Theme: DOWN PAYMENT (25D. Typical mortgage requirement, and what ends each answer to a starred clue)
3D. *Grade-boosting option: EXTRA CREDIT.
8D. *Singer's spouse who co-wrote "Ring of Fire": JUNE CARTER CASH.
14D. *Chess situation that forces a draw: PERPETUAL CHECK.
Boomer here.
Good
morning or afternoon as the case may be. Last week was fairly
uneventful. Lots and lots of snow. I had a VA appointment last
Wednesday. Only took about 25 minutes for the trip West at 7:30 AM, but
leave the clinic and head back toward Minneapolis while many were on
their way to work, was a solid hour. Free snow for everyone! Just bring
an ice chest or a trailer and a shovel and take as much as you want off
my yard!
Across:
1. Org. whose product is measured in barrels: OPEC.
Gas prices are still affordable here, about $2.00 per gallon of 87
regular. I have heard the federal government is considering a small gas
tax to fix roads and bridges.
5. Pillar of Islam involving travel: HAJJ.
9. School near Windsor Castle: ETON.
13. Hugs-and-kisses symbols: XO XO. My sister signs cards this way sometimes.
14. Pacific island host of two "Survivor" seasons: PALAU.
15. Medical image: X-RAY. This must then be a kiss by the sun.
16. Analogy words: IS TO. IS NOT!
17. Modern John Hancock: E SIGNATURE. Mr. Hancock is very famous for signing the Declaration of Independence so that King George can read it without his spectacles.
19. Epithet never actually used by Jimmy Cagney: DIRTY RAT. Rumor has it that he said "You Dirty Mouse."
21. Angsty music genre: EMO.
22. LAX posting: ETA. MSP posting is indeed "estimated" depending on when they get the snow cleared from the landing runway.
23. Elect (to): OPT.
24. Dressed down: SCOLDED.
28. Songwriter Porter: COLE. Yes, but my favorite Cole is Mr. Nat King.
30. Frightening: FEARSOME.
This could be the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive linemen of the
Minnesota Vikings in the 1970s. Honored on the "Ring of Honor" at U.S.
Bank Stadium. Includes Notre Dame Grad Alan Page who went on to become
a judge. What is interesting, Alan was born in 1945 in Canton, Ohio.
His Hall of Fame honor will be there forever.
31. Red wine choice: MERLOT.
33. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE. My fairy tales only had Big Bad Wolves.
34. Be victorious: WIN.
35. Was in debt to: OWED. "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go."
36. WWII naval threat: U-BOAT. This was a Nazi submarine. Abbreviation "Underwater boat."
38. Picnic invaders: ANTS. Also pants invaders.
39. Grass roll: SOD. These things are heavy and hard to work with. Seed takes longer but it is light and easy to apply.
40. Shopping complex: MALL.
Of course, on the old site of Metropolitan Stadium, 60s and 70s home of
the Vikings and Twins, now stands the Mall of America. It's huge with
many stores but it's a bit of a tourist trap. C.C. and I have been
there a number of times. It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want
to spend there.
41. Go by, as time: ELAPSE.
43. They're planted in snow while skiing: SKI POLES. Oh, I thought they were people from Poland who like to ski.
45. Civil rights icon Parks: ROSA. Highly respected!
46. Largest living bird: OSTRICH. True, and also lays the largest eggs.
47. Emails a dupe to: CCS. Not to be confused with C.C.'S
48. Couture initials: YSL.
51. Tapped-off cigar remnant: ASH. I mentioned my friend George Ash last week.
52. Hours for cuppas: TEA TIMES. I am a golfer. I suppose the leaders get the later ones? Just kidding.
54. Cord cutters' reception aids: TV ANTENNAS.
I think you need to be my age to remember these. We have a dish on our
roof right now, Many people have their shows delivered by cable.
58. Air filter acronym: HEPA. High Efficiency Particulate Air.
59. __ hop: gym dance: SOCK.
We had Sock hops in High School. The idea was to take off your shoes
so you would not scar the gym floor. (Most left their shoes on however.)
60. Infatuation: CRUSH. Orange soda, yum.
61. "I'll take care of that": ON IT.
62. Log splitters: AXES. Paul Bunyan was not an Axe. But I have heard that he split a few logs in his day.
63. Spade of handbags: KATE. I am not a handbag expert, but I have heard Kate Smith sing the National Anthem once or twice.
64. Education support gps.: PTAS. Let me tell you of the story of a Harper Valley's widowed wife.
Down:
1. Nitrous __: OXIDE. Sounds like the name of a laundry detergent.
2. Theorize: POSIT. I remember a German toast "Prosit" I think.
4. Crotchety oldster: COOT. That's me!!!
5. Attacks: HAS AT.
6. Got off a horse: ALIT.
7. XKE, for short: JAG.
"I was cruisin' in my sting ray late one night, when an XKE pulled up
on the right. Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve." Jan and Dean.
9. Raves about: EXTOLS. Many EXTOL their work on crosswords!
10. Play about Capote: TRU. Stock ticker symbol for TransUnion.
11. Rowing tool: OAR. "Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is but a dream."
12. TV scientist whose show has won 19 Emmys: NYE. Bill.
18. Love, to Luigi: AMORE. "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie" Deano
20. "Carpe diem" initials: YOLO. You Only Live Once.
24. Game Gear creator: SEGA. I never got past Nintendo.
26. Gives off: EMITS.
27. Closely packed: DENSE.
29. Out-of-date: OLD. Here I am again!!
30. Deceives: FOOLS. If you bluff in a poker game and get called, the fool could be you.
31. Meno __: not as fast, in music: MOSSO.
32. Furry C-3PO worshipers: EWOKS. I never was one of those Star Wars fanatics.
37. "Eww!": BLEH.
38. Small batteries: AAS. AAAs are smaller. An Ass is much larger.
40. Somewhat wet: MOIST. Yup, we have moist snow on the ground.
42. Nowhere to be found: LOST.
44. Practical jokes: PRANKS. April 1st is sooner than you think.
47. __ and desist: CEASE.
49. Vintage photo tone: SEPIA.
50. Exams for aspiring judges, briefly: LSATS.
I took an SAT test in High school. I think it is an acronym for
Standard Aptitude Test, but we did not have to stand when we took it.
52. Item listed above "u-bolt" in a hardware glossary?: T NUT. Sometimes called a TEE NUT. That's what I am, waiting for the snow to melt -- "FORE".
53. Blue-roofed eatery: IHOP.
International House of Pancakes. Delicious, but they sell flavored
pancakes for about a buck apiece, and a 25 cent cup of coffee for about
$2.00. Maybe the owner will be running for president soon.
54. Airport safety org.: TSA. I am very happy that they are back to work and getting paid.
55. __ populi: popular opinion: VOX.
56. Blackjack half: ACE. Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man.
57. Gun lobby org.: NRA.
Boomer
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, Joe D.! Witty as ever, Boomer, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI got the theme only after filling it all. Liked how DOWN PAYMENT went down the puzzle altho could have been positions at the bottom, I guess.
JUNE CARTER CASH was a gimmee. My husband was a huge fan. We saw JUNE & spouse Johnny in concert twice as well as on their TV programs weekly back in the day.
Never heard of PERPETUAL CHECK in a chess game, but played very little long ago.
I thought SIGNATURE was part of the theme until I realized it wasn't starred. Need a SIGNATURE to buy a house or give a CHECK for the DOWN PAYMENT.
DNK: meno MOSSO
54d. Cord cutters reception aids (ESP) had nothing to do with the umbilical cord & reception of a new baby. Surgical scissors just wouldn't fit.
YOLO? Again? Had this yesterday. At least I remembered it on such short notice. Yay, me!
A studious chap from ETON
ReplyDeleteEssayed to something FEARSOME.
An OSTRICH he sought
A OGRE he caught,
And that's how he came to be eaten!
Speaking of eating, at TEA TIME
Conversation and noshing combine.
Croquet games CEASE,
Foes are at peace,
And the whole world is feeling sublime!
It's time for our ten-o'clock break.
Our PERPETUAL work can just wait.
My desk overflows,
That's how work goes,
I feel like a worm used for bait.
{A, B, B-.}
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Joe and Boomer!
Didn't know MOSSO. Otherwise OK.
Still rain.
Have a great day!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteFound the theme, but only after I'd already finished the puzzle. That doesn't count. I got held up at SKI POLES, because "skiing" was in the clue. COOT and OLD FOOLS seem an appropriate description. I saw that CSO to CC. Nice romp, Joe, and a tuneful expo, Boomer.
TV ANTENNA: I've got one up on the roof. It's in reserve for severe weather when the satellite conks out.
SOCK hop: We had 'em at our school. No street shoes allowed on the gym floor. I served as DJ.
FIR with no erasures. Like PK I noticed YOLO made it back in today's grid, and like D-O noticed the CSO to our beloved CC.
ReplyDeleteI tell my trainees that if they get stumped by a question on one of their standardized tests, the answer is often in the question: "...snow while skiing" for SKI POLES (hi D-O) and "Org whose product..." for OPEC. But I'm not qualified to be a clue policeman, so there you go.
Enclosed malls are dying. Locals want to turn our newest one into a casino.
I cringe whenever NYE is called a scientist. He's an engineer. Remember when they tried to make Kelly Bundy a meteorologist?
Thanks to Joe for the fun, easy Monday puzzle. And thanks to Boomer for another funny-punny review. You are right - AAs are smaller than Asses, but I have never stared at AAs for inappropriate lengths of time.
Good Morning, Boomer and friends. I found this to be a bit crunchy for a Monday. Didn't help that I was unfamiliar with PERPETUAL CHECK. I got the Check part, but struggled with the Perpetual. The DOWN PAYMENT came easily, though.
ReplyDeleteLike D-Otto, I held off on the SKI POLES because SKI was also in the clue.
YOLO must be the "word" of the week.
Tragically, KATE Spade committed suicide last June at age 55.
QOD: Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work. ~ Thomas Alva Edison (Feb. 11, 1847 ~ Oct. 18, 1931)
Great Monday morning run .
ReplyDeleteThanks to Joe and Boomer and OwenKl
Great expectations for the week ahead .
Will likely finish my part of the last phase of a three phase 7 year construction project .
A little spring in my step although less in the air .
Sunshine doing some good already as the sun climbs higher in the sky each day.
Used to play chess quite a bit as a kid.
If you couldn’t win you’ d try for a draw.
Impossible to get a checkmate with only the kings left.
Learned that patience paid off . Seemed that whomever’s attention span was longer ended up the winner. Had trouble beating my younger brother at chess as he could drag the game on indefinitely. Mother was happy to see us play chess as it gave her an hour or two of relative peace in the wintery cabin fever days of Christmas break. Ahh the memories.
A quarter of the way through the puzzle it made perfect cents!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, friends!
ReplyDeleteBoomer, your expo was the best today. I often haven’t been able to get to the puzzle even though I use CC's link. The LA site just stalls and no puzzle appears after the commercial. So, I’ve done the puzzles at night when Cruciverb works.
Boomer, lots of snow in Montana but not as much as what you have. Our problem has been the terrific wind chill temperatures. We’ve had more wind than usual and -40°s is mighty cold on the face if you walk somewhere. Yes, we wrap in scarves, but eyes need to see.
Monday puzzles are always a treat!
Montana
Lemonade, if you’re reading and posting today, the oldest girl in my avatar is the baby you carried around in IHOP in Denver. She had 3 younger sisters now.
ReplyDeleteMontana
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you Joe Deeney and thank you Boomer.
The only unknown of the clues I read was MOSSO.
By the time I got to high school, sock hops were passe.
Anon-T posted a pic with featuring some chess humor last night.
I went back and found check, cash and credit going down after I got down payment. Looking at the starred clues would have revealed the three types of payment, but not necessarily down payment. Even understanding the clue at the end counts as getting the theme with me. Yesterday the clue was immediately evident, but the title gave it away.
ReplyDeletePuss In Boots has an ogre in it.
I hesitated on SKI POLES, too, because skiing was in the clue.
MOSSO was the only word new to me.
Oas, congrats on coming to the end of a seven year long project. It must be very satisfying.
We do a square dance to Ring of Fire.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEasy enough solve, but some cluing seemed more at the mid-week level. No matter. Only wite-out was I had on me before ON IT. Thanks, Boomer, for explaining HEPA.
SKI POLES - Polski is Polish for Polish.
U-BOAT - - "U-boat is an anglicised version of the German word U-Boot [ˈuːboːt] a shortening of Unterseeboot, literally "underseaboat."" (from Wiki)
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteAn easy, breezy Monday with the exception of Mosso and HEPA. Not keen on Bleh but I've seen it before. I had Pelau before Palau; I guess I've heard of it but not from "Survivor", which I've never seen. The theme was well hidden, always appreciated by Moi!
Thanks, Joe, for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, Boomer, for the witty tour. Hope you and CC have a great time in Vegas!
PK, looks like you and the Sandman are at odds again!
Have a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I blew right by the reveal
-EXTRA CREDIT is the desperate cry of kids who did nothing for 9 weeks
-A huge HAJJ
-How does your signature look on those store credit card screens?
-That EMU egg is the largest existing single cell
-I think Joe meant these ANTENNAS
-Nitrous OXIDE is the dentist’s “laughing gas”
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Joe Deeney, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.
ReplyDeletePuzzle went along just fine. Theme was easy. Liked the long down answers. JUNE CARTER CASH has always been a favorite of mines well as Johnny Cash. The Carter family had some great old C&W songs.
HAJJ again. Remember that word well. In Iran, if you made the pilgrimage to Mecca, you put Haji in from of your name, forever.
There are new TV ANTENNAS now. They receive the HD shows. Enabling you to cut the cable cord.
YOLO again. Now I know what it means. Makes sense.
Finished my book last night. "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" by Mark Sullivan. One of the best books I ever read. 500 pages and read it in two days.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Joe and Boomer.
ReplyDeleteNot the usual Monday romp for me today, but I did get the theme. (Although you all know that Canadians can CHECKmate but we use Cheques for DOWN PAYMENT.)
Let me count the inkblots. My worst mistake created a FIW because my Survivor island was Papua (New Guinea) which gave me APIT for "Got off a horse". I knew that was wrong but did not see ALIT. (Perhaps if the clue had said "Got off a High horse" . . !)
JAG forced a change from Hadj to HAJJ (I was prepared for either).
I had the AR in 30A and was trying a version of Scary. . . before FEARSOME filled the spot.
Blah changed to BLEH (which rhymes with the meh that I said when HAS AT appeared).
Exalts changed to EXTOLS (which better fits the clue), and Foils changed to FOOLS.
Hand up for fighting SKI POLES because of the ski in the clue. I think we all agree about that NoNo. Another hand up for On Me before ON IT. (I was thinking of picking up that IHOP bill.)
I was looking for "wore ripped jeans" for the "dressed down" clue, before I was redirected and entered SCOLDED.
My practical jokes were Tricks before PRANKS.
Yes, I smiled to see YOLO after yesterday's "Latin YOLO" clue.
Those XOXO's and AMORE would have been appropriate for Valentine's Day later this week.
I noted the CSO to C.C., and also thought of Marti with MERLOT, and NiceCuppa with TEA TIMES.
Glad to see you back yesterday Hahtoolah. Loved the QOD today.
Also glad to see Fermatprime and Montana today. Hopefully Dave will be back soon also.
Wishing you all a great day.
Maybe Rich Norris organized a skiing adventure that caused him to miss his tea time, but I would posit that solvers are owed an explanation of how clues that could have easily been rewritten contained elements of their answers.
ReplyDeleteTR: Cash, Credit, and Checks are forms of payment, not necessarily down payments. The Reveal of Down Payment is a visual Pun”, since all these payments are Down answers.
ReplyDeleteAbejo, I loved beneath Scarlet Sky. I read it twice. I didn't know much about the Fascists and Mussolini. I admire the resistance fighters in WW II. This was an exciting historical novel.
ReplyDeleteBank Manager, obviously, otherwise the theme would have been BLEH.
Boomer
ReplyDeleteI love your puns and your humor.
Reminds me of me!
Thanks
ReplyDeleteGood puzzle from Joe and Boomer's tour was enjoyable.
Pretty much WEES.
Jinx, there's nothing wrong with being an engineer. Theodore von Karman (an aeronautical theoretician, engineer and physicist) stated:
“Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was.”
Jinx, I do understand your cringe, my cringe is Al Roker being called a meteorologist. He is a weather reporter who reports the weather, not a meteorologist.
More nasty weather on the way for most of the upper half of the country, so try to stay warm and dry.
Delightful Monday puzzle, Joe--many thanks. Fun seeing the Jimmy Cagney clue. MERLOT is my evening treat after dinner. My friend Kim signs her e-mails XOXO. Didn't think I'd ever get that long 8 down name, but JUNE CARTER CASH fell into place without any problems. I had trouble only with getting the TV ANTENNA because I kept thinking of a cord cutter as a person who cuts a ribbon or cord at parties or receptions honoring someone or something. But the downs filled it in, thank goodness. Never heard of MOSSO but again, the across answers took care of that. So, a fun way to start the week, thanks again, Joe. And your commentary made me laugh, Boomer--like that OWE song lyric. Your great spirits on a Monday get our week off to a good start.
ReplyDeleteLiked your cheerful second poem, Owen.
Have a great week, everybody!
It is beginning to look like neither Rich nor Wil Shortz at the NYT care about clue/fill dupes anymore. Or perhaps their assistants do not care.
ReplyDeleteI have never watched SURVIVOR but there are so many commercials for the show that PALAU was easy.
The group of Vikings' defensemen pictured, Jim Marshall, Carl Eller, Alan Page, and, Gary Larsen were never the FEARSOME FOURSOME though they were fearsome. They were the
PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS.
Most football fans know the Rams greats including DEACON JONES and ROSEY GRIER as the FEARSOME FOURSOME but as an early AFL Fan I liked this VERSION featuring Ernie "the Cat" Ladd.
Fun times for me. On a personal note, when we were in college John LoVetere used to work out with us at the University of Connecticut Sports Complex. My late brother Barry was on the football team and I wrested and played lacrosse. He was 6'4" and 280 and used to get his soda by picking up the machine and turning it upside down. He never went to 4-year college and impressed us youngsters with his pick-up line "Do you like cheese?" but that is another story.
Owen, I really like your poems today, especially the third one (A+), which reminds me I'm glad to be retired.
ReplyDeleteI too had a "what?" moment at the skiing clue. It must have slipped past. Maybe something like, "they help you go downhill in snow"?
Meh! Not to thrilled with this one.
ReplyDeleteLate yet again!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joe Deeney and Boomer!
My friend, Kathy, came over for breakfast and left at 12:00. We solved all the problems of the world during that time. Aren't you glad?
Just as she walked in I filled the last letter in the puzzle. It was very easy. I noted the same things you all commented on, a CSO to C.C., the dupe in SKIPOLES which I also doubted and others as well. The many X's were noticeable, too.
YOLO again today. How odd.
I hope you are all having a fabulous day!
Am enjoyable puzzle. I had pretty much the same experience with it that many of you had, namely not knowing MOSSO and balking at SKI POLES because of "skiing" in the clue. I immediately thought of Misty and Yellowrocks at MERLOT. I had PILAU instead of PALAU, perhaps because it came to my mind first due to my hearing my sister, who lived in Hawaii for 3 years, exclaim it often.
ReplyDeleteAbejo, interesting about Haji. Wasn't there a fictional character named Hajibaba?
We also have a TV ANTENNA on our roof, by means of which we have been watching over-the-air broadcasts for 30 years. The only "cord" we have is our landline phone which we have also had for a million years and through which DSL service connects us to the internet. I keep am old telephone handy for when the power goes out, but since we both have cell phones we don't really need that old phone any more.
Anybody else feel that AT&T is "cheating" by calling its wireless service "5Ge" rather than the 4G LTE service it actually is? I just read that even the iPhones will display "5Ge" rather than "LTE" after the next iOS update.
Good wishes to you all.
Thank you Lucina and Kathy!
ReplyDeleteTa ~DA!
ReplyDeleteA pleasant Xwd start for the week, the kind of enjoyable puzz that makes me think well of myself.
My only complaint? I wish we'd make up our minds about the spelling of Hadgj, Hadj or HAJJ.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal on the opposite side, NE to SW.
Sadly, its anagram potential is limited by its abundance of vowels. Once again, I can [almost] spell that well-known garlic sauce. ("Gimme an 'I'"!)
And if I have to come up with something, I'll imagine I am describing an experimental recipe aiming to produce said sauce, one that addresses a salad chef's ...
"AIOL[I] GOAL"!
As I expected, many comments on SKI c/a.
ReplyDeleteCarpe carp=seize the fish.
Wanted RABBIT EARS before TV ANTENNA.
My wife likes MERLOT; I don't drink.
Finally couldn't stand it and looked up meno MOSSO. Musical term for "less quickly" in case anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteIM: I'm a nocturnal animal most of the time. Once in a while I get lucky and go daytime and get some things done. I'm going to have to do daytime sometime in the next month because my driver's license needs renewing. Not quite ready to quit driving altogether.
ReplyDeleteFrom Saturday, thanks to the responses to my question....”search this blog”.....I never even noticed. Thanks.
Today’s puzzle....a nice way to start the week.
No markovers. This won’t last, haha.
Back, just in time for 3 to 5 inches of snow/sleet/freezing rain, whoopee...
ReplyDeleteTo catch up, belated Happy Birthday Splynter! (Well, they may not be candles, but they do light up Splynters life...)
Re: today:
What would a Monday be without one stupid mistake...
JaneCarterCash had me looking at the Island of Palaa???
(I dunno, could this be where Paella was created?)
I find it disturbing that YOLO is a learning moment every time I come across it...
P.S.- He "did" say "You dirty rat!" it just had a yellowbellied in the middle of it..
I once saw (many years ago before the internet) a comic where future archaeologists
unearth a suburban landscape to find every house roof has what they think is a
religious symbol on it. I can no longer find it, so you will just have to be entertained with this...
Oh yes! The Theme!
It led me to this (joke?)
You are going to hate me for this...
CED:
ReplyDeleteThat last one is really funny!
PK:
I sussed meno as few or less because it is related to Spanish, menos, less and MOSSO, although it is a bit of a stretch, seemed liked mucho, much or more. So I vaguely grokked the meaning.
Here is just one bit of the wisdom from this morning's gab fest with my friend. Anyone who has been to high school or college knows that the editorial committee chooses the pictures for each yearbook page. Most students have no idea what goes on "their" page. Our collective solution is that someone should be looking for the yearbook editor at that medical school.
Abejo - I really like "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" too - some of the rescues across the Alps were so harrowing hard to believe it was a fictionalized version of a true story!
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle and the write-up was even more fun!
Thanks Joe and Boomer!
Owen, No!
ReplyDeleteThat 3rd limerick is an A+.
You are a brilliant poet, but a lousy self-grader.
~ OMK
Mr S. Strikes again. I was thinking of Our Lady of Purr-petual Tuna, of cat religion
ReplyDeleteSo..Page, Carl Eller... Two lesser known OGRES who Boomer surely knows. Yes, HG has covered that again. I asked this before. Does anybody remember the KC running back who fought oil well fires with Red Adair? The old AFL* was entertaining. When they got the TV contract they were in business. The USFL was unable to do so, probably because of Monopolistic NFL actions and an impotent jury.
Actually, no one outside this blog cares to hear anything about our Xword adventures
Have I got a poker story for you**
The 25¢ cup of coffee has gone the way of 25¢ gas.
WC
* My father always called it the A F of L
** Later
Did I ever mention that...
ReplyDeleteone of my favorite flowers are daffodils.
I noticed in one of the links, the Marine Corps "Sport" of Pugel Sticks. For once a Lefty had the advantage. But, head injuries were the bane. I noticed Gomer etal had helmuts. We didn't.
ReplyDeletePoker? Ok. Last week in 'Nam. I was invited to the Colonel's hooch for a big game, $250 to play. I "stupidly" called with nada and appeared to be a"newb". So. When I was loaded they all bet into me and I won the biggest pot of the night.
WC
Today’s pun/haiku:
ReplyDeleteThe British lady
Couldn’t master golf; confused
By all the “TEA TIMES”
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe for a fun Monday puzzle. Thank you Boomer for the fun review (LOL: MALL of America - It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to spend there.)
WEES skiing/SKI POLE.
WO: I really thought there was a G in OSTRICH.
ESPs: PALAU, MOSSO, VOX
Fav: DIRTY RAT as clued. COOT was fun too.
{A+, B+, B}
Abejo - Interesting on Hajj "title" in Iran.
Montana - DW was told to take SKI goggles to Siberia to keep her eyeballs from freezing (I didn't know that was a thing).
Jayce - AT&T cheat? I'm shocked! Shocked, I say...
Chess Humour [redux].
Cheers, -T
My getting off a horse first try was "fell" which I thought was more apt than ALIT. Never heard that anyone ALIT from a horse. Dismount seems to be the more used term, but too many letters. ALIT is for birds.
ReplyDeletePK:
ReplyDeleteSometimes in books I've seen ALIT used that way as: "she alit gracefully from her steed"; it makes the prose somewhat poetic is my guess.
PK - ALIT is for the birds? And I thought it was just airplanes landing. It's one of those "crossword" words I've never met in real life.
ReplyDeleteBack to the skiing / SKI POLE... Y'all ever play the game Taboo [?really, a YouTube instruction book?].
Anyway, in college, we played with a couple (my HS Buddy's and his newly minted wife). His wife was not the brightest bulb...
Answer: Orange; Taboo words included color...
Buddy's wife: "It's the color of an orange" Bzzt, Bzzt.
Answer: Crosswalk
Buddy's wife: "Something you walk across!" Bzzt, Bzzt.
When either of us (me & DW) does something totally dumb... one of those two "Buddy's wife-isms" comes out comes out at the other Just to laugh at ourselves.
BTW, that Buddy is the one I played (and lost) Chess against everyday after HS for about 18 months. After I beat him 4 times in a row, we never played again :-( He actually taught me how to play the game; he was so good in strategy games (Risk, Axis & Allies, Shogun) we voted him "Most likely to take over a third-world country." Last I heard, he's Officer in the LA NatGuard. :-)
Cheers, -T
Thank you, Jayce. If you ever come to Laguna Beach, drop by for a glass of MERLOT.
ReplyDelete