google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 C.C. Burnikel

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Mar 29, 2016

Tuesday, March 29, 2016 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Something to bite, chew, and champ on - Good thing I got m'teeth yesterdy.

62. Dine together, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : BREAK BREAD

17. Hard-to-please diva : PRIMA DONNA and 19. Money for the pot : ANTE. NAAN.

23. Holder of odds and ends : CATCHALL and 25. "Bless you!" trigger : AHCHOO. CHALLAH.

36. Pueblo-dwelling tribe : HOPI and 39. Tart taste : TANG. PITA.

53. Spot to enjoy oysters and clams : RAWBAR and 55. Way back when : YEARS AGO. RYE.

Argyle here with another C.C. creation. She delivered a change up today. Instead of breaking a word into a single two-word phrase entry, she has broken it across two separate entries. Those of you without circles may have had a harder time seeing it but probably didn't impede the solve.

Across:

1. Gobbled down : ATE UP. Appropriate lead off.

6. IRS enforcer : T-MAN. (treasury agent)

10. Galaxy Tab rival : iPAD

14. Memory slip : LAPSE

15. Lifeboat movers : OARS

16. Indian bridal dress : SARI

20. Beast of burden : ASS

21. TriCLEAN gasoline brand : CITGO

22. Skin ink, casually : TAT

28. Penne __ vodka: pasta dish : ALLA. Wiki.

29. Hider in a haystack : NEEDLE

31. Former "Tonight Show" announcer Hall : EDD

32. Religious offshoot : SECT

34. Like pages worth bookmarking : DOGEARED
40. Pesto thickeners : PINE NUTS

44. Short race : DASH

47. Hubbub : ADO

48. Full of pluck : GRITTY

51. Bring up : REAR

57. Have : OWN

58. Origami bird : CRANE

59. Windy City superstation : WGN. Originally referred to the Trib, "World's Greatest Newspaper".

60. Bear whose bed was too hard : PAPA. We had MAMA and now PAPA; all that's left is BABY.

64. Deadlocked : EVEN

65. In __: with all judges present : BANC

66. Diciembre follower : ENERO. (December/January)

67. Granny : NANA

68. Help, as a fugitive : ABET

69. Cheryl and Diane : LADDS

Down:

1. Llama cousin : ALPACA

2. Ankle bones : TARSALS

3. New Testament letter : EPISTLE

4. Branch of the mil. : USM. (United States Marines)

5. Cobbler fruit : PEACH

6. Play the flute : TOOTLE. "And Hennessey Tennessee tootles the flute"

7. Botched up : MANGLED

8. River under the Ponte Vecchio : ARNO. Florence, Italy

9. Federal hush-hush org. : NSA. (no such agency)

10. Sci-fi writer Asimov : ISAAC

11. Cat with black fur : PANTHER. The lion may sleep tonight but the panther's on the prowl.

12. Statues and sculptures : ART. ^Black Velvet art^

13. Conk out : DIE

18. Gorilla expert Fossey : DIAN

22. Famous last words? : THE END. Cute.

24. Hidden store : CACHE

25. Pond plant : ALGA

26. Poem of tribute : ODE

27. Like 2015 : ODD

30. Point : DOT

33. Polynesian archipelago native : TONGAN

35. Lab gelatins : AGARS

37. Contented kitty sound : PURR

38. "Lord, is __?" : IT I

40. Target score in "Mario Golf" : PAR

41. Mrs. McKinley : IDA

42. Sign on a new store : [NOW OPEN]

43. Synthetic rubber compound : STYRENE

45. Kelp, e.g. : SEAWEED

46. Gaunt from exertion : HAGGARD

49. Law that incited a 1773 Boston revolt : TEA ACT

50. Pull hard : YANK

52. Sonata movements : RONDOs

54. Master, in Swahili : BWANA

56. One resisting authority : REBEL

58. Chesapeake Bay crustacean : CRAB

60. Cattle holder : PEN

61. "Selma" director DuVernay : AVA. Wiki

62. Marketing major's deg. : BBA. (Bachelor of Business Administration)

63. "Messenger" molecule : RNA

Argyle


52 comments:

OwenKL said...

A villa there was, on banks of the ARNO,
Where the cooking was so bad YEARS AGO.
No one could BREAK BREAD,
So they used it instead
As cheap bricks for the villa, made out of dough!

Do you ever wonder if Siri wears a SARI?
If an Android with roid-rage would ruin a soiree?
For TV, is Watson
Always up on just what's on?
If I have no compunctions, or for puns am I sorry?

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Another crunchy early week puzzle, what with TARSALS, STYRENE, etc. Nothing too bad, though, although some circles would have been nice to see.

Thanks again for the well wishes. Mostly all better now, as far as I can tell.

Hungry Mother said...

Didn't know BANC, but perps came through. Fun theme.

Madame Defarge said...

Happy Tuesday, all.

Great puzzle C.C.! I didn't have the circles, but what a fun theme. Very clever. I labored over CITGO--not knowing the tag line. It made me realize how many gas stations have five-letter names on their signs! My favorite today was DOG-EARED and remembering what a cardinal sin that practice once was.

Thanks, Argyle, for the explication and superb links. Nice.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Had the circles. Didn't notice 'em. Didn't matter. Thanx, C.C., for serving up a speed-run.

I've always seen it as "En" BANC and not USM, but USMC ala Gomer Pyle.

"Bless you, Trigger!" (Neigh)

I thought CHALLAH meant "someday, but not now." Must have it confused with a different word.

CITGO is based in Houston, but I don't recall ever seeing/hearing that slogan. I also couldn't tell you where there's a Citgo station around here, but I'll bet there is one.

unclefred said...

Well, got 'er done, but...is it just me? Maybe I'm losing it in my old age, but yesterday seemed more like a Wednesday, and today more like a Thursday. I got 'em both done, but they sure didn't seem like a Monday and Tuesday. At least to me. Never-the-less, fun CW, DOGEARED favorite fill. Thanx for the challenge, C.C. Terrific write up, Argyle! Seriously though, I'd like to hear from our fellow travelers here: did yesterday and today seem a bit crunchy for a Monday and Tuesday?

thehondohurricane said...

Morning

Uncle Fred, I'm fearing the same aging process you are. All of a sudden I feel like I'm becoming an even dumber ASS.

I agree, this was pretty crunchy for a Tuesday. Darn thing almost ATE me UP. Started with tarsais, but TARSALS came through when I remembered seeing Penne ALLA.... on a menu recently. My thought at the time was I'd rather have my spirits in a glass instead of on the pasta.

Could not remember WGN, had WG-???? Finally decided on the N because RONDOS sounded like something to do with a sonata. (And it rhymes with Hondo(s)

No circles again which I do not mind. I'm a neat freak when it comes to filling in the grid and IMO, circles have always skewed the finished products appearance.

Heavy winds today so yard work is out of the question therefore I'll stop the procrastination and finish up the tax returns. Then I'll be in an ugly mood. Day may not bode well for my better half!

Yellowrocks said...

Great puzzle, CC. I liked your theme. Reading the circles made the theme easy to see. Thanks for the links, Argyle. UNCLEFRED, IMO yesterday's and today's puzzle were just a tad more crunchy than usual, in that you couldn't just slap down every entry without checking the perps, but I had no problem with them.
I just realized that although I am a sushi fan, I do not care for the raw bar, oysters and clams.
When I attended college outside of Baltimore the large church where I interned gave me money for dinner every Sunday. I always ordered crab imperial or crab cakes, the crab fresh harvested from the Chesapeake Bay. The best crab I ever tasted.
I knew pesto contains PINE NUTS, but I didn't realize they are used as the thickener.
I really like vodka sauce, nice change up from other sauces.
I thought the movie LIFEBOAT was thought provoking, though dark. It was directed by Hitchcock based on a story by Steinbeck.
Link Lifeboat
I like movies and books about moral dilemmas, hence my fondness for Picoult's novels.

billocohoes said...

When someone hits a home run to left field at Fenway Park, the CITGO sign is pronounced "SEE IT GO"

http://www.bostonspastime.com/sign.jpg

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Engaging offering from C.C. today. Ultimately completed it without lookups or erasures. After BREAK BREAD, saw the schtick with the circles. Clever. Liked all the breads mentioned. Whole wheat not so much.
Have not seen USM in common use. Always seem to see USMC.

Have a great day.

TTP said...

Good morning all. Thank you Argyle and CC.

I liked the theme. Literally breaking up the bread types across two words. Simple yet beautiful. Liked the fill too. Enjoyed seeing TARSALS. I most often see tarsals and carpals on the skeletal charts at the osteo's and orthopod's office. And DOG-EARED as Madame DeFarge noted. That would get you a real beast of burden chewing out YEARS AGO. Plus, CATCHALL. It seems so inclusive.

Hadn't previously heard of of the banc phrase. Perped in easily enough.
We watch WGN morning news Monday to Friday every week.
The closest CITGO gas station is one mile away. There are hundreds of them in Chicagoland. The Lemont refinery serves the upper Midwest.

Husker Gary said...

Just enough spice to make for a fun literary meal. C.C. rocks!

Musings
-Subbing after the long Spring Break and kids are not exactly motivated
-Every house has a CATCHALL DRAWER. “I know it’s in here but…”
-I can’t DOG EAR a book. Mrs. Thomsen drilled that into us in Junior High
-The 400 meters used to be “run” but now it’s a DASH! I would definitely Bring Up the REAR!
-We could only get Dick Biondi on WGN at night in my yute
-Have you ever heard someone MANGLE the National Anthem?
-In Ken Burns’ Civil War, historian Shelby Foote claims the REBELS never had a chance. The North won without using anywhere near all its resources. It was just a matter of time.
-Gotta go review Conic Sections!

Northwest Runner said...

Mini-theme with agar, alga, and seaweed :)

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Another sparkling gem from our CC. Caught the theme immediately because of the circles but that didn't detract from the challenge of the solve. As I have mentioned before, CC always adds a dash of difficulty no matter which day of the week the puzzle is geared to, but, nothing too onerous, just a dash! Of course, this is just my opinion.

Thanks, CC, for a fun and clever offering and thanks, Argyle, for your always witty and wise write-up.

Much to my chagrin, I have to go out into the cold, blustery winds that Hondo mentioned, for a much-needed haircut. This is the price I'm paying for procrastinating. Hope I don't get blown away! 💨 🌪

Have a great day.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

Got through this puzzle fairly easily. A few that I needed perps for. TONGAN, BANC, STYRENE, RONDOS.

I had the circles, but never solved that until after I was done.

Liked TEA ACT. Earl Grey tea was not developed commercially until about 60 years after the Boston Tea Party.

Heading to Chicago today to help a person.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )


Bluehen said...

Unclefred, if you are losing it to old age, I must be as well. Both of the last two puzzles have been a little crunchier than the start of the week level we have become used to, and I'm all for it. The early week speed runs are not puzzles in my book. A little crunch makes the solve more satisfying. The sweetest victory is the hardest won. End of lecture

Thank you CC and Santa.

I got my new date for the THR (total hip replacement). April 15, Tax Day. Between the IRS and the surgery, I may not have any blood left. I'm a little surprised that the orthopedic surgeon could recuperate from a torn Achilles so quickly. Maybe I should be seeing HIS doctor.

Cya!

Anonymous T said...

Hi all!

WEES - there was more crunch the last two days. While today took Wednesday time, at least I got all the squares right. Many c/a's didn't pop to mind (BWANA?), but at least there's nothing I hadn't heard of. The B in BANC, tho, was a WAG.

Thanks C.C. This was fun and the theme (Noted at NAAN and PITA)/ circles helped me get YEARS AGO instead of long something. Thanks Argyle for another velvet-ARTsy PURRfect write-up.

Other mini-theme I liked: I ATE UP the side of Pesto w/ PINE NUTS and Pasta ALLA w/ a DASH of CRAB underneath. Yumm.

Nit - RICH, stop already w/ IRS clues. It ain't APR yet. The T-MAN can wait! I EVEN got an email from my tax-prep'er this morning asking "Just file an extension again?" "Yeah, why should '16 be the ODD year out?"

Fav: c/a 22d. c: "Famous last words?" I wanted "Watch this" or "Here, hold my beer," but THE END was pretty funny when the penny dropped.

Cheers, -T

Argyle said...

Some of you might find this amusing. I also added it to the blog.

Two Kinds....

CanadianEh! said...

Faster solve than yesterday but still a little crunchy. Thanks for the fun C.C. and Argyle. Of course, I got to 62A and said, "Circles! what circles?" but it didn't affect the solve. The enjoyment was increased when I read Argyle's explanation and saw the BREAK BREAD.

Like AnonT, I noted the first clue ATE UP linking with Break Bread.
I had Sneeze before ACHOO and TEA Tax before TEA ACT. We usually have MBA not BBA!

Was anybody else watching Jeopardy this week? One contestant did not know PRIMA DONNA. Winner the other day was a former cruciverbalist!

I have not seen any CITGO stations in this area of Canada.

DIL and bridesmaids changed into SARIs for the wedding reception. Beautiful!

Enjoy the day.

C6D6 Peg said...

Fun puzzle today by C.C. Thanks!

Love going places with you, Argyle. The Pont Vecchio bridge was nice!

Unknown said...

Enjoyed this easy Tuesday puzzle but, as a vet, I must say one thing. There are US Marines but they are in the USMC not the USM. The clue shouldn't say "BRANCH".

Ramon said...

YR, I thought your Lifeboat link was going to take me here because I mistakenly thought this move was also named 'Lifeboat'. This was required viewing in my high school morality class. I think the discussion went on for several classes after viewing it.

Nice Cuppa said...

History recalls that none other than Benjamin Franklin supported the idea of a small tax (3 pence per pound) on tea imported to the colonies, in conjunction with the repeal of the London import tax of 2 shillings and sixpence (i.e. 30 pence per pound) which had been charged to the East India Company. The English tea was of higher quality than (mostly Dutch) smuggled teas and would now be much cheaper because the true tax on East India tea (ultimately paid by the customer) had been greatly reduced. This undercutting of smuggled tea (despite its inferior quality) obviously annoyed the smugglers, the Dutch traders, and the colonial army of "middlemen", who would now be cut out of the trade. It seems that it was the fact that the small import tax would be collected in the colonies that was the tipping point (pun intended) in Boston and elsewhere, since it set a precedent for direct taxation.

• Result: no more English Tea => War, Independence, etc. Still a high price to pay for a decent, low-priced cuppa, I'd say.

• And that is why Americans do not drink decent tea any more (and why they never invented the electric kettle).

• I wonder how much the U.S. taxes tea now.

• And I also wonder how Canadian tea drinking fared in the aftermath of US independence....Eh?

willow said...

Pine nuts - ? Can you harvest them from pine trees?

Bluehen said...

Willow, Yes you can harvest pine nuts from pine trees. They are found between the layers of pine cones. The commercial pine nuts come from only one species I'm told and are therefore pretty pricy. Rather than forage from my backyard pine trees, I substitute walnuts. Much more common and inexpensive.

gmony said...

Yep usmc thats why i put usa us army or usn us navy. Ate up clue. Put bungled instead of mangled??? Stump the chump on a tuesday?? Mangled seams more like a body in a car wreck. Sorry for being a 58 dow. Hated last two puzzles. Might as well bring fridays puzzle the rest of the week.

Anonymous said...

CITGO is owned by Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) the state oil producer of Venezuela.

CanadianEh! said...

Nice Cuppa @11:52am
We Canadians like to think that we drink "proper tea" ie. made with boiling water and steeped in a pot, and preferably served in china cups (with milk and sugar if desired). I am happy with Red Rose tea bags but tea connoisseurs use loose tea leaves. A special treat last fall was High Tea in the drawing room of the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

I made the mistake once while travelling in the USA of ordering tea and forgetting to say hot tea. I should have "clued in" when the waitress asked if I wanted it sweet. I got sweetened ICE tea! (That's enough to make Tinbeni cringe!)

Tea drinking is making a comeback. Even Tim Hortons (that iconic Canadian coffee company) has steeped tea!

CanadianEh! said...

AfternoonTeaInNOTL

Yellowrocks said...

Ramon, I was even more drawn into Survivors. Thanks for linking it.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A neat workout from our own C.C. this morning!
It wasn't a Tuesday walkover, but required some thought to work it out. I wasn't sure about STYRENE until the perps came through, and I had to do some back-forming to reach BBA from the more common MBA.
Where I balked the most was at USM. I instantly filled it with USN, as the Army (USA) and Navy are the only branches that can be filled with three letters. As Desper-Otto and several others have noted, the Marines are officially the United States Marine Corps, a sub branch (though they don't like to think so) of the USN.
But Aye, Aye, C.C.!

Anonymous T said...

Likely story Cuppa - We know which side your biscuit is jellied...

//did I use that correctly? :-)

Thanks for that bit o' history. I did not know that re: the TEA ACT and Ben F.. He's a personal hero; his piggy-bank bust sits on my shelf in the carriage-house (how was that?)

Yes Anon@12:06, CITCO is Venezuelan owned subsidiary. The refining unit us US based and HQ'd in HOU. There was a data center in their building that I'd visit on occasion. We have a few CITGO stations about Houston (as D-O) said. I oft stopped at the one near the BP campus in the Energy Corridor on the I-10 feeder (cheep beer & fast service) on the way home.

BlueHen - thanks for that on the PINE NUT. I always wondered (but wasn't curious enough to look it up) if it was a misnomer or really from pine cones. There's a jar of 'em in the cupboard just for Pesto.

Argyle - I've suspected it but you confirmed it. I married a Monster! DW's theory (she has the PhD, so I listen) is that loved books are written in, spine-broken, and DOGEARED.

While I'll write in my books (they're mine and I'm responding to the work), creasing a page is right out. (I know I used that right Cuppa :-))

Cheers, -T

GarlicGal said...

Thanks, CC for another fun puzzle. I pretty much breezed through it. Had to ponder for a moment on TONGAN & PINENUTS, but it all fell into place.

Bluehen, good one re: doctor. HEHE....

CanadianEh!, we are in the planning stages of a trip to Haliflax in July- a destination (ya think?) wedding at Oceanstone Resort. Any tips for sight seeing, besides Oak Island? Things to do?

Enjoying sunshine again today. Happy Tuesday!

Ol' Man Keith said...

And Bill G,
To answer your post abt Daisy Mae (from yesterday), yes, Wowza! That sweet Gal was every growin' Boy's breakfast table dee-light!
Capp's own fascination with the fairer sex brought him a fair amount of trouble in the early '70s when he was accused of serially propositioning women. Some papers dropped Lil' Abner because of that. I always thought he was set up by right-wing political foes, but the charges were usually dropped because, despite his iconoclastic views, he actually had friends in high places.

Lucina said...

WEES. Although I was on C.C.'s wave length almost immediately and filled as fast as I could write. Loved the BREAKing BREAD theme with the different kinds of bread. It made for a savory pre-breakfast nosh.

I finished this a few hours ago but a friend came over and we had breakfast and good conversation.

I hope you are all having a terrific Tuesday!

willow said...

Thank you, Blue Hen! Also, I agree with what you said about today's & yesterday's puzzles.

Golden Eagle said...

Maybe the clue for 4 down could've been: Hattiesburg, MS inst. of higher learning

USM

Michael said...

I was going to quibble over "IN banc," -- all I've ever seen was "EN banc" (Frawnche, y'know) -- but Wikipedia says, "In law, an en banc session is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by a panel selected from them.[1][2] The equivalent terms in banc, in banco or in bank are also sometimes seen."

Misty said...

I love doing a C.C. puzzle on a Tuesday morning, and this one was a total delight--although I agree that this week has gotten off to a crunchier start than usual. Huge relief that I got both CITGO and BANC this morning--two unknowns. And of course the theme was a lot of fun--thank goodness for the circles! And Argyle, your pics were great this morning, especially the DOG-EARED one.

CanadianEh,I love "Jeopardy," and thought it was great that we had ALEX in the crossword puzzle yesterday, and that he had a cruciverbalist on his show recently--a nice back-and-forth.

Irish Miss, hope you survived your hair cut trip okay. I'm dreading mine on Thursday.

Have a great day, everybody!

Irish Miss said...

Well, I didn't get blown away and I didn't get my haircut, either. My car wouldn't start and is now at the garage to determine why.

Personally, I would equate dog-earring the page of a book with twisting someone's ear nearly off his/her head! 🙀

Jayce said...

Man oh man, the intricate mind of C.C. manifests again. To MANGLE one of comedian Yakov Smirnoff's trademark phrases, "Wot a pozzle!" THE END was my favorite clue and answer. Interesting that we say gobbled down and ate up; we also say gobbled up. It's a weird language we speak. My only writeovers were TEA TAX and ATCHOO. ("I'm going to sneeze." "Where?" "Atchoo!")

Wow, CanadianEh, that Prince of Wales Hotel is nice!

Man, I hate doing taxes. Far too complicated.

Best wishes to you all.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: WOW !!! ... WOW !!! You are "on-a-roll" with wonderful write-ups this week.

C.C. Thank You very much for a FUN Tuesday puzzle with a great, delicious theme.

OK, my "first" write-over was at 1-a where I confidently wrote in "Scarf" for the clue Gobbled down ... before ATE-UP became apparent ... S**T happens ... lol

I'm now (finally!) getting into my "new" routine ... and the puzzles have to wait until I get home from the "part-time" job (Tuesday through Saturday) ...

Jayce, after completing the puzzle ... I prepared my Form 1040 ... in Black Ink, On-Paper ...
That is 23 minutes I'll never get back ...
(Note: I will check to see if I did it correctly in a few days ...
You can take the Accountant out of the "Business-World" ...
But "HE-Is-still-inside me somewhere ...)

Hmmmm ... that reminds me .... It's Five O'Clock Somewhere ...
Cheers!

CanadianEh! said...

Garlic Gal@12:48 - What a marvelous destination wedding! I hope your weather will be lovely; you never know on the water. I have not travelled in the Halifax area for a few years but you MUST go to Peggy's Cove (your resort is practically next door!). Of course it is a tourist trap and other harbours along the coast are picturesque as well.
Try TripAdvisor for ideas and reviews depending on your interests. Public Gardens, Citadel, Maritime Museum (Titanic displays), Waterfront with Pier 21 and Historic Properties (try Cow's Ice Cream!), Province House
Halifax
If you are going south to Oak Island (I have not seen it!), you might go on to Lunenburg and Mahone Bay.
Hope these ideas help.

CrossEyedDave said...

Re: Anonymous T, Yest last post,
Unfortunately the song "Aquarius" has been totally ruined for me by our local
radio station that did a parody, changing the rhyming words to something very DF...
(now whenever I hear it, I hear the DF words...)
(I will not repeat it here as it is an earworm...)

Another CC puzzle?!
(are you trying to construct more puzzles than Mrs Gordon's record?)

Dog Eared, Hmm, it's funny, but I hate to dog ear books, or lend them to anyone who does.
But, I must have 30 music books on the piano, & all of them are dog eared to favorite songs.
It must be I just don't have that many bookmarks, plus, it is a great help to have that dogear when you need to flip a page without missing a beat...

(Hmm,spellchecker likes dogeared, but hates dogear. bizarre! )

I bet you thought I could not find a silly pic for breaking bread!

Sign seen in a supermarket...

Whoa! it looks like bread is not the only thing that is going to get broken in this supermarket!

Anonymous said...

A short trip from Halifax, Garlic Gal, you have to raft the tidal bore on the Bay of Fundy

Argyle said...

Re: USM : find your favorite abbreviation for USM here(two pages). It is where I found United States Marines. (meh)

List

Jayce said...

Tinbeni, just never own stock. What a pain. "Cost basis" are disliked words in my house these days. Gotta go back to 2007 to figure out the cost basis of our stock in a company that just did a merger/spinoff in 2015 that probably produced for us a capital gain or loss. We use Turbo Tax, which is a fine piece of software, and I guess we can't blame it; it just asks the questions. It is we (wife and I) that have to give it the right answers, and sometime those answers are hard to find, especially since they are blank spaces in the 1099B issued by the broker. Grrr.

GarlicGal said...

Thanks, CanadianEh! and Anonymous for the travel tips. Duly noted!

Steve S said...

Agree. Yesterday seemed hard for a Monday. Today's not so bad but harder than a usual Tuesday.
I always think of the marines acronym as USMC not USM.

Steve S said...

Nice puzzle but I take issue with USM as acronym for Marines. I usually see USMC.

Anonymous T said...

Jayce - My tax-man told me, "Don't worry too much about the cost-basis. Just WAG it. It's not like you made that much anyway." Vinny's the best :-)

FIL (RIP) was USMC - I too had USa/n before finally resigning myself to M. All's fair in puzzling.

Eldest and I went to the grocery store to stock up and then dinner (everyone else was sleeping, so to heck w/ 'em) which leads me to this...

You know you're gettin' old when...
Muzak at HEB (the grocer) is Kiss' Detroit Rock City followed by Deep Purple's Woman from Tokyo. I musta looked like a nut rockin' out in the aisle -- just less so than CED w/ his baguettes.

Cheers, -T

windhover said...

Dick Biondi was on WLS