google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday, May 21, 2017, Agnes Davidson and C.C. Burnikel

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May 21, 2017

Sunday, May 21, 2017, Agnes Davidson and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: HOLY MOLY


Eleven days ago, it was my privilege to blog a fun Wednesday offering by our blog mistress C.C. and fellow blogger/constructor Agnes Davison - Irish Miss to us regulars (and irregulars for that matter).  (Correction: Davidson.)

Today our own version of Cagney and Lacy present us with nine substitutions where, as you can see in the grid below, an H in one word of a common phrase is changed to an M which results in a silly phrase and accompanied by clever cluing. 


Getting the gimmick early facilitated the solve and a good time was had by all! Let's see what silliness tempered with expertise our friends presented in today's themers, some of which actually exist:

22. Check for doneness? : FEEL THE MEAT (HEAT) - This man does this for a living




24. Drama written in code? :  MORSE (HORSE) PLAY - Here ya go!



36. President's daily delivery? : MAIL (HAIL) TO THE CHIEF - If you send MAIL TO THE CHIEF of the Winnebago tribe in Winnebago, NE, he'll pick it up here


51. North Pole yoga need? : SANTA MAT (HAT)


67. Iditarod trainee? : MUSH (HUSH) PUPPY - How cute is this Siberian Husky?


81. Ace accountant : TAX MAVEN (HAVEN) - A company in Manimajra Chandigarh, India


93. Cat's tail, maybe? : MOUSE (HOUSE) DETECTIVE


110. Spy with a sweet tooth? : DONUT MOLE (HOLE)


112. Burrower servicing borrowers? : MONEY (HONEY) BADGER - A group in an online game called EVE. Nah, I hadn't heard of it either.


Now let's look the rest of C.C.'s and Agnes's High Minded entries


Across

1. Library attention-getter : PSST

5. Secretly kept in the message loop, for short : BCCED - Blind Carbon CopiED- They'll never know you told everyone!

10. Prior president who swore in two subsequent presidents : TAFT - Our 350 lb. president had this bathtub made, became the Chief Justice and swore in Coolidge and Hoover


14. Spicy : RACY

18. Trick : DUPE

19. NutraSweet developer : SEARLE - Aspertame used under the name NutraSweet has been controversial

20. Donor drive target : ALUM

21. Penne __ vodka : ALLA


26. Tylenol result, ideally : RELIEF

27. Juice-and-fish-broth product : CLAMATO  - It sounds like an SNL made- up product

29. Weather Channel concern : STORM

30. Brown on a shelf : DAN - I love Dan's books but in other quarters...


31. USC, for one : SCH

33. Like most cheeseburgers : CALORIC - Dictionary.com -


35. Teeny tiny : WEE

40. Poppycock : ROT

42. IMF division?: Abbr. : INTL International Monetary Fund

43. Vintage vehicle : REO

44. It helps you focus : LENS - In action -


45. Bronco's bailiwick : CORRAL

48. "The Simpsons" disco devotee : STU

49. Chew the fat : JAW

50. Wish were here : MISS - My lovely bride always misses her kitty when we travel

53. Universe of Energy locale : EPCOT - A good dark, cool place to take a nap after you've seen it as many times as I have

55. Cell dweller : CON - Not all CONS are in cells in Joe Arpaio's AZ jail


56. Having a kick : TANGY

58. Preventative power : VETO

59. Foam finger number : ONE

60. "That hurts!" : OUCH

62. The end of its name is also its natl. airline : UAE and 118. Milan moolah : EURO - The UAE airline is the sponsor of the AC Milan Soccer team and this jersey will cost you €89,95
63. Scout rider : TONTO

64. Yoga position : ASANA

69. Mayflower notable : ALDEN - Below is a picture of John Alden's 8th Great Granddaughter Norma Jean Mortenson Baker who became, well, you know...


70. Waits for an agent, maybe : HOLDS

71. The __ Store : UPS - United Parcel Service

72. Minor tiff : SPAT

73. It's only make-believe : ACT - Are you faking it?

74. "That's clear" : I SEE

75. Plants of immortality, to ancient Egyptians : ALOES

77. God in the Vatican : DIO - An expose' of the Vatican's Bank Of God


78. SeaWorld performer : SHAMU

83. Lab gel : AGAR

85. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS - Sue's titling gimmick is always an easy fill

86. Usually single-stranded molecule : RNA 


88. Twists, e.g. : DANCES - Morticia and Lurch gettin' down


89. Scheme : PLOT

90. Had the most points : LED

91. Short cut : SNIP

92. Sun. speech : SER and 98. Yawn-inducing : BANAL  - Verbal Sominex at our church 

96. Sharp criticism : JAB

99. Rulers in a line : DYNASTS - I suppose a DYNASTY would have these

101. You can't live without it : AIR - You can go 3 min without AIR, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. Give or take.

102. Tolkien monster : ORC

103. Taste enhanced by shrimp paste : UMAMI - A tasty clue we've had quite often as of late

105. Make more than : OUT EARN


107. Joined forces : ALLIED

115. Sea once home to 1,100-plus islands : ARAL

116. Dell operator : USER

117. Chews the scenery : EMOTES

119. Bear's advice : SELL - Warren Buffet - "Buy when everyone else is SELLING"

120. Pharmacy pickups : MEDS

121. Big Pharma dept. : R AND D


122. Aligned, with "in" : SYNC


Down

1. Sharable doc format : PDF

2. Court figure : SUER

3. "C'mon, let's go!" : SPEED IT UP - After 50 yrs., I just sit in the car and wait!

4. Like revealing memoirs : TELL ALL

5. Hearty comfort food : BEEF STEW - Dinty Moore in our house

6. Short filmmaker? : CAM - This breakout hit from the Sundance Film Festival was shot with the CAM on an iPhone 5S and this is one of its 89. Movie promoters : POSTERS


7. Exhibit with a baby : CRECHE - The one with Jesus can't be put on public property

8. Its logo contains Hebrew letters : EL AL - "To the skies" in Hebrew

9. Separates : DETACHES

10. Wrapped Mexican fare : TAMALES

11. Many : A LOT OF 113. Weather-sensitive airport stat : ETD'S - A LOT OF ETD'S were altered by 100 mph winds in Omaha last week

12. Public outcry : FUROR

13. Corp. symbols : TMS - 

14. Mesmerized : RAPT

15. Give the green light : ALLOW

16. Limerick neighbor : CLARE - Not much of a common dry land border


17. "I did it!" : YAY ME

19. Pronoun for a skiff : SHE

23. Salon treatment : TINT

25. Accompanist? : ESCORT - When you need a good ESCORT in Louisville, KY...

 

28. Common town ctr. : MAIN ST

32. John of "Star Trek" (2009) : CHO - Only the first generation Star Trek peeps are in my memory bank

34. Twist in a tale : IRONY - I'll bet you know the elements of this short story from the master of IRONY - O'Henry

36. Wrong at the start? : MIS

37. Certain entrance fee : ANTE

38. Speak : ORATE

39. Assure : CLINCH

41. John of "Hairspray" (2007) : TRAVOLTA 

45. Shrewd : CAGEY

46. Change, as a will : AMEND

47. Foamy eye-opener : LATTE

49. First name in virology : JONAS - After contracting polio, FDR started the March Of Dimes that provided much funding for Salk's vaccine that came too late for the president


50. Mop tamer : MOUSSE

51. Acknowledge the general : SNAP TO and 76. Acknowledge the general : SALUTE

52. Tom or Jerry : TOON

54. Denounces : CONDEMNS - SILENT N was a fill for "44 A Solemn ending" on Wednesday 

55. "Off" is often printed on one : COUPON 

57. Live-in nanny : AU PAIR - French for "on par" or "equal to"

61. LaserJet printers : HPS

63. Dash gauges : TACHS

64. Words after make or take : A HIT - If you have to take A HIT to make A HIT, you may need new friends  

65. "That's a shame" : SO SAD - "Dear Dad, No mon, no fun, your Son" "Dear Son, Too bad, SO SAD, your Dad"

66. Siri's Amazon counterpart : ALEXA

67. Grand Canyon rentals : MULES

68. Computer download : UPDATE - After missing several new roads, I paid to UPDATE this system in my car


73. Lines for an audience : ASIDE - Frank does this all the time in House Of Cards


75. Big name in labels : AVERY - We use AVERY 5360 labels for Christmas card address labels

79. One who may cease to exist when underappreciated? : MR NICE GUY - Never made my collection


80. USC part: Abbr. : UNIV

82. Nailed the test : ACED IT

84. Filmy fabric : GOSSAMER - Sinatra sang "A trip to the moon on GOSSAMER wings" was just One Of Those Things

85. Backstabbed : BETRAYED and 96. Biblical backstabber : JUDAS

87. Jungle chest-beater : APE who never 93. Treated very roughly : MAULED Fay Ray

90. Floral ring : LEI

91. Progress : STRIDES  

94. Yoplait competitor : DANNON

95. Cuba libre ingredient : COLA - Hmmm... what brand of COLA should I use?


97. Love, Italian-style : AMORE - "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie"

100. Loop in a cattle drive : NOOSE

104. Think (over) : MULL

106. Arco de Constantino locale : ROMA - Isn't that building to the right famous too? 😁


108. Versatile NFL defenders : LBS - An average NFL LB weighs 235 LBS

109. "Nebraska" Oscar nominee : DERN - A wonderful movie about small town life and aging


111. Tight-lipped : MUM

114. Mythical bird : ROC

Hoping you don't need the Heimlich Maneuver after my commentary, let's hear from you, the Huddled Masses:








51 comments:

fermatprime@gmail.com said...

Greetings!

Many thanks to Irish Miss and C. C.! Thanks too to Gary!

Fantastic theme. (But I never heard of hONEY BADGER.)

Otherwise OK.

Am on book 12 of Kathi Daley's Zoe Donovan mysteries. They are a great read. Proper English and all. (ME and I are never switched, a pet peeve of mine.)

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

FIW¡ One measly cell¡ R-AND-r + BETRAYEr. Augghh¡

The theme I'm mixed about. H->M was a good idea, and most phrases were good both before and after, but a few of the examples were weaker than I expect from our own ladies: FEEL THE MEAT (not something a sane person would do in the context of the clue, but otherwise sounds obscene), SANTA HAT (is that a phrase, any more than say "green hat"?), MOUSE DETECTIVE (instead of detector). TAX MAVEN I didn't even notice was part of the theme until just now, as I've heard that as a legit phrase before. Likewise, MOUSE DETECTIVE is Basil of Baker Street, 5 novels plus a Disney movie. Wait, cancel my "detector" cavil if tail means follower, not caudal appendage.

{C+.}

The MOUSE DETECTIVE is on the case,
Thru London he'll have a RACY chase!
He'll catch that rat
In the very ACT,
Where he'll FEEL THE MEAT in a sandwich place!

TTP said...


Good morning all. Thank you Agnes, CC, and Husker Gary

I thought there was some really good cluing today, accompanied by fresh and amusing fill. Very clever. Excellent job ladies !

Slowdowns were caused by having Gab before JAW, iris before LENS, abused before MAULED, cohort before ESCORT, etc. Worst was the time spent on Donor drive target. A Neg and A Pos didn't work, especially with fever before FUROR. Finally realized the simple TMS and A LOT OF, which cleared up that mess.

CRECHE was totally unknown. The perps were solid. CLAMATO rang a bell, but I was in a room in a far part of the house and didn't hear it. Thank you perps.

"Off" is often printed on one was my favorite clue.

I have a copy account with the local UPS Store. Used to be a Mailboxes Etc. 600 copies for $24.00. Need it for the golf league and weekly results handouts. Most of the guys don't want their scores and handicaps posted on the web.

WikWak said...

A beautiful morning in the lakes region of Maine, a woodpecker keeping time for the morning symphony, and a C.C. & Irish Miss puzzle moderated by Husker Gary: what better way to start a Sunday?!

Finished in just under 45 minutes with very little need for white-out. I really liked the H > M gimmick, which I saw early and which helped me over a few rough spots. Favorite: MOUSE DETECTIVE. Least favorite: SUER. Really?

As usual, HG's comments were a treat to read. - .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- --..-- / .... ..- ... -.- . .-. .-.-.-

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Wow, C.C. and I.M. really served it up this morning. TAMALES for Lucina, UPS Store for Splynter, DERN-Nebraska for Husker, and DNF for moi. I had ETA and couldn't make anything out of RANAD for Big Pharma. I enjoyed it, though I don't understand the cluing for MOUSE DETECTIVE. Really wanted a LASSO rather than a NOOSE on that cattle drive. Maybe there were rustlers.

TTP said...

Cat's tail, maybe? : MOUSE (HOUSE) DETECTIVE - After filling in the answer and wondering, I left it as "Cat burglar, being watched and followed by the hotel detective." The cat burglar was being tailed. Does that make sense ?

Check for doneness? : FEEL THE MEAT (HEAT) - How do you want your steak cooked ?

Big Easy said...

Cagney and Lacy or maybe Laverne and Shirley for their MORSE PLAY this morning. Congrats to all. I got the gimmick after that and FEELING THE MEAT but still had to grind it out with bad starts and unknowns. I do know drug companies so SEARLE was a gimme (though it's now PFIZER); their NutraWSweet (aspertame) product was EQUAL for their sweetener. But filling DANONE (real name of the DANNON maker) close to the DYNASTY had me stumped. I knew the word GOSYAMER had to be GOSSAMER but with ETA instead of ETD scribbled in, that was the last section to fall.
D-O, I also had RANAD before realizing my mistake.

Bad starts- GAB to YAK to JAW, SAY OK to ALLOW, YAHOO to YAY ME ( does anybody really say that?), SALUTE to SNAP TO, in addition to the previously mentioned DANONE & DYNASTY.
ASANA, UMAMI- seem to be creeping into many puzzles lately.
AVERY Island, LA is where TABASCO sauce is made; I've never heard of AVERY label maker.
CLAMATO-Budweiser produces a beer with that stuff in it.
CALORIC- every food is Caloric, either high or low or in between.
RELIEF- that's how you spell 'Rolaids'
SPEED IT UP? I don't bother telling DW because it's useless. A friend tells his wife to call him from her cell after she is sitting in the car because he is tired of her being 'almost ready'. SPEED IT UP- It was also what I couldn't do in this puzzle; took too long.

OwenKL said...

Forgot to include -- how many of you thought of this HOUSE DETECTIVE?

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Good engrossing puzzle, Agnes & C.C.! Good expo, Gary, but hope the Pope doesn't read our blog. LOL! You might then have enforced reMORSE.

Penne ALLA vodka: whoever heard of this recipe?

Never heard of AVERY labels or "Nebraska" the Dern movie.

Lots to like in this puzzle otherwise. My favorite was MUSH PUPPY. I got the theme early which helped. Before that I had a lot of white at the top. When confronted with an unknown in the puzzle, I found myself thinking about what has been discussed on the blog and coming up with TAMALES, for instance.

Didn't do the Saturday puzzle until way late and my eyes were too tired to read the blog. My daughter had a brunch for her graduating senior and all my kids, grandkids and two of my brothers & wives & closest nieces came. I hadn't seen my younger son & his wife & four boys for over 18 mos. and they only stayed a few hours. However, they came to my house and my son "fixed" my computer problem by installing Chrome. He also got my Roomba started which was still in the box from November when I bought it. So a good time was had by ME. So good to have a mechanical engineer in the house sometimes.

My autistic grandson asked me, "Grandma why do you look so old?" I said, "Because I am old. I'm your old grandma." And earlier I had been thinking I didn't look too bad for my age. Kids tell it like it is, not how one would like to hear it.

Yellowrocks said...

I enjoyed this puzzle, a real challenge, CC and Agnes. Brava. Kudos to Gary for an informative expo. I had a hard time with the Y in DYNASTY meeting up with GOSSAMER, before changing Y to S. I left the M in ALUM and TMS blank. Drat! I wanted A POS or NEG, too. Coupon had me going but I got it.
A Santa hat is a definite thing, usually red, pointy, trimmed with white, unmistakable.
A have a friend who drinks Scotch and Coke instead of rum and Coke. Yecch! Imagine the strange looks she got in Scotland's bars.
I use AVERY labels.
CLAMATO is delish. It can be used in a Bloody Mary.
Big Easy, yes ASANA and UMAMI make frequent appearances here. I am sure ASANA is well known in Yoga circles, but I meet it only in puzzles.
Although I have never seen a honey badger, I have read about them.They are native to parts of Africa and Asia.
honey badger
I have come to the conclusion that some people can never be speeded up. Some of us are quite time conscious, me, for example, and some are definitely not.

tawnya said...

Good Morning Everybody!

Congrats to our own I.M. and C.C. on a lovely Sunday puzzle! You ladies did an amazing job and I'm very proud of your accomplishment!! I enjoyed it all, no nits, and even learned a few things (CRECHE, for example!)

I could not stop thinking about MOLE, MOLE...Guacamole!

Robert Plant taught me how to Feel the Heat.

Those young kids in school threw around HONEY BADGER in normal conversation and I didn't understand it until URBAN DICTIONARY

I was wondering what WikWak's coded message said and found this

Also, Google taught me that CRECHE is what my family called A Nativity Scene. My grandmother never put the baby Jesus out until Christmas Eve because "He's not here yet!" It's still something I hold to today and I try not to get too annoyed when I see Him out early.

Enjoy your Sunday, folks! We are celebrating Mother's Day with MIL/FIL. DH is making Eggs Benedict! I'll be serving mimosas, feel free to stop in if you are in the neighborhood ;)

t.

CrossEyedDave said...

Have not done the puzzle yet, saving it for after chores,
perhaps a lazy afternoon in the backyard hammock...

But then I just read TTP's yesterday at 5:29 (& 5:31, wow!fast typer...)

Dang!

How am I going to laze around doing crosswords in a hammock
without feeling guilt after reading that!

Oh well,it will probably rain after I do my chores anyway.

Perfect...

Anonymous said...

I thought IM spelled her last name Davidson. The other blogs spell it that way also.

Anonymous said...

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is no more and his tent city has been cancelled by the new sheriff, Paul Penzone.

Another Limerick neighbor is my namesake.

Kerry_in_Carefree

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

Thank you all for the kind words and positive comments. As you may know, this is our first Sunday collaboration and was, I dare say, a very challenging but rewarding endeavor. To clear up any confusion on the Mouse Detective clue, just picture a cat and mouse scenario where the Cat 🐈 is being "tailed" (followed) by the Mouse 🐀 Detective. (It was my favorite C/A but I'm not sure if CED would agree.)

Thank you, HG, for the nice, neat, nifty summary. Your write-ups are a joy to constructors and solvers alike. And thanks, CC, for your kind mentoring and collaborative spirit.

I like the Cagney and Lacey idea, not too sure about Laverne and Shirley (weren't they kind of ditzy?) but I'm certainly pleased that Thelma and Louise didn't show up! 😈

TTP, you seem to have survived the recent trials and tribulations relatively unscathed. Bravo.

Tawnya, if I could drop in, I would be there with bells on! I LOVE Eggs Benedict. May I have a Bloody Mary (sans Clamato) in lieu of a Mimosa, though? Sounds like perfection to me! 🍳 🍷

Have a great day.

Bill G said...

Hi Gary and everybody. I enjoy almost all LAT puzzles (with the exception of many Saturdays). This was very enjoyable and a little bigger challenge for me than most Sundays. A lot of the clues weren't so straightforward and were especially tricky for me, more so than usual. Who gets most of the credit? Blame? Irish Miss? CC? Rich?

Anyway, thanks to all of you and to Gary for his always enjoyable write up.

I'll read everybody's comments soon.

inanehiker said...

Filled this one in at a nice Sunday pace. Perps had me change the answer for brown on a shelf from TAN to DAN - I had pictured those tanning beds that pull down like a shelf off the wall - then DOH!

Also a little hang-up when I was literally trying to think of a foamy eye drop/ medicine for foamy eye opener instead of the caffeine in the LATTE - helping to wake you up!

Thanks HG and congrats again to Irish Miss and CC!
This video made me think of HG and CC - you have to watch to the end for the shout outs!
https://www.homesnacks.net/this-visit-iowa-commercial-will-be-the-most-hilarious-30-seconds-of-your-day-guaranteed-125967/

Yellowrocks said...

oc4beach, feel better soon. TTP, what a wild day you had yesterday.
Today is a glorious day here, blue skies, soft breezes, mild temperatures in the 60's, just perfect, especially after three days of HHH 90+ degree weather on Wed. Thurs. Fri.
PK, too bad you cannot find PENNE ALLA VODKA there. It is very popular here and so yummy.
So many of you thought the Saturday puzzle was easier than usual, but I found it more difficult, perhaps because I was distracted.

Yellowrocks said...

Yesterday a neighboring club had a mystery bud ride for square dancers. Every year the tour includes sightseeing, dinner and a square dance at undisclosed locations. Yesterday we stopped in Fleminington, NJ, at Northlandz, said to be the largest model train layout in the world. Spectacular. It must have taken thousands of hours and much patience to develop all the intricate tunnels and trestles, etc. We spent an hour and a half walking past the 3/4 mile display of mountains, working model trains and villages. It was still very enjoyable but needs some TLC and refurbishing after being open more than 20 years.
Then we went on to Trenton to be the last tour group to tour our State House where our governor and legislature work. It will now be closed for 4 years for much needed renovation and serious repair. We had one of the best tour guides I have ever met, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, crystal clear, just delightful.
Afterwards we stopped at a diner for dinner. The food was very good, but having been a waitress, I could have suggested a more effective plan for serving a busload of 50+ diners.
Then on to a square dance at a local club. It was so much fun. We arrived back at the bus pick up spot at 11:00 PM and drove home by midnight. I have attended these mystery tours 15 to 20 times over the years. There were only a few of the 50+ attendees I did not know.

Wilbur Charles said...

Well, I'll start with a nit. Shouldn't general be capitalized? Do you agree Colonel Rock?
I can forgive myself on ALLA PENNE but missed the second S on GOSSAMER, the A in ROMA and ETA VS ETD. I'll throw out that lame excuse"rushed".

Better one: Just plain dumb. Speaking of CLAMATO, I gave up BUD just in time.

TTP I ran a golf league. To save the T-time I opened up a parallel women's league. I better stop right here.

Btw. TTP and Anon-T I didn't realize you were up at 330 am. I'd have chatted more.

Back to work.

Ps. I enjoyed the write-up and the puzzle itself. I knew there was a letter exchange and Holy Moly was the clue but I still didn't realize it was H for M until Gary's explanation. Did I say 'Great write-up'!

WC

Lemonade714 said...

With our Louisiana, LSU contingent I am surprised I am the first to mention how I learned about a Honey Badger. Sports teach us much. TY MATHIEU .

Since Creche is French I also am surprised it was not better known.

Thanks C.C. and IM

Misty said...

Yay me! (Was that a shout-out to me, Irish Miss and C.C.?) I got it, I got it, I got it. Well, okay, except for one tiny, tiny goof, when, like some others, I put ETA and then forgot to correct RANAD to R AND D. But given that I started out with a blank page except for a couple items on the bottom, I can hardly believe I slowly, slowly worked my way through the whole thing, and got everything. Getting the H/M trade about half-way through really helped, although I struggled with MEEL THE MEAT for a while until I realized they were switched in that one. So, an utterly wonderful, delightful, fun Sunday puzzle--thank you so much, C.C. and Irish Miss! You are fabulous constructors--I just love your work! And, Husker Gary, I loved your TWIST dance of Morticia and Lurch--one of my favorite TV shows of all time!

Have a great rest of the Sunday, everybody!

PK said...

YR: They may have Penne ALLA Vodka here. I just never heard of it and wouldn't order it if I saw it. I don't care for penne.

Jayce said...

To use an overused word, awesome puzzle! I loved it. So clever!

Bill G said...

Jayce said:
To use an overused word, awesome puzzle! I loved it. So clever!

Or, you could have said, "That was like awesome!. I like loved it, right? Like, so totally clever, right?"

Jayce said...

Bill G, like, right! Totally!

Yellowrocks said...

PK, as you may have observed, I am not a purest about anything. Our Italian restaurants are willing to serve any pasta with any sauce. Just for experimentation, a person could pick any pasta type and add jarred vodka sauce. If that seems tasty, she could make her own sauce or order it in a restaurant. FYI, vodka sauce includes vodka with the alcohol cooked off, heavy cream and tomato puree or similar. Those who do not like tomatoes or cream should pass. I am getting inspired and will cook it this week.

Lucina said...

Like most of you, I loved this puzzle! Thank you, Agnes and C.C.! you are great collaborators.

The M to H gimmick was helpful and funny. Some unknowns for me were SEARLE which I had to look up but AVERY is very familiar as I have used their labels for years. Nebraska was a good movie which I enjoyed a few years ago and TAMALES are well known to me! Misty often says YAY, ME, CSO to her. I'd not heard of ANEXA either and in fact, left a blank at the X.

Also, I do ASANAS frequently when doing yoga poses though the stretches are not as easy as they once were. Talk about getting old!

Hand up for RANAD which I thought must be the name of a new drug and ETD means nothing to me.

Still, it was a quite enjoyable solve.

Bill and Jayce, you are two funny guys!

I hope this Sunday is going well for all of you! TTP, especially you.

Wilbur Charles said...

We also had a QOD to our Limerick duo, Owen and C-Moe.

Car talk quiz question was
A guy walks into a bar where if you know the code you get a free drink. Bartender says 6, guy answers 3.
Next guy comes in, bartender says 12, guy answers 6.
Have you figured out the code yet? For the next guy bartender says 18.
What code gets a free drink for this guy!

I'll be back

WC

Spitzboov said...

WC said - What code gets a free drink for this guy! Ans. 8

Anonymous T said...

Sunday Lurk say...

Spitz wins the beer! WC- the original puzzler, IIRC, ended w/ 14, not 18, but the pattern applies.

IM & C.C.: Nice. No I didn't play (D-O, TxMs & I have complained until we're blue in the face but still an old NYT in our paper.) Yes, I know I can print it - but Sunday's are too hectic [case: 4 kids just left after destroying my kitchen building a Tres Leches for Spanish class.]

Eldest must still be alive - I just got a text from AMEX :-)

Play tomorrow. Cheers, -T

Bill G said...

Eight. Jack Daniels on the rocks!

OwenKL said...

I concur, 8. Half was 9, and coincidentally 9-compliment was also 9, but I vaguely recall hearing this before, so I was sure it wasn't anything so obvious. But it took me a spell to remember/ figure out anew, plus some counting on my fingers.

Anonymous T said...

OKL - har, har: took a "spell" Like, totes. Tote... Man. Totally funny. -T

CrossEyedDave said...

Busy day around the yard, never did get to the hammock...
But I did the puzzle, with difficulty.
Every clue/answer seemed to be off my wavelength.
I.E.:5a. Secretly kept in the message loop, for short
Well, that's easy, BCC, but why is it 5 letters?
Penne blank vodka, ala of course, but 4 letters?
(& on & on it goes...)

I got fooled every which way today...

Tough puzzle for me Irish Miss, except for Mouse Detective. I enjoyed this Disney movie watching it with my kids
way back when. (I would watch it again if I could figure out how to work the VHS again...)
P.S. entire movie is available online if your kids want to watch it.
Something about putting it a smaller format seems to get around the copyright flags.

Love model trains!
but not this much! four and a half hours???

Wilbur Charles said...

Eight is correct. Just to be sure it wasn't a lucky guess, a buxom lass walks in and bartender says 36. She says ?? and that'll be Wild Turkey, rocks.

What'd she say again and what's that code? Or... What was Owen counting on his fingers?

Misty, care to take a guess? Hint. Even if you hate MATH that's actually an asset.

WC

Ps. I have my walking pool problem refined, want to try it? This one's Math

Wilbur Charles said...

I have to drive home now from TPA. So here's walking pool. Actually happened.
I get in the pool and I see a new sign: 13 laps = 1/4 mile. Hmm I say. I think for a lap, the clock says 8:26 and I says "Wilbur, if you can do a lap in x seconds you'll do exactly one mile by 9:00 pm. That's when they close.

So what was my pace?

WC

Misty said...

Sorry, Wilbur--I would have said 9, so obviously I don't get it.

Anonymous said...

Stupid "ranad"! Well, stupid me really. I could tell it was wrong, but couldn't see an alternative. Too wedded to "ETA" methinks. And "creche" - got it from crosses but couldn't see the "exhibit" until I came over here to have it explained to me. Thank goodness for this blog or I might never sleep some nights! ;-)

CanadianEh! said...

Late to the party today (too late also for tawnya's celebration which sounded wonderful) but I did enjoy this CW. Thanks Irish Miss and C.C. And Husker Gary.

I struggled at first but then saw the H to M theme which helped.
I moved from Win to LED, ENT to ORC, OTCs to MEDS, Whale to Shark to SHAMU, Salute to SNAP TO (but wait, I need SALUTE for 76D!).

Hand up for RAN AD as I tried to figure out what kind of advertising Big Pharma was doing.

DONUT M(h)OLES in Canada are called Timbits.

Enjoy the evening.

CanadianEh! said...

Like D-Otto, I also noticed all the CSOs. TAMALES for Lucina, LIMERICK for our poets (I tried to enter Haiku!), UPS for Splynter, YAY ME for Misty (I tried Wahoo at first)

Unknown said...

Thank You, Husker. From .-- ...-- .-.. .-. .---

Wilbur Charles said...

Misty, 9 is correct for the buxom lady.

The code? Simple. Add up the number of letters for the bartender's number. Thirty six =9

WC

Bill G said...

WC, I get 39.2 seconds per lap if I understood the problem correctly. Did I?

Lucina said...

I think I forgot to thank Gary for his always illuminating and amusing commentary. It's usually as enjoyable as the puzzle.

Also, an anonymous mentioned that Sheriff Joe's tent city is being repurposed. Our new sheriff, Paul Penzone, will establish an animal shelter to be handled by the inmates as part of their rehabilitation. That was the announcement made this week.

Misty said...

Wilbur--can't believe I got the correct answer! Yay! I got it! I got it!

Anonymous T said...

Bill G. That's what I get too assuming I understand... 13*4=52 laps/mile; Gots 34 min left in pool -> 34m/52 laps*60 Sec/min = 39.231sec/lap or one mile in 34min.

Tawnya - You meant Palmer, not Plant. No worries, I make typos / mental slips all the time. Just ask Argyle - Santa makes my "comments deleted by..." go away :-) BTW, Great song, thanks!

-T

TTP said...


PK, "Out of the mouth of babes..." One of my nephews, now in his early 40s, was particularly direct about anything and everything until about the time he was entering grade school. Made for some very interesting and humorous moments at times.

Dave, years and years driving a keyboard taught me to save first in notepad or a word program.

Boy oh boy, I was way off on that mouse clue. Right for the wrong reason, but I'll take it.

Yellowrocks, yeah, I could've done without all of that excitement.

Wilbur, I wasn't up until around 5:00 AM yesterday morning, but you and Anonymous-T could have chatted. We know why he was up all night. You must be a night owl...

Lucina, thank you. We had a very uneventful and relaxing Sunday, and it was much welcomed. Not quite a "Dave-in-the-hammock" kind of a day, but somehow doing laundry and toting things back to the shed was stress-free and restful.

Wilbur Charles said...

I'll reenter when I get Monday knocked off. 51 laps in 34 minutes equals 2/3 minute per mile or 40 seconds.
I counted the rummination lap. The actual day I got there the time was 8:35 so I had to do the messy calculation.

I also timed my lap at 40 seconds so the original problem had the pace as a given and 52 1/2 laps in 35 minutes

I made it an exact 34 minutes for 51 laps sneaking in the 52nd lap. 😁

WC

Ps. Misty congratulations. I made a gauche hint that no Math was involved.
It's so sexist except when I've posted my "lap-pool" problem to various female students they blanche like Dracula facing a crucifix

Except for the one who took her calculator and multiplied 52*40/60

WC

Abejo said...

Good Monday afternoon. Thank you, Irish Miss (April 5th) and C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.

This puzzle was a little tough to me. It took me an extra day to finish. Oh well.

Once I caught the theme that did help with the puzzle.

HG: I see you spelled out MORSE PLAY correctly.

I get TAMALES from Schwan's in their bi-weekly delivery to my house. They're delicious.

Aha, JUDAS, replaced by MATTHIAS.

Anyhow, have to run. Must finish cutting the grass before it starts to rain.

See you on Tuesday.

Abejo

( )

Picard said...

Had SKIP instead of SNIP and got MR KITE GUY. I was thinking of the Beatles song and had no idea why it made sense.

Does CLAMATO have fish broth? Clams are certainly not fish so I was confused.

Thanks Husker Gary for the interesting learning moment about Marilyn Monroe and someone from the Mayflower! She was part royal and part commoner!

And thanks for the graphic of how much more Pharma spends on marketing than they do on actual research. Pharma is now the biggest impediment to good research.

Hand up for never having heard of hONEY BADGER. But am I the only one who never heard of DAN Brown? I also was thinking TAN.

No idea about LBS but I just looked it up. Was thinking MAL before MIS which delayed that area.

Thanks, Irish Miss and CC for a challenging, fair and fun puzzle! Even if I did FIW!