google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, June 6, 2020, Greg Johnson

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Jun 6, 2020

Saturday, June 6, 2020, Greg Johnson

Themeless Saturday by Greg Johnson


On this D-Day anniversary, I am blogging my seventh Greg Johnson themeless entry. I ran through this one in one of my 43. Done in the least amount of time: FASTEST times and enjoyed some fun cluing along the way.


From Greg's Website
Across:

1. Measures roughly: PACES OFF - When I was a softball coach, I could PACE OFF 45' (15 slightly exaggerated strides) for pitchers to practice from very accurately


9. Suspicious offers, often: SCAMS 


14. Pots and such: IRONWARE - A fine example of Smithey IRONWARE made in Charleston, S.C.




15. Egypt neighbor: LIBYA - Allied and Axis Powers fought for control of this area in 1941/42. 76 years ago today the Allies invaded the Axis Powers from the north




18. Three-time Olympics host country: ITALY - This shows document that 16. Authenticates: CERTIFIES Italy will host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games




19. Welcome at the door: ASK IN - "Warning before you 
57. Enter: SET FOOT IN our house: "We have a cat!" (From Thursday's Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle)

20. Landmark in the 2018 documentary "Free Solo": EL CAPITAN - Alex Honnold is the only climber to have conquered EL CAPITAN with no safety equipment (FREE)  by himself (SOLO)




22. Container for some baked goods: BREAD BOX - Steve Allen on What's My Line famously asked, "Is it bigger than a BREAD BOX?"


24. __ tolerance: ZERO - My principal was a big advocate until his daughter got caught with beer


25. Succulent plant genus: ALOE.


27. "Puh-leeze!": SPARE ME.


29. Org. with a "Parents" link on its main page: NEA - Look closely to see the link




30. LED part: DIODE - Top - Incandescent flashlight. Bottom - Light Emitting DIODE flashlight 




31. Briefly: IN SUM - After a too-long presentation, "So, IN SUM, you are saying...". I prefer pitchmen that are 35. Most brief: TERSEST.


37. Bald spot: TONSURE - A sign of religious devotion from the Latin word tonsura meaning clipping or shearing 

39. "Chicago Med" pro: E.R. DOC.


40. Not whispered: ALOUD


42. Modern steady: BAE - This variation of Babe is not a word I would ever use/hear/like


45. AM radio staple: TALK 


46. National __: DEBT See for yourself


49. Supports, in a way: VOTES FOR.


51. How work references may be given: ON REQUEST - You might first want to be sure what they are going to say


53. Stretchy fabric: LYCRA - LYCRA, spandex and elastane are all the same and they dominate school hallways and cause an occasional 
26. Wanton gaze: LEER 




56. Pleasure trip: JAUNT 

59. Go on: OCCUR.


60. The Northern Pacific's __ Islands: ALEUTIAN -  Why did Japan invade Alaska six months after Pearl Harbor?




61. Way up or down: STEPS - TikTok Asia Stair Shuffle Challenge




62. Jellyfish appendage: TENTACLE - The sting from the TENTACLES of the Box (cube-headed) Jellyfish can be fatal.




Down:


1. 12-point type: PICA - Our only two choices in high school typing




2. "Iliad" god: ARES.


3. Display with pins: CORKBOARD.


4. Complete: ENTIRE - $74.90 for the ENTIRE series in paperback

5. Beasts with snouts: SWINE.

6. Clumsy character: OAF.


7. Hash browns, e.g.: FRIED POTATOES - I considered RICED and DICED for _ _ _ ED POTATOES


8. Have regrets: FEEL BAD.


9. Lapse: SLIP.


10. Town hall meeting attendees: CITIZENS.


11. Lessen: ABATE.


12. Space blanket material: MYLAR - They reflect body heat back to keep you warm




13. Refuse: SAY NO.


17. Reason for revenge: SCORE TO SETTLE - A lousy philosophy 




21. Remove, as from a schedule: AXE - Whole lotta that goin' on


23. "No promises" tag: AS IS 


25. Required game payment: ANTE.


28. Make sure not to overlook: MIND.




30. Prefix with -gon: DECA.


32. Like Alaska's climate: SUBARCTIC.




33. River to the Caspian Sea: URAL - The watershed of the URAL River is within the blue dotted area




34. Easily dominated: MEEK.


36. Break down the resistance of, as a customer: SOFTEN UP.


38. Means of escape: OUTS.


41. Cry that's from hunger?: LET'S EAT.


44. Current drama that ranks third behind "Gunsmoke" and "Lassie" in total original episodes, familiarly: SVU - If you're a devotee...

45. Japanese industry giant, or the city in which it's headquartered: TOYOTA - Almost a 4-hr drive from Tokyo



46. Places for black belts: DOJOS - Moviedom's most famous DOJO?




47. Legally establish: ENACT.


48. __ Banner, a.k.a. The Hulk: BRUCE - Dr. Bruce Banner (Bill Bixby), uh, hulking out to become The Hulk (Lou Ferrigno)




50. Scorn, as the rules: FLOUT - Some FLOUT the quarantine requests 


52. Game divs.: QTRS.


54. Capital of Oman: RIAL - 1ريال is approximately $2.60




55. Actress Dudek of "House": ANNE.




58. Wetland: FEN - We drive by this FEN north of Lincoln on our drive there




Comment at will:




48 comments:

OwenKL said...

Once there was an octopus
Who couldn't see too well
So an octopus optometrist
Made him some glasses, well!
But he had not ears
To keep them on his face
But a battery octo-arm served
To hold them in their place.
Octopuses are shape-shifters
So fixed glasses-arms would fail.
An electrical TENTACLE spectacle
Receptacle surely would prevail!

OwenKL said...

{C.}
My long deep-depression hiatus did nothing for my poetic ability, it's obvious. I hope story-value makes up for it some. Doesn't even meet my criteria of using at least 2 words from the puzzle. Blah.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Wow, am I getting smarter or are the puzzles getting easier. Yeah, easier. Finished this one in typical Monday time. Thanx, Greg and Husker.

IRONWARE: Never heard of Smithey. All of ours are Lodge.

LED: I've got an LED desk lamp that I use at the tax prep sites. An added advantage -- it can be powered by the laptop's USB port.

Now back to WWDTM...

Disciple of Nan'l said...

In re ELCAPITAN climber, you can't spell Honnold without h-o-l-d!

desper-otto said...

The NYT humbled me. No, puzzles aren't getting easier.

Hungry Mother said...

FIR, no write-overs. My wife and I are bingeing SVU and are a couples of seasons from the present.

Birdseed said...

Completely blew the NW corner. Got hung up on picturing clay pots, so I had "ollaware". And that fit great with 1D of"font". And then certifies" wouldn't work. Sigh.


FTR, I contend that if it has a long stem handle it is a "pan" not a "pot". Harumph.

Birdseed

Wilbur Charles said...

As I mentioned yesterday, I did this Friday, early AM thinking it was Saturday. Being themeless should have given it away. I did notice that after solving Friday's that difficulty level was similar.

This completes an all FIR week

Owen, your poem was very e.e. Cummings like.

WC

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

No searches; no white-out today. A little tricky here and there but got it all. FIR. A few arcane words like BAE and, to a lesser extent, TONSURE. But perps were supportive. I liked BREAD BOX. FRIED POTATOES came easily.
PACES OFF - - My natural PACE is 5' for every 2 steps. Don't remember where I first learnt the value of (hopefully accurate) pacing. Maybe in surveying.

Thanks Gary for your usual fine informative intro.

Yellowrocks said...

First pass produced one word. Second pass produced another. I felt daunted until the third pass produced a whole filled section. Then it was off to the races. I just needed a leg up and this became an unusually easy Saturday. Thank you for the fine post, Gary.
OKL, good to have you back. You were missed.
This dizzy broad is even dizzier this AM. it could be the new antibiotic. I am postponing Alan's porch visit until tomorrow.

Lemonade714 said...

An electrical TENTACLE spectacle Receptacle is a very nice turn of phrase. I am not sorry I missed yesterday's CED flap, and I know how difficult it to avoid political commentary (even sardonic words) with all that goes on. We are guests in C.C.'s home and should follow her rules. I know I do not always succeed either.

"Is it bigger than a BREAD BOX?" has become a staple of so many guessing games. 1953 was a long time ago.

I agree with D-O about the ease of this solution but did not find the NYT especially hard either.

Thank you HG, you may me refresh my knowledge of WWII and the battles for ATTU which was appropriate for this day.
Thank you, Greg.

inanehiker said...

I started with PICA right off but then had to wait for perps to figure out the PACES OFF and CERTIFIES. I also started with BREAKFAST SIDE which I was excited about because it fit perfectly LOL before I had to change to FRIED POTATOES! It all went pretty smoothly after those hang-ups!
I'm continuing through the Brother Cadfael mysteries - so TONSURE came to mind easily once a few letters were in place.

Thanks HG for another fun write-up and Greg for the puzzle!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was quite the enjoyable solve but I would welcome a more challenging Saturday offering. (Barry Silk, I miss you.) The only unknown was Anne from “House” and the only w/o was Soft Sell before Soften Up. I liked the related fill of Aleutian, Subarctic, and Zero and the duos of Lycra/Nylon and Fastest/Tersest. The low number (6) of three letter words was a big plus, in my book. Learning moment was Toyota being a city’s name, not just the make of my car!

Thanks, Greg and HG for the pleasant and informative diversion.

Stay safe, all.

OMaxiN said...

Slogged through today's puzzle only to FIW. Because I don't go back to recheck my lousy spelling. LIBiA

PICA & EL CAPITAN led the way. Wanted cookie jar for BREAD BOX. Don't watch SVU, but it had to be. TOYOTA & ALEUTIAN anchored the SE.

OKL. I enjoyed the octopus.

Thank you Greg. Great review HG.
MO

Wilbur Charles said...

Ok, I've waited long enough. What does SVU stand for?

HASHBROWNS* of course are not fried potatoes. Yes, they are potatoes, yes they are fried. But fried potatoes, nee home fries, are the staple of diners.

WC

But not the horror that is "deep" fries potatoes at breakfast

desper-otto said...

Wilbur, it stands for "Special Victims Unit."

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, Greg! Very enlightening commentary, Gary -- especially liked the maps of the watershed & Japanese "influence".

Hand up for getting TONSURE because I've been reading Brother Cadfael novels like Inanehiker. In fact, I think I started reading Bro C. novels because she mentioned them. I remembered that I used to enjoy them and got #1 & #2. Thanks.

Thank you WC for asking about SVU. That stumped me too. Used to watch it years ago, but haven't for a long time.

We have FRIED POTATOES & BREAD so LET'S EAT. Who cares about the waistline?

We also have PACE OFF & SET FOOT IN which kinda go together.

DNK: ANNE or that TOYOTA was a city.

SCORE TO SETTLE is not in my makeup. Some things happened that people were expecting me to "get even" and were sweating the outcome, but I played fair instead. There is too much meanness in life already.

NaomiZ said...

FIR after a few false starts -- "finish" for ENTIRE, "breakfast side" for FRIED POTATOES -- but fast and fun. Good clues, unusual fill. Favorite entry was SET FOOT IN, as every generation after the baby boomers says "step foot in." I like it the old way. Thanks, Greg and Husker Gary!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Came dangerously close to a FIW. Took forever to correct cOFTENUP because I had spelled TERcEST wrong. Finally came the *head slap* . S not c..🤪

FIR but with lots of extra ink... milar/MYLAR, finish/ENTIRE, FEELSit/BAD, dart/CORKBOARD, bake/cook/IRONWARE, by/ONREQUEST.

Speaking of INK

FY...I wish we had fountain pens in grade school. Up to the late 50s (5 th grade) we had to use plain old fashioned sharp steel tipped wood pens dipped in an inkwell built into our desks. The City of Utica had a writing superintendent Miss McCalmont who insisted on a penmanship style called "Palmer Method". A way to hold the pen and move only your forearm (not your wrist!!). If she could not easily pull the pen out of your fingers you were warned you were gripping the pen too tightly. . A small cloth (rag) was necessary to clean off the pen. Teacher's pet got to fill the inkwells.

I read an article in our local paper about the sad demise of the art of penmanship "Where Have You Gone Miss McCalmont?"

But I regress...(I mean digress)

According to Matthew 5:5 .."Blessed are the easily dominated for they shall inherit the earth." (With global warming is that such a great deal?)

PICA a compulsion to ingest foreign objects. (Have seen some pretty weird stuff)

Speaking of weird stuff...

Small yurt....TENTACLE.

"Marvel Comics" superhero Tony Stark's clothing ..
IRONWARE.

A horse trained to run 1.609 K...MYLAR

What Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!" cain't do....SAYNO
.
But u can ...to more above nonsense

Have a great weekend.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-SCORE TO SETTLE – A colleague brought up something silly I did and I agreed with him and did not take the bait to rebut his teasing. He said I was no fun because I admitted what I did and moved on.
-SVU – My hands were this close || to typing Special Victims Unit last night during my last read-through but I thought since the show had been on over 20 years I might be gilding the lily by adding too much. It’s a delicate balance for me.
-My hated penmanship lessons were tracing green letters in a tablet right after being so hyped after recess. My penmanship is poor to this day
-Extreme winter cold weather here is sometimes caused by this “Clipper” from the sub-arctic climate.
-Owen, we are all pulling for you!

Shankers said...

Bummer. I feel so stoopid! Will blame it on not being fully awake. Only FIW of the week. Had Aral for 33D and weak for 34D which gave me insaw for 31A and baa for 42A. Duh and doh. Oh well, I guess I'm not perfect. (Please don't tell my wife.)

Big Easy said...

Gary you may have been fast but I was slow out of the blocks before I gained speed. I liked the puzzle because other than TONSURE there were no obscure words and only a couple of A&E references- BRUCE Banner and the single unknown ANNE Dudek. It took me 20 minutes.

PICA- you gotta be old to know elite & Pica. Anybody still have a typewriter.
I also considered RICED & DICED before FRIED POTATOES.

SVU- never watched it. Lassie- arf, arf, Timmy's in the well. Gunsmoke- Matt, Doc, Kitty, & Chester.

Free Solo on EL CAPITAN- the guy has a suicide wish. Like Steve Irwin's crazy adventures it only a question of when he gets killed.

PK said...

Owen, always worry about you when you disappear from here. Chuckled over your octopus story. Keep in mind that if a person isn't depressed by today's state of the world - weather-wise, politically, financially, health-wise, etc. - he/she just does not understand what is the situation. It isn't just you who are sad. Hugs!

Tinbeni said...

Husker: Excellent write-up. Good Job !!!

Well it is raining "cats-n-dogs" here in Tarpon Springs (yesterday, today and tomorrow).

But at last the BARS are Open.

I will be "Toasting" y'all at 8:25 pm ... that's my "time" for Sunset ...
but I don't think i will be seeing one. LOL

Cheers!

Yellowrocks said...

Our diners serve two types of fried potatoes for breakfast, hash browns and home fries.They used to shred the potatoes from scratch for hash browns, but now they make them from frozen patties which I do not care for. I sure do miss my diner breakfasts where I solved my puzzle over coffee.

desper-otto said...

Penmanship: When I was in 6th grade and the teacher passed out report cards, I was amazed that I got an A in Penmanship. The teacher heard me and said, "Let me see that. That's not an A, that's a D." I replied that her penmanship wasn't very good. Probably not a wise move. I started young.

Misty said...

So glad to see you back, Owen--we worried about you. And I loved your poem and would give it a high grade!

Well, I got the entire top half of this delightful Saturday crossword--so, many thanks, Greg.

I had SYRIA before LIBYA, but got ITALY and then ZERO, which gave me CITIZENS. Yay!

And so it went. FRIED POTATOES made me hungry, and it's not even close to my cereal time yet.

Fun write-up, Husker Gary, thanks for that too.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Swift for a Saturday! Thank you, Greg Johnson and Gary!

The ENTIRE western hemisphere filled for me in a trice! The eastern one was just a tad slower, but eventually yielded its secrets.

IN SUM, this was the FASTEST Saturday puzzle in a long time. But, drat! FIW with SET FOOT ON instead of IN and no RIAL for Oman. It's a word I should definitely know. My grandmother used it to her dying day for coins. "Dos riales" (two bits) was a common reference for her. I am sure it's a lingering influence from the prolonged Arab occupation in Spain. 800 years will do that.

I liked SUBARCTIC crossing ALEUTIAN.

Since I never watched "House" I have no idea about ANNE Dudek. Why her since there are so many other ANNEs to choose from?

SCORE TO SETTLE is not my style either; forgive and forget is what my mother taught me and I sleep well at night.

I like seeing MYLAR and LYCRA which are so opposite from IRONWARE. Alas, I had to AXE FRIED POTATOES from my diet.

Owen:
I love seeing your poems once again and hope you know that you are missed.

Enjoy your day, everyone!

AnonDon said...


R-O-S

I got my first detention for sticking one of AnnaMaes pigtails in my inkwell.

AnonymousPVX said...


Like YR, I had not much after a couple of passes.

It slowly filled in.

Write-overs...FONT/PICA, COOKWARE/IRONWARE, NYLON/MYLAR, CSI/SVU, BOG/FEN.

After those first couple of passes I thought there’d be more.

Market is way up, but COVID cases still rising, no meds, no vax....nothing makes sense. I have to feel there’s going to be a reckoning, I hope I’m wrong.

See you Monday....stay safe.

Picard said...

Hand up learning moment that TOYOTA is a city. Apparently the city used to be called Koromo. It was renamed in 1959 to TOYOTA because of the car company there.

Hand up WEAK before MEEK, COOK before IRON. TONSURE and BAE we have seen before, but they were slow to come. OUTS didn't seem right. FIR. A satisfying challenge!

EL CAPITAN is in the fourth photo of this photo set of us at Yosemite National Park.

Here I am scraping the window of our TOYOTA at another national park: Bryce Canyon.

This TOYOTA Corolla Wagon is only the second car I have ever owned. 25 years young and almost 200,000 miles and still like new! I might buy a new one if they ever made a Corolla Wagon again!

Picard said...

From Yesterday and Before:
PK great timing of my post about your NASH and yours following seconds later! Thank you for the kind words and that you CERTIFIEd that you do take the time to look at my photos. Sorry you have problems with YouTube. Another affordable option to look into is the ChromeBook. It is a small laptop, but much more affordable than Windows or Apple. It can't directly run Windows or Apple software, but it has equivalents for most daily needs. And much less risk of malware!

BillG glad you remember "The Prisoner". I am still surprised that no one else commented on this with regard to LAVA Lamps.

Perhaps if you view this short video of "The Prisoner" props you will recall the central role of LAVA Lamps in the show?

Lucina you were having some concern about possible fake charges on your credit card? Has this been resolved?

CrossEyedDave if you check the box to email yourself with comments, you will be assured of getting a copy of any deleted comments, even your own.

Lucina said...

Picard:
Thank you for asking. It wasn't on my credit card but my checking account. It is being investigated.

I loved visiting Yosemite! In fact any National Park I have visited is a real treat, including of course, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Acadia in Maine and Volcanoes in Hawaii. All national treasures.

Terry said...

Great response 👍

CrossEyedDave said...

Thank you Lemon@8:29 for calming
my ruffled feathers. Your absolutely right,
it is CC's house, & I would never want to do anything to soil her carpets...

I guess it was that now The Far side, & Calvin/Hobbes are gone,
Non Sequitor has to be my favorite diversion from reality.
(closely followed by Pickles!)
& it just burns my butt that half the country muzzled its free speech
for one error in speaking aloud.

I will try to keep my thoughts to myself...

Anonymous said...

Terry at 2:16PM "Great response" to what?

PK said...

CED: you bring so much humor & fun to this column. Don't feel bad, please. I thought the monk cartoon was very appropriate for today: TONSURED & censored. My tongue is raw from biting it to keep from offending people I need in my life.

Big Easy said...

PK- don't bite your tongue. Some people are really ignorant and need to be told that once in a while. They need to be educated in reality.

Just look up Dean Wormer's description of one of the fraternity members in the movie "Animal House"

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=dean+wormer+talks+to+flounder&docid=607986860021908109&mid=29C7F8EAA1CB7C2997C429C7F8EAA1CB7C2997C4&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Wendybird said...

I am happy I finished a Saturday puzzle with nary a whiteout! I appreciate the paucity of proper names.

As a new participant in the blog(less than a year) I often wonder how you “regulars” became so well acquainted with each other. We’re you friends of C.C.’s that she asked to form a group? You seem to know each other personally, even meeting in person occasionally. It’s fun to read the warm repartee among you.

Thank you Greg and Gary for a lovely start to the weekend.

Lucina said...

Wendybird:
Some of us have been posting for years, 10 years in my case, and know each other virtually. Since we post about our families and sometimes our personal problems, we sympathize and appreciate one another. I have met some of the posters in person but did not know any of them prior to joining the Corner.

Wilbur Charles said...

Thx D-O. I don't keep up with that CSI type genre. I like Monk though. I've been binge watching; Season 7.
And.. you had the wit and the moxie to come up with that retort?

Ray-O, I posted FLN (-1?)about the inky messes of yesteryear. And, I was left-handed-think about it. Oh yeah, I also mentioned the left-handed Palmer pen'er who compensated by writing upside down. I tried it and actually could do it but right about that time I realized the public kids had a style of cursive without the loops .

Picard thx for the Yosemite photos . Now I know where EL CAPITAN is. I was not familiar with "The Prisoner" but I will check out your links.

Wendybird, you fit in nicely. Not everybody reads everybody's posts nor responds or shares. A couple of regulars mentioned that they like my posts so I keep in truck'n. Plus...look at the odd topics we tangent out to: today's inkwells and home fries.

I got caught in Tin's blinding rainstorm up Ocala way complete with texted tornado warnings and ear shattering thunder boomers. Sounded like 'Nam except nothing is as loud as a rocket hitting nearby - except the thunder was instant, coinciding with the flash .

WC

Jayce said...

I enjoyed solving this puzzle.
Is it LIGHT or DIODE? Only a perp, but not ASIS, will tell!
The HAWAIIAN Islands blocked my progress in the SW area for too long.
Hand up for learning that TOYOTA is also the city name.
Much as, like Gary, BAE is not a word I would ever use/hear/like, I filled it immediately.
Nope, it wasn't NEWS radio. It was TALK radio.
Nope, it wasn't STAIR, but STEPS, which BRUCE Banner revealed.
Excellent write-up, Gary.
Welcome back, Owen.
I specifically bought a PICA typewriter because it filled a page with fewer words.
I love FRIED POTATOES in every form I have ever had them. Actually, fried green tomatoes are pretty darn good too if done right.
So I guess we'd all better not say anything about Wiley's Non Sequitur comic strip lest we be branded as political. Frankly, I like it; one of my favorite characters was Pierre of the North.

A little boy wrote to Santa Claus, "Please send me two octopi." Thinking that didn't look right, he scratched that out and wrote, "Please send me two octopusses." He didn't think that looked right either, so he finally wrote, "Dear Santa, please send me one octopus. And while you're at it, please send me another one."

Good day to you all.

CanadianEh! said...

Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Greg and HuskerG.
I had more success today than yesterday. Several inkblots and a holdup in the SW corner, but I FIRed with one of my FASTEST times for a Saturday.
I believe we may have a pangram today. Let me check . . . No, I can't believe that G and H are missing!

Hand up for Cookware before IRONWARE, and Stair before STEP.
I wanted Greet before ASK IN; my salesman was SoftSoap(ing) before SOFTEN(ing) UP.
I waited for perps to decide between Ogle or LEER.
Rue was too short but FEEL BAD fit.
We only had IRON to throw before the SWINE (no pearls!).
Periods, Innings, Quarters (the division names depend on the sport!)
SVU was unknown to me.

No politics, but don't you Americans have to decide who to VOTE(S) FOR this November?

Wishing you all a good evening.

Vermontah said...

Man oh man I just shot myself in the foot repeatedly with today's puzzle. WEAK instead of MEEK. AREL instead of URAL. ROOTS FOR instead of VOTES FOR. COOKWARE instead of IRONWARE. Who ever heard of IRONWARE anyway? What about COPPERWARE? All my pots and frying pans are coppper. Not that copperware would fit, but you get my point.

Otherwise a decently challenging puzzle which I did better on than my usual Saturday struggle.

My wife says a TONSURE, otherwise known to us non-monks as a bald spot, is a sign of wisdom and intelligence. She also says a belly is a sign of masculinity. I do love that woman.

I'm halfway through the Sunday puzzle, which is going better than today's. Lawyerly plays on words. Is it my imagination or is the Sunday LAT puzzle actually a bit easier than Saturday? NYT puzzle that's not the case; Sunday's often a head-scratcher.

Owen, loved your poem!

Anonymous T said...

Typical Saturday Fail... but not bad (for me).

Hi All!

IRON WARE? Is that a thing for Pots? Pans sure, but pots? [Thank you Birdseed!] Cookware, clayware (pottery), chefWARE... An inky mess, I can VERRIFIES [sic].

And then PACES? Really, you don't just WALK OFF a plot for dimensions? Or, maybe, you EYE BALL it? No. Not today.
Spitz - My "I have things to do" pace is 1yard/step. STEPPING OFF a distance is a Boy Scouts skill -- I 2x check mine every few years to see if I'm slowing down.

Let IN? See IN? Ask IN? Oy!

Thanks Greg for a fun puzzle. Did OK from BREADBOX and down to the left but I had to look up spellings of ALUTION and TENACLES [sic and sic] to complete the SE.

Great expo HG. Love'd seeing my Hulk Hero Lou.
//Story: I had The Incredible Hulk Halloween getup one year. And that year was sooo coooold mom made me wear my parka. No! Don't cover up Hulk!
Ooooo, under my costume?
I look'd big like the Hulk. Fun times.

Fav: I thought the clue for ON REQUEST was pretty cute and spot on.
'course, ITALY is always a fav //made Tomato Compote today to go w/ grilled eggplant*

OKL! So good to see you back. {B+}

PK - That's my philosophy... I don't sweat it. DW, on the other hand, "Well, they need to apologize and I'm going to make them." I think it's a Southern thing.

Ray-O: Knock it if you want but.... Pop (in Jesuit-Catholic school) also learned the Palmer Method. His handwriting is beautiful and his pen-and-ink ART is pretty damn good. I can't draw a square.
//I have a pocket protector that says the Geek will inherit the Earth.

Picard - Never seen The Prisoner so *crickets* here.

Jayce - It was light until it wasn't just 'taters FRIED. WTH is the matter w/ me when I don't go w/ the more technical answer first? :-)

The problem w/ discussing politics is not knowing your audience..

Cheers, -T
*Why don't Italians barbeque? The garlic keeps falling through the grill. :-)
//true story. I had to go get the foil...

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Anon T. Meant only to indicate how important penmanship used to be but learning it with inkwells was challenging.

In a profession stereotyped for having illegible handwriting mine is always complimented as being among the best.

Bobbi said...

Pretty fast fill until I got to SW corner when I crashed and burned. The foil that caused the confligration was ERDOC. Actually disagree - during the pandemic ALL people who work in hospitals are PROS, in any sense of the word ... RIGHT??? Now, back to giving out college scholarships...three down, four to go!!

Lucina said...

Since I once taught Palmer method penmanship I had a beautiful, flowing script. But now, like everything else with aging, it's a bit shaky. Though a different skill, I do great calligraphy. My family is always duly impressed when they receive cards from me and I'm occasionally asked to do certificates.