Theme: We need to get rid of our PR department.
This is our third puzzle from Warren who has two Monday LATs under his belt. It was difficult to parse his re-imagination of PRISM as PR IS M. Words that begin with "PR" are recast with "M" to create new phrases. There are no other PR words in the clues or fill. The triple nines in the NE and SW make this an impressive grid featuring many lovely words like ARMATURES, PERSONNEL, EXTENDERS, STOMACHED, RAPID FIRE, ANECDOTAL. Let us take a trip through Warren's creation.
17A. Songs without words? : MIME NUMBERS (11). PRime Numbers, a math concept becomes an odd concept of people acting out the music. I started out wanting INSTRUMENTAL which luckily was too long.
27A. Earthquake consequence? : MOVING GROUND (12). PRoving ground I believe started with a term for the place where the military tries out its weapons. This fill gave me the letter(s) switch.
46A. House cat's challenge? : MICE INCREASE (12). PRice increase.
61A. Money-making fiasco? : MINTING MESS (11). PRinting PRess. A double dose of changing pr to m. Good or bad?
68A. Solid that, when divided into three parts, describes this puzzle's theme : PRISM. For all of the math people who comment here, we are talking geometry not light waves when the clue is a solid. LINK.
Across:
1. "Dancing With the Stars" network : ABC-TV. Quite the interesting new group this year.
6. Early sign of spring : ARIES. The first sign of the Zodiac.
11. Big, uncouth guy : APE. Generally hairy.
14. Flap : HOOHA. With or without the closing "H" this version may come from the Yiddish הו־האַ meaning hullabaloo. In the Urban dictionary, the meaning is very different.
15. Now : TODAY.
16. King of ancient Rome : REX. This took too long as I was trying to think of one of the KINGS.
19. Celebrity known for wearing gold jewelry : MR T.
21. Check for a poker player? : NO BET. Literal.
22. Corner of a diamond : BASE. Third is the "hot corner."
23. Place name derived from a Koyukon word for "tall" : DENALI. Yukon tipped me to the Alaska connection and Denali filled. I knew nothing of this language or PEOPLE.
25. Touch : ABUT ON.
31. Span. title : SRA. One lazy Friday I misidentified this abbreviation for Señora.
34. Pasta sauce flavoring : BASIL. Is a spice a flavoring?
35. Jane __, only female Chicago mayor : BYRNE. It is hard to believe Chicago elected this interesting outspoken CANDIDATE.
36. Strong flavor : TANG. I think more of tangy, but this was okay.
38. Dog or fox : CANID. Per wiki any of a family (Canidae) of carnivorous animals that includes the wolves, jackals, foxes, coyote, and the domestic dog.
40. One looking ahead : SEER. The Romans used them as important advisers, called them oracles. Reagan used astrologers. Also a word in C.C.'s Monday.
41. Autobahn autos : OPELS. Cool, now it is here.
43. Dreaded mosquito : AEDES. We have so many diseases spread by mosquitoes. What the CDC says.
45. Mercedes roadsters : SLS. SLS stands for "Sport Leicht Super" (Sport Light Super).
Sorry this is the correct car, I was thinking of an example rather than the plural.
49. Supplements : ADDS TO.
50. Date night destination : CINEMA. No ATM this week.
54. Corporate money mgrs. : CFOS. Chief Financial Officers.
55. Hustler's genre : DISCO. The dance, not the con man or the street person.
59. Dollar alternative : AVIS. Rental cars.
60. Pop __ : HIT.
63. Important time : ERA.
64. Leader of the pack? : SCOUT. Literally the one who goes out first.
65. Main artery : AORTA.
66. __ Taco : DEL. This chain of texmex is not down here but they have locations in Orlando. Never tried it.
67. Manage : GET BY.
Down:
2. Capital on its own river : BOISE. I did not know this geographic fact. Looks pretty.
Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie
Comin thro' the rye.
LINK.
4. Kin, informally : THE FAM. I have a cousin who actually says this.
5. Soccer practice transport : VAN.
6. Sphere opening : ATMOsphere.
7. Lynda Bird's married name : ROBB. She married this man. LINK.
8. Auteur's starting point : IDEE. French authors have their ideas in French.
9. Stock-tracking device : EAR TAG. Not your portfolio, but your cows. Nice clue/fill.
10. Part of PBS: Abbr. : SYS.
11. Current-carrying components : ARMATURES. I know nothing of electricity or electrical engineering but I read in a current events manual that in DC machines, the magnetic poles are stationary, while the armature rotates-- and hence is also called the Rotor. In AC machines, the armature (heavy coil windings) remains stationary (and hence it is called the Stator), while the magnetic poles rotate inside the stator. This gives us LINK.
12. Staff : PERSONNEL.
13. Substances that add protein to meat : EXTENDERS. I did not know this either and you
probably do not want to read this LINK. And more food controversy 61D. Stir-fry additive : MSG. MonoSodium Glutamate. There is a really great Article about the Chinese Food Syndrome and MSG.
18. Pioneer mainframe : UNIVAC.
22. Depth indicators, at times : BUOYS.
24. Court ploy : LOB.
26. Texter's "Gimme a sec" : BRB. Be Right Back. Also in Monday's puzzle.
28. Son of Abraham : ISAAC.
29. Levi's Stadium player, familiarly : NINER. Pick you seat....
31. Stood : STOMACHED. I will not make a political comment here.
32. In quick succession : RAPID FIRE. Questions, for example.
33. Like some speech components : ANECDOTAL. The great speakers all are able to insert little stories to make their points. Wonderful word used infrequently in puzzles.
37. "Cagney & Lacey" co-star : GLESS. Sharon, who reappeared on Burn Notice
42. Rest : SIT.
44. Govt. stipend provider : SSI. Social Security provides Supplemental Security Income
47. "Fat chance" : NO DICE. Another of many multi word fill.
48. Charm : ENAMOR.
51. "If __ Would Leave You" : EVER I. Ah, Camelot...
52. Perfume applications : MISTS. At least the department stores no longer spray when you walk in.
53. State in northeast India : ASSAM. And this too was in Monday's puzzle.
56. How ties may be broken, briefly : IN OT. In overtime.
57. Re-entry need : STUB. Your ticket stub at the game, the concert or the movie.
58. Word in many place names : CITY.
62. Opening : GAP. Why did I think of this...
Well Spring sprung, and Warren tried his skills at a Friday. I was really impressed with the long non-theme fill. I think this could have easily morphed into a themeless. I missed my Friday Shakespeare but Camelot was fun. Thanks Warren and all of you, Lemonade out.
Notes from C.C.:
1) TTP wrote an updated post on "How to Create a Blogger Account. It's now archived under Olio on the blog front page. Thank you so much for taking the time and writing detailed instructions for newbies, TTP!
1) TTP wrote an updated post on "How to Create a Blogger Account. It's now archived under Olio on the blog front page. Thank you so much for taking the time and writing detailed instructions for newbies, TTP!
2) A few years ago Husker Gary created this fantastic Crossword Corner map. For those who want to add their name to the map, please feel free to email Gary (gschlapfer@gmail.com). Please also let him know if you want to drop your name from the map. Gary will publish an update map once he has the updated info.
The NW took me a long time, but it was the S & SE that did me in. PRINTING MESS* isn't an in-language phrase, and that clue for DISCO?!?
ReplyDeleteThe clue for PRISM was cunningly worded well enough that it didn't help any, either.
*I see from the write-up that I still hadn't gotten that one!
A one-note musician from BOISE
Complained that the CITY was noisy
So he gathered some gear
And camped out for a year,
And bothered the bears with his hautbois C!
The director considered himself an AUTEUR,
Cameras mounted on a complex ARMATURE.
Then at the film fest
That honored the best --
He was beat by a cell-phone and drone amateur!
The ball-playing chef came up from Brazil,
Predicting the way he covers first BASE'll
Earn him a berth,
But worse come to worst,
As a chef he could do wonders with BASIL!
In Re: 3d, Comin thru the rye isn't the only song to use the word.
ReplyDeleteMorning, all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the well wishes yesterday. My fever broke last night, finally, but seems to be back again this morning. Blech.
The puzzle was challenging, but ultimately doable. I thought I figured out the theme, but couldn't figure what the underlying phrase Printing Mess referred to. D'OH!
End up with a few literal typos that kept me from finishing correctly. UIIVAC and PERSONNEK don't look remotely correct to me, but I could see the mistakes while solving. Oops.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks,Warren and Lemon!
Nice. Theme. Faster than yesterday.
'
Some learning moments and WAGs.
Cheers!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one took me way too l-o-n-g! Mis-guessed DALEY/GLESS, EURO/AVIS and Pop LIT/HIT along the way to a Wite-Out fest. Got the theme with MOVING GROUND and MINTING MESS. Went back up top, and got confused when only one of the three Ms turned to PR. Grrr. Yeah, I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
I remember Jane BYRNE. Was living in a northern suburb when she was elected. That was about the same time mass murderer John Wayne Gacy hit the headlines. Bill Curtis and fellow news anchor Walter Jacobson covered both stories on WBBM-TV.
Had BARTAB instead of EARTAG, misspelled DENALI with two As. Otherwise, a good way to spend a rainy morning in SW Florida.
ReplyDeleteNope. Too many mistakes in round one sunk me. OAF for APE; ROI for REX; ASIN for ASIF; AUDIS for OPELS; and more. Nope. Defeated again. Another huge DNF. Rats.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, Lemonade and friends. Tough puzzle. I needed the unifier to get the theme. I got MOVING GROUND, but initially thought the gimmick changed the phrase from Morning Grind. I couldn't make that type of switch work with the other clues, though.
ReplyDeleteFor the Date Destination, I wanted DINNER and a Movie. Who says they are going to the CINEMA?
MR. T (Lawrence Tureaud, b. 1952) gave up most of his gold after assisting with Hurricane Katrina clean-up.
Meat Extenders? Really?
I never heard of DEL Taco.
Happy Easter to those who celebrate.
I began my computing career at the NY Tax Department on a UNIVAC-1100 mainframe (UNIVeral Automatic Computer). The name was changed to UNISYS when Sperry merged with Burroughs in 1986.
ReplyDeleteEach generation of whiz kids at least since 1984 said the UNIVAC was obsolete, but it still was processing some income tax functions when I retired 25 years after that, until it was finally shut down in 2010.
This has been a tough week. Today was the hardest so far, so that bodes poorly for Saturday. Caught the theme on this one with the second entry, and that was very helpful. Favorite was Mice increase. Lots of the fill was unusual enough to keep one on their toes.
ReplyDeleteSome initial miscues were Akin, then As In for As If, Hemi for Atmo, Canis for Canid. But those worked out with perps. Nearly crashed at the end though, since I had no idea on Aedes and had to do a letter run for SSI. Got it, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Thanks Lemon.
The Winston connecton is "like" = AS, not AS IF. AS IF is closer to the "like" in Valley Girl talk.
ReplyDeleteDo we really need to add ON to ABUT to get "touch"?
If SLS is the Mercedes, the plural asked for in the clue is a foul.
Lame theme; lame puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Avg Joe, this has been a tough week. Again, another DNF due to the need for Red Letters and alphabet runs. I didn't get the theme until Lemon explained it.
There were a couple of clever misdirections in today's cluing. These resulted in head slaps after seeing the right answer. EARTAG being one of them. I wanted ROBIN for a first sign of spring. Oh well. You don't always get what you want.
Not much else to say, it's Friday with a Friday puzzle.
Enjoy.
Musings
ReplyDelete-On a scale of 1 – 10 for cleverness, this has to be an 11! This math teacher knew a PRISM is a SOLID but it took a few heartbeats to see PR IS M and then apply it to the theme fill and TWICE on the last one. WOW, Warren!!
-Lots to learn in your expo, Lemon
-Will Barrack Obama will be on Dancing With The Stars after November?
-MR T sounds more threatening than Laurence Tureaud
-NO BET (check) in poker can mean you’ve got nothing or is a strategy for a huge hand
-Incredible! Nobody with the ball touched first BASE (1:21)
-Interesting Mt. McKinley/DENALI issue (2:39)
-William Mitchell invented orange drink TANG five yrs before John Glenn took it into space
-SEER Jean Dixon predicted the 1960 election winner would be assassinated in office. She later admitted she thought Nixon would win.
-Mom would be super cool if she showed up in the SLS and not the VAN
-Can you guess what my Hustler genre was first for _ _ _ _ O
-General’s wife at PX, “Do you have any LIFEBUOY?” PFC now on KP, “Just try me sister!”
-No BRB for Merv
-Denying someone SSI can be dangerous to a gov’t workers health
-It’s interesting to look at my old (2013) map and see names that have come and gone
The pictured Mercedes is a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG but anon is right; the clue called for a plural. That, of course, would be the Mercedes SL's. Right clue and answer - wrong car pictured.
ReplyDeletePredicting the Kennedy assassination was not hard as every present elected in the 20 year cycle starting in 1840 through Kennedy (1960) died in office. Reagan (1980) was shot, lived and apparently broke the curse.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter and enjoy those cadbury eggs.
Gary, in ~1992 my sister, who is also a CW fan, gave me a world globe for Christmas that still includes the Soviet Union. Bought one for herself as well. She found them dirt cheap in the closeout aisle and figured they'd be useful for other parts of the world. I couldn't find a copyright date on it, but at least it doesn't say "Here Be Dragons" in the wet spots. I've also got a World Atlas from the early 50's that I used in the past.
ReplyDeleteI finished this difficult puzzle as a technical DNF; didn't double check my writing and left AS IN instead of AS IF for 'like' and like an idiot misspelled DEACON as DECCON. The rest gradually worked itself out with some difficulty due to unknowns- BYRNE, DEL Taco, ISAAC, & SLS. My clue for roadster was plural and my neighbor had a 450-SL convertible so I figured that was it. PRISM was all perps and it gave me no hint to the theme but TODAY I did manage to GET BY, not in a RAPID FIRE style without much HOOHA. I STOMACHED about as much as I could, but in the end, it was NO DICE for me TODAY.
ReplyDeleteI had he most trouble in the ARIES, NO BET, IDEE area only knowing ROBB and kept thinking ENIAC instead of UNIVAC (Sperry Rand) who tried to sell me one of their systems in the 70s. Anybody else remember Sperry, Burroughs, PDP, DEC, General Automation computers? In the dustbin of history.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteSorry to be Debbie Downer, but I'll gladly defer to my friend, Thumper, on this offering.
Thanks, Lemony, for the detailed and informative expo.
Have a great day.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteTook a while to unsnarl this puzz, but managed. Had I done it on newsprint, there would be a lot of erasure mess. Hand up for missing the double themage at Minting Mess. Also I see others picked up on the Mercedes SL series, there were quite a few of them.
I had trouble with "provider" in SSI, because I was sure it had to be SSA. Still not convinced.
Yup, I wrote simple FORTRAN routines on punch cards for running on a UNIVAC. Progress sure put an end to that! Digital Eqipment Corp, or DEC, was Massachusetts based and therefore important around here as an employer. There is a DEC factory just down the road that made the popular DECWriter series of printer/terminals. I worked there just one summer, bored to death, twisting the power leads of transformers. That was my first taste of piecework, and it reassured me of the value of education. That big building is now a freight warehouse.
Morning, Lemon, enjoyed the Denali link. I expect it's just a matter of time before the renaming gets solidified.
Got 2/3 starting from the bottom up. Didn't understand the theme at all. Way too many red letters in the top third, so not that much fun for me.
ReplyDeleteI liked early sign of spring, Aries. Here the daffodils, forsythia and magnolias are blooming. The willows have dressed themselves in long feathery green leaves. Other trees have a red haze of buds. I like spring for its sense of BECOMING, of anticipation. Every few days there are new signs of life. I would miss it if it came all at once. Spring and fall are my favorite seasons. Perpetual summer? Not for me.
Hola y Buenos dias!
ReplyDeleteWow! This was muy dificil. I felt proud to know some of the fill, AHMAD, DENALI, VAN, ABCTV, ROBB and a few others but had to work hard with perps for the rest especially the long themes.
ARIL held me up because I stubbornly clung to it so finally looked up stock tracking device and got EARTAG which corrected that area to ARIES but then I didn't know Jane BYRNE so that was another look up. From there the rest emerged. The center gave me fits since sports facts don't come easily to me. It's a wonder BASE filled quickly.
Lemonade, why do you think SRA isn't the abbrev. for senora? It is.
Thank you, Warren Stabler for the mental workout and Lemonade for always providing information to chew on and learn from.
Have a restful Good Friday, everyone!
Hi everybody. I finished this with great difficulty and needing some red-letter help. I would say it's been the most difficult puzzle for me so far this year. I didn't understand the theme even after completing everything. I think knowing the definition of the solid known as a prism interfered with my figuring out the PR IS M switcheroo. Things seem so convoluted rather than clever. As is often the case, I agree with Irish Miss. So I wasn't a big fan.
ReplyDeleteLemon mentioned Reagan consulted astrologers. I knew Nancy did and her husband depended on her for advice. I can't imagine decisions a president has to make about important issues being influenced by the input of astrologers. Geez...
Completed correctly, but didn't get the theme until looking closely.... PR IS M, ha, ha!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Warren, for a nice puzzle and challenge this Friday.
Nice write-up, Lemonade.
Happy Easter to all!
Lucy:
ReplyDeleteI know SRA is Senora, but I foolishly types Senorita a few weeks ago.
I started writing DO loops in Fortran 4 in college.
I miss living up north a few weeks every year and when the bloom of spring is in force is among them.
Wow!Tough puzzle!
ReplyDeleteI got the theme, but most of this puzzle was solved by Crossword Nexus one word at a time.
(& alas not me...)
Bad joke of the day...
Hmm, What do you think I do?
Hmm, Hmm, wait a sec, don't answer that question!
(Ignorance is bliss...)
Gosh, I wish yesterday's great puzzle had been today's Friday one. This one was just a killer and although I got a chunk of it, it took lots of cheating to finish. Lots of unknowns, but at least I watch "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC, and I knew Lynda Bird married a ROBB. Would never have figured out how the theme worked without Lemonade's help. Wonder if I'll even get off the ground tomorrow. Will have to ramp up my courage.
ReplyDeleteGreat map by the way, many thanks, Husker Gary.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody!
Good afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteFinally saw the theme as HG and Bill G did. But it was clever nonetheless Fav. theme fill was MIME NUMBERS. Was reluctant to enter MOV…… because the other theme fills started with MI. Only white-out was I had bunco before DISCO.
Favorite fill was re-entry need - STUB.
Great job, Warren - - Thank you.
[Sigh...] Way beyond my grade today. Haven't felt so defeated in a long time.
ReplyDeleteUntil I started cheating I only managed to fill a bit of the middle right (lower NE) and somehow (WAG?) cracked 68A for PRISM.
I am usually okay when a pzl calls for a couple of multi-word answers, but this really takes the prize for double word fills, both in the main theme and throughout the grid. Challenging, yes, but with little satisfaction--at least for moi. Some, like ABUT ON, seemed more arbitrary than clever.
Ah, well... it's all part of the cruciverbal metaphor of life, Gogo.
Hello Puzzle Pals!
ReplyDeleteI tried to sneak a peek at Lem's puzzle to crib 2d (I was in up a creek Europe somewhere) and realized I got so much wrong that I didn't stand a chance. 1a - USA-TV; 3d: 'as i go'... Punt.
Thanks Warren. I like the concept PR IS M, but it was above my pay-grade - Friday clueing didn't help. I can claim a a center win and I'm am glad I didn't have to go to the ATM for CINIMA date-night (I got's enough coIn (also wrong for Dollar Alt. @59a) on hand). Thanks Lem for stopping the brain-cramps and your fun write-up.
Other major errors - Audis @ 41a crashed into the SW.
HeMi @6d took the ATMOsphere out of that balloon.
Ticker @9d was right-out (Stock Ticker, no one else?)
Finally, Hustler's not a pornO rag.
Hey - I nailed 18d UNIVAC and that's my fav! (it was also my 1st ans). Anyone else think of Asimov's MultiVAC there? [My 1st program was on St. of IL's IBM - I was 10-ish and got my computing Merit Badge - that' would have been '79-'81 (ish)]
Lem - BASIL is a herb (I can just hear Steve pronouncing it in his head :-)), not a spice in my book. My Basil & Parsley are voluntary this year.
HG - You Geo-loc'd me correctly. What I find interesting about the map is the clusters where the LAT is distributed and where it's barren. Thanks for keeping it current.
OKL - Anon -T say "Love Avatar #2" :-)
AveJoe - "Here be Dragons" on a globe comment was LOL... I'm still laughing as I type.
Time for Friday's nap. I'll play later (ask me about Gram's (part of THE FAM)) EXTENDER story.
Cheers, -T
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Warren Stabler, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteBounced around and got a few words. Finally got a foothold in the Southeast. Spread upward and to the West.
Never did get the theme until coming here. Then it was simple, Duh.
Tried BUS before VAN became obvious for 5D.
Tried PAWED before CANID appeared for 38A. UNIVAC fixed that for me. I knew ISAAC was correct, so I had the CA. The rest were with perps. CANID is not a word I have ever used.
AEDES was partially on the tip of my tongue. I just could not put it all together. Finally NINER fixed that.
ARIES was my last entry. Done.
See you tomorrow, maybe. Depends on how much time I have.
Abejo
( )
Friday frequently has a letter substitution puzzle. I was hung up on the meaning of PRISM. Then I divided it as pr i sm. I am chagrined not to have seen it as PR is M, so simple. It would have made all the difference. I was bested fair and square. Great puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMy son and DIL are bringing the wine on Easter. But I bought sherry for the trifle with home made custard sauce, fresh berries, real whipped cream, a big hit. I also am making homemade cheese fondue with expensive imported cheeses and Reisling. A Tinman menu.
Happy holiday for all who celebrate. I look forward to a lovely time with THE FAM.
Trying to be puzzle relevant: IIRC - PIANO was an answer this week...
ReplyDeleteDid y'all hear that Joel's Piano Man is now part of the Library of Congress' collection? I love this song. Dirty Nelly's, a pub on San Antonio's River Walk, has a piano-man who'll play it about every two hours... Fun times. Cheers, -T
It may be a minor nit but surely for 10D the "S" in "PBS" stands for "Service" not "System"?
ReplyDeleteCertainly the copyright notice at the bottom of http://pbs.org pages uses "Service"...
"Copyright © 2016 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), All rights reserved"
This puzzle beat me. Yup, I did blithely enter PORNO for Hustler's genre, which I imagine Warren and Rich intended. It was a cleverly laid trap and I fell into it. I also entered ROBIN, which was no doubt also an intended trap. Other parts of the puzzle I felt AS Ol' Man Keith and Bill G did: "so convoluted rather than clever" and "more arbitrary than clever."
ReplyDeleteI agree BASIL is an herb. Things like cinnamon and pepper are spices. I also agree that it is the SSA that provides the SSI.
I remember the DEC printers. If I recall correctly they were impressively fast.
Best wishes to you all.
Anonymous @ 4:34PM, it looks AS IF you're right. PBS stands for Public Broadcasting Service.
ReplyDeleteAnon@4:34 - good point. I got SYS. However, you're more righter ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy Gram's story... (I know you didn't ask, yet)
Uncle Sam (yes, that's his name; my Great-Uncle), upon visiting my Grands' house, noticed a hard-plastic tube in the bathroom near the bathtub.
Grandpa -T had razored two notches in the tube to create a semi-hard brace between the faucet and the drain-plug toggle to keep the broken toggle pushed down to keep the drain open after a bath. Hey, it worked.
Uncle Sam asked, "What the Hell is that tube in the bathroom for?"
Grandma, without missing a beat, dead-panned, pointed at Grandpa and said...
"Oh, that's the EXTENDER he uses in the bedroom..."
Now you know why I'm warp'd.
Cheers, -T
Anonymous T, your gram sounds very cool.
ReplyDeleteI spent a few years in Phoenix working with my older brothers as a carpenter. I became friends with a guy who owned a bar called "Nice and Nasty's". I ended up working there Friday and Saturday nights as a bouncer. Didn't need the money (still had my day job), but I thought it was fun. Besides that, I was young, unmarried and a lot of gals, for some reason I've never figured out, really like bouncers. So, my friend, the owner, wants to enter me in a bouncers contest in L.A. He'd pay all the expenses, and if I won we'd split the ten grand prize money. I told him to forget it. Without a doubt some very, very bad dude would clean my clock at some point.
ReplyDeleteThe unknown Mr. T was the winner that year.
Now that I've had a few hours to breathe, after accepting my ignoble defeat by Mr. Stabler's pzl, I can reflect on today's consolations. We have a beautiful warm spring day here in SoCal, and I took much pleasure going shopping at the Irvine Spectrum with my wife--followed by heating and devouring a lovely chunk of a sourdough baguette with salami for lunch and then blowing bubbles for my oh-so-appreciative crazy retriever, Maggie!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am very much enjoying getting about on my new lightweight scooter, rather than my old multi-part "Jazzy" 6-wheel monster chair or my solid & heavy 4-wheel tiller scooter. Who was it who thought disabled citizens wanted huge and heavy power scooters? I love getting on and off and zipping around on my 40-lb trike! It is faster and far less cumbersome than my older chairs. I can glide through the aisles of boutiques and tiny shops. Let's hear it for suppleness and portability!
Owen, I must say your verses this week have been exceptional. The puzzles, on the other hand...well, I was defeated by most of them and had nothing to say!
ReplyDeleteLemon, thanks for trying today. I enjoyed your links, but still don't really "get". the theme! Yes, I understand what he was trying to do, but I really don't "get" it". Sorry
Irish miss, I should have joined you and Thumper!!
Just had to un-lurk for a minute to say every time I see the word BASIL, I hear it in my head as being spoken by Sybil Fawlty. Cracks me up.
ReplyDeleteHad fun with this one, though it provided me with several head-scratching moments until the penny dropped. And I even got the theme fairly early - it was all the other fill that was conspiring to do me in.
Off to do the prep on major quantities of deviled eggs for Sunday's festivities.
Crispy
AnonT:
ReplyDelete"More righter. . . "? tee hee hee
Jerome:
Great story!
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) clearly does not lead to SYS but what I can say. It fit with perps and people make mistakes, or type carelessly without thinking.
ReplyDeleteHence the SPICE/HERB kerfuffle.
The difference between a spice and an herb is where they are obtained from a plant. Herbs come from the leafy and green part of the plant. Spices are parts of the plant other than the leafy bit such as the root, stem, bulb, bark or seeds. Examples of herbs include basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley and mint. Or so I am told.
Thanks all
Jayce: Yes, my Grands were cool. They passed in my early 20's and I'm so enriched for having the chance to really known them.
ReplyDeleteCrispy816 - You brought this on yourself.... (Wait for it, at ~0:2:00 of 0:2:13).
Cheers, -T
I almost gave up on the NE because I ASSininely had OAF not APE. I finally settled on REX and got EXTENDERS etc. Never got the PR is M, never get those clues. A really difficult puzzle. I'm lost in the Sunday Xword now.
ReplyDelete