google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Aug 16th, 2014, Ned White

Gary's Blog Map

Aug 16, 2014

Saturday, Aug 16th, 2014, Ned White

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

  Mr. White's last puzzle was a Saturday also, Oct. last year - with its triple-triple grid spanners.  The relatively 'easy' triple-7 corners of today's grid made this one look less of a challenge, but there were plenty of vague clues and proper names to slow me down, plus a fair amount of multi-word answers, too.  Had to admit to one bad letter - happened in that Oct. puzzle, too - but in reviewing that crossword, I treated myself to the Van Halen link I posted~!  Just the two 11-letter spanners to round out today's longer fill;

20a. Like one claiming to be short, maybe : TIGHT-FISTED

57a. Source of wisdom : TRIBAL ELDER

Oh, so close, but On...(ugh)...ward

ACROSS:

1. Like fairies : MAGICAL - oh, uh, that kind of fairie


8. Avocation, slangily : BAG - custom carpentry is "my bag"

11. Plant activity: Abbr. : MFG - first fill, and it felt iffy

14. "Almost done" : ONE TO GO...

15. Mostly : AS A RULE

17. Experienced : VETERAN - the adjective, here

18. Attacks with gusto : DIVES IN

19. "Rescue 911" fig. : EMT

22. Persian Gulf capital : DOHA - Shout out to Doc~!

24. One in charge of many couples : NOAH - Dah~! This nearly got me for the second time in two weeks

25. White __ : NOISE - I threw in HOUSE - BzzzT~!

26. Yards, e.g. : UNITS - ah, that's the word I couldn't think of...

28. Colorado __, Colo. : SPRS - my "meh" answer for the day; SPRINGS abbr. (?!)

30. Common result of use : WEAR

31. Grinder : PESTLE - I went with HOAGIE, the sa'mich Grinder/Sub/Hero, but we're looking for the implement here

33. A little, in music : POCO

35. Some NFL blockers : RTs - Right Tackles

36. Cleese antic in a Monty Python sketch : SILLY WALK

39. Ring gp. : WBA - World Boxing Association, that kind of 'ring'

42. Per __ : DIEM

43. Dominions : REALMS

47. Flavor enhancer : HERB - Tried SALT

49. Stop : STEM

51. "Paper Moon" Oscar winner : O'NEAL

52. 19th-century presidential middle name : ABRAM - James Abram Garfield, whose term lasted the second shortest in Presidential history - Wiki

54. Hat tipper's word : MA'AM - Pondered "G'Day"

56. Kerfuffle : TO-DO

60. Identify : PEG - I had her 'pegged' as being about 21....see 63d.

61. Hogan dwellers : NAVAHOS - my one bad letter - went with "J" and not "H", plus it worked in "MAJAL", too - at least, in my head

62. Evil laugh : "MWA-HA-HA~!!!"


64. Excess : OVERAGE

65. One that didn't show? : ALSO-RAN

66. JFK speechwriter Sorensen : TED - a WAG with "D" in place; I figured it was not a self-gratuitous "NED"

67. Burn cause, perhaps : LYE - Tried "SUN"

68. Unknowns to figure out : X's AND Y's - Brilliant bottom line fill; good thing I know who Mad Max is

DOWN:

1. Advanced : MOVED UP

2. Clematis relative : ANEMONE

3. Rumor starter? : GET THIS...

4. Brooklyn closer : ITE - BrooklynITE

5. Actor Bud of "Harold and Maude" : CORT

6. "Not __!" : AGAIN

7. Solo couple? : LONG Os - Following the "Hard C"s of yesterday's puzzle, S-ō-L-ō

8. It may be over one's head at first : BAD THROW - I watched some Little League World Series at the restaurant where the bench project is going on - blow out in the first inning, 13-0

9. "Oh, sure" : AS IF - "Sha, as if"

10. MacLeod of "The Love Boat" : GAVIN

11. More like the typical attic : MUSTIER

12. Attacks : FLIES AT

13. Bases for some roles : GENDERS

16. Plant anew : RESOW

21. McDonald's offering : HAPPY MEAL

23. Court workers: Abbr. : ATTorneys

27. Dropped : SLID - like the price of gas around here since July 4th - not complaining~!

29. Traumatize : SCAR

32. Clinton and both Bushes, but not Obama : ELIs - Yale attendees

34. Stick in a dish : OLEO

37. "Hmm ..." : "LET ME SEE..."

38. "The Metaphysics of Morals" writer : KANT

39. More of the same : WHATNOT

40. Encouraging words : BE BRAVE - Had the first "B" and last "E" - total WAG on this one

41. Got in : ARRIVED

44. Impala predator : LEOPARD - the hostess at the restaurant had a leopard print dress on last Friday; the one she wore Tuesday? - ha-muna-ha-muna


45. Seized the opportunity : MADE HAY - Progessing nicely with the bench project; did not waste anything but scrap in getting the corner backrest angles correct~!













 46. Spot finishers, often : SLOGANS - Commercial Advertisement "spots"

48. "Histoire de __": French children's book : BABAR - filled via perps

50. Mel Gibson persona : MAD MAX - there's a new one in the works

53. Urdu for "palace" : MAHAL - and "Taj" means 'crown'


55. Whimpers : MEWLS

58. Hardly energetic : LOGY - Pondered LAZY, but the "Z" wouldn't work

59. Tabula __ : RASA

63. Doll : HON - and yes, the hostess is a doll - looks like Taylor Swift; I was "\ /" this close to asking her out today when I found out how old she was; don't ask....


Splynter

43 comments:

  1. Good morning!

    So Splynter, just how old was she?

    I had Brooklyn”ese” at first, so that NW corner remained blank for a loooong time. I sprinkled in a few “knowns,” like GAVIN, NOAH, *USTIER (D? or M? – let’s wait on that one…), POCO, *WALK (is that “silly” or funny”? – I’ll come back to it…) , ONEAL, MAAM. I finally got a toehold in the SE and worked my way back up.

    That NW corner remained stubborn, until I finally let go of ADAs at 22-D and put in ATTS. That opened up UNITS, PESTLE, MOVED UP and ANEMONE. Those led to MAGICAL (goodbye “ese,” hello ITE!), ONE TO GO and VETERAN, and…done!

    Whew, and in 7 minutes under my allotted Saturday time! So it’s off to the races. Have a great day, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  2. There once was a fellow, TIGHTFISTED,
    For whom nothing but cold cash existed.
    He was loath to spend dough,
    So when came time to go,
    'Twas cremated, and as cold ash he exited!

    Wise man, TRIBAL ELDER, would say
    "While the sun brightly shines, MAKE HAY!"
    And then, sotto voce,
    "At night, be debauchee,
    'Cause you can't sow wild oats in the day!"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Morning, all!

    Tough all over today, what with stuff like "Spot finishers" for SLOGANS and the Urdu clue for MAJAL. Like HeartRX, the NW was the toughest area for me. Unlike her, however, I just couldn't get the job done up there on my own today.

    It took a long time to get MAGICAL, ONE TO GO, LONG O, CORT and AGAIN. And that was all I could get. I thought that 19A might be EMT and that 2D might be ANENOME, but the two didn't work well together and I couldn't decide which (if either) was correct.

    I finally had to turn on the red-letter help to discover that I had misspelled ANEMONE. I always do that and will seemingly never remember the correct spelling. Once I got that sorted out and had EMT solidly in place, the rest slowly came to me. I resisted ATTS, but once I finally accepted it I was able to get both PESTLE and UNITS, and that got me GET THIS. MOVED UP and DOHA.

    Hate to end the week on a fail, but there you go. That's it for me for awhile. Be nice to each other...

    ReplyDelete
  4. How old was she? Maybe male "COUGAR" would fit 44D.

    A big DNF for today. Way too many incorrect WAGS and unknowns.

    DUSTIER for MUSTIER. Would not allow the NE to be solved. Historie de ____ and SALT for HERB killed the SW.

    What MWAHAHA means is beyond me. A made up word to fit the puzzle maybe? I had MAD MAX MEWLS and RASA LEOPARD MADE HAY SLOGANS but couldn't get HON because what could possibly start with XSA?

    This puzzle was above my head and time limit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good morning!

    The NW provided no traction, NE was no better, so I finally got a foothold in the SE and spread out from there. As Marti said, it came in under the allotted time.

    MWA-HA-HA was a CSO to Jayce. Colo SPGS instead of SPRS made THROW slow to appear. Same with APACHES where NAVAHOS needed to be.

    Splynter, I'm guessing she was either 17 or 64.

    The bicycle awaits....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Y'all! I heard Ned WHITE'S fiendish laugh MWAHAHA as I struggled with this puzzle. Is that the WHITE______NOISE?! This was way out of my comfort zone. GET THIS? I KANT! Well, it took more red-letter alphabet runs to get toe holds than ever before -- some words, a run every letter because there were no perps yet.

    Burn cause? LYE? Really? How many of us use lye on a regular basis? I know it burns but it has never been in my cupboard.

    We have to be multi-lingual today: "urdu for palace"? Next to a French Children's book crossing NAVAHOS (which I knew). WOW! Then throw in TRIBAL ELDER to echo NAVAHOS.

    Gimmee on Colorado SPRS, COLO. I lived in the Colorado Rockies three summers. I agree the "S" should be a "G". Thanks to DOHA Doc, I got that one.

    Some clues didn't compute for me when the answer filled. Solo couple? = LONGOS? Who the heck are they? Thank you, Splynter, for making sense of that. Got a chuckle out of the NOAH clue when it filled all perps.

    Splynter, I always enjoy seeing your projects. Will you also do the upholstering on that restaurant project? I took classes in upholstering many years ago and redid a 3-piece sectional, an antique couch and three matching chairs. Fun & rewarding.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello Puzzlers -

    Only the NW corner put up a fight, and it was determined! I had Anemone in and out multiple times, because I really wanted its neighbor to be Letter R for rumor starter. That bollixed the whole section. To break the logjam, I went to Goog for that actor Cort. Finished up with a TDNF.

    Incidentally, that movie Harold and Maude looks quirky; I added it to my Netflix for later.

    Morning Splynter! Yeah, compound miters are a bear to get right. I'm off today to buy a Festool Kapex saw for that very purpose. You see, we have trim to do in the new house, and I gave my trusty Makita to my nephew, and it's tax free day in Massachusetts. Saw justified!

    Now, how old was she? Can you snag a selfie with her?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Owen, the limericks today were winners! The puzzle, however, did me in. Waaay over my head! Thanks for 'splainin' it, Splynter. I almost understand now!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Way over usual time, but fun. TDNF. I had trouble in the NW. I red letter checked SILLY TALK and changed TALK TO WALK giving me NOAH, THROW, and LONG O'S (meh). I didn't like SPRS either but kept it in. After I changed ESE to ITE and ADAS to ATTS I was home free.
    I like MWAHAHA, MFG, SLOGANS, and NOAH.

    Headline yesterday: "Woman poisoned by lye-laced iced tea at Utah restaurant, fights for her life." An employee accidentally put a white powered cleaner in the sweet tea instead of sugar. With just one sip the woman was horribly burned. She was the first and only one to taste this batch.

    Free Dictionary:
    "WHAT NOT
    1. A minor or unspecified object or article.
    2. A set of light, open shelves for ornaments."
    ( I knew these. YR)
    "Any of various additional or unspecified things or items: 'family differences, differing social origins, and whatnot' "
    (Now I remember hearing it used this way. YR)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good Morning:

    After this mind-boggling, teeth gnashing, hair pulling fiasco, AKA, crossword puzzle, I will never complain about Saturday Silkie's again. Yikes, was this a doozy!

    I'm proud to say I finished w/o help, but it took me 1 1/2 hours to do so and an inordinate amount of patience, perserverance and perps, again, Dudley! The northwest corner was the culprit but, finally, finally, bit by bit, it fell into place. Shed instead of slid held me
    up until pestle became evident.

    Thanks (I think) to Ned White for an end-of-the-week whammy and thanks to Splynter for making sense of it all.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I didn't fool around; I started with the help on. And quite a few times I was glad I did.

    Right, Thumper?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy Saturday everybody!

    It started off well, with correct corner WAGS of MAGICAL and Xs AND Ys, but it quickly went downhill from there, I'm afraid....

    REPOT for RESOW, STATS for UNITS, TATUM for ONEAL, LULU for TO DO, INDIANS for NAVAHOS, and CHURCH ELDER for TRIBAL ELDER. Also did not help at all that I misread CHEESE for CLEESE, since there are not really any "antics" in the Cheese Shop routine....

    Favorite clue = Solo couple?

    Splynter, I'm guessing the hostess in UNDER AGE, as opposed to OVER AGE...?

    Finally, still hoping for the CSO trifecta of Vegas, Doha, and River all in the same puzzle....

    ReplyDelete
  13. On Saturdays, I too start with red-letter help turned on. Saturday puzzles are always tough for me.

    Today is Bonnie's birthday. We're off for a birthday breakfast.

    BTW, tonight (tomorrow morning early), there's a very close conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in the morning sky. At about 5:15 or so, they will be close and low in the Eastern sky. They are the two brightest things in the night sky other than the moon.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Not a fan of this puzzle. The Colorado clue should have had an Abbr. after it. DUSTIER makes much more sense for attics than Mustier because few attics have water in them. I don't buy that DOLL=HON. DOLL doesn't imply intimacy, just admiration, while HON does the opposite. And I'm just not crazy about those hard and soft letter items like the SOLO in this one. I did think the NOAH clue was clever and it was sweet to remember Tatum O'Neal in "Paper Moon." But I'm glad Saturday is behind us.

    Have a great weekend, everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Tough all over, but I finally had it finished but for 40D (_E_RAVE). I assumed 39A must be WBA and 52A ABRAM, though both were just educated guesses. But, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what BEB RAVE meant. Thank god for this write-up. That would've bugged me till Monday.

    Agree that 28A SPRS for Springs was weak. Otherwise, lots of good fill and tough Saturday cluing.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thumper's Review (:11) Mine too !!!

    Bill G. I use my Red-Ink-Pen on Saurday ... but that was little help at all.

    Happy Birthday Bonnie!

    Splynter: Thanks (again!) for explaining my "Ink-Blot/DNF" ...

    DOHA was a nice CSO to our River Doc, and his former Ex-Pat place of employment.

    First pass, I had CORT, GAVIN, DOHA, NOAH, RASA and Tatum.

    And Tatum as the Paper Moon Oscar winner was wrong ... before I realized it was her last name O'NEAL that was needed.

    At least I have the NY Yankees playing the Tampa Bay Rays.
    It is actually difficult to watch when you are rooting for BOTH teams.

    Cheers!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Husker Chuck (a.k.a. Ergo)August 16, 2014 at 12:21 PM

    A few proud moments... XSANDYS, MWAHAHA, and ALSORAN. Unfortunately they were all in the SE section. The rest of my puzzle was as blank as a refrigerator door. Sakes...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dagnabbit!
    Almost got this one. Would have too if it weren't for the *&#@! NW corner.
    I had most of that sector too, except that I let myself stay stuck on MOVED ON for a long time, preventing myself from getting UNITS and PESTLE.
    Over in the NE sector, I slowed myself by going for GIG and I SEE instead of BAG and AS IF. But at least I fixed that on my own.
    All the rest was pretty solvable for a Saturday pzl. I enjoyed being reminded of BABAR, a favorite of mine when I was a kid. I can even remember believing in his royal majesty and in Celeste, his lovely consort. I thought they were real, but living in some faraway place that had no cameras--and so that was why we could only see them in drawings. The illustrations were so good I knew I could pick BABAR out of a crowd if I should ever come across him.
    Thank you, Ned White, and Splynter!

    ReplyDelete
  19. For those who don't know BABAR, here he is, with family and friends in the Land of Happiness.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A typical Saturday tough puzzle. My first pass through to garner the low-hanging fruit didn't yield much. After that it was the expected slog. Finished without cheating, but it took a looooong time. Lots of misdirection in the cluing, but perps corrected the resultant errors. I do not like the abbreviation for "Springs" or the spelling of "Navaho", but the latter is becoming more prevalent(especially with the military). Since the sweetest victory is the hardest won, I REALLY enjoyed my "Tada" moment.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Good afternoon everyone.

    Agree with Splynter about the puzzle; lots of vague clues to make the going tough. Never did get LONG O's except via the perps. So that made NOAH my last fill. Good workout but fair for a Saturday.
    As someone pointed out the other day, the fun of puzzles is to be puzzled and ultimately to cobble together a solve. (paraphrased)

    ReplyDelete
  22. My arm is still a little sore from patting myself on the back for finishing this lovely/tormenting puzzle. I never felt out of it but had to really work which is the entire idea, isn’t it? Thanks Ned!

    Musings
    -VILLAGE ELDER worked too, INDIANS fit for Logan dwellers, LIONESS for Impala stalkers, HAMBURGER for McDonalds offering, MOANS for whimpers, MABLIKE for fairies, a RIAL is Persian Gulf capital, TIFF for Kerfuffle, ad nauseum
    -I taught an Algebra II class solving for X’S AND Y’S yesterday but laughed when they appeared
    -My BAG uses a BAG of 14 sticks
    -Women tennis players seem to be wily VETERANS at 30
    -Carpe DIEM
    -We bought one of these devices to avoid an expensive OVERAGE
    -Lincoln, NE native TED Sorenson was a gimme for me and Joe
    -MOVED UP! (2:13)
    -NOT AGAIN! Unspoken thought after missing 4’ putt for par.
    -GET THIS, I heard a switch of GENDERS will have Melissa McCarthy starring in a Ghostbusters remake
    -LET ME SEE, you had an appetizer and wine and I just had an entrée…
    -The spot finisher for Lucky Strikes was an auctioneer’s call and then “Sold American”
    -Splynter, I see young ladies that look like that in high schools every day. “Honest officer, I thought she was 21.” ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. HG, I liked your carpe DIEM link, but I was so hoping for a link to the scene in "Dead Poets Society" where Robin Williams exhorts his students to "Seize the day", or is your link a small part of that? The movie was filmed just a few miles from here. Can anybody find that scene and link it?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Some clever/elegant/cosmopolitan fill:

    GENDERS, SLOGANS, KANT, MAHAL, BABAR, MAGICAL, PESTLE, NOAH and others, were a delight….

    I thought the splendid word, WHATNOT, deserved a better clue than "More of the same"

    But the major weakness was the clueing of far too many generic two/three-word phrases:

    moved up/get this/bad throw/flies at/be brave/let me see/made hay/one to go/as a rule/dives in

    ….as well as too many obscure TV/Movie tie-ins (Silly Walk excepted!)

    OVERALL ENJOYMENT LEVEL: LOW.

    Must bear in mind, however, that this morning was the start of the EPL season, so may have been distracted.

    NC

    ReplyDelete
  25. Once again, OwenKL and I were on the same thought as to which of the solves to use in today's limerick. Here is my rendition:

    AS A RULE, I am never TIGHT FISTED,
    With donations, I've rarely desisted.
    But when solicitors call,
    With unmitigated gall,
    I wish now that my phone were unlisted!

    WEES, this Ned White had me correcting, writing-over, looking up answers, and in the end, FIW. The answer to 8D certainly "went over my head", as I never thought about baseball, and I am into most all sports. What's that phrase y'all use here? When the V8 can hit's you upside the head??

    I trusted 45D, 55D and 50D to complete the SE corner; I had to look-up 2D, 5D, 52A, and 66A to provide me with enough help to finish the NW and SW corners.

    Clues/solves I liked best were 24A and 65A. Had 'em both with no perps. My "pat on the back" for today . . .!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Well, I'm full of juice, coffee, potatoes and an omelette. We went out for breakfast for Bonnie's birthday. It was a pretty little place with outdoor seating, a sea breeze and a nice view a block from the ocean.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Woo! This was a hard puzzle, for all the reasons already mentioned. So many erasures and rewrites (refills?) I couldn't have finished without looking up that Bud Cort guy. Spelled Tatum's last name wrong, of course. I get Shaquille's wrong all the time, too.

    Been laid low these last 3 days by a "48-hour bug." Man oh man, it hitsya like a Mack truck! And I didn't eat any pickles or anything. Must have been that open-mouthed coughing sneezing runny-nosed kid in a stroller at the supermarket the other day. Jeez, kid's mom, people are gonna eat this produce, yanno?

    Best wishes to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  28. 2nd day in a row using the Webster site does any one have any idea what has happened to the Mensa Site 2 days now no puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Somebody was definitely MWAHAHAing at me today. Major FIW; I ate a lot of hay today.

    I highly enjoyed some of the clever clueing for staple answers (e.g., NOAH) and the inclusion of fun new fill (WHITE NOISE, one of my all-time favorite novels, BAD THROW, SILLY WALK et al.).

    I really got reamed in the SW corner. It had too many variables for me. For "Got in" I was thinking of SLUICED or OFFICED and found ARRIVED to be my "meh" answer of the day. Also, for "Encouraging words" I tried out CARRY ON and RAH RAHS then was set on MARRY ME. I spilled so much ink in that corner that I could no longer make out a lot of my fill.

    Dudley @ 8:58 - I highly recommend sliding Harold and Maude toward the top of the queue. It's lovably quirky and beautiful to boot. I used to always take the DVD case off the shelf when I needed to peek at the director's name (Hal Ashby) to finish crosswords years ago—now I only take down the DVD when I want to watch the movie, which is quite often truthfully.

    Have a good weekend everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  30. HI all!

    Ned's puzzle totally puzzled me.

    "Let's look at the score board Bob..."

    "Yes I see -T got SILLY WALK. Very well done."

    "That helped him with OLEO, but, oh, I see he had an 'i' there."

    "Yes, very disappointing. However he did get KANT.

    "Well, I can see how he misspent his youth."

    "Yes; it is quite evident."

    Thanks Splynter - my sanity is nearly restored. Tip-o'-the-hat (MAAM) to those that could suss this out.

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi again~!

    OK - she's not under age - but she is only 18....I'm OK with it, but....I did ask to take a selfie with her, Dudley, but she declined - claimed to be not looking so good due to a hangover - threw me for a loop, and I got a bit flustered. I've been flirting with her for two weeks now - first time I struck out, but I went down swinging.

    This whole flirting thing is all new to me - you have to understand my history to know why it's undiscovered country, and outside my comfort zone.

    Splynter

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi again~!

    Here's how far we got on the benches today.

    The benches are staying outside, PK, so they will get stained and a coat of exterior poly, but no upholstery. some nice cushions, though.

    Splynter

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi once more~!

    Working off my brother's computer in Deer Park, and so it's a process, but here's a gratuitous selfie from today.

    Splynter

    ReplyDelete
  34. Out of town the past two days in enemy territory (Hawkeye country....Herky was everywhere).

    Did go to the nearby Walgreens and bought the two paper options, and was very happy that the LAT was in the local paper. Was NOT as happy with the results. Struggled through all but the NW, then had to resort to Google for Cort. Know the movie, not the actor. That opened up some options, then LW suggested Magical for 1a, and that got me home.

    So, a DNF with 2 illegal assists, but it was a worthy challenge.....and it was a nice trip. Iowa City is very nice. And we had the side benefit of getting constructively lost near Coralville Lake and saw some great countryside.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Sorry to hear that, Splynter. I hope the little hottie rebounds.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Greetings!

    After 20 minutes I turned on the red letters. Took 20 min. more. Thanks Ned, Splynter.

    Not enough sleep. Still very sore from yesterday's frustrating adventure.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Love BABAR ended up collecting elephants.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Splynter - very nice looking set of benches and thanks again for the rook table.

    On jail-bait - my Eldest if 15. She & DW both got hit on in NOLA by the same guys at the same time. After re-loading, we had to have that talk :-)

    Well, no nap today. Car guy woke me at 8 to tell me my motor mounts are OK, and I just need new tires. Oil-change, inspection, alignment & tires; $800. Car's better handling; priceless.*

    Just watched Good Morning Vietnam with Eldest then showed her the Silly Walks clip. We made DW & MIL laugh when we came in w/ our own silly walks. Again, priceless.

    Cheers, -T
    *Civic w/ 5 on the floor - and no I can't shift without my clutch crutch.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Fermatprime, sorry about the soreness. But, well?

    Silly walks is classic. Also, the dead parrot routine.

    Best Pals

    ReplyDelete
  40. dont give up Splynter, 18 year olds grow up quickly

    ReplyDelete
  41. Lem - and we go old just as fast - the distance stays the same. When was the last time you mentioned something from a decade ago and some new-hire looked at you like you were on another planet. I think shared culture is crucial in a relationship.

    For example, Friday my team was looking though my play-list and saw Squirrel Nut Zippers and thought I was a loon - they no idea it was mainstream. and that was only 18 years ago!

    I don't think I could date someone that didn't at least ancillary know the same things that I grew up with. Hopefully I never will need to and DW (born in the same year as I) sticks around :-)

    Keep fishing Splynter! (yeah - she is quite attractive)

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  42. The northwest corner – that's bull shit – all of it.

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.