LA Times Crossword Answers 29 Dec 16, Thursday




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Constructed by: Roland Huget

Edited by: Rich Norris

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

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Theme: Inside Knowledge

Today’s themed answer each contain a hidden word INSIDE, and those words are all synonyms of KNOWLEDGE:

  • 55A. Privileged information demonstrated by this puzzle’s circles : INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
  • 17A. Producer of lavish revues : FLORENZ ZIEGFELD (hiding “lore”)
  • 25A. Where everything turns out all right : STORYBOOK ENDING (hiding “ken”)
  • 42A. New Orleans spectacle : MARDI GRAS PARADE (hiding “grasp”)

Bill’s time: 8m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Mike supports : BOOMS

“Microphone” is often abbreviated to “mike” or “mic”.

10. Capitol cap : DOME

A capitol is a building in which a legislature meets. Such buildings are often constructed with an impressive dome. The term “capitol” is a reference to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the most important temple in Ancient Rome, and which sat on top of Capitoline Hill.

14. Zeno’s home : ELEA

Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher who lived in Elea, a Greek colony in Southern Italy. Zeno is famous for his “paradoxes”, a set of problems that really make you think! In the problem known as “Achilles and the Tortoise”, Zeno tells us that Achilles races a tortoise, giving the tortoise a head start (of say 100 meters). By the time Achilles reaches the starting point of the tortoise, the tortoise will have moved on, albeit only a small distance. Achilles then sets his sights on the tortoise’s new position and runs to it. Again the tortoise has moved ahead a little. Achilles keeps on moving to the tortoise’s new position but can never actually catch his slower rival. Or can he …?

15. Great-grandfather of Noah : ENOCH

There are two Enoch’s mentioned in the Bible. One was Enoch the son of Cain, and grandson of Adam. The second was Enoch the great-grandfather of Noah, and father of Methuselah.

17. Producer of lavish revues : FLORENZ ZIEGFELD

Florenz “Flo” Ziegfeld, Jr. was the man behind the series of theatrical revues called the “Ziegfeld Follies”, as well as the producer of the musical “Show Boat”. The “Follies” shows were structured as imitations of the “Folies Bergère” cabaret shows of Paris.

21. Chop __ : SUEY

Many believe that the Chinese dish known as chop suey was invented in America, by Chinese immigrants. In fact, by the time it showed up in the US it already existed in the Taishan district of Guangdong in southeast China, the origin of many of those immigrants. “Chop suey” translates as “assorted pieces”, and is made up of some meat and eggs quickly cooked with vegetables in a thickened sauce.

23. Pollutant concentration meas. : PPM

Parts per million (ppm)

24. Splint site : SHIN

Pain along the inner edge of the tibia (shinbone) is referred to as “shin splints”. It is a common injury incurred by runners.

33. Part of Great Britain : WALES

The Principality of Wales was created in 1216 when sovereign princes of Welsh territories agreed that Llywelyn the Great would become the paramount ruler of the region. The Principality covered about two thirds of what we call Wales today, and it gained partial recognition by the English Crown with the title of Prince of Wales being created for Llywelyn the Great and his successors. The relationship between the Principality and its powerful neighbor was an uneasy one though, and eventually there was a military conquest by the English King Edward I in 1282-1283. In 1284 the Statute of Rhuddlan became law which brought all the land held by the Prince of Wales under English rule. And today of course, the title of Prince of Wales is held by the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles.

The terms “United Kingdom”, “Great Britain” and “England” can sometimes be confused. The official use of “United Kingdom” originated in 1707 with the Acts of Union that declared the countries of England and Scotland as “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”. The name changed again with the Acts of Union 1800 that created the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” (much to the chagrin of most of the Irish population). This was partially reversed in 1927 when the current name was introduced, the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, in recognition of an independent Irish Free State in the south of the island of Ireland.

34. Jersey, for one : SHIRT

We use the word “jersey” for a sports shirt worn by a particular team member, one that usually bears the player’s name and team number. Back in the mid-1800s, the term was used for a knitted shirt or close-fitting tunic. The item of clothing was named for Jersey in the Channel Islands off the coast of France. The island was famous for its knitting trade during the Middle Ages.

35. “The Purloined Letter” writer : POE

“The Purloined Letter” is the third of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories to feature Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin, Poe’s famous detective. The two earlier stories were the celebrated “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Roget”.

36. British tennis star Murray : ANDY

Andy Murray is a tennis player from Scotland who became British number in 2006, rising to world number one in 2016. Much to the delight of the locals, Murray won the Wimbledon Championship in 2013, making him the first British male player to win in 77 years. Murray also won Olympic gold in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and again in the Rio Games in 2016.

40. “What I dream of is __ of balance … “: Matisse : AN ART

Henri Matisse was a French artist renowned for his contribution to modern art. In his early career, Matisse was classed as a “fauve”, one of the group of artists known as the “wild beasts” who emphasized strong color over realism in their works. He was a lifelong friend of Pablo Picasso, and the two were considered to be good-natured rivals so their works are often compared. One major difference between their individual portfolios is that Picasso tended to paint from his imagination, whereas Matisse tended to use nature as his inspiration.

42. New Orleans spectacle : MARDI GRAS PARADE

“Mardi Gras” translates from French as “Fat Tuesday”, and gets its name from the practice of eating rich foods on the eve of the fasting season known as Lent. Lent starts on the next day, called Ash Wednesday.

45. Spring bloom : IRIS

Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term “iris” is a Greek word meaning “rainbow”. Many species of irises are called “flags”. One suggestion is that the alternate name comes from the Middle English “flagge” meaning “reed”. This term was used because iris leaves look like reeds.

47. International economic bloc : G-SEVEN

The G6 was a group of six industrialized nations that formed in 1975 and whose governments met on a periodic basis. The founding members were France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. The membership expanded in 1976 with the addition of Canada, forming the G7. Russia was given representation in the group in 1997, forming the G8. Russia membership was suspended in 2014 after she annexed Crimea.

50. Sheltered at sea : ALEE

“Alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing “aweather”.

59. Start of a kid’s rhyme : EENIE …

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.
If it hollers/screams let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!

61. Irish Rose’s guy : ABIE

“Abie’s Irish Rose” was originally a Broadway comedy play by Anne Nichols that opened in 1922 and ran for over five years, which back then was the longest run for any show in New York. The show then went on tour, and stayed on tour for an amazing 40 years. The play tells of a young Jewish man called Abie Levy who marries an Irish Catholic girl called Rosemary Murphy. Abie lies to his family and pretends that his “Irish Rose” is Jewish.

63. Out of control : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had good reason for that frenzy …

Down

2. “__ and Louis”: 1956 jazz album : ELLA

“Ella and Louis” was a studio album released in 1956, a collaboration between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong with accompaniment by the Oscar Peterson Quartet. The pair worked together on two more albums: “Ella and Louis Again” and “Porgy and Bess”, both released in 1957.

3. Element #10 : NEON

Neon was discovered in 1898 by two British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers who chilled a sample of air, turning it into a liquid. They warmed the liquid and separated out the gases that boiled off. Along with nitrogen, oxygen and argon (already known), the pair of scientists discovered two new gases. The first they called “krypton” and the second “neon”. “Krypton” is Greek for “the hidden one” and “neon” is Greek for “new”.

6. Number after dix : ONZE

In French, “dix et un” (ten and one) come to “onze” (eleven).

8. Old Sprint rival : MCI

MCI was a giant telecom company that suffered a similar fate to Enron, and around about the same time. MCI’s stock price fell in 2000 and in maneuvers designed to protect the price, the company committed illegal acts. The larger-than-life CEO back then, Bernie Ebbers, is now serving a 25-year sentence in Louisiana.

The company that we know today as Sprint has a history that is linked with the Southern Pacific railroad company. Southern Pacific developed a microwave communication system for its internal use across its network using rights-of-way associated with the company’s extensive railway lines. In the early seventies, the company laid huge lengths of fiber optic cable in those rights-of-way, alongside the tracks, primarily for internal use. The railroad sold excess fiber capacity to private companies, allowing those companies to operate long distance telephone service outside of AT&T, which at that time had a long-distance monopoly. Southern Pacific took advantage of changing FCC regulations and started offering voice service directly to consumers. That service was offered under the name SPRINT, an acronym that stood for Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking Telephony. Very interesting …

18. Best Championship Performance and Best Team : ESPYS

The ESPY Awards are a creation of the ESPN sports television network. One difference with similarly named awards in the entertainment industry is that ESPY winners are chosen solely based on viewer votes.

26. Self-named 2002 country album : TANYA

Country singer Tanya Tucker’s first hit was “Delta Dawn” in 1972, which she recorded at only 13 years of age.

28. Statuettes that were made of painted plaster during WWII : OSCARS

Legend has it that actor Emilio Fernández was the model for the Oscar statuette. Cedric Gibbons, art director at MGM, created the design and supposedly convinced a reluctant Fernández to pose nude for “Oscar”.

29. 1939 Leigh role : O’HARA

As casting proceeded for the movie version of “Gone With the Wind”, Clark Gable was a shoo-in from day one. The role of Scarlett O’Hara was considered very desirable in the acting community, with Bette Davis on the short list, and Katherine Hepburn demanding an appointment with producer David O. Selznick to discuss the role. Vivien Leigh was an unlikely contender, an English actress for the definitive Southern belle role. Selznick was adamant though, and stuck by his choice despite a lot of protests.

30. Bucky Beaver’s toothpaste : IPANA

Ipana toothpaste was introduced in 1915 and was at the height of its popularity in the forties and fifties. Sales declined in the sixties and the product was withdrawn from the US market in the seventies. Bucky the Beaver was the “spokesman” for Ipana. Bucky the Beaver’s slogan was “Brusha… Brusha… Brusha. Get the New Ipana – it’s dandy for your teeth!” Bucky’s nemesis in commercials was Mr. Decay Germ.

32. Former goslings : GEESE

A male goose is called a gander, with the female simply being referred to as a “goose”. Young geese are called goslings.

38. Certain dieter’s concern : CARB

Only relatively small amounts of carbohydrate can be stored by the human body, but those stores are important. The actual storage molecule is a starch-like polysaccharide called glycogen, which is found mainly in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a quick source of energy when required by the body. Most of the body’s energy is stored in the form of fat, a more compact substance that is mobilized less rapidly. Endurance athletes often eat meals high in carbohydrate (carbo-loading) a few hours before an event, so that their body’s glycogen is at optimum levels.

44. Hall of Famer Reese : PEE WEE

Pee Wee Reese was a shortstop who played his professional career with the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers. Reese is remembered not only for his skill on the field, but for his very visible support for teammate Jackie Robinson, who famously struggled to be accepted as the first African American player in the majors. As he was an outstanding marbles player as a child, Reese was given the nickname “pee wee” after the name for a small marble.

47. Coolidge Dam’s river : GILA

The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado and flows through New Mexico and Arizona. From 1848 to 1853, the Gila marked part of the border between the US and Mexico.

The Coolidge Dam in Arizona is built on the Gila River, forming the San Carlos River. The dam was named for Calvin Coolidge, and the former president himself dedicated it in 1930. When that dedication ceremony took place, the lake had not begun to fill. As a result, comic actor Will Rogers made reference to the grass in the lake bed by commenting, “If this were my dam, I’d mow it.”

48. Highbrow, perhaps : SNOB

Back in the 1780s, a “snob” was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

49. Morales of “NYPD Blue” : ESAI

The actor Esai Morales is best known in the world of film for the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai). On the small screen, Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on “NYPD Blue” and Joseph Adama on “Caprica”.

51. “Family Guy” mom : LOIS

“Family Guy” is a very successful animated show on television. It was created by Seth MacFarlane, the same guy who came up with “American Dad!”. My kids love them both. Me, I can’t stand ‘em.

52. Dutch export : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

53. French Toaster Sticks brand : EGGO

Eggo is the brand name of a line of frozen waffles made by Kellogg’s. When they were introduced in the 1930s, the name “Eggo” was chosen to promote the “egginess” of the batter. “Eggo” replaced the original name chosen, which was “Froffles”, created by melding “frozen” and “waffles”.

54. One of 33-Across’ national emblems : LEEK
(33A. Part of Great Britain : WALES)

The leek is a vegetable closely related to the onion and the garlic. It is also a national emblem of Wales (along with the daffodil), although I don’t think we know for sure how this came to be. One story is that the Welsh were ordered to wear leeks in their helmets to identify themselves in a battle against the Saxons. Apparently, the battle took place in a field of leeks.

56. Mauna __ : KEA

Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, the peak of which is the highest point in the whole state. Mauna Kea is in effect the tip of a gigantic volcano rising up from the seabed.

57. Starter’s stat : ERA

Earned run average (ERA)

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Little bit of progress : DENT

5. Mike supports : BOOMS

10. Capitol cap : DOME

14. Zeno’s home : ELEA

15. Great-grandfather of Noah : ENOCH

16. Struck (out) : EXED

17. Producer of lavish revues : FLORENZ ZIEGFELD

20. Catch some rays : TAN

21. Chop __ : SUEY

22. More than enough : PLENTY

23. Pollutant concentration meas. : PPM

24. Splint site : SHIN

25. Where everything turns out all right : STORYBOOK ENDING

33. Part of Great Britain : WALES

34. Jersey, for one : SHIRT

35. “The Purloined Letter” writer : POE

36. British tennis star Murray : ANDY

37. Internet greeting : E-CARD

38. Lawyer’s job : CASE

39. Ham may be seen on it : RYE

40. “What I dream of is __ of balance … “: Matisse : AN ART

41. Track divisions : LANES

42. New Orleans spectacle : MARDI GRAS PARADE

45. Spring bloom : IRIS

46. Recede : EBB

47. International economic bloc : G-SEVEN

50. Sheltered at sea : ALEE

52. Epitome of slipperiness : EEL

55. Privileged information demonstrated by this puzzle’s circles : INSIDE KNOWLEDGE

58. Advance : LOAN

59. Start of a kid’s rhyme : EENIE …

60. Boil over : RAGE

61. Irish Rose’s guy : ABIE

62. Bring up : RAISE

63. Out of control : AMOK

Down

1. Like a magician’s hands : DEFT

2. “__ and Louis”: 1956 jazz album : ELLA

3. Element #10 : NEON

4. Smelly sealant : TAR

5. Render senseless : BENUMB

6. Number after dix : ONZE

7. Seeping slowly : OOZY

8. Old Sprint rival : MCI

9. One often seen with a crook : SHEPHERD

10. Stand up for : DEFEND

11. Ground-breaking team, at times : OXEN

12. Lunch order : MELT

13. Drain swirl : EDDY

18. Best Championship Performance and Best Team : ESPYS

19. Sparkle : GLINT

23. Carnivore’s target : PREY

24. Goes around : SKIRTS

25. Buzzing cloud : SWARM

26. Self-named 2002 country album : TANYA

27. From an earlier time : OLDER

28. Statuettes that were made of painted plaster during WWII : OSCARS

29. 1939 Leigh role : O’HARA

30. Bucky Beaver’s toothpaste : IPANA

31. Edged (out) : NOSED

32. Former goslings : GEESE

37. Mastermind : ENGINEER

38. Certain dieter’s concern : CARB

40. Made public : AIRED

41. Shop tag : LABEL

43. Godlike : DIVINE

44. Hall of Famer Reese : PEE WEE

47. Coolidge Dam’s river : GILA

48. Highbrow, perhaps : SNOB

49. Morales of “NYPD Blue” : ESAI

50. Years in Rome : ANNI

51. “Family Guy” mom : LOIS

52. Dutch export : EDAM

53. French Toaster Sticks brand : EGGO

54. One of 33-Across’ national emblems : LEEK

56. Mauna __ : KEA

57. Starter’s stat : ERA

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14 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 29 Dec 16, Thursday”

  1. I’ll just give this puzzle a big “whew”. Finished it even after there were a few points where I almost gave up. The top portion caused me the most grief. All that said, I thought this was a very clever puzzle – the cluing more so than the theme. Friday level of difficulty for me anyway.

    Sprint is an acromyn – wow. I definitely did not realize that. Interesting story indeed.
    Will Rogers is so quotable. He and Mark Twain should have a contest…
    I’m with Bill’s kids regarding Family Guy. I love that show even though I don’t watch it that much. Makes me laugh every time, the songs are great (when they have them), and Seth MacFarlane’s voice is amazing.

    Is it New Year’s Eve yet? I think I’ve reached my alcohol quota for 2016. I need a blank slate….

    Best –

  2. I found this one much easier than yesterday’s. Googled once, for ONZE. Never studied that language where half is not pronounced. Give me Italian any day.
    I give myself a certain amount of time, and then Google. I don’t do it on computer, though I know there’s an advantage there. As a matter of fact, with Sudoku, there’s such an advantage when one is down to one of two numbers, that it’s a different game in my estimation.

    There were three I didn’t actually know, but got by crosses.

  3. Jeff, for starters, I noted your re-comment, last night, on the liquid nitrogen phenomenon. ( In hindsight, I don’t appear so cutely smart, after all… ) I’d would have loved to heard from you in person.
    As for me, I can’t even begin to understand how there can be a vacuum in the presence of all the molecules of liquid N2 just merrily boiling away.

    Bill, there is a nice Google doodle on the raincoat manufacturer/inventor Charles Macintosh. ( apparently, the ‘k’ came later.) .

    Have a nice day, all.

    1. @Vidwan
      It really just BOILS down to semantics – which aspect of the reaction one is referring to…I added this just so I could use the BOILS pun…

      Best –

  4. 11:47, no errors. I got off to a bad start by mixing up the “across” and “down” entries in the upper left corner. (DENT and ELEA were too much like DEFT and ELLA for a morning-befogged brain, I guess.) Once I got that straightened out, though, the rest of the puzzle seemed fairly easy.

    @Sfingi … Back in April, after a lifetime of doing crosswords on paper, I began using my iPad Mini instead. At first, I was hopelessly inept with it, but I have slowly gotten better. At this point, I think I’m a little faster with it, but the way in which I approach a puzzle is quite different and I still make more errors of the stupid “I-didn’t-mean-to-do-that” variety. The app one uses makes a big difference, too: in particular, the NYT app is quite a bit friendlier than the LAT app (in which I spend a lot of time sliding the puzzle left and right in its window, because it won’t display the whole thing at once).

    I have not tried doing Sudokus on the iPad, but my gut reaction is that it would be a lot less convenient. (This may have something to do with my solution technique.)

  5. The bloggers here are probably too genteel to mention, or maybe not old enough to remember, the original eeny meeny rhyme. It went “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Catch a (insert N-word here) by the toe. If he hollers let him go. Eeny, meeny, miny moe.

    Thank goodness we have gotten past that kind of racial reference. Or have we?

    I miss Bucky Beaver. When he came on our old black and white TV, everyone at home sang along to Brusha, Brusha, Brusha. Those were the days 🙂

  6. I had a tough time with the puzzle. It was so bad, ( for me – ) that I couldn’t even remember the 10th element – and it had only 4 letters. Miserable showing. I read Bill’s blog with much avid interest.

    Piano Man, I too, remember the nursery rhyme, with the N word…. and I, or my friends, did not even know that it was a pejorative !!!@! Btw, it was also applied, in India, to indians (natives ) by the british, during the colonial era, and still it was accepted, as slang, but not necessarily as a pejorative. The eqivalent word in South Africa was ‘kaffir’, for black ( and maybe some indian coloreds, as well). Actually kaffir is a word from Islam, meaning ‘unbeliever ‘ and almost most blacks and whites, being non-muslim would have been ( equally – ) kaffirs. The only muslims in South Africa, at present, are some arabs and some indian muslims – not too many blacks either.

    Have a nice day, all.

  7. Bill, thanks for the write up on Sprint. My father in law was an electrician for Southern Pacific until he retired in ’74, and kept the crossing lights and communications systems working. The worse the weather, the more he was out in it.

    It took me awhile to remember how Florenz Zeigfeld spelled his name, then the upper central came together.

  8. Hi all! Got around on grids early, so here I am to talk about them (12-26/12-29). The only real eventful part in solving was today (3 letters off, namely due to that person in 17-Across I never heard of before). As a side note, I started rough timing (paper), since I know now I’m not taking hours anymore. 12, 10, 16, and 22 minutes (mainly trying to sort out the upper left) for those who are interested. Don’t know how that compares to average, but I know for the first two it seemed like I was writing the whole time. Still slow compared to most, I’m sure. I may have to go back to doing online stuff, I guess, since I know I wouldn’t be spending forever sitting bolt-upright at a computer trying to do them.

    Oddly enough, at the rate I’m going with the NYT side of things (1 error so far on Monday), I’ll probably finish the week better off there (again!). We’ll see…

    Anyhow, as for the liquid nitrogen thing, it’s one of the fascinating things (out of many) you discover and get to play with some when you take a fair amount of chemistry and physics. One thing about Youtube is that you get to actually see a lot of things there that you would have only gotten to see for yourself in a classroom lab back in the day (like I did liquid nitrogen and a handful of other things). My path took me to more hard-core computer science and then business processing from there, so can’t say I know too much. But hey… 🙂

  9. @Kennison – I really like doing puzzles on my back, with my head on a pillow and using a Flair, any color. I write too light with a pencil. But once in a while I’ll try the iPhone.

    Words like ZIEGFELD (of Follies fame) and IPANA benefit me – who will be 72 tomorrow. My cultural history begins with my grandparents, born in the 1880s and I admit, ends about 20 yrs ago. I actually met a soldier from the Spanish-American war – at a wake held in the deceased’s home. On the other hand I recently heard some outtakes from the new musical, Hamilton, and it sounded smart and interesting.

  10. Forgot to check in.
    Tough for me, but got it.
    Just started feeling normal last night and actually ate something substantial. All better today.
    What class were elements covered?
    Got a C in biology after refusing to cut up the formaldehyde frog.
    Ugh!
    Whatever it was , I didn’t take it.
    Thought maybe it was irON.
    Per discussions yesterday…enjoyed the videos and discussions and… if you say so. 🙂

  11. Finished in about 18 minutes with 1 error ONtE, since I knew Flo Ziegfeld but didn’t know Florenz…sigh. NW corner gave me a bit of grief with DENT and DEFT.

    Another new (two) French word(s) for me: onze and dix.

    Very interesting history on Sprint; did not know that or that MCI’s CEO is serving 25 years.

  12. Hi every buddy!
    Sfingi, happy birthday!!! Wish I could say it in Italian!!??
    Good challenge today. Didn’t see the theme til I was almost finished. Misspelled ZIEGFELD at first. Wrote in WALES, erased it, put it back in.
    Speaking of which….How sad to have a LEEK as a national emblem!! I picture half wilted leeks draped on those ancient soldiers’ helmets… Daffodils might have looked worse, tho…
    I also got bullyragged in the NW — I didn’t know ELEA or NEON; saved by DEFT.
    FWIW — and I may have mentioned this here before– the boom mike was invented by Dorothy Arzner, a pioneering woman director who started in silents in the 1920s. She didn’t take out a patent, tho, and another (male) director stole it.
    NO, JEFF, IT’S NOT NEW YEAR’S EVE YET!
    ….but it will be soon! Everyone, be careful out there!
    Sweet dreams~~™✌

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