google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

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May 5, 2015

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: GOING POSTAL - The first word can precede STAMP.

17. Inevitable future event : DATE  WITH DESTINY. Date stamp. 

22. Slicing-dicing appliance : FOOD  PROCESSOR. Food stamp.

39. What an ant can't move, in song : RUBBER TREE PLANT. Rubber stamp. 

51. 1983 Murphy/Aykroyd comedy : TRADING PLACES. Trading stamp.

60. Philatelist's pride, and what the first words of 17-, 22-, 39- and 51-Across can be : STAMP COLLECTION. 

A first class puzzle from Marti - we should really letter have it. Did you hear about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it.

Melissa here.

Across:

1. Letters in a bachelor's ad : SWM. Single white male.


4. Bette's "Divine" nickname : MISS M. Bette Midler.




9. Carried on, as war : WAGED


14. "Caught you!" : O-HO


15. Chilling : ON ICE


16. Words of sympathy : I CARE


20. Partner of crafts : ARTS. Beautiful style of architecture.




21. Love, in Roma : AMORE. Italian. 



In the kitchen with love
28. Drag to court : SUE

29. Audiophile's components, collectively : STEREO


31. Glitzy wrap : BOA





34. Applies messily : DAUBS. I tried slops - daubs seems dainty to me. I looked it up. I was wrong.


38. Idi of Uganda : AMIN


43. Ottoman title : AGHA. Wiki.


44. Two under par : EAGLE


45. Prefix with classical : NEO


46. Like glee club music : CHORAL. Tried cheery first.


49. Ques. response : ANS


57. Has __ up one's sleeve : AN ACE


58. Killer whale : ORCA


66. Divining deck : TAROT


67. Attorney general under Reagan : MEESE


68. Debate side : CON


69. Agricultural coupling devices : YOKES


70. Possible "How'd you hurt your knee?" response : I FELL. Aw.


71. Mimic : APE


Down:


1. Baking __ : SODA

2. Fishing spot : WHARF


3. "Eureka" in California, e.g. : MOTTO. This prompted me to look up Oregon's state motto, where I currently live. Alis Volat Proprils (She Flies With Her Own Wings). I like it. What is your state's motto?


4. Work on a lawn : MOW


5. Pasta suffix : INI. Fettuccini.


6. Shankar gave George Harrison lessons on one : SITAR


7. Jerk : SCHMO. Schmuck.


8. French red wine : MEDOC. New to me.


9. Most knowing : WISEST


10. Play part, or play a part : ACT


11. Happy, in Le Havre : GAI. French - I had no idea. Shore excursion near Paris.



 

12. Directional suffix : ERN. Western.


13. Susan of "The Partridge Family" : DEY




18. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS


19. "__ Tu": 1974 hit : ERES. 


23. "Bro!" : DUDE. Don't taze me, Dude. Doesn't have the same ring.


24. Bartlett or Bosc : PEAR


25. Notary's imprint : SEAL


26. TV financial maven Suze : ORMAN


27. French queen : REINE, French word for "queen," not the name of a French queen.


30. Not duped by : ONTO


31. Bric-a-__ : BRAC


32. Should, with "to" : OUGHT

33. Detest : ABHOR


35. All-purpose vehicle, for short : UTE. Utility vehicle.


36. Push-up top : BRA





37. Part of a line: Abbr. : SEGment


40. Silents siren Theda : BARA


41. Israeli airline : EL AL


42. Clinton transportation secretary Federico : PENA


47. Makes fit : ADAPTS. See above.


48. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC. Looks a little like Lenny Kravitz.



 


50. Loch Lomond local : SCOT


52. Mother of Ashley and Wynonna : NAOMI. The Judds.


53. Treble symbol : G CLEF


54. Martinique volcano : PELEE





55. "All My Children" vamp : ERICA


56. Baskin-Robbins utensil : SCOOP


59. Green Gables girl : ANNE


60. Muddy pen : STY


61. Eastern "way" : TAO


62. Old couples carrier : ARK. Clever.


63. Stooge with bangs : MOE


64. Night class subj. : ESL


65. Animation collectible : CEL


Pardon me while I get back to googling Lenny Kravitz ....

Melissa


Note from C.C.:

Our beautiful Melissa is back! She will be blogging once a month. Melissa took a long break from the blog to take care of some family matter. She's sorely missed.






  

61 comments:

OwenKL said...

DATE WITH DESTINY

MISS ERICA was reputed to be quite a VAMP,
Indeed, there were some who called her a tramp!
It was hard to ignore,
Since the men at her door
All had cards to hold customer loyalty STAMPS!

I always try to guess the theme before I get to the reveal, but this one stamped, uh, stumped me! Yesterday I did a lim on PEAR, and there was a discussion on BRAs. Someone's been reading their TAROT CARDS! Always interesting to note congruences: BOA/BRA, ON ICE/AN ACE.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I entered SWM, MISSM and WAGED very quickly and thought I was away to the races on this one. And then I put in AHA and EERIE (instead of OHO and ONICE) and things suddenly started getting weird. I got rid of EERIE, but then tried SPASM instead of SCHMO, which didn't help matters any.

French is not my thing, so neither MEDOC nor GAI exactly sprung to mind. And why was STEREO clued as a collective noun?

Anywho, I finally got everything straightened out up top and managed to blast through the bottom half of the puzzle the way I started the top half. PENA was a complete unknown, but the perps took care of him no problem. And, fortunately, my lack of French didn't prevent me from getting REINE when I needed it. Not sure how I remembered PELEE, but I did.

Big Easy said...

Well the Divine MISS Marti devised this one written up by the divine MISS Melissa who seemed to be on my wave length because I had never heard of either MEDOC or GAI.

This early week quiz filled easily elsewhere; so easily I didn't get the theme of STAMP COLLECTION until I read the write-up because I filled 60A entirely from the perps because I never even read the clue.

EAGLE? Birdie? I started yesterday with a 10 on a par-5, put 5 balls in the water on the first 4 holes and had a score of 29 after 4 holes. Horrible! 12 over par. The played the next 14 in 8 over. That's golf.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I see capital letters in the post. Are you sure you're Melissa? Will the real Melissa please stand up! At any rate, great to have you back, even if it'll only be once a month. Your pic of PELEE looks suspiciously like Mount Doom in Mordor. A couple of your other pics look suspiciously bloggish...er...exactly bloggish.

I put in SAUCE, because I thought it said "Apples messily." Topped that by spelling EAGLE with two A's and no G. All fixed, now.

SCOOP brought a tear to my eyes. When, oh when, will Blue Bell be back? [Sob]

Nice shoutout to Chairman MOE.

Very nice puzzle, Madame Philatelist.

The DUDE abides.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Glad to see you back, Melissa; nice intro.

Marti's puzzle gets a STAMP of Approval from here. Liked the long acrosses. Had to step gingerly a few places, but got it done without strikethroughs or look-ups. FOR 4D - MOW- considered sod and sow, before MISS M seemed apt..
Liked the ARK clue.

Have a great day.

Lemonade714 said...

I am so happy to see Melissa B. Back in our world. Hope Oregon is treating you well.

Florida's motto is a variation of the US motto,
" In G-d we trust, but the early bird special starts at 4."

I LOVE marti using the self referential Divine Miss M, seeing Pear again after yesterday's trickery, ERES TU back again. PELEE seems hard for a Tuesday but it was all good.

Thanks to our answer to Mantle and Maris two M' s.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Melissa and friends. How nice to have you back again, Melissa!

Fun puzzle, Marti.

Like Barry G, I tried Spasm before SCHMO.

I had the Divine MISS M album once, back in the dark ages.

I knew Eureka was California's MOTTO from having done the puzzles. It appears often. Louisiana's motto is somewhat ironic ~ Union, Justice and Confidence.

(There is something wrong with the blog commentary. It seems to have a repeat insert in the down portion.)

QOD: It is only after one is in trouble that one realizes how little sympathy and kindness there are in the world. ~ Nellie Bly (née Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, d. Jan. 27, 1922)

desper-otto said...

Forgot to mention, the Texas state motto is "Friendship." The long version: "Remember the Friendship" The motto of my former home, Wisconsin, is "Forward." Prior to Frank Kaminsky's graduation it was "Center."

thehondohurricane said...


Good day folks,

Melissa, welcome back. You have been missed.

Not much to write about today, everything filled in without any major delays. Always enjoy Mart's puzzles.

Only TAROT gave me a pause , I thought a TAROT was one card in the deck, never realized it was the entire deck.

Not sure what the motto for Ct is, but it could be "Bend over while we enter some more taxes."

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts"

Well, MISS M (as in Marti, the constructor of today's puzzle), thank you for the SO - and loved, too, its rhyming partner SCHMO in 7d;

Tin isn't going to be quite as complimentary with the "ON ICE" solve(!)

also liked your EAGLE and AN ACE (which are synonymous, of course) golfing pair; my first EAGLE came as an assist: the other golfer knocked my ball into the hole (second shot on a par 4) - the rule has now changed, and in the event such a shot occurs, the "assisted" ball is removed from the hole and replaced as close to its original spot; my first ACE came not too far from where I now live (SW FL); I was on vacation back in the mid-'90's and EAGLED the par 3 9th hole - with a 9 iron from 140 yds

I finished the puzzle with but two ink blots; had AHA before OHO (hadn't looked at perps yet) and had something weird where OUGHT went; I misread 51a (thought it said MURRAY/AYKROYD comedy and tried to fit GHOST BUSTERS into the TRADING PLACES spot!)

Re: MEDOC - MEDOC is a region, not a wine. Very famous WINE region, but they do produce white grape varietals, too; the BORDEAUX is the overall category; MEDOC is a sub-region, which also contains appelations known as: St Estephe, St Julien, Margaux, and Pessac-Leognin - in France these are known as: Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (sorry! My wine geekiness is uncontrollable!)

Unknown said...

This one was a struggle for me. I got stuck on so many but eventually filled it in.
@ Big Easy...your golf game sounds like mine, but I think of it as a series of disasters with an occasional miracle followed by a nice cold beer !!!

Barry G. said...

Mea culpa -- Welcome Back, Melissa!!!

Chairman Moe said...

meant to say famous RED wine region

There was once an old wine geek named MOE,
Who did fancy his wine from Bordeaux;
He ruined the party
When he called out Marti,
Why does he always act like a SCHMO?!

inanehiker said...

pretty much a speed run - enjoyed the long theme answers. Some of the unknowns easily filled by perps like MEDOC and PELEE. I should have known MEDOC as I've been reading Judith Rock's Charles duLuc mysteries set in France during Louis's reign- lots of medoc and other wine consumed throughout. Sounded much safer than water.
Thanks Marti and welcome back Melissa!

HeartRx said...

Chairman Moe - thanks for the fun poem!

Great to see you back, melissa! And what an honor to have you blog my puzzle your first day.

Most people think the motto of Massachusetts is "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem." But that phrase has never been officially voted on as our motto. In fact, it is only a feature of our official coat of arms.

Tinbeni said...

Melissa: Welcome back! And YES! I enjoyed your write-up & links.

Marti: Thank You for a FUN Tuesday puzzle with a O'NICE theme.

Yeah, I'm still wondering why O'NICE means to be "Chilling" ... but that is how I parsed it. lol

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all who celebrate.
I'll be having a few Dos Equis ... I always like a "chick's beer."

Cheers!

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning!

Thanks, Marti. Another fun run from you. I wanted slaps before DAUBS. RUBBER TREE PLANT came first so I had something to go on with the reveal clue. My other errors were all PERP-ousless. Sometimes I just keep moving across without checking.

The state flag of Illinois reads: State Sovereignty, National Union. However as most of you know, it should read: Where our Governors make our license plates.

Welcome, back Melissa.

Avg Joe said...

Fun run today Marti. Thank you. Had no clue on the theme without the reveal, but it was easy enough with that included.

Good to see you back, Melissa. Thanks for the writeup.

HowardW said...

First, thanks Marti for the puzzle and Melissa for the writeup. I didn't guess the connecting theme until the reveal. Does anyone else remember S&H Green STAMPS? I recall helping my folks fill books and books of them.

Quibbles: Chairman Moe, you complain about MEDOC being considered a wine. It is a region, true. But MEDOC is also an AOC, so I think that qualifies it as a wine. [From yesterday's theme, this is a whine -- and no, I don't pronounce the h. Last family event, my sister suggested that I bring the wine. I responded, "Oh, we've had so much snow this winter. And it's been way too cold..." Took a few seconds for it to register.]

Marti, you say that "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" isn't the MA state motto. But the Secretary of State thinks it is.

Husker Gary said...

Three coast-to-coast fills, clever cluing (ACT, ARK, et al) and a fun theme!

Musings
-My 92 yr old MIL’s only income is $6,000/yr in SS and so we finally got her on FOOD STAMPS, which she had resisted.
-Most school boards are RUBBER STAMPS for superintendents
-Bob Costas tells the story of champagne ON ICE that had to be hustled out of the Red Sox locker room in 1986 after Billy Buckner’s Game 6 error
-Did anyone else DAUB the product from this familiar tube?
-Some think it was NOT good when AMIN had you for dinner…
-Law 101 teaches, “Never ask a Ques. to which you do not know the ANS.”
-Have you seen this this new Sea World ORCA ad? (:30)
-“I FELL” can be very dangerous after a certain age
-A seven year old girl “APED” pounding on her chest at the Omaha Zoo and a Silver Back Gorilla took issue and this incredible video “went viral” (:12)
-Nebraska’s motto is either “Equality Before The Law” or “Go Big Red”
-Welcome back Melissa!
-Can you name this singing family on which The Partridge Family was based?

CrossEyedDave said...

Date Stamp?

The trouble with Food Stamps...

A Rubber Stamp for Anons...

Trading Stamp, Dear Abby Style...

The Stamp Collection hobby aint what it used to be...

Note:
I found the absolutely best image for "Stamp Collection," but I can't post it because it is absolutely obscene... (Nuts!)

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Marti DuGuay-Carpenter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you Melissa Bee, for a fine review.

Melissa, certainly nice to see you back. You were missed.

Well, I started in the South and worked my way North. My first answer was MEESE. It just jumped off the page at me. From there I spread.

STAMP COLLECTION was my first theme answer. The others became obvious. 17A was not easy, however.

NAOMI Judd is a favorite of mine.

Kind of remembered PELEE.

PEAR was easy. I have two pear trees in Pennsylvania.

Did not know MISS M, or MEDOC. Missed on the last M.

There is also a town in California named EUREKA. I have been there.

The state I live in, Illinois, must have a MOTTO that means Graft or Corruption. I will have to look it up.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Breezed right through, except for needing perp help with Medoc and Pelee. Pear was easy enough after yesterday's Snopes articles. Needed the unifier to suss the theme. Thanks, Marti! BTW, I had no idea about the state motto's backstory.

Blogger didn't seem to load properly this morning, it looked like four or five copies of the write-up piled on each other - anybody else have trouble?

Morning, MBee! So nice to have you back!

Yellowrocks said...

Welcome back, Melissa. I like your style. Nicely done, Marti.

Médoc
1. a wine-growing region in Gironde, in SW France.
2. a red Bordeaux wine produced there. (I have sampled some.)

Dudley @9;41, hand up for the strange appearance of today's blog.

kazie said...

Welcome back to Melissa!

Since I've never looked at personal ads, SWM took me forever to get, and having AHA for OHO didn't help in that corner. Eventually though, WHARF appeared after the F at the bottom had been lonely for quite a while, and I wagged MOTTO, forcing the A's to change into OHO and SODA finally dropped in.

Only other snag was wanting SEC for SEG...but that's another story.

Good offering today, Marti!

Lucina said...

Greetings, friends!

It's capital to see you, Melissa!!
Welcome back.

Thank you, Marti, for a fun run today. I mostly filled across with an occasional glance at the downs to make sure it was correct.

However, I started with SMF thinking that's what a SWM might be looking for but MOTTO prevailed. Ours is Deus Ditat (God enriches). Obviously written by politicians.

Did not realize EAGLE and AN ACE were the same. Live and learn; that's my MOTTO.

For some reason Edwin MEESE is unforgettable. He popped in immediately as did PENA.

Does anyone else get bombarded with the "I've fallen and I can't get up" robocalls?

Good support in the center of the puzzle with BRA.

Well done, Marti and Melissa!

Have a safe and lovely Cinco de Mayo, everyone!

HeartRx said...

HowardW @ 8:51, you need to read my comment more carefully: Some states have officially legislated a state motto, but Massachusetts is not one of them. Your link describes the history of our state seal, which contains the words of our “unofficial” state motto.

Chairman Moe said...

HowardW @ 8:51 and Yellowrocks @ 9:55

I stand corrected in that the grapes grown in the Médoc are nearly 100% red in color. As a wine geek, I should have known that! ;^O

The classic grapes that are blended into the wines produced on the W side of the Gironde estuary - aka, the left bank Bordeaux - are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carménère. Although Carménère is now almost exclusively grown and produced as wine in Chile.

White wines made in the Bordeaux region tend to come from Graves AOC which includes Sauterne, and also the area known as Pessac and Leognon (Chateau La Mission Haut Brion is one of the more famous estates from this area).

Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc are the dominant grape varietals that are used to produce either the dry or sweet (caused by botrytis or "Noble Rot") white wines from Bordeaux. Chateau d'Yquem is probably the best known Sauterne. Their wine can age for well over a century! Of course, it sells for well over $100 for a 375ml bottle . . .

So given my error, you can now "officially" color my face RED!!

HowardW said...

Marti,
Correction accepted. What I was trying to point out was that the web page says that the phrase "remains the motto of the Commonwealth today". That is, even state officials think of it as the motto, unofficial though it may be.

I like this one as an alternative.

Chairman Moe said...

CED @ 8:58

Good job on the links today . . .

Here's one that is not obscene that I thought was pretty funny. Don't know if MISS M ever thought about using a clue that solved with the word TRAMP for this puzzle, but the phrase "tramp stamp" is certainly a 21st Century "staple" - at least among the millennials . . . aka, our Grandkids!! ;^)

C6D6 Peg said...

Nice puzzle, Marti. Clever and fresh. Loved the MISSM SO. And, it wouldn't be a Marti puzzle without a wine reference, would it?

Welcome back, Melissa. Thanks for the write-up. Well done!

Misty said...

A Marti puzzle on a Tuesday morning! What a great way to start the day, especially since this one was a lot of fun. And then came the great pics from Melissa--that BOA was especially impressive! So, many thanks to you both!

I really wanted that red wine to be MERLOT, my favorite, but there just weren't enough spaces.

Had SCAMP before SCHMO.

Howard, I loved your W/H/INE story!

Have a wonderful day, everybody!

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone.

A double Tuesday treat: a fun and clever puzzle from our own Divine Miss M. and the return of our much-missed Melissa. Welcome back! Thanks to you both.

Nice CSO to Moe and a rather "chilling" one to Tin. My blog screen was all messed up, as well.

Have a great day.

Bill G. said...

Hi Melissa! Hi everybody else. Thanks Marti, a fine job. Very enjoyable.

Re. golf: I would have thought an ace was a hole-in-one whereas an eagle is two under par. They would be the same only for a par 3. Yes?

Chairman Moe said...

Bill G @ 11:39

Yes, a HOLE-IN-ONE (aka, AN ACE) is also an EAGLE. You are correct; an EAGLE represents 2 under par on any given hole. I've been fortunate enough to have had several EAGLES on Par 4's and Par 5's - more on Par 5's - and also 3 EAGLES on Par 3's.

I started playing golf at age 10; played for my HS team and some in college. My first HOLE-IN-ONE came at age 45, and was quite unexpected. I had probably witnessed 10 or 12 up to that point, but you never step on the tee of a Par 3 and EXPECT it to go in the hole on the first shot!

What is more rare, and one that would complete my golfing "bucket list", is a DOUBLE EAGLE; either a HOLE-IN-ONE on a Par 4 or a score of 2 on a Par 5. Got within a foot of one about 20 years ago . . . nothing close since. One of the more memorable DOUBLE EAGLES came in the 2012 Masters Tournament. The one that also featured this shot by Bubba Watson in the playoff

Ergo said...


Fun puzzle. Thank you Marti.

Hello Melissa, nice to meet you.

melissa bee said...

good morning all,

thank you for the warm welcome back. yes, desper-otto - i guess i'm just out of practice :).

the blog displayed oddly for me as well on my ipod, a bit less so on my imac. i deleted what i believe to be the offending links - i think it's okay now.

Anonymous said...

Although I check the blog almost daily, this is my first comment with a small correction. Schmo means fool. A schmuck is a jerk. Since I live in California, I will probably one of the last to finish! I always enjoy reading of the comments.

HowardW said...

Melissa -
The "Eres tu" and "sitar" links didn't have a proper URL, so they effectively linked back to the main post.

With those links now deleted, the post looks "clean" on a PC w/Firefox.

Bluehen said...

A fast and fluid fun-filled puzzle. Thanks to both MISSMs. The only across clue to elude me was DATEWITHDESTINY, so except for the occasional confirming glance, I didn't use many down clues.

The state motto here is "Liberty and Independence". I always thought it was "Home of the best politicians money can buy."

Cya!

Rainman said...

Glorious day here in the San Joaquin south valley. Terrific tennis morning. Then home to see a nice puzzle by Marti. Enjoyed it, thanks. Thanks, Melissa for the write-up.
I mis-read Loch Lomond local to be locale and could not discern how SCOT got by abbreviated. Nice theme, fill and clueing. Everything fell into place and I zipped through unscathed and happy.
Feliz Cinco de Mayo, todos.

Rainman said...

Thanks for sharing the video of the Masters shot.
There have been a few-holes in-one made on Par 5s, four under par, often called a Condor. To my limited knowledge, this phenomenal shot is most often made on a wooded, horse-shoe shaped, or U-shaped, fairway/green, often on a windy day, where the par shots would be three to the green and two-putt. Youtube shows one condor (poor quality video) being made by Tiger Woods in 2007 but I question whether it's been photoshopped. The three-under-par shots, whether it's an ace (par 4) or deuce (par5) are called albatrosses or double-eagles.
In my young days in windy Abilene TX there was a municipal course with a U-shaped par 5 which we often tried to reach from the tee when conditions would warrant. Many would make it to the green but I never witnessed nor heard of an ace there.

HeartRx said...

HowardW @ 10:44, I laughed out loud when I read about the Dunkin' Donuts motto for MA! So true - there seems to be one on every corner. (Too bad, I hate their coffee.)

Moe @ 10:53, I did have TRAMP STEAMER on my short list of possible theme entries, but the length wasn't working. I also wasn't sure if it would pass the breakfast test at the LAT. :-(

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, Marti! great to see you again, melissa.

Didn't know MEDOC, PELEE, or G CLEF. My mother was a piano teacher and always just called it a treble clef sign as far as I know. I didn't like to practice and called it a "trouble clef" sign. In the music building at a college we once visited the male and female bathrooms had the appropriate clef signs on the doors.

Steve said...

Yay! Welcome back, Melissa!

Irish Miss said...

The motto for New York is Excelsior (Ever Upward). However, with the indictment in January of the Assembly Speaker (Bribery +) and the arrest yesterday of the Senate Majority Leader (Corruption +), it should be changed to Let's Make A Deal or The Price Is Right.

Manac said...

"Live Free or Die" up here.

Good thinking Dave. Funny as hell though.

Kismet.... ?There is an ad for a US stamp catalog on my phone here.

Steve said...

@Chairman Moe - so they're not synonymous if they only mean the same thing on a Par-3 :)

In the UK a double-eagle is called an albatross - it's a rare bird!

I've had a single hole-in-one, but that was on a par-3 course so I don't officially count it. I was playing with a girlfriend I was introducing to the game. We were playing to an elevated green so I didn't see my shot go in. When we got up there, I went to look for her ball which had run through the green and thought it was odd not to see mine until I walked past the hole. When my friend asked me where my ball was and I told her it was in the hole, she just said "well, pick it out so I can putt". She got to appreciate the significance some months later.

Jayce said...

Nifty puzzle, Marti. Hi Melissa. Best wishes to you all.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

We're treated to two Divine Miss M's today - great fun.

Good job, both of you.

Get's my STAMP of approval.

Michigan's motto: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice, which means: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.

Works here, and in the U.P.

Cool regards!
JzB

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I loved Marti's puzzle, and soooo glad to see Melissa Bee back with us, too. We've missed you, Melissa.

By the way, Some boa!! The links were all fun today!

I had a quick run today, and loved the Old Couples Carrier clue. I guess we could say that my husband and I are an old couple and our "Ark" is an old Lincoln continental which just seems to run and run.

Medoc and Gai? Two new French words to add to my list. But some perps filled in before I even had to read the clues.

We received a 27 page calalog of USA Stamps in our mailbox today.
Title: "USA Philatelic" The Official Source For Stamp Enthusiasts. Interesting!

Have a great day, everyone.

Abejo said...

OK, I checked Illinois, where I live. Motto is: State Sovereignty, National Union

Pennsylvania, where I grew up and hope to die is: Virtue, Liberty, Independence


Abejo

JD said...

Good afternoon all,

Fun puzzle Marti! So happy to see you back, Melissa.

Hand up for eerie, and just noticed that I have dabbs instead of daubs.. and misspelled to boot!

Medoc was a WAG because it sounded familiar. I still seem to be oblivious to the themes most days, but I do enjoy the daily creativity of them.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Wellcome back Melissa. I think I joined after you left, but the regulars are keen on you, so have a seat DUDEssie. Thanks for the writeup and thanks Marti for the puzzle.

Here's the SCOOP: Two WAGS (box 8 & 40d xing 43a) and two wins. I FEEL lucky...

W/o: SWM - I had SWf - I guess Marti doesn't swing that way.

Only wish for today, to have SaG and BRA side-by-side. Sorry for humour from my UTE :-)

WEES re fav c/a pairs. I'll add STEREO, I had a bitchin' one in the 80s.

Steve @3:48 - LOL!

HG - yep, DAUBed that. Nothing worked until I went swimming in the Gulf @17. I didn't recognize myself in the mirror that eve.

Anon @1:19p - I don't do the pzl until after work...

George has a DATE WITH DESTINY. George's son is Marty!

Cheers, -T

ltl said...

I found this to be a fun puzzle from Miss M. Actually, almost all of hers are. It's so nice to see how many constructors have come out of this august group.

It's also great to see Melissa Bee back on the blog. It makes me wonder if we'll now see the return of another long-time blogger here, or if he's permanently moved on.

I do hope everyone is having a safe Cinco de Mayo.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks so much, Marti and melissa!

Quick puzzle. Hand up for eerie before ONICE.

Cold and gloomy here today. Hoping for rain.

Got my water bill. Avoided a J. Brown penalty so far, it seems.

Cheers!

Chairman Moe said...

JZB @ 4:17

I did a double-take when I read your Michigan motto; at first, I thought I saw the word "circumcision" ... which might, I suspect, make for a more pleasant looking "peninsula"!! :-D

Steve @ 3:48 - too funny! And I believe a hole-in-one on a Par 3 course counts. Why not? If I'd been with you I would've expected a drink at the 19th hole! ;^)

Blue Iris said...

I'm sorry I"m still so randomly posting. I got a CPAP machine and thought it might help with my sleep patterns. I still sleep more than I am awake and hate to comment in the middle of the night. I have rarely miss a day reading comments on the blog.

The State Motto of Kansas is " To the stars through difficulty." They put an Native American shooting an arrow into the sky on top the dome capitol, but forgot to check if the infrastructure could hold the statue. Anyway, the capitol underwent 120 million dollar upgrade so statue should be OK.

Marti, your stamp theme hit home since my husband retired from the USPS. We collected some panes that interested us.

My grandmother always collected S&H green stamps. Are they still around?

We tried to get my grandmother to accept food stamps to no avail. Meanwhile I had nieces who couldn't wait to get "free" food stamps.

Thanks, Melissa, for helping blog again.

Thank you for letting me be part of this blog. Hope to check in sooner than later.

Anonymous T said...

Glad to see you back Blue Iris!

I've got one full set of Bugs Bunny USPS STAMPS in the safe. I'm not a Philatelist, but I'll bequeath those. Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Blue Iris - oh, and S&H STAMPS were a great way to get kitchenware and other Bric-a-BRAC. I remember helping maternal grandma licking 'em to the booklets. There was always the transistor radio in the catalogue that I thought we OUGHT to get. Nope, just another set of glasses we would TRADE the STAMPS for :-) C, -T

Anonymous T said...

re: S&H The name has changed but the concept remains the same. No idea who still doles 'em out. -T