed help with 39D (LET EM IN). Took me about 22 minutes to solve (after one Google-assist). Couldn't find much crosswordese (other than REO and TATA), so that made it even more difficult. I knew Jai Lai's CESTA and LIGNITE, so that helped. I started out with RARE GAS instead of GASEOUS, so that slowed me down a bit. I had to look up the spelling of ANOUK AIMEE, but once I had that filled in, the NW was a cinch. Had no problem with the SE.
Did not like EDITORIAL WE, NOT and AREEL.
Good stuff: AM TUNER, ALLADIN (Old Rubber?), SNOOZER, ORIGAMI, ME TIME, WALL ST., ULYSSES, and GARLIC SALT (Blended condiment). And, I loved the Zappa SISTER thing.
This puzzle (and Orange's writeup) sure was'nt DULL. IMO, Mark Diehl created a masterpiece.
What a cute version of Yellow POLKA DOT Bikini with the Gummy Bear vid clip.
Hmmm, after yesterday's breakfast, I can't think of anything better for today's. Maybe just some good old "stick-to-the-ribs" Irish oatmeal with dried fruit.
Have a fun weekend YOU ALL!
Holy crap, Orange, that polka-dot-bikini video was freakin’ amazing! Reminded me of the ‘rents maundering on about how music had gone to hell when I was nine years old. NINE. Seriously. (Seriously fun write-up!)
Loved the 13D clue, especially if/because it resulted from that silly NYT dustup.
As a licensed English geek, I’ve gotta take issue with YOU ALL. Like it or not, it’s Y’ALL. End of conversation.
I would be soooo insulted were I a flautist. And how is the answer to “high holy man [or woman!]” not something about ‘shrooms?! OK, back to bed now.
"A Man and a Woman" (1966) was a terrific film, and who could deny the beauty of Anouk Aimee?
ANOUK
This one was tough for me. I always just assumed that jai-alai was an Olympic sport, but I guess not. And I was never sure if it was a yellow bikini with polka dots or a bikini with yellow polka dots.
Hardest puzzle of the year (LAT) for me. Over 9 minutes (!?). Just really, really weird. I actually liked it. Frustrating as hell, but in retrospect I can't complain much. GARLIC blank. Just blank. SOUP? Don't think of SALT as a "condiment." SILVER SPUR is an award for Best Western Novel of the year (but Leigh Brackett won it after WWI, so I should have known that was wrong, I guess). Clue on LEAPS OUT was impossible for me to wrap my head around. Basically everything NW of the black dividing line in this puzzle was rough for me. EDITORIAL WE! That WE kicked me around. TEN SECONDS! Nothing to cue that exact length of time. SUSANNA?! No idea what that's about. Weirdly, total guess of CESTAS pulled me out of my hole. You'd think RUSSIANS would have done it, but no. CESTAS. God bless my vast reservoir of crosswordese.
rp
And by "NW" I mean, of course, "NE."
I realized the source of my E/W dyslexia. It's that alphabetical imperative overrides my sense of direction. E comes before W, so should be on my left. N comes before S, and so should be (and is) up top. I thought the issue was the absolute quality of N and S vs. the relative quality of E and W. But no. I believes it's my mind's desire for things to be alphabetical.
I don't know if that's it, Rex. I have left/right dyslexia, and those are in alpha order.
"Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me. For I've come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee."
@Orange, no, no, no. Have the courage of your dylsexia. Total-body dylsexia.
@Rex, those moments when you fall short of what you expect of yourself are those moments that remind us of why we respect and admire you. Blogging is about honesty, about putting it all out there, and you do.
Rokc on, dude and dudettes.
I can't see Stephen Foster's name without remembering this exchange from "Tombstone":
Billy Clanton: [as Doc Holliday is drunkenly playing a somber piece on the saloon piano, Clanton speaks, just as drunkenly] Is that "Old Dog Trey? Sounds like "Old Dog Trey."
Doc Holliday: Pardon?
Billy Clanton: Stephen Foster. "Oh, Susannah", "Camptown Races". Stephen stinking Foster.
Doc Holliday: Ah, yes. Well, this happens to be a nocturne.
Billy Clanton: A which?
Doc Holliday: You know, Frederic f*cking Chopin.
@Rex--Told you so! This is the hard puzzle I had on Thursday. My trouble was in the SW, not knowing the McCartney song LET EM IN or TAMI Hoag. My biggest mistakes are usually misplaced vowels (i before e, etc.).
@lit.doc--Also licenced English geek and YOU ALL is legit. I actually used it in the blog on Thursday, and now that I'm a northerner I try to refrain from saying it because people look at you funny. Far south - Y'ALL; farther north - YOU-ALL.
@imsdave, thanks for reminding me of that bit of Tombstone (my second most favorite western, after Unforgiven). "Don't shoot the piano player, he's doing the best he can".
@Parsan, you are of course correct. Born in NY city, mostly grew up in Denver, so I'm aware of how hickish "y'all" sounds in educated northern society.
Opinion Page perspective-
Editorial "we" as in "We believe that ..."
Love your blog!
@Rex - So glad you said it was hard! We were warned by some of the Thurs. bloggers.
@Orange - I'm a left/right dyslexic! I've heard it occurs more often in women. My family is FS+ (family sinistrality, yes). While driving, my sister and I, just say "your side"/"my side" for directions. I did my masters on the subject of lefties.
@LitDoc - Speaking of insulting musicians, I once asked a violinist (who was full of himself, plus had BO) if he could play the fiddle behind his back.
Have you ever heard "y'uns" as a plural for you? Of course, Italians, who tended to say "youse" have the excuse that other languages do have a plural you.
In the late '60's my husband was at Syracuse Law and there was a theater called the Westcott. This theater owned a copy of A Man and a Woman, and you could see it as a second feature with any other movie they showed. I saw it at least 6 times. For all of that, I couldn't remember her name.
I struggled terribly with this. I did not know: AMTUNER (wanted "ammeter"), TAMI, Leigh Ann Hester, who wins old Oscars, and any McCartney songs after the Beatles broke up.
I had "kids" for TADS, "hug" for LUV, "peloto" for COSTAS, and LITTLE TOyS crosses MyTIME for LITTLE TOES crosses METIME.
I knew the soft coal had to end in ITE, but all I could think of was "anthracITE." Finally, I missed so many clever ones, I think I clutch when I see long words on the cw.
My habit is to do the ones in my head in a pastel Flair, the Googled ones in a dark Flair, and the ones I couldn't get in black pen. What a colorful mess, today.
Growing up in Tampa Bay, which is NOT part of the "South," (go to Ocala for that) the debate over Y'all or YOU ALL is frivolous.
Southern speak is not to be emulated.
@Sfingi - y'uns, now that is proper.
@Parsan, thank you for the warning Thursday.
This puzzle was a slow solve.
Editoral WE (those 2 ltrs) ate in to my ME TIME.
Folder and Rubber equaled clever clues / answers.
Ulysses, Cestas & Lignite were gimmies.
LUV Garlic Salt, thought spice (only) before I remembered they are condiments too.
Aniline, a learning moment. Knew anil is a dye, but the 'ine' only came from the OISE commune.
@Orange - Do you know clips like Polka Dot because you have little TADS?
I read teleprompters as "Tense Conds" and figured I had just never
heard of it (like that weather machine).
I also saw "Common Front" as "Common Font" and typed in about every font
I had ever known.
Agree about "you all". I don't like these long words, themeless puzzles and wouldn't have a chance without the Red Letters. But at
least I didn't have to google.
@Sfingi, "y'uns" is so totally white trash even *I'm* offended when I hear it (should we ever meet IRW my ironic authority to speak of such matters will be evident). Think of Joisie speak "youse". Or the related plural possessive, "yous'es". Ain't jus' a western thang.
@sfingi: I'm a rightie, but my dad was a leftie. Do I have an inherent sinistrality trying to get out?
@Tinbeni, 95% of the videos I post are things I find at YouTube while writing the post. My tad is 9 and he's into tween TV shows and playing Madden NFL much more than peppy music for preschoolers. (Thank god! We had our Teletubbies flirtation and I'm glad it's in the past.)
Phew!! A tough one today @Parsan You did warn us. The hardest answer for me was that EDITORIAL WE. Is that like the Royal We? I also read the Common Front UNITY as Common Font. And like Badspeller I looked at TENSE COND and wondered WTH? Knew Anouk Aimee, but had to look up the spelling. Wanted GARLIC AOLI, but had TERSE in place so it took me a long time go get SALT. I also think of GARLIC SALT as being a spice. Never knew the name of that McCartney song LETEMIN. Thought the clue for ORIGAMI was clever as was Slumber Party for SNOOZER. Originally had SLIME for SWINE which led to EDITORIAL LE - so I knew that was wrong. LIGNITE and CESTAS were new for me. Didn't like AREEL - another silly A word. LITTLE TOES was cute - reminds me of Piggies. Old Rubber LOL! That was funny. Definitely think YOU ALL should be Y'ALL. I actually started saying that when I lived in Dallas. Ugh!
I too am directionally challenged when it comes to left and right. You should see me in Yoga class. I'm always going in a different direction than everyone else. I have taken to looking at my rings to get it right. @Orange - Nice write up and gummy bear bikini video! Fun puzzle!
@Orange (and @Rex & @PG)
My total experience with videos from YouTube is from the embeds with your excellent write-ups of these LAT Crossword puzzles.
Before I came here I did the 3 daily crosswords in my morning paper (if I found the time) never really analyzing the nuances of the clues or answers.
Now I am amused at how I view their construction.
Find myself thinking "Hey, is that a fair clue?" etc.
As a result they are no longer just a passing diversion, and they are a whole lot more fun.
@Lit.doc
Y'uns is so totally white trash?
NOT!!!
Youse just got to slow down your way of thunkin' en talkin'
'tend a NASCAR race, your mind will expode from the Souther' Speak.
Very funny writeup after a good puzzle with bite! Thanks for leaving out the toes, Orange.
I like "me time" in the grid, not in the language. It's on my list of expressions or words that make me cringe, together with a.o. tummy, tushie, veggie, "work-work", y'all and all baby talk. And I don't even feel grumpy!
Agree that tootler would be annoying to a flautist. Is there a word "flutist"?
@mac, yes, flutist is the usual term.
@Tinbeni, LOL! Have come to Daytona Beach (the Hilton right on the beach!) a buncha times to score the Advanced Placement exam's, and have felt more in my natural habitat than any place outside of The People's Republic of Austin. If yer not pierced...
hardest LAT of the year for me, too. i couldn't finish. got most of it in about 5 minutes, but couldn't crack EDITORIAL__ / L__NITE / S__NE / __OS. in retrospect, the only one of those i maybe should have thought of is SWINE. i'm not seeing the connection between the clue and answer for EGOS, and i dare say i wouldn't have been able to solve it even with _GOS because it looked like the answer might well have been an acronym (i thought about CFOS and CEOS and god knows what else).
i want to like this puzzle just because GARLIC SALT is so freaking delicious, but there was just too much that i had never heard of: ETICKET RIDE (?!?), LET 'EM IN, EDITORIAL WE, LIGNITE, ANILINE... nope. through in the odd jobs, the double SET, and the crosswordese, and this one would not have been on my favorites list. but i admit i have a hard time forgiving it for having beaten me. i hate feeling dumb.
Had a real struggle with this perfect-for-a-Saturday puzzle but eventually got most of it. Left 5 squares blank in the right central area. I could not come up with the two letters after EDITORIAL--, SWINE, EGOS, or LIGNITE.
I was pleased that I got ANEMOMETER right off the bat from the A in EMMAS. I started with BRONZE STAR before getting SILVER. Had ANTENNA for the radio part before AM TUNER.
@RP: Nine+ minutes is totally amazing! I probably spent about that much time trying to find even one gimme to get started (aha, POLKADOT.)
I am old enough to have used the Disneyland ticket books. They had many tickets but very few E tickets for the extra special long-wait rides.
Did this one while watching a FA Cup soccer match and the Mavericks surf contest. Good puzzle, I liked the difficulty level, challenging but solvable.
TOOTLERS? New one for me.
@Joon, hugs & kisses against feeling dumb. That you're good enough to constuct these things is pretty amazing. Don't beat up on yourself.
@Sfingi--Would love to read your thesis. I am left-handed, so are my three children, and my husband was originally (changed to write right-handed by his sinisrophobic Italian grandmother). You could not read his writing. Did you know Aug. 13th is Left Handers Day? Wonder how often that falls on a Friday.
The SILVER STAR Leigh Ann Hester won was for valor in Iraq. Check her out on Wiki.
EDITORIAL WE a given having written for a newspaper.
I'm sure Sfingi, chefbea, you other good cooks, and maybe even the bassman will agree that it is better to use fresh garlic instead of GARLIC SALT.
We once had a man painting the outside trim on our house. He ask "Would youse please raise down the windel?". At least he said please.
Well this was more like it.
Disorder all over the place.
Could not get a toe hold on the clues. OK, maybe a little toes hold but not much.
I gave up after about an hour with my grid looking to be an ink blot testers delight.
I guess Saturday is beyond my range so I'll wait for the Monday snoozer.
I was so glad to hear Rex & Joon (and others) say how they struggled on this LAT puzzle. I thought it was just me. I find themeless puzzles much harder because there are no "keys" to cut you loose.
Now YOU ALL have noticed that I always sign off my comments with "Y'all have a..."
So that makes me a hick? NOOOO!
Lots of NOES!
I was born and raised and now live in sophisticated Chicagoland. I just think that's an charming Southern genteelism.
When I was about 7 years old, the teachers were baffled... was John a leftie or was he a rightie? Actually I was ambidextrous and as I got older I began writing simultaneously with both hands. Imagine what that's like when doing a crossword puzzle. I bounce all over the grid. It's why I often can solve a puzzle faster with paper & pencil than online.
Think about it, do you type with both hands? Why not write with both as well? Try it!
Strange how the Bananas Foster of yesterday subliminally prompted me on today's Old SUSANNA and Steven Foster. I was singing that song yesterday as I was eating my breakfast. Weird, huh?
@lit.doc. The term "TOOTLERS" is used by professional flautists in the same way as "Fiddler" is used by accomplished violinists. It is not insulting. Just ask any symphony musician.
@sfingi
I like your color coding technique. I've got to try that.
I used to think that "ME TIME" was rather selfish, but now that I'm old, all I have is ME TIME. Now I look back and long for those busied times with the kids.
I did finish the Liz Gorski puzzle, but once I caught on to the theme, it was a piece-of-cake for me.
I have learned a wonderful CW principle--- Start off by looking for the key word/phrase. It may even be at the bottom (like Tuesday's CW), but always go there first. That key will unlock all the theme words and then away you sail with plopping in crosswordese fill. Voila! The puzzle is done in Rex-time (well not exactly). Our nature is to solve a puzzle sequentially... left to right, top to bottom. That's just wrong!
@Joon, I too love garlic salt, on anything. I put it on buttered bread, popcorn and even my cereal.
Did YOU ALL know that yesterday was the first time in U.S. history that all 50 states had snow? Let's now give that damn groundhog some respect.
To all my Chinese friends---
Gung hee fatt choi !
Tonight at midnight starts the year of the Tiger which is very good.
To to rest of you---
Y'all have a Happy Valentines Day.
I'm a lefty from the south (where we all say y'all) with the same E-W dyslexia issue that I've never been able to figure out until just now when Rex described it so aptly.
Would love to hear what the tile of your thesis was, @Sfingi.
Ugh. This was back to the Saturdays of last year which I saved to solve w/ my FIL when we met for breakfast. Two heads better than one, and all that.
I was working on it en route in the car (no fear, GespenstsMann was driving, not I) and had to stop w/ maybe half of it filled in, waiting to get home to the computer. I eventually got all of it but the "W" of editorialwe/swine after googling x4 1) Anouk Aimee, 2) Silver Star
3) Ernie (Bushmiller)4)(Auvers-sur)-Oise. These are what I classify as Factoids, which IMO are fair game for googling, b/c you know them or you don't, logic won't give them to you (unless you get a good guess w/ crosses). I was happy to know other Factoids though :) (Tami Hoag, e.g.)
I had help from GespenstsMann on 2 clues, 1) as he works in a coal-related business (Lignite) and 2) Testers.
Not a great puzzle day for me, but not the worst.
OH I ALMOST FORGOT ... what is with the "including part of the answer in the clue" deal recently??? Last week (Fri 2/5) there was OBE w/ clue "Brit award" in the clue(B=British=Brit) and SSNS w/ clue "three-part nos." (N=numbers=nos.) This time it was RFD with RURAL in the clue ... doesn't RFD stand for Rural Free Delivery??? I'm getting confused about what's allowed and what's not ... Orange, Rex, PuzzleGirl, can you elaborate/elucidate for me??
Enjoy the olympics, even w/o jai alai ;)
@gespenst: I think many purists don't want any part of an abbreviation's expansion included in a clue, but you know what? I have never given a rat's ass about that. Now, spelling out [Social Security numbers: Abbr.] or [Rural Free Delivery: Abbr.] would be dumb, but using one of the words? I don't have a problem with that. Why go into contortions to write a clue without the word? [Three-part figs.], [Postal option in the boonies: Abbr.]—why?
Just my opinion. And maybe also Rich Norris's, based on these recent clues.
When I was growing up in St. Petersburg, FL,
I never once said "y'all" until I spent time in Birmingham, Alabama on an audit.
Four weeks there, and the next t'ing I know I'm talkin' Southern!
Took me about three months to get out of that habit.
Now Mate, let me tell you what happened after a 4 month gig in Sydney, Australia.
Well all I can really say is "sheila" is a woman, but generally, when used there, it means bitch ... learned that after only being slapped ... twice.
@JNH - Before I came here I never looked for a theme in CW's. Now, Mon.- Fri. I seek out the "theme key" clue. It makes them a lot easier.
@Gespenst - I agree re: the factoid and "g" help. But you're getting help from "g" and the G-Mann!
All's fair, as they say ...
To the lefties: Over my lifetime, I noticed that approx. half of the CEO's/Partner's I ever worked with were left-handed. Amazing when you realize they make up only 9 or 10% of the population.
Me, I'm a righty and for the life of me cannot figure out how you write pushing the pen across the paper.
To y'all who care -
My masters was in education, and to be exact, reading, because I was going into teaching math from programming because all the computer companies disappeared from Upstate NY, and I was laid off "as the result of foreign competition." The Feds were paying for it, as well as 1 1/2 years of unemployment, so I threw in NYS certs in English and lit with the math, plus another BA by test in lit. I found it all very interesting, since it was new for me. This was 25 years ago, and I was a young thing of 40. Since my family is half "sinister," and I've had some strange problems - teaching my son, a definite "dexter," how to play miniature golf left-handed, writing a computer board game in reverse and being unaware of either, and having to take what I called "spaz" gym in 2 different colleges - I was very interested.
For the thesis, I had to make the reading connection, and in the form of a Q, so it was Does Sinistrality Negatively Affect Reading Ability. The answer was yes and no. I discovered there are 2 kinds of lefties, FS+ and Pathological. You're probably going to read OK if it's in the family and no one tries to bollix you. The pathologicals are persons with brain damage whose brains must compensate and often can't. I found out many interesting bits of info. In China, since everyone is forced to participate, they have populations of thousands in the studies. And many studies. The funniest was Rates of Testicular Sinistrality in a Rural Population. So, now we know. Not exactly Dr. Mengele, but weird.
There's much more, even good stuff, but I better shut up.
@Gespenst = I forgot I had that same Q about RFD. I couldn't believe that was all that was wanted.
I've only heard the y'uns once, but loved it.
One of the education professors was a NYC Jew who said he was uncomfortable when he moved to - yes - Whitesboro. He went to a restaurant, alone, in East Utica, and the waitress came to his table and asked, "Can I help youse?" Then he felt at home.
My son, the world traveler, says Uticans have our own indicators - we say ADdress and REceipt and root and creek with short vowels. He's just got so high-falutin.
@Orange, thanks for your input! I think I agree w/ you, but I thought it wasn't kosher, so I balked at using OBE the other day and RFD today. But if it's not a hard and fast rule, then I'm ok w/ it.
@Tinbeni: lol about all my g-help :) And when I collaborate w/ my father-in-law (away in FL right now) he's Grandpop to my daughter, so there's another G :)
@sfingi: all very interesting! I'm enjoying watching my 3-year-old alternate which hand she uses (when eating, for instance, she usually uses the hand closest to the spoon, lol). My mom was a leftie told she had to learn to write w/ her right; she doesn't, but she now has a very, um, unique style of handwriting nearly unlegible to those not familiar w/ it. She does a lot of other things (ironing and sewing come to mind) w/ her right hand, though.
Re: the southern drawl ... I went to college in NC, and spent another 2 years there in residency, and can drawl on cue. The GespenstMann laughs at me when I talk to him after being on the phone w/ one of my friends from NC, b/c I'm drawling away. I always liked the utility of y'all, especially when trying to be inclusive (all y'all...) Since I learned German in college from a southern prof, we learned that the 2nd person plural informal (Ihr) is equivalent to y'all. I think students of German in the North don't have the advantage of having a 2nd person plural informal in English to compare to :)
Ok, off to watch some olympics!
Started the puzzle after lunch out with the husband. I was wearing my ME TIME T-shirt and mixing up mayo and ketchup for my fries, just like Mr. Orange. Had a little chuckle over that.
Puzzle took me longer that usual, it seemed to have some bite to it. Learned ANILINE and had to Google TAMI HOAG and Leigh Ann Hester, I'm glad I did, what a hero.
Off to tackle the Sunday NYT.
@Gespenst - Lefties tend to be on a continuum, where as righties tend to be all right.
I'm left-eyed, and use my left for a number of things, including the mouse and the phone. There are fun things to check out - what hand do you wave with? If you write lefty, do you use the hook? (It'ss a sign you definitely don't have right-brain damage.) Lefties tend to be 11% of the population (as are gays, by the way), but are a much higher % of baseball players architects and US presidents and presidential candidates.
Speaking of accents, my late father was Old New York, 1st gen. American. It took him a generation to lose his accent. But he always said chimley rather than chimney.
That whole accent is gone, now.
@LitDoc - I could always tell on the phone if someone was from Pittsburgh. But I could tell from his walk and stance if a guy was from Philly. Have you ever studied that?
By the way, I'm not a good cook, but I'm a good eater.
I just read this quote, "In England there are 60 different religions but only one sauce."
Domenico Caracciolo, viceroy to Sicily, 1780s
This is my third. See ya Monday. I'll be doing last week's Sunday tomorrow.
@sfingi ... interesting about the continuum! And re: the hook ... I noticed someone writing the other day, and he was writing w/ his right hand, but hooking around as if he were lefty! Definitely looked odd!
This is my #3 too, but hey, the day's almost over so that's cool ... back to see Ohno in the finals ...
The matterhorn at Disneyland as an Eticket ride?? Disneyworld mabye, but disneyland is antique!! They didnt have the internet when the atterhorn opened at Disneyland!
Disneyland in the 70's used to have tickets lettered from A-E for the rides.
This puzzle was great in that it kicked my bottom, had at least four Googles to finish. The entire east side fell but my lack of names did me in on the West especially ANOUK AIMEE. This is a Saturday puzzle to revel in, excellent.
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