google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, December 30, 2013 Joel D. Lafargue

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Dec 30, 2013

Monday, December 30, 2013 Joel D. Lafargue

Theme: Little Boy Blue's Lament - The first word is descriptive of Little Boy Blue's stock.

17A. 1965 Righteous Brothers hit repopularized by its use in the 1990 film "Ghost" : UNCHAINED MELODY

33A. Scarily unpredictable type : LOOSE CANNON

41A. Monopoly board corner : FREE PARKING

59A. Pep that won't quit : BOUNDLESS ENERGY

"Little boy blue, Come blow your horn,

The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn.

But where is the boy Who looks after the sheep?

He's under a haystack, Fast asleep."

Argyle here. I found this a challenge for a Monday. Joel has shown he is good for any day of the week. Two grid spans. Some tricky clues and some so straightforward you might overthink them. A good mix.

"Will you wake him? No, not I - for if I do,
he's sure to cry."

Across:

1. Key with no flats or sharps: Abbr. : C MAJ. A gimme for some but not for me.

5. Terra __: pottery clay : COTTA

10. Dog's greeting : [BARK!]

14. Big deli sandwich : HERO. Sub, hoagie, hero, grinder; one study found 13 different names for the sandwich in the United States. 29A. Mini-burgers : SLIDERS

15. Extreme fear : DREAD

16. Away from the wind : ALEE

20. "__ sera": Italian "Good evening" : BUONA

21. Clip-__: earrings for non-pierced ears : ONs

22. Choir section : ALTOs

23. Letter-shaped hardware items : T-NUTs

25. Pilot's approx. : ETA. He should know. (Estimated Time of Arrival)

26. Fixes firmly (in) : EMBEDs

36. However, briefly : THO

37. 1/12 of a foot : INCH

38. See 67-Across : PEA 67A. With 38-Across, Popeye's kid : SWEE'

39. Leg bone : SHIN

40. Sleuth, slangily : TEC

45. Lash holders : EYELIDS

47. Tenor and bass : VOICES

48. Where cows graze : LEA. Or in the corn if they get free.

49. Coffee maker brand : BRAUN. They've stopped selling coffee makers in the US market. Can anyone confirm?

51. TV financial adviser Suze : ORMAN

54. Sturgeon delicacy : ROE

55. Macaroni shape : ELBOW

62. "That __ say ..." : IS TO if you're Hamlet 6D. "To be, __ to be ..." : OR NOT

63. Indy 500 family name : UNSER. Sort of like Alou in baseball, eh?

64. Wall Street order : SELL

65. Skin pics : TATS

66. Bearded farm critters : GOATS

Down:

1. Common freshwater bait fish : CHUB

2. List of dishes : MENU

3. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Not just for violins either; only here on the corner!

                             LINK

4. '80s-'90s "Entertainment Tonight" co-host : JOHN TESH. A crossword regular, he finally gets his full name in. Way to go, John!

5. 401, in old Rome : CDI

7. Adolescents : TEENS

8. Little boys : TADS

9. Naval bigwig: Abbr. : ADM.iral

10. Song from a troubadour : BALLAD

11. Very much : A LOT

12. Decorate again : REDO

13. Lock inserts : KEYS

18. "Duck Dynasty" network : A AND E. (Arts & Entertainment)

19. Part of EIK : EAT-IN. Eat-in kitchen, a term used in apartment listings. Could you parse it?

24. Trojans' sch. : USC. Near LAX. Right, Bill?

25. "Xanadu" rock gp. : ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra)

26. Privileged few : ELITE

27. Cold hard cash : MONEY

28. Lawn bowling game : BOCCE. It seems it is a bit of a misnomer. Bocce and lawn bowl are two different games. I didn't know that. Boche and Lawn Bowl

29. Ginger cookie : SNAP. Reminds me of Lois, yum.

30. Code of conduct : ETHIC

31. River valley known for Riesling wine : RHINE. Riesling is from white wine grape.

32. Karaoke selections : SONGS

34. Tarzan's foster family : APES

35. Once known as, in society pages : NÉE

39. Like less-caloric chicken pieces : SKINLESS

41. Devilish one : FIEND

42. Nutritional stat. : RDA. (Recommended Dietary Allowance)

43. Gardner of the silver screen : AVA

44. Cathedral city on the Seine : ROUEN. One more European river and we've got a mini-theme.

46. Gauchos' plains : LLANOs

49. __ nova: Brazilian dance : BOSSA. One more South Amer... oh, never mind.

50. Stopwatch button : RESET

51. "In memoriam" column, briefly : OBIT

52. Civil rights activist Parks : ROSA

53. Mixed-breed pooch : MUTT

54. Nevada casino city : RENO

56. Make, as coffee : BREW

57. Look at lecherously : OGLE

58. Noah of "Falling Skies" : WYLE. He got his share of ogles on ER. (Am I right, girls?)

60. Carry with effort : LUG

61. Triage ctrs. : ERs. Learned of triage from TV series, M*A*S*H and Emergency! long before ER.


Argyle


62 comments:

OwenKL said...

War has its own ghastly MELODY,
A danse macabre of fear's harmony.
The CANNON first barking,
Then reload as they're PARKING,
Sapping lives from the world's precious ENERGY!

Yet by the UNCHAINED war is blessed.
The slave, LOOSE at its behest.
The prisoner turned FREE
A fresh future to see;
A world that for all will be BOUNDLESS!

In a somber mood today. The Little Woman and I watch one of our favorite shows last night, Call the Midwives, and two of the subplots involved devastating aftermaths of war -- an unexploded but still live bomb from the London blitz, and man with with what we now call PTSD.

OwenKL said...


Saturday's Wasington Post 12/28/2013 also had LOOSE CANNON in the puzzle, though with a different theme. I've started doing several online puzzles a day, and it's amazing how often words that you haven't seen in a long time will show up in two puzzles within a day of each other. Not just the crosswordese like etui or epee that get constantly recycled, but real ones, like LOOSE CANNON.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

A little bit on the crunchy side today, what with ROUEN, BRAUN, ORMAN, LLANOS, RHINE and CHUB (none of which exactly scream "Monday" to me). WYLE was a gimme, except that I can never remember how to spell his name...

Regardless, I made it through unassisted and enjoyed the journey along the way. What more can you ask of a puzzle?

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

EIK! I had no idea. I don't spend much time on the want ads. Actually, none.

I think of Unchained Melody as an Al Hibler hit revisited by the Righteous Brothers.

BUONA reminds me of the role Melina Kanakaredes played on CSI NY -- Stella Bonasera.

Do you suppose they have llamas on the llanos? I didn't think so.

Tin, now it is 14. I was merely being prescient last week.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day all,

No sugar coating this one, color me STUPID thanks to one mis-spelling. For 1D, I filled in chum for CHUB. And all along I was worried about wagging the crossing O with 3D.

Had Swea for 67 A, but corrected it. Wyla woke me up.

I've always maintained my wife is a member of the UNSER family. Riding with her scares the "you know what" out of me. And she's never been ticketed, yet. NYC drivers!

Good grief, starting out on Monday with a DNF.......



kazie said...

Definitely somewhat crunchy for a Monday, but certainly doable. I was a bit dismayed at the two musical clues in the NW to start off, but perps to the rescue. A few clues did themselves too, though many had to be thought through.

Before the obvious choice for the Monopoly one appeared, I was cursing the fact that my set is based n London--all that was available in Oz when I got mine. However "Free parking" is probably common to them all, I guess.

Martin said...

I had UNGER for UNSER.

Martin said...

and BUENA for BOUNA. I don't speak Italian.

Martin said...

and LADS for TADS.

Yellowrocks said...

This was a real romp in the park today. The answers were usually the first word that came to mind. Some were already filled in by the perps before I read the clues, such as WYLE.

BOCCE, although not the same as "lawn bowling" is a type of bowling game that can be played on the lawn, so no nit. Around here it is played in a BOCCE court, instead. Many elderly Italian men enjoy playing it.

My mom had bookends shaped like the front of the cathedral at Rouen. I dusted them every week.

Although I don't watch Suze ORMAN, the ad for her show comes up frequently. I remember her because of the odd spelling of Susie (SUZE).
We have an Elk ST. near here which I always read as EIK Eat In Kitchen, before I correct myself.

Back to the real world today with so much to do. Inertia has set in. I need to get some momentum going.



lois said...

Good morning Santa Baby, CC, et al., Fun and fast puzzle.
T-nuts? New to me. Does losing them put your SONGS in with ALTOS? Maybe they're PEA(P)nuts cousins? Guess both can be SKINLESS and with a BREW can have SLIDERS' side effects... OR NOT. Maybe they are related to LUG nuts? Wonder what their RDA is.

Santa Darlin, thank you for the shout out. You can come in my EIK any time for SNAPS and A LOT of other cookies. I'll even give you FREE PARKING on the roof of your choice. You are my HERO!

Enjoy your day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-The spiritual element in Ghost surprised me
-Love or hate Joe Biden, he can be a LOOSE CANNON
-The BARK in our backyard is our neighbor’s St. Bernard/Pyrenees (no MUTT she) reveling in the cold weather
-If financial advisers like SUZE are so brashly confident, why aren’t they retired on the French Riviera instead of annoying people on basic cable?
-EMBEDDING is a Power Point skill I use a lot
-Yeah, let’s hire the lady with the GOAT on her shoulder!
-Moviedom’s most famous MENU (2:29)?
-My best friend’s ’64 Chevy Super Sport had a CDIX engine that was immortalized in this song
-BALLADIERS brought news of the outside world in medieval times
-My MIL needed a new battery last week and so I called O’Reilly’s Auto Parts which quoted me $140 which seemed like A LOT. I had her truck dealer neighbor call them and all of a sudden it was $90.
-Here’s what I did for Hudson at Christmas to give him “cold hard cash”
-Every timer in a track meet has hit the RESET button at an inopportune moment

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Joel D. Lafargue, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the fine review.

Never got Sunday's done yet. Try to today. Got my nose in a book and could not stop until I finished. "Sycamore Row" by John Grisham. Outstanding!

Anyhow, this mornings puzzle was a little tough for a Monday, as others have said, but no problem.

Did not know CMAJ until a few perps. I do plat music but I do not know all the terminology. When I see four flats, I know what notes to play, etc.

Terra COTTA was easy. That's the road our trailer is on in Johnsonburg.

Did not know JOHN TESH, but he appeared with a few perps. I never have watched much TV. That really hurts me with puzzles.

Liked the theme. I was a Monopoly freak as a youth. FREE PARKING was easy.

SLIDERS was easy. I eat them a lot a White Castle in NE Illinois. The bacon cheeseburgers are the best.

Did not know Suze ORMAN. Perped.

Nice start for a Monday. Now to finish Sunday.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(rsuruca dart)

Lucina said...

Good day, friends! Argyle, I have the feeling you've been naughty.

Today was a quick sashay for me as the pencil flew right along. I had no idea about EIK but it perped itself THO I didn't realize it was from want ads.

I loved seeing the complete phrasing of the themes. BOUNDLESS ENERGY reminds me of my youngest sister who lives in Charlotte. She is always on the go and when she is here visiting, we are, too.

Husker:
Did you inflate those balloons? That was clever.

Tonight I'll have the last dinner party of the season. Our HOA Board, instead of a business meeting. will be here to eat tamales. They bring complementary dishes as well.

Have a terrific Monday, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I didn't have any problems and only one write-over: boneless before skinless, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I better cut back on the Extra Strength Tylenol!

Thanks, Joel D., for a nice Monday romp and thanks, Argyle, for a witty expo.

Very cold but Friday's high to be only 9 with a low of -15. Brr!

I know of John Tesh by name only, but I watch and enjoy John Besh, the New Orleans chef who has a cooking show on PBS. Hatoolah, are you familiar with him or his restaurant?

Stay warm everyone.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! I enjoyed this "free style" puzzle and found it interesting, Joel. Took me longer than some Mondays.

EIK was a new one on me. I don't read want ads either. Some of the names seemed undoable but most filled in with perps. I had to do one red-letter run to get an unknowable letter.

Suze ORMAN is a very bright woman, but she ends up sounding like a scold -- or your mother. The people she used to coach on Oprah were devoid of common sense in money matters.

HG, Your money grab was novel. My granddaughter devised a treasure hunt for her six boy cousins with little bags of coins in a treasure chest at the end. This involved six rough & tumble boys inmass racing from one end of the big house to the other end in the basement and back several times with lots of yelling and giggling. She sat on the couch in her new young lady status and grinned broadly during the melee.

My brothers and I were planning to get together in a town several hours away yesterday. Half of us ended up being too ill to go. I don't know if the others made it or not. Bummer! I'm fine now. I did have a nice phone chat with the brother who had planned to pick me up, but was sicker than I was.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

A fair amount of pepper for a Monday. Impressive pair of grid spanners. Hand up for putting in Chum before Chub.

I haven't seen Ghost since it was new, thus it isn't fresh in my mind, but I recall disliking it. I can't warm up to Unchained Melody either.

Kazie - I didn't know there was a London version of Monopoly. Sounds interesting!

JD said...

Good morning all,

I spent a tad longer on this Monday creation than usual-thoroughly enjoyable. Never saw the theme as I honed in on melody and cannon; parking just didn't fit into "my" theme.LOL!

Besides not knowing what EIK referred to, my sticking point was shameful:sliders.

Hand up for chum.

We have indoor bocce ball courts in our town; a fun place to go for family get togethers.The bldg is an old reconditioned warehouse where my DH worked before he went to work for IBM.

Have a lovely week.

CanadianEh! said...

Good Monday puzzle with a couple of challenges. Thank goodness for the perps!

I could use some BOUNDLESS ENERGY today after having whole family home for a few days.

Monopoly clue brought back fond memories. We don't play it much any more because it takes so long. Sometimes we just auction off the properties at the beginning to make it go faster.

I remember those CLIPONs because they usually pinched. Got my ears pierced as an adult. Granddaughter had them done as a baby.

Lots of controversy over AANDE and Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson. No more said!

Didn't know Suze ORMAN. We have The Wealthy Barber here.

Misty said...

A little challenging for a Monday, but still fun--many thanks, Joel. And you, too, Argyle, for your expo. Would not have connected the theme to "Little Boy Blue," but it was sweet to be reminded of him.

Happy I got the whole thing, although I had a tense moment since I didn't know TESH and there are other hardware thingies that might look like letters (L, H, others). But I took a chance on T and was relieved it was okay.

Also didn't know EIK or WYLE, but it still all fell into place.

Saw a sweet play by Truman Capote at the Laguna Playhouse yesterday, "A Christmas Memory." It was actually a musical with a terrific boy actor who sang, danced, and did a fabulous job.

Have a great week, everybody!

Misty said...

A little challenging for a Monday, but still fun--many thanks, Joel. And you, too, Argyle, for your expo. Would not have connected the theme to "Little Boy Blue," but it was sweet to be reminded of him.

Happy I got the whole thing, although I had a tense moment since I didn't know TESH and there are other hardware thingies that might look like letters (L, H, others). But I took a chance on T and was relieved it was okay.

Also didn't know EIK or WYLE, but it still all fell into place.

Saw a sweet play by Truman Capote at the Laguna Playhouse yesterday, "A Christmas Memory." It was actually a musical with a terrific boy actor who sang, danced, and did a fabulous job.

Have a great week, everybody!

CanadianEh! said...

Anybody else reading Longbourn (the servant's side of Pride and Prejudice)? Got it for Christmas and started it yesterday. Good reading so far!

Tinbeni said...

desper-otto: And NOW, as they say" "You're on the clock!" (With the #1 pick)

Ahhhh, my Tampa Bay Buccaneer's just fired their Head Coach and GM.
(Good-move! Whomever they hire can't be any worse than than these clowns!)

Hondo: I had the same error "chuM" @1-D.
Ack! A DNF on a Monday. (At least we admit them!)

Lots to eat, HERO, SLIDERS, ROE ... even the GOATS.
At Villa Incognito, BREWs are something other than coffee.
Cheers!!!

Bill G. said...

Good morning. This was a tale of two puzzles for me; one was typically easy and Mondayish, the other was tricky in parts and definitely seemed appropriate for later in the week.

Gary, I find Joe Biden to be a refreshingly enjoyable politician, loose cannon and all. I feel as if I would enjoy his company.

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you, Argyle, for your funny and interesting blog. Little boy blue is a unique connotation !

Have a happy new year, everybody, in case I can't log in tomorrow.

Have a nice day, all.

Yellowrocks said...

PK said, "Suze ORMAN is a very bright woman, but she ends up sounding like a scold -- or your mother. The people she used to coach on Oprah were devoid of common sense in money matters."

I agree. I watched a few of her shows before I became bored. SUZE, as PK said, IS a bit of a scold. She mostly tackles what I call "kitchen table finance," usually for the clueless. It is not high class investing and would not support a Riviera life style. Even in the early years when hubby and I existed on very little, we had that kind of common sense without needing SUZE's scolding.

We has used furniture (Early Salvation Army style, we joked),a used car, budget meals, cheap or free entertainment. We mowed our own lawn, painted and wall papered for ourselves and made do.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I, too, thought this was a bit "crunchy" (Ala Barry)today. I didn't need anything but the perps to get all the answers, but I read EIK as ELK and even after I had Eat In in place it didn't make sense. Thanks Argyle for clarifying that for me. Want ads are not my choice for reading.

After having 19 people here for dinner on Boxing Day--All family, I need some Boundless Energy also. CanadianEh! said it all.

We also have a stoppage somewhere along our sewer line to the street and I had an overflow in the downstairs toilet when the washing machine drained. I couldn't do all the sheets off the beds which had been stripped!
So it was off to the Laundromat yesterday after all the company had left. Could have been worse!! It could have happened when we had a house full of company.

Have a wonderful New Year everyone.

PK said...

YR, I always said I had Early American furniture: some other American had it earlier than I did. At one point, everything in my house had been reupholstered, stripped and refinished or painted by me except the appliances. I had even repainted the claw-foot bathtub and applied contact paper fleur-di-lis. We got the cheapest but new appliances. I had fun developing my ingenuity and life skills. I sewed our clothes except for jeans and T-shirts. This type of poverty was self-satisfying and no-debt.

kazie said...

Dudley,
There are now quite a few different ones available: Africa, Asia Middle East, Australia, New Zealand,Europe, North and South America. See what's available here, and its history here

kazie said...

Dudley,
I forgot...I was going to say I got mine when I was 10 years old, so the newer ones must look quite different too. But it's interesting to note the railways stations--King's Cross, Marylbone, Fenchurch and Liverpool St., and places like Whitechapel, Mayfair, Park Lane, Bond St, Leicester Square, Strand, Fleet St., none of which I was/am familiar with. It would be fun to use a Sydney version--but all I can find online is an Australian one which combines locations from several cities there.

buckeye bob said...

Thank you for the puzzle, Joel. And thank you Argyle for a helpful expo.

This puzzle was about right for a Monday, to me. I had a number of unknowns, but the perps got all of them for me. My time was about the same as any Monday.

I did not get the theme, until I read Argyle’s write-up, and even then I had to read it 3 times to get the point. Doh!!!

My first car was a 1964 Chevy Impala SS (Super Sport), but not the 409. It was white with a black interior. I wish I still had that one!

Chickie said...

Just started a new PD James mystery, "Death Comes to Pemberly". The Characters from Longbourn most especially, Elizabeth Darcy are all involved. So far it sounds very interesting.

PD James has had a lifelong love of Jane Austen and the critics are calling this a sequel to "Pride and Prejudice." Fun to read.

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2
-Bill, I understand what you are saying about old Joe but as you know White Houses don’t like anyone being spontaneous or going off script.
-Lucina, I rolled those bills into tight cylinders and forced them into the balloon and then I blew up the balloons when the money was in the bottom of the balloon.
-Bob, not only did my friend have a 409, we went 140 mph on the way to school the day after he picked it up
- Here’s another board game based on London called Scotland Yard
-I chatted with an RN in Lincoln at the BB games yesterday and she is a firm advocate of getting a flu shot. The staff at St. Elizabeth’s is required to get them and anyone who does not get the shot must wear a mask in the building.

Lucina said...

I love the book, "A Christmas Memory" and read it regularly every year. I'll have to dust it up and reread it. I love it but then I love most of Capote's work.

I admire Joe Biden immensely for his dedication to his family and believe he is quite intelligent. In fact, most politicians (emphasis on MOST) are intelligent but the press paints them as two dimensional. Often they are stuck in that caricature and we don't know their real depth or lack thereof.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Yep, a bit crunchy today. Was able to finish though

For those displeased by C MAJ, it could have been worse, A MIN also works.

EIK -- WTH?!? Totally from perps.

Tin - according to Football Outsider, Tampa had the roughest schedule in the NFL, for whatever that may be worth.

Lions head coach also got the ax. May the Schwartz NOT be with you.

Washington D.C. football team fired the whole coaching staff. Now, if they could get rid of Dan Snyder . . .

Not eager to see more goat tats.

Owen - Just a year ago today I wrote a poem more or less on the topic of PTSD.

It was warm here on Sat - almost 50. Low 20's today.

Cool regards!
JzB

PK said...

Jzbumpa, I found your war poem very interesting having once witnessed a very drunk old Navy career man having a PTSD combat flashback. Pretty scary scene!

River Doc said...

Happy Monday everybody!

Well, it took 150% of the normal Monday time, but eventually got the Ta-Da....

Write-overs were BOCCI for BOCCE, BUENA for BUONA, and RHONE for RHINE....

Hands up for EIK being a total unknown. Just out of curiosity, are there any kitchens out there that are not "eat in"...?

Finally, HG - I thought Moviedoms most famous menu involved the line, "I'll have what she's having..."

PK said...

River Doc: There are some kitchens that are so small you can eat in them only if you are standing in the middle. Don't you think EIK means a kitchen big enough for a table and chairs?

Spitzboov said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Passed thru the lands of the HeartRx's and the Dudley's. this morning to return from a quick trip to Marlboro, MA to celebrate youngest son's birthday. Weather cooperated so AOK.

Did the cw upon returning. Agree with Argyle's take on Joel's ability. Very enjoyable puzzle and lucked out; no searches or strikethroughs were needed. TESH was a WAG and ELO was gotten from the perps.
Lots of BOCCE is played here in the Utica area. Finally starting to get the TATS clues.

Hope everyone is having a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

My condo here was described as having an Eat In Kitchen. There are some galley kitchens that are basically a narrow hallway with a wall on either side containing counters and appliances, As PK said, there is no room for a table and chairs. You eat in a breakfast nook or dining area. I had my home stay in Tokyo in a house with a galley kitchen.

Bill G. said...

I kinda thought I understood the theme OK with UNCHAINED, LOOSE, FREE and BOUNDLESS all having somewhat the same meaning. But I confess to being lost as to the connection to Little Boy Blue.

I went to the supermarket. I am used to the fact that 'elevator music' will typically be playing in the background but this was so annoying (to me) that I almost said something to the manager. It was a slightly more popular, modern version of what seemed like a dirge. It just droned on and on in a minor key, tuneless style. As you can tell, I hated it. Probably nobody else even noticed it.

==========

My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have Sex?' 'No,' she answered. I then said, 'Is that your final answer?' ... She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying, 'Yes..' So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend." And that's when the fight started...

Lucina said...

Mine is not an EIK. It's strictly for cooking with plenty of counter tops in a large C shape with appliances and the sink in between. The eating area is outside of the counter space.

Flay said...

I think most women don't understand that ALL kitchens are EIKs.

I mean they all have a sink right?

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Flay said...

Sorry, had to post one more.

Mom!?! You said I wasn't 'pose to do that! Busted!

Argyle said...

LOL

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Liked the puzzle. Very much liked your writeup, Argyle, and appreciate the time and dedication you put into it. Jazzb, you are so smart I can hardly keep up with you, but I appreciate what you have to say. Lois, you are adorable. Best wishes to you all.

Tinbeni said...

Bill G.
My wife was bragging that she "can still fit into her wedding dress" ...
Amazed (after 30 years), I said "weren't you eight months pregnant?"
And that's when the fight started...

Anonymous T said...

Good eve everyone!

What a fun and slightly crunchy Monday Pzl. Thanks Joel. I didn't have to look up anything 'cuz the perps filled my ignorance. Thanks Argyle for the out-of-the-box Little Boy Blue ref.

Hand up for CHUm until I got to Buona. I wanted Bene, but there wasn't enough letters, but it gave me CHUB.

Hand also up for EIK - no clue; perps to the rescue.

I can't imagine GOAT TAT girl anouncing NEE in the socials ;-)

Re 25a: There are 3 Xanadu songs I know of.
1) grp = ELO
2) sngr = ONJ (Olivia Newton-John)
3) group = Rush (11 min)

#3 is my fav - it complete's Coldridge's Kubla Khan and rocks :-)

HG: I stunk as a timer at the kids' swim meets. I'd hit RESET too often! ("Backup timer - yes, me again"). Also, the money run is a fun idea. With kids past Santa, I'm gonna do that next year (esp if they tell me on the 21st what they want!)

28d - I have two t-shirts from Milo's on the Hill in STL that says "Will play BOCCE for beer."

Tin - it _could_ get worse for your Bucs - they could hire HOU's coach.

Anon Flay beat me to eating over the kitchen sink.

YR/PK - Ah, the early days, no money and time to do stuff. Now... I've got money and little time (and DW's taste has gotten expensive!)

Cheers, -T

Bill G. said...

I narrowly escaped a collision in a parking lot today. I was driving down an aisle when a Mercedes, who had pulled into a perp parking slot, began backing out to straighten up. I laid on the horn. The driver was either on a phone or had slow reflexes but eventually put on the brakes and stopped about six inches from my door. I started to say something but I couldn't see any benefit.

Then pedaling down the bike path, I passed a couple walking along. The woman looked like a Playboy model times three, all pushed up and popping out of a scoop-neck top. She didn't wave and say Hi so I guess she wasn't an ex-student.

When I posted the first one, I had no idea there were so many good "And that's when the fight started" jokes.

Did we already see this one?

A man came home from work, sat down in his favorite chair, turned on the TV and said to his wife, "Quick, bring me a beer before it starts."

She looked a little puzzled but brought him a beer.

When he finished it, he said, "Quick, bring me another beer. It's gonna start."

This time she looked a little angry but brought him a beer.

When it was gone, he said, "Quick, another beer. It's gonna start any second."

"That's it!" She blows her top. "You jerk! You waltz in here, flop your fat ass down, don't even say hello to me and then expect me to run around like your slave. Don't you realize that I cook and clean and wash and iron all day long?"

The husband sighed, "Oh crap. It's started!"

Anonymous T said...

Ooops - 25d Xanadu...

Cheers, -T

Manac said...

Bill,
I think we missed one...

My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping through the channels.
She asked "What's on the TV?"
I said "Dust!"

That's when the fight started!

seareeferd said...

Too much foreign shit for a monday!

Tinbeni said...

Manac
Another one missed ...

My wife asked me if a certain dress "made her butt look big?"
I told her "not as much as the dress you wore yesterday" ...
And that's when the fight started...

Manac said...

Good thing the Fine ladies on this blog don't read it this late...
We would all be getting a spanking right about now :~)

Yellowrocks said...

Bill G. @ 4:45, if you reread Argyle's Little Boy Blue poem, you will find that the "sheep's in the meadow, the cows in the corn," because the boy who minds them is asleep. The animals are unchained, loose, and, in a sense, boundless. Clever title.

JzzB, great poem, but poignant and sad.

Bill G. said...

So nobody's going to splain Little Boy Blue to me? @(4:35) Probably a dumb question.

OK. Thanks YR. I get the point now. Argyle was too clever for me. Though in a jokey way, the sheep aren't boundless; they are free and probably 'bounding' hither and yon. :>)



Dudley said...

Kazie 12:24 - that was interesting reading! I wasn't aware of international versions of Monopoly. Of course, I haven't actually played since I was a kid. Even then I doubt I ever played the full game to a proper conclusion - it could get LONG.

Bill G. said...

We just came across a great old movie on TCM, "The Cheap Detective," a very clever spoof of Casablanca and all the old-time detective movies. We saw it years ago (1978) It's got Peter Falk, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Ann-Margaret, Robert Morse and many more. Don't walk. Run to put on your NetFlix queue or whatever else you do to watch great old movies.
=========
[Marlene slaps Lou]
Paul DuChard: Anything wrong?
Lou Peckinpaugh: Oh, no, no. No, it's, uh, my mistake here, uh. For a second here I thought that this young lady was a girl that I knew in France; I was wrong; the girl I know is dead.
Paul DuChard: Oh, a natural error, monsieur. My wife has been mistaken for dead girls by many men.

PK said...

Manac: We girls have been on the other end of those fights, remember? If you guys want to show your lack of sensitivity, we'll take the high road and just let you have it. LOL! Good luck in gettin' any tonight.

Anonymous T said...

PK - from a "dumb guy's" perspective: We were just minding our own business and never understand why someone's mad at us... WTH did I do?!?

See girls start asking questions no one can answer like "Do you think she's pretty?" "Well, she has cheek bones like you" (that's my best line). Or, "Do I look old to you? " "Um, compared to what? A baby?" (s*** I just stepped in it).

MIL calls it going down the blind-alley and tries to warn me, but I'm too dumb to see where it's going.

But, of course, I get my own beer, never mention the dust, and no dress is a butt-augmentator. Oh, I also cook! :-)

Cheers, -T

PK said...

Anon T: You are too funny. Actually, I've always liked men and tried not to ask questions I might not like the answer to. I'm the one who needs sensitivity training according to my daughters. The male-female war is a big joke as far as I'm concerned.

Anonymous said...

Unchained Melody predated 1965. In 1955 I was a freshman at UCLA and Unchained Melody was the big hit of the year.
Laurie