17. Cats' request on seeing birds through the window? : LET US PREY. This one made me smile. Now I know why they put their little paws together whenever they see a bird outside.
25. Attention-getting craze? : HEY FEVER. Like Willie Mays, the Say HEY kid?
41. Ottoman ruler's pier? : THE DOCK OF THE BEY. I guess Mos Def's real name of Yasiin BEY would have been too obscure to use for this entry, huh?
52. "L.A. Law" actress' work period? : DEY SHIFT. This one doesn't really work for me - it should be "DEY's Shift."
66. Optimistic Spanish ruler? : REY OF HOPE. If you don't know your Spanish, this could have been a toughie.
I caught onto the theme right away, so the puzzle was pretty much solved left-to-right, top-to-bottom.
Across
1. Pros handling returns : CPAs.
5. Nos. that affect connecting flights : ETAs. I wonder if a CPA's GPA would affect the ETA of your IRA?
9. Like dry mud on cleats : CAKED.
14. 1979 DownBeat Hall of Fame inductee, familiarly : ELLA. The great Fitzgerald.
15. Beer ingredient : MALT.
16. "Spider-Man" director : RAIMI.
19. Brother of Miriam : AARON. Could also have been Moses.
20. Obeyed the doctor : SAID "AH".
21. Romp : PLAY.
23. Suffix with Capri : OTE. A Capriote is an inhabitant of Capri.
24. Actress Kunis : MILA.
27. "Bravo, señor!" : OLE.
29. "Blah blah blah": Abbr. : ETC.
31. Bavarian article : EIN.
32. Kid-lit detective __ the Great : NATE.
34. Speck : IOTA.
37. Dangerous bacterium : STAPH.
44. Senate Finance Committee chair Hatch : ORRIN.
45. Sundance's gal : ETTA. Place.
46. Like Gen. Powell : RET'D.
47. Storm, on the Beaufort scale : TEN. An empirical scale that relates observed conditions to wind speed.
49. iTunes purchase : APP.
51. Sign of success : VEE. Victory. Or two. Or peace.
57. California's __ Valley: Reagan Library site : SIMI.
59. Porter, e.g. : ALE.
60. Wind with a wide range : OBOE.
61. __-Dazs : HÄAGEN. Real ice cream, but totally bogus name.
64. Choir platform : RISER.
68. Taboos : NO-NOs.
69. Banjo spot : KNEE.
70. Tennis edge : AD IN. After deuce (a tie score of 3 each), a player must be up by two points to win the game. So if the server is up by one point, (s)he has the "AD" vantage "IN" his/her court, since if they win the next point, they would win the game.
71. Ring setting : STONE.
72. Proverbs : SAWS.
73. Trim on a curtain : LACE.
Down
1. Animation units : CELS.
2. Court entry : PLEA.
3. Skydiving device : ALTIMETER.
4. Riyadh native : SAUDI.
5. No-nonsense : EMPHATIC.
6. Stuff on the street : TAR.
7. Hebrew alphabet opener : ALEPH.
8. Topic for Strunk and White : STYLE. Pay $9.99 for the paperback, or read "Elements of Style" online for free.
9. Ingredient in the stew étouffée : CRAYFISH. I wonder what CREY FISH would be? "Crey" is slang for crazy, I think.
10. Financial rating : AAA.
11. Russian ballet name : KIROV.
12. Act badly? : EMOTE.
13. Eatery with its own lingo : DINER.
18. Fire __ : SALE.
22. "'Tis true!" : AYE.
26. Put in a log : ENTER.
27. Savvy about : ON TO.
28. Portrayer of a big scaredy-cat : LAHR. The cowardly lion in "The Wizard of Oz."
30. Soft drink choice : COKE.
33. Works on books : EDITS.
35. Elmo fan : TOT.
36. Old Spice rival : AFTA.
38. Sal Tessio portrayer in "The Godfather" : ABE VIGODA.
39. Folk icon Seeger : PETE.
40. Stevenson villain : HYDE.
42. Podunk-like : ONE HORSE.
43. Footwear for the Step Brothers : TAP SHOES. I never heard of these guys, but the answer could be intuited.
48. Penpoint : NIB.
50. "La Vie en Rose" chanteuse : PIAF. It was the signature song for Édith.
52. Fixes, as a heel, perhaps : DARNS. I know women who have married a heel, thinking they could fix him. Never works.
53. "Middlemarch" novelist : ELIOT.
54. Easy kind of question : YES/NO.
55. Where roads divide : FORKS.
56. Singer __ Marie : TEENA. Lots of singers today, it seems.
58. Taj __ : MAHAL.
62. Bigger than big : EPIC.
63. Hawaiian goose : NENE. We now know what they look like, right?
65. It's quite a stretch : EON. I know, I know - but I am almost done.
67. Source of pliable wood : YEW. See? I told YEW it would soon end.
That's it from me for now!
Marti
63 comments:
Fun theme gave me some solace for FIW. I figured the error was in 11-down, since it was a WAG crossing two entries I was very unsure of -- RAAMI and capriOTE. Red letters told me RA_MI was the culprit, so I started plugging in the vowels until the ta-da. That whole NE corner was the only part I had trouble with. Stew etouffee was unknown, I put AARON in, took it out to put MOSES in, and then took that out to put AARON back in. Had capriSON first, and HEY RIDES.
Nit: EMOTE is what a good actor does. Subtle won't deliver beyond the footlights. A bad actor OVER-EMOTES. Chews up the carpet. Makes a ham of himself.
There once was a fellow who, though he was blind
Liked crossword puzzles to freshen his mind.
He'd work them in Braille
With the use of a nail,
And a hammer erased any errors he'd find!
Welcome back Gareth with a very doable Thursday. I never heard of Mate the Great but it was easy to guess as was TAP SHOES.I always have trouble spelling RAIMI and it did not help that it crossed KIROV but knowing his name was different helped.
I liked ONE HORSE and the complete name ABE VIGODA
That for the words and whimsy marti and Gareth
Morning, all!
No gripes from me today. I love a good pun and this one had five of them. No junk in the rest of the grid, either. I didn't know who The Step Brothers were, but with a little perp help it was certainly easy enough to guess what type of shoes they wore.
Minor misstep at STAPH when I tried STREP at first, but HYDE quickly took care of that.
Good morning!
WBS. Exactly.
In what world would you put CRAYFISH in an étouffée? You use CRAWFISH or CRAWDADS. CRAYFISH are bait!
Old familiar NENE was back for an encore. And it appears that MILA Kunis is trying to unseat Uma Thurman as the new CW queen.
One of our local TV stations was scooped up by the Gannett group. Gannett then decided to separate their print media from their electronic media. So they came up with TEGNA as the "brand name" for the electronic group -- sorta like Gannett spelled sideways. Don't Google TENGA by mistake. Just sayin'....
Good Morning, Marti and friends. I found this puzzle to be quite a challenge, but I persevered. DEY SHIFT was my Rosetta Stone. The other theme answers then fell in place. Today's theme fits well into yesterday's discussion of Gray vs. Grey.
How about a little Otis to go along with the theme?
I confidently wrote down Moses as Miriam's brother. I had forgotten about AARON.
The crossword go-to for a dangerous bacterium is generally E. coli. Not today, however.
My favorite clue was Wind With a Wide Range = OBOE. Great fresh clue for a crossword staple.
Anyone else think of a Parachute for a Skydiving Device?
A real étouffée would be made with Crawfish.
QOD: She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might ~ if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me. ~ Raymond Chandler (July 23, 1888 ~ Mar. 26, 1959)
Hi there,
Got it done but had a spelling error so an FIW. The crossing A for PIAF & HAAGEN was the miscue. Had an an e because I was sure HAAGEN was HeAGAN.
For the first time in quite awhile, picked up on the theme early & it helped. LET US PREY was the favorite.
My cleats were never CAKED with mud. Always cleaned them after every practice or game.
Was thinking CReY FISH, but I was sure about AARON so CRAYFISH survived. Wonder if this was an intentional set up by Gareth?
Going to be spending the weekend up in the territory of Irish Miss. Last working weekend for a while due to cataract surgery on second eye next week. No worries though because the first one came out terrific.
Thank you Gareth and Marti.
Not my best effort today.
Never noticed the A for E swap because in each instance the E was filled in from a down clue.
Clue podunk-like leading to ONE HORSE made me think about the town I grew up in. My sister had a horse. I can't recall anyone else having a horse. We had no stoplights, but we did have a flashing light at the intersection. Population now is 817, so it seems to have grown quite a little bit through the years.
Thank you CED and FermatPrime. 3rd day of being 46A awaits.
Good morning everyone.
Another Bain beauty. My Rosetta stone was REY OF HOPE. I liked the theme - not too complicated. But LET US PREY made me chortle. I think DEY SHIFT is fine.
Liked seeing ABE VIGODA in the puzzle.
Have a great day.
desper-otto: Not sure if you were joking or not, but I'm pretty sure that crayfish, crawfish and crawdads are all the same thing. We called them crayfish growing up in Massachusetts, btw.
An OBOE has significantly less range than a clarinet, a trumpet or a tenor saxophone.
D-O and Hatoolah, thanks for pointing out the CRAWFISH is misspelled! Any other spelling is a different bug entirely!!
Other than that, it was a clever puzzle, and a good write up, Marti.
Owen, I often want to correct my mistakes with a hammer.
Good Morning:
I found this to be a speed run, for a Thursday. The theme made it really easy to just glide right along. Only w/o was era/eon. Thought of CED at Let Us Prey; can't wait for that link! 😼 It also reminded me of a long-ago parish priest's rendition which sounded more like "Lettuce Pray."
Thanks, Gareth, for a fun and satisfying solve and thanks, Marti, for a smart and sassy review. (I'm still recovering from the loss in WWF.)
Hondo, I'd stop by to say hello, but the traffic, congestion, and the new rotaries in that area are too much for me. The older I get, the more nervous I get driving in heavy, speeding traffic.
Have a great day.
Irish Miss, was he praying for whirled peas?
Hello Puzzlers -
Burned through this one pretty fast for a Thursday. Hand up for reflexively thinking E Coli first, soon cleared out by perps.
WBS 8:24. I grew up thinking that crayfish, crawfish, and crawdads were all the same crustaceans, just under the influence of differing regional colloquialisms.
Morning, Marti! Thanks for enlightening.
Barry, Dudley: You're both right. They are the same critter. But no self-respecting gulf-coastean would ever utter the word "Crayfish." Mudbugs is OK, though.
Hi Gang -
Easier than the typical Thus. Got through with plugging and chugging.
RAIMI was an unknown that will be soon forgotten. North and Central East were slow to develop.
Got a "meh" reaction from NATE when I showed him his name in the puzzle. He was pitching last night and a kid lined one back through the box so fast it nailed him on the shin bone. Next kid up lined one back at him and he spun around and caught it.
Both of these guys were over 6 ft tall, and this is 12U!
Same offer as last week - come to the concert in Kellogg Park, Plymouth tonight and I'll buy you an ice cream cone.
Cool regards!
JzB
Marti: Nice write-up & informative links.
D N F ... F I W ...
Favorite theme answer (for me) was DEY SHIFT.
Not a clue who Directed "Spider Man" ... I will probably forget RAIMI before noon.
Cheers!
Today's puzzle was the wey to go. Challenging, but once the reveal became evident, everything fell into place.
A few changes had to be made to get it right, though. ECOLI to STAPH, MOSES to AARON, and MOTE to IOTA.
Gareth, it was a nice puzzle and Marti did a great write-up. It was more than a Joe Friday explanation of "Just the facts, Ma'am." (I wonder how many times that was said on Dragnet, if at all?)
Growing up in a small town I never saw any horses in town, but we did have a stoplight that was on the main highway going through town. So I guess we were a "One Traffic Light Town." That made the truckers mad because they had to slow down and occasionally stop. It was also a source of revenue for the local police department with 2 part time officers and a police car running a speed trap. The town has gotten smaller and doesn't have a police department anymore, but the traffic light is still there. Now I live in a large town with too many traffic lights and not enough horses.
Beautiful day in central PA today, and I hope you all enjoy it where you are.
Finally I have time to get here this week. Our son, the traveler, is off on his own today, but it's been a hectic week so far with him here.
And I actually got this all out on my own with no help, despite it being a letter substitution deal, which I usually get totally lost on. Very easy for a Thursday, going by recent experience.
Have a good one everyone!
I caught the theme immediately with LET US PREY and noticed the bonus 'AY's with PLAY, and CRAYFISH, and if anybody asks for 'cray'fish in South Louisiana they would get strange looks. We cooked some CRAWfish etouffee this past Friday, using frozen crawfish. Gareth could have put in a Willy Mays clue with a 'SAY HEY KID'.
The puzzle was easily solvable for a Thursday, even with the Hebrew, Spanish, French, and whatever 'Nordic' language HAAGEN isn't in. Completely unfamiliar with NATE the Great, MILA Kunis, 'Strunk & White', 'Step Brothers', PIAF, or RAIMI. All perps on them.
Downbeat magazine- I always loved how the critics' poll favorites and the readers' poll favorites were never the same ( back in the 60s).
Beaufort Scale- the British Open was played the first two days in a six or seven.
CPAS- most CPAs pay tax specialists to do their returns. They don't want to pull a boner like Tim Geithner, use Turbo-Tax, and make a fool of themselves in front of the IRS.
Podunk- I always love how the suave, urbane people who are legends in their own minds love to pick on small town residents. I think Tim Cook, CEO of APPLE, came from one of those one-horse towns.
DO @ 9:18 - You are a master of word play! 😇😈
What's all this talk about lights; we're a one stop sign town. OK, village. All our intersections (6) are tees, no four-ways for us.
I grew up in a little farm town so small that the city fathers economized by putting both city limit signs on the same post!
Thoroughly enjoyable puzzle and expo today. Thank you both.
Cya.
Loved the puzzle, GB! Thanks for making all of us smile!
Marti - thanks for the write-up. Loved your comment on Heel!
I almost finished this Gareth Bain doozey, but the NE was snowed in and refused to thaw. Great expo, Marti.
Since today is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day, it's fitting to have HAAGEN DAZS as a c/a. It's also National Hot Dog Day and Batman Day! Celebration time!
I got the theme at DOCK OF THE BEY, which made solving a bit easier. The puzzle was fun, as mentioned by other commenters.
I recently learned that I know a lurker. Hello, Marilyn!
Congrats, TTP, on you new lifestyle. I hope you find lots of fun things to do!
Happy Wednesday!
Pat
A fine crossword and blog.
But let us pray, not prey, for the little things in life:
This critique is admittedly pedantic, but I made it previously to a similar clue leading to E. coli.:
The vast majority of Staph. and E. coli. species are either harmless or COMMENSAL (i.e., GOOD for you, helping you fight off infection or aiding in digestion).
So, vilifying an entire species just because a small minority are harmful is unfortunate (as well as prejudicial and potentially even dangerous). Doing it twice (R.N.) begins to look like carelessness...
I will refrain from anthropomorphizing this polemic, as that would break the house rules.
NC
Thank goodness for the Blog, because I had no idea what was going on today...
I could not name the names...
I did not catch the dangerous bacterium... (Thank goodness...)
& the theme? At 17A I really thought the cats request on seeing birds through the window would be:
LET MEOWT!
Etoufee was a learning moment... (I found this under cat meets crawfish...)
For Irish Miss.
For the rest of us...
Oh wait! Here's another one...
Favorite Prey!
Hmm, someone must have prayed that I would stop...
A good Wednesday to all.
The puzzles this week have been quite easy. Today's was no exception. I enjoyed the theme.
No difficulties except for trying to remember the correct spelling of HAAGEN. It's one of those words that although you've seen it numerous times, when asked to spell it, your mind goes blank.
Director Sam RAIMI is one of Hollywood's best. He is also known for "Evil Dead" among his numerous credits. His TV work is also fabulous. "Xena" and "Hercules" are two of my favorites. He also writes, produces and acts. An "UBER" talent.
My husband is one of the handful who have never seen the "Godfather" films or most mob related movies. In most cases, unless there is a sports theme, he isn't interested. Oddly enough, though, he does enjoy romantic comedies (read: chick flick). Go figure.
Another weekend is quickly approaching. Don't think that we will be spared the intensity of the next three days of puzzles. Got my thinking cap on hand, and I am at the ready.
My best to all.
A good Thurs pzl, and a great write-up from Marti!
The EY/AY switch-up was easy enough to catch early and made this an easy solve -- EXCEPT that I couldn't remember ETTA. I settled for EMMA which of course left the two perps in error. Still, a good job from Mr. Bain.
A raImi/kIrov natick was my only speed bump on this fun puzzle!
Music
-For CAKED ON mud, you should see the shoes of these corn detasslers after they walk through muddy fields
-SAY AH could be turn your head and COUGH!
-When Peter Mehlman wrote the Seinfeld YADA, YADA, YADA episode, he was shocked that that phrase became such a big deal nationally
-Reagan’s Library in the SIMI Valley is worth going out of your way to visit. This display is a big highlight
-Do you remember the scene in My Cousin Vinny where Vinny had trouble entering a PLEA?
-How high are we yet?
-Strike 3 is always EMPHATIC
-ALEPH and NENE are Cwd 101
-CRAYFISH were crawdads in my ute
-DINER – I’d get Adam and Eve on a raft and a cup of mud
-It’s very easy to catch ONTO anyone who is cheating on the golf course
-I use this product before not AFTA shaving
-Like oc4beach, I think a modern ONE HORSE town might be a ONE STOP LIGHT town like Wahoo, NE
-Putting your heart on the line in middle school
CED @ 12:14 - As always, you came through with flying colors! They are all purr-fect, but I am biased toward my special "pray-er". Many thanks. 😻😸😼
I'm back for the first time since my heartbreaking loss of Rowland on Saturday. Part of my effort to slowly get back to some normalcy. And it was a blessing that Gareth's puzzle worked well for me and was a pleasure to solve. And thank you, too, Marti.
With C.C.'s kind encouragement I did check the blog and want to thank you all for the kind condolences. I really appreciated them.
Misty, welcome back. We are all here for you.
Here in the NE we are not so much into etouffee. We used to catch crayfish AKA crawfish or crawdads in the local streams and then release them. We never thought of eating them. Langostinos used to be popular in restaurants and supermarkets here until the lobster industry objected to relating them to lobsters.They are similar in taste to lobsters with a slightly different texture. I love langostinos, lobsters and shrimp,in fact, all shellfish. It is interesting that the early settlers disdained lobsters as food fit only for the poor who could do no better. Now lobsters are pricey delicacies.
My favorite today is LET US PREY. I can just picture cats doing this.
At nine and a half weeks since the last surgery, I can walk a mile on the road and square dance for two hours with the customary breaks between sets. *(No twisting)I can navigate the stairs normally with one foot to a step and holding the rails while feeling pain at a 3 level. I am so eager to be finished having been in recovery from 3 surgeries since Jan. 26. Does anyone know if this is normal progress? My first surgery was such an easy unusual time, that I have nothing to compare this to. My Medicare PT benefits are almost exhausted.
Misty, glad to hear your "voice" again. As YR said, we are all here for you. T-rubs to Darling Dusty.
YR, I have no personal knowledge, but it seems that you have made tremendous progress, especially considering the fall and set-back after the second surgery. I am so glad you are back to your beloved square dancing. Keep up the good work. I hope Alan is doing well.
YR: There are countless forums dedicated to recovery from a whole host of surgeries. I found one after I sustained a trimalleolar fracture.
From wiki:
Like all crustaceans, crayfish are not kosher because they are aquatic animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are therefore not eaten by observant Jews.
I read something once about pig having hooves but no feet or something like that too. Don't understand it. Respect it, though.
Ever had a prosciutto wrapped date stuffed with cheese? Mmmmmm
Or bacon wrapped shrimp? King crap dipped in butter? Oh, the horror if they ever took that away fro me...
By the whey, ABE VIGODA had a wife named BEA GODIVA, a very famous lady and known for riding bare back on her ONE HORSE.
Mr. Google, thanks, but not pertinent. I had a total left knee replacement Jan. 26. In mid-February I fell on the ice with permanent tendon damage to that knee. On March 1, I had repair surgery. Then on May 18 I had a total right knee replacement. For months I have been looking on Google for recovery estimates. Googling is too easy and is not the definitive answer. The results were not very informative. I am now looking for anecdotal info from others about recovery times from knee replacement and what is to be expected at various stages. Many medical professionals downplay the negatives. I want the whole naked truth up front. Then I can cope intelligently. I am also wondering about paying personally for additional PT. How much improvement would that make?
Yellowrocks, I think your recovery is absolutely fabulous! It was a full 2 months after my complete knee replacement before the swelling went down enough that I could make a full revolution on the bike. It took another 2 weeks after that before I could drive. The interesting result of the surgery is that I can feel the muscles in that knee working.
Your recovery is uniquely yours. Keep positive thoughts and rejoice at every step forward. (pun intended!)
Best wishes for more improvement soon!
Pat
YR: My point was that if you're "looking for anecdotal info from others about recovery times from knee replacement and what is to be expected at various stages", a crossword puzzle blog might not be the best place to look.
Busy, busy day. Enjoyed the puzzle, but it beat me due to carelessness. I filled in Ite instead of Ote and my fire sale was a fire safe. Oh well, the punnishment was worth it and that part was all pristine.
Count me as being from a small town with no stop lights. There were a few horses, but prolly not more than a dozen inside city limits. We also knew nothing of crayfish. Crawdads and mud bugs yes. But they were still bait since they don't get big enough to eat in northern climes.
Mr. Google, I'm reminded of an old joke where a fellow is looking for lost keys along a well lit street when he'd actually lost them in the alley that had no lights.
Greetings!
Great puzzle, Gareth! Swell expo, Marti!
Loved the theme! Easy to get!
Heard of Step Brothers looong ago.
Already had the S in STAPH, so no confusion there.
Misty: good to "hear" from you. Again, so sorry.
Cheers!
Hello Everyone, A DNF for me today. I realized that the EY was used in the theme when I got Dey Shift, but my tired brain/body didn't pick up on much else. What I had entered was correct, but I didn't have enough letters in to even guess at the theme answers.
Hatoolah, Parachute was in for a long time before I erased it. Altimeter was my last guess! Stone for Ring setting didn't register even after I had the answer in. I was thinking Ring tone, not the other kind of ring. Duh! Thank you Marti for a great write up, as usual.
This is the Garlic Festival weekend in Gilroy. We aren't going--WAY too many people and WAY too much traffic for our tastes. I'll cook with the garlic instead.
I've had a Louise Penny Marathon of Reading this summer. I got hooked on her books. They are mysteries taking place in Quebec area. Inspector Gamache is the kindly, experienced, and very thorough head of the Quebec Homicide division. Fun books. Easy reading and hard to put down once you have the first few pages read.
Have a great evening everyone.
typo of the day:
"king crap dipped in butter"
There are many bloggers here of a certain age who have expressed concerns related to mine. I trust them not to blow smoke. My inclination is to ask someone whom I trust.
YR: You say, "My inclination is to ask someone whom I trust".
Fair enough.
But why would you do so as a comment on a crossword puzzle blog?
I went out to eat at Copelands New Orleans and what was on the menu???
CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE
I sent Marti a photo.
Mr. Google , do you understand the ethos of the Corner? We who have been here for several years, like any other group who has met over a period of years, whether a book club, Bible study group, University Women, Chamber of Commerce,etc. share other aspects of our lives together, as well. Aside from our main purpose we have come to know and trust one another. We have shared our joys and sorrows, such as job loss, new jobs, retirement, birthdays, weddings and wedding anniversaries, loss and illness of family members, accomplishments, grandchildren, aches and pains, operations, vacations, etc. etc. I feel more connected to the bloggers here than to faceless anonymous bloggers with whom I have had no prior connection. We are not just a puzzle blog, but a group of virtual friends who share parts of ourselves. I find that others here have expressed similar interests and have problems akin to mine.
Mr. Google,
You exhibit all the wisdom of a non-learning machine...
If you had taken the time, you would know that people like Yellowrocks have been communicating with fellow Bloggers not for days, or months, but years. We have seen people come & go, for many different reasons. One of the results of this extended communication is you get to know people.
(One of the reasons for going Blue...)
(At least we know it's you...)
What Yellowrocks is seeking, is experience.
To communicate with someone you have communicated before about a common situation.
Quite honestly, any serious discussion about the puzzle is usually exhausted before 12pm. Which is why I try to wait until after lunch to get silly... This leaves the remainder of the day open for communication. & that is why we keep coming back.
Dear Yellowrocks, So far my knees are holding up, so I cannot add to your experience.
However, if anyone wants to know about epidural injections for sciatica, after 3 such procedures i feel I can provide some insight. (The results are mixed.)
My email is available if you want to hear about my pain in the ...
Ah Yellowrocks,
I was too busy typing...
You said it better than I...
I guess I'm just naive....or maybe still just a newbie. But I still don't understand negative comments made here for no purpose at all.
YR, you explained sooooo well how people here for a long time form a bond that the Anons will never understand. Or maybe they just don't want to. I hope you find comfort and good advice here for your surgery recovery. CED, your phrase "non learning machines" was brilliant!
Chickie, I , too, am a Louise Penney fan! Such good stuff! And Jayce, I am still enjoying Kate Shugak. So much to learn on this Corner!!
Chickie: I recently discovered Louise Penney and am looking forward to reading other books by her.
Hands up for putting CRAWFISH in there. I am from a town that sends out over 5 million pounds of it in a season. Crawfish production here is more than rice per pounds.
If you say crayfish or any other name we know what you are saying and we know you are not from south Louisiana !!
In fact I still see crawfish in back of trucks going to market. Wish I could get a 35 pound sack and boil em up !!!
I know when I used my avatar to share a picture in the past (I haven't learned how to link a personal picture but have tried) I was 'told off' by a blogger that it was an inappropriate thing to do. But I want to share with 'my blogger friends' a photo of My town.
Montana
Hi Puzzle Pals...
Gareth's puzzle got off to a good start in the NW, but I almost made a NO-NO. Without reading the downs, LET US at 'Em? - Aha!, hehe, the puzzle is (th)eme-less... Nope, just A->E punny-PLAY. EPIC. Thanks Gareth & Marti!
WEES re: 37a-STrep. Other W/Os ORReN @44a, NuB b/f NIB (@48d), and SoMa b/f SoMI. Alas, I left in the o and FIW w/ PoAF (I don't know what PIAF is either).
Fav?...
Hand up - them's CRAwFISH. I grew up in IL (craw-dads), but moved to Shreveport, LA @age 15. A buddy from Baton Rouge introduced me to mudbugs. "Now, suck the head." I almost went hungry as he ate 4/5ths of the tray while I was trying to peel 'em. Today, I know how to thumb through the tail and enjoy when in season. The potatoes are pretty darn good too.
Of course, if you don't want the hassle, just get a CRAwFISH po-boy at Ragin Cajun like I did Monday for lunch :-)
YR & CED - very well said. Mr. Google, YR's is the same reason I asked folks about shipping a car from FL to TX. You can't tell which company to trust just from a web-site. The smurfs (blues) here I kinda know and know they'll tell the real SHIfT and some old SAWS.
BTW, CED - I just got deluxe AAA membership today (thanks Gareth for reminding me!). With that, cell, and AMEX, I'm flying to FL 8/7 and gonna try to drive the Alpha (a kosher Romeo is an ALEPHa?) home. I'll stop in NOLA; the 1/2-wey point.
OMK, can you verify what OKL (funny limerick today, BTW) said re: EMOTE? I thought it was good to EMOTE, but the clue implies this (Shatner School of Acting) badness.
Cheers, -T
YR: If you can walk a mile and also square dance for 2 hours, you don't need PT anymore. You just need to increase your stamina and walking times slowly. Sounds like you are doing well given all you have been through, and only 9 1/2 weeks after a TKA!! Super!!
Everyone's experience is different and wide ranging because of their underlying health, chronic illnesses before surgery, health of their bones, and mental attitude. If you are released from PT you might want to work with a certified athletic trainer at your local healthplex/ exercise facility - if it is one that is affliated with a hospital they would be used to working with people after various ortho procedures. Walking or jogging in a pool is also good exercise once your ortho has okayed getting in a pool as far as incision healing, etc. Best wishes!
Yellowrocks and CrossEyedDave, and I'm sure the hearts of the rest of you, too;
You've expressed it more eloquently than I could possibly do with my doggerel, but I have to try.
It's called the Crossword Corner, but it isn't really that.
It's where like-minded people come to have a pleasant chat.
Oh sure, the crossword puzzle is our raison d'être
But it's far from being only that, for friends who come this way!
We share our fails and triumphs, our blessings and our fears,
With others who are on this blog, some going on for years.
We all love words and wordplay, be it puns or picture memes,
But when our words are said and done, still friendship's lantern gleams.
As Thumper says, say nothing if you've nothing good to say.
For harmony is found right here, and here we'll let it stay!
I hope MrGoogle isn't scared off by all this, because he has good comments, and I think he was really trying to be helpful.
Shoot - I had another note I miss'd...
Chickie - I loved Gilroy. Friends from college lived there and we made a visit. Lovely views. Too, I loved to wake up and smell the garlic (not sarcasm - I'm Italian :-)). Cheers, -T
Owen @ 10:05 - Bravo. Thank you for your simple but eloquent message. And you were able to include our dear friend, but seldom invoked, Thumper! Thanks, also, to YR and CED for explaining what this community is all about.
Dear Montana,
Speaking only for myself, I can't see any reason not to include a personal photo as an avatar. Mine is my grandson and me. Other people have had photos of their kids or pets, etc. Dunno who the 'blogger' was but I don't see a problem at all (though the quality of the resulting photo of an avatar is not great).
It's a fairly easy process. If you e-mail me, I'll be happy to explain it step-by-step.
P.S. I'm a retired math/science teacher also.
Bill G - I'll pipe in re: changed Avatar... I don't care if someone does it, but it does make it harder (for me) to "recognize" - images register faster than words. Kinda like the occasional CarZguy (or something) poster and Cuppa - I know their Avitars and think "oh, yeah, him...".
If CED or IM changed their avatar, I'd be confused for a few days until I re-learn. You & OMK did that once or twice and, not "recognizing" who it was, I breezed through the post. It wasn't until someone mentioned it that I scrolled back to re-read y'alls post. Marti - don't change!!! I love your Avitar.
OTOH, I've thought about changing mine to have more STYLE. I did -T (thanks to OMK) in an hour using Gimp / Photoshop. Maybe change colours to indicate "easy puzzle" (happy yellow!) to EPIC fail (a foreboding dark-black) -T.
Cheers, -T
AnonT, re. changing avatars, fair enough. I understand your POV. But I can't resist the urge to change mine from time-to-time. In fact, I've felt the urge coming on for a few days now, so watch out! Maybe it's because I don't have any one photo that I feel completely attached to. I feel as though my name identifies me and the photo is just a pleasant pictorial addition. So please know that I don't mean to cause you any frustration or confusion. If I remember, I'll try to warn you.
Bill G. Feel free to change your Avatar. Honestly, I can tell by tone of post/time of day who most Cornerites (CornerOTE?) are. The Avatar is really useful as a clue for occasional posters or after someone returns from PLAYing hooky...
For example, I'd have not recognized Cuppa after his/her(?) absence w/o the Avatar. "Oh, that's Cuppa - always an interesting post". And HEY, you/me we're buds :-)
My heart goes out re: the theater shooting this eve in Lafayette. WTF is wrong w/ people?
C, -T
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