Theme: COFFEE BREAK (36. Midmorning work time-out, and a hint to this puzzle's circles)
1) ESPRESSO: 17. Gets an A on, as a test: ACES. And 18. Bench __: exercise: PRESS And 19. Red sky at morning, to a sailor: OMEN.
2) LATTE: 21. Darjeeling and oolong: TEAS. And 22. Fire stirrers: POKERS.
3) MOCHA: 57. Japanese wrestling: SUMO. And 59. Half a Latin dance: CHA.
4) CAPPUCCINO: 60. Put __ on: limit: A CAP. And 61. Fashion designer Emilio: PUCCI. And 63. Christmas carol: NOEL.
Boomer here. This theme is more complicated than our normal Mondays.
It's a Federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, if I did I am sorry to repeat. On April 4, 1968, I was called to emergency duty that evening to the Fort Campbell Army Hospital. There were riots (mostly off post) and bloodied soldiers were delivered by ambulance to the emergency room. I know Memphis must have been worse. Fort Campbell was about 250 miles from Memphis but the pain was felt all over Tennessee.
Across:
1. Drains of strength: SAPS. Drains from maple trees also. Argyle used to send us a small bottle of maple syrup.
5. Hoops player: CAGER. Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo. (Simon and Garfunkel)
10. Immortal Middle-earth dweller: ELF. Speaking of Argyle, Santa's helper, an elf, maybe helped him with the syrup.
 |
| Argyle, 1960, fifteen year old and a Freshman. Class of '63. |
13. Suffix with switch: EROO. Switcheroo will be made in managers for the Astros and Red Sox.
14. Gladiator's realm: ARENA.
15. Henry __, who had six marriages: VIII. This guy was terrible, I think he weighed over 400 lbs. He also got into an argument with the Pope and decided to start his own church. He beheaded two of his six wives and treated the other four terribly.
20. Long. crosser: LAT.
24. Writer Wharton: EDITH. Remember Edith Bunker? Archie kind of treated her like Henry VIII treated his wives, however he did not behead her.
26. "Indubitably!": YES.
28. Hawk's nest: AERIE.
29. Shrinks back: RECOILS. I remember the first time I fired a 20 gauge shotgun. I thought my arm was going to fall off.
31. Like a student arriving ten minutes after the bell, as opposed to five: TARDIER. Seems like a made-up word for later.
33. "Golly!": GEE. Whiz
34. Greek cross: TAU.
35. Old PC component: CRT. Cathode Ray Tube. I don't know what they use now, but it's faster and better.
40. Santa __ winds: ANA. "High up Santa Ana we're killing your soldiers below, so the rest of Texas will know, and remember the Alamo." I remember the Kingston Trio version.
42. Convert (hide) into leather: TAN.
43. Dada pioneer Jean: ARP. Not to be confused with the old retiree club. I joined for awhile but it did not seem worth it.
44. Roasted holiday birds: TURKEYS. We had one at Thanksgiving, That was enough thank you.
47. Clickbait links, e.g.: TEASERS. I did not realize they were called clickbait. I never click on the ads at all. Lately Subaru is spending their ad budget.
51. Movie critic, when giving stars: RATER. We are not big movie fans. Lately C.C. is clicking on raters to see who has the best buffet.
52. As well: TOO.
54. Religious belief: TENET. Henry VIII created his own.
55. Hider's location-revealing words: IN HERE.
64. Toy building block: LEGO. These are great. I have mentioned the monstrosity at our Mall of America.
65. Sir __ Newton: ISAAC.
66. Word-of-mouth: ORAL.
67. Bear's shelter: DEN. I thought it was a house that Goldilocks ate porridge, tried out the beds and broke a chair.
68. Chili con __: CARNE. Reminds me of Jackie Gleason's buddy Art Carney aka Ed Norton who worked in the sewer.
69. Moistens: WETS.
Down:
1. Putty, for example: SEALER.
2. Video game area: ARCADE. A good Facebook friend of mine in the suburb where I used to live has an arcade business. I used to visit there frequently when he had pinball games. Now everything is electronic and I am too old to play.
3. Written in verse: POETIC.
4. Sailor's "Help!": SOS. Also a steel wool pad.
5. Flowing garb for Batman: CAPE. To the Batcave, Robin.
6. Orderly arrangements: ARRAYS. "The Wizard of Oz" was going to cast Mr. Bolger as the Tin Man but when someone found his shoes near the corn field the director must have said "Those are Rays".
7. Sextet after the golden rings: GEESE. I think you mean golden eggs. Ask Aesop.
8. USN rank: ENS. Yes Sir !!
9. Abrasive tool: RASP. Works better than sandpaper, but do not use it on your bowling ball.
10. Brought to mind: EVOKED.
11. Funny five-line verse: LIMERICK. There was a young girl from St. Paul. Who went to a newspaper ball. Her dress caught on fire ... and burnt her entire -- front page, sports section and all.
12. More passionate: FIERIER.
16. Newspaper leaflet, say: INSERT. We get them all the time. Usually the first thing that goes into the recycle bag. Sorry.
21. Porch pirate, for one: THIEF. Our porch pirates are squirrels. I don't feed them but they use our deck to get to the next door lady, who puts out a buffet
23. Rowboat mover: OAR. Gently down the stream.
25. Like takeout food: TO GO.
27. Wild guess: STAB. I usually have to STAB a lot at crosswords.
30. Southpaw: LEFTY. "Poncho needs your prayers it's true, say a few for LEFTY too. He only did what he had to do. And now he's growin' old". Willie Nelson
32. Surrounding glows: AURAE.
34. Decalogue number: TEN. Number of pins in the deck
36. Rome's Punic Wars foe: CARTHAGE.
37. Toward sunrise: EAST. East is east, and west is west and the wrong one I have chose. "Buttons and Bows" Yes I am old enough to remember Dinah Shore. "See the USA in your Chevrolet."
38. Muse of poetry: ERATO.
39. Church recess: APSE. That has something to do with the roof. My church does not have a recess. We have to stay for the whole hour. Doesn't matter though, the playground is full of snow.
40. On __ basis: for testing purposes: A TRIAL. I am going to try an old plastic ball next Thursday. Bowling center is too cheap to put much oil on the lanes. Ball hooks too much - last Thursday I left 9 splits and went away mad.
41. Characterized by subtle distinctions: NUANCED.
45. Not turn off: KEEP ON. Yes, we are keeping the furnace on this time of year.
46. Be wrong: ERR. A baseball term. Check with the Astros or Red Sox.
47. Bird on a Froot Loops box: TOUCAN. These look great on boxes and ads. I have never seen a real one.
48. "Sing another one!": ENCORE. Okay "Lucy Baines, she is no Jackie but then who complains. She may be tacky but she was the brains behind our foreign policy. Who else but Lucy could it be."
49. Warm up, as leftovers: REHEAT. It's never quite as good on the second day.
50. Hems and haws: STALLS. Rest rooms at the ball park and airports.
53. Grouchy Muppet: OSCAR.
56. Large-scale tale: EPIC.
58. Computer devices bearing little resemblance to their real-life namesakes: MICE.
62. Can. neighbor: USA. We hear this chant at the Olympics
63. "It's __ or never": NOW.
My best wishes to our friend Irish Miss. Wishing you a quick recovery.
Boomer
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| Agnes' 11 Rings |
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| Boomer's 8 Rings (300 and 299 Games) |
Here is the obit of Agnes' sister Anne. Thanks for the link, Al.
FIR, but erased auras for AURAE, which spell check doesn't like. Forgot to check the theme, but didn't need anagrams to enjoy this one anyway. DNK that FIERIER was spelled that way, nor EDITH Wharton.
ReplyDeleteI thought the ELF lived at the North Pole.
Elvis made a lot of money with It's NOW or Never. Carne two days in a row. Add papas and you have the stereotypical American meal.
CSO to our beloved OKL. So Boomer writes LIMERICKS too? I see what you did there - TOUCAN can play that game. Mine start with "There once was a gal from Nantucket." DNK that "OK Boomer" is used as an insult until I read it in the cartoon Zits last week, then heard it on TV the next day. If the insulting person doesn't care, is it still an insult?
I'll be rooting for the Missouri team in the Super Bowl.
Thanks to MaryEllen for the fun, easy Monday grid. And thanks to Boomer for the Monday chuckles.
Some big names in this easy offering. When I was in graduate school I enjoyed reading Newton’s “Principia”, especially the scholia.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteAnother puzzle by the woman whose name begins UT -- gotta be a good one, right? Only one misstep today -- GUCCI/PUCCI. Most of COFFEE BREAK was already filled, so guess who didn't read the clue? Again. Had the circles, but forgot to look at 'em until it was all over. Nicely done, MaryEllen and I enjoyed the tour, Boomer.
Santa Ana: That song was written by Texan Jane Bowers. I've seen the start of that chorus also written as "Aye-yip" and "Hi! Up!".
Lefty: I'm a pseudo-lefty. I bat a baseball, hit a golf ball, and shoot an arrow left handed -- doing none of them well.
"OK Boomer": I'm technically too old for that epithet...just.
Boomer, I'm sure you know Willie didn't say that(re 30d). Well, he didn't sing it first anyway. A relatively unknown songwriter, Townes Van Zandt was the original crooner to sing the great ballad Pancho and LEFTY.
ReplyDeleteOf course a song like that deserves an ENCORE, eh? Willie and Merle. If your up for a third version, check out Emmylou Harris and her beautiful voice singing on the Old Grey Whistle Test. It was next in queue after Willie's version for me.
So did Lefty kill Pancho? Or did he betray him for the reward money?
What a great song! Thanks Boomer for reminding me to listen...
Well, I have dived down the proverbial rabbit hole of Panch and LEFTY...
ReplyDeleteJason Isbell does a good version with some great guitar work, but i'm an old timer and loves me some Steve Earle...
yet another version of Pancho and LEFTY.
Townes Van Zandt has been dead for over 20 years, so we can't ask him what he meant when he wrote Pancho and Lefty. I've listened to it several hundred times over the years, and I've convinced myself than Pancho and Lefty are one and the same. "You weren't your momma's only boy, but her favorite one it seems." Nobody was there when Pancho died: "Nobody heard his dyin' words, ah, but that's the way it goes." "The dust that Pancho bit down south ended up in Lefty's mouth." Listen to it again with that in mind, and tell me what you think.
ReplyDeleteEven though it was a little crunchy for a Monday - with the theme and circles it was still a quick solve! I can never remember how to spell CAPPUCCINO though.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a second after filling out GEESE that they were talking about the "six geese a-laying" after the "five golden rings" in the "Twelve Days of Christmas"!
Thanks Boomer and MaryEllen!
Wow ! Uncanny almost how your comments JINX , could have been mine this morning .
ReplyDeleteCheers
I dont know desper otto...
ReplyDeleteI kinda enjoy not knowing. But...
If I had to vote, I'd guess that Lefty sold out to the federales and betrayed Pancho for 30 pieces of silver. Sounds familiar enough to me.
He was then told to never be seen in these parts again and he used the money to go to Ohio. He lived out his years in his own personal jail in a cheap hotel. Not a good end for him either, ironically.
Jinx:
ReplyDelete"There once was a gal from Nantucket."
Oh, you've heard of the girl and her bucket?
Well, what can I add
If you know of her dad?
So what of this LIMERICK? Well ufck it!
"The world is going to Hell!" "OK Boomer."
"And the TV channels aren't swell!" "OK Boomer."
"And the younger generation
Is going to damnation,
By texting what they can't even spell!" "Okay, Boomer."
Hungry Mother:
When reading Newton's "Principia"
It's really good to have the scholia
It's hardly practica'
To study Mathematica
Without the concomitant incunabula!
{F*, OK, α.}
Good morning, folks. Thank you, MaryEllen Uthlaut, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteZipped through this puzzle today. Did it on paper since Cruciverb was out to lunch again.
Caught the theme and circles. I don't do COFFEE BREAKS anymore. I do TEA BREAKS. Earl Grey, of course.
No words that really stumped me today. It is a Monday. Maybe PUCCI took a couple perps. Along with TOUCAN.
No school today, so no guarding. Start up tomorrow.
See you then.
Abejo
( )
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEasy puzzle and friendly theme today. No help needed in the solve.
COFFEE - Probably my favorite beverage. Drink 4 - 6 cups a day. Favorite is Starbuck's French Roast. Stock up on it when on sale at Hannaford's.
Enough caffeine in this puzzle to keep me awake till tomorrow's
ReplyDeleteTypical Monday not overly NUANCED. Only error needing a switchEROO was TOGO. I had "Thai" at first.
ENCORE is French for "again" yet in France the audience typically yells out "Bis!"
I recommend the series "The Tudors" to understand the complicated political and personal life of Henry. The historical inaccuracies are minor.
Reading the obituary, Anne was fortunate to have so much family living close by in the Albany/Troy area.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was an easy, breezy start to the week with no unknowns and no w/os. The circles highlighted the obvious theme and the reveal came early, but it was still an enjoyable solve. I was impressed by the entries, especially Cappuccino. I'm not a coffee drinker but I'm familiar with all those mentioned. CSO to Boomer at Turkeys, not the gobblers, but the XXX on the lanes!
Thanks, Mary Ellen, for a fun romp and thanks, Boomer, for your usual chuckle-laden commentary. I enjoyed seeing Santa as a youngster, sporting Argyle socks, no less. I also enjoyed seeing all those rings! Talk about Bling!
Thank you all for your sincere condolences and well wishes. Anne was a very special person. (CC, thank you for posting the obituary and thank you, Al, for providing the link.) My eye problem is due to Shingles and is being treated with an antiviral. The outbreak and associated pain were curtailed by immediate treatment and there was no internal eye damage, so I have much to be grateful for. I'm dealing with soreness, tearing, and just general discomfort but, hopefully, time will lessen these symptoms.
Have a great day.
Thanks you kind Bard. I am honored.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Boomer and friends. This was a speed-run Monday for me. I never even read some of the clues. The placement of the circles indicated to me that the theme answers would span across the black squares.
ReplyDeleteI had Poetry before POETIC.
My first thought for the Roasted Holiday Birds was Geese, but that fowl was already accounted for.
So sorry for your loss, IM. My Anna's memory be a blessing.
QOD: Your mind is like a parachute: If it isn’t open, it doesn’t work. ~ Buzz Aldrin (nĂ© Edwin Eugene Aldrin; b. Jan. 20, 1930), American astronaut
Irish Miss: Ocular shingles. Not the simplest form. Great that you're on the mend. To prevent a recurrence there's a relatively new inoculation administered in 2 doses. 90% effective preventing an initial bout or recurrence
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-MLK and Rosa Parks are heroes of mine.
-Early basketball must have been so rough they played in a cage!
-Am I the only one who put in RECEDES and AURAS first?
-I wonder if the movie critic across the Bay from SF is called an Oakland RATER?
-I never believed word-of-mouth rumors unless I heard it from the custodian
-An ARCADE opened here in the 80’s in an old movie house but had to close because of fights and vandalism
-The “wrap around” newspaper INSERTS are maddening and the first to go
-The Astros didn’t ERR, they were THEIVES!
-Pols STALL on a hard question so they can get back to their talking points
-Those pics had a lovely “ring” to them!
Thanks Mary Ellen for this easy Monday romp, and thanks Boomer for the chuckles.
ReplyDeleteRed sky in the morning brought back happy memories of the day of the College Championship game this year. The sky was so red it turned my bedroom red....then faded to pink and lavender and ended up purple. Surely a good OMEN for LSU who won the game that night. I guess we can see OMENs where ever we want!
I also wanted GUCCI but EPIC wouldn’t let me. My only correction.
IM, I’m so glad to here the good news about you eye problems . At least there is a solution.
Owen, you took advantage of your CSOs first at LIMERICK and also at ERATO. LOL
In honor of the LIMERICK, here is one to add ... my friend “Haiku Harry” suggested that I post here, today ...
ReplyDeleteWhen waiting to make his transaction
At grocery store; the distraction
Of seeing Slim Jim
Brought on a strong whim:
He had a “need-jerky” reaction.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to Maryellen Uthlaut and to Boomer! I chuckled a few times during your commentary, Boomer. You have such a vivid imagination!
The puzzle was smooth as silk though I did have some write overs: RECEDES/RECOILS, AURAS/AURAE and I initially put TAU in the wrong place, later filled with CRT. CAGER over ARENA was fun.
The COFFEE names were easily read since they spanned across the grid.
Emilio PUCCI is unknown to me but it emerged with five perps.
I love COFFEE and used to drink much more than I do NOW. Two cups is my limit because of high blood pressure. I like to try different types when given the opportunity but Folger's Classic Roast is my daily drink.
IrishMiss:
It's good to see you back. I read our sister's obituary and am impressed by her large family.
Happy Martin Luther King, jr. Day, everyone! I hope you are enjoying your day.
Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Maryellen and Boomer.
ReplyDeleteThis had just a little crunch for a Monday but I FIWed (with one big??). 10A clue made me think of ORC, then ALF & ELF, but FIERIER just did not look right; so the F was very lightly penciled in until I came here to confirm. (TARDIER was a nose-wrinkle too.)
Hand up for Poetry before POETIC (although I didn't think the noun form, poetry, matched the adjective clue).
I had Recedes before RECOILS perped.
I waited for perps to decide between AURAS or AURAE. Latin today.
APSE was easy after all the tips I received about remembering the difference between APSE and Nave.
Wasn't WC just talking about being a LEFTY.
We had a plethora (love that word. . .and NUANCED) of letters (GEE, TAU, OSCAR, ENS) and numbers (VIII, TEN, TOO) today; we even had TAN but no COS.
You all know what animal "62D Can. neighbor=USA" brought to my mind. (Actually the clue is misspelled without the U. LOL.) Here's a link if you forgot or are new here.
PETrudeau
IM- Glad you caught the eye problem early and are on the mend.
Enjoy the day.
Agents from AT&T have been reaching out to me I'm happy to report. Today another one called with further instructions on what to do about my claim. Since I had not had much response earlier, a few days ago I contacted the supervisor of the agent who caused the damage and apparently he knew exactly how to reach people because that's when these contacts started. So it's true: it's not what you know, but WHO you know.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun Monday puzzle--thank you so much, MaryEllen (one word, according to my paper). Loved working my way through it and got the coffee theme right away, though I needed the clever COFFEE BREAK reveal to make me appreciate the splits in each of the circled words (unlike others, I love circles in puzzles). Clever VIII for Henry, and, Boomer, that picture sure shows he was terrible both outside as well as inside. Nice to see EDITH Wharton and ISAAC Newton, and perps helped me get PUCCI. Wasn't sure if TOUCAN was right, and glad to see Boomer's picture confirm that it was. Anyway, lots of Monday fun, thanks again, MaryEllen and Boomer.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to have you back, Irish Miss, and condolences on your sad loss. What a wonderful obituary of your sweet sister.
Boomer, glad you shared your vivid memory of your MLK day experience.
Have a good week coming up, everybody.
ReplyDeleteNice Monday puzzle by MaryEllen and Boomer's explanation of the grid was enjoyable.
I didn't have the circles on-line so I didn't truly get the theme until I saw Boomer's explanation. However, I was still able to finish the puzzle in under 10 minutes which is my benchmark for a Monday puzzle.
IM: I hope you heal quickly.
HG: When I was still working I had a large whiteboard in my office where anyone could write down any words of wisdom that they wanted to share. Some were original thoughts and others have been said many times over. Before I retired I created a file of this "White Board Wisdom" to share with all of those who contributed. I have hundreds of entries with these three as examples:
1. Sometimes the pursuit of noble goals results in the law of unintended consequences.
2. Never trust skinny Italian chefs.
3. "Scientists investigate that which already is. Engineers create that which has never been." ... Albert Einstein
Your statement about rumors: "I never believed word-of-mouth rumors unless I heard it from the custodian" is definitely a candidate for inclusion in White Board Wisdom.
We had a few inches of snow in Central PA on Saturday followed by sleet and freezing rain which turned to solid ice. Sunday morning was a real bear trying to clear the driveway and sidewalks. Recommended solution is to shovel before it freezes or move to Florida.
Have a great day everyone.
I very much enjoyed this puzzle and everyone's comments.
ReplyDeleteHi everybody.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jayce. Thanks MaryEllen and Boomer.
The sales gurus must have decided that since people are off from work on MLK Day, it would be a good time to indulge in cold-call advertising. My phone has been ringing constantly.
When I check out Pancho and Lefty on YouTube, it offers many more performances by Emmylou Harris. Geez I love her classics.
Country music: Three chords and the truth...
I never saw LEFTY in my finished grid and didn’t know it was there until I read so many comments about it. My wife and I are both left-handed. None of our 4 kids are, but 1 of our 7 grandkids is. When I was a senior in high school, I was invited to the annual meeting of the Philadelphia Science Council, comprised of the best science students in the metropolitan area. In the opening session, the speaker asked for raised hands from the lefties. A huge majority of the house.
ReplyDeleteGood evening, everyone! Late to the party, so I’ll just say thanks to MaryEllen for an easy-breezy Monday puzzle and to Boomer for his always lively commentary. Otherwise, pretty much WEES – hand up for AURAs before AURAE. Even though I’m not that much of a regular poster, I’ll take a CSO at the coffee break theme.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for the loss of your dear sister, Irish Miss. Also wishing you a speedy recovery from your shingles woes.
Thanks to everyone for the links to the many wonderful renditions of Pancho and Lefty. I’d like to add one of my favorites by Roseanne Cash. In answer to D-O’s question, I feel Lefty sold Pancho out to the Federales and the guilt haunted him the rest of his life.
I wonder about the origin of the name 'Uthlaut?' MaryEllen? Anyone?
ReplyDeleteNot much time. Have to get to the Monday Speaker mtg.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten my pen and did the xword visually while waiting for my prostate cancer diagnoses. Btw, he recommends seeing a specialist on whether to go "seeds", radiation or surgery. Or just watch it.
So when I mooched a pen it was a fast fill with no bad boxes.
We had Billy the Kid (AKA) Sunday, he was the "Left-handed Gun".
Cheers
WC
The explanation for LATTE near the top of the blog should be 20: LAT and 21: TEAS, not 21: TEAS and 22: POKERS.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks MaryEllen for a fine start to the work week (some of us don't get Dr. King's day off) with a double-double dose of Java.
Fun expo Boomer! I enjoyed seeing Argyle's younger picture again.
BTW, Clickbait is not the ads but those headlines so tantalizing, you gotta click. Upon doing, you go to a site with a plethora of ads and the story ends up not quite matching what the headline implied. But!, the website just made $0.05 (or some such) for showing you all those ads.
WOs: aROO, AURAs, I'm HERE, POETry, something's under ERATO but I don't know what.
ESPs: EDITH, PUCCI, VIII before be V8 walloped me
Fav: COFFEE crossing TOGO.
Runner-up: ARCADE - spent much of my time (and money) playing Ms Pac Man and Gyruss. I still remember (most of) the patterns to beat each level.
{B+, A, A+}
Cute, Limerick Larry
IM - nice to read your eye is on the mend.
HG / Oc4 - The Custodian is the eyes & the ears of the institution. [BREAKfast Club - :50]
Y'all have a great evening!
Cheers, -T