google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday August 27, 2018 C.C. Burnikel

Gary's Blog Map

Aug 27, 2018

Monday August 27, 2018 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: ROT - Each theme is in the pattern of R* OF T*.

17. Sam Houston served twice as its president: REPUBLIC OF TEXAS.

28. General guideline: RULE OF THUMB.

47. Credible quality: RING OF TRUTH.

59. Hint that a storm is approaching: RUMBLE OF THUNDER.

Good Morning. Limping Boomer here, trying to get past a bit of an arthritis flare up.  Minnesota State Fair is going nuts, as I mentioned last week, C.C. and I are figuring what to do with the money we saved by not going.  I spent my half at the pharmacy.

Across:

1. Apple remnant: CORE.  And from the Garden of Eden, picked the apple he was eatin' and I swear that I'm the one what et the core. ("Great Historical Bum" My buddies - Chad Mitchell Trio.)

5. Picket line crosser: SCAB.  I respect labor unions however I was never a member and I'm not sure I respect this label.

9. Proverbial waste maker: HASTE.

14. Like die-hard fans: AVID.

15. Furry red Muppet: ELMO. Tickled to see him in a puzzle.

16. Snake River state: IDAHO.  River made famous by Evel Knievel.

20. Rapper Dr. __: DRE.  Sorry fans, I despise RAP

21. Shade tree subject to blight: ELM.  I think Ash is more threatened.  However there was a nightmare on Elm's Street.

22. Lubricated: OILED.  Bowling lanes get oiled - some heavy, some not so much.  I like medium.

23. Black __ : covert missions: OPS.  Donald Sutherland in "JFK".

25. Cost for an online pop-up: AD RATE.  Indeed - Online pop ups are a pain.

31. Safari automaker: GMC.  GM almost went under like Enron.  I'm glad they survived, I think they make decent vehicles.

34. Wraps up: ENDS.  Th Th That's all folks.  - "Porky"

35. Fish trapped in pots: EELS.  I really don't think eels are fish.

36. "Word is ... ": I HEAR.

38. Geronimo's tribe: APACHE. Also a Fort in the Bronx.

40. Board meeting outline: AGENDA.

41. Motherless calf: DOGIE. Get along little one, and don't call me Doogie.

42. Tear canal: DUCT.

45. Actresses Long and Vardalos: NIAS.

46. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr.: STE.

50. Intermittent, as fog: PATCHY.

51. "To each __ own": HIS.  Why is it never "her" own.

52. Bill Belichick, e.g.: COACH. To heck with Bill, how about our new Gopher Women's Basketball coach, Ms. Lindsay Whalen.


54. Boathouse item: OAR.

56. One __ million: IN A.

63. Quite heavy: OBESE.

64. Cookie in dirt pudding: OREO.  It took a while, but I knew I would find a four letter word with three vowels.

65. Extremely tired: BEAT.  Beat the drum and hold the phone, the sun came out today!  John Fogerty, "Centerfield"

66. Desires: WANTS.

67. Florist's arrangement: POSY. Add an "E", Buster, and you have a catcher of Giants.

68. Indy 500 racers: CARS. Calling those things that run at Indy "cars" could be a bit of an understatement.

Down:

1. Birthday __: CARD.  Cards are nice, but I have had WAY too many birthdays!

2. Finished: OVER.

3. One's golden years: RIPE OLD AGE. (See my comment on one down.)

4. Academic URL ender: EDU.

5. Pitch successfully: SELL. "Strikeout" was too long of a word.

6. Long-term weather conditions: CLIMATE.

7. "The Walking Dead" channel: AMC.  Acronym for American Motors Corp.  I once owned a 1975 Pacer.  However, Sadly, AMC went the way of the Packard and Studebaker.

8. Unhappy fan's shout: BOO. Halloween is only two months away. Is your sheet with holes clean??

9. Win the jackpot: HIT IT BIG.  Joe Mauer passed Rod Carew on Friday for hits in a Twins Uniform - 2086.  Only Kirby Puckett has more. 


10. One-named "Skyfall" singer: ADELE.

11. __-Coburg, Bavaria: SAXE.

12. Former Mississippi senator Cochran: THAD. He served 40 years in the Senate but resigned last Spring due to health concerns.

13. Dawn goddess: EOS.

18. Kiss, in Cancún: BESO.  "I'll send you all my love, every day in a letter....Sealed with a Beso."

19. Shaving lather: FOAM.  Don't they have Menthol anymore?  I used to like it.

24. Joe of "My Cousin Vinny": PESCI. Really liked him in "Casino".

26. FedEx rival: DHL.

27. Country with 11 time zones: Abbr.: RUS. Russia.  I did not know they had 11 Soviet time zones.  But I know Russia is in our news at least 11 times a day.

28. Curls up with a Kindle: READS.  When I was a kid, we had this thing called a book.

29. Take out of its container, as a houseplant: UNPOT.  This is a new word used out west to harvest the cannabis garden.

30. Service charge: FEE.  Add an "R" and you don't have to pay it.

31. "That's super-creative thinking!": GENIUS IDEA.  Whoever thought of the internet, or casino gambling.

32. Angry with: MAD AT.

33. Wall Street disaster: CRASH.  1929 must have been terrible. We managed to live through 1987 and 2007.

37. Painter Matisse: HENRI.

39. Performer of the 12 labors, to the Greeks: HERACLES.  Not to be confused with Hercules who was the Roman All Star Wrestling champion of the world.

40. Justice dept. division: ATF.  I don't care much about Tobacco which people use to kill themselves.  But PLEASE do something about firearms and drunk drivers that kill others.

42. Party gp. chaired by Tom Perez: DNC.

43. "That's gross!": UGH.

44. Prairie canines: COYOTES.  Interesting name for the Arizona NHL Hockey team,

48. "Am __ only one?": I THE.

49. Drive-__ window: THRU. We have a Starbucks near a grocery store we frequent.  Sometimes there are 20 cars in line at their drive up window.

50. Blue Ribbon beer: PABST. What'll you have ?  I liked their commercials.

52. 1962 Missile Crisis country: CUBA.  I was 15.  Probably too young to understand what a serious situation this was.

53. Dark clouds, to some: OMEN.  Between NMEN and PMEN

55. Sailor's hail: AHOY.  Ahoy Hoy, Alexander Graham Bell's suggestion to answer the phone.  Also an off the wall GEICO Commercial. 

57. Close by: NEAR.

58. Creative pursuits: ARTS.

59. Movie theater division: ROW.

60. Comics' Alley __: OOP.  The man in the funny papers we all know ---

61. To's partner: FRO. See one down.  You may send a birthday card "to" a relative or friend, but do you get one "fro" them ?

62. Peacock logo network: NBC.  National Broadcasting Company.  They now control several news stations on cable along with their huge free network channel.

Boomer

Note from C.C.:

Today we celebrate the 70th birthday of Lemonade (Jason), our Friday Sherpa since March 2010. After all these years, his passion and devotion to each of his post remains unchanged: searching, researching and finding the perfect links/clips. Thanks for being here for us, Lemonade!


49 comments:

  1. Hello Puzzlers -

    Zoomed right through, but still managed to appreciate the theme. Thanks for ‘splaining, Boomer.

    Morning, C.C., it’s nice to see a fresh clue for Oreo!

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  2. Hi Y'all! Really enjoyed this puzzle by GENIUS IDEA lady, C.C. Even got the theme, but hoped it wasn't ROT. Boomer called it R of T, which it was and is nicer. Whipped through the puzzle twice because I lost it before I had studied the theme to see if there was more there than expected.

    Great expo as usual, Boomer. Sorry you are having so much pain. Been there, done that too.

    Started out with CORE okay, but wanted CAke before CARD. I'm hungry for CAke. Haven't had any in years.

    Happy 70th Birthday, Lemonade! May you have many more with your lovely bride.

    FLN: Thank you Robin Stearn for sharing your family fun that led to yesterday's great puzzle IDEA.

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  3. Hi all,

    seemed to miss the theme, but finished in under 8 minutes.
    Had Hercules first, as that is the more prevailing name of him, but it is the Greek equivalent.

    Strangely enough Ahoj (spelling of Ahoy) is used as Hi in Czech and Slovak. We use also Čau (as in Ciao).
    I do not know how this word (from English a hoy - a cry on a boat to gain attention) ended up in our language (must have been with canoeing enthusiast).

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  4. Good morning!

    Zipped right through this C.C. confection. Didn't notice the R-O-T, but I did notice the "of." Does that count? Thanx, C.C. and Boomer, hope you're feelin' better.

    ELM: Our town had a plethora until the late '50s when Dutch elm disease killed all of 'em.

    CLIMATE: From a discouraging report yesterday: "Mr. Coral" says that even if CO2 emissions were to stop today, the Great Barrier Reef is doomed. His only hope is that the various coral species can be kept alive in laboratory aquaria until the oceans become habitable again at some point in the future.

    READS: I'm on my #2 Kindle, a Paper-White. I learned with #1 that the touch-screen doesn't react well to cat claws.

    Happy birthday, Lemon.

    Took DW to the airport at noon yesterday for her twice-annual trek to Munich. At 5:00 she called to let me know there was a problem with the plane, and I should let her mother know that she'd be arriving several hours late. According to the United website, her flight departed at 5:29. At 7:45 she called me to pick her up at the airport. After flying for about an hour, the problem reappeared. The pilot decided to abort the flight and return to Houston. The exercise repeats today. Air travel is such fun!

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  5. I do Mondays and Tuesdays out of habit. To me, they should be more difficult. Not sure I buy into the practice of making puzzles progressively harder each day. Curious what other bloggers think, as most of you are seasoned solvers.

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  6. FIR Thanks CC and Boomer.
    RIP John McCain. Another good man down.
    Happy B day Lemonade ,’48 was a good year and Aug a good mo.

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  7. Fun puzzle and the theme answers, once I got the R of T idea, was faster then the fill.

    Thanks CC and Boomer.

    Happy birthday Lemonade!

    D-O - hope the second run for your wife goes smoother than the first! When it is long travel to start with - even harder when it's delayed!

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  8. Easy to spot theme. Only holdup was DEM instead of DNC.
    At our breakfast spot the guys who solve the problems of the world cannot distinguish between climate and weather.
    Happy birthday, Lemonade. Thanks for all the tender care you give the Corner. I love your and Oo's beautiful wedding picture.
    jfromvt, I endorse having progressively harder puzzles throughout the week. I believe we need to encourage new solvers.Many have worked their way up from solving easy puzzles to being able to do them on Friday and Saturday.
    DO, I have being reading the sad reports of the dying of the Great Barrier Reef. What a great loss!
    PA State parks prohibit people from bringing firewood from home. They are trying to halt the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer and the Woolly Adelgid (hemlock pest), so that these trees do not succumb like the American Chestnut and the elms have. The baobab trees in Africa and the monkey puzzle trees in South America are already endangered.
    DO, how frustrating for you and your wife. I hope today goes better.
    Boomer, PT helped my arthritis pain tremendously. Have you tried it?
    Two great losses this weekend, Neil Simon and John McCain. RIP

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  9. An eel is a fish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel

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  10. Good Morning:

    What a nice way to start the week: a CC concoction and a Boomer commentary! I saw the R of T theme after filling in the second themer and that hastened the solve. No w/os and any hiccups (Heracles, e.g.) were perped promptly. I like the AMC ~ GMC entries, despite the unrelated clues. Wasn't too keen on Unpot that's a minor nit.

    Thanks, CC, for a fun solve ("Rose of Tralee" just popped into my mind) and thanks, Boomer, for a rollicking review; your pain is not affecting your wit. Your Elmo comment tickled me as did your Geico commercial criticism. Geico epitomizes the "Mad Men" mentality, literally, IMO. Only a mad man could dream up some of their ads. Don't get me started on Progressive, Spectrum, or My Pillow.com!

    Happy Birthday, Lemony, hope you day is special. 🎂🎉🍾🎁🎈 That is a lovely picture of you and Oo.

    Wilbur, I'm sure you chuckled, as I did, seeing our mutual friend, Alley Oop! 😉

    FLN

    Robin, thanks for dropping by.

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  11. Haste certainly makes for missed errors. There is a "but" missing in the first paragraph's last sentence and, to Lemony, it's "I hope your day is special."

    I also forgot to thank you, Lemony, for all your hard work and dedication over these many years. Merci, beaucoup, Monsieur!

    And, I also forgot to wish everyone a great day.

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  12. Happy Birthday, Lemon!

    Montana
    (snow forecast today)

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  13. Musings
    -Speed bump - Oh, it’s how the Greeks spell HERCULES. Read the clue Gary! HASTE…
    -A fun Monday exercise and write-up by C.C. and Boomer who is “playing hurt”
    -THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS was formed as The Alamo was falling
    -A RUMBLE OF THUNDER will clear a golf course tout de suite (how ‘bout that French!)
    -Jimmy Hoffa’s Teamster Union Fund was instrumental in starting Las Vegas
    -Dutch ELM disease took the trees of my ute and now the Emerald Ash Beetle is looming
    -BLACK OPS at their best
    -I turned a great picture of our kitty into a Mother’s Day CARD for 84¢ at Wal Mart and Joann loved it
    -CLIMATE – Nebraska was the only state in the union to have below average July 2018 temps
    -The Saxe-Coburg rulers of England became the Windsors during WWI
    -Former DNC chairperson Donna Brazille ripped the DNC in her book for being dysfunctional in 2016
    -Nebraska Educational TV sued NBC in 1975 and won big bucks because its logo looked very similar to NTV’s logo they had first
    -Happy Birthday, Jason!

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  14. Good morning everyone.

    Happy Birthday, Lemonade.

    Got the HERACLES thing straightened out and everything fell in nicely. FIR. Got most of the theme early on R of (something), allowing me to pre-fill a couple 'OF's".
    EELS - German Aale.
    ELM - Greased our hay baler many hot summer mornings in the cooling shade of a wonderfully shaped ELM tree about 50 yds. from the Hudson River. It succumbed to the blight.

    John McCain - RIP. You fought the good fight.
    We met his father once about 40 years ago, at a Naval celebration in Buffalo. He was a short wiry guy with piercing eyes. BH says he had an eye for the ladies. I asked "Were they worth having an eye for?" She said "Yes." He had served on submarines and had risen THRU the ranks to CINCPAC, and had retired from active duty. He loved malodorous thin Italian cigars; and relished telling the ladies how showering wasn't possible much on a submarine and so got into the habit of smoking cigars for "protection" in cramped tight spaces.

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  15. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMON

    Well I was "out-of-town" last week ... at a place without newspapers ... at a resort
    where "clothing optional" beach was the norm ... hence, NO CROSSWORD Puzzles
    were solved ...

    But I want to "Thank You ALL" for the Birthday wishes last Thursday.

    66 is very easy to remember ...

    And I did "Toast You ALL" at Sunset that day ... and everyday.
    Cheers!


    PS After a week off from "solving" todays puzzle seemed like a Wednesday to me.
    Have to get my mind working again ... LOL

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  16. Spitz, I wonder if that was the inspiration for Gene Hackman's line in Crimson Tide: I don't trust air I can't see. Hackman was cast as the cigar-smoking captain of a Los Angeles class submarine.

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  17. Good morning. Thank you C.C. and thank you Boomer !

    Sensed the R...O...T... answers during the solve, but only looked closely after the bell rang.

    Didn't know THAD and HERACLES. Also needed the perps to recall HENRI.

    Happy Birthday Lemonade !

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  18. My students were fascinated to learn that eels and seahorses are fish. Eels have gills and a long dorsal fin along the top above the spine. Seahorses have gills on the back of their heads, pulling oxygen into their bloodstream from the water and releasing carbon dioxide back into the water. Even more fantastic, the mother seahorse lays eggs into a pouch on the male's belly where he fertilizes and incubates them. When the young are fully formed they swim out of the male's pouch.
    Nothing beats the awe of young children discovering things like this.

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  19. Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun, C.C. and Boomer (hope you feel better soon).
    I saw the R Of T theme early which helped with the solve.

    When I got here and saw it was a C.C. CW, I wondered that I had not seen any baseball references. But Boomer found HIT IT BIG! Blue Jays player, Kendrys Morales, took the Jays consecutive home run record yesterday with his seventh Hit it Big run around the bases in seven games. Today, he has a chance to tie the MLB record.
    HitItBig

    Some unknowns (some due to Canadian disadvantage!) like AMC, THAD, DNC, DHL, but perps were friendly. I had never heard of the Greek name HERACLES, just the Roman Hercules. Learning moment.

    I remember having drills at school during the Cuban missile crisis where we hid under our desks. How totally useless that would have been in a real attack!

    Yes IM and WC, I smiled at the Alley OOP reference. (Even better that we had OPS also.)
    I thought of YR with the Kindle READ. I see d'otto has one too.

    Happy Birthday, Lemonade.

    Wishing you all a great day.

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  20. Lemon....there is no such thing as “too many birthdays”.....so enjoy....as opposed to the only alternative.

    I like the increasing difficulty of the puzzles during the week. If they all started hard like a Friday no one would start doing them.

    CAKE before CARD, DENSE before OBESE and that was it. Themed but not a giveaway, always appreciate.

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  21. FLN, I was just lurking Sat. and Sun. due to babysitting grandchildren, but I did manage to complete both CWs. (Yes I saw my SO with ONT)

    How great to have Robin Stears drop in to give us some background into the Amazeballs construction. Also great to have Swenglish explain Amazeballs for those of us who are not Hip (Hep?).
    Belated Happy Anniversary wishes WC.

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  22. Hi everybody. Thanks CC and Boomer.

    I found the word OFT near the middle of each theme answer and so I thought OFT had to do with the theme somehow. BZZT!

    I enjoy my Nook (like a Kindle but from Barnes and Noble) because, when I finish one book, I can buy another with a quick tap of a few buttons. I guess I put the enjoyment of reading from a hardcover book best of all.

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  23. Woohoo! Woohoo! Not only did we get a wonderful C.C. puzzle this morning, but we got a double with her Boomer doing the expo! A week doesn't start any better than this! Thank you, both. I had a perfect morning, getting the puzzle perfectly including the theme, and then also the Sudoku, Kenken, and Jumble. Woohoo! Like Krijo and others, I had HERCULES before changing it to HERACLES, and like Yellowrocks, I had DEM before DMC. By the way, what is ATF? I also stupidly put SWAB before SCAB, but knew that was wrong and fixed it quickly. I got really interested in Native American info when I was a child as a result of reading a bunch of German books about the American West when I was growing up in Austria. Do you remember the name of that author, Spitzboov? Anyway, so I got APACHE without any problem. My favorite clue was 'quite heavy' for OBESE. Great way to start the week, thanks again, C.C. and Boomer.

    Happy birthday, Lemonade--lovely wedding picture!

    Sad story about your wife's flight, Desper-otto--hope she has a better day tomorrow.

    Have a great week, everybody!

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  24. Misty....Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

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  25. Misty @ 1139 - I'm not familiar, and my parents never mentioned an American West author. Googling came up with Karl Friedrich May. Is that who you mean?

    D-O - @ 0955 - It's possible. Such movies usually have technical "experts" to assist with the realism.

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  26. Apropos to the REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, the RULE OF THUMB after the RUMBLE OF THUNDER put forth by Harvey, is that humanity will step up, aided by football star J.J. Watt, and show the RING OF TRUTH that sport matters by raising over 40 million dollars to aid those affected by the hurricane.

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  27. CC: Can you please check in and tell us exactly what you had in mind with the ROT theme? I got it fairly quickly, but I was puzzled why ROT?

    In any case, I enjoyed the Monday quick ride and theme! Learning moment that is what DOGIE means.

    PABST twice recently. Learning moment that it is now based in Los Angeles. I only remember seeing it back East.

    Boomer: I always enjoy your humor. Hope you feel better soon!

    Lemonade: Happy Birthday!

    jfromvt: I share your thoughts on the progressive difficulty throughout the week. For a long time I did not bother with Monday or Tuesday puzzles, either. I think it was because of this blog that I started doing them. I suppose the progressive difficulty offers new people to try solving while still offering a challenge to experts. And even on the "easy" days there are learning moments.

    desper-otto: Thank you for bringing up coral with regard to CLIMATE. Coral is dying not only because of rising temperatures. It is dying because of rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere, making the oceans more acidic. That science is rock solid and scary.

    I was so thrilled to see my first COYOTE here in Tucson.

    I was in Tucson for a big convention that is now central to my work. I was eager to get out to the Saguaro National Park (which was only two years old at the time). I met this German guy Harald Atmanspacher from the Max Planck Institute and asked if he would like to join me. He is now one of the stars of the convention.

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  28. From yesterday
    BillG: Glad you and your kids have experienced the joys of our Moreton Bay FIG Tree, too! Your criticism of the photo is actually a compliment to me!

    Usually I post my own photos. This one is by Paul Wellman who is the photo editor of our biggest circulation newspaper. At times he has admitted that my photos are better than his. But for some odd reason he will only publish photos taken by him or by his paid staff.

    Lemonade: Thanks for the Robin video. Wow. As you say, profane and weird! Certainly a peek into another culture.

    SwenglishMom: Thanks for the AMAZEBALLS explanation. Another peek into a whole new culture!

    Speaking of which, DW and I watched Crazy Rich Asians yesterday. We have both been to Singapore. And I even was there with some real crazy rich Asians. But nothing in the league of these people. A fun peek into a whole new culture!

    CC: Have you seen it? Curious what you think of it?

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  29. Hello, everyone!
    Like Tinbeni, I also was gone all last week and had no access to puzzles or a computer! I was rooming in a Convent where all that is available in the library but I was too busy visiting with friends. Even Windhover came up from Kentucky to visit.

    And what a treat, a C.C. puzzle with Boomer reviewing! It was a fun romp and so fast I didn't even see some of the downs. UNPOT and READS? Ok.

    COYOTES (real ones) make regular visits to the outlying areas of the city and people are warned to keep their small pets indoors. Many dogs and cats have been a tasty treat for those canines.

    d-o:
    I'm sorry to hear of your DW's flight woes and can relate. On our arrival in Phoenix a dust storm prevented the plane from landing so we circled for thirty minutes before landing. I was hoping the plane had enough fuel for all that circling!

    Happy birthday, Lemonade! And belated birthday greetings to you, Tin!

    Have a beautiful day, everyone!

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  30. Husker 9:44 -

    No surprise, really. As has been established, that’s one photogenic kitty.

    :-)

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  31. Happy birthday, Lemonade! Welcome, New Septuagenarian - as you help to move our club forward in its journey toward all-embracing wisdom!

    I thank C.C. for providing today's challenge and especially for giving me the opportunity to complete a pzl in record time!
    I have never whizzed through a Xwd faster than this.
    Sha-ZAM, and ...
    Ta- DA!

    Misty ~
    ATF = (Bureau of) Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. I know, I know it's a weird combination, but also a federal agency. Think Ruby Ridge, Waco ...

    ~ OMK
    ____________
    Diagonal Report:
    None today. They have been getting fewer and farther between.

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  32. FIR, but erased CAke for CARD (hi PK and PVX).

    So Belichick was COACH, not felon.

    It used to be big on the juke boxes in eastern and southeastern Kentucky: Johnny Russell's Red-Necks White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer. Most also carried Jimmy Buffett's lilting love song "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw".

    I always think of Dachshunds when I hear "get a long, little dogie".

    Thanks to CC for a fun Monday crosser. x2 for "quite heavy" being the favorite clue of the day. And thanks to Boomer for the punny review. Suffering artist create the best art.

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  33. Lucina ~
    It's no fun flying in circles when a landing is delayed. It can induce much stomach woe. But don't worry about the fuel supply. I believe commercial flights routinely carry much more gas than they are ever likely to use.
    But pity the poor airline execs as they count the lost dollars in fuel consumption! How will they ever gouge it back from the customers?!

    ~ OMK

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  34. 39d was a "stump the chump." Fine but not on a monday.

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  35. Thank you, I appreciate this. Thank you all for the birthday wishes. Taking this day off to relax after a wonderful, if tiring weekend with my son, d-i-l and three grandchildren in Cocoa, visiting the Space Center and the beach. They are so sweet but very energetic.

    Thank you C.C. for having one of yours published on my birthday.

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  36. I believe that 7 Down: “Walking Dead Channel” = AMC is short for American Movie Classics, not American Motor Car. AMC in this context is a TV station.

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  37. I see I wasn't the only one to think of the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha.

    I Ihink I was a teenager before I learned the song was "Get along little dogie", not doggie.

    Knew HERAkLES as the demigod'a Greek name, but did use the English spelling with C.

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  38. It's so interesting how different people's areas of knowledge are.

    GMONY at 2:27, I have problems with car makers, sports coaches, and had no idea what DHL was until I googled it. But I thought Heracles was a gimme. So there you are.

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  39. For the Vermonter -- the progression of puzzle difficulty over the course of a week is necessary for morale (mine, at least). When we run across a clue like "Masie's mother-in-law's cousin" in a Friday or Saturday opus, we need the simple purity of a Monday or Tuesday work, so that latter discouragement is balanced out by prior success.

    And the practice induced by the early-week crosswords leads us to -- eventually, sometimes -- triumph over the late week killers, so that we can join in the chorus of "Woo-Hoos!".

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  40. Funny how quickly we forget ...

    In this case, it's the German ancestry of the English royals. As has been pointed out (see Husker G above) the Windsors' family name is properly (in short version) "Saxe-Coburg."
    Through her mother, Queen Victoria was a Saxe-Coburg, and she married her first cousin Albert, also a Saxe-Coburg. Her ascent to the throne came at a time when royals were still "a breed apart," not expected to be so common as to share nationality with the folk they ruled (but at least - unlike George III - to speak the language).
    Nationalism was beginning to assert its lock even on rulers, so that by the time of the Great War, when England fought the Kaiser (Victoria's eldest grandchild) it ill behooved the English king, at the time another grandson of Victoria (and Elizabeth's grandfather), George V) to have a German name.

    ~ OMK

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  41. I liked this puzzle and Boomer's write-up. Boomer, I loved your comment about OMEN.
    Wanted that K in HERAKLES but had to go with that C. Went with birthday CAKE at first, too. Maybe I like the letter K and don't even know it.
    That "Skyfall" song sounds a lot better while watching the movie's opening credits than simply listening to ADELE sing it in isolation. Either way, she sure has a good voice and excellent voice control.
    We saw and heard many COYOTES when my parents lived at the edge of Tucson. I think my dad was technically committing a crime when he put meat out for them.
    I don't think I'll ever get used to pronouncing it "Cooba."
    I wish, but I don't think I've ever had a GENIUS IDEA. Plenty of stoopid ones, though.
    Happy birthday, Lemonade! Best wishes to you all.

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  42. Eels are definitely fish. I know the song but didn't realize a dogie was motherless. How do they survive without cows milk? Geniusidea a stretch but not an atypical Monday

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  43. Good Evening, Boomer and friends. Very late today ~ was OOT the last few days.

    Hand up for Dem before DNC.

    Alexander Graham Bell wanted people to say AHOY-Hoy when answering the phone. Thomas Edison preferred "Hello". I guess we know who won that dispute.

    Happy 70th, Lemonade. Hope you had a special day.

    QOD: You aren’t learning anything when you’re talking. ~ Lyndon B. Johnson (né Lyndon Baines Johnson; Aug. 27, 1908 ~ Jan. 22, 1973)

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  44. Hi All!

    Ahhhh, a nice Monday-friendly puzzle from C.C. I thought the theme to be related to thermodynamics: f(r,t) or "R of T," the molar-weight of a gas (R) for a Temp.*
    GENIUS!

    Thanks Boomer for the (brain?)-ROT** expo :-)
    Anon@ 2:33 - I'm fairly certain our blog-host knew "American Movie Classics" - with GMC in the grid, that's Boomer Humor!

    WO: Hand-up: Cake b/f CARD and needing serious perpage for HERACLES
    ESP: SAXE
    Fav: 38a is a CSO to me/my employer

    {AWOL}

    Welcome back Tin & Lucina!

    D-O: Two trips to IAH in one day? You have my sympathy.

    Interesting about the cigars on subs Spitz (and D-O). Thanks.

    Jayce - I'm full of GENIUS IDEAS until I look at my notes in the light of day :-)

    C, Eh! - Did you ever see Louis Black on hiding under kindling? [2:16 TV-MA Strong Language].

    Belated Happy Anniversary wishes WC - how did I miss that?

    Happy Birthday Lem!

    Cheers, -T
    *For the truly curious: Wiki on PV=nRT
    **ROT could also be the ROTation cypher; a simple shift-cypher. I can't get a secret message out of the themers though :-(

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  45. Tin, I am glad you had a good birthday vacation trip.

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  46. D-O: Your wife is a brave woman. With two attempts, I'd have got off the plane and never got on another one.

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  47. OMK:
    Thank you for confirming what I thought was accurate; but when flying around and around, watching the same landmarks go by, strange thoughts enter the mind. One of my companions was getting really nervous.

    AnonT:
    Thank you for the welcome

    Jayce:
    Coo-va is the pronunciation in Spanish and I'm sure sounds odd to English speaking ears. B is pronounced V, too. coo-va li-vre is the drink.

    I"m shopping for new carpet for the living room and discovered a small carpet shop here in Scottsdale that has very reasonable prices. Yesterday I went to a chain whose prices were at least three and four times higher. The area is 15 X 15 and it will cost about $800. Woohoo as Misty would say. The price includes everything, material, pad, installation.

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  48. Good evening, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.

    Tried cruciverb, but no cigar. So, I did it long hand on paper. That's OK. I prefer it that way.

    Got through the puzzle fairly easily. The theme appeared after I was finished.

    Tried CAKE for 1D, until CARD looked much better.

    HERACLES was unknown. Many perps to the rescue.

    PABST was easy. I have had a few of those through the years.

    RUMBLE OF THUNDER is great to sleep with.

    OREOs are used in so many recipes. Versatile cookie.

    Perry Mason starts in two minutes. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )

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  49. Thank you, Anon T and Ol'Man Keith, for explaining ATF to me.

    And thank you, Spitboov--it was indeed Karl May who wrote about Winnetou and all those other wonderful Native American figures.

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