The ever prolific Gail G. is back with a letter substitution puzzle with an added twist. Two word phrases beginning PO become words which start LO. Limiting her word choice to LO made this a wonderful challenge. How many could come up with 4 such phrases. Looking at a list with 1800 words which begin PO, I could not anything appealing aside from the 4 she chose. It ended up as a very straight forward solve working from corner to corner. Getting the theme early helped. Mileage may vary so let take a stroll together. No standout words but not any clunkers or cheater squares.
17A. "Don't waste your money on that pendant"? : LOCKET VETO (10). Pocket veto, It makes sene but i do not see it a real phrase.
23A. Spinner in a numbers game? : LOTTERY WHEEL (12). Pottery Wheel. Lottery wheel does seem more realistic.
51A. Hammock? : LOLLING PLACE (12). Polling Place. Yes this works too.
64A. Pruning ideology? : LOP CULTURE (10). Pop culture. A stretch.
And the reveal?
71A. Sport that hints at this puzzle's theme : POLO. Now you see it?
Across;
1. Bird that's a national symbol : KIWI. If you ever wondered WHY?
5. "Chasing Pavements" singer : ADELE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwTMyjTNBM8
10. Party time, casually : B-DAY. Do you all have parties on your birthday?
14. Eddie __, detective involved in the actual "French Connection" : EGAN. Played by Gene Hackman in the movie.
15. Spring bloomer : TULIP.
16. Former constellation that included Vela (the sails) : ARGO. For all you stargazer. LINK.
19. Insulated cable : CORD.
20. Thorough investigation : PROBE.\ Is this real SCIENCE?
21. Opposite of bumpy : EVEN.
22. Pants part : KNEE.
26. Elaborate in design : ROCOCO. How many of you have listened to Firesign Theater's the adventures of Nick Danger and the evil Rocky Rococo?
29. It's heard in a herd : MOO. Cute clue
30. Online service option : CHAT.
31. Daring exploit : GEST. I ususaly see it with the spelling GESTE like Beau Geste..
35. One eschewing leather, perhaps : VEGAN. Love the esCHEWing got a vegan clue.
39. Satisfied sounds : AHS.
40. Pub pick : PALE ALE. IPA more likely.
42. Presidential nickname : ABE.
43. Long bout : SIEGE. a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder
Synonyms access, bout, case, fit, seizure, attack, spell, turn
45. Start of something big? : MAXI. Nicely phrased though for some reason it may think of maxipad.
46. Quiets, in a way : OILS. Ahh, the squeaky part
47. Quirky : ODD.
49. Hills of Rome, e.g. : SEPTET. Seven: The seven hills are:
Aventine Hill (Latin, Aventinus; Italian, Aventino)
Caelian Hill (Cælius, Celio)
Capitoline Hill (Capitolinus, Campidoglio)
Esquiline Hill (Esquilinus, Esquilino)
Palatine Hill (Palatinus, Palatino)
Quirinal Hill (Quirinalis, Quirinale)
Viminal Hill (Viminalis, Viminale)
57. Beginning : AS OF.
58. Square figure : AREA. Cute again.
59. Early or late hr., depending : ONE A.M.
63. Go on : LAST.
66. Pulitzer-winning author James : AGEE. A regular here famous for The African Queen (1951) screen play and The Night of the Hunter (1955). Agee died in New York City on May 16, 1955. Three years later, in 1958, he was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his novel A Death in the Family.
67. Sure-footed critters : ASSES.
68. Composer Khachaturian : ARAM. And now for a musical interlude---doe the music sound familiar?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqg3l3r_DRI LINK
69. "What __ you thinking?" : WERE.
70. Not a hit, usually : B-SIDE.
Down:
1. Vegetation in underwater forests : KELP. The Beatles used this as their anthem when they became vegan. I bet the readers here could do better than THIS.
2. Aviation pioneer Sikorsky : IGOR. He moved to Connecticut and I had the pleasure of meeting him at my uncles house.
3. Chisholm Trail city : WACO.
4. Test pattern : INKBLOT. Another well clued fill.
5. U-verse provider : ATT.
6. Comforter : DUVET. French for DOWN.
7. Sorbonne student : ELEVE. French for student.
8. Large soda bottle label word : LITER. As in 2 or 3 liter size.
9. Henry Ford, e.g. : EPONYM. A fun word:a person after whom a discovery, invention, place, etc., is named or thought to be named: name or noun formed after a person.
10. Excavating aid : BACKHOE.Glad we had the lesson a few weeks ago.
11. Hive member : DRONE.
12. Think alike : AGREE.
13. Mountain air : YODEL. a fun LINK.
18. Fair-hiring agcy. : EEOC.
24. Draped garment : TOGA. Does everyone think of Animal House or the wonderful HBO series ROME, or PBS I, Claudius all well worth watching. You might have know all seven hills.
25. Zigzagged : WOVE.
26. Some TVs : RCAS.
27. Offhand greeting : OH HI.
28. Discounted buy : CASE. I guess he is referring to bulk buying,
32. Split-resistant wood : ELM. Elm wood is valued for its interlocking grain, and consequent resistance to splitting, with significant uses in wagon wheel hubs, chair seats and coffins. The bodies of Japanese Taiko drums are often cut from the wood of old elm trees, as the wood's resistance to splitting is highly desired for nailing the skins to them, and a set of three or more is often cut from the same tree. Wiki. Oo and I watched the drummers live, they are awesome.
33. See 61-Down : SEA. 61D, With 33-Down, part of it is now a desert : ARAL.
34. Stress : TAX. Don't tax yourself.
36. Trot, say : GAIT.
37. Skilled : ABLE.
38. Source of tweets : NEST.
40. Beginning to cure? : PEDI. Nicely done.
41. When repeated, Cult Jam singer : LISA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5m8lj5DCtI LINK.
44. Driver's gadget : GOLF TEE.
46. Source of flowing water : OPEN TAP.
48. "CSI" setting : DNA LAB. It was much more than that.
50. Sci. concerned with biodiversity : ECOLolgy.
51. Multiple Emmy-winning legal drama : LA LAW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7R6ycC_s1g
52. Missouri river : OSAGE.
53. Usually disappointed one : LOSER.
54. Sales figure : GROSS.
55. Side in a decades-long war : PEPSI. The inside STORY.
56. Tied : LACED. Shoes not sports.
60. Peseta replacer : EURO.
62. Exec's reminder : MEMO.
65. Purpose : USE.
Well there you have a bunch of really fun clues and a tight theme. Only 9 shopping days left and accept all gifts from all religious constructs. It is fun, Lemonade out. thanks Gail and of you who read, and especially those who write, even the foolish attacking trolls who hide behind anonymity. We have some great people to know if you open up.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle, Gail! Swell expo, Lemon!
Got the theme easily. Only unknowns were IGOR and LISA.
No problems otherwise.
Had two terrific grandchildren visit me after dentist appt. Attending college near Pasadena. (They live in Colorado. Hadn't seen one of them in five years or so.)
Had gluten-free Chinese food. Had a wonderful time!
Have a great day!
FIR, after many passes and w/o's. Had noticed the pun in the first theme entry, but hadn't realized the punnishness of the rest. Got to the reveal, and started looking for something horse POLO or water POLO or Marco POLO or even POLO shirt related. It wasn't until I wrote out a list of the longest woods (including the red herring of PALE ALE) that I finally got it!
ReplyDeleteINK BLOT I used in a poem posted well past midnite Wednesday the 14th.
{A, A-, A-, B.}
The DRONE pilots' association got into a huddle.
They AGREED that the DRONE of a DRONE should be subtle.
The sound should be less
Than a tweet from a NEST --
Except for one holdout, who made copters to YODEL!
Near the Missouri was the tribe of the OSAGE,
Far from the Southwest of thistle and sage!
Desert to prairie,
The change can be eerie,
Yet it's still very ODD that the OSAGE had no sage!
Sportsmen in Scotland club a ball on a GOLF TEE.
In England from horse mallets, POLO balls flee!
But still or in motion,
The challenging notion
Is New Zealand where the ball is a dodging KIWI!
Argus designed his new ship, the ARGO,
With ornamentation that verged on ROCOCO!
But Jason, the CAPTAIN
VETOed for a contraption,
At home not in Rome, but a sheep-town like WACO!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteSeemed easy for a Friday. I got the L/P switcheroo, but never noticed the following O. Cute theme answers, Gail. Tried MEGA before MAXI showed up, but that was my only writeover.
Don't know why, but LISA LISA evokes PIZZA PIZZA in my auditory memory. Weird? DW says I am.
ReplyDeleteA DNF today.....not much time to suss it out. Nailed the South, but everything else was plenty of ??????????'s.
Colder then Hades here with snow coming. But by Monday it will be in the hi 40's, lo 50's. An invitation to a good case of the FLU.
Another subpar Friday writeup.
ReplyDeleteWell I got the ' sorta' theme early with LOCKET VETO and LOTTERY WHEEL, replacing PO with LO but the POLO sport connection didn't come to mind. But even guessing that didn't help with the eventual completion. I had no idea who sang 'Chasing Pavements' or who or what Cult Jam was but ADELE was a good guess (ATT's U-Verse is my ISP) for the song and LISA perped herself in.
ReplyDeleteGEST- it fit and the perps were solid but it was an unknown. The South gave me the most trouble as I incorrectly was guessing DALLAS for DNA LAB, MULES then GOATS before ASSES, MCCOY before PEPSI (still losing that cola war- great clue)
D-O- PIZZA-PIZZA = Little Caesar's. My grandkids love the $5.00 Hot N Ready pepperoni pizza. No waiting. They taste okay-for kids. I don't like pepperoni. But $5.00, you can't beat the price. And there are no VEGANs in that group.
Fun Friday puzzle! Loved the theme, Gail and Lemonade - your write up was far from subpar as Anonymous claims :-)
ReplyDeleteUnknowns : IGOR and ARAM were perps. Wanted BASSALE instead of PALE ( my husband is a huge fan of IPA's. He claims the best he's had is from 'Isla Brewing Company' located on Isla Mujeres, MX. We vacation there twice a year. Paradise!)
Wanted a country for 55D. I'm more of a Coca-Cola person but my favorite cola is Dr Pepper, a PEPSI product :)
Rococo made me think of the book by Adriana Trigiani, one of my favorite authors. Her Big Stone Gap series is wonderful.
We have Seven Hills here in Cincinnati
Mount Adams, Walnut Hills, Mount Auburn, Vine Street Hill, Fairmount, Mount Harrison and College Hill ( used to travel that one back and forth to work - no fun on icy or snowy days!)
10A- "Do you all have parties on your birthday?" My birthday was yesterday and no party. A quiet dinner out with my husband where we stuffed ourselves to the point of blissful misery! We have a family Christmas gathering tomorrow so perhaps a little "partying" then :)
Another freezing cold day here but the forecast is calling for rising temps. I surely hope so.
Happy Friday to all!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis gave me quite the workout but ended well. I half-caught the theme but didn't connect the Po to Lo trick. Well done, Gail. I automatically enter Adele whenever there is a five letter singer clue. I do the same with Enya but Bono fooled me the other day, so it's not always a given.
Thanks, Gail, for a fun Friday challenge and thanks, Lemony, for the guided your.
It's sunny but quite cold. I think I'll hibernate today other than a trip to the mail box.
Have a great day.
"Henry Ford" is not an EPONYM; FORD is an EPONYM.
ReplyDeletebunny HBDTY and many more, celebrate until next year and then start out all over again.
ReplyDeleteWe do not pay much attention to insult anons, they are vastly outnumbered by nice people like you.
Anon at 8:57 you are technically correct but it still was not hard to get the answer was it?
ReplyDeleteI ultimately got it. Good one Gail.
Didn't know GEST and had a little trouble with EGAN, EVEN, ARGO and ARAM. Perps took care of the problems.
Today is National Chocolate Covered Anything day. I think I will go with a Hot Chocolate topped with whipped cream because of the cold temperatures today. 7 degrees at sun rise today.
Enjoy the day.
Nice write-up Lemon. Thank You for a FUN puzzle Gail.
ReplyDeleteFave today was INK BLOT since I solve in Black-Ink on Newsprint and sometimes my grid looks like a Rorschach INK BLOT Test.
Bunny M, Happy Belated Birthday. The dinner sounded like a party to me.
(Fact of the matter, I think a "Party For Two" are the "Best Parties").
Cheers!
The theme really helped me through this one. A couple of writeovers as I went through the woods and flowers. Fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip, Irish Miss. I Googled the tune today and did a head slap when her name POpped up. I also looked up U-verse, but got everything else without help.
ReplyDeletePepsi thoughts - 1) Nice SO to Lemonade with the Petitgrain (lemon) oil ingredient. 2) We didn't get Bern or Berne today, but Pepsi was invented in New Bern, NC, 3) Pepsi found their ownership of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell hindered their marketing to other restaurants. Many potential customers chose Coke products because Coke didn't operate competing restaurants. That led to the spinoff YUM! Brands.
Didn't know GEST, ELEVE or LISA Lisa. I care to learn two of the three.
Fun puzzle with just the right amount of crunch for a Friday. Thanks, Gail. And I thought the expo was fun and thoughtful - in other words, a typical Lemonade effort. Don't let the trolls get you down.
ReplyDeleteGood morning all. Thank you Gail and Lemonade.
Got 'er done without seeing the letter swap. And the very first clue I read was 71A ! Still took quite a bit of time at seventy four minutes, but I'm blaming at least part of that on the lack of sleep and meds I'm taking.
Held on to throw-in answers way too long. Popup was a solid no-proof answer for "Not a hit usually" but couldn't build anything around it. "Daring exploit" FEAT looked to be proven bu the crossing ELM and TAX. Also had pace before GAIT and others.
Glad I stuck with it and got the tada.
Happy Birthday Bunny !
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteAnother fine puzzle from Gail. I never quite know where she's headed, but know it will be a fun ride.
Got the theme halfway through. Had mules before ASSES, and lilac before TULIP, so that took a bit to unravel.
GEST was a new learning. All the theme phrases were very clever, especially LOLLING PLACE and LOP CULTURE.
-8ºF here this am.
Spitz
ReplyDeleteThe weather down here is "frightful!" ... (NOT minus 8 degrees frightful) ...
It is only going to get up to 76 degrees here in Tarpon Springs.
and Yeah, I'm wearing a T-Shirt, Shorts and Flip-Flops as I head to the Library.
You all, Up-North stay warm ... maybe I should go for a walk-on-the-beach.
Cheers!
If a bill is passed by Congress less than 10 days before the end of a legislative session, the President has the option of A) signing it into law, B) vetoing it, which potentially gives Congress a chance to override the veto, or C) doing nothing, in which case the bill dies at the end of the session with no possibility of an override. That last option is called a "pocket veto", since the President just stuck it in his pocket (so to speak) and so killed it.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 7:52--you misspelled "super".
ReplyDelete"Puzzling thoughts":
ReplyDeleteOk, I cheated; looked up ADELE and LISA to either get a foothold or confirm an answer. Several INK BLOTS especially in the center of the grid. I chose ASH as my three letter tree as I figured any wood they use to make baseball bats ought to be splinter-resistant. I, too, had BASS ALE for 40a. And even though it's still pretty warm here in S FL, I do tend to gravitate toward heavier beers in the winter. Just got a bomber of "Monks in the Trunk" Holiday Ale to enjoy at Xmas.
A CSO to me (my actual last name is one of the solve words in today's puzzle). A few of you with whom I have off/line communication know which one it is ... I will continue to hide 'neath my CM moniker until the time I get published with an xword here. That's on my bucket list for 2017 ...
A few odd clue/solves but one hell of a great theme - thanks to both Gail and Lemony for their yeoman efforts ...
9 days until Christmas and a think even less until Chanakuh (sp?). Not quite yet in the spirit of the season but I'll get there ...
A limerick I wrote several days ago; can't recall if I posted it here (don't think so); one I hope my buddy Tinbeni will enjoy:
Even though sales are now through the roof,
The distiller had made a big goof:
His LAB says, "alcohol
Levels started to fall."
Don't believe it? Do you need more proof?
Musings
ReplyDelete-Lemon’s summation on Gail’s wonderful puzzle works for me. LOLLING PLACE gave me the gimmick
-I’m subbing at AHS (Arlington High School, not the sound) today. This teacher starts her day with calculus kids and finishes with 7th graders.
-I’m certain you can tell where this LOP CULTURE exists
-Sew-on KNEE patches were a staple for me growing up
-SIEGES of Vicksburg and Petersburg ended our Civil War
-When you see GO ON, do you think of two kids on the prow of a 1912 doomed ocean liner?
-What the hell were you thinking? (2:22)
-ELEVES attend ECOLES except during ETE I guess
-Ultra Low Flow urinals are rated in LITERS/flush (Lpf)
-Running a BACKHOE is on my bucket list
-Yeah, ELM is pretty hard to split!
-The new source of tweets might be 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
-A student of mine did a project where she poured glasses of a dark cola from two different unlabeled bottles that both contained PEPSI. Her hypothesis was proven that almost all kids indicated a preference when there was none
-Gotta get back to 7th graders and parallel lines cut by a transversal
Way to go, Gail! I liked your puzzle and sashayed through the middle, bottom and NE. Seeing the POLO trick helped. But the NW held me hostage for a while. Since it was quite early, I returned to bed then two hours later, arose and saw it clearly. Erasing LILAC and EIDER gave me a fresh start and TULIP, DUVET, ADELE and LITER came through.
ReplyDeleteI pondered ADELE at first but was insisted on EIDER; wrong! And I hesitated on ROCOCO for a long time since I know it as ROCCOCO but that's obsolete.
Still, one bad cell as I had AAS not AHS. Drat!
What is wrong with stating Henry Ford's full name as EPONYM since we know it's the surname that's used?
Bunny:
Belated happy birthday!
Thank you, Lemonade, for your wise and enlightening commentary. According to my calendar Christmas and Hanukkah are on the same day.
Bill G:
That rain made it here last night and lowered the temps a bit.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
"PT2":
ReplyDeleteHope this limerick isn't too GROSS:
On the eve of his thirteenth B'DAY,
The young Jewish boy pulled his DUVET
Way up over his head
Then looked down, and he said,
"Am I really a man now? Oy vey!"
Anon at 10:25; that was sweet, thank you. Yes this year the two holidays begin on December 24.
ReplyDeleteI will give you the link to an explanation of sorts HERE if you want more information, read it. Suffice to say, the Jewish calendar run in a 19 year cycle with 7 years that have leap months added.
Well, I only made it half-way through this Friday toughie, although I got a few more after I took a little break. But still had to cheat in the end because the singers eluded me, but I did figure out the theme after getting LOP CULTURE. So, in the end, a fun puzzle--thanks, Gail--even if a bit challenging for me. And great expo, as always, Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday, Bunny.
And glad you had a nice day, Fermatprime.
I have to make green beans for my Gourmet Club dinner tonight--thank goodness, they gave me the simplest dish since my cooking skills deteriorated during the years of Rowland's disability. We also do a "White Elephant" gift exchange every Christmas. My gift is going to be a Sudoku book I just bought, only to be given two additional Sudoku books as a gift from friends. I think I may be doing too many puzzles these days. Maybe I should start reading books again!
Have a great day, everybody.
Fun Friday cw! I confidently inked in "mega" instead of maxi, which created the inkblot until "tax" worked its way in.
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Birthday, Bunny. I've been to Isla five or six times, and my brother and his family (Iowans) have been going there in January (no wonder) for over 40 years. For years they've stayed at the Posada del Mar, but now my brother and his wife stay at the Hotel Francis Arlene while his daughters/families are in condos. Where do y'all stay while there?
Great and informative write-up, Lemonade!
I liked this puzzle; I usually like Gail's work. I got the P to L letter change but didn't notice the second letter is always O. Now I fully understand POLO. I hope I can remember GEST.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Bunny M. My wife and I usually celebrate our birthdays the way you did.
It's good that you had a wonderful time, fermatprime, and got to visit with your grandchildren.
Dang it's cold. Best wishes to you all.
oc4beach, you may have trouble getting whipped cream for your Hot Chocolate due to this shortage.
ReplyDeleteOh, and another LOP CULTURE: Off with their Head!(0:18).
ReplyDeleteLearning moment: Rococo.
ReplyDelete2nd learning moment: Tiepolo definition...
3rd learning moment: Polo is short for Pickles Only Live Once?
4th learning moment: Sorry I missed your Birthday Bunny...
And,,, what Marco thinks about all this...
Original Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in the Wurzburg Residenz Palace.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a fun puzzle, Gail, and a great write-up, Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteA little sticky at first but it all fell together with no cheats.
I wasn't familiar with EPONYM, so I looked it up and also looked up Henry Ford.
Fordism is an EPONYM, named for Henry Ford:
Fordism describes modern economic and social systems based on industrialized, standardized mass production and mass consumption. The concept (named for Henry Ford) is used in social, economic, and management theory about production, working conditions, consumption, and related phenomena, especially regarding the 20th century.
Enjoy the snow, everyone.
This was the easiest Friday puzzle I've attempted to solve in a long time. Thank you, Gail. I needed your expo to understand the theme, Lemonade. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteA few bad choices: quilt/DUVET, Mega/MAXI, SEsTET/SEPTET. The central south was blank until I came here and checked the grid. Not as many cheats as usual for Friday.
Belated Happy Birthday wishes, Bunny! Good thing you went out last night because we're supposed to get freezing rain tonight!
Tin: someday would you please take a walk on the beach for me and let me know how much I enjoyed it? Thank you.
Oh what a night! (What song is that from?) My security alarm went off at 11:50, couldn't get it to stop, didn't hear the phone call from the monitoring company so I had 6 firemen here a bit after midnight! One of my CO sensors was going off. They couldn't find any CO so let the monitors know things were OK and they left. In the meantime they had called my daughter. A couple minutes after the men left the alarm went off again and daughter was in the house checking to see if I was OK. She called the installers who told her which wire to cut to disarm the sensor. I called them this morning, one sensor was failing and all 3 will be replaced on Tuesday. That was an awful 45 minutes and I hope I never experience it again.
Good Friday evening to you and a good weekend.
Pat
>2 hours for a DNF! :-(
ReplyDeleteI AGREE (mostly) what Big E said - up until the bit about Little Caesars (yuck!). I didn't think of MCCOY, but KOREA [I think, technically, still at war]. Talk about an INK BLOT.
My DNF is central West - I didn't know ROCOCO and never saw RCAS hence SIEGE (I was going w/ binge) was right out.
Thanks Gail - You won but it was fun. I liked the POLO theme and there's plenty of sparkle / misleading clues. Thanks Lem for the super (LOL@ 10:52anon) expo [esp CASE - I'm like, "what? Not CASh?" (local liquor store discounts for Cash)]
WOs: COax (co-axial cables) b/f CORD; Korea; and SEsTET.
ESPs: [names!!!....]
Cheat: LISA x2
Fav: EPONYM - I love that word and it's cousin Aptronym.
{A, B+, A, B - Thanks for the daily grin OKL} {C.Moe: Chuckle, LOL}
Hondo - isn't everything colder than hell? EVEN 40C? :-). BTW, who else has LITER / Litre; meter/metre spelling issues?
Jinx - Thx. I didn't know that re: YUM! but always wondered how KFC/Lays/Pepsi got together. Not that I cared too much - I own KO :-)
HG - I'm going to share that PEPSI challenge w/ Eldest. Her psych club could do that and collect data from the HS - though I wonder if those kids know the 'Cola Wars' of the '80's.
Happy belated BDAY Bunny M! CED brought the cake (and then took the cake w/ Marco POLO link - LOL CED)
For all but Tawnya will enjoy this most... It wasn't LOP, nor POP CULTURE, but this BSIDE that killed my dog.
Cheers, -T
Pat: December '63. I know and like that song. Cheers, -T
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the Luzzle. Thanks Gail and Lemon. I noticed the L/L swap early on but didn't include the 'O' in my thinking. Everything still worked out OK.
ReplyDeleteSince the rain seems to be over, I headed off to the suLermarket for some weekly shoLLing. Even when Barbara's feeling non-nauseated, she doesn't have much aLLetite for normal food. She asked sLecifically for vanilla Ludding, Coke, oranges, vanilla ice cream, white graLes, etc. I was Lleasantly surLrised to notice how the errand ran unusually smoothly. I made all the lights on green, found a close Larking Llace and everybody seemed esLecially Lolite and friendly: Lots of Thank you, excuse me, etc.
Our tree, a Noble Fir, was delivered while I was away and looks bare but shaLely.
I hoLe you all are having a great holiday season. Thanks for being the kind and thoughtful Leople that you are. I very much enjoy your comLany.
Lemon @12:01 pm
ReplyDeleteRemember there are some-of-us who celebrate Festivus Day!
Next Friday, December 23rd is Festivus Day!
and YES I have decorated my Festivus Day Pole.
Super tough but ultimately solvable. Clever and well clued. If this is Friday, what does Saturday bring?
ReplyDeleteContext for Tin - now do you see? :-) -T
ReplyDeleteBrrrr!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust for the hell of it
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Gail Grabowski, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a puzzle. Got through it slowly, but decisively. Got it done. Could not figure out the theme until I came here. Very clever. Much more clever than I am.
Several unknowns that perps fixed: DUVET, EGAN, and LISA.
Liked KIWI. I actually got it right off the bat.
SIEGE was a good one.
Our friend ARAL again. I feel I know that place and its history quite well.
PALE ALE was a good one, except I never order that. I like Amber or IPA. Shiner Bock is decent and Dos Equis XX Ambar is great. Of course when I get to Pennsylvania it is Yuengling.
Much to do tonight. Having about 15 people over tomorrow for dinner.
See you tomorrow (If I have time, or Sunday).
Abejo
( )
The Ford cars and all the Ford brand names are all eponyms.
ReplyDeleteOK. Fool me once, shame etc. Fool me twice, shoot me. Remember C-Moe's alphabet trick and how I ran out of gas?
ReplyDeleteI never got to X, for MAXI instead of MAGI and TAG.
That was the only square I missed after being completely dead. EEOC saved me, PROBE led to INKBLOT and LOCKET. I had the PO for LO idea early. I could go on and on.
Gail and Lemonade excellent work. I thought there'd be moaning and groaning over the difficulty. I sure had problems.
I got VETO and LOTTERY driving over the Skyway bridge. Btw, I have to out Tin. In his anxious ness to hoist the yardarm he claimed sunset around Tampa to be 430 pm.
Bzzzz. 530 pm, it was setting in my mirror on the other(H. Franklin) bridge.
Happy birthday Bunny. Don't be a stranger. Liked all the licks.
WC
Ps. Getting this XW completely changed my day. That ever happen? Misty, don't give up.
PPS. I get Natick. So, is the opposite of a Natick a Chelsea. My Chelsea was eleve, French 101.
Crossword Corner (aka "Zhouqin" ) Burnikel on the Saturday New York Times puzzle. It was a pleasant romp for me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTin, I meant all of it fro, Bacchanalians to festive followers of Festivus. Wiccans Ba'hai ...enjoy all of you. Life is short live it.
ReplyDeleteAbejo - For some reason I got KIWI straight away too. I'll order a PALE ALE if I know it's going to be a long night; keep it light. To me, Shiner falls in that category (good TX beer tho). I love IPAs - I'm having one from PA (Victory's Hop Devil) now. Try that next time you're there - 2 will knock you on your butt; 3? You post at 3:30a :-). Cheers, -T
ReplyDeleteA late posting by Moi, because it took me just too damn long to complete today's pzl.
ReplyDeleteI was held up by a number of my own shortcomings and ignorances, but also by my unwillingness to let it stand with CASE at 28-D. Anonymous T is right; the fill should have been CASH.
Ah, well...
TX Ms- always nice to find a fellow fan of Isla Mujeres! We stay at Color de Verano :)
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the birthday wishes!!
Got that LO was starting the theme answers, but took awhile to get the PO LO theme.
ReplyDeleteHand up for Mega before MAXI. Didn't get LAST and AS OF for awhile.
Never heard of GEST or LISA which made for trouble in the middle.
Once again I got stuck on SIDE B instead of B SIDE!
Did anyone else think APPLE as a side in a decades old war? After getting LOP CULTURE the P was in the right place for it.
PS Thanks Lemonade for the KELP song parody!
ReplyDelete