Theme: Take a load off - Sit anywhere you can find an empty space.
17. *Sub in the dugout: BENCH WARMER
25. *TV addict with a remote: COUCH POTATO
37. *Largest of the Quad Cities: DAVENPORT, IOWA
54. *Car section under the passenger compartment: ROCKER PANEL
62. Wedding reception headache ... and what the starts of the answers to starred clues constitute?: SEATING PLAN
Argyle here in an office chair. This seems to be Brock's signature grid; various words that fit the reveal. No particular progression this time that I can note like HIGH CHAIR to ROCKER but almost a pangram. So come on and sit awhile.
Across:
1. Child in a kitchen: JULIA. Don't try this at home. Special meal.
6. "S" on a tee: SMALL
11. Auditing pro: CPA. (Certified Public Accountant)
14. African antelope: ELAND
15. Gymnast Comaneci: NADIA. First Perfect 10 | Montreal 1976 Olympics Clip.(3:11)
16. Eyebrow shape: ARC
19. Bumped into: MET
20. Look lifeless, as flowers: DROOP
21. Many a multiple-choice test answer: GUESS
23. Org. created the same year as the first Earth Day: EPA. (Environmental Protection Agency)1970
29. One of six in this clue: WORD
31. Parody: SPOOF
32. Alma mater of many Oxford students: ETON
33. Foe: ENEMY
35. Decorative old-style collar: RUFF
43. Lime cover: PEEL
44. India's first prime minister: NEHRU
46. Candy sold in pairs: TWIX. Inventive commercials.
50. Productive city for van Gogh: ARLES
53. Speaker's podium: DAIS
57. Indent key: TAB
58. Annoyed: IRKED
59. Annoy playfully: TEASE
61. Winter roof-rack item: SKI
68. Color distinction: HUE
69. "Snowy" bird: EGRET
70. West, to Juan: OESTE. Portuguese and Spanish.
71. IRS deadline mo.: APRil
72. High, as ambitions: LOFTY
73. Sugary: SWEET
Down:
1. Bush of Florida: JEB
2. Suffix with mod- or gran-: ULE
3. Alaska's is the largest of the 50 states: LAND AREA. 663,268 square miles.
4. Price hike: Abbr.: INCRease
5. For a special purpose: AD HOC
6. Buy eagerly, as goods on sale: SNAP UP
7. Tarnish: MAR
8. Nav. leader: ADMiral
9. Falsehood: LIE
10. Slow tempo: LARGO. Today's earwig.
11. Charged aggressively: CAME AT
12. Fast tempo: PRESTO. Any earwig for PRESTO?
13. Responds to, as a tip: ACTS ON
18. Amorously pursues: WOOs
22. Salt Lake City collegian: UTE
23. She sheep: EWE
24. Atlantic Ocean, to Brits: POND
26. Top-selling Toyota: COROLLA
27. Time of day: HOUR
28. Sputtering sound: [PFFT!]
30. Driver's lic. issuer: DMV. (Department of Motor Vehicles)
34. Slangy "Sure": "YEP" or yup.
36. Sight that elicits "Shark!": FIN. earwig already, ba-dum.
38. Close by: NEAR
39. Robber, to a cop: PERP. Not to us. We like perpendicular, not perpetrator.
40. 20-volume ref.: OED. (Oxford English Dictionary)
41. "Is there more?": "WHAT ELSE?". "There is ... but you must act in the next ten minutes!"
42. Opera offering: ARIA
45. Port on a PC: USB. (Universal Serial Bus)
46. Country singer Yearwood: TRISHA. She is married to Garth Brooks.
47. Generate via exercise, as a sweat: WORK UP
48. More distasteful: ICKIER
49. Classic Jaguar: XKE
51. Thing: ENTITY
52. Viewed: SEEN
55. Ford failure: EDSEL
56. Nigerian city that's Africa's most populous: LAGOS. Wiki link.
60. Gush: SPEW
63. Big-headed quality: EGO
64. "Bowwow!" cousin: [ARF!]
65. Vietnamese New Year: TET
66. Snacked on: ATE
67. After-tax amount: NET
Argyle
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear TTP, who has helped me solved so many blog and life glitches. He just knows a lot about a lot of things. So lucky that you Took The Plunge and joined our blog, TTP!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Brock and Santa!
Liked the theme!
Didn't know LAGOS. Otherwise OK.
Dog Millie is going to have operation this morning to cauterize bleeding ear. She is no spring chicken, so I worry.
Have a great day!
Hi Y'all! Fun puzzle, Brock, but I had more trouble with it than I should have. Thanks, Argyle!
ReplyDeleteGot the theme but for some reason couldn't come up with ROCKER. Duh!
LANDmass before AREA. I never can remember Jaguar XKE. LAGOS was all perps.
Fermatprime: hope Millie will be okay.
Happy Birthday TTP. I enjoy your posts.
Chuck Lingren: I left you a message last thing last night. Hope you saw it. C.C. I apologize for such a long post. I still don't know how to link.
{C, C-.}
ReplyDeleteSaid the EGRET to the ELAND, "I know you can't fly,
But so graceful you leap, I almost wonder why!"
"Well, I always hope,"
Said the antelope,
"That my horns can catch a cloud in the sky!"
I try to write poems, but ideas DROOP.
Nothing seems funny, not even to SPOOF.
My Muses are mean,
I'm beTWIX and between,
They WORK UP my EGO, then SNAP it UP: PRESTO--poof!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNo problems on this one. I think of PFFT as the sound of something magically disappearing -- like POOF -- rather than a stuttering sound. Thanks Brock and Argyle.
TTP, happy birthday, young man.
Chore for the day...fix the flat on my bicycle.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday TTP. Hope you have a fun day.
Thanks for a nice start to the week Brock. Liked the fact that there was some crunch around the Monday "no brainers."
West to Juan may be OESTE, but I can never remember it and have to rely on perps. BENCH WARMER an obsolete term. At today's salaries, all players have a role.
Arthritis has made me more of a COUCH POTAO then I ever imagined.
Good morning. Thank you Brock and thank you Argyle.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle to start the day. No real issues, but had to use the perps in a couple of places.
CC, thank you for remembering. I'm glad to help where I can.
Learned RUFF, LAGO and LARGO today - I wonder if I'll remember by the time the sun goes over the yardarm. D-Otto, the clue was "sputtering", not "stuttering". When I read your comment I did a double-take, since I would have objected to stuttering as well. It's still a stretch, but not nearly so much of a stretch.
ReplyDeleteFrematprime, Zoe and I are sending good thoughts to your furbie.
Thanks Brock and Santa for a good start to the work week (for our pre-retirement friends).
P.S.--
ReplyDelete{C+.}
Said the ELAND to the EGRET, "You have legs so long,
Surely you could outrun any hunting throng!"
Replied the bird,
"Upon my WORD!
You may be right,
But LOFTY flight
Has never served me wrong!"
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to TTP. All the best.
Easy solve, today. No issues, no searches, no erasures.
Have a great day.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI liked this theme a lot and it became evident after filling in Bench Warmer and then Couch Potato. Lots of fun word play with CPA/EPA, Met/Tet/Net, Presto/Largo and my fav, Arf/Ruff! In short, a very nice Monday solve.
Thank you, Brock, for getting our week off to a good start and thanks, Argyle, for the fun tour.
Happy Birthday, TTP, hope it's very special! 🎂🎉🎁🎈🍾 (I enjoy your posts, also.)
Ferm, best of luck with Millie's procedure. (Just had to correct Fern to Ferm.)
Have a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Many the teacher has made out a SEATING PLAN to separate kids and ran out of places
-I thought of the “S” on my Superman tee of 60 years ago
-Uncle Leo’s ARCED eyebrows send the wrong message
-In Ground Hog Day, Phil kept bumping into the same people at the same time day after day
-I’ve made a lot educated GUESSES on multiple choice tests
-Some say Arthur Wellesley (The Duke of Wellington) never said “The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of ETON”
-Memories of “playful” TEASING keeps some from school reunions
-Yeah, the income tax is easy to understand
-There is no item for which I would risk life and limb to SNAP UP on Black Friday!
-I was a BENCH WARMER on two state championship baseball teams but am in the picture at school
-Grandma’s ADMIRAL
-Our DMV is the County Treasurer’s Office, is very efficient and is run by people I know
-How many Illinois politicians have done a PERP walk?
-What my USB hub looked like at school
-My wife loves TRISHA and her Southern Kitchen cooking show
-Did anyone else ever play the baseball game called “WORK UP” on the playground
-Happy Birthday, TTP. Reading your blogs is always a treat.
Happy Birthday TTP, and good day to all!
ReplyDeleteFun, easy solve today. Have never heard of ROCKER PANEL, but it was easy to suss with about half the perps in place. Also needed perps for LAGOS, though after it emerged I did recall it. I also enjoy "TRISHA's Southern Kitchen" cooking show. She once had NADIA Comaneci and husband Bart Conner as guests. Thanks for the expo and links, Argyle. I especially enjoyed the one showing NADIA's amazing talent.
Fermatprime, best wishes for Millie.
Enjoy the day!
ReplyDeleteNot exactly a Monday level puzzle, but doable with perps. Good one Brock.
A couple of stumbles. Wanted PINCHHITTER vs BENCHWARMER, SAW vs MET, and PARIS vs ARLES. I had no idea where or what the Quad Cities are since I am an East Coaster vs. Heartlander.
I really wanted MOTHER IN LAW for the wedding reception headache. When my daughter got married, I was told that my job was to walk her down the aisle and then stay out of the way and just write checks to pay for the wedding.
Watch your pets when they go outside. We have had a rash of attacks on pets by grey foxes that have turned out to be rabid. The game commission thinks that there is a den of foxes that had been infected and and are very dangerous. They have killed two of them so far and verified the rabies and others have been seen acting strangely like attacking a lawnmower.
Have a great day.
Happy birthday, TTP! I also enjoy your posts and wish you a fabulous celebration.
ReplyDeleteWEES. Thank you, Brock Wilson for a breezy Monday puzzle. My only w/o was IRS/CPA. I also have no idea about the quad cities but DAVENPORT emerged quickly along with IOWA.
I'm so sorry to hear about the rabid foxes. Here the problem is coyotes hunting for small pets.
OwenKL:
I love your poems today, especially the last one.
Ferm:
Best wishes for Millie.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Fun and easy. I always do across and down together. There were no hangups.
ReplyDeleteHG, right! There is nothing, no matter how great a bargain, I care to snap up on Black Friday. I wait until Cyber Monday and find deals sitting in my desk chair.
To me PFFT is the sound of air going our of a tire as it goes flat. So, kinda sputter.
One dictionary says, "used to express or indicate a dying or fizzling out." That's the way I use it.
Another dictionary says,"used to express or indicate a usually sudden disappearance or ending." This equates it with POOF.
Another one says,"used to represent a dull abrupt sound as of a slight impact or explosion."
I am surprised that all 3 definitions are not carried by one dictionary.
It seems to me that on some kids' teams there are plenty of bench warmers who get sent in only when their team is way ahead. Some more sensitive coaches use all the kids in every game.
ETON and RUFF can both be collars.
You become aware of your rocker panel in car accidents that involve the side doors or sometimes when you have corrosion. I had PANEL and needing to name a seat, ROCKER was evident.
Happy birthday, TTP. I really enjoy your posts and your helpfulness.
Just a little bit of crunch for a Monday but very enjoyable. Thanks for the fun, Brock and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteKudos to Irish Miss @8:15 for noting the word plays. I smiled at ARF/RUFF.
I had noted an abundance of short word combos like CAME AT, ACTS ON, WORK UP, SNAP UP (I had Grab UP at first).
I moved from Yea to Yeh to YEP. PERPs to the rescue.
Canadians also call a COUCH a Chesterfield this side of the POND.
This Grandma loves a ROCKER for spoiling grandbabies.
ICKIER was . . . ? well, ICKIER!
PK, best wishes for a good recovery for Millie.
OwenKL, great work today.
Happy Birthday TTP.
Enjoy the day everyone.
Thanks for the Julia Child clip!
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for a TV show I had seen many years ago
that I really enjoyed, and your link led me to The Ring Of Truth.
I will be watching it for many hours..(again)
TTP, I hope you have a very Happy Birthday!
But do you have any idea how hard it is to find a cake with TTP on it?
Seating plans can be
complicated.
or they can be easy...
Rocker panels brought to mind a bit of automotive history from the 1950's. When the states began to apply salt to the winter roads the immediate victims were rocker panels. They rusted out after two or three seasons. Sears Roebuck to the rescue. Their catalogue listed replacement rocker panels to cover the originals on the popular makes of two and four door cars. This lasted until the auto manufactures improved the rust resistance of sheet metal used on cars.
ReplyDeleteDon
HBDTY TTP and many more.
ReplyDeleteNeato puzzle, fun to solve. I like themed puzzles. Seems like quite a few 4+2 letter words as answers: SNAP UP, CAME AT, ACTS ON, WORK UP.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a very happy birthday, TTP.
Delightful Monday speed run, Brock--many thanks. I pretty much sailed through this one with no cheating or erasures--pretty good for me, given some tough times with last week's puzzles. Loved the first clue--"Child in a kitchen"--which took me a second, before I got JULIA. And it was fun to see the theme words after the reveal. Nice to see reference to Van Gogh and NEHRU too.
ReplyDeleteQuiet week ahead, so the house cleaning continues.
Have a wonderful birthday, TTP!
And I hope all goes well with Millie's procedure, Fermatprime.
Have a good week, everybody!
I definitely knew what a ROCKER PANEL was having worked at two vehicle dealerships in my life. However, the clue "car section under the passenger compartment" threw me. They really aren't. They are under the doors to the side of the vehicle. Under the passenger compartment we have "differential" which fit, gas tank which didn't, etc.
ReplyDeleteA ROCKER was an essential in any house with a baby, I always thought. Makes for a good cuddle and a contented baby and mommy/grandma. My kids wouldn't take pacifiers but didn't really need them. A good rocking soothed a lot.
Ah yes, the baby bouncer chair!
ReplyDeleteCannot survive parenthood without one!
But quite honestly, I think we have gone a little too
far off the technical deep end...
These people are missing something.
I used to grab the front of the bouncer, tilt it back an inch or two,
and manually bounce the baby with a vocal accompany of
"Boinga,Boinga,Boinga!"
Always elicited smiles...
TO this day,
my eldest, (now 27)
still cannot help but smile
whenever I say
"Boinga,Boinga,Boinga!"
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TTP ... The First Sunset Toast tonight is to YOU!
ReplyDeleteNice write-up Argyle.
Brock: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle. Enjoyed the theme.
Cheers!
I agree, bit of a crunchy Monday but no issues, straightforward.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, TTP!
ReplyDeleteMontana
Good Monday to everyone.I'm glad to hear a few others thought this was crunchy for a Monday. I thought it was my mushy Monday brain. Thank you,Brock W., and thank you Argyle for the expo.
ReplyDeleteHand up for LANDmass/LANDAREA. Also tried SNAtch/SNAPUP. Otherwise, pretty smooth sailing.
Happy Birthday, TTP! May you enjoy many more.
Ferm, Maggie and I are sending Millie positive thoughts. Hope her procedure goes well.
Have a good evening.
HBD TTP. Initials Monday
ReplyDeleteOwen. Three nice l'icks. No DROOP here.
I thought Hondo might mention the passing of Jimmy Piersall. I haven't seen an obit from Boston or New York but to sum up: Outstanding defensive CFer. Protagonist of "Fear Strikes Out" the story of his mental breakdown and recovery.
Good Monday effort and great write-up from Argyle
Gotta go
WC
Not easy to get started on Mr. Wilson's opus - at least not inside the guidelines I impose on myself for early week pzls (to stay within a strict diagonal, NW to SE, in the first runs) - but once it gave way it opened up like a flower.
ReplyDeleteWilbur: I had no idea who Jimmy Piersall was or what a CFer was, so your comments caused me to Google. There is a nice obit there if anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for so many Happy Birthday wishes.
ReplyDeleteI've been helping a neighbor all day with a major plumbing issue that is going to be a very expensive repair. We're talking $6K for the first estimate, and the second contractor wouldn't bid it himself. He sent pictures and spoke to his boss who will send an estimate sometime tomorrow morning...
Oh well. My special birthday dinner can wait another day or two.
Kind of exhausted. See all y'all later n'at !
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Brock Wilson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteWilbur: Jimmy Piersall was on the front page of then Chicago Tribune today. He died in Wheaton, IL.
Happy Birthday, TTP, and many more. I remember we shared a couple of brewskis a few years back. We will have to do that again some day.
Zipped through this puzzle quickly. Great theme. The Quad cities and DAVENPORT, IOWA are very familiar to me. Have been there more times than I can count. Rock Island, IL, Moline, IL, Bettendorf, IA and Davenport, IA. Moline is the headquarters of John Deere Tractor. There is an arsenal at Rock Island.
Our friend EDSEL Ford again. Liked PERP at 39D.
OED again. Our library in Bartlett has one. I have used it.
Never knew LAGOS was that big. Learning moment.
Just got back from our Book Club monthly meeting, We read "The Girl With Seven Names" by Hyeonseo Lee. Non-Fiction and a great story of a girl growing up in North Korea and how she escaped. The whole book club really enjoyed it. We gave it an Enjoyment Index of 8 out of a possible 10.
Now I have to go back and report in for Sunday, which I just finished.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Cruciverb just posted the Monday puzzle @ around 10 PM Central time. What everybody else said about everything.
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary: not sure of the exact number, but there's a movement afoot to replace "Land of Lincoln" as the state slogan with "Where Our Governors Make Our License Plates." :P
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThank you Brock. Perfect amount of Crunch for a Tuesday :-). LARGO and PRESTO finally got me to GUESS right; LAGOS I had to wag the L (oh, PANEL) and the O in OESTE. All's well that ends, well, well.
Thanks Argyle for the Expo. I esp. enjoyed the JULIA clip.
WOs: N/A
ESP: OESTE, LARGO, PRESTO
Fav: Argyle, I thought you'd never ask... PRESTO [RUSH]. That was my earworm.
Learning moment - there's an H in NEHRU. I probably said that the last time we had him. :-)
{B-,A,A}
Fermatprime - please let us know how Millie fared.
WikWak - I grew up in SPI and Pop's still there... He's are for said slogan :-)
Happy BirthDay TTP! Bummer about your dinner; even more so re: your buddy's plumbing. May tomorrow bring yummies!
Cheers, -T
WikWak - er, 'all for said slogan...' -T
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of tomorrow......
ReplyDeleteTuesday's Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle ("In Pairs") is constructed by C.C. Burnikel