google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, November 25, 2013 Matt Skoczen

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Nov 25, 2013

Monday, November 25, 2013 Matt Skoczen

Theme: Small retail stores - SHOP can be added to the last word of the starred entries.

17. *Fluffy carnival treat : COTTON CANDY. Candy shop.

23. *"West Side Story" film actress : NATALIE WOOD. Her death is still shrouded in controversy. Wood shop.

40. *"You first," facetiously : AGE BEFORE BEAUTY. Source. Beauty shop.

50. *Favorite in the classroom : TEACHER'S PET. Song(2:48). Pet shop.

64. Discussing the job with colleagues, and what the last words of the answers to starred clues seem to be doing : TALKING SHOP

Argyle here. I doubt these stores will be swamped on Black Friday. Four long entries and one grid spanner: good start for the week. Still, there may be some nits.

Across:

1. "Drat!" : "DARN!"

5. On the agenda : SLATED

11. __-at-ease : ILL

14. Melville's "Typee" sequel : "OMOO"

15. Writer de Beauvoir : SIMONE. Ahead of her time and maybe a little early in the week, too.

16. Mop & __: cleaning brand : GLO. (for floors)

19. Restroom, briefly : LAV. Oops, not LOO.

20. "Attack, Rover!" : "SIC 'EM!"

21. Sworn __: given the oath of office for : IN AS

22. First-class : A-ONE

26. Free of charge : GRATIS

30. "Tut!" kin : "TSK!"

31. Puerto __ : RICO. Maria, played by Natalie Wood in West Side Story, was Puerto Rican.

32. Slanted print: Abbr. : ITAL.

36. Mark who created Tom Sawyer : TWAIN

43. '70s-'80s Egyptian president Anwar : SADAT

44. Mideast ruler : EMIR. Also, emeer, amir, ameer.

45. 38-Down and others: Abbr. : RTEs. 38D. Fla.-to-Cal. highway : I TEN

46. "Proud Mary" band, for short : CCR. (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

48. Has had enough : IS DONE

56. Wartime honoree : HERO

57. Spanish painter Francisco : GOYA. Despite La Maja Desnuda and La Maja Vestida, most of his work is dark and somber.

58. First Greek letter : ALPHA

63. Tax-collecting agcy. : IRS

66. __ de Janeiro : RIO. I wonder if they have cotton candy at their carnival?

67. Claim without proof : ALLEGE

68. Floor square : TILE

69. Room for a TV : DEN

70. Ruined, with "up" : MESSED

71. Go in snow : SLED. Time to shine up those runners.

Down:

1. Medical pros : DOCs

2. Mine, to Marcel : À MOI

3. Campus military org. : ROTC. (Reserve Officers' Training Corps)

4. Promissory __ : NOTE. Fancy term for an IOU.

5. Taxpayer ID : SSN

6. On the up and up : LICIT

7. Appliance brand : AMANA

8. Melodious : TONAL

9. Breaks up with a lover : ENDS IT

10. Susan of "The Partridge Family" : DEY

11. Domed Arctic home : IGLOO

12. Southwestern grassy plain : LLANO

13. Thought the world of : LOVED

18. Prefix with present : OMNI

22. Singsongy "This is an uncomfortable moment" : "AWKWARD"

24. "Yeah, right!" : "AS IF"

25. Direction in which el sol rises : ESTE

26. Mardi __ : GRAS

27. Capital of Latvia : RIGA

28. Scored 100 on : ACED

29. Cash crop for the southern American colonies : TOBACCO

33. From head to __ : TOE

34. Elbow's locale : ARM

35. Flower necklace : LEI

37. Car : AUTO

39. Wall St. index : NYSE. (New York Stock Exchange)

41. Engrave on glass, say : ETCH

42. Soft cheese : BRIE

47. Entertain lavishly : REGALE

49. Guys-only party : STAG

50. Word with party or degree : THIRD

51. Willies-inducing : EERIE

52. Pyromaniac's crime : ARSON

53. Diner basketful : ROLLS

54. Comedian Wanda : SYKES. She's not everyone's cup of tea so I won't link her.

55. Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel : PAIGE. He pitched in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball. Quite the character.

59. D-Day transports : LSTs. (landing ship, tank)

60. Talk show pioneer Donahue : PHIL. Married to Marlo Thomas as we found out the other day.

61. Golfer's target : HOLE

62. Copied : APED

64. Scottish hat : TAM

65. Beatty of film : NED. "a chubby, cherubic character actor who rarely gets the girl, but almost always has the audience's sympathy, even when he plays bad guys."


Argyle



57 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Bit slow for a Monday, but given the fact I only got five hours of sleep last night (stupid late night football games!) I suspect it's not the puzzle's fault...

Only "nit" I can think of right now is that TONAL doesn't seem right for "melodious". But it probably is. Did I mention how tired I am right now?

Zzzzzzz...

[sternalm]

Argyle said...

Ah, but what an odd finish to the Pats game.

OwenKL said...

Christmas season is almost upon us,
When "shop 'til you drop" is just honest.
To the malls do we flock
To stuff every sock
And search for "That Toy" Santa promised!

To the CANDY SHOP for some nibbles.
To the PET STORE to get Rex special kibbles
(That excites little Joanie,
She's expecting a pony).
To the stationers for that aunt who still scribbles.

To the WOOD SHOP for teething-proof blocks
For cousin Sally's twin little tots.
Books and music we're buyin'
But we get those on line,
From stores whose names include "dot"s.

Don't forget the BEAUTY SALON.
The kin will arrive with the dawn.
Have to look at your best,
For the family guests,
Especially fault-finding Mom!

At last, the shopping now done!
There are no more errands to run.
Although pressure's been squeezin'
We give thanks for the season --
Then unwind with a crossword for fun!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Owen,
I sent you an email a few days ago. Can you check to see if it arrived in your Junk folder? Thanks.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I would say this is more of a Tuesday level puzzle. COTTON CANDY came easily, but there were some interesting non-Monday clues.

Hand up for wanting Loo before LAV.

SIMONE de Beauvoir had a long-term relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre.

QOD: I have to tell you I never in my life anticipated getting old this fast. It seems as if I were 25 just a few days ago. ~ Ben Stein (Nov. 25, 1944)

[lapesse]

Middletown Bomber said...

Rather easy, nearly a Monday speed run, must have been on I Matt's wave length. What an ending to the Patriot - Broncos game last night.

Montana said...

Thanks Argyle and Matt. This was a little more difficult than a typical Monday puzzle for me, but I got it done. I forgot to look for the theme, so learned it when I read Argyle’s expo.
I find the LATimes site on iPad much more friendly than in the past. I could only solve across, never down. Figured out how to do it today. I still prefer using Cruciverb when it is available. I do not have access to a printer until 6:30am but I have to be at my granddaughter’s by 6:40 and I walk there, so I have to rely on my iPad for the puzzle.
Today I clicked on ‘save’ the puzzle to be able to go back and look at it, and cannot figure out where it was saved. So, I relied on Argyle to see the completed puzzle.

Have a good Monday, everyone,
Montana

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Wet, cold, dank, nasty. Ugh! Sure glad I don't have to drive to work today.

No nits to pick with Matt's Monday offering, though I did think IN AS was AWKWARD.

Argyle, there was no odd finish to the Texans game -- just what the fans have come to expect. Have you seen Shooter? In that movie neither Ned Beatty nor Danny Glover come off the least bit likable.

Anonymous said...

The Northwest corner started out slow, so didn't feel like a Monday at first, but then it picked up for a speed finish.

Today's learning moment CCR recorded "Proud Mary" in 1969, and Tina Turner's cover was in 1970 which I remember so much better since it was a signature song for her.

Yellowrocks said...

A quick sashay today. Typee and Omoo are great adventure tales, but it seems Omoo has been immortalized by crossword constructors.
SYKES came from perps, as well as CCR. Then I remembered what CCR stood for and should have known.
Otherwise this was very straight forward, no second guesses.
I plan not to shop on Black Friday. There are plenty of E-bargains on Black Monday with free shipping. I hate crowds and standing in line. There are bargains at the mall all throughout the season if you keep your eyes open. I prefer to shop from 5PM to 7 PM on weekdays, no crowds and great parking.

HeartRx said...

Good morning all!

Thanks for the link to TEACHER'S PET. I had forgotten that song. I couldn't open the link to the origin of AGE BEFORE BEAUTY - I'll try again later.

Nice straightforward theme, with nary a nit to pick. I didn't fall into the LAV/loo trap, since the clue did not contain any reference to England in it. But I did goof up on CCR. I had entered CCW (Credence ClearWater?), and was wondering what WEG*** would lead to. WEGALE just didn't seem right (unless you're Elmer Fudd, that is!) That was my only write-over, though, so it was a good start to the week.

Has anyone ever tried "dry brining" a turkey? We are trying that recipe this year, and had to start the process today. I hope it turns out OK, but at least we don't have any guests this year. So if it is just plain awful, we can always thaw some chicken legs, instead!!

Argyle said...

The link for Phrase Finder is good but their site isn't responding.

Martin said...

Okay, let's be constructive here.

First, "Drat!" is not a good clue for a Monday. I wanted RATS instead of DARN. How about "Fix by sewing"?

Second, "à moi" is technically a valid translation for "mine" but MIEN is better. https://translate.google.com.tw/?hl=en&tab=wT#en/fr/mine

Finally, CANDY SHOP and PET SHOP are a bit weak. They are non-standard in American English: we usually say "candy store" and "pet store". If I were constructing this puzzle I would have used GLAZED DONUT (SHOP)and CUP OF COFFEE (SHOP).

I hope the constructor isn't upset by my comments. I see other people agree that the Northwest corner was a bit difficult for a Monday.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Piece of cake, in contrast to yesterday's troublemaker.

Morning, Montana - until your post, I was unaware that the LATimes site could be gotten to play on an iPad. I gather they put in a non-Flash patch. The interface is awkward, though.

We have a big crowd for Thanksgiving this year, about 23 if everybody turns up. My sister is hosting, as usual, in her house in a seriously rural part of W. Mass. We always have a good time, and plenty of adult beverages. Really, it's the best American holiday.

Captcha just happens to be "sayingso".

Husker Gary said...

I even got the theme on Matt’s just right Monday exercise. What cluing today means our old cwd buddy CAPAPIE?

Musings
-I excelled in the physics lab but not in the wood SHOP
-The kid trying to be TEACHER’S PET can be annoying and even dangerous
-When I TALK SHOP with former colleagues, Joann can feel left out
-I clean my LAV on Thursday
-It’s hard to look at Jackie in that pink suit at LBJ’s side as he was sworn IN AS POTUS
-Her biography said her use of TOBACCO finally killed her
-GRATIS is not in Disney’s vocabulary
-Jimmy Carter thought this SADAT handshake was one of his biggest achievement while POTUS
-After the Patriots were down 24 – 0 last night, I WAS DONE watching. I looked back in an hour later and the Pats were ahead by 7 and won on a strange play near the end of OT. OMG!
-English proverb – “A HERO is someone who is afraid to run away”
-I guess if the 24/7 news people use the word ALLEGE(d) they can say anything
-Roy Orbison’s (3:07) haunting way to END IT
-We have one couple where it is AWWWWKWARD to run into because of a past incident
-Wanda today and Tosh yesterday are among comedians who have coarsened (enlightened for some?) the culture
-In what fun movie did NED Beatty play the bumbling sidekick Otis?

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Matt Skoczen, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the fine review.

Comment on the weekend, I never had time to do Saturday's. Sunday's I am still working on. It was pretty tough, still is. I hope to finish it today. Saturday, I may blow off.

Fot today, pretty easy, but it should be.

I had no problem with AMOI for 2D. As with all french words I wait until I have all the perps. Piece of cake!

SIMONE I did not know. Perped her. (I assume it is a her)

Theme was easy.

I TEN was a snap for 38D. Drove it all the time in LA. San Bernardino and Santa Monica Freeways.

Did not know SYKES. Perped and wagged.

Enjoyed the puzzle.

Montana: What I do when I am traveling with my IPad is, when I am done with the puzzle, I pull up the blog site on my smart phone and look at the completed puzzle there, and then go to the site on the IPad and make my comments. I works really good. Maybe that will help you.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(esndmis)

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Agree with Barry about TONAL. I thought the puzzle was a bit pebbly for a Monday, Two small missteps: loo before LAV, and Audi before AUTO. Sigh. But I did get ESTE on the 1st pass. Overall, a fun puzzle. Thanks Matt.

SIC'EM - While growing up, we had cow dogs to help bring the herd in from pasture for milking. Our best ones were bi-lingual, so in addition to Sic'em, they would respond to the L. German "Biet 'em an de Hacken" (Nip 'em at the heels")

Have a great day.

JJM said...

I love to read what people think of the actual puzzle. Everyone is different, but I actually thought it was a bit too easy, even for a Monday.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

An easy Monday romp, for the most part, although I had a couple of miscues: accuse/allege, emts/docs, and mucked/messed. Had no clue about the theme until the reveal and then, TADA!

Thanks, Matt, and Argyle for a great start to the week.

When we were teenagers and someone said (usually in a smart-alecky tone) Age before Beauty, our equally smart-alecky response was, Beauty was a horse!

Nice and sunny today but cold. Just have to wait and see how that storm will track.

Have a merry Monday.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Nice start to the week. Just about right for a Monday.

Theme was opaque without the unifier.

Barry is right about melodious = Tonal. That is quite askew. TSK! OK puzzle, otherwise.

I've been a Pat's anti-fan since their groundskeeper brushed off a spot for their field goal kicker at the end of a game vs Miami many years ago. Then the tuck-rule incident happened. Even that is ancient history, but I still want them to lose every game.

Cheers!
JzB

TTP said...

Good morning gang !

Thanks Matt and thanks Argyle.

MartiHeati, I will brine again, but a gallon of vegetable stock with a cup of kosher salt and other items. We both cook, but this is her day to shine.

Fun stuff today.

Spitzboov, my GSD understands some English and some German. He hears, but doesn't always listen on some of the things he's learned he can get away with.

Irish Miss, great retort ! How about the rejoinder for "Shut the door ! Were you born in a barn ?" YES, and it sure reminds me of home when I see an _____ like you !"

JzB, yeah, that and the revelation in 2007 of the spying on other teams throughout the Belichick era. Haven't liked ever since.

Lucina said...

Hello, friends! Cute comment about COTTON CANDY in RIO, Argyle.

Even the theme was easy to see once I finished the puzzle.

Thanks to Matt Skoczen for a fun and friendly romp today. I'm with JJM in that this was exceptionally easy even for Monday. In my haste though, LOO did precede LAV and needed SIM__ to finish SIMONE and that brought memories of World Lit.

Yesterday we had TOBASCO, today it's TOBACCO.

RIGA is on my bucket list and though I've never longed for a cruise, I believe the Baltic one would be nice. Has anyone been?

My perio appointment was cancelled for today so I'll have to fill in that time slot.

Have a stupendous Monday, everyone! El sol is again bright and sunny today.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Almost a speed run for me! Thanks Matt, Argyle!

I too thought Store instead of Shop.

Tuesday I am getting a scooter that attaches to a hitch and pole arrangement at the end of my truck.

Cheers!

Argyle said...

Dorothy Parker's reply was "Pearls before swine".

The Phrase Finder link is up again.

HeartRx said...

HG, Ned Beatty played Lex Luther's sidekick in Superman, right?

JazzB, there was no rule at the time about clearing heavy snow off the field, so why does that make the Patriots at fault? And the tuck-rule incident was reviewed by the ref, not the Patriots. So why not hate the groundskeeper and the ref, instead of the Patriots? If I hated teams for every call I thought was unfair, then I probably would never watch another football game...

Bill G. said...

Nothing much to add. I finished the puzzle late last night. I wanted LEGIT instead of LICIT. Otherwise, WEES and Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

I always enjoyed CCR. They fit my definition of what rock and roll should be.

Gary, wasn't Otis Mr. Luthor's dimwitted sidekick in one of the Superman movies? (Oops! I see that Marti was a little faster than I was though that's not much of a compliment.) :>)

Irish Miss, I remember the "Beauty was a horse!" comeback from my youth. It seemed pretty witty at the time...

Barbara's doing the Thanksgiving dinner shopping; I'm doing the more pedestrian shopping for day-to-day stuff that we're out of.

CrossEyedDave said...

Wees,

& I know all the teachers on the Blog will not mind Talking Shop.

Or Grammarians...

Misty said...

Redemption! A wonderful speed run this morning, just what I needed after that Saturday disaster! Many, many thanks, Matt. Practically every name was in my wheelhouse. Knew SIMONE B., and of course, NATALIE WOOD, Anwar SADAT, GOYA, TWAIN, PHIL Donahue. Only PAIGE was unfamiliar. Wonderful--I feel as though I got my brain back this morning.

Fun write-up, as always, Argyle. And great limerick as well, Owen.

I used to love COTTON CANDY.

Family starts arriving tomorrow--just hope they don't have trouble changing planes in Atlanta because of a storm. Also sad to learn we will have a California storm and rain on Thanksgiving Day and Friday--the days everyone loves to go to the beach. Oh, well, when I think of the Philippines nightmare and tornadoes in Illinois--we have nothing to complain about. Just much to be thankful for.

Have a terrific week, everybody!

john28man said...

I thought this was a typical Monday and only had problems with spelling NATALIE WOOD. I wanted to plural her last name which was AWKWARD for seeing that word.

Living where I do, I liked the first half last night than I did the rest of the game and it was especially saddening at the end when a Bronco tie would have been as good as a win.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up (as always!).
When I was in RIO for Carnival, I remember seeing a lot of CANDY ... none of it COTTON.

Martin @9:15, I agree with your comments re:SHOP -v- Store.
Not the tightest Monday theme.
(I've heard of a 'lumber yard' but not a WOOD SHOP), but still A FUN and enjoyable solve.

Learning moment, SIMONE de Beauvoir.
Probably never have read anything she wrote.
Got her with only 6 perps.

No faves today. (Nothing to drink in the grid. I'll have better luck at the Pub).
Cheers!!!

Don said...

It's Tabasco, Not Tobasco

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun run, so fast I completely missed the first four down clues until I read Argyle's great expo. Very soothing after the last two days of ANGSTE. Bless you, Matt!

There used to be a "Yankee WOOD Shop" on PBS. Might still be on. Because of that I didn't quibble about the shop designation.

I "skipped to my loo" before LAV too. Isn't LAV a British expression too? It sure isn't midwestern slang. You're more apt to hear "john" out here.

My family will gather at my son's home to give thanks on Wed. so the in-laws can have theirs the next day. My DIL is bringing her 4 sons so all my grandkids will be there. Yippee! Only my AF son will be missing, but we're thankful he's hale and hearty. All my grandkids are now too big to cuddle on my lap, but they give good hugs.

Husker Gary said...

-Subbing today where I am administering four tests and showing two videos. Maybe I shouldn’t take the money. Waddaya think I’m gonna do?
-Spitz, I am bilingual as well. My wife just wrote and asked “if I wanted to go the new outlet mall in Gretna”. Since I also speak fluid Joann, I knew the question was “I want to go to the new outlet mall in Gretna and it will be very hurtful if you didn’t want to go” I don’t want to go but, Waddaya think I’m gonna do?
-Yup, Marti and BillG, here is NED BEATTY as Lex Luthor’s flunky Otis in Superman I (2:07)
-I like Bill Belichick and his no nonsense way of coaching and dealing with the press. His W/L record really took a turn for the better when he got Tom Brady ;-). I also like how he has taken some troubled players and turned them into team players or it’s “hit the road jack!” Bill and Mr. Kraft run a first-rate franchise. The only controversy I know of was SPY GATE in 2007.
-Bill, is Barbara fully ambulatory now?
-Dave, the Newton’s Cradle on the playground cartoon actually initiated a guffaw! BTW, one grammar issue I had again today in middle school is how the kids say “on accident” and not “by accident”. How did that happen?

CanadianEh! said...

Wow! Record time with no red letter or Google helps. Gotta love Mondays! Even got the theme.

The south-central was the last to fall since I didn't immediately know SYKES or PAIGE but when I got REGALE the rest fell into line.

At first I thought LOO was going to cross IGLOO (do Igloos have Loos??) until I realized it was NOT a British restroom.

DH was watching the Grey Cup last night not the NFL. Biggest night for Canadian football but unfortunately our Tigercats did not win.

Loved your limerick Owen!

Lemonade714 said...

Late to the party. Thanks Matt and Argyle..

Belicheck had a losing record at Cleveland and won nothing before Brady. Hate the Patriots, but enjoy Brady as a quarterback. It is sad that such an important game was played with both teams showing their skill and their carelessness. To have it end on a foolish negligence I guess was appropriate.

Ned Beatty, all I can think of is the horrible scene from DELIVERANCE . Still hard to watch.

Lemonade714 said...

Wanda Sykes plays a U.S. Senator on the Amazon original Series ALPHA HOUSE with an interesting cast.

Anonymous said...

Bigotry at it's finest - Wanda Sykes is a wonderful comedienne.

Yellowrocks said...

i vote for SHOP over store. We have a great Gertrude Hawk CANDY SHOP in our mall and many other candy shops nearby which use the name SHOP in their title. Our yellow pages list PET SHOPS and PET SUPPLIES, but not pet stores.

DARN and DRAT are more common around here than RATS.

Although synonyms do not have to be an exact match and there are several degrees of closeness allowed, I believe, along with some others on the blog, that ATONAL and MELODIOUS are not synonyms. They refer to different aspects of the music. However, I am sure most of us filled in ATONAL anyway, knowing what was intended.

I agree with Joe yesterday that ANEURYSM and DYS- could just as easily have been ANEURISM and DIS-, both of which are acceptable but less common variants. Crosswords use many variants.

Yellowrocks said...

Thank you for your concern yesterday. It helped to put things in perspective. Being a CAN DO type, I tend to believe that everything has a remedy, if only we try hard enough. Plan A and Plan B can be followed by Plans C and D and more. Although not an alcoholic, I find the AA serenity prayer a helpful remedy.
Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
When I finally find the wisdom to concede that there is no answer and stop struggling, acceptance and serenity follow. Your concern allowed me to accept and move on.

Lucina said...

PK:
You beat me to Yankee Woodshop. Also, I've known a few men who create artifacts in their wood shops.

Thank you, Don, for tabasco. I sometimes confuse Spanish and English sounds and fail to notice. Otherwise, I'm a good speller.

Point of order said...

I don't think many put in ATONAL since the answer was TONAL.

PK said...

YR, good to see you're back. I'm not an alcoholic either, but I did a series of stories many years ago on AA and had to study their material to do a credible job. The Serenity Prayer has been a support in my decisions many times since. Acceptance is sometimes the most difficult thing one faces.

Lucina, I don't speak two languages and I used to be a good speller. Now I'm struggling with -ence, -ance, -ent, -ant, etc. for some reason. My brain synapses have snapped.

Marge said...

Hi all!
Well, I haven't been on the blog for awhile so enjoy reading it again.

We have had cold weather this past week, with wind and a little snow but not enough to have to shovel.

I enjoyed this puzzle alot. It was a good Mon. puzzle,and I actually finished it.

C.C. are you a Viking fan? It was a strange ending with them and our Packers being tied yesterday. It's better than a loss they tell me.

Have a great evening, all.
Marge

Manac said...

Candy store
Beauty Salon
Pet store
Wood Shop... That one makes sense.

My GSD Never heard the words Sic Em.
She was smart enough to know who was Friend and who was Foe!

Pats game was great!

PK said...

HG, could "on accident" be the opposite of "on purpose" for kids? That seems to me to be the only way to make sense of that one.

Avg Joe said...

I didn't have any major issues with the phrasing where shop was used. But would point out that I've never heard a lumber vendor referred to as a wood shop. That's a lumber yard or a home center (Home Despot e.g.). Wood shop is either a high school class or that corner of the basement or shed where one butchers wood. IOW, a very real term, but not in the same context.

As for football, I'm not a rabid fan of any sport or team, but I do follow Nebraska, Denver and Green Bay. You don't see that many OT games in a given year. To have 3 in one weekend for the only teams you follow is nothing short of mind boggling. The Husker outcome was as desired. The Packer tie was better than a loss. and both of those were games that were so good that you couldn't declare a true loser. But I went to bed at halftime during the Pats/Donkeys game secure in the knowledge that they would win. How could they not??? Sheesh!!

Burrito34 said...

Thanks, Argyle for linking to the comeback for the "age before beauty" phrase! Being somewhat on the right side of the "age" spectrum, (59) I'll know what to say next time I hear it! All good naturedly, of course.

Bill G. said...

Gary, yes Barbara is ambulatory. She is even hitting a tennis ball when the coach is hitting balls right to her. Running around a tennis court is beyond her now, maybe forever. We'll see.

As far as I can tell, Barbara's language is very similar to Joann.

Barbara stands 'on line' rather than 'in line' as I do.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I haven't seen Omoo lately in our crosswords. I imagine with its three O's it is a good filler.

This was a speed run for me today. My only misstep was Loo for Lav. I see others did the same.

I had a beauty shop appointment this morning, so I didn't get to blog until now. The puzzle was done early. I had some words go in before I read the clue.

Thanks, Argyle, for the writeup and posts.

Have a great day, everyone.

Blue Iris said...

IMHO, SADAT may have been the last humble trustworthy Middle East leader in awhile. Unfortunately he died for it.

When my son was in Iraq, I found and sent COTTON CANDY in sealed aerated packages to his buddies.

Always think it would be hard to go from great BEAUTY to AGE.

My husband is remodeling the whole basement area. He is almost ready to lay the TILE in the new bathroom. Next is the bedroom. It will be quite awhile before we have the DEN (family room) done.I've learned that DYI project take longer than you think, but he always does a nice job.

My son and husband went to see new Hunger Game Movie so left me time to blog. Thanks to all of you for shout-outs and keeping me in the loop even though I comment so irregularly.

Yellowrocks said...

Point of Order @ 3:05. I'm sure you realize that I meant TONAL.I have ATONAL on the brain because I read about it and listened to a bit of it today. I find it interesting but I don't much care for it.I haven't thought about atonal since my college days.

We, too, said that beauty was a horse.

A wood shop is a place where woodworking is carried on, not a lumber vendor.

My captcha is EXAMANIA. It sounds like a portmanteau for the crazy overemphasis on standardized testing these days.

Martin said...

"pet store" gets 3,410,000 hits on Google. "pet shop" gets 20,100,000 hits. Wait. I didn't expect that.

"candy store" gets 2,130,000 hits. "candy shop" gets 2,400,000. Again, not what I expected.

There is this though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_in_a_Candy_Store

Anonymous T said...

G'Eve all:

What a fun easy Monday puzzle. Thanks Matt & Argyle!

Well, I didn't have the LAV/Loo issue because LOVED was already in place. I did have 21a INto before INAS, but that was my only write-over (oh, and spelling BReE incorrectly).

YR - MIL just explained what portmanteau meant. I love the word and will use it annoyingly at every opportunity!

Thanks everyone for posts & links. I wish I could comment on my favs, but its been a long wild day.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Martin - how many hits are for the PET SHOP Boys?*

-T
*80's English band. Google West End Girl if you care / dare (the hair alone is frightening :-))

kjinkc said...

Boy am I ever late. Watched Internship tonight and just getting daughter to bed. Days/nights mixed up since home from hospital late last night.

CC - thanks for the pro-am explanation. One of my sons is quite a golfer and he'll be upset that I didn't know this.

Owen, again, another great writing today. Oh, to be so clever before the sun is up.

HG - Thanks for the "It's Over" link. I've watched Black & White Night many times on PBS. I knew when you 'clued' ENDIT what the song was going to be. I love seeing The Boss as a young fella and k d lang with a skirt on.

This was a very easy run for me today...just over 6 minutes and as someone else said, I had many completed down fills without reading the clues.

Someone mentioned Rio Carnaval, so once again I'll say Obrigado to Matt and Argyle.

(dFrend) mon cheri

kjinkc said...

Anonymous T - forgot to say to you that I also like the East End Boys and that Pet Shop Boys performed at one of my favorite events, the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing ceremonies, so I would guess you are correct about the reason why Pet Shop got so many hits.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Marge,
Nope, not a Vikings' fan.