google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday December 9, 2009 Robert E. Lee Morris

Advertisements

Dec 9, 2009

Wednesday December 9, 2009 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Bad Boys - The surname of each theme answer is synonymous with "malicious".

17. Bassist for the Sex Pistols: SID VICIOUS. He died of heroin overdose in 1979. Sex Pistols pioneered the punk rock music.

36. Muttley's evil master in Hanna-Barbera cartoons: DICK DASTARDLY. No idea. Wikipedia says he's a racer who aimed to win "solely through cheating and trickery".

59. "The Wonder Years" star: FRED SAVAGE. I only knew his brother Ben Savage. I really liked watching "Boy Meets World" when I first arrived in the US.

Wish DICK DASTARDLY were a real person. The theme would have been tighter and more focused.

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 J's, 2 Z's and several K's. A rather smooth solving for me, despite several unknowns. The crossing sure helped.

Across:

1. Hurts with a horn: GORES. Gruesome start.

6. Trudge: PLOD. Not today.

10. Where E.T. came from?: AFAR. Could only think of UFO. Nice clue.

14. As vertical as possible, as an embedded anchor: APEAK. New word to me. And ROPE (15A. Anchor attachment). Nice 'anchor" sequence.

16. Charm: MOJO. Tiger's is fading fast.

19. Run off at the mouth: BLAB

20. Made the trip: CAME. Awful storm outside now.

21. Uncommonly big: OUTSIZED. Like ego.

28. Friend you probably never met: PEN PAL

30. Spread with cocktails: PATE. Who doesn't like pâté de foie gras?

33. Leopardlike critter: OCELOT. Nice to see you again.

35. Skye of film: IONE. She's in "Say Anything ...".

40. Like many a 45-Across: DANK. And CELLAR (45A. Underground room).

41. Hitchcock classic: PSYCHO. Wish I had never seen the movie.

42. Swing voter: Abbr.: IND. And JAN (43D. Pres. inauguration month).

43. Singer Feliciano: JOSE. Got him today. See, I am capable of learning.

49. '50s Kenyan revolutionary: MAUMAU. Great to see the full name rather than the half MAU. "When doubled, Kenyan revolutionary" is just as bad as the old "Half fly" for TSE.

51. PBS funder: NEA

53. Cancún coins: CENTAVOS. Spanish for "cents". Alliteration again.

56. Hebrew prophet: AMOS. Got the answer from crosses. He's a minor prophet.

57. Fast fliers: JETS. SSTS too.

61. War god: ARES. In Greek myth. TYR is the Norse war god.

62. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE-T. Yawner.

63. Sloping edge of a chisel: BEZEL. See this picture.

64. Author Zane: GREY. Again, strung his name together from crosses.

65. Big name in lawn equipment: TORO. Or DEERE. Toro is based here in MN.

66. Fish basket: CREEL

Down:

1. It's replaced after a fill-up: GAS CAP. Its symmetrical partner in the grid is RESELL (48. Transfer for a price, as a used car: RESELL). I like the car connection. Good bookends for the grid.

2. Sedative: OPIATE

3. St. John's athletes, until 1994: REDMEN. Now Red Storm. Native American sensitivity issue.

5. Go downhill fast?: SKI. Can't fool me.

6. Toyota hybrid: PRIUS. Latin for "prior".

7. Pirate's haul: LOOT

8. Music with a number: OPUS

9. Stop: DESIST. Cease and desist.

10. The color of honey: AMBER. Sweet! I love honeyed nuts.

11. Nonsense: FOLDEROL. Often see the answer as clue.

12. Steely Dan album pronounced like a continent: AJA. Pronounced like "Asia".

13. Stick up: ROB

18. Air-conditioned: COOLED

22. Ballet-dancing Muppet: ZOE. I've never even seen one episode of "Sesame Street".

24. Pass rusher's success: SACK

26. VAIO computer maker: SONY. Our old editor once clued VAIO as "Sony computer".

27. Golfer's gismo: TEE. I spell gismo as "gizmo".

30. Rapper's entourage: POSSE

31. Mem. of the bar: ATTY. Much better than ATT.

34. Indy 500's 200: LAPS

35. Golden calf, e.g.: IDOL

36. Agent Scully of "The X-Files": DANA. Not a fan of "The X-Files" either.

37. Hall of Fame guest of honor: INDUCTEE

38. Permission to use: ACCESS. Access to database. Permission to use the database. OK.

39. Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA. Danny DeVito's wife.

44. Uniform: OUTFIT

46. Childbirth education pioneer: LAMAZE. I like the answer.

47. Orbital high point: APOGEE. Low point is Perigee.

51. Acknowledge with a head movement: NOD TO

54. Sacramento's __ Arena: ARCO. Home to Sacramento Kings.

56. Say assuredly: AVER

57. Binge: JAG. Both mean "a drinking spree".

60. "Desperate Housewives" network: ABC

Happy Birthday, Hahtool! Thanks for bringing us inspiring QOD every morning.

Answer grid.

C.C.

46 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - fun puzzle today; decent theme, and just enough pauses to make it interesting.
Only real screwup was putting 'beVel' for 63A instead of 'beZel'. Never heard bezel used that way. Also initially spelled fOlderol wrong.

C.C., count me as one who doesn't like goose liver. And you're right, I think most of us use 'gizmo' instead of 'gismo'.

Today is Christmas Card Day and National Pastry Day. Think I'll try for one outta two.

Also, Happy Birthday to Hahtool, and many more.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and the instruction afterward." -- Benjamin Franklin

And a few words on drinking:

- "I once shook hands with Pat Boone and my whole right side sobered up." -- Dean Martin

- "I saw a notice which said 'Drink Canada Dry' and I've just started." -- Brendan Behan

windhover said...

Hahtool,
Happy Birthday, from a fellow Saggitarian.

JazzB,
I too took your comment that I was a day older to mean you were 64. But not a lot of difference at this point, huh?
I remember very well back when I received my Social Security card in the mail at the age of 16. Back then, the projected retirement age (for men) was 65. I thought how impossibly far off that seemed. Now it seems to have been maybe 15 or 20 years ago.

Did anyone else notice that our late anon
poster (last night) seemed to know a lot about a pretty arcane topic?

Anonymous said...

@WH, the late anon copied and pasted from wiki.

Lemonade714 said...

Happy birthday Hahtool and JB, and many more. Not much to say on a day of record heat here in the south and horrible storms up north.

It does remind me of the young nun who enters a convent, where she can only say out loud two words every ten years. After the first decade, she visits Mother Superior and says, "bed hard." Ten years later, she says, "food bad." After 30 years, she goes to the Mother Superior and says, "I quit." "I'm not surprised," says Mother Superior. "You've been complaining ever since you got here."

Anonymous said...

Dennis

speaking of drinking Dean Martin once said "You're not drunk if you can lay on the floor without hanging on.

He also said he once had a friend who drank vodka with carrot juice when he asked why the friend said "I get drunk but I see good."


Nonsense: FOLDEROL unknown to me

Ballet-dancing Muppet: ZOE must be a new character added after I outgrew the show.

57 down should've been clued CBS military drama 1997-2005 JAG

12 down is Jeannie's favourite band Steeley Dan. This is for you Jeannie.

AJA

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and Friends. I loved this puzzle. As soon as I wrote down GORED and GAS CAP, I knew that it would be a good one.

My only mis-step was to write daRk instead of DANK for the cellar. That was easily corrected with a D'OH when I read the perp clue.

Take care to all who are in the midst of snow storms. Stay indoors if you can.

QOD: The thing a cowardice fears most is decision. Soren Kierkegaard

Lemonade714 said...

Quiet day here at the corner, I guess the bad weather has its effect; if you are bored, here are 13 seconds of my grandpuppy and my Aaron REMUS .

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC and Gang,

A busy morning so I didn't get to this until later. I had a pretty easy go with the upper 2/3s but couldn't get Fred Savage and the theme (which I never got until coming here). I also wrote Turn rather than Veer, SSTS instead of Jets and Wine instead of Dank. All this led to red letter help for that entire area.

A very Happy Birthday to Hahtool! You've had good reasons to party it up for at least a couple of weeks!

Snow isn't going to hit until later in the morning. It's supposed to blow like stink along the coast as this thing pulls away. I started my generator last night to make sure it ran.

Have a great day.

Annette said...

Have a wonderful birthday, Hatool! I don't remember hearing where you live, but I hope today's storms don't impact your celebrations!

tfrank said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang,

Happy birthday, Hahtool from another Saggitarian. Being born as close to Christmas as I was, some folks always wanted to give me a "combined" gift for both occasions.

I had trouble today with all the names. My last fill was for the Icet/Arco crossing. I hit the Gspot for Law and Order, which listed hundreds of names of cast members, but no Icet. I then Ged Arco and had my 'doh moment.

A quibble about the rope answer. If you tie a rope to your anchor and live in tropical waters, you won't have it for long. The reefs will cut it in a jiffy. Every anchor I have seen comes with about eight to ten feet of chain to which rope may be attached. Besides, chain makes the anchor dig into the bottom properly.

Being an AA member, I have heard many binge stories. My favorite: a guy with several years of sobriety went to a business convention in Atlanta in August He decided one drink would be OK and went to the hotel bar. The next thing he knew, he woke up in a strange hotel bed, looked out the window and saw snow falling; he looked at a matchbook cover by his bed and found out he was in Augusta, Maine, with no recollection of how he got there. Augusta was having an early storm. Another guy in Pittsburgh went shopping for a gift for his wife Christmas eve, decided to have a drink, and woke up in San Francisco four days later.

Blackouts are common with alcoholics.

Have a great day.

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, all.

Hand up for SSTS instead of JETS. Couldn't believe there would be ANOTHER J in the puzzle. Definitely a scrabbly one.

@tfrank Exactly why I stopped imbibing heavily. Pretty scary to wake up and not know how you got there!

Wanted GIGANTIC for OUTSIZED, but didn't think CG was a promising start to a word. Looks like CG or CGM is an abbreviation for centigrams, but that just wouldn't fit in that 18D space (6 blanks).

Have a safe Wednesday!

Anonymous said...

As a lifelong woodworker " the sloping edge of chisel" has always been called beVel, nver heard it referee to as a bezel!

Dr.G said...

Bezel is also the term describing the edge of a spectacle lens that fits into the bevel of the eye glass frame.

Warren said...

HI C.C. & gang, We finished 99% of today's puzzle before my wife left for work. I went online and finished the rest of it in red. It's hard for me to remember how to spell 'folderol' but I got 'bezel' easily.
It would have taken me much longer to complete without doing it without my wife, she knows what I don't and I know what she doesn't (at least once in a while).

C.C. I can't tell my wife what to do, if she want's to comment on this blog that's up to her but she's so busy with multiple other projects...

Here's a classic Steely Dan hit that I can remember: reeling in the years

Warren said...

bezel
" 1. A slanting surface or bevel on the edge of a cutting tool, such as a chisel.
2. The upper, faceted portion of a cut gem, above the girdle and below the table.
3. A groove or flange designed to hold a beveled edge, as of a watch crystal or a gem."

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I got SID VICIOUS and FRED SAVAGE pretty easily, so even though I didn't know "Mutley's evil master", the perps took care of it.

OUTSIZED isn't a term I've used before. "Uncommonly big" would be OVERSIZED to me.

I agree that bevel is a much more common term. It seems that BEZEL can be a synonym of bevel and it also has other definitions. There goes that learning again!

Jeannie from last night, try charring your red peppers on a stove top burner and then finishing the roasting in your oven. You can do it a couple of days ahead of your party and refrigerate then until you are ready to use them. The taste will be much better than jarred peppers.

I'm on my way to buy stamps for our Christmas cards this morning. They will be in the mail this afternoon.

Lemonade, I loved Remus's video. He's a cutie.

Happy Birthday Hahtool!

DCannon said...

Had to visit Mr. G for "Arco," which gave me "IceT." I realized afterward that I did know the name of that arena. Just forgot. Did not like all the names, but they fell into place with the perps. Wanted "enormous" instead of "outsized" and "dark" instead of "dank." I knew "Savage" and could see his face, but I could not think of his first name until I finally got the 'F.'

I knew Zane "Grey" because I read all his western novels when I was in Jr. High. He also wrote books for young boys, I believe.

Not as easy as yesterday's, but OK. Went pretty quickly.

We had a sandstorm yesterday with winds 50 mph to 60 mph. Started with black ice and wound up with high winds and 67º. Broke the community Christmas tree in half, several roofs blown off, electrical poles blown over. Temp this morning was 22º again.

Happy birthday, Hahtool. Many happy returns.

Dennis said...

Had to share this joke:

Cowboy walks into the bedroom carrying a sheep in his arms and says, "Honey, this is the cow I make love to when you have a headache."

The wife, lying in bed reading a book, looks up and says, "If you weren't such an idiot, you'd know that's a sheep, not a cow."

The guy replies, "If you weren't such a bitch, you'd realize I was talking to the sheep."

Clear Ayes said...

Jeannie, Oops, maybe you have an electric range, so you wouldn't be able to char the red peppers over a flame. You can do all the roasting in your oven broiler. Here's a link for roasting peppers that should work perfectly. (Even in California, it is often too chilly to fire up the grill, so I'm going to try this method myself.)

IRISH JIM said...

Good Day CC and all.

Hahtool may you be around this time next year to celebrate again.

Found this easier than yesterday.
Knew the REDMEN from living in NYC. They were quite the team in the 80s/90s. Also FRED SAVAGE And SID VICIOUS came EASILY.
Only hiccup was misreading 1D and writing GASCAN.
Started oddly enough in the SW corner.
Favourite clue 30A spread with cocktails.

Brendan Behan would certainly have been one who could not pass a bar.

To all in the path of the storm drive carefully and stay safe.

Spitzboov said...

Interesting puzzle. Did not know ARCO. First had SSTS and BEVEL like some of you. Also had detain before DESIST loomed from the perps.

I guess ROPEs are used on small boats. Ships use anchor chains. Thought PENPAL clue was clever.

Since the discussion of FOLDEROL by the group the other day, this was a gimme.

Posted late today because of app't with dermatologist to receive annual full-body scan (all clothes off). Coldest, snowiest, windiest day so far this winter. Go figure.

Jeannie said...

I thought this puzzle was fun. As C.C. stated it was “scrabby”. Who wouldn’t like a puzzle that includes my favorite album in it? Thanks Democrat for the Aja link. I actual own the album, the cassette and the CD. I knew Sid Vicious and Fred Savage right off the bat but had to struggle a bit for Dick Dastardly. Perp help included Ione, NEA, and apogee. Thanks Warren for the definitions of bezel. I like most everyone else thought it was bevel.

Clearayes, thanks for the instructions on how to roast peppers under your broiler. Interestingly enough one of the suggested recipes was bruschetta and that is what I roast them for. Also, good for you on sending out Christmas cards. You wouldn’t believe how many I have received via e-mail this year.

Happy Birthday Hahtool! Hope you plan on doing something fun today.

Interesting commute this morning. Took me twice as long as usual but made it safe and sound. It’s stopped snowing here but the wind is about 35-40mph and that will cause drifting out my way.

Anonymous said...

Vern Said:

"Outsized" reminded me of a customer service program I gave where I asked participants to tell me their worst example of customer relations. One rather large woman told me she walked into a 5 - 7 - 9 woman's store to buy a sweater for her niece. As she entered the store, a clerk called out: "We don't have anything in the store your size, lady." Whoops!

Finished the puzzle but there were far too many proper nouns for me.

Anonymous said...

@Jeannie, what brand of cooking oil brush do you use?

Mainiac said...

LMAO Dennis! I needed that one today.

A chain is definitely an anchor attachment unless you are on a muddy bottomed lake (dirty sounding on many fronts.......or sides).

Everything is getting canceled tonight. This will help the boys get things cleaned up before the rain hits. Then we'll be dealing with wet basements. The wind is just starting to howl.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Happy birthday Hahtool, this time right on time.

When I said one day younger than WH, I was only looking at the days, not reeling in the years.

We got some snow overnight, but it was 41 F at 7 this a.m. and it glopped down into about a half inch of heavy slush. Ugly stuff to get off the drive way. Cloudy and very windy today. I have rehearsal tonight. Should be high 20's, continuing wind and light snow. OK. It's December.

Overall pretty good puzzle today, and I do appreciate a complete MAUMAU. The theme doesn't really hang together, though. A stage name for John Simon Ritchie, and a cartoon villain, combined with a child actor; but lacking genuine close synonym equivalence in the key words? Meh.

Danica McKellar, Winnie, Kevin's heart-throb from the Wonder Years, went on to become a
famous mathematician.

Cheers!
JzB the parabolic trombonist

john28man said...

ARCO derives from the company previously being the Atlantic-Richfield Company. Wikipedia confirms this & says it is now a subsidiary of BP.

Annette said...

Nice puzzle with some interesting new clues. 1A Hurts with a horn: GORES. I had a hard time getting my mind off of musical horns. I couldn’t imagine how they’d be hurtful, unless they were used to hit someone. Or, if the playing were so bad that it hurt their ears…

I also has SSTS instead of JETS first.

FOLDEROL always reminds me of Disney’s “Cinderella” when fairy godmother says: Fol-de-rol and fiddle dee dee and fiddley faddley foddle, all the wishes in the world are poppy cock and twoddle.

Dennis: Loved the joke! I couldn’t wait to turn around and share it too!

Maniac: Your upcoming storm sounds scary, and exciting, both at the same time! I’m jealous, until I got to the wet basements, and Jeannie’s stressful drive in it…

Warren: Thanks for the clarification between beZel and beVel.

Lemonade714: Your puppy’s adorable!

John28man: Now, if they’d clued ARCO using that information, I might’ve gotten it without relying on the perps!

Dr. Dad said...

Good evening to everyone.

Dick Dastardly and Muttley - they raced against Penelope Pitstop. She first appeared in Hanna Barbera's Wacky Races and then got her own series - The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. Here is The Wacky Races that has the characters, including Dick Dastardly and Muttley.

Never heard the bezel of a chisel but did hear the bezel of the spectacle lens.

I have had foie gras some time ago and enjoyed it but stopped eating after seeing what they do to the poor geese to enlarge their livers. Forced feeding, ways to keep them from regurgitating, etc. All for some exquisite cuisine? Nah.

Tuesday is named for Tyr (Tyr's Day).

Isn't pirates' haul more commonly called booty?

Happy Birthday to Hahtool.

Have a great evening.

Buckeye said...

Guday all. Thought I wasn't going to like this puzzle because of all the proper nouns but I slugged through it and found it somewhat fun. Made some of the early mistakes some of you did, but ended up getting it done through the perps. I do mine in pencil. Limited computer time, here at GBRV.

Happy B-Day Hahtool. You've done a lot of celebrating lately. Good for you!

Dennis: You asked me yesterday how we decorate here at GBRV. We put up some red bows and an inflatable Santa Claus. With the high winds we had today, (gusts +50 mph) all of our bows blew off and most of them ended up in pieces on our neighbor's building. (It's a business - "Irving's Nine Day Old Donuts"). Irving is a middle-aged Latino from Colombia who seems to be doing quite well - for a guy selling stale donuts. He has a HUGH carry out business.

We stick our inflated Santa on the flag pole. With these high winds, he's doing one hell of a "pole dance".

Well, musent tarry. Places to go, people to see, toys to deliver. Speaking of "Tarry". For CA.

Come my tan faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready,
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp edged axes?
Pioneers! O pioneers!

For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

I must be off

kazie said...

Good evening all!
Interesting and fun puzzle. Only missteps were not knowing how to spell CENTAVOS(CENTIVOS), and I didn't know ARCO or that ICE-T is in L&O/SVU, since I don't watch it. I guessed ZOE, though she must have come after my kids outgrew the show too apparently.

Strange day today. First the internet was unavailable. Tech guy from the cable company came and it turns out I should just have rebooted. The bad weather had made me jump to blaming that.

Then DH stayed home today since everything else was closed because of weather and he figured his office should be too. So that meant he spent the day--literally, with breaks, shovelling our driveway and deck. We had 15 inches of snow here, some of which I'm sure was due to blowing and drifting, but thick wet heavy stuff.

Also, the paper wasn't here, or so I thought, logically, given the weather. So I waited in frustration, no paper and no internet to get the puzzle. But on taking the dog out to pee, found the paper in a plastic bag in the snowbank about 6 feet from the porch, behind a bush which hid it from view from the house. Only about 2 inches were showing above the snow.

So then I had my puzzle and internet at about the same time. But the rest of the day got busy and I only just got here to comment.

Happy Birthday to Hahtool!

Robin said...

Oh My, I have heard about the weather in various parts of the country. Stay safe and warm. It is funny to me that people complain about how cold it is in Phoenix at 69 degrees.
I hope my friends in emergency medicine, medics, emts, PD, Sheriffs, Flight for life are safe and warm and know how much we appreciate them.

Anonymous said...

This storm is really widespread. I don't know how many inches of snow we actually got, because it drifted in the driveway. It was 20 inches deep on our square foot garden frame.

We had hired a man with a snowplow to do our driveway. shortly after he arrived, the neighbor to the south came over & asked if he could do his. Normally, he does his own. soon the neighbor to the north came over. The starter on his blower had broken so he wanted the job finished. While he was doing that driveway, the man across the road from him came over to see if he could get his done. It's that kind of a storm! Now it is supposed to get very cold and strong winds. There were already a lot of people in the ocunty without power. With high winds, more lines will break & more tree limbs will be down. Is this an indication of what the winter will be like? I hope not.

Our paper never got delivered & I thought we were ourt of luck for the puzzle until I finally remembered I could go on line. Quite a challenge with all the names but I was glad to have it.

Dot

Robin said...

Jeannie you get home ok? and anyone else in the storms wrath? Hope so xoxo

Mainiac said...

Hey All,

I got in awhile ago and got our yard plowed and did a couple others. My kids even shoveled walks and helped clear out the garage doors. The wind has been really blowing but since the snow stopped, the rain is beating it down. I think this beast is on its way to Canada.

Although it may bore some, it was really cool to hear the affects of this one as it came across the country. Everything from a sand storm to snow and ice.

Thanks all for the comments!

The Mainiac weather geek.

Good night!

Jeannie said...

Drdad, I hauled my "booty" today and then some. Out in my neck of the woods we didn't end up with as much snow as those in So. MN or WI but anytime you have as many open fields with just a few inches of really dry snow and heavy winds, it calls for patience. Thankfully I have a very understanding boss. It is unbelievably cold here for this time of year. 11 below tonight with windchills well below the -20 degree mark. I have nowhere to go until 7am tomorrow. Sigh....

Robin, your 69 sounds really good and for more than one reason. I am pretty sure I could tan my hide with that.

lois said...

Good evening? CC et al., Holy Hotwick! This puzzle had my 'mojo' all up in 'a peak' with one word 'outsized' by another, esp. the word 'inductee'. That one about blew my 'gas cap' to
'Ind'iana! Ever since I 'came" to realize that the 'sack' and 'lamaze' no longer go hand in hand, my 'jets' have hardly
'cooled'. 'Ocelot' of fun still to be 'access'ed, so why 'cease and desist'? Party on 'ere' the night 'rob's you of your 'loot'.. or booty (as Argyle pointed out).
Cheers!

Lemonade: Love that nun joke.

Dennis: hilarious joke! THAT cowboy was from Texas.

Jeannie: so glad to see you back safe and sound. You are so funny. Yeah, 69 anything is appealing, esp. temperature right now. You take care.

Good luck to all those in that storm's path.

PJB-Chicago said...

Good evening!
Lively fresh fill and snappy clues made up for the so-so theme today. Haven't seen GAS CAP, CREEL, LAMAZE, PENPAL or OUTSIZED in a puzzle in a long time, if ever. (Still a newbie!) Muppet ZOE and ARCO stadium were new ones for me. BEZEL is also used in regard to a watch crystal.

Much funnier quotes & jokes here than some of the "comedy" dross I've been ploughing through lately over in "Humorville." Loved the nun story and the cow bit, too, plus the QOD. Topical humor has a short shelf life and jokes about current events won't do a writer or performer much good in a week or two.... Nuns and infidelity, however, are forever!

Sleep meds can cause blackouts, too. Have met people who drove to a convenience store, loaded up on snacks, returned home, chowed down and NOT remembered anything about it the next day.

When I see the word JAG, I think of a crying spell. Unethical therapists have been known to hide the box of tissues when weepy clients are scheduled. With agency budgets so tight, we want to post a sign saying BYOK---"Bring Your Own Kleenex"! Not gonna happen, though.

Clear Ayes said...

Christmas cards were stamped and mailed. We even had peach cobbler for dessert this evening, so we fulfilled both "Day" requirements.

Buckeye, Thanks for Walt Whitman. He, as well as you, are always appreciated.

Heading to town tomorrow morning to do what passes for Christmas shopping with us. GAH likes to get it done early in the day. I don't know why since we are retired and it doesn't make much difference what time we get home. Oh well, that just means it will be early to bed and early to rise for me.

Have a good night everyone.

Hahtoolah said...

Thank you all for your birthday wishes. Yes, it has certainly been a very busy week for me. I appreciate all of you, especially CC for hosting this blog. I have always enjoyed crossword puzzles, but coming here makes the experience even more fun.

Chickie said...

Hello All--I had a great time doing the puzzle today. In between the delivery of a new clothes dryer, and cleaning out the laundry room, taking off the door and emptying everything that would be in the way.

Hooray, I'm in business, again. I've been patronizing the laundromat for about six weeks.

I had the same snags as most of the rest of you, but plodding along, even with all the proper names, I managed to finish up with just a little erasing.

I loved the Penpal fill. I have had two British Isles Penpals since I was 13, just after WWII. We have become very good friends and I was able to go for an extended visit to Scotland and England in 1976 and one gal has been here to visit us. Writing letters was WAY before computers and we still enjoy the missles we send to each other. Just realized that that is over 60 years our letters have been flowing back and forth across the Atlantic.

CA, I finished our overseas cards, but still have all the domestic ones to do. I don't like that chore, but I surely do love getting the cards from friends we don't see very often.

Lemonade, your Remus is adorable.

Stay safe, stay warm and stay indoors if at all possible. We are due for sleet tomorrow or so the weather report tells us.

Jeannie said...

Lois, your posts are just priceless...here is another cowboy joke just to enhance your mood....

A young, good looking Cowboy walked into a drug store in New Mexico and asked to talk to a male pharmacist.

The woman he was talking to said that she was the only pharmacist and as she and her sister owned the store, there were no males employed there. She then asked if she could help him.

The cowpoke said that it was something that he would be much more comfortable discussing with a male pharmacist.

The female pharmacist assured him that she was completely professional and whatever it was that he needed to discuss, he could be confident that she would treat him with the highest level of professionalism.

The cowboy then agreed and began by saying, 'This is tough for me to discuss, but I have a permanent erection. It causes me a lot of problems and severe embarrassment, and I was wondering what you could give me for it.'

The pharmacist said, 'Just a minute, I'll talk to my sister.' When she returned, she said, We discussed it at length and the absolute best we can do is as follows:

1/3 ownership in the store,
A company pickup truck,
and $3,000 a month living expenses

I would have paid him more....

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

I missed the last two symphony rehearsals because of my VA trips, and we had Thanksgiving eve off, so I hadn't played Sibelius in almost a month. It was very rough at that time. Big improvement tonight, and quite a relief, so I'm really looking forward to next week's concert. Very dramatic piece of music with some magnificent moments. Here is an excerpt. These kids are amazing, and the camera work is fabulous.

Lots of snow in northern MI, but only a few flurries here. We're off to T-town tomorrow. Forecast is high 20's, lots of wind and only a little snow.

Here is a video of
Zoe, that I just had to share with you.

Cheers!
Jzb the milk and cookies tromboinist

Jazzbumpa said...

Jeannie -

That reminded me of the story about the veteran with the purple heart on.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Jeannie...you are the perfect woman so it seems...you do the "naughty" look pretty, and seem to know how to cook as well. I guess it's a bone-ass that you earn a paycheck too. Although I enjoy your racy posts (with your photo attached), I don't think you belong here on this blog. Just an adoring Anon....

PJB-Chicago said...

Taking a well-deserved break from editing a manuscript (I take whatever work comes my way these days to keep the roof over my head and the soup pot simmering!) to tie up loose ends.

@ Chickie: what a nice story about you and your pen pals! You really might consider sharing that adventure in writing with a broader public--article/short story, in print or online, or with your local newspaper. Reporters love those kinds of stories.

@ Jeannie: total SCORE on the pharmacist joke. Unrelated, perhaps un-needed hints: don't try to use all 4 burners at once when charring the peppers (they char faster than on the grill), use non-meltable tongs to turn them, and use gloves when peeling the skins. Not that I speak from personal experience! Bruschetta is great for any party, with or without company.

@JazzB: wow, a Sibelius symphony? Very impressive. Was trying to think of a tie in to 1A in the puzzle, i.e., "Hurts with a horn" but I'm coming up with nada here.
Keep us informed.

Time to get back to the H-E-double hockey-sticks thesis that is screaming for HELP across the room. It's in French so it yells with an accent.