Theme: First Pet. Each answer ends with the name of a Presidential Pet.
17A. Game played on a six-pointed star : CHINESE CHECKERS. Richard Nixon's dog (a cocker spaniel) while vice president, died before Nixon became president - made famous by the 'checkers speech.'
25A. 1964 Beatles hit : AND I LOVE HER. Him and Her, the most well known of the President Johnson's dogs, were registered beagles. Her died at the White House in November 1964 after she swallowed a stone.
37A. Trendy aerobics regimen : TAEBO. Barack and Michelle Obama promised their daughters, Malia and Sasha, that they would get a pet dog after they moved into the White House. Bo, a Portuguese water dog, was a gift from Senator Edward Kennedy.
44A. Diamond-patterned attire : ARGYLE SOCKS. President Clinton's cat Socks had the run of the White House, until Buddy the labrador retriever showed up in 1997. The two animals didn't get along, and had to be segregated.
57A. Companion at the end of 17-, 25-, 37- and 44-Across : PRESIDENTIAL PET
A fresh, fun theme, with very few pauses. Did not remember Him and Her, in the Johnson years, but knew all the others. Learned that presidential pets also included a pony (Caroline Kennedy's), birds, hamsters, rabbits, a raccoon, a squirrel, a cow, and a flock of sheep.
Across:
1. Classifies, in a way : PEGS. Did anyone else hear the theme song from Frasier?
5. Antony listener : ROMAN
10. Envelope abbr. : ATTN. Attention.
14. Beige-like shade : ECRU.
15. Representation : IMAGE
16. Dealer's dispenser : SHOE. Can hold multiple decks of cards.
20. Keystone lawman : KOP. Keystone Kops, featured in silent films about bumbling policemen.
21. Smart club : MENSA
22. Cry to strike up the band : HIT IT. But it made me think of this.
23. Penne relative : ZITI. Pasta is a lot like women .. so many shapes to appreciate.
24. She played WKRP's Jennifer : LONI. Anderson.
30. Time Warner "Superstation" : TBS
33. Capacious : ROOMY
34. Peddle : VEND
35. The tan in a Black and Tan : ALE
36. One of five states in which same-sex marriage is legal : IOWA
39. Fort with many bars : KNOX. The United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Weight of a standard gold bar: approximately 400 ounces or 27.5 pounds.
40. Apparel retailer Taylor : ANN
41. Legatee : HEIR
42. In abeyance : ON ICE
43. La + la, in Lille : LES. Lille, France. La is French article "the" suggesting singular feminine form "her." Les is plural "the".
47. Volunteer st. : TENN. Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State" for the large number of Tennesseans who volunteered for duty in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.
49. "Let's leave __ that" : IT AT
50. Producer Ponti : CARLO
52. "My Name Is Asher Lev" author Chaim : POTOK. Apparently a well-known book by American author and Rabbi, but i had no idea. Maybe a gimme for Lemonade and Hahtool?
54. Restorative place : SPA. Seems i get this a lot.
60. Jai __ : ALAI
61. Pentium producer : INTEL
62. Brand with a pony in its logo : POLO
63. A few : SOME
64. Seacoast : SHORE. For those of you that enjoy the musical links, a classic.
65. Stern's counterpart : STEM. From stem to stern.
Down:
1. Chaste kiss : PECK. Yawn.
2. Reverberate : ECHO
3. Stagehand : GRIP. Moves equipment and scenery.
4. Heliocentric universe center : SUN. The conclusion that the earth circles the sun, was reached and publicized by Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Halley. This is the "heliocentric theory."
5. __ the occasion : RISE TO. See Dennis's last "did you know" yesterday for a perfect example.
6. 1991 movie sequel subtitled "The Awakening" : OMEN IV. Never saw any of them.
7. Apple products : MACS
8. Turkish honorific : AGHA
9. At birth : NEE
10. Be hospitable to : ASK IN
11. White Star Line's ill-fated steamer : THE TITANIC. April 14/15, 1912, 1,517 passengers perished after hitting an iceberg. The White Star Line's London offices, named Oceanic House, still exist today, and the White Star flag is raised on every 15 April, in memory of the Titanic disaster.
12. Actress Spelling : TORI
13. Place to brood : NEST. Cute.
18. Agent Prentiss on "Criminal Minds" : EMILY. Had to guess.
19. Bit of guitar music : CHORD
23. Coors malt beverage : ZIMA.
24. His show has a "Jaywalking" segment : LENO. Hard to watch.
25. Serif-free font : ARIAL
26. Nary a soul : NO ONE
27. How things flow : DOWNSTREAM. I think we've all had some experience with this.
28. Each partner : EVERY. "Each and every."
29. Right-to-left lang. : HEB. Hebrew is written from right to left. Arabic, Persian, and Yiddish also.
31. "Old" chip producer? : BLOCK. "A chip off the old block."
32. Proverbial battlers : SEXES
37. Gull relative : TERN
38. 2008 govt. bailout recipient : AIG. Oy.
39. Granny, for one : KNOT.
41. Red River capital : HANOI
42. Honshu metropolis : OSAKA
45. Roadside trash : LITTER. Despicable how common this is.
46. Twinkler in a Paris sky : ETOILE. French for star.
48. Borden's spokescow : ELSIE. I won't link the 'cows with guns' song. You're welcome.
50. Pros who work on schedules, for short : CPA'S. Certified public accountants.
51. He sang about Alice : ARLO. Guthrie.
52. Phnom __ : PENH. Largest, most populous, and capital city of Cambodia.
53. Suspicious of : ONTO
54. Catch a glimpse of : SPOT
55. Soccer great : PELE
56. Elemental unit : ATOM
58. Put down, slangily : DIS
59. 33 1/3 rpm spinners : LPS.
Answer grid.
Melissa
Note from C.C.:
Here are a few great pictures from JD & Dick's recent trip.
Answer grid.
Melissa
Note from C.C.:
Here are a few great pictures from JD & Dick's recent trip.
70 comments:
Good morning, Melissa Bee, C.C. and gang - wow, Donna and I were as one today. This was definitely one of my fastest, easiest Wednesday puzzles yet. Great clues, however, which made it a fun solve.
Had just one unknown, 'Emily' Prentiss. I never figured out the clue until the unifier; completely forgot that Johnson had 'Him' and 'Her'. Other than that, smooth as warm butter.
Melissa, great blog job (I typed that very carefully) -- and thanks for not linking that song. Also, good line about pasta/women; there are other similarities as well.
JD, Dick, great pictures - looks like you guys had a good time. JD, how was the free mezcal?
Today is Do a Grouch a Favor Day.
Did You Know?:
- The Bayer Company introduced heroin as a nonaddictive substitute for morphine in 1898. Ironically, morphine was eventually used to treat heroin addiction.
- A fungus known as the honey mushroom in the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon is the single largest organism on earth. Roughly 2,400 years old, it stretches 3.5 miles across and covers an area larger than 1,600 football fields -- most of it hidden underground.
- The tongue of a blue whale weighs about as much as a full-grown elephant or a Hummer H2 Sport Utility Vehicle. (I've often wondered why blue whales always look like they're smiling...)
Good morning:
Good morning, thank you MB, good to see you.
Donna Levin always presents entertaining puzzles, and this is no exception, though for me, it was the fastest solve of the week. Loved the ARGYLE SOCKS shout out to our own diamond in the rough, and the two grid spanners were fun, the theme was nice, not readily grokked until the unifier, with LBJ’s beagle HER the only obscure pet. If you like links and learning, here is the complete LIST of pets.
I also was fond of old chip producer: BLOCK; the jewish mini-theme, Chinese Checkers is on a board with the Star of David, plus we have HEB and Chaim POTOK, an author who appeared a few times before, though not for a long time, the last in a John Lampkin puzzle from a year ago.
Good Morning, MelissaBee and Friends. I smiled when I saw Donna Levin's name on this puzzle and had a fun and easy time solving it. How nice of Donna to recognize ARGYLE and Melissa (with the SPA) in this puzzle. I loved the theme.
My favorite clues were: Pro Who Works on Schedules = CPA
I also liked: Fort with Many Bars = KNOX.
Chaim Potok is one of my favorite authors, and My Name is Asher Lev is a favorite book of mine. It's nice to see Potok remembered.
ZIMA was discontinued in 2008, but one can still get a Black and Tan.
Until I filled in IOWA, I didn't realize the state was so liberal.
So JD, Did you get your free mezcal?
Jeannie: Glad to "see" you back!
This Date in History: The first 9-1-1 Emergency Phone System was inaugurated on this date in 1968 in Haleyville, Alabama.
Morning, all!
Well, it looks like I'm going to be in the minority today, since I found this puzzle more challenging than usual. Fun, but challenging.
My lack of French knowledge let me down, as usual, and I couldn't make sense of 43A (or remember how to spell ETOILE). For 59A I was thinking about the persons doing the spinning instead of the things being spun and had DJS. I had no idea what a SHOE was in this context. And, of course, I had no idea who EMILY Prentiss or CARLO Ponti were.
The theme answers were all easy to get via their respective clues, fortunately, so I didn't need to wait for the theme reveal.
Learning moment of the day came when reading that IOWA was one of five states that now allow same-sex marriage. I had no idea. I mean, I knew that we here in Massachusetts weren't the only state, but I honestly never heard about IOWA.
JD, remember: What happens in Cozumel, stays in Cozumel.
Melissa Bee, great write-up, and fun comments this morning! I have Acker Bilk’s song playing in the background as I write this…it brings back lots of memories!
And thanks for the great pics JD & Dick. Nice tie-in to SHORE with the seagull one.
Argyle, are those your “signature” socks in your new avatar?
This was a fun romp, with only a few hesitations and perps needed for TAEBO. Favorites were:
39A “Fort with many bars” for KNOX. Was trying to fit “Lauderdale” in there…
52A Chaim POTOK was also a favorite author of mine in school. I read Asher Lev as well as The Promise and The Chosen. All excellent books.
31A “Old” chip producer for BLOCK…(Who? H&R? Huh?). My V8 moment only came after reading your blog, MB!
Dennis, that is one humongous fungus among us …
Happy Hump Day, everyone!
For the oldtimers, the reference to "MENSA" should bring back many memories, I will defer to Carol or Lois to rekindle that fire.
Where is our food show friend Lolita? Isnt that over yet?
Nice thought on the SPA, H.
Good Morning C.C.,MelissaB and all,
Melissa, your write-up was very entertaining and informative and your links were well chosen and enough.
Loved your comment on 5D. Good!
Donna, your puzzle was fresh and informative also. Thanks to the perps and a wag, I got through it.
However, a real learning experience: SHOE,GRIP,EMILY,HER,ZIMA.
I,too, didn't realize that IOWA had legalized same -sex marriage.
Of course, I loved the theme. Fun Wednesday treat.
Lemon,the link to presidential pets is a hoot. Thanks.
Speaking of hooters, that proprietor has come up with a new currency to help out the economy, I guess. Thanks for such fun photos.
Welcome back, JD and Dick.
Have a nice day everyone.
This wasn't too difficult of a puzzle today, but somehow I learned a lot anyway. I wasn't aware of Johnson's pet names, how funny. And didn't know that the dealers dispenser was called a SHOE. I don't gamble much I guess.
JD and Dick, lovely pics. I am off to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow am and very much looking forward to it. Has been a cold and snowy winter here.
Good Morning, folks! Great Puzzle, Donna. Easier than I expected. Great write-up, Melissa. Thank you. Thanks for posting, C.C.
I got started in the NW as I like. I think my third answer was CHINESECHECKERS. That really gave me a boost in the North.
Especially enjoyed ARGYLESOCKS. I bet Argyle did, as well. I own some of those.
I got the entire puzzle correctly, with the use of some perps and partial words that became obvious.
I lucked out on BLOCK. I was thinking of a block of ice as in olden times, when you chipped it. Oh well, sometimes it works.
As someone else said, this puzzled seemed a little easy for a Wednesday. I will probably pay for that statement tomorrow. I got it all done at home before 5:00 AM. Left for work at 5:50 AM.
Abejo
KQ, The weather is perfect here in sunny so. fla. Enjoy your vacation, and if you need any help on finding things let usknow
Good Morning and Happy Hump Day All. Thanks, MB, for a great write up. I was on Donna's wavelength most of the way through this one. By the time I got to the unifier, I already had 'checkers' and 'bo' and just enough perps to make that one obvious. Last to fall was the POT_K/ET_ILE crossing. I wasn't familiar with the author and my French is pretty much non-existant. Six choices, A,E,I,O,U,Y. OK, the French seem to like that 'OI' combination so let's wag that one. There were just a few others that didn't ring a bell, but fortunately the perps helped out.
Have a great hump day.
Hi There ~!
I got Chinese Checkers right away - I had this as a wrong answer several weeks ago, but now I knew it fit ~!
I completely missed the clue to BO, our most recent pet - and I learned about "Him & Her", too.
Pasta shapes and other things- yup....
Melissa - that was exactly what I was thinking about for "HIT IT", too - stole it from me....
No problems for me today, under 6mins, and the ones I did not know filled in via perps -
Splynter
Good Morning All, cruised right through this fun Donna Levin puzzle.
There were several fill I didn't know, OMEN IV (I don't much like horror movies), EMILY and ZIMA.
I've seen the John Wayne/Montgomery Clift movie several times and I was thinking of the North Dakota "Red River" for 41D. BISMARCK wouldn't fit and as the river meanders into Minnesota, ST PAUL was also too long. Had to wait for perps for all of the above.
I did remember Him and HER. LBJ created quite a scandal when he picked up Him by the ears for a press photo in 1964.
Jeannie, you were missed, but we knew you were too busy to respond.
Love the new argyle avatar.
Very nice job, Melissa Bee.
Melissa Bee, Informative write-up.
Thanks for the links and not including the "cows with guns."
Well, I'm with Barry G today.
Not anywhere close to Donna's wave-length.
POTOK and ZIMA were total unknowns.
(see Avatar, which is never ON ICE).
Liked the ARGYLE SOCKS "shout-out."
KQ, I hope you have a great time on the East Coast.
I'll be walking on Honeymoon Island SHORE by noon.
It is SOOOO nice here, it probably should be illegal!!!
Musings on lovely Wed. level puzzle
-Abbr. For Envelope? No ON envelope!
-Loved Antony listener, La + La and Old chip producer!
-LONI was great for us who had no idea on contemporary EMILY
-Ft. Knox remind anyone of Goldfinger?
-I listened to Stranger on the Shore while blogging. Thanks MB!
-Nepotism, thy name is TORI
-Iowa is in the process of trying to Repeal Gay Marriage
-You Go Carlo!
-Has anyone ever heard of a Granny basketball shot or Granny gear in a truck?
-Silent H on Penh had to be corrected as SNORE made a lousy Seacoast
-What’s the one thing you can’t get at Alice’s Restaurant?
-C.C. does Chinese read right to left also?
Hello Puzzlers - What Dennis said. Smooth sailing even though I didn't know about Him and Her, POTOK, or EMILY. Bet we have a corker tomorrow...
I likes me a good black & tan. Guinness Stout, the traditional black ingredient, works as well as it does because it has a low specific gravity compared to ale. It floats easily atop the ale, limiting its inter-mixing, and maintaining those separate layers.
Our local brewpub produces a tasty King Oak Stout which is quite a bit higher in S.G. It just barely floats on ale, and thus won't make a crisp black & tan.
Husker - Alice.
Easy today had my jewish buddy working with me so he picked up on the mini jewish thing pretty fast. Unlike me. Just one question is a mumber 12 song considered a "hit". "And I love Her" with the flip side "If i fell" only made it that far. I guess it must be since "The Orlons'" "Not Me" made it to number 12 on billboard too. "Not Me" has turned up a lot in the crosswords as a 63' hit for them.?? Favorite was number 35A i love B & T. Was stymed on Pres. Pets cause Nixonwasnt President when checkers was alive. Still awesome today G. Bless all.
Donna Levin - Very Nice puzzle , Thank you. I found this the easiest puzzle, this week.
Melissa bee, Thank you for a very nice blog. very enjoyable. Very nice comments.
Argyle, it was fun to see your 'name', just made my week !!!!
Chaim Potok is one of my (many) favorite authors.
Since, I don't drink much, 'Zima' and 'ale' were unknowns, but I was lucky to make the right guesses.
Urdu ( Pak natl lang.), Kashmiri, Sindhi, Tajik, Pashtu and Hazri ( latter 2, from Afghanstn), whose scripts are derived from the Arabic, also written right to left. However, Bengali, the natl language of Bangladesh, a muslim country - still written from left to right.
Dudley, Right!
Musings II (there will be no IV)
-I know it's Heliocentric but what would it look like if the Sun did move?
-If it ain't EDO, it's probably OSAKA
-My kids looked at an LP like I would look at an Edison wax cylinder!
-Addendum to my previous Billy Ray Cyrus posting about his parenting. He now says he wishes the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus phenomenon had never happened. It Cost Him A Daughter and a Marriage
Good day folks,
Melissa Bee, very enjoyable write up & links.
Couldn't sleep last night so I solved today's offering at 2:00 AM plus/minus a few minutes. It went so smoothly, I thought it was still Tuesday. Emily, Taebo, & Potok were unknowns, but perps easily handled them. It was a fun puzzle, but was expecting/hoping for more of challenge.
Creeping up to the 50's today so it will be a good opportunity to tackle the icy walkways in the yard.
Everyone enjoy the day.
Good mornin g all. Nice write-up, Melissa.
JD and Dick: Thanks for sharing your pictures.
I'm with Dennis and Dudley on this one. Easy, but Donna's puzzles are always fun. The perps helped me remember ÉTOILE.
L714 is right about the Florida weather. We enjoyed our lunch outside under a canopy with Sallie and HH on Marco Is. at Snook's yesterday. I had the blackened snapper over black beans and rice and topped by a pico de gallo (salsa). Extremely delicious.
Belated birthday greetings to HeartRx
Hello all,,
Tho I didn't know any of the presidents pets's names I managed to finish with a guess and a wag here and there,
I looked at the LIST of pets that some presidents had ,,,,
No wonder the White House is like a zoo,,, bunch of dogs,weasels and asses......
Dennis,, am still LMAO at your (typed that very carefully ). comment,,wonder if anyone else got that ?!!
Zcarguy, trust me, the people on this blog got it.
Very astute comment about the White House - what's troubling is that we elect them. And I trust your comment encompasses both parties (as does mine).
Good morning Melissa Bee,C.C. and all,
Donna's puzzle was a smoothie today..loved the theme.Thanks for adding that list, Lemonade. Boy! Calvin Coolidge had some very interesting pets!
My only problem was that I didn't know the meaning of in abeyance, so had to dance around until it filled in.
Melissa, I enjoyed hearing Stranger on the Shore.Excellent write up.Have you completely settled into your new place?Closer to work?
Argyle, my thoughts exactly :))
Chinese Checkers made me smile. I played it for hours as a kid.
KQ, we had great weather while in FLA, but they were having a run on jellyfish. I had never see so many Portuguese -Man-O'-Wars.Have a good trip.
GAH and I missed yesterday's Jeopardy. It looked like Watson was (is) going to make it a runaway. Although I'm sure both Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter knew 99% of the answers/questions, humans just can't ring in quickly enough. Ken Jennings looked very annoyed on Monday evening.
We tuned into the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show instead. A Portuguese Water Dog won the Best of the Working Group. A Scottish Deerhound won the Best In Show. A Schipperke has never won Best In Show, or even best of Non-Sporting Group. I guess they aren't flashy enough.
Nice photos of Bob, JD, Irene & Dick.
Dennis@10:18 Right you are, on both counts.
Cribbage group chez Clear Ayes today. That means I provide lunch. I'd better see what we have in the fridge. See you all later.
Been away from the blog for a while as I figure out my commute from Mountain View to San Francisco. Looks like CalTrain is my best bet and I can log on to the computer while commuting to check email and blog.
This was a pretty easy one but I didn't know either POTOK or PENH so I wasn't able to complete the puzzle which is a first in a long time.
Nice blogging - thanks!
Oops - logged in under a different ID. Mike = MH.
Dennis,, it does.... Add the House the Senate and State officials, and Tea Party too...
Morning, C.C. and all. Thanks, Melissa. Will go back and listen to the song later. One of my favorites.
Things went so well in the north that I was expecting an easy run. Most of it was, but I didn't know POTOK. EMILY came from perps - didn't know her. I put large instead of ROOMY which messed me up in west central for quite awhile. Black and Tan stymied me because I was thinking of the black and tan coonhound or the Black and Tan British unit involved in the Irish Revolution. Not a drinker.
Good theme for the day after the Westminister Dog Show. Did any of the pres. have a Scottish Deerhound? There were others in the groups I preferred, but out of the final seven, I wanted the deerhound. I remember Him and Her and the flack LBJ got for picking Him up by the ears.
Temp should be in the upper 80s today.
good morning all,
thanks for the nice comments - i've been pretty tied up with house stuff and have rushed through blog posts lately, but things are starting to settle down.
i also loved the argyle mention - and LOVE the fitting pic santa!!
delightful pics jd, thanks for sharing, and welcome back!
the good news is safeway found my wallet. the bad news is all the cash was gone. not a great way to start the day - but i guess it can only get better, right? (knock on wood)
Good day, Cyberfriends!
Melissa Bee, loved your blogging with some funny quips.
Smooth sprinting with Donna Levin today. I was on her wave length almost immediately. Really liked Antony listener, ROMAN as I have a cousin with that name.
It was a fun ride to fill the theme answers and loved the shoutout to ARGYLE! Also SPA makes me think of you, MB.
I wasn't sure about ET_ILE and couldn't remember POTOK so I was glad for the blog on that correction. My knowledge of Nebrew lore is worse than my French vocablary!
Ditto for PENN before PENH.
Knew EMILY Proctor because I like Criminal Minds.
Is CARLO Ponti Sofia Loren's husband or am I thinking of someone else?
Yes, Dennis, you were understood!
Thanks for all the links expecially the PRESIDENTIALPETS. Very interesting menagerie.
Time for the gym and yoga. Have a great Wednesday everyone!
JD, thanks for sharing your great pics.
Sorry to hear about your wallet, Melissa. Hope you didn't have too much cash in it.
JD: you still haven't told us whether or not you got the free mescal!
jd, snort ... no not even moved out yet. i'm just getting it ready to show. sell first, then move. not closer to work though - i'm moving about five hours north. that's the plan, anyway.
hahtool, thx - and yeah it was all my cash tips from the past month that i was saving for a trip this weekend. groan.
dick, i didn't mean to leave you out - great vacation pics of all four of you, it's fun to see the blogger get togethers. i wanna know now many men try to get free mescal.
dennis i appreciate the careful typing. especially after the facts about honey mushrooms and giant tongues.
Ok, enough rubbing it in about the Florida weather, or I will come down there. And you know how cold it gets whenever I come down there.
I missed last night's segment of the dog show; anybody know how the Akita did?
dick, i didn't mean to leave you out
Ya know, some people just have a way with words...
Dennis:
Well, at least it's warm there.
Mustang Mel;
So, about 450 miles?
GROAN!!!!
This took me longer than last Friday's. All self-inflicted, of course. COME TOGETHER fit for AND I LOVE HER, and allowed BEER for ZIMA. A Black and Tan is a very popular Ice Cream Sundae at Fenton's (#4 on TV's Top 100 Pig-outs), but hot fudge, caramel, and vanilla and toasted almond ice cream don't fit. SUER/HEIR, TARA/TORI, TAIBO, and AYN all kept the gun pointed down and on auto.
The mention of Fenton's makes me want to drive the 3+ hours to get to Oakland.
My daughter works in the dairy industry. We like "Cows with Guns" But I won't link it either. If you haven't heard it google it, you can't miss it.
Aspens spread from the roots. There are claims that some groves are larger than the fungus. But the big question is, are Honey Mushrooms good to eat?
Hey, Dennis, what kind of favor do I get?
Melissa, sorry about the purse.
Nice pictures, thanks for sharing.
Jeanne, I missed you. I just get tongue-tied by your beauty.
Enjoy your day. It's supposed to be raining here, but so far it's been a big dud. Hope it's all up on the slopes.
Hi all - another great Donna Levin puzzle! Not too many problems with the solve. Quite a few I didn't know right away: HIM and HER, PEHN, ETOILE, EMILY, OMENV - you get the picture. Clever clue/answer duos:
Granny, Fort with many bars, Proverbial battlers.
Dennis: hell of a line to Melissa!(5:31a) LOL. Try saying that three times.
Also, those whales have a lot going for them...today the tongue, not too long ago, another part of their anatomy was discussed, hmmmm.
Melissa: thanks from me too for the omission of "Cows with Guns" although the mere mention of it woke up THAT earworm and now he is having a wonderful time with my head. I did appreciate the beautiful "Stranger on the Shore"...love that!!
JD: love the pictures and I am sure you 'wowed' them while enjoying your free mezcal.
I enjoyed the puzzle and the writeup as I usually do. Thanks. Sorry about the purse. When I tutor, I get paid in cash. So I carry more cash than I used to. No problems so far. Many years ago, my billfold slipped out of my pocket in a movie theater. I went back but couldn't find it. It showed up several days later in a post office envelope. Someone had thrown it into a curbside mailbox. I got back my driver's license and credit cards but the cash was gone.
Gunghy, you mentioned you were supposed to be getting rain but it was a dud so far. That happens a lot around here. We almost always get less rain than predicted. I wonder why that is. You would think that the probability would be that half the time we'd get more rain, half less. It doesn't seem to work that way. How come I wonder.
Off to the gym, then tutoring this afternoon. See ya later.
It must be karma, my first day I have been able to even take a lunch hour in the last couple of weeks and whose name should appear on the top of the puzzle? Donna! I always enjoy your puzzles, Donna and today’s was no exception. I had no idea that the dealer’s dispenser was called a shoe even though Black Jack is my game of choice at casinos. I also didn’t know what a black and tan was, but ale seemed to be a good guess. I didn’t know Potok or Penh, but perps took care of those. My favorite was “old chip producer” – block.
It ‘s good to be back. I missed all you fine folks!
KQ enjoy your stay in Ft. Lauderdale, but you should have picked the date to go down there about three weeks ago. We are finally enjoying our first nice thaw. It is supposed to hit 50 degrees here tomorrow!
Melissa, I always enjoy your blogging efforts (as I do all of you fine bloggers)!
Dennis, when reading the fact about the honey mushroom, I read organism as something different :)
Gunghy….you are too sweet!!
I had never heard "Cows with Guns" so I googled it. That is so funny! I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes!
Melissa, I'm glad you got your wallet back. I would be happy if someone took just my money and left my credit cards, DL, insurance cards and so on.
Husker Gary,
Chinese is written from left to right.
So Jeannie, last weekend's Prairie Home Companion was broadcast from Bemidji. Anywhere near you? Nice place I'm guessing?
Here's a website where a fellow got the idea to recreate family photos from years ago. They dress the same, stand in the same location and he processes the photo to look like the original 70s film or whatever. Looks like fun!
Thanks to everyone who didn't make me feel like a dope for asking what a perp was.....now, what is a wag?
I love doing crosswords. But more than that, I love the way our minds work :)
Today I got stuck on Potok and Pehn because my mind didn't know either!!
I didn't mean to be ANON...KarenRN
Karen,
WAG = Wild Ass Guess.
KarenRN:
Wild Assed Guess.
One step up is the SWAG,
Scientific WAG.
And welcome to our world.
:-}
KarenRx Wild Ass Guess
What was that again?
Bill G., I found that web site oddly disturbing. Not sure why.
Hi gang -
Pretty good puzzle today, marred by too much French dressing.
La + la = les. Sorry. That is just ghastly.
How about this for an Ancient ROMAN IMAGE:
MS Spelling + MS Amos = TORII.
HIT IT crossing CH0RD strikes the right note, though.
And MENSA, if course, is brilliant.
Tried various alternate spellings (but not TORI) for PENH.
Heart @ last night - that was my C Clef rant you resurrected from the archives.
Must be getting better. Had another snort of Nyquil last night at bed time, but only slept for TEN hours. Plus a nap this afternoon.
Still seems quite ROOMY inside my head. Blowing off rehearsal tonight (which I never do.) Maybe I'll get intimate with a bottle of the McCallen.
Cheers!
JzB looking forward to NINE hours of sleep
Hi Everyone ~~
A fun puzzle today ... and I really enjoyed your write-up Melissa. I caught on to the theme after getting CHECKERS and SOCKS. I recognized BO after that, but had no clue about HER. The few things I was unsure of ... ROOMY and EMILY were filled in by perps. I also had OMEN1 early on but that changed with the Beatles song. I liked the references of ARGYLE and SPA and I even got a La & La in 43A. I enjoyed listening to 'Stranger on the Shore'... it brought back memories from my early teen years.
Getting ready to watch 'Jeopardy' where it should have been called the "WATSON" show yesterday. Poor Ken and Brad never had a chance.
Enjoy the evening ~~
Here's a cartoon we all can relate too.
we all can relate too.
Jazzbumpa, sorry you're not feeling well, but a good Scotch is much better than NyQuil (as Tinbeni will surely attest...).
I resurrected that "rant" because of the clue C CLEF in yesterday's puzz. Was wondering if that was the first thing that came to your mind, or did you need perps, like the rest of us humans? (Loved the cartoon, BTW.)
BillG- read the Time article,
'Singularity'; very thought provoking. Will be catching Jeopardy tonight. Thanks for the tip on the article. Creepy photog link.
Jeannie- Glad you're back and the big push is behind you.Of course we missed you.
Oops had to watch Watson win on Jeopardy-had to be split second timing.
Going to bed-have contracted the dreaded head cold- ugh.
Bill G., having just "celebrated" my 60th, I found those photos fascinating. What would it be like if we could really re-create past events? Like my senior prom? Naaahhh...all I can remember is laying on the grass, saying "Please God, don't let me fall off..."
Melissa, did you rub someone the wrong way? JK
Ok guys, I was holding out for some Petron Tequila.
Carol, have we ever had a SWAG? I thing I'm more of a Dwagger.
Jeannie, if I had been here, I would have missed you.
While I am laughing at HeartRx, I will be subtle and change my thing to think.
Here are two articles that are apropos to today's puzzle and discussion:
Hawaii is setting the stage for approving same-sex marriages; and
Alex Trebek is not a techie.
HeartRx:
You were on top?
Fun one today! Now I can't get the Beatles song out of my head. How is that one can remember all the words after all these years, but stumbles over the name of someone you've known as long? I saw the Beatles in my hometown, Memphis, many moons ago. Fabulous!
Ok, I missed the explanation of "perps". Wazzup with that one? Wag was a gimme.
I too am slowly getting better after the allergy induced bronchitis brought on by the hotel renovations last week while on vacation. thank god, we were only there two nights before boarding the ship.
I hope everyone will get better; being sick sucks a doughnut.
Great blog today. Thanks for all the helpful links etc.! I love it!
Hi.
Seven Springs Resort(PA) is having their Winterfest 2/19-27.
TG for Macallan.
Naps are getting longer and more frequent.
It's good to be back.
BillG, Bemidji is about a 3.5 hour drive up north, but it's worth it when it's summer or fall. It is a beautiful part of the USA.
Creature and JD, thanks for the nods...(calm down Dennis/WH) it is a very stressful time for me.
JD, you are my inspiration. I love to travel and notice you take a lot of good trips. Ever been to Nova Scotia? It was one of my favorite destinations ever. I am one that likes to "go by the seat of my pants" and the people there were really friendly and put me on the best route to take. Cape Breton trail was breathtaking. If you decide to go...this was a very good guide to follow for lodging, restaurants, etc....
Ahh, don't want to miss you MFcounselor...I have enjoyed reading your blog the last couple of Saturdays (couldn't get there on Fridays of late). Thanks for the shout out today, but the foodshow isn't done until March 29th. My part in the production is behind the scenes with the vendors and had to be complete Tuesday.
Lolita...looking to get lucky and be a thousand-aire...
Night all!
Just because it's been my number...thanks to you C.C. for creating this blog!! Yeah!
CHINESE CHECKERS is a terrific entry. But my mental image is not of a board game, but workers in a Beijing grocery store.
Hello all,
Wonderful puzzle, Donna. Clever and a fun theme. Also it was smooth working on it.
CA, I grew up on the Red River of the North. It runs between N. D. and Minnesota from almost the S. D. border to Winnepeg. I never saw the movie 'Red River'...don't know why?....but I always assumed it was about the Red River in Texas.
Until the past few years no one ever new anything about N.Dak. so maybe that's why.
Bismarck is way to the west of the
Minnesota border. I grew up in Grand Forks, which is right on the river. Fargo, which I understand is enjoying a fantastic spurt of growth these days is also on the Red, just about 75 miles south of GF. They're worried about big floods this year. They had a real baddie in early 90s or so. Now they have dikes, I guess.
JD, wonderful pix! Thanks much. And MB, you writeup was great, as usual. You must be moving up close to Oregon? Will you be on the coast?
Good one, Jerome!
Jeannie, I'm glad you're back. I missed you.
Good night, everyone!
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