google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, December 21, 2009 Holly Barnes

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Dec 21, 2009

Monday, December 21, 2009 Holly Barnes

Theme: Your Services Are No Longer Required - Synonyms of "fire" are hidden in the beginning of the first word of each theme answer.

17A: War on terror foe: AXIS OF EVIL. That is what President Bush named Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

26A: Elton John tribute rededicated to Princess Diana: CANDLE IN THE WIND. Originally dedicated to Marilyn Monroe

46A: "Alice Adams" novelist: BOOTH TARKINGTON. His "Alice Adams" won a Pulitzer Prize. Full Name: Newton Booth Tarkington (died 1946).

60A: Donald Trump catchphrase, and hint to the first two, three and four letters, respectively, of 17-, 26- and 46-Across: YOU'RE FIRED.

Quite a tight theme. AX, CAN, BOOT are all independent verbs embedded in the start of the first noun of the theme phrase. Four X'es and one J also add a bit of scrabbliness to the grid.

Argyle here. If this isn't a theme you can relate to, congratulations. Two fifteen letter fills on a Monday must be unusual. And it seems to be a puzzle that being a little older is a good thing.

Across:

1A: Urge forward: IMPEL.

6A: Rock genre involving flamboyant garb: GLAM. Mere words won't do! We Want More - Brisbane's (OZ) Glam rock band.

10A: Hasn't yet paid: OWES.

14A: __ Gras: MARDI.

15A: Insolvent banking giant, familiarly: WAMU. Washington Mutual, Inc.

16A: Green Hornet's sidekick: KATO. Keye Luke (a frequent visitor to crosswords) took the role in the movie serials, and in the television series he was portrayed by Bruce Lee.

20A: Cake-making aid: MIX.

21A: 1492 ship: NINA. And 22A: Crow's-nest cry: "LAND HO!".

24A: Tex-__ cuisine: MEX.

25A: Litigator's org.: ABA. American Bar Association. And 38A: Litigator's field: LAW.

35A: Util. product: ELEC.. Electric utility.

39A: "__ Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts": old song: I'VE. Singing Roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch

40A: Hens do it: LAY.

43A: Three-time Masters champ Sam: SNEAD.

49A: Pickle holder: JAR.

50A: Ballot marks: XES.

51A: Canal country: PANAMA.

54A: Bar in a grill: SPIT. Outdoor grill with a rotisserie.

56A: Tarzan raiser: APE.

59A: Economist Smith: ADAM. Followed by 65A: Exorbitant interest: USURY.

66A: Change of a five: ONES.

67A: Johnny of "Public Enemies": DEPP.

68A: Sugar bowl cubes: LUMPS.

Down:

1D: Mosque official: IMAM. And 9D: Islamic clerics: MULLAHS. Not the same?

2D: Leg-covering skirt: MAXI. You only get a pic if it's a mini.

3D: Grand __: auto race: PRIX.

4D: Publishing VIPs: EDS.

6D: Rock star Stefani or actress Verdon: GWEN.

10D: 1945 Pacific battle site: OKINAWA.

11D: Magician's rod: WAND.

12D: Engrave, in a way: ETCH.

13D: Manhattan district: SOHO. The NYC Manhattan today.

18D: Repairs: FIXES.

24D: XL squared: MDC. 40x40=1600

28D: Not familiar with: NEW TO.

29D: Turner autobiography: I, TINA. Cover.

30D: "No chance!": "NEVER!".

31D: Fine-tune: TWEAK.

32D: Archipelago part: ISLET.

33D: "Groovy!": "NEATO!". Time to retire "NEATO" and bring back "RAD".

34D: Israeli war hero Moshe: DAYAN.

42D: Orange Place on a Monopoly board: ST. JAMES.

43D: Got off course: STRAYED.

44D: The South: DIXIE.

45D: NFL three-pointers: FGS. Field goal- Kicking the football through the goal posts.

47D: Meat with eggs: HAM.

48D: Trawler's haul: NETFUL.

51D: Half a Samoan city: PAGO.

52D: Tennis score: AD IN. The server only needs one more point to win.

53D: Main church section: NAVE.

54D: __ pump: waste disposal device: SUMP.

55D: Yorick's skull, e.g.: PROP. "Alas, poor Yorick! A fellow of infinite jest, reduced to a mere PROP."

56D: Calla lily family: ARUM. Have we learned this yet?

57D: Cop's quarry: PERP. And our savior.

58D: "Grand" ice cream brand: EDY'S.

62D: Terre Haute sch.: I.S.U.. Indiana State University. Indiana State was originally founded as Indiana State Normal School in 1865. The University changed its name three times and finally agreed upon today’s name in 1965.

Answer grid.

Argyle

53 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - this was a fun, albeit easy, puzzle with a clever, clever theme.

Probably most everybody's been fired from something at one time or another. I got fired the summer before my senior year from my prestigious job bagging groceries, 'cause I ended up going home with one of the women whose bags I packed and took to her car. Remember when baggers used to take groceries to the car if asked?

I did hate seeing "Litigator's xxxx" twice, 5 clues apart; very surprising. "Booth Tarkington" was an unknown for me, but quickly filled in by the perps. 'Okinawa' was a gimme, as it was one of the defining battles of the Marine Corps. On a relatively small island, Marine losses approached 12,000, but the Japanese lost over 100,000 KIA.

Today is Humbug Day, Look on the Bright Side Day, and most importantly, today is the 96th anniversary of the crossword puzzle. Ah yes, I remember that first one well.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals." -- Ben Franklin

Couple more Fun Facts:

- A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

- An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

3 & a w/u.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dennis,
I absolutely dig the two "Ligator's" clues. I love the interconnectedness of the entries. It shows that the constructors/editor spend extra effort weaving his grid tapestry, a la Bob Klahn. Not surprised by how you got fired.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Argyle,
Thanks for the great write-up. I don't know the difference between IMAM and MULLAH. But I used to confuse moola with mullah. They have the same pronunciation, right?

Annette,
I've been wearing Opium forever. Don't worry about your late posts not being read. Many regulars check back the late posts before starting the new day.

Jazzbumpa,
Go ahead on PAGO.

Anonymous said...

Dennis,

Thats why my parents took me to the grocery store so I could load the car. Nowadays if they do the baggers expect to be tipped.

I did like the 57 D cops quarry. perp short for perpetrator.

I think Afghanistan & Saudi Arabia should have been the axis of evil. Iraq, Iran and North Korea had nothing to do with 9/11. bush had a Texas sized chip on his shoulder he tried to prove that he was anything other than a screw up but he failed miserably if it wasn't for Dick Cheney and Karl Rove Bush would still be a wildcatter in Texas.

Yellow & Blue make green

Anonymous said...

Dennis,

I've was fired from a fast food job. The employees were caught between two managers one who was by the book and the other was easy going. One would tell to lightly salt the fries then customers would complain that there wasn't enough salt on them so the other would go and re salt them and you guessed it others would complain that they were too salty. I fortunately was rescued from fast food jobs I went to the job corps and learned a trade. Minimum wage was $3.20 an hour then. But it wasn't enough to put up with those two managers on the same shift.

Anonymous said...

Is Holly Barnes a new Rich Norris made-up name?

tfrank said...

Good morning, C.C. and all,

Anon@5:55 - This blog is non-political. Please go peddle your bush (sic) hatred elsewhere.

Good job, this morning, Argyle. I thought the difficulty was about right for a Monday. The theme was clever and unusual.

Have a good day.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC, Argyle and All,

This was pretty easy but fun. As typical, didn't get the theme until reading Argyle's write up even though I'm concluding one such process (Merry freakin' Christmas). I did need red letter help for one last letter. The U which crossed UsUry and ArUm. Bummer! Booth Tarkington and Dayan are new but Perp helped?!

We got nicked by the storm that thrashed some. Only about eight inches. Looks like we've got another five coming in tomorrow.

Dennis, I had a similar experience during one of my bartending gigs. My boss and I didn't have the same outlook on customer service.

windhover said...

I say that if you haven't been fired at least once in your life then you've been a good little acquiesent employee. I got fired by IBM in 1976 because when forced to participate in a group photo I didn't want to be part of, I gave them the finger. The resulting "evidence", blown up to 11" x 16", amused everyone except management. I purchased half interest in a herd of dairy cows with the severance check, and that's how your own Windhover transitioned from part-time to full time farming. The rest, as they say, is history, and the reason I am sitting on my couch posting on a crossword blog instead of "working for the man". The sure way to independence (of the sink or swim variety) is to tell the boss (literally or figuratively) to go $&@# him/herself and head home. Worked for me, no regrets. Do get the severance, though. ;-}

lois said...

Good morning Argyle, CC, et al., Fun puzzle. Love it when off the wall things come to mind w/a good clue -like 'sump'...'arum'...I don't think of those things normally and probably only heard of them here. "Latent learning" - love it.

I had to laugh with 3D 'prix', 13D
'so, ho' and 22A Land, ho! being in the same puzzle. My mind
'strayed' all right, down to 'Ole' 'Dixie' land, where they 'never' say 'day-an' they
'never''give' up. There, love flows like 'lava', kisses are not sugar 'lumps' but sweetness measured by time. Dixie 'wand's are not mere'prop's that flicker and shrink like a 'candle in the wind' but are 'ones' that are measured in feet not 'inch'es. None of that is 'new to' me, as I live in the South and that's 'al-a-mo' reason to stay!

Dennis: You walked off that job? I would say I hope she was worth it but at that age, what wouldn't be worth it? ...some things never change! LOL At 19, I got fired from working construction -laying Bricks - being the newest recruit and the first to go at the end of the job...so the boss said. He made it up to me all summer..that boss's last name was Bricks.

Enjoy a no snow day. 4 & a w/u

Spitzboov said...

Good Morning All

Nice little Monday puzzle. No strikethroughs today. Never did get the theme, but theme words pretty much fell with perp help. Thought 54A was quite clever - SPIT.

NAVE - Comes from the same root as 'navy'.

The Winter Solstice arrives today at 1747 UT (GMT) 12:47EST.

Moon said...

Good Morning!
"You're fired"...well, I was told "As of today, your job has been eliminated" in July :)
I loved the many Xs and the theme was easy. As Dennis mentioned, BOOTH TARKINGTON was easy to get from the perps.

Have a great Monday! Three more days till the holidays (We've mandatory shutdown of 4 working days, giving us a break of 10 days)..YooHoo!!

3 of Four said...

Morning Arglye, CC & Regs - Easy, peasy lemon squeezy today.

Just one thought - Loved that the number of "X"s equaled the number of puzzle ways to say you are one! Very tight indeed.

After while - crocodiles...

Anonymous said...

I always like monday puzzles because they are easy and fun. I can do it rather quickly, and don't spend too much time on them.

If I have the time I enjoy the more difficult/Sunday puzzles, but the answers tend to get so vague that by then I'm ready for Monday to roll around again.

I thought "Perp" was an easy one. I've seen that word before in other puzzles with different but similar clues.

For those who are concerned with being politically correct; please understand that someone is always going to take offense to something. Better you than me.

North Carolina

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I like the relief of a nice doable Monday puzzle after the strain, aggravation and time consumption of a Sunday puzzle. Today's puzzle was a lovely example of what I like about Mondays. Some of the Downs were already filled by the Acrosses before I read the clue.

Even though it wasn't difficult, the theme was very inventive and the 15 letter entries were clever as can be.

A young Katharine Hepburn starred in the movie version of Alice Adams in 1935.

My favorite was "Bar in a grill" for SPIT. I was thinking along the lines of "bar AND grill".

That was then, this is now. It's not a good time to get fired, so "Say cheese" when the company is snapping that department photo.

There's a big difference between getting fired and getting laid off....State unemployment compensation! If you screw up and get yourself fired...Nada. If the job runs out, or fewer people are needed, you qualify and can pay your rent and feed your family (at least for a while). I've been laid off and I've quit a couple of jobs, but I've never been fired. I was a single mom for quite a few years and was very grateful to have a steady paycheck.

Happy Anniversary Crosswords!

JD said...

Good morning Argyle, CC and all,

Good write up Argyle. Since this was an easy one, I didn't read some of the "DOWNS" clues. I was not familiar with usury, impel, imam and mullahs. I kept repeating "bar in a grill" over and over out loud until it clicked.

Dennis, Ben Franklin's quote made me laugh.I bet you are pretty darn sore after shoveling. It's hard for us left-coasters to even imagine that.Yesterday I had to pull out some of my dead summer plants because we had a hard frost a few wks ago..and I was barefoot.

Chickie said...

Hello All--An easy puzzle today, with a few erasures for me. I do the downs and acrosses as they come up so I put in Midi for Maxi, Mends, for Fixes, and Love for AdIn. That's what the eraser on the end of the pencil is for!

I didn't get the theme, though I had all the fills in correctly. Thanks Argyle for the insight.

One other law clue, if somewhat obscure, was Abe the President who was also a lawyer.

Being a "bit" older did help today as the names used today were known to me--Snead, Booth Tarkington, and Kato. As a teen I listened to "The Green Hornet" on the radio. BTV (Before TV!)

Lois, another witty and clever writeup using our CW today. I never cease to be amazed at your ability to pull things together.

Chickie said...

I've never been fired from a job, but in limbo due to the closure of my school. I wasn't without a job, but was told that I would have to substitute wherever they needed me. I had never taught anything beyond third grade and the thoughts of teaching 7th or 8th grade math scared the you know what out of me.

Luckily, they reinstated some of the programs and we three who didn't have a position were placed at schools that needed another teacher. I found out three days before school started and had 72 boxes of my teaching materials and books stacked in the back of the new classroom. This made for a rather hectic first week!

Moon it was good to hear your "voice" again. Do you mean to say that you'll be without a job again in July? You're just getting a good grip on things. No fair.

Jeannie said...

This was a fairly easy puzzle for me today although I didn’t know Booth Tarkington or Dayan but perps took care of that. It always helps when I catch onto the theme too. I didn’t like cake making aid “mix” as I have never used a box of cake mix in my life. I liked the bar in a grill clue – spit.

Snow is on it’s way for the rest of the week so it seems. Glad it’s a somewhat short week of commuting. I do have to work on Thursday until 1pm which kind of bites. I guess people can’t live without their whoppers and fries.

I guess I really shouldn't complain. I enjoy my steady paycheck.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Anonymous @ 6:04am,
Rich Norris said Holly Barnes is a real person.

carol said...

Hi Argyle, C.C. and friends -

Good Monday puzzle and Argyle is right, better if you are a little older to get some of these answers.

The only 2 I didn't know were 6A GLAM and 9D MULLAHS.

Lois, you are one of a kind! Have a good belly laugh whenever I read anything you post..Love ya!

I have been laid off, downsized and fired. The firing came about because one of my co-workers had it in for me for some reason and told management a large lie...I could not make them believe I was innocent so out I went. I don't know if that could happen today but this was many years ago.
I quit several jobs, one because the owner said he wanted to sleep with me.
I was about 20 and he was about 60 ! Geez..back then men got away with things like that all the time.

Dennis - somehow the reason you got fired doesn't surprise me...I'll bet you got more than one life lessen over that!

Anonymous said...

Really cute Monday puzzle. I too was surprised by all the X's in the puzzle. As everyone said, nice tight theme.

I have been fired twice, and both times it was devastating. I was in college at the time, putting myself through and living on a shoestring. The first was the opposite of Dennis. My boss propositioned me and I declined politely. Within two weeks he had me fired. Couldn't directly tie it together, but everyone knew what a scumbag he was. Ironically, years later when he needed a controller, he called me on a headhunters referral and was practically begging me to come in and interview for the job. He was in a public lawsuit with his brother at the time, and I suspect not very popular. As I didn't have the same last name, he had no idea who he was talking to. I suppose it would have been a kick to meet him face to face and laugh at him, but I didn't even want to tell him who I was. What do you want to bet he would have denied everything anyway.

Good luck east coasters digging out of the snow. We are so much more used to it here in the frozen tundra. Just hoping our later week snow doesn't delay our flight to San Diego. I am ready for some better weather.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

I avoided being fired by finding another job and getting out from under the ax before it fell. Close call, very unpleasant, but far, far for the best. They were tired of my maverickiness.

There was a want ad in the Toledo Blade, and it read like my resume. This came exactly when I needed it and was the second most amazing stroke of good fortune in my otherwise rather uneventful existence.

Well, as C.C. anticipated, I did not like this puzzle at all. No sparkle that I can detect, lots of tired fill, and PAGO?!? Here's half a rant: RA . . .

Politics aside, 17A is just wrong. The AXIS OF EVIL was IRAQ, IRAN, and N. KOREA. Any or all of these might be responsible for state-sponsored terrorism, but the "war on terror" is against Al Qaeda, not any of those countries.

In the interest of fair balance, I'll say that the 15 theme answers were good, and it's nice to have literal PERP help.

And, of course, everybody loves ELMO

Cheers!
JzB the occasionally lucky tromoinst

tfrank said...

Jazz,

Thanks for demonstrating how an opinion may be expressed in a non-political way. I think most of us respect opinions, not political diatribes.

PJB-Chicago said...

Howdy--a straightforward Monday puzzle, with some fresh fill (e.g., GLAM, WAMU, LUMPS and SUMP). NETFUL took a minute to make sense. I was trying to do math with XL as 'extra large' instead of Roman numerals.

Like Dennis, I got "sacked" (ahem) although for a less interesting reason. In grad school, I worked 6 hrs/wk for a university center designed to assist refugees with "adapting" to college. We had a caseload and were supposed to send letters/call monthly to offer help. Most kids ignored us or asked us to stop calling---they didn't need or want help. Boss fretted that without "contact hours" she would lose her grant money & job so insisted we get the students' course sched.s and walk them from class to class.

The refugee students--who by then had been in the US for 7+ years---told us nicely to shove off and stop stalking them. Boss suggested we "just follow" them anyway "in case they change their minds."

That seemed unethical, creepy and a total violation of the purpose of the grant, and when I said so, I was shown the door. Boss kept her job 3 months and was then reassigned to the hell that is the registrar's office, which = justice!

P.s. I too wondered if the constructor was a nom-de-plume, so thanks CC for checking!

Anonymous said...

@c.c., where is pjb-chicago's blog photo?

Anonymous said...

Pakistan is axis of evil and a global danger.

DCannon said...

I was fired once. The summer between H.S. and college, I was working in a local greasy spoon diner. There was $20 missing from the till (not an insignificant amount in 1959) and they thought I took it. I had finally finished paying off some clothes I had on layaway and I think they thought I had used the money for the clothes. I KNEW the owner's daughter-in-law had taken the money because I saw her take it. I told, she denied, the rest is history. The incident really hurt me because I had been the epitome of "the best little girl in the world" and had never done anything naughty or dishonest in my life.

Fast and easy today. Instead of doing all the across and then the down, I filled in each section as I came to it. After I filled in 68A, I looked up and it was all done! Perps took care of the ones I didn't know.

I even got the theme, sort of. I was saying "different ways to get rid of an employee."

Interesting fact about the ostrich, Dennis. I know some people like that.

tfrank said...

Re getting fired, it happened to me three times. First, when the bankruptcy trustee of a bankrupt REIT for which I was a financial officer rightly decided it did not need a money raiser, which I was. Second, from another REIT where I was Asst Secretary and Treasurer. The Chairman and CEO called me in one morning and fired me after tripling my salary in the four years I worked there. When I asked him why, he wouldn't tell me. He did give me generous severance pay: full pay for 6 months and halp pay for another 6.

Third was by my brother-in-law, who was an independent petroleum geologist, who hired me when oil was selling for an unheard price of $40 per barrel in 1984. By 1986 it had dropped to $10, and there went my job. I then became an insurance agent from which I retired two years ago.

The hardest thing about being unemployed for me was losing my identity. When men meet for the first time, they always ask "who do you work for?". It is hard to say "nobody".

These changes always led to better jobs or better locations plus new friends, so I have no regrets.

Dennis said...

I too was fired from a corporate job, in my first year as a computer programmer. My boss was a real egomaniac; he used to keep this wooden block on his desk that had his different moods written on each side. Things like, 'today I am happy' with a happy face, 'today I am steaming' with a drawing of a ship steaming across water, etc. He didn't change it every day, but maybe a couple times a week. One day when I was particularly fed up with his act, I slipped in his office after closing and changed one of the sides to 'today I am an asshole', with a drawing that was my best attempt at a real one. Nothing happened the next day and I was careful not to tell anyone, but long story short, I was gone by the end of the week. Well worth it, though; the story made it through the whole company, and the block was never used again.

Argyle said...

I was all set to complain about NETFUL not being a real word but I found this, "OUTDOORS; TAGGING FISH OFFERS NETFUL OF REWARDS". It was in the New York Times so it must be a word, right?

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.
Finally have done all the Christmas cards and letters and DH is right now mailing them. So I have time to do Xwords. I didn't even look at Sunday's.

When my son in MN asked for plug in seat warmers for their cars, I snickered (sniggered?) that I surely didn't need one here in sunny Naples. Today it was 59, and my DH told me that our new car did indeed have seat warmers. Still don't know how to activate them tho.

Dennis, you started it and I don't know what you mean by – say – 12 and a wake-up. Is it a Marine term? Or what? I see you and others are using it in an abbreviated way now.

Cheers and Happy Holidays to all.

Annette said...

LOL! DCannon: In your post, you write that you 'had been the epitome of "the best little girl in the world" and had never done anything naughty or dishonest in my life.'

Then your next paragraph begins with: 'Fast and easy today.'

It took me a moment to realize you meant the puzzle was fast and easy today, not you! :-) Thanks for the unintended laugh!

Annette said...

Sallie: The only time I've ever ridden in a car with seat warmers was also in the Naples, FL area! A friend of mine has a winter home in Port Charlotte, just north of you. She spends a few months there every year. A few years ago, I drove over to visit for the weekend. It wasn't really cold, but after doing some shopping, the heated seats sure did relax my aching back.

Warren said...

Hi Argyle, C.C. & gang, my wife and I finished all except 51D: Pago she thought it was pogo pogo, I did a quick search and found that Pago Pago
is the capital city of American Samoa. That made 59A: Adam Smith work better than Odam ;-)

Re: fired? I can't remember ever being fired from a job, I've quit a couple, and been laid off twice. The last layoff came shortly after 911 and since then I've started my own home handyman business since it's almost impossible for me to find a new job in this economy. The best thing about being self employed is that you can't be laid off or fired, the worst thing is it's a feast or famine type of job, either too much to keep up with or dead slow. 2009 has been a hit and miss year and I'm hoping for a better 2010.

kazie said...

No time to look up things this morning, so here I am at 4:10 pm, having only just g'ed the following capped letters: GWen, dIXie (had Yes in the perp), and the G of Tarkington, after staring at it long enough and giving up. had never heard of WAMU or the two GWENs.

Had to take DH in for a colonoscopy early, then went grocery shopping and came home and started cooking while waiting for the hospital to call so I could pick him up. Since then have started laundry and now the day is just about done.

I'll maybe get back to read other comments later.

windhover said...

tfrank:
I understand what you say about work being part of your identity, it is mine as well. But it has been my goal all my life that when someone says "Who do you work for?", I am able to answer "nobody".

Lois:
Hope you have great time in Merry Olde England. My oldest son (age 44) has just in the last few weeks relocated to London. He works for one of the major multinational banks (ironic that anon was talking about evil earlier) and temporarily has an apartment in the financial
district until the family joins him in the Spring.
Too bad I can't figure out a way to hook you up, you could get your groceries sacked, a la Dennis. Maybe next time.

Anon:
You can't indict or label an entire nation
as evil for the actions of it's government. If you do, then there have been times our own would have been guilty. That's the nature of nation-states, all of them.

DCannon said...

Well, Annette, I didn't say I stayed the "best little girl" when I became a big girl! LOL!

"Fast and easy?" No!

kazie said...

It took me until just now to figure out what FGs are in football. I am definitely culturally challenged when it comes to American sports.

Now I've read all your meae culpae of firings, I have to admit to never having been fired either--I think it's pretty hard to be fired as a teacher. But when I was in my first job north of Sydney, I had to ask for a transfer because I was being chased by a married man working at another school in the area, and I was fearful it would end nastily.

I worked the next year in the other direction from Sydney, near Wollongong, before leaving for Europe. The school system there is statewide, and you can request or be transferred anywhere in the whole state. Asking for a transfer never guaranteed getting where you wanted to though.

Robin said...

I have never been fired. I have been harassed a lot, but I've not ever been a Femi-Natzi, usually just laughed it off. Kinda always considered myself one of the boys......In a sexy hetero kind of way!!!!

It is GOOD to be a WOMAN, right ladies?

Dennis said...

Amen - vive la difference!

JD said...

WH @5:02-well said!!

Argyle, I don't think many use the word netful, but I think it's poetic...reminds me of the nursery rhyme Winkin, Blinkin and Nod

melissa bee said...

dennis, maybe they should have been more specific about the job description of a bagger ..

Jeannie said...

Okay gals, times have obviously changed for us in the workplace in the last 25 yrs or so. Just to get my benefits I had to take a "diversity" training workshop on line none the less. I guess the company might get a bit upset if I tell "Jim" his ass looks good in his dress pants. Oh, I can't tell him his tie looks good with his shirt either. It's a pity as Jim's ass does look good in those pants and his tie looks good draped over his dress shirt.

Another aside...Sallie I am laughing as I came from MI where we get a lot of snow but no really cold weather as I had Lake Michigan just dumping snow but no cold weather. When I decided to migrate north, (young and stupid) I ended up in the MN deepfreeze. Someone asked me if I had a "plug in" for my car and not knowing a damned thing about the mechanical workings of a car for frigid temps, said no, I think mine has a battery. Needless to say, my 1969 Pontiac Catalina got a lower radiator heat thingamajig something I had to plug in.

Now why Dan Naddor or Barry Silk or Jerome, can't I see "thingamajig" in a crossword puzzle?

Clear Ayes said...

Robin@7:47, Right you are. My experience was going from working with 90% women at banks for about 10 years to working with 90% men in various post office jobs for almost 30 years. After I got used to the rougher language (hey, I was a girl of the 50's), I usually enjoyed working with guys. I think it is a very common experience for women to have been sexually harassed by men they have worked with. Luckily, I never had a proposition by a boss, and for the rest, I never had trouble with them taking a seriously worded "No" for an answer when some of them had ideas that I wasn't interested in.

Like Jeannie commented, women have to have the same training as men nowadays, but women's comments would probably tend to just be flirty, not seriously harassing. I never minded when a guy told me he liked my sweater (I knew it wasn't my sweater he liked), but when he'd say he'd like to see what was under the sweater, he passed from flirty to harassing and he would get shut down very quickly!

After reading all the comments about getting fired, quiting, etc., it is interesting that our blog women have been much more protective of their jobs than the men have. A good job with a decent paycheck isn't so easy to come by.

Jeannie said...

Clearayes, here, here....like my pay check too...and am wearing many a sweater this time of the year. If anyone compliments me on it, I take the compliment and continue to just do my job. Problem starts if someone makes an inappropriate move. It hasn't happened yet. Okay, that one time that Jim's ass looked so good in those slacks and his tie was askew...

Jeannie said...

As promised...
Jeanniaki Chicken Wings
Marinade about 2-3 dozen raw chicken wings in the following:

1/3 cup of soy sauce
1/2 half of a fresh orange's juice
1/8-1/4 tsp fresh ginger
1 large clove of garlic minced
2 heaping tbslpn of honey
1 tbslpn brown sugar
1/4 tspn red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of 7-up (not diet)
black pepper to taste. A couple of grinds from your mill.

mix the marinade and put in a zip lock bag. Add the chicken pieces and marinade over night turning the bag when you think of it. Bake at 375 degrees covered for about 1/2 hour, bake uncovered about another half hour. Save yourself a cleanup nightmare and buy one of those cheapy aluminum pans. Let sit and serve. Toasted sesame seeds would add flavor. It was my intention but I totally forgot them this year. Let me know how they work.

JD said...

Hey Jeannie, I'm going to try your wing recipe. Mine is similar, but not spicy:

2 lbs wings-about 20 halves
1 c. soy sauce
3 t. sugar
1/4 c.white wine
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c. oil

Marinate 16 hrs or overnight in frig. Stir 3 or 4 times. Line cookie sheet with foil and bake 1 to 1 1/2 hrs at 350. YUM!

Clear Ayes said...

Jeannie, I love the orange juice, ginger and sesame seeds. GAH loves both wings AND thighs. I bet this will taste great on both. We have a post-Christmas party coming up on the 27th and I'll give your recipe a try. I'll let you know how it goes over.

PJB-Chicago said...

Just back from a fun, relatively calm Solstice party outside but near a sheltered area. Just a celebration of friendship and good food. Lots of recipes got passed around. Nice mix of old friends and people new to the mix. We ate, sang, gossiped, barbequed etc. Rumor has it cocktails were consumed.

Jeannie--mmm, those wings sound wonderful. Great advice on the cheapo pan--I actually got mine at the dollar store and it worked fine AND is recyclable! ------Those sexual harassment courses seem to be just a maneuver to reduce lawsuits. The video lulls you into boredom so you'll readily sign the form saying you're aware of and will abide by the rules. I have fielded complaints from employees who were distressed by "traumatic" events such as a co-worker commenting on a new hairstyle. C'mon, that's ridiculous.....

Anything can be meant or taken the wrong way, I guess! I admit, though, to being glad that people no longer hug in the workplace---the mid-late 80s were too darn huggy for me!! Always awkward...
[waving Good Night!]

PJB-Chicago said...

JD--wow, those sound good too! Thanksl

Frenchie said...

Very balanced puzzle...all just fell into place nicely. I finished in pretty good time.
I've been fired in several situations. I wouldn't get coffee for some doctors having a meeting so I was fired the next day. I was trying to do volunteer work for 'NOW.' 'NOW' fired me from a volunteer job! Never saw that one coming.
great clues, great day and a happy day to you C. C. and fellow puzzlers.

Anonymous said...

Rodney Carrington said there is a distinct difference between men & women, men have to sometimes beg for a woman to remove her top, but you never see a woman have to beg a man to remove his pants.