Theme: More than a job - Four types of jobs.
61A. Employment opportunity, and a hint to the first word of the answers to starred clues : JOB OPENING
17A. *Malicious prank : DIRTY TRICK. Dirty Job...but somebody's got to do it.
37A. *Winter storm school closing : SNOW DAY. Snow Job. Deceptive flattery.
11D. *Humor among friends : INSIDE JOKE. Inside Job. Most big heists require someone on the inside.
27D. *Employee who does the firing : HATCHET MAN. Hatchet Job. A calculated attempt to ruin someone's reputation.
Argyle here. Good theme but the rest seemed inconsistent. No real stinkers but some clues and answers that weren't Monday friendly. YRMV.
Across:
1. Honolulu "howdy" : "ALOHA" to our friends on the islands.
6. Cozy eatery : CAFÉ
10. Exasperated sound : [SIGH!]
14. Access the Internet : LOG ON
15. Word-of-mouth : ORAL
16. Merely : ONLY
19. Memo writer's "Pronto!" : ASAP. (As Soon As Possible) and it better be PDQ.
20. White Monopoly bills : ONES
21. Church recess : APSE
22. Sarcastic in a mean way : SNIDE
23. Approximately 3.26 light-years : PARSEC
25. One doing simple math : ADDER. One who adds.
26. Written in few words : SHORT. ?
28. Has __ for news : A NOSE
30. Flood : SPATE
31. Trumpeter Alpert : HERB
33. Spanish eyes : OJOs
36. House cat, e.g. : PET
40. Cries of pain : OW!s
41. Part of IRA: Abbr. : ACCT.
43. Corrida cheers : ¡OLÉ!s
44. Like the old bucket of song : OAKEN
46. The __ Boys: fictional detectives : HARDY
48. Moorehead of "Bewitched" : AGNES. CSO to Irish Miss.
49. Last Greek letter : OMEGA
51. Speak sharply to : SNAP AT
54. Fall guy : PATSY
55. Japanese detective Mr. __ : MOTO. There were eight films in the Mr. Moto series.
56. Director Kazan : ELIA. Elia Kazan (1909 – 2003)
60. Bombeck of household humor : ERMA. Erma Bombeck (1927 – 1996)
63. Iranian currency : RIAL
64. Similar (to) : AKIN
65. Govt.-backed investment : T-NOTE. 'Treasury Note'
66. Ill-fated Boleyn : ANNE. (Second wife of King Henry VIII)
67. George Eliot's "Adam __" : BEDE. Published in 1859.
68. Boat with an outrigger : CANOE
Down:
1. Gucci of fashion : ALDO. I'm not on a first name basis with the man.
2. Pork cut : LOIN
3. Storybook meanie : OGRE
4. Trendy club : HOT SPOT
5. " ... have you __ wool?" : ANY. Three bags full.
6. The "C" in USMC : CORPS. Semper Fi!
7. Get up : ARISE
8. Kings, queens and jacks : FACE CARDS
9. Antlered grazer : ELK
10. Son-of-a-gun : SO AND SO
12. Forest clearing : GLADE
13. Really keyed up : HYPER. Hyper-agitated fits the bill.
18. Small fruit pie : TART
22. __ Paulo, Brazil : SÃO. According to Times magazine, São Paulo has the world’s worst daily traffic jams. Who knew?
24. Greek war god : ARES
26. Design detail, briefly : SPEC. Specification this time, not speculation.
29. L.A. Clippers' org. : NBA. (National Basketball Association)
30. Place for a mani-pedi : SPA
31. "Gee whiz!" : "HOLY SMOKE!"
32. Barnyard female : EWE
34. Has obligations : OWEs
35. Govt.-issued ID : SSN. (Social Security number)
38. Drop (off) : NOD. My specialty.
39. Discipline using mats : YOGA
42. Bric-a-brac disposal event : TAG SALE
45. Rabbit ears : ANTENNA
47. Unit of hope or light : RAY
48. Per person : A POP
49. "Aida," for one : OPERA
50. County on San Francisco Bay : MARIN
52. "I pass" : "NO BID". Probably no face cards.
53. Make amends : ATONE
57. Animal Crackers feline : LION
58. Really digging, as a hobby : INTO. Or like archaeology.
59. "A Death in the Family" author James : AGEE. James Agee (1909 – 1955)
61. Quick poke : JAB
62. List-ending abbr. : ETC. (et cetera) "and other things"
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to Ergo (Husker Chuck), who was quite active on our blog last year. How's the new job, Chuck?
Another good Monday built around a pinwheel. FACE CARDS, SO AND SO, HOLY SMOKE and TAG SALE were all fun
ReplyDeleteWe move toward Thanksgiving
Have a great week all
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks, RELM, Santa!
Easy puzzle. Had to read the review to get all of those other-direction answers.
Enjoy the new show Agent X!
Cheers!
Morning, all (and Happy Birthday to Ergo, wherever you are)!
ReplyDeleteVery quick Monday solve. Didn't get the theme until I hit the reveal, but didn't need it to get any of the theme answers. I had a minor hesitation as I tried to remember ELIA, but the perps took care of it quickly enough. My only write-over was when I tried NO BET before the perps forced NO BID on me. Either one seems equally awkward to me.
Nice start to the week from Robert E. Lee Morris. Hmmmm...... want to bet he might be a native from somewhere below the Mason Dixon Line? Whatever, an enjoyable offering with some fun fill.
ReplyDelete23A PARSEC was my only doubtful entry. Was sure ARES was right, but was 3.26 light years PeRSEC or PARSEC? No bogie though, went with PAR.
I rant & rave about traffic in Connecticut but if I lived in Sao Paulo walking would be my only way of moving around.
Wind has disappeared, but not until it returned the leaves to the yard. No need to ask myself what I should do today!
Nice easy Monday, thanks to General Lee. No unknowns with the only hesitation being whether it would be LOG IN or LOG ON.
ReplyDeleteOne starred clue was left out: A NOSE JOB and we can't talk about the 15A job.
ALOHA
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI would say the theme for this puzzle was "Name dropper." Did anybody else think there was a plethora in this puzzle? Agee, Agnes (sorry, IM), Aldo, Anne, Bede, Elia, Erma, Moto -- and if clued differently, Patsy (Cline?) and Ray (Aldo?). Still, it was Monday level difficulty, so no foul.
Interesting about the Sao Paulo traffic, Argyle. You got me looking at lists of worst-traffic cities. I was surprised that Honolulu showed up near the top, even in world lists. It must've really changed since I was there 45 years ago.
Fun run today, with most of the challenges easily filled by perps. WBS about not getting the theme until the reveal.
ReplyDeleteStarted pouring rain today and it's supposed to continue into tomorrow - so dark and cozy I would love to go back to bed or read a book with the afghan - but have to head to office.
Have a good week! Thanks Argyle and Robert!
Happy birthday, Ergo. I hope all is well with you.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of those "as fast as I can write solves." No unknowns.
I used to play bridge years ago,something I learned in college and continued with until about 15 years ago. I have forgotten all of the finer points and would need to relearn them. I do recall hearing players say NO BID instead of PASS. I read just now that NO BID is common in the UK, but considered improper in the U.S. Who knew? Mom used to rap the table for PASS in Pinochle.
Alan no longer has the severe headache and other anxiety symptoms. The herniated cervical disc is still quite painful. We are going for another MRI today and probably an epidural soon. He is taking 9 or 10 medicines already. We have to be mindful of the side effects and interactions, so getting a strong enough pain medication is problematic.
Yesterday my new laundry equipment was delivered. It is small enough to fit in my alcove. Many of my up-in-the-air concerns are getting themselves resolved so I am feeling more relaxed.
Happy Birthday, Ergo!
ReplyDeleteNice start to the week. Thanks General Morris. I enjoyed the theme and the cluing. Now that I have been hanging around here, I pay more attention to structure. Yet another complication to puzzle construction difficulties that I have come to admire.
Thanks for the tour, Argyle. I like the links, as always. I suppose the SAO Paulo traffic makes us all feel like whiners. I showed it to my husband so his trip on 294 today will seem like a piece of cake.
Have a fine Monday!
ReplyDeleteMike Rowe anyone ?
Thank you Robert E. Lee Morris and Argyle.
All jobs with negative implications. One might say they are really
Dirty Deeds. Fair warning - don't click unless you like loud rock and roll, courtesy of AC DC.
CSO to Irish Miss.
Husker Gary, I really liked your Mosquito Ringtones link yesterday.
I'm a newbie here, relatively, but so many inside acronyms? "WBS"...? "CSO"...? Help! How about a link from the blog to a site with definitions for frequently used acronyms for us idiots? LOL.
ReplyDeleteOops! Just saw it in the "Olio"...!!!! Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Ergo!
ReplyDeleteI entered Olden first for OAKEN, (which was dumb, because 'old' wouldn't have been in the clue if that were correct) but ANTENNA quickly fixed it. I just connected an antenna to TV in my apartment and I get 10 free channels. My daughter lives 4 blocks away. She did the same last night but she gets 16 channels. Guess I will experiment with moving mine around. I got the one that's like a sheet of paper.
I know it's Monday, but I struggled in the NW corner. Kept going back and forth. Eventually solved it, but in very poor, Monday time.
I must get moving. I am driving (210 miles) back to my home. I volunteer to help elderly people review 2016 Part D plans. 4 appt's this afternoon. Have helped 58 folks in the past couple weeks.
Have a good day and don't blow away if the winds (only up to 90 mph near here) from my area reach you,
Montana
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Robert E. Lee Morris, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot home from band rehearsal last night, watched the news, and then did the puzzle. Got through it fairly quickly.
PARSEC was not known, perps.
Remembered OJOS from somewhere. I am not really big on spanish or french (ahem).
Read some HARDY Boys books as a youth. Then graduated to Perry Mason. I still like good mysteries.
LOIN reminds me of the great dinner we had last night. Roast pork and mashed potatoes with corn and applesauce. I think I will have some for breakfast.
I used to work in MARIN County, CA. Novato was the city. As I recall it was the highest per capita income county in California, at that time. Circa 1983.
Happy birthday, ERGO! Hope all is well.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind birthday greetings. I've only posted here randomly of late. This site was a Godsend back when I was looking for work. It provided me with a nice daily escape between sending out resumes. Thank you for your friendship.
It's been a tough year. The job is a challenge. I try to keep up but my arthritic hands and fading eyesight were not made for data entry. My oldest son lost his job and then his girlfriend was busted in Wyoming (while driving his car) with a pound of pot. The trial is still ongoing. Anyway, they had to move into our basement for a month, but when I discovered the girlfriend was stealing prescription drugs from me, I had to throw the both of them out.
Other son took a job in New Jersey and has been introduced to their 350% cost of living index. He needed the gig though as his resume was exclusively based in academia.
Anyway, yeah, very tough year. But I'm always grateful to vacate my mind with a Saturday Silkie or a CC Sunday.
Thanks everyone for your kindness and friendship.
Chuck Stepanek
My newspaper (The [Tacoma] News Tribune), replaced the LA Times crossword with the NY Times crossword permanently today. I am very sad. I will mostly miss the Saturday Silkies and checking out the fun responses on this blog. Farewell my crossword comrades in arms.
ReplyDeleteRobert’s fine puzzle had a speed bump for me in the NE with too many optional answers. I first thought …TRICK/…JOKE were the theme elements
ReplyDeleteMusings
-This Dirty Jobs segment (16:00) features a dirty job at NASA
-SNOW JOB – “That’s a lovely dress Mrs. Cleaver”
-A 2009 George Clooney movie about an Omaha-based HATCHET MAN
-ALOHA to our Chef Wendy on Kauai who sent us a pineapple muffin recipe
-The philosophy on all my emails says Word of mouth is not always the best.
-My avatar posits the question, “Who’s the PET around here?”
-I read every one of ‘em!
-Some think Peter Lorre as MR. MOTO could be considered racist
-Outrigger failure
-Blackjack “card counters” are good ADDERS that usually assign -1 to FACE CARDS
-I couldn’t leave the hospital until my digestive system was HYPER and not HYPO
-This map clearly shows MARIN County has its “fault(s)” which is stripping off its Point Reyes Peninsula
-HBD Ergo! Good to hear from you again!
Argyle: Nice write-up and Blue Spanish Eyes musical link.
ReplyDeleteRobert E. Lee Morris: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle ...
Though I thought ORAL as a JOB OPENING was part of the theme like Big Easy @ 7:31 said ... lol
Well I'm stuck with a Blue Sky, Sunny, 84 degree day (again!) here in Tarpon Springs.
I think I'll go take a long walk on the beach.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
For Anonymous@ 9:30: you can access the LAT puzzles at game.latimes.com/daily-crosword/
ReplyDeleteFor Anonymous@ 9:30: My local paper did the same thing so I can't solve the puzzle in the paper anymore, plus the NY Times CW is about a month old by the time they put it in the paper. So, now I have to do the LA Times CW on-line. I use the Mensa link to the CW at MENSA Link.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone has a great day
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice, easy start to the week. Needed a perp or two, but, basically, a quick sashay (ala Lucina) through the park. Actually, I enjoyed two CSO's as my full name is Agnes Anne. (FWIW, St. Agnes was stabled to death and Anne of Bolyn lost her head, literally!). Hmmm......
Thanks, RELM, for a job well done and thanks, Argyle, for the SO and amusing expo.
Happy Birthday, Chuck. Sorry to hear of your difficulties and hope the coming year will bring peace and joy. I did notice your recent posts and hope we hear from you on a more regular basis. As you know, this is a caring and supportive group.
YR, glad to hear of some improvement with Alan and I hope the disc problem can be corrected or, at the least, treated.
Montana, the distances that you drive blow my mind. My car is 14 years old and I still haven't reached 25,000 miles.
Anon @ 9:30 - Can't you do the puzzle online?
We have another beautiful Fall day to enjoy.
Have a great day.
Looks like this Agnes lost her head, too. St. Agnes was stabbed (not stabled!!!!) to death. Mea Culpa.
ReplyDeleteI found this one to be a little crunchy for a Monday and took me slightly longer. Theme was not necessary to the solve. PARSEC was all perps.
ReplyDeleteThanks Robert and Argyle for the fun.
No SNOWDAY here today thankfully. Beautiful and sunny. We still have not had enough frost to kill all the flowers around the house and I hate to pull them out when they are still blooming.
Brother loved HARDY BOYS and still has his collection. I had Cherry Ames and Nancy Drew.
Enjoyed clue for RAY. Hand up for No Bet. I had As In before AKIN. Noted that we had LION and LOIN at different ends of the puzzle.
I always need to count squares to decide if ETC or ETAL is correct.
HBD Ergo. Hope this next year is better.
Delightful Monday speed run--many thanks, Robert! Amazing pic of the traffic in SAO Paulo, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteGreat seeing a reference to AGNES Moorehead--used to love her on "Bewitched."
Happy birthday, Chuck! Hope you have a much better year ahead.
YR, sending best hopes and wishes to Alan.
Anonymous, hope you stay with us online.
Windy day in southern California, but can't complain. Have a great day, everybody!
Easy Monday, like they should be. Thanks RELM for a nice puzzle.
ReplyDeleteArgyle.... traffic jams in Sao Paolo look horrid! I thought Houston traffic was bad.... not so!
ReplyDeleteActually, it was St. Virginia who was stabled.
Now she is not a saint anymore.
Just a joke.
Please feel free to delete, if inappropriate.
Good afternoon, friends!
ReplyDeleteSo late to the party but I really enjoyed this puzzle and solved it in a SHORT time. BTW, SHORT as written in few words seems to require a noun after it. Short story, short memo, short article, etc.
Thank you, Mr. Morris for this fun grid. Argyle, I enjoyed your editorial quips. Wow! SAO Paulo traffic!
Happy birthday, Ergo. I truly hope thinks improve for you and your family.
Yellowrocks: ongoing prayers for you and Alan.
IrishMiss: I thought of you immediately at AGNES.
I hope all are having a beautiful day!
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteGood thing it was an easy puzzle, and got solved quickly, because I needed the time to find out more about Husker's 9:34 toppled crane image. In case you're wondering, it took a whole bunch of cranes and people to put the thing back on its wheels.
Fast, easy Monday speedrun.
ReplyDeleteDidn't need theme to complete. Hardly looked at the down clues.
Can't believe it's almost winter in my Florida neck of the woods. Summer heat hasn't let up. Not complaining. Better than cold and snow.
That's about it. Just these few sentences are exausting me. I need to rest.
Have a good day, all.....
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Robert, for an interesting challenge. Thanks, Argyle, for all you do. I'd forgotten about Marty Robbins who used to be a favorite. I saw him in person on my honeymoon.
ReplyDeleteThis took longer than usual because I was sneezing all through it. All this wind has brought something I'm very allergic to, I think. Raining now so maybe the air will be cleaner. I couldn't figure out the theme after the reveal so I guess it's a miracle that I filled the puzzle, being so dumb last night. But I thought it was fun.
SO AND SO took all the perps. Son of a gun is hardly translatable. Colt Jr. turned red. SOB was mostly red and didn't really fit.
MARIN: a gimmee since my sister used to have a house hung on the side of a cliff there. She finally moved when she got too old to do the 40 steps between the roadway and her house.
ALDO Gucci: I had some SPECtacles with his name on the case. Don't think that improved my sight though.
Happy birthday, Ergo! Sorry your year has been so stressful and wish you a brighter 2016. I'd rather forget my 2015 too.
Thanks Robert and Argyle for a nice Monday morning romp. Had to work my way around spate, parsec and Bede, but perps were good.Loved Holy Smoke!
ReplyDeleteLoved the picture of Marin County; I went to H.S. in San Rafael (my mom's alma mater) and it was another world to me..so many big and beautiful estates.Can't imagine the cost of one of those today. We took weekend walks up in those hills and could see across the bay; called it "The Rim of the World" hike. Wish I'd been a camera bug back then.
Beautiful day here after a smidgen of rain and some wind.
Thanks for a lovely Monday puzzle RELM and write up Argyle.
ReplyDeleteI correctly guessed PARSEC for 23a because that's the only unit I know that is more than a light year.
My only error was having LOGiN for LOGON. That gave HiT SPOT, which looked ok. BTW, does anyone really logon at home? I just click on my web browser, and if nothing is broken or turned off, I am at Google, which I always set as default home page.
Montana,
God bless you for helping people with the horrendous complexity of Medicare. Why is the insurance for the elderly made so complicated?
Also, I hope you keep us updated on the paper thin antenna you have. I had “The Leaf” a couple years ago. It worked really well then died at about 1 month. They sent me a replacement and the same thing happened. So I am back to Radio Shack amplified rabbit ears. Some stations are just horrible to get. CBS is so bad I have to hold the ears at a funny angle and not move. So I'd really like to hear if you found a good antenna with long life.
Live Well and Prosper to all,
VS
No complaints about the job opening puzzle.
ReplyDeleteErgo, Happy Birthday! I hope everything balances out...
Irish Miss, I found this for you under belated happy anniversary.
PARSEC and BEDE are used in this Monday. That greatly surprises me. I would have worked like mad to get rid of them had I been the constructor, assuming that an editor would not allow them in a Monday xword. I am consistently amazed at what editors do! :)
ReplyDeleteThis was a little crunchy for a Monday. But it all came together with no major hang ups. Thanks for the expo Argyle.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Chuck. I also hope the road gets smoother in the year ahead.
Hello everybody and happy birthday, Ergo.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle. I misspelled ERMA as IRMA, and RIAL as REAL at first, then saw that OPIRA and MAREN were wrong. Got my Is and Es reversed.
Good comment about A NOSE job, Big Easy. Good thing there was no BLOW in the puzzle today.
Okay, I'll keep this SHORT.
Best wishes to you all.
Matt
ReplyDeleteI have been amazed ever since I found the Corner and learned not only the inconsistency in editorial parameters, the unfairness of readers chiding a constructor for a bad clue that was generated by an editor, the absence of real 'rules' for puzzles. Bur I love your work and appreciate your comments
for unhappy online solvers, you may always print and do your puzzles on paper
ReplyDeleteCED @ 12:43 - Thank you for your purr-fectly 🐱 thoughtful gesture. "Meow-beau coup! 🐈
ReplyDeleteALOHA Puzzle Pals!
ReplyDeleteNice JOB Robert on a fun MonDAY puzzle. No write-overs, but you pulled a DIRTY TRICK on me w/ 56a xing 59d. I guessed an O. FIW, [SIGH]. But this ONE'S fun anyway...
Nice writeup Argyle, thanks. Your SAO Paulo pic dropped my jaw. Like C6D6Peg said, I thought I-10 and/or 290 in HOU was bad...
PARSEC is in my wheelhouse. However, 33a, 67a, 56a & 59d - all ESPs (and a wrong WAG).
Hand-up waiting on crosses for LOG[I|O]N.
I've read a few HARDY Boys, but liked The Three Investigators better (and read 'em all).
Anon@9:30a, use OC4's link @10:19a. There's a print option at Mensa's site. I use it when traveling.
HBD Ergo. I hope next year is eventful on the + side for 'ya.
I have a "ugly (as DW says) TERK ANTENNA. Works better w/o the "amplifier."
Time for a SHORT nap b/f getting youngest from school. She's in Shrek the Musical and has rehearsal 'till 8p. I can nap 'cuz dinner is already made - I built a big pot of chili last night just in time for the storms we're supposta' get. I added enough chili powder and fresh HERBs to clean out A NOSE.
Cheers, -T
HG, Since you brought up the subject of cranes
ReplyDeleteGerman cranes showing off
Wow Manac. That's an amazing picture. I'm sure Archimedes would have something to say about that if he were alive.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAnother video, for an excavator, one I saw many, many years ago, Liebherr (German) Excavator, climbs to the top of a 5 storey tower.
There's a reason for Germany to have the highest standard of living in Europe. Their engineering, for one, is unsurpassable.
Talk about center of gravity on this one.
Lemon, just printing it on paper is not quite the same as newsprint. It's a purist thing.
ReplyDeleteIRA is an Individual Retirement ARRANGEMENT.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the puzzle as usual. Thanks Robert and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt. BEDE and PARSEC seem out of place. Even know I'm a little bit of an amateur astronomer, Parsec is a word that's hard to understand at first. Still, an enjoyable puzzle.
Our house has been sitting in a salt-air environment, about a mile from the ocean. So, our 50-year-old porch light began to be intermittent. Our very handy handyman bought us a new one at Home Depot and installed it. He also bought me a new desk chair for tutoring and to use at my computer. It said needs minor assembly. (I'd hate to see what major assembly looks like.) Anyway, he put it together and it works and feels great too. I paid him with some of my tutoring income.
Then I went for a short bike ride. The wind was fierce. I gave up fighting the headwind after five minutes. Coming back was a snap. I hardly had to pedal. I stopped for coffee and gave my favorite homeless man a few dollars. Then I tutored a couple of really nice boys and fooled around with Jordan until he had to go home. Now I'm settled down in my new chair computering and TVing.
I've seen that excavator video a few years back. Agreed. Amazing!
PARSEC - Boring Explanation or Pop Culture Explanation.
ReplyDeleteManac & 8:07p Anon - cool. Thanks both for sharing. HG - I enjoyed the DIRTY JOB clip too.
Cheers, -T
IRA is an Individual Retirement ARRANGEMENT to the IRS but not to the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteAs the mother of a man who worked and now repairs and sells excavators, I enjoyed the clips. I've always marveled at what he could do with the things. There's a lot of German blood in his heritage. Do you suppose that counts?
ReplyDelete