3D. Conductor's job? : TRAIN CHECK. Rain check.
5D. Recycling, composting, etc.? : TRASH DECISIONS. Rash decisions.
15D. Livestock feed approximation? : TROUGH ESTIMATE. Rough estimate.
30D. Tongue-in-cheek presidential tribute? : TRUMP ROAST. Rump roast.
C.C. here. I did not see a draft post from Steve, so I'm just going to put a short skeletal write-up. Hope he's OK. He never missed a write-up before, no matter how busy he was. So I'm a bit concerned.
The theme entries are placed in Down slots for visual effects. T is consistently added to the R-starting phrase for extra layer.
This must be Robert & Marlea Ellis's LAT debut. I did not find their name under our blog Labels. Congratulation!
Across:
1. Animated film set partly in Insectopia : ANTZ
5. By way of, to Burns : THRO
9. Try : STAB
13. Like many trees in winter : BARE. Certainly in our yard. Winter here. High is 27F today.
14. Respond : REACT
16. Approximately 2.2 lbs. : KILO
17. West Point, e.g.: Abbr. : ACAD
18. "Are you calling me __?" : A LIAR
19. Currier's partner : IVES
20. Moment-of-truth words : THIS IS IT. Sparkly fill.
22. Fight : OPPOSE
24. Geological period : EON
25. Track-and-field events : SHOT PUTS. This word is pluralble, D-Otto?
27. Bugs often caught : COLDS
29. DOJ chiefs : AGs
30. Cough syrup amt. : TSP
33. Jessica Simpson's pop-singing sister : ASHLEE
35. Extreme degree : NTH
36. Cookie with a limited-edition Swedish Fish variety : OREO. Constructors and Rich work hard to come up with new clues for OREO.
37. Went over the limit : SPED
38. Hidden supply : CACHE
40. Club charges : DUES
41. Some twitches : TICS
42. Nigerian native : IBO. Wiki seems to prefer Igbo.
43. Not covering much : SKIMPY
45. Calligraphy supply : INK. To answer your question, Jayce, in Chinese dictionaries, you can find a word both by pinyin and the character components if you don't know how the word is pronounced. As for google, here is an easy way. Just type in pinyin, Chinese characters will show up. Then you can copy and paste it to Google Translate.
46. Corvallis sch. : OSU. Oregon State.
47. Like either main face of El Capitan : STEEP. Got via crosses.
48. Slightly embellished truth : WHITE LIE. Nice entry as well.
50. Decay : ROT
53. Energetic worker : DYNAMO
56. Part of a proverbial secretive trio : LAMPPOST
58. Jet engine sound : ROAR
59. "The Wonder Years" mom : NORMA
61. Old El Paso product : TACO. We also have 2. Dipping chip : NACHO. Food! By the way, Anon-T, my favorite soy sauce brand is Lee Kum Kee.
63. Move quickly : SCOOT
64. Quickly, in memos : ASAP
65. Alice's workplace : MEL'S
66. New Year's Day word : SYNE
67. Orch. section : STRS. OK, strings.
Down:
1. Taper off : ABATE
4. Last letters in Canada : ZEDs
6. Greek sun god : HELIOS
7. "Nick of Time" singer : RAITT
8. Andean tuber : OCA. Still have not tried them.
10. Couch potato's device : TIVO
11. Brown bar orders : ALES
12. Highly respected speakers maker : BOSE
21. Cruise stop : ISLE
23. NBA stats : PTS
26. It may be beaten : PATH. So spoiled by Springbrook this summer.
28. Bygone automaker : OLDS
31. Barely flow : SEEP
32. Bouquet : POSY
33. Italian wine city : ASTI
34. Public relations distortion : SPIN
35. Mil. category : NCO. Also 60. Army training ctr. : OCS
36. "Garfield" dog : ODIE
39. Touch on : ABUT
44. Board and lodging : KEEP
46. Electrical unit : OHM
47. Hit hard, as the brakes : SLAM ON
48. Yells "Fore!" at : WARNS. I was once hit hard on my left arm. Terrifying.
49. Junior Jetson : ELROY
51. First name in bologna : OSCAR
53. Eighth of a fluid ounce : DRAM
54. Oxen coupler : YOKE
55. Carpentry fastener : NAIL
57. Sch. support groups : PTAs
C.C.
64 comments:
Not sure if I can take credit for a FIR on this one or not. Officer Training School made StOOT, Changed that to ShOOT, but OhS wasn't an acronym I recognized, finally compromised on Candidate to get something each way. Didn't remember the Andean root, tho I've seen it in puzzles before (tho nowheres else), but uCA didn't look right, so EWAGed an O and finally got my ta-da!
Got the cute gimmick easily without needing the reveal, which didn't really reveal much anyway. Not as bad as yesterday's reveal, but still pretty lame, since all it did was say all the themers started with T, but not what the significance of that was.
Gin a body meet a body, comin' THRO' the rye,
And vermouth ye meet there, too, eno' to wash yer eye!
Wad ye then a whistle weet
Ere it gets too dry to tweet?
Or wad ye like ta moot the 'muth, fer yer martini dry?
{A+}
Sorry, after that one, my mind is so stuck in dialect I can't think in English for a while.
Greetings!
Thanks to Robert, Marlea and C. C.!
Great theme!
Only a few unknowns, but puzzle filled in rapidly sans cheats!
Hope to see you all tomorrow!
Good morning!
I liked this one, even though it contains he-who-shall-not-be-named. TROUGH ESTIMATE helped me change NAOMI to NORMA, and everything in Texas fell into place. Thanx, Robert and Marlea (are you two married?) and C.C.
Steve, where are you?
We're fostering a black kitten for the weekly adoption fair. Kittens have to have a name, so this one is DYNAMO. His mother was a dynaMOMeter. He was already adopted once, and cost me $5. DW predicted the adoption wouldn't "take" and he'd be returned within two weeks. I bet $5 that Thanksgiving would roll around without seeing him. He was returned the next day.
Nice T-TOPS and I caught the shtick early, although the pronunciation of TROUGH & TOUGH gave a little hesitation. I had to change ASHLEY to ASHLEE, and neither is related to me, Bart, Homer, or O.J. I found this one a little easy for a Thursday and that's not a WHITE LIE. Let's keep that between us and the LAMPPOST. Thanks for filling in for Steve.
The fluid ounce was divided into sixths and eighths- TSP & DRAM and the corporal wanted to become a Lieutenant- NCO & OCS.
Between you, me and the lamppost this was a good puzzle. Some people use bedpost, fence post or gatepost instead. No matter which is used, the saying seems to have gone out of style.
No hangups today. I was a little surprised at the sound change from rough to trough.
9 D I must have been a merry kid. I skipped everywhere so I was nicknamed Skippy for a while.
Do you remember this ad?
My hot dog has a first name
Norma and Ashlee were filled with perps and wags. Elroy was familiar, but it was took help to dredge it up.
I have never seen an actual OCA.
I got up early because the painter was due at 8:00 AM. He is till not here. I have to take Alan to work at 9:30. I hope the painter comes before that. Alan is having a good run just now, six days in a row.
66A missed a chance for a clecho with 5A, as Robbie Burns wrote both “Comin’ THRO’ the Rye” and “Auld Lang SYNE”
Creative theme and always helps my brain to change gears when the theme clues are all vertical- different to have T-TOP as theme and not a filler answer.
Thanks for the explanation of the LAMPPOST - YR! Vaguely familiar after your explanation- probably because it isn't used much these days!
When I was little I definitely remember finally learning how to SKIP- galloping was much easier- but it took a bit to figure out the pattern of skipping. Once I learned I skipped through much of my childhood- so much more fun than just walking!
Thanks CC for stepping in- prayers that Steve is okay! Congrats to Robert and Marlea!
Good morning. Thank you Robert and Maria Ellis, and thank you CC.
Solved it mostly in a clockwise fashion, so I came upon the reveal before I could avoid it. The perps made the reveal obvious.
The only typeover was the Y to E in ASHLEE. IBO was unknown, but the perps solved it. Last fill was the O in OCA, which was inexplicable since we have had it so many times.
Kenny Loggins- THIS IS IT (1979)
Erased frito for NACHO, flits for SKIPS and STILL FRW with THRu x uCA. Haven't seen ANTZ, and never heard of Swedish Fish OREOS, but we get both fills a lot in the LATCW so no problem. I have always tried to avoid cloy TV shows, including The Wonder Years, so I didn't know the mom. Didn't know if Corvallis was in Oregon or Oklahoma, but I knew it wasn't Ohio. Favorite clues were "bugs often caught" for COLDS and "board and lodging" for KEEP. I found the gimmick helpful to finish faster than I otherwise would.
YR - I'm so happy to hear that Alan is having good days now.
From last night, WC - CC offered up a real toughie this past Saturday. Kicked my butt. Regarding using FB for HBD greetings, I never use my real birth date for any of my limited social media time gobblers. I do get oddly-timed HBD wishes and have to remember my scheme. I got kicked off Nextdoor because I used a pseudonym and refused to change to my real name. I also use made-up answers for mother's maiden name, city of birth, and sometimes phone number. I just have to jot down my lies, since I'm not smart enough to keep my stories straight.
Welcome to the LAT, Robert and Marlea. Great Thursday=level puzzle. And thanks to CC for pinch-hitting. Nice job.
Good Morning,
Thanks Robert and Marlea for a doable Thursday puzzle. I missed the T-TOP.
My favorites were COLDS and LAMP POST!
Thanks, C.C., for filling in. Steve, I hope you're only suffering from the time change!!
Have a sunny day everyone.
No, your dialect is stuck on other people's creativity being "lame". My god, man, why are you so grumpy and bitter so early in the morning...
Musings
-A quick tiptoe through the linguistic tulips today
-My impatience has caused me to be victimized by RASH DESCISIONS
-West Point and other upstate NY attractions are on my bucket list
-ASHLEE Simpson will always be known for her SNL lip sync fiasco (1:03) (and the band played on)
-Some of us grew up with this INK port but never used it
-Watching my 14-yr-old grandson drink root beer from a brown bottle is disconcerting to me
-My car will not “SLAM ON” my brakes but it WARNS me with a flashing light and vibrating seat if it thinks I am going to hit something
Thanks to C.C. for filling in for me - I had a total brain-thing and I thought today was Wednesday. Normal service will resume next week!
Good Morning:
This theme tickled my fancy and my favorite theme fill was Trump Roast and not for any political reason, just because it make me chuckle. (I think "tickle my fancy" and the word "chuckle" have gone the same way as "between you, me and the lamppost", or, maybe, I'm "just getting up in years!") My only w/o's were Thru/Thro and Ashley/Ashlee. I thought TTops was the perfect reveal.
Thanks, Robert and Marlea, and if this is a debut, it's a beauty and thanks, CC, for filling in for Steve. I hope he's okay.
YR, I hope Alan continues to be back on track.
DO, I'm curious as to why Dynamo's adoption fell through; is he too much of a Dynamo? (I know nothing about cats or their temperaments.)
Have a great day.
IM, Dynamo absolutely hates confinement, and he's got the voice to let you know of his displeasure. The folks who took him home wanted him as a companion for their adult cat. Don't know how they went about introducing the two, but it didn't go well. The said the adult cat tried to kill the kitten (doubtful, but that's what they said). So they locked Dynamo in a bathroom for his own protection, and he howled and carried on all night long. They said they'd had enough. Too bad. Dynamo's got a great personality, and he gets along just fine with our adult cats.
Good morning everyone.
Nice Thursday puzzle. Got the theme at the reveal, 52 down, Went back and inserted T's at the head of the long downs. No help needed for the solve, but did have Oslo before ISLE. (Cruise ships call at Oslo.). Many misdirections but they were all fair and clever.
Kudos to the Ellis's.
TROUGH ESTIMATE - Always had to get it right when forking down silage or throwing down the correct number of hay bales out of the mow.
LAMPPOST - I use this metaphor frequently.
Greetings to all!
Congratulations to Robert and Marlea for a cleverly themed debut puzzle. Thanks to C.C. for pinch hitting for Steve. Glad all is well, Steve.
I question the clue "Old El Paso product" for TACO. To my knowledge, Old El Paso makes taco shells, sauces, refried beans, and seasonings, not actual tacos. Maybe I am missing something. None-the-less, an enjoyable solve.
Enjoy the day!
What a delightful puzzle. It seemed easier to me than most but maybe I was just on the right wavelength. Spitzboov, LAMPPOST came quickly tome, too, but maybe we're just old! Thanks Robert, Marlea and C.C.
Anon at 8:58, go back to bed. Owen, you and Robbie Burns were wonderful!
Hi Y'all! Really enjoyed this puzzle from Robert & Marlea. Thanks, C.C.
Steve, glad you are all right. Don't wish anyone else confusion, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets their days mixed up.
I got the theme after encountering a couple and it helped on the rest. Most were amusing, especially TRUMP ROAST since he also seems to have a rather significant amount of RUMP. (Yup, I chuckled at that one, not caring the term is out of style.)
TROUGH ESTIMATE: at our cattle feeding lot, they used a tractor to pull a feed wagon down a loooong cement TROUGH. They had to ESTIMATE the speed of the tractor correctly and smoothly or the ensilage would overflow and spill out on the side away from the cattle. Then they had to get a scoop shovel to pick up the spills. Men prefer doing things with machines rather than scoop shovels.
Fishy OREOS don't sound as tasty.
D-O: have you heard of the expression, "jealous as an old cat"? Some of them are very jealous. We brought home a pretty new female kitten once and our old tom saw us petting it. You could see the spite coming out with his twitching tail. We left them alone outside while we had lunch and never saw hide nor hair of the kitten again.
I certainly echo SwampCat on the superlative l'ick. Btw, that particular Anon has a copyright on "Lame".
Re. The Adoption. It occurred to me that DH was unbiased in his estimate. Like betting: don't bet on your favs.
OCS is Marine Corps Officer Training. The Army has an extra letter.
I blew it on OCA/THRU. YR, thanks for explaining LAMPOST. I was trying to remember the Three Musketeers. Who can name 'em sans Google?
I remember a workplace trivia contest where we had an "Extra body". And sure enough a Jetsons question popped up and she nailed it, much to my amazement.
Even when CC crafts a difficult xword, it's always doable.
Steve, in place of write-up you get to post extra long. And. It wasn't your fault, it was Misty's. 😂
Methinks I've been extra long
WC
😂 She had days mixed up earlier
TTOPS was clever! Thank you, Robert and Marlea Ellis. And thank you, C.C., for subbing today.
Though I don't especially enjoy animation, since I've watched hundreds of children's movies, ANTZ was fun and it's geared toward adults. The dialogue is witty and the plot as I recall is intriguing. It was a long time ago that I saw it.
Hand up for having to change ASHLEY to ASHLEE, also FEES to DUES. That's the extent of my erasures but I had the same thought as MJ about TACOS. Does El Paso make complete ones or just the shells? Interesting position for ROT, not politicizing, just observing.
I don't have a TIVO; mine is a DVR.
Our Kroger grocery store carries almost every known product from other countries but I've never seen an OCA there. Recently I saw it clued as a New Zealand vegetable.
Steve, thank you for checking in and assuring us you are well.
Have a most enjoyable day, everyone!
Wilbur:
I believe they are Athos, Porthos and Aramis.
Nice theme and puzzle, Robert & Marlea. Congrats on the debut, as well! Loved LAMPPOST the best!
Thanks, C.C. for stepping up at the last minute! You're our beloved leader!
Lucina, those are the names I came up with too. But I wasn't as brave as you. I was going to confirm 'em before posting anything. Wasn't Aramis the smelly one?
BINGO. I was having trouble coming up with Porthos. D'Artagnan joined the Three.
No. Aramis was the lover. He probably had all sorts of expensive scents. I would guess Porthos had spent some time in the TROUGHS. Earthy character.
WC
Fun Thursday puzzle (did I get the day right?), Robert and Marlea--great debut! I was so proud of myself for getting the whole thing, or so I thought, but I didn't know the Andean tuber and put UCA instead of OCA. Darn! But I got the theme early and thought it was a lot of fun watching those long answers fall into place. So, many thanks, R and M duo, and you, C.C., especially, for filling in for Steve. Wilbur is right, I got the day wrong on Tuesday, so it happens to other blog folks too, Steve.
I had to read Yellowrock's post twice before I finally got the LAMPPOST clue and answer. Many thanks, and glad Alan is having a good week.
Thank you, Michael and Desper-otto, for you sympathy on my robo call problem yesterday. I believe I tried nomorobo once, a while back, though it didn't work--but may try it again if the problem gets worse.
Have a great day, everybody!
Zeds, huh ??
ZEDS appeared in the NY Times three weeks ago as End of a London series. It had me stumped as it crossed with Sunshine Biscuits bit. After a lengthy alphabet run, mental, I'm a P&I guy, I got the ZED, I got the ZIT and tada, CHEEZIT.
Oh the excitement. My cruciverbalist world went wild. Ok. Two parrots tweeted.
It was my last fill on a weeklong slog.
Oh. ZED I believe stands for Z in the English world.
WC
Wilbur, not sure where you are getting the extra letter for Army OCS. Candidate training is at Ft Benning, GA. Are you thinking of Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS), taught at Ft Rucker, AL ?
In England and most of its (current or former) commonwealths, the letter Z is pronounced "Zed."
TTP. The extra letter might simply be A. The Marine Corps simply called it OCS.
My information might be seriously outdated. When I shopped around that was the case. OCS was ten weeks, Saturday night off after two weeks, adjacent to DC party life. No brainier, eh?
WC
Lucinda - When I worked in CA, a coworker went to a multi-week training class in Dublin, OH. When he came back he told us of a really nice grocery chain he found there. He said that in California they have KMarts, but in Ohio they also have K-Rogers.
One of my nephews was smart, but hung out with a bunch of no-goodnicks. When he graduated from High School he recognized that his life was going nowhere and enlisted in the USMC. After his stint he was a MAN, and went back to school and earned his bachelors degree. After graduation he re-enlisted in the Marines and went through OCS. He is now a fine officer, great father, and is married to a Navy MD. His transition from a punk to outstanding citizen was a big relief to his PhD parents.
WC, It's just OCS in the Army too.
Jinx, they won't approve a Nextdoor user here unless they verify the person's name. I usually get a daily chuckle or two out of some of the comments posted. One neighbor was looking for a recommendation on an appliance repairman, and another member linked the contact name and company for someone they were satisfied with. Later, another person asked if he charged for service.
I like the fact that people have to use their real names. It keeps the childish, spurious and mean spirited comments down. There have been generally civil discussions, even on hot topic items like the teachers association's contract negotiations with the board of ed, and the impact to property taxes in that school district.
One teacher's initial response - asking the community to reserve judgement until the true facts were reported - had a common spelling error, and another member much later replied with something to the effect of hoping she wasn't the spelling teacher. No indication it was an attempt at a humorous tease, and the responder was quickly but mildly chastised. And that was that. It was over. No ongoing Anon or pseudonym attacks..
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Robert and Marlea Ellis, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
Glad you are OK, Steve.
We always said, and still do, You, Me, and the Gate Post. Lamp Post means the same thing.
Liked the theme. Read the clue and answer for TRUMP ROAST to my wife. She got a kick out of it. We live in a divided house, politically.
Tried ASHLEY before ASHLEE became obvious.
No idea who NORMA is. But it fit.
Never tried a fishy Oreo. But if I see one I will.
ZEDS was my favorite clue/word for today.
Off to my day. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
I liked this puzzle. Well, all except the crossing of PTS and AGS. Loved the clues for LAMPPOST and PATH. Nice job, Robert and Marlea Ellis.
In the Air Force, at least as it was in the 60's, OCS was Officer Candidate School and OTS was Officer Training School. IIRC the former was for enlisted folks (already in the service) to train up to become a commissioned officer and the latter was for folks not already in the service to enter the service as a commissioned officer (2nd Lieutenant.)
Knew OSU immediately. My brother-in-law got a master's degree there. I went to U of O in Eugene, OR.
Had to change El Capitan from SHEER to STEEP.
I agree with the little nit about TACO not actually being an El Paso product, and will add that I don't think a NACHO is a dipping chip.
Thanks for that pinyin link, C.C.
In that photo of the OCAs, they look like, um, big fat maggots.
BOSE may be highly respected, but it is due to their competent and effective marketing rather than to the actual quality of their products.
I learned what ABS feels like when I once had to SLAM ON my brakes. The car felt like it was vibrating. It sure works, though; I stopped safely and never had the wheels lock up.
When our son was little he loved the name OSCAR because Oscar the Grouch was his favorite Sesame Street character.
Best wishes to you all.
Another fun CW. Congratulations on your debut Robert and Marlea. Thanks for filling in today C.C. (Glad you are OK Steve -maybe you can blame your confusion on the time change!)
Favourite today was Beaten PATH. TRUMPROAST was a close second.
Recycling again after all our discussion the other day.
Thanks for explaining the lamppost clue YR. (Glad Alan and you are having some good days.)
I noted the cross of COLDS and OLDS, and the new clue for OREO.
Changed Fees to DUES, Era to EON, Ashley to ASHLEE, THRU to THRO, Alit to ABUT.
Unknowns were IBO, OCA, OCS.
This Canadian got the ZEDS immediately.
But this Canadian needed perps for DOJ (Department of Justice) chiefs = AGS (Attorney Generals). Did I get that right?
Enjoy the day.
Very
Happy
to report my replacement keyboard has arrived!
Since my fancy wireless job poohed out on me I have been struggling to type with my clumsy thumbs on a tiny iPad screen. The new KB is nothing grand; it's an old-fashioned wire-connected deal. But now every time I look down at that white cord I feel security!
Steve, you had us going for a bit. Glad to know all's well!
But what's with this Wrong Day Syndrome?
First Misty and now Steve! Thinking it's not the day it is, combined with actually believing it is a different day - compounded by an impact upon one's expected labor!!
I may have to keep a calendar by my bedside clock. To ward off WDS!
I am definitely not a hypochondriac, but I do tend to catch whatever's going round.
Tough pzl today from the Ellis team. The Ta- DA! felt good! It took a while to catch onto the "TR" trick, mainly (I think) because the first clued fill was rather awkward. I mean, TRAIN CHECK is hardly what conductors do.
But I recognize the difficulty of finding right definitions. All honor to those who can string enough words together to create any Xwd at all! ...
Fun theme and fairly smooth ride! Loved the clue for ZEDS! Thanks for filling in for the solutions, CC.
OCS unknown and it was missing from the last bit of the solutions. Thanks for explaining. OCA, IBO and ASHLEE also unknown. Saved by crosses. Guessed SHEER before STEEP for EL CAPITAN.
Here was our view of EL CAPITAN as we entered Yosemite last summer
Here were more of our Yosemite photos
My post yesterday with the LLAMAS and more was probably too late for most to see. Thank you for the kind words about my FLORENCE and other photos, PK, Lucina and TX Ms!
I believe OCS grads were what we knew during WW2 days as "90- Day Wonders." I don't know when OCS was added to the ways in which military officers were created. Historically, officers came from military academies, or from 4-year ROTC programs. I guess wartime pressure added to the need to create (and replace) officers.
Three months seems a very short time to churn them out, hence "90-Day Wonder" was not exactly a term of respect.
I enrolled in AFROTC in college. I was eager to be a pilot, so studied and drilled assiduously for two years. At the two-year mark we were all tested - physically, mentally - and to discover how our aptitudes matched the Air Force's job specifications.
It turned out I was destined to be a navigator, not a pilot.
Oh, no!
I opted out of the remaining two years.
My son loved AFROTC, was Cadet vice-commander first semester his senior year and Cadet Commander the second semester. His ROTC corps embraced him warmly when his father died the summer after his sophomore year and the Cadre helped him get through it all or I think he would have dropped out of school and drifted. The scholarships that went along with being in ROTC eased the financial burden on me. It was a proud moment when I pinned on his 2nd Lt. bars. Took five years to get his mechanical engineering degree and he got his private pilot's license during his fifth year. He then went into the military pilot training as soon as a slot opened. He is retired now. I read where retired AF pilots are being recalled to active duty. He hasn't received any word. We hope he doesn't with three teenaged sons and a younger son, he is needed at home. Raising sons to become productive citizens is also service to one's country, methinks.
Jinx, your nephew was lucky he got focused. In our rural community while I was growing up, if boys started getting into trouble the court gave them the choice of jail or signing up for military service. I know of a number of boys who became fine upstanding men after the discipline of military training.
Picard, enjoyed your fine photos today. Very professional.
The letter Z is pronounced "zed" in French also. In Italian, it is "zeta,"probably a little something the Romans borrowed from the Greeks. Don't get me started, or I'll end up explaining & (ampersand), to which my DH would comment. Who cares but you!? Of course, now I can say I just happen to have some friends around the "corner" who care about all sorts of useless knowledge. . . . ;>)
Congratulations on the new keyboard, Ol'Man Keith! In this day and age there's little worse than having computer problems, isn't there? Mine has been heating up a bit lately and so I'm scheduled to have a new one installed on Tuesday. But how am I ever going to get the dozens and dozens of sites and items transferred on to a new computer? Gives me nightmares just thinking about it, though thankfully, my tech installer will help. Glad you only needed a new keyboard, Ol'Man Keith, but for you that was clearly critical, so that's wonderful!
PK, I can see why you are proud of him.
Dear Misty @11:38:
I think we share the problem of robocalls. NoMoreRobo doesn't work on landlines, or my brand of mobile phone, so I have an accelerated interest in the issue ... but, unfortunately, no answer.
Anon-T from yesterday @11:20: you're right about the cyber agents. I see in the Army Association mag that we're setting up a new Cyber Command, and besides the known Russian and Chinese equivalents, it is reasonable to assume that every state actor -- down to the level of Vanuatu, say -- has some electronic warfare capability.
If the shoe ever drops, it could get real nasty.
CanadianEh!
The preferred plural is ATTORNEYS GENERAL.
d-o:
Were you referring to the cologne which happens to be called Aramis?
Yep!
OMK,
I didn't think TRAIN CHECK was awkward. Never gave it a second thought. But after your comment, I thought about it a little deeper.
On passenger trains here, the conductors check tickets and collect fares. They also check on general passenger welfare, strolling up and down the line of cars, and deal with emergencies, drunk or unruly passengers when it becomes necessary. They also help passengers off and on board as required, and when the train is about to depart a station or stop, they check to make sure that all are clear. The commuter trains don't move until the lead conductor signals the engineer that it's ok to put the train in motion.
Jayce, thank you!
Lucina: you forgot D'artagnan -- there were 4 Three Musketeers, who generally used swords instead of muskets, just as there were 5 (or 9) Four Crowned Martyrs and 5 Three Stooges and the October Rebellion happened in November ...
OMK: Do hypochondriacs ever get hypochondria and feel well?
A TRAIN CHECK is the bill you get in the dining car.
I spent my freshman college year in AFROTC. Knew I'd never be a pilot, but still wanted to be an astronaut. Then got called up for the draft, and got 4-F. Flat feet, hearing loss, pacifist draft board, interfearing mother. Looking back, my life would have been so much better in so many ways if I'd gained the discipline and perks of being in the military!
The Marine Corps had an old joke that's Marines howled at but no one else thought was funny. So a young kid gets hauled up before the judge who says.
"Two years in prison or you can enlist in the Marine Corps and go to Parris Island.
The kid says "Can I think about it".
I was wrong on OCS. In 1968 it was only 10 weeks, 70 day "Wonder". Of course it was followed by five months Basic School
WC
OwenKL:
No, I didn't forget D'Artagnan who in the movie, The Man in the Iron Mask, was played by the delicious Gabriel Byrne. The question was, who were the 3.
Thanks Lucina. But should the abbreviation for Attorneys General be ASG not AGS? LOL!
Owen..re.....musketeers....Hehehehehe. yes!! Numbers don't count!!
Hi All!
Posting late 'cuz I'm still working but taking a quick brain-break... //read no funny links from me 'cuz no time...
I T-Romped through this fun offering from Robert and Marlea with a lot of head scratches and white w/ those long downs but almost NAIL'd it. FIW @ THRu xing oCA (Hi Jinx!) - YAM was right out.. Thanks guys and congrats on a LAT debut.
Thanks C.C. for filling in for Steve's brain-fart. No worries Steve, C.C. corrected my grid for you :-). //(I do mix up days too, esp. when traveling which I know you do.)
WOs: YAM b/f perps forced -CA, ASHLEE (no, couldn't be dummy) -> ASHLEY -> ASHLEE. I had SLAMED [sic] b/f SLAM ON.
ESPs: OSU, NORMA, POSY - never heard it used as clue'd
Favs: c/as for LAMPPOST, COLDS, OSCAR.
Sparkle: THIS IS IT*, DYNAMO, WHITE LIE, and I love the word SCOOT.
{A+}
@8:58 - Yes, why are you so bitter & grumpy so early? Idea: scroll past posters that irk you and/or invoke the Thumper Rule.
@11:40 - I think you meant "ZEDS, eh?" :-)
C, Eh! - We say, "I'm gonna get some Z's" (rest); do y'all say "Gonna get some ZEDS?" or is that not an saying in the Great White North?
//ZEDS was easy - I actually picked up saying Zee as 'ZED' (part-time) from my buddies in CA, AU & UK.
OMK - nice to have that new-keyboard smell too, eh?
YR - Thanks for the OSCAR Mayer commercial. The song ala clue'd, is the only way I can keep the letters in bologna "right." Glad to hear Alan is having a good week.
Picard - when where you in Yosemite? I was there in June. Your pic at Glacier Point made my whole body tingley ... I couldn't even get close to the edge when up there (breathtakingly beautiful though). Right, IM? (IM - if you didn't see it - don't look!). Nice shots tho.
Jayce - I thought the bowl of OCA looked more like LLAMA poo. :-)
D-O: I was so hoping you'da told us that the cat adopter had OCD, didn't realize the problem w/ cats and the TP roll "over", but couldn't stand the roll "under" nor all over the floor.
Cheers, -T
*Damn you TTP for putting that song in my head all day! :-)
Wilbur, a tidbit you might find interesting. One of the guys on our kaserne forum about your age was drafted after college. An enlisted man. A combat engineer. He applied for OCS, was accepted, and made it through the training. Upon commission, he had a couple of assignments while moving from butterbar to 1st Louie, before making Captain and being assigned as the Company Commander in the same engineering battalion at our kaserne that he had served in as an enlisted man.
From what I read on the forums, very well respected then and to this day. He retired from the military as a Major after 20 + years. He was CO while I was stationed at that kaserne, but I never knew of him then as we were in different battalions.
Our groundpounder forum gets appreciably more active around Veterans Day. One of the guys just posted a couple of pictures of himself. One was him in uniform in late summer 1959, and the more recent was him in uniform about 10 years ago. He'll be back in parade dress for this year's remembrance, and said he'll send in pics. Looking forward to it. Another great guy I never served with.
Anon-T, it's an inspiration song. Glad you liked it ! I still like Danny's Song from Loggins and Messina, but that may be before your time. See it it gets This Is It out of your ear.
Btw. I really liked The Wonder Years.
WC
OH, I get it OMK. You were thinking of a musical conductor. No wonder it didn't make sense to you !
OK, I'm out. See all y'all tomorrow n'at !
CanadianEh!:
That's the English language for you! AGs but attorneys general.
Jinx:
I just reread your post and got the K-roger/Kmart quip. Yes, I'm slow.
PK & Jinx - The Army fixed my bro (the CEO, no the active duty one). I just joined to pay for college. Onery, yes, but I was a good boy overall - was even in JROTC in HS. JROTC even gave me 1 stripe in Basic and a leadership role upon arriving - promptly taken away two-days later when Pvt. F-Up got us all in trouble. // I was later told that was the SOP - put highest rank / oldest guy in charge then show the whole that their F-up did that to 'em... to bind the unit. Rinse and repeat until one.
Michael - belive it or not we've had offensive Cyber capabilities in the military going back to the early '90s (probably before, but that's when I encountered them @ [redacted - think Carmel but north]). When I left the DOD in '98, USAF was playing too - that's what got me back into hacking and further from EE.
W/ OSU in the puzzle today, I realized I can't put OU (University of Oklahoma - school for the dyslexics :-)) in a grid. Maybe some of y'all would get LA TECH if clue'd as Malone's alma mater. Go Sooners & Bulldogs!
TTP - That almost got rid of the ear-worm... I had to go back to yesterday's pzl to find ITS HARD. :-)
Cheers, & Nite - I'm done w/ my list. -T
Jinx - LOL! I was slow on the uptake too -- until Lucina just pointed it. I really did think "I didn't see a K-Roger in Aberdeen."
That V8 kinda stung. -T
You two who got Jinx "Aberdeen" quip... I knew it was a joke but it's going right over my head.
If not here expliquez pour Les etourdies
in Friday's write-up. I see JW has crafted Friday (shudder)
WC
AnonT. @8:58pm - LOL re Zeds eh!
No, I don't seem to hear that expression about getting some Zees or Zeds around these parts although I am familiar with it.
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