Theme: Full Monty Monday (Blogged by Argyle)
20A: Auto door safety feature: CHILD PROOF LOCK
34A: Cheap per-share buy: PENNY STOCK
42A: Brewery container: BEER BARREL
51A: With "the," what the ends of 20-,34- and 42-Across suggest: WHOLE ENCHILADA.
It seems funny to have LOCK, STOCK and BARREL after HANG FIRE yesterday since they both refer to early firearms. I feel that The WHOLE ENCHILADA is more West Coast influence; back East they are more likely to say The Whole Ball of Wax.
Anyway, they all mean that something is taken as a whole entity.
Across:
1A: Alpha follower: BETA. If this had been NATO code, it would be Bravo (other than the fact it wouldn't fit).
5A: Advanced math subj.: CALC. Calculus And 17A: Geom. shape: RECT. Rectangle All these others are formed by shotening the orignal word. 47A: NFL gains: YDS. yards, 48A: Lawyer: Abbr.: ATT. attorny, 49A: Part of a college yr.: SEM. semester, 2D: Corp. officer: EXEC. executive, 3D: PC troubleshooter: TECH. technician, 12D: Kind of engr.: ELEC. electricity
9A: Metal fastener: RIVET.
15A: Birth state of seven presidents: OHIO. William Henry Harrison, Ulysses Simpson Grant, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, James Abram Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren Gamaliel Harding
16A: Amtrak speedster: ACELA. Acela is a made-up name, not an acronym or Latin or Greek. 46A: Greek letters after mus: NUS. Now that was Greek to me!
18A: Skipper who landed on Ararat: NOAH. Mount Ararat.
24A: Korean carmaker: KIA.
28A: Places to sleep: Abbr.: BRS. bedrooms
30A: Son-of-a-gun: SO AND SO.
39A: __ Jima: IWO. In the South Pacific
41A: Hogwarts messengers: OWLS. Owls always knew where the adressee could be found. Harry's owl, Hedwig, was a snowy owl.
59A: Playful poke: NUDGE.
60A: R&B singer India.__: ARIE. India.Arie Why the dot in her name I wonder?
61A: Tax: LEVY.
63A: Oven setting: BROIL.
64A: Paw bottoms: PADS.
65A: Big name in do-it-yourself furniture: IKEA.
66A: Gillette Trac II successors: ATRAS. A new clue for an old answer.
Down:
1D: Watering hole, so to speak: BAR. And where you can 36D: Run a tab: OWE.
5D: Andean vultures: CONDORS. 11 foot wingspan, Wow, Looks like a transmitter on his wing.
8D: Great Lakes salmon: COHO. The average adult Great Lakes coho salmon weighs eight pounds. Like the chinook, coho are native to the Pacific coast of North America, and to parts of Asia. They were introduced into the Great Lakes in 1873.
9D: Basket fiber: RAFFIA. Basket. Also, raphia. A fiber obtained from the leaves of the raffia palm.
10D: Reykjavik native: ICELANDER. I hope the natives are friendly.
11D: White House rejection: VETO.
21D: Tripoli's country: LIBYA.
26D: Cat calls: MEOWS.
27D: "I give up!": UNCLE. The origin is traced to the Irish anacol, meaning an act of mercy or quarter. So, to say uncle appears to be a folk etymology that arose in North America from Irish immigrants; or nobody really knows.
30D: Disdain: SCORN.
31D: Fictional Maine town in many Stephen King stories: DERRY. If you see this sign while driving in Maine, for God's sake, turn around!
35D: Sentimental yearning for the past: NOSTALGIA.
40D: Sales meeting prop: EASEL.
42D: Beast, in Bordeaux: BETE.
43D: Like the most active bee?: BUSIEST. "Busy as a bee."
45D: Braces (oneself): STEELS.
50D: Sasha Obama's big sister: MALIA. I'll bet we see more of the girls in our grids.
51D: Org. with the N.Y. Liberty and L.A. Sparks: WNBA. Women's National Basketball Association. The league was founded in 1996 as the women's counterpart to the NBA. League play started in 1997; the regular season is played from June to September with the playoffs starting in mid-September and running into October.
54D: California wine county: NAPA.
55D: Scuttling crustacean: CRAB. Our favorite crab.
57D: Tricky hockey maneuver: DEKE. On the ice; on the field, it's a juke.
58D: Affirm confidently: AVER.
62D: NBA center __ Ming: YAO. 7 ft 6 in, Weight, 310 lb.
Answer grid.
Argyle
20A: Auto door safety feature: CHILD PROOF LOCK
34A: Cheap per-share buy: PENNY STOCK
42A: Brewery container: BEER BARREL
51A: With "the," what the ends of 20-,34- and 42-Across suggest: WHOLE ENCHILADA.
It seems funny to have LOCK, STOCK and BARREL after HANG FIRE yesterday since they both refer to early firearms. I feel that The WHOLE ENCHILADA is more West Coast influence; back East they are more likely to say The Whole Ball of Wax.
Anyway, they all mean that something is taken as a whole entity.
Across:
1A: Alpha follower: BETA. If this had been NATO code, it would be Bravo (other than the fact it wouldn't fit).
5A: Advanced math subj.: CALC. Calculus And 17A: Geom. shape: RECT. Rectangle All these others are formed by shotening the orignal word. 47A: NFL gains: YDS. yards, 48A: Lawyer: Abbr.: ATT. attorny, 49A: Part of a college yr.: SEM. semester, 2D: Corp. officer: EXEC. executive, 3D: PC troubleshooter: TECH. technician, 12D: Kind of engr.: ELEC. electricity
9A: Metal fastener: RIVET.
15A: Birth state of seven presidents: OHIO. William Henry Harrison, Ulysses Simpson Grant, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, James Abram Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren Gamaliel Harding
16A: Amtrak speedster: ACELA. Acela is a made-up name, not an acronym or Latin or Greek. 46A: Greek letters after mus: NUS. Now that was Greek to me!
18A: Skipper who landed on Ararat: NOAH. Mount Ararat.
24A: Korean carmaker: KIA.
28A: Places to sleep: Abbr.: BRS. bedrooms
30A: Son-of-a-gun: SO AND SO.
39A: __ Jima: IWO. In the South Pacific
41A: Hogwarts messengers: OWLS. Owls always knew where the adressee could be found. Harry's owl, Hedwig, was a snowy owl.
59A: Playful poke: NUDGE.
60A: R&B singer India.__: ARIE. India.Arie Why the dot in her name I wonder?
61A: Tax: LEVY.
63A: Oven setting: BROIL.
64A: Paw bottoms: PADS.
65A: Big name in do-it-yourself furniture: IKEA.
66A: Gillette Trac II successors: ATRAS. A new clue for an old answer.
Down:
1D: Watering hole, so to speak: BAR. And where you can 36D: Run a tab: OWE.
5D: Andean vultures: CONDORS. 11 foot wingspan, Wow, Looks like a transmitter on his wing.
8D: Great Lakes salmon: COHO. The average adult Great Lakes coho salmon weighs eight pounds. Like the chinook, coho are native to the Pacific coast of North America, and to parts of Asia. They were introduced into the Great Lakes in 1873.
9D: Basket fiber: RAFFIA. Basket. Also, raphia. A fiber obtained from the leaves of the raffia palm.
10D: Reykjavik native: ICELANDER. I hope the natives are friendly.
11D: White House rejection: VETO.
21D: Tripoli's country: LIBYA.
26D: Cat calls: MEOWS.
27D: "I give up!": UNCLE. The origin is traced to the Irish anacol, meaning an act of mercy or quarter. So, to say uncle appears to be a folk etymology that arose in North America from Irish immigrants; or nobody really knows.
30D: Disdain: SCORN.
31D: Fictional Maine town in many Stephen King stories: DERRY. If you see this sign while driving in Maine, for God's sake, turn around!
35D: Sentimental yearning for the past: NOSTALGIA.
40D: Sales meeting prop: EASEL.
42D: Beast, in Bordeaux: BETE.
43D: Like the most active bee?: BUSIEST. "Busy as a bee."
45D: Braces (oneself): STEELS.
50D: Sasha Obama's big sister: MALIA. I'll bet we see more of the girls in our grids.
51D: Org. with the N.Y. Liberty and L.A. Sparks: WNBA. Women's National Basketball Association. The league was founded in 1996 as the women's counterpart to the NBA. League play started in 1997; the regular season is played from June to September with the playoffs starting in mid-September and running into October.
54D: California wine county: NAPA.
55D: Scuttling crustacean: CRAB. Our favorite crab.
57D: Tricky hockey maneuver: DEKE. On the ice; on the field, it's a juke.
58D: Affirm confidently: AVER.
62D: NBA center __ Ming: YAO. 7 ft 6 in, Weight, 310 lb.
Answer grid.
Argyle
76 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - a real speed run today, 3:44.
Had two unknowns, the 'Hogwarts messengers' and 'India.Arie', which the perps quickly got. I got the theme 'lock, stock and barrel', but had no idea what the last one was gonna be until I got 'whole...'. Clever. 'Deke' was the subject of a recent discussion here.
Argyle, back when I was in, it was Alpha, Baker, etc. Excellent job on the blog, as always.
Today is Best Friends Day & Name Your Poison Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "What I hate most in life are people who are not really the peach of the day but who want to be young and sexy. You can fool nobody. There is a moment when you have to accept that somebody else is younger and fresher and hotter. Life is not a beauty contest. -- Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld
Some Fun Facts to ponder:
- A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for sixty-eight years.
- In medieval Japan, dentists extracted teeth with their hands.
Well, I "did" it in 20 minutes but I couldn't get RIVET, RAFFIA, DERRY or OPELS and I probably would have gotten SO AND SO if I had known that "Son of a gun" was a mild epithet. I also had TDS instead of YDS (which didn't help) and I got OHIO from the perps after initially writing in UTAH.
Martin
Good morning Argyle, C.C. and all,... anice easy puzzle to start the week. I completed this one quickly, but do not know how long it took. Like Dennis I had two unknowns, "R&B singer India." and "Hogwarts messengers.' Those two fill came from the perps.
Nice job as usual Argyle. I liked your links and I am happy to learn that Icelandic are friendly, as evidenced from your picture link.
Hope you all have a great Monday.
Dennis,
I faintly remember Argyle linked an OWL picture for a possible "Hogwarts messenger" clue once. Yeah, I remember the DEKE and JUKE discussions we had last time. How could he sleep with those hiccups? Don't all the teeth are extracted by hands? Youth is a state of mind.
Martin,
Very easy to confuse RAFFIA the fiber with RATTAN the caning material.
WM,
Interesting information about the hotel room for the movie "Same Time, Next Year". Thanks for sharing. What is "Cafe a go go"?
Argyle,
I am glad you noticed the excessive amount of abbreviations. Don't forget BRS (28A). That's 9. KIA is actually an abbreviation too. KI = Rising. A = Asia. Plus the prefix AERO (68A) and also the made-up ACELA.I don't know why the dot in India.Arie's name. I found out that she shared a birthday with Gandhi, hence India. Arie means "lion". Why "Scuttling" for CRAB? Thanks for the great write-up. Lots of nice links today.
Tarrajo, how is the little guy this am? Hopefully, he is starting on his way to a full recovery.
Mrs. J & Donnie,
Welcome!
Stuart,
Try Cruciverb's Across Lite if you still have trouble with LAT's online puzzle.
Tarrajo,
Sorry about your son. Motherhood is rewarding but seems so hard.
Embien & KQ,
I dollop a few spoons of Cool Whip on my husband's pancakes and corn bread. I myself don't eat Cool Whip. KQ, it's tough (almost impossible) to follow the Blood Type diet.
CC: "Youth is a state of mind."
True up to a point, but a corollary must be that when you have reached a certain level, "(Old) Age is an ever-constant presence."
Like many people here, I usually act and occasionally
feel much younger than my calendar age, although mirrors often deliver a sudden and unwelcome shock.
Crossword puzzles (we all hope) will at least keep the brain young.
Just read last night's posts - tarrajo, hope the little guy's doing ok. I'll bet you'll be pleasantly surprised at his resilience.
a scuttling crab video
good morning c.c., argyle, and all,
as dennis said, a speed run. only unknown was BETE, but easily filled from perps. always wondered about the '.' in india.arie. a decent cover of her always in my head.
tarrajo: i feel your single mom pain. i think it hurts us more than them. after a handful of trips to the ER, my 'little guy' is 6 feet tall, and no worse for the wear.
I thought this was a hard puzzle for a Monday. It took longer than usual for me to complete.
Tarrajo... Hang in there girl. There will many of those little, or not so little, bumps and bruises. As they say, boys will be boys (and sometimes, girls will be boys, too)
Hold him, love him, caress him and be aware that he'll get thru all the kid things, grow up, and be too soon gone from the nest.
The x word was almost too easy. Although I understand the concept of getting progressively harder as the week goes on, I wish we could strike a happy medium and have Mondays a little less like a childs and Fridays a little less like a college professors study guide!!!I relaay would like to solve them all week long but that seems impossible.
CY'all Later
BYW, The weekend camping was at a local Relay For Life fundraiser. We've never been to one and Nancy wanted to do the survivors lap with some friends. I was totally amazed at the participation from the small community. We spent the weekend and had a great time.
Morning all -
Not much to report on today's puzzle. I figured out the theme pretty quickly. Knew most answers, and those I didn't filled in easily. My favorite wasn't actually a clue, but Argyle's warning link for Derry. Made me chuckle. Nice job Argyle.
Tarrajo - Hope your little guy is feeling better today. If he's anything like my little girl, there's nothing that a little ice cream won't help. Enjoy cartoons and snuggle time with him today, because I'm sure he'll be back up and at it before you know it.
Andrea
Hi all!,
Once again great blogging, Argyle! Liked the links, and like Andrea, had to chuckle over Derry.
Easy Monday, got the theme quickly and unknowns, PENNY stock, ARIE, ACELA, DEKE and DERRY fell in easily.
Today's WOW reminds me of the saying "mutton dressed up as lamb", oft quoted by my mother on seeing someone older inappropriately clad. Lagerfeld designs clothing so he must be thinking along the same lines.
kazie, I love that saying. One of the things that always cracks me up is seeing people wearing, as you put it, age-inappropriate clothing, or using 'young slang'. Things like over 50s wearing baseball caps backwards, or super-low-rise shorts, using words like 'rad', 'bro', 'dude'.
On India DOT Arie: "Contrary to popular belief, I don't throw fits if the dot is missing between my name. I wanted to make myself stand out." from this
Chicago Sun-Times interview by Jae-Ha Kim
Nice write-up Argyle.
ML
Hi C.C. & gang. An easy puzzle for Monday. I saw the ACELA and I thought it was a LA commuter train but no, it's a east coast one.
Here in the SF bay area there's a
acerail commuter train called the Altamont Commuter Express
Dennis,
I agree--some of them just never grow up!
Good morning, everyone!
Argyle, nice write-up.
@tarrajo Hope your son is bouncing right back, and that you have a nice day with him. Tomorrow he'll probably have another adventure that will add to your premature gray hairs!
Leo continues to respond well to his meds. He only wobbles a little bit now, and doesn't fall over any more. Now, we need to get him eating more so he gets back some of the weight he's lost.
Have a great Monday!
What the H? I don't know where my newspaper got the puzzle today. But it sure as heck isn't the one here. Imaging my surprise when I took a look and NOTHING MATCHES !!
I'm going to send them an email and see if I can find out what's up.
treefrog, what's your paper?
Warren, I will have to go back and read your Acela link again...when I can stop laughing. I laugh because I'm too big to cry. It is a classic govermental boondoggle and explains why Amtrak is such a drain of tax dollars. Where else in the world would you invest in a 200mph train, then limit it to 150mph max, and that's only on some isolated short sections.
If anybody says I don't have my facts straight, by gum, I hope their RIGHT!
Mornin`, ya`ll...I`m channeling Paula Deen who some say I resemble...
Argyle; Will you be our Monday blogger from now on? Good job.
Mondays are my favorite day... I can do both puzzles without coming here!
tarrajo: Is your name "terra jo" or "tah-ráh-ho"...Kids are given to us for lots of reasons...one of which, I believe, is to better understand God`s unconditional love for us and how He grieves when we hurt. I know it must be hard to be both parents to "little guy" Have you ever considered Big Brothers" for him?
argyle...I wobble a lot, too. Leo and I may just be "long in the tooth!"
Kazie: Will do your griddle cakes tomorrow...will let you know how much they loved them :)
When my older son first brought his new wife for Thanksgiving (and she wound up spending the weekend with us...while he returned to his job) we served the pumpkin pie and asked if she wanted cool whip...she informed us, "I don`t put chemicals in my body!." I wanted to say, "Then you better not eat anything you don`t grow/produce yourself, then!" but I was good...
Tarrajo,
Just this morning I was reminiscing with my son about the scar on his knee. He fell onto a piece of glass. My wife held him while the old country doctor put in stitches. Me?, I went outside and lay prone on the sidewalk to keep from getting sick.
So much for what (this) daddy is good for in an emergency. Mamas are SPECIAL.
Your son will get through this, but I know you will always remember the hurt you felt for him.
God bless both of you.
The Puzzle? I DOOD IT.
Vaya con Dios
Not much to comment on in today's puzzle. Speaking of NOSTALGIA, haven't heard "SO AND SO" in decades.
In the press of other things, haven't completed yesterday's puzzle yet, so I didn't read the blog, so I don't know what happened to Terrajo's little guy. Sending good thoughts your way though.
My contribution to the discourse on old age is my personal motto: What I lack in youth, I make up for with immaturity.
Cheers!
Melissa Bee @6:39, thanks a lot. Now that song's going to be stuck in my head all day...
An earworm is a bete noire, french for dark beast. An object or abstract idea that is particularly disliked or avoided.
A Yao Ming funny.
@al: i've already accomplished something that will last all day, and it's not even 9am. you're welcome.
Argyle: I agree that your blogging this morning is excellent.
It doesn't seem fair to have someone as tall as the basket play in a game.
Ikea has an island and a ferry to it from Manhattan, which my son took me to. The plant is huge; it took hours to just walk thru it. And I missed it today. Sigh.
And I totally missed the Whole enchilada. Had _H_LEENCHIL_ _ _, and couldn't figure it out. I agree that the expression is a west coast one. I had already gotten lock stock and barrel.
Have a nice one. It's 83 and sunny here in Naples.
Good Morning all...Found I could print the puzzle around 11:30 last night so I am going to backtrack and see how early it is available. I thought it was really easy and didn't have any real hang-ups. Liked the WHOLE ENCHILADA and find it interesting that it seems to be left coast-specific. We also used to say the whole ball of wax.
Only got DERRY from perps as I had _ERRY and I don't read Stephen King as a rule. Argyle...LOL at the link there. But, I did read all the Harry Potter books. I do think it is interesting that a puzzle with the WHOLE enchilada has so very many abbr...
C.C. the "A GO GO" was tacked on to many names during the short-lived DISCO era...Club a go go, Cafe a go go, Disco a go go...etc. I was pregnant with my youngest at the beginning of the Disco era and I really liked the styles, long frou=frou hair-dos, strappy shoes...etc, plus the dancing looked liked so much fun and I couldn't participate...by the time she was born Disco was Passe...so I missed it entirely and it was only a rage for about a 9 mos to a year...that daughter just turned 30 in May!
tarrajo...Good thoughts your way. Enjoy your extra quality time today.
Argyle...you are just getting better and better at this. Really enjoyed your blogging today. Also good news on the kitty...
Have to take mom to yet another Dr. appt today. Hoping for good news on the surgery front. She is much improved from several weeks ago.
I thought it was a very easy puzzle today. I must have finished it in under 15 minutes. My favorite clue was “skipper who landed on Ararat” – Noah. I didn’t know the basket fiber “raffia” but got it via the perps.
@Linda, my name is pronounced Tah-ra Jo. I have an identical twin sister named Tasha Jo. Yep, you guessed it, my dad’s name is Joe.
@Dennis don’t dentists still extract teeth with their hands? Also, what the heck are super low-rise shorts?
Thanks for all your well wishes for the “little guy”. He’s a little sore in the mouth this morning but is loving the ice cream and extra Mommy time today. So far we’ve seen Cars and Finding Nemo. I am trying to keep him quiet and that is no easy task as he’s a busy kinda guy.
Well,
Tarrajo, like many my mind read your name "tah-ráh-ho" using the hispanic sound (not anything insulting). Would not have guesses the Joe connection, or the existence of an identical twin. Does she solve? Have you ever tricked us letting her do your post? Life is so complicated, is she in Minnesota as well? Glad your son is healing; is he Joe II, Little Joe?
I had trouble with the raffia acela cross, showing that perspective is everything.
Happy Monday
Good afternoon CC et al., first of all: Argyle, great job!..as usual. LMAO at the Derry link. Cute! Secondly, I struggled w/this. I thought it was going to be easy at first, but NE corner got me and then 30A son of a gun? I could only think of 'pistol'. The sem is about over and the 'name your poison' day will be a mere warm up to the'fetes' coming up.
Party on!
Enjoy your day
Good Morning all. treefrog and I get the same newspaper, Medford (OR) Mail Tribune, and the puzzle was different. The top across words were: lofts, flam, and byes. Since there is no identification with xwd, don't know where they got it. Hope treefrog posts editor's reply.
@wm The puzzle is available through cruciverb.com in their archives section at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time the day before. It is available on the L.A. Times site at 11:00 p.m. Pacific time.
@all Argyle doesn't have Leo -- 'tis I!! I don't think he'd take to the upstate NY winter too well.
Good job today Argyle. How about the BEER BARREL with the BAR and OWE?
Kind of a fun theme today. Certainly not too hard. Only unknowns were BETE and DEKE (not to much of hockey fans here despite being in Minnesota) but got them with the perps easily.
Just spent Saturday evening shopping at IKEA. We need to furnish the San Diego apartment minimally at a reasonable price, and this seems like the best fit. It is sturdy enough stuff, some quality looks better than others, but certainly workable for a second residence for my husband. I get to move him in later in July. Hopefully he spends lots of time there in Jan/Feb and I will get to join him.:-)
Tarrajo, Finding Nemo is one of my all time favorites. Don't take this the wrong way, but I envy you. Sadly, it was sometimes nice when my kids were sick and they would sit with me and just watch tv or movies. Loved holding them. My youngest is over 6' now, so no more. I told him at 4 yrs old no more birthdays, but like everything else, he seldom listens. Enjoy his company and good to know he doesn't want to be kept down. That is a good sign.
Don't talk about tooth extraction. The dentist said mine might need to go if it doesn't start to feel better. One of my greatest fears. They better put me out for that one.
Really cold here today. Could use a little warm-up but welcomed the rain!
Hi C.C.,Argyle and all:
Easy puzzle as usual on a Monday..my favorite clues were 18A (skipper who landed on Ararat) and 1D (watering hole).
Zazz: I liked your old age adage. My favorite is "Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill".
Al, I played your Yao clip and it was cute but what language is the girl speaking when she says 'yo' for 'no'? Am I missing some slang?
Tarrajo, so sorry to read about your son's accident yesterday. I sure am glad he is better! Kisses and ice cream are wonderful meds. As Bill said, boys will be boys! Gotta love 'em. Glad you don't bubble wrap him.
Crockett, so glad to hear Leo is getting better. What did the vet say the problem was?
We have an Ikea store here but I have never been in it. It seems all the stores have the same things, same colors and if you don't like them, too bad - there is no other choice unless you have something custom made. I have tried for several years to find bath rugs in a dusty rose..or country blue. I love my wallpaper in that bathroom so I am stuck with those colors for rugs..besides the 'in' colors now are some that were around in the 70's and I didn't care much for them then! end of small rant.
Good Morning All, This was a terrific Monday puzzle for me. There wasn't a single fill that was ungettable, but the longer theme fills made me stop and think for a moment to make sure I was correct.
I must have been asleep for the DEKE discussion, although JUKE was recent enough for me to recall. Sometimes it seems that for every one thing I remember, I forget two. I had to get both OHIO and WNBA via the perps.
Argyle, great blogging, only one complaint...A link to the lovely ICELANDER, but nothing for 37A Johnny DEPP. Phew! I feel better now.
Dennis, WOW are right on the button. Trying to appear too much younger than we are just sets us up for ridicule by our peers and by those who really are younger.
tarrajo, I got a "squinchy" (you know, the one that make you say, "Ooh, that must hurt!") feeling in my stomach when I read about your experience last night. It is so difficult to see our children in pain. Try to remember that in six months time, he will be so proud to show off his scar to his friends and family. A few years from now, he will be annoyed that the scar has faded so much, it will be difficult to see.
C.C. According to Wiktionary - "a go go" is an alternative spelling of
"Ã gogo - 1. In abundance, galore.
The term is often used in popular culture, especially in the field of music and dancing. Though earlier uses of the phrase were meant to lend a cosmopolitan feel to subjects, modern usage tends more toward an ironic, campy appeal."
The ultimate club of the 1960's was the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood. I went there in (I think 1966) with a group of friends....lots of fun, but so very crowded!
@carol The "Yo" means "look here," or "Hey, I need some help here" in Brooklynese, a sub-language of New Yorker.
Don't have a firm diagnosis on Leo. We're using steroids to bring down inflammation, but I'm beginning to wonder if it might have been a toxic reaction to a spider he ate in the basement. That's a really scary thought! If it's true, I don't think I'll be spending much time down there in the near future!!
@Carol, it's just slang: Yo. 13 urban definitions, and you must have never watched Rocky.
@Lemonade, Tasha lives farther north of the Twin Cities, and no I don’t think she works the crossword puzzle so I don’t think you have ever been duped by the two of us. I can’t say that for some teachers in high school though. I like to tease her that she is older than me. Well by 3 minutes but that counts doesn’t it? It’s her birthday today. And yes, the little guy does have the middle name Joe.
6:14 today. DERRY was completely unknown (filled in from crosses) as I'm not a horror fan.
Least favorite fill: BRS. That just seems to be laziness on the part of the constructor--a clumsy abbreviation and made even worse since it didn't even cross a theme entry (one of the few excuses for lousy fill, IMHO).
@c.c.: What is "Cafe a go go"?
Not sure about "Cafe a go go", but Whiskey A Go Go was a well-known nightclub in LA. Many, many recordings were done there back in the day.
I well remember listening to Johnny Rivers At the Whiskey a Go Go for hours at a time and drinking vodka and grape juice (a favorite of the girls across the way). I had the best stereo system in the apartment complex, so our unit was "party central". I'm amazed I even graduated...
tarrajo said, I like to tease her that she is older than me. Well by 3 minutes but that counts doesn’t it? It’s her birthday today.
tarrajo, even to someone as dense as I am, that would seem to mean today's your birthday as well.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, many, many more, and why don't I have you on the b-day list?
Dennis,
You do now! Happy Birthday from me too, Tarrajo! Taking a sickie to be with little Joe seems like an excellent way to celebrate it too. Hope you're having a great day with him.
Crockett,
So glad to hear Leo is improving so much too. If it was just a spider, then hopefully that would mean no long term problems to worry about either.
Clear Ayes,
Thanks for Johnny. There's definitely something about him...Maybe it's his fluent French.
Crockett and Al, thanks for the info on 'yo'.
Crockett, hard to keep cats out of things, I had to put chicken wire in many places around our basement ceiling to keep the then kittens away from harm. No way to keep them from noticing and eating insects. Laurel used to be a great fly catcher and connoisseur but as she aged, she would settle for just watching them.
Al, no, I have never watched the Rocky movies.
Tarrajo, happy birthday! Hope you can enjoy your day...at least you can have ice cream with your son! Clear Ayes was right when she said he will enjoy showing off his 'scar'..part of being a little (or big) boy!
Tarrajo:
There is an old saying about silver linings, and I guess spending your birthday with your son, even under these circumstances qualifies. Happy birthday, you keep having those and soon you will be older than I am. Do you have other sibs? To have the oldest and youngest bron the same day sounds cool.
Boy,what a toughie today. Got stuck right away. I wanted 'bravo' for 1A,.
It was all downhill after that. Still not finished. Guess I'll have to look-up the answers. Geesh!
Happy Birthday Tarrajo!! Hope you get to go out and have some fun with your son, even if he is a little down. What a story he will have to tell some day.
Treefrog & Weather321,
Your puzzle is Universal Crossword edited by Timothy Parker.
Tarrajo,
Happy Birthday!
Clear Ayes, WM & Embien,
Thanks for a gogo.
Crockett,
7:00pm Pacific Time? Really?
Crockett...Oops, my bad on Leo...sorry. This is just further proof that I am never entirely awake before noon no matter what time I get up. And thanks for the crossword link...now I can go to bed earlier! WOOT!
Tarrjo...Happy Birthday! :o)
Embien...I was just being silly with Cafe A Go Go by way of explaining the usage...although...it does sound vaguely familiar....Hmmmmm...but I definitely remember Whiskey A Go Go...legendary here in Calif.
Good news for my mom...the surgery she so desparately wants is now in the scheduling process...so a good news day....
And Jazz...loved the personal motto...pretty much works for me! ;o)
Tarrajo - Happy Birthday to another Gemini! How great is that!? I just got back in town after spending the weekend with my 84 year old dad who is really showing his age; not sure how much longer we'll have him - so I missed what happened to your son yesterday - haven't had time yet to go back and reread posts.
Really easy puzzle - blew thru it just about as fast as I could write. Didn't get a chance to do Saturdays or Sundays - the Pottstown Mercury carries some other smaller puzzle (like 12 x 12), not worth doing, so it was nice to have an easy one to start the week. Thanks Argyle for blogging - enjoyed your input as usual. Agree that 'whole enchilada' is not a phrase we use much in my area.
All in all, very satisfactory puzzle and a beautiful summer day here at the beach.
If and when I get a reply to my email from the Muddy Tributary I will post it.
Going to get yesterday's and today's, print and solve.
I can do that because I skimmed the answer parts of the posts.
Good afternoon, all.
The puzzle was a cinch, and most everything has been said about it. I thought of "The Whole Nine Yards" at first. ENCHILADA fell to the perps.
Crockett, I'm so glad that Leo is improving.
tarrajo, your son will forget the pain and remember the quality time with Mom. How fortunate that you could take the day off to be with him. OH....and how fun to be off celebrating your birthday with your son. Happy Birthday, and many more!
KQ, I missed something. Are you changing jobs, moving, retiring? Where are you located now? Your comments on IKEA caught my attention because I need some shelving for my quilt studio, and IKEA was suggested. I feel the same about dentists. If it's gotta go....put me to sleep to do it!
Jazzbumpa, my family gave me the Michael Buble CD "Call Me Irresponsible" at Christmas, and I've just about worn it out. When the cut It Had Better Be Tonight comes on, I always think of you because there are a couple of great trombone lines. He's got some incredible arrangers.
Argyle, another fine job, Santa dear! I think all the abbreviations that you posted were my least favorite part of today's c/w.
Dennis, a week ago I was in central Indiana at a high school graduation, and I was astounded at the variety of apparel on display. I think the fashion industry has set us adrift with all sorts of clothing suitable only to underdeveloped twelve year olds. Even if a woman wanted to dress her age, she might have some trouble finding appropriate clothing, especially on a budget. I prefer classic clothing and can't always find what I want. I doubt I will ever forget the woman at the graduation who wore a grey sweatsuit that was several sizes too small, along with a pink thong. Think of Bibendum, not quite covered with undies showing.... Accepting our ages, and trying to grow old gracefully would be much kinder to those around us, as well as to ourselves.
I hope you all have a great evening.
Embien- David Poole, today's constructor, was hardly being "lazy" when he used BRS as an entry. First of all, it's a fairly common abbreviation. Though not a great entry, there's nothing wrong with it. Every puzzle is going to have a couple, three, four abbreviations. Before dissing the constructor as being "lazy" you should at least try and understand why he used BRS. If you look at 21 down you'll see he had the L from a theme entry and the Y from PENNY STOCK. As he was creating this fine puzzle he was faced with L_ _ Y_. What other word besides LIBYA fits? The B in that entry produced BRS. There were not many options.
When solvers see a word they believe is a real clunker they should take a close look at what surrounds it. Often the constructor had few, if any, choices other than a less than stellar word. Also, in the case of BRS the surrounding fill is nice stuff- CONDORS,CHILDPROOF LOCK, PENNY STOCK and LIBYA. Hardly the hallmark of a "lazy" constructor!
KittyB, I am with you on the accepting your age stuff. I think we should always try to dress with what is most flattering to our body types also.
As for buying the IKEA stuff, my husband is going to be working half time in San Diego opening a law office there. He is BUSY BUSY BUSY and STRESSED studying for the California Bar exam as that is required for him to practice there, despite his 25 years in the field. So we picked out a nice little apartment about a month ago and we have to sparsely furnish it. Not a bad place at all for a Minnesota resident to spend some extra time, but we will miss him when he is gone. It's like going back in time, having been homeowners since before our oldest was born.
We currently have some desks and shelving from IKEA for our kids rooms. It is generally laminated furniture, but sturdily made. You assemble it at home, but they give you almost all the tools and workable instructions. It is durable so works well for lots of things, but is not high quality solid woods. Great pricing though, and good service too when something goes wrong. Lots of food and other fun items there too. It's kind of fun to shop there.
Today has just flown by. I puttered in the yard, puttered in the house and puttered on the internet. The last time I looked it was noon and now it is after 4pm. I'd better start to think about puttering in the kitchen, or we won't be eating this evening.
I'm glad Embien mentioned Johnny Rivers. I had forgotten, but he was the singer we saw when we went to the Whisky A Go Go. Did anyone else have a pair of white vinyl Go Go Boots? This photo is very Austin Powers...."Yeah, Baby!!" I had similar boots, but I never went quite that short with miniskirts. About halfway up the thigh was short enough for me.
Happy Birthday, Tarrajo and Tasha Jo too.
KittyB, you have a point. Finding age appropriate clothes on a budget is sometimes very difficult.
KQ and KittyB, Our closest Ikea is in Sacramento, about two hours from here. It is a fun place to shop and has so many bright accessories.
tarrajo, sorry, I completely missed your earlier questions. Those dentists in Japan used their hands only - no instruments. And as to the super-low-rise shorts, those are the ones that provide the ever-so-attractive 'plumber's crack'. A treat for all.
Argyle, I've ridden the Acela quite a bit back in my corporate days, and you're right - it's severely under-utiilized. There's very few stretches where it can even get up to its reduced top speed.
Jazzbumpa, amen on the personal motto. Maturity is so overrated.
ClearAyes, I saw Carol Doda at the Condor Club in San Francisco - she was among the first of the go-go age 'pneumatic' topless dancers. The wonderful world of plastics took her overnight from a 34 to a 44. Very impressive and gravity-defying.
Carol, here in the Philly area, 'yo' is more prevalent than 'hi'.
WM, great news about your mom; sounds like it's been a real struggle.
Thank you, Jerome, for your insight. It has been mentioned before that making an "easy" puzzle can be just as difficult as a more complex one.
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. I finally relented and let the "little guy" go out and play but he had to leave his bike and roller blades at home. He locked himself in his room this afternoon and made me a birthday card. You know I'll have that until the day I die. Anyway, he came home with a bunch of lilacs. I hope the neighbor behind me won't mind too much. Hey, it's a big bush, and my house smells fantastic.
Tarrajo - what a wonderful birthday present you son made/gave you - you must be so proud of him - sounds like you are a wonderful mom. Appears he's rapidly getting over his spill - I finally read your post of Sunday nite and it must have been terrifying for you. As a single mom of two boys (both grown) sometimes I look bad and wonder how I survived intact - the worst was driving; luckily I had very few incidents like the one you experienced yesterday. Whew!
Dennis, For those who might never had heard of her, I tried to find a photo link for Carol Doda. Unfortunately, the only post-silicone photos were nude and exceeded our PG site limits. Everyone will just have to take your word for it that Ms. Doda was a very impressive woman.
San Francisco was a wild and wooley place. Come to think of it, it still is. One of my best San Francisco memories was in the 80's. I was visiting a sister and we went to Finnochio's a well-known female impersonator nightclub. Some of the performers were not very convincing as women, nor were they meant to be. Other performers were absolutely gorgeous. All were terrific impersonators, singers, dancers or comedians. It's too bad that Finnochio's closed up in 1999. it was a great place to go for a San Francisco evening of entertainment.
tarrajo, What a special birthday present for you! It can't get better than that.
Dennis, 'Yo' must be a mostly East coast thing. I never hear it hear, unless it is in the form of some joke (yo mama, etc). So the gal (in the clip) pointing to a sign that says "No checks allowed" while saying 'yo', is saying 'read the sign'?
Carol, I think of 'yo as somewhat generational. I would never say it, but my kids sure do and we live in the Midwest. I believe she is saying "Read the sign!" just as you suggested.
@Tarrajo...first of all, I am sorry to hear about your "little guy's" spill yesterday and the subsequent wait in the ER when you were obviously distraught. Be thankful you have a good neighbor that drove you to the ER. Happy Birthday to you and Tasha jo. I am thinking Dennis in the back of his head was saying OMG, there are two? Hopefully your "ride" yesterday was the same neighbor that your "little guy" jo decided to help himself to those lilacs. LOL, I bet you couldn't even scold him for picking someone else's flowers. There's a good bunch of people on this blog, and they all tend to rally when called upon.
Geez Dennis...butt cracks? On her birthday and all?
Just remember-
Crack kills!!
Jeannie...always good to "see" you...very funny @ Dennis...LOL
treefrog...same to you...LOL
Spent a lot of time in SF in my college days...rock concerts in the panhandle and Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and so many others at the Filmore...Carol Doda was a really big deal and there was "painting" of her on the Condor sign...she was a huge draw for years...I'm with CA in that it was really too bad when they closed Finnochio's...it was a landmark.
AHHHH...the good old days.
CA...thanks earlier for the Johnny Depp.
Crockett...I couldn't get the puzzle to open on Cruciverb...is there a secret password?
No new puzzle on Cruciverb yet.
You need to down load Across Lite.
Tuesday's puzzle is available now on Cruciverb.
@clearayes That skirt barely covers her assets, but I've seen shorter on less attractive underpinnings, much to my distress.
@c.c. Yes, 7:00 Pacific. As argyle says, you need to download Across Lite, and you lose the red letters, but you can check for incorrect letters under "solve."
@jeannie Whales tales and camel toes are gifts when and wherever they surface, IMHO.
DONE!
just kidding.
If you go to Preferences and select Solve Options from the drop down menu, you can check or uncheck the box for "Indicate incorrect letter immediately"
Crockett/Argyle...how do I download the Across Lite? I registered but I can't get anything to open when I click on the LAT puzzle and I can't find anywhere to load it from...
I thought there use to be a link on Cruciverb's site but I don't see it now.
http://www.litsoft.com/across/alite/download.htm
click
@argyle You're so on top of things! I usually print out the puzzle and work it that way. Even when I was resorting to red letters, I'd print it out and solve on paper first. Just a personal preference.
I didn't like the "red" option because if you make a mistake, which is easy to do, what with changing the direction of your fill, it marks it as being wrong and even after you have put the right letter in the square, that dang black line is there.
So what I do is fill it all in and if I don't get "Congratulations", I go back to correct any mistakes. If I still don't get "Tada" after fixing obvious mistakes, I look for alternate spellings. Failing that, I use the "Check all letters" and try to see what I did wrong. If you use the "Reveal all letters", it will put all the correct letters in, with a red line.
The black line may be there from one of those change of direction mistakes, but you're the only one who will see it, so in my case, I don't really care that it's there. I KNOW why it's there, and I can discount it. It is difficult to type everything correctly since I'm an eight fingered hunt and peck typist, and often get a letter off when I'm going fast!
Post a Comment