google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday April 1, 2020 Debra Hamel

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Apr 1, 2020

Wednesday April 1, 2020 Debra Hamel

Theme: "Who's What" Rephrased - The second word in each theme entry changes its original meaning.
 
17. Mythical hunter's shots of liquor?: ORION'S BELTS.

27. First mortal woman's moving supply?: PANDORA'S BOXES.

48. Greek hero's stilettos?: ACHILLES' HEELS.

63. Early man's computers?: ADAM'S APPLES.

Boomer here again. Melissa will be back next Wednesday.

Happy to be here and healthy. We are in a phase of a lock down, however we are allowed to travel to grocery stores, post office, banks, and gas stations.  With those kind of limits, I'm afraid the bank or gas station won't see me for awhile. Not sure if golf courses will open.  I have heard a few up here in MN have special rules.  But the high temps are in the 40s and some low 50s, so we won't worry about cow pasture pool for awhile.

Across:

1. Like some questionable characters: SHADY.  The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane, Has the town in a whirl.


6. Buffalo team: BILLS.  I prefer Benjamins

11. Pro with a gurney, briefly: EMT. Electrical Metallic Tubing.

14. Grade of tea leaves: PEKOE.

15. Parting mot: ADIEU.  ADIEU, ADIEU my friend ADIEU, I can no longer stay with you.

16. Menagerie: ZOO.  We have two zoos in the Twin Cities.  I wonder if they have to keep the monkeys six feet apart.

19. With 22-Across, Lady Gaga, Madonna et al.: POP. 22. See 19-Across: STARS.  I like Diet Pepsi.  I'm not allowed to eat chocolate stars.

20. Work the bar: TEND.  I guess you would call the guy a legal Tender.

21. Remove from power: OUST.

24. Law school accrediting org.: ABA.  American Bar Association.  I wonder if the Bartender is a member.

26. Numbered ballpark souvenir: JERSEY.  I have a few unnumbered Twins JERSEYS.

33. Amherst sch.: UMASS.

34. "That was close!": PHEW.

35. He or I: ELEM. H is Helium. I is Iodine.

38. Plywood wood: FIR.  We have a huge pine tree in the yard.  I don't think it qualifies as a FIR.

39. Chicken soup, some say: CURE ALL.  Take with Abiraterone and Prednisone.

42. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.

43. Plant with fronds: FERN. We have an Asiatic Lily.  Maybe it's time to add a Fern.


45. Tablet: PILL.  See 39A.

46. Capp chap: ABNER.  Daisy Mae's Beau. I hope the virus does not cancel Sadie Hawkins Day.


51. Paper or plastic, say: OPTION.  Our grocery stores still offer that option.  In St. Paul you need to pay for either one.  I think it's .05 or .07.

53. Letters for William or Catherine: HRH. His/Her Royal Highness.


54. Mill fodder: GRIST.

55. Shop clamp: VISE.

58. Free speech org.: ACLU.  Civil Liberties.  Stay in your house and like it.

62. N.L. West, for one: DIV.  I had to stop and think what sport they were talking about.

66. Genesis name: EVE.  I know Adam and EVE, Cain and Abel, but then I can't name another pioneer until NOAH.

67. Lazybones: IDLER.

68. Lyric poem: EPODE.

69. Where Schumer is a sen.: NYS.  New York State.  I like Chuck.

70. Stalks in a marsh: REEDS.

71. Royal-ly made?: TYPED.  Of course I remember using a Royal Manual Typewriter.  ding.


Down:

1. Shout target: SPOT.  See Dick, See Jane.  See SPOT, See SPOT run

2. "Take it": HERE.

3. Similar (to): AKIN.

4. Whatsits: DOODADS.  Used to love getting DOODADS on Halloween.

5. Currency with the ISO code JPY: YEN.  I think it takes about 108 YEN to buy a dollar.


6. Hindu title of respect: BABU.  I think he was Luke Skywalker's buddy.

7. Mid-month day: IDES.  We just passed the Ides of March a couple of weeks ago. "How many eggs did you have for breakfast Caesar ??"  "Et tu Brute".

8. Light air: LILT.

9. Chair umpire's call: LET.  LET'S LET the ref call it and serve again.

10. Harry, Duke of __: SUSSEX.


11. Toll plaza choice in many states: EZ PASS LANE.  The only one's I've ever seen in MN is at the MSP airport parking ramp.  You can use it if you used a credit card to get in.

12. Mandy of "This Is Us": MOORE.

13. __-turvy: TOPSY.

18. Rise dramatically: SOAR.  Like a Rory McIlroy pitching wedge.

23. Willow, but not Buffy: TREE. Something Mr. McIlroy might use that wedge to get a ball over.

25. Bartlett alternative: BOSC.


26. Bit of slack facial flesh: JOWL.

27. __ pastry: PUFF.  The magic dragon, lived by the sea. Peter, Paul, and Mary.

28. Parisian gal pal: AMIE.

29. Stories: NARRATIVES.

30. Time for fooling: APRIL.  Absolutely!!  Today is the Day.

31. Narrow racing boat: SHELL.  All the Shell gas stations were changed to something called "Super USA"  Gas is around $1.70 per gallon.  Of course I had a discount at Holiday and paid $1.59 eight days ago.  Since then I made a trip to a grocery store.  I may have gas in the tank for months before I need to fill up again.  Gas stations are open but never busy.  I wonder if they will get a few bucks on the stimulus law.

32. Memphis music festival street: BEALE.

36. Robbie's daredevil father: EVEL.  Tried a trip across the Snake River canyon years ago.  Evel left us in 2007.


37. Where Mark Watney grew potatoes in a 2015 film: MARS. The movie is "The Martian".


40. __ the air: UP IN.  I've knocked down a ten pin, a 5 pin and a 7 pin but I never had to shoot at a U PIN.

41. Comic actor Bert: LAHR.  Cowardly Lion in one of my favorite vintage movies. If a movie was released before I was born, may I call it "Vintage"??


44. Mark Harmon TV drama: NCIS.

47. Advice from Bobby McFerrin: BE HAPPY.  Don't Worry, BE HAPPY !

49. Bloviator's output: HOT AIR.

50. Kind of butter used in skin care: SHEA.  No Mets Game today.

51. Poet Nash: OGDEN.  "Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker"

52. In on, with "to": PRIVY.

55. Lowland: VALE.

56. Wrote online, briefly: IM'ED. Instant Messaging.

57. Old pol. divisions: SSRS (Soviet Socialist Republics). 

59. Sound made by hitting coconut halves together: CLOP.  "The Horses are entering the track".

60. News article intro: LEDE.

61. Employed: USED.  Actually, USED cars are on someone's lot, waiting to be employed.

64. Ike's monogram: DDE.  Between HST and JFK.

65. Adopt-a-thon adoptee: PET.

Boomer 



51 comments:

Bluehen said...

Too bad Ms. Hamel couldn't have worked a "Q" into the puzzle for a pangram!

D4E4H said...

Good morning Cornerites.

Carol and I have solved 38% of the Wednesday CW.  She got too sleepy to continue, so she is taking a power nap.  I will wait for her before continuing.

Coronavirus Previous Stati:

--LINK 1--

Somehow I could not copy the second post as a link, so here 'tis:

Thanks to each of you who wished Carol & me well.  You are such caring people. Before lunch today, a further change was instituted.  Now all residences (45) will eat all meals in their rooms. The quarantine keeping Carol and me in our rooms has been lessened from 14 days to 7.  We will be paroled on 3-26, 3 days after her 92nd birthday on 3-24.

Current Status:

Our personal quarantine was lifted on 3-20.  We continue to eat in our rooms.  We are encouraged to move about in the common areas as long as we maintain a 6 ft social distance.  Staff are working from home, or wearing masks to protect us from them.

Our facility continues to be free of the virus.

Ðave 

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR (CSO to most Cornerites today). Erased palm for FERN, dale for VALE, and lead for LEDE. Learn something new every day.

Don't know much about tea, but I would have thought that PEOKE would have been a variety, not a grade.

ORION is my favorite constellation. I had an Irish Wolfhound named for him, and another one named for his hunting dog Sirius.

I love my EZ PASSes, but I'm feuding with them now. I got two "pay-by-plate" bills for one that worked a couple of days before and the day after the violations occurred. They'll win, but at least I can be pesky. Not much else to do, and everyone needs a hobby.

Thanks to Debra for the fun and Wednesday-appropriate challenge. And thanks to Boomer for pinch-hitting. I have always liked pictures of a nice pear.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

The King Features xword's 9D is "Selma" director DuVernay". I actually remembered today, but it's doubtful i will tomorrow.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Got 'er done, and got the theme. The meaning change of the theme answers doesn't work for me with Pandora -- it's still a box (container). The others are fine. I liked that "He or I" c/a. Can Harry still use the Sussex moniker? Thanx for the challenge, Debra, and for pinch-hitting today, Boomer. (U-Pin was cute.)

ROYAL: In H.S. typing I was assigned a Royal manual typewriter. The school owned only one electric typewriter, and each of us got to use it for a couple of days during the year.

EZ-PASS: I used one for years, but turned it in when I retired. All of the new highways being built in Texas are toll roads, and most of those are EZ-PASS only -- no cash or credit card. At the moment the toll roads near Houston are toll-free for the duration of the Coronavirus crisis. Up here where we live, the toll roads are controlled by the state, not the county, and the tolls are still in force.

LEDE: I was quite old when I learned that in newspaper parlance it's LEDE rather than LEAD. Seventy-three, I think.

Time to hunker...

BobB said...

I wonder how many younger solvers did not understand 71A Royal-ly made?.

Hungry Mother said...

Only write-over was getting rid of EVE. Nice and easy for a Wednesday with an OK theme. I didn’t know that I knew EPODE, but I did. Weird thing, this memory.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

I liked the theme. Cool idea. FIR. No issues with the solve. Favorite clue was He or I : ELEM.
Double CSO à moi. I served aboard USS BEALE (DDE-471). It reverted to DD in 1964, It is the 2nd ship in the left column in my avatar.
GRIST - We called it in (L) German: 'Schroot'. (I think that's where the surname Schroder comes from.) My Dad would send his oats to the GRIST mill for grinding and blending with other goodies such as molasses. A big dollop of the GRIST on the cows' silage was, to them, like whipped cream on your strawberries.
REEDS are used as thatch. My parents would talk about 'Reet' repairs during their youth in reference to their roofs.
My favorite OGDEN Nash:

The hunter crouches in his blind
'Neath camouflage of every kind
And conjures up a quacking noise
To lend allure to his decoys
This grown-up man, with pluck and luck
is hoping to outwit a duck

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I loved the theme, especially Early man's computers=Adam's Apples. I also liked Time for fooling=April appearing on April Fool's Day. Alas, I FIW due to thinking the potato grower was a person in a children's story and entering Ears as the location instead of Mars. Adding insult to injury, I saw the movie, The Martian. Having Elee for He and I went unnoticed, so no Tada today. Babu was unknown and I'm not sure what a Clop sounds like, either. Cute duos were ABA/Ava and Eve/Evel. UMass at Amherst was a CSO to a great niece whose May graduation ceremonies have been cancelled.

Thanks, Debra, George an enjoyable solve and thanks, Boomer, for the this week's double dose of your singular wit and humor.

Dave4, glad to hear that you and Carol are well and chugging right along. Stay safe.

FLN

Hatoolah, your sister is a brave and dedicated caregiver. I share your concern about her as one of my nieces is in the respiratory field and works at Albany Med which announced yesterday that 45 staff members have contracted the virus. She has an 8 month old baby, so there's added worry and risk. Everyone involved has my utmost gratitude and prayers for their safety.

Stay safe, all.

Irish Miss said...

George who? Autocorrect, Bah Humbug! How for became George is beyond my pay grade. 🥶

billocohoes said...

Methuselah is another Genesis name, but doesn't make it into Xwds much.

Coconuts for clip-CLOP horse sounds is demonstrated in Monte Python and the Holy Grail.

Yellowrocks said...

Easy to see the theme today. FIR. ELEM was all perps. I needed Booomer to tell me what it meant. Clever misdirection.
Wikipedia says Pandora's box was actually a jar. "The container mentioned in the original story was actually a large storage jar but the word was later mistranslated as "box"." But I have seen several pictures of Pandora with a box.
Boomer, maybe not monkeys, but conservationists are worried about the great apes getting COVID.
Great apes
I have seen more toll roads in the Chicago area than almost anywhere else. Maybe NYC, but not here in the suburbs. Near Chicago many of the toll booths have no attendant. You need exact change or EZ PASS.
My first thought for Buffalo was Sabers, but it was too long.
I learned how to spell LEDE here on the Corner, several years ago. I used to think it was LEAD.
The clip clop sound of horses' hooves can be made by hitting coconuts shell halves together.
Grist is the grain or a batch of grain for grinding, the product obtained from a grist of grain including the flour or meal. A miller ground whatever grain was brought to him, and charged a portion of the final product for the service. Therefore, all grain arriving at the mill represented income, regardless of its quality.
Hence the proverb , Grist for the mill.
Let your behavior be above reproach lest it becomes grist for the rumor mill.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Hunter and liquor shots gave me the gimmick with very few letters and the others followed
-Disney EMT’s recognized me after I had to call them for the third year in a row
-Lady Gaga has an incredible voice but so do a lot of American Idol contestants. She found a persona to stand out
-Get out your checkbook if you want this Patrick Mahommes autographed JERSEY
-Our much-used hand soap smells like FIRS and Christmas
-Tonight Show fans will get this: Johnny Carson used an alias of Art FERN when he checked into hotels.
-MOORE? C’mon, it should have been Clayton from The Lone Ranger
-Fans of The Blues will know/care about the statue of The Father Of The Blues on BEALE Street
-Fans of the film Mars can fill in this blank, “I’m going to have to science the ____ out of this!”

Husker Gary said...

Addendum
-I bought a new electric lawn mower yesterday from my local Ace store. I asked the manager if the virus had slowed her business and she said to me, “Gary, no one’s staying home.”
-Most of the online complaints I read about my new EGO mower before purchase were that the service was lousy after they got their machine from Amazon. My friend who sold me the mower said, “I believe in these mowers and I service them. Amazon does not have a shop.”
-It should be noted, all of us did maintain a respectable distance

Big Easy said...

Good morning, hoping everybody's safe, especially Dave & Carol. The 'S' additions were too obvious. An easy peasy Wed. puzzle.

MARS & BABU were filled by perps. Filled SLOOP before the crosses made it SHELL.
CURE ALL- you have the OPTON to stay six feet away.

You have to be 'old' to remember the Royal typewriters. My 9th grade typing call used MANUAL Royals and there was a couple of Olivettis. I liked the feel of the Royals. D-otto, we had no electrics and it drove me crazy the first time I used one because I was used to keeping my fingers on the keyboard; a no-no with an electric because iiiiittttt would keep repppppppeeeaaatttiiinngg.

Gary- I live close to both Home Depot & Lowes. They are busier than ever because with time on their hands people are fixing things that they have neglected.

NYS's Senator close to HOT AIR. How appropriate.

TTP said...





Almost turfed it with a couple of typos. PANDOtAS BOXES and and AvNER. Might need to dig out my copy of "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing"

Boomer, our local golf courses are shut down until at least April 30th. I chuckled at your "legal tender" quip, followed by the bartender.

Thought of PK at LEDE.

In Illinois, as of about the Ides of March, all of the automated toll payment machines at ramps and toll plazas were deactivated. There are also no toll collectors at any of the plazas. It's not a free ride though. Drivers without I-PASS or E-ZPASS transponders are to keep track of unpaid tolls and pay online. The license plate cameras remain activated.

desper-otto said...

Husker, my dad bought an electric Scotts lawn mower back in my ute. Before mowing the full lawn even once, the person pushing the mower managed to mow the cord. Now who could that have been...

Wheels42 said...

I, for one, needed to check the write-up for an explanation to the "Royal-ly made" clue. I didn't like it (though it didn't help that I had PUP instead of PET in 65-Down) but it sounds like I'm in the minority. I'm also in my 30s and have only used a typewriter a handful of times.

I guess you can't please everyone, and now I've learned something (that hopefully I don't forget by the end of the day). Just keep this clue in mind if you're tempted to bellyache about some modern slang that pops up in a future puzzle!

inanehiker said...

Amusing theme - they didn't rhyme but the theme answers reminded me of the Hurdy Gurdy games we used to play - I think they had a form in some newspaper puzzles.

I was right on the cross-over from manual typewriters - my first class in junior high was all manual, but my second class in high school we rotated with 1/2 manual and 1/2 electric typewriters. I used to look back in college and be glad I could type well so I didn't have to pay someone to type my papers. But thought that was end of the need for that skill....so glad to be able to touch type when electronic health records came in as I watched many of my colleagues hunt and peck!

Maintaining a sense of humor is key at this time and helps your immune system - so try to find old movies or TV shows that make you laugh(or read Boomer's blogs)! I saw this and it made me smile as a M*A*S*H fan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mao3OzWw9I&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3FzjcMSxayariT1-_5LDX66YhonU8XKE9IViysSmevQsUOzZn9fpKWYdY

Thanks Boomer and Debra!
My book club is having a Zoom virtual club tonight - we'll see how that goes!

Husker Gary said...

D-O, My EGO mower is powered by a very powerful 56 volt 7.5 Ah Lithium-Ion Cordless Tool Battery and so even I couldn't mow over that! :-) I did my entire yard yesterday and my mower went through everything and had a lot of power in the battery left. Need a gas can?

OMaxiN said...

Thanks to everyone on this site. Huge thank you to CC. I have looked at it for years without posting many comments. I suspect there are many people like me that don't post comments but really enjoy the talented reviews, creative posts, & a few "looks" at people's everyday lives. It's comforting to have something that is normal during these abnormal times.
BTW. Isn't this a rabbit day? (Not that I understand what it means)

Spitzboov said...

Inane's MASH Link

NaomiZ said...

OK, Boomer, your comments made Debra's puzzle even more fun. FIR, but needed your help to understand ELEM. Count me among the late learners: I'll be 65 this year and just learned the spelling of LEDE today.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I'm all for toll roads as long as 1) there aren't lines to pay the toll, and 2) the money is used for road construction and maintenance in the area where the tolls are collected. I don't like general funds for road projects - why should someone in Grundy, VA pay for tunnels in Norfolk (450 miles away)? I think I may be the only person in Hampton Roads who feels that way, since it is we who pay those tolls.

oc4beach said...


A good mid-week puzzle from Debra. Boomer stepped in nicely for Melissa.

I saw the theme quickly and was able to fill in the other themers.

Perps helped as usual today. When I changed SHAkY to SHADY then DOODADS appeared. My daughter refers to them as Thingys. APRIL corrected wHEW to PHEW. Plus I had to change GRain to GRIST.

OMaxIN: I think you're right that it is Rabbit-Rabbit day. I'm not one of the Rabbiters, but maybe one of the other regulars can explain it.

Hands up for all of you who are going a little stir crazy. DW is somewhat of a homebody, so this isn't bothering her too much. I usually have to get out and about every day, but with few places to go and the need for social distancing there isn't much chance of that happening.

I hope everyone is healthy and safe.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

DEO - to most people, "cutting the cord" starts with TV and phone service. They were just ahead of their times.

Yellowrocks said...

Inane and Spitz, thanks for the funny re-purposing of Mash clips. How clever and apropos. I still find old replays of Mash hilarious.
Since I love to read, I am not too bored staying home. One of the habits I really miss is daily breakfasts at our local Cheers type luncheonette. Familiar and congenial.
I am usually an A type personality. Get it done. Do it now, and on to the next challenge. I work well with deadlines. Now I am becoming a slower B type personality. I clean and do the laundry, but otherwise mañana is fine. After all, I have 10 more weeks of not much going on. I work on momentum. Once I am on a roll I am invigorated to do more. Once I am idling I keep on vegging out. Law of inertia: a body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted upon by another force (which is no longer present). So, back to sitting in my sun room finishing my novel.

Anonymous said...

I think EMT is "Emergency Medical Technician."

ELEM is short for "element." He and I are the abbreviations for the periodic elements Helium and Iodine, respectively.

This Gen Xer would not have figured out "Royal-ly made."

Wilbur Charles said...

Dah. ELEMent. M gave me the online tada (EPiDE got auto-filled- the O rang the bell*)

Jinx, does the EFS Disc. Program require an upfront fee($50.00?). My BMW takes about 22 gals vs RVs.

No Mets game but the 35th anniversary of SI and Sidd Finch*(Sidd from Siddhartha I just learned). Misty, can you inform of us on French horn-Siddhartha?

Wheels, exactly. ROYAL Typewriter a given. LAHR, a given. But pop/TV/movies etc I'm clueless.

Thanks Spitz for linking Inane's MASH shows.

WC

* SI Sidd Finch April fool's joke

Wilbur Charles said...

*BELL... Wouldn't it be great if Latimes xword app could ding when tada occurs?

Misty said...

Fun Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Debra. Got everything except the bottom southeast. But now that I know the answer, I agree with Irish Miss that ADAM'S APPLES is a hoot for 'early man's computers.' Yep, Madonna and Lady Gaga are POP STARS all right. Loved the Li'l ABNER cartoon, Boomer--thanks for posting that. Also had to laugh when LILT fell into place--I of course assumed 'light air" was some sort of gas, not music. Anyway, lots of neat clues that made this a pleasure. And great comments and pictures, as always, Boomer.

Well, I learned this morning that I don't have a camera installed in my phone and so can't participate in online meetings, except by telephone. Hope I can get one installed one of these days. During this lonely corona isolation time, online communication is our salvation, isn't it?

Have a good day, everybody.

Lucina said...

Hola!

PHEW! Really late to this party! I decided to take advantage of the "senior hours" at the grocery store and bounded out the door at 7:30 this morning, did my shopping then put everything away. Since I left without showering, did that, ate breakfast then solved the puzzle.

Thank you, Debra Hamel. Since I love puns this was really fun. The only place I have seen the EZ PASS LANE is in California as I may have mentioned before.

I love Bobby McFerrin's BE HAPPY and was surprised to learn that he is actually a classical musician.

CURE ALL over PILL was interesting. If only one existed for this virus!

Boomer, I needed your explanation for HE or I; to me they are pronouns but ELEMents? Of course!

How well I recall Royal typewriters! Sister Mary Bede and Sister Mary Claver taught me on those. Both are now gone, of course; the latter perished in a car accident.

AVA DuVernay was featured on an episode on PBS. Her life is really interesting.

I hope you are all keeping well. Dave and Carol, it's good to know you are doing well. Thank you for sharing.

In the words of Bobby McFerrin, BE HAPPY, everyone!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks, Debra, for the most enjoyable puzzle I've filled in a while. I only had to red-letter two squares: E&M in ELEM/MARS. Didn't know who Mark Watney was or anything about that movie so MARS seemed unlikely to me. Didn't catch on to the ELEMent until Boomer 'splained it. Many thanks for always giving us an amusing expo, Boomer.

SPOT perped in but it didn't occur to me that Shout was a stain remover until I came here.

A few days ago, the puzzle asked for Ann Patchett as an author I had never known. Needing someone new to read and because she was recommended by some one on the Corner, I got one of her books on Kindle. I enjoyed it and was engrossed enough to forget about the Corona virus for a little while. I'm on my 3rd book by her now. Thanks to whomever lauded her books.

My cupboard is almost bare & this morning I tried to order from my grocery store which delivers. The online order site is acting up and I'm unable to place an order now. Overload? Will try this evening. Will also go out and put my car on the battery charger in case I have to make an emergency run.

Talked on the phone last night to my BFF for over two hours. We usually message. She tells me her daughter in NOLA works in an office which had a "flu" run thru the workers there a few months ago. Symptoms were like no other flu anyone else had experienced up to then and now they suspect it was COVID-19 since symptoms for that have been published. Of course, no one got tested then. They all recovered. Some took antibiotics.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

WC, it only works in the truck lane. Even of you go to a participating truck stop, it won't work out front where the pumps dispense gasoline as well as diesel. The diesel nozzles in back are usually too large to fit autos. They sell adapters, but I wouldn't recommend trying to fuel a car in the truck lanes, especially in a luxury car. You can get by with a pickup if you are towing.

No minimum deposit is required, but you must have enough money in the linked bank account for the charge to clear the bank the night you buy the fuel.

Roy said...

Run, Spot, run.

AnonymousPVX said...


This Wednesday go was a bit of a breezy solve.

No write-overs today.

Curmudgeon time....

What’s with the super early time for retirees? I quit getting up early when I became retired.

Jinx...camping, from yesterday....we unfortunately think everyone does the right thing, as we do...except that is FAR from the case. The SC beaches were reopened for 1 day, and people behaved as if the CVD-19 scare was a myth. They closed them down the next day.

Also here in SC (Stupid Citizens) our “Governor” has just decided to (finally) shut down businesses such as Salons and Spas. Because, South Carolina. This Governor has consistently worried more about the effects on business rather than the people he serves. I’m sure that doesn’t sound familiar to anyone.

Hope to see you tomorrow. Stay safe.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A veddy clever pzl today! Much appreciated!

71A - Yes, of course!
These days, better a reference to a "Royal" rather than a "Corona."

Misty ~ I was always a big fan of Li'l ABNER too. Do you remember the "Shmoo"? What a wonderful friend to humanity!
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Two diags, one to ea. side.
The first diagonal's anagram is an example of "Turnabout is fair play."
For those who insist on having the crusts removed from their sandwiches, we now offer...
"LIPLESS BREAD"!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

OMK, I think that Kickapoo Joy Juice might have been a wonderful friend to humanity, if not to the motoring public.

PVX, you are right. I just spent three months in a Florida 55 and older camp ground, and the people were behaving very safely once the peril was identified. The places we frequent near our home all have a lot of middle-age folks, and I'll bet they would be unlikely to eschew gathering around a campfire. We don't participate, but those folks could put a lot of people back home and at work at risk. I also think that beach states should keep the beaches closed until at least a week after the waxing studios are allowed to reopen, just for aesthetics.

Lucina said...

AnonymousPVX:
It's rare that I get up early but I made the exception today because it's the first Wednesday of the month, ergo, senior day and 10% discount on my total bill. Since I normally stock up on meat and other grocery needs, it makes a big difference in the bill. That is the policy here with almost all the stores.

If I waited until later, much of what I wanted would be gone. As it was, many shelves were already empty. Luckily we are well stocked on paper goods. It's the cleaning products that are gone. I plan to use a lot of vinegar in place of other goods.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle and all of your comments.

We were going to have a family chit-chat via Zoom today but at the last minute it was decided to use Facetime instead. It worked like a charm and we all had a good time seeing and talking with each other. I believe Facetime only works with Apple products, namely the iPhone and iPad. It seems almost every week I learn something new about my iPhone and am becoming ever more appreciative of its power and usefulness.

Tomorrow our granddaughter has scheduled a Zoom conference for us all to sing happy birthday to her husband.

Misty, maybe now is a good time to buy a brand new phone?

Good wishes to you all.

SwampCat said...

Fun puzzle and enjoyable write up.

Misty, I find I am depending more and more on electronic communication to stave off the insanity that comes with home confinement . My mind is atrophying!

Please get whatever hardware you need to keep in touch.

And to you, my cyber friends, thank you!!!!


CrossEyedDave said...

Adam's apple?

Achilles heels?

Pandora's boxes?

& the lack of finding any funny Orion's belts was bound to lead to controversy...

Sandyanon said...

Thank you so much, Dave. You always give me something to laugh at
Especially liked Adam's Apple today.
😄😄😄

CanadianEh! said...

Busy day at home and no time yet to do this CW or read you all.
But I am checking in to say hi. We had sun today and it was lovely to get outside in the yard and even go for a walk down our quiet street, staying 2 metres (Canadians are measuring that as the length of a hockey stick!) away from anyone also out.

We have been instructed to stay in our cocoon (immediate members of your household), avoid going out (definitely avoid if over 70), and do not go into anyone else's cocoon (even extended family members). Virus is now hitting retirement and long term care homes relentlessly.
Stay safe, stay in, keep smiling!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Cute puzzle Debra. Theme inspired by Adam's Apple or M.I.B. [I would like Men In Black's Orion Belt but *no spoilers*]

Thanks for stepping up to bat again this week Boomer. Fun expo and thanks for the picture of LAHR - had Debbie said something about Wizard of Oz, that wouldn't a'been ESP.

WO: NARRATIonS
ESPs: HRH | LAHR (lucky R!), ELEM (Thanks for 'splain'n' Boomer!)
Fav: CLOP [Python's Quest... for billochoes]

LIPLESS? OMK?

Welcome OMaxiN!

D4! Glad to read everything is still copesetic at the facility. Say hi to Carol for us.

I was going to say... "BobB - define Younger :-) I, an Xer, know what a Royal typewriter is." I think Wheels42 defined it. :-)

HG - I wish folks would take it more seriously. On the 16th we had less than 10 known cases. We've been WFH (work from home) / Social Distance since then and yet we are now 194 cases in the county (+9 recovered and 2 dead) with new cases still growing. Stats - Ft. Bend County, TX

BigE - Both Lowes and Home Depot deliver. Today I got the materials needed for this weekend's projects delivered to my door.

PVX - Our Gov was a little slow too but our Lt. Gov took the cake w/ sacrificing himself/old-folks for the economy...
At least Houston's Mayor and the County Judges acted early-ish (canceled the Rodeo on the 13th, they did. The Rodeo is a BFD in Houston).

CED - ya gotta link the original xkcd so Randall Munroe gets his dues :-)

Zoom redux. The other night C, Eh! asked re: security and I said I use it and there's some "rules of the road" to follow but it's mostly safe.
Well, last couple of nights on Twitter, I some privacy issues (Zoom sharing w/ Facebook), saw some hacks that relied on the attacker being in the meeting, and today an issue with Zoom on macs (goes back to Wardle's Death by 1000 installers ['17]). Anyway, Zoom is fairly secure for what y'all are using it for but I'd keep an eye out for updates and install them when released. With the uptick in Zoom users, many hackers are now talking a closer look at the security and finding bugs for fun and profit.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Ooops, CLOP link. -T

Oas said...

Jinx you bowled me over

Lucina said...

Dave:
That APPLE link is priceless. I can't stop laughing.

And AnonT:
Add the Clops video and my sides ache!

Misty said...

Well, it's actually my computer that doesn't have a camera (my phone doesn't either), so I'm not sure what it will take to get Zoom. But thanks for your kind responses, Swamp Cat and Jayce.
No, I don't remember Schmoo, Ol'Man Keith. You'll have to remind me who that was.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Misty ~ The Shmoo was created by Al Capp in the late '40s, and became quite a fad in the '50s.
It looks like an animated bowling pin. It was a happy little critter whose only purpose in life was to make a human being happy--and to die so it could be eaten.
What did it taste like? That was up to you, but it would always be delicious, whether fried chicken or pork chops!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmoo
~ OMK

WikWak said...

In the days of my VERY early yute I had several Schmoos. They were filled with something soft and were my carry-around friends until they (one by one) wore out.

I love it when someone apologizes for being so late. Makes me feel better when (such as oh— say— right about now) I check in a tiny bit late.

I loved this puzzle! So many references that could have been made by someone looking right at me (and probably snickering).

All the comments about EZ PASS reminded me that all the over-the-highway signs on roads administered by the IL State Toll Highway Authority (mostly in greater metro Chicago, but also around E St Louis) have carried the message “Do not stop at toll plazas. Use I-Pass or pay online “ (I-PASS is our answer to everyone else’s EZ-PASS and they are mostly all accepted everywhere one of them is. )

Well, I’m trying to decide between a nap or just going to bed. Perhaps I will just flip an armadillo to decide.

Bye.