Theme: WHERE WAS I (66. Lost-one's-place words often preceded by the two-letter start of 17-, 29- and 49-Across)
17A. Rental vehicles for self-moving: U-HAUL VANS. Uh, I ...
29A. Designed for comfort and efficiency: ERGONOMIC. Er. I ...
49A. Rainy day protectors: UMBRELLAS. Um, ...
Boomer here.
UH, Years ago I attended UM (University of Minnesota) for a year. UH, I got one A in Bowling, 2 "B"s in Math courses, a couple of "C"s and ER one "F". D UH.
As a devout baseball fan, I am happy to honor Jackie Robinson as his normal MLB day was changed from April 15 to August 29 this year. Players on all teams wore uniforms numbered 42 in Jackie's honor and I am proud to display my 1955 Topps Double Header card from my set.
1. Asks for a treat, as a boxer: BEGS. I am pretty sure that Muhammad Ali never had to beg for anything.
5. Site of a boxer's attack: RING.
9. Chocolate syrup brand since 1928: BOSCO. Wow, there's a brand out of the past. I remember their commercials but I never had any. Must have been too expensive.
14. Circus prefix with bat: ACRO.
15. Diva's delivery: ARIA. Of course, I was in the Benilde High
School Glee Club. Every Spring we would do a joint concert with two of
the Catholic girls' schools in Minneapolis. We delivered some pretty
good ARIAs back then, if I do say so myself.
16. "This __ much!": "I'm overwhelmed!": IS TOO. "Is not".
19. "Pleasantly" chubby: PLUMP. We go for the PLUMP Watermelon.
20. President after Madison: MONROE. Wow, we go way back to 1817 and he was from the Democratic Republican party. They must have split up sometime later.
21. Mother-of-pearl sources: ABALONES.
23. Has title to: OWNS. I have a title to my van, but I also own 14 golf clubs and about that many bowling balls. Never won a title in golf but I have a couple in bowling.
25. __ standstill: AT A.
26. Tea biscuit: SCONE. I wonder if Baskin Robbins has S CONES ?
35. Guffaw syllable: HAR. Not sure if Oliver Hardy made this famous, but he is the first guy I ever heard him say HAR, HAR, HARDY, HAR. HAR..
36. Pirate in "Hook": SMEE. Played by Bob Hoskins.
38. U.S. state with the lowest average annual rainfall: NEVADA.
We usually get there once a year. I don't ever remember getting wet
there. However we are skipping the retirees party this year. No vaccine,
no plane rides to Nevada.
39. Horse known for its endurance: ARAB.
41. Wed: UNITE.
43. Not fer: AGIN. Beverly Hillbillies' accent.
44. Wisdom teeth, e.g.: MOLARS. I have fake teeth now, but in my younger years, I never cut any wisdom teeth. I guess you need to be wise to get them.
46. Fabled loch: NESS.
48. Stooge Howard: MOE. With Larry and Curly, my favorites.
51. Casual conversations: CHATS.
53. Contend (for): VIE.
54. Bro of van Gogh: THEO. "But I could have told you Vincent, this world was never made for one as beautiful as you". Starry Night - Don McClean.
56. Dedicatee of an annual MLB tribute game: OLD TIMER. Count me in.
61. Snare: ENTRAP.
65. Lion's warnings: ROARS.
68. Lake craft: CANOE.
69. Bubbly-textured Nestlé chocolate bar: AERO. N-E-S-T-L-E-S. Nestles makes the very bet, Chocolate.
70. Muscle pain: ACHE. I get them all of the time. Some of my golfing friends are a pain in a different location.
71. Change for the better: AMEND.
72. Tall tale: YARN.
73. Classic Jaguars: XKES. "I was cruisin' in my Sting Ray late one night, when an XKE pulled up on the right. Dead Man's Curve - The Beach Boys.
Down:
1. Wicked Witch of the West creator: BAUM. "The wind began to switch, the house to pitch. and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch."
2. Reverberate: ECHO. Hallo, Hallo. Hallo
3. Mom's mom: GRAN. We always called Mom's Mom "Grandma"
4. Become disenchanted with: SOUR ON.
5. Poe's "ebony bird": RAVEN. "Nevermore"
6. Nest egg letters: IRA. I saw plenty of nest eggs at my Uncle
Bill's farm. They did not have pictures of president's (or Hamilton or
Franklin) on them,.
7. Columbus ship: NINA. This guy always has amazed me. He packed up three ships and sailed across the Atlantic looking for India.
8. Chatterbox: GASBAG.
9. Double-winged WWI aircraft: BIPLANE. Also amazing what flew in the 1910s.
10. Norway's capital: OSLO.
11. Leave slack-jawed: STUN.
12. Arrive: COME. Hi, Ho, COME to the fair. We have a big one in Minnesota, but not this year. No Covid spread wanted.
13. "Sorry, my mistake": OOPS.
18. The Home Depot competitor: LOWE'S. We usually use Home Depot. Closer to our home and 10% discount for veterans.
22. Shows contrition: ATONES. Okay, Sorry if I bored you. Monday
puzzles are fairly easy.
24. Noticed: SEEN.
26. Former SeaWorld star: SHAMU. Interesting. I went to Orlando
for a golf outing a couple of times in the eighties. We went to Disney
and Epcot but skipped Sea World. In the Land of 10,000 lakes, if
you've seen one sea you've seen them all.
27. Off-the-cushion billiards shot: CAROM.
28. Dental care brand: ORAL- B. I just use a cup and a fizzy tablet for my dental care.
30. Spanish queen: REINA.
31. Caesar's eggs: OVA.
32. Molten rock: MAGMA.
33. Meathead: IDIOT. MEATHEAD ?? Archie Bunker's favorite word for Michael Stivic.
34. Curved-top candy shapes: CANES. My legs don't always cooperate, but I am not into CANES yet.
37. Mosque visitor: MUSLIM.
40. Saloon: BAR. These seem to be Covid-19 factories. They were
closed for awhile but I guess the Governor felt sorry for the owners.
Masks and some social distance rules are in effect. I used to stop for a
quick one after work, but now I am on the wagon for good.
42. Exam: TEST. "This has been a TEST. Had it been a real
emergency we would have told you to go downstairs and put a pillow over
your head."
45. Made changes in: REVISED.
47. Play division: SCENE.
50. Wiggle room: LEEWAY. At least SIX feet of LEE WAY in any public situation please.
52. Hair-removal substance: HOT WAX. Seems like we used to use this to shine up a car.
55. White wader: HERON. Add another "R" and you have Tim HERRON
of the PGA. He only ever won one PGA tournament and his nickname is
"LUMPY". After Clarence Rutherford on "Leave it to Beaver". Of course a
Minnesota golfer and a little better than me.
56. 26-Down, for one: ORCA.
57. Rich soil: LOAM.
58. "Great" dog breed: DANE.
59. Suffix with Jumbo: TRON. A video game that I never tried.
60. Flightless bird: RHEA. We had Birds last week, but I don't remember her.
62. __ of lamb: RACK.
63. Tennis great Arthur: ASHE. Hall of Famer. Passed to early at age 49.
64. Crusty desserts: PIES.
67. Goof up: ERR. I'm a baseball guy. I call it an ERROR.
Boomer
54 comments:
FIR, one write-over as I tried to fit in “engineered.”
Good morning!
Gotta love me a themeless Monday. There was a theme? There was a reveal? Whooosh, right over my head. No write-overs this morning in my mad dash to the bottom. Nice to see you again so soon, Jerome. Boomer, you were in fine fettle this morning.
BOSCO: I remember begging Mom to get some, because of some marketing offer. She bought it. I hated it -- too slimy. It finally got thrown out.
MOLARS: I had an impacted third molar removed in the Navy. It was a hammer and chisel job, and I was sick for a week.
IRA: We've got four of 'em. We both have a conventional and a Roth. No RMD this year. That's a bonus.
Nice puzzle today, Jerome. I look forward to your next one. And thanks Boomer for explaining with humor to start the week.
Saw the theme and cruised along to the bottom where YARN was not my first thought. My only write over.
ABALONES brought to mind living in Monterey in the 60s while DH learned Vietnamese for the army at the Presidio's language school. This Midwesterner's only time living near an ocean.
FLN, -T, Foxx was with Philadelphia * but the Athletics not the Phillies. They're now in Oakland by way of KC.
1932 might be right. He won two in a row. Another Philadelphia hitter won two Batting Championships in a row despite taking 37 "Days off" in one.
Answer at 1115 when I get out of my MTG.
I had Ribs/RING;egRet/HERO;GASser/BAG
Not to speak of Anti/AGIN. Not really awake.
So on Monday it's PLUMP / Z???. Yiddish is not my strong suit. Eh?
Dostoevsky wrote a great book called "The IDIOT"
Atl-G, I almost went to Monterey in 68 but ended up in Lejeune instead for disbursement.
WC
Good morning everyone.
Easy solve today. No searches, no wite-outs. FIR. Clean as a hound's tooth.
OSLO - CSO to Jerome's forebears from Norge. Nice bright puzzle by the way. Thanks.
PLUMP is a definition of 'zaftig'.
LEEWAY - From the nautical: "The amount that a ship is blown leeward by the wind. Also the amount of open free sailing space available to leeward before encountering hazards."
* Foxx ended his career with the Redsox hitting 58 fingers in 1938. I had Jackie R cards in 52,53,54. Lost in the great Mother Hunt.
Musings
-Fun theme and fill, Jerome!
-BOSCO was George Costanza’s secret bank code
-Ralph Kramden borrowed that line from Oliver HARdy
-U.S. led me to NEW MEX first
-REVISED – My high school essays never got this. Today, it is very easy
-Cool enough for a jacket today and next week will see some lows in the 40’s. Love it!
Quick and and easy sashay, except for AERO, which is rather obscure for a Monday. But, it did have easy perps. Wiki:"The Aero Bar was made available for a short time in the United States by Nestlé during the 1980s, though it seems not to have been a commercial success. However, they are still available at certain specialty vendors or supermarkets such as Big Y, Wegmans and Publix that import the bars." They seem to be more popular in the UK and other countries.
Ray-O, what did you think of UH, ER, UM? The Witch Doctor is back."oo ee oo aa aa, ting, tang, walla walla bing bang." I suppose I am less exacting about crosswords than many other things. I look at crosswords as a lighthearted game, so I don't overthink them. Slang, archaic words, partials, second order definitions, it's all good. Flexible thinking is a huge help. A straight forward vocabulary game would be boring.
We very seldom had BOSCO, but I knew of it. Mom preferred Hershey's, as do I.
I grew up in rural PA and didn't see the ocean until I was college age. My parents preferred the mountains.
Years ago I revised frequently as I went along, but revising the final copy after having second thoughts was rare, unless there was a glaring mistake. It meant retyping the whole thing. With the advent of word processing typewriters, and then computers, I revise many, many times. Never too late to change.
FIR slow for Monday.
Wasn't looking for UHAUL brand.
Took a sec to parse SOUR ON.
Was looking for hair removal brand.
Egret? Nope HERON.
REINA filled by perps
Familiar with Nestle's Crunch, not AERO
Thanks Jerome.
Thanks Boomer. btw Marble Slab has Spensive CONES
Good Morning:
Wow, another Jerome offering after a long drought! This was a simple, but fresh theme, that was hidden, to me, until the reveal. I liked the Dane/Cane(s) and Orca/Shamu duos and, of course, the mini-creature theme with Abalones, Arab, Shamu, Heron, Rhea, and Orca (Hi, Lucina FLN). Aero was unknown so I guess I’m not up to date on my candy bars. Nice CSOs to Chairman Moe (Moe) and Inanehiker (Nina).
Seeing rack of lamb always reminds me of my husband’s order to a waiter for the “lack of ram”. Methinks Mr. Chivas Regal may have twisted the tongue a little!
Thanks, Jerome, it’s nice to have you and your word wizardry back and thanks, Boomer, for always brightening my Monday morning. You da man!
FLN
Thanks to Anonymous @ 10:11 for a perfect example of an honest, critical, but fair assessment of a puzzle. An even-handed critique points out the positives as well as the negatives, which this post did beautifully. Thank you again.
Have a great day.
Nice write-up Boomer.
Hmmm ... it has probably been 55 years since I enjoyed BOSCO.
Cheers!
Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun Jerome and ?Boomer.
I FiRed and got the theme (no Eh, eh!).
Quick post before I go outside to do some work in my perennial garden on this beautiful morning.
Only one inkblots when I put Trap in the wrong spot at 54A. It was ENTRAP just below.
I smiled at AMEND crossing REVISED, and MOLARS crossing ORALB. Also ARAB very close to MUSLIM.
The clueing for ACRO was a meh IMHO.
NeetNair were too short. Ah, HOT WAX. ( like that chicken imagery from last week).
I spelled MONROE correctly with an O today (I lurked yesterday).
I think it was W.C. who told us there would be a CSO to Chairman MOE today.
Enjoy the day. Read you all later.
At one time our square dance club suffered from many dancers' expectations that every dance would be exactly what they preferred. Some walked away and didn't come back.
-This is way too difficult. People should realize that not everyone can handle this.
-This is way too easy. It's boring.
-We developed an accommodating family atmosphere. Patience with each other. When you have siblings of different ages, your family has to plan to keep everyone happy. Our dances became a mixture. Something for everyone. Sometimes a caller spent a few minutes to walk us through a difficult sequence before we started. No more complaints. No more walk-outs. The skill level of most improved. Not my way or the highway, but caring and tolerance win the day.
This applies to crosswords, too. Remember,“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.” Or so said the fifteenth-century monk and poet, John Lydgate.
Things that some love, others abhor and vice versa. I will put up with what others like and hope they will put up with what I like.
I began to SOURON this puzzle as soon as I came across SMEE, and I was all the way AGIN it when I discovered the theme.
I'm not sure how this qualifies as a theme, to be honest. It cannot be difficult to find words/phrases that start with ER, UM, and UH. "UHAULVANS" does not sparkle, and UMBRELLAS and ERGONOMIC don't strike me as theme-worthy. WHEREWASI isn't a clever revealer, either. There's no double meaning or anything like that. It might have been clever if the theme answers had the letter 'I' removed from them to create new words/phrases.
Sorry to COME here just to bellyACHE. Feel free to dismiss me as an IDIOT.
Boomer - I'm not familiar with a video game called Jumbotron. I always associated the name with the gigantic screens used at some sporting events. I look forward to your Monday critiques. I can relate to your age related trials and tribulations. Keep up the good work.
AnonDon, I think Boomer was referring to the game named simply TRON.
WC, your memory is good but like most of us could use a little jogging or at least a walk in the park.
The record of JIMMIE FOXX was very impressive but he hit the 58 dingers (I hope not fingers) while with the As. He did hit 50 with the Red Sox with 175 RBI. They traded him to the Cubs in 42. He went on to play parts of 44 with Cubs and 45 finishing in Philly, but with the Phillies. for
Good Monday puzzle from Jerome with a couple of non-Monday words (IMO). Boomer as always did a great job of taking us through the grid.
AERO and THEO were the two words I didn't know. Perps as usual took care of them.
I remember BOSCO also. I BEGged my mother to buy some BOSCO because of the ads on TV and I thought I was missing something great. She bought one bottle of it and told me I had to finish it. It was terrible, and it took me months to get it down. Be careful what you wish for.
I use ORALB brushes and dental floss, and I use Efferdent and Polident fizzy tablets, not for my teeth, but to clean my stainless steel coffee pot. Four tablets in very hot water soaking for a few hours takes care of the coffee stains in the pot.
I hope everyone is doing well. Have a great day and please wear your masks.
For the second consecutive Monday my paper's easy puzzle, United Feature, took me longer than today's LAT. It flew by with no stumbling blocks. Got Theo by perps. Hopefully our two crabby Anons from yesterday will agree today's test was on a TV Guide level.
Loved the Bosco, “a milk amplifier” ad. I remember Ovaltine was my chocolate drink of choice.
Nevada, least rainfall? We haven’t had any rain for months, the storms this weekend missed our corner of the state.
A nice eazy breazy puzzle with no errors but if course no idea of the theme.
Today we had "pleasantly" chubby rather than zaftigfor PLUMP. If "Nevada" means snowfall in Spanish doesn't that turn to rain when it gets warm enough? See our "chairman" got a cameo appearance.
As a lifelong unrepentant chocoholic I'm shocked and awed that I never hear of an AERO candy bar. Hope those crusty dessert pies are chocolate too.
speaking of Hot Wax
YR: Walla Walla totally acceptable as a town in Washington State.
From yesterday ...was reviewing the CW narrative (said before our paper doesnt carry the Sunday Lat puzzle) to glean some knowledge when I heard "shouting" from the Cornerite commentary section. Quite an ado, stir, hubbub. Inre/asto certain negative comments.
Some cornerites were actually IRED!!. Blood pressure rising. APGAR scores down (turning blue in the face).
This will IRE you more....
Fake cow sound....SHAMU
Sun dial......OLD TIMER.
Confederate general's strategy...LEEWAY
"I can't miss the bus ____ late!"...ORALB
Let's have a great safe week. 2nd APGAR ...normal.
Answer. It was the eponymous "Ferris" Fain with the aforesaid Athletics of Philadelphia. I suspect Bueller may have been named after him. But FB's "Day Off" didn't occur in Philly??? Ahah, Fain spent the 50s with Chi-Sox. Noteworthy for two things: brutal fight with Billy Martin and spending time for his California marijuana farm(ahead of his time)
IM, I had a very late post, FLN, re. Bobbi and her Sunday difficulties.
Lemonade, how right you are. A mere 50 with the Redsox but in the magic number. I knew he played during the war.
When a brash Ted Williams arrived at spring training in 1938 he was told "Wait 'til you see Foxx hit". His response: Wait til Foxx sees ME hit. They sent him to Minneapolis where he tore apart AAA but never matured. But we must be kind to a veteran of two wars and hit 521 DINGERs despite missing five years.*
WC
*And returning late in 53 with no spring training hit .400+ for the remainder
A quick and pleasant start to the puzzle week. It was nice to see ABALONES clued with a mother of pearl reference in lieu of the old school Nacre.
The Jimmie Foxx comments, above, reminded me that Fox's U-Bet was the chocolate flavoring of choice of my family. We did also drink BOSCO. Here is one of the early commercials, complete with the famous jingle toward toward the end of the clip:
1950's BOsco Commercial
Of course, that was not the version of the jingle that me and my friends sang on the grammar school playground. That went something like:
I hate Bosco, it's not the drink for me
Mommy put it in my milk to try and poison me
But I fooled mommy, I put it in her tea
And now there is no mommy to try and poison me
Little angels we were.
Hola!
Jerome, how nice to see you again! I hope we can expect more from you as you are on a roll. This was fun. The main thing about puzzles, IMO, is a sense of play. A sense of humor is required.
Thank you as well, Boomer! You usually elicit a chuckle from me though I must disagree with you on the best chocolate. That is SEE's chocolate. It is superb and better even than Swiss chocolate which is very good.
I don't know what amount of rain NEVADA gets yearly, but we surely must be a close second.
I see that IrishMiss already collected the creatures in the puzzle.
oc4beach:
Thank you for that tip about using ORALB tablets to clean stainless steel!
Have a beautiful day, everyone! It's a sunny day here.
Great to get a fun Jerome Gunderson puzzle on a Monday! Many thanks, Jerome. And your pictures and comments are always a pleasure, Boomer.
The northwest corner filled in so quickly, I even got U-HAUL VANS, even though I don't remember ever seeing one. Couldn't believe getting UM in the middle, and UMBRELLAS popped right up. And so it went, until I got the whole puzzle perfectly, with BOSCO (never heard of it) being correct, to my relief. Also a relief that MOE was correct, since I had no idea his name was Howard (but I knew he was one of the Stooges). And there was a chocolate bar named AERO? Really? I clearly don't know my chocolates, but thank goodness still got them right.
I'm not a sports person, but I still remember that Arthur ASHE died young (at 49, apparently) from an HIV infection that he got from a blood transfusion. Very sad.
Great way to start the week, thanks again Jerome and Boomer, and have a good day, everybody.
Puzzling thoughts:
I thought it was Malodorous Manatee who predict via ***Spoiler Alert*** that there would be a CSO to yours truly today ...
And as one who’s tried constructing a few crossword puzzles myself, you’d be surprised how tough it is to “force” MOE in as an answer
SOURED/SOUR ON; EGRET/HERON; REYNA/REINA; CAREM/CAROM
OOPS! I ERRed
How could we ever forget
BOSCO?
Irish Miss, this is Anon@10:11 from last night. Thank you so much for your kind words! It's hard to tread the line between constructive criticism and seeming too harsh, and I'm glad to hear that message was on the right side of the line.
As for today's puzzle, I am very intrigued by the AERO bar and would love to be able to try one someday! I haven't thought about BOSCO in years, but I used to love that stuff. I hope I can get my chocolate fix through one or both of them soon!
Jerome, as many have said it is great to see you in your creative stage again.
MM, Fox's U-Bet probably unknown to most but much better than Bosco. I was more of an Autocrat coffee syrup fan
And I’m sure no one remembers “Cocoa Marsh” chocolate milk “amplifier”.
Another syrup from the 50's that I thought was terrible was Ovaltine. Again it's only my opinion.
Well spoken, YR!
Petty easy Monday. Got the theme, but I had two writeovers. I had to change GRAM (which is what my two daughters called their maternal grandmother) to GRAN, and I had to change HAH to HAR. Only actual guesses were AERO/RHEA, but I got them right.
Only knew BOSCO from the jingle; never had it.
NEVADA rainfall – When my sister lived in Las Vegas, I used to drive out there every couple of years. One day, we DID get into a Houston-type thunderstorm there. For some reason, it didn’t seem to mess up the LV drivers the way the storms mess up the Houston drivers. Just sayin’.
Sorry, Boomer. “Dead Man’s Curve” was Jan and Dean:
Dead Man's Curve
The Beach Boys might have also recorded it (what didn’t they record?), but the original was Jan and Dean, and it is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jan (Berry) was severely injured in an automobile accident at the height of their popularity.
Oc4beach: that remedy works for WAY more than coffee pots. Tea stains, any kind of yucky food glop, they all yield. And... we discovered a long time ago that the cheap powder from Amazon works just as well and is much cheaper.
Great puzzle. Not too easy, not too hard... juuust right. (Exit middle bear, stage right)
Put me on the list of folks who never heard of the AERO bar and never had BOSCO. I knew of it but I guess we were a Hershey kind of family.
Thanks, Boomer, for your enlightening comments and Jerome for the puzzle.
Off to do battle with a recalcitrant garage door opener. Stay well.
whoops, just catching up on the comments from yesterday's blog. Maybe my criticisms of today's puzzle were poorly timed!
FWIW, I'm an occasional constructor and I don't think it's improper to criticize a puzzle, assuming the criticism is fair and not an ad hominem attack. I think the constructors and editors need to hear from their audience. That said, it's possible that this particular blog is not the best venue for that, and if the bloggers and everyday commenters dislike the criticisms, I'll respect their wishes.
AnonymousPVX, Bosco was also sold as a "milk amplifier" -- said so right on the package. I wonder who was copying whom.
Wheels42 @ 1:11 ~ I don’t think any of the regular commenters or bloggers object to criticism of the puzzles if, as you yourself state in your first sentence, it is fair and not an ad hominem attack. That sentiment is exactly why I pointed out the comment by Anonymous @ 10:11 last night. (See reply comment at 12:38 today).
Lucina, much to my surprise AZ is fourth in yearly rainfall, after Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.
I believe non ad hominim criticisms are acceptable, especially when phrased as opinions. I think my negative reaction to them is sometimes based on my loving what is being criticized and hoping that the constructors will not discontinue such ideas. We need to realize that what we like is not always what others like. Live and let live. Whatever floats your boat. Something for everyone. Big tent. Enough aphorisms already.
HAR used to be Milton Berle's signature, a mocking laugh on his old TV show.
I used to watch the man we called "Mr. Television" in the early '50s--just bits of his Texaco show through a store window on Union Street, SF, before we had a TV set of our own.
He may have been copying Oliver Hardy. They both did a sort of "HAR Dee HAR HAR HAR" joke laugh.
BOSCO is another evoker of childhood. I didn't know it was still around.
I enjoyed the Laurence Olivier screenings on TCM this weekend. He directed as well as acting the lead. His Hamlet won the Oscar. His Henry V was the very best wartime propaganda, putting Goebbels and the Germans to shame in that department. Prince and the Showgirl with Marilyn Monroe as his co-star is a delicious fantasy.
But maybe The Entertainer is his greatest achievement. I can't get the song, "Why Should I Care?" out of my head.
I see he is credited with the lyrics for it. Perfect.
~ OMK
I'd like to chime in and agree with YR. What I find distressing is when posters state their opinions as though they were facts. There's a big difference between "I found this puzzle difficult", and "this puzzle was unfairly obscure".
But of course,that's just my opinion.
MOE, it was less a prediction than it was a bit of time shifting. Computers seem to believe anything you tell them. Every morning I tell mine that it is in The Line Islands. It thinks that it is already the next day and I get to do that puzzle. Sometimes it is difficult, when posting here, to not confused myself as to which CW I should be commenting about.
Lemonade, IIRC the Fox's U-Bet came from the same place as did the pastrami, the bialys, and, per my mom's instructions, the thin sliced belly lox.
Thank you IM et alia for your defense of homonyms whew!
My tuppence: Wheels @ 1:11pm. This is an excellent blog for critical review of the day's crossword puzzle compared to what I have read in other blogs, frequently off the wall or venomous. With a few exceptions the observations are fair even if not everyone is in agreement. Most are opinions that can be considered or ignored by the constructionists.
Thank you, Jerome, for your puzzle today, which I enjoyed. Thank you, Boomer, for your exposition, which I also enjoyed.
I agree with Lucina about chocolate; we like See's the best, at least among well-known national brands. There used to be a small mom and pop place near us (until they and other small businesses had to leave or shut down because their rents tripled) that made their own chocolate, which LW and I think was the best chocolate we had ever had. Maybe the fact that we were friends with the owners helped contribute to our perception of their handiwork's quality.
I think one reason that Arizona is not the driest state is that the Flagstaff and Grand Canyon areas get more rain than many people realize.
Hooray for no RMD this year!
Malodorous Manatee, I love your version of that Bosco jingle.
Good wishes to you all.
Hi All!
UM, interesting puzzle Jerome. :-) Nice to see your byline again so soon. Like Lucina said, I hope there's more in the hopper.
Thanks for the entertaining review Boomer. Cool #42 card - thanks for sharing.
WOs: GRAm, VIa b/f VEE, BOSCh syrup
ESPs: REINA, THEO, and, y'all knew ABALONE?
Fav: I thought the crossing of REVISED | AMEND was cute.
//Oooh, I missed MOLAR | ORALB, C, Eh!
I played TRON a lot in my ute.
Wow - my hypothetical MVP entry got some traction. Thanks Lem & WC re: Athletics. //see; I said it was lazy [and now I qualify for Dostoevsky's almanac :-)]
I remember seeing BOSCO on the shelf next to my Hershey's syrup / Nesquik powder - a rare treat when Mom could afford it.
Ray-O: LOL #s 1&2 -- Almost lost beer, ER, soda, out my nose.
WEES - Fair criticism is fair criticism. I'm not a fan of AGIN but to call Jerome lazy on that... C'mon Jack.
//plus it cross'd ID-10-T* - that make up for it.
Synchronicity: I saw this on Twitter today.. //UH, Pat, can I buy a vowel? :-)
Cheers, -T
*Diagnostic reason why someone's computer didn't "work" - as per invoice :-)
For those Jonesing for an AERO BAR , you can get them at Target.
MM, how do you get so far ahead in puzzles?
Looking forward to Wednesday, Chairman Moe!
Looking back, Anonymous-T, Re: Saturday I guess I had it coming...
Thank you for a perfect CED type explanation.
(I was going to change my Blog Avatar to the above pic,
but I can't remember how to do it...)
But! I still think that cloud chamber is fascinating!
(& may explain why I sometimes do not remember things)
&, as a plus, it's a kinda stylish.
So I want to give it a try...
Unfortunately, DW says Aluminium Foil is too expensive to waste.
So, if I remember, I have to use what's left over from dinner.
(I hope it's not fish!)
Sunday?
(I dunno, I was moving.)
But you can bet I have a story to tell about returning a U-haul after hours...)
Today?
Finished it well enough, after a few stutters...
Interesting theme, Where was I?
Hmm, I wonder if people will still ask me for directions
if I am wearing a tin foil hat?
69. Bubbly-textured Nestlé chocolate bar:
I was thinking this, but it wouldn't fit.
Never heard of an Aero bar...
Lemonade, instead of using automatic time zone selection I use manual. I am in California which is GMT (or UTC) minus 7. If I tell my computer that I am in, say, Tonga, the local time there is GMT plus 13 or twenty hours ahead of what it is in California. So, if I do that at 8 a.m. PDT that equals 8 a.m. plus 20 hours. That's 28:00 Hours or 4 a.m. (28:00H less 24:00H) in Tonga. Because it is already the next day in Tonga my CW app downloads that day's puzzles. I could actually be there, or in Hanoi, or Jerusalem or Rome or Ljubljana or Xian or wherever having a cup of tea for breakfast. On my computer the sequence is Settings, Advanced, Date and Time, Time Zone, Choose From List and then pick a time zone. Just be careful to set the time zone back to where you actually are after downloading the puzzles or your calendar can really get messed up. Don't ask me how I know this.
CED - I was thinking Nestlé's Crunch too. I want to say I saw the AERO bar when I was in the UK but... There were so many things we don't have on our shelves [though, sometimes I'll see German stuff at Aldi]
Regardless, it was a few perps and leap-of-faith (based on the clue) that ink'd 69.
I've always found it peculiar crossing boarders. UK was easy [You'll be gone in a week mate? Ok]; Germany was easy (I was in the Army then); Italy was "please come in welcome."
In Cairo we had a handler from [redacted - that company was ransomware'd last month - same bad actors that almost got Tesla - [cite]] who paid whatever it was he was doing for visa stamps / our bags were not inspected [getting hardware into country can take months!]
Canada was the only time I'd ever been nervous. I told them I was just going to attend a hacker conference in Vancouver and that didn't seem to please them. They had a hard time w/ me sporting 3 laptops and a myriad of cables that connect to anything. I eventually got through w/o incident.
//Later in life, I got to fly the corporate jet to the Calgary office and the Customs guy walked on the plane:
"Everyone has their passport, eh?"
"Yep"
"Ok then. Have a nice visit."
//pretty much the same on return to US except the Customs guy wasn't available for two hours: Conundrum -- fully stocked bar on the plane but there's the boss...
DW had the worst experience upon arriving in Russia. Her colleague had OTC sleeping pills that were apparently illegal there. They were held for >2hrs as SPYs! :-)
//wasn't smart DW had her assistant pack her swag-bag. There was a "secret compartment" that had the college's banner in it. DW didn't know about that.
So, WHERE WAS I?
Oh, yeah - I was thinking Nestlé's Crunch too CED.
//can I borrow the hat? Something's invading my brain.
I don't care if it smells of fish :-)
Cheers, -T
Or...One could be near a city like Tampa that gets the xwords for the week in the Sunday paper as an insert. I'm late this week, I'm just about to do Tuesday.
Will I stop there? Ok, maybe Wednesday, too.
WC
Ps, the key is not giving anything away. I can't give away difficulty level because I've learned I can't gauge it. If there are sports questions I'm guessing difficult, if there's music, art, Spanish, pop-cul then difficult for me.
Oops, Tues is done. UHUH, my lips are sealed. Ok, CSO to Anon-T and Picard.
On to Wed
Yes. Thank you, Jayce! I'll reiterate, See's is the very best chocolate whether it's their pure fudge or any of the blends. Yum! Yum! It's so rich and creamy!
Done. I was going to stop at Thurs but then realized I was doing Friday. So that's why it was so tough.
Pam is back.
WC
I'll leave Saturday for later
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