Theme: AS A (36D. Words that
connect each pair of four-letter words intersecting at a circle). X as a
Y. The X crosses each Y. Both X and Y are four-letter words.
17A. Rich : WELL-HEELED. Crossing 2D. Thoughtful : DEEP. Deep as a well.
11D. 2000s best-seller involving flying toys, with "The" : KITE RUNNER. Crossing 16. Tipsy : HIGH. High as a kite.
29D. Protective bar on a flat roof : SAFETY RAIL. Crossing 68A. Skinny : THIN. Thin as a rail.
66A. Object of the puddy tat's pursuit : TWEETY BIRD. Crossing 63D. Priceless? : FREE. Free as a bird.
Boomer
here. Hello Everyone, I am pinch hitting for our friend Argyle again,
and hoping for the best for him. (Notice I wrote "pinch hitting" as the
baseball season is now underway. But it's tough for the teams to play
in Minnesota when the temp does not even reach 30 degrees.) Well we
have a tough Monday puzzle for all of you puzzle masters, the theme is
trickier than average Mondays.
Speaking
of Masters, there was another game played this weekend. I was not able
to watch much on Saturday and Sunday due to a baseball card show
commitment but I enjoy a round of golf, (when the temp gets above 30!).
However I don't think I could break 200 at Augusta. No problem, I have
a green jacket in my hall closet, I just don't have the million and a
half dollars to go with it. But congratulations to the terror of the 2016 Ryder Cup Hazeltine here in Minnesota, Mr. Patrick Reed for capturing the Master's title, and also a salute to Rickie Fowler and Justin Spieth for making it interesting.
C.C. says Lila Cherry is an anagram of "Really Rich", alias for Rich Norris the editor.
 |
| Rich Norris, XWord Info |
Across:
1. Romantic kissing at the mall and such, briefly : PDAS - Public Displays of Affection. I think it's "People diddling around".
5. Skier's challenge : MOGUL
- "Well they called him Super Skier, as he sat around the sundeck, for
he swore that he would never take a spill. When they finally brought
him down they had to use three toboggans, to carry all the pieces off
the hill."
10. Ref's decisions : TKOS
14. Finnish architect Saarinen : EERO - What's this? A four letter word with three vowels!
15. Egg-shaped : OVATE - I put oval and left one square blank.
19. To be, in Bordeaux : ETRE
20. English china : SPODE - Costs more than folks can afford.
21. With 61-Across, seriously overweight fictional sleuth : NERO. 61. See 21-Across : WOLFE
22. Chick's cry : PEEP - Did you get some marshmallow ones for Easter ?
23. Tree-toppling tool : AXE - The AWA used to have a Wrestler named Larry Hennig. He changed his ring name from "Pretty Boy" to the "Axe".
25. "That's cheating!" : NO FAIR! - When I drive the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, there is no fair there either for 350 days.
27. Wine evaluators : TASTERS
31. Get in your face about : FLAUNT
34. Lisbon hello : OLA - I have a friend from Chile and when I email him I write "Hola".
35. Shankar's instrument : SITAR - I believe this is a Latin word for guitar.
38. Personal, as thoughts : INNER - Or.. A type of belly button.
39. Break in relations : RIFT
41. Lawyer's backlog : CASES
43. "I'm paying for the drinks" : ON ME - Okay, I'll leave the tip.
44. Dined at home : ATE IN - Okay, no tipping here.
46. Indian breads : NAANS - Sort of looks like a Frisbee. I suppose it's served at Progressive Field?
48. "A mouse!" : EEK
49. Sound equipment that may pick up a private remark : HOT MIC
51. Prayerful chants : MANTRAS
53. Scold loudly : YELL AT
56. Sticky stuff : GOO - Actually, Goo is not necessarily sticky. Mud, Slippery Elm, or anything that Bert Blyleven put on a baseball.
57. "Cosmos" author Sagan : CARL
59. Chief Asgard god : ODIN
65. Healthful berry : ACAI - All right, another four letter word with three vowels. I am addicted.
69. Dominican Republic neighbor : HAITI - News says they are slowly recovering from Hurricane Irma.
70. Triangle calculation : AREA
- Tough to do. You need all three side plus the height from the base
to the highest point. Math majors, correct me if I am wrong.
71. Prefix with -pathic : TELE
72. Max of Dadaism : ERNST
73. Consider : DEEM
Down:
1. Benches flanking church aisles : PEWS
3. Guthrie at Woodstock : ARLO
- Also spent time in "Alice's restaurant", and I think he rode on the
"City of New Orleans". Illinois central, Monday morning rail.
4. Went for in an auction : SOLD AT - Auctions used to be boring, but now there is eBay.
5. Homer's bartender : MOE - What about Larry and Curly? (I don't watch "The Simpsons.")
6. Pizza maker : OVEN - I was a pizza maker in a younger life and no one called me oven. I think Pizza baker may have been a better clue.
7. Ancient Greek physician : GALEN
8. In __: not yet born : UTERO - Not to be confused with Ichiro, who was born 44 years ago.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58911049/146569110.jpg.0.jpg)
9. Batted first : LED OFF - Speaking of Mr. Suzuki, he used to lead off for the Mariners, but now he bats 7th or 8th.
10. 1993 film with an instrument in its title : THE PIANO
12. Fairy tale meanie : OGRE
13. Herding dog name : SHEP - I was going to mention Larry, Moe and Curly again, but then I realized that guys name was Shemp.
18. Evil spells : HEXES - Stop signs.
24. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC
26. Muhammad in a ring : ALI - I knew him when he was Cassius Clay.
27. Hebrew scroll : TORAH
28. Samuel on the Supreme Court : ALITO - I think his friend call him Sam. I would call him Mr. Justice.
30. X-Men co-creator Lee : STAN
32. Mythical lion's home : NEMEA
33. Arduous journeys : TREKS - I think 18 holes at Augusta could be a trek.
37. Unit at Staples : REAM -
Interesting that this is a stack of paper, but you can also use a tool
to ream a bigger hole in a piece of metal. Ain't English great. ?
40. Facebook feature : TIMELINE
42. Stocking tear : SNAG - I think we had this last week. Do ladies still wear nylon stockings?
45. Zip, in soccer : NIL
47. Wintry and white : SNOWY - Believe it or not, This happens in Minnesota on April 9th!!!
50. Provide apparel for : CLOTHE - You may clothe people with clothes. If you wash them, hang them on a Clothesline with a clothespin.
52. "Tough!" : TOO BAD!
54. No-holds-barred commercial competition : AD WAR - "Ask your doctor if an Ad War is right for you."
55. Advertising link : TIE IN
57. Suffragist Carrie : CATT
58. Tooth pain : ACHE - Believe it or not, I have not had a tooth ache since 2009! (That's when I got my dentures.)
60. Brooklyn NBA team : NETS - Strange name for an NBA team. I would have picked Dodgers.
62. Old Italian cash : LIRE
64. Cheese from the Netherlands : EDAM
67. Tiny songbird : TIT - Also a willow and other stuff.
Boomer
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Rich and Boomer!
Nice puzzle! There were circles?
I must have an underground water leak. I received a bill for about 10K for three months. This is a real tragedy. A plumber coming this afternoon.
Tomorrow I plan to spend 6 more hours trying to get taxes ready for my preparer. Such fun!
Hope to see you tomorrow!
I'm playing catch up:
ReplyDeleteVirginiaSycamore April 5, 2018 at 12:54 PM
- - I really enjoyed Weird Al. How do you know these items?
- - I'm caught up, so Good Morning you Cornerites, and Cornerettes.
- - Thank you Ms. Lila Cherry for this fine Monday masterpiece. I saw the circles, but couldn't see any theme until Boomer pointed out the Naticks every one. I groaned appropriately for each one. I must have filled 36D with perps, because I just now read the clue, Duh! I was able to FIR in 26:18.
- - Now I read that Ms. Cherry is really "Very wealthy Norris." Ima still greetin "her."
- - I notice a three diagonal from NW to SE. Young Man Keith will have fun with the words hidden therein. He didn't post yesterday so must have been busy.
Ðave
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI breezed through this in no time flat with no bumps or hiccups. The only unknown was Nemea but perps did their job there. After completion, I read and reread the reveal clue and stared at the circles and finally saw what was going on. All I can say is Wow! Four in the language phrases, each one with two four letter words. Very nicely done, Rich.
Thanks, Rich, for starting the week off with a sparkling offering and thanks, Boomer, for the play by play summary. Your humor is always a highlight of your write-ups.
Hi to Argyle if you're reading this!
Have a great day.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteHad the circles. Failed to look at 'em. Didn't get the theme. I'm starting to sense a pattern. Oh, there was sort of a reveal at 36d. Missed that, too. Thanx, Rich and Boomer.
A tip of the hat in Paris: LE DOFF
Why did the fans attend the game: TO RAH
Boomer, calculating the area of a the triangle isn't that difficult. You just need the length of the base and the height. The other two sides are irrelevant.
Area of a Triangle = Base x Height / 2. So, one only needs the length of one side, and the distance from that side to the opposing point to determine the area of a triangle.
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting, as the theme was more hidden than one sees on Monday, even with the circles. Barry G, how are you doing? This suggests Rich would like some more challenging Monday puzzles. I thought GALEN and NEMEA were difficult for the new solver that is the theoretic goal for Monday.
ReplyDeleteBoomer, you do make the write-up fun but we all miss Argyle. Keep healing.
Thanks again for the gentle workout Rich and Boomer for the review.
ReplyDeleteCaught the theme and it helped confirm the southern most intersectioons.
One WAG at #7 . Not sure of the G at MOGUL and GALEN.
Unkowns that filled via perps and crosses were SPODE, NEMEA, ALITO, and CATT.
Cloudless Spring day starting to emerge. Nice
A harder-than-usual Monday for sure. SPODE, KITERUNNER, GALEN, and NEMEA are answers I would not normally associate with the day, but thanks to Lila/Rich for the challenge nevertheless. Thanks for filling in Boomer, and continued greetings and best wishes to Argyle.
ReplyDeleteA very enjoyable puzzle and theme, Rich. The reveal, AS A, at 36A made finding the similes easy.
ReplyDeleteI have read The Kite Runner twice and seen the movie. One of my favorite novels.
I have read quite a few historical novels about early medicine from the time of Galen through the Civil War and the late 1800's. Fascinating!
Easter peeps? No, thanks.
Snowy? Likewise. Boo hiss.
I thought belly buttons were innies or outies.
The NY Mets, short for Metropolitans, played at Shea Stadium. Shortly after the founding of the Mets, the Titans football team was bought, moved to Shea Satdium and was renamed the Jets. Then came the basketball team, the Nets, I assume they were named to rhyme with the Mets and Jets. IMO, they have the most appropriate name of all three, making me think of the basketball net. Swish!
Ferm, how awful, please check into it. 10K could be a horrible mistake. I am surprised you get bills for three months at a time. Monthly billing catches leaks before that can get entirely out of hand.
WEES about this being doable but harder than most Mondays. Vaguely remembered the NEMEAn lion being one of Hercules's labors, but had to stop a second and think about what the place would be called.
ReplyDeleteMy mom inherited a set of Spode china from my great aunt several years ago - she was very insistent that it be hand washed which makes it much less likely to be used!
Thanks Boomer for another humorous write-up and Rich for a Monday puzzle that will wake up those brain cells!
We had snow yesterday even here in Missouri - but it's supposed to in the 70s later in the week! Can't wait!
I was trying to justify get in your face about - flaunt.
ReplyDeleteFlaunt- display (something) ostentatiously, especially in order to provoke envy or admiration or to show defiance.
Get in your face- blatantly aggressive or provocative; impossible to ignore or avoid.
I suppose when someone flaunts their wealth they are getting in your face about how rich they are. The more I think about it, the more I can accept it as valid.
Nemea was new to me. LIU "The Nemean Lion was a legendary creature in Greek mythology that ravaged the area of Nemea. Its fur was impenetrable by the weapons of humans and hence, was unstoppable."
Spode's "Christmas Tree" is a popular pattern of Christmas china collected by people around the world. My DIL has a lot of Spode Christmas china.
Is it just me, or did Rich seem angry when he constructed this puzzle? YELL AT, FLAUNT, NO FAIR, even HOT MIC seems somewhat threatening. Maybe I was just struggling with it. I found it harder than most Monday's, but well worth the effort. My favorite was FREE for "priceless". AD WAR next to TIE IN was fun, too. Boomer, thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteSlight chop for a Monday but mostly smooth sailing. Lila told me I was looking at a Rich puzzle, I guess for interest only. Couple unknowns like NEMEA came from perps.
TREK - Borrowing into English from Afrikaans. Related to L. German trecken.
Thanks Boomer for pinch-hitting and a breezy intro.
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Lila (Rich) and Boomer.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to make some sense out of the letters in the circles and totally missed the theme and the AS IN centre.
Wow, very clever. What solvers miss when they don't come here!
Hand up for not knowing NEMEA; I was trying Aslan.
But on the whole, things filled in quickly and I found myself jumping all over (not the usual Across and then Down). I even moved diagonally sometimes OMK!
Still SNOWY here too on the weekend.
Enjoy the day.
Greetings to Argyle.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I blew by the “AS A” revealer and tried to get the wonderful theme with just the circled letters. EEK!
-PDA’S are a big concern when traveling with 120 fifteen-yr-olds
-NBA Refs no longer call traveling or this violation
-TASTER – My $5 Starbucks latte last week (gift card) tasted the same as my 40¢ home brew
-INNER Thoughts as sung by The Four Lads (2:51)
-Good luck if you’re in a public defender’s backlog of CASES
-HOT MIC – Romney’s “47%” and Hillary’s “Deplorables” did them harm
-If you YELL AT a student, you’ve already lost
-Living with someone for over 50 years is as good as having TELEPATHY
-There was literally no room in the PEWS yesterday because of confirmation where most were lovely Hispanic children
-Rich got “maker” in over “baker”? Who’s his editor? :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, today was a little tougher than the usual Monday. I used the Mensa site, so no circles. However, they wouldn't have helped me because I didn't get it until Boomer splained it. I guess today was a busman's holiday for Rich. He must get tired of editing sometimes. Sort of like the lead mechanic at the Indy 500 or Daytona 500 who wants to drive occasionally.
Boomer provides an enjoyable tour through the grid.
Before I put in PDAS (which to me are Personal Digital Assistants like my old Palm Pilot that I still have and use occasionally), I had PDoA for Public Displays of Affection. ARLO straightened me out on that one.
It also took a minute to come up with TKOS because I was looking at football and basketball refs as the ones making a decision, not a boxing ref. Gotta go back to the Friday Night Fights that I watched with my Dad when I was a kid.
EERO has been around a number of times, but I keep trying to put two R's (ERRO) in it instead of two E's. Not a name that is very common nor very memorable.
I'm off to a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon with the State Senate Majority Leader as the keynote speaker. Maybe I'll be able to find out what is happening in the Capitol. Or not.
Have a great day everyone.
A Little crunchy for a Monday, but that made it interesting and fun.
ReplyDeleteJust a side note, the picture Boomer posted was of Kurt Hennig aka "Mr. Perfect"
His Father was Larry 'The Axe" Hennig
NBD.
Thank you, Lila Cherry, aka, Rich! It's nice to have a Monday puzzle that's tweaked.
ReplyDeleteI got off to a hesitant start until PDAS pushed through my gray cells then I was OFF like a flash. I saw the circles and AS A but didn't make a connection, so thank you, Boomer for spelling it out.
I loved the KITE RUNNER as well as A Thousand Splendid Suns.
NEMEA was new to me but only that. OLA Portuguese and hola is Spanish.
A Gypsy woman once threw Hexes at me because I wouldn't buy the twigs she was selling.
Thank you, again, Boomer, for your witty commentary but I do miss Argyle. I hope he is recovering smoothly.
Have a happy day, everyone!
Whew! What a Monday toughie, and I worried that I did't get it all. But Yay, it was all okay and I got a Monday Rich puzzle. Great relief after a great challenge. Lots of unknowns including PDAS, HOT MIC, NEMEA, and others. I knew I should know Suffragist Carrie--I'm a feminist, after all--but it didn't fall into place until after I remembered CARL Sagan. Thankfully, ACAI has been showing up in puzzles lately, so I got that. So all is well at the beginning of the week--many thanks, Rich, and Boomer, I enjoy your fun write-ups.
ReplyDeleteI had the hardest time with the theme, though (even with circles)and didn't get it until various comments on the blog finally gave me a helpful hint.
Fermatprime, what a worrisome water problem. Let us know how it goes.
Enjoy your lunch, Oc4beach.
I thought I remembered writing about Max ERNST once. Sure enough, my "Beasts of the Modern Imagination" has a chapter on him.
We're thinking of you, Argyle.
Have a great day, and a great week, everybody!
For a Monday, the NW corner had me going for a while.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of English China = Spode
Never did any romantic kissing in a Mall, (bummer.)
And, I always forget how to spell Saarinen's name.
(Must note: Crosswordese #3,569, Saarinen = 4 letters/three vowels.)
FIR in the end, but was not sure about PDAS...
Deep as a Well?
High as a Kite?
Thin as a rail?
Aaand... Tit for Tat...
Get well soon Argyle! We miss you!
From Amazon:
ReplyDelete""Margot Norris stalks her subject with intelligent vocabulary, critical sophistication and bristling analysis. She creates a new tradition to challenge previous ones, revealing unexpected affinities between Darwin and the modernists she treats. Her book draws upon each of the disciplines of science, philosophy, literature and art to force us to think about ourselves in a new way. She makes us aware of the imprisoning act of creating cultural traditions, of subjugating the wild beast in ourselves." (from John Hannay's review in The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association)"
Hi everybody. This puzzle seemed a little harder than usual for a Monday and a little more unusual. That's just a feeling so I can't really explain why I felt that way. As usual, I still enjoyed the solving process, a credit to Rich's consistent great editing.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed Nero Wolfe and Archie.
I also really liked Carl Sagan, both his book and his television show. His explanation of how Eratosthanes accurately calculated the size of the earth 2000 years ago is fascinating. I'm in awe of the smart old guys.
My two-cents worth on calculating the area of a triangle. The most common way is A = (base x height)/2 where the height is defined to be the perpendicular distance from the opposite vertex to the base. If it's a right triangle, you can use the two sides making a right angle for the base and height. However, there's another great formula from another 2000-year-old guy. It's called Heron's Formula. You can find the area of a triangle just knowing all three sides. Excellent! You can Google it.
Husker Gary at 10:00 AM
ReplyDelete- - Hi. My name is Missy. I'm 15 today. I liked the song as sung by The Four Lads, but what was that black thing in the picture?
- - Hi. My name is Dave. What do you mean by "-Rich got “maker” in over “baker”? Who’s his editor? :-)?"
oc4beach at 10:11 AM
- - Oh that English language. The "lead" mechanic at the Indy 500 has a "lead" foot. The definitions for "lead" just go on and on.
- - Your "Friday Night Fights" remind me of the early TV programming in 1950 which was primarily boxing or wrestling with polka bands thrown in for balance. I spent a lot of my ute "Standing by" the set as the screen directed me. Then there was the nightly sign off.
CrossEyedDave at 11:32 AM
- - Wrote "...4 letters/three vowels.)" Vowels, the "Pluto" of letters.
Spitzboov at 11:36 AM
- - What caused you to wax poetic about "Margot Norris?"
- - Earth to Argyle. Earth to Argyle. Come in Argyle. PT doesn't really stand for "Pain and Torture." It just feels that way. My prayers are for your successful recovery, A+.
Ðave
My goodness, Spitzboov, thank you (she says, a little embarrassed for having cited the title).
ReplyDeleteBoomer,,, It's JORDAN Spieth hard to
ReplyDeletekeep all the Justins straight.
D4, maybe now you've figured out why Spitz posted that. Rich's clue for OVEN was pizza maker rather than pizza baker. But, Rich is the editor, so he do it as he pleases.
ReplyDeleteBillG, I think I'll stick with the old formula.
This was a cleverly constructed grid that, for whatever reason, I was able to go through with no issues. A nice beginning to the week.
ReplyDeleteD4,that's praise about Margot Norris's book. She is our own Misty.
ReplyDelete21a/61a: My first thought was FRANK CANNON. However, I immensely enjoyed Rex Stout's books.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of the KITE RUNNER, book or movie. From perps.
Carrie CATT was unknown to me until she appeared in the LAT CW twice not to long ago.
The name SITAR is Punjabi from Persian.
It took me a few runs back and forth in the comments to figure out the dialogue about Misty=Margo Norris.
Boomer, thank you for explaining the theme. Now I get it.
D-O, right. The old formula is easiest if you know the altitude. But what if you just know all three sides?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have a soft spot in my brain for someone who could figure that out 2000 years ago. Smart old folks rule!
Bill G, I'm impressed that old Heron (Hero?) could do square roots long-hand. I sure can't do them any longer.
ReplyDeleteAXE seems an inappropriate name for a wrestler - unless maybe he has a THIN RAIL of a body and specializes in chopping blows.
ReplyDeleteThe fellow depicted in Boomer's photo looks more like a HAMMER to me. Come to think of it, most wrestlers would be better ID'd as HAMMERS than AXES.
(And some stalwart losers might be known as ANVILS, no?)
Ta- DA!
So, thanks to Lila Cherry, or whomever is sporting her name, we have a slightly chewier than usual Monday pzl. There were three or four places where I paused before plowing ahead.
My only real point of confusion/contention - similar to that of oc4beach, CrossEyedDave and others - was over PDAS. When was the acronym for Personal Digital Assistant co-opted by Mall Rats and their oglers?
Spitzboov,
Thank you for posting Misty's review. It is a mark of pride for all of us to know our colleague better!
____________
Diagonal Report: The basic four, a 3-way on the front side (NW to SE) and a lonesome mainline in the mirror (NE to SW). No hidden message. We await the first to try.
ReplyDeleteD4: How about the "Head" mechanic, or the "Number 1" mechanic, or "The pit crew boss".
I remember the Friday Night Fights and the Gillette commercials, but I don't remember any Polka bands. The bands would seem like a natural for Pennsylvania, though.
Misty: Lunch was good. The chicken wasn't rubber and the politician only blew his own horn a little bit.
And, it's snowing again!!!!!
WEES about this being a tad crunchier than the usual Monday. I loved seeing NERO WOLFE in a puzzle. He and Archie Goodwin are far and away my favorite detective team. Bill G (11:48) and Roy (2:05), have you read any of the Nero Wolfe books written by Robert Goldsborough? He has written 5 or 6 new books since Rex Stout's death. Of all the examples I have read over the years of someone trying to keep a franchise going, I feel that he does the best job. I can get immersed in one and forget for a time that I’m not reading Stout.
ReplyDeleteIt snew here in northeast IL last night. Aaaaaaannnndddd... now it’s gone! Gotta love April.
G'day, all.
Oc4beach, Lawrence Welk had a polka band on TV. They still comment that Lawrence is still dead, and still on PBS. We can thank Oklahoma Public TV for that. One of the funniest things I've ever seen was two Welk singers performing One Toke Over The Line -- completely clueless what they were singing about.
ReplyDeleteMisty, I would love to attend one of your classes. You have an agile, interesting mind treating subjects I like. You deserve the praise.
ReplyDeleteWIK WAk, as a fellow Wolfe devotee (though unlike my late brother, I never joined THE WOLFE PACK) I have read all of the originals and all of the Goldsborough continuation books. I have pre-ordered on Kindle for release next week the latest. To me some of the follow up ones are not good, but the last few have been better. The prequel I found very lacking.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of skillful authors (Great job Misty) when I was in Law school my escape was the writing of Stanley Lieber - the unparalleled Stan Lee. Before it was a multi billion dollar Business, Mr. Lee was very accessible and I had the pleasure of corresponding with him. Back in those days it was all done by mail. Anyway, what I have READ RECENTLY makes me sad. Be well Stan.
WikWak, yes I agree, the Robert Goldsborough books are perfectly enjoyable. I'm also OK with the Spenser books after Robert B. Parker's passing, though the Nero Wolfe books are closer to the original.
ReplyDeleteD-O, hey I still do barely remember how to extract square roots by hand. I used to teach it to some of my sharper classes, both because of historical significance and because I thought it might help them appreciate the irrationality of the answer in that the process kept continuing... Thanks for reminding me.
The Spenser books are available as audo books read by Joe Mantegna. I get them from our library, rip them to mp3, put them on a flash disk, and listen to them while I drive. Being on the flash drive means no fumbling to change discs while driving. On my frequent trips from the Chicago suburbs to Springfield and Jacksonville downstate, they are great at helping the miles pass quickly. (Officer, I swear I wasn’t speeding; I was just reading a book.)
ReplyDeleteAnd Fermat, I thought it was bad when my bimonthly water bill jumped from an average of about $80 to $175 this month. Found/fixed a leaky toilet that I hadn’t been aware of. You have my heartfelt sympathy.
ReplyDeleteGotta love it!
ReplyDeleteLawrence Welk, One Toke Over The Line
I wonder if Lawrence Welk had anything to do with this one..
ReplyDeleteI'll never smoke weed with Willie again!
Thank you, Lila Cherry, for the somewhat crunchy Monday puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for subbing for Argyle and for your entertaining expo.
ReplyDeleteBelated birthday wishes to Irish Miss and Abejo! I hope you both had wonderful days!
Argyle, I continue to send positive thoughts your way for uneventful recovery and rehab.
My unknowns were GALEN and NEMEA. And, we also woke up to a SNOWY landscape. It has melted!
Fav c/a 69a Dominican Republic neighbor/HAITI. Two years ago I met a young lady who co-founded a ministry in HAITI, working to provide clean water in rural villages called Poured Out. They focus on the south-west coast which took a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew. The have frequent volunteer groups come down for a week at a time to build water filters. Also, they respond to state-side disasters. After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, they sent 3 semis down there: one filled with water, one filled with supplies for volunteers to use and and one fitted with showers and washer/dryers for the volunteers. They posted on Facebook that Team Texas had 234 volunteers over 9 weeks, used 101 work orders and put in 11,614 hours. I'm impressed with their work. I'd link the website but my computer isn't cooperating.
Have a great week. We look like we're going to experience some nice spring weather this week. Yeah! No more snow till November, please!
Hi Y'all! I enjoyed doing the puzzle. However, no circles and the theme was Really too Rich for me. AS A filled in and I never read the clue/reveal. I had to read Boomer's great witty expo three times before my brain was enRiched enough to get the theme. Thanks, guys!
ReplyDeleteI know we've had CATT three times recently but it took ESP. No know NEMEA.
What do you suppose ERNST was smoking/drinking/eating/shooting up to have nightmares like that?
April 9: I sure feel better today than I did 48 years ago. My first son was born that day. Went to the hospital in spring CLOTHEs and had to have DH bring me a coat to go home several days later in the snow. Sunshine here today.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you Lila Cherry, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteFirst three in the NW were PEWS, ARLO, and EERO. The rest there took me a while.
I bounced around and got the easy ones, which helped immensely with the hard ones.
We seem to use the word ACAI a lot. Much like ERIE. OK with me.
Theme was excellent. How clever.
Looked outside this morning and it was all white. All melted now. This has been a weird winter.
Much to do. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
I liked this puzzle. To quote Pat: "Thank you, Lila Cherry, for the somewhat crunchy Monday puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for subbing for Argyle and for your entertaining expo." Also, Boomer, I laughed uproariously at your "Ask your doctor if an Ad War is right for you."
ReplyDeleteHmm, I just realized AREA is another 3-vowel 4-letter word.
I remember watching an episode of Inspector Lewis called "The Lions of Nemea."
Dang, now I want to read Beasts of the Modern Imagination.
Best wishes to you all.
Yellowrocks at 1:30 PM
ReplyDelete- - Thanks. I now see the word "my" in Misty's post. Nice to meet you Ms. Margot Norris, if this is not yet another anagram for Rich.
- - Speaking of anagrams, how can Lila Cherry be an anagram of Rich Norris? An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. There are letters in her name that are not in his, and vs.
Ðave
Dave, go to the Olio section on the main page and go down to Rich Norris Alias. That should answer your question.
ReplyDeleteD4E4H:
ReplyDeleteGo to the Home page and you will see all of Rich Norris's aliases. I believe Lila Cherry is an anagram of Really Rich.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteWEES - crunchy for a Monday. After coming across 14, 15, & 19a, I looked down and immediately figured out why --- it's Really Rich!
Thanks Rich for this cute puzzle. I had the circles so AS A was easy to spot and confirm FREE for Priceless?.
Great expo Boomer. Like Jayce, I LOL'd at your "Ask your Dr." aside.
ESPs: GALEN, NEMEA
Fav: HOT MIC; it's fun to hear what folks really think (Remember Biden's "this is a big f***ing deal"? LOL)
FLN: {C+, B}; Good to hear news of Splynter; PK, "your" Blogger account is an alias for your son's email/Google account.
Misty - nothing to be embarrassed about - If I ever received criticism like Hannay gave your, I'd crow!
CED - I must not be too DEEP - I don't get the WELL cartoon but I totally 'got' both KITE-HIGH musical interludes. :-)
Swamp - I noticed the anger-issues sub-theme too :-)
Cheers, -T
My goodness, so many kind comments and references. Thank you again Spitzboov, and also Roy, Ol'Man Keith, Dave, Lemonade, Jayce, and especially Yellowrocks, for your kindness. Given my difficulty solving puzzles I'm a long way from those days, but this community is a gift.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had a nice lunch, Oc4beach.
Have a great evening, everybody.
Boomer wrote early in his write-up, “... Lila Cherry is an anagram of "Really Rich", alias for Rich Norris the editor.”
ReplyDeleteD4, just a note to let you know I never post on Sundays.
ReplyDeleteForce of habit. I used to not be able to find the Xwd in the Sunday LA Times. I thought there wasn't one.
I took to doing the Sunday NY Times pzl instead, and that's what I still do.
AnonT: I know "my" blogger account is an alias for my sons. He installed Chrome for me. I think he just made me a subsidiary computer of his and pulled it off of his. I keep forgetting to ask him about it. I had email okay when he installed it and thereafter, so it wasn't a problem.
ReplyDelete