The theme of the puzzle yesterday was “OUT OF” SORTS, meaning different two-word combinations where both words go with the words “out of.” For example, FASHION LINE. “Out of fashion,” and “out of line” both work. Or PRINT ORDER. “Out of print,” and “out of order” both work. Remember “out of order” in Pacino’s great scene?
Out of order!?
I’ll show you out of order.
You don’t know what out of order is, Mr. Trask.
I’d show you, but I’m too old. I’m too tired. I’m too fucking blind.
If I were the man I was five years ago, I’d take a flame-thrower to this place! (Slams cane on table.)
Out of order? — who the hell do you think you’re talking to?
I’ve been around, you know?
There was a time I could see — and I have seen.
Boys like these — younger than these — with their arms torn out, their legs ripped off.
But there is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit.
There is no prosthetic for that.
I identified the quote as “Pacino, Scent of a Woman.” And egs posted this response (my posting name for Rex’s blog is Liveprof):
“Liveprof. I didn’t recognize that you were printing a quote until I got to the end. I was reading and shaking my head and thinking, ‘Man, Liveprof is showing us a new side of him/her/theirself today. That really came OUTOF the blue.’”
Another theme answer was POCKET DOORS. (Those are those doors that roll into the wall when you slide them open.) So you get “out of pocket” and “out of doors.” One commenter asked “What’s “out of doors?” One reply said: “Outside.” Another explained that it’s where your mom used to send you to play before you had your devices. I wrote: “It’s when you don’t have any doors left.”
10D was a little shaky, IMO. The clue was “Like high-strung horses,” and the answer was SNORTY. I love the word; have been feeling a bit snorty lately myself. You?
Great word at 46A: FRECKLE (“skin spot”). Not often in puzzles.
If you google freckles you get a lot of redheads, some of whom have way too many. They don’t seem to be doing this young lady too much harm, IMO. I’ll spare you the others.
Today’s puzzle was all about the letter H. Here’s the grid:
And the long answers are all H pairs, e.g., heavy hand, high horse, hot heat, etc. Hick Hop is a musical genre that was new to me: a cross between country and rap. (It doesn’t fill a need for me, but that’s me.)
One that wasn’t used was “hobbyhorse.” I was never sure what it means, so I asked our old friend Miriam Webster. It means a topic that one keeps going back to. “I foolishly mentioned the national debt, so, of course, Frank got on his hobbyhorse.” In olden times it had different meanings, including a toy horse head on a stick (for kids to play with), horse costumes, smallish horses, and just hobby.
One Rex poster brought up Humbert Humbert, the hebephile from Nabokov’s Lolita. In the 1997 movie version, Lo was played by Dominique Swain (Jeremy Irons was HH). You can see why he fell for her.
In the 1962 version, Lo was played by Sue Lyon, and HH was James Mason.
Years later, in an interview for Life magazine, Nabokov said:
“I would say that of all my books Lolita has left me with the most pleasurable afterglow—perhaps because it is the purest of all, the most abstract and carefully contrived. I am probably responsible for the odd fact that people don’t seem to name their daughters Lolita any more. I have heard of young female poodles being given that name since 1956, but of no human beings.”
At one point, 36D, the puzzle went from H to B. The clue was “Homemaker from Mayberry,” and the answer was BEE TAYLOR — Aunt Bee from the Andy Griffith Show. Several folks noted that her full name is Beatrice and thought it should be BEA and not BEE, but they are completely wrong, and idiots, and they should shut up. It’s spelled BEE everywhere you look (though I don’t know why). The actress was Frances Bavier who was born way back in 1902 in NYC and lived to age 86. Her original plan was to be a teacher after graduating from Columbia. I can see that. She certainly seemed teacher-y with Opie. [My brother went out with a kindergarten teacher for a while. He complained that whenever he tried to kiss her goodnight, she’d say “I said no!“] As for Aunt Bee, she was young before she was old. Can you believe this is she?
Kinahora, Jim Leyland, the MLB manager just elected to the Hall of Fame, turns 79 next week. He managed 3,499 games, mostly for Detroit and Pittsburgh. In 1997, though, he won the World Series with the Marlins. His winning percentage was only .506, but he often worked with very weak teams. In his eleven years with the Pirates, he won the division three years in a row, but in all but one of his other years there, the team finished under .500. In his eight years with Detroit, he also won the division three years in a row, and in all but one of his other years there, the Tigers finished over .500.
His election to the HOF was a no-brainer. I saw it coming (pat on back) and picked up his autograph for a song years ago, see below. Perhaps the most telling fact about his 22-year career: he was never fired — unheard of for a manager. The three times he left a team, it was his own choice.
I read this story about him long ago. He was a heavy smoker (I hope he gave that up), and in ill health for a while. During one tense game, he collapsed in the dugout, and was rushed to the hospital. The EMT in the ambulance, unaware of who he was, was asking him health-related questions. When he got to “Do you have a high-stress job?” Leyland just started laughing.
He’s been married to his wife Katie since 1987 and they live in a suburb of Pittsburgh. They have a son and a daughter. The son, Patrick, played minor league ball for a while as a catcher/first-baseman. Wonder if he’ll manage someday.
Mazel Tov, JL. Well-deserved.
That’s enough nonsense for today. See you tomorrow.
The Wellington Files 