google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 19, 2020 Adrian Kabigting

Advertisements

May 19, 2020

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 Adrian Kabigting

Computer Keys.  The last word of each theme answer is a key found on a PC Keyboard.  Placement on your keyboard may vary.

17-Across. It may provide arch support: SHOE INSERT.


22-Across. First house: STARTER HOME.  See above.

45-Across. Skill of elite WNBA players: BALL CONTROL.  Often abbreviated as CTRL.



59-Across. Emergency exit with a ladder: FIRE ESCAPE.  Often abbreviated as ESC.


And the Unifier:
37-Across. Internet troll, slangily ... and a hint to the ends of 17-, 22-, 45- and 59-Across: KEYBOARD WARRIOR.  I am not familiar with this term for internet trolls.

And two bonus computer references:

47-Down. Enter one's credentials: LOG ON.

54-Down. Screen image: ICON.

Across:
1. "__ my best": I DID.  I did my best to make the commentary amusing.

5. Like many action film stunts: RISKY.

10. SpongeBob SquarePants' boss, e.g.: CRAB.  A reference to a television cartoon.

14. Noblewoman: LADY.

15. Remove, as a knot: UNTIE.

16. Cut with a beam: LASE.

19. Leave out: OMIT.

20. "Good Hands" company: ALLSTATE.  //  And 58-Across: 20-Across' hands symbol, e.g.: LOGO.

21. Ready to swing: AT BAT.  Think baseball.  //  And 45-Down: Pitching miscues: BALKS.  Another baseball reference.

25. Big name in electric cars: TESLA.

29. Corp. bases: HQs.  As in HeadQuarters.

30. Badges worn by conference attendees: ID TAGS.

32. Letter after sigma: TAU.  It's Greek to me.

33. Grammy winner Erykah: BADU.

40. "Need You Tonight" band: INXS.

41. __ Angeles: LOS.

42. Give false hope to: LEAD ON.

43. Fertilization targets: OVA.  Plural of Ovum.

44. Petri dish gels: AGARS.

52. Stay away from: AVOID.

53. Reclusive: HERMITIC.

61. Tae __ do: KWON.

62. Personal belief system: CREDO.

63. Lustrous gem: OPAL.

64. IDs on 1040s: SSNs.  As in Social Security Numbers.

65. Salad green: CRESS.

66. Hatchling's refuge: NEST.


Down:
1. Rick's love in "Casablanca": ILSA.

2. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" author Roald: DAHL.

3. Winner of a TV talent show: IDOL.  A reference to American Idol.

4. Tints: DYES.

5. Attack on foot: RUN AT.

6. Photo-sharing app, briefly: INSTA.

7. Take the wheel: STEER.

8. White wine apéritif: KIR.  This liqueur appears with some frequence in crossword puzzles.

9. At this time: YET.

10. Dishrag, e.g.: CLOTH.

11. Stallone's one-man army: RAMBO.

12. 2007 Alicia Keys album that won three Grammys: AS I AM.

13. Actress Midler: BETTE.

18. "We're on!": IT'S A GO.

21. Horror trio?: ARs.  As in the letter "R".

23. Remove from the deep freeze: THAW.

24. Fifty-fifty: EQUAL.

25. __ torch: party light: TIKI.

26. Biblical paradise: EDEN.

27. Underworld river: STYX.

28. Yellow or chocolate dogs: LABS.  As in Labrador dogs.

31. Cannon barrage: SALVO.

32. Many "NFL Live" highlights: TDs.  As in Touch Downs

33. Speak highly of oneself: BRAG.

34. Verdi opera set in Egypt: AIDA.

35. Opportunity metaphor: DOOR.  When one door closes, another door opens.

36. Coffee vessels: URNS.

38. Dappled horse: ROAN.

39. Emperors' domains: REALMS.

43. Neatnik's possible condition, briefly: OCD.  As in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

46. Promises with gusto: AVOWS.

48. Pride members: LIONS.

49. Midafternoon hour: THREE.  As in 3 o'clock.

50. Marsh grasses: REEDS.

51. Sandwich cookies: OREOS.

55. UPS Store supply: TAPE.

56. Bitter craft beers, briefly: IPAs.  As in India Pale Ales.

57. Irish person, e.g.: CELT.

59. TV monitor: FCC.  As in the Federal Communications Commission.

60. Like some vbs.: IRR.  As in Irregular.

Here's the Grid:


QOD:  The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything ~ or nothing.    Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor (née Nancy Witcher Langhorne; May 19, 1879 ~ May 2, 1964)

48 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

A solid LAT debut puzzle for Adrian, who appears to have a publication last Sunday in the ATLANTIC . My favorite part was EDEN next to STYX .The most puzzling today was the un Hahtoolah like write-up. I hope you are well Susan. Welcome, Adrian. Rise and shine Corner

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I'm up and at'em. This one was a stroll through the park. Missed the theme, as usual, but still enjoyed it. My only misstep was that O in KWON; it began life as an A. Quickly fixed. Yo, Adrian, nice puzzle. Thanx for the expo, Hahtoolah. Now back to social distancing...

Hungry Mother said...

FIR with two write-overs: YET 4 now, KWON 4 KWaN (I would have bet my supply of hydroxychloroquine that it was an ‘A’.). I enjoyed the theme and it helped with the solve. I have to get off now so my wife can wash the breakfast dishes.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a pretty straightforward Tuesday with only one unknown, Badu. We’ve had that before, I think, but it still needed perps. I needed the reveal to see the theme but I, too, never heard the term Keyboard Warrior. It sounds too positive a connotation for most of the true trolls. I notice the mini theme of Icon and Log on.

Thanks, Adrian, and welcome to the LA Times Corner and thanks, Hatoolah, for the summary. I echo Lemony’s concern that you are well. I guess you know how spoiled we are by your usual plethora of links and visual eye candy.

Stay safe, all.

inanehiker said...

This all went pretty smoothly but I agree with everyone - an Internet Troll has only negative connotations of an abusive coward but a WARRIOR sounds positive.

Thanks Susan and congrats to Adrian for the debut!

desper-otto said...

R.I.P., Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond). He brought a whole new meaning to "sycophant."

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-LASE – Made me think of Bond on a table in Goldfinger
-Carnac – “As a child of four can plainly see, these envelopes have been hermetically (same?) sealed.”
-One DOOR closed for summer employment in 1976 and what turned out to be a very lucrative one opened
-Snake story later today.
-FORE!

TTP said...



Good morning. Boy did I schlaf gut last night.

A few first thought stumbles but no real problems. Congrats on your LA Times debut, Adrian.

Hahtoolah, as I started reading your blog, I began to wonder who filled in for you today. I too enjoy your visuals and comments. Hope all is well.

Heard on the news this morning that 2018 was a record rainfall here for May. Then 2019 broke that record. Now 2020 has eclipsed that record, and it rained again overnight and is drizzling now. And there's still 12 days left in the month.

On Sunday night I was really miserable. Could barely keep up with the water back flowing into the garage. Then laying in water in the basement trying to get the hydrualic cement to stop the water streaming in around the lines from the well head. Went to use the bathroom, and there were hundreds of tiny black ants crawling on the wall around the window well. Had to laugh. What next ?


From yesterday, Boomer, great job. Sorry to hear of your fall and injuring your leg.

Canadian Eh, DW made a half dozen masks cloth masks with the sewing machine. She put added a little pocket for a partially unfolded paper clip. It easily forms around the bridge of the nose. Foggy glasses problem solved.

Vermontah, INS, for those elected to offices. In the sense of the clue today, it would me someone in office, and comes from the word incumbents.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

FLN - PK wondered about YR's 'strubley'. I think YR was invoking her Pennsylvania Dutch connection; where strubley would mean 'messy' (hair). German has 'Strubbelkopf' for a shock of touseled hair. L. German has 'strubbelig' for messy hair.

__________________________________________________

Mostly easy; only slightly harder than yesterday's. No lookup or erasures. BADU was a WAG, but perps were helpful. I don't have an INSERT key per se on my Mac keyboard, so part of the theme washed over me. Guess I wouldn't call IPAS bitter but YMMV.

Have a great day, keep your distance, and smile behind those masks.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Adrain Kabigting, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.

Puzzle zipped right along. No real hang ups that a perp or two did not fix.

Caught the theme after I was finished Puzzle went too fast for me to even look for it. Good one.

I remember Sponge Bob Square Pants from cartoons when our daughter was young. She watched the show, so we did as well.

Hahtoolah: Was that Nancy Astor any relation to John Jacob Astor? Just curious.

Well, we are supposed to get more rain today, but not too much. Thank goodness.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Sherry said...

Unfamiliar with "keyboard warrior"
Also, Badu. Otherwise okay.

SansBeach said...

Good morning, all. Tuesday's test adds to the confidence level. FIR. Inkblots at dyes for hues, yet for now and int for irr (English a second language for me. :o) Thanks Adrian and welcome. Thxs Hahtoolah for the write up. Like others above, I sensed that you were "to the point" today and I hope you are feeling well. Having served in Korea, Tae Kwon Do is no stranger. "Hermitic" seems clumsy to me. It fit. Stay safe.

Shankers said...

Paid no attention to the theme and was able to skate through to a FIR in 10. Misread the clue for 45D as "pitching muscles" which was quickly corrected and was able to suss ins and badu with perps. Is a troll a warrior? Don't think so.

Shankers said...

Ins above should be inxs.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Since my granddaughter lives with me I can double check with her on fill like BADU and CRAB from SpongeBob which as a child she watched endlessly. First I fill it, then ask her.

Yes, KIR has appeared many times in puzzles and I drool each time; I love KIR Royale.

I think of BETTE Midler more as a singer than actress though she has starred in some movies; Beaches and the First Wives Club come to mind. She also starred as Janis Joplin.

This condo where I live was supposed to be our STARTER HOME but we liked it so much that 45 years later, we're still here.

Yes, Susan, I also noticed the gusto missing from your usually cheery comments and I hope you are well. Thank you for the fine effort you put into your analysis.

Unless my eyes deceive me I see that this puzzle is a J and Z short of a pangram.

LABS reminds me of the time many years ago when we visited my sister in San Bernardino; she at the time had two of them. We went shopping and she left frozen chicken in the sink to THAW but when we came home it had disappeared. Months later she was digging in her garden and found some of it where the LABS had hidden it.

We are all HERMITIC now as it's too RISKY to venture out.

OPAL reminds me of a student from years ago whose sisters were named after gems; besides OPAL, Ruby and Pearl were the others.

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Wilbur Charles said...

FLN, those who the INs relaxed are indeed the OUTs.

The juxtaposition of WARRIOR with KEYBOARD is the denigration.

Smooth solve, I liked that INXS and BADU had solid perps. I tried to grok the theme but like D-O, I'm AT SEA in themes.

WC

Bluehen said...

FIR in a Tuesday-like 10 minutes, which is just about as fast as I can type. No hang-ups, I even managed to dredge up BADU from the dark, dank recesses of my mind. The odd spelling of Erica was what prompted the memory of her remote last name. Funny how the mind works . . . when it works.

I have to agree with everyone's objection to calling an internet troll a warrior. That just does not compute.


Seafood Florentine tonight. I'm being lazy, and the young lions never object to the dish. I learned long ago that how well a dish goes over depends more on what you call it, rather than what's in it. Doesn't Seafood Florentine sound better than Tuna Noodle Casserole with Spinach and Feta in it?

Time for a change in avatars. This is a snap I took of some hillbilly trout that DW and I took from the Blackwater River in West Virginia a few year ago. They are mostly stocked Rainbows with a couple of native Bookies thrown in. That was a very good day.

Cya!

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Adrian (congrats on your debut) and Hahtoolah.
Straight-forward solve today with just a couple of hesitations - waiting for perps to decide the usual CW dilemma of Avers/AVOWS, and perps for the unknown BADU. I thought of Drive before STEER.
I smiled when I saw the computer theme and went looking for the KEYBOARD commands.
Ach! I just read d'otto and Hungry Mother, and see that I FIWed; I had Kwan and did not notice that LOG aN should have been LOG ON.

HERMITIC is not used often here.
This Canadian learned SSNS doing CWs long ago; FCC was a learning moment today.

Several stars are helping to raise smiles during the coronavirus pandemic with a charity reading of Roald DAHL's cherished children's book "James and the Giant Peach."
DahlCharityReading

Thanks TTP (& your wife) for the paper clip in mask suggestion.
Yes, Spitz, I wanted to look up YR's "strubley". Thanks for the explanation.

Wishing you all a great day.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks, Adrian, for a fine puzzle. Congrats! I had a pretty fine run this morning. Most of my errors corrected on crosses. I liked the cluing for FCC and IRR, althought I initially plugged in itr for intransitive, which isn't even the correct dictionary abbreviation.

Thanks, Hahtoolah, for the escort.

KEYBOARD WARRIOR--a number of those hang out on Next Door at which point I close the DOOR and take the opportunity to get back in the house. STARTER HOME? Do young folks today know what that is? They seem to be looking for the perfectly staged, super-inspected first house. A friend of my DIL told her she looked at the house they brought when it first came on the market but didn't bid because it wasn't staged yet. DUH!! Luckily my son and DIL had great vision and have a wonderful home. AT BAT? Ah, I remember baseball!

Absolutely, Gary! LASE and Laser always bring Bond to the table.

Anyone need rain? We Midwesterners would love to send it your way. Hang on out East. It will be there tomorrow.

Have a sunny day despite the odds of that.

desper-otto said...

CanadianEh!, I looked up "strubley" after YR posted it. Merriam-Webster suggested it was probably "strubbly" -- untidy, unkempt. I figured YR had simply fat-fingered it.

Yellowrocks said...

My only problem here was writing many of the answers in the wrong cells and having to change them when I looked at the perps. Otherwise, a walk in the park.
After I finished I googled Keyboard Warrior. There were tons of results. IMO WARRIOR is not always a positive word. When a band of warriors comes into your village to rape, plunder, burn and steal, it is not a positive experience. I have read several of these present day horror stories from Africa.
TTP, your water problem sounds horrendous. I hope it stops raining soon and that you find a solution.
HERMITIC, characterized by ascetic solitude.
"The Qumran sect was a fanatical, hermitic, persecuted group who lived in the desert, according to the university." The Guardian Jan 26, 2018
"If its authenticity is confirmed, the recording would lay rest to persistent rumors of the hermitic leader's death." Time Sep. 29. 2017
HERMETIC, relating to an airtight seal
Lucina, those labs stealing the chicken reminds me of our Dalamtian. When we were eating a birthday dinner at Grandma's we heard a huge crash in the kitchen. Our dog had been able to pull the birthday cake often the counter and was devouring it on the floor.
FLN. Spitz, I was waiting to see your comments on strubley hair. It may have been pronounced strubbelig. We were told you are all strubley. Go comb your hair. These days I don't need a comb, I need a pair of scissors handled by an expert.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Is ILSA so bored she has nothing better to do than show up as a crossword clue? "Play me again, Sam." (Paralell to a DAHL and an IDOL)

FIR

HERMITIC? C'mon.The word should be hermetically sealed and never opened again. Sounds like a drug to induce vomiting. OK..OK.. learning experience. Like KEYBOARD WARRIOR. Who knew BADU?

INSTA for Instagram? Maybe. I never use the service so I can't comment (wait...I just did.) And as is my wont I did not figure out the theme.

If an ancient CELTIC tribesman plays for the Boston CELTICs is he a Keltic Seltic?

I'll leave it to others to comment on BALLCONTROL.

My cheap friend always _____me with dinner tab....STYX

Can't keep spending more than one.......URNS

Native American tribe moolah......CREDO.

Tweety thinks he ______ Sylvester....THAW

A bud helped me chain saw tree limbs this AM. The worst was miles of thick wild grape vines tangled high up in the branches. Like a tug-of-war. Whew!

Now for an IPA.

DO re: Eddie Haskell. "Gee Mrs. Cleaver, your hair looks real pretty today"



NaomiZ said...

Fun puzzle, Adrian! Thanks for the expo, Hahtoolah.

Like Wilbur Charles at 10:38 AM, I see sarcasm in the "keyboard warrior" put-down. As in, you're very brave, waging war from your computer ... but will you speak up in person? Can't say that I've ever heard the phrase, but it made perfect sense to me, and I think I'll use it now!

Misty said...

Delightful Tuesday puzzle--many thanks for this treat, Adrian. Great to start out instantly with ILSA, DAHL, and IDOL, and things continued to go well until I started running into the sports references. But I kept plugging away, and in the end, lots of familiar crossword items helped out with the sports, and in the end I got the whole thing. Woohoo! Thanks again, Adrian.

Happily, I got the long middle theme answer, and although I may not know sports, I have a computer and so it was fun to see INSERT and HOME and CONTROL and ESCAPE. I didn't even know I had a HOME key on the computer--the things I learn here.

Ray-o-Sunshine, what do you call those sentences at the end of your daily write-ups? I always want to compliment you on them, but don't know what to call them.

Hahtoolah, I enjoyed your write-up just fine today--many thanks.

Have a good day, everybody.

Anonymous said...

This was an easy walk through the grid. I had more trouble with the Basic Crossword puzzle in the paper. Thank you, Adrian, and congratulations on you LA Times debut! Excellent write-up, Hahtoolah, thank you.

I worked the Downs across the North so had 9d now/YET. Hand up for KWaN/KWON.

Fav clue/ans:28D Yellow or chocolate dogs, LABS

Good news: the shelter is open again, volunteers sign up for shifts online, 2 hours at a time. I get to go back next week Wednesday! Looking forward to it! I need the exercise of walking the dogs.

I changed my avatar, like a few others, for a Springy picture. One of my sisters braved Mom's over-grown, Poison Ivy filled garden to get the Iris and she shared some with me. I think they like their spot.

More rain today so it's a lazy day inside. Enjoy your day!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Misty @12:30 glad you get a chuckle from my nonsense and not a groan. You forced me to google "homophobic puns". It's a genetic defect. My Dad loved teasing us kids, later grandkids, with similar silliness.

Lucina said...

MY HAND IS WAY UP for some rain! Please, send it, as much as you can spare. I believe our last rain might have been in October. At the time, it rained a good deal and held promise for spring flowers.

Pat:
Your irises are beautiful! I enlarged the photo a bit to get a good look.

Misty:
I would call Ray's sentences "quips". He has a way with words!

oc4beach said...

Nice LA Times debut puzzle from Adrian.

A few unknowns that were perpable (is that even a word?). DAHL, BADU, HERMITIC and HUES vs DYES.

I had a Black Lab named Erica when my kids were little. Great dog, especially with children. Unless food was on the floor, she would not touch it, even her dog treats if they were on a table. However, once a year she had a relapse at Christmas time and only at Christmas when she would go after fudge and chocolate candy. Really made her sick.

Keyboard Warrior may be sarcastic, but the trolls are really Keyboard Jerks.

Where I live in Central PA there are a number of Amish families and although I'm not sure of the spelling, I have heard the word Strubley or something like it referring to messy hair on young boys.

Another day in the life of the Pandemic. Still hunkered down.

Stay safe everyone.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun puzzle, Adrian, thanks! Thanks, Hahtoolah, you've spoiled us with all your interesting commentary.

Since I have an IMAC which doesn't have most of those keys, I didn't catch onto the theme. Studied the possibilities and gave up. Still liked the puzzle & filled it. DNK: WEES.

Spitz: thanks for explaining YR's "strubley" hair. I can't imagine her with strubley anything. Knew a family named Struble and am wondering the origin of that. Nothing messy about them -- civic leaders.

I feel sometimes like I'm a KEYBOARD WARRIOR -- I'm always warring with my computer. I ordered checks ONLINE three weeks ago. Called their customer service number several times and didn't get a person. Figured they were all in quarantine. Finally, desperate because I'm out of checks, I called again and got a guy who said my order was not received. He assured me he has now placed my order but if I want it this week, express delivery will cost me $50 besides check cost. I have to pay a bunch of bills this week, so okay. Then I realized I don't have stamps. Ordered stamps with my groceries which I had been doing. Nope they won't send them. Ran down my regular mail carrier. She will bring me stamps tomorrow, but had to have the money today to buy them for me. I didn't have a check to give her as suggested, so I gave her cash. Then I realized the envelope with the cash does not have my name and address on it. Hope she remembers which house... Anything that used to be simple, sure has gotten hard!

Irish Miss said...

Bluehen @ 10:51 ~ Fancy nameD dish or not, you wouldn’t have to ring the dinner bell twice for me! I have a big pot of Pasta Fagioli simmering away; hope it tummy-sticking good!

Ray @ 12:52 ~ I think you might mean homophonic clues.

Pat, ditto what Lucina said!

One of my nieces had a chocolate lab and a yellow lab; their names were Mudsy and Sudsy. She now has a Labradoodle, a Bernese Mountain dog, and another one that I can’t remember the breed. The Labradoodle is (or was) a handful. He (she?) could open the refrigerator door and, once, ate almost a pound of butter. His (her) most infamous deed was somehow nudging a case of wine off the kitchen counter onto the white tiled floor. Red wine, to boot.

AnonymousPVX said...


This was a nice Tuesday puzzle.

Write-overs....TAEKWANDO/TAEKWONDO...yes my hand is up.

Irish Miss...I’d love a look at your Pasta Fagioli recipe.

And on to Wednesday...stay safe and sane.

CrossEyedDave said...

really wanted SpongeBobs boss to be Krab...

Learning moment:
Clarinet reeds

for more info:
The reeds are made of a reed grass that originally grows in the Mediterranean, called Arundo Donax. Arundo Donax is quite similar in appearance to Bamboo but not as hard.

I am not going to get into the whole Keyboard Warrior debacle.
I am more curious about PC Gender...

Husker Gary said...

Snake Story (as promised)
Our school had an 11’ long Burmese Python named Ezra we kept in a wire cage that was 4’x4’x6’ tall. Somehow the duty to care for Ezra fell to me. The main duty was to throw the live rats in so Ezra could eat them (which the kids loved) and then clean out the poop two days later. When I opened that door, Ezra would usually just casually slither out and head down the hall while I cleaned out the cage. One day, Ezra was not coming out and so dopey old me thought I could quickly reach around behind Ezra’s head and take him out. All the snake saw was a hunk of meat flashing in front of his face and he grabbed me by the thumb web of my right hand before I even saw any movement at all!
I did not freak out, my first thought was, “Can he hurt me any any worse?” I told myself he was clean and not poisonous and was just a constrictor and so if I didn’t let him get around my chest of neck, I was fine. He kept trying to coil but I had backed up against the counter and he could not do that. I remained calm though the whole ordeal.
I told my friend who was gathering cleaning materials, “Luke, the snake has me.” He said, “Just a minute, I’m coming.” I repeated with a little more urgency, “Luke, the snake has me!” He looked up and said, “Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ!”
By this time a crowd of JH kids had assembled as I stood there like an idiot. I first told Luke to go ahead and clean out the cage, that’s we came here.” He did and then he used a screwdriver to pry open the snake’s mouth and I pitched him back into the cage.
I had some puncture marks on the top and bottom of my hand but I taught the rest of the day and saw my doctor for a tetanus shot. The doctor was a good friend and he has never let me forget what happened.
I got rid of Ezra the next week.

desper-otto said...

The obvious question, "Why did the school have an 11' python in the first place?" Weren't you a little concerned that when Ezra would "slither out and head down the hall" that he might slither right out the door? Next time you saw him he'd probably have a dog-shaped bulge in his middle.

inanehiker said...

There was a fun Sporcle quiz today on "A" words that are crosswordese - a cinch for our corner I'm sure:

https://www.sporcle.com/games/BanjoZebra/a-crosswordese

Husker Gary said...

D-O, The snake was a great display for our science atrium and the kids loved seeing him. When i let him out of the cage he crawled along the wall and was so well-fed he showed no sign of aggression at all. It was very easy to walk up to him from behind and grab him from behind by his head and with some help carry him back to his cage. If I had just let him be he would not have struck and we could have let him out later on his own volition.

Yellowrocks said...

Lovely spring avatars, Ray and Pat. I missed the nearby iris tour this spring. The garden is closed.
Naomi, I agree that WARRIOR seems sarcastic in this phrase.
Ray, homophobic stumped me. As IM asked, was it homophonic? Spellcheck doesn't accept homophonic and likely change the N to B.
My heart sped up when I read that the snake slithered down the corridor. What a story!I am glad you were not seriously hurt.
PK, I can sympathize with your computer wars. These days when there is a glitch it is difficult to get in-person help.

Jayce said...

I enjoyed this puzzle. Entered every answer correctly on the first try, including KWON. Didn't know/remember BADU but it filled in from the perps.

Bluehen, I like your new avatar.

Stay well, all.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

#$%&# autocorrect gonna get me in real trouble...Homophonic..sorry...lol

Wilbur Charles said...

I have I told the one about Goliath and the moose up in Jefferson NH. Jefferson is way up north about 50 miles from Canada.

Goliath was a very large golden retriever.

IM has it right. A homophone is a sound alike. My Google spell check is okay with the"if" at the end.

In fact- ok, LIU indicates only the musical use which is a blend. Let's try homophone which is indeed what Ray-O is doing.

I think we should petition for that "IC"

.WC

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ray - O - Sunshine ~
Funny puns & homophones! Thanks for adding chuckles to the Corner.

I agree with you in re. ILSA.
Bergman did a lot more than just play 2nd fiddle to Bogie (& Henreid) to earn her way to cruciverbal fame.
~ OMK
____________
DR:
3 Diags on the opp. end.
The center line offers an anagram of the smokable version of the blue-flowered herb once used to cure dog rabies. Believe it or not, some crazy fools tried rolling it when they ran out of weed.
Luckily, these have NOT been legalized in California. I refer of course to...
"MADWORT CIGS"!

TTP said...

inanehiker, thank you for the link to that sporcle quiz. As you said, should be a cinch for everyday solvers.


Yellowrocks, thank you as well. I have it all under control after sealing the main leak, but today was all about more cleanup and starting to put things back en ordnung. Now I have some more drywall that needs to be replaced, but on the positive side, I have plenty of time on my hands.

Pat, your iris is beautiful ! And they are huge. They must be almost waist high, based on your pic. That's a pretty lavender. Ours are dwarf, and purple and look fine, but not like that. Looks like they are ready to be divided. My address is ...

Husker, that's some snake story. I hear you. The children must have loved seeing a snake that large. And thanks for the reminder about the tetanus shot ! Ouch !

Dash T, your snake story last night was good too. Not quite as dramatic. I'll give you funnier. Props to your wife for that quip.

Canadian Eh, I passed along your thanks to my wife. She just said make sure you remember to take the paper clip out when you wash them. Don't take offense, she reminds me of stuff I already know all the time.

I'm with Spitzboov on IPA's not necessarily being bitter. Of course, bitter is subjective. And better to have a bitter beer than a bitter personality.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the compliments about my mother's Iris. They make me so happy to see them. This garden went in 2 years ago and Mother Nature does all the work.

TTP-- I had to go out and measure how tall they are; 3 1/2 ft tall! I love that I can see them easily from inside. They are all that I have right now. I want to give some to my daughter, and transplant to a couple areas in the yard so I can see them from other windows. Get back to me in a couple years when they've had time to multiply.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Fun puzzle Adrian fine expo Hahtoolah. Thanks both of you.

WO: Was it going to be one or two PM...? Nope. It's THREE but I inked the PM.
ESPs: KIR (still haven't learned), BADU | AIDA ('A' was lucky WAG), AS I AM
Fav: I liked EDEN next to STYX and STYX crossing INXS (both bands).

OMK - almost learned was Madwort is. Which one is it? Wiki
//BTW, when looking for the answer, I found you might smoke it :-) [from 2003, probably a "nope" by now]

Good snake story HG.

Enjoyed y'all's refreshed Avatars even though it will take me a few days to re-associate who's who [in scrolling looking for someone, it's easier to match pictures].

Inane - thanks for the sporcle diversion. I missed 3 (Turkish honorific, Author AGEE, Swiss River). Maybe I needed a few perps :-)

CED - thanks for is a PC male|female. Provided the laugh I needed today.

Sinbad was our black LAB. Day after Christmas Pop called into the kitchen, "Leave out the ham, I'll be in in a minute to make a sandwich."
15 minutes later, "Where the hell did you put the ham?"
"I left it on the counter like you asked," I called back re-entering the kitchen.
Sinbad was under the table and only the bone was left of that ham.

I love IPAs.
If we had craft-beers in the late 80's I probably wouldn't have like 'em -- my 18yro palate was Miller Lite or Corona. It was our Army Reserve 2-week summer-camp setting up a field hospital with the Germans in Germany that changed that.

The beer was so bitter [Whoa! Bitter Beer Face] I could barely drink it. Talk about a bummer - you hear your whole life a about German beer / Octoberfest and then...

There was a guy in the German unit who's parents were missionaries so he knew English well AND the swill we drank in America.
He said to mix 1/2 Coke (which was 2x the cost of a beer (and no refills?!?)) 1/2 beer to start getting used to the bitter flavor. In <3 days, I was drinking the beer sans Coke.

Cheers, -T

Vermontah said...

Call me a heathen, but I dislike IPAs. Too hoppy, which may be another way to say bitter. And I live in Vermont, where you can't spit without hitting a microbrewery. I go to one little brewery in town with a selection of about 14 different micro-hoppy-IPA-trendy brews and I order a Laphroig whiskey.

The funny snake story reminded me of my late Dad, who utterly despised snakes and was very afraid of them. When we moved to Vermont in 1966, from the DC AREA, he happily took on the role of lord of his country MANSE (not really, just a big ol farmhouse) and got him some dungarees and a .22 rifle to plink tin cans with. Anyway, one fine day he saw our golden retriever (not a LAB) fussing with something in the back yard and went to investigate, found the dog playing with a little light-green grass snake, about 8" long, a perfectly innocent little snake. So Pop strode into the house, which indeed was kind of a STARTER HOME for us, grabbed his .22, and strode purposefully back into the yard, and BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM went totally Special Forces on that poor little snake. Dog couldn't believe it. Poor little snake.

But I digress. Fun puzzle today, after yesterday's humiliating floundering with a harmless little Monday puzzle, I flew through this one with only one cross-out. AVERS, after KWON and LOGO, reverted to its rightful AVOWS. That was my only boo-boo. Yes, I BRAG. BTW, didn't we have the CUPPED hands of the All-State logo yesterday? Or was that NYT. Yes, it was NYT. A buck says GECKO will appear tomorrow somewhere.

Confession: I sometimes dive into the depths of the comment section of the website of a certain cable-news channel and make snarky comments and replies to some of the absolutly astonishing comments I read there. Probably bad for my health. So I guess I could be classified as one of those hateful KEYBOARD RAMBOs. Forgive me. I'll try to AVOID this and OMIT it from my daily routine.

Anonymous T said...

Vermontah - as long as your social-justice-keyboard-warrior thing doesn't cause you personal stress... have fun at it.
//wait, you said wha? Hitler said that!!!! [Goodwin's Law]

If you do like beer, may I suggest Laguitas' Little Sumpin' Sumpin'. It is an IPA but very smoothe.

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

I just finished watching the movie, The Post, which I had previously recorded. What a good movie! Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks together!

I'm sorry I can't participate in your beer debate; I can't stand even the smell mostly I guess because my mother was an alcoholic and the smell as well as the after smell (vomit) has too many memories.

Vermontah said...

Lucina, I loved The Post! Marvelous film, and for a son, grandson and great-grandson of newspapermen, it definitely resonated with me. No fake news there.

Meryl and Tom, of course, plus Breaking Bad alums Bob Odenkirk, Jesse Plemons and David Costabile, also Zach Woods (Gabe from The Office, one of the geekiest characters in TV history.)