google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, April 23, 2012 Bonnie L. Gentry and Victor Fleming

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Apr 23, 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012 Bonnie L. Gentry and Victor Fleming

Theme: Rhodes Scholar - Yes, that's what you'll be when you get these four homonyms of ROHD.

20A. Providence native, for one : RHODE ISLANDER

34A. Skipped the saddle : RODE BAREBACK

41A. Steered the skiff beachward : ROWED TO SHORE

56A. Crosby/Hope film : "ROAD TO MOROCCO"

Argyle here. The theme is tight and the lengths are long. Many opportunities for musical links. On the Road Again(2:35) Willie Nelson - Michael(Row the boat ashore)(2:46) The Highwaymen.

Bonnie and Victor's last LAT duet was on Sept. 20, 2009, a Sunday. Link.

Across:

1. Get really high : SOAR. Honestly, what was your first thought?

5. Overhaul : REDO

9. Archipelago unit : ISLE

13. Six-sided shape : CUBE

14. Captain's "Hold it!" : "AVAST!"

16. Corrosive liquid : ACID

17. Gillette razor brand : ATRA

18. Do a two-step, say : DANCE

19. Broadway award : TONY. Neat clecho, 33D. Off-Broadway award : OBIE

23. Spectacular failure : FIASCO

24. Nutritional fig. : RDA. (Recommended Daily Allowance)

25. Writer LeShan : EDA

28. Part of PST: Abbr. : STD. (Pacific Standard Time)

29. Saintly glow : HALO

32. Marries in secret : ELOPES

36. Cathedral niche : APSE

39. Hot brew : TEA

40. Wedding vows : I DOs. Or perhaps, "Never again!".

46. Tentacle : FEELER

47. Petrol station name : ESSO. Get it? In other countries, gas is petrol and Exxon is still Esso.

48. Juan Carlos, to his subjects : REY. King of Spain.


51. RR terminus : STA.

52. Prime rib au __ : JUS

54. "From the halls of Montezuma" soldier : MARINE. (2:24) Performed by The President's Own United States Marine Band.

60. Visibly wowed : AGOG

62. "Vacation" band, with "The" : GO-GO'S



63. Baseball stitching : SEAM

64. Kate, to Petruchio, eventually : WIFE. From The Taming of the Shrew, a comedy by William Shakespeare.

65. China's Zhou __ : ENLAI

66. "__ la Douce" : IRMA. IMBd.

67. Well-protected : SAFE

68. Desires : YENs

69. Armchair quarterback's channel : ESPN

Another musical interlude: On the Road Again(4:57) by Canned heat. (A tie-in with 1-Across?)

Down:

1. Eats, with "up" or "down" : SCARFS

2. Bat for a higher average than : OUT HIT

3. Overseas : ABROAD

4. Curls up with a book : READS

5. Commercial on AM or FM : RADIO AD

6. Actresses Gabor and Longoria : EVAs. And another three-letter actress. 61D. Italian actress Scala : GIA


7. Frontiersman Boone, familiarly : DAN'L

8. Hollywood award : OSCAR

9. "Musta been something __" : I ATE

10. Scrabble sheet : SCORE PAD

11. Surprise 2012 New York Knick standout Jeremy __ : LIN. Is Linsanity Over? - Businessweek.

12. Joseph of ice cream fame : EDY

15. Painfully sensitive : TENDER

21. Off-the-wall effect : ECHO

22. Chip's partner : DALE. The cute little chipmunks, not the dancers. Sorry, Lois.

26. Geometric art style : DECO

27. Raises a question : ASKS

30. "Panic Room" actor Jared : LETO. Busy boy; actor, director, producer, musician, and occasional model.



31. More than chubby : OBESE

34. Fishing line holder : REEL

35. Sighs of relief : AAHs. What you do when the stupid dog next door stops its...

36. Barking sounds : ARFs

37. One writing verse : POET

38. Quit cold turkey : SWEAR OFF

42. __ vu: familiar feeling : DÉJÀ

43. Plod : TRUDGE

44. Diffusion of fluids, as through a membrane : OSMOSIS

45. Thunderous noise : ROAR

48. Potato presses : RICERS

49. Pitch a tent : ENCAMP

50. Naval petty officer : YEOMAN

53. Full of rocks : STONY

55. Riveter painted by Rockwell : ROSIE



57. Architectural S-curve : OGEE

58. Eye lasciviously : OGLE

59. Sound of suffering : MOAN

60. "How cute!" sounds : "AW!"s
Argyle

70 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Pretty easy breezy for a Monday with a nicely done theme. I think the only momentary hesitation was at REY. Blame it on Monday, but my first thought was, "How am I supposed to know some Spanish guy's nickname?" Once I got it via the perps, my next thought was, "Gee -- what a great nickname to have!" The V8 moment came when I finally remembered who Juan Carlos actually was...

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Bonnie and Victor, for a great start to the week. Thank you, Argyle, for the shining review.

Started kind of in the middle with ECHO for 21D and HALO for 29A. Spread from there.

RICERS was easy for 46D. We just had that recently.

I am not sure I get the ESSO for 47A. I know that ESSO used to mean Eastern States Standard Oil (I think). I remember the stations well, from the past. I was not sure that they existed out of this country as ESSO. Maybe they do. The clue Petrol would lead one to believe that it inferred foreign gas stations. Oh well.

I even got DEJA. Wow!

Still have my cold, but am feeling better. I am scheduled to give blood tomorrow. Maybe I should call and make sure I am allowed.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and Friends. This was a good puzzle to start off the work week.

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby also took the ROAD to Singapore, Zanzibar, Rio, Bali, Hong Kong, and Utopia.

We saw a RICER yesterday.

REY Juan Carlos made the news recently when he got caught hunting elephant in Africa. No one would have known if he hadn't broken his hip on the trip

Here is the ultimate Fat Cat, it's way beyond Chubby!

QOD: Some say our national pastime is baseball. Not me. It's gossip. ~ Erma Bombeck

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Puzzle reminds me of the time I RODE in my roadster on the ROAD to Point Judith, RHODE ISLAND and from there I ROWED a few mile East to Block Island, AKA Heaven on Earth. OK, sort of lame, but it's Monday.

A good start for the week with only one minor holdup. For 29A I started with Aura but HALO easily arrived with a little. perp help. One nit though...15D TENSER. I'm sure it's a proper word, but I'd rather say more intense.

55D, ROSIE the Riveter reminded me how much I always looked forward to the Saturday Evening Post being published so I could enjoy another Rockwell creation. As i recall, the magazine wasn't all that bad either.

Anonymous said...

The puzzle seemd a little risque for a Monday, what with ROSIE and TONY getting together in his SCORE PAD. They RODE BAREBACK, he ended up with an STD and said "Hmmm, must be something I ATE"

Mari said...

Nice Monday level puzzle with a cute theme and some fun words: TRUDGE, OSMOSIS, and FIASCO. Funny to see AGOG and GOGOS close by.

I spent most of my weekend like 4D: Curls up with a (good) book: READS. There is a bookstore in the building where I work. It seems they always issue a coupon when I can't find anything I want to read. Friday I had no coupon and ended up buying 4 books!

Hahtoolah - thank you for posting the link about fat cat Meow! I heard about Meow on the radio last night and was wondering what the poor kitty looked like.

Anon: Your quip has me AGOG. I wonder if ROSIE and TONY ELOPEd.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write up. Bonnie & Victor, thanks for a FUN Monday.

For 1-A, SOAR wasn't my first thought. But it did give me an idea. And "Bogart" would describe what came next.

Hondo: 15-D,'Painfully sensitive' was TENDER, not tenSer. Hope that relieves your nit.

Cheers to all at Sunset!

thehondohurricane said...

Tin,

Damn..... now what I thought was a successful completion ends up being another incorrect finish for Hondo.

Thanks for pointing out my miscue.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning Argyle and all.

I avoided the 'road' to perdition by quickly filling in the 4 theme ROWHED lead ins. Cool. Expectedly, someone chipped in with a comment on the BAREBACK fill. AVAST can't be easily heard clearly in a loud windy environment - not used much. YEOMAN again. There are many other types of Naval petty officers: Hospital Corpsman, Machinists Mate, Engineman, Commissaryman, and Sonar Technician, to name a few.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Get high reference just below a mention of Willie Nelson. Hmm…
-I created my own FIASCO this morning. I forewent golf to sub because I was told it would just be testing. Turns out, the only plans I have been given are to have fourteen year olds read 13 chapters for an hour on a spectacular spring day! No good deed goes unpunished.
-Rey? Do you remember, “You can call me Ray, you can call me Jay, you can…”
-When the grandkids were SCARFing down lunch one day, I said, “You guys can sure put away the groceries!” They looked and me and said, “Oh Papa, anyone can put away groceries. You just put them on the shelf!”
-I take omeprazole everyday and never have to say, “It must have been something I ATE”. I am gastronomically bullet proof
-Jeremy LIN was a refreshing interlude in the narcissistic NBA. He’s hurt and won’t finish the season
-Quitting cold turkey is a snap; my brother did it at least 50 times
-Quick question – How many of you use the wonderful program SKYPE?

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

Thanks to Bonnie and Victor for a fun, easy-breezy start to the week and to Argyle for a great expo.

We're in for a rainy, chilly week, so unlike the few beautiful days we had last week. I guess April is the cruelest month.

Happy Monday everyone.

Razz said...

Good Monday Morning CC, Argyle, DF's & DFettes...

Fun Road Trip. Here are a few that I thought could relate to the theme
Abroad has a road in it
The Go-Gos probably had roadies
I listen to the radio sometimes on the I-Roads
Paving crews REDO roads
Elope = wedding on the road
Lots of folk trudge on down the road
The kids say O(h)Gee are we there yet on road trips.

Time to hit the road...Have a great week.

eddyB said...

Didn't like it when the Navy changed the GS designation for Missile Technician to MT. Who wanted to be called a MT2?

eddy

Montana said...

Thanks Argyle for today's write-up of an interesting puzzle.
1A: I first thought soar, but couldn't imagine 1D starting with an s. I taught geometry for 20+ years. For 6-sided shaped I had hexagon or something related to it stuck in my head and didn't think cube. Embarrassing.
Had a whole lot of white space after doing across clues, but going back and forth downs and acrosses, I finally finished.
I did get rodebareback right away. Many of my students did that. Didn't get the theme until reading this blog.
Discouraging Monday puzzle, that I struggled so much with it. Hope I do better the rest of the week.
Forecast 89 degrees today. Wow!
Montana

JD said...

Good morning all,

Argyle, bless you. Loved your theme title....I must have not looked at the road signs. Wagged esso and avast. Loved fiasco and osmosis.

This one was over too quickly.

Hahtoolah, disturbing to see a cat that heavy.

Fog blowing in from the coast, making for a windy morning.

chin said...

Pretty easy, even for a Monday. First clue problem was 54A. The obvious answer is "Marine" but a Marine is most assuredly NOT a soldier. A soldier is in the Army. Marines are in the Marine Corps. Both are valiant members of our armed forces and we are indebted to all of them but they carry different names.

ESSO was derived from Standard Oil (S. O.) which was based, I think, in New Jersey. The government forced them to split up so ESSO became EXXON. The name EXXON was selected to avoid potential trademark problems and the only language that regularly uses a double X is Maltese and there is no word EXXON in Maltese. ESSO stations are found outside of the USA where they dispense petrol.

Anonymous said...

As far as I know ESSO just stood for S(ess)tandard O(o)il.

Lucina said...

Good day, puzzle people. Thanks, Argyle. You SOARed to new heights today with your links.

Today's DANCE was a two step since I work across then down and did not require a YEOMAN'S effort.

I liked the theme having been on numerous ROAD trips including one to RHODE ISLAND and beyond. When my sisters and I start on one we initiate it with Willie's On the Road Again.

OGLE crossing YENS might make some spirits SOAR and perhaps bring on a MOAN.

Thanks Bonnie and Victor for a good one today.

Have a fantastic Monday, everyone!

Misty said...

Lovely Monday speed run, many thanks Bonnie and Victor! Argyle, is a "clecho" a clue echo? If so, would you include OSCAR along with TONY and OBIE? Fun write up too--many thanks!

I didn't realize Rockwell did that famous painting of Rosie the Riveter. And it was fun to be reminded of 'Irma La Douce,' maybe my favorite Shirley Mc Laine, Jack Lemmon movie of all time.

We're off to a funeral this morning. We can't believe we've lost six good friends in just one year. At a certain time of life, it just becomes staggering how quickly you lose everyone. It's raining, which will make the morning even sadder.

Argyle said...

Dang! I just remembered I wanted to get a Lady Godiva link in there for RODEBAREBACK.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Fun, fun puzzle and entertaining write-up, to boot! It's funny, but when I got the theme at RODE BAREBACK, I immediately thought of the Willie Nelson song in your first link, Argyle!

Everyone has mentioned my favs today. We had plenty of ARFS, AWS and AAHS kicking around, too.

Hahtoolah, after seeing that fat cat, mine look positively svelte!

Have a great day, everyone.

Jerome said...

You can row to shore or wade to shore. It's your choice- Row vs Wade.

Marge said...

Hi all,
Yes, this was a fun puzzle, I even got the theme right away on 20A before anything else.

When I looked at 55D I didn't read carefully enough but when I got Rosie it hit me. I certainly remember the picture and the song.

King Juan Carlos had to apologies because his elephant hunt was so extravigent when his people are having a hard time.

Thanks Bonnie and Victor for a fun puzzle and Argyle for a nice write.
Marge

Yellowrocks said...

Here is the story of Rosie the Riveter We Can Do It poster featured in Argyle's blog. Here, also, is a photo of model who was a beautiful woman who only worked in the factory for a very short time. I have read that the poster artist beefed up the model's arms and gave her that Can Do expression.

Scroll down to see Rockwell's painting which is quite different.

Link Rosie

Seldom Seen said...

Also in today's paper...ABROAD.

PK said...

Fun puzzle and great write-up/links, Argyle!

Unfortunately, my brain didn't hit the ROAD as soon as my pencil did. I plugged in a "T" as soon as the perps gave me S_AR, thinking of going high in the theatre. Couldn't figure out what PST was--kept thinking "post-traumatic stress" which I knew was wrong. Left the "T" square blank. DUH!

Oh well, I got everything else. 38D slowed me up because I had enough perps for SWEA_. Made it SWEAt out. But when tOAD TO MORROCCO showed up, I erased and did it right.

Hahtoolah, that cat looks more like one of my grandson's Pillow Pets than a live animal.

Misty, when it rains on a funeral day, I always think the heavens weep for our loss. After I moved to the city, I lost 20 good close friends in my home town in the first two years. After that, I quit counting--too depressing. Since the first of this year, there have been six more gone. RIP

Anonymous said...

Monday's are a joke.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Rode this theme right to the end. Pretty good - didn't figure it out until I was finished. Also enjoyed OSMOSIS, OUTHIT (as in Texas Rangers vis a vis my otherwise effective Tigers - a FIASCO.)

Marti - liked your puzzle on Friday, but never made it here. "Starting Pitcher" for TUNING FORK was a gem.

Jerome - +1.

Concert tonight, and I have a bit of a cold. Bad timing. Oh, well.

On Sat, Amanda was in Seussical - fun show, and a great performance by all the kids.

Cool regards!
JzB

Argyle said...

Another related comic; Mother Goose and Grimm.

Spitzboov said...

Argyle @1245 - Yeah, I was thinking of linking it; very apt. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Are Marines ever called (just) soldiers?

Lucina said...

Spitzboov@1:16
The link did not open.

Bill G. said...

Happy Monday. It's overcast and dreary here too with rain maybe by Wednesday. Fun puzzle. Mondays always make me think I'm getting better at crosswords but later in the week I often get my comeuppance.

I enjoyed the On the Road Again link. Here's one of my favorite road songs by another Dudley. Six Days on the Road.

I loved Shirley MacLaine in "Irma La Douce." Also, "The Apartment." I first lusted after her in a little Alfred Hitchcock film that almost mobody saw called "The Trouble with Harry." She was so appealing, both in appearance and in her personality.

Anonymous said...

For once in a while good monday puzzle. Only a marine is not a soldier. A marine is a marine. The army has soldiers. Civilians always @#$%&-up the military. I always loved the road films. Well going fishing with my new reel. Cheers!!

CrossEyedDave said...

straightforward Monday puzzle, nothing to complain about, (but that never stopped me before...)

I remember when being on the road meant driving by the seat of your pants. Now there is an "idiot light" for everything. You can't sell your car, or even get it past inspection even though it runs fine if there is a light on. I spent $1,200 repairing a transmission that worked fine in a 16 year Ford because of that stupid light, and then my mechanic tells i have to drive the car 25+ miles before i can pass inspection because people pull the battery to reset the computer to get it past inspection, & "they" can tell.

Now my new car has a "TPMS" idiot light on? Not knowing what the hell that was i looked thru the manual & discovered its to tell you to check the "Tire Pressure Monitoring System" that turns on another light if a tire is low.

Imagine... an idiot light for another idiot light!!!

>end of rant<

Argyle, you choose, i can't decide...

Qli said...

Great puzzle and writeup. I had fun with this one; got the theme right away and the rest pretty much filled itself in.

Had Roi first until I remembered that REY is Spanish for King. Saved by the perps. and Sesame Street.

Jerome, Roe vs Wade indeed! Provided my laugh for the day.

Thanks to DH, I knew about Jeremy LIN. Hope he heals well so we can see him play more.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Cute puzzle today. Some great fill, as several of you have pointed out. Best wishes.

Misty said...

PK 12:36, I'll remember your lovely idea that rain at a funeral is meant to be comforting for our loss. Your own numbers are just shocking, PK. I remember many years ago visiting an elderly aunt, who mentioned that none of her friends were alive any longer It gives loneliness a whole new meaning. But the service we attended this morning focused on a wonderful person with a long life well-lived. That's what we have to celebrate and remember, I guess.

Anonymous said...

15d is not tenser, it!'s tender!

Tinbeni said...

Hondo:
Now you know why I made MY comment to YOU at 8:26am this morning.

I just knew some idiot Anon, like the one at 3:01pm, would make an "idiot" comment about your nit.

Anon @3:01pm:
How timely ... maybe you can also comment that a 'soldier' is only in the Army, when the definition of the word per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary also says "one engaged in military service."

Cheers !!!

Lucina said...

Jerome@11:17
LOL heartily!!

I forgot to mention it was nice to see my last name in the puzzle.

Yellowrocks said...

Today’s puzzle and explanation were interesting. Argyle, thanks for the great music links.

I enjoyed Argyle’s Mother Goose and Grimm and Seen’s Abroad.

One of the papers I was midwife to as a tutor dealt with some aspects of feminism. The Rosie the Riveter phenomenon was an important part of the paper. The Rosie phenomenon led women to discover their capabilities, interests, and powers. When the service men returned it was difficult for them to accept their changed wives. But there continued to be a large percentage of women employed, although usually in more “female” occupations. After the 50’s, the June Cleaver decade of domesticity, white middle class women began again to assert their power, often through action in the Civil Rights movement.

Because of my interest in this, when Geraldine Hoff Doyle died last year I found the info. I posted today especially fascinating. The site’s video explanation of Rockwell’s painting is especially good. Rosie the Riveter, although only a metaphor, was a feminist champion.

Anonymous said...

Hondo tell my marine friend he is a soldier. Go. On tell him!!

Tinbeni said...

Lucina @3:18
I never knew your last name was FEELER ... what Nationality is it?

Yellowrocks @3:37
I enjoyed that Rosie the Riveter article.
Then again, I enjoy a lot of the informative stuff that is posted here.

Anon @3:40
Hondo didn't make a "soldier comment" ...
It was Moi who posted the word's DEFINITION.
And I'd be happy to tell any Marine in Our Country's Service, that being in the military service made them a soldier.

Cheers !!!

Anonymous said...

Right on anonymous. Have someone tell a marine he's not a marine. Being a soldier in the Army I learned that lesson. Takes a "cheers" smart a$$ no it all to come up with an idiot comment like that. Any way awesome puzzle today. To the mark. Liked all clues and all but one comment. Adieu. Gmony

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, With un-Monday words like Avast, Osmosis, Fiasco, and Encamp I was a bit longer in solving the puzzle today. But everything eventually did fall into place. I thought for sure i would see Emmy somewhere along the way when Obie, Oscar, and Tony all appeared in the first half of the puzzle. Alas, no such luck.

I did get the theme after the first Rhode/Rode entries, so that made the last two theme fills a bit easier.

Thanks Argyle for another great Monday writeup. I had forgotten that we've seen the two constructors before. They did a nice job of putting things together for us.

Husker, my Peace Corp grandson uses SKYPE to talk to his parents here at home and also with a seventh grade class that is following his Peace Corp service. It is a great thing for him as telephones are non-existent in his village and letters take ages to reach him. He uses solar power to charge his laptop battery.

Have a great rest of the day everyone.

Lemonade714 said...

I knoiw a marine is always a marine, but since soldier refers to land forces and marines have been land forces in countless theaters of war, would a marine really be offended? Would a marine be offended to be called military personnel?

My new avatar is the confirmation that in addition to my two grandpuppies, I will be a grandparent for the first time around Halloween. Yay team Aaron and Elizabeth.

PK said...

CED: Bumping the curb sometimes also activates that TPMS light. Take it from an inveterate curb bumper.

I currently have a "change oil soon" light on my Buick. Since I just had my oil changed, I ignor it. However, a little niggling doubt makes me wonder whether I paid for an oil change that didn't happen.

Misty, because of my newspaper work, I had a lot of friends I became close to when we did stories together. I called them my "mini-love affairs". This is why I "lost" so many friends. But among them were three bosses I was close to and two guys I had "dated" as well as some close co-workers.

i told my brother I wasn't motivated to make any new friends because they either died or moved away. Sure brings home one's own mortality.

Like Argyle on 40A: Never again!

PK said...

Lemonade, congratulations on your impending grampahood. Grandchildren are such a joy!

Hahtoolah said...

Lemonade: Mazel tov!

dodo said...

Hi, troops,

This was a really good one: I slid right ghrouit without any bumps ofhold ups. Also, I got the theme, for once. Most of the clues were straightforward; "Steared the skiff backward" made me think a bit and pass, then go back. I don't know much about sailing. When s"shore" began to emerge, and given the 'road' theme, I realized it wasn't sailing at all.

Nice. and Argyle, I haven't read the comments yet and have only skimmed the extrapolation, but I know it'll be another example of your high quality writing/humor.

Bill G. said...

Geez! I've had to jump through hoops for the past hour to try to get signed in again. 'They' claim there was unusual activity on my account. I've already lost to posts. I'll try this one now to see it things are back to normal.

Mr Goodwrench said...

PK, many of the Buick oil lights are based on mileage accumulated since the last reset and have nothing to do with the actual condition of the oil. If the person that did the oil change did not reset the monitor, the light would come on at a preset number of miles (usually 7500 mi) from the last reset. Dealerships usually reset the monitor. Many of the drive thru places don't. I always reset it myself. Push the "guages" button until "oil condition" comes up, push and hold the reset button for ten seconds. Your owner's manual will tell you if there is a different procedure for your model.

Bill G. said...

OK, it looks as if things are back to normal. So here's what's been happening.

Here's another 'Road' country song, one sung by another Dudley. Six Days on the Road.

Speaking of 'Irma La Douce', I just love Shirley MacLaine in her early days. 'The Apartment' was great too. She looks great and had a very appealing personality. I first saw her in a little known Hitchcock film called 'The Trouble with Harry.' Almost nobody has seen it but me but she just glowed.

We just got back from an excellent lunch. It was at a local Greek restaurant. We had a Greek salad, traditional soup with lemon, chicken and rice, a goat cheese dish served flaming at our table and tiramisu for dessert. Really good stuff!

I'm happy things are back to normal. I was feeling lonely and depressed being out of touch here.

See ya later...

Lucina said...

Tinbeni@3:51
Why, Tin, I didn't know you cared! But it's, you know, Latinish-emoter American.

Lemonade, congratulations! That will usher you into a new, wonderful stage of life.

mtnest995 said...

Lemonade,

Congratulations! Very soon you will have a greater understanding of the phrase, "If I had known they'd be this much fun, I would have had my grandchildren first!"

JD said...

Congrats Lemonade!! Being a grandparent is a whole new world, and worth the wait.(Have a sick one here with me today..lots of cuddling)

Yellowrocks, thanks for the Rosie link.

Marti, I too loved your Friday xwd, but had no time to tip my hat.

PK said...

Mr. Goodwrench, thanks. I had no idea I could do it myself. I have my oil changes done only by a dealership, having worked for one.

Jayce said...

Congratulations, Lemonade. I know you will love being a grandfather. I do.

Unknown said...

Wow! Things do heat up a tad ; don't they? Some people just need what my kids call , "a chill pill".
This is a fun group who just happen to enjoy puzzles! Please!
Thanks for the blog and the puzzle.
By the way, grandchildren keep you young, among other things. Congratulations to Lemonade!

thehondohurricane said...

Tin,

A busy day kept me from checking in from time to time resulting in my missing an Anon critique directed at yours truly. Thanks for defending me. You were a lot more tactful then I would have been.

Dennis said...

Just had some time to read the blog and saw the Marine/soldier discussion.

Fact is, Marines do NOT like being called soldiers; for anyone who's been in the service, a soldier is a member of the Army, and while anyone who's served has my undying respect, Marines work particularly hard for that title and share a unique brotherhood. To me, the distinction is soldier, sailor, airman, marine, and they're all great.

Frankly, I don't care what they call us, as long as they continue to call us first.

Hope this clears up the distinction. And Tinbeni, let me know how that exchange goes for you, lol.

Argyle, nice write-up, as always.

CrossEyedDave said...

LOL, Silly me! I thought Lemonade's tiny avatar was a pic of the puppies until i looked closer.

Congrats Lemonade!

PK, Mr. Goodwrench is right! Also a quick look at the oil dipstick will tell volumes. Any Gas Station attendant can show it to you. Fresh oil goes in nearly clear, & the longer its in there the blacker it gets! I once drove around a company car for 2 years & then found out "i" was responsible for changing the oil. It smelled & looked like burnt coffee!

today's pickles

rhymes with orange

yesterdays lockhorns

Anonymous said...

you da man Dennis!

I knew Tin and Lemon were offending all of our Marines. I was hoping you would check in since I am not an authority on the subject.

Dennis said...

anon @7:26, I'm sure there was no offense meant, and certainly there was none taken. My point was just to point out the distinction in titles. Again, every branch is deserving of the utmost respect, as are all those who've served.

Dot said...

This was easy even for a Monday puzzle. I imagine our solvers who usually zip through a puzzle in under ten minutes were able to work this as fast as they could write.

The 'soldier' debate reminded me of our Veterans' day celebration last year at our church. We always have a really big event honoring our Veterans. Last year the MC used the word 'soldiers' several times when I thought he should have said military personnel. When I questioned him about it later on, he quoted some 'authority' who stated that the word soldier refers to any branch of service. Before next Vet's Day, I shall tell him to research some more because we certainly want to be honoring not offending anyone.
Dot

Bill G. said...

Here are a couple of photos from Jordan's eighth birthday party. His friend, Brenna, is one day younger. They often have their parties together to save on expenses. Jordan

Lemonade714 said...

the suggestion I was insulting Marines is rather insulting. I merely expressed a lack of knowledge having been legally blind and unable to serve, I am unfamiliar with what each branch does. I read the definition and reported it to suggest the original comment was clearly not a slur either. Whatever, semper fi.

PK said...

When my son was an AF ROTC cadet, they called themselves "warriors" which startled me for some reason. I guess all military personnel are warriors. They go to war.

I dated an airman way back when we still called them "flyboys". Would that offend them today, I wonder?

A retired naval commander & pilot gave me fits for calling a submarine captain a "submariner". He said that was a slur. I was sure I had heard the captain say he was a submariner--emphasis on the "sub".

I know how to use a dipstick. I just can't figure out how to get the hood open. I know, when all else fails, read the manual.

Bill G. said...

PK, the latch to unlock the hood is probably a little pull lever toward the bottom of the dashboard and to the left of the steering wheel. Or, maybe not. Once you get the hood unlatched, it will open about a half inch. There is another safety latch to prevent the hood from flying open accidentally when the car is in motion. You have to lift the hood up as far as you can (about an inch) and then slip your hand underneath somewhere near the middle. There will be a moveable latch that you have to push up to open the hood all the way. It's easy once you've done it a few times but you probably will find it difficult at first. Good luck.