Theme: Odd Ending (oddity)- ITY is added to the end of the second word (a noun) of a two-word common noun phrase. The resulted nouns all have different roots than the originals.
20A. Oil company's penchant for employee transfers? : EXXON MOBILITY. The base phrase is Exxon Mobil.
29A. Measure of neighborhood drug traffic? : OPIUM DENSITY. Opium Dens, the places where opium was sold.
46A. Egotism that brings you to tears? : MOVING VANITY. Moving Van.
56A. Pigmentation variations? : SKIN DIVERSITY. Skin Divers. Skin diving is defined as "the sport of swimming under water with flippers and a face mask and usually with a snorkel rather than a portable air supply". Not a familiar term to me.
Though the changing pattern for 29A and 56A is the same, adding ITY to a S ending phrase, the original words are profoundly different.
It's a carefully selected & rather exhaustive theme set. Not easy to attach ITY to any noun phrase and come up with a sensible new phrase ending with a different root word. Constructors give lots of considerations to their themes.
I thought of author (Anonymous Author) & authority. But the two derived from the same word, not to mention ANONYMOUS AUTHORITY has 18 letters. Equal & equality do not work either. John Major (former British PM) might though, since Major is a proper name here. Major & Majority. But then how do you clue JOHN MAJORITY?
Tough puzzle. Tough cluing.
Across:
1. W.E.B. Du Bois was among its founders : NAACP. Stumped immediately. Did not know who this Du Bois guy was. He's the first African-American graduate of Harvard.
6. Coot's cousin : RAIL. Oh, man, I did not know coot is a bird. Always associate it with old & crotchety person. We also have ERNE (15A. Coastal predator).
10. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT. Josep Maria Sert. Rockefeller Center muralist. Quite a few art references in this grid.
14. Of an arm bone : ULNAR
16. Hawaii neighbor : MAUI. Could be a clue error. Mike probably wanted "Lanai neighbor" or "Hawaii island". (Correction: The clue is correct.)
17. "The Wreck of the Mary __" : DEARE. Mike used the same clue in his last puzzle.
18. Benefit : SAKE
19. Far Hills, N.J.-based sports org. : USGA (United States Golf Association). Who knows? You'd think USGA is based somewhere in Florida. PGA is there, right, Lemonade?
23. Pennzoil letters : SAE. No idea. Society of Automotive Engineers.
24. Carrier with a hub at LAX : UAL
25. Con opening : NEO. Opening for the word neocon, the likes of Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard). Windhover can give you 10-page essay on them.
26. Arena cheer : RAH
32. Part of CPA: Abbr. : ACCT
35. Where Charlie was trapped, in a Kingston Trio hit : MTA. Learned from doing Xword.
36. Doomed city : SODOM. The sin city.
37. Red : RARE. Was not thinking of steak. Dennis would love a "Pink" clue.
38. Peruvian address : SENOR. Not a real place address.
41. "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" star Sherilyn : FENN. Total stranger. Alluring look, yes?
42. Puccini offering : OPERA. And CARO (4D. Puccini's "O mio babbino __"). Literally "dear" in Italian. "O mio babbino caro" = "oh, my dear papa". I was stymied.
44. "__ Woman": 1975 hit : I'M A
45. Muy, across the Pyrenees : TRES. Was ignorant that "muy" means "very" in Spanish.
50. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN A. Or any vowel.
51. Half a cocktail : TAI. Mai tai.
52. "Kinda" suffix : ISH
53. Half-witted : DIM
60. Pedestal : BASE. The supporting base for statue/column, etc.
62. Like Erté's art : DECO
63. Any Frankie Avalon song : OLDIE
64. Follow : OBEY
65. Gardener, at times : HOER. Boring.
66. Like many a motel air conditioner : NOISY. So true.
67. Crown's girl, in a 1935 opera : BESS. I've never seen "Porgy and Bess". What's the crown reference?
68. "Gotcha" : I SEE
69. One who's generally bottled up? : GENIE. Genie in a bottle.
Down:
1. Sculptors' subjects : NUDES
2. Billy Joel's daughter : ALEXA. She tried to kill herself with sleeping pill last year. Big headline.
3. Has __ to grind : AN AXE
5. Asset protection plan, briefly : PRENUP (Prenuptial). Drew a blank.
6. Determined : RESOLUTE. Nice entry, crossing 2 theme answers.
7. __-Israeli War : ARAB
8. Equitable way to pay : IN KIND. Confused me last time.
9. Sobieski of "Joy Ride" (2001) : LEELEE. No idea. She looks like Jewel, doesn't she?
10. Blue books? : SMUT. Blue = Off-color/Risque.
11. 1969 road movie : EASY RIDER. Bet Gunghy and Windhover loved this movie.
12. Toupee : RUG
13. Madre's hermana : TIA. Hermana = Sister.
21. Injures badly : MAIMS
22. They're not free of charge : IONS. They are charged. Awesome clue.
27. Make restitution : ATONE
28. Service songs : HYMNS. Church service.
29. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI
30. Frenzy : MANIA
31. Hardly the drill sergeant type : SOFTY. Never know what the words those drill sergeant are muttering.
32. Coffee asset : AROMA
33. Fowl on a menu : CAPON. Castrated chicken.
34. Climbers' obstacles : CREVASSES. New word to me. Same as "crevice".
39. Man, e.g. : OMNIVORE. Too tricky a clue for me.
40. See, and then some : RAISE. Poker.
43. Fighting : ANTI. Wanted AT IT.
47. Kingsley role : GANDHI. Great movie.
48. Family gathering staples : VIDEOS
49. Crowd : THRONG
53. Slew : DID IN
54. Formal doorstep response : "IT IS I". Keep waiting then!
55. "Yeah, right!!" : MY EYE. "Baloney!"
57. F and G, but not H : KEYS. Would make me happy if Jayce was fooled!
58. Slurpee alternative : ICEE
59. __ gin : SLOE
60. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. I like him.
61. Harlem Globetrotters founder Saperstein : ABE. Uh uh. Nope. He died in 1966. The two founder clues today killed me.
Answer grid.
Our Crossword Corner blog team photo series ends today with two recent pictures of the beautiful Melissa Bee from her Girls Weekend Out (Santa Cruz) trip. Here is Kaya and Melissa (in pink scarf). Here are the girls on the wharf. For more delicious pictures, click here.
C.C.
20A. Oil company's penchant for employee transfers? : EXXON MOBILITY. The base phrase is Exxon Mobil.
29A. Measure of neighborhood drug traffic? : OPIUM DENSITY. Opium Dens, the places where opium was sold.
46A. Egotism that brings you to tears? : MOVING VANITY. Moving Van.
56A. Pigmentation variations? : SKIN DIVERSITY. Skin Divers. Skin diving is defined as "the sport of swimming under water with flippers and a face mask and usually with a snorkel rather than a portable air supply". Not a familiar term to me.
Though the changing pattern for 29A and 56A is the same, adding ITY to a S ending phrase, the original words are profoundly different.
It's a carefully selected & rather exhaustive theme set. Not easy to attach ITY to any noun phrase and come up with a sensible new phrase ending with a different root word. Constructors give lots of considerations to their themes.
I thought of author (Anonymous Author) & authority. But the two derived from the same word, not to mention ANONYMOUS AUTHORITY has 18 letters. Equal & equality do not work either. John Major (former British PM) might though, since Major is a proper name here. Major & Majority. But then how do you clue JOHN MAJORITY?
Tough puzzle. Tough cluing.
Across:
1. W.E.B. Du Bois was among its founders : NAACP. Stumped immediately. Did not know who this Du Bois guy was. He's the first African-American graduate of Harvard.
6. Coot's cousin : RAIL. Oh, man, I did not know coot is a bird. Always associate it with old & crotchety person. We also have ERNE (15A. Coastal predator).
10. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT. Josep Maria Sert. Rockefeller Center muralist. Quite a few art references in this grid.
14. Of an arm bone : ULNAR
16. Hawaii neighbor : MAUI. Could be a clue error. Mike probably wanted "Lanai neighbor" or "Hawaii island". (Correction: The clue is correct.)
17. "The Wreck of the Mary __" : DEARE. Mike used the same clue in his last puzzle.
18. Benefit : SAKE
19. Far Hills, N.J.-based sports org. : USGA (United States Golf Association). Who knows? You'd think USGA is based somewhere in Florida. PGA is there, right, Lemonade?
23. Pennzoil letters : SAE. No idea. Society of Automotive Engineers.
24. Carrier with a hub at LAX : UAL
25. Con opening : NEO. Opening for the word neocon, the likes of Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard). Windhover can give you 10-page essay on them.
26. Arena cheer : RAH
32. Part of CPA: Abbr. : ACCT
35. Where Charlie was trapped, in a Kingston Trio hit : MTA. Learned from doing Xword.
36. Doomed city : SODOM. The sin city.
37. Red : RARE. Was not thinking of steak. Dennis would love a "Pink" clue.
38. Peruvian address : SENOR. Not a real place address.
41. "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" star Sherilyn : FENN. Total stranger. Alluring look, yes?
42. Puccini offering : OPERA. And CARO (4D. Puccini's "O mio babbino __"). Literally "dear" in Italian. "O mio babbino caro" = "oh, my dear papa". I was stymied.
44. "__ Woman": 1975 hit : I'M A
45. Muy, across the Pyrenees : TRES. Was ignorant that "muy" means "very" in Spanish.
50. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN A. Or any vowel.
51. Half a cocktail : TAI. Mai tai.
52. "Kinda" suffix : ISH
53. Half-witted : DIM
60. Pedestal : BASE. The supporting base for statue/column, etc.
62. Like Erté's art : DECO
63. Any Frankie Avalon song : OLDIE
64. Follow : OBEY
65. Gardener, at times : HOER. Boring.
66. Like many a motel air conditioner : NOISY. So true.
67. Crown's girl, in a 1935 opera : BESS. I've never seen "Porgy and Bess". What's the crown reference?
68. "Gotcha" : I SEE
69. One who's generally bottled up? : GENIE. Genie in a bottle.
Down:
1. Sculptors' subjects : NUDES
2. Billy Joel's daughter : ALEXA. She tried to kill herself with sleeping pill last year. Big headline.
3. Has __ to grind : AN AXE
5. Asset protection plan, briefly : PRENUP (Prenuptial). Drew a blank.
6. Determined : RESOLUTE. Nice entry, crossing 2 theme answers.
7. __-Israeli War : ARAB
8. Equitable way to pay : IN KIND. Confused me last time.
9. Sobieski of "Joy Ride" (2001) : LEELEE. No idea. She looks like Jewel, doesn't she?
10. Blue books? : SMUT. Blue = Off-color/Risque.
11. 1969 road movie : EASY RIDER. Bet Gunghy and Windhover loved this movie.
12. Toupee : RUG
13. Madre's hermana : TIA. Hermana = Sister.
21. Injures badly : MAIMS
22. They're not free of charge : IONS. They are charged. Awesome clue.
27. Make restitution : ATONE
28. Service songs : HYMNS. Church service.
29. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI
30. Frenzy : MANIA
31. Hardly the drill sergeant type : SOFTY. Never know what the words those drill sergeant are muttering.
32. Coffee asset : AROMA
33. Fowl on a menu : CAPON. Castrated chicken.
34. Climbers' obstacles : CREVASSES. New word to me. Same as "crevice".
39. Man, e.g. : OMNIVORE. Too tricky a clue for me.
40. See, and then some : RAISE. Poker.
43. Fighting : ANTI. Wanted AT IT.
47. Kingsley role : GANDHI. Great movie.
48. Family gathering staples : VIDEOS
49. Crowd : THRONG
53. Slew : DID IN
54. Formal doorstep response : "IT IS I". Keep waiting then!
55. "Yeah, right!!" : MY EYE. "Baloney!"
57. F and G, but not H : KEYS. Would make me happy if Jayce was fooled!
58. Slurpee alternative : ICEE
59. __ gin : SLOE
60. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. I like him.
61. Harlem Globetrotters founder Saperstein : ABE. Uh uh. Nope. He died in 1966. The two founder clues today killed me.
Answer grid.
Our Crossword Corner blog team photo series ends today with two recent pictures of the beautiful Melissa Bee from her Girls Weekend Out (Santa Cruz) trip. Here is Kaya and Melissa (in pink scarf). Here are the girls on the wharf. For more delicious pictures, click here.
C.C.
Good morning, C.C. and gang - boy, this one really was a struggle. I was surprised right off the bat when I knew who DuBois was, which quickly led to a completed NW, and then reality hit. As with C.C., I had no idea that a 'coot' was a bird, didn't remember 'Sert', didn't know the USGA was based out of Far Hills, didn't know 'LeeLee' Sobieski and generally wasn't sure of much of anything in the upper part of the puzzle. Wasn't until I got 'Opium density' that I figured out the theme and was able to go back and fill in 'Exxon mobility'. After that, things got a bit better, but I still had an ink blot when I was done with it. Most notably, I quickly filled in 'I Am' for 44A, '____ Woman', thinking of the Helen Reddy hit, and that proved to be a major stumbling block in that section Also as with C.C., I had 'at it' for 43D and took forever to figure that one out.
ReplyDeleteNicely done theme which must've been a real bear to put together, and an appropriately difficult Friday offering.
C.C., I think 16A is correct. Hawaii is the name of one of the Hawaiian Islands. And thank you for the picture of our beautiful Bee; always good to get the blood flowing first thing in the morning...
Today is Just Because Day. We all should take advantage of the excuse to do something 'just because'.
It is also LEMONADE'S BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY and many many more -- anything special today? Hope it's a great one for you.
Did You Know?:
- The word 'cop' came from the English term "Constable on Patrol."
- Harry Houdini was the first person to fly an airplane on the continent of Australia.
- Wanna feel old? The Boeing 747 jet has been in commercial service for forty years.
Somehow a paragraph got lost.
ReplyDeleteMelissaBee, who finds those great places you all stay on GWO? That house you guys had this time looked perfect. I do think you need a male presence just to keep, uh, an eye on things.
Thanks for the birthday wishes Dennis; this was an intricate and very difficult puzzle. I am sure it was intentional to begin with W.E.B. DuBois who died on August 27, 1963, I think.
ReplyDeleteYes the PGA is up the road in Palm Beach.
Here is a good discussion of SAE .
I was a big fan of Twin Peaks and the alluring SHERILYN FENN .
CROWN is the character’s name in the play who is the villain. And, Red:RARE had me, did not understand until I get here.
To me LEE LEE looks like a young HELEN HUNT .
Off to start my month long celebration. Enjoy all.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a Friday puzzle, but no complaints from me. It was difficult, yet (eventually) doable. A few missteps (DADA for DECO and MAI for TAI), but nothing really bad. And what a great theme!
It was nice to see "Charlie on the MTA" in the puzzle -- I frequently sing that song to Joshua while giving him a bath (it's one of his top requests). I learned it years ago from an 8-track tape my dad had....
Hello Puzzlers - C.C. and Dennis have described my solving experience exactly. Same unknowns, same misdirections, same theme sussing. This puzzle needed 5 or 6 Goog hits for me!
ReplyDeleteException: Pennzoil Letters, I got that one. The connection is that any container of motor oil will have its Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) viscosity rating listed.
SAE is an industry standards organization. The idea is that knowledgeable engineers from like industries, even if they are competitors, should be able to get together and hammer out agreement on all sorts of useful standards for the common good. Oil viscosity is just one set out of zillions.
M. Bee - Thanks for furnishing even more proof that you are lovely. On top of that, you seem to know how to have a good time!
Good Morning CC and All,
ReplyDeleteWell this Haymaker got through and took me out. LeeLee, USGA, Sert....it may be easier to list what I did get. I gave up after twenty minutes then came back to use red letters. Tough but enjoyable still.
Melissa, Thanks for sharing the picks. Looks like the gang had quite the time. Good looking and great cooks!
Happy Birthday Lemonade and many more! I'll raise a glass with you tonight. Cheers!
Have a great day!
Good morning everyone. Happy Birthday Lemonade. Melissa, nice pictures.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Barry G; difficult but, with patience, doable. No lookups needed. It helped that I got EXXONMOBILITY early. Figured 'coot' for a bird, but ARAB helped to nail RAIL. WAGS included SODOM, ANA, GENIE, and the not-so-cute IT IS I. Thought PRENUP, SMUT, and DIDIN were quite clever. TRÈS was more clever than usual, too. I was thrown a little by the 'Hawaii' clue, too, but Maui was the only 4-letter Hawaiian island I could think of.
All in all, a good run. Kudos to Mike for a good job and good theme words probably requiring lots of pre-planning.
eau reservoir! (Au revoir)
Good Morning, CC and all.
ReplyDeleteIT IS I who started off with a bang today, completing the NW corner with no problems. Then I hit the road blocks. After a bit of a struggle, I was able to complete the puzzle with no outside help.
I tried Dali and Miro before settling on SERT for the Barcelona-born muralist. (Actually, I have no idea where either Dali or Miro were born, but both are Spanish artists, and Miro has a lot of art in Barcelona.)
I didn't know SERT was the muralist for the Rockefeller Center. Diego Rivera was commissioned to do the work (after Matisse turned down an offer), but wanted to include Communist portraits, such as Lenin and Trotsky.
There were some great clues today. I loved the theme and quickly caught on to the ITY endings.
Some favorite clues included:
Service Songs = HYMNS
Asset Protection Plan = PRE-NUP
They're Not Free of Charge = IONS
I was thinking that Slew meant alot, instead of DID IN.
Happy Birthday, Lemonade! Hope it's a good one.
QOD: Wars have never hurt anybody except the people who die. ~ Salvador Dali
One who is generally bottled up = GENIE was a fun and clever clue.
ReplyDeleteIT IS I who is having trouble signing in today.
C.C. Nice write-up, links and Pictures.
ReplyDeleteLemonade, Happy Birthday, I'll toast you at Sunset.
What a work-out.
After the first couple of across clues I had trouble getting traction. Concentrated on the down clues and it came together nicely.
OPIUM DENSity. Is this still a term used today?
I thought they were called 'crack houses." Not a world I'm familiar with.
WOD, THRONG, Family gathering. Haven't seen that word in a long time.
TB, it is good to know you have not been exposed to the seamier side of life. Comparing an OPIUM DEN to a CRACK HOUSE is like comparing chamomile tea to mountain dew; very different concepts and effects.
ReplyDeleteOAHU also has 4 letters.
I'd love to see Tenbeni and Hahtool's pictures.
ReplyDeleteQuiet Fan
Opium dens are found primarily outside the U.S. Unfortunately, thre's no shortage of them.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure any of our group has a strong interest in Astronomy, but tonight at 11:00 PM, is supposed to be the closest Mars has passed to Earth in recorded history, and it will look like another mon in the sky.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to continue the celebration of Lemonade we have:
Events on August 27, 2010
Canada: Morden Corn and Apple Festival
Corvette Crossroads Auto Show
Dawes, Charles Gates (Birth Date)
Dreiser, Theodore (Birth Date)
"The Duchess" Who Wasn't Day
First Commercial Oil Well in PA.
"Good Sex! with Dr. Ruth Westheimer" TV Premiere (See!).
Hamlin, Hannibal (Birth Date) Lincoln VP
Johnson, Lyndon Baines (Birth Date) Kennedy VP and then Pres. .
Maryland State Fair
Mexican Fiesta Internacional
Moldova: Independence Day
Mother Teresa (100th Birth Anniversary) President and a Saint, hmm.
Mountbatten, Louis (Assassination Anniversary)
Nebraska State Fair
Oil and Gas Industry Appreciation Day
Oregon State Fair
Prairie Village Jamboree
Raye, Martha (Birth Date)
Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival
Birthdays on August 27, 2010
Sarah Chalke, 34, actress (“Roseanne,” “Scrubs”), born Ottawa, ON, Canada, Aug 27, 1976.
Daryl Dragon, 68, musician (Captain and Tennille), songwriter, born Studio City, CA, Aug 27, 1942.
Carlos Moya, 34, tennis player, born Palma, Majorca, Spain, Aug 27, 1976.
Paul Reubens, 58, actor, writer (“Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” Pee-wee’s Big Adventure), born Peekskill, NY, Aug 27, 1952.
Tommy Sands, 73, singer, born Chicago, IL, Aug 27, 1937.
Jim Thome, 40, baseball player, born Peoria, IL, Aug 27, 1970.
Tuesday Weld, 67, actress (“The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” Looking for Mr Goodbar), born Susan Kerr at New York, NY, Aug 27, 1943.
Chandra Wilson, 41, actress (“Grey’s Anatomy”), born Houston, TX, Aug 27, 1969.
1948
102 degrees F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in August
1928
Kellogg-Briand Pact, where 60 nations agree to outlaw war did not work did it
Good Morning C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteHBD Lemonade! Ditto everything everyone said about MB's pics. Great shots - loved the huggie seals!
As far as the puzzle goes today...it didn't! I stumbled and hacked my way through the entire thing. I also tried "Miro" and "Dali" before SERT; tried "Oahu" before MAUI; tried "Mai" before TAI and "Ole" before RAH. Ah well, a few eraser crumbs, and I finally finished.
But I did get at least one three letter clue, from Charlie on the MTA, one of my favorite “Oldies” made famous by the Kingston trio.
I wonder what Saturday will have to offer us?
Morning all -
ReplyDeleteTough puzzle for me today. Needed lots of help from CC to finish...
Happy birthday, Lemonade! Hope you have a great day.
Melissa - your GWO weekend looks like alot of fun. I especially loved how all the gifts were presented - may borrow that idea for my annual holiday GWO. The food looked pretty amazing, too! Having a group of close friends like that is a true gift.
Today is Zoe's last day in her current preschool classroom. New teachers and classmates next week. She's had such a wonderful year with these teachers and friends, but is very excited about next week.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! It looks as if you all had a wonderful time together.
I had much the same experience as Dennis in the beginning today. I only know NAACP because lately I've been reading the Smithsonian Magazine with the article that mentioned DuBois.
After getting the NW corner, and being stuck in the mid-north, I went south and worked my way back up for a while until I figured out the theme and could fill in DENSITY after opium. Then everything in the north fell except Sert and SmUt. I g'ed SERT and I was done quickly after that.
I figured early that Hawaii was the island name, and then only took time and perps to remember which of the other islands would fit and was near it. All in all, a very fun and satisfying XW for me on a Friday!
I had my first 747 ride coming across from Europe in 1971, so 39 years ago.
Lemonade,
Happy, happy Birthday! And yes, I was trying to think of who Lee Lee reminded me of: Helen Hunt. Sherilyn Fenn also looks a lot like Liz in her youth.
Also, I had heard about the two moons tonight as well, but at a later time. Does anyone know which time zone they're quoting it for?
I guess I'm answering my own question about Mars. Here's what I found. Apparently we had a better chance of experiencing this in 2003. Tonight will not be nearly as spectacular.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning from the Great Plains! I concur that I started out with a false sense of security but wound up with only 1 blank. I had USTA (Far Hills/Forest Hills?) and that blocked RUG. I thought _UT must be some esoteric hairpiece I had never heard of. Dang!
ReplyDeleteBeing an old Coot blocked that clue but perps worked it out after I accepted that LEELEE might actually be a name. Penance for BILKO, LUCY, HONEYMOONERS et al from my era?
CARO I figured was some variation of Cara Mia by Jay and the Americans, a truly wonderful song with David Blatt's powerful voice.
TRES was very clevely clued. My neighbor has a huge Saint Bernard/Pyrennes cross and I never forget where those mountains are.
I won't link MTA but it is a fun song decrying government intrusions - "Don't you think it's a scandal, how the people have to pay and pay?" Sound familiar?
ERTE/DECO? Tomayto/Tomahto
Almost put BLAND for Frankie's songs because I only had the L from SLOE
Blue Books? Cool! Comedians either "work blue" or choose not to.
IONS was easy for a science person but it reminds me of perhaps the only Ion joke that exists (may be a mystery to some as darning socks are to me) -
Atom 1 - I just lost an electron
Atom 2 - Are you sure?
Atom 1 - I'm positive!
GANDHI? I can never remember where to put that pesky H but I got it eventually.
SLEW/DID IN - great! Question - What famous musical has a very pretty young woman saying, "They that pinched it, done her in."?
Lemonade
ReplyDeleteMy point (probably not made clearly) is when I watch the news, I see where "the police raided a crack house" being reported from time to time.
Can't say I've heard where "the police raided an opium den" on my local news ... ever.
Just because I don't live "in the drug world" in no way means I'm not aware of its existance.
As to Mars being at its closest ever tonight. I've been looking forward to it for weeks.
But it will NOT even come close to looking like another moon in our sky. Nope, no way.
google: "Mars hoax 2010" there are numerous articles about this myth.
Mars watchers: Mars sets soon after 9pm local time tonight. I'm guessing Lemon is quoting GMT for the closest approach at 11. You would have to be in The Azores to see it between sunset and Marsset.
ReplyDelete@ Husker Gary:
ReplyDeleteEliza Doolittle: Somebody pinched it. And what I say is: them 'as pinched it, done her in.
Lord Boxington: Done her in? Done her in did you say?
Lady Boxington: Whatever does it mean?
Mrs. Higgins: Its the new slang meaning someone has killed her.
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill: Surely you don't think someone killed her?
Eliza Doolittle: Do I not? Them she lived with would have killed her for a hatpin, let alone a hat.
The "Mars will be as bright as the Moon" hoax has been emailed around the world since August 2003.
ReplyDeleteAt that time there were science articles saying that if you looked through a 75X power Telescope ... "Mars will look as big as the Moon."
Alas, the *75X power telescope* was left out of the email.
Mars WILL be the closest it has been in 60,000 years.
If you want to see this tonight go outside at sunset and face west.
The bright light you see shining through the twilight is lovely Venus.
Grab a pair of binoculars and scan the sky around Venus.
A few degrees to the right, you'll come across a little orange star-like object. That is Mars.
Yup, it will be a bright speck in the sky.
1/75th the size of our moon.
That canard about Mars has been around for 7 years. Even when Mars' orbit approaches Earth, the change is distance is not significant and it will remain a fairly bright dot in the sky but be a bazillion times smaller than the Moon. My neighbor walked by last week and knowing my interest in astronomy said the same thing and I gently told her that was not true. Seeing Mars as big as the Moon would wreck both planets as Mr. Newton's gravitational attraction would be disastrous. Mars being that big is about as likely as me getting $20,000,000 from a Nigerian via the internet. Hey, did you guys get that email too :)?
ReplyDeleteCorrect Spitzboov, the lovely Audrey Hepburn did utter those immortal words. My Fair Lady also contains the quintessential song about the difference between men and women in A Hymn to Him Could anyone else besides Rex Harrison be "enry "iggins?
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Lemonade!
ReplyDelete(I see several others responded while I was typing this but here it is anyway.)
That business about Mars is one of those things that gets propagated around the Internet. It's not true. Mars will not be especially close to the earth tonight and will look like an insignificant yellow-orange star in the sky, not as bright as Jupiter or Venus. Even with a small telescope, Mars won't be very interesting to look at. As Kazie found, it was closer in 2003 but even then, you needed a good telescope to see it in any detail. Jupiter is bigger and brighter and its four brightest moons can be seen with good binoculars. The rings of Saturn are spectacular in a decent telescope. Mars, nothing special tonight.
Good day C.C. and all,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed C.C.'s blog today- she has style in her bones, and the pictures of Mellisa Bee and her outing, with pleasant music was a treat.
This was my most fav puzzle for many a moon.
I had 'at it' for a while and
'learned' Sert and Fenn; relearned'muy' is 'very'; actually,
I 'relearned' oodles of things from perps-aha,aha,etc.
A clever theme-NW was the first to fall,hence,'Exxon.. and the theme.
'Resolute' is a great concept for
me..I enjoy it.
I'm used to 'throng' in the plural.
Frankly,I was surprised that I finished w/perp-no look-ups; took
the time to really look it over, as
a whole.
I'm writing this before I read any comments after Dennis'. Can't wait
to read the others.
Happy Birthday,Lemonade...and that's 'just because'Hope you have many,many more!
Tinbeni said: Mars WILL be the closest it has been in 60,000 years.
ReplyDeleteNope. Was closer in 2003.
Uranus was probably closer. Heh.
Good Morning All, I didn't have much reason to love this one when I started. 1A, 6A and 10A were all blank. Sigh...I followed through on the Acrosses without a lot of success. I was finally rewarded when I switched to the Downs and words started to appear.
ReplyDeleteSame here for what HeartRX and others said about SERT, MAUI, TAI and RAH.
I really liked the theme entries. (Maybe that was because I caught on quickly and filled in ITY in the remaining three slots.)
Enjoyed seeing EASY RIDER and CREVASSES reminded me of this old Smothers Brothers skit. No "Blue"/SMUT humor here, but still funny after all these years.
Happy Birthday Lemonade714, I hope it is the best one yet. Thanks for the LEELEE/Helen Hunt connection. I knew she reminded me of someone, but I couldn't come up with a name.
Terrific photos Melissa Bee. Santa Cruz was a perfect choice for your GWO. Every woman should have a group of long time friends. They really enrich our lives.
For those who are unfamiliar with My Fair Lady, here's the Small Talk clip. Audrey Hepburn's singing voice was dubbed by Marnie Nixon. Here is an interesting version of Eliza's song "Without You" with Ms Hepburn's own voice. I prefer the original cast recording starring Julie Andrews to the movie version and was sorry that, at the time, Julie Andrews was not considered well enough known to carry the movie. Luckily, Rex Harrison was a big enough star and the producers didn't try to second guess Henry Higgins.
Bad answer in today's puzzle! Helen Reddy sang "I AM woman", not "I'm a woman". Messed me up so bad I had to check your blog to see what I was doing wrong!!
ReplyDeleteShame on Mike!!!
Tommy
I just finished reading the blogs and when I finally reached my own,my hair stood on end! 'Many a moon' is something we have said in place of a long time as long as I can remember and then ,the blog
ReplyDeletebecame the Mars story. I feel very
'ESP' about it.
HeartX, Thanks MTA was a question
I had forgotten to ask.loved the link.
'Society of Automotive Engineers'-
this will blow someone's mind
tonight-now,how do I fit that in?!
Good afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Lemonade714. I don't understand your comment about going off for a month. Missed something somewhere. Where. Will you be absent from here? I hope not.
Lawyers: isn't the correct term ante nup?
Everyone: why do some get bent out of shape over "It is I"? It's what I say and what I taught my sons and my students. Just turn it around. You would never say, "Me is it." I hope.
Cheers
Tommy, check the date in the clue. It's referring to Peggy Lee's recording of "I'm a Woman", released on a 1975 album called 'Mirrors'.
ReplyDelete'I am Woman', by Helen Reddy, was released in 1970.
Forgot to mention, Tommy -- I made the same mistake; that's the only reason I know about Peggy Lee's song.
ReplyDeleteA toughie! The only theme answer that fell was "exxonmobility". I did have "ity" on the end of each theme fill...even got "...density"...still didn`t help. "Mary Deare" I knew, "tres" "Fenn"
ReplyDelete"Sodom" "opera" "nudes" "easyrider" "arab" "icee" "softy" "iam" "naacp" "capon" and "hymns."
Which reminds me of an oldie: At the start of the service, the parson called upon a spinster and said, "Lettie, you may choose the hymns this morning." Lettie stood up, pointed to several men in congregation and said, "I`ll take him and him and him and him!"
Happy birthday Lemonade!
Hope Lois is doing well.
Melissa B. Do you need another friend to go in on the expenses next trip?
Husker Gary: Have you heard, "If ten % is good enough for Jesus, it oughta be enough for Uncle Sam!" by Ray Stevens of "Ahab the Arab" fame?
About "I'M A Woman", it was recorded by Maria Muldaur and was on "her second album "Waitress In A Donut Shop". I'm a Woman was first associated with Peggy Lee in 1962 and 1963. In 1975 Muldaur's version reached number 12 on U.S. pop charts. That qualifies it as a "hit".
ReplyDeleteHelen Reddy's big hit "I AM Woman" was number 1 on the Billboard charts in December 1972.
Dennis, Mirrors was a Peggy Lee release in 1975, but it doesn't list "I'm A Woman" as one of the tracks.
Mike Peluso is one tricky guy!
Hello guys & dolls,
ReplyDeleteI asked today's constructor Mike Peluso earlier if derivatives are a concern in his theme brainstorming process, he replied:
"...Yes, you are absolutely right. When designing a theme like this, it is essential that the root expression and the new theme entry have no relation to each other.
In fact, Rich Norris and I discussed the possible relationship between EXXON MOBIL and MOBILITY. I did some rather extensive research on the origin of Mobil Oil Company to see if the root word "mobil" (meaning movement or motion) was a reason for calling the company Mobil. My research was inconclusive, so we used it in the puzzle."
Clear Ayes, right you are; thanks for clearing it up for both of us.
ReplyDeleteMorning, C.C. and all.
ReplyDeleteOh, my! Tough one! I filled in NAACP without hesitating, but it was all uphill from there. I knew TIA was right at 13D, but had never heard of SERT - wanted Miro. To further complicate it, I wanted Oahu instead of MAUI. After many visits with 'G' I got it all filled, but couldn't get the TaDa! Red letter help revealed that I had spelled ALEXA with an "i" at the end. As usual, the pop culture references escaped me.
Happy B.D., Lemonade!
Great pics, M.B. I'm sure you had a really good time.
Later....
Ray Stevens must have forgotten the quote where Jesus says "Render unto Caesar what is his...". I think the implication is that you pay your taxes first then give your 10% towards good works.
ReplyDeleteKazie: I think the point is :give 10% to Caeser and then give 10% to Jesus! NOT 30% to Caeser then 10% to Jesus!
ReplyDeleteIs this Saturday? Nah, couldn’t be as I would be out in this delightful weather instead of being trapped inside of 4 walls. This was a toughie for me. I figured out the “ity” theme with “Exxon mobility” but still had trouble getting the rest of them. I had to visit the g-spot for Sert, Sherilyn Fenn, and Leelee Sobieski. I didn’t know who W.E.B. DuBois was but was able to make a WAG of NAACP when I was sure about “nudes”, “Alexa”, and “an axe”. I thought “they’re not free of charge” – Ions and “asset protection plan” – prenup were very clever. All in all it was a fun puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMelissabee, what a wonderful time you all must have had. I love the pictures, and that Cobb salad made me go out and seek one for lunch today.
Last but not least, Happy, happy birthday to my favorite counselor. I hope you treat yourself to something special today. Here’s your birthday SMOOCH!!
Lo-li-ta.
Anon 12:37,
ReplyDeleteI knew what was being said, but wanted to disagree. Maybe that would work if the billionaires would pitch in at least 10%. As it is though, we can't support a space program, armies in who knows how many countries, roads, and other services on only 10% from those who do pay their fair share.
Hello puzzlers.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Lemonade! I know you will enjoy your monthlong celebration.
Great puzzle from Mike Peluso, and yes, quite tricky, but doable.
My experience was much like most of you and I sidled to the bottom because that seemed the most promising. It was!
Once I caught on to the theme I added -ty to all the theme answers and that helped greatly.
Many unknowns, but all emerged through the crosses.
FENN, LEELEE, CARO were unfamiliar; since Italian and Spanish are so similar I applied the principle of agreement to babbino CARO assuming they are both masculine and so they are.
Hand up, I thought I saw Helen Hunt in the photo, too.
Dennis and CA, thank you for clarifying IMA woman. I thought the constructor must be correct but wasn't sure why. Good info!
The main Hawaiian Islands as most of you know, are Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Hawaii, also known as the big island. On a map, Maui is the closest to Hawaii.
I hope you are having a Viernes fabuloso!
Melissa Bee:
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your lovely photos. What a wonderful thing is friendship and you all seem to enjoy it!
Kazie: What about the 40%+ of the citizens that pay NO taxes, not to mention the non-citizens(illegals) that also benfit living in this great country without contributing their fair share!
ReplyDeleteI apologize for getting drawn in to a non-puzzle discussion.
ReplyDeleteDouble whammy going on here! Please no more discussion about both politics and religion, particularly when one of the participants is an Anon.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was fooled! Be happy :)
ReplyDeleteNow I'm going to read all your comments and probably make some more of my own later.
C.C.- JOHN MAJORITY: They occupy the most seats in the Outhouse of Commons.
ReplyDeleteKazie@12:49 Right on!!!
ReplyDeleteHi, all. We're having a welcome temperature drop from 108 on Wednesday to a predicted 88 today. The AC hasn't gone on and I've got my two sliders open. Lovely day!
MelissaBee, you're pix are mouthwatering to say the least. What a good time you must have had. Interestingly, just yesterday I received a disk from Lucina's friend Jeanetta with all pix from their recent trip, including their delightful visit to me! What a joy. Both of you must have wonderful friends. Your group was twice as big as Lucina's foursome. It's great to have a group of friends who can have adventures together! Right, Lucy?
CA, I had a vinyl of Peggy Lee (who happens to be my favorite pop singer) that had I'm a Woman, but I think that was the title of the whole recording. We heard her at the Fairmont in the 60's. I don't remember I'm a Woman then, but she did Fever, among others. What a treat! Did you know she was from Fargo, N.D.? I don't think I know I Am Woman, though I've heard Helen Reddy. It's a generational thing, again.
If I knew how to add links I'd see if there was a link to a Peggy Lee
performance. One day, I'll get down to more tech skills!
Re:the puzzle. It was a toughie, all right. I had one lookup: Leelee (Sobieski). I kept thinking Loulou but knew it wasn't right. Just couldn't dig Leelee up from the deep. Otherwise, it was
LABOR getting it done, but I did.
Hand up for immediately thinking Helen Hunt when I saw Leelee's picture. I really miss Helen Hunt and the old Meg Ryan (before face work . . not everybody looks better with a fat lip!) and a few others who are "getting old". Such good acting and wonderful scripts!Love that Nora Ephron!
Time for lunch! Ta!
Hello everybody. Good and interesting comments from all of you, an enjoyable read.
ReplyDeleteDarned if the puzzle today wasn't enjoyable too. Fascinating to me how differently, and in some ways alike, we all think.
For example, I knew LEELEE Sobieski right away, having seen her play Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) a few years ago, and some other not-particularly-memorable roles in several not-particularly-memorable movies since then.
For some reason I remembered the name of Mr. Du Bois and therefore confidently pencilled in NAACP. And by pure coincidence my wife and I had just been having a conversation about whether MAUI or Oahu was closer to Hawaii, so I knew that too. And by golly I knew Sherilyn FENN right away too. I guess I remember attractive women. LOL
Speaking of which, thanks bunches for the photos of you and your friends, melissa bee. And thanks to you, C.C., for posting them.
It just occurred to me that it must be a little bit of a disappointment for an actress to be described as looking like someone else :)
Yeah, 57D "F and G, but not H" fooled me, but I laughed and had a good "aha!" when I finally got it from SKIN, OBEY, and BESS. Oh, and Bess was another one I knew right away.
Speaking of "H," I misspelled GANDHI as GHANDI which messed me up for a while in that area of the puzzle. I couldn't for the life of me think of a cocktail with _H_ as half of its name.
Man oh man, I loved the theme and the originality and thought that must have gone into those wonderful ITY plays. EXXON came quickly because of the E_XO in the perps and the strong likelihood that Billy Joel's daughter's name would turn out to be ALEXA.
So, senors, senoras, y senoritas, I am a MUY contento, TRES content OMNIVORE this fine Friday morning. Now I'll hit the pavement to go OBEY my wife and RESOLUTEly get some honeydews accomplished so that I can enjoy some RARE CAPON and maiTAIs tonight! (Just kidding about the capon and maitais, but not kidding about the rare. I'm cooking a coupla steaks tonight.)
Best wishes to you all and a happy birthday shoutout to Lemonaid. I trust you will have a terrific vacation!
Oh, Lemonade714, Have a very Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite clue was "See and then some" especially after having watched "The Sting" this weekend.
Even though I play piano, 57D KEYS stumped me.
Dennis, I thought "cop" came from gangsters calling the police "coppers" because of their copper badges. At least that's what I was told when I was little, and I believed it. Now I know the real truth. It's commonly used now by the media instead of "police" or "officer", but I still don't like it. To me it's disrespectful.
Even though this posting is a little long, I'd like to finish with the Seven Deadly Sins of Mahatma Gandhi:
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle
It is I, Doreen. Now I'm off to an afternoon exercise class at the senior center.
About "cops." here's what I was told long ago. I'm not saying it's right, but it's an interesting story. The first organized, coordinated police force was established by a guy named Robert Peel, and the first policemen were called peelers. Because the official police badges were made of copper, the policemen soon also became called coppers, for which "cops" is a nickname. Today's bobbies are named in honor of Robert Peel.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm gonna go look it up to see how much, if any, of this is true.
It was not my intent to stir up any political dust with my MTA quote and I won't belabor it here. However (you knew I was going to do that), here is a great quote from Alexander Hamilton:
ReplyDelete"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
Seems like a good place to end the discussion. Please.
ReplyDeleteThe three stages of an actress:
ReplyDelete1.Get me Helen Hunt
2.Get me a younger Helen Hunt
3.Get me a Helen hunt look-alike
...and yet we are "exporting" democracy.
Reminds me of a nation that was meant to be a theocracy...but they insisted upon a king (monarchy.) Nothing good came of that either.
To change the subject, I would like you all to watch this very cool video about a Famous Husker at Kennedy Center. It raised a lump in this Husker throat!
ReplyDeleteaccording to the "policepersons" i know personally, "cop" is a reference to "constable on patrol" and is not considered an insult.
ReplyDeleteon a lighter political note: remember a time 25 years ago when we had entertainers like Bob Hope and Johnny Cash? Well, now times are different....there is no hope and there is no cash!
Husker Gary
ReplyDeleteNow that was a great quote.
I don't think you started the dust up.
Also, great link!
Kazie
You go girl.
Doreen
Really enjoyed your "the Seven Deadly Sins of Mahatma Gandhi."
#3 Knowledge without character ...
Reminds me of those who comment as an Anon or hit the 'Name/URL' button and make up a funny name.
Or the anon who signed in with my name "in Black" on my birthday.
Best thing about being a "blue" is only you can use it. (unless you give away your personal password).
Of course, this doesn't include you, Doreen who always signs her name or ARBAON, since she is sometimes "blue" sometimes "in black".
well, when a constructor needs to clue "COP" he/she has plenty of options !
ReplyDeleteJayce & ARBAON too, LOL about LEELEE S. I agree about the less than memorable performances. It is unfortunate to be described as a young Helen Hunt, particularly since Helen Hunt hasn't had much success in the past 10 years or so.
ReplyDeleteDodo, I agree with you about a lot of things, but Helen Hunt's flat rather nasal voice grates on my ears. Not her fault, but there you are. Now Peggy Lee is a different matter. Here's Peggy at 62. She still had IT.
GANDHI's list is also called the Seven Blunders of the World. Gandhi called these "acts of passive violence" and believed that preventing them would prevent society from reaching the point of violence. Gahndhi's grandson Arun added an eighth Blunder, "Rights without responsibility". They all sound pretty sensible to me.
The pot calling the kettle black.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Lemonade ... somehow I thought your Bday was July 14, from your avatar numerals. I knew about the Lyndon Johnson and Mother Teresa info.
ReplyDeleteSAE standards for temp vis-a-vis viscosity of motor oils is an industry standard ... so the correct oils could be used for their appropriate uses. They have many other standards for other automotive materials and products, as well.
Thanks to all those who gave the 'My Fair Lady' link ups. It is one of my absolute favorite pics. I met Audrey Hepburn ( then UN ambassador for refugees/children/or something like that, ) ...in person, about 6 months before she died ... but I prefer not to remember what she looked like then ... age and cancer had taken its toll.
W E B DuBois, was arguably the MOST important black man/person in the African-American saga for equality. He may have been a socialist and a communist and all that, but it is impossible for us to imagine the claustrophobic political reality, he grew up in.
Pre-Nup agreements are 'de rigueur' ( a standard requirement ... ) amongst the kids of my neighbors. In fact, my jewish neighbor, who has spent many an evening, teaching me the rudiments of judaism, also pointed out the fact that the 'ketubah' - the marriage contract, also spells out the financial obligations, in case of a divorce. Sort of a divorce insurance.
Hello All--A real slog for me today. There were many lookups in Google as I didn't know more than one or two of the proper names or celebraties. As I gradually got those filled in with Mr. G's help, some of the rest fell into place.
ReplyDeleteI did get the ITY ending theme, but the first words were elusive until the very last.
I know what a coot is, but I could not think of a cousin to save myself. We have coots in our local ponds. But rails, not so much. They are more coastal birds.
I have always thought Rug was slang for a toupee and Toupee is not a slang word. I tried Wig for Rug, but that wasn't to be.
One who's generally bottled up was a fun clue.
Happy Birthday, Lemonade. I hope you have something special planned. And Melissa Bee, thank you for the pictures of your weekend with your "sister" friends.
Explanations for the origins of words and phrases like cop can be found at World Wide Words and the Etymology Dictionary, both of which I use heavily when verifying my blog write-ups. There is also a collection of other online resources if you are truly interested in etymology. Ofentimes, the "commonly known" explanations that are made up for such things are just stories that sound interesting and appealing, so they get widely propagated at internet speeds, but they aren't usually true (no matter how much we would really wish them to be).
ReplyDeleteNot too difficult for a Friday. It took me longer than it should have since I didn't get to it until the end of the work day, when I was falling asleep. After a brief afternoon nap, it didn't take long to finish. Clever theme.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteFYI
Your fellow bloggers are right about the Mars hoax, of course. At its last close approach in 2003 I got some good views of it through a fairly small 90mm Meade ETX telescope that I had at the time. Could make out the ice caps and surface variations, but even then Mars was a very modest object in the scope. It's a little smaller than earth and never gets closer than about 60 million miles, so it's never going to be a particularly prominent object to a naked-eye observer. I'm currently rebuilding a 12.5 inch Newtonian telescope which will eventually give me the best views of Mars I've ever had. All planets require a lot of aperture (big mirrors or lenses)to make meaningful images in the eyepiece. The large detailed images of planets found in books and on the internet have been made with biiiiigggggg telescopes or have been shot on high resolution film (or CCD camera) and then dramatically enlarged.
Happy Birthday, Lemonade!
ReplyDeleteJay (Black) and the Americans perform down here quite a bit. The last time I saw him, he was still in very FINE voice! When he hit the high notes in Cara Mia, you could sense a tremor go through the whole audience. He got tired out during the show, but he could still hit and hold those notes very well!
I knew LEELEE, but spelling it was trial and error for me…
Cute joke, ARBAON!
Your Bob Hope/Johnny Cash comment was funny too, Seen!
Thanks for those links, Al. So the story that "copper" came from the metal badges or buttons seems not to bear up. Oh well, another new thing learned. My researchings do show that "Bobby" and "Peeler" are still used, however, and that they stem from Robert Peel's first and last names.
ReplyDeleteVery cool :)
One correction to a comment I made earlier about Mars. Its closest possible approach to earth is about 35 million miles, not 60 million. I seem to remember it was about 60 million miles away in 2003. Its farthest distance is about 250 million miles.
ReplyDeleteAngular distances in the sky are measured in degrees, arcminutes, and arcseconds. A circle equals 360 degrees, 21,600 arcminutes, or 1,296,000 arcseconds. Mars's angular size from earth varies between 3.5 and about 25 arcseconds, averaging around 18 arcseconds.
Go outside. Find an object one mile away and imagine a circle surrounding you at that distance. If six quarters are laid down along that circle a mile distant, you'll have a good idea of how wide 18 arcseconds is (the average). Eight quarters will be slightly larger than Mars'largest angular size at 35 million miles. One quarter will give you the scale when Mars is 250 million miles away.
A blue book was an exam in college. it certainly wasn't smut.
ReplyDeletehappy birthday lemonade.
melissa bee, every time i see a picture of you, you look different.
of course you are always very pretty.you remind me of my hi-school sweetheart.
Good evening CC, et al., Good job, CC. Enjoyed your links and all of your insight and comments, as usual. You rock! I vodka you!
ReplyDeleteThis is Fri, no doubt about it. Could've been Sat too. I certainly did not get an 'ulnar' fracture from patting myself on the back for doing well on this puzzle. May have for ripping it up if I had it on paper, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the creativity and difficulty in the theme and construction. This is a remarkably ingenious piece of work. I admire Mike Peluso for it. I'm just glad I don't have 'an axe' handy.
I got all kinds of excited when 1D came out 'Nudes' and was close to 'in kind', near 'smut' 'rug'
'easy rider' and in the same puzzle as 'noisy' 'hoer'. That story, 'I'm-a'bsolutely sure, is an 'acct' of a 'rare' gardener who loves his riding lawn mower and has a stuttering problem and is possibly named 'LeeLee' 'Fenn'nn. There's the other possibility, and you can spit in 'my eye' if it's not a real possiblity, the story about a'senor'ita who has to go sing 'hymns' to 'atone' for her sin of un'moving vanity' and her 'base' 'videos'with 'nudes'.
Regardless, it's all good.
Thank you all for your kind wishes and concern. The esophogeal stretching was uneventful, but the next day there was a reaction that resulted in an all day ER visit. It was just another hortonization. I'll be ok. You all are great.
Garlicgal: Milkshakes? I want your doctors. As my luck would have it, the only thing I got even closely resembling a milkshake was barium...not quite a party drink. But it's over and...
Jeannie: I can definately swallow! You do make me LMAO, girl. Hope you are ok. You're such a wonderful friend. Linda's very lucky.
Dennis: I will save the dr's fees next time. Your application is among those on top.
Melissabee: good job on the blogging. Enjoyed your pix and seeing all the fun you had w/close friends. Thanks for sharing that. I will use some of your ideas later. Beautiful setting too.
Enjoy your night.
Clear Ayes, great to see you again. first i've seen you here in a long time.
ReplyDeletewere you referring to 'enry 'iggins?
lol
Forgot: Happy Birthday, Lemonade. Hope you keep us abreast of your month long celebrations. You do know how to party! I salute you and will toast to you tonight.. ok, it's only a real ice cream milkshake this time only but the intention is sincere. I hope you have many many more birthdays... and all happy.
ReplyDeletelois, welcome back. I trust the procedure went well and you are started along the road to recovery.
ReplyDeleteoops, sometimes I'm too late. Question already answered, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jayce. That is so sweet of you. I'm recovering. I thought the procedure went well until I tried to dance and somebody stepped on my fingers. Guess an esophogeal stretching doesn't mean go party right away and swallow til the sun comes up. Who knew? I have to lay low for a while...however, there are advantages to this & I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. I did have my first CAT scan and a new LAB report...sounds like I went to the vet's, doesn't it. Those results were a little disheartening, but if anything comes of those things, I'll let you know. Until then, party on like there's no tomorrow, b/c one of these days that will be too true so why waste the time? I need to go back and read Al's blog. I'm lost in time...better living thru drugs tho'. Yea modern medicine!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Clearayes, you did it for me! You know, I don't even remember Hunt's voice. I guess it didn't bother me! I thought she had a great flair for comedy.
ReplyDeleteLois-
ReplyDeleteHope all is well. Its hard to tell about you- you're always so
cavalier about your self and health-I'm new and have trouble reading you clearly.
I definitely missed you. You are a major part of this blog's landscape. welcome back . Please keep us up on your reports and all.
Stopped home to change and say thank you to all of you for the b-day wishes.
ReplyDeleteThe story of my blogger name, lemonade 714 (for the newbies) comes from my ability to bring euphoria to the masses; and the 60's drug methaqualone (Quaalude, 'Lude), which was stamped 714 on one side and Lemmon, on the other, though referred to as Lemon 714s. In my super hero identity as problem solver, I beome Lemonade 714.
Or maybe I have had too much wine. For Lois and CA and all the Corner family, and those associated with the family, you must know we are always praying (in whatever non-religious or religious fashion) for the good helath for all, and if we sometimes seem insensitive, sorry.
The Joan of Arc movie was my intro to LeeLee.
Lois, Sorry for your setback but glad to hear you are gaining. Also glad to see you post! Staying away from the jokes. That's serious surgery!
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteA mighty struggle today, but I got it all in the end. Amazing theme. Strong puzzle.
Arriving here very late. Didn't have time to read the blog comments.
Speaking of EXXON MOBILITY, the SAE rating on motor oil is for viscosity. Other technical performance characteristics are addressed by The International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC.)
Had a fun visit with Gloria's mom and both of brothers today. Lots of laughs.
Extraordinarily busy day on tap tomorrow.
Cheers!
JzB
The solving hasn't been that hard this week but the construction has been A-one.
ReplyDeleteNow I know where Billy Joel got the name for his song, The Downeaster "Alexa".(2D) And here is a picture of a Downeaster boat.
Did you know?
ReplyDeleteThat Dennis "started" this "cop" discussion with a "did ya know"?
Al: btw, good to know where you confirm your information.
i have received this email 3 times lately. i know Dennis, Spitzboov and many others will enjoy this.
ReplyDeletei just find it interesting that this guy could be responsible for this !
seen, very cool; hadn't seen that one. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteCoincidently, just got back from a welcome home celebration for a wounded Marine back from Afghanistan. It's wonderful that these guys are welcomed back now with parties, etc. Quite a change from when we came back from Vietnam.
Dennis, i was thinking about that exact same thing!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE!
YOUR BIRTHDAY LASTS FOR 30 DAYS
MAY BEST WISHES COME YOUR WAY
WITH LUCK THE CELEBRATIONS MAKE YOU GAY
BUT I KNOW YOU AREN'T
SO GO OUT AND GET LAY(ED)
I'M OUT.
Seen:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links.
I've actually caught the Gene Simmons show
on A & E and he really does "support our troops!"
Dennis:
Back in our day, with all the protests, etc. I think some people forgot they could be against the war in Vietnam (or any war for that matter) but how our troops were treated upon their return was sometimes uncalled for.
I hope that makes sense.
In other words:
Be against a war is OK (if that's your way of seeing things).
Be against our troops is NEVER OK !!!
Lemonade714, you handsome devil!
ReplyDeleteDodo:
ReplyDeleteHow great that you received the DVD! Jeanetta is a talented woman and she creates a DVD for all major activities. I haven't seen it yet, but I shall in due time. I'm sure it's wonderful.
And you are right about friends who can travel together. Those are some of the best times I've enjoyed.
You are all such a fun group, too. Today I haven't had much time to spend here nor will I tomorrow, but it's lovely to return to this blog whenever possible.
Good night all!
Lemonade: I've got to reinforce Dodo's words...You handsome hunk of manhood!
ReplyDeleteDennis: I hope the injured marine isn't too badly injured and will be able to recover completely. I'm so sorry for him and his family.
Husker, CA, Lemonade, Argyle: thank you for the links. I enjoyed all of them. I'll enjoy the others as time allows.
Creature: thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it and will keep you posted when there's something significant to report.