google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday April 30, 2018 Matt McKinley

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Apr 30, 2018

Monday April 30, 2018 Matt McKinley

Theme: THIRTY DAYS (58. Feature of the time periods hinted at by the starting letters of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across) - Apr, Jun, Sep and Nov starts each theme answer.

17A. Fruity 12-Down topping: APRICOT JAM.

23A. Craftsperson using scrap metal, glass, etc.: JUNK ARTIST.

38A. Tax filing option for married couples: SEPARATE RETURNS.

47A. Restriction for quarantined patients: NO VISITORS.

Boomer here. And happy good morning to one and all.  I see some month abbreviations, including April.  I am not sorry to say good riddance to April this year.  Not only did the weatherman dump a ton of snow on us, but our Minnesota Twins had 4 games postponed, and managed to lose nine more in a row.  Hello May! Garden fence is ready and the dirt is rejuvenated.  We have yet to see the perennial Asian lily or the rose bush return for the summer.  

Best wishes to Argyle for a speedy rehab recovery.  Now... On with the show!  

Across:

1. Harley rider: BIKER. I had a bike when I was a kid, but it was not a Harley. I always felt that calling a Harley a bike was like calling a battery jumper cable clamp a paper clip.

6. Approved: OK'ED.

10. "The lady __ protest ... ": "Hamlet": DOTH.

14. Where one may be taken for a private word: ASIDE. To the dungeon.

15. Golfer's warning: FORE.  I often wondered where this came from.  I just holler "Look out", and that's before I swing the club.

16. Slender woodwind: OBOE. Well what's new ? A four letter word with three vowels.

19. Drive or reverse: GEAR.

20. The "S" in "CBS": Abbr.: SYST.

21. Little green veggie: PEA. Split 'em and make soup.

22. Vast chasm: ABYSS.

26. "400 Richest Americans" magazine: FORBES. No I am not in there. It's brutal to be 401st in anything. 

30. Nagging troubles: WOES.  Briefly, there is not enough room on the page to list my nagging woes.

31. Nimble: AGILE. Jack be agile, Jack be quick.

32. Stick a toothpick in, as a snack: STAB.  I'm not sure about toothpicks.  I think a knife or fork is more appropriate. 

34. "Bye, Luigi!": CIAO.  My sister has been to Italy a number of times.  She always ends her emails to me with this four letter Italian word (with three vowels).  I think she does the LA Times crossword frequently.

41. High-school kid: TEEN.

42. "On Golden __": POND.  Henry Fonda and his daughter Jane, as well as a star-studded cast.  Fonda sort of reminds me of Walter (Grumpy Old Man) Matthau and his buddy Jack Lemmon.


43. Rodeo lasso: RIATA.

44. Film critic Pauline: KAEL.

46. "Town Without Pity" singer Gene: PITNEY.  It isn't very pretty what a town without PITNEY can do.

51. One who's done for: GONER.

52. Old studio letters: RKO. It's an acronym for Radio-Keith-Orpheum.  What's interesting is downtown Minneapolis had a theatre called RKO Orpheum. Redundant and it's not there anymore.

53. Olympic sword: EPEE. Widely used in crosswords, I suspect because it's a four letter word with three vowels.  Okay, I am boring all.  I won't mention it again.

57. Ridesharing company: UBER. There are 12,000 Uber drivers now in the US.

61. Range in Europe: ALPS.

62. Country's McEntire: REBA.

63. Cove, e.g.: INLET.

64. Viral internet phenomenon: MEME. "Class, Who wants to get out at noon?"

65. Former couples: EXES. Goes first at tic tac toe.

66. Like yesterday's fashions: PASSE. 

Down:

1. Parts of cote tales?: BAAS.

2. Kids' road-trip game: I SPY. Now in a heap of trouble, "I Spy" was Bill Cosby's first TV show with Robert Culp in 1965,  You need to be as old as I to remember it.

3. White wine apéritifs: KIRS.



4. Cut and paste, e.g.: EDIT.

5. Word with room or center: REC.

6. Plenty of times: OFTEN.  OFTEN is a lot.  One OF TEN, not so much

7. TV cop with a lollipop: KOJAK. Telly Savalas played detective Kojak.  His first name was Theo, which I always considered it to be half a name.  Then along came Andy Sipowicz  who named his kid Theo.

8. Big Band __: ERA.

9. Rep.'s opponent: DEM. Politics, - Elephants and Donkeys

10. Bone-shaped treat: DOG BISCUIT.

11. Follows orders: OBEYS. If someone ORDERS a PIZZA, I might follow it out to the table.

12. Browned bread: TOAST. Ein Prosit.  "Here's to the guy who couldn't think small. Here's to the biggest embezzler of all..."  I am sure Tom can name that tune.

13. Word sewn on a towel: HERS.

18. Composer's work: OPUS.  This is interesting.  There is a business complex called OPUS in the city where I grew up.  So I googled Opus and sure enough it's a commercial real estate conglomerate.  Not sure about the composer clue.

22. Dined: ATE. Unscramble the letters and you have EAT.  A lot of people ATE between seven and nine.  

23. Spectator's bit of disapproval: JEER. Add a "T" in the middle and you have shortstop Derek, who was seldom Jeered at Yankee Stadium.

24. Tony or Hugo: AWARD.

25. Judge's apparel: ROBE. New York Yankee Aaron does not wear a robe, but when he comes to bat, the fans "All Rise".


26. Like greyhounds: FAST.

27. S-shaped molding: OGEE.

28. Ready on the vine: RIPE. The garden is coming soon.  How do you tell if green beans are ripe?

29. Poetry that doesn't rhyme: BLANK VERSE.

32. Popular vodka, popularly: STOLI.

33. Square root of 100: TEN. O GEE Whatever happened to Bo Derek ?

35. Persia, today: IRAN.

36. Required poker bet: ANTE.

37. "__, can you see ... ": O SAY. I believe the correct spelling is "OH SAY" - can you see?

39. Zoo primates: APES.

40. "Divergent" films heroine: TRIS.


45. Oxygen is about 21% of it: AIR. In large cities, I think the rest is smog.

46. Luther's sect: Abbr.: PROT.

47. Duke or earl: NOBLE.

48. Hr. after noon: ONE PM. Eleven on the West Coast.

49. Many a casino-owning group: TRIBE. We have several Native American casinos in Minnesota and they do very well.  I don't go too often because I think the house percentage is much higher than Nevada.  But one of the casinos has 24 bowling lanes.  Been there, done that.

50. Gumbo vegetables: OKRAS.

51. U.S. island territory: GUAM.

53. Author Ferber: EDNA.  A name from the roaring twenties.  She wrote at least two books that were made into movies.  If you can name them, you are older than I.

54. Buddies: PALS.

55. Seers?: EYES.  I like SNAKE ____.  (A roll of 2 at the craps table).

56. Ninety degrees from norte: ESTE.

58. Luigi's three: TRE. The second appearance of Luigi in the clues today.  Isn't he Mario's buddy ?

59. Whammy: HEX. This crossword clue has a hundred different answers.  Hope you had the ACROSS before you got to it.

60. Cry from a pup: YIP.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Spitzboov (Al) and his wife Betty visited dear Argyle on Saturday April 28, 2018. Spitzboov brought this great Marine "At Their Core" to Santa, who was a Marine.

Click here to see Spitzboov's write-up. Thank you, Spitzboov and Betty,  for visiting Argyle and letting him know that he's sorely missed. 

Please continue keeping Argyle in your thoughts and prayers. Please send cards to below address. Argyle's friend Jennifer wanted me to tell you that "he enjoys the cards that everyone sends especially with notes in them".

D. Scott Nichols
Room #219
Wesley Health Care Center
131 Lawrence St.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866


Argyle

43 comments:

D4E4H said...

- - Merry Monday mates! Were you able to see the Pink Moon last night. April’s Full Moon, the Full Pink Moon, heralds the appearance of the “moss pink,” or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.

- - I'd like to say that the Moon caused the odd happening yesterday, but the truth is stranger that any lunatic tale. Before my tale, I would like to thank each of my Happy Birthday Well wishers in no particular order, OK, alphabetic:

Anonymous T, - Bill G, - CanadianEh!, - CrossEyedDave, - desper-otto, - Husker Gary, - Irish Miss, - Lucina, - Misty, - Picard, - PK, - TTP, - Wilbur Charles, and Yellowrocks

- - YR was the first to post, and several followed close behind. Someone used the word "belated," and the analytical wheels in my wheelhouse began to turn. I had posted early, and know that C.C. will often add special news just after the grid. I refreshed the page, and even put on some deodorant myself, and there it was.

- - Her news that I had turned 74 on 4-28. She included the picture of me at the computer with Mr. Romeo. I am helping him with his social media "Muzzle book" because he is all paws. He has 4,000 "licks."

- - The odd happening had happened. I had written a note to my family announcing that my brother, Stanley was the first to wish me HBD, and explaining that Amazon Prime could get their perfect gifts to me by Thursday May 3rd, 74 years from my birth in 1944. The first sentence read "Happy 74th Birthday to me, remembered by my Broski."

I forwarded the note to C.C. and the first sentence made her think my day had passed.

- - We have started the 5 days of David's coming. The contractions will begin soon, and then there is the busting of the mucous plug followed by a period that is labor intensive, and the appearance of the new unique individual, me.

- - Thanks to CED for whipping up such a beautiful cake. Your kitchen must be a mess. CSO to WC who was the last to greet me.

Ðave

fermatprime@gmail.com said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Matt and Boomer!

Belated hbd to D4E4H!

(Must have posted too early?)

Had a antic, almost, where TRIS meets PITNEY. But TRIS made sense,

Have a great day!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Got the theme okay, Yay me! Enjoyed the puzzle, Matt! Enjoyed the expo, Boomer.

I read all of Edna Ferber's books and saw the movies "Giant", "So Big", "Cimarron" & "Show Boat". All lovely stories. But I think I'm a smidgen younger than you, Boomer. I'm 77.

Didn't know: KAEL, PITNEY, TRIS. Never can remember KIR because it doesn't sound palatable to me.

As I have said before, I saw REBA in concert in her prime.

Spitz: thank you for the update on Argyle. My heart goes out to him. As for being fed, are you sure it isn't just because he wants a pretty nurse hanging around longer? Just kidding, Scott, but reap what benefits you can. You deserve them.

D4, you can write to confuse so well. I'm still not sure when your birthday really is. {I got hung up on the mucous plug.} I guess since we wished you well, our duty is done.

OwenKL said...

Erato has phoned in a appearance, but I'm afraid Thalia has departed¡ These are weak shadows of what I should be able to do, but after being absent for a few days, I feel obliged to present something!

Watched Instinct last night, followed by Masterpiece!, Masterpiece Mystery, and Dr. Blake Mysteries. The influence can be seen in the third poem.

On TOAST, we put APRICOT JAM.
A JUNK ARTIST combines GEAR and cam.
And when some PALS VISIT
They'll bring a DOG BISCUIT,
To keep from getting turned into Spam!

I think I'll DOTH write BLANK VERSE
After limericks, can WOES be any worse?
Some people may think
That at couplets I stink,
And my haiku is deemed very terse!

The musician was filled full of WOE!
But not blood, he had no more to flow!
The poor guy was TOAST,
A GONER, then a ghost!
He'd been STABBED by his own alto OBOE!

{C, C+, C+.}

D4E4H said...

Spitzboov,

- - Thank you for your detailed account of your visit with Argyle. Thank you for letting us know the nature of his surgery. Amputation of the leg below the knee is a standard method of resolving the problem of lack of circulation to a diabetic's foot. It sounds like the healing of his stump is progressing on schedule.
- - What concerns me now is the problems he is having with his hands. This sounds like a diagnosis completely different from diabetic complications. Our prayers support Argyle, and the team caring for him. That is the best way we can help him.

Ðave

Lemonade714 said...

Dave, you cannot expect some of us to wish you a Happy Birthday until it arrives or passes, so wait until Thursday and relax.

The theme was logical and fun.

Boomer, thank you for the entertainment as well, but you forgot to mention on his Doctor TV series Bill Cosby's son was named Theo. But then again maybe we should not be giving Bill the publicity.

I used to sit with grandfather and watch pro wrestling - Killer Kowalski era - after he had the same amputation from diabetes. My best to Scott for a comeback to his world here at the Corner where he will always be welcome.

Thanks, Matt McKinley, another of our flavored mm constructors

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Finally a FIR, and with no erasures at that! I guess I've been a little distracted - I either DNFed or FIWed everything last week, and didn't check in with the Corner to see how y'all did.

Thanks for the fun, easy Monday puzzle, Matt. Thanks to Boomer for the tour and to CC for the update on Argyle. By the way, he is STILL a Marine.

Favorite today (of course) was the FAST greyhound (like Zoe). I also liked "seers" for EYES, and the Duke, Duke Duke [or] Earl clue.

If you are ever in a big city and are looking for a government building, just look for a "sculpture" that looks like it was created by a JUNK ARTIST. No one would buy that junk with their OWN money, but the pols are happy to buy it with OUR money.

Today marks two years without alcohol for DW and me. Still waiting for the pink elephants to appear.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Zipped right through this one with nary a hiccup. Didn't get the theme, nothing new there.

PITNEY: Had a long string of hits. He died young back in '06.

Boomer: Perhaps you were thinking of Mr. Roberts, a 1955 war comedy (is there such a thing?) with Henry Fonda and Jack Lemmon. Yes, I recognized those song lyrics. Here's that "Toast" Song -- well, a sample of it, anyway.

FORBES List: In a similar vein, I learned this past week that the last person selected in the NFL (I think) Draft wears the moniker Mr. Irrelevant. Sounds kind harsh, doncha think?

Neighborhood news this morning: Traffic on US-59 near Cleveland (a short ways north of here) is stalled due to a 12-foot gator on the highway.

Spitz, thanx for the update on Argyle. We all wish him the best. Hang in there, Marine!

Unknown said...

Thanks to Matt for a smooth Monday puzzle and to Boomer for the tour through the grid.

My "busy season" has started so I haven't visited the Corner in a few days, and I guess that will continue for a while. Thanks, CanadianEh!, for your clarification of the APTEST and the IB program last Friday. Appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.

Only unknown today was 40D, TRIS, but that was quickly perped.

Thoughts and prayers to all who are experiencing rough times, starting with Argyle but running the entire Corner gamut.

A good day, all....

D4E4H said...

Thank you Mr. Matt McKinley for this Easy Peasy Monday CW which I FIR in 16:33.

Thank you Boomer for your humorous review.

PK at 4:59 AM

Please excuse me. I was having too much fun on my first post. Your comment made me chuckle. Thank you for that. You are correct. You have each honored me well. In review, my 74th birthday will happen on Thursday, May 3rd.

Sheldor AFK

Ðave

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy Monday solve. Not much to add after Boomer's always fine lead-in.

Yes, I was privileged to spend a short while with Argyle as the notes say.
A short trip to the Marine recruiter in our town led to him offering me a Marine pride poster of a sculpture which resides in the Marine Corps museum at Quantico. It is entitled "At their Core" by the artist Kuksi (possible new crossword crossing). It is 28” X 36” and shows the front and back of the sculpture on each side. It is against a black background. See Boomers link.
So I bundled it and some Legion magazines up and gave them to Argyle. I hope they will tweak his interest a little.
Other details are in Boomer's link.
All too soon, it seemed like he was tiring so we shook hands and took our leave. I stressed how much he was missed by the corner and how concerned everyone was as to his recovery progress.



billocohoes said...

OPUS, a Latin noun meaning "piece of work", was used by classical composers to number their music catalogs. The Latin plural is "opera"

In 1995 Richard Dreyfuss starred in a movie titled Mr. Holland's Opus about a high school music teacher

Yellowrocks said...

Typical easy Monday puzzle. No problems. I needed a few perps for Tris and Pitney. I remember the song, not the singer.
Alan loves the old REBA sitcoms.
PK, I, too, have read most of Edna Ferber’s books.
It is wonderful that your niece is raising for those children.
It takes dedication.
On Golden Pond was a great movie.
I liked I Spy and the late Cosby Show. It is incomprehensible to me why powerful men like that need to coerce women. I am sure there are many groupies who are very willing. It must be the power trip that turns these men on.
At places where finger food is served , like our square dances and our coffee hour at church, little bites are often stabbed with toothpicks.
Fashions that are passémany times return as retro styles.
Spitz, it is wonderful that you got to visit Argyle and encourage him. It is so sad that he has currently lost the use of his hands.
Spitz, we love you.

TTP said...

Good morning.

Thank you Matt McKinley and thank you Boomer.

APRICOT JAM on DOG BISCUITs ? Oh, not 10D, but 12D TOAST. That makes sense.

And THANK YOU SPITZBOOV. You are a good man. We all knew that, but it bears repeating.

Argyle, know that we all miss you and want you back.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning!

Thanks, Matt, for a enjoyable start to a week where I vow to miss no puzzles nor the Corner. I especially liked BAAS as you fooled me into thinking coos for doves. Bzzt! Fave today was EYES for Seers.

Thanks, Boomer and C.C. both for the informative write-up and the tale of Spitz's visit with Argyle. Thanks, Spitz, for relaying our concerns for our Corner pal.

I have not been here since the Blonde Tornado's very enjoyable visit for lunch and baking whilst her professor mom graded lots of papers as the end of the semester is rolling to a close. I was AWOL because my MIL has had a set back, but she is progressing well and feeling much better. She'll be 95 in June. An oldie, but a real goodie.

Everyone be well. It's looking like today may be the first day of Spring and boldly sunny at that. I hope last night's Moon does indeed foretell the new season.

Keep working at the rehab, Argyle. It was nice to know you had a visit from Spitz. We are all thinking of you and glad to know you are following along with us. Yay for you!!

Jay Green said...

No fair! The plural of "okra" is ..... "okra". Or at least it is here down south where we actually eat it. Make mine fried please 😀

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Recent experience and using Cote and KIR right off the bat today makes it seem that Rich has taken the training wheels off Monday puzzles :-)
-Great puzzle and theme Matt and an always great write-up Boomer!
-Taking a misbehaving child ASIDE is better than reprimanding him in front of his peers
-This man DOTH (did) protest too much
-20 years ago local channels 3 (NBC) and 6 (CBS) switched networks and I still remember them the other way around from my misspent yute
-Two men on the FORBES List (1:06) playing Ping-Pong in Omaha with a champion
-UBER and Amazon are making two industries PASSÈ
-CB lingo for speed trap – KOJAK with a KODAK
-The Pima TRIBE in AZ has casinos and grows cotton
-Amen, Jinx, on public funded junk sculpture, just across the muddy Mo from here
-Al, thanks for the info on our sorely missed friend

Tinbeni said...

Boomer: Good job on the write-up.

Matt: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle. I enjoyed your THIRTY DAYS theme.

OK, I admit I needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get 3-d, White wine apertifs, KIRS ...

I am NOT a wine drinker ... and todays fave, of course, was STOLI ...
I guess you could say "I'm a Hard Liquor consumer."

Cheers!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I breezed through this in typical Monday time and needed the reveal to catch the theme so smiles all around. Tris was unknown but perps did their job. Okras and Kirs are nose wrinklers, as are all forced plurals but, sometimes, necessary evils.

Thanks, Matt, for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, Boomer, for bringing some cheer into another gloomy, rainy April day. I, too, bid April a speedy and none too fond farewell!

Spitz, thank you so much for the detailed report of your visit to our dear Santa. (I can't picture you beardless, Argyle!) It was very thoughtful of you and Betty to visit and I'm sure that it was much appreciated. Hey, Argyle, we send loads of hugs and good thoughts your way!

Madame Defarge, I'm glad you survived the Blond Tornado! Nice to hear from you.

oc4beach ~ Guess what the mail carrier just dropped off at my front door?

Have a great day.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Matt McKinley, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.

Hope you are feeling better, Argyle. We certainly miss you.

Puzzle went easily. Of course Monday.

Liked the theme. Very clever, indeed! I conjured up the old poem, "Thirty Days hath September, April, June, and November, all the rest have 31, save February which has 28 and on leap year 29."

I remember "I Spy" very well. Good show.

KIRS and KAEL were tough ones. Perps helped.

I believe the name IRAN actually pre-dates Persia. It was the Europeans that named the area Persia.

I did not get recent puzzles done. Just not enough time in my life.

See you tomorrow, I hope.

Abejo

( )

Picard said...

Hand up with Fermatprime, PK, YR the PITNEY/TRIS crossing was a tough surprise for a Monday. Hand up I don't know about KIRS so I was stuck in the NE, also not remembering what is a COTE. Last to fall to FIR. Enjoyed the clever theme!

Our local Chumash TRIBE Casino offers some great concerts of groups from my era. Here are my photos from the "Happy Together" tour a few years ago.

The bands included The Buckinghams, The Grass Roots, The Association, Paul Revere and the Raiders and The Turtles.

The Chumash TRIBE hosts this annual Pow Wow with many TRIBEs converging. Here is my article with photos and videos from the most recent one.

Yes, Boomer, I am a BIKER of the human powered sort!

Here is a photo of my BIKER odometer rolling over 15,000 miles this past week.

I don't do long rides. That is all from running errands and going to and from work and other activities on my current bike.

From yesterday:
AnonT: Thank you for the kind words about my photos!
Rainman: AnonT and I are curious about why you are Rainman? Glad you liked my Rainman boat photo. As I noted yesterday, the real Rainman lived just down the street from our home here near UC Santa Barbara.
WilburCharles: Yes, I always do a copy and paste of my posts. It is too painful to lose a carefully crafted post.

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

I was stumped by the theme/reveal until looking back on the abbr for the THIRTY DAYS' months. Very clever. Great puzzle and recap

Continued good wishes to Argyle/Santa/Scott ---> keep your spirits up, and know that we're pulling for you

ARAL>ALPS; DAEL>KAEL which rendered BLAND VERSE (which is how many might describe my poems ...)

Rather crusty for a Monday xword, but as someone else said, maybe "the gloves are off"

CSO to Tinbeni with STOLI

I had a slightly different spin on using the term BLANK VERSE in my limerick and Moe-ku today:

I admit that at times I'm a loner;
And have often committed a boner.
And what's even more worse
Is this poems BLANK VERSE:
Seems again, I am labeled a GONER.

Was Charlie Chaplin
Really in talkies? Or did
He just read BLANK VERSE?

Chairman Moe said...

IIRC, Rainman's real name is Raymond --- same as the character in the movie "Rainman"

Bill G said...

Thanks Matt and Boomer.

It seems as if whenever you see "O" as the clue or answer in a crossword puzzle, it's almost always spelled with one letter rather than as "Oh." I wonder why?

Good thought for you Scott. I miss your wit and good humor.

Picard, how's your beautiful local fig tree doing? I loved visiting that tree with my kids.

Bill G

Misty said...

Woohoo! Woohoo! I loved this Matt McKinley puzzle but was scared I might not have gotten it all because I wasn't sure TRIS and PITNEY were correct. But, Yay! they were and so I got the whole thing! And not only the puzzle, but also the Sudoku, Kenken, and Jumble--a wonderful way to start the week! So, thank you, Matt, for a delightful puzzle, and you too, Boomer, for a great write-up. I especially appreciated your explaining RKO, which I'd never heard before.

What I loved about this puzzle were all the art and music references--to SHAKESPEARE, OPUS, OBOE, BLANK VERSE, JUNK ARTIST, TONY and HUGO AWARDS, and more. And then the KIR and STOLI so we can celebrate. Lots of fun.

Spitzboov, thank you for the detailed and moving account of your visit with Argyle, and thank you for transmitting all our love and caring.

Jinx, congratulations on the two years of sobriety.

Fun poems, Owen.

Have a wonderful week, everybody!

Lucina said...

My pencil flew over this OPUS. Thank you Matt McKinley.

KIR Royale is a delightful after dinner drink and though KIRS is objectionable, several glasses of KIR are not.

I also mentally recited THIRY DAYS hath November, April, June and September, etc. as Abejo noted, and which I learned at a very young age.

Like others, TRIS, KAEL and PITNEY were unknown but perped.

Spitz, what a wonderful thing you and Betty did, visiting Argyle! It saddens me that he is in such a state but I hope he realizes how very much we miss him and wish him well.

Boomer, thank you. It's impressive how you can turn any answer to relate to baseball!

Have a very special day, everyone! Every day is a gift!

desper-otto said...

Bill G, the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner almost always begin "O say..." rather than "Oh say..." Similarly, "thro" is the correct spelling for Burns' Comin' Thro The Rye, but few other places -- none that come to mind.

WikWak said...

Thirty days hath September
All the rest I can’t remember
There’s a calendar on the wall
Why bother me with this at all?

:/

Mme D, glad the B T wasn’t too destructive! Over the weekend we had a family get-together to celebrate several birthdays, and dealt with a variety of little tornadoes. I can’t believe I once had that kind of energy. Great fun.

And speaking of fun, this was a fun Monday puzzle (well, OK, Monday+). Worked it pretty much top to bottom until the far south, where I had to switch to the verts because the acrosses were starting to show some holes. So thank you to Matt. Boomer, you were in fine fettle today; I've never seen you fettler.

Argyle, hang in there. This sounds like it must be about the worst for you, but know that there are lots of folks thinking of you and praying for you.

Off to run errands. Have a great day, all!

TTP said...

And the national anthem of Canada, eh ?

seareeferd said...

Could someone please explain the hint "parts of cote tales" to me? I understand what a cote is, but I don't associate it with a sheep or a lamb. And tales?

WikWak said...

A cote can be for any smaller animal, even though the word is most usually seen applied to doves or pigeons. So sheep cote is OK to use even though sheep fold is more common. And when sheep tell tales usually all we hear is BAAA. Bah!?

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

If I may:
Thirty days hath September
April, June and Uncle Charlie for making book.

PK said...

Jinx & DW: congratulations on two years of sobriety, a feat worth noting. May you have many more.

Husker: all that spiky JUNK ART makes me think the Iowa art council has hung out in the corn too long. Ah well, "Culture is what one does with what one has." Looks dangerous to me.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Chewy but quite doable, just the right balance for a Monday pzl - from Mr. McKinley.

I did not notice the theme, which is rather clever. Thank you, Boomer, for pointing it out.

Misty, glad you lucked out with your TRIS/PITNEY nexus. Sometimes luck is a gentleman.

____________
Diagonal Report: Four, the usual way. One mainline slash (NW to SE) and a 3-way mirror job.

Mike Sherline said...

Husker @0925 - enjoyed your post as always. One nit, from the article you linked: "...the Iowa West Foundation, which invests funds from the area's casinos in a wide variety of cultural, recreational and educational amenities throughout the Council Bluffs area".

Sounds to me like not public funding, but general public benefit, even if you personally don't like this particular expression of it.

Picard @ 1035 - I always enjoy your excellent photos. The article and pictures of the pow-wow were great, and some of the readers' comments especially - um - interesting(?).

Misty said...

You are so right, Ol'Man Keith. Thank you, Mr. Luck!

fermatprime@gmail.com said...

Of course, I meant NATICK! Spell checker didn't like it!

Feel better, Santa! Do they have you on a ketogenic diet? It cured my pre-diabetic condition.

Note to Jinx: 22 yrs for me! Keep at it!

SwampCat said...

Late to the party. Thanks, Matt and Boomer for Monday fun.

Owen, I laughed out loud. Whatever muse is guiding you... give in!

Jay Green , IM and others , yes the plural of OKRA is okra. But CWs have their own permissions.

Jinx, congratulations and well done.

I loved I SPY.

We also had an RKO Orpheum. And, yes, it is now gone.

Argyle, good wishes from here!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Wishing you all the best, Argyle.
I have just 6 words for you.
Watch out for the blue Jello.

Anonymous T said...

D4 - you're about 28days late on pulling an April Fools joke :-). Happy prelated-birthday(?) :-)

Hi All!

Thanks Matt for this cute puzzle; I first was looking at just the 1st letters of each themer - AJSN - thinking "THIRTY DAYS? Like HATH SEPtember, APR, JUN..." And then saw the months' abbreviations. Not to worry - the V8 slap was gentle.

Thanks Boomer for a sparkly and witty expo - LOL @ being FORBES 401st!

WOs: Spelling SEPeRATE wrong and I never know where to put the U in BISCUIT. //just colour, right C, Eh! :-)
ESPs: KIRS, KAEL; +WAG: TRIS xing PITNEY
Fav: KOJAK - I remember him being so cool when I watched with Pop.

Runner-up: Whammy as a clue... Made me think of Mitch's Standup - Dufranes, party of two...[@5:37 of 6:38m]

{B-, A, B} {ha, cute}. Funny WikWak.

Spitz, you and Betty earned your Wings. Thanks yous so much for VISITing Santa and for posting on his state/progress. Two more cards in my hopper for him...

Stay positive Argyle - you can do this. Semper Fi!

JayGreen - I hear you on OKRA. I had OKRA with lunch today and, since the company-cafeteria isn't so good at keeping the tops out of the dish, I know I had more than one 'pod.'

Abejo - I too thought of the poem that goes BLANK VERSE @February :-)

Cheers, -T

Husker Gary said...

Thanks for the gentle correction Mike! I assumed (there's that "makes an ass of u and me" word) that since the work was on the interstate it was tax money. The casino money is doing wonders in Iowa but here in "holier than thou" Nebraska, we are getting all the problems and none of the revenue. Most of the cars in the Council Bluffs, Iowa casino parking lots have Nebraska plates.
Congrats to all the records for sobriety. My dad was an alcoholic until I turned 25 and then he quit for the next 40 years of his life but kept an unopened Bond and Lilliard 5th near his car with the State Seal still unbroken just to remind him every day he left the garage.
I never really had a dad growing up but que, sera, sera!

Lucina said...

Husker Gary:
I don't know which is worse, having a physical dad who isn't present or losing one's dad at age 10 (younger for all my siblings). In any case, I feel your pain.

Picard said...

BillG: Glad you have happy memories of our Moreton Bay Fig Tree. Amazingly, it is still doing well! It is right by the Amtrak station. When the "cross town freeway" was finally built in the 90s, that area became less visible. Which may be a good thing for the tree!

Mike Sherline: Thank you very much for the kind words about my photos. I am honored that you took the time to look at my Pow Wow photos in such detail. Including the comments! Yes, the comments can indeed get quite interesting! Some other local news services have banned comments because it really turned into bullying.