One of the many very successful constructors who emerged since we moved to the LAT, Dr. Sessa, a pediatrician presents us with his 86th LAT to go along with 36 NYT publications, hitting for the cycle in both venues. My first time blogging him was the same day his INTERVIEW with C.C. was published in 2011. Today we have a very simple and getable theme, merely adding a cedilla. It is a mark ( ¸ ) written under the letter c, especially in French, to show that it is pronounced like an "s" rather than a "k" (e.g., façade ). Here we just change the C to S. As Ed said in his interview, he wants to amuse and to make the theme an aha moment. I saw the theme with BRISK LAYER which made the solve much easier. As a seasoned professional, he adds a variety of sparkly fill. ACTUALLY, BATH SOAP, COROLLAS, DIAMETER, OVERLAPS, and SHIMMIES. The themers-
17A. Eggs-uberant hen?: BRISK LAYER (10). My Uncle Harold taught BRICK laying in trade school. The clue is funny to me.
24A. Loon, at times?: DUSK CALLER (10). The change from DUCK caller would not help unless you know Loons (the official bird of the Corner) was famous for its night CALLING.
36A. Do some '80s Sochi sunbathing?: BASK IN THE USSR (13). This 1968 Beatles song -BACK IN THE USSR - is repurposed with memories of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
49A. Hitchhiking and texting?: THUMB TASKS (10). Thumb TACKS and hitchhiking are not as popular as they used to be, but it is amazing how fast young people maneuver their thumbs while texting.
59A. What young elephants do for fun?: NIP AND TUSK (10). The first known usage of 'nip and TUCK' comes from the Arkansas Times and Advocate, August 1838: "It will be a close race in this county - Tully and Cummins, nip and tuck; and I don't know which will have it."
The rest-
Across:
1. "Ta-ta!": SEE YA. I like this expression.
6. Kaput: SHOT.
10. Musical ending: CODA. JzB can say more about this as the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure
14. Ready for the operation: UNDER. The anesthesia.
15. Dance that may involve a chair: HORA. This is back again! Let's dance. We had a great Simchat Torah party this year with lots of dancing. It is not often you get to dance with a 99-year-old wonder , I was the one with the cane.
16. "Amores" poet: OVID. Publius Ovidius Naso, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. LINK.
19. Like used books: READ. Well-read I hope.20. __ Xtra: cherry soda brand: PIBB.
No longer Mr. Pibb. I wonder if Dr. Pepper is next.
21. Apple on a desk: IMAC.
22. Word with ring or book: WORM. Sounds like a puzzle theme.
23. Rights org.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.
27. Butler on a plantation: RHETT. Not the one who opens the door but the one who doesn't give a damn.
29. Like Colbert's show: ON LATE.
30. Kiss: SMOOCH.
35. Summit: APEX. Or acme.
40. "The Well-Tempered Clavier" composer: BACH.
41. Taking medication: DOSING. Does he mean taking LSD? I know he is trained, medical man.
42. Final flight destinations?: ATTICS. Wonderful clue.
44. Kitchen shelf array: HERBS.
54. Tick repellent: DEET. N, N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, also called DEET (/diːt/) or diethyltoluamide, is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents.
55. __ Club: SAMS.
56. When repeated, fish on a menu: MAHI.
57. "That being the case ... ": IF SO.
58. Letters after E?: COLI. Hard to parse.
61. The third Mrs. Roy Rogers: DALE. I had no idea the Leonard Slye had two prior marriages. LINK.
62. Airer of many NCAA games: ESPN.
63. Farm stray: DOGIE.
64. 1974 CIA spoof: S*P*Y*S. After the massive success of M*A*S*H, this movie which also starred Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland were marketed with the asterisks to make people think they had something in common.
65. Reasons: WHYS. Why not?
66. Cornered, in a way: TREED. Forced or chased up a tree: a treed raccoon.
Down:
1. Not up to snuff: SUBPAR.
2. Increase the value of: ENRICH.
3. Consumer-friendly?: EDIBLE. A stretch but it actually works.
4. Hedge opening: YES, BUT. Another tricky variation clue; well done.
5. Biblical traveler: ARK.
6. Former SeaWorld attraction: SHAMU.
7. Georgetown athletes: HOYAS.
8. Eponymous vacuum brand: ORECK. Founded by David Oreck in 1963, Oreck Corporation began as a manufacturer of upright vacuum cleaners for the U.S. hotel industry.
9. Roofer's supply: TAR.
10. Popular Toyotas: COROLLAS.
11. Has in common: OVERLAPS.
12. Line through the middle: DIAMETER.
13. Include: ADD.
18. Pot top: LID.
22. Lacking color: WAN.
25. Ben of Ben and Jerry's: COHEN. Ben & Jerry's was founded in May 1978, when Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened an ice cream shop in Burlington, Vermont. ... In 1977, they moved to Burlington, Vermont, and completed a five-dollar correspondence course in ice cream making from Pennsylvania State University. Encyclopedia.
26. "Toy Story" dinosaur: REX.
28. Scolder's cluck: TSK.
31. In the __ of: MIDST.
32. Creator of Iceland's Imagine Peace Tower: ONO.
33. Ties may be broken in them, briefly: OTS.
34. Only half-pretentious?: CHI.
36. Bar by the tub: BATH SOAP.
37. If truth be told: ACTUALLY.
38. Does a ragtime dance: SHIMMIES.
39. "That's disgusting!": UGH. Which describes...
40. Skeeter eater: BAT.
43. "60 Minutes" network: CBS.
45. One slightly changed this clue: EDITOR. Was it only slightly?
46. Storm shelter, say: REFUGE.
47. Blues great Smith: BESSIE.
48. Fired up: STOKED.
50. Sect in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County: AMISH. Today, there are over 25 different Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren church groups in Lancaster County, all holding to slightly different traditions and their own interpretations of the Bible.
51. Like maple trees and pigeons?: SAPPY. Pigeon as in the victim of a scam, a sap.
52. Ruling descendants of Genghis: KHANS. The FAMILY TREE.
53. Thing to confess: SIN.
58. DJ's inventory: CDS.
59. Strange (to): NEW.
60. "Silent Spring" subj.: DDT. The novel by Rachel Carson was published in 1962. I remember it as being very controversial at the time.
I really enjoyed this puzzle and writing up all the different things that it revealed. I also was very proud of Oo and honored at the Torah party. Thank you Dr. Seesa and thank you all.
DNF. Had to cheat on the unguessed _ORM + _oN. When that still didn't get a ta-da, I turned on red letters and discovered doLLAR should be CALLER.
ReplyDeleteBESSIE loved to SMOOCH, out behind the bleechers!
Also smoking cigarettes, sometimes even reefers!
In that REFUGE fine,
She'd share her wine.
What was really bad, tho -- Bessie was a teacher!
Peta cheered to free SHAMU,
Cruelly kept in that aqua-zoo!
But Peta wasn't
At the forefront --
That was for the A.C.L.U!
The EDITOR was really STOKED.
This latest book, the common folk
Would be happy
To READ this SAPPY
Book on how the White House broke!
{A, B, C+.}
Thank you Mr. Ed Sessa for this relatively easy Friday CW. I started it just after midnight, and made good progress with one snag. I woke now and completed the CW FIR. The last to fill was the Natick at 20 A - PI_ _. I now saw the "B" in EDIBLE which made the last "B" in PIBB obvious.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lemonade for your excellent review. I also saw the theme at BRISKLAYER.
Ðave
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteYup, BRISK LAYER revealed the theme, and then things fell together quickly. I really liked "consumer friendly," "final flight destination," and "letters after E." Thanx, Ed and Lemonade.
DALE: Learning moment that she was the 3rd Mrs. Slye. In my ute I listened to them on the radio, along with Pat Brady, Nellie Bell the Jeep, and Bullet the dog.
Hi Y'all! Thank you, Ed for a gettable amusing theme and fun puzzle. Thanks, Lemonade, for an enjoyable expo.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle took 13 minutes less than yesterday's despite the fact that I couldn't get going in the NW corner. I had only ACLU & RHETT then went on and filled the rest. The top four lines stumped me. Finally had to red-letter to get SEE YA & SUBPAR. "TATA" is Brit-speak so I wanted something more Brit than SEE YA which sounds American slang to me. Thought "consumer friendly" = EDIBLE was a good clue -- when I finally got it. "Hedge opening": I was looking for shrubbery space. Couldn't come up with ARK from "Biblical traveler" to my shame. BRISK doesn't fit the clue in my mind. I got it only because I'd figured out the theme further down. Forgot about Mr. PIBB and didn't know it now had "XTRA" added to the brand. Very puzzling section indeed.
The rest of the puzzle was fun & easier. Was STOKED when I got BESSIE & EDITOR right off and they stayed black (which dear BESSIE was, by the way).
Yesterday at 3:40 a.m., I heard quite a few multiple gunshot volleys in the dark which sounded close. Police & a car burglar had two encounters around five blocks from my home. Burglar was shot & required surgery. Police are still over there this morning. No wonder I don't sleep good at night. Always something.
"Loon, at times" should be "Loon at a time" (only one DUSK a day).
ReplyDeleteIs ORECK as "eponymous" as HOOVER?
What's the other half of CHI?
Other lame clues: "Has in common," "Eggs-uberant hen," "Letters after E."
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. What a fun Friday puzzle. I caught the theme with the DUSK CALLER. The I in the BRISK LAYER was the last to fall, however.
ReplyDeleteI initially had Spice as my Kitchen Shelf Array.
My favorite clue was Final Flight Destinations = ATTICS.
David ORECK, the founder of the Vacuum Cleaner company, just celebrated his 95th birthday last month.
There is a Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refute in Southern Maine. My dad lives not far from the Refuge, so I have visited it often.
For those interested, Simchat Torah literally means Rejoicing with Torah. Since it was mentioned in Lemonade's commentary, I thought I would expound a bit. In Hebrew tradition, the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) are read throughout the year, beginning with Genesis and ending with Deuteronomy. This holiday marks the last reading of Deuteronomy and the beginning of Genesis.
Thanks for explaining why Pigeons are SAPPY.
QOD: Riches do not delight us so much with their possession, as torment us with their loss. ~ Dick Gregory (né Richard Claxton Gregory; Oct. 12, 1932 ~ Aug. 19, 2017)
The "Simple theme", while neat, made the puzzle way too easy. After I finally filled YES, BUT for 'Hedge opening' the C to S substitution was obvious. The only ones that slowed me down were ONO, CHI,COHEN, and PIBB. With USSR in place by perps I filled BASK IN THE without even reading the clue. Ditto for THUMB and NIP. I didn't bother to read the clues.
ReplyDeleteDEET & DDT- one repels and one kills mosquitos. DDT saves birds but you have to also think of all the people who died from malaria after being bitten by the mosquitos. Take your poison. Last I checked, the US military still used DDT. There's no reason for our soldiers to get malaria when going into a tropical area.
D-O, you left out Trigger.
Relatively quick solve for a Friday. I left the NW partially filled and solved the other parts first. BRISK and YES,BUT were the last to fall. That hedge had me lost in the shrubbery. Finding the theme, C to S, helped me get BRISK.
ReplyDeleteOwen, I am sorry to hear of your fall. I hope you heal quickly.
Either a brand is eponymous or not. ORECK was the founder's name. Nothing can be as eponymous as something else. Do we say she is as pregnant as her sister?
I like seeing book worm crossing read. When I discuss a book I've read, it most often is an ebook.
I liked seeing Roy Rogers/Dale Evans clue along with DOGIE. We watched Roy and Dale on early TV.
Git along Little Dogies
CHI CHI was a gimmee.
Anon at 7:43- well you were sort of specific so I will respond on behalf of Dr. Sessa.
ReplyDelete"Loon, at times" should be "Loon at a time" (only one DUSK a day). DUSK , however, comes every day and it comes to more than one Loon at a time.
Is ORECK as "eponymous" as HOOVER? EPONYMOUS is not a comparative term, eponymous. : of, relating to, or being the person or thing for whom or which something is named. HOOVER may be more famous, but both companies were named after specific people.
What's the other half of CHI? CHI attempting stylish elegance but achieving only an overelaborate pretentiousness. "the chichi world of Manhattan cultural privilege"
Other lame clues: "Has in common," "Eggs-uberant hen," "Letters after E." E-COLI is frequently fill in a puzzle. Eggs-uberant is a play on words- exuberant. This graph explains the first OVERLAP
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI hit a few bumps in the road but, overall, this was a fairly easy Friday. Saw the theme early on, so that helped. Only w/o was ECard before EColi and the only unknowns were Pibb and Cohen. Corollas was a gimme as I have one in my garage. Favorite C/A was Consumer friendly?=Edible. Learning moment was Dale being Roy's third wife.
Thanks, Ed, for a fun solve and thanks, Lemony, for the spot on summary. Nice picture of Oo.
Owen, I hope you're doing okay. Maybe you should see the doctor?
Have a great day.
Tough NE when I put in DIAgonal, and Colbert being ON tapE (his show's opening has the announcer saying "And now, live on tape, it's..." which makes me wonder - Do they really still use videotape?)
ReplyDeleteECOLI was easy because today's Ziggy comic was right below the puzzle. (see gocomics.com)
NIP AND TUSK I actually thought of plastic surgery
Fun workout this morning .
ReplyDeleteThanks Ed Sessa and Lemonade
My solve was at first SUBPAR
Had to start in the center with MIDST and SMOOCH
Finished the bottom half first and caught the theme at BASK IN THE USSR
DUSKCALLER brought back memorries of a week at the lake where the loons call from evening to past midnight.
Did not get what CHI was half of except maybe a now closed Mexican restraunt.
RHETT and OVID were the unkowns but with enough OVERLAPS they filled in.
Also liked the clue for ATTICS , it took a while to register but then a think I ‘ve seen it before.
The only three letter traveller I could think of was ARK . I thought maybe cluing floater would have fit better but would have given it away to easily.
Thanks again.
Horrific images of devastation in Florida on tv.
Words can’t express the sadness I feel for you there. For many I’m sure it will be a long difficult time of clean up, rebuilding , fighting despair and depression . As always though I’m sure people will pull together and help each other with the work and support in their time of need.
Take care
The eggxuberant part I got, but just didn't understand what BRISK had to do with that. Finally LIU, definition says: "1. Marked by speed, liveliness, and vigor; energetic: had a brisk walk in the park. 2. Keen or sharp in speech or manner." So I guess I get it now, but sure didn't at midnight.
ReplyDeleteRelatively easy Fri as I got the theme early on. No speed bumps.
ReplyDelete38º to start our weekend here in Chicago. Brrr!
Northwest was trouble. Had voila for one,greatlayer for 17. Never heard of pibb. I had enrich, ACLU and Rhett.
ReplyDeleteThe rest was OK.
JJM, nice to see you and Magilla this morning. Of course it is nice to see all who comment, but those who do so infrequently do get extra attention, if not XTRA Pibb.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGood intro, Lemon. Thanks.
First fill was HORA. Got the gimmick halfway through making the solve a little easier. Had 'ailing' before finally whiting it out and inserting DOSING. That allowed me to change Pei to ONO (all of which was a WAG.) That coughed up BASK IN THE USSR and it was done. (Wanted something about the Black Sea before the USSR loomed.)
Loon - Initially looked for something relating to the Canadian $.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle worked out very well. It was easier than most Fridays, IMHO. Liked the theme. Got it with BASK IN THE USSR. I am sure the theme answers helped me with a lot of the puzzle.
I also liked 42A ATTICS, and the clue. Clever.
I am very familiar with DEET. I have heard that it can be harmful to humans, if used excessively. Maybe that is just a rumor, but I am cautious of stuff like that. I did use it excessively while hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine. That was to avoid being carried away by the insects.
Remembered ORECK. Kind of a household word. I do not own one, we use a Rainbow.
REX was a wag. I had the X, just filled in what seemed obvious.
Lemonade: I read your link on Roy Rogers. Very interesting. I knew some of that stuff regarding his background, but not all of it. I watched him a lot as a youth on TV. I worked near his ranch in California, in Victorville. He was just down the road in Apple Valley. I visited his museum in Victorville several times. I think it was sold off eventually, probably after his death.
I may have mentioned that my knees have been bothering me for some time. Yesterday, I went to an orthopedic doctor and had him check me out. That he did, and he prescribed knee braces for me that should fix me up over the long haul and eliminate the pain I have now. I was on cloud nine when I left his office. I wanted no part of knee replacements. The doctor is an active member of one of my masonic lodges. I see him at most of the meetings. That is why I chose him and I am glad I did.
Now I am going to put ice on my knees for 20 minutes. That part of the treatment. Three times each day.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Delightful Friday puzzle, Ed--many thanks! I got the middle from top to bottom and the southeast corner as well as other bits here and there before I started cheating a little. My favorite clue was AMISH, of course, since I lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in my teens. I got the theme with NIP AND TUSK--very cute clue. Never heard of PIBBS and couldn't understand ATTIC until I came to the blog. Oh, flight of STAIRS. (Well, I took a flight just two days ago, so was of course thinking of airplanes). But it's this kind of misdirection which made this puzzle so much fun. And great write-up, Lemonade, with nice pictures of you and Oo.
ReplyDeleteWas also horrified to see the pictures of the hurricane devastation on television last night. My heart goes out to all those who suffered such terrible losses.
Liked your poems, Owen, and am thinking of you at this time.
Have a good day, everybody.
Abejo, I hope the knee braces have improved in the last 8 years. First, I tried the INJECTIONS . Then, the BRACES which were too bulky and uncomfortable for me.
ReplyDeleteIM and Misty than you for you kind words about my pictures.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Dr. Sessa’s puzzle was a hoot but it a little effort to get out of the starting blocks
-Lemon’s summation worked for me
-8 summers of BRICK LAYING is why my back and I don’t speak
-I remember Ethel Thayer’s infatuation with the LOONS in On Golden Pond
-SEE YA, wouldn’t wanna BE YA is heard in HS hallways
-4 years ago I was UNDER. I’m told I got up, dressed myself and talked to the doctor with Joann. I finally woke up a half-hour later with my bride in a Village Inn
-Colbert’s show has become a political diatribe. SEE YA!
-SMOOCHING beats SNOGGING to me
-Our DEET-laden bug spray kills grass if we apply it while on the lawn
-College FB has come a long way from only one game broadcast on Saturday
-This officially shows I am really old
-Fox News’ Chris Wallace doesn’t strike fear into hearts like his dad Mike did on 60 Minutes
-Barefooted AMISH kids got on our tour bus and had plenty to sell us. Electricity? No! Capitalism? Yes! :)
Fun Friday! Thank you, Ed Sessa!
ReplyDeleteI made no headway in the NW corner, so slid over to the NE and filled it quickly. I like seeing OVID over READ followed by book WORM! I had to erase COMEDY for ON LATE. After that it filled as fast as I could write.
ATTICS was my favorite fill, too. I'll take a CSO at DALE, my surname.
Returning to the NW, BRISK took a long time to emerge; after studying all the theme answers I got it. V-8, please.
My first notion of a biblical traveler was LOT but ARK led me to BRISK. I don't know of BESSIE Smith, but took a guess on the B; all other letters were in place.
MAHI MAHI and CHI CHI as well as E-COLI were amusing to fill.
Thank you, Lemonade, for your thorough and complete review. Those are very nice picures of you and your dance partner as well as of Oo.
Has anyone heard from Tinbeni? Is he in Michael's path?
Have a lovely day, everyone! It rained!
Michael did not damage any South Florida cities the middle to the northern parts got the real storm and tin lives in the south, so he must be fine or on his way back to Jamaica.
ReplyDeletebillocohoes's link: Ziggy.
ReplyDeleteGimme a pig's foot and a bottle of beer Bessie Smith
ReplyDeleteYou're a good ole wagon, but, honey, ya done broke down Bessie Smith
She died when she wan't admitted to a white hospital in the thirties .
I guess things have gotten a little better.
Becky
Interesting that the majority had difficulty in the NW and then sped through the NE. For me it was just the opposite. The NW almost filled itself in (including BRISK, after which BRISKLAYERS was a gimme and the theme stood up, waved, and said "Here I am!"). Boy, is this gonna be a cakewalk, I thought. When will I ever learn? Went to the NE and left it nearly pristine as I finished the rest of the puzzle. CODA finally bubbled up through the brain of this old baritone player, and that opened up the rest.
ReplyDeleteFavorite clue/answer pair was Final flight destination = ATTIC, although it took me a minute to make sense of it. Dr Sessa is one of my favorite constructors and Lemonade, I enjoyed your writeup today.
Abejo, I hope the braces work for you! Do you have to be fitted for them?
Anonymous T (from yesterday): every summer through jr high and high school I went to a Boy Scout camp on Lake Springfield; there were nearly always some Scouts there from Nokomis.
Husker Gary, that song you posted was the first thing I thought of when I saw SHIMMY in the puzzle today.
Time for my second mid-afternoon nap. Have a great day, all!
Becky, with your esoteric knowledge I think it is time for you to create a crossword. Let me know. In the meantime, you'all listen and enjoy. BESSIE .
ReplyDeleteIn case it isn't mentioned: the DIAMETER is the distance(or length) of the diagonal. APEX showed me the latter was not what Ed was looking for.
ReplyDeleteAnd I had Shuffles before. SHIMMIES
Generous 1/2 Doz of RHETT Butler impersonators would be what famous novel?*
For 57a, I was thinking of IPSO(Facto)
Ok. Explain CHI?? I'll bet by the time I post this it'll be so. At least SAPPY for pigeon is no longer a huh???
Re. H's QOD: That goes for gambling too.
Speaking of... We must be a conservative lot here not to lament the stock market corrections. I'm not in it but I told someone to beware just last week**
Lemony you're way too generous but you did inform me that CHI CHI is an artsy expression. I only think of The Golfer
Also, lemony, what shows you as old is that you can even remember only one FB telecast on Sat.
As for Ed's xword: I thought it was Saturday tough. All quadrants except maybe SE. Clueing was devilishly clever throughout.
WC
*I'll post the (obvious?) answer later
** He casually mentioned he'd dropped 20 thou.
Have you ever seen the Jewish wedding hora chair dance? Would you be scared to fall off the chair? I have found one video of the bride falling, but she was wearing a black cocktail dress.
ReplyDeletechair dance The chairs appear at 2:00.
Lemonade did you and Oo follow this custom?
I have seen this dance only in movies.
We are more familiar with the wedding conga line.
wedding conga line
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteAfter yesterday's #sadFail, I was STOKED to see Ed's by-line. Nailed it! I assume everyone will tell me now it was an easy Friday [hey, I'm right! :-)]
Thanks Ed for a really fun, well-constructed (and clued) puzzle. I didn't quite get the c->s theme as I was more focused on the K's. I guess I should have paused longer before checking in w/ LEM to see if I got everything right.
Thanks for the expo Lem - loves me some Beatles.
WOs: almost saw a SHArk b/f SHAMU, Satire b/f ON LATE, oMISH I seem to always spell wrong;; COROLLA had two Rs & one-L for a spell.
ESP: DALE* - don’t get me wrong, most c/as took heavy perpage to "see" [see: BACH, OVID, et.]
Fav: c/a for EDIBLE was cute. YES, BUT what about ATTICS' c/a?... UGH, I'm aMIDST a conundrum.
Runner-up: The META in EDITOR's c/a -- could'a been a contenda' any other day.
I guess I was a slower solver as NIP AND TUSK [Billo - me to w/ cosmetic surgery] finally gave me the "it's pun-day" Aha! & the confidence to go with TASKS @THUMB. For 36a, I had nuthin' but T [from OTs] and SSR. The lightbulb went off and I BASK-filled the rest which helped me finish the center and SW grid. [paying attn theme?-Anon from the other nite?]
@4d: Did anyone else want a "bustle" in their Hedge[row]? Don't be alarmed now; [It's just a spring clean for the May queen]
{A, B, B+}
Abejo - good to use a Doc you know & trust. Let us know how your knees go. MIL got a replacement (and needs another for the other) and still doesn't move right a year later. Stick with the ice & brace (& hope!). Did Doc prescribe any strength building?
WikWak - That was my solve experience too; NW was near cake-walk (I knew(ish call it an educated-WAG) PIBB out of the gate) it was the NE that I struggled with but eventually got me the aforementioned SSR to finish the SW.
BTW, did you ever canoe over to the Girl Scout camp on the other side of the lake for a late-night "panty raid"? [I think that was Springfield; could have been Camp Bunn** - we went to both oft). We did one night and almost got caught. A buddy & I ditched the canoe (and our other buddies) and swam 3/4-miles back. Those still-canoeing buddies got back later having been delayed by the lake police.
CODA: No one got in real trouble, we didn't get any panties for the flag-pole, shucks, we didn't see anything other than their tents - looked just like our squalor (but messier - girls is slobs!)
Cheers, -T
*sorry folks, no SAPPY-waxing nostalgic on DALE, heck, I've only heard of Roy Rogers -- way before my time.
**yes, the eponymous Coffee/tea-machine maker.
My mom had the injections, the icing and the braces. She then had double knee replacement...one at a time....and never looked back. She even had one of those replacements done years later, no issues then either. Hope the braces work for you, but don’t be afraid of knee replacements, very common now.
ReplyDeleteWent right through this Friday puzzle, unexpectedly so. No markovers either. Which means I’m in for trouble tomorrow no doubt.
Pretty easy. 36 D bar by the tub was my favorite. I was thinking Beer bar cause its almost Miller Time!
ReplyDeleteA little NIT in the air....
ReplyDeleteThe Roy Rogers cluecslue h have been something like Oater Roy's third wife.
I thought the underlying "rule" was first names beget first names. Perhaps because DALE(Evans*) was so obvious to the over 60 (70?) crowd Ed and Rich didn't bother.
WC
* And Happy Trails to y'all
" clue should have been"
DeleteI had to use the blog editor and it burped on me . I compose in text, then I post . But I preview here .
WC
A lot of fun today from Mr. Sessa!
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted to register my Ta- DA! after a fair amount of struggle.
The NW sector was the last to fall for me. It was 1D - SUBPAR - that finally served to break the jam. Among the sticking points: I was only vaguely aware of a drink called PIBB (Mister PIBB to the old hands), and SEE YA & YES BUT formed a nasty nexus of 2-word fills.
But "All's Well that Ends Well," as someone once said.
The theme came through for me with NIP AND TUSK - a funny play on words as well as a reminder of those sweet videos of baby elephants enjoying human companionship, such as this one of a Baby Elephant cuddling.
(When one of these guys decides to sit on your lap, there's no use resisting!)
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal on the mirror side, NE to SW. The abundance of vowels restricts anagram play. Words like COMBAT and MASCOT leave little room for interaction.
Thank you, Lemonade. At my sister's home in CA no one watches TV. They read the news on their phones and use the TV for games and movies so I have been out of the TV news loop.
ReplyDeleteWC:
That would be Gone with the Wind.
I liked this puzzle. Ed is a master. Well clued and well constructed. Like Anon-T I paid too much attention to the Ks to notice the C to S replacement mechanism. Loved the clues for EDIBLE and ATTIC. Lots of fun to solve.
ReplyDeleteNip and Tuck sounds like a comic strip title about a couple of buddies.
"Honey, are you taking your medication?" "Yes dear, I'm DOSING." Huh?
Do you think MAHIMAHI is a CHICHI fishy wishy?
I loved the sound of the loons calling during our summer stays at Hazelhurst, Wisconsin, when I was young.
I think a DOGIE is more a ranch stray than a farm stray.
"They call me Mister Pibb!"
Nice write-up and pictures, Lemonade. Thank you.
WC - I missed your post while composing... Re: the market. I remarked the other night I was near ready to take my chips off the table. Shoulda done it then. I'm in for the ride now. Kinda sucks if this is the "big one" -- it was my last time to profit* from the cycle - next one I'll (hopefully) be out and buying goats :-).
ReplyDeleteOMK - first point of order: cute elephant! Onto the DiagRepor:
Combat mascot
Patriot Paws
Aww
//did you expect a real Haiku, from me?
Cheers, -T
*that's the plan :-)
My V8 moment came with BASK IN THE USSR.
ReplyDeleteDALE was Roy's only wife I knew of--so instant solve.
"CHI-CHI-er she-shed"
Husker Gary's sheet music credits Clarence Williams. His grandson (the IIIrd) was on Mod Squad.
FGHI>COLI
ROY was in the Roy Rogers clue, so Dale seems fair.
ReplyDeleteWe were stopped in traffic because an elephant sat on the front(trunk) of a VW and wouldn't get up. Crunch! I have seen elephants dancing trunk to trunk,but this was crazy.
Dosing yourself with your friend's meds is often unwise.
I tried miniscus repair, injections, and braces for my knees. Replacing my knees one at a time did the trick.I fell on the ice soon after my first surgery and tore the inner stitches requiring a second surgery. It still worked out okay. Before the surgeries I could only dance for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. I am back dancing ful time. Yay! Abejo, I hope the braces help. If not, remember many of us have had very successful knee replacements.
Lemonade Hand up thank you for explaining why a pigeon is SAPPY! And thanks for the SHIMMIES video clip! Our local swing dancers do a version of this, but it is tame in comparison. And thanks for the lovely photo of Oo.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme with NIP AND TUSK. Fun theme! As always, I wondered if CK TO SK meant something. Apparently, it just is what it is!
Back in 2000 I was driving across the Baja (Mexico) desert alone in my COROLLA. It is one of the most desolate places I have ever seen. In hours of driving I did not see another car or another human. Until I spotted two tiny figures at the side of the road. Two little boys in the middle of nowhere HITCH HIKING.
I picked them up and they both fit in my front passenger seat together.
Here are my photos in the Baja desert with the two HITCH HIKING boys in my COROLLA.
Here I was with BEN COHEN at the home of Michael Douglas.
One of my dance partners at the time worked for Michael Douglas. Back then I attended a number of events that he generously hosted.
Big Easy I am not sure who died of malaria for lack of DDT? DDT never stopped being used to combat malaria and is used to this day.
This National Library of Medicine article describes the challenges of DDT use to combat malaria.
OwenKL I am very sorry to hear of your injury. And of the very real challenges posed by your current disability. Glad that your neighbor can help a bit. Soft tissue injuries take a long time to heal and there are no real short cuts, unfortunately. You have my deepest sympathy.
Anon T ~
ReplyDeleteA fitting photo illustrating (and honoring!) a COMBAT MASCOT!
My only anagram limitation was that the 2 words re-use same letters. But it was well worth seeing that noble pooch!
Thank you,
~ OMK
For the last six months or so I've sorta adopted a homeless fellow, Freddie. He sleeps in a little alcove behind a dumpster or behind a big green electrical box of some sort. I give him a couple of dollars every day. Also, a local coffee shop gives me an extra homemade sandwich for him near closing time rather than just throw it out because it won't be fresh the next day. I want by the dumpster looking for him but some workmen were building a fence with a locked gate to keep him out. I found him up the street behind the big green electrical box. I gave him the sandwich and a couple of dollars. He seemed to be taking it all in stride saying there were lots more electrical boxes nearby. Sad...
ReplyDeleteGood luck to the Dodgers!!
Mind how you go...
Lucina, nope. Rhett was indeed Scarlett's admirer but more thought is needed vis a vis the clues.
ReplyDeleteBill G, there's a heaven waiting for you. I drove an airport shuttle and I kept bills in my shirt pocket.
Somebody guessed my riddle. They knew how many make a generous 1)2 dozen and who "impersonated" Rhett Butler.
The riddle is 60 years old. I kept my 15 year old friends wording.
Yawn????
WC
Ps. Jayce related exactly my feelings about the xword. My barometer? When I feel real good after my FIR.
Sorry, getting ready for the year end camping trip,
ReplyDelete& I just did not have time to post today...
Thanks for all you do Lemon!
CED, I LOVED the lemonade contraption! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteBill G - well, I guess you're up. I wasn't going to post this 'cuz I figured all the Cornerites were (a)bed.
ReplyDeletePicard - Loved the pic of the vulture-picked-over car! And really, I had a whole story about visiting Ben & Jerry's factory in VT and you have pics w/ him @ Michael's house(?!?) Damn, one-up'd again :-)
Roy - thank you for the State Farm commercial. No idea how CHI CHI was pronounced... I was thinking Chi-Chi, as in Rodri-guez [WKRP]
Bill G, my man, out there spreading the love.... Good on you.
Story: There was a homeless guy who I'd see outside of my office building late at night (on away games... (wait for it)) and he'd bum a smoke from me and chat me up about the Astros. This guy would spend every home game outside the stadium with a little AM radio to hear the game -- but he really knew what was going on from just the crowd noise. He knew every stat on every player. This went on from '03->'07...
//funny aside: After Katrina he was bitching w/ me as his sounding board as we shared a smoke "These homeless from NOLA, they come in here with their clarinets and think they own our streets. They start hastlin' me for money? Damn, this is Houston. It's my city, for my bums."
CED - that was fantastic! I kept thinking "that's it" and then there was more!
Cheers, -T
And Go 'Stros!
Whoot! I just got my last text from Beijing! DW is on her way home.
ReplyDeleteSteve - how do you deal with this? DW's leaving at 3p in China and will be home 40 minutes (by time-zone) later. That's gotta be a shocker.
Nite, -T
CED I went to bed and did not see that Lemonade Video until this morning- awesome! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is very unnerving to leave Beijing and be home 30 minutes later, but the 14 hours on the plane is worse.