16A. *Actor who played Ché in the 1996 "Evita" movie: ANTONIO BANDERAS. San Antonio.
25A. *1990s-2000s Red Sox Hall of Fame pitcher: PEDRO MARTINEZ. San Pedro.
44. *Argentine who shared the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award with Pelé: DIEGO MARADONA. San Diego.
58. *20th-century Spanish dictator: FRANCISCO FRANCO. San Francisco.
Boomer here. Hello everyone and happy Monday to all. Mother Nature has finally decided it is Springtime in Minnesota, and we are able to see parts of our lawn. Maybe golf courses will open soon?
Across:
1. Ejects, volcano-style: SPEWS.
6. Coin toss: FLIP. We lost Mr. Saunders 2 1/2 years ago. Great gopher and pretty good Timberwolves coach.
10. Org. with a "Parliament" TV channel: BBC. I never watch although it is a selection on Direct TV.
13. Vietnam's capital: HANOI.
14. Loughlin of "Full House": LORI.
15. Hide in the soil: BURY.
19. Conked out: DIED.
20. Sign light: NEON. Neon Deion Played for the Cowboys and Falcons and a couple other teams in a long career. Had to believe he is currently 50 years old.
21. "Snowy" bird: EGRET. Don't regret it if you did not know this one. I think it was Anne Murray who recorded "Snowbird".
22. Sobbed: CRIED.
24. Winter bug: FLU. So many cases, uncomfortable. Bad word for crossword.
32. Scratch or dent: MAR. You may MAR something if you RAM it.
34. With courage: GAMELY.
35. Actress Campbell: NEVE. "Party of Five".
36. Leave out, as the "g" when saying "sayin'": ELIDE.
38. From __ Z: A TO. Clever little play on words to make something fit.
39. It's accessed via manholes: SEWER. The snow is flowing swiftly through the sewers on its way to the Mississippi.
40. To boot: ALSO. I am also not a big fan of this clue.
41. End of a Seuss title about a mischievous feline: THE HAT. I actually met Mr. Ted Geisel (Dr. Suess) when I was three years old at the San Diego Library. (My aunt Virg was a librarian there). Of course I do not remember, but he signed my copy of "If I Ran the Zoo"
43. Good bud: BRO. A bra for men. Kramer called it a BRO, Mr. Costanza opted for Mansiere.
47. Rte. finder: GPS. Used by delivery drivers, but I think you can also (to boot) get one to tell you how far away the pin on the green is.
48. October birthstones: OPALS. Since I was born in October, I always know this. Ask me any other month and forgetaboutit.
50. Tea variety: PEKOE. I've heard it called "Orange Pekoe". Must come from Florida.
53. Extra: Abbr.: ADDL.
56. British slammer: GAOL. Pronounced "JAIL".
61. Like small print: FINE.
62. Civil mayhem: RIOT. "They're rioting in Africa, They're starving in Spain, There's hurricanes in Florida, and Texas needs rain."
63. Like Machu Picchu: INCAN.
64. Explosive stuff: TNT. Channel 245 on direct TV. They are broadcasting some NBA playoff games (which I never watch since it is BASEBALL season!)
66. Winter melodies: NOELS. The Valero golf tournament took place from San Antonio this weekend but Ernie did not participate.
Down:
1. Roe fish: SHAD.
2. Lose it in an emergency: PANIC.
3. "Star Trek" ship: ENTERPRISE.
4. Stereotypical surfer's wagon: WOODIE. - Not just for surfers. These station wagons were family vehicles back in the late 40s and early 50s. Notably with woodgrain paneling on the sides.
5. Pride or envy: SIN.
6. Ice sheet: FLOE. - I saw on the news that Greenland and areas north are losing 300 million tons of ice each year. Imagine how much Scotch you could go through with that. (Sorry Argyle).
7. Gray wolf: LOBO. I remember Rebecca LOBO, a basketball player for UCONN, and later in the WNBA. She was an exceptional player.
8. Persian rug source: IRAN.
9. Sticker: PIN. Nope. This is a funny shaped White thing with a red stripe that you knock over with a bowling ball. I thought everyone knew that.
10. 1804 duel winner: BURR. Shot Alexander Hamilton. I think he may have been jealous and wanted HIS picture on the ten dollar bill.
11. Scottish hillside: BRAE. No Kramer, this is not an "E" bra.
12. Skin concern: CYST.
15. "Begin the __": Cole Porter song: BEGUINE.
17. Vedic weather god: INDRA.
18. Shoulder muscle, informally: DELT. Sorry, it's called a deltoid. Never heard it cut in half.
23. Beat by a bit: EDGE. Also a little Ford SUV.
24. Cook in deep fat: FRY.
26. Nebraska city: OMAHA. Cornhusker city north of Lincoln
27. Parking __: METER.
28. Hawaiian welcome: ALOHA.
29. Puma competitor: NEW BALANCE.
30. Perpetually: EVER.
31. Celsius freezing point: ZERO. Beetle Bailey's Friend with no last name.
32. Honeyed drink: MEAD.
33. "__ want for Christmas ... ": ALL I.
37. Danged: DOGGONE. This is not the postal abbreviation for DOGGO, NE. (west of Omaha)
39. "Cut that out!": STOP. Okay, no more bad puns or jokes.
41. Many corp. logos: TMS.
42. First name from which the "Adi" in Adidas is derived: ADOLF. Never knew that. The current boss is a guy named Kasper. Not a friendly ghost.
45. Oil gp.: OPEC.
46. 1998 Olympics city: NAGANO. In Japan - held in February of that year.
49. Tinseltown region, familiarly: SOCAL. Southern California. I don't think they ever get snow.
50. Fizzling sound: PFFT. I can also think of other things that sound like this. Stock portfolio? Tom Brady football?
51. Ireland, in verse: ERIN.
52. German thinker Immanuel: KANT.
53. Largest continent: ASIA. Huge. I can't even try to name all the Asian countries.
54. Anti-rodent brand: DCON.
55. Things to connect: DOTS. I remember when we used to buy these at the movie theatre. Sometimes if it was warm, they were already connected.
57. Chaney Jr. and Sr.: LONS.
59. Tax-auditing org.: IRS. We were reprieved until April 18th this year due to a weekend and a computer foul-up. We'll see what might happen next year with the new law.
60. __ Tin Tin: RIN. Lassie competitor in the 50s.
Boomer
Here is Boomer taking a walk yesterday. Still some ice on that lake.
62 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks to Jeff and Boomer!
Didn't get this puzzle until a few minutes ago. What gives?
Six things that I did not know right off of the bat: PEDRO MARTINEZ, DIEGO MARADONA, INDRA, NEW BALANCE, ADOLF and NAGANO.
Hope to see you tomorrow!
Good morning!
Nope, didn't notice the sans San. Only recognized two of the theme names (Hi, Fermat!). Still, the perps were kind and this was an easy romp. Thanx, Jeff and Boomer.
BRAE: Gimme for moi. I used to live on Braewick Drive.
PIN: They always felt safe when I was on the lanes.
ELIDE: There's lotsa elidin' goin' on 'round here.
NEW BALANCE: I didn't know this as a Puma competitor, just as a brand for old farts. I've got at least three pairs in my closet, and one on my feet as I write this.
ADOLF: Not many baby boys were named Adolf/Adolph during the past 75 years.
Grrrrrr! GAOL did me in.
OK, fess up: Who peed in Rich's Cheerios? DNF on a harder-than-calculus Monday puzzle. No erasures, but gave up at the Naticks NAGANO x GAOL & MARADONA and Googled the obscure Japanese city.
Good morning everyone.
Good job, Boomer. Always like to read your take.
Easy solve with an interesting theme. Got it all in due course with needing any searches or erasures. No issues.
NEW BALANCE - I wear them exclusively. Last fits my feet perfectly. Order them from their store in Tampa. Free shipping. Needed laces one time and they sent them for free. Too costly to generate paperwork for a bill.
RIOT - Legally, at least 3 people are needed for a riot; 2 for a conspiracy. (per UCMJ)
A Monday puzzle with some fun stuff. I enjoyed seeing FRANCISCO FRANCO and the memoried. I did not know the BBC series Parliament , was saddened by the reminder of Flip Saunders, Minnesota star, and his early death. It is amazing how many great players have become part of UConn (my undergraduate alma mater) ladies basketball and WBNA lore. I do not think I knew the origin of the name ADIDAS but the story from a German company that gave shoes to Jesse Owens to help him win in Berlin in 1936, and the eventual rivalry with PUMA is interesting. I did not know they had purchased Taylor Made Golf.
Boomer your perspective is always enjoyed. Thanks Jeff and enjoy the warm up all you crazy people who live where there is snow and ice.
Good Monday morning. Thanks, Jeff, for a fun puzzle, and to Boomer for the exposé.
A few unknowns for me this morn, but the perps came to the rescue again. BEGUINE? Wouldn't consider that a normal Monday answer, but for those familiar with the Cole Porter song it was probably easy-peasy, so that's all on me. GAOL is always a fun word with the incongruity between its spelling and pronunciation, and fair dinkum as an answer as well.
All in all, a great way to start the week.
A good day, all....
This was a Monday puzzle?
A little stiffer than a normal Monday with all the proper names but the perps filled them in nicely.
Anon @ 7:23, I echo your question. This seemed like Wed. or Thur. I have heard of all the theme names, except Maradona, but needed many perps to dig up the last names. Only FRANCISCO FRANCO was gotten from the clue. With the reveal I saw the SAN city names. ADOLF was unknown. At least there were a few gimmes, BEGUINE, BBC, NEW BALANCE, NAGANO, GAOL.
Oscar Wilde wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol. If you scroll past the article you will be able to read part of the ballad and find a link to the whole poem.
Ballad of Reading Gaol
Fairly quick romp this morning. I got that they were all Latino men's names - but needed the reveal to figure out the further theme!
I was expecting a link to the Cole Porter song - maybe JzB?
Off to work!
Thanks Boomer and Jeff!
Good Morning:
Yes, there was a bit of a bite to this, but perps were very fair, so no foul from me. Indra and Adolf, as clued, were unknowns. The only themer that gave me hesitation was Diego Mardona; I had heard of him but wasn't sure of the spelling of his surname. Big CSO to Husker. Neon Deion Sanders was from Ft. Myers and was in his heyday when we wintered in that area. His ego was surpassed only by his loud mouth.
Thanks, Jeff, for a Monday smoothie and thanks, Boomer, for the fun expo. Your joke about Dots reminded me of when my husband was in the hospital and called me at 10:00 at night asking me to bring him a box of his beloved Dots. After explaining that it was too late then but I would bring some the next day, he got very huffy and informed me that I could send a box by cab. He got his Dots the next day.
FLN, WikWak, good luck with the surgery.
Best wishes to Argyle.
YR, any improvement in Alan?
PK, how about Aaron?
Have a great day.
HEllo
THE HAT, MARANDONA.................never heard of them and . Wagged CHE HAT & CARADONA. A Monday DNF.
Rebecca Lobo was a key player in 1995 when UConn won the first NCAA championship. Today she is an analyst on ESPN specializing.....of course... on the ladies game.
Reading the RIOT Act (UK 1715-1973) by a magistrate to a gathering of twelve or more gave the crowd one hour to disperse, originally under penalty of death.
WOODIEs in the 1930s were built with actual wooden body panels. The station wagons of the 1950s had vinyl sheets attached to the steel bodywork, in tribute or imitation of the older cars.
Hondo, never heard of "The Cat in the Hat?"
Musings
-How little do I know soccer? I couldn’t get that celebrated player with only one missing letter!
-ADDL crossing ADOLF didn’t help. DOGGONE, it’s supposed to be Monday! :-)
-I love the Kingston Trio reference in your fun write-up, Boomer! BTW, OMAHA is more NE than north of Lincoln. :-)
-FLU, NOELS, FLOE, ZERO, ALL I WANT? STOP!! It’s spring!
-Unfortunately, PEDRO always dredges up this reprehensible thing he did
-Parliamentary free-for-alls look entertaining
-I BURIED a full pack of radish seeds yesterday
-LORI now has a big presence on one of my wife’s fav channels
-When trading cars, what they want TO BOOT is a big deal
Thanks for asking Irish Miss. Alan is on his 3rd good day today, tired, but okay. He went to work this morning. Out of the nine days preceding this weekend he had two single days when he was quite good and then relapsed. After two good weeks I can rest easy that the other shoe won't drop, but this is good progress.
And it's spring time, at last! Life feels good.
I agree that this was a bit of a workout for a Monday, but I got 'er (ELIDE) done. Thanks for the fun Jeff and Boomer.
It took a while for me to suss the theme. At first, I was looking at the ANs in 16A and 58A (had two ANs), but there were not any in the other two theme answers. Then the NEON light dawned.
Celsius ZERO was a given. We are finally getting above it!
METER, of course made this Canadian cringe as I filled it in.
Yes Boomer, it was Anne Murray who sang Snow Bird. I thought of that also with the clue.
Canada has a TV channel for Parliament called CPAC (Canadian Public Affairs Channel).
Thought of Acne before CYST.
Enjoy the day.
Hope the surgery goes okay WikWak.
YR, glad that Alan is feeling better.
Who can't love a puzzle with ANTONIO BANDERAS in it? I liked the movie, too.
Overall, I found this easy and the only name I didn't know was DIEGO MARDONA but then, I don't follow soccer. I almost blew it with TDS instead of TMS (trademarks) but that didn't sound right so I changed it.
I've had NEW BALANCE shoes but I prefer Asics or Sketchers; they are as comfortable as NB but keep their support longer.
Usually I watch the Olympics so NAGANO was easily recalled.
I've read The Ballad of Reading Gaol many times and like the rhythm. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for being gay.
Boomer, thank you for your sparkling commentary; you make me chuckle.
Hello, Argyle! I hope you are feeling chipper today.
Have a day filled with love and serenity, everyone!
The San in San Francisco means "Saint."
He had the Gall to use Gaol on a Monday?
FLN,
I really enjoyed the Dick Van Dyke link (33 minutes)
Trivia: The IRS Agent was Alvy Moore.
Incredible list of actin' jobs!
For some reason the Mensa and Merriam Webster sites did not have today's puzzle, so I had to use the LA Times site which is not as user friendly. Oh well, on to the puzzle.
As others said this was a little outside the range of a Monday puzzle. However the perps were more than acceptable and allowed me to fill in all of the proper names with a little guessing. This was a good puzzle with some fresh fill from Jeff Stillman. Boomer is doing a yeoman's job at subbing for Argyle. And like in a commercial from years ago he is like Abner Doubleday and does not take the "World Serious".
Of the four long name clues, I did know ANTONIO BANDERAS and FANCISCO FRANCO. The two sports stars were unknowns to me, but there were enough crosses that I was able to fill them in with a little guessing. I was also able to see the theme with the SAN added to each answer, but not until I had finished the puzzle, so the theme clue didn't help in solving the puzzle.
Like others I didn't know about the Parliament Channel, but figured it was like CSPAN and was either the British or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Aaron Burr made it the BBC. SO to CanadianEh and Northern boy. Is there a Parliament
Channel in Canada?
I needed perps for INDRA, KANT, ADOLF, NAGANO and DCON. Otherwise I didn't have many erasures.
Like Boomer and IM's husband, I remember DOTS at the movie theater. A small box of DOTS and Junior Mints there cost 6 cents vs. 5 cents at the candy store. We always thought we were getting ripped off for the extra penny. I still buy Dots and Junior mints at the super market. Some other old time candies were NECCO Wafers and Sky Bars which may totally disappear because the The New England Candy Company (NECCO) is having financial difficulties and is facing layoffs and may go out of business. If so, where will we get real Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, Thin Mints, Clark Bars, Mary Janes, etc. to remind us of our child hood.
I get the Washington Post on Sundays and do the Sunday LA Times CW on paper. I was able to do yesterday's puzzle successfully in pencil.
Hope you are feeling better Argyle.
Have a great day everyone.
Is this still Monday? What a workout! Finally got 'er done. ( yes..ELIDing.) Thanks, Jeff. Boomer, I love your approach to life! Thanks for walking us through. And do please keep your SEWERS from SPEWing too quickly into the Mississippi. It's high enough already. Hehehe
Argyle, you are with us in spirit.
Well, I was hoping for a good puzzle week, but got off to a rocky start with this Monday Jeff Stillman toughie. I agree it should have been a Wednesday or Thursday, and what made it particularly tough for me were so many sports references, not a good area for me. Perps helped me get PEDRO MARTINEZ, but I've never heard of DIEGO and didn't remember the Olympics city of NAGANO, so that left two blanks at 44 across. I also didn't know the plural of SANS was SAN, and so I also didn't get the reveal or the theme--although I did find it clever when I saw it in Boomer's explanation. Hopefully tomorrow's puzzle will be a bit more manageable, and I loved your Dr. Seuss story, Boomer.
Glad Alan is feeling a bit better, Yellowrocks.
Hi Argyle, hope you have a good day.
Nice picture of Boomer, C.C., thanks for posting it.
Have a good week, everybody.
Hi everybody. To me, it seemed about normal for an early week puzzle. It never appeared on the Mensa website. Even now Mensa shows yesterday's puzzle.
To answer Boomer's question, yes, it has snowed in southern California locally though before my time. It did snow a bit then but it didn't stick. But, of course, there is often a lot of snow in the local mountains about an hour or two away depending on traffic. If you want to, you could go to the beach, the desert and skiing all in a single day.
Misty:
The plural of SAN is Santos (saint, saints); I believe the clue references the French SANS meaning without. The themes lack SAN, i.e., they are SANS San.
MENSA, does not have the Monday puzzle, instead it's still listing the Sunday puzzle.
If you're like me and do it online there is an alternate site at the Chicago Trib
(http://games.chicagotribune.com/games/daily-crossword/)
Oc4beach
Re Canadian Parliament channel, see my post at 10:17😊
Thank you, Lucina--I finally get it now, thanks to your explanation.
Boomer: Good job on the write-up. Nice photo, We never have any of that "white-stuff."
Jeff: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle
The four theme answers were easy and all known.
Fave today was NEVE Campbell ... she has always been a fave.
Cheers!
CanadianEh!: Thanks for the info. I had written the question early, but hadn't posted yet, so I didn't see your post until later.
Glad others also found this challenging for a Monday! Yes, the proper names were the main challenge for me, too. DIEGO MADRONA totally unknown. Last to fall was the "M" to FIR. At least I have a hazy memory of PEDRO MARTINEZ. Hand up learning moment about ADIDAS and ADOLPH. Not a popular name in the US, but in many poor countries it is popular to name babies for famous people. Even if they are infamous. Go figure.
Every year in our SOCAL beach town we have a WOODIE show. Here are my photos from the most recent one.
We are fortunate to live next to the Devereux State Reserve. Lots of SNOWY EGRET birds just a mile from our home. We also have SNOWY Plovers on the beach.
These EGRET photos are from awhile back. Need to dig for some newer ones.
At the Solstice Workshop I have learned to be another kind of SEWER.
Here I am with my patient SEWER teacher Phyllis in the Costume Shop.
From yesterday:
AnonT and Lucina I am very glad that my Chichen Itza photos brought happy experiences and memories! I drove that old white VW Beetle across Yucatan to get there. The brakes were mostly gone, so I had to downshift hard for each stop. Way cool you started in Merida, Lucina. One of my closest friends in grad school was from that area. His first language was MAYAN! In case you are wondering about my partner in the photos, she was an Irish Miss from Dublin. Not our Irish Miss here!
Lemonade Glad you also remember the Saturday Night Live repeating line about FRANCISCO FRANCO still being dead!
Here someone has patched together a series of FRANCISCO FRANCO is still dead lines read by Chevy Chase over a period of years!
The joke was very bitter sweet. FRANCO was one of ADOLPH Hitler's closest allies and he continued his fascist rule for decades after we "defeated" fascism. It seemed he would never die. So his death indeed was something to celebrate and to confirm.
Misty, the theme clue was unnecessarily confusing. I like to"get" the theme but the misdirection cancels my angst. Unlike not taking the time to thoroughly recheck Sunday's, thus the DNF.
If it helps, pop culture clues are as unknown to me as the sports references to so many. eg. LORI, NEVE . Btw, Pele should stand alone along with Williams, Russell and Orr as 20th century greats.
Boomer, I love your write-ups especially the puns . Btw, Ernie Els did play the Valero; he finished in the middle of the pack(-3) earning $37k. What he missed was the Champions where he had to be top five to make that much .
Hondo, nice to see you. Btw, we had some baseball card talk recently .MM card (1952 Topps) went for a couple mil.
Spitz, I'll have to check out the NB store in Tampa .
They changed the recipe for Skybar and the new ones were a poor Imitation . Probably the Imitation chocolate .
Along with Wilde, Alan Turing had the same fate .I wonder if it was punishment for cracking the Enigma code.
My golf buddy even has a GPS watch
WC
Oops, the xword: I found it the easiest of the months Mondays
Oc4beach,
Unlike the Mensa site (which is sans circles...)
I have found the LATimes site to be very useful
(except for the annoying Ad).
However I use it only on an Ipad.
It seems to works best with the Apple IOS most recent update.
Best feature is, download, get past the ad, put it in airplane
mode, and you can do the puzzle during your flight!
(Also good for sitting on the beach out of WIFI Range...)
Woodie
(alright, stop snickering...)
was not only a fave of Surfers,
it seems Alien UFOs liked to blast them too...
see@ 45 seconds,
Driven by (of all people) the Professor, from Gilligans Island!
P.S. if you ever wanted to see the inside of these spaceships,
This guy went all out...
He has done every spaceship, cartoon or otherwise,
from Buck Rogers to (to be continued...)
Sirius celebrated Roy Orbisons birthday today. They had his son Alex on. His Blue Rhapsodies were tonic for my teen depressions.
My fav: "A Legend in my Time". (If heartache brought fame and tears brought plaudits...)
WC
I liked this puzzle and think it was pretty Monday-easy except for a couple of the full proper names.
I had a retired neighbor who took on the project of restoring a "barn find" WOODIE in his garage.
His wife was not happy about the time he was spending on the hobby as it took from his duties in the yard and around the house. She complained to me one day, "he spends all of his time in that damn garage with his woodie. He either polishing it or rubbing it or sanding it(ouch) or waxing it! I hate that woodie. I can't wait until he gets rid of it!"
I'm still laughing about years later. I had to ask my wife to explain it her later because I just couldn't bring myself to describe the indication.
Btw, he still has that woodie. Probably should seek medical attention.
True story.
DNF. Not even a WAG for the Natick of DIEGO MARADOnA and nAGANO (which I should have remembered).
Boomer: DELTs, pecs, lats, abs, glutes, quads. Shortened forms in fitness and body-building.
To boot, on nice days he'll pull out the woodie into the driveway to show it off and invite neighbors over to look at.
A Monday with quite a bit of crunch. But no worries, as it was well constructed and clued.
Allen @ 1513 - When I saw that fill, I wondered who might "expand' on that. Thanks for your input. LOL
It's quiet, so... To welcome Hondo's visit:
Clue:40s Nler - - - - - THE HAT* ____
Lot of great nicknames in those days
WC
* Hint: Last name Walker. Extra credit: Who was his brother? Another nickname
I think I had at least one of their baseball cards
Thank you, Wilbur, for always being so supportive.
We haven't heard from Ol'Man Keith yesterday, or today? I hope he's okay.
Misty, I dont remember seeing Owen KL lately either. Hey guys ! Check in. We miss you .
Cool pzl today. A bunch of place names, including several I have lived or visited.
Hi, Misty! Yes, I'm OK. I never sign in on Sundays. Not that it's against my religion or anything. I just don't.
As for today, I just got caught up in other stuff. I was supposed to have an ultra sound procedure, but they called to postpone it. I guess their equipment was down. We rescheduled for tomorrow.
So I read an ex-student's screenplay. Pretty good.
Then I decided to watch a Netfix DVD that was gathering dust. It turned out to be a tricky detective thriller with Anthony Hopkins - where he kills his cheating wife and almost gets away with it.
I can't say how w/o giving a spoiler alert, but it was fun trying to figure it out. It boiled down to two mysteries, and I got one of them way in advance of the reveal.
The movie is called Fracture. A good title, but misapplied to this story. I can see how the marketing people liked it, but it was wrong for this plot, so really a waste of a sharp title.
____________
Diagonal Report: Four total. The main NW to SE slash, and then a 3-way on the mirror side.
Hi Y'all! Mensa didn't have the puzzle (still don't, as anon said). Can't get into LA Times site. Used Arkadium which, I learned when garbles showed up, didn't have red-letters for me. Took a bit to adjust my thinking and get it right. I guess it was right because I can't compare to the grid here.
Enjoyed the puzzle, Jeff, and your expo, Boomer. Is a picture of Boomer in shorts a sign of spring in Minnesota?
I still had some white space at the head of two theme entries when I got the theme reveal. That helped me fill them. I knew BEGUINE but tried first to spell it with two "g's" & no "e". Moor before BRAE. Didn't know INDRA or the ballers.
IM: haven't heard anything more about Aaron's condition. All the news from down south now has been about his older brother who will graduate from HS this year. His 3-person team won a national prize at an engineering contest for their special project which has a patent pending too. It is a device for airline safety. They go to regular high school half a day and to an advanced science & math academy afternoons.
Picard, enjoyed the Chichin iItza pictures. We had a group of Mayan-descent kids from Yucatan, Mexico in our town the summer of 1982. My daughter was one of the Spanish club group visiting there during spring break. She had a not good experience at Chichin Itza. The two boys who stayed in our home were very interesting. One was half Mayan, half German through his father who had a newspaper in Merida.
I found the puzzle to be about the usual Monday easy except for the long names, mostly unknown to me. But—the perps filled in so much of each of them that what wasn’t filled was easy to WAG. NAGANO was easy to suss because there’s a sushi restaurant in town by that name.
Thanks for the well-wishes; the surgery went well today. Didn’t have to go to the hospital—our physicians’ group has several stand-alone surgical centers around the county, and one of them is only a short drive away. I’m back home now and doing pretty well. The incisional pain is bearable and I've got plenty of meds to keep it that way (better living through chemistry!). I asked the doctor if I'd be able to play the piano when everything was all healed up and he said "sure." That’s really great because I’ve never been able to before. :P
Sorry. Sort of.
Have a good evening, all.
I happened on this blog, which I used to read faithfully many moons ago.
Boomer, your commentary was very funny and full of puns and humbly, I loved it. Thank you.
Thank you Lucina, for explaining the Sans San without which I was still confused. That made it all very clear as daylight !
Hi Lemonade, your grandkids are fantastic and a delight to behold. Joy and happiness.
Your joke, WikWak, about your piano playing ability was absolutely hilarious. If I can, I'll try to remember it when my time comes...
I did not know Argyle was ailing. My sincere best wishes and prayers for his continued recovery.
Hi All!
WEES - Rich should be ashamed of himself for running this on a Monday :-)
Thanks for the puzzle Jeff. I got the theme OK, but the soccer-dude xing a city in Japan xing GAOL(?!?) was too much for me (and Jinx!). Also, I never went back to put an N in BAGUINE (another ???); at least there I had a 1/26 chance of guessing N* :-)
Thanks Boomer for the witty expo. For the record, we do occasionally get snow in Houston and the palms hate it. And, Tin, if y'all don't get snow why does OJ go up in price every few years?
Re: the themers - Only name I really knew was PEDRO MARTINEZ but not as clue'd. I kinda knew FRANCISCO FRANCO but only because of the SNL sketch [thanks Lem for confirming that's why I knew it and Picard for posting the mash-up; it was the Garret Morris one (news for the deaf) that I recalled(ish) (I had FANCo b/f FANCISCO) for the answer].
WOs: ISCO in 58a.
ESPs: cue the names; actually, a co-worker gave me LONS (I was going w/ dONS)
Fav: KANT - Made me think of Python's Philosopher's song ("a real piss-ant who was very rarely stable...")
HANOI made me think of Good Morning Vietnam's HANOI Hannah!
CED - oh, Alvy Moore has got to be a crossword entry soon. I didn't recognize him from The DVD Show but knew him in Green Acres.
C, Eh! - Does your Parliament do PM Questions like the Brits do? I love that on Sunday nights on C-SPAN; quite lively. Could one imagine if US prez had to face the opposition on the floor?
Alan - LOL! Anyone remember that line in Short Circuit?
Cheers, -T
Can you figure out the probability of guessing both the N and G in NAGANO correctly?
My brother from another mother, how nice to see you back in your Vidwan cloak. Hope life is treating you well.
Didn't refresh before posting says...
Play a sonata for me WikWak! LOL.
Cheers, -T
I didn't even know NAGANO was in the xword until I got here. My baseball ???
It was Harry"THE HAT Walker and his brother Dixie.
WC
Vidwan: good to hear from you. Missed your input.
AnonT-
Re Canadian Question period: yes, PM or Cabinet Minister take questions DAILY, Mon to Fri. Trudeau often takes the whole question period himself. Wikipedia explanation below is pretty accurate.
"Question Period in Canada, as an instance of Question time in Westminster tradition, is similar to the Prime Minister's Questions practice of the Parliament of the United Kingdom; however it is important to note that the Canadian version occurs daily as opposed to weekly, runs 45 minutes instead of 30 and questions may be asked to any cabinet member, not just the Prime Minister."
I'm not touching the second part of your question since I am a Nice Canadian.😊
On a sad note, tears again in Canada with deaths and injuries in Toronto today. No country is immune.
C, Eh! I heard about the van-attack on NPR on the way home today. We feel your pain. They had little details at the time. I've assumed it was intentional but I'll hold-off on judging motive for now.
What's weird was, as I was leaving the office, I saw a "View from your Office" photo in the elevator (they have this "news" system in the elevators so you can look at it and not have to chat awkwardly) - the "View" was Toronto's skyline looking out to the (lake?).
Hum, it seems the Wiki needs updating (Picard?) to "however it is important to note that the Canadian version occurs daily as opposed to weekly, is nicer, runs 45 minutes instead of 30 and questions..." :-)
Cheers, -T
Isn't it sad when any good thing can be turned into an instrument of terror, destruction and death?
WikWak:
That is really funny! And I'm glad for your successful surgery.
Widwan827:
You're welcome!
Don't be strangers, both of you.
So glad you checked in and that you're okay, Ol'Man Keith.
Hope Owen checks in tomorrow and that he's okay too.
I've been thinking about you and your Canadian community all day, CanadianEh, after hearing the terrible news about the shooting in Toronto. How very sad.
FWIW, as Bill G noted at 11:44, it can indeed snow in L.A. in measurable amounts.
The conditions for this to happen require that a goodly-size Arctic cold front slide down on the west side of the Cascades/Sierras -- instead of going to Minnesota or South Dakota as it is supposed to -- and that there be some moisture in the clouds around L.A. A pretty rare combination.
The last time was 1948 (or so. I think I was 2, but that's a bit hazy at this distance).
Late night muser [now that work is done] asks:
Micheal - OK, don't take this the wrong way. Why do you remember that from such a young age? I ALSO have similar episodes where I clearly (I think?) recall shtuff from youth - like watching Star Trek @age 2 or 3 with Pop -- that doesn't even seem possible considering I haven't a clue about what I ate for lunch Friday.
I wonder. now, if most solvers remember most everything that we come across that's just a bit curious. Is it that what drives us to play and learn words like SHAD? Or is the curious cat dead? [think Schrodinger too :-)]
Allan - sorry I got your count of L's wrong in my earlier post; the woodie story is priceless; thanks for sharing.
Nite, -T
AnonT @11:10 pm- yes that would be Lake Ontario in the Toronto skyline (and probably the CN tower).
LOL re "nicer" Question Period". There is a lot of heckling and jeering, and unfortunately, a lot of posturing for the cameras during Question Period. I don't bother to watch it.
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