google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Bruce Haight & Richard Lederer

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Apr 22, 2020

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Bruce Haight & Richard Lederer


Theme: LINGUINE MEENIE MINEY MO

17. Strict prerequisite: SINE QUANON. Latin, literally ‘(cause) without which not.' Definition = an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary.

22. Powerful force for innovation: ENGINE OF CHANGE.

35. Spoke frankly: LAID IT ON THE LINE.

43. Trattoria seafood dish: SHRIMP LINGUINE. A trattoria is an Italian restaurant.

52. Aquarium collection: MARINE LIFE.

54. Common word-ending letters that can be pronounced five ways, as demonstrated in five long puzzle answers: INE.

Bruce Haight wrote this about his co-constructor Richard Lederer: As you might know, his syndicated column, “Lederer on Language,” appears in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. I'm pretty sure one of his articles is in the LA Times every week, and I know he is in the San Diego paper. He is the author of 50 books about language, history, and humor, including his best-selling Anguished English series and his current book, The Joy of Names. Rich lives about a mile from me.
 
Melissa here. Today's puzzle toys with the inconsistency of the English language and spelling. The comedian Gallagher had a memorable bit about this.



Across:

1. Tablet compatible with Apple Pencil: IPAD.

5. Just short of the A-list?: B PLUS.

10. Entice: BAIT.

14. "Yikes!": OH NO.

15. Snorkeling spots: REEFS.

16. "Marriage Story" actor Alan: ALDA. Vanity Fair interview about the movie.


19. Telegraph taps: DITS. Learn Morse Code.

20. Circus prop: STILT.

21. Good dog's reward: TREAT.

26. Softly hit hit: BLOOP. Baseball term. From Wikipedia: A blooper or bloop is a weakly hit fly ball that drops in for a single between an infielder and an outfielder. Also known as a bloop single, a dying quail, or a duck snort. A fielding error. Also, this bloop.

27. Senior advocacy group: AARP. The organization was originally named the American Association of Retired Persons, but in 1999, it officially changed its name to "AARP" (pronounced one letter at a time, "ay ay ar pee"), to reflect that its focus was no longer American retirees. AARP no longer requires that members be retired, and there are no longer any age restrictions even for a full membership.

28. Spanish eight: OCHO.

29. Certain Muslim: SHIITE.

32. Part of an all-in-one printer: FAX.

38. Go (for): OPT.

39. Like pop tunes: CATCHY.

40. __ collar: ETON.

41. Shiny fabric: LAME.

42. Crete peak: Abbr.: MT IDA. In northwestern Turkey, some 20 miles southeast of the ruins of Troy.

49. Seismic event: QUAKE.

50. Certain believer: DEIST. A deist believes in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation (distinguished from theism), Deism is belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.

51. Push: URGE.

57. Hawkish god: ARES. God of war in Greek mythology.

58. Set straight: ALIGN.

59. Playing to break a tie, briefly: IN OT. In overtime.

60. Newbie: TYRO.

61. Full of gossip: DISHY.

62. Some hosp. scans: EEGS. An electroencephalogram is a test used to evaluate the electrical activity in the brain.

Down:

1. Platform for 1-Across: IOS.

2. Honor society letter: PHI. As in Phi Beta Kappa.

3. New England cape: ANN.

4. Makes the world a better place: DOES GOOD. Tricky two-word answer.

5. UCLA player: BRUIN. Dutch for "brown," is used in English as a folk term for brown bears. UCLA Bruins.

6. Washington portraitist Rembrandt __: PEALE. American artist and museum keeper. Painted the famous portrait of George Washington, among others.


7. Slow, musically: LENTO.

8. Eerie sky sight: UFO. Unidentified Flying Object.

9. W-9 or W-2 ID: SSN. Social Security Number.

10. Often unjust accusation: BAD RAP.

11. Presumed 8-Down pilot: ALIEN.

12. Baggage requirement: ID TAG.

13. Hint: TASTE.

18. Makeup-removing swab: Q-TIP.

21. Preakness horse's age: THREE. Two years before the Kentucky Derby was run for the first time, Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland introduced its new stakes race for three-year-olds, the Preakness, during its first-ever spring race meet in 1873. Held on the third Saturday in May each year, part of horse racing’s Triple Crown, had been scheduled for May 14-16. At a news conference Tuesday morning, Gov. Larry Hogan said the race will likely be moved to September but no date has been set.

22. Yosemite climbing spot featured in "Free Solo," for short: EL CAP. 3,200ft El Capitan.


23. Like four Koufax games: NO HIT. List of Los Angeles Dodgers no-hitters.

24. Belief system: FAITH.

25. Cartoonist Guisewite or her title character: CATHY. Ran for 34 years. The strip focused on a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships and having a mother—or as the character put it in one strip, "the four basic guilt groups." 
 
26. Western neckwear: BOLO






29. Passport mark: STAMP.

30. Suite spot: HOTEL. Nice clue.

31. Fortune rival: INC. Magazines.

32. Belong: FIT IN.

33. Cell terminal: ANODE. An anode is the electrode in a polarized electrical device through which current flows in from an outside circuit.

34. TV ally of Hercules: XENA.

36. Part of an ancient boast: I CAME. I came, I saw, I conquered, or Veni, vidi, vici, in Latin. First uttered by heavyweight of ancient Rome, Julius Caesar.

37. "Don't make waves": LET IT LIE.

41. In this way: LIKE SO.

42. Ponder: MUSE.

43. Stocky: SQUAT.

44. Get a move on: HURRY.

45. Wild party: RAGER. Heard of RAGE party, but not RAGER.

46. "Luther" actor Elba: IDRIS.

47. Bay sound: NEIGH. Horse.

48. Weasley sister: GINNY. Harry Potter.

52. Ticked off: MAD.

53. Journalist Velshi of MSNBC: ALI.

55. Highway hazard: FOG.

56. Presumed 8-Down crew: ETS.


44 comments:

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Had my share of stumbles on this one: LURE/BAIT and STOUT/SQUAT. Desperately wanted some ALGAE in that "Aquarium collection," but it was not to be. Learning moment: Didn't know the meaning of SINE QUA NON, and also didn't know how to pronounce it. What little Latin I know came from cws. I completely blew past the reveal (surprise, surprise), and totally missed the theme. Some things never change. Thanx Bruce, Richard, and Melissa Bee (that Gallagher bit was nice).

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, missing SINE QUo NON x PEoLE. Erased temor for QAUAKE, mris for EEGS, and stout for SQUAT. Nope, "stocky" doesn't mean squat (no pun intended). Before my recent weight loss I was stocky, but at a little over 6 feet tall I wasn't SQUAT. I guess if you are squat you are stocky, but you can be stocky without being squat. (Lots of words for a small nit.)

In the majors they used to call BLOOPs "Texas leaguers". After MLB's expansion that was no longer acceptable, so they urged announcers to call them "flares".

FAX capabilities are going the way of the buggy whip, pager and floppy disc. Just let me text or email that to you. I don't have a landline, and FAX doesn't work over cellular.

Somehow, "journalist" and MSNBC seem odd in the same sentence. "Advocate" fits better in my mind.

For some reason I thought that "Kathy" was the cartoonist and "Cathy" was the character. I loved that cartoon. OK, tell me where to surrender my man card. Oh never mind. I sent it in when I got hooked on Desperate Housewives.

KS said...

Dishy? Full of gossip? Hmmmmmmmm.

Lemonade714 said...

Jinx, I am not anywhere near 6' and have often called "stocky." The first time was when I was 13, and just starting prep school. I went to meet my "adviser" who left my file open on his desk. At 5'6" and 120 pounds I did not perceive myself as stocky. Anyway...

The theme was fun, but it highlights one of the reasons that learning English is such a challenge. So many words have been borrowed from other languages SINE LATIN; LINGUINE ITALIAN.

There are also two mountains in that area called MT.IDA one in Turkey and one on the Greek island of Crete. Both are part of mythology. I think there are two in the US as well in Arkansas and Colorado. It is notable that this fill appeared in Monday's puzzle.

Thank you, Bruce (when you decide to mentor you go all out), Dr. Lederer and Melissa.

Anonymous said...

Despite not being a crossword newbie, I had not seen TYRO before.

Yellowrocks said...

Good puzzle, Bruce and Richard. Melissa, the funny Gallagher clip was so apropos. No wonder spelling English is so difficult. Lemonade, yes, I believe the main reason this is true is that we borrowed words from many languages.
CATHY was almost a CSO to me. I spell it with a K. Kathryn has so many spellings. If we think spelling words are difficult, spelling names is harder. These days there are so many invented spellings for names.
We have had MT IDA in Crete in the LAT puzzles before. We have seen TYRO here before, too.
Lemonade, you were not at all stocky. Stocky means broad, sturdy, thickset. Whether short or tall doesn't matter. OTOH SQUAT is short and thickset. SQUAT people are all short.
Squat people are all stocky, but not all stocky people are squat.
Dishy has two meanings. I have often heard and read both of them,.
1. sexually attractive.
2. scandalous or gossipy.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Me too, Jinx. SINE QU_ NON/PE_LE made me spin the vowel wheel for an E. Sorry, Gary, thanks for playing
-COVID-19 = ENGINE OF CHANGE
-A BLOOP hit looks like a line drive in the box score
-When I call Spectrum, I hear, “Para español presione el número OCHO”
-“Can I take a picture with my phone and send it as an attachment, Sgt Friday” “Just the FAX sir”
-Name the musical that features a character in a gold LAME outfit singing Honestly Sincere
-Don’t Worry Be Happy sure isn’t Good Vibrations but it’s CATCHY
-If a language maven like Richard thinks DISHY and RAGER, FIT IN who am I to argue?
-Have you ever put your tongue (What would Gallagher do with that word?) on the ANODE and cathode of a rectangular 9-Volt battery?
-LET IT LIE – A tenet of golf that is only casually enforced in my group
-LIKE SO – Two weeks ago I played with a former student and he showed me a better chipping method

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Great puzzle team today. Thank you both.

Liked the theme. Eclectic group of theme fill. I thought HOTEL had a real CATCHY clue. CSO to HG on MUSE. SW was crunchy. RAGER became clear from perps, but is crosswordese IMHO. SQUAT and QUAKE helped.
ETS - Last 'down' in SE. No 'END' today.
MT IDA - Clue stated CRETE; so was a bit non-plussed by Melissa's caption. Thanks Lemonade for clarifying. IDNK there were at least 4 Mt. Ida's.
We never watch MSNBC. Not ever. So ALI came from perps.

Here is some guidance on Video Chat norms to MUSE about.

OMaxiN said...

FIW.
Failed the reveal & theme.
Didn't fail 9th grade Latin, but it failed me today.
AARP mostly advocates selling insurance.
Wagged: IDRIS,GINNY,ALI & DISHY
Thx, Bruce,Richard & Melissa
MO

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I enjoyed the puzzle but was disappointed with the lack of clever wordplay and fun tricks synonymous with Bruce's byline. I thought Richard Lederer's name was familiar and, thanks to the write up, I now know why. I had B Team before B Plus and Dots before Dits. Peale and Ginny were unknowns, but I know Cathy with her famous ACK, I didn't care for Dishy, El Cap, or Shrimp Linguine, although they're all legitimate, I guess. Blame my grumpiness on the lack of a haircut for far too long! I liked Faith crossing Shiite and the mini SciFi theme of UFO, ETs, and Alien.

Thanks, Bruce and Richard, for a pleasant mid-week diversion and thanks, Melissa, for the entertaining and educational expo. I enjoyed the Gallagher clip.

Stay safe, all.

Bruce Haight said...

Thanks Melissa! That El Cap trailer video always gives me a knot in my stomach- you have to be a little crazy to do that stuff.
I wanted to clue CATCHY as "Like earworms" or "Like some little ditties" and my submitted clue for SQUAT was "You don't know ___!".
This was not my usual style of puzzle, but I really enjoyed working with Richard. Read his weekly column some time - very educational and fun!

Sherry said...

59 across answer: "inot" is a stretch, who says that? I also had an issue with 61 across: "dishy" never heard that one before. Since I didn't know the proper name, Idris or Ginny in this section , I couldnt fill the bottom middle.

Yellowrocks said...

The tabloids you find at supermarket checkouts are dishy. The British tabloids are extremely dishy, especially about the Royals. There is a common phrase, "Dish the dirt." There are many respectable journals and newspapers that use the word dishy.
"With the dawn of the 1920s, as movies and magazines created a cult of celebrity, the public began to crave dishy details.” Washington Post Feb 27, 2020
"The memoir is at times a dishy tale of Mr. Volcker’s years in Washington." New York Times Oct 23, 2018
Many of the tabloids dish the dirt about dishy (sexual attractive) celebrities. This sense too is well documented.

Rager is today's slang, not crosswordese. "Most commonly, a rager is a house party, college party, high school party, and/or party where attendees consume excessive amounts of drugs and alcohol. In other words, a rager is a poppin' " STAY HIPP Dec 11, 2018

There are many words in common usage that I have not heard before and need to add to my store of knowledge, but not these particular ones. What is obscure to me is common to others and vice versa.

Unknown said...

Never heard of the word "dishy", but I'm fine with it. But what is really odd is that it appears in today's Wall Street Journal puzzle as well. In the LAT it's the second to last across entry. In the WSJ it's the last across entry. Super uncommon word showing up next to each other in two different puzzles. What are the odds?

Jerome

Shankers said...

Bruce's puzzles are always fun, fair and challenging, but not overly so. Everything went at a good pace today except for a slowdown in the SE. Wanted MRI instead and finally relented to EEG. Gallagher is so funny (and clean) too. Some people are just born funny.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

FIR with inkovers bum/BADRAP, mull/MUSE

Actually parsed the theme but it seems a bit outré..Common word-ending letters that can be pronounced five ways, as demonstrated in five long puzzle answers has to be one of the longestCW clues I can recall.

Saw Marriage Story..meh.

Didn't know something as small as a QTIP was a makeup remover. Sorry ladies. TYRO? wha?

Linguine little tongues (lingua) not anywhere as descriptive as fettuccine little ribbons

Technically an EEG or ECG or EMG do not "scan" but record electrical impulses from the brain or heart or muscle group to create a wave form tracing. CT, MRI, PET "scan" the body using xay, radiowaves, radioactivity respectively to produce images. (No, a PET scan is not an xray of your gerbil). I posit that US usually not referred to as a scan because the early rudimentary exams were wave form SONAR like tracings not the images we produce today. End of Radiology 101 class

BRUIN (Latin: Bruneis to It. Bruno: dark brown). BLOOP is a hit beyond me. Our elementary school teachers always corrected us: if you are MAD you are "insane" not angry.

As proof most of this blogger's comments are___..LAME

Kitty sounds....MUSE

Title of actress O'Hara's autobiography...MARINELIFE.

Viruses and tunes....CATCHY

Equine refusal....NEIGH

"You can choke if you talk while you're"____ ..ETON

Late April overnight snow is melting. Ready for the next mini blizzard. Happy Humpday

jfromvt said...

I always pronounced sine the same as line (from HS trig class), but I guess it’s different in Latin.

Nice puzzle, took a little longer for me than a usual Wednesday.

Hungry Mother said...

I got SINEQUANON immediately and looked for other Latin phrases for the other themers. Then I looked for other foreign language entries and got LINGUINE. Then I saw the INE embed, but I needed the full answer to see it, so no help. Had lure before BAIT. Had MUll before MUSE. Very nice challenge.

Yellowrocks said...

Although many dictionaries say that MAD meaning angry is informal, these days the most common usage of MAD is angry. Even the New York Times uses it that way.
"When you’re steaming mad, your heart beats faster and stress hormones course through your blood." New York Times Apr 16, 2020
For those of us over 70 many things that our teachers said were taboo are now perfectly acceptable.
Grammar Girl article: Grammar Girl

NaomiZ said...

Enjoyed the puzzle, the review, the Gallagher clip, and all of your comments. The crowd here skews a little AARP-y and is somewhat suspicious of the DISHY young folks you might meet at a RAGER -- amirite? Personally, I'm eligible for Medicare this year, but children and grandchildren keep me in the loop. Did you know that where we all did things ON purpose or BY accident, millennials do things ON purpose *and* ON accident?

Ron in LA said...

What does CSO mean ? Thanks

NaomiZ said...

Coincidental Shout Out? See the link to "Comments Section Abbrs" on the blog homepage.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

YR @ 11:07

Just like the proscription against ending a sentence with a preposition...Something I cannot up with put!

Misty said...

Well, this felt more like a Thursday for me, and I had trouble in the northwest, although the answers, when I saw them, all made sense to me. But I got LENTO right away and that gave me UFO and then REEFS and SSN and so on. And going down I even got some of the long items pretty early, like SHRIMP LINGUINE and LAID IT ON THE LINE, and those helped me get the theme, which didn't turn up until just before the end. So, still a fun puzzle, thanks Bruce and Richard, even with some unknowns. Never heard of BLOOP or RAGER, but then I can't remember when I attended a wild party, if ever (hey, I went to a Catholic school). DISHY was a bit unfamiliar too. But I guess that's what crossword puzzles are for--to improve our vocabulary. And I too enjoyed the Gallagher jokes, Melissa, thanks for posting the video.

Have a good day, everybody.

oc4beach said...


Good puzzle by Bruce and Rich. Melissa gave me the Ah-Ha moment when she 'splained the theme.

I didn't see the INE because I read the clue as being the end of the last word. Just didn't catch on today.

The Gallagher clip was so true and so funny.

I haven't seen or even heard about the Marriage Story movie, but when I saw the name was four letters, I plopped in ALDA. After reading the linked article, I think I'll try to find it on Prime or something.

Have a great day everyone and stay safe.

Ron in LA said...

What does CSO stand for? Thanks.

Spitzboov said...

Ron in LA

CSO: A Shout Out is a reference to someone you know but here it is usually a Coincident

desper-otto said...

Ron, ("Dog with erect ears" -- SPITZ) would be an SO to Spitzboov. ("Four-direction card game" -- Bridge) would be a CSO to Spitzboov, because it's well-known that he's a bridge enthusiast.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Bruce and Richard! This was a sea of white for a while then I latched on to OCHO and BOLO. BOLO is the official Arizona neckwear.

From there the grid blossomed nicely. I liked seeing SINE QUO NON. One of my professors used it constantly to impress on us students the importance of some part of a lesson.

I also like ALI Velshi; he is a straightforward, no nonsense reporter. And then there's IDRIS Elba! What a hunk. Alan ALDA is one of the century's best actors, IMO.

Good clue for HOTEL. The clue for Q-TIP seems weak; maybe someone would remove make-up with one but it would be a lengthy process. Perhaps around the eyes.

Dense FOG is most certainly a highway hazard as anyone driving in it can tell you!

The vagaries of the English language have often been discussed here and the most succinct explanation is that so many languages have contributed to it. It is an OLIO of world-speak but that also contributes to its richness.

Thank you, Melissa; your detailed review is much appreciated.

Stay safe, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

oc4beach @ 12:41 ~ Marriage Story is on Netflix. I highly recommend it (sorry to disagree, Ray @ 10:28). There are some intense and disturbing confrontations between the married couple, but there are many warm and tender moments, as well. The acting is superb and I was pleased to see two of my favorite actors, Alan Alda and Ray Liotta, in minor but key roles. Laura Dern almost steals the whole movie.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight & Richard Lederer, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.

Liked the Gallagher link. Wasn't he the guy that smashed vegetables on stage with a sledge hammer?

As soon as I read the clue for 54D, I went back and found them all, INE. Simple.

Just had MT IDA. I will probably never forget it.

Jefferson was a DEIST.

Had TYKE before TYRO. Changed LIKE ME to LIKE SO.

DISHY was a new word for me.

No idea who GINNY is or was. However, it fit.

Getting a little rain today. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

TTP said...



Irish Miss, my condolences.

Jerome, the odds are about 1 in 5.

Just kidding, but I do like how Rich often sequences puzzles with a new(er) word throughout the week, adding degrees of difficulty in the clue. I always try to make sure I read every clue even when the word has been filled by perps.

What I find more intriguing is seeing a new(er) clue that is repeated almost word for word in different venues during the same week.

Ron in LA, you asked what a CSO is on January 28th, February 11th and twice today. You can keep asking, and I'm sure you'll keep getting the same responses.

Ron, I have to assume you are on a phone, and you are not seeing all of the site info. If you click on my avatar, and then click on "TTP's Blog", you'll find some helpful hints on how to see C.C.'s list of Crossword Corner abbreviations, interviews with constructors, links to other crossword sites, etc.


Speaking of Alan Alda... I mostly associate him with Mash, but I remember watching a movie called Same Time, Next Year, or something like that. it was the first non Mash role I saw him in.

I was watching Mannix in the early morning hours last night, and this Lieutenant looked familiar, so I pulled up the episode cast on IMDb. The actor, in a recurring role on Mannix, was credited as Lawrence Linville. AHA ! Frank Burns on Mash ! Turns out Robert Reed also portrayed a different Lieutenant in a recurring role during the time he was on The Brady Bunch as the father.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Gary, did you even have to ask "-Have you ever put your tongue (What would Gallagher do with that word?) on the ANODE and cathode of a rectangular 9-Volt battery?" Of course I have. Yowser!

Sherri, way back when live sports was televised, it wouldn't be uncommon for an announcer to welcome the audience back from a commercial by saying something like "it's a good one folks! Duke and Kentucky IN OT!! Pull up a seat and enjoy the next 5 minutes."

Misty, I don't remember being at wild parties either. That's how I knew I had too much fun at them.

I think what we used to call "keggers" are now called "ravers".

I remember seeing Gallagher on the Johnny Carson show. (To me, it is still the Johnny Carson show featuring Jimmy Fallon.) In addition to the Sledge-O-Matic, I remember him saying that he went to his doctor about his baldness. The doc told him that it was in his genes. He replied "No doc, I got hair in my jeans, I just don't have hair on my head!"

TTP said...



C.C. has a puzzle, "ODD JOBS" over at Merriam-Webster today.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

IM @ 1:23..agree the movie has superb performances by those you mentioned and particularly by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. I can't go into the issues I had with the plot and not be a spoiler.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

TTP, Ron in LA may be like the guy who used to call Dodger Talk before or after the game and ask the host to explain the infield fly rule. At least once a week. Hard to tell if it was the same person every time, but I could swear I heard a little giggle occasionally. The host would sigh, then explain it as fast as he could talk. I don't think he ever figured out that it was someone yanking his chain.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Thanx, Melissa, for showing us that great portrait of GW. PEALE really shows how he clamped those lips over his wooden teeth.

Misty ~ I attended some HS parties that included girls from Catholic schools. I can't say the parties were the wildest, but those girls were definitely not in the slow lane.
Our nearest such school was Mercy High.
We used to get a kick out of their yell at intramural games:
"Give 'em hell, give 'em hell! MER-cee!"
~ OMK
____________
DR:
A 3-way on the opp. side.
The central anagram is short on vowels (only three), but it includes a reference to a shy female, a crone or witch many years on from the high school girls, a...
"TIMID HAG"!

Ruberap said...

There is a movie called "Freakonomics" available on You Tube for free. It's a documentary produced from the book by the same name. In one section of the movie, the authors mention that they have tabulated 228 (I think) spellings for the name that is pronounced like the English word "unique".

AnonymousPVX said...


Thanks again for the BD wishes.

This was a rather breezy Wednesday solve.

Wire overs....PEELE/PEALE, EDRIS/IDRIS, KATHY/CATHY.

All the names got me.

On to Thursday. Stay safe.

Misty said...

Jinx and Ol'Man Keith, sounds like I missed out on lots of high school hilarity. But, hey, maybe that gloom helped me get my Ph.D. down the line? (Catholic girls yelling "Give 'em hell"? Not in Lancaster, Pennsylvania).

Wilbur Charles said...

FIW, I left the L in STILT blank. I forgot to go back and fill in something. I solved on paper and needed to do a mental alphabet run.

Other than that pretty easy except DISHY was exactly that. SINAQUANON was slow to come and held everything else up.

WC


Terry said...

In Ot, in over time

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

OH NO, a massive fail today... SINE QU- -ON x'd two unknowns and AL-, IDREI-, and GINN- x'd DISHY(??? - Right, KS? Sherry?)

Thanks Bruce and Richard. I liked the theme 'cuz, ya' know, no?
Thanks more mb for closing the (knowledge) gap.

WO: Mull b/f MUSE (Hi Ray-O!)
ESP: ARES as clued
Fav: I thought CATCHY xing CATHY was cute.

Jinx beat me to Gallagher's Sledge-O-Matic [but I come w/ links!]

Enjoyed reading everyone today!

Cheers, -T

PK said...

In our small town, some of the Catholic girls did the most scandalous things because they could then go to confession and be forgiven. I wasn't Catholic so I had to behave for the most part.