google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, May 14, 2012 David Poole

Gary's Blog Map

May 14, 2012

Monday, May 14, 2012 David Poole

Theme: Move It - Three phrases that end in a word describing man's earliest means of transportation.

17A. Swimming stroke : AUSTRALIAN CRAWL

39A. Often-booed baseball play : INTENTIONAL WALK

63A. 1861 or 1862 Civil War conflict : BATTLE OF BULL RUN

Argyle here. David Poole interview here. Very pleasant Monday puzzle with three grid-spanning entries.

Across:

1. Manitoba native : CREE. If you're a little rusty on your Canadian provinces, here is a map.

5. Seat at a bar : STOOL

10. Mallorca or Menorca, por ejemplo : ISLA. Another map, this time of the Spain's Balearic Islands

14. "The War of the Worlds" broadcast, notably : HOAX. The radio broadcast that sparked a panic even though it was announced as a radio play. The Wikipedia article.

15. __ d'Or: Cannes award : PALME


16. Gush forth : SPEW

20. Major tractor manufacturer : DEERE

21. Welsh dog breed : CORGI

22. DJ's stack : CD's

23. Egyptian viper : ASP

25. Vampire vanquisher : STAKE. You can't use a plastic tent peg, can you? It has to be wood? I want to see "Dark Shadows" and need to know what stakes to bring.

27. Intense emotions : PASSIONS

32. Bigwig : HONCHO

35. Genetic carrier : RNA

36. Persona non __ : GRATA. Literally meaning "an unwelcome person", like some Anons.

38. Paleozoic and others : ERAs

43. Popular faucet brand : MOEN

44. Hawaiian porch : LANAI. And related, 31D. Greek walkways : STOAs

45. State with a peninsula: Abbr. : FLA.

46. Traffic cones : PYLONS

49. Playful marine mammal : SEA OTTER


51. Exams for future attys. : LSAT's

53. __ Balls: Hostess treats : SNO

54. Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Century in 1999 : ALI

56. Voice above baritone : TENOR

59. Secretly tie the knot : ELOPE

66. Tied : EVEN. When is a clecho not a clecho?

67. Empty of liquid : DRAIN

68. Abbr. on a cornerstone : ESTD

69. Hang in there : LAST

70. Sound judgment : SENSE

71. Colon components : DOTS. That is the punctuation mark colon, please.

Down:

1. Paper ballot punch-out : CHAD. A thing of the past?

2. Scoundrel : ROUE

3. Allay, as fears : EASE

4. They're more than what's needed : EXTRAs. On a car, maybe, but just what are needed on the set for crowd scenes.

5. Hotel amenity : SPA

6. Rash soother : TALC

7. This and that : OLIO

8. Actors Epps and Sharif : OMARs

9. Inseam measurement : LENGTH

10. Netanyahu's land: Abbr. : ISR. Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel.

11. Mariner 4 or Voyager 2 : SPACECRAFT

12. Indecent : LEWD

13. Beltmaking tools : AWLs. For making holes in leather.

18. Step down : RESIGN

19. "Arrivederci!" : "CIAO!"

24. Ocean liner's destination : PORT

26. Was familiar with : KNEW

27. Groom carefully : PRIMP. You know, titivate.

28. Bug : ANNOY

29. Phobos and Deimos, to Mars : SATELLITES


30. Hammer's target : NAIL

33. Berry of "Monster's Ball" : HALLE

34. Schindler of "Schindler's List" : OSKAR

37. Queen Boleyn : ANNE. The second wife of Henry VIII. She gave birth to the future Elizabeth I but Henry wanted a male heir and when she couldn't provide him with one, she lost her head. Well, this song(2:52) claims she still has her head (under her arm).

40. Baseball's Slaughter : ENOS

41. Very small batteries : AAA's

42. Big name in small trains : LIONEL

47. MLB league : NATL.

48. Knights' horses : STEEDS

50. Rang, as a bell : TOLLED

52. Sound asleep? : SNORE

54. Genesis victim : ABEL

55. Etna's outpouring : LAVA

57. In the blink __ eye : OF AN

58. Stats for sluggers : RBI's

60. Words of approximation : OR SO

61. Miniature golf stroke : PUTT

62. Objectives : ENDS

64. Explosive stuff, briefly : TNT

65. Arles article : UNE. A last map.


Argyle

44 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    Fine Monday puzzle with a fun theme and very little resistance. I hesitated a skosh at HONCHO, only because I've only seen the word used as part of the phrase "head HONCHO" before. But them I remembered how often we've seen WHEEL instead of BIG WHEEL for the same clue, so I guess it's the same thing.

    Elsewhere, I paused before entering the R of RNA simply because I saw this same exact clue recently in another puzzle somewhere and entered RNA, only to discover that it was actually DNA. Fool me once, etc.

    As for vampire STAKEs, traditionally, they not only had to be wood but a particular type of wood was required. In today's pop culture, of course, even a sharpened pencil will do the trick...

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  2. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. After quickly getting AUSTRALIAN CRAWL, I initially thought we might be looking for countries. INTENTIONAL WALK let me know otherwise.

    David Poole must have had C.C. in mind for this puzzle because there were so many baseball references.

    Ok, admit it, you thought of Aloe before TALC for the Rash Soother.

    Colon Component = DOTS was my favorite clue just because it was so unexpected.

    We had to replace our kitchen faucet recently. We got a Grohe, however, and not a MOEN.

    QOD: I have a simple philosophy: Fill what is empty. Empty what is full and scratch where it itches. ~ Alice Roosevelt Longworth

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  3. This is one heck of a Monday. Forgot the keys to the office and now the LA Times site says they don't have a puzzle for this date! Guess I'll do it later.

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  4. Good day folks,

    Enjoyable Monday offering from David Poole.

    Sorry Hahtoolah, had TALC from the onset. Knew 5A, Stool, was correct. Sat on enough of them in the past.

    Liked DOTS too.

    The theme entry's were easy because they were all in my wheelhouse.

    While reading Shelby Foote's trilogy on the Civil war, after the 2nd Bull Run, I began to wonder how the North ever won the conflict.

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  5. Good morning, folks. Thank you, David Poole, for a fine Monday puzzle. Thank you, as well, Argyle, for a fine review.

    Well, I sympathize with Mainiac, I could not download the puzzle to my IPad. So, I walked over to my wife's cousin's house and printed it from the Chicago Tribune site.

    Puzzle was easy, as it should be for a Monday.

    My only hangup in the North was PALME. With five perps it appeared.

    Yes, for minute I wanted ALOE for 6D, but I waited for an across and TALC worked.

    Have purchased many MOEN products through the years. Good company. I think there a copycat items from abroad now.

    Remembered OSKAR Schindler from an earlier puzzle. I never saw the movie, but I should do that sometime.

    Yes, lots of baseballese today. I actually got them all easily. That is rare.

    Did not know HALLE for 33D. Perps to the rescue.

    Rained last night in NW PA. Hope to work outside between the raindrops. We'll see.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  6. Good morning, all.

    Easy Monday, just as it should be. W-Hondo-S about STOOL and TALC. I read basketball where it said baseball, so I confidently started with INTENTIONAL FOUL. Didn't last long.

    Is that really what TITIVATE means? I guess I've only ever heard it used in the DF sense.

    Why am I thinking that vampire stakes had to be made of silver? Am I confusing Vlad the Impaler with the Lone Ranger? Of course, everyone wants his/her vampire stake well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where do you come up with titivate? And what do you mean by DF?

      Delete
  7. Silver is only for werewolves. Unless you're Wesley Snipes, I suppose (his "Blade" movies don't follow the standard conventions).

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  8. Happy Monday to all,

    I thought of Aloe (TALC), LPs (CDs) and DNA (RNA), but I got them all right. Never knew it was called the AUSTRALIAN CRAWL (as opposed to just the CRAWL).

    DH is in the plumbing business and sells many MOEN products.

    I saw Dark Shadows over the weekend. My mother watched the TV show when it aired, but I don't remember it.

    We've got NATO in Chicago this week, and they don't want us to come downtown. So starting Wednesday I'll be working amongst my cats and books in the home office (yay!)

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  9. Good morning,
    This was a great Monday puzzle. Thanks David and Argyle.

    I started 'across' and didn't know ISLA or PALME, and slowed at HONCHO. Perps easily filled those in and I was done.
    I looked at what I would have known had I solved 'downs' first: I wouldn't have known ROUE or STOAS and would have spelled OSKAR wrong, so I guess it didn't matter if I solved across first or down.

    I live 30 miles from Canada. We learn the Western Canadian provinces as we grow up.
    My son is moving into his second home in Honolulu. No lanai at either place.
    Another son's Aussie relative's name for 'pylons' is 'witch's hats.' Seems fitting.

    Does anyone live near the historic Oregon Trail? I am going to fly to Kansas City in June and meet my brother-in-law. We are going to drive as close as we can to the Oregon Trail from Independence, MO to Oregon City, OR. We will stop at attractions along the way. Will even drive some gravel roads if mud doesn't interfere.

    Have a good day,
    Montana

    May 14, 2012 8:47 AM

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  10. In my Sunday paper I had a different puzzle than the one being discussed here. What gives?

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  11. Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

    That was an adorable clip of those playful SEA OTTERS, Argyle! I noticed that they had put long green rubber strips in their pool. I guess that was meant to imitate the sea kelp that they find in their natural habitat?

    Hahtoolah, I was also wondering if we were going for countries when I entered AUSTRALIAN CRAWL. But when I got INTENTIONAL WALK, I immediately dropped south and entered BATTLE OF BULL RUN. Is that "cheating?"

    There wasn't anything that stood out for me on this one. Pretty straightforward easy peasy Monday. Have a nice day, everyone.

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  12. heartky, are you asking me or desper-otto?

    Michael S., there are two Sunday LAT puzzles; one from Rich Norris(online and in some papers) and one from Merl Reagle, in the LA Times paper and others.

    We do the Rich Norris one.

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  13. Good morning and happy Monday to all. Thanks Argyle and David Poole. Nice smooth speed run for me with no smudges. Like Marti once I got the 2nd long across went right to the 3rd one and everything went down easy.Really liked honcho,persona non grata,and pylons.I hope everyone had a happy mothers day. have a great day to all.RJW

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  14. Good morning all:

    Nice, fun puzzle, David, and good expo, Argyle.

    After Saturday's and Sunday's struggles, (for me, anyway) this was an easy, pleasant start to the week.

    Hatoolah, loved your QOD. From what I have read, Alice Roosevelt was quite the cut-up.

    Happy Monday everyone.

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  15. Had Kohl before MOEN.

    The PALME d'Or is awarded at Cannes, and many Americans have won. It's a bit more cutting edge than the Oscar. It often awards a movie I might want to see.

    Hate questions like MLB league = NATL. Combines sports and abbrevs, 2 categories I hate.

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  16. Good morning everyone.

    I do love Mondays. Got it all with only one question to DH:tractor manufacturer. Long ones came with a bit of help from perps.

    My favorite Alice Roosevelt Longworth quote was, I think, on her sofa pillow, "If you can't say something nice about someone, come sit beside me."

    Cheers

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  17. I love getting a speed run on a Monday morning, and this was a great one. I thought I'd never get those long across themes, but they fell right into place. In fact, I never put in GRATA because it just filled itself.

    And then there's the fun of 'getting' it while still not 'getting' it. I was going to ask the blog what the heck DOT had to do with colon (as in colonoscopy). Only when I read Hahtoolah's post did the light bulb come on.

    Anyway, a great start to the week, so thanks, David, and Argyle.

    Have a good one, everybody!

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  18. Fun Monday puzzle. I got the theme about halfway through and it helped with the solving.

    As a youth, I lived near the Bull Run battlefields. Growing up in Virginia, the Rebs were always portrayed as the brave undermanned good guys fighting off the hated Yankee bad guys.

    Abejo, yes, you should see Shindler's List. It was an excellent movie about an unpleasant subject and, as a result, I won't see it a second time.

    Awls are often clued as a tool for belt making. My own experience is that a leather punch is used instead of an awl. An awl pokes a hole through the leather whereas a leather punch removes a small circle of leather. It makes a much neater hole.

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  19. Hi all, and thanks Argyle for the nice write-up,

    Mondays are fun if they take a little thought, and this was great. Satellites did not come at first because I was thinking mythology.Had les for une, at first, and, like Sallie, I needed a few perps to fill in the phrases.

    Hahtoolah, talc came right away, as I thought-babies.I do change lots of diapers.

    I have no idea if Jeannie popped in yesterday , but I really wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday. We all miss you, Jeannie. I think of you every time I come across one of your recipes...like the pie crust with vodka.

    Hope everyone enjoyed their Mothers' Day.

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  20. Enjoyed all the baseball clues.

    Really liked how David Poole matched the two long down fills. SATELLITES and SPACECRAFT. Just stellar.

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  21. Good afternoon everyone. Argyle, good job.

    Our ship would regularly titivate the quarterdeck so it would look sharp. No DF at all. Easy fast puzzle today. One small strikethrough to change 'tension' to PASSION. No nits or controversy. No lookups. Favorite fill: TOLLED.

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jeanie. Hope all is well with you.

    CIAO!

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  22. Great Monday puzzle although I drew a blank at first with the NW block. I knew CREE were in Canada and have met some, but thought Manitoba was too far east for that tribe. Ojibway didn't fit. Then wondered if Manitoba was a province at all. Duh! But of course, Argyle rode in on his gallant STEED Google and answered that question with a map. Thanks! Meanwhile, I had finally remembered CHAD and HOAX so finished on my own today.

    I had an interesting meeting with a SEAOTTER at the Seattle Aquarium. I stepped up to the glass and said, "My aren't you a cutey!" Whereupon, he reached down and stripped away a furry sheath, making a very LEWD gesture. There was a large crowd of people with children right there. I was sooo embarrassed and I don't embarrass easily.

    Montana, your trip sounds fun. When we made the trip in 1995, the trail had signboards in the restroom stops along the interstate. They told about particular happenings in that area on the trail. Very interesting and poignant to me because one set of several-times-great grandparents made that trip in the 1850's. Are the signs still there?

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  23. Hello everybody. Enjoyed this easy but fun puzzle today. Hand up for entering aloe instead of TALC. PALME and CORGI fixed that. Also, wrote dNA instead of RNA, but that was quickly fixed, too. Like HeartRx did, after I got CRAWL and WALK I dropped down and entered RUN and was well on my way. Seen, I noticed that too. Excellent fill. Only unknown as SNO balls, and of course the abbreviated sports references. Best wishes to you all.

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  24. 3 grid spanners with a lovely progressive theme at a Monday level? Egads, David, how do you do that?

    Musings
    -To close the loop on my North Bend golf/Marj Helgenberger silliness, we had a picnic across from her childhood home last night and I played 31 holes on the NB golf course this morning
    -I’d pay big money if someone could teach me to AUSTRALIAN CRAWL without having me sink!
    -Four letter Canadian native? I gotta be CREE.
    -Some farmers, like my neighbor, here have been DEERE families for many generations. They just bought a $250,000 combine, green of course.
    -School subs can be made to feel like PERSONA NON GRATA!
    -Lemon, do we need more engineers and fewer lawyers?
    -Would a scoundrel chef make a ROUE ROUX?
    -EXTRAS = villagers, spear carriers, townspeople,…
    -Voyagers 1 and 2 are at the outer boundaries of the solar system and in a few years will leave it and enter interstellar space.
    -Montana, the Oregon Trail followed the Platte right through our town. It was before we had a McDonalds ;-)!
    -I hit the heck out of the ball on a couple of holes today and then took 3 PUTTs, ARRGGHH! Drive for show, PUTT for dough!

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  25. I installed a MOEN faucet for our kitchen sink about 10 years ago, to replace a worn-out Delta faucet, and it is still working fine. Only had to replace the cartridge once, about 5 years ago, because it was leaking a lot. Also had to replace the "O" rings. Rubber parts do wear out, unfortunately, which I suppose is true for all brands and models of faucet.

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  26. What else can we find:

    The ASP crawls.

    Somebody has to walk the CORGI.

    Nothing runs like a DEERE™.

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  27. The Civil War was a war of attrition. The South could not replace the men and material left on the field.
    The Battles of Bull Run aka Manassas, Antietam aka Sharpsburg and Gettysburg cost the South tens of thousands of men. Pickett's charge alone was 12k men dead.

    Familar with Western Provinces from following hockey. Several threatened to join the US if Quebec
    gained her independence.

    eddy

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  28. Godd morning friends,

    Oh I just love Mondays! Aced this one with no help at all! Whst a joy. Thanks David Poole and Argyle.

    I remember my sister singing "With Her Head Tucked Under Her Arm" but she didn't know the song at all, just that line. So it was fun to hear the complete piece. Thanks, Santa.

    Yes, Hahtoolah, I did think of "aloe" before"talc". But that was a quick fix.

    Well, I can't stay, as I have a date for lunch and other errands.
    P'r'haps Ill get back.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Heartky @ 9:28

    re: DF, if they are talking about you, it means "dear friend." If they are talking about anyone else, it means "dysfunctional."

    Hello puzzlers! Just got back from my eldest daughters graduation for The University of Miami, Susan Rice was the guest speaker, very nice!

    Husker Gary @12:50 They tried to teach me the Australian crawl when i was growing up in Australia, being skin & bones i would just sink like a stone. Now that i am 200 lbs heavier, i just bob around like a cork!

    I can't call this the Australian Crawl, but i can't call it the dog paddle either!

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  30. Heartky@9:28 -- Argyle added a link to the definition of titivate at PRIMP (29D). Around here, if something is a bit sexy or off-color, we call it DF (short for dysfunctional -- we like to keep the fun in dysfunctional). I'll bet you can conjure up a DF image of the word titivate.

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  31. Pamela Anderson titivating on Dancing with the Stars at the four minute mark.

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  32. PK, I will let you know if the Oregon Trail signs are still there. We have the time to get OFF the interstate, so may follow back roads to see attractions.
    Husker, I will check with you when the trip starts. Is there a restaurant (other than McDonalds) in your town?

    My ancestors came on the Great Nothern Railway train from Iowa (after Norway) when Jim Hill advertised the wonderful, lush land in Montana being given away. I think Sunday will be the 150 year anniversary of the Homestead Act.

    Montana

    ReplyDelete
  33. Here is the winning act on Britain's Got Talent.

    Here is possible the WORST ceremonial first pitch ever at a baseball game.

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  34. Montana, As you can see by this map, my area is more connected with the Mormon Trail which left just north of what is now Omaha and joined with the Oregon Trail which was south of the Platte out where the North Platte River begins. The trails split again and Fort Bridger where the Mormons headed for the Great Salt Valley and the Oregon Trail settlers headed for Fort Hall.

    I live an hour north of I-80 and 20 min west of Omaha. The Oregon Trail is south of here and the Spring Lake Prairie Audubon Society just outside of Lincoln has some great displays of people who took the Oregon Trail and boasts of wagon ruts left by travelers who took this cutoff. They are recreating the natural prairie there and it would be a spectacular place for you to visit.

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  35. Hola Everyone, To use an oft used Crossword answer. I aced this puzzle today. And, Hatool, Aloe came to mind but I already had stool in place so talc it had to be.

    Nothing special stood out today, except that the three long answers spanned the entire width of the puzzle. This doesn't always happen.

    Happy Birthday to Jeannie, wherever you are. I, too, think of her whenever I use one of her recipes.

    A lovely Mother's Day for me. One daughter brought her brown betty teapot with tea and lavender pound cake to share, and then we watched a Facebook video of my Grandson proposing to his girlfriend at Chico. He's here on vacation from the Peace Corp and had this planned all along. Really fun and we're adding a beautiful young lady to our growing family.

    My computer had been down for 4 days. I have the Internet up, but no e-mail yet.

    Have a great rest of the day, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Evening all:

    Nice Monday puzzle, except I am ashamed to say I did not get the theme until I came to the blog. Was looking for something in the first words rather than the last. I am DF!

    Wanted meteorites at 29D but saw LSAT would not work, so had to modify.

    I had one nit: Isn't established usually abbreviated as EST rather than ESTD? Realize that Mr. Poole needed to get ENDS in there, so that's probably the reason.

    CED: Thanks for Merlin the Cat!

    BILL G: Loved Pudsey. What a sweet talented little dog!

    Argyle: Asps don't crawl do they? I think they slither.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Good evening, CC, Argyle, et al., What a good and fun puzzle. Love the links by our resident Santa baby. Outstanding job, as usual. Got lost with the links for the 'Anne Bolyn' song....very cute and sounded like Stanley Holloway, Eliza Doolittle's dad, so I got lost looking that up. Nope not the same. Must be the COCKney accent. I'm so gullable. hmmm!

    Abejo: I'm with you on OSKAR. Am still building my courage to see Schindler's List. My High School daughter, very emotionally strong, came in from seeing that as a school extra credit & was so disturbed she woke me up and talked for an hour about it. Someday I'll see it.

    Desper-otto: LMAO! Me Too! Titivate NOT being DF is just not in my DICtionary. Being me, I titivate often. Wha' d'ya expect?

    Mari: you didn't say if you liked
    Dark Shadows. What's your verdict?

    Montana: I envy your summer trip. I hope you explore every nook and cranny along the way, time permitting. Your trek is thru some of the most exciting part of the country. I hope you stop every chance you get. Can't wait to hear all about this trip. We shall live vicariously thru you. Take good notes, ok? Carol lives in OR. Maybe we can get her to chime in.

    4 more Mondays of school here and it's another yr of the Nazi regime done, but who's counting.

    Enjoy your evening.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Lois, what's up with the Nazi regime. Nasty principal?

    A WORD LADDER

    Change one letter at a time to get from TREE to CHOP. Intermediate words must contain four letters and must be included in standard dictionaries. You should need fewer than 10 steps.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I loved Mallorca last November!

    Otherwise, I got nuthin' today, fine puzzle. A few decent curves thrown, no real dross.

    Here's a nice thought:

    "Don't judge the worth of a man by looking him up and down, stand by him and let his true character radiate to you"

    Happy Mother's day a day late to the Moms & GMoms on here.

    Cheers,
    -r-

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  40. Bill G:

    If that was supposed to be a link--- didn't happen!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Whoops - maybe you don't need one for your puzzle!

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  42. BillG: As I feared, the Lakers were too tired to play the Thunder. I am a Thunder fan too, but that was so pathetic. Mercy me!

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  43. Mercy me too. That was dreadful. Very perceptive on your part. However, if the Lakers are not going to win, then I think it would be neat for a small-market team like the Thunder to wear the crown for a year. Their fans deserve it. At least the Dodgers are starting off well so far.

    ReplyDelete

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