google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday, November 27, 2016 Gail Grabowski

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Nov 27, 2016

Sunday, November 27, 2016 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Do Stuff" - GEL spans across each theme entry.

23A. Breakfast item : SAUSAGE LINK. I enjoyed my leftover yam/apple for breakfast, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

33A. Bus station compartment : STORAGE LOCKER

43A. Decorative outdoor fixture : CARRIAGE LAMP. Did not know there's a term for it.


60A. Category including spacing and margins : PAGE LAYOUT

77A. Vehicle usage record : MILEAGE LOG

92A. Curbside check-in freebie : LUGGAGE LABEL. I just call it "Luggage tag".

98A. Broadway director's concern : STAGE LIGHTING

117A. "American Graffiti" director : GEORGE LUCAS. I thought young Jay Leno was in this movie. But Wiki says no.
 
Reveal:

118D. Styling product hidden in eight long puzzle answers : GEL
 
Very consistent. All *GE L*. Not many workable phrases for the *G EL* pattern, as in NOTHING ELSE.

Gail likes to put a couple of themers in Down slots. Not this time. Across all the way. The fill is quintessential Gail, smooth and clean. There's a quiet elegance in all of her puzzles.

Across:     
                                                                                                                                                       
1. Udon cousin : SOBA. We all have our sweet spot. Asian food is mine.

5. Not at all : HARDLY

11. Poker pro's concern : ODDS

15. Weather the storm : COPE

19. Latin 101 verb : AMAS. You love.
  
20. Albéniz piano work : IBERIA. Unfamiliar with the composer.


21. Petty of "A League of Their Own" : LORI

22. Mind matter : IDEA

25. Lackluster : DRAB. Not DULL.

26. Let it all out : VENT

27. Blade holder : SHEATH

28. Heavy ref. : OED. Kids these days probably never use a "heavy" dictionary.

29. Ancient manuscripts : PAPYRI

31. Gridiron figure : YARDAGE. Golf too.

39. Bar menu heading : REDs

41. Zilch : NIL

42. "Do __?" : I DARE. Not I CARE.

49. TV awareness-raiser : PSA

52. Action film props : UZIs. Named after the designer Uzi Gal, according to Wiki.

53. Cookie shaped like two of its letters : OREO

54. Throw a feast for : REGALE

55. 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner : TUTU (Desmond)

56. Handled bag : TOTE

57. Started war? : DEALT. Card game.

59. Serious trend : RAGE

62. Like some speeches, it seems : ENDLESS. Not those TED Talks. I really like Derek Siver's "How to Start Movement". Only three minutes


64. Ruffle feathers, so to speak : MAKE MAD

65. Tells : SAYS TO

66. Musical with the song "Willkommen" : CABARET. Got via crosses.

69. Collie collar danglers : ID TAGS

74. Fugitive : RUNAWAY

76. Left hanging : STOOD UP. He stood her up.

81. Coil on a reel : HOSE

84. "That's a fact!" : NO LIE!

85. Comparison words : AS AN. Wise as an owl.

86. Room access : HALL

87. Masonry mixture : MORTAR

89. Streamlet : RILL

90. "Leaving Las Vegas" co-star : SHUE (Elisabeth). Not a movie I want to see.

91. Decorates mischievously, for short : TPs

94. Yankee manager before Girardi : TORRE (Joe)

96. Sports statistic : WIN. Slight clue/answer dupe with 83. "College GameDay" number : STAT

97. One way to get dinner : TO GO
 
104. Not just bargain : DICTATE. Also got via crosses.

109. How many raises are given : YEARLY. "How many" is seldom is one phrasal unit in this type of clue.

110. Anger : IRE

112. Mason of "The Goodbye Girl" : MARSHA

113. Restrain : CURB

116. Cause to fluctuate : SWAY

119. Kolkata's locale : ASIA. I'm used to the Calcutta spelling.

120. Paddock parent : SIRE. I read it as "Padlock". Paddock is a new word to me.

121. Mental wherewithal : ACUMEN

122. Construction site sight : CONE

123. Mannerless sort : BOOR

124. Till stack : ONES

125. "He loves me" pieces : PETALS

126. Hot times abroad : ETEs

Down:

1. Fresh : SASSY

2. Home of Heartland of America Park : OMAHA. Vowel-rich. Hence its frequent appearance.

3. Outdoor clothing entrepreneur Eddie : BAUER

4. Mideast president elected the same year as the younger Bush : ASSAD. So long.

5. Overdrive : HIGH GEAR

6. Presidential nickname : ABE

7. Transfer to a new city, briefly : RELO

8. Sits on the line : DRIES. I like this clue also.

9. Godiva alternative : LINDT

10. Shaggy-haired bovine : YAK. It's said that Tibetans drink up to 60 small cups of Yak Butter Tea a day. Simple recipe: tea, butter, salt & hot water. Give it a go, D-Otto. It's good for the upper body strength :-) Silicon Valley's Bulletproof Coffee was inspired by this drink.


11. Lifetime chum : OLD PAL. This blog will turn nine on Jan 28, 2017. You guys are now my old pals. We're growing old together.

12. Biker's headgear, maybe : DO-RAG. We also have 64. National Bike Month : MAY

13. Sun blocker : DRAPE

14. Legendary prophet : SIBYL. "Prophetess" would have made it easier.

15. Serving on a jury, e.g. : CIVIC DUTY. Never served on a jury. You?

16. Elevated lines? : ODE

17. Waterman product : PEN. Never heard of this pen brand.

18. Work on a course : EAT

24. Early gaming name : ATARI

30. French royal : ROI

32. Craftsman outdoor tools : EDGERS

34. Generous offer : ON ME

35. Swindle, in slang : RIP. Don't even think of GYP, not PC to be in our crossword.

36. Instrument that doesn't need tuning : KAZOO. Got via crosses.

37. "Un Ballo in Maschera" aria : ERI TU. This is a difficult clue. We normally have "It was you" or "Verdi" hint.

38. Zero out, say : RESET

40. Sonic Dash publisher : SEGA

43. They may be cracked : CODES. This works for SAFES as well.

44. Sports venue : ARENA

45. Prepared : READY

46. Big wheel's wheels : ROLLS. Rolls-Royce.

47. Internet connectivity annoyance : LAG. So what's your Download speed? Ours is about 23.

48. IPA component : ALE

49. Sound of the Northwest : PUGET. Puget Sound. Nice clue.

50. Champagne flute feature : STEM

51. Café order : AU LAIT

55. Leave, with "off" : TAKE

58. Colorful pet store purchase : TETRA

60. Something to shoot for : PAR. Boomer had two birdies this year, both on par-3 holes.

61. Supplement : ADD ON

63. Looked for : SOUGHT

66. Heads and tails : CALLS

67. Illegal mil. status : AWOL

68. Paper or plastic : BAG

70. Irish lullaby start : TOO-RA. "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral". I drew a blank.

71. Surprise in a skit : AD LIB.  Also got via crosses.

72. Duplicity : GUILE

73. Period of time : SPELL

75. Minimum-range tide : NEAP

76. Poseidon, e.g. : SEA GOD. Here is a good explanation on why Chinese say "Oh, my mother!" instead of "Oh, my God!" when surprised.

77. Ketch pair : MASTS

78. Seemingly can't lose : IS HOT

79. Linney of "The Savages" : LAURA

80. Athlete's supplement : ENERGY BAR. Also 88. Training routines : REGIMENS. Both great fill.

81. Fail to share : HOG

82. AA or AAA : ORG. Nice clue as well.

87. Short bond? : MUNI. Municipal bond.

92. Hammered : LIT

93. From around here : LOCAL

95. Big shoes to fill? : EEE. Last time this clue tricked me.  

96. "But of course!" : WHY YES

99. Catcher on the range : LASSO

100. Director Allen who was dubbed the "Master of Disaster" : IRWIN. Don't recall this name.

101. Look daggers (at) : GLARE

102. Birthday card rack subsection : NIECE

103. Tiling job supply : GROUT

105. Mutual agreement : TRUCE

106. Site of the Princess Margaret Stakes : ASCOT. Named after Princess Margaret.

107. Macbeth, when the play began : THANE

108. Alleviates : EASES

111. "At Wit's End" author Bombeck : ERMA. I often confused her with that cookbook author IRMA.

113. Zin kin : CAB (Cabernet)

114. "Always by their side" org. : USO

115. River in Spain : RIO

117. Lack of continuity : GAP
 
C.C.

40 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIW & DNF. The FIW from having SyBiL instead of SIBYL, without even realizing it was wrong in the perps as well.
The DNF was the multi-naticks of LAurA + ShuE + TorRE combined with IS faT instead of IS HOT.
Didn't even think of looking for the theme before I got to the reveal, which gave it away at a glance.
Hand up for baGGAGE blocking LUGGAGE for too long, and several other w/os.

{B, C+, C+, B+.}

A young man from Calcutta (now KOLKATA)
Thought it time to DARE what he oughta
So he took his KAZOO
And broke it in two,
Said, "A man's gotta do what he's gotta!"

Virgins LAURA and LORI and Lee
Were three mermaids far out at sea,
Till the SEA GOD, POSEIDON
Rose up beside 'em --
With the "trident" he uses to pee!

An Irish mother may sing TOO-RA,
A U.S. marine may REGALE with Hoo-ra!
The Big Bad Wolf,
If he doesn't goof,
Will attest that he likes his ewe raw!

A RUNAWAY girl named MARSHA MAY
Danced in the chorus at a CABARET!
But with none of the guys
Would she fraternize --
Until she'd finished a bottle of CABERNET!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Gail and CC!

Very tired, so took more time than usual. Managed to get it all done w/o cheats. VENT took quite a while.

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. However, had to sit in wheelchair and car for 8 hours. Has taken me this long for my back to get back to just normally painful.

Rained cats and dogs today.

Have a great day!


Anonymous T said...

Can't sleep Lurk say:

Colleagues in Cairo [Maadi actually] squared away but s**, I'm still up

Great writeup C.C. I learnt a few things. Re: 90a Leaving Las Vegas - if you've not seen the move - don't; you can't unthink that crap.

Re: Jury Duty: Called 3x and only sat once. The case...

It was a sunny morning in the City
The defendant somewhat Pretty
Protested the Fine
For not stopping at said Sign
And, not withstanding photos and circles and paragraphs on the back of each one*,
Was Guilty.

C.C. I was the shirtless leader on that jury pool stating the obvious. Sure we all roll a stop sign, but she got caught in the codification.

{A, C, C, A++}. How you do it?, I don't know but I likes it.

Cheers, -T
*Sorry - Alice's Restaurant is a Thanksgiving weekend must.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one ran right up against the time limit. Misspelled SYBIL. Hand up for I CARE; that really slowed things down in Maine. I wanted LUGGAGE LOCKER, but then LUGGAGE appeared later on, and that speech was ETERNAL before ENDLESS elbowed in. Gail gave the Wite-Out a workout this morning. Thanks.

C.C. I can't hear "yak butter" without thinking of this dialogue from the first season of Stargate SG-1. The team is on a male-dominated alien planet where women have no civil rights:
O'Neill: All things considered, Samantha, if we have to come back here, it might be a better idea to bring an all male team. No offence.
Samantha "Sam" Carter: Well, in view of the fact that you all get to go to this party tonight and I get to stay in a yurt that smalls like rancid yak butter, none taken.

"Poseidon" in a clue, and IRWIN Allen in an answer: He directed The Poseidon Adventure.

Contrary to popular belief, DO-RAG is not named after yours truly.

Time for that three-mile march, big toe permitting.

TTP said...



Good morning all.

FIW. Yes, I spelled it SYBIL too. Should have thought a second about the spelling of papyrus, and then might have switched those letters.

Speaking of switching letters, I meant to changed from IS TO to AS AN when I got MILEAGE LOG based on ENERGY BAR, but as I completed the downs, I kept going in that direction and never changed the I to A. So I had MiSTS instead of MASTS. Based on the answer being MASTS, this landlubber thinks a ketch must be some type of void in the water into which one sinks money.

I had STARE before GLARE and that took a few minutes to resolve.

That section with IBERIA, DRIES and LINDT also took awhile.

Don't know why I first thought of and entered STOWAGE LOCKER. But WIP didn't make sense. STORAGE and RIP did. I used to hear RIP most frequently in conjunction with off. "What a rip off !"

All in all, a good Sunday challenge. Thank you Gail.

Thank you CC. I recently saw Paddock parent:SIRE in a Fred Piscop puzzle. I think it was one of Fred's puzzles.

Jury duty three times in 28 years here. Picked for a panel twice. The first of those was a civil case and settled just before the trial started. The second was a murder trial. It lasted a week. Very sad.

On a lighter note, I remember "Too ra loo ra too ra loo rye aye" from Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Raiders.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, C.C. and friends. Interesting theme answers. Storage Locker and Carriage Lamp were not the first things that came to my mind when I read the clues.

A nice fresh clue for our old friend OREO.

Hand up for Dull before DRAB.

I also thought the Elevated Lines would be ELS instead of ODE. I was thinking of Chicago instead of Literature!

Sits on the line = DRIES was a cute clue and answer.

Leaving Las Vegas is a very disturbing film. We saw Loving over the Thanksgiving holiday and enjoyed it.

QOD: When you make the right decision, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks. ~ Caroline Kennedy (b. Nov. 27, 1957)

TTP said...



CC, I have Comcast cable. On WIFI, at the point farthest away from the router, I get downloads between 15 to 22 Mbps. I just moved the laptop to the room adjacent to the router and got over 71Mbps.

The desktop computer that is ethernet connected to the router has downloads in the mid 90s.

I use the Ookla Speed Test for testing. It has a "My Results" tabs that keeps history of prior tests. Very useful to have history.

Big Easy said...

It was a DNF this morning. I noticed the AGE but I didn't notice the GEL until I got the reveal clue at 118D. I couldn't get LORI-SIBYL intersection- both unknowns. I also blew the cross of LAURA(unknown) and AS AN; I filled AS 'IN' after IS TO was changed due to the MASTS. My brain kept wanting RISK or a TELL instead of ODDS, CLOUD or SHADE for DRAPE, DULL or BLAH for DRAB, and DO RAG never entered my mind, even though I wear one of those things under my bicycle helmet to keep the sun off my bald head. That section slayed me.

A few early wrong turns were LIMO before ROLLS, STARE before GLARE, DOOR before HALL, HIT before LIT, and SIDES before CALLS. Unknowns were OMAHA, IBERIA,SHUE, & SEGA.

Yellowrocks said...

I was finding AGEL in every theme answer (huh?) which helped a lot, even though I didn't understand it. The final GEORGE LUCAS set me straight, no A, just GEL. Just right for a Sunday, maybe a tad faster than most.
I had the Y in papyri. Two Ys in SYBYL looked odd, and LORY was surely wrong, so SIBYL.
I knew the sound of TOORA and was singing it, but I needed crosses for the OO spelling.Now I remember having seen it.
The fabulous TORRE is a gimme for the NY/NJ crowd. ERI TU was also a gimme.
I do not care for stemless wine glasses. Graceful stems give wine drinking is mystique. No more wine for me until I get my BP down.
I was called for quite a few juries. Usually it seemed that professionals were summarily dismissed. The one time I was chosen we were sent to lunch before trial. The case was settled by the time we returned.
I mostly use online dictionaries, but sometimes my very heavy print dictionary is more informative and inclusive.
We are going to visit my older son, DIL and grandson for dinner today. I whipped up my usual contribution of a homemade apple pie while watching the National Dog Show last night.

Northwest Runner said...

Great summary of a great puzzle. Jay Leno was in American Hot Wax, another 70s film set in the early days of rock and roll, maybe that's what you had in mind. Cabaret and Irwin Allen are childhood memories for me, now I feel old.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Another enjoyable offering from Gail, although I needed help in the Odds/Lori/Do rag section. Had Cage before Shue and dull before drab. I've never seen Leaving Las Vegas as I avoid that type of movie. Had no inkling of the theme until the reveal. The title was deceptively easy to suss and, with a little more thought, should have been a tip-off. Lots of fresh cluing and fill added to the satisfying solve, even with needing help.

Thanks, Gail, for a super Sunday workout and thanks, CC, for your breezy, cheery summation. I enjoyed reading the explanation of Oh My God and Oh My Mother. Learning such cultural differences adds another dimension to this cozy community. More, please!

I served on a jury several years ago and while the details are a little fuzzy, what I remember was an elderly man (the get-off-my-lawn type) was suing a teenager for verbally harassing him. I vaguely recall the man tried to run him over with his lawn mower. The harassment involved very salty language which, I think, was the basis for the suit. It was all rather petty and silly and we, the jury, found the defendant not guilty. I've had a couple of appearance notices since then but haven't been picked to serve.

YR from yesterday, I completely forgot about the dog show until it was almost over. I caught the last grouping, the Non-Sporting, and was excited because that's the group that my beloved Bichons are in. No luck, though, but all of the dogs are beautiful and a joy to watch.

I came across this quote yesterday by Reba McIntyre: "To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone." Smart lady, eh?

DO, I hope your toe is getting back to normal.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-PAGE LAYOUT for my 7th grade tests. .5” margins all around, my standard heading and two columns. Feel free to take it. You can see that, like my blogs, I was a visual teacher too.
-“NOT HARDLY” is one of the most common ungrammatical phrases I hear
-Lori Petty plays “whacked-out” Lolly in Orange Is The New Black
-The landscape will be DRAB around here until April
-I’ve played PAR 4’s with YARDAGE from 200 – 440.
-0–0 on the soccer field? Nah, it’s NIL–NIL on the pitch
-I’ve seen very graphic PSA’s on driving while texting
-The newest video RAGE is the Mannequin Challenge (:29)
-Now deceased Fidel was the master of the ENDLESS speech
-Euripides – “Whom the gods destroy, they first MAKE MAD”
-I almost said “TO GO” at the Hardees Drive Thru yesterday
-Even lousy teachers get a YEARLY raise if they finish the term
-Some OMAHAns wanted to save old brick warehouses -instead of buildng this park
-I never made the cut for that CIVIC DUTY
-Punters from Michigan State and Nebraska died in a car crash this summer. So instead of HEADS/TAILS this commemorative coin is used before games

Northwest Runner said...

Willkommen performed by Joel Grey with a slightly nontraditional set of costars.

tawnya said...

Good Morning all!

I'm never sure how a Gail-solo will turn out - there are always a few that get me. Seems like they are the same ones everyone else mentioned as well, so I feel a better about it! Thank you CC for the commentary, eye-opening as usual.

TTP posted beat me to the Dexy's Midnight Runner link, so here's a prettier ska/punk version for you: Save Ferris. And I can't hear that song without thinking of this meme.

I don't know Irwin Allen but I do know John Hiatt

And U2 taught me about Desmond Tutu

I think that's all the that's running through my head for the moment!

Thanks -T for the Guthrie link, love it and you are right that no Thanksgiving is complete without it!

Happy Sunday!

t.

Bill G. said...

Very nice puzzle. Challenging and fair. I kept filling in my best guesses and crossing letters kept confirming them. I got stuck at the intersection of PAPYRI and SIBYL. Thanks Gail and CC.

Years ago I got called for jury duty and I was seated. I got elected chairperson. It was a murder trial where the defendant had put a gun up to his girlfriend and shot her. One holdout on the panel kept insisting it was his girlfriend and he mustn't have meant to kill her. You don't need 'intent' for second degree murder. The vote was 11 to one. She finally agreed with the rest of us. Job well done.

Since then I have been able to winge and wheedle my way off of jury duty. I don't dislike the jury duty so much as worrying about being away from home and my supportive surroundings.

For no particular reason, this shows up on my Pandora feed every few days. I just love this arrangement of an old big band classic. It's Cole Porter's Begin the Beguine. The song is a good one but this arrangement by Artie Shaw just makes the music lobe of my brain especially happy. Begin the Beguine by Artie Shaw

Anonymous said...

"90. "Leaving Las Vegas" co-star : SHUE (Elisabeth). Not a movie I want to see."

I used to be a deluded pollyanna too, but watching this movie helped fix that.

There's nothing more beautiful than achieving an ever-deepening understanding of the human race's seamier side, and learning to be at peace and content within that truth.

But until then ... "go to sleep ... go to sleep .. la la la la la .....

Manac said...

Mileage log...Yup, Do mine every Sunday evening.

Just over 40,000 miles for the year and still
have a month to go.

MJ said...

Greetings to all!

Another wonderful puzzle from Gail. My only hang-up was near the SW where LAURA Linney crossed Joe TORRE and Elizabeth SHUE. The first two were complete unknowns, and although I've heard of Ms. Shue, I am unfamiliar with the cast of "Leaving Las Vegas".

C.C., thanks for the expo. The article about "Oh My Mother"/"Oh My God" was interesting.

Anon. T--Thanks for the Alice's Restaurant link. I hadn't heard the recording for over forty years, and never realized it was based on an actual incident in Arlo Guthrie's life.

Enjoy the day!

Jayce said...

Oh my Mother, this was a terrific puzzle. Typical Gail G, whose work I always like. From the title I anticipated DO would be stuffed into the theme answers. Nope, the gimmick was GEL. I get it now. Sure enough, had TELL and OPEN before ODDS.

When I was a kid we didn't have a drier; Mom hung the laundry on the line to dry. While the clue Sits on the line is a nice clue, I couldn't quite stretch my mental image beyond hangs on the line.

Here is a wonderful orchestrated performance of Asturias by
Albeniz, which is the first piece in his Iberia suite for piano. Turn your big speakers up to 11 as you listen to it, which I hope you enjoy.

Another crazy thing I did as a young man: having read about Tibetan yak butter tea I thought I'd try it, but having only butter made from cow's milk, not yak milk, and the butter not being rancid, I simply made a hot cup of black tea and put a patty of butter on it. The heat of the tea melted the butter into a glorious oil slick. And by golly it actually tasted pretty good.

A paper I wrote in college for a linguistics class discussed differences between swearing in Chinese and swearing in English. It boils down to references to one's mother vs references to God. Swearing in English also seems to involve a lot of bodily and sexual functions as well.

I have been called to jury duty very few times, and never actually was empaneled because the cases were settled or my name never came up in the draw.

With our DSL line, our download speed is only about 600,000 bits per second, as reported by the Ookla speed test.

Best wishes to you all.

Misty said...

Hello, everybody--I'm back after my Thanksgiving visit to Dad and brother Mike in Lancaster, PA. Great to wake up to a Gail puzzle--she's one of my favorite constructors--and a great C.C. commentary. I especially appreciated finally understanding ROLLS, and liked the YAK butter tea information. I had to cheat a little here and there, especially with some of the names. But I got the GEL early on, and that helped and made the puzzle fun. And I got SAUSAGE LINK because that's what my Dad made for breakfast every morning. So thank you, thank you for a great re-entry to the blog.

Have a good week coming up, everybody!

OwenKL said...

Did those speed tests years ago, but could never find out what I should be getting, so they were just meaningless numbers. Tried today and got around 7 Mbps, which is better than Jayce's 0.6 Mbps, but pales before TTP's 71 Mbps.

Been called for jury duty only once. I still had some hearing, but not much, so I was told if I ever got called again, just respond that I was deaf and don't bother coming in again.

Irish Miss said...

Manac @12:05 - My 15-year old Toyota Corolla has yet to pass 25,000 miles. (Talk about "The Little Old Lady From Pasenda!") 🙃

Misty, welcome home! You've been missed! 😉

desper-otto said...

Jayce, I'm here to report that I was not stuffed into those theme answers.

Hahtoolah said...

Irish Miss: I was in a car accident in May (a woman ran a traffic light, neither of us were hurt). My 8-year old car was totaled. It had 31,006 miles. I primarily use it to drive to work, which is currently less than 5 miles round trip. My husband 's 8- year old car, on the other hand has over 120,000 miles. We take his car on trips together (even those trips around town).

Chairman Moe said...


"Puzzling Thoughts":

Eventually finished after checking Google and Wikipedia. Not ashamed to say that I had to AD LIB a few times to get back on track.

As with many others, I slipped in the wrong answer before perps or cheats corrected. Oddly, I "got" the theme (GEL) very early on. And yet I still managed to make a few errors when I wanted BAGGAGE instead of LUGGAGE, and refused CARRIAGE when a LAMP just didn't seem correct - and the irony of that is, that we have several pair of CARRIAGE lamps on our house.

Misty, hope your return to Amish Country was enjoyable. Are you a fan of the wonderful potato chips they make there? And also, if I recall correctly, the LOCALs refer to the bread-based Thanksgiving side dish as Filling, rather than stuffing.

My lame attempt at a limerick today (using a solve word, of course) is:

Our friend Hymie would always kvetch,
When we went for a sail on our KETCH.
Seems he likes going faster
Than on our double-master;
Yet on speed boats, he often will retch.

And an oldie but goodie from the past:

Amish couple drove by in their CARRIAGE;
The town elder was heard to disparage:
"I'm thinking something's not right;
His wife grew up Mennonite,
And I only perform same sects marriage."

Have a great week ahead !

Spitzboov said...

Hello everyone.

Average difficulty for a Sunday. Did it on the Mensa site.
KAZOO - Used to live a mile from the KAZOO factory, when we dwelled hard by the shores of L. Erie., S of Buffalo.
Jury duty? - Called but never actually selected. Served on a Special Court Martial, once, while on active duty. Case was about stealing from another sailor's locker.

Misty said...

Thank you for the welcome back, Irish Miss and Chairman Moe. Gosh, why didn't I try the potato chips! Didn't know they were special. But the family (not Amish or Mennonite) does indeed refer to "filling" rather than "stuffing." And, of course, I loved your Amish limerick!

Tinbeni said...

Irish Miss & Manac
Geez, you make me feel like I am "always on the road" ...
My Honda CR-Z, bought on 1/6/11 is nearing 12,000 miles ... maybe by February.
(After 71 months, I had put 10,910 miles on the odometer).

I can not remember ever driving more than 12,000 miles a year ... even when I was working.
(Amazing ... you Fly off to 4 other continents, work as an EX-PAT for 2 or 3 months ...
and just don't put many miles on the vehicle back home).

Glad to see everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
Cheers!


Lucina said...

Even though the day is almost done, I'm posting anyway because I enjoyed Gail's puzzle very much. Thank you, Gail!

Most of it I did while watching my recording of Sunday morning (Bill, I can't thank you enough for guiding us to it) so with Jane Pauley's mellow voice in my head filled cell after cell.

WEES, but with very few write overs, BARELY/HARDLY, and a hard time with SEGA/RAGE. Never did get LAG which my computer tends to do. Knowing the GEL theme helped a lot in several instances. BAGGAGE before LUGGAGE slowed my progress in that section.

I tried to perform my CIVICDUTY when I was called for jury duty, but the three times I tried, I was never empaneled. Now I'm no longer called due to age.

I failed to comment that last week I bought a new car. It's a 2014 Honda Accord Sport and it's a sweet little number. It has all the bells and whistles of the Accord but it's smaller, just right for me and only 32,383 miles on it. I kept the Nissan for my granddaughter since she was driving it most of the time anyway. Its MILEAGELOG was 119,000 miles and 12 years old.

Thank you, C.C. As others have mentioned it's a delight to learn of your culture and your preferences.

I hope your Sunday has been wonderful, everyone! Loved the poetry, Owen. Moe's, too.

Jayce said...

Lucina, nice car!

Anonymous said...

Not to quibble overmuch but surely "war" as in the name of a card game is a proper noun which should be capitalised in the clue? Not that it held me up but it did make me a wee bit nervous.

Lucina said...

Thank you, Jayce! Yes, it is and I love it!

Yellowrocks said...

Just returned from a great day with my older son and his family. We had shabu-habu for dinner, "a Japanese nabemono hotpot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water.The term is onomatopoeia, derived from the sound emitted when the ingredients are stirred in the cooking pot and served with dipping sauces. The food is cooked piece by piece by the diner at the table. Shabu-shabu is considered to be more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki" -Wiki. Delicious
Speaking of ethnic dishes, PA Dutch filling is always made of mashed potatoes and a small amount of bread, but mostly potatoes. We add sauteed onions and celery. Traditionally it was placed inside the fowl, thus the name. It fills the fowl. These days most of us bake filling in a casserole in the oven as a side dish. PA Dutch call their bread stuffing made similar to ours, stuffing, not filling. I place bread stuffing in the turkey and make potato filling in a casserole on the side.

Bill G. said...

I went by our local supermarket today. I saw the fellow who has the job of picking up the carts from the parking lot and returning them to the store. I often say 'hello' but he always ignores me. Dunno why. I was checking out inside and the checker happened to be one of the managers. I asked him about the cart picker-upper guy and why he seemed so standoffish to me. The manager told me he was deaf. Didn't I feel silly. I will give him a wave from now on.

Lucy, I'm glad you are still enjoy Sunday Morning. It usually varies between very good and excellent.

I don't think all speed testers provide the same result. I just used one called Speakeasy and my speed was 79 down and 48 up.

Wilbur Charles said...

I just lost a long boring post about my DNF. Btw. Along with ABE and IKE could have been SAM.

Welcome back Misty. Woo hoo. I tried TELL before ODDS. Btw2. Speaking of dogs, I did a lookup and found a site with famous dog's names.

Do you know ABE'S dog? Clue: Take a guess. Clue2: Take a wild guess.

Owen, as usual I liked No. 2 best. I enjoyed CC's write-up and I always love Gail's xws.

To add to Anon's nit. Didn't we actually just divide the deck in half for war.

Also. As I recall from my ancient history I believe THE SIBYL was an It. Just a disembodied voice. I may be all wet in this.

Finally. I had an idea GYP would not fly.
In fact, I think ASS is defunct unless as an answer to Balaam's ___

Wilbur in the ETHER again

Ps. I always love C-Moe's limericks

Misty said...

Thank you, Wilbur. Is "Dusty" the name of a famous dog?

Wilbur Charles said...

Pas de quoi, Misty. Let me take a quick peek.
Dusty, an Australian Keltie, was the title character of a movie and book by that name by Thomas Hinkle.

Abe's dog? Fido. Leave it to old Abe.

FALA's breed was a Saturday stumper. I'm still stuck with that bear of an XW

WC

Chairman Moe said...

Thanks! My pleasure.

Abejo said...

Good Monday afternoon, folks. Thank you, Gail Grabowski, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.

I did most of this Sunday, then had to go to work Sunday afternoon. Finished Sunday night, late, when I got home. Now I am checking in.

No idea what SOBA or UDON is. Got it with perps.

Caught the theme and it did help with some theme answers.

LAURA at 79D was not known. Perps. Neither was IRWIN. Perps.

Did not know CABARET until I had a few letters.

I will not hang around this site anymore today. I am a day late and no will read this. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

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Picard said...

Enjoyed the GEL theme, but this was a struggle to the very end!

Agree with OwenKL that the Natick crosses of LAURA, SHUE, TORRE were unfair. Never heard of any of them.

Likewise WEES about SIBYL, LORI, PAPYRI. I was sure I got this wrong... but I was wrong!

I am surprised that so few of you heard of IRWIN Allen. Perhaps you know some of his TV shows that were big when I was a child:
Lost in Space?
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea?
Time Tunnel?
Land of the Giants?