google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 Norma Steinberg

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Jun 21, 2011

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 Norma Steinberg

Theme: Descriptive Earnings - The theme answers (two across and two down) are common financial terms but are clued as if they were descriptions of income.

21. Honky-tonk owner's income? : JOINT RETURN

56. Actor's income? : PART PAYMENT

3. Trawler's income? : NET PROFIT

36. Librarian's income? : HUSH MONEY

Argyle here. Another unusual grid for early in the week.

Our first LAT encounter with Norma Steinberg, a regular constructor for Newsday. We also had more than 20 offerings from her in our old TMS Daily Crossword.

Across:

1. Pained expression : WINCE. Wince suggests an involuntary contraction of the facial features triggered by pain, embarrassment, or a sense of revulsion: to wince as a needle pierces the skin; to wince at coarse language.

6. City in Peru or Ohio : LIMA

10. Disallow : VETO

14. Standard of excellence : IDEAL

15. Satan's doing : EVIL

16. They can take a yoke : OXEN. Did you hear the one about....

17. __ dish: lab item : PETRI

18. Direction indicator : VANE

19. Legends and such : LORE

20. Cassandra's gift, for short : ESP. Not quite what the Greek Miss myth had but close.

24. Byways : ROADS

26. Sampled : TASTED

27. Dress (in) : CLOTHE

29. Rumple, as hair : MUSS

31. 47-Across handle : HAFT. 47A. Fencing weapon : ÉPÉE. You need the perps to decide if you want HILT or HAFT. Norma has used this before.

32. Numbers for Noah : TWO'S

34. Early anesthetic : ETHER

39. Pierre's significant other : AMIE. French.

40. Cut off : SEVER

42. Govern : RULE

43. Take a mulligan in golf, say : RETRY. I took a mulligan; I had REHIT.

45. Workshop gadget : VISE

46. Altai Mountains' continent : ASIA. The Altai Mountains define where Xinjiang meets with Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, the region is studded with prodigious peaks.

49. Political commentator Maddow : RACHEL. MSNBC

51. Spiral-shelled mollusks : SNAILS

55. Capital between Eugene and Portland : SALEM

59. Org. that advises the president in financial planning : OMB. Office of Management and Budget.

62. "We try harder" sloganeer : AVIS

63. Praise : LAUD

64. "Rubber Duckie" singer : ERNIE. Ernie went solo with this one, left poor Bert behind.

66. Consider : DEEM

67. Marseilles miss: Abbr. : MLLE.. French/Mademoiselle.

68. Oscar winner Witherspoon : REESE

69. Ultimatum ender : ELSE

70. Fortuneteller : SEER

71. Watch surreptitiously : SPY ON

Down:

1. Use a dust rag on : WIPE

2. Bad day for Caesar : IDES

4. Wheels, so to speak : CAR

5. Hebrew prophet mentioned during 55-Downs : ELIJAH. 55D. Passover meal : SEDER. Why is There a Cup of Wine for Elijah at the Passover Seder?

6. Casual brand : LEVIS

7. Tennis great Lendl : IVAN

8. Condition like new : MINT

9. Warns : ALERTS

10. Electrical units : VOLTS

11. Remove from text : EX OUT

12. __ Haute, Indiana : TERRE

13. Without stopping : ON END

22. "Golden Boy" playwright Clifford : ODETS. Big in the Thirties, he avoided being black-listed by giving up names, though he never gave a name the committee didn't already have..

23. Comfort : EASE

25. Aquatic frolicker : OTTER

27. Sear : CHAR

28. Hobbling : LAME

29. Film : MOVIE

30. Functions : USES

33. "__ Only Just Begun": Carpenters hit : WE'VE. So sweet.(3:07)

35. Smidgen : TRACE

37. "Night" author Wiesel : ELIE

38. Tangible : REAL

41. Aired again : RERAN

44. Cry from the litter : YELP

48. Biblical poems written partly by King David : PSALMS

50. Changes : ALTERS

51. Gardening tool : SPADE

52. Bellybutton : NAVEL

53. Sign of spring? : ARIES. The Ram, first astrological sign in the Zodiac.

54. "Who's there?" reply : "IT'S ME"

57. Clinton's alma mater : YALE

58. Stubborn animal : MULE

60. Sushi bar soup : MISO

61. "How've you __?" : BEEN

65. Salesperson, briefly : REP


Argyle

68 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    Another speed run with an enjoyable theme and no junk fill. I did WINCE a bit at EX OUT, since I usually see it as simply X OUT, but that was my only complaint. Everything else was smooth and fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. This was a virtual speed run puzzle for me, but I really found the theme amusing. My favorite clue/answer was HUSH MONEY.

    Hand up for initially trying Hilt for the EPEE handle.

    QODs: G~d does not play dice with the universe. ~ Albert Einstein // Einstein, stop telling G~d what to do! ~ Niels Bohr

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  3. Good morning Argyle and all, the puzzle today was another speed run, but turned out taking longer than it should because of a couple of mistakes. I had Renee for 68A which took hush money to get that corrected. Since I do not like sushi, I did not know miso and needed the perps for that fill. And, for whatever reason I misread bellybutton as belly punch,but again the perps came to the rescue. Otherwise, it was a nice Tuesday level puzzle.

    Hope you have a great Tuesday.

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  4. Good Morning C.C., Argyle and all,

    Argyle, great link to the Carpenters and write-up. Thanks.

    Norma gave us an easy one this morning, but I WINCEd when I got to ITS ME. Sorry, but I was never allowed to say that, without a correction; and I know it is supposed to be OK now { I guess because ‘everyone says it’} but it’s jarring for me. I’ll shut up now. Please forgive.

    Carol, I miss hearing from most of those people, too. I just don’t say it, because I don’t want to hassle them, if there’s stuff going on in their lives and they need their space. It does sadden me, though. By the way, your ‘ everyday posts’ always bring a smile to me. I guess its your tone as well as your words. You get right to it. Please don’t leave, too.

    Off to early AM appt. Later.

    Have a nice day everyone.

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  5. Goodness, Noma,sorry to sound like such a sourpuss. I did enjoy the puzzle and the theme was quite clever.

    Hate that this appears as a foot note. I'm out the door.

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  6. Good day folks,

    Not the speed run we had yesterday, but another fun & cleverly clued puzzle. One hold up was the "M" in OMD and Miso. Favorite was Joint Return which one of our clever wits .... Dennis, Lois, or ??... may like to expound on with a comment or two.

    Needed perp assistance for 49A RACHEL & 64 A ERNIE. Never heard of Rachel Maddow & I'm not a Muppett fan.

    Argyle, thank you for the link to the Carpenters. Karen was taken away much too soon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chickie, sorry I am late with the wishes and congrats for your anniversary; well done. Theme was fun, but like yesterday very straight forward. HILT HAFT is like ACME APEX, no point in guessing; RACHEL Maddow has popped up recently. Carol and Lois, we have so many who come and go as life interferes, the list is extensive, but we have been blessed with new people to fill the void. Now if only everyone would show up and comment we would have some awesome days.

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  8. Hello all!

    A fun puzzle from Norma and a succinct write-up by Argyle.

    Favorite answer was also HUSH MONEY.

    Have been lacking dinners the past 2 days. Evidently back up stuff in kitchen disappeared, according to helper. You can count on the fact that I will not lose weight, however (based on past experience--I can no longer stand on scale).

    Watched first episodes of "Falling Skies" on Syfy. (Don't you hate their name change?) Nice monsters. Cannot understand how Noah Wylie character has a grown son!

    Anyone else like Science fiction?

    Beddy bye time again! Happy Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good Morning, folks. Thank you Norma S. for a great Tuesday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell write-up and links.

    I also finished this on the bus this morning. It went quickly and with no write-overs.

    I had a problem with 13D Without stopping/ON END. I am not sure I have ever used that phrase. Not sure why ON END means not stopping. Any help? I got it with perps, but still it puzzles me.

    Nice tidbit about Elijah. Thank you.

    Again surprised. No ASP or ASPS.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  10. I say, "I've been working on this report for hours on end." i.e. without stopping.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lemonade714, I read this blog at least 4 times a week (usually twice a day). I tend to agree with the statements of your leader that it's more about quality than quantity. More posts, for the sake of posting, do not make the blog better, in my opinion. You all seem to have a winning formula already.

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  12. A soggy good day, Argyle, et al! A 75 mph straight line wind came to town last night and did a lot of damage. Our huge Y here in town had air conditioners ripped off the three acres of roof, windows blown out and cars on the street tossed around. Neighbor Joe’s ash tree is now horizontal in neighbor Jon’s backyard as well. Joe will be wincing today.

    Musings
    -I agree with Fermatprime’s assessment
    -I take 1 mulligan per round
    -Reese’s turn in Walk The Line showed she is a lot more than blonde
    -I dust and vacuum on Thursdays. It’s part of this being retired business
    -Tennis and golf have a real paucity of Americans near the top these days. Ya gotta love Rory!
    -Amps? Ohms? Watts? Farads? Nope, VOLTS
    -Karen Carpenter’s life was so tragic!
    -We get the 6 and 9 year old for 3 days today! This always reminds me of why God gives kids to young people.

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  13. Good morning everyone.

    Both Monday & Tuesday were easy and I finished in 15 minutes. Norma, that was a clever theme and I enjoyed the words relating to each career.

    I have not been able to comment and get online as often because I am in Austin, TX with my son, his wife and 3 grandsons. They have been keeping me busy.

    I really like "hushmoney."

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just right for a Tuesday. Nice tight theme too. No real hangups.

    Argyle,
    I read the link re the fifth cup for Elijah and wondered if the good rabbi meant PROceed or PREcede towards the end.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good morning Argyle and all. Thank's for the Carpenters link. This was an easy but enjoyable solve. I liked the layout of the theme answers.

    I get my income from a secret source. Yup, cache payments.

    I, too, WINCEd at IT'S ME. When I see that one I just put in the IT until a perp tell's me which way to go.

    I'm the official taxi driver this morning, Sis has that "once every ten years take a look where the sun don't shine" procedure, so IMBO.

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  16. Hello Puzzlers - What Barry said.

    Some non-puzzle news: business took me near Southbridge, MA yesterday, near Hearti's part of the state. I detoured to look over the tornado damage at the airport there. WOW, what a lot of destruction. Lots of airplanes wrecked.

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  17. Enjoyed the themes.

    Fave was that JOINT-RETURN.
    Never liked it when I ran into a Bogart.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good morning Argyle, CC et al,
    I loved this puzzle. What a clever theme. Hush money was my fav as well. Argyle I LOLd w/your 'yoke' title and link to the oxen. Very funny. You're da bOMB! and so adorable!

    Went to a retirement party for a legendary Eng teacher the other night. He was LAUDed and DEEMed the IDEAL by all. I agreed and as I WIPEd away tears I told him that knowing him has been the most fun I've ever had w/my CLOTHEs on and that I hoped that it was a JOINT RETURN. He said it has BEEN for years ON END..a REAL plEASE-ure. Him I HAFTa MIS-O so much.

    Husker: so glad you're ok. You were heavy in my thoughts/prayers
    last night. Straight winds are awful - just as bad as tornadoes
    Glad you are ok.

    Enjoy your day.
    1 day and a wake up. Gotta go shopping!!!

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  19. Yes, Kazie, I think he meant precede for Elijah.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Morning all.

    A fun puzzle today, but then I enjoy punnishment. Part payment just sorta lays there, but hush money if downright funny.

    We had an inch of rain with 70mph winds with a little hail at our house last night when the storm swept through. But no downed trees within view and there were no power outages. And as far as I've heard, there were no injuries from tornadoes even though there were several in the state.

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  21. Good morning, Friends! Yep, a speed run here too. The one hold up was ELIJAH. Finally JOINTRETURN came to me.

    So everyone beware...A Harmonic Convergence is about to occur! Yay, it's almost field trip time to Stockton!!! I am really looking forward to meeting fellow Lady Puzzlers.

    And yes it will be a HOT time in the valley...literally and figuratively.

    Stay cool Californians. Stay tethered Mid-westerners.

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  22. Hi gang,

    Loved this puzzle and I feel so smart because I just breezed right through it...so good for the ol' ego and a fun way to start the day!

    I have to agree with Barry G on 11D, no biggie, but I don't remember ever seeing that word(?) spelled out.

    Husker Gary, so glad no harm came to you and your family. That must have been frightening to see.

    Lois, so glad to see you back here! You crack me up, such talent for making everyone laugh. I know you'll have a wonderful trip, once again, I wish I could stow away in one of your carry-on bags. Wouldn't we be a 'pair to draw to'? The airline would probably detour and kick us off ;)

    Creature, thanks for the kind words. I don't plan to leave here, I was just waxing nostalgic. There are lots of great new bloggers too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Good morning all and great commentary, as usual, Argyle.

    Happy Anniversary wishes to Chickie.

    I HAFTa say I was going for hilt at first, but the perp, NET PROFIT, made things clear. Not much else to comment on. Clever, fun theme. No difficulties.

    'Sign of Spring?' - Thought of 'robin' at first. Aries is, of course, the zodiac sign at the start of Spring. The term First Point of Aries is used by navigators. (The link has interesting comments about the Earth's precession, as well.)

    Enjoy this first day of Summer

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  24. Thanks Argyle.

    Safe trip to the coven and its extra adherents.

    We too had an inch of rain here early this morning, but not the high wind, as far as I know. Looks like more on the way.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Good morning everyone.

    As always, a great write up, Argyle. I especially enjoyed the link to the wine for Elijah. Didn't know that happened at Seders. And I agree with Lois that the pic of the ox telling a joke is wonderful. Where on earth do you write uppers get all these pictures?

    creature: bless you for the comment on IT'S ME. I hate to hear that and never allowed my sons to say it.
    Apart from the grammar no-no, it was a most enjoyable puzzle.

    Husker: the view from your deck is truly scary. Thanks for sending it on.

    Cheers

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  26. Jacel,

    Do you take your little pups to throw in the mix with the three grandsons?

    I commend you for posting, as well as working the puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Good Morning All, Seemed like a "Gimme That Old Time Religion" mini-theme going on here. Noah, RACHEL, SALEM, ELIJAH, SEDER, LEVI(S), PSALMS are all included in the Old Testament. I know, it's a big stretch, but I'm just sayin'.

    Sorry, Grammarians, under some circumstances, "IT'S ME" is OK with I. I understand your nails on the blackboard feeling, but I will also say, "Ain't that the truth"...or even worse, "I'm just sayin'."

    There are fewer curmudgeonly, wise-cracking, edgy and DF comments on the blog than in the past. That makes it more pleasurable when they do show up. (You know who you are!) I'm more of a reactor, rather than an initiator, so I'm just hanging around waiting to jump on something, or someone :o)

    George H.W. Bush was determinated to make the United States "a kinder and gentler nation." Maybe it is starting with this blog. OK, now that's just me being silly!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. It was awful to see the picture of destruction in Southbridge, which was where my grandmother lived for many years. Glad all of our participants have avoided direct contact with Tornadoes, even if they cannot miss being hit by Buckeye wisdom now and then.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hello everybody. Yes, what Barry G said. A well-constructed puzzle, fun to do. Lots of the letter V in it. My thanks.

    Husker Gary, that was one heck of a wind. Sure has been a lot of destruction this year.

    Fermatprime, I like science fiction a lot, but not the crash-bang the evil aliens are destroying everything willy-nilly kind.

    Garlic Gal, good to know you'll be with the folks in Stockton. I wish you all a rolicking good time.

    I agree with Sue from Purdue about the fine quality of this blog.

    Best wishes to you all.

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  30. IT'S ME is permissible if, to say 'It is I', sounds stiff or uppity. I cite as my reference "You Are What You Speak" by Robert Lane Greene. (I got my local library to order it.)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello all.

    Only nit was part for partial.

    Internist has given up. Am now under the care of an endocrinologist.

    Jill off to Sacramento again. Am in charge of keeping the garden
    alive.

    Cancelled plans to fly back to PA
    in Sept.

    Take care people.

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  32. This is a view of neighbor Joe’s Tree all cleaned up by noon today. A chain saw and about 10 neighbors and family got it cleaned up so that all that is left is the circular strawberry bed that used to be around the 20 foot tall ash! What a waste but there are others in town much worse off!

    My neighbor is a retired 70 year old man with health problems and it killed him to not be able to pitch in very much. My 9 year old grandson was a little bulldog and helped too.

    Thanks for your words of concern!

    ReplyDelete
  33. HOla Everyone, A great puzzle this morning. I had one hangup and that was with On end. Abejo, I had the same question about that until Anon @ 7:26 put the phrase into a sentence. It does make sense now.

    I also had Re Hit for Take a Mulligan, instead of Retry so the eraser crumbs had to be blown away on that one.

    Other than that, it was pretty much a speed run. I thought they can take a yoke for Oxen was clever.

    Jacel, So glad that you're enjoying your vacation with kids and grandkids.

    Also, Avg. Joe and Husker so glad that everyone is safe after the storms last night. Wind is so much more alarming to me than any other type of weather.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Creature, Sallie, CA and others; I found a nice article on 'It is I/me' on Grammar Girl. As with so many discussions about grammar we have here on this blog, one choice is traditional and one is becoming acceptable. If I remember, I'll try to go for the traditional choice. Here 'tis.

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  35. Hello, friends,

    Another quickie today. Interesting theme and good themne answers. I don't always get the theme, but I like doing the puzzles anyway. I'm never sure about 'electrical units'. Like baseball 'stats', there seem to be so many to choose from: volts, amps, watts? Have to wait for the perp to decide.

    Again, Argyle, thanks much for your rundown( writeup?). Norma, I like you offering.

    Time to read the comments.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Yes, Hahtool, hand up for 'hilt'. I also liked 'hush money'. That was a sensitive subject for me, since we are having many questions about how much is going to be cut from our Library system. We're lucky to have a wonderful Bookmobile that comes to us every two weeks. There's some uncertainty about whether this will continue to serve us. My favorite librarian, a rea;;y nice guy, is retiring the 30th and has no answers for us.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Happy 1st day of spring and HB to my youngest grandson, a year old already.Bought some big boy sandals this morning.The mall is the place to be-so cool.( Eddy, keep watering!)

    Loved the puzzle, another quickie. Aries was my last fill, an a-ha..Hush money was fun. The other 3 had to fall into place as I didn't get Norma's clever theme.

    Enjoyed seeing Rachel Maddow again.Listen to her most evenings.

    OK, who may have said "A stitch in time saved mine"? Think severed.

    Glad that Husker and Joe are OK. Anyone see that snowfall in the Rockies?OMG! It's spring!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. My daughter's ex-BF is teaching me the ABC's of Twitter .... and I keep forgetting ...

    To any old 'fogies' who need help deciphering teen texts, some examples:

    2CB - something like LSD - a drug

    2H2H - Too hot to handle

    CSL - Cant stop laughing

    CUA - See you around

    DYHB - Do you have a boyfriend ?

    FWB - Friends with benefits (sex)

    GOL - Giggling out loud

    GOS - Gay or Straight ?

    IWSN - I want sex now

    IPN - I'm posting naked

    LHOS - let's have online sex

    LMIRL - Let's meet in real life

    MOS - Mother over shoulder

    ..... Just sayin'.

    ReplyDelete
  39. For Sue from Purdue and others; my reference to comments from many of our original people being welcome, is of course simply my opinion. However, it is not for the sake of raw numbers, which are irrelevant, but for the points of view from some of the oldies but goodies. Because we have all lived different lives, the comments from others often enlighten and entertain me, from an unexpected perspective. We all know our audience is many thousands daily, but I read the comments for many reasons and get different pleasures from varied opinions and reactions.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Translation from lawyerese: I like reading diverse opinions.

    Geez.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hi gang -

    Fun theme today, and a pretty nice puzzle.

    Spent the morning running granddaughters around. Amanda has half days of dance this week; Rebekka and Samantha have swim. Then we went to lunch and spent the afternoon at our house. I just now got to the puzzle, which was a SNAIL'S run for me.

    Glad everyone survived the weather, though I do feel bad about Joe's tree.

    IMBO.

    Cheers!
    JzB

    ReplyDelete
  42. Bill G,
    It really is amazing how tidy that yard is and how invisible the evidence of mayhem is after the clean up! Good job! From its position in the video it seemed as if the tree that was lost was small compared with the remaining ones. Is that right?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Lois: Ya ol' Dfer. What a breath of fresh air!
    Dodo: Thanks.
    Clear Eyes and Lemon: Forever yours!
    Today's puzzle was a fun romp. Loved the "mulligan" thing, since I totally believe in the Dan Jenkins philosophy of golf. "Hit 'em 'till you're happy!"

    Speaking of which, I played golf this morning, and on the fifth hole a thunder storm moved in. Lightning struck a tree fifteen yards from where I was standing. You could smell the ozone! I would have urinated all over myself if my prostate still worked. There is an advantage of pushing 100 years old. I jumped into my bright red "Hupmobile" convertable (see last night's post) and headed for home. I'm now safe!

    I must be off!

    ReplyDelete
  44. I dig myself out of the grammar pit every time I answer the telephone question, "Is this Clear Ayes?". "This is she", I reply. I have been tempted at times to us the royal "This is we", but have yet to try it.

    I've never said, "back in the day", when referring to times gone by. I know that is slang, rather than grammar, but it seems wrong for a teetering sexagenarian to try for such edginess. I know my grandchildren would laugh at me. They have done so for much less.

    Lemonade, however you put it, you are right.

    Belated anniversary greetings, Chickie.

    I'm sorry to hear about more bad weather woes for HG and Avg Joe.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Buckeye: at least you would have urinated on yourself...
    we had a drunken idiot dip his little 'wick' in a reservoir here in Oregon. He said later, he didn't know it was a reservoir, he thought it was a sewage treatment plant (IT IS NOW!) The equally unthinking people in charge of the water drained the whole thing at a cost of $32,000 or upwards. If the incident has not been caught on camera, no one would have known - think of all the birds that 'doo' over the water not to mention many other things that get in there.
    Well, at least I know where some of my tax dollars are being flushed.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Lemonade - I hear what you are saying - and I agree with you, both as a reader and a writer. Unfortunately the protocol in this blog, though somewhat more open compared to other blogs, is not an ideal one, conducive to varied opinions and varied subjects.

    An ideal blog would have been a complete open-free-for-all, with the only limitations being for taste and geniality. That concept is probably too utopian.

    That having been said, I still come here, more often than not, so it obviously has some attractions for me. And may I add, your personal comments are amongst the most delectable ones, that I particularly relish. I trust your eyes are getting better, or at least stabilizing - we have to be grateful for all favors and blessings, big and small.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Full story on the dumped water here.

    Another example of pc overtaking common sense. They could have dumped 5gallons of chlorine into the immediate vicinity and taken care of 99.999% of the problem... if there was a problem.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Jazz, I’ll extend your sympathies to my neighbor!

    Kazie, The trees were identical and the one that survives shades my deck until late in the morning, so I made out okay. Joe thinks the tree went over because we water our yards so heavily here, the roots do not go down very far.

    BTW, FEMA was not necessary. Just like that waitress we met in Nashville whose restaurant got flooded out in 2010 by the Cumberland, we immediately starting cleaning up and it looks like it never happened!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Husker,
    Oops! I addressed that question to the wrong guy. Sorry! It's a blessing your homes didn't get hit as it came down, and that no one was hurt.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Happy Summer Solstice. Our high today is supposed to be 103 and this is just the first day. Here's a poem to get us all in the mood.

    Heat

    A Coke bottle stopped
    with a sprinkle head
    sat at one end of the board.
    She'd swap iron for bottle,
    splash the cloth,
    then go at it with the iron.
    The crooked was made straight,
    the wrinkled smooth,
    and she'd lecture from that altar
    where rumpled sheets went crisp.
    "If Old Scratch gets his claws
    in your thigh or neck,
    you burn a thousand years
    and that is the first day."
    Our clothes got rigid,
    seam matched seam.
    Our bodies would ruin her work.

    - Michael Chitwood

    ReplyDelete
  51. Just one point of clarification, in case anybody got confused.

    Joe's tree is not my tree.

    Gary and I live about 75 miles apart and I don't have any green ash trees. Or any neighbors named Gary. :-)

    Looks like Windhover is in the crosshairs today. Hope it doesn't get too ugly tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Thanks for the kind words, all who did. Happy Summer!!! I'm free... well at least reasonable. See, Santa, I'm behavin'.

    Carol: LOL that incident made national news. I didn't remember where it happened tho'. Instead of hush money, you have flush money there. What a hoot! Guess nobody around there is familiar w/taking care of swimming pools. Flushed money for sure! What a waste- on many different levels! Thanks for the link, Grumpy1.

    And, Carol, I would LOVE to have you not stowed away but sitting w/me. We wouldn't be thrown off the plane, we'd be meeting the pilot and getting free drinks for the whole trip! Trust me on this one.

    Buckeye: that was a close call! You are tough! Wizzing on myself would have been only one body function occurring. Geeze! So glad you are ok. Scary!

    Text Impaired: thanks for the list of text abbrev's. A lot I didn't know. Now let me get this straight since you mentioned it; you are twittering w/ your daughter's EX BF ? That's impressive! you go, girl! Rock on!!

    HG: pretty tree. What a shame. Glad it wasn't worse for you all.

    It's Happy Hour everywhere now. Gotta go make it worth their while. Enjoy your evening.

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  53. Yes, Unless Avg. Joe is a retired 70 yr. old, Czech farmer with a heart condition who lives 75 feet, not miles, from me, he is not the aforementioned Joe!

    I have worked with quite a few peeps that resemble Avg. Joe’s avatar but not the Joe next door.

    Weather is cool and mostly dry and the College World Series continues apace in Omaha. Last night they marched thousands of fans from the new TD Ameritrade ball park to the Qwest Center across the street when the high winds got over to the river.

    5 and out! Time for Play-doh, Barbie’s and some crafts.

    ReplyDelete
  54. It's me again.

    Funny I bought a pair of sandles
    at Target this afternoon. Size !0.
    I'll bet the little guy's are cuter.
    Promise that I won't wear socks with them.

    It will be a few hours before I can water. 102 at 1:30. Down to 98 now.

    Turned Falling Skies off after 10
    minutes. Noah is playin the same
    role he played in The Librarian series.

    Gee, real sorry about the tree.

    Take care.

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  55. I loved this puzzle, and finished it quickly this morning. Loved the theme - common phrases that are re-directed to new meanings are a gas! And each one of these was air-tight, IMHO.

    Lemonade, the tornadoes that hit Southbridge were only about a mile from me. It makes my stomach churn every time I go up 131 , or come back through Fisk Hill or Old Sturbridge Road. We have been helping out, with chain saws and back muscle wherever we can. But there is just so much that is laid bare. I know that our little storms can't compare with what happened down south last month, but when it hits so close to home...well, it's just too close to home!

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  56. Hi all,
    Hey! this was a great puzzle and so was yesterdays. It has been awhile since I did the puzzle or read this blog. Last week Sun. thru Wed. We were at a meeting and though we came home at night a lot of things didn't get done.
    By Thur. they were getting hard.

    Argyle, great write up! The Carpenter song was sad, Karen was so beautiful.

    I first had un-end, thinking of unending. Veto got me the O.

    Carol, the resevoir item was in our papers,too and it seemed such a waste of water.

    I haven't read any blogs lately and won't try to read them all but will go back and read yesterdays as it was easy too. I couldn't think of Wiz-had to look it up.

    Have a good evening, I hope some will read this sometime tonight.

    Marge

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  57. Dudley, next time your are near Southbridge, please, give me a shout! (my email is at my avatar). I would love to treat you to lunch!

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  58. Ah,Lois, they don't call it a 'cock pit' for nothing ;) I am sure you could take full advantage of that situation and we might be comped for future trips due to your 'expertise'!

    As to the 'piss ant' - he peed in a reservoir, not a swimming pool. Sure would have been a lot cheaper to clean up his mess if it HAD been a pool.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Marge, I read your post and the sun hasn't set here yet. Say, why is your name blue but there's no info about you available when you click on your name? Where are you, etc.?

    My last student got tutored for their alg/trig final tomorrow. Good luck to them. Now my afternoons are relatively free for a couple of months for bike riding and stuff. I'll miss the kids though. Once I decided to limit myself to only the kids I enjoyed being with, tutoring has resulted in very pleasant relationships.

    Does anybody else enjoy "Men of a Certain Age"? I like it a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  60. EddyB, I understand your frustration and your cynicism. Making friends and communicating in a venue of this type involves a dynamic that most aren't comfortable or entirely familiar with. The worst part is the disappointment when many of the sentiments turn out to be less genuine than initially imagined.

    A week or two ago I used the phrase "imaginary friends" on this blog. That's harsh, I realize, but it's also true. The road that brought me here involved a lot of imaginary friends that turned out to be a lot less loyal than I'd expected or hoped. But the deal is, it was my own expectations that caused that disappointment, not the reality.

    Jeannie got some very harsh advice from an Anon a week or so ago during a time of personal crisis. It wasn't put gently, but it was accurate and succinct. The same advice could be given you. Do not place too much faith in relationships that you've made on line with people you've never met, no matter how well you might think you "know" them. Put that effort into the relationships you have in your real life. It's far harder, but it's substantially more worthwhile.

    Sorry for the sermon, all. I'll step down now. And I realize I lack tenure. Just thought it needed to be "said". And Eddy, I wish you the very best in getting through this matter.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap your post length at about 20 lines each (spaces excluded).

    ReplyDelete
  62. Hearti - I had thought of dropping you a line yesterday, but time was short. Apart from that I'm game for food anytime :-) !

    At my favorite cafe today, I asked my server, a sweet Jewish twenty-something, what she knew about Elijah and Seders. She said that a cup of wine is set out, and a child is asked to open the door to let the spirit of Elijah in. She pointed out that as a child she was terrified of ghosts, especially drunk ones, and was scared to go open that door for all those years in which it was her duty!

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  63. Joe, What happened to eddyB?

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  64. CA, the poem brought back memories of ironing linen napkins every Sunday.The Nat. Geog. link had lots of good articles/pictures.

    Eddy, it's way too hot for socks anyway.Hope you didn't have to cancel trip due to health.

    Carol, unbelievable pee pee story!!
    BTW, earlier quote=Mr Bobbitt.

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  65. C.C., Argyle and folk,

    Norma Steinberg, I enjoyed your theme...the clue/answers were really fun; very original!

    Argyle, how you doin' dude? You fooled me! I clicked on the link, looking for a joke or humourous photo...check my 6a.link...it's a yolk!

    I was wondering what the base for LAUD was and noticed one of the synonyms was 'prop' which I have heard my daughter and her friends say. So if you, too, are curious, here goes.
    Origin of PROPS
    short for proper dues
    First Known Use: 1992
    PROPS

    6a. I'd like to get some mail from Lima...Dear Frenchie, Buenos Dias...HERE'S THE YOKE!
    28d. I suppose it would be LAME to fantasize the mail would be from a male!
    15a. Evil...now that's a live one!
    17a. Imagine the growth in the petri dish if we cultured a sample of tripe!

    I'm off to eat dinner and read the comments so, good evening all!

    I'm out

    I'm out.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Hi all,
    Bill G- On Tuesday you asked me why my info doesn't come up. I don't know. I have entered my info in to Google 2 times but nothing ever comes up so I use my URL. It comes in blue but doesn't bring up any info. I just now tried to get into it and all I get is my ID is invalid.

    Marge

    Any ideas anyone?
    Marge

    ReplyDelete
  67. PS
    If anyone wants to send me an E-mail instead of on the blog it is Marge32@centurytel.net.

    Thanks
    Marge

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

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