Theme: BREAK-IN
Across
17. *Source of money for Medicare : PAYROLL TAX. Tax Break. ’Tis the season.
24. *Serving-mom-breakfast-in-bed occasion : MOTHER'S DAY. Daybreak.
37. *Asian plant named for the shape of its pink and white flowers : BLEEDING HEART. Heartbreak.
50. *Local hoosegow : COUNTY JAIL. Jailbreak.
61. Rest .. or, literally, what the last word of the answers to starred clues can do : TAKE A BREAK. Tax break is two words, all the others are one word.
Typical Tuesday level solve, with a few pauses due to a couple of unknowns.
1. Concrete support rod : REBAR. Short for RE-enforcing BAR - made of steel and used in foundations and retaining walls.
6. Aptly named Olympic sprinter Usain __ : BOLT
14. Outwit, as a police tail : ELUDE
15. Slushy drink brand : ICEE
16. "Here comes trouble!" : UH-OH
19. Garden tool : RAKE
20. River to the Seine : OISE. Perps required.
21. Five-spots : ABES. Abraham Lincoln is on the five-dollar bill.
22. Pull a fast one on : CON
23. Cut with scissors : SNIP
28. Tied up in knots : TENSE
30. Land bordering Suisse : ITALIE. Suisse is the French word for Switzerland, Italie is French for Italy.
31. Rodeo skill : ROPING
36. Exited, with "out" : WENT
41. Tragic fate : DOOM
42. Signify : DENOTE
43. Ready if needed : ON CALL
45. Rises dramatically : LOOMS
55. Russian river : URAL
56. Wee bit : TAD
57. This, in Tijuana : ESTO
59. Fishing supply : BAIT
63. Ice formation : FLOE
65. Archery practice facility : RANGE
66. Snorkeling gear : FINS
67. Dosage amts. : TSPS
68. Joins a poker game : ANTES
Down
1. Share on Facebook, as a friend's picture : REPOST
1. Share on Facebook, as a friend's picture : REPOST
2. "Seinfeld" regular : ELAINE
3. Joins a poker game : BUYS IN
4. TV spot sellers : AD REPS
5. Old Olds creation : REO
6. "The Hobbit" hero : BILBO
7. Four pairs : OCTET
8. Dog lead : LEASH
9. __-Mex cuisine : TEX
11. L.A. Times publishing family name : CHANDLER.
12. Just fine : A-OK
13. Baseball scoreboard letters : RHE. Runs, Hits, Errors.
18. Flee : LAM. Didn't know LAM could be a verb.
22. Dated PC monitor : CRT. Cathode Ray Tube.
25. Four pairs : EIGHT
26. "It __ over till it's over": Berra : AIN'T
27. Up to now : YET
29. Before, in odes : ERE
32. "Hard to believe, but ... " : ODDLY
33. Baked dessert : PIE
34. Homey lodging : INN
35. Park __: airport facility : N GO. Now I get it.
37. U2 lead singer : BONO
38. Phrasing style : LOCUTION
39. Issues (from) : EMANATES
40. Sushi fish : EEL
41. Medic : DOC
44. Inc., in the U.K. : LTD
46. Beat to the finish line : OUTRAN
47. "Murder on the __ Express" : ORIENT
48. Get by : MANAGE
49. Quenches : SLAKES. If you say so.
51. Denim trousers : JEANS
52. Invite to the penthouse : ASK UP
53. To-do list bullets : ITEMS
54. Mauna __ : LOA
59. Favorite pal, in texts : BFF. Best Friends Forever.
60. __ Baba : ALI
61. Preteen king : TUT
62. Bikini half : BRA
50 comments:
Hi everyone!
Thanks to Ray, Mark and mb.
Nice puzzle. No problems.
Have a great day!
{B+, B+, A-.}
Bumper stickers some people like, ODDLY:
"I brake for kitties", "I'll brake for a doggy!"
On my own CAR,
The sticker's a star --
Mine proudly reads, "I BREAK for coffee!"
There is a sweet girl I know named ELAINE
Who lives between D and F streets, on E Lane.
She's an Internet whore
That guys all adore --
They afterwards say, "I've been e-Lain!"
When DOC plays poker, he first BUYS IN
Then ANTES up, and orders a gin.
He'll ASK UP a girl
To give her a whirl --
Bets, booze, and broads, he loves to BUY SIN!
Good morning all. Thank you Ray, Mark and Melissa.
What fermatprime said, except KUROSAWA. Always want an I for the second letter.
Took Melissa's link and went off reading. Didn't know about Charles Thomson.
Good morning!
Tried CRANDALL and ON HAND before the perps straightened me out. Didn't help that I read "exited" as "excited." Thought KUROSAWA was spelled KiRaSAWA. Still, finished in normal Tuesday time, so life is good.
Argyle, was that you? You sound different today. Got a cold?
Taxing day. Gotta run...
Really bummed about CrosSynergy not supplying the Washington Post with crossword content any longer. Have done both the LAT and WP puzzles for years every morning. Now the WP crossword is the LAT crossword. Guess I'll have to cough up the $$$ and subscribe to NYT. Not sure I'm in that league as a solver. Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Took a while to settle on the first letter of KCAR. Didn't know CHANDLER, but got it on perps. Nice theme and reveal.
Not on my wavelength today. First, the gutterals like UHOH are to me what ice in a single-batch Bourbon is to Tin.
Had no idea that there was a flower called BLEEDING HEART. I thought of the late Allan B. Colmes. Never heard of BILBO, KUROSAWA or LOCUTION. I also don't think of LOOMS as "rises dramatically". Hovers dramatically, maybe. Finally, I think that the clue for AOK would have been better as "just fine at NASA", although that one was easy to get from perp hints.
Oh well. At least it is going to be 75 and sunny today here in horse country. Thanks Melissa Bee for your usual fun review.
Good Morning:
No real stumbling blocks but a couple of w/o's, namely, shake/elude and riding/roping. Theme "eluded" me until the reveal which is always a plus, in my book. A pleasant Tuesday treat.
Thanks, Ray and Mark, for an enjoyable solve and thanks, Melissa, for the summary.
YR, I agree with you on "Feud"; Susan Sarandon nails the voice, inflection and mannerisms of Bette Davis perfectly but, while she's very good, I'm having a hard time accepting Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford. That could be because Crawford's public behavior as Mrs. Alfred Steele and a formidable business woman is not how she was perceived, particularly after the publication of "Mommie Dearest." I think Lange's portrayal is based on the Crawford the public saw, not the real, off-screen Crawford. Perhaps, as the story develops, we'll see Joan's true colors emerge. BTW, I misspoke in my original mention of this series as I had the actors' roles reversed! 🙃
Have a great day.
Got thoroughly stuck in the NE corner. Tried OMNI and never thought beyond that for the car, I know nothing about baseball, so thought of INS for that one so of course couldn't come up with RAKE, UHOH, CHANDLER, or the Japanese gentleman.
Everything else fell in nicely. LOCUTION is related to elocution, and other combinations having to do with speech.
Good day to all!
Computer on the fritz so did the puzzle on my phone today. Tiny screen! BILBO and KUROSAWA were 100% perps. Needed the reveal to see the theme. Enjoyable solve. Thanks for the expo, Melissa.
Enjoy the day!
Good Morning.
Nicely done, Ray and Mark. A couple of places slowed my success. I, however, enjoyed the bit of a crunch for me on a Tuesday. Slow start in the NW as I wanted Orne for OISE and evade for ELUDE. Never saw Park N GO. I was on the right track as I wanted "n fly" and never adjusted.
Nice explication, Melissa. Thank you.
We're in for a return to winter--or whatever this has been in the Midwest, posing as Winter.
It's a sunny one today so far, and I do love those. Have a fine day.
I enjoyed Melissa's write-up more than my solving experience.
Needed ESP to get KUROSAWA, CHANDLER, OISE and LOCUTION. On a Tuesday puzzle, that's a lot.
Cheers!
Musings
-After the Sun sets on Mercury, DAY BREAK comes 58 Earth days later
-Tying REBAR is one reason my back and I don’t get along
-There’s an old golfing joke about stepping on a RAKE
-The cat beat the CON
-Reviewers said Tina Fey was about the only thing good about WTF
-Sushi by any other name
-The thousands of new Hispanics in our town exemplify E Pluribus UNUM
-My first FINS today were $5 bills not snorkeling equipment
-My OCTET had four pairs - tenors, leads, baritones and basses
-A week from today there’ll be a lot of these at school
-I doubt Levi Strauss imagined his mining camp JEANS would become - jeggings
-ORIENT Express SPOILER ALERT – They all killed Ratchett
Good morning everyone.
Straightforward solve today with a kind of a cute gimmick. No searches or erasures needed. Got KUROSAWA and CHANDLER from the perps.
BH gets her left knee joint replaced tomorrow. Hoping that all will go well.
Good morning all
Thanks Ray and Mark for a fun Tuesday CW with a great theme. Thanks Melissa for the cute title and nice write up!
The NE corner gave me a little trouble but thanks to perps was finally able to get KUROSAWA and CHANDLER, both unknowns. OISE was another perp.
BLEEDINGHEART is one of my favorites in my garden. So beautiful and easy to care for. I only wish it was in bloom longer but it is stunning
Link
Murder On The ORIENT Express is one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels. I think I've read all of her books; it's hard to pick a favorite!
Since our wedding anniversary is May 12th, it always falls near or even on MOTHERSDAY and DH and I celebrate by traveling somewhere. The last four years have been to Mexico. I feel guilty not seeing my Mom that day but she always says "I'd rather be in Mexico, too! " She understands and we celebrate MD with her and our daughters before we leave and FaceTime on the actual day of.
ParkNGO- this reminds me of our trip to Isla Mujeres in 2015 for our 25th anniversary. We always use the Park n Go service at CVG. That year, as we were stowing our luggage on the shuttle van, DH realized he'd left the "good" camera- his Cannon DSLR- at home. We'd planned a photo shoot on the beach complete with our nice outfits and props (I'd made some glittery silver 25 numbers and signs that said "25 years and counting... We Still Do") and he was going to use the tripod and camera remote to get pics without having to pay for a photographer. This was a big UHOH moment for him, lol. But we made do with my little point and shoot camera and its timer and our photos turned out AOK :) The sunset was gorgeous that evening and we had so much fun. Now whenever we get on the shuttle at the airport, we joke about the time he forgot the camera ;)
Rain, rain and more rain here. We had a nice reprieve Sunday- it was sunny and 65. I'm now anxious for more of that beautiful weather but it doesn't look like it'll happen anytime soon.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Ray Hedrick and Mark McClain, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.
Puzzle had some tough spots for a Tuesday, but Perps helped.
Theme was clever. Figured it out after I was all done.
A few unknowns: BILBO, KUROSAWA, CHANDLER
Confidently wrote in LEVIS. Fixed that to JEANS later on.
Also wrote in ESTA and made that ESTO after LOA appeared.
Liked the K CAR writeup that Melissa added. I drove a K Car for a few years in California. I liked it. It was a company car but I drove it every day for work. Had a stick shift. Got decent mileage.
I hope to start my tomato and peppers today. Indoors of course. See you tomorrow.
Abejo ( )
Wow, starting out I had Nada. So I went East as old men should and finally came back.
Heck. It could be Kramer, George or ELAINE. I worked up from SNIP.
Owen, enjoyed your'licks today. Especially, that last one.
Mbee, enjoyed the write-up. Thanks again to whoever in here pointed me to that cute NYT xword with Fu Manchu etc in it.
WC
Excusez-moi for reposting. I just remembered Melissa's link of Kurosawa. I see that he did "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky
That would be worth seeing. I'm also interested in anyone's take on "The Shack"
WC
Tuesday crunch for me today. Thanks for the fun Ray and Mark, and Melissa Bee. I had a D'oh moment when I saw your explanation for NGO (non-government organization was just not making sense)! Also loved that FLOE link - reminded me of the ice bergs that are seen off the coast of Newfoundland in the spring and early summer.
Officially a FIW. I couldn't get a Tada and turned on the red letter help, revealing outrun should have been past tense OUTRAN, which corrected Runge to RANGE. Plus, I had Oh Oh before UH OH which required the unknown KUROSAWA had to be corrected.
Bunny M beat me in linking the bleeding heart for Jinx. I have them in my garden also. I love Agatha Christie books too.
Our fish-EEL had no S for our Anon from yesterday.
I tried Sates before SLAKES fit the spot. LOCUTION was not a familiar term to me (although Elocution is) and neither was Hoosegow. I had RBI before RHE and Esta before ESTO
Like Jinx, I don't think immediately of LOOMS as "rises dramatically". I associate a sense of DOOM with it.
Too much to say today so I will separate my posts and not go over my limit.
So cool to see Rainman (Ray) get published with Mark. The Corner is expanding its reach. Thanks guys
What a lovely sashay through the grid today! Thank you, Ray and Mark. And thank you, Melissa for an elegant expo.
Actually the NW started slowly until MOTHERSDAY appeared then the rodeo began. I've learned BILBO from CWS and CRT thanks to Argyle's patient explanations time and again. KUROSAWA and CHANDLER filled themselves and I finally remembered KCAR. It used to be advertised at Kmart for a while.
Charles Wilbur:
The Shack is wonderful! I highly recommend it. It is powerful and the acting is first class.
As for The Feud, I didn't care for it and turned it off after a short time. While both Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon are fine actresses, I thought the script did not do justice to either Joan Crawford or Bette Davis. Since I've seen so many of their movies I couldn't see a relation between the former and the latter.
Have a terrific day, everyone!
Oops, I meant Wilbur Charles.
This Canadian is not familiar with ABES. Our five dollar bill has Sir Wilfred Laurier on the front and we would not think of calling if a Wilf. LOL. If we get a five dollar coin, maybe we will call if a FOONIE.
We have both LTD and INC here (typically Canadian in trying to keep everyone happy!)
I agree with Melissa about LAM as a verb not being very familiar. On the LAM refers to fleeing to me. But according to Merriam Webster dictionary, Lam as a verb means thrash or strike, but there is also a secondary meaning of flee hastily or scram.
TSPS as dosage amts. are not recommended as they are not very accurate. Household tsps. can vary drastically and cause under/over dosage plus TSP and TBSP can be confused or misread. mL is used in medical/hospital terminology. 1 TSP = 5 mL (if you must use a TSP make sure it is an accurate one (sometimes supplied with the bottle of medicine).
LiquidMedication
Canada is well-known for its universal health care coverage not Medicare. Well it has its flaws, everyone is covered. It is deducted as part of federal and provincial income tax on PAYROLL. Maximum premium in Ontario is $900/year/person and that is for income over $200,000. If income is $20,000 or less, premium is 0.
Don't all move to Canada at once!!
Have a great day.
Best wishes for BH's knee surgery, Spitzboov.
Trying to catch up,
just read last nites late posts
& thought I would test how many links dumps me in the spamfilter...
(This is two)
Anonymous T, re: F troop Bugle
Funny, but I remember a completely different scenario
where the Hekowi get there name when stepping in to a clearing.
(in color, & I only had a Black & white set back then...)
Don't remember this one...
Also, I had a HUGE crush on Wrangler Jane way back when...
Sadly, my research has revealed she passed last year.
expand the comments to see the words to the song, "A girl called Melody."
I found today's CW rather easy. I got Chandler immediately. Also got bleeding heart too, beautiful flower.
I haven't seen "Feud" yet, had company for dinner but taped it.
Don't forget to watch NCIS New Orleans tonight, Irish Mist. Chelsea, my daughter will be on playing the ex-girlfriend of Pride, (she's his wife in real life).
Now off to vote.
Hey, thanks for the nice write-up and comments! This doggone puzzle has been floating around for over a year, so glad it finally sees the light of day. Give Ray credit for coming up with the theme on this one, and we batted it back and forth among ourselves and Rich for some time. I'm kinda knowledgeable about gardening, but I honestly don't know a bleeding heart from a dahlia . . . our clue was "One overly sympathetic to the downtrodden" which seems to have fallen to the ax of political correctness. Oh, well.
3 link test...
Taxbreak?
Daybreak?
(better title: Oh what a beautiful morning...)
Heartbreak:(
Odd to find so much ignorance of hobbitry, given 6 major movies in the past few years.
LAM seems to have an odd pedigree. It was originally a verb meaning to hit or strike, sometimes in the context of escaping, so I guess that is the link to the modern phrase "on the lam" (19th Century). Its more modern morph into a fully conjugatable verb (lams, lamming, lammed) meaning "to run/escape" is chiefly N. Amer.
Its origin can be traced to the origins of Modern English - from the Danish "to paralyze". So the invention of the Taser to stop convicts going on the lam must have been inspired by an etymologist.
Jailbreak?
Do I really have to take a break?
Mark - I like your clue much better. Thanks for stopping in.
A slight crunch to a well clued and constructed Tuesday puzzle. A pleasure to solve, even for Tuesday.
My only criticism is for 11D, not a great clue, would have been a better one if it had referenced FRIENDS as was done for SEINFELD in 2D.
But that's picking a nit.
Thank you Ray, Mark and Melissa.
Like desper-O, I thought KUROSAWA was KURaSAWA so of course screwed up at 22D with RAN over CON. (I knew RAN was an inferior choice.)
Otherwise a smoooth solve!
Spitz ~ Best of luck to Betty tomorrow!
Lemony ~ Thanks for pointing out that today's Ray is Rainman.
Trubrit ~ I'll be sure to watch tonight. I have enjoyed Scott Bakula very much ever since I saw him in "Men of A Certain Age.
Mark Mc ~ Thanks for stopping by.
Nice Cuppa ~ I know Bilbo Baggins only from crossword puzzles. I wouldn't know a Hobbit if I fell over one.
CED ~ Thanks for all of the cute kitties. Now, how about some equal time, if you get my drift! 🐶
Fun Tuesday puzzle with just enough crunch to make it a little challenging. I thought I had nailed it, but just to make sure googled KUROSAWA, whose name I remembered but misspelled with an O (Kor). Other than that all was well--Yay! Perps helped me get CHANDLER, and I remembered BILBO and ELAINE. Only I forgot to go back to see how the theme worked--so thanks, Melissa, for explaining it. And thanks Ray and Matt, and Matt, especially, for checking in with us this morning.
Have a sunny day, everybody!
Does anyone else remember the time Radar got SLAKEd in an episode of M*A*S*H?
Always like seeing Bilbo (or any other LOTR person, for that matter).
G'day, all.
Aw, comeon Irish Miss,Gimme a break!
Sheesh!
Give it a rest!
Oh well,I wanted to test the spamfilter with a 5 link post anyway...
Can we still be friends?
Like Gary, I had fins before abes for $5 bills. For my TV terminology. Elaine was a main character, not a regular on Seinfeld. A regular would someone more like George's dad, n'est=ce pas?
CED @ 2:22 ~ Every link was great but the first one made me laugh so hard my tummy hurt, and the last one warmed the cockles of my Irish ☘ heart! Thank you for brightening a rainy, dreary day. ☔️
I thought this was trickier than usual for a Tuesday but maybe that's just me. Thanks Ray, Mark and Melissa.
CED, good stuff! Thanks.
Gary, you too! Say, can anyone explain to me how a young woman gets into or out of those tight pants?
I can imagine the nickname "Abes" for a five-dollar bill but I've never used it or heard it.
Spitz, good thoughts for BH and the surgery. I hope all goes smoothly.
Irish Miss, I liked "Men of A Certain Age" too.
"Murder on the Orient Express" was a really enjoyable murder/mystery movie.
Sorry to regress,
but recent Blog comments had me internet surfing again...
Don't want to suffer alone: The Tomahawk Trio playing at the Playbrave Club?
(trivia question, who was the actor that played the general?)
& wasn't there some discussion recently about Ursala Andress Bikini in Dr.No?
But worst of all, another childhood hero shot to hell...
(note: I justify all these ridiculous posts by saying, "I was taking a break...")
Bill G, "jeggings," think of them as a cross between stretchy leggings and denim fabric, but with a zipper.
Hey Rainman, good to see ya. You and Mark did a nice job. I like the BREAK theme. The woman who cleans my teeth is named Dawn; I called her Daybreak once and she laughed, but I won't do it again.
Thanks for doing the write-up, melissa.
I knew Kurosawa and enjoyed his famous movie The Seven Samurai. I also enjoyed reading The Hobbit so I knew Bilbo. His name always makes me giggle.
Looking forward to watching NCIS: New Orleans tonight, trubrit.
Speaking of K-cars, what do you get when you cross a Plymouth Valiant with a Mercury Comet? A Vomet.
I declare SLAKE to be the word of the day.
Best wishes to you all.
Utterly cool Trubrit; their ratings will be up tonight anyway. I am sure you will get several opinions tomorrow.
Cartboy, certainly the cluing and the special types of puzzles such as the rebus make the NYT more difficult. But, if you do them daily and review the correct grid as well the commentary from the various NYT blogs your solving will improve. There are many here who solve both (Barry G. where are you?) IMO
Mark, we always appreciate comments from the constructors, so keep pumping out the puzzles and remember the Corner.
CED, you are bad!
What did I do?...
I am bad?
Pls dissect my posts to explain "bad."
Where did I go wrong?
(Sheesh, you'd think I asked for whirled peas, or something...)
The NE was only solved by perps. CHANDLER was an unknown and though I had heard of KUROSAWA I only knew how to pronounce it not spell it. But I blew the puzzle anyway as I misread the clue for 36A as 'excited' instead of 'exited' and filled 'BENT, as in 'bent out of shape'. I never heard of LOCUTION, only E-LOCUTION, but it fit.
The K-CAR and the DODGE MINIVAN are what 'saved' Chrysler, temporarily. They died anyway.
CanadianEh!- ABE=$5, JACKSONs are $20S, GRANTS are $50s, BENJAMINS ARE $100S. Don't worry about GROVERS, McKINLEYS, MADISONS, CHASES, or WOODROWs.
Thanks Big Easy. I will try to remember LOL.
Why do some presidents rate?
CED, regarding the actor portraying the General: I'm pretty sure his last name is Montgomery and his first name may be James. Later on, he had a recurring role as Lt. Frank Luger on Barney Miller.
We are getting a woman, Viola Desmond, on our new $10 bill in 2018.
Hi All!
Late to the party (even later 'cuz of all of CED's links!). Thanks Mark & Ray (and Lem for pointing out Ray is Rainman) for a Tuesday with crunch and for swinging by. Like Big E., my NE was a perp-fest [I was only sure of RAKE and RHE - and dyslexia had Holy Roman Empire :-)].
Thanks mb for a fun expo - the ICE(e) FLOE was cool. I heard that Engines of Ingenuity; the program is on Houston Public Media 2x a day [morning and evening commute].
WOs: HRE b/f RHE and I almost did SoAKES again. Thank goodness a) we had that last week and b) I knew URAL (after 2 perps :-))
ESPs: OISE, 10&11d.
Sparkle. LOCUTION. Clechos for 7 & 25d and 3d/68a were cute; was ABES/FINS supposed to be another one, er Fiver?
Fav: BILBO. Great book. And, by putting letters in squares, I realized I read it as Biblo the whole time.
{B+, B-, A}. Also, I liked the bumper sticker.
Good luck to BH Spitz!
Funnies: Bunny M's camera story & C, Eh!'s FOONIE.
HG - did you find your inner Splynter? :-)
CED, you took IM's BAIT... Cute pix. And all the F-Troop! Loved it.
UHOH, DOOM LOOMS re: a link to POST... I can only think of Rabbi Tuckman for SNIP. It AINT your HEART BLEEDING...
Cheers, -T
NiceCuppa - I forgot to mention, good to see you back... Where'd you go?
Trubrit - NCIS isn't my cupp'a, but I found it and watched the first few minutes. You must be proud!
Cheers, -T
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