Theme: A Prolonged Effort - The vowel in the second word of a common phrase is drawn out, as indicated by the first word.
20A. Too long a ride?: STRETCH LI(I)MO. Stretch Limo. The word limo is literally stretched.
37A. Too many relatives?: EXTENDED FA(A)MILY. Extended Family. Family is extended.
54A. Too much information?: SPREADSHEE(E)T. Spreadsheet. Sheet is spread.
Quite an original and innovative theme. Excellent theme clues. Bravo Zulu, Ms. Long!
The number of theme entries is rather sparse. Maybe the constructor could not find workable phrases with possible elongated OO or UU manipulation.
I fared much better than I did yesterday. Favorite entry is EL PASO, TX (38. City SSE of Las Cruces, NM). Very cool (though frustrating) fill.
Across:
1. Spare underwear: THONG. What I am wearing.
6. Thermometer part: BULB
10. Farm female: MARE. Ewe too.
14. Joyous shout: WAHOO. And WHEE (34A. Swinger's cry) & HALLO (36A. Fox hunt call). I did not know "Hallo" is a shout used in fox hunting.
15. Most of Ohio's northern boundary: ERIE
16. Cameo gemstone: ONYX. Three X's in this grid.
17. Mideast language: IRANI. Thought their language is called Persian/Farsi.
18. A 66-Across lacks one: TAIL. And MANX (66. Critter with no 18-Across). Love cross-references.
19. Nureyev's negative: NYET. Russian for "no". Alliteration with foreign words again.
23. Sway: TEETER
24. Presidential pollster John: ZOGBY. Nope. Not familiar with this name.
27. Sellout signs: SROS
29. Orders: DECREES. Oh, noun "orders".
31. Matter in court: RES. Latin for "thing".
41. Inscribed monument: STELA. Or STELE.
42. Piano piece with "primo" and "secondo" parts, e.g.: DUET
43. Plural feature, usually: ESS. And DEES (57D. Substandard marks). One spelled-out letter entry in a grid is enough.
44. Sends a check with the order: PREPAYS. PayPal handles everything now.
46. Columnist Barrett: RONA. The gossip columnist.
49. Chop-chop: APACE
50. Calendar divisions: MONTHS
58. Weaponless self-defense: JUDO. "Gentle way" in Japanese. Their DO = Chinese TAO (way).
61. Good way for dreams to come: TRUE. Good clue.
62. Board for nails: EMERY
63. "__ happens ...": AS IT. "As It Happens" is also a CBC radio program. I find the host Barbara Budd's voice very soothing.
64. Diet label word: LITE
65. Some closet contents: LINEN. Made of flax fiber.
67. Son of Seth: ENOS
68. So yesterday: PASSE
Down:
1. Peel in a drink: TWIST
2. Roaring Camp chronicler: HARTE (Bret). Know the name, not the story.
3. Hub near the Loop: O'HARE. The Loop in Chicago.
4. Large chamber groups: NONETS. Composition for nine.
5. Thyroid problem: GOITER. Caused by iodine deficiency.
6. Aleph follower: BETH. The second letter in Hebrew alphabet.
7. River through Kazakhstan: URAL
8. DXXX ÷ X: LIII. 530 ÷10= 53
9. Mexico neighbor: BELIZE. I have a very confused Central America map in my brain.
10. LBJ or JFK: MONOGRAM. Thought of DEMOCRAT immediately.
12. Ham site: RYE. Rye bread.
13. Request to an oper.: EXT (Extension)
21. Stand very close to: CROWD. Nice clue.
22. Chocolate-flavored coffee: MOCHA
25. Misrepresent: BELIE
26. Sounds angry: YELLS
28. Lets the fur fly?: SHEDS. Nailed it.
29. Postpone: DEFER
30. Brown sauces: SOYS. Was picturing the brown roux sauce rather than soy sauce.
31. Breathing: Abbr.: RESP. Respiring? Not familiar with the abbr. at all.
32. More than usual: EXTRA. Somehow the grammar of the clue confounded me.
33. Prohibitive, perhaps: STEEP. As prices.
39. Civil rights org.: NAACP
40. Matter components: ATOMS
45. Seuss turtle: YERTLE. Yertle the Turtle.
47. Useless: NO HELP
48. Lack of vitality: ANEMIA
52. Word spoken with a raised glass: HERE'S. "Here's to ...".
53. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer: STYNE (Jule). Wikipedia says he composed "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow". Too bad. I've never heard of him.
55. Joyce's motherland: ERIN. Sometimes it's Eire. James Joyce.
56. Focus opening: AUTO. Autofocus.
58. Dilemma: JAM. In a jam.
59. "Royal Pains" network: USA. Was ignorant of the TV series "Royal Pains".
60. Loud noise: DIN
Answer grid.
C.C.
20A. Too long a ride?: STRETCH LI(I)MO. Stretch Limo. The word limo is literally stretched.
37A. Too many relatives?: EXTENDED FA(A)MILY. Extended Family. Family is extended.
54A. Too much information?: SPREADSHEE(E)T. Spreadsheet. Sheet is spread.
Quite an original and innovative theme. Excellent theme clues. Bravo Zulu, Ms. Long!
The number of theme entries is rather sparse. Maybe the constructor could not find workable phrases with possible elongated OO or UU manipulation.
I fared much better than I did yesterday. Favorite entry is EL PASO, TX (38. City SSE of Las Cruces, NM). Very cool (though frustrating) fill.
Across:
1. Spare underwear: THONG. What I am wearing.
6. Thermometer part: BULB
10. Farm female: MARE. Ewe too.
14. Joyous shout: WAHOO. And WHEE (34A. Swinger's cry) & HALLO (36A. Fox hunt call). I did not know "Hallo" is a shout used in fox hunting.
15. Most of Ohio's northern boundary: ERIE
16. Cameo gemstone: ONYX. Three X's in this grid.
17. Mideast language: IRANI. Thought their language is called Persian/Farsi.
18. A 66-Across lacks one: TAIL. And MANX (66. Critter with no 18-Across). Love cross-references.
19. Nureyev's negative: NYET. Russian for "no". Alliteration with foreign words again.
23. Sway: TEETER
24. Presidential pollster John: ZOGBY. Nope. Not familiar with this name.
27. Sellout signs: SROS
29. Orders: DECREES. Oh, noun "orders".
31. Matter in court: RES. Latin for "thing".
41. Inscribed monument: STELA. Or STELE.
42. Piano piece with "primo" and "secondo" parts, e.g.: DUET
43. Plural feature, usually: ESS. And DEES (57D. Substandard marks). One spelled-out letter entry in a grid is enough.
44. Sends a check with the order: PREPAYS. PayPal handles everything now.
46. Columnist Barrett: RONA. The gossip columnist.
49. Chop-chop: APACE
50. Calendar divisions: MONTHS
58. Weaponless self-defense: JUDO. "Gentle way" in Japanese. Their DO = Chinese TAO (way).
61. Good way for dreams to come: TRUE. Good clue.
62. Board for nails: EMERY
63. "__ happens ...": AS IT. "As It Happens" is also a CBC radio program. I find the host Barbara Budd's voice very soothing.
64. Diet label word: LITE
65. Some closet contents: LINEN. Made of flax fiber.
67. Son of Seth: ENOS
68. So yesterday: PASSE
Down:
1. Peel in a drink: TWIST
2. Roaring Camp chronicler: HARTE (Bret). Know the name, not the story.
3. Hub near the Loop: O'HARE. The Loop in Chicago.
4. Large chamber groups: NONETS. Composition for nine.
5. Thyroid problem: GOITER. Caused by iodine deficiency.
6. Aleph follower: BETH. The second letter in Hebrew alphabet.
7. River through Kazakhstan: URAL
8. DXXX ÷ X: LIII. 530 ÷10= 53
9. Mexico neighbor: BELIZE. I have a very confused Central America map in my brain.
10. LBJ or JFK: MONOGRAM. Thought of DEMOCRAT immediately.
12. Ham site: RYE. Rye bread.
13. Request to an oper.: EXT (Extension)
21. Stand very close to: CROWD. Nice clue.
22. Chocolate-flavored coffee: MOCHA
25. Misrepresent: BELIE
26. Sounds angry: YELLS
28. Lets the fur fly?: SHEDS. Nailed it.
29. Postpone: DEFER
30. Brown sauces: SOYS. Was picturing the brown roux sauce rather than soy sauce.
31. Breathing: Abbr.: RESP. Respiring? Not familiar with the abbr. at all.
32. More than usual: EXTRA. Somehow the grammar of the clue confounded me.
33. Prohibitive, perhaps: STEEP. As prices.
39. Civil rights org.: NAACP
40. Matter components: ATOMS
45. Seuss turtle: YERTLE. Yertle the Turtle.
47. Useless: NO HELP
48. Lack of vitality: ANEMIA
52. Word spoken with a raised glass: HERE'S. "Here's to ...".
53. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer: STYNE (Jule). Wikipedia says he composed "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow". Too bad. I've never heard of him.
55. Joyce's motherland: ERIN. Sometimes it's Eire. James Joyce.
56. Focus opening: AUTO. Autofocus.
58. Dilemma: JAM. In a jam.
59. "Royal Pains" network: USA. Was ignorant of the TV series "Royal Pains".
60. Loud noise: DIN
Answer grid.
C.C.
49 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - a fun puzzle for me, with several clever clues, a few unknowns, and a theme that was easy once the first theme answer unveiled itself.
I was scratching my head right from the start, trying to figure out what you'd call 'spare underwear', as in 'backup'. Very clever. C.C., I'm sure your comment on got every guy's attention.
I confidently wrote 'fore' for 'swinger's cry', which totally screwed up the middle of the puzzle for a while. Had trouble in the mideast where I wanted 'tally' as in 'tally ho' for 'fox hunt call', and had no clue who John Zogby was. As with C.C., I thought the official language of Iran was Farsi. Unlike most, I like the occasional Roman Numeral clue; hey, you wanna make me do a bit of math along with the vocabulary stuff, I'm fine with that -- anything that works the mind is good in my view.
I want to wish all the members of our extended family a very, very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a New Year that is the very best ever for all of us. After this year, I think we all deserve it. And please take a moment and think of our troops around the world, serving for our benefit.
Just a wakeup now.
Dennis,
I don't mind Roman numeral either, as long as it's limited to one entry. No Words of Wisdom today?
Linda,
Merry Christmas to you and your family too. Good to hear from you again.
Jeannie,
Family gathering at our house tomorrow, then at our friends' house on Saturday. Lots of snow here.
PJB & Frank,
FYI, it's Brendan's 9th LAT yesterday, though the first since our switch.
Chickie,
My grandma used to have 2 persimmon trees in her yard. Loved picking the ripe ones off the tree and popping them directly into my mouth. She dried them for the winter. Also made persimmon vinegar.
Hungry in Chicago,
I am curious, do you actually solve the puzzle? Or do you only read the comments?
Good morning C.C. and all, a rather difficult solve for me today. I could not get any traction in the top half of the puzzle so I moved to the lower half and was finally able to complete that part. After getting 54A spreadsheeet I was able to figure out the other two theme clues. I liked the clue/answer for 1A, but I also was thinking along the line of extra.
A very nice puzzle this morning which caused me to think a bit. As stated here before I also like Roman numerals.
Zogby was an unknown although it looked familiar once it was revealed. Hallo was also unknown and I wanted tally ho which did not fit.
Yes Dennis, C.C.'s comment did get my attention.
Lois hope you have a great time in London and do try to see all of the pubs.
May you all have a joyous and blessed holiday and for those of you traveling be safe.
Just a note to all:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Good morning C.C. and all,
This was an easy trip for me today. My last fill was the x in the crossing with manx and tx, which had me stumped for a minute or so. The theme revealed itself early on with liimo. Wanted brief instead of thong. Emery gave me a brief pause.
I had to chuckle that three posters had never heard of Zogby, thus revealing their political leanings. Fox news quotes him almost every day!
As a former resident of Chicago, I would not call O'Hare close to the Loop. Midway is, but it is not really a hub.
Looking forward to Rich's offering for tomorrow.
Have a great Christmas
tfrank, if you think people are liberals strictly because they don't listen to fox news, I think that's an error in judgement. I have several conservative friends who eschew both ends of the spectrum. It's very difficult to find impartial, unbiased news anymore.
tfrank, I agree with you on the Ohare and Loop proximity, it struck me the same way.
Dennis et al,
I just opened one of the Christmas gifts Boomer got me. It's Rich Norris's latest LA Times Crossword #19. In his introduction, he mentioned LA Confidential and our blog. He said "They both do wonderful jobs of discussing and explaining the puzzles, and they love to hear from new readers". Neat, isn't it?
C.C., absolutely wonderful! Just further proof that you've created an amazing thing here; my hat's off to you; other clothing upon request.
I love your blog, but check your math on the Roman numeral clue. It should read 530 divided by 10 equals 53. It's probably just a typo. Happy holidays.
Dennis-
Liberals are liberals for any number of reasons, as is their right. My point was that anyone watching Fox News would be familiar with Zogby's name.
55 and Sunny here today.
Good Morning CC and All,
This was a Prolonged Effort for me but I finally got it. Extended Faamily fell first then I started looking for the extra vowel. Manx and Tail were my favorites today. I don't consider Judo self-defense as it doesn't allow strikes or kicks. It was created as a sport form of Ju-Jitsu which allows those techniques. Hence its name Gentle Way, as CC has educated us.
CC, Just another reason to admire you! ;) Way cool gift too.
I don't know who is more wound about the holiday, the wife or the kids. We've been getting all kinds of extra help out of the little rascals. We'll see how motivated they are on Sunday when we need to haul in some wood.
Happy, happy, happy Holidays to everyone!!
This is the most ridiculous puzzle I have ever tried, double letters, you need therapy
And a Merry Christmas to you too, moongolb; great holiday spirit.
Goood Morning All, What a fun way to spend some time on Christmas Eve morning. As Dennis mentioned the theme popped out after STRETCH LIIMO was filled. But who knew GOITER could find its way into a puzzle? That goes for ZOGBY too.
There were lots of clever clues today. "Spare underwear" for THONG and "LBJ or JFK" for MONOGRAMS were my favorites.
I smiled when I saw Jule STYNE show up. That's just perfect for today. He and lyricist Sammy Cahn wrote the lovely Christmas Waltz.
C.C. What a great gift, both from Boomer and from Rich Norris. It must be tremendously gratifying to know that your efforts are appreciated (Well, all of us already knew that!).
Dennis, Are you going to get a boat ride again this year?
Good morning CC and friends,
WooHoo...great theme...hard clues, well, for me anyway. Like Dick, I couldn't get any traction until the bottom half and worked backwards.
Don't watch FOX, so didn't know Zogby, but even if I had I wouldn't remember him unless I had seen it written. Didn't know Styne either, but knew Rona and Harte.
Fav. clues: swingers cry (I put in fore also) and let the fur fly.
Lois, can't wait to hear about your travels.Dennis, we'll be thinking of you while we're sipping HOT toddies, and you are drinking somrthing on the rocks!
Happy holidays to all who write in most days, and also to those we don't hear from as often: Moon,Elissa, Buckeye, Barb B, Barry, Dr. Dad, Jeanne, Kittyb, xchefwalt, Embien, MamaP,Linda, Katherine,and Crockett.
A big thanks to all genius puzzle makers and to our Mr Norris.
CC, you know you have created a special place for all of us. Boomer is lucky to have you too.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Dennis, don't berate me but I do have an exception to the puzzle. "Word spoken with a raised glass" here's is really here is. And I agree that OHare is not near the loop. (Grew up in Oak Park.)
Off to St. Pete for a party with DH's cousin and family/friends.
Travel safely all of you in snowy country.
Bill Watterson is the creator of the wonderful Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. Calvin and Hobbes ran in newspapers from 1985 to 1995. I still miss it.
Christmas Eve
On the window panes the icy frost
Leaves feathered patterns, crissed and crossed
But in our house the Christmas tree
Is decorated festively
With tiny dots of colored light
That cozy up this winter night.
Christmas songs familiar, slow
Play softly on the radio.
Pops and hisses from the fire
Whistle with the bells and choir.
Trying now to fall asleep
On my back and dreaming deep
Tomorrow's what I'm waiting for,
But I can wait a little more.
- Bill Watterson
Merry Christmas to everyone, and Thank You for making the time spent here so enjoyable.
Good morning all,
C.C.-How exciting to have your blog cited in Rich Norris's book! Congratulations! Thank you for all your hard work and research (and Argyle and occasional guest bloggers, too).
Fun puzzle today. I also like a roman numeral clue from time to time, esp. in late week puzzles, as they are gimmes. In fact today's is where I got started, and also gave me the theme with LIIMO. I thought 1A was extremely creative, and smiled at goiter. Don't remember seeing it in a xword before.
Today is our day of family together. #3 son is due here any minute to pick up his gifts for his wife. He's been at work for the last 72 hours, so I played the role of "elf" for him by wrapping and doing some last minute shopping. He's a firefighter/paramedic, and goes back to work early tomorrow morning for the next 48 hours. We'll join them at their home later today. #2 son is already here, but goes back to San Diego this afternoon to begin his work shift at 5pm. We've long since passed the point where the date together matters, just the time together.
A Blessed Christmas to those who celebrate, and Happy Holidays to all! Be safe!
Bit of a streeetch for me today, but finally got it. The theme came clear after "extended faamily" because "liimo" didn't fall in until the very end. I didn't like the theme. In fact, I had "mocha" right away but I second-guessed it when it resulted in a second 'a' in "family." I knew "Zogby" but was thrown off because I had "Panama" instead of "Belize." My C.A. geography is a little fuzzy, too.
I wanted "change" for spare underwear, but it wouldn't fit.
Rest easy, guys, I've never worn a thong, although there was a time when I could have - SIIIGH!
It seems as if El Paso occurs regularly in these puzzles - or a clue involving UTEP. Wonder why???
Woke up to a light dusting of snow this morning. 31º, wind chill 18º.
Happy Christmas Eve, everybody.
I had to Google ZOGBY and STYNE which cleared up everything except the SW corner. I wanted SH*T HAPPENS, but then realized that wouldn't sit well with most, so had to look up the USA network. In general loved the quirky twist on the theme entries.
I echo Dennis' sentiment to pause and give a thought to our troops. Everything in my day-to-day life that I may whine about pales when put in perspective to what they do on our behalf.
And C.C. - Thanks for adding a daily smile to my life. As you should know, you are quite cherished.
Whatever you're celebrating, have a joyous one!
1. Spare underwear: THONG I don't understand wouldn't spare mean extra or clean rather than thong. Personally I would rather a woman go commando than wear a thong. At least she would be comfortable and relaxed.
Mideast language I wanted Farsi
Hi gang -
Merry Christmas, Seasons greeting, peace and love.
It's the calm before the hurricane here. Eight grandchildren and their parents will be here in a while, along with their parents, the LW, my mom and me.
Today's puzzle got off to a great start with THONG and WAHOO. There were some fresh fills and clever clues, (frex: EMERY, CROWD, SHEDS) but to many negatives to get a high mark.
IRANI is just plain wrong! the langauge is Farsi. An IRANI is a person.
The theme is clever and original, but not especially good, IMHO.
I like cross references in a puzzle, but not when two clues = 0 clues.
I know who Zogby is, and I wouldn't watch Fox if you tied me up like Alex DeLarge.
To end on a positive, I'll say O'Hare is close to the loop, (though it does not CROWD it) since they're both in or near Chicago. In contrast, the loop in nowhere near LAX. Or even DTW.
I have The Christmas Waltz cued up on my blog tomorrow, along with some other Christmas classics.
Stay safe and warm.
Cheers
JzB the EXTENDED FAMIILY trombonist
To all - You guys are a real kick! I only started doing crosswords a few months ago. Out of frustration I found this blog, and yesterday for the first time I began reading your comments. Quite entertaining. I felt good yesterday as I didn't find the puzzle that hard. Todays, not so easy. But I'm learning. I love how a slight reference to politics increases the tone. We are divided but do find ways to come together. Thanks for your input.
Sallie,
I had the same thought on HERE'S. I had to google ZOGBY (loved Jazz's take on Fox), and STYNE. I would never use, nor have ever heard WAHOO--I wanted Yahoo. Also struggled to figure out what went after EL PASO for a while--I never expect the state abbr. after the city name. Wanted shit for 63A.
Happy Christmas and all else to you all!
To C.C. and fellow bloggers. Thank you C.C. for this blog and for all of you who make it fun and educational for me. Have a wonderful Christmas one and all. You will be in my thoughts! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
C.C. congratulations on your recognition. You deserve it dear one!
Good morning, all. Had to put this one to bed last night and go at it fresh this morning before it would yield. Loved the clue for 1A. C.C., TMI!!
Had to g-spot ZOGBY. Mis-spelled YERTLE, puzzled over MONOGRAM for a while, but eventually got everything to fall into place.
Hand up for DEMOCRAT. Scratched my head a while over "Board for nails," then D'oh! STYNE was also a visit to Mr. G.
C.C., that's great to get a shout out in Rich's book!!
@clearayes Thanks for the Watterson poem.
@rsd Think of spare as in sparse or scant, and the clue/fill makes sense to me!
Best wishes to all.
I didn't like the clue for 1A. It should have been "sparSe" underwear, not "spare". Also I had a hard time because I used Farsi and not Irani. Everyone have a happy holiday season.
RSD, LOL, like stiletto heels, THONGs were not invented for comfort, they have to be seen to be appreciated. Women dressing for comfort only happens in what I can only call "a little later in the game". With a little careful shopping, comfy cotton in pretty colors with lace trim can be found.
BTW, Crockett got it right. "Spare" for 1A is used in the sense of meager, or not abundant. A THONG is definitely not abundant!
Heello All--A clever puzzle theme and one that had me puzzling over the extra squares in what seemed to me to be the correct answers. When I finally got Spread Sheeet, everything fell into place. Well almost. I had to Google Styne and Zogby, as those were unknowns to me.
I put in Opal for Cameo gem instead of Onyx, and that NE corner was the last to fall. For some reason I couldn't get my head around anything else.
My favorite clue today was Lets the fur fly. Also my first thought was Sh*t happens, but had the same thoughts as Jimmy B.
C.C. dear, what a lovely present from Boomer and Rich Norris. We all knew that you were special, now others will, too.
A very Merry Christmas to those in this family who celebrate the holiday and to everyone un Prospero Ano Nuevo as they say in Cali.
When I saw that my three theme entries had odd multiple letters, I thought I’d really messed thing up and came here for answers, never thinking it was part of the theme. I had many, many blank spaces too. I filled in just the theme words though, and was able to figure out most of the rest on my own. I had EXTRA for 1A too, which kept that corner pretty sparse for a while.
Once I got over my hurdles, I appreciated all the interesting clueing!
I like the Roman numeral math, although I don’t always remember the rankings.
I knew HALLO, but thought it was spelled HALOO. And I wanted WOOHOO, rather than WAHOO – reminds me of those annoying commercials.
C.C., what a tribute Rich Norris made to you! That’s such an honor. And as others have said, we appreciate you and this blog not only for the crossword assistance it provides, but for the wonderful people we’ve found here.
Safe and happy holidays to everyone!
First chance I've had to check in since this morning - the stores are absolutely nuts, thank God.
Sallie, I don't know why you'd think I'd 'berate' you - the only reason I got on Moongolb was for his comment about this being 'the most ridiculous puzzle' ever.
I do think 'here's' is ok in how it's used. I don't believe anyone says, "Here is to you"; rather, it's "Here's to you".
Mainiac, I doubt we'll get that boat ride again; I've lost touch with him. Definitely will rent jet skis, though, so I'll get my 'speed fix'.
Kaz, I love your answer for 63A.
Odd, but cute theme.
@ Kazie, there is a salt water fish called the Wahoo and it is rumored that it got its name because it is so exciting to catch one that when you do you will yell WAHOO.
@Chickie, my wife and I just made your spiced nuts recipe and all I can say is they are decadent. I cannot keep my fingers out of the bowl. We will not have any problem with how to store them as there will not be any left to put in the fridge. Thank you and Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday what ever you celebrate.
Really liked this puzzle. I caught on to the extended letter right away, but took a long time to fill them all in. Did quite well with a little red letter help towards the end. Not knowing STELE or RES didn't help that area at all, but finally got her done. Loved the ONYX and MANX. My brother used to have a MANX cat. Quite odd.
I am typing this on my new MacBook - my Christmas and birthday gift. I am so excited. Yesterday was quite the frustration trying to move data over as nothing is in the same format, but got her done for the most part. Now I will take it to San Diego to do some fun stuff with it.
CC, congrats on the mention in RIch Norris's book. You are so humble in your work on this blog, and I love to see that others recognized you. Well deserved.
It is a sea of white here, very beautiful, but threatening those travel plans. Our flight tomorrow was cancelled today, so we are hoping that we don't run into trouble. I must say that they have done a great job of getting things cleared off. Driving was not a problem at all today. We are hopeful. It is pretty.
Dennis, for those troops, I will link my favorite tearjerker Christmas song. I just was playing it as I started reading the blog.
Hi,
Breathing = Respiration
Hence, Resp. (abbr.)
Jose
GAH and I are heading for a traditional Tex-Mex Christmas Eve tamale dinner this evening. My cousin, who is a Norswegian (Norway/Sweden mix) is the chef. Good thing she is a retired Spanish teacher, spent many vacations in Mexico and makes some wonderful Mexican food.
We have heard that "Ugly Christmas Sweater" parties are the latest fad, so we will both be decked out in our finest, both this evening and tomorrow. Isn't it great that Grandpa's red and green Christmas vest with the embroidered snowmen is now the epitome of cool?
good afternoon c.c. and all,
a rare day off today gave me time to puzzle, and what a fun one it was. i thought the crossing of strech LIImo/LIII, extended fAAmily/nAAcp, and spread shEEEt/tEEns was terribly clever. other double vowel fills too, WHEE, WAHOO, TEETER, DECREES. has to be tricky to make that work.
c.c., congratulations on the recognition from rich norris, a real honor, and truly deserved.
Be careful thong wearers. Even with careful hygiene urinary tract infections can be a problem for women. For men, snug thongs can kill your sperm. On top of every thing else, an incorrectable wedgie all day long can be very uncomfortable. Not worth it to avoid VPL as far as I am concerned and UTIs aren't sexy. Sorry but I'm not signing my name on this one. Still and all, have a Merry Christmas.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
bikini wearer! my wife says you"re the only straight shooter on the blogs. congrats! i"m not giving my name either "tho I"m not using caps anymore.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays, gang - it's been a fun year, huh?
We really had trouble with this puzzle. I'd get the extra vowel in the theme words & think something was wrong. We'd erase and try again. It just didn't dawn on me what was going on. My favorite clue was LBJ or JFK.
Congrats, C.C. on being mentioned in the book. You can expect some new bloggers!
Since the temp. is 34, I'm assuming the rain I hear hitting the window is not turning to ice. It just thundered and really startled me!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!
Dot
C.C.,
I forgot to congratulate you on the recognition today. That's really great news!
I think Sallie meant only that "here's" is really two words, not that it should be used as "here is", but it is nevertheless more than one word.
HO HO HO.......It's officially Christmas here in the midwest, so Merry Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and Happy 12/25 and (I hope) a relaxing day off to the rest!
Yes, I did the puzzle and it toook a looong time. 'Nuf said!
Went to a small, very fun non-theme party (they had a small jazz quartet, and GULP, I sang with them twice. Not much of a voice here, honestly, but I sure do smile nice & can "channel" better singers in a pinch!) I brought Swedish pepparkakor and spiced nuts (thanks ClearAyes and Chickie!). Afterwards we went on a neighborhood walking tour to see the decorations & lights. Beautiful, even in the cold rain! We tried carolling informally but no one knew all the words to ANY holiday songs.....
One of the very best gifts I got this year was the pleasure of meeting fellow puzzle solvers here and of getting to know each of you. Your smarts, humor, wisdom, perspectives and daily snapshots of your lives never fail to brighten my day. Thank you!
P.s. C.C.: Thanks for the BEQ reminder--sorry, I goofed! Congrats on the richly deserved mention in R. Norris' new book.
My best to you & your thoughtful husband, Boomer.
Merry Christmas to all christians. Happy holidays to others. Just thought that I'd chime in that 41D: RACE CAR is a well known palindrome.
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