google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, December 4, 2017 ~ Jeff Stillman

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Dec 4, 2017

Monday, December 4, 2017 ~ Jeff Stillman

Theme: Seeing Double - Heteronyms, the last word and the last syllable of the preceding word are spelled the same but sound different.

17A. Devotee of singer Gloria: ESTEFAN FAN

24A. Precise price: ACCURATE RATE

39A. Mata Hari story, e.g.: FEMME FATALE TALE

51A. Garden purchase from a Lowe's rival: HOME DEPOT POT

63A. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it's 63 for retirement: AVERAGE AGE

Argyle here. No reveal and five entries yet still an easy Monday.

Across:

1. Knight's "shining" protection: ARMOR

6. Elegant: POSH

10. WWII servicewomen: WACs. (Women's Army Corps)

14. Car body style: COUPE. 45D. Family car: SEDAN

15. Mennen shaving lotion: AFTA

16. Get one's ducks in __: A ROW

19. Heavy book: TOME

20. Buck or doe: DEER

21. Beluga yield: ROE. The Beluga sturgeon, not Beluga whale.

22. Viewed to be: DEEMED

27. Mineral springs: SPA

30. Believer's suffix: IST

31. Five-time Wimbledon champ Bjorn: BORG. "Resistance is futile."


32. Portion out: ALLOT

34. "Westworld" network: HBO. (Home Box Office)

35. Bon Ami alternative: AJAX

43. Simplicity: EASE

44. The "I" in TGIF: IT'S

46. Disney's "__ & Stitch": LILO. (2002)

48. Above-the-street trains: ELs

50. Chapter in history: ERA

56. Truck capacity: ONE TON

57. Coffee order: Abbr.: REG. (regular) Does that mean with cream and sugar to you?

58. Image to click on: ICON

62. Gadget's rank: Abbr.: INSP. (Inspector) Animated TV series.


66. Slugger Sammy: SOSA. Baseball.

67. Earth orbiter: MOON

68. Wafer brand: NILLA by Nabisco.

69. Jacob or Esau: TWIN

70. Choice word: ELSE

71. Not reached, as a goal: UNMET. Like most fund drives, right down to the wire.

Down:

1. Scored 100 on: ACED

2. Went up: ROSE

3. Sound-off button: MUTE

4. Wagner work: OPERA

5. Striped-shirt wearer: REF

6. Happen as expected: PAN OUT

7. Buyer's proposal: OFFER

8. BART stop: STA. (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

9. Hammer or screwdriver: HAND TOOL

10. Nixon Era scandal: WATERGATE

11. Pleasing smell: AROMA

12. Tailed celestial body: COMET

13. 31-Across, by birth: SWEDE. "Resistance is futile."

18. Rainbow shapes: ARCs

23. Poetic "always": E'ER

25. Credit in a footnote: CITE

26. "Dancing Queen" group: ABBA



27. Place for valuables: SAFE

28. Not guilty, for one: PLEA

29. Gift for the poor: ALMS

33. Skillet for folded egg dishes: OMELET PAN

34. Growth chart nos.: HTs. (height)

36. Green stone: JADE

37. Banned apple spray: ALAR

38. TV warrior princess: XENA

40. It's often followed by .pdf: FILE NAME

41. On the summit of: ATOP

42. Old U.S. gas brand: ESSO

47. Swearing-in words: I DO

48. Timeless, in verse: ETERNE

49. Women's links gp.: LPGA.(Ladies Professional Golf Association)

51. Lift up: HOIST

52. Televised as we speak: ON NOW

53. Soccer great Lionel: MESSI. I still haven't learned his name.

54. Black-and-white cookies: OREOs

55. Marketing gimmick: TIE-IN

59. Period "before the storm": CALM

60. Look at lasciviously: OGLE

61. Without ice, at the bar: NEAT

64. TV loud-soft control: Abbr.: VOL. (volume)

65. Bearded antelope: GNU. Available in the gift shop.



Argyle

71 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Jeff and Santa!

Only unknown was MESSI.

Still got the cough and have added caregiver's sore throat. Drat!

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

fermatprime said...

PS. Does anyone else work the iWin Daily crossword? Hard on the eyes, but fun.

OwenKL said...

There was a small DEER, of the breed known as ROE,
Set out for his fortune, got his DUCKS IN A ROW.
To earn some dough as a profit
He teamed with does who were prophets,
They named their business Seers, Roe Buck, and Co.!

You may drive a COUPE, or drive a SEDAN,
A pick-up, ONE TON, or be a caravan FAN!
Be it humble or POSH,
The price you ALLOT
Will be set by how well you can drive a bargain!

{A-, B.}

BTW, Wilbur, thanks for your praise for the alliterative "Pity the plight of the poor PINATA / Forced to fend as a fragment of EPHEMERA!" Saturday. Erato wrote those first two lines for me, and then, as she so often does, left it for me to struggle to finish the poem and make some sense of it¡

D4E4H said...

HG  12-1 902A
-re "Model evolution."  My first car was a 1965 red VW.  I loved that car.  One day on I 64 eastbound at the Ky. river where the highway slopes down for at least a mile.  I goter up to 85.  When it was time to say good-by, I bought a Super Beetle. I never did like it.  Then a VW Rabbit.  Love again!  It had "Hare conditioning." The hatch back dinged when I closed it quickly, and a friend could open the doors to my car with his key, but it wouldn't work in the ignition.
Misty FLN 727P
-Dusty reading is the perfect segue for me to introduce you to Mr. Romeo in my picture.  I am helping him with his social media account.  People have "Face Book." Canines have "Muzzle Book."  People judge how popular they are by "Likes."  For dogs it's "Licks."
Ferm FLN 808P
- "Harv still sick. No din din tonight."  Are you punishing him for having your cold?  Are you "All better?"
Mike S. FLN 12-4 416A
-"I’m awed by the interactions of the words."  How a CW constructor can find an answer that goes all the way across the puzzle with perps all along that are also words amazes me also.  BTW The "Meter" in your picture becomes a sign for Naalehu, HI when enlarged.  I thought you should know.  GMT-10 to you.
Aloha, Dave

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Zip, zip, done. Thanks, Jeff, I liked those theme answers.

Argyle, black coffee for me, please. I smiled at your "resistance is futile" comment. I think Picard will too.

MESSI -- a good description of his tax situation.

Lemonade714 said...

A very Monday puzzle with the added bonus of the RWO/ROE homonym. No unknowns and a slight mini-theme with BORG and ABBA. I have never tried an omelet pan always just folding in the frying pan. I am however no professional, a fact emphasized every time I watch Oo cook.

Thanks, Jeff and Argyle.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I got the theme on the FAN FAN.

I learned that Viewed To Be is DEEMED and not Seemed.

My favorite clue was Bon Ami Alternative = AJAX. Interestingly, I use COMET, which is also found in this puzzle.

QOD: The way to change the world is through individual responsibility and taking local action in your own community. ~ Jeff Bridges (b. Dec. 4, 1949) [The answer to what I will be doing in my retirement.]

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased sEEMED. Didn't know LILO or MESSI. NEAT CSO to Tin. I think of Bartenders Friend as an alternative to Bon Ami, not AJAX, since AJAX is abrasive. But it is still a fresher clue than the standard ones that some way reference the Trojan war.

I like words and phrases that can have exactly opposite meanings, depending on context. "Sound-off button" could also be used to describe the one that has to be pushed to activate one's microphone, as in Senate hearings. And a policeman might CITE you if you drive 50 in a 35.

Thanks to Santa for the tour, and for introducing "heteronym" into my vocabulary. Hope it sticks. And thanks to Jeff Stillman for a gentle start to the week after a bruising Sunday. It would close the circle nicely if you lived on Steinway Way.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

21A: If Beluga roe was from Beluga whales,
each egg would be the size of a basketball. 😅

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Really fast & fun, Jeff! Great one, Argyle, but I couldn't get a couple of the links.

Guessed what the theme would be on ESTAFAN FAN. Helped with the others. Got a chuckle from FEMME FATALE TALE. All were good though.

Got stuck briefly in the SW. Didn't know MESSI. Tried "raise" before HOIST dawned on me from SOSA. Gadget's rank was a stumper so went on and filled the rest of the south tier. Then INSP hit me. "Lull" before CALM.

D4: Harv brings Fermatprime her dinner. She is in a wheel chair.

Anonymous said...

A Monday puzzle mentions TGIF...*sigh*

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Liked today's theme. Easy though. SWEDE sub-theme including ABBA and BORG. (I wonder if Swenglish Mom is lurking.)
PAN OUT - I wonder if this crept into the language from the Gold Rush times. I wonder what the Brits say.

Lucina - Happy forthcoming birthday on Wednesday. You sound like you are well-loved by many people.

Coach J said...

Typical Monday with no crunch for me. The superMOON last night was awe-inspiring for me. Just gorgeous.

Stoned on weed, my SWEDE friend got
With many sources he doesn’t ALLOT
Numerous places to get his fix
With retailers even in the mix
His new fav is HOME DEPOT POT

I recently traveled to Colorado (a state I love) and visited some of the “shops” in Boulder. Interesting, but not my thing. PS: if ever in Boulder plan a day trip to Nederland, CO...the drive up the canyon is beautiful.

TTP said...


Thank you Jeff Stillman and thank you Argyle !

Needed an easier puzzle after yesterday's abysmal failure.
Heteronyms. Neat puzzle. Teachers could use them as examples.
Bon Ami alternative. AJAX, COMET, Bar Keepers Friend.
REG - No, it means not Decaf to me.
UNMET - One of our 3 PBS stations in Chicago, WYCC, shut down last month. Fund drives couldn't save it. They sold their broadcast spectrum. I already miss it.

Coach J said...

WILBUR, from your comments yesterday it seems baseball is your thing. Basketball is more in my wheelhouse with my favorite teams being the Celtics from the 1970s. Havlicek, Cowens, White, Chaney, Silas, Nelson, etc. They were fun to watch, especially Cowens.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Your AGE of retirement (where every day is TGIF) might exceed the AVERAGE if you don’t have your ducks IN A ROW
-A funny coffee order (:27)
-Computer veterans remember when GUI ICONS replaced DOS commands
-I checked the smartest kid’s test first. If she didn’t get a 100, I checked my key
-Husker fans hope -our home state new FB coach will PAN OUT
-I immediately “YouTubed” ABBA’s infectious music when I saw their clue and have their Greatest Hits album playing while I type
-A not guilty PLEA is not the same as one claiming innocence
-It appears Senor Messi will join Pele in Crosswordland
-TIE IN -Here’s a simple black slab of $24 plastic from 2001. Notice “Zero Points Of Articulation” in corner. They’re telling you it is worthless but know “There’s one born every minute”

Lucina said...

Thank you, Jeff Stillman! This was fun and different with the heteronyms. Interesting theme.

It offered a wide assortment of the arts: ESTEFAN, LILO and Stitch, INSP. Gadget, OPERA, ABBA, XENA, and even ETERNE from poetry. Also two kinds of autos, COUPE and SEDAN.

I noted the CSO to Tin at NEAT. And I mistook the clue for NILLA as "water brand" instead of wafer so was really puzzled at NILLA.

Thank you, Argyle, for 'splainin' it all!

Sptiz:
I know! I have been emotionally overcome all weekend. One couple, a great-nephew and his wife I hadn't seen since their wedding seven years ago and it meant so much to me that they made the effort to be there. The same with so many others.

Have a superb day, everyone!

Lemonade714 said...

Dyslexia wins again - ROW/ROE. AJAX was the name I called my red betta after the Trojan War figure.

Pet rock beats monolith everytime.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks Jeff for a break from my complete failure yesterday! Nice tour, Santa.

In Boston, Regular coffee does mean sugar, but it definitely means a half pint of cream! ;-)
My daughter-in-law is from Boston, and our standing joke is that I ask her if she wants coffee with her cream. Not half and half. Just like Dunkin' Donuts--18% butterfat. Yay. Legends has it the heavy condiments date from the Tea Party when Bostonians gave up tea for coffee. Who knows?

Have a fine day, everyone. Looks like Winter will be here tomorrow: 64 today and 37 tomorrow.

PK said...

Lucina: so happy for you that your family gave you such a great party. Know what you mean about being overwhelmed and exhausted in the aftermath. After my family party last week, I was in a daze of exhausted happiness for days.

Coach J: I love Colorado too. I lived there three summers many years ago. I read yesterday Col. is losing population rapidly. This seems strange after having so many boom years. Wonder if they don't like all the potheads on winding mountain roads?

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks, Jeff, for a fun Monday. Knew Estefan, but didn't get the whole entry until the downs were started! Nice job!

Thanks, Argyle, for another great Monday review!

D4E4H said...

Argyle,
Thank you for the tour thru this fine CW by Jeff Stillman.  How many aliases does he/she have.  How do we know what is real after yesterday.  I know my Ego/Id
"Cogito ergo sum, cogito."
-Who knew that the theme answers were heteronyms?  You, and you knew which onym too.
-21A I didn't think whales could roe.
-31A Does anyone else remember Bjorn being severely depressed years ago.  He reported having nothing for which to live.  I am going from memory so forgive me if I have the wrong tennis great.
-57A Noir if by itself.  All dressed up with a meal, cafe au lait avec sucre.
-26D ABBA Thanks for another ear worm.  They are starting to mate.  The video was pleasant with the male chorus back drop.  They honor the royals right at the end.
On to the puzzle:
-14A I wanted SEDAN but got cut to COUPE which is French for "Chopped off."  I got my sedan at 45A.
-First pass A & D almost filled it.North Central was the whitest.
-MOON 67A reminded me that it was full at 12-3, 1547 UTC.  Everyone howl.
-ALAR 37D thought of AGAR. Perp gave the L.
-MESSI 53D was too messi for me.  I not only haven't learned his name, I had never heard of him.
-The finale was the natick of 34A and 34D with an H.  Ta Da.

Yellowrocks said...

ESTEFAN FAN was gotten immediately and so the clever theme was set up. Since this was so easy, the theme is what made it shine.
Jinx, hand up for Bartender's Friend.
I, too realized that SOUND OFF could very very loud or else silent. Funny.
Beluga whale roe? HA HA! They are mammals produced from small ova and birthed live, three foot long calves.
Lucina, what a wonderful birthday party you had. It was great that you saw so many folks you seldom see. I will be back here to wish you happy birthday in a few days.
I had my birthday party for 40 friends and relatives on Saturday. It was at the American Legion Hall. We had homemade hors d'oeuvres and a catered meal. We did square dancing for neophytes. Even Alan danced with a sweet and understanding friend of mine as partner. I was so happy to see how much he enjoyed this party. He usually doesn't like parties. A few of my friends have become his friends, too, and made his day. That was their best gift to me. David and Motoko and two of my sisters were so much help in carrying out the party. Motoko made beautiful flower arrangements for each table and David and DIL ordered the cake. I loved the butterflies on it!!

Misty said...

I loved breezing through this great Jeff Stillman puzzle until I hit a snag in the Southwest corner. Gadget made no sense to me, and didn't know the soccer player and had to look him up. But then it was done. Yay! I half got the theme, noting the repeats in each theme answer, but didn't get the sound differences until Argyle's cool explanation of heteronym. Always love learning things on the blog. Great way to start a busy week--any thanks, Jeff, and you too, Argyle.

So sorry to hear about your cold, Fermatprime. Take good care of yourself.

Dave, what a sweet Mr. Romeo you have.

Have a great week, everybody!

AnonymousPVX said...

This kind of them, once you get it, makes the puzzle too easy, IMO. Otherwise a nice Monday puzzle.

Mark S said...

Nice puzzle. Messi was a gimme from a previous puzzle. One unknown was LILO. Thanks Jeff and Argyle. Now back to yesterday’s puzzle. I’m at about 90%.

Cheers,

Mark

SwampCat said...

Thanks, Jeff, for a different kind of puzzle. The theme was interesting and fun. Favorites were sound off button and the CSO to Tin at without ice. If anyone cares, I'd never heard of MESSI either and probably won't remember . You always straighten us out, Argyle. Thanks.

Great limericks today! Whenever I laugh out loud it is a good day! Thanks, Owen.

FLN! Thanks, Tony. I'll take whatever I can get.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Well, yes, I'll agree with Argyle, that this was "an easy Monday." But at the same time I have to confess that Mr.Stillman's opus is the first Monday pzl in memory that caused me to use a Google confirmation.
Like MISTY and others, I just wasn't sure of Lionel MESSI's name at 53D, not sure enough to proceed in the SW corner w/o double checking. (A typical Gringo, no? Blanking vis a vis el Futbol!)
Why not trust to perps? Because this was part of the crossing challenge as to whether 52D should be ON AIR or ON NOW. The interdependence of these (together with the "abbr." at 62A) demanded confirmation, or so I thought.
(Now, I don't mind if you didn't notice the hurdle and simply barreled ahead and lucked out. To each his/her own pace. Heheh.)

Anyway, from then on, it was "an easy Monday," as I rolled to my
Ta-
DA!
.

OwenKL said...

Following a comment on Facebook about the exceptionally poor meter on my first l'ick today, here is an improved replacement.

Two female DEER, of the breed known as ROE,
Set up as psychics, with their DUCKS IN A ROW.
These does who were prophets
Earned some dough as a profit --
Teamed up with their brother as Seers, Roe Buck, and Co.!

Roy said...

14a: Wanted SEDAN before COUPE; 45d made it clear.

57a: After giving up cream and before giving up caffeine, I discovered that in New York, REGular coffee means sugar and cream.

MESSI?

Southeast corner was my hangup. LINK >ICON; LEER > OGLE; I prefer NECCO wafers to 'NILLA.

Yellowrocks said...

OKL, yes!! Meter adds so much. Now I rate it A.

D4E4H said...

Argyle
-I noticed a red square around T is the SE corner of the CW.  Why is it?
Lemony 646A
-"I watch Oo cook."  Please provide the phonetics of your lovely wife's name.
Magilla Go-Rilla 732A
-Nice to meet you, you big ape.  "the size of a basketball"  Where do you think basketballs came from?  Roe on UK!
PK 808A
-"She is in a wheel chair."  Thanks.  I too have meals brought to me, and they are good.  Lynn wins at the Ky State Fair.
Coach J 854A
-Your groaner is right up there with the master, Mr. OKL. Good weed work.
-Lucina 941A
-re. " CSO to Tin at NEAT"  I haven't seen posts from Tin.  Is this CSO going farther than most?
Lemony 957
-Whats a "red betta?"   Is "Pet rock beats monolith" a new category of rock paper scissors?  The dictionary did not help much on monolith: It  just said "One lith, See also stereolith."
MD 1025A
-When my mother made a cup of coffee, I could see the bottom of the cup.
"Moderation in all things."
YR 1126A
- I'm a neophyte to heteronyms, but here goes one.
"I would like you to pare me a pair of pears."
Misty 1129A
-I have a sweet boy as do you.  Is Dusty on Muzzle Book?
"Nuf said,
Dave

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

Really, really late to the dance due to another busy, but productive day. Did the puzzle last night but didn't have time to comment until now. Easy breezy fun offering with my only w/o being ATRA/AFTA. Confusing devils, those two. Caught the theme right off the bat and realized they were heteronyms when I finished. Nice twist to the basic word play theme.

Thanks, Jeff and Argyle, for a smooth start to the week.

Lucina, no one deserves such an outpouring of love and admiration more than you.

Ferm, feel better soon.

The 60 Minutes retrospect and the Carol Burnett special last night brought back memories of happier times. [Sigh]

Have a great evening.

Irish Miss said...

Dave @ 3:05 ~ Heteronyms are spelled the same way but pronounced differently, e.g., Minute Minute, Produce Produce, etc.

Anonymous said...

D4E5H: Bill Braden's wife said, "Cogito ergo sum, cogito," i.e. "I think; therefore I am (I think)," in 1967. Is your source earlier?

Great puzzle. I'm a FANFAN.

desper-otto said...

What do you call it when two words look like they oughta rhyme, but aren't pronounced the same? Like this example from On Top Of Old Smokey:

A thief will just rob you
And take what you have,
But a false-hearted lover
Will send you to the grave.

That verse always set my teeth on edge. Hymns often pull that same ill-advised stunt.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Jeff Stillman, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

I am in Pennsylvania at my sister's right now. My good friend of over 60 years just passed away.

Tried the puzzle on my IPad and it got blown away, so I got it via my cell phone and worked it there.

Enjoyed it. Not too hard. Did not look for the theme, but will later.

Off to a visit with my friend's widow.

See you later or tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

D4E4H said...

AnonPVX 1208P
-See you have been studying at the "RWO/ROE" school of typos.  "This kind of them,"  Did you mean "This kind of those?"
OKL 227P
-Meter Schmeeter.  I liked the first one Beeter.  Look rhymeonyms.
IM 322P
- "Heteronyms are spelled the same way but pronounced differently."  Smynoreteh are pronounced the same way but spelled differently.
Anon 325P
-First Thanks for making me 10 years younger than 73.  the numbers in my screen name represent the year of my birth 1944.  "Bill Braden's wife said, "Cogito ergo sum, cogito," i.e. "I think; therefore I am (I think)," in 1967. Is your source earlier?" Yes, my source is earlier.  See above.  To parallel the POTUS I invented the saying without even knowing Bill Braden or his wife.  To which Bill Braden are you alluding?
Dave

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up.

Jeff: Thank you for a FUN, FUN puzzle.

Fave today, of course, was the proper way to drink scotch ... NEAT !!!
Cheers!

SwampCat said...

D-O, I share your angst over Ole Smokey. An English teacher of my youth or childhood, called in to lead the singing one day, changed it to:

"...A thief will just rob you and take what you save."

Yes, we all knew it was wrong, but it has made me feel better alllll these years!

PK said...

Abejo: My sympathy on the loss of your friend of 60 years. Most of us have very few that stay in our lives that long.

YR: Did we tell you happy birthday last week? If not, I'm glad you enjoyed your birthday party. I'm sure everyone also had a good time with their party gal. Hope you have many more good times.

Ol' Man Keith said...

OwenKL @ 2:27,
Your re-write is splendid, really first rate. Meter is usually the difference that makes a verse stand out.

Honestly, I still had a bit of trouble trying to make this one work my first two times through. Then it clicked!
The secret is to treat the first three words of line 4 as an anapest.
"Earned some dough" normally wants to count for two or three beats, but with practice you can do it in one.

PS. Isn't it funny that the plural of female deer doesn't rhyme with fuzz?

Yellowrocks said...

PK, thanks, but my birthday is on Christmas Day, when I celebrate with my nearest family members. I had my party 3 weeks early.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Irish Miss @ 3:14,

I too enjoyed much of the Carol Burnett retrospective last night. I don't know if it is a sign of age (mine) or simply a truthful observation that the stars of yesteryear, who appeared on tape or film, seemed so much healthier - less neurotic and driven - compared to our current crop of celebs.

Spitzboov said...

AJAX - HMS AJAX, a Brit light cruiser, fought the Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate on Dec 13, 1939, about this time of year.

Wilbur Charles said...

It's nice to see YR back. Family gatherings must be accepted as valid excuses for absences from the blog. Especially since I missed three of them while up in Boston. Speaking of...

CoachJ, I was just talking about the famous triple overtime game vs Phoenix in 1975. Westphal, a former Celtic traded miracle shots with Havlicek, and in 1974 was the game with the Bucks when Kareem made the big hook to send the Series to seven.

Thx Owen. It took a second reading to catch the alliteration. I'm used to you not being a stickler for meter; btw I'd have put a comma between roe and buck.

I'm a Decaf guy who occasionally has to have some real to spark up. I just say coffee, Cream on the side. In Dunkin, I've learned to say'milk only'.

I did briefly mix up Lilo and Stitch with Ren and Stimpy. YR, when you get a chance try to knock off Rich Norris' Sunday horror. I need an expert opinion on his clue for ABLY(vs ABLE).

Is there an xword Guinness record for most OREOS in a month? NYT is addicted too. Btw... Who does that Sunday xword? In here I mean.

WC

Jayce said...

I enjoyed this puzzle

Misty said...

Muzzle Book. Had to laugh at that one, and so did Dusty, Dave.

billocohoes said...

You only need cream and sugar if your coffee's no good in the first place.

First car was a used 1970 VW convertible. After a hiatus with a Chevy Chevette and 3 months with an MGB (confirming every story about bad British electricals), went to an '82 VW Rabbit convertible. I don't think cabriolet will ever make a xword. Most comfortable seats I ever had.

Now that my flaming red Sebring ragtop (no jokes about midlife crisis) is 14 years old I'm looking for a convertible that can fit a set of golf clubs in the trunk with the top downn

Picard said...

Quick fun Monday run! Got the theme immediately with ESTAFAN FAN.

Growing up in DC in the 70s I always thought the WATERGATE complex was exceptionally innovative and beautiful.

Here is a photo I took of the WATERGATE in 2009 when I was back for a visit.

There were some unknowns: LILO, MESSI, WESTWORLD easily solved with perps.

The last time I was in Chicago I got this poster marketing their ELS

It reads "Avoid Street Congestion" and shows the elevated train speeding above the cars stuck in traffic below. I love it!

Thanks for the late comment yesterday, Mike Sherline. Yes, as you say, the McCarran Act after WWII indeed was unpleasantly similar to the "Muslim Ban" attempts today. We end up banning the victims of atrocities while letting the perpetrators of the atrocities come in.

SwampCat said...

Billocohes , if your coffee is good, you don't need anything! IMHO.....YMMV!! Hehehehe

I agree about MGB and electrical failures, but I loved mine and thought it was the coolest thing around. Heck, I thought I was the coolest thing around.

That was several lifetimes ago. Now I drive a MawMaw car in beige with excellent mileage.

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

Very late to the party. Busy, busy, busy. This is the season fondly known as OND and it's a nightmare.

Had a few WO's, but overall I solved without too many

My Moe-ku du jour is a tribute to Jeff Stillman for the great heterophonic puzzle:

NY ball player,
Just traded, knew no teammates.
Was an UNMET MET

Mike Sherline said...

SwampCat - I have a pretty strong feeling from your writing that you probably WERE the coolest thing around, MG or no...

Mike Sherline said...

D4E4H -
Dave, what looks like some kind of a meter is the sign for my town, Na'alehu, HI. It's in the center of town, between the credit union and Ace Hardware. It has a picture of an orchid in the center (Hawaii Island's nickname is "The Orchid Isle") and says "Southern most in the USA" across the bottom.

Some would argue that Hawaii is not legitimately in the USA. More terrible stuff our government did in the past on behalf of private companies and, ultimately, the military and it's industries. Sometimes I do feel like an interloper, but it sure is a nice place to live out one's old age.

Mike Sherline said...

SwampCat -
I meant to say WERE and still ARE.

Lemonade714 said...

D4E4H- Oo is pronounced "Oh" though she refers to herself as Pioo (Pee-oh) which means young Oo. I am cun-Jason. Guess what that means...I grew up in New England with regular coffee, but if you wanted the extra cream you needed to add "light." I also started drinking coffee at 4 when my father would mix his coffee with my milk and give it to me. I still love everything coffee, in every way.

Colorado losing population? Huh- LINK .

D4E4H - you made a nice list of PARE homo-nyms. It is simple, just like sex- HOMO - the same. HETERO- not the same.

Bill G said...

Hi everybody. My take on regular coffee refers to the size of the cup. In a local coffee shop, the sizes are regular and large. If that's not right, then I'm guessing it refers to regular or decaf.

I liked the 60 Minutes retrospective very much. I liked parts of the Carol Burnett special. I thought it got embarrassing after a while when all of the guests seemed to have the function of stroking her ego some more.

PK said...

Lemonade: I notice the Colorado link is dated 4-30-2016 so is over a year old. I'll see if I can find the one I read yesterday about losing population. It surprised me too. My brother lives near Denver although he's on his way to Florida at the end of the week. Grandkids down there are the draw.

YR: I remember now about your Christmas birthday. I didn't think we toasted you last week, but I had an old-timer moment.

I stole an '80's vintage VW convertible once a few years ago when a dicey situation presented itself. Went on the lam in it, got lost, couldn't get it in reverse so had to get out and push it back out. Real side-splitting adventure story now. At least my friends laugh. My kids don't laugh except for one.

CanadianEh! said...

Very late to the party today (but I beat AnonT) after being AWOL all weekend. Tis the season! This was an enjoyable Monday CW. Thanks Jeff and Argyle.

I caught the theme early which helped with the solve. Clever.
Hand up for Seemed before DEEMED. Like others, the cross of INSP and MESSI was almost a Natick but I dredged Messi up from some previous CW memory.

In my Canadian experience, black coffee has no cream and sugar while regular has 1 cream and 1 tsp. of sugar. But every good Canadian that goes to Tim Hortons for their coffee is familiar with the term "double-double" which means 2 creams and 2 tsp. of sugar!

YR and Lucina - your parties sound wonderful. I'm glad that you were able to celebrate with family and friends.
fermatprime - feel better soon!
IM - yes that Carol Burnett special was a reminder of what good comedy is really like - timeless! LOL re the Gone with the Wind drape/dress.
Hahtoolah - I smiled at your Bon Ami/AJAX/COMET comment.
D4E4H from the weekend - I did not understand your machines and Canadian citizenship question. Can you clarify??

Enjoy what is left of this day.

SwampCat said...

Mike Sherline, I just may be in love! Especially since you offer us Hawaii! Mahalo!

I must confess I have only been on the Big Island. Had so much fun there, there was no need to go elsewhere.

I'm still in awe of the volcanos. And the lava that covers half the island. I felt I was witnessing creation. The earth rose up out of the waters. The hot lava killed everything in its path....but eventually, life prevailed. Slim blades of grass edged through the solid Tarmac, grew, decayed....and formed more dirt...earth. And the ground grew out into the sea. Isn't that how the whole earth was formed?

I have a friend who has a condo there. I'm an interloper!

Misty said...

Ol'Man Keith, glad I'm not the only one who didn't know MESSI. Sorry I missed the Carol Burnett special--I too loved the old TV shows best.

Yellowrocks said...

WC, thanks. Glad to be back. I was too distracted to concentrate on the Sat. puzzle and ditched it. I enjoyed the Sunday puzzle, but had a DNF in the disc area.
WC, showing skill = ably. Okay with me. My family ably handled many of the details for my party. They showed great skill in doing so.

Mark S said...

Just finished Sunday’s puzzle. Very enjoyable. Great learning experience.Dont understand answer for 111a: sirs.

Mark

Anonymous T said...

'Oh, come on... ESTEFAN FAN? #lame', I thought until I got to HOME DEPOT POT. That's when the penny-dropped and I looked at the other longs... Oh, I really like what you did there Jeff. Very nice Monday theme. Thanks.

Ah! Resistance is Futile Argyle. Thanks for the rest of the expo too.

Late today 'cuz I wanted to give C, Eh! the pleasure :-). Kidding, I've been under the weather / in bed / on couch all day. C-SPAN* was fine until 6:30p when they started the move-to-reconciliation debate that boiled down to "Uhhu" "Nuhhu" back and forth at a RATE of 1 minute speech at a time. //kids do that and I send them to their rooms... What to do with Congress Critters?

WO: ISm/IST, EASy, ON air, seamed[sic]/DEEMED.
ESP: MESSI

HAND-up, thought "Hi, Tin!" At 61d.

Fav: Sat. I said I couldn't wait 'till Monday so I could solve a puzzle Once in A ROW. //Funny, I said last night my Pro dreams didn't PAN OUT too :-)

{B-^H^H A+, A-} {groan} [cute]

Hahtoolah - Nice COMET catch.

HG - The Monolith is from ThinkGeek - it's joke-y and bestows ++nerd-cred for anyone displaying it in their cube [in the packages, of course].

IM - Did you catch CB open Colbert?.

REG? - Y'all are sick w/ cream & sugar - just eat a candy bar**. Black and strong! When I was a paper boy there was a C-Store I'd stop at during the winter to warm up. $0.25 for a cup of coco but the owner said I could have the coffee for free. "Mix it with your coco for a few days..." I did. His was the best advice - "If you can take coffee black, you'll have a drink anywhere you go." He was right, in the army, in Egypt, conferences, everywhere! - there's always a cup o' Joe handy for me even sans condiments.

Cheers, -T
*C-SPAN is perfect for zoning in and out of sleep - they drone on and on and there's no ads w/ VOL that blasts you awake.
**That's what I say to DW when she places a Starbucks order :-)

Anonymous T said...

PK - My brother is moving to Denver. I was telling the floor Admin (who lived there a spell and still has friends in Denver) and she said her friends say that folks are leaving b/c the house prices are going nuts (to the positive) after the success of POT. Bro's not buying yet 'cuz his family is still in CHI.

Also, Funny VW story. I've been trying to get Eldest to learn driving a stick. I even pointed out during one of the Bourne movies (where he hot-wired a car in Russia(?)) that it was a stick-shift he was getting away in. I said, "If you want to drive anywhere in the world, learn to drive a stick." Echo of Harold (C-Store [above] owner) :-). -T

Argyle said...

Sunday 111. Old pol. divisions : SSRs (soviet socialist republic)

Picard said...

Thanks, Argyle, for the Resistance is Futile comment. I saw it, but it only just now registered about the Borg! Thanks to Desper-Otto for drawing it to my attention!

Argyle said...

Na'alehu sign. Same sign but much bigger.

For Dave: the red square is merely the cursor for that puzzle site.

Argyle said...

That's a wahine on the bottom of the bigger sign.

OwenKL said...

d-o: "What do you call it when two words look like they oughta rhyme, but aren't pronounced the same?"
It's called an "eye-rhyme". Often the result of pronunciation change over time. Or a deaf poet like me who doesn't know how a word is pronounced.

Anonymous said...

D4E4H: Bill Braden was a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times.