google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday September 17, 2019 Evan Mahnken

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Sep 17, 2019

Tuesday September 17, 2019 Evan Mahnken

Theme: EASY ON THE EYES. (33. Pleasing to look at ... or a phonetic hint to a two-letter sequence in 16-, 20-, 51- and 56-Across ) - Each theme entry contains EZ. (Edited later: Each Z is on top of letter I. Thanks, Anon and Mark S.)

16. Amazon founder: JEFF BEZOS.

20. Very focused, as an athlete: IN THE ZONE.
26. Voices one's view: OPINES.  We got a lot of OPINES from the last debate in Houston.
51. Expatriate American poet arrested for treason in 1945: EZRA POUND.
 
55. Had a smoke: LIT UP.  Not me for the last 18 years.  What does everyone think about these relatively new flavored Vapers?  We have had one death in Minnesota.

56. Aztec emperor: MONTEZUMA.

62. Dog food brand: IAMS.

Boomer here again. Tough last Sunday in the Minnesota world of sports.  After the Twins took two from Cleveland on Saturday they looked like the bad news bears on Sunday.  The Vikings looked careless and stupid at Lambeau Field on Sunday also. They were certainly not IN THE ZONE.

Across:

1. Activist Parks: ROSA.  Very famous lady.  I would not call her an activist though.  She was just sitting in the seat that she to which was entitled.

5. First bird to attack in "The Birds": GULL.  Seagulls are beautiful birds with white feathers and gray trim.  I seem to remember the Hitchcock birds were black like crows.

9. "¿Qué __?": PASA. What??

13. Overly neat, say: ANAL.  I decided not to touch this answer. And no photo. 

14. Irish New Ager: ENYA.


15. Deep sleep: SOPOR.

18. 2001 bankruptcy headliner: ENRON. I still have some Pinnacle golf balls with Enron logos.  I know I have mentioned it before. But the same answers keep coming up in these puzzles.

19. Corn serving: EAR.  I hear with my ear but get my corn out of a can.

22. "Of course!": AHA.

24. Some dadaist art: ARPS. Jean Arp or Hans Arp.



27. Scolds: BERATES.

29. Clear dirty dishes from: BUS. "Just hop on the bus, Gus, Make a new plan Stan.  There must be fifty ways to leave your lover."  (Paul Simon) 

30. HS promgoers: SRS.  Yup, I remember a senior being someone who is 17 or 18 years old.  Now I think you need to be over 62,

31. Tops of waves: CRESTS.  I have never tried surfing but I am amazed by those that can.


32. Small batteries: AAS.  We have been searching for 9 volts for our smoke detectors.  Not in stock or very expensive.  Next stop Target.

39. Bash into: RAM.  This is an LA Times Crossword.  Shouldn't the clue be "Player at the LA Memorial Coliseum on Sundays?"

40. Rapscallions: KNAVES.

42. Soak (up), as gravy: SOP.  Standard Operating Procedure.

45. Halves of qts.: PTS.  A field goal will get you three.

46. Look over again: RE-CHECK. I would usually double-check.

47. Like Goldilocks' first bowl of porridge: TOO HOT.  Yeah, I remember the story, but I am pretty sure that bears do not eat porridge.

49. Send to the canvas: KAYO.  Famous for Ali opponents.

50. Code-breaking org.: NSA.

53. Tiresome grind: RUT.  Named after an ugly road.


60. One-eyed "Futurama" character: LEELA.


61. Earnest request: PLEA.

63. LAX landing list: ARRS.  Arrivals.

64. Some 35mm cameras: SLRS.

65. Open-handed hit: SLAP.  Also a wild hockey shot.

Down:

1. Koothrappali on "The Big Bang Theory": RAJ.


2. Common bill: ONE.  George Washington got that one because he was President number one.

3. Low-crime part of town: SAFE AREA.

4. __ Romeo: sports car: ALFA.  You better have 40 to 80 grand lying around if you want to own one.

5. "Gosh!": GEE. Whiz!

6. Opens, as a parka: UNZIPS.

7. Rhone cathedral city: LYONS.  Sue Lyon was "Lolita" but I really enjoyed her with George C. Scott in "The Flim Flam Man".


8. At the back of the pack: LAST.

9. Swindler with a scheme named for him: PONZI. There were a lot of these going around in the eighties.  I think folks have wised up a bit now.  I was approached but I am not quite that stupid.

10. Cooks' wear: APRONS.  Yes but there is also one at the end of my driveway.

11. Earlier: SOONER. "Oh Oh Oh klahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain."

12. "Gunsmoke" actor James: ARNESS.  Marshal Dillon was born in Minneapolis in 1923.


15. Leaks slowly: SEEPS.

17. Like an overtired child, perhaps: BRATTY.

21. One may be hidden under a welcome mat: HOUSE KEY.  I cannot believe that people do this.


22. "Grey's Anatomy" network: ABC.  I am old enough to remember when our choices were NBC and CBS.  ABC came along a bit later.

23. "__ goes nothing!": HERE.

25. Fall back on: RESORT TO.

28. Beast of burden: ASS.  I will also leave that answer alone.  Sorry.

29. Scroogean scoff: BAH. Humbug!!

32. 20s dispenser: ATM.  I have said this before.  In Las Vegas the ATMs dispense Benjamins.  Then you go back to the tables and turn them into 20s.

34. "Old Town Road" rapper Lil __ X: NAS.

35. Cry after a stunning performance: ENCORE.  When I performed solo in the Benilde H.S. Glee Club, no one ever "ENCORED" me.  But I did once bring the house town when I rode on the MTA at a parish in Crystal.  "Poor Old Charlie"

36. Slangy assent: YAH.  "She loves you Yah Yah Yah."  Beatles on Ed Sullivan's Show, circa 1963.

37. Happening later: EVENTUAL.

38. Moments, briefly: SECS.  60 of them equals a MIN.

41. Caribbean music: SKA.

42. __ Artois: Belgian beer: STELLA.  I have never liked beer. Lucky me. However my short hitch in Germany rated German beer as the worst.

43. More slimy: OOZIER.

44. Stout relative: PORTER.

45. Dad: POPPA.  This seems old.  I never heard anyone call their dad Poppa.

46. Original "SNL" cast member Gilda: RADNER.


48. Lugs: HAULS. I have three bowling balls and two pairs of shoes I lug into the bowling centers.

49. Small hill: KNOLL.

52. Baseball's "men in blue": UMPS. I am not able to understand why Joe West and Laz Dias are still holding this job,

54. Guns from Israel: UZIS. I know nothing about guns - Nor do I want to know.  Thank you.

57. Univ. aides: TAS.

58. UFC fighting style: MMA.

59. Egyptian snake: ASP.  She gets what she wants irregardless of price, Yeah did you see her ring that was some hunk of ice!  She has 30 minks that she's never worn twice, What kind of life is that?  Would you take that kind of life it it was offered to you?  You can bet Cleopatra's ASP you would.  (Chad Mitchell Trio).

Boomer



50 comments:

D4E4H said...

FIR  in 29:02 min.

Good morning Cornerites.

Thank you Evan Mahnken for your enjoyable Tuesday CW.
 
Thank you Boomer for your excellent review.

15 A -- Deep sleep: SOPOR.  I LIU so others may be spared.  It is an unnatural sleep with a Creep.

Ðave

Lemonade714 said...

Thanks, Boomer and Evan. Now I am confused by the day. I think it is the 17th. Either way, I am up and at 'em. Our second effort from our Brandeis student who published his first puzzle in the NYT in 2017 and now has 4 including a recent themeless. This was a faster solve than his debut with no unknowns, but I imagine TURANGA LEELA may be a challenge for some. My children watched FUTURAMA and character voiced by KATEY SAGAL was easy to remember.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I did notice that there were lotsa Zs in this cw, but failure to read the reveal clue [again!] kept me from getting the theme. LEELA was an unknown, but I'm used to that with pop culture answers. Thanx for the exercise, Evan, and for filling in once again, Boomer. (I disagree about that German beer. It's very good, strong, but good. Try Harbor Freight for those 9V batteries -- $4 for a 4-pack.)

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased PORTly for PORTER. I'm not stout. I'm not PORTly. In fact, I'm not overweight - I'm undertall.

I like the ENYA song in the Kraft Cheese commercials.

Do you hide the key, the cay or the quay under the mat?

My favorite RADNER line (to Jane Curtin) "Nevermind. Bitch." Gone too soon 30 years ago.

Thanks for the fun puzzle, Evan. My favorite was "Scroogean scoff". Great clue. And thanks to Boomer for pitching in the double-header.

Anonymous said...

Activist, Rosa Parks- Wikipedia: At the time, Parks was secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. She had recently attended the Highlander Folk School, a Tennessee center for training activists for workers' rights and racial equality. She acted as a private citizen "tired of giving in". Although widely honored in later years, she also suffered for her act; she was fired from her job as a seamstress in a local department store, and received death threats for years afterwards.[4]

Shortly after the boycott, she moved to Detroit, where she briefly found similar work. From 1965 to 1988 she served as secretary and receptionist to John Conyers, an African-American US Representative. She was also active in the Black Power movement and the support of political prisoners in the US.

inanehiker said...

Amusing puzzle - I originally read the theme Answer EASY ON THE EYES -as meaning that there were no "I"s in the theme answers - which was true, but not the more obvious "EZ" meaning...Doh! Learning moment SOPOR - though I have heard of SOPORific so easy to perp.
I need to wake up - but no longer rely on caffeine for that- so I'll just have to schlep through the morning.

Thanks Boomer for an amusing blog 2 days in a row! and to Evan for the puzzle

Anonymous said...

Every EZ in the themes sits on top of an I in the answer below.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

FIR - Got the EZ theme. Made it easier because Z's tend toward somewhat unique words. Couple lucky guesses; MMA and SOPOR. LYONS when Arles wouldn't work. Nicely done, Evan. BZ to the EZ.
MMA - Mixed martial arts. (a learning)
BUS - Aboard ship 'police' was commonly used. "Pick up or clean up.' Meriam also defines 'police' as : the action or process of cleaning and putting in order.
ALFA - CSO to -T?

Mark S said...

Also EZ on top of an I.

Mark S

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks, Evan. I enjoyed this one. The theme fills came pretty easily for me. Nonetheless, I didn't see the theme until I came here. I had Alpo before IAMS, which is a little goofy because when I had my dog, that was her food.

Boomer, thanks for doing such a fine job two days in a row.

Have to run. I have some chores to complete before I meet friends for lunch today. ;-)

A demain!

billocohoes said...

Anon and Mark S, not only are the "EZ"s on top of the "I"s, those are the only "I"s in the entire puzzle.

JJM said...

OwenKL..... as of yesterday my back door to gain access to the MENSA version of the puzzle no longer works. It stopped on Sunday the 15th. Have they now discontinued publishing the current daily version?

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a cute, playful theme but getting the reveal so early in the solve lessens the challenge of the solve, IMO. I had a rare Tuesday failure due to the Poppa/Leela cross. Having never heard of the one-eyed Leela, I thought my Poppy/Leely answers were just fine. Not so, alas. My only w/o was Alpo before IAMS. (Hi, Madame!) Pasa and Sopor needed perps. I liked the NAS/NSA duo but I didn't like the way-too-many three letter words and the preponderance of forced plurals. Also, Oozier ruffled my feathers a tad. Very nice CSO to Anon T at Alfa!

Thanks, Evan, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Boomer, for doing double duty, again. Your memory of song lyrics and other pop culture references continues to impress me. I've never heard of many of them and I'm older than you are! These asides and cultural trivia are such enjoyable parts of the charm of your reviews.

FLN

Michael, my complaint is not about ordinary reruns but presenting a show as a new episode when there is at least one segment in it that has run before. CBS Sunday Morning and 60 Minutes are both guilty of this practice. Of course, your financial-based reasoning is still applicable (and understandable) but I still think it's deceptive and annoying, to boot. End of rant. 😉

Have a great day.

oc4beach said...


Saw the EZ's but missed the I's being underneath. Nice puzzle. Boomer did a good pinch hit today.

I initially had CROW before GULL, SCAMPS before KNAVES, ALPO before IAMS and I didn't know LEELA at all. Perps solved these problems.

Boomer: Rather than look for 9-volt batteries, it might be a good idea to replace your smoke detectors with new ones or the combined smoke and carbon monoxide detectors with the 10 year lithium batteries in them. Most smoke detectors deteriorate after 8 to 10 years and should be replaced anyhow. Our local fire department said it is a good idea to use a Sharpie to write the year that the smoke detector was installed on the outside of the detector so that it is easy to see and can be replaced when the time is right. I replaced the four wired-in smoke detectors with the combo units with the 10 year back-up battery for about $40 for each of the units. Cheap insurance.

In the sticks, we only got the NBC and CBS networks. ABC and DUMONT networks started in 1948 and 1944 respectively, but we only got to see them when we visited family in the cities. Now we have hundreds of channels to watch and complain that there is nothing on worth watching.

Have a great day everyone.

jfromvt said...

Fun puzzle. And as someone else pointed out, the only I’s in the puzzle. Very clever!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Evan Mahnken, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.

Got through the puzzle easily. Caught the theme. EZI

Interesting about EZRA POUND. Never knew that.

SOPOR was unknown. Perps.

Know the name JEFF BEZOS well. I worked for Amazon for a year and a half.

When I entered MONTEZUMA all I could think of was revenge. Oh well.

Off for lunch with my Chicago area crossword friends, Madame Defarge, TTP, WikWak, and myself (Abejo).

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday (yes it is only the 17th). Thanks for the fun, Evan and Boomer.
I FIRed in good time and saw the EZ over I theme (although I had to put on my American thinking cap because E-ZED on the Is does not work, LOL).
But I missed seeing what "billocohoes said...
not only are the "EZ"s on top of the "I"s, those are the only "I"s in the entire puzzle." Extra clever.

My first thought was Que Sera but PASA perped. (translates as What's happening or What's up")
Yes Spitzboov & IM, I saw the CSO to AnonT with that ALFA Romeo (and a second one with LIT UP - but we hope he didn't!)
Madame D, IM, oc4beah- I too thought of Alpo before IAMS.
I did note with a smile YAH, BAH, SKA and AHA.
Hand up for needing perps for LEELA, and thinking POPPA was a strange spelling.
IM - I had a nose-wrinkle with OOZIER also. I had Oilier at first but that TOO HOT porridge changed it. If it SEEPS, is it OOZIER?
I thought of TKO but KAYO was spelled out.

Hope you have a great lunch together, Madame Defarge, TTP, WikWak, and Abejo.
Off to do some fall cleanup in the garden.
Enjoy the day.

Spitzboov said...

IM @ 0924 - - I totally agree with you about 60 minutes - Many segments are reruns repackaged to seem new or "updated". No real new content. I rarely watch it now.

I did yesterday's C.C. puzzle in the WSJ. Worth doing if you have the time. (Keeps us sharp for these mind-benders.)

Abejo, Madame, etal - - Enjoy your lunch and fellowship. I've hired a fly to be on the wall there. :-)

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Was this the EZ-I-est puzzle we've ever had, or what? Great puzzle, Evan! Great expo, Boomer!

Hand up for getting the EZ part, but missing the I underneath. Duh! Never heard of Leela! Doesn't look like a character I'd be crazy about.

I started to write a check this morning and couldn't believe it was the 17th. Oh man, Sept. is sliding by fast!

Jerome Gunderson said...

Anonymous- Thanks for pointing out that Rosa was very active in the Civil Rights Movement for years before and after the defiant bus ride.

JohnB said...

"YAH" seems a bit forced.

Lucina said...

Hola! Que PASA?

What a brilliant theme, Evan Mahnken! I'm always astonished by this kind of theme and though I saw the EZ, not the i underneath. what a feat! Any dreck can be forgiven if it achieves that goal.

But aside from some three letter silliness and the undesirable OOZIER, some lovely fill emerged: KNAVES, SOPOR, PONZI, ENCORE, KNOLL, BERATES, etc. And "Scroogean scoff" is just wonderful.

Hand up for LEELA being a stranger to me.

At ALFA of course I thought of AnonT.

That is the first time I've seen a photo of the oft clued ENYA. What a beauty!

Thank you, Boomer for another a-one performance!

Have a special day, everyone!

Yellowrocks said...

RIP Cokie Roberts, award winning journalist, political commentator and author. I greatly admired this heroine who was a pioneer in journalism careers for women. She was intelligent, articulate and kind.
Cokie Roberts

CrossEyedDave said...

Not too bad Tuesday, took a couple of WAGs
(re-enforced by Perps.)
But I am kicking myself for not seeing (or looking for)
the EZ over the "I"s...
(that would have been a great AHA moment...)

I got side tracked by Ezra Pound.

Years of puzzling, & I thought Ezra was a woman!
Treason? What's this treasonous reference?
I immediately went to Wiki, & found a humongous reference volume
that I started skimming thru to find the treason...

Well, very quickly, my eyes glazed over,
& the reason I did so poorly in school came back to haunt me.

Thanks a lot Evan Mahnken! You robbed me of my AHA moment!

(easy on the eyes my foot!)

I did learn something tho,
if you want to succeed in dieting,
don't eat anything that's looking back at you...

CrossEyedDave said...

(This requires a separate post...)

If Mel Blanc was the man of a thousand voices,
Gilda had to be the Woman of a thousand faces...

Whenever She is mentioned in an Xword,
I must post her audition.
Sadly I cannot find better resolution...

The Audition...

Don't have a lot of time today,
so could somebody find the clip (from Gilda Live)
where she tells the audience how she has always wanted
to perform in front of people, & now with the spotlights...

AnonymousPVX said...


This Tuesday effort was successful, despite the Tuesday crunch.

Clever theme and construction did not go unnoticed.

(Stupid) Markover...BAZOS/BEZOS....c’mon, get in the game.

POPPA DON’T PREACH....didn’t ring a bell with anyone?

I agree that OOZIEST didn’t look right, but ok.

This month is flying by.

I also realized that I have been retired for 10 years. In June, actually. Talk about flying by...

And on to Wednesday.

Misty said...

I got ROSA instantly, and that got this puzzle off to a great start--many thanks, Evan. However, even though I got ALFA, that little corner gave me trouble because I just couldn't come up with the--ahem--inappropriate across word in the middle. But lots of neat fills to follow. I got ARPS--I know my Dada--and, of course, I got EZRA POUND without a moment's hesitation. So sad about his later-life problems--he was such a wonderful supporter of aspiring experimental artists in his earlier period, including James Joyce.

Had to laugh when I finally got KAYO for 'Send to the canvas'--was so sure it had to do with painting not boxing. My only annoying goof was that I had KNEVES and couldn't figure out how that referred to rapscallions. Oh, YAH instead of YEH would have given me the KNAVES. I actually got the fun EZ theme early on, but would never have noticed the Is if Boomer hadn't pointed them out to us. Great to have you back for a second day, Boomer, many thanks.

Anonymous, many thanks for the illuminating background on Rosa Parks. Very interesting and inspiring.

Have a great day, everybody.

Wendybird said...

Loved Gilda in this clip. She is irreplaceable!
Thanks.

Yellowrocks said...

Yellowrocks said...
It was EZ to suss the EZs. I missed the I's, though. That makes the theme very clever.
My favorite clue for EZRA is POUND OF POEMS.
CED, you thought Ezra was a woman? I thought ENYA was a man. What a pretty face she has.
Have a wonderful lunch, Chicago bunch. Sounds like fun.
I would be surprised if bears passed up a meal of porridge. Black bears are very opportunistic eaters Most of their diet consists of grasses, roots, berries, and insects. They will also eat fish and mammals—including carrion—and easily develop a taste for human foods and garbage. While we were staying in a cottage in a VW state park, in the early morning a bear ripped a paw sized hole in the garbage shed. All she could grasp without seeing inside was a pawful of plastic bags. If she had ripped a large hole, she would have had a feast. We watched and filmed through a picture window.
In novels I have seen papa spelled poppa. I sussed that one quickly.
Already it is almost 2:00 PM here. It takes so long to get anything done these days.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Yep, Boomer, ROSA was indeed an activist, as Anonymous @8:16 makes abundantly clear. Sure, she may only have been sitting, but the point is she was not "entitled" to that seat under Jim Crow law.
The breaking of an immoral law is one of the definitions of political activism.

Irish Miss, Spitzboov, et al ~ SOPOR was new for me too. Didn't know the root of "soporific" could stand alone. I wanted STUPOR, but alas! - it was a letter too far.
(Gotta try "stuporific" one of these days...)
~ OMK
____________
DR:
A 3-way on the distaff side.
The central anagram honors a laser-guided body ink artist,...
"A ZAP TATTOOER"!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Oh, on the I’s! I missed it too Boomer.
-People that VAPE look like the old UP Locomotive that went by this summer
-I really admired ROSA’s and MLK’s quiet strength
-My cousin told me again yesterday that ENRON’s collapse cost her dad his pension and crushed his spirit
-James ARNESS starred as The Thing, a movie that scared me to death
-We love our keyless door lock that uses a push button code

Ol' Man Keith said...

Lovely weather today in SoCal...
It has been in the mid to upper 80s most of this summer. I like the heat. This season has not been terribly hot, but even the 80s are hard on my wife.

Today is cooler--perfect, I think. The high will be 80. It's in the upper 70s now and we have enough of a breeze to keep our wind chime in business. I hung it next to our fountain, so I can sit in a patch of shade and read while hearing falling water and chimes in the BG.

These are the waning days of summer. My wife looks forward eagerly to the fall. I will enjoy the changing leaves, but not the darker, shorter days. The cold seasons are not bad in this part of the country, but at my age even the high 60s can feel unpleasant.
I feel for those who reside in severe climates, I used to live in snow, in stormy regions, and in hotter areas, from New England down into the south, and I know that what is beautiful to look at can be miserable at times.
I wish at times we could share our mild warmth with others, especially now in the hurricane danger zones. The best predictions suggest that these will only grow worse.
~ OMK

WikWak said...

FIR in 9 minutes (but I acknowledge the ‘spoiler’ from TTP at lunch today). Thanks to Evan and Boomer for their fine work.

Hand up for first thinking Alpo instead of IAMS, but the perps kept me from actually filling it in.
It was nice to see KAYO instead of the usual TKO.
LEELA and Bender are my two favorite Futurama characters. I have the first 4 or 5 seasons on DVD and binge watch them about twice a year.

What a great lunch today with TTP, Madame LeFarge, and Abejo! We spent over three hours solving all the problems in this world. In fact we didn’t even order until we had been sitting there over an hour.

No time for a nap today :( Gotta run. Have a good day!

Bill G said...

OMK: I loved your description of the warm, mild weather today. Back east, the weather along or near the ocean would often be quite warm in the summer. Not here. We live about a mile from the Pacific shoreline and the cool currents in the ocean keep the weather quite mild in the summer. It's also much colder to go for a swim in the Pacific than I remember in the Atlantic as a kid growing up.

SwampCat said...

EZ puzzle today with clever construction. I was surprised that some people had problems with SOPOR. And even more surprised by D4’s definition of unnatural or abnormal deep sleep. I’ve always thought it was just regular garden variety deep sleep, even if drugs were involved. Guess it’s a matter of degree.

Loved 20s dispenser for ATM.

Boomer, thanks!! ... again!!

Yuman said...

Boomer, I agree with OC4 beach. We just replaced 8 smoke detectors with the 10 year lithium batteries.
Anybody wonder why the 9 volt always seem to chirp low battery in the middle of the night? According to Kidde.com
. It has to do with internal resistance as the battery ages, and a drop in room temperature increases this resistance. No more getting a ladder and searching for new batteries at 3 in the morning for us. New units with 10 year lithium batteries is the way to go.

PK said...

YR: Thank you for mentioning Cokie Robert's death, the first I heard of it. Always admired her writing and good sense.

I got a new fire alarm which does not fit in the old recessed ceiling can. I had such a hard time climbing up and getting the old chirping one out at 2 a.m., I just left the new one on a kitchen countertop. I know it isn't the best place, but neither is me lying on the floor because I fell off the stepstool. My old carbon monoxide detector went to chirping and I couldn't turn it off. I finally threw it out on my driveway in the middle of the night. Several days later I went out and it was still chirping. I threw it in the garbage can where it continued to chirp until trash day. I thought the battery being dead should have silenced it.

Wilbur Charles said...

I've been way behind. Finally got to the Sunday xword in the breakfast nook of the hotel in Ocala. And as I type I can't remember the name. I checked holiday inn Express but they were $84 vs $66.

Pool and free breakfast were satisfactory. But I had interruptions and started messing up. FIRed ok.

I never got my hands on the Monday paper except for a local paper being used for wrapping at the Goodwill outlet. So, I grabbed that xword and solved while DW shopped. And…

I had a mountain of clothes so I took them to the dryer and did the Wash Post xword insert by Evan Birnholz(while doing the"wash"). And…
Finally…
This Tuesday gem for which 1. I forgot to look for the theme,
2. When I did I had no idea. Anon etal clued me in.

Ezra Pound? Simply picked the wrong side. No simple issues nor issues for which Joe Average guy knows the full story .

Re. Sunday. Sticker shock = THORN vs PRICE threw me.

WC

SwampCat said...

PK, I sympathize with you for enduring the chirping ! I had a similar problem and had to go the the nearby fire station for help. They arrived in a fire truck (no siren!) and removed the alarm. They said the alarms are designed to keep on chirping even after the battery dies !! Just do you know you need to replace them!

Jayce said...

I liked the theme and thought it was extremely well done after it was explained. Some of the answers left me feeling OOZIER than usual, but thankfully my ability to swallow has not been diminished.

Anonymous said...

CED, I too immediately went to wikipedia for Ezra Pound (treason), but instead of "skimming" the long detailed (but interesting) article, I just pressed CTRL F, and a text box pops up in the upper right corner of the screen so you can fill in a few characters of the word. Use this a lot for internet news articles.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thank you Evan for the puzzle to noodle while stuck in traffic forever! this morning. [don't worry folks, I don't ink in the car]. I was 'seeing' the Z's early on and the reveal gave me EZ, but I totally missed the 4 I's in the puzzle. Nice.

Thanks again Boomer! "From the halls of MONTEZUMA to the shores of Tripoli..." //two can play your game ;-)

WO: N/A
ESPs: SOPOR required all perps b/f I recalled it’s a word.
Fav: It's a three-way-tie - Boomer! SOONER!, ALFA*, and the beloved RADNER.

{} //doing OK OKL?
Cute DR OMK. Today in Houston we are having a 'change of season' as Tropical Storm Imelda comes ashore. The No nonsense forecast. //D-O, TxMS - you guys follow Eric Berger?

IM, Michael, et.al. I only occasionally catch 60 Minutes but I swear I've seen the same story 3x. There's gotta be a Sniglet for catching a re-run of a show you've only seen once -- but if there is (a Sniglet), I can't recall it.

C, Eh! - Nope, no LIT UP. //but why are the puzzles against me this week?!?!?

WikWak, Abejo, MdF, and TTP: 'common, spill the beans - who's ANAL about which fork to use? :-)
So nice that y'all get to meet IRL.

CED - I've seen Gilda's audition so many times... It does not get old. I watched the whole CNN thing when it was on TV.

HG & Boomer - I vaped for about 6 years b/f I went back to smoking. I didn't have the giant-cloud producing one just a little 120's (remember, 120mm cigs?) looking "pen" that you could even hide the vape under your breath (like for flying!). However, not only was it a pacifier, the nicotine levels were inconsistent and, if I wasn't careful, my heart would come out of my chest. Mine had the option for flavors but I liked the tobacco one.
The new JUUL vapes are a different thing and the non-reusable cartridge has been copied by less than reputable companies that put all kinds of stuff in the mix. I heard today on NPR that someone did an assay of some cartridges sold in Houston; they contained CBE, THC, synthetic weed, and/or Kush. That's what's killing these kids, IMHO.

Speaking of NPR - RIP Cokie Roberts.

Cheers, -T
*my '86 Spider isn't that nice 'cuz it's all original [except the fuel pump and air-intake under the hood]

Yuman said...

SwampCat, we did the same thing. several years ago my husband was recovering from knee surgery and in the middle of the night the chirping started. I called 911 and stressed No FIRE no SMOKE, could you please send someone to help from the firehouse 2 miles away. Yep,5 minutes later huge hook and ladder and 6 firemen. PK your detector is probably in some garbage dump chirping away.

WikWak said...

Anon-T: Not sure about the others but personally I just use my fingers and a large towel.

PK: Absolutely loved your tale of woe ref. the CO detector.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Bill G ~
I never swam in the Atlantic much. A couple of times off Cape Cod and later at Virginia Beach.
But when I returned to California I swam a LOT. I had spent my first 21 years in San Francisco where it was too cold to swim (unless you had to, like escaping from Alcatraz or sumpin'). When I returned to SoCal, it was a new experience to be able to swim nearly year round.
I spent my first year back here at the old Balboa Inn, on the peninsula. I was right on the water, so I swam nearly every day. If it got a little too cold, I could always hit the shower 25 steps from the water's edge.
I even enjoyed swimming on New Year's Day. The only month I found it too cold to swim was March. That's when the water shocked my diaphragm badly enough that I was afraid of gulping water!
~ OMK

Wilbur Charles said...

FLN: "Why don't the pants guys make a 37" waist?". That's a real pet peeve of mine.. They have 28-34, skip 35,37,39..

The majority of pants are in the latter category.

Also re. MILO: As in Catch-22 operator Minderbender. I was trying to remember that name

WC

Btw, doing different Xwords one sees the clues overlap

CrossEyedDave said...

CED Trivia...

It is a little known fact,

but beeping smoke detectors

were how Skeet shooting was invented...

SwampCat said...

CED: LOL!

Anonymous T said...

Gilda on Quitting Smokes...

If you're still up, enjoy! -T

Michael said...

Anon-T @ 8:13 --

And not to mention the repetitive ads ... makes me want to get a counter-battery artillery platoon for Christmas!