Theme: Shrinkage - No shrinking the theme. Three spanners and two almost, all starting with a word for size and in diminishing order. Note from Marti at the end.
17A. Winter Olympics event with gates : GIANT SLALOM RACE
23A. One stalking lions or tigers : BIG GAME HUNTER
38A. T-bone with a warm, red center : MEDIUM RARE STEAK
48A. Lass awed by the big city, maybe : SMALL TOWN GIRL
58A. He "runs through the town ... in his nightgown" : WEE WILLIE WINKIE
Argyle here. A fine job from Marti(HeartRx)
Across:
1. Burn badly : SCALD. With hot liquid or steam.
6. The lightning bolt on Harry Potter's forehead, e.g. : SCAR
10. Squirrel away : SAVE
14. "__ World": ticklish Muppet's "Sesame Street" segment : ELMO'S
15. Woody Guthrie's son : ARLO
16. Candy that comes in twos : TWIX. Image.
20. Invoice fig. : AMT. Amount.
21. Place for inks or oinks : PEN. Cute one.
22. Subtle vibes : AURAs
28. It.'s continent : EUR. Italy's/Europe.
29. Raw rocks : ORES
30. "Octopus's Garden" singer Ringo : STARR. And writer, too. Clip.(2:52)
33. Talk show guest's blatant promotion : PLUG
35. Swelled head : EGO
42. Colorful card game : UNO
43. Lends a hand to : AIDS
44. Lecture rooms : HALLS
45. Abel's assassin : CAIN
47. Jazzy horn : SAX
54. Bright : SMART
55. Sis's sib : BRO
56. IM offerer : AOL
63. Thomas __ Edison : ALVA
64. Tater __: Ore-Ida product : TOTS. Image.
65. Big tractor name : DEERE
66. Movie house suffix : PLEX. Used to indicate multiple screens.
67. Allergy trigger, often : DUST
68. Passover dinner : SEDER
Down:
1. Nintendo competitor : SEGA
2. Start up the mountain : CLIMB
3. Italian violin maker : AMATI
4. Chaney of horror : LON
5. "Spring ahead" hrs. : DST. Daylight Saving Time.
6. Witch trials town : SALEM
7. Whooping bird : CRANE
8. Entirely : ALL
9. Kanga's kid : ROO
10. Vain walks : STRUTS
11. In the loop : AWARE
12. Anglican parish priest : VICAR
13. Flames that have cooled? : EXES
18. Box for practice : SPAR
19. Horse's hair : MANE
24. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI. Then and Now.
25. Ashram authority : GURU. Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage.
26. Store posting : HOURS
27. Craving : URGE
30. Sch. in Big D : SMU. Southern Methodist University - near the heart of Dallas.
31. Commandment count : TEN
32. Hubbub : ADO
33. Painting reproduction : PRINT
34. Schoolboy : LAD
35. Slippery fish : EEL
36. "For Me and My __" : GAL. Clip.(4:56) Gene Kelly, Judy Garland.
37. Gives the nod : OKs
39. Postal sackful : MAIL
40. Layered haircut : SHAG
41. Crosstown bus alternative : TAXI
45. Auto finish protection : CAR WAX
46. Height: Pref. : ALTItude
47. Chilly powder? : SNOW. Another cute one.
48. What the nose knows : SMELL
49. "Circle of Friends" writer Binchy : MAEVE. Why she looks like she would be right at home on the Corner. Image.
50. Newspaper bye lines? : OBITS
51. Seize (from) : WREST
52. Gathered, as fallen leaves : RAKED
53. Orléans's river : LOIRE. In the heart of France. Map.
54. Exchange : SWAP
57. Ogle : LEER
59. India Inc.? : LTD. A business incorporated under the laws of England, Wales, Scotland, Canada, other Commonwealth countries.
60. Gehrig who played with Ruth : LOU. Famous Yankees.
61. Credit card users may be asked for them, briefly : IDs
62. Society page word : NÉE
Argyle
Note from Marti:
This was the most difficult one I have constructed so far. I had five theme entries, each exactly three words, and they had to be used in a specific order. So, no swapping around theme entries to get better fill. Rich saw it and immediately wanted to use it on a Monday. So, a lot of the "Friday-ish" fill had to go. I ended up re-designing the grid more than eight times, to get a Monday-friendly fill.
This was the most difficult one I have constructed so far. I had five theme entries, each exactly three words, and they had to be used in a specific order. So, no swapping around theme entries to get better fill. Rich saw it and immediately wanted to use it on a Monday. So, a lot of the "Friday-ish" fill had to go. I ended up re-designing the grid more than eight times, to get a Monday-friendly fill.
Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - just a quick comment: Marti, this is as fine a Monday puzzle as I've seen. Some of the clues were just outstanding, such as 'flames that have cooled'. Nice job; you're a natural.
ReplyDeleteMorning, all!
ReplyDeleteA fine and fun Monday puzzle! I zipped through most of it, pausing only at LOIRE (where I didn't have a clue) and SAVE (where I erroneously put in STOW). Both of those were taken care of via the perps.
I enjoyed all the punny clues today ("India inc.", "Chiily powder", "Newspaper bye lines"). Just wondering whether Mrti came up with any/all of them herself or whether those were all Rich?
Santa,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the excellent job while under the weather. You're the Cal Ripken Jr of blogging. Totally "Iron Man". Binchy does have a Corner friendly look.
Marti,
You took the toughest road: Five 3-word theme answers with 13+ letter count in non-movable positions with all Monday fill. Brilliant job! Lots of clever clues for the short entries, esp the ones Argyle & Barry covered: PEN, OBITS & SNOW. I like EXES too.
Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the write-up, Argyle. I was especially interested to hear your take on it. My original title was "Honey, I've shrunk the puzzle...". But your ”Shrinkage” title made me really chuckle! I hope you feel better soon!!
Dennis, so glad to see you check in for this one - thank you1
Barry, to answer your question, I was delighted to see that Rich used my “India Inc.?” and “Newspaper bye lines”, but “Chilly powder” was one of Rich’s brilliant offerings.
“Place for inks or oinks” was also mine, C.C. Glad you liked it!
Good morning C.C., Marti and all. Thanks for a fun start to the week. I saw the shrinking theme and wondered where the violets were hiding. Oh, wait, we don't have unifiers on Mondays.
ReplyDeleteYup, Barry, 'stow' looked good to me, too... until I tried to make sense of the downs. My only total unknown was MAEVE, but perps handled the introduction nicely.
I enjoyed the cute clues. A few chuckles to start the week is always a good thing.
Great job, Marti.
95% humidity today has fogged up windows here in my sunroom but I still enjoyed this wonderful Monday offering from our “puzzling” friend Marti!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-I have noticed that stores are starting to charge more for “generous” sizes and the Smalls and Mediums are usually what are left on the clearance tables.
-There was a lot of big game in delightful Zookeeper movie.
-The Oakview Movie PLEX was full of people on our Sunday afternoon
-We got a nice medium steak on Saturday night and were waited on by a SMALLTOWNGIRL who is 19, cute and tiny as she can be and is headed to NYC with a theater degree to try the acting/waiting tables life.
-HGTY goes to EUR. and has peeps price housing there. OMG, they pay huge amounts for dumps that wouldn’t pass code here. Still, if I could live in Tuscany…
-The return of the Sandhill Cranes to Nebraska in March is a fabulous sight. Hundreds of thousands of birds returning at sunset to roost on the Platte is awe-inspiring.
Good Morning, all. Thank you Marti HeartRx for a great Monday puzzle. It was very clever and I am sure hard to construct with those long answers. I never caught the theme because I was so busy writing. Thank you Argyle for your fine review.
ReplyDeleteThis was pleasant. Started in the NW and spread across and down just like I always envision doing, but seldom get to do.
I have compulsion, when doing puzzles, to not write an answer if it is not connected to a previously written answer. Today it worked. Doesn't happen very often.
Enjoyed India, Inc/LTD. Thought Ashram/GURU was clever, especially since we the exact opposite the other day, Guru/ASHRAM.
Kept looking for ASP or ASPS, no cigar.
Fun puzzle. See you all tomorrow.
Abejo
Marti,
ReplyDeleteWhat brilliant cluing today. What everyone else has said as well!
Argyle,
Hope your health returns ASAP. Take it easy!
My only true unknowns were MAEVE and GERI. The rest was a really fun walk through. Except that I also put STOW before perps indicated SAVE.
As an apt quote for today's world of massive cuts to education and astounding CEO bonuses, I'll share the one given in the Word of the Day email today:
The tax which will be paid for the purpose of education is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests, and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)
Good Morning CC, Argyle and all,
ReplyDeleteArgyle, you did this fine puzzle honors. Thanks.
Marti,what a delight! It has all been said. Thanks for this treat.
Now, kick up your heels and bask!
I've spent some time in New Delhi this AM with my new best friend,
Arjun Joshi, as we solved my internet access problems. What a delightful young man.
Back Later.Thanks, again, Marti.
Have a nice day everyone.
Good Morning, Argyle, Marti and friends. Good puzzle, just what I needed to start off the week. I had a spot of trouble in the NE corner, but eventually was able to complete those spaces.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't fooled by It.'s Continent. I saw that period so knew we were talking about Italy.
I also liked the Newspaper Bye Lines = OBITS.
Good day folks,
ReplyDeleteGreat job Marti. Several clever clues, all of which previous posters have mentioned. This was my first attempt at a puzzle in a while and it was a bit difficult getting the brain in gear. Hand up for stow.
New knee is in, been told it was a success, but rehab keeps suggesting something else. It's going a lot slower then I expected , but it's still relatively early.
Probably won't be posting regularly for a while. My temperament is awful and I figure it's safer for me to lie low.
Great puzzle Marti. Monday level, but still clever enough cluing to be fun. And thanks for the write up Argyle.
ReplyDeleteI found it more difficult as I descended, but never got stopped in my tracks. My favorite clue was Bye Lines.
I just can't shake the image of the puzzle author having a drunken book club discussion. Not that that's a bad thing....:-)
Most enjoyable Monday puzzle I have seen in a long time. Good work, Marti. Very intereseting clues and answers.
ReplyDeleteI just read Maeve Binchy's lastest novel,"Minding Frankie." Fine plot and writing, except for one nit. Over and over, upon dressing up, people "looked well." After a while I found that annoying. Does bread baking in the oven "smell well?" Does that new album "sound well?"
Congratulations Marti, on yet another fine and pleasurable puzzle. India Inc. and chilly powder confounded me, for about 20 seconds.
ReplyDeleteArgyle, wonderful blog - Thank you for your style, humor and class - and as CC mentioned, your reliability.
Have a nice and happy week, everyone.
Marti and gang. What a fine way to spend a few minutes on a Monday morning. I liked that it wasn't just fill it all in but still easily doable. Lots of fun cluing and spectacular grid.
ReplyDeleteFinally beautiful weather here. Been such a rough year.
Good job on the puzzle Marti. Enjoyed the puzzle thanks.
ReplyDeletemy favourite entries.
13 down flames that have cooled? exes
50 down newspaper by lines? obits.
Fun Facts By Dave Letterman
In an early draft of the Dr. Seuss classic, green eggs and ham came with a side of home fries.
Close friends of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cal him "Manny."
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to chime in on the kudos to Marti for a fine Monday puzzle. I do love Monday puzzles, and this was special. Thank you.
And Argyle, sorry to read that you're ailing. Great job on the write up. I especially liked "For Me and My Gal" clip.
Cheers
Yellowrocks,
ReplyDeleteI have the same reaction to the phrase "well paying". Yet all those are grammatically correct, since an adverb should be used to modify adjectives, verbs and other adverbs, going by the definition. Just goes to prove following the rules doesn't always sound good in English.
Hondo,
Good luck with the rehab. I believe, after experiencing it with my broken ankle 6 years ago, that patience might be the most important ingredient to successful recovery. Rest up between sessions!
Good afternoon! Hope everyone had a great morning relaxing with the crossword. It was a breeze getting through this one. I was able to go across clue by clue and get all of them which filled in the downs.
ReplyDeleteWe've gotten away from the heat in New England.
Poor SMU. They never did really recover from the scandal that was revealed in 1986 and resulted in the infamous "death penalty" that canceled their entire schedule for 1987.
There are 62,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body - laid end to end they would circle the earth 2.5 times.
At over 2000 kilometers long The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth.
The risk of being struck by a falling meteorite for a human is one occurrence every 9,300 years.
A thimbleful of a neutron star would weigh over 100 million tons.
A typical hurricane produces the energy equivalent to 8,000 one megaton bombs.
Blood sucking hookworms inhabit 700 million people worldwide.
The highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle is 166.94 mph by Fred Rompelberg.
We can produce laser light a million times brighter than sunshine.
The combined length of the roots of a Finnish pine tree is over 30 miles.
Marti, I enjoyed the puzzle. WEE WILLIE WINKIE was fun. Thanks Argyle.
ReplyDelete"Looked well" seems correct if you learned about adverbs in school but it isn't. It's sort of equivalent to saying "I felt badly about that." Someone looks 'good' in their new clothes and you feel 'bad' when you learn someone is having problems.
A couple of years ago, I wrote an email to a talk show host who kept saying she felt 'badly' about something. I cited a couple of grammar books. I don't know if she actually saw my email or not but she stopped using 'badly' incorrectly.
Good Morning All, "Marti, Marti, what are we going to do with you?" I guess we're just going to keep on admiring your talent. I don't believe we are being undeservedly partial to one of our blog friends. Today's puzzle is a winner!
ReplyDeleteI don't think there wasn't any fill we haven't seen before, but they fitted together so perfectly to make the theme answers stand out.
Two-fer-one “Place for inks or oinks”/PEN was my favorite.
I enjoyed seeing 12D/VICAR. One of my favorite TV series was the British sitcom, "The VICAR of Dibley". It was on for 13 years and I didn't see all the episodes the first time round. It still shows up in PBS reruns, so I may get them eventually.
Kazie, great quote!
Dr. Dad, today's science facts are fascinating.
I hope Argyle feels better very soon, and the same to thehondohurricane.
Great job, Marti! Thanks Argyle for the funny blog.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the puzzle today and can't add anything to the kudos. There is one clue that is misleading, however. 12 down, "Anglican parish priest- vicar. A vicar is a priest of a parish in the Church of England who receives a salary or stipend, but does not receive the tithes of a parish. In the Episcopal Church of the USA, a vicar is usually a cleric (most often a deacon) in charge of a chapel. Roman Catholic vicars are usually priests who represent a higher ranking member of the clergy. The term, "Anglican" refers to the world-wide communion of The Church of England, The Episcopal Church of the United States and other Anglican parishes in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Confused? Yes, we get that a lot! Just to be sure that I was right; I checked the church web sites as well as good ole Webster.
In our diocese "vicars" sometimes have several chapels or small churches to oversee. It must make for very interesting commutes on Sunday mornings! We even know of one priest who has a driver to take him from his chapel to a church every summer Sunday. The driver comes with the job! He only needs the driver during the summer because the chapel that he is in charge of doesn't have a/c, so it is closed during the winter.
I'm sure most of that is tmi, but now you know!
Have a super day everyone!
Greetings Argyle and cyber friends.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Marti! I agree with all; this is a brilliant puzzle and so enjoyable to fill.
I loved the theme and your ringers which have already been mentioned but are worth citing again:
newspaper bye lines? OBITS
India Inc. LTD
chilly powder, SNOW
flames that have cooled, EXES
My only stumble was SINGE but SCALD soon became apparent.
Have a fantastic Monday, everyone!
Argyle, I'm sorry you are not well and I hope you soon recover.
ReplyDeleteA big cyber hug to you.
When sensory verbs like look, smell, sound, feel, taste are linking verbs they take adjectives instead of adverbs. She looks GOOD, but you look CAREFULLY at the map. Flowers smell GOOD, but dogs' noses smell WELL because they are more sensitive than ours. Your ideas sound GOOD. You feel GOOD when you solve a difficult puzzle. Chocolate tastes GOOD. With this allergy I cannot taste anything WELL.
ReplyDeleteArgyle: A WEE bit of Avatar should do the trick.
ReplyDeleteProbably won't get you well ...
but it will make you feel gooder.
Marti, Thanks for the FUN Monday.
"I don't think there wasn't any fill we haven't seen before" Spell Check doesn't help when I make this kind of mistake. What kind of a "multiple negative" is this?....a dumb one, no doubt. Why didn't I just say "We've seen all the fill before today"?
ReplyDeleteMy excuse must be that we are waiting for the real estate agent's visit. We are seriously considering moving closer to civilization. Hours and hours of driving every week is cutting into our fun time and it is getting harder for GAH to maintain more than an acre of landscaping. We'll see...
Mom speaks out:
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts on VICAR. There is even more. The use of VICAR varies from diocese to diocese. The Episcoapl church I attend has a vicar and is not a chapel or one of multiple preaching points. New churches are called "missions." Sometimes established churches such as our are demoted to "Mission" status. In our diocese the Bishop is technically' though usually not in practice, the chief pastor of every mission. The VICAR (from the same root as "vice") serves in the Bishop's place.
Hi.
ReplyDeleteNice going Marti.
Was thinking last night about what would make a perfect puzzle. Is one with no black squares even possible?
Perhaps we should have blamed Rich for "carrolers". He approved it.
Sorry for the ruckus.
eddy
Is the '20-line guideline' for each post no longer in play?
ReplyDeleteGood morning Argyle, C.C., Marti et al,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful Monday puzzle, fun clues, and answers that brought back memories, like Wee Willie Winkie. Wasn't referring to "shrinkage"; that was a hoot!
We had tater tots last night for b'day of 2 yr old grandson, Grady.
Marti, that had to be difficult to change a Fri. xwd into a Monday. Brilliant!
Argyle,would have never known you were under the weather by your great write up. Pamper yourself.
Gary, loved the sand hill crane migration; I viewed others. Supposedly, they are the oldest known surviving bird species.
Dr. Dad, enjoyed those facts, even though I'll never remember them. Carol will be amazed at a biker able to go 166.94 mph. Whooosh..
Maeve Binchy is Irish so her phrasing sometimes sounds strange to us. She writes with such warmth and wit..sleepy towns, family life.
Hola Everyone, Argyle, a fine writeup of Marti's very fine puzzle. I enjoyed the CW, even though it was a fairly quick fill. Absoulutely loved the theme. Those long answers I got right away, and that really helped with the surrounding fill.
ReplyDeleteMy hangups today were with the spelling of Maeve and putting in Odors for smells. Both were corrected pretty quickly with perps.
My favorite clues today were Chilly Powder/snow, and Flames that have cooled?/Exes. Newspaper Bye lines wasn't bad either!
Argyle, sorry to hear you are under the weather. Be better soon.
ClearAyes @ 11:44, Actually, “Vicar of Dibley” was one of my alternate clues. But it’s not so well known for a Monday puzzle. Great show, and I used to enjoy it very much. We still get re-runs on occasion on our public channel. Mom speaks out and Yellowrocks, as you might guess from the length of your posts – being very specific about the explanation of a clue does not always fit into the space constraints of the newspaper! LOL.
ReplyDeleteI am off to meet friends for sightseeing and dinner with DH. They just flew into Boston from Vienna, and I am really looking forward to seeing them! But I’ll check in later. Thanks for all the kind words today…you inspire me to keep plugging away at this hobby!
Marti
Dr. Dad, Thanks for the "fun facts", I think. Could have done without the hook worm reference!
ReplyDeleteHondo, Take your pain medication a half hour before your therepy session. That helps. But as Kazie said, time is the best medicine.
Husker, We've viewed the Crane Migration just outside of Kearney, Nebraska. Cousins took us to a fantastic Crane center complete with blinds for watching (early morning--5am)and a visitor's center--with Ranger interpreters available after the morning "watch". I think I can say that I've never seen anything quite as amazing.
Hi Everyone ~~
ReplyDeleteSuch an enjoyable puzzle, Marti! After getting GIANT and then BIG I couldn't wait to see what followed and I wasn't disappointed. So many great clues ... most have already been mentioned, but I really liked those for EXES and SNOW. The 'Seinfeld' clip is one of my favorites!
Another great write-up, Argyle ... feel better soon.
HondoHurricane ~~ my sister had both knees replaced in February and she had some of the same feelings you have. She plugged away at rehab and both home and outpatient therapy and she is now doing so well! Her initial doubts have given way to confidence and she gets around better than I do ... climbing stairs, taking walks, etc. My best to you ... hang in there!
Great puzzle Marti! Two grid spanning theme answers on a very doable Monday puzzle. I just loved it!
ReplyDelete“place for inks or oinks” – pen
“flames that have cooled” – exes
“newspaper bye lines” – obit.
Then there is “wee willie winkie” – poor guy!!
The only one I made a WAG was for Maeve Binchy, but as Lois would say “It’s all good”!
Drdad, very interesting facts to day. Good to see you back.
Today is National Threading the needle day. So all you seamstresses, carry on!
JD and Chickie, yes the migration is magnificent. We could not get into the refuge because you have to make reservations many months in advance. If you stay in the blinds on the Platte to get up close and personal, you have to get in the blinds in the afternoon before they start coming in, spend the night in the blind and leave only after the birds have taken fight for the day. It can be chilly on the river in March. We were on a bridge a mile east of the Rowe refuge and saw them come in. We had to almost shot to be heard above the din!
ReplyDeleteHondo, many of my friends have had fabulous luck with new knees and hips but my friend died 2 weeks ago from antibiotics a dentist gave her. It seems that prosthetics change the regimen necessary for antibiotics! Good Luck!
Argyle,
ReplyDeleteI hope you're beginning to feel better already!
I have visited the International Crane Foundation here in Baraboo, which is really interesting. But much more impressive is seeing them in the lakes and ponds beside the road as you drive through the marshy areas north and northeast of Madison. Beautiful creatures!
Yellowrocks, I did forget to mention missions! Thanks for reminding me. We also have several mission churches in our diocese. Some are off-shoots from larger parishes and others are started by parishoners in rural communities. Sometimes in our diocese, transitional deacons serve those. Some parishes that cannot make the financial committment to the diocese are placed on "mission status" and have a vicar as their spiritual leader. It's interesting in our very diverse religion to see how other dioceses work!
ReplyDeleteArgyle, I think that you should heed Timbeni's advice! A little sip off some medicinal adult beverage works wonders! I prefer fruity, girlie, adult bevs with a fruit kabob or an umbrella. It will cure what ails you or if you imbibe enough; you _will forget the ailment!
What a lovely sight to see all those cranes. Thanks for the link, HG.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I have seen birds in vast numbers was in New Foundland on an island where auks congregate. That was an overwhelming sight but even more was what the nose knew. Whew! What a strong SMELL they generate!
Lucina, yes I saw your note late last night. I'm glad you enjoyed the Cosby clip. It's always nice when someone else enjoys something that I like too.
ReplyDeleteA migration of any animal must be a sight to see. I've only seen swarms of Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from under the Congress Ave.Bridge on their nightly flight to swoop up bugs (Austin, TX).They form a solid black wave over the river. Since there is a drought, they are coming out earlier than dusk because they have to fly further.
ReplyDeleteMarti, forgot to say that place for inks and oinks made me laugh.. always a good thing.
small town girl
CA, hope all works out for you with a move to the "city".
I will echo Dennis's comment at the top. Marti has created a tour de force Monday puzzle and made it look easy. What made it especially fun was the freshness she created for many answers which normally get a mundane clue. Congrats, Marti! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHey group, Wonderful Monday puzzle! Thanks, Marti,I'm impressed by the way you keep turning them out! Great write-up, too, Argyle, with good clips. Love that Octopus's Garden!
ReplyDeleteFavorite clue and answer:"Place for inks and oinks"/pen! Only erasure was from erasing 48D three times; couldn't decided between "scent", "aroma", and finally, "smell"! What fun!
Hello everybody. What a lovely way to start the week. Plenty of wit and intelligence in the puzzle today, which I appreciate greatly. Thank you, and best wishes to you all.
ReplyDeleteDennis! You're back! Hooray!
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers - a bit late to the party due to a busy day that included a Harry Potter matinee.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't let the whole day go by without congratulating my clever neighbor Hearti for a solid puzzle! More challenging than a standard Monday IMHO.
Since Hearti and CA both brought up the Vicar of Dibley, I can't resist mentioning that we Netflixed the entire series on DVD, chronologically. Just watched the tenth anniversary specials last night. I think only one pair of specials remains after that point. Good ensemble comedy, that!
Usage such as "I feel badly about John's illness" seems British to me, dunno for certain. I prefer "feel bad".
ReplyDelete"Poorly" has an unusual use in Britain as well, as in "his heart was poorly". An example of this turned up in Miss Marple recently. Feels clunky.
Hi gang, great to see our HeartRx's (Marti)name on the puzzle...brilliant job, I really enjoyed working this one! Lots of new cluing, and that is appreciated!
ReplyDeleteJD said what I was going to about Maeve Binchy. Her phrasing is due to her wonderful Irish roots. I really love her books and have read them all. Her new one is due out in Feb and I can't wait to read it.
Argyle, so sorry to hear you are not feeling well..it didn't seem to affect your write up though - good job (or, a job done well ;)
Hondo, my cousin just had a knee replacement 5 weeks ago and she is up and walking. It just takes time and work, and a whole lot of patience. Sure hope you feel better soon.
Dudley, you beat me to it! I was about to mention Netflix as a source for "Vicar". Dawn French is great. If you enjoyed "Vicar" try "Absolutely Fabulous", Netflix provides that, too. Dawn was also in "Lark Rise to Candleford" several months ago.
ReplyDeleteChickie and JD, you can see the Sandhill Cranes much closer to home. There's a big "do" in Lodi every year..just 8 miles from here. Have not been myself but reviews have been good.
Just turned on the Telly to watch Vicar. Absolutely Fabulous sounds worth a watch!
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter was about what I expected. Well done I figure. I'm in love with Hermione, of course.
ReplyDeleteSince the grammer and spellin kops our out in full force, Hay Marti, ya done good, girl!
ReplyDeleteDodo, Dudley, "Ab Fab" is just that, Absolutely Fabulous. Two totally DF women we can't help laughing at...we're just so glad that we aren't related! On the other end of the Britcom scale is "Keeping Up Appearances" with the totally snobby social climber Hyacinth Bucket (she pronounces it Bouquet. More to add to Netflix.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you all think of Netflix raising their rates??? We don't go to movies so for us, the price raise doesn't affect our choices as we watch movies that are older but for those who want to watch the newest releases, it seems that a 60% jump in rates is a bit extreme and I think it might just bite them in the nether regions.
ReplyDeleteJD: yes, I did think that bike speed of 166+ mph was very weird...I'll check it out on the G-spot. LOL, lips must have been flapping in more ways than one ;)
I hope it does bite them in the nether regions...but, for now anyway, we're going to pay up and shut up, because frankly Netflix ROCKS as a service.
ReplyDeleteCA - we have seen loads of Keeping Up Appearances with the talented Patricia Routledge on PBS. It would be a good winter project to view the whole range!
Don G., thanks for stopping by today – it is always a treat to hear from you! Thanks for the encouraging words.
ReplyDeleteI don’t normally respond to anons, but:
Anon@7:16, y’all just make mah lil ole hart flutter! (Are you one of my book club girlfriends?)
I just read the weekend posts. As most of you know I don't follow the blog on the weekends. First of all, all things tomatoes!! Mine are finally starting to ripen.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, most of us have skeleton's in the closet that we'd wish would never come out. If MFCounselor made a bad move in the late 70's and early 80's and attoned for it, what does that have to do with today and especially on a crossword blog?? Has he hit you up for any money? Not me. I would miss his wit and basically happy nature if he suddenly disappeared. I also didn't care for the anon lurker that posted that crap here. It didn't belong and I for one, don't trust a lurker.
Lolita.....(Still a fan)
And finally, someone has the nerve to point out the very large elephant in the room.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeannie.
Jeannie, the lurker probably thought he was doing everyone a favor, and he may in fact have.
ReplyDeleteAnd I prefer to remain anonymous just because of people like that.
Jeannie,
ReplyDeleteI too was upset at that outburst on Saturday night, and really wondered why it was still up there. Something that happened 30 + years ago certainly has no place here. I considered emailing someone about it, but didn't want to bring it up again here. Disturbing that anyone would think it was a good thing to expose.
Thirty years ago?? Go back and reread it. Some if it is recent.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the big surprise. Aren't 'lawyer' and 'scam artist' synonymous?
ReplyDeleteBTW, I should have thought to thank Argyle for posting that clip of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland from "For Me and my Gal." I just love old stuff like that; both the dancing and the pretty harmony.
ReplyDeleteI like the BBC show Last Of The Summer Wine. I can watch Keeping Up a Appearances on my local PBS station. I also have discovered Doc Martin also.
ReplyDeleteL714 has shown a pattern of behavior that concerns me. His actions are recent and continuing. He has been disbarred and is NOT allowed to practice law in the state of Florida.
ReplyDeleteHe dreams up scams that allows himself to take money from unsuspecting people. He has done this over and over and over.
Con men are articulate, intelligent, witty, personable, engaging, trusting and versed on the ins and outs of the law.
Sound like anyone we know?
Here is another conviction.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see this was in the late 90's and for a felony in another state.
Who knows how many there are. More importantly is how many times has he gotten away with it?