"Headcases"
17. *Top dog: BIG CHEESE. Bighead - I've heard it used most often by children. A conceited person. Cheesehead - Can be used affectionately or derogatorily to refer to a Wisconsinite or Packer-backer.
39. *Beef: RED MEAT. Redhead. A ginger. Hello Scotland and Ireland ! Rusty Staub was known as Le Grande Orange. Also, in the trades, a brand of concrete anchors. Meathead - A stupid person. Archie Bunker's nickname for son-in-law Michael Stivic. Rusty was not a meathead. He learned French after being traded to the Montreal Expos.
11. *Equestrian's path: HORSE TRAIL. Horsehead. The opposite end from a horse's ass. Served with a guy from Horseheads, NY. Smart guy. Hi Merlin ! Trailhead - That's where hiking, biking, horseback riding, off roading adventures and cattle drives start.
28. *Undeliverable bit of mail: DEAD LETTER. Deadhead. To prune the spent blooms from your flowers. Also, driving your semi (tractor trailer) without a load. Oh, and of course, a Grateful Dead fan. Letterhead. The heading or leading page of formal correspondence, usually containing company logo, name address etc.
62. Racer's advantage ... and what each part of the answers to starred clues can be: HEAD START.
Paul comes back to visit with today's puzzle. Easier than last Friday's puzzle. He has something for everyone, and every skill level !
Across:
1. Big butte: MESA. Butte comes to us from French, meaning mound. Mesa comes from Spanish, meaning table. Buttes are smaller than mesas.
5. Michael of "Superbad": CERA. This guy. Superbad was a 2007 "coming of age" movie. Not familiar with either.
9. Timetable: Abbr.: SCHED. ule.
14. Cartel acronym: OPEC. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
15. Gravy base: ROUX. Fat and flour, and get creative from there.
16. Writing that isn't poetry: PROSE.
19. Surrounding glows: AURAE. Had auras at first until deep dish pizza mandated the e.
20. Chicken: SCARED.
21. Prepares to serve, as melon: SLICES UP. Gallagher used the Sledge-O-Matic.
23. Textbook division: UNIT. A standard standard.
25. Stadium attendance counter, perhaps: STILE. I know them as turnstiles. Hey, that's why the perhaps is in the clue !
26. Fill with freight: LADE. From Dutch and German laden.
29. Spam producer, for short: BOT. A Spam Robot, or Spambot, or just plain Bot.
31. Squabbles: SET TOs.
34. Versatile blackjack cards: ACES. Can be used as ones or elevens.
35. Hibernation spot: LAIR.
37. Egg cream ingredient: SYRUP. Now this was interesting to me. I've never heard of an egg cream. It's similar to a milkshake, and got its start in NYC, but is also well-known in Detroit and New Orleans.
38. Former "Great American Baking Show" co-host Vardalos: NIA. She of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fame. A lovely person.
41. Azores' ocean: Abbr.: ATL. Or the Braves (Atlanta), on scoreboards. In this case, it's the abbr. for Atlantic.
42. Build an extension on: ADD TO. Husker Gary should expect to see a decrease in his property taxes after the new Costco plant gets built and execs for Whole Farms move into town and ADD TO the tax base. I think that's how it's supposed to work. The clue today is in the sense of a building addition. We know that as an ell in crossword fill.
44. Strong desires: YENS.
45. Verdi princess who sings "O patria mia": AIDA. Six years ago, Verdi and Aida would have left me in the dark. Now, thanks to hundreds of solves, I know this crossword staple.
46. Specks in the sea: ISLETS. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton had a # 1 hit song with Islands in the Stream.
48. __ room: play area: REC.
49. Mail opening in a door: SLOT. Remember that scene from Home Alone where McCauley Culkin looked through the mail slot ?
50. Big name in stationery: EATON.
54. Very brave: INTREPID.
57. South Florida city: NAPLES. Too bad about the red tide.
61. Away from the office: NOT IN.
64. Prepare to talk to a child, maybe: KNEEL.
65. Doing nothing: IDLE.
66. Comparison words: IS TO.
67. "My bad": SORRY. "No problem"
68. Show the way: LEAD. Anyone remember the book, Jump Off the Cliff, by Hugo Furst ?
69. Enjoy, as gum: CHEW. Enjoy, as gossip: Chew the fat.
Down:
1. Black Friday crowds: MOBS. Not once. Never. Wild horses.
2. Grand-scale tale or grand-scale fail: EPIC.
3. Arcade name: SEGA. Tie in with 52A. "__ #1!": winners' cry: WE'RE. SEGA had 213 arcade games; Atari had 117.
4. Builds up: ACCRUES. the ability of something to accumulate over time, and is most commonly used when referring to the interest, income or expenses - Investopedia.
5. Trustworthy: CREDIBLE. Investopedia is a credible financial dictionary.
6. Non-discrimination letters: EOE. Equal Opportunity Employment (or Employer).
7. Former Wisconsin senator Feingold: RUSS.
8. Skating jumps: AXELS. OK, now here is a really good article that explains each of the skating jumps, along with GIFs showing them being accomplished.
9. Most ditzy: SPACIEST. Goldie Hawn persona on Laugh-In
10. The "C" of SPCA: CRUELTY. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
12. Jacob's twin brother: ESAU.
13. __-dish pizza: DEEP. Fold your laundry, not your pizza.
18. Farm squawker: HEN.
22. "Live from New York, __ 'Saturday Night!'": IT'S. A nice collection:
24. Apple-polisher: TOADY.
26. Hawaiian island: LANAI.
27. Litmus reddeners: ACIDS.
30. Oven buzzer: TIMER.
32. Perform better than: OUTDO.
33. Wet impact sound: SPLAT.
36. Extend a subscription: RENEW.
39. In a nasty manner: ROTTENLY.
40. Climbed: ASCENDED. Ascend. Middle English: from Latin ascendere, from ad- ‘to’ + scandere ‘to climb.’
43. Needing more tissues, probably: TEARIER.
45. Sterile: ASEPTIC. "a" and "an" as prefixes to Greek base words means no, without, not having, free of, or not. English adopted those as prefixes to many words that originated in other languages as well, with the same purpose.
Then we have "a" as a prefix from an Old English root, which meant on, toward, to, or into. So we get words like ablaze (on) and asunder (to).
So aseptic and asocial mean free of septic and not social , and we have words like afire and ablaze, meaning on, and asea meaning.... Well, never mind, I'm going to stop before I go awry.
47. Soak (up), as gravy: SOP.
51. Nothing, in Latin: NIHIL.
53. Univ. dorm overseers: RAs. Resident Advisor or Resident Assistant.
54. Calligraphy supplies: INKS.
55. Taboo: NO NO.
56. "__ Dinah": 1958 Frankie Avalon hit: DEDE. No clue. Thank you perps.
58. Eyelid hair: LASH.
59. One-named Deco artist: ERTE. Romain de Tirtoff. Better study the name and spelling. It might come up in a crossword someday.
60. Stash in a hold: STOW.
via GIPHY
63. Pie __ mode: A LA. Hot apple pie with cold vanilla ice cream melting on top is a favorite dessert in this household.
59 comments:
Nice to see Paul and TTP this morning. DEAD HEAD is also a reference to when people in the airline industry fly to an airport on a flight when they are not working, just to get to that airport.
Loved your “fold your laundry… comment TTP
What in the world does SPAM have to do with robots? Will the product still be made?
Michael Cera has been in many projects, first getting recognition from the cult classic ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT where he has worked on and off 15 years as Jason Bateman’s son.
The chef was going to cook up some savory food,
He'd cover it with gravy, to make it very smooth.
But what he thought was gravy base
Was CHOCOLATE SYRUP in its place!
His patrons loved to SOP it up, because he wasn't ROUX'd!
There was an old-TIMER in NAPLES
Who bought all his groceries at Staples
"The selection is poor,
But it OUT DOES, I'm sure
The OfficeMax in nearby Coral Gables!"
Every saga by SEGA is EPIC!
They combine the digital with magic!
The INTREPID cast
Is never attacked
By germs -- their world is ASEPTIC!
{A-, B+, B-.}
Greetings!
Thanks to Paul and TTP!
FIR, but a few puzzlers: SYRUP, NIHIL, ASCEPTIC and DEDE,
Have a great day!
Thanks, TTP - That was funny how you tied the theme to the clues by leading off with BIG butte for MESA. Lemon, I definitely had Grateful Dead fans in mind for DEADHEAD. They're one of my favorite bands. Owen, thanks as always for the clever-ses.
I apologize if anyone's had enough of me in August. It does happen to be my third in three weeks, when one a month is more like my LAT average. I've only had a few grids in the NYT and WSJ, where my hit rate is something like one in a hundred submissions. I don't know how it goes for other constructors, but one in ten is more usual for me at series like the Puzzle Society and Fireball. Which means that ninety per cent of the puzzles I've made have never gotten out to solvers. You'd think this would be frustrating, but it's not. I don't always agree with the editors, but it makes me appreciate how selective they are.
Good morning!
Let's see hands for those of you who proudly entered AMASSES! I proudly applied Wite-Out. No, I didn't notice the theme, and the reveal answer was already filled when I got down there. Very clever, Paul, and thanks for your comments. I don't know how you puzzle creators keep coming up with fresh stuff. Amazing. TTP, I enjoyed the tour, though I think your "property tax decrease" is an oxymoron. Husker'll never see it.
DEDE: Dede Dinah is a truly insipid example of '50s R&R. If Dick Clark hadn't played it, it never would've gone anywhere. Frankie Avalon had another big hit with Venus which is hilarious if you substitute "penis" for "Venus."
HORSE: I remember an episode of Antiques Roadshow where the British expert euphemistically described a painting as a southern view of a north-bound horse.
DEAD LETTER: I've mailed off a few which came back as undeliverable. Why does it take so long for the return? Usually a couple of months.
Lemon, forgot to add that it's computer SPAM that the bots generate.
FIR, but erased EEO for EOE and like TTP, had to fix AURAs. Didn't know CERA, egg cream, EATON stationary, NIHIL or DEDE.
RED HEADs are my kryptonite. DW is one, ex-DW is one, and had a long-term live-in relationship with one. I love the adjective the Bits use - "gingers".
FLN -T and others: I'm not sure we actually have a disagreement about clearances. Would be a good topic for a beer summit at the next Corner reunion, but I think we're done with it here.
Thanks to TTP for the fun review. It was aboring. Maybe next week you will address flammable / inflammable. And thanks to Paul for the fun grid and for checking in. Interesting insight into the selection process. Hope Rich continues to pick your puzzles often.
"aboring" -- I love it! :)
Thrilled with today's puzzle, as a REDHEAD was referenced (I'm a former-damn old age!) and my nickname DEDE was included! Thanks TTP and Mr. Coulter for a fun puzzle and read.
Good Morning:
I really enjoyed this puzzle, for two reasons: 1) The reveal was totally hidden, evoking an Aha surprise and 2) The double word meaning feat is not easy to execute, so, therefore, is quite impressive. My only nit is Rottenly (sounds as awful as it looks) but that's a small price to pay for the "good stuff." Several repeats from recent solves include our friend Erte and Hen and Its. I liked seeing Lade and Stow, OPEC crossing Epic, and the word Splat, which tickles my fancy, for some unknown reason. My only w/o was Ascetic/Aseptic and that prevented me from seeing Naples for the longest time. That error doesn't excuse my missing Naples, as I lived there years ago, plus it's a big CSO to CED. I never heard of "Dede Dinah" and DO's comments explain why. Learning moment was Nia Vardolos being a cooking show host. Not surprising though because this non-sweet eating miss never watches baking shows.
Thanks, Paul, for a nifty Tuesday and for dropping by and sharing the challenges faced by constructors and thanks, TTP, for your always enjoyable and informative analysis. Me thinks the NoNoNoNo cat has never said that at meal time, judging by his/her girth. I loved and agree with your comments on Black Friday mobs; my sentiments, to a T!
BTW, Misty, how are your eyes and is Dusty back to normal, after the bee sting?
Swampcat, you're missed; hope all is well!
Have a great day.
Good morning everyone.
TTP re: STOW clip. I can see why that guy's head got bald.
Solved today's cw w/o serious incident. Good enough theme for a Tuesday, but not needed for solving. No searches or erasures. I thing ROTTENLY is legit but seems stilted. I used to associate DEEP dish pizza with Chicago style, but it's probably much broader than that.
EATON - One of the ships (DD-510) in our Destroyer Division. Call sign "Hermit". Notwithstanding Anon -T's comment FLN.
Good morning Corn Rowers.
Thank you Mr. Paul Coulter for this enjoyable Tuesday CW. I got the BIG head at 17 A, and knew CHEESE head, but did not see how "head" was added to each of the theme words till TTP pointed it out.
- - My last fill was 27 D TOADY. How is that person an apple-polisher? I LIU, and found the definition, but it is a word I will never use.
- - I FIR in 24:28 min.
Thank you TTP for your educational review.
Ðave
D-O I will never learn that posting right after I wake up at 4:00AM is not a great idea. SPAM-BOT indeed!
We do appreciate all the feedback PC; with a smidgen of experience with construction and publication, it is impressive how many suffer the slings and arrows of editorial control, without the opportunity to discuss before the changes are made. I do remember one constructor (though his name escapes me) who poster here, raving and ranting and defending his clues and denigrating the editors. He also did not seem to know that could happen. Of course the reason I do not recall his name is he has not been published again. Paul, you re welcome anytime even when a puzzle is not yours/
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Paul (and thanks for visiting) and TTP.
This was a relief after yesterday as I moved right through and saw the theme. I wondered if there could have been a * beside 21A; is there a Head Sluce in golf to go with Head SUP. Groan. I'll usher myself out now as AnonT would say.
I LOLed again to see ERTE! Talk about getting what you asked for. Enough Rich.
AXELS today not Camels.
Big butte as opening clue was priceless. Sorta goes with that opposite of HORSE HEAD (or do we have pronunciation differences here?).
Also smiled to see the Chicken clue cross the HEN.
With email and social media, the whole idea of a LETTER coming through that SLOT is pretty much DEAD
Yes IM, I love the onomatopoeia of SPLAT.
Yes Jinx, Prince Harry is a ginger.
To Canadians of a certain age, EATON is synonymous, not with stationary, but the family name of the iconic but now defunct EATONs store and catalogue. RIP (along with Sears).
DEDE and NONO. ALl we needed was TaTa for a trio.
Enjoy the day.
Hi Y'all! A day that STARTS with a Paul Coulter puzzle is HEADed in the right direction! Yep, I got the theme okay. Great expo, TTP.
I've only seen Michael CERA in "Juno". Unusual looking kid.
"Stadium attendance counter" was something that counts people, not a flat work surface. I was thinking like a ticket booth, so STILE surprised me.
Never heard of Spam BOT. Did not know Wisconsin's RUSS -- must be a CHEESEHEAD?
ERTE again? We ought to have that one firmly in our HEADs after the past week.
Good morning.
Woke up in the middle of the night in a sneezing fit. DW gave me a benadryl and I finally got back to sleep. Then slept way too long. Now I feel sluggish.
Welcome DEDE !
D-O, you reminded me that I was going to listen to DEDE Dinah. Just did. That was a hit ?
Jinx, glad there is at least one other person that never heard of egg cream.
"In" as a prefix can mean in, on or not, so you might have been tempted to think it meant not flammable, but in this case, inflammable came to us from inflame, so flammable and inflammable are synonymous. Inflammable has fallen out of favour.
That cat is so cute ! Was it linked here before ?
Paul, thanks for stopping by ! Thanks for the insight. Meaning in, of course.
CanadianEh: I think the pronunciation of BUTTE out where they are prominent landscape features is BEAUT like in beauty. I have fond memories of Crested BUTTE, a little mining town in Colorado when I partied there 50 years ago. Then the developers took it over and spoiled it with upscale stuff.
Thanks, Paul, for this fun romp. I must have been on your wave length. I even knew that spam was not the kind to fry in butter. (Sorry Lemon.)
D-O, hand up for amassed before ACCRUED.
I was pleased to see another island, LANAI, instead of our usual Oahu.
TTP, I never heard of an egg cream in New. Orleans . I first heard of it on Ina Garten’s cooking show as a Brooklyn treat from her childhood . Neat CW clue. Thanks for the tour.
Owen, all A’s.
IM, thanks for the greeting. I tend to run when things get political!
Ah, thanks PK. We don't have any Buttes around here and I have no need to pronounce the word. Ah well, it gave me a smile to start the day!
Hello there.
I just lost my entire commentary. No time to do that again. Thanks, Paul for the puzzle and for stopping by to chat.
Thanks, TTP, for another wonderful review.
As Splynter used to say, "Onward!" Have a sunny day.
This was easier for me than Monday. Several unknowns: DEDE, CERA, NIA, SETTOS. But all had fair crosses.
TTP: Thanks for the write-up. I totally missed that the HEAD theme applied to both words in the theme answers! I also did not get that SETTOS was SET TOS.
MadameDefarge: Sorry you lost your commentary. I strongly recommend highlighting your post and doing a CTRL-C to "Copy" before you post it. If it fails to post properly, you can do a CTRL-V to "Paste" it back in and try again. I do this with every one of my posts.
A few weeks ago I led our hiking group through this SLOT called The Narrows!
With regard to Top Dog, did anyone else try ALPHA MALE first?
By coincidence, just last night DW and I watched this amusing video clip claiming the TOP DOG idea was a myth that arose from an experimental mistake.
We just discovered this series "Adam Ruins Everything" which you can watch on YouTube. He shows things you believe that are not true. We found it very educational and a lot of fun!
D4E4H, apple-polisher is from the supposed days when children brought an apple for the teacher; an especially ingratiating student might volunteer to polish them for her.
Wiki says TOADY is shortened for toad-eater, I suppose someone who would do anything for the boss. See other terms for someone who would do a distasteful job for the leader: butt-kisser (brown-noser), lick-spittle, bootlicker, also yes-man, minion, henchman, lackey, kowtower.
C-Eh, just to close the circle with DEDE and NONO we should also have "nene" and "dodo", both familiar fills here.
Picard, x2 for "Adam Ruins Everything". It is on TruTV. DirecTV has the first two seasons available for download. I hope they renew for Season 3.
OK, who let Paul construct a Tuesday? The North was a bear and I FIW @LANAI xing NIA (I went w/ gIA - my niece's name).
Hi All!
Wow - Paul's name SCARED me and then the $2 vocabulary was unexpected (on a Tues?!?). The North took the longest to suss - AmassES@4d didn't help (Hi D-O!). Thanks Paul; 'twas fun. Here's Truckin' [16min jam] from one DEAD HEAD to another.
Great Expo TTP. I was thinking custard @Syrup and thought "gross." I forgot about the drink.
SPAM, aka, (in suit & tie settings) UCE (unsolicited commercial email(er)) was never going to work w/ TIMER sitting there... Y'all know that calling 'UCE' 'SPAM' is from nerds' Python fandom, right? ["But I don't like SPAM!"]
The theme helped with RED... I couldn't get "cow MEAT" out of my HEAD.
WO: AmassES
ESPs: CERA (oh, I remember him now), AIDA (ibid), DEDE (still nope)
Fav: REC not clue'd as remote button.
IM nailed some of the other fun in the grid; especially SPLAT
{A, B, B+}
Welcome DEDE.
Picard - yes, Alpha Male was top of mind. Then, BIG kahuna wanted a thought too. Funny - Adam (of ruins everything fame) was on some NPR program this weekend and I heard the same thing RE: Alpha males being a MYTH. On the other hand, Alfa males -- WE'RE for real :-)
C, Eh! - Ohhh, good catch. I missed the Chicken xing HEN.
Cheers, -T
Fun puzzle . FIR sitting in a coffee shop enruote to the lake while DW and grand daughter gabbed and caught up on things . I’m more the silent listener while they never run out of things to talk about. Both love dancing and oil painting and scrap books . Looking forward to a couple of days , fishing boating and carefree visiting bbqs etc. Beautiful day out there . Take care
This went quick for me today, no x-outs at all. Plus a theme that doesn’t give away the store, a bonus.
I’ve been a fan of “Adam Ruins Everything”... I especially like how he does asides and end of episode “footnotes”. We need more of this.
I love Egg Creams.
And on to midweek, or what working people call Hump Day.
I liked this puzzle. Thanks to Mr. Coulter for making it. All of your comments make it even more enjoyable. ROTTENLY did make me wrinkle my nose bigly.
Let's see, if I was looking southward at a horse that was going northward, wouldn't I see his head, not his rear end? Anyway, I know what that guy on Antiques Roadshow meant.
Interesting that the the act of folding, or not folding, a pizza was mentioned today because just last night we watched a food show with Joey Fatone visiting Atlantic City, NJ, where a pizza maker/vendor showed how the locals there always take an entire pizza and fold it twice (into a quarter-pizza wedge) to eat it. "We never slice it!" he explained.
Best wishes to you all.
Nothing apropos...
So, Saturday I was up "north" in Spring (part of Houston really) and commented to DW: "It's so weird up here - even all the businesses are different... See, a Wells Fargo branch and..." "Wait, WTF is Tide Dry Cleaners? See?, it's all different up here."
Well, yesterday I got home from work and my dress-shirts were waiting on the back fence.* My "invoice" said "Tide Dry Cleaners"(?).
Somehow I missed this story. [did you know there was a Dry Cleaner's consortium? I think George Jefferson started it :-)]
D-O, TTP, TxMS - Y'all remember Craig's Cleaners? Men's Warehouse bought them and, now, I guess the Tide has turned...
Cheers, -T
*Craig's has/had home pick-up drop-off. It's worth the extra money because, if I had to make an extra trip (for laundry(?)) I'd never have clean shirts.
I thought I remembered a song "Di-, Di-, Diana!", but all Google could find was Dede, which I'm pretty sure wasn't it. Then I thought it might be "Oh, oh, oh, Eliza" but that's not it either. Anyone with a better memory of the late 50's to 70's have any idea to help me?
I watched "Adam...", and still do if I notice when it's on (TruTV is one of those channels with a "fluid" SCHED). He's still fun, but I began noticing that he was sometimes as inaccurate as whatever he ruining! He was aCREDIBLE more that inCREDIBLE!
Hand up for ALPHA MALE.
I have two add-ons to my browser, FormSave and Form History Control, which save the last 20 or so entries I type in so that if it goes away I can still get it back. I also type out nearly everything on my sticky notes first, then copy it the the blog while still having the original in the post-it.
I worked a year at the P.O. (before it was USPS), and we didn't call them DEAD LETTERS. Internally they were nixies.
Those of you who like my so-called poetry, I have one I'm particularly proud of today over at the _J website!
OwenKL, might you be thinking of the song "Diana" sung by a young Paul Anka?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPw5WiABUOA
Owen @ 2:52 ~ I think you might mean Paul Anka's "Diana."
Aha, Jayce, we think alike!
Jayce - I think "a southern view of a northbound horse" means you're looking at it FROM the South, not looking southward.
Anon-T, congrats. You almost made it to redneck country! In answer to your question, as a person of a "certain age" who no longer wears suits or dress shirts, I have no need for a dry cleaning establishment. If it can't go into the washer on "normal" cycle, I don't wear it.
OKL, Paul Anka had his first hit in 1957 -- Diana. Is that the one you're thinking of?
Owen, I loved your poem at the J- site!!
I was reading Anon-T's link. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Did I mention I even did the Jumble? I feel like an intruder on that site if I don’t!
Oh, I get it!
This was the Xwd meant for Monday. The eds must have mixed them up.
Ta- DA!
Thank you, Mr. C.!
I enjoyed the SPAM/BOT cluing.
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: Two, one on each side.
Irish Miss ~
Misty says she may not be on the Xwd corner today. She has a big luncheon to prepare.
~ OMK
OKL - I can't help with your musical question... Paul Anka and Mel Torme would not me know to me outside of Crosswords and MST3K's Girl's Town. Yep, I'm a moron.
Nice Prose @the J_joint. Though, unlike Swamp, I do feel like an interloper [maybe later I'll play].
Cheers, -T
Musings
-Hormel has been here in Fremont for 70 years and everyone is curious to see what will happen. We can only hope Costco will help with our tax levy but they are getting Tax Increment Financing
-Golf on a perfect day, mowing and edging delayed my entry here
-Joann is reducing her DEADHEAD-required flora
-Every boy in the world has been on the giving and receiving end of the taunt “What’s the matter? You chicken?”
-Isn’t the phrase REC ROOM an artifact of the 50’s?
-There’s no MOB I’m willing to fight to save money on anything!
-EOE – “We’re hiring” signs are ubiquitous here in Eastern Nebraska
-My inept fingers produce TOADY too often when TODAY is intended
-Stowing carry-on luggage sure beats the inconvenience and expense of checking luggage
-Gotta run for a H.S. softball game!
Actually, Irish Miss, we do think alike on many things.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Paul Coulter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, TTP, for a fine review.
Puzzle went pretty easily. A few snags, but OK.
Theme was fine. Easily sussed it, for a change.
Unknowns: CERA, Egg Cream, BOT, DEDE. Everything else I knew sooner or later.
ERTE was simple, now that we have had him almost repeatedly.
Volunteered again at ECC today for 2 1/2 hours. Worked my butt (not Butte) off. Again on Thursday, then done until the January Semester. Our Kiwanis Club does this. Our club recently admitted women as members. For about the past 50 years we were male only.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
HG, I agree REC ROOM seems terribly dated. I couldn’t come up with a decade. If you say 50’s. that’s ok with me.
It seems to me the usual rooms in houses undergo name changes every so often. Is that a marketing thing? Victorians had parlors in which to entertain guests. My mother’s living room served the same purpose. My kids houses all have “great rooms” which are exactly the same as living rooms used to be. Somewhere in there there were Dens... so you could keep the living room for company.
Is a puzzlement...
I call our living room "the furniture museum" because that's where DW's impressive (and uncomfortable) antique collection sits, plus our 1926 Kronic & Bach grand piano that we had restored and equipped with a Pianodisc system. Our family room furniture consists of comfy furniture and a big screen TV. I'm glad I don't have to live in the living room.
Ah yes! If the 50s gave us REC room, and the 60s or thereabouts had Dens, at some point we had “Family Rooms” to avoid the formality of the dreaded Living Room.
I live in a apartment with a bedroom and ... that other public room, whatever you want to call it! LOL
Husker Gary, SwampCat, Jinx: We had a REC Room in our house in Maryland in the 1970s. It was where we watched TV on the lower level. That was the last time I ever lived in a single family house. Not sure about changing terminology.
Jinx, AnonT, OwenKL, AnonPVX: Wow. Glad you all knew about "Adam Ruins Everything". Adam Conover was on the latest Bill Maher program which is how we learned about him. We don't have cable or satellite TV and we are in a broadcast wasteland in a small town. So, we are at the mercy of what we can find and download on YouTube.
Here is where I found and downloaded 68 episodes.
We watched seven last night. They are short!
AnonT: Glad you also thought of ALPHA MALE! ALPHA MALE may be a myth for the wolf. But the Silverback Gorilla is physiologically different for being the ALPHA MALE. So, it seems it is not a myth for all species.
Glad you are an Alfa Male! I love those little roadsters. I had a similar roadster on loan from a European friend for a few years as I posted about recently. Mostly I ride my bike and take the bus, though!
Glad TOADs got such coverage today! Here are some photos I took of TOADs mating when I was a young teen.
From yesterday:
Thanks for all of you who contributed to the learning moments about SABOT and SABOTage.
CanadianEh: Glad that SABOT/GSN was a Natick for you, too. As I say, I don't like Naticks whether they are on a Monday or on a Saturday. Puzzles should be about creative thinking, not about arcane vocabulary. Obscure cable networks bug me as much as regional store or brand names. OK if fair crosses fill them, though.
OMK @ 3:20 ~ Thanks for the heads up on Misty. I wrote this earlier but I guess I answered the phone and forgot to hit publish.
Jayce @ 5:35 ~ Yes, I guess we do.
I entertain in my living room but I "live" in my den. It's a cozy, warm retreat with custom-made bookshelves, desk, and entertainment center for my TV, DVD player, and Bose system, and another section for my laptop, printer and supplies. Frosting on the cake is a comfy recliner and a great reading lamp. And last but not least, my collection of teddy bears watching over me. 🐻🐼🐨
Oh Irish Miss you have described my life so well when I had a house! I’m not sure I gave names to the rooms, but there was the Public Living room where I entertained and my snug retreat.
Little League Workd Series update:
Puerto Rico-Canada game was postponed to Wednesday due to rain. The winner of the Puerto Rico-Canada game will advance to the international semifinal to face the loser of a Japan-South Korea contest.
Go Canada!
Thanks, all, for putting my mind at rest about that song. Yes, I think that Anka song was it. It's not quite what I recall, but close enough I'm probably just remembering a cover of it by some other singer -- I see there were several. And it has been many years since I heard it.
Alpha male is no myth. I was married to one. I was an alpha female, but took a subsidiary role to him. We had a succession of dogs and in them Alpha is no myth. We had a female border collie who backed all the other dogs down, even putting a paw on a subjects head and forcing him down. Then we brought in a German shepherd alpha male and the collie was a simpering female. It was unbelievable to watch her go all girlie after being the boss so long. The German shepherd eventually became too alpha and hurt our dachshund so my husband had him castrated. Suddenly the black lab who had cajones was the alpha male and took over the good dog house. The German shepherd was left outside in an ice storm. Animals on the farm are a microcosm of society.
I think Rusty Staub should be in Hof with that longevity. He was original on two expansion teams. 2 1/2 decades of excellence.
Wasn't I just talking about SPAM(and eggs) yesterday
Not to get technical, but Coral Gables is east coast, Naples is West. I suppose a quick dash across Alligator Alley...
Speaking of video games..
Did anybody else love Mario Bros Movie
The Lara's theme scene esp*
Thx Paul C, for dropping in. I'm glad Rich likes your work too. I think re. NYT there's a matter of style. I'm certainly used to Latimes..
I missed DEDE because I live to solve with as few perps as possible (on early week xws). But Dede Dinah is just typical 50s. IMO, 50s Rock was very creative and original.
D4-. Syn for TOADY? Rat Fink
L. I recall the RexP folks railing against a constructor, said C saying "Blame Will not, me" and the Rex crowd doing exactly that in spades
1a reminds me of Balaam's BUTTE. I love that story having read it when very young on my own. Gave a whole new meaning to HORSE'S_____
WC
-T Girls town with the adlibs was hilarious
"If they were Baptists we could've had the Platters"
Ol'Man Keith, thanks for explaining why I was off today. Irish Miss, thanks for asking about my eyes (the same) and Dusty (bee sting okay). Dusty had an all day teeth cleaning from the vet today ($900--wish we had insurance). Didn't get to eat until he came home at 5pm and frantic for good, but okay now. I'll be back tomorrow.
Irish Miss ~
Same here regarding the different uses of our living room and den or "family room," as we call it. We spend all our joint time in the latter, which is adjacent to the kitchen and sports our biggest TV and a fireplace. My "office" is right next door, where I have my desk and computer, massage chair, and another small TV (when I don't care to watch what the family wants). I keep a MacBook there too, so I can have two computer screens going - as needed.
As for bookshelves, they're all over the place, from the living room to my office to various locales upstairs and in the garage. I have taken to Kindle in my later years, but I haven't the heart to dispose of any book I ever owned...
My wife has to go upstairs for a room of her own, but she makes up for it in scale. At the front, opposite the bedrooms, her "gallery" runs the width of our home and holds, among other things, her quilting loom, desk and computer, TV, plus several cases and etageres with her large Disneyana collection of cels, dolls, games, hats, CA & FL park souvenirs, etc etc.
~ OMK
Hi everybody.
Misty, we used to have medical insurance for our sheepdog but it almost seemed like a scam. First there's the yearly cost of the insurance. Then a deductible. Then the coverage provided for each condition is usually well less than the actual cost from the vet. All it did was to spread the cost of vet bills over time. I would never get it again. In the long run, the insurance company makes a profit off of you.
(I just posted this on the Jumble blog.) I've been doing the Jumble daily. Some of the words are much more of a struggle for me than others. I can get hints or the answer on UClick though I usually struggle through without them. I don't know how to use this site very well. I don't see the answers or much relevant discussion as on this CW site. It seems much different than this site. The comments seem sterile. What am I missing? Thanks for any feedback.
~ Mind how you go.
Bill G
Billg: you last paragraph is much better suited for the other site and is precisely why we all asked for the comments to be posted there. Anyone who is qualified(or actually cares) to answer your questions will be there for your guidance.
Bill G., you're right about the insurance. I forgot that we had dog insurance many years ago, but it expired when the dog was 8 years old, and of course all his major medical problems kicked in after that time. So thanks for reminding me what a bad idea this is. As for the Jumble, I think we just don't have many crossword bloggers who do the Jumble, or maybe they haven't tried out the site yet. But I love Owen's clue poems, and the comments of the other Jumblers. So I hope you continue.
BillG: Your question was answered with alacrity over on the _J blog.
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