google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday May 4, 2020 Craig Stowe

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May 4, 2020

Monday May 4, 2020 Craig Stowe

Theme: EYE OPENER (62. Shock to the system, and what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be) - The first word can precede "Eye".

17. *Revolving tray: LAZY SUSAN. Lazy eye.

25. *1991 cult film based on a William S. Burroughs novel: NAKED LUNCH. Naked eye.

38. *1974 Harry Chapin hit that mentions Little Boy Blue: CAT'S IN THE CRADLE. Cat's eye.

49. *Rich exec's transport: PRIVATE JET. Private eye.

Boomer here.  

"The Cat's in the Cradle and the Silver spoon, Little Boy Blue and the Man in the Moon." Hello everyone.  C.C. and I seem to be safely dealing with "Stay at Home" and I hope all of you are also safe. We are a little bit confused that the number of cases keep increasing.  Not sure if it is caused by expanded testing. I have seen news clips of people crowding each other on beaches and public parks.  I guess they have not heard of social distancing.

Across:

1. Cream and ice cream: SODAS. Delicious!

6. Toronto Argos' org.: CFL.  Football eh


9. Pay to look the other way: BRIBE.

14. Pleasing smell: AROMA. I have lost my sense of smell.  I heard that it was a symptom but I could not smell long before anyone ever heard of Covid-19.

15. Comedian Wong: ALI.  Cassius Clay


16. Bat mitzvahs, e.g.: RITES.  Our Archbishop performs RITES.  He shut down all of our Catholic churches in Minneapolis.  Sounds RITE to me.

19. Apple app mostly replaced by Messages: ICHAT.  Many employees are using video conferencing from home.  I'm retired, I do not need to chat.

20. Summer on the French Riviera: ETE.

21. __ hash: served in a diner: SLUNG.

22. Maui memento: LEI.  Hawaii is so far away.

23. Tableland: MESA. Big city East of Phoenix.

29. Iranian money: RIAL.  I am happy to not have ever owned any.  I have heard that it takes less RIAL to buy a barrel of oil these days.

31. Brazilian hot spot: RIO.  Former Olympic City.  The virus has arrived there with over 6000 deaths.  I am pretty sure it hit there after the U.S. was invaded.

32. Mauna __: Hawaii's highest peak: KEA.


33. "Peer Gynt" playwright: IBSEN.  I was thinking of the guy who could not play the Tinman because his body did not like aluminum.  But his name was EBSEN.

36. "__ the season ... ": TIS. To be jolly, Fa,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.

37. Easter flower: LILY.  We got four inches of snow this Easter. It did not match the flower except at least it was white.

42. River of Spain: EBRO.

43. "__-hoo!": YOO.  I may have tried BOO.

44. Kindle download: EBOOK.  Those things put computers for rent in local libraries.

45. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates.


46. Dudes: MEN.

47. "__ other time":  SOME.  No Thanks!

52. Hard times: LOWS.  I think the Dow Averages have hit them but are starting to recover.  Forget last Friday.

56. Ready-go link: SET.

57. Pub game: DARTS.  I don't play, but these are huge fun in most of the bowling centers I used to patronize.

59. "__ cares!": WHO.  I care! All the bowling centers are closed here.

60. Separated: APART.  Make sure it's at least SIX FEET and maybe wear a face covering.

64. Like pea-soup fog: DENSE.

65. __ Arbor: ANN.  They have virus problems like everyone else, but I do not understand the protest demonstrations in Lansing.

66. Chris of women's tennis: EVERT.



67. Tell the waitperson what you want: ORDER.  I don't think you can tell them anymore.  You need to call it in and either pick it up at the drive thru window or have it delivered.

68. Entry charge: FEE. I used to have to pay a FEE for a stock market trade, but most online brokerages have cut them out.  Ain't competition great!!

69. Peddler's assortment: WARES.

Down:

1. Witch trial town: SALEM.  I used to smoke them once and awhile if I couldn't find Marlboro Menthol.  No more, I got unhooked 18 years ago.

2. Give a speech: ORATE.  I get a few minutes at the Graybar reunion in February. Many of the big shots ORATE.  I come on last and tell jokes. 

3. Nods off: DOZES.  First name BULL ??

4. Minnesota senator Klobuchar: AMY. We are waiting to see if Joe Biden selects her as VP candidate.


5. Get smart with: SASS.  I've done that

6. Like some Friday work attire: CASUAL.  Graybar started CASUAL on Fridays in my last few years.  I just dressed without a tie.  Some guys showed up pretty sloppy looking.

7. Butcher's cut: FLANK.  We have had virus trouble in our meat processing plants in Minnesota, Iowa. and South Dakota.  They are starting to reopen but I am not sure they are safe.

8. Boudoir apparel: LINGERIE.

9. Scouring pad brand: BRILLO.  We use SOS.  Sorry Brillo.

10. Houston sch.: RICE U.

11. Tentatively positive response: I THINK I DO.  Remember the little engine that could?  "I think I can, I think I can."

12. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA.  Most of the "Golden Girls" are gone.  Only Betty White is still with us.


13. Repair approx.: EST.  I am getting really tired of "Car Shield" ads telling me it won't cost much.

18. Bone parallel to the radius: ULNA.

24. "You __ lucky!": ARE SO.  I guess so.  I cannot bowl, but luckily I got to play 18 holes last week.  One person per cart and keep six feet away from others.

26. Part of DVD: DISC.

27. String quartet strings: CELLO.  HEE HAW !!

28. "Frida" star Salma: HAYEK.

30. Pasta suffix: INI.  ???

33. Frost over: ICE UP.  Can't remember if I mentioned - The Monday after Easter I did not notice that our driveway ICED UP.  I went to take our garbage can to the curb and down I went.  When C.C. saw me lying on the driveway, she came racing out and down she went.  We got up and are a bit smarter now.

34. Elephant of children's lit: BABAR.

35. Barbra of "Yentl": STREISAND. My sister spells it BARBARA.


36. However, briefly: THO.  THO neither lady spells it BABAR.

37. Designer __: LABEL.

39. Belarus denial: NYET.

40. Lacking a musical ear: TONE DEAF. WHAT?  I an nose deaf but I can hear you now!

41. Sleep acronym: REM.

46. Make a difference: MATTER.  "It really doesn't MATTER if I'm wrong I'm Right"  Beatles.

47. Peaceful: SERENE.

48. Bart's bus driver: OTTO.  Maybe I OTTO have watched "The Simpsons".

50. Poet's forte: VERSE.

51. Old-time actress Mansfield or Meadows: JAYNE.  Jayne Meadows was married to Steve Allen.  Jayne Mansfield died in a tragic car crash many years ago.  She is the mother of Mariska Hargitay who is Lt. Benson on Law and Order SVU.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b1/65/53/b1655338c1b842d8a065d36f885f7a2a.jpg

53. Deed holder: OWNER.  I own several bowling balls and a set of golf clubs, but I do not have a deed for them.  I perform DEEDS with them.

54. In what place: WHERE. At a bowling center or a golf course.

55. Alphabetizes, say: SORTS.  I've spent HOURS sorting baseball cards, but never alphabetically.  They have numbers on the back and most of mine are in numerical order.

58. Eject, as lava: SPEW.  Remember Mount St. Helens ?  I do


60. Fuss: ADO.  Not ADO, I said I DO.

61. As __: according to: PER.

63. Longoria of "Overboard" (2018): EVA.

Boomer




47 comments:

Hungry Mother said...

FIR, no write-overs. I didn’t notice the theme.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Ahh, d-o is back to normal form -- didn't get the theme and missed the reveal. Zoomed through it, though. My only Wite-Out moment was JANES for JAYNE. Thanx for the diversion, Craig, and for the humorous walk-through, Boomer (Nose-deafness is one of the symptoms of Covid-19).

MESA: Used to have a brother, sister and niece living there. The sibs are gone now, and the niece moved back to Cheeseland. She did not enjoy this past winter.

"Designer" LABEL: Yup, that's for me -- Levi Strauss.

Anonymous said...

Way closer to 5 minutes than 4 minutes today, so no breaking of the 4 minute barrier.
I guess there was a theme, but my eyes weren't open to it.

Yellowrocks said...

FIW I had SHANK instead of FLANK, I never think of FLANK without the word steak after it.
I had CSL, soccer instead of football. I don't associate football with Canada. AHI instead of ALI.I knew it looked wrong.
I have been reading an ebook a day during this quarantine.
Yesterday was so beautiful I took a walk in the neighborhood.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...


Thought this was going to be an easy fly over but some eventual inkouts. Needed to tell RITES from wrongs. Eventually FIR.

Had Greig changed to his buddy Ebsen till finally IBSEN! (He didn't play the Tinman in the movie. Replaced by Jack Haley. From the lore I recall he couldn't tolerate the makeup)

A LEI used as a memoir would result in a string of dead flowers.

Almost spelled BABAR STREISAND's last name wrong.

Statistically the contents of a LAZY SUSAN are prepared by a anything but LAZY woman then enjoyed by everyone. Maybe LAZY Solomon would be more apt.

Both JaYnes needed a Y including Audry's sister, Steve Allen's wife.

Loaf of freshly baked Italian bread AROMA even better A ROMA

Hope no ones still smoking Winstons or SALEM cigarettes. Look what it did to those witches.

Cool CFL argonauts emblem.

LOWe'S was super crowded yesterday. Beautiful Sunny warm Mohawk Valley Day.



Husker Gary said...

Musings
-I’ve done a lot of NAKED EYE astronomy with kids
-BRIBES to jurors made the judge change panels in the Capone trial
-We like seeing what is being SLUNG in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
-Mesa, AZ is Cubbyville West
-In Britain one might hear, “Ready, Steady, Go!”
-Frequent drive-in ORDER experience. I am greeted by a one voice and then order is confirmed by a very different voice
-Every day is CASUAL dress in schools today.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Something screwy I posted at 10:30 not 9:26 and only 4 cornerites ahead of me...Wha?

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Lately I need Mondays--not that I always remember that it's Monday. My Fridays and Saturdays have been a bit of a wash around here. Possibly my brain is out of focus. . . . Thanks, Craig, for today's offering. It went pretty smoothly. I had thick before DENSE for that pea-soup. It's chilly enough today for some spit pea soup. I usually read my EBOOKs before bed--pretty much light fiction; I don't want anything heavy on my brain at bedtime. I'm finishing Hamilton by Chernow. What a writer! I think it's taking me so long to finish because I don't care for the ending. ;-) I will accomplish that this afternoon in my cozy family room knitting chair. No surprises.

I'm venturing out to the grocery store. It's part of the Jewel chain, but it's a golden oldie--the size grocery stores used to be. I have not liked my groceries being delivered from the trunk of some Uber/Lyft/DoorDash/? vehicle. I'll mask and glove up to do it myself.

Thanks for the tour, Boomer. I enjoy them. You always include great links.

Everyone, stay cozy. Make a little sunshine today.

Shankers said...

Hello Ray-O. I'll add to the mix. Not much to say about this one. I could have done it right-handed. (I'm a lefty.) Anon above says he was closer to 5 minutes than four. I was at 10 because of benign tremor, so I figure because of that, it's closer to seven. Anyway, who's in a race? Not me. I have the rest of the day to do NOTHING!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Ray - O - - The blog keeps Central time. Few others have posted because they're all trying to beat Anon @ 0818's time.

Easy solve. Cute theme. I don't think our Susan on the blog is lazy.
SALEM - Means 'peace' in Levant languages.
NYET - I guess the White Russians (Belarus) speak the same language as the other Russians.
FLANK - Very similar to German Flanke and L. German Flank., Dutch flank.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a fun solve with a cute theme that was well hidden and a satisfying Aha reveal. A perfect puzzle, IMO. I liked the Kea/Bea duo and also kissing cousins, Kea/Lei. There were many CSOs today, some more direct than others: Hatoolah (Susan, sans the Lazy), HG (Lily), CED (Cat’s), DO (Otto), Lucina (Mesa), Wilbur (Salem), WikWak (Dozes), CanadianEh (CFL), Texas Group (RiceU), and last, but not least, Abejo ((Ling)ERIE).

Thanks, Craig, for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, Boomer, for the fun, facts, and frolicking. Confinement hasn’t affected your inimitable sense of humor and punster prowess!

FLN

Belated Happy Birthday, Dave4. Glad it was so “sweet”. 🎂 🎁 🎈 🎊

I cancelled my AARP membership several years ago because I was so annoyed by the renewal invoice (the first of many) arriving in July or August for a renewal date of November. I still get mailings from them which go directly into the recycle bin.

Stay safe, everyone.

Kerrys said...

FLN

Picard, Thanks for the map. We got to Bahia de Los Angeles a few times. Never to that are shown.
I read the corner daily. Have since before LATimes crossword confidential ceased. Never tried to go blue.

Lucina, According to Apple Maps, I'm about 27 miles due north. When you live this far out, that's a little bit.

Kerry_in_Carefree

CanadianEh! said...

Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Craig and Boomer.
(Is everyone sleeping?). I FIRed in good Monday time (I don't keep track) and saw the EYE OPENER theme. Unknowns like ALI, AMY, HAYEK filled with perps.

Yes, I'll take a CSO with CFL. I figured most of you Americans would have trouble with that one! Canadian football has different rules, most notably only 3 downs, 12 players, and the field is bigger. Boomer, that Logo is a retro one; current logo is a big blue A on a shield.
TorontoArgonauts

More CSOs today: MESA reminds me of Lucina; Hahtoolah with SUSAN (not LAZY!); our Texas cornerites would have filled RICE U faster than this Canadian; C Moe and OwenKL give us VERSE; EBOOK reminded me of YR.
(I have been reading EBOOKs from my local library on Overdrive.)
On refreshing, I see that IM found more - LOL re ling(ERIE)!

I smiled at WHO crossing WHERE. I don't know What, When or Why THO!

Dave4 - I must have missed your Birthday on the weekend. Belated good wishes.

Welcome, Kerry. Hope you continue to join us.

Wishing you all a good day. Stay safe with all the reopenings.

triple crown said...

Hey Boomer,
My sister-in-law lost her sense of smell after a round of antibiotics. Doc tried a med but it didn't help. A couple of years later she toured a spice factory in India, and voila! She regained her sense of smell.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

After seeing the photo in the narrative I was afraid my original post might be mistaken as disparaging Ms. STREISAND's famous facial feature. I only wanted to point out the similarity between the names BABAR and BARBRA. ☹

"Barbra can you hear me?" * * sorry *

Yuman said...

May the Fourth, be with all of you.

oc4beach said...


Good Monday puzzle from Craig. Boomer may have slipped on his driveway, but he didn't slip on the excellent write-up. I hope there was no damage to you or C.C. from your experience.

I initially had tHERE instead of WHERE, but LOtS didn't make sense so it had to be LOWS.

I enjoy watching Canadian Football, but we don't get to see much of it in the US. The NFL channel occasionally has it in the early part of the CFL season, because the NFL hasn't started their season yet. It seems to be a faster, more explosive type of football than the NFL. It's interesting how many Americans are playing in Canada. I may be wrong, but aren't there limits to how many Non-Canadians can be on a team?

I didn't get SLUNG right away because I was looking for a type of hash like corned beef or Texas hash that would be served in a diner. Noun or verb? Perps set me straight.

I think the picture with Jayne and Mariska was photo-shopped. However, you can see the family resemblance between the two beauties.

Yesterday was in the 70s, so it was the first day I wore shorts. Talk about pale, white legs. I need to get a little sun, but we can't go to the beach yet. Still staying in and practicing social distancing.

Yuman @11:02am: Yep, it's Star Wars Day.

I hope all are doing well.

NaomiZ said...

Enjoyable Monday puzzle from Craig and an of-the-moment write-up from Boomer.

As a relative newcomer here, I felt that I'd gone out on a limb yesterday. Anonymous May 3, 2020 at 10:29 AM was "Wondering why 'Bollywood soundtrack strings' had the plural clue with a singular answer...sitar is one instrument..." I said that was fine, as a single SITAR has multiple strings." Today I feel encouraged that my position was correct, thanks to 27 Down, "String quartet strings," with the singular answer CELLO.

Oas said...

Covid 19

This morning at 9:15 the angels came to transport brother in law Johnny's soul to the next dimension.
A six week journey of battling Covid 19 and its devastating destruction came to an end and we grieve the loss of a wonderful, active man with sis and her family.
Sis got the call to come in to the hospital to see him at 7:30 this morning knowing what this meant as only end of life situation visits were allowed.
John was awake and clear recognizing her and they were able to talk some and she stayed at his side till the end ( about one hour ). She cherishes that face to face visit. All other conversations with him after he came out of the comma had been via phone or facetime calls. Their daughter . a nurse saw him and was there when he asked not to be intubated again when pnuemonia was setting in again. Doctors had told them he would likely not survive another bout of pneumonia.
It was a roller coaster ride with Johnny seeming to get stronger at times but ever so slowly.
Although the virus was gone it left his lungs destroyed to the point that even a small infection did him in. He had said on Friday that he felt he was getting pneumonia again.
Tough to lose such a much loved vibrant member of the family. He would have turned 75 next month.
In time we'll be able to say cheers and raise a glass to his memory.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Condolences. Happy his family was able to be there with him with the restrictions.

Misty said...

Delightful Monday puzzle! Many thanks, Craig, you got our week off to a great start. And Boomer, your funny comments were a pleasure. Sad to learn that all but one of the Golden Girls are gone. And amazing picture of UAE.

I loved seeing names of lots of folks I like, like IBSEN, one of my favorite writers, and BEA Arthur, another favorite, and JAYNE and EVA, among others. And then there was SUSAN and LILY and ANN, but those aren't folks, of course (I lived in ANN ARBOR for over a decade). Got INI instantly, remembering ROTINI AND LINGUINI (sometimes spelled LINGUINE?).

Have a good week coming up, everybody.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Craig Stowe, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.

Oas: Very sorry about your brother-in-law passing away, and from COVID-19. He just drew the short straw. I hope you and your family can have a proper memorial when all this is over. My deepest sympathies to you all.

Irish Miss: Good catch on the ERIE, as a part of LINGERIE. How in the world did I miss that? Oh well.

RIAL: I am sure that they are worth less than years ago. I still have a whole wad of them, probably worth many hundreds of dollars back in 1979, when I left that country.

Madame DeFarge: Glad to hear you are doing well.

The puzzle went along fine. Good theme. I caught it when I was finished.

A couple sticky words but perps helped.

I alos had SHANK before FLANK worked better.

Colder here today. Our daughter is coming over to help me with some outside chores. I am still pretty weak.

I did take a Virus test on Friday and passed. I did not think that I had it.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )


Lucina said...

Hola!

I'll raise a SODA glass to Craig Stowe for this fine puzzle and another to Boomer for his humorous review. I'm glad you and C.C. survived that fall! Snow can be dangerous!

That photo of Mariska and JAYNE has to be photoshopped. According to what I've read, Mariska was three years old when her mother died in a tragic car accident.

My grandmother called coins RIALes which, I assume, was a leftover from the Spanish soldiers who settled her town in New Mexico. In fact, she used many obsolete Spanish expressions. That is typical of isolated, colonial settlements.

FLANK steak and pork is what my family uses to make tamales. It's a bit early to think about that but time flies.

I recall EVA Mendes, not Longoria, from the movie "Hitch" with Will Smith. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing anything starring EVA Longoria.

Seeing IBSEN in the grid recalls drama class and his plays which are generally dark.

Today is the wedding anniversary of my daughter and her husband who are AVID Star Wars fans!

I love Barbra STREISAND's voice and have many of her CDs.

Thanks again, Boomer and Craig! I've solved many a Craig Stowe puzzle in my puzzle book.

Have a happy day, everyone!




Anonymous said...

RAY,

Blog runs on central (Chicago) time.
You are on Eastern time!

Lucina said...

OAS:
My condolences on the passing of your brother-in-law. It's never easy to lose a family member. They are always missed.

AnonymousPVX said...


Oas....very sorry to hear of your loss.

This was a somewhat sticky Monday grid.

No write-overs today.

Not much to add.

I did plant seven Hostas Friday, almost knocked me out, too tired to even take a shower when done. Saturday I was very tight, Sunday, muscles still sore but at least I could get up without noticing the soreness. Geez.

I’m 67....what the heck happened, haha.

See you tomorrow.

CanadianEh! said...

Oc4beach@11:06- you are correct about the CFL limiting non-Canadian players. Of the 46 members of a team, not more than 20 can be American.
CFLRules

NaomiZ@11:23 - I saw your reply re sitar/strings and agreed with you. Glad you felt brave enough to post. We like to discuss our different views of the CW clues/answers. Sometimes we have a regional opinion and it is interesting to hear others.

Oas - So Sorry to hear of the passing of your BIL. This news truly brings the Covid-19 experience home to the Corner. Thoughts and prayers for you, your sister and all the family. Glad that they were able to have precious time together.

Irish Miss said...

Oas, you and your family have my heartfelt sympathy on the loss of your BIL.

Ol' Man Keith said...

LOWS?
I agree with you, Boomer. The market may have bottomed out. But "may" is not good enough for us retirees. I'm glad to say my financial advisor pulled me out of the gamble a couple of weeks ago.
My funds, such as they are, are currently in the virtual mattress.

Oas ~ Sorry to read of your brother-in-law's passing. Six weeks? That is a terribly long time to suffer from this dreadful disease.
May you and the rest of your family stay healthy.
May we all stay well and keep in good spirits as we ride this the rest of the way.
There's really no need to rush into reopening.
Fellow SoCal CCers ~ I know the beaches are tempting, but how many actually go there to swim?
As for taking the sun, it shines just as brightly in your back yard--or on your balcony.
In a pinch, just pull back the curtains and open the window!
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Today we are blessed with a 3-way on the mirror side.
But here's the rub:
The central anagram is nearly all vowels. Too soft a seat.
The top line is almost all consonants. Way too hard.
The bottom diagonal is ju-ust right. It tells me what a foul mood I'm in after searching so long.
Too soft? Too hard? That leaves this Goldilocks feeling gloomy, a real...
"SATURNINE SORT"!

CrossEyedDave said...

Late today, as I had to drive into NYC to help Daughter #3
pack up her apartment. Fastest drive ever thru the helix/Lincoln tunnel maze.
Streets were weirdly empty, & people I saw were all wearing masks.
(except for Homeless people? & there seems to be no reduction in their numbers...)

I guess you could call it an eye opening experience?

What was not an eye opening experience was trying to do the puzzle
on my phone. Even smaller screen made it impossible to see the whole puzzle,
& there was not even an option for changing between across & down clues?!
(I sound perplexed because it was the same LATimes site I use for my Ipad...)
They both use Safari, why would they have different formats?

21. __ hash: served in a diner: SLUNG.
This created a nit, that took 4 re-readings to interpret.
But I still think it should have read:
21. served in a diner:____hash


Sorry to hear the bad news, my condolences...

I will attempt some humor,
but the day, and the news is a bummer.
(& the Blog has always been in some twilight time zone)

I searched for eye openers,
& this was the only sign of anything humorous...

Vermontah said...

CSO! I happen to play the CELLO.

Let's not forget the great Audrey Meadows as well as Joyce. One of these days, Alice!!

OAS, so sorry for your loss. :-(

Have to agree that the phrase "slung hash" is something no one has said, ever. ___ hash is weird, especially since CORN BEEF didn't fit at all. Couldn't think of any other kind of hash until perps helped me out.

I haven't thought of BABAR the elephant in about 100 years. Made me remember my grandmother reading it to me.

I do like when there's Spanish or French words. Makes me feel all polyglottal.

Vermontah said...

I mean JAYNE not JOYCE though my first guess was Joyce. I don't know why. Joyce Meadows is actually a pretty accomplished actor. Maybe you saw her in "The Brain from the Planet Arous." I didn't. Or perhaps you remember her groundbreaking role as "Party Guest Shaking Derriere in white Dress" in "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Anonymous said...

I'll take CSOs at ANN Arbor and CELLO. I played the CELLO for 9 years in school while living in the ANN Arbor area. CAT'S IN THE CRADLE came to me immediately. Somewhere I have that album but nothing to play it on.

Thank you, Craig, for the enjoyable kick-off to the week. Always enjoy your expos, Boomer.

Oas, sorry for the loss of your BIL. My sympathy to you and your family.

Rain all day yesterday, no walk, beautiful sunshine today and a nice 2 mile walk, rain moves in for the next few days so who knows if we'll get out. As long as I can go for a walk with the dog, I'm doing OK.

Have a great day and rest of the week.

Spitzboov said...

Cat's Cradle

Oas - Deepest Sympathy to you and your family.

SansBeach said...

Hi everyone. I was born late so late to the blog isn't unusual. Smooth Monday xword, thanks Craig and thanks Boomer for the expo. Was that black ice on the drive? Or just snow? Sorry for your loss, Oas. FIR today. Where I am from, "slung" hash is a reference to working in a diner not a type of hash thus "served in a diner" meant waitressing to me. I owned a tavern for a lot of years and met many folks that wait on people. :o) I slung a lot of s*** lol. Till tomorrow. Steve.

Yellowrocks said...

As a waitress I used to SLING HASH, a very common term for me, especially in the low rent district. Just an idiom, not really about hash. I never heard of SLUNG hash, but taking what I know and extending it to another form, I found the answer. So many strange things in X words are merely extensions of what we already know in a new form. When a taught I always asked the students about the things they already knew and built on that step by step.Seeing how knowledge builds rather than memorizing discrete facts makes learning enjoyable and easier to remember.
May is so beautiful here. I moved to the park-like setting of this condo on May 1 twenty-nine years ago. So lovely.
OAS, condolences on the passing of your BIL. So sad.
RAY, if you had let your misspelling of BARBRA stand, it would have just been a mistake.
Your apology seemed like an insult to a lovely, talented lady.
One of my favorites, great message:
Cat's in the cradle

Jayce said...

A nice puzzle to slide me into a relaxing Monday morning. Hand up for putting in SHANK. I only changed it to FLANK because that little imp on my right shoulder kept whispering in my ear, "AHI can't really be somebody's name, can it?" Well, I suppose it can, since parents can name their children anything they want, such as Moon Unit. I'm glad I listened to that little voice, though, because it turned out to be right.

Boomer, sorry you and C.C. slipped and fell on the ice, but from the positive tone of your write-up it appears you both are okay, for which I am glad.

Oas, I sprinkle my sincere condolences upon you and yours. May the time until you are able to say cheers and raise a glass to his memory be short.

That CELLO clue/answer also made me think of yesterday's SITAR.

Madame Defarge, thank you for mentioning Hamilton by Chernow. I had not heard of it, but it sounds like something I would like to read.

LW just made shrimp and linguINI last night. Delicious.

CrossEyedDave, thanks for linking to that picture.

Well, I've got an appointment for a "video visit" with my doctor tomorrow. It'll be interesting to my engineer mind how it will go. I've already downloaded and configured the special required app on my iPhone. At first glance, it appears to be a sorta kinda limited Zoom-like app, specialized for Kaiser Permanente members only.

Speaking of memberships, LW likes being a member of AARP, so we are. It seems she likes to read their monthly "magazine." For real-life situations, though, we use AAA, of which we are also members.

Good wishes to you all.

CrossEyedDave said...

The part about the Cello reminded me,
that I have to go back next week & pick up my daughters Cello.
It would not fit in the car today...

The Harry Chapin link,
(not the finger knots link)
reminded me I want to learn how to play
Cats in the Cradle on guitar.

Coincidentally,
& in that Twilite time zone thingie I mentioned earlier,
I got hit with a CSO at the 4 minute mark of this video
when Jerrys Guitar Bar points out that you can simulate
the Cello part on your guitar if you have some dexterity...

(hmm, finger knots, the CSO's just keep coming...)
(cue the twilight zone theme music...)

Wilbur Charles said...

Salems were a kind of currency in 'Nam. Esp in the villes.

CSO to our fav xword term Natick. Doug Flutie is from that town.

Monday easy, but I still used perps. I was sure about IBSEN but I'd already inked ESE as in Bolognese. In fact I never changed the E that should have been in RIAL which I knew from a dozen xwords.

OAS, Sorry about your bil.

Boomer, glad you and CC are ok.

WC

Ol' Man Keith said...

I had little golden records telling the tales of BABAR and his family. One of them told of a fire, and they sang:
"Fire, fire!
The flames grow higher.
Someone lit a match and--
...forgot to put it out!"

Weird how that stuck with me...
Takes me back.
~ OMK

Chris Berman said...



oc4beach @ 11:06 am

ESPN has the rights to CFL Football and said they would broadcast EVERY game for the entire season on their "family" of channels.
Most of the games will air on ESPN + (their streaming app).

This, of course, depends on Covid-19

Picard said...

Got the theme and even understood all of the theme answers. Enjoyed the puzzle and FIR. I am surprised that no one wondered if the Pasta suffix might be -ONI ?

Late to the party today because I went for a challenging hike. Probably my last chance for awhile. I am having surgery again on Friday. Wish me well. First I have to pass a coronavirus test. Right now the test is taking longer than the time until surgery. No one seems to have figured out how to make this work.

Kerry good to meet you! You really did get around if you made it to Bahia de Los Angeles. We were there going to and coming from Las Animas. Did you get to Guerrero Negro to see the whales during breeding and/or birthing season? That is why we were there last year. A truly memorable experience.

Sorry that you are not blue. Perhaps you can email me at earthmanrobert (at) gmail.com if you are so inclined? I have been pleased and honored to connect with quite a few people from Crossword Corner.

Lucina said...

Picard:
Good luck with your surgery! I hope all goes well and will be waiting for a report when it's all over.

CanadianEh! said...

Picard- hoping all goes well with your surgery!

Misty said...

OAS, I just saw your sad message about the loss of your brother-in-law now. What a terribly difficult and sorrowful time for you and your family. My heart goes out to all of you.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Fine puzzle for Star Wars day. Thanks Yuman for keeping your EYE on the calendar.

Thanks Craig for the puzzle. I got hung up on 7&8d crossing 5a, 15a & NAKED. Giving up on CHL ('cuz it IS a Monday!) lead me to FLANK. I've heard of the movie NAKED Gun but not LUNCH.

ALI - I must have misheard her name when she was on Fresh Air (?) last week 'cuz I was thinking AMY but, of course, Klobuchar already used it so,... AMI?

Fun Expo Boomer - I enjoyed the tour.

WOs: DOsED b/f LAZY corrected, no idea what Boudoir was and, still being in Canada (Quebec?) from hockey, thought LONG-somekida underwear.
ESPs: ALI, HAYEK, EBRO, EVA
Fav: CASUAL Friday... I'm actually starting to miss the office [or maybe it's the café next door :-)]

Oas - I am so sorry for your loss. A toast to Johnny.

Picard - is this still for/from the bike/car accident?

Enjoyed the DR OMK.

Vermontah - you made me look up The Brain.... Looks like something I'd watch if Joel, Servo, and Crow provided commentary.

Cheers, -T

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Enjoyed the puzzle, thanks, Craig! Got the theme.

Great expo, Boomer! Scary to think that Boomer "fall down and go boom". Glad you and C.C. are okay!

Good luck with your surgery, Picard!

OAS: so sorry about your BIL. Your telling was very poignant! Glad your sister had a lucid goodbye with him. COVID-19 is so scary. Our governor is easing restrictions here and they probably won't affect me. But my very smart son told me today that he thinks the whole thing is a hoax. I don't agree with him and I bet your family doesn't either. My son is too old to spank, but I gave him a piece of my mind. He has insisted that his kids stay home and has done so himself, working his phone & laptop to continue business. I am relieved with that.

Y'all stay safe.