Theme: "Extra! Read All About It!" - The ending words of four non-newspaper phrases are what you might read in a paper, followed by the unifier.
18A. Watch or clock : TIMEPIECE
20A. Second floor of a home, say : UPPER STORY
33A. With 35-Across, real McCoy : GENUINE and 35A. See 33-Across : ARTICLE. If you're wondering where "real McCoy" came from, Wikipedia. The total word count for the two entries is 14 letters, not suitable for a central theme entry. Hence the break-up in the middle by a black block.
52. Where to begin adding numbers : ONES COLUMN. You remember, adding up numbers in the pre-calculator days
54. Daily publication where you'd read the ends of 18-, 20-, 33/35- and 52-Across : NEWSPAPER
Argyle here with a Lila "Really Rich" Cherry constructed Monday puzzle.
There are 20 three-letter entries and 18 four-letter entries. The two longest theme entries are only ten letters. There are also 24 6-letter or more non-theme fill, including four vertical 8s.
Not much to comment on. Hope you all have a pleasant Labor Day. Except for some rain in the upper mid-west, pretty nice weather nationwide.
Across:
1. Moved on all fours : CREPT
6. "Snow" veggie : PEA. Image.
9. Action film high point : CHASE
14. Break off completely : SEVER
15. Select, with "for" : OPT
16. Like Cheerios : OATEN
17. Open-mouthed : AGAPE
22. Your and my : OUR
23. John who played Basil Fawlty : CLEESE. A short clip, entitled "Panic Stations".
24. QVC competitor : HSN. QVC is an acronym for Quality, Value, Convenience. HSN is the Home Shopping Network. They are cable TV shopping channels engaged in 60A. Cybercommerce : E-TAIL
25. Town, informally : BURG. From Old High German burg, a fortified town
26. Animal fat : LARD
27. Keats or Yeats : POET. Appropriately rhymed.
29. Brighton buddy : MATEY. British alliteration.
30. Ear: Pref. : OTO
31. Ernie's Muppet pal : BERT
32. Amt. still owed : BAL
39. Got ready for a lap dog : SAT
40. Ink stain : BLOT
41. Accelerate, with "up" : REV
42. Gets nosy : PRIES
45. Bump off : DO IN
46. Arrived : CAME
47. Swedish soprano Jenny : LIND. “The Swedish Nightingale”, 1820–87.
48. Tyrannosaurus __ : REX.
49. Element used in dating rocks : CARBON
51. Actress Gardner : AVA
56. Microwave alerts : BEEPS
58. Speechify : ORATE
59. Perrier, to Pierre : EAU. French alliteration. Perrier is a brand of mineral water bottled in France.
61. Justin Timberlake's boy band : NSYNC
62. AAA suggestion : RTE
63. Aromatic compound : ESTER
Down:
1. Civil War org. : CSA. Confederate States of America.
2. Control, as temperature : REGULATE
3. Argentine leader played by Madonna : EVA PERON
4. Livened (up) : PEPPED
5. Ancestral diagrams : TREES
6. Pans partner : POTS. Triple alliteration.
7. Nickname : EPITHET
8. Maximally : AT MOST
9. Xerox : COPY
10. See 25-Down : HAI and 25. With 10-Down, "South Pacific" song : BALI
11. Enjoyed a diner : ATE OUT
12. Tie tightly : SECURE
13. Pizazz : ENERGY
19. Directional suffix : ERN
21. Regret one's sins : REPENT
23. Drain obstruction : CLOG
28. Calif. neighbor : ORE
29. Damon of "Good Will Hunting" : MATT
31. Skewed view : BIAS
32. "Bucking" horse : BRONCO
34. Secondhand : USED
35. Baba who stole from thieves : ALI
36. Dungeness delicacy : CRABMEAT. American alliteration. Dungeness, Washington, now called Old Town Dungeness, is where the first commercial harvesting of the Dungeness crab was done. Image. Don't look, Sallie!
37. Tart dessert : LEMON PIE
38. All square : EVEN
40. Costlier ballpark spot : BOX SEAT
42. Expect to happen : PLAN ON. Like you should PLAN ON a second mortgage if you want to buy BOX SEATS.
43. Funny Joan : RIVERS
44. Sort of : IN A WAY
45. Farther below the water's surface : DEEPER
46. Salad oil bottles : CRUETS
48. Cell "messenger," briefly : RNA
50. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright : ALBEE
52. Oil cartel acronym : OPEC
53. Nikki Sixx/Tommy Lee group Mötley __ : CRÜE
55. RR depot : STN. Railroad station.
57. 35mm camera type : SLR
Answer grid.
Argyle
18A. Watch or clock : TIMEPIECE
20A. Second floor of a home, say : UPPER STORY
33A. With 35-Across, real McCoy : GENUINE and 35A. See 33-Across : ARTICLE. If you're wondering where "real McCoy" came from, Wikipedia. The total word count for the two entries is 14 letters, not suitable for a central theme entry. Hence the break-up in the middle by a black block.
52. Where to begin adding numbers : ONES COLUMN. You remember, adding up numbers in the pre-calculator days
54. Daily publication where you'd read the ends of 18-, 20-, 33/35- and 52-Across : NEWSPAPER
Argyle here with a Lila "Really Rich" Cherry constructed Monday puzzle.
There are 20 three-letter entries and 18 four-letter entries. The two longest theme entries are only ten letters. There are also 24 6-letter or more non-theme fill, including four vertical 8s.
Not much to comment on. Hope you all have a pleasant Labor Day. Except for some rain in the upper mid-west, pretty nice weather nationwide.
Across:
1. Moved on all fours : CREPT
6. "Snow" veggie : PEA. Image.
9. Action film high point : CHASE
14. Break off completely : SEVER
15. Select, with "for" : OPT
16. Like Cheerios : OATEN
17. Open-mouthed : AGAPE
22. Your and my : OUR
23. John who played Basil Fawlty : CLEESE. A short clip, entitled "Panic Stations".
24. QVC competitor : HSN. QVC is an acronym for Quality, Value, Convenience. HSN is the Home Shopping Network. They are cable TV shopping channels engaged in 60A. Cybercommerce : E-TAIL
25. Town, informally : BURG. From Old High German burg, a fortified town
26. Animal fat : LARD
27. Keats or Yeats : POET. Appropriately rhymed.
29. Brighton buddy : MATEY. British alliteration.
30. Ear: Pref. : OTO
31. Ernie's Muppet pal : BERT
32. Amt. still owed : BAL
39. Got ready for a lap dog : SAT
40. Ink stain : BLOT
41. Accelerate, with "up" : REV
42. Gets nosy : PRIES
45. Bump off : DO IN
46. Arrived : CAME
47. Swedish soprano Jenny : LIND. “The Swedish Nightingale”, 1820–87.
48. Tyrannosaurus __ : REX.
49. Element used in dating rocks : CARBON
51. Actress Gardner : AVA
56. Microwave alerts : BEEPS
58. Speechify : ORATE
59. Perrier, to Pierre : EAU. French alliteration. Perrier is a brand of mineral water bottled in France.
61. Justin Timberlake's boy band : NSYNC
62. AAA suggestion : RTE
63. Aromatic compound : ESTER
Down:
1. Civil War org. : CSA. Confederate States of America.
2. Control, as temperature : REGULATE
3. Argentine leader played by Madonna : EVA PERON
4. Livened (up) : PEPPED
5. Ancestral diagrams : TREES
6. Pans partner : POTS. Triple alliteration.
7. Nickname : EPITHET
8. Maximally : AT MOST
9. Xerox : COPY
10. See 25-Down : HAI and 25. With 10-Down, "South Pacific" song : BALI
11. Enjoyed a diner : ATE OUT
12. Tie tightly : SECURE
13. Pizazz : ENERGY
19. Directional suffix : ERN
21. Regret one's sins : REPENT
23. Drain obstruction : CLOG
28. Calif. neighbor : ORE
29. Damon of "Good Will Hunting" : MATT
31. Skewed view : BIAS
32. "Bucking" horse : BRONCO
34. Secondhand : USED
35. Baba who stole from thieves : ALI
36. Dungeness delicacy : CRABMEAT. American alliteration. Dungeness, Washington, now called Old Town Dungeness, is where the first commercial harvesting of the Dungeness crab was done. Image. Don't look, Sallie!
37. Tart dessert : LEMON PIE
38. All square : EVEN
40. Costlier ballpark spot : BOX SEAT
42. Expect to happen : PLAN ON. Like you should PLAN ON a second mortgage if you want to buy BOX SEATS.
43. Funny Joan : RIVERS
44. Sort of : IN A WAY
45. Farther below the water's surface : DEEPER
46. Salad oil bottles : CRUETS
48. Cell "messenger," briefly : RNA
50. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright : ALBEE
52. Oil cartel acronym : OPEC
53. Nikki Sixx/Tommy Lee group Mötley __ : CRÜE
55. RR depot : STN. Railroad station.
57. 35mm camera type : SLR
Answer grid.
Argyle
Congratulations, Annette.
ReplyDeleteNC from late last night:
Jim Thorpe
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteReal walk in the park today, which is what I'd expect for a Labor Day puzzle. Don't want to work too hard today, doncha know... The only thing that slowed me up was the cross referential clues, but that was only a momentary delay.
One question about 49A, though. Maybe I've had it wrong all these years, but I always thought that carbon dating only worked on living materials (flesh, wood, etc.) and not on inanimate materials such as rock. Is this a bad clue, or am I just ignorant?
Good morning everyone. Nice writ-up, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteAn easy start-of-the-week puzzle. Pretty much blew through it on one pass; then went back and got PRIES and CHASE. And it was done. Liked the theme but didn't get it until the unifier clue.
The Jenny Lind Polka by The Boat Band
Have a happy and safe Labor Day
Good Morning, CC, Argyle and all. I thought this was a step up for a usual Monday puzzle. Is EPITHET really a Monday word?
ReplyDeleteI also had trouble with CREPT being the answer to Moved on All Fours. I crept into the nursery so as not to awaken the baby. I wasn't on all fours to do this. Crawling is moving on all fours.
That said, I recognized the connection between PIECE and STORY immediately, which made the rest of the theme clues come quickly.
I never saw the movie "South Pacific", but have seen various theater productions, so knew BALI HAI.
We've seen RNA with some frequency recently, but when clued as "messenger", differentiating between DNA is easy.
We had a reference to Eva Peron yesterday as well.
Happy Labor Day everyone.
Happy Birthday to your Daughter, Clear Ayes. How nice that her birthday is also a National Holiday!!!
Good thoughts to your friend, Georgia, Frenchie.
QOD: After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. Music is what sound feels like. ~ Aldous Huxley.
Good morning Argyle and all, as already stated there is not much to comment on today. Pretty much completed the puzzle in one pass except for a couple of downs in the lower half. When I had completed the NW corner I thought there might be a connection to the letter P as there were quite a few in that section. However, it wasn’t long before the real theme emerged.
ReplyDeleteI just returned from a weekend high school class reunion. It is always fun to see the classmates that are still alive. I never understand why they all seem to age, but I don’t.
I hope you all have a safe and fun Labor Day.
Barry G., I, also, wondered about 49A. Element used in dating rocks : CARBON but didn't take the time to look it up.
ReplyDeleteCarbon-14 does apply but only to sedimentary rock because when they are formed, bits of organic materials are incorporated in their make-up. And this is where I'll slip-in this clip I found last night. Pretty polly of fawlty towers.
Good Morning C.C.,Argyle and All,
ReplyDeleteGood write-up, Argyle. What is the
connection between Sallie and crab?
I thought the puzzle was good also.
I liked 'genuine article'; it's
a neat attention getter. All in all, a pleasant and speedy fill.
Frenchie, please keep us posted
on your friend, Georgia. Hope
she's better.
Happy Labor Day, everyone!
Check out Sallie's avatar.
ReplyDeleteI'm baaaaaaaaaaaack! After touring Tennessee for 6 days I have returned to tell you the LA Times Cwd does not run in Memphis or Nashville and so I could not do them on the bus and we got back to the hotel pretty late and so I did not do them there. I have them stacked beside my chair now and can digest them this week.
ReplyDeleteToday, of course, was easy but I wanted GAR for Civil War Org. as I do not think of a country as an organization.
I had the C for film high point and started CLIMAX but ran out of cells. Aren't those passe' now (car chases NOT climaxes!)?
Liza Doolittle's "done in" makes another appearance although in present verb tense.
GENUINIEARTICLE running nearly contiguously was a nice device. Does anyone remember who played Grampappy Amos in the TV Show "The Real McCoys?"
Memphis and Nashville are both built on Music and Medicine and have wonderful facilities for both. Echoes of the civil war are every where but wass felt most noticeably when we saw cotton fields and then saw that 99% of the service industry was black in Memphis.
I think this racism is dying for as another song (about racism) in South Pacific says, You Have To Be Carefully Taught
I liked the old-fashioned sound of TIMEPIECE.
ReplyDeleteWhich was followed shortly by a reminder of "The Real McCoys", with Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna.
Nice tribute to the newspapers who support your column, "Lila"!
Thanks, Windhover. You're up and posting early today!
Anyone remember the original movie, Yours, Mine and OURS (22A), with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda?
ReplyDeleteGood to see you, Windhover, I've missed you.
Hi everyone:
ReplyDeleteEasy Monday - that's what we like to start the week.
Annette, congratulations on being a constructor adviser!
Argyle, thanks for the explanation of QVC/HSN...I would have never known.
Animal fat (26A) brought back memories of the movie "My Cousin Vinnie", where the cook in the diner plops a huge spoonful of lard on the
cook-top before putting eggs on to fry...whew!
I used some 'SNOW' veggies last night making dinner. They are so good.
Hello Puzzlers - A Monday breeze.
ReplyDeleteArgyle - I appreciated the reminder of just how attractive Connie Booth was in Fawlty Towers! She was married to John Cleese in the first series, but as I recall was divorced from him prior to the second. I can't imagine shooting a TV series with an ex-wife.
As to Sallie's avatar, I once noticed it was a crab and posted a question about it. It was late at night, however, and I don't think it was noticed. I put in this YouTube link to the Smothers Brothers' "Crabs walk Sideways" figuring that was the connection. Was I right?
Happy Labor Day everybody!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hahtool about CRAWLED vs CREPT.
Note to bloggers. You can never have too many Fawlty Towers links for me!
There seems to be a certain style in the wording of how some answers are clued in crosswords. For instance, in 20A, "Second floor of a home, say" Why the word "say"?
Say = for instance. Just a figure of speech.
ReplyDeleteBill G. said in 20A, "Second floor of a home, say" Why the word "say"?
ReplyDeleteI think it is to advise that the answer is somewhat imprecise. The 2nd story could be 'top floor' or 'mezzanine' for example.
IMHO
Hahtool, that's one of my favorite movies! There are so many memorable scenes in it, and the acting and comedic timing was just brilliant.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Argyle, CC, et al., I do love Monday! Good job, Argyle, as usual. I had to laugh at the idea of carbon dating rocks...I know carbon dating is used on bones as well. It's just a lucky thing I don't have access to that testing 'cause I'd be tempted to use it on some of the dates I've had lately. Talk about'rex'! Their idea of a 'deeper' 'box seat' is so not 'nsync' with mine. To get them 'rev'ed up, I'd need a 'time piece' that would measure months not hours, and that's what they call 'pepped' up? With 'energy' like that I might as well have 'sat' my 'lard' ass on th'e-tail' of an 'ern' and been 'doin' nothin' until someone 'pries' me off. 'At most' there 'oto' be a law about loiterin'. Some may think it's 'crue'l, but give me 'a-VA' or OK bucking 'bronco' any day and watch me give a new dimension to 'deeper' 'box seat'. It takes 'genuine' 'bal's to secure yourself to any of those 'oaten' creatures....but not today for me. I'm pickin' 'crab meat' and goin' clam diggin' in a little while...the softer side of life in the 'burg'...w/ a very different type of 'carbon' date. This one at least is coherent in his 'upper story' and his bottom story is I hope the 'genuine article' allowing me to really add that 'ones column'. Yeah Baby!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy this b'eau'tiful day.
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle because it was actually easy. I liked the movie and theater producton "EVITA"-The music was great. My favorite was "Don't Cry for Me Argentina".
Lemon pie reminds me of my Mother. She lived to be 97 and had been dignosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Naturally the Asst Living unit she lived in restricted certain foods for her. One day when I took her to see the Dr. he asked her if she had any questions. She said "last week they had Lemon pie and I didn't get any.' She was about 95 at the time. So the doctor wrote an order on for her chart.
"She can have anything she wants to eat including Lemon Meringue Pie.' She was happy.
Husker, thanks for the 'Carefully Taught' link. It was one of my favorites and one we should hear a lot these days.
Have a nice Labor day all!
Marge
No, Dudley, that link has nothing to do with Sallie's avatar but the answer is on her profile page. It takes a little detective work.
ReplyDeleteOMG, Yeats, Keats, and Teats!
ReplyDeleteSmall world, isn't it.
good morning c.c., argyle, and all,
ReplyDeletesuper quick monday, was expecting a labor day theme, but i like the newspaper one. appropriate for me, since i bought the sunday paper yesterday for the first time in probably a year. might even get to read it today since i have the ☺ WHOLE..... DAY...... OFF ☺.
learned a few things, even on a monday puzzle. never knew who jenny lind was, but there's a gordon lightfoot song called 'a lesson in love' with these lyrics:
remember when mr. barnum
presented jenny lind
they named a candy after her
a circus after him
i never knew what that meant, but finally looked it up this morning: jenny lind. ohhh.
anyone here actually use the word 'speechify?'
i usually think of rev as stepping on the gas while the car is in neutral, not accelerating - but that does accelerate the revolutions of the engine. okay.
and i don't know why i always think of a bronco as a bull, i'll remember it now.
way to go annette!
frenchie, wishing for a speedy recovery for your friend georgia, keep us posted.
Good Morning All, Lila/Rich did a very nice job on this Monday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed all the theme answers and got the connection before I reached 54A NEWSPAPER.
It was nice to see a nod to John CLEESE of Fawlty Towers fame. We were just discussing favorite Brit TV last week.
I could have a pretty nice meal out of just CRAB MEAT and a LEMON PIE. Of course I'd have to use 26A LARD for the pie crust. LARD does make the best flakiest, most tender crust.
Nice Cuppa, from last night. Second to my mind (Windhover already pointed our Jim Thorpe) was Billy Mills, a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe. Mills won a gold medal in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Other famous Native Americans? How about poet Sherman Alexie. I bet you thought I'd post something my Keats or Yeats. I do enjoy them, but I thought I'd try something different. Sherman Alexie is a member of the Seattle/Coeur d'Alene people.
EVOLUTION
Buffalo Bill opens a pawn shop on the reservation
right across the border from the liquor store
and he stays open 24 hours a day,7 days a week
and the Indians come running in with jewelry
television sets, a VCR, a full-lenght beaded buckskin outfit
it took Inez Muse 12 years to finish. Buffalo Bill
takes everything the Indians have to offer, keeps it
all catalogues and filed in a storage room. The Indians
pawn their hands, saving the thumbs for last, they pawn
their skeletons, falling endlessly from the skin
and when the last Indian has pawned everything
but his heart, Buffalo Bill takes that for twenty bucks
closes up the pawn shop, paints a new sign over the old
calls his venture THE MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES
charges the Indians five bucks a head to enter.
- Sherman Alexie
Hi there ~!
ReplyDeleteHope no one worked too hard on this one today -
Thought it was a little tougher for a Monday, figuring it was an "extra" weekend day. I liked LEMON PIE next to CRAB MEAT, and I have to agree, All fours to me means CRAWLED...
" I CREPT up on my baby/
I laid down on my town/
I found a shrinking violet/
I crushed it into the ground"
A little Monster Magnet
I believe the pronunciation of YEATS is "yates", as I verified with Wiki.
Take care,
Enjoy the nationwide start of autumn !
Splynter
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Annette--a truly big honor!
Frenchie,
Best wishes to you and Georgia.
No problems or comment worthy things in today's puzzle. Nice and easy for the holiday.
Annette, congratulations.
ReplyDeleteAnnette- Iam really slow-of course,Rich names his paper 'Time Piece', as well as 'Newspaper'.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm loving it more.
and speaking of detective work..
Argyle, I am blind to your clues about Sallie's Avatar. I am on a
limited contract with Hughesnet,
where download really counts against me, so I hesitate to follow some of her links. Maybe
between 2am and 7am, when the download is free.
But personally I liked Dudley's link about Sallie the Crab.
Thanks.
Loved today's puzzle and comments.
ReplyDeleteHatool, LOVED the music QOD!! Thanks
Here's a good pun:'A backward poet writes inverse'.
Enjoy today ... and every day!!!
Just a word of caution. We should all strive to keep our typos to an absolute minimum. Look what happened here
ReplyDeleteSpitzboov - CELEBRATE - very funny. I re-read my comment and didn't see a typo ... were you *talking* to me???
ReplyDeleteHello All--All that has been said is what I would have said. A non-laboring puzzle for this day.
ReplyDeleteGood show, Annette. (from yesterday)
Frenchie, my thoughts are with you and your friend, Georgia. Keep us up to date on her progress.
Hahtool, the QOD today was great. Thanks.
Enjoy your Labor Day holiday, everyone.
Food cooked, eaten and dishes washed...through laboring for today!
ReplyDeletePuzzle was fun! I have also crept but on only two feet. Always loved the song "Bali Hai". The music sounds like gentle waves on the shore.
Methinks you can regret your sins without actually repenting...I still say that the best fried chicken is cooked in artery-clogging lard!
"Agape" can also be "uh-GOP-pay" which is the highest form of love...
I hope this isn`t too much, but I got this from a friend and it was humorous to say the least!
Top This One For A Speeding
Two Texas HighwayPatrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on Hwy 77, just south of Kingsville , Tx .
One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the town of Kingsville . The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour and climbing.
The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then it suddenly turned off.
Just then a deafening roar over the Mesquite treetops on Hwy 77 revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMCF/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near this, it's Naval Air home base location in Kingsville Tx.
Back at the Texas Highway Patrol Headquarters in Corpus Christi the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the US NavalBase Commander in Kingsville for shutting down his equipment.
The reply came back in true USMC style:
'Thank you for your letter....
You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down.
Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment's location.
Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defence system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position on the side of Hwy 77 So. of Kingsville ...
The pilot suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech.
Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose.. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.'
Semper Fi
Food cooked, eaten and dishes washed...through laboring for today!
ReplyDeletePuzzle was fun! I have also crept but on only two feet. Always loved the song "Bali Hai". The music sounds like gentle waves on the shore.
Methinks you can regret your sins without actually repenting...I still say that the best fried chicken is cooked in artery-clogging lard!
"Agape" can also be "uh-GOP-pay" which is the highest form of love...
I hope this isn`t too much, but I got this from a friend and it was humorous to say the least! I`ll have to send it in two parts
Top This One For A Speeding
ReplyDeleteTwo Texas HighwayPatrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on Hwy 77, just south of Kingsville , Tx .
One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the town of Kingsville . The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour and climbing.
The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then it suddenly turned off.
Just then a deafening roar over the Mesquite treetops on Hwy 77 revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMCF/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near this, it's Naval Air home base location in Kingsville Tx.
Back at the Texas Highway Patrol Headquarters in Corpus Christi the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the US NavalBase Commander in Kingsville for shutting down his equipment.
The reply came back in true USMC style:
'Thank you for your letter....
You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down.
Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment's location.
Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defence system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position on the side of Hwy 77 So. of Kingsville ...
The pilot suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech.
Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose.. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.'
Semper Fi
I hope Rich isn't trying to set a new standard for a Monday puzzle... A wide open grid and only 33 black squares... And lots of long entries, as Argyle mentioned. Hey, more white space, more pay I say! Workers of the world unite!
ReplyDeleteErieruth @2:58
ReplyDeleteNo, you had no typo that I saw, nor would I criticize other's typos; I make so many myself. I was merely attempting to be 'tongue-in-cheek' to set up the link. Glad you liked it.
Good afternoon all,
ReplyDeleteIt's good to be back puzzling once more. Lois, you haven't skipped a beat . Missed your daily "column"; you are the genuine article!
Loved the theme as it unraveled quickly.Only 2 WAGs for me..the E in Albee/ester.Could have checked, but Crossword Corner is more bettah.
Jenny Lind was also a guess.Somehow, I remembered there were pianos with that name, and also cribs. She was noted for singing at such a young age (9) and was touring Europe at 17. Chopin was in awe of her.Speaking of young, have you seen the 10 year old, Jackie Evancho, on A's Got Talent?
Kudos to you Annette!!!Super job!
That radar and jet fighter story is fun. I've heard it several times before and Snopes says it's almost certainly just a tale.
ReplyDeleteThere's one in every crowd...
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't get the typo joke.
ReplyDeleteOh, then again I think I did get the typo joke. Thanks anyway.
ReplyDeleteMan oh man, I thought about it and thought about it, and only after I posted saying it didn't get it, I got the joke. Wasted a perfectly good posting. Well it wasn't wasted I guess, 'cause I might not ever have gotten the joke if I hadn't said I didn't get it.
ReplyDeleteSlow on the uptake today.
Barbara, Tim, Bonnie, Jordan and I had lunch at an oddly-named Greek restaurant called Old Venice. We shared a Greek salad and an appetizer plate with black olives, Feta cheese, cucumbers, stuffed grape leaves, yoghurt and some very nice slices of Gyro meat. Even though we shared, I still ate more than I usually do for lunch. Good though.
ReplyDeleteI always screw up certain words.... always. Describing Cheerios is one of them; I always start with "Oatey" and eventually get back to "Oaten." Otherwise, it was a good start to the week including a nice lunch at an area seafood restaurant.
ReplyDeleteThis has to be a good week, because on Sunday, the 12th, first FB game of the year for my grandson.
Louise Erdrich and the late Michael Dorris. Both native Americans. Erdrich a Lakota; don't know about Dorris.
ReplyDeleteDodo: Louise Erdrich is a writer. I recently read her book, The Plague of Doves. It is about the Lakoda tribe.
ReplyDeleteTaking this Labor Day very seriously, I've been a regular lily of the field today...."they toil not, neither do they spin". I visited my cousin this morning, drank some delicious coffee and ate some yummy applebutter cake. Then I came home and took a nap. GAH and I are on our way out for some great "somebody else is making them" hamburgers.
ReplyDeleteTuesday is a doctor day, so I may not have a chance to check in tomorrow.
Have a great evening everyone.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteHaven't check in for a couple days, so I'm a bit out of touch.
Pleasant puzzle today, cute theme, lots of nice fill.
Alas, also a horrible, but rather instructive blunder.
63A Aromatic compound: ESTER.
Sadly, no. "Aromatic compound" is a technical term that refers to a specific class of organic chemicals with a certain type of molecular structure. This is an entirely different sense of the word "aromatic" than what is encountered in ordinary speech.
"Aromatic" in the vernacular sense would mean having a pleasant aroma, and many simple esters do. In fact, the essences of most fruits are esters.
But it is not valid to set up the clue using technical jargon and have the answer refer to the vernacular meaning.
This clue could have been saved, perhaps, by adding a question mark, but that would just make things confusing.
Cheers!
JzB who remembers some chemistry after all these years
Creature, to be honest, I hadn't caught that "Time Piece" idea of relating it to the LA Times! But I love the way you put it together from my comments about liking the old-fashioned phrase 'timepiece', and thinking that a puzzle about newspapers was a salute to the media Rich works in.
ReplyDeleteerieruth, cute pun!
Thank you again to all that commented today on yesterday's puzzle. I enjoyed and learned so much working with John this summer!
Spitzboov, how many novices do you think looked check out whether that could be true...?!
I wonder where I could get one of those jammers for the speed guns... And can it also deliver a taser shock at the same time?
I just finished "Picnic" and am rewatching "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" even though I never liked it much. It's not a fun tale like Errol Flynn's version. And Kevin Costner's attempt at a British accent is laughable. But the epitome of evil, Alan Rickman, as the Sheriff of Nottingham makes it all worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Robin Hood, have any of you seen and enjoyed "Robin and Marian"? It's a great love story in addition to being an adventure tale.
Hahtool, Yes, they're (well 'were' in the case of Michael Dorris) bothwriters. I didn't realize until after I posted that the question was regarding sports figures. Have you read any other Erdrich's books? She and Dorris were married and he committed suicide some years later. I don't know if he wrote anything other than a book about his experiences with his autistic son. I think Louise Erdrich is an excellent writer and presents an interesting look at what life has been like for native Americans. I believe she won an award for The Beet Queen, one of her early books.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a very unusual summer here. The highs for the rest of the week are predicted to be lower than 70. I'm not complaining, mind you. I prefer it cooler than hotter. Also, I don't like the dry Santa Ana winds and high temperatures that will likely result in brush fires in the local mountains. They will probably still come in the next month or two.
ReplyDeleteAre any of the rest of you having a cooler than usual summer?