Double Your Fun! The word Double can be placed before each word in the theme answer to give a new concept.
20-Across. City street spot you usually have to back into: PARKING SPACE. Double Park and Double Space. Double Space in typing means that there is a full space, the equivalent to the full height of a line of the text, between rows of words in a document. Most computer texting programs default to single spacing.
This is just wrong!
33-Across. Unfavorable impression: NEGATIVE TAKE. Double Negative and Double Take.
Double Take
42-Across. Winter clock setting: STANDARD TIME. Double Standard and Double Time.
Double Standard.
And the unifier:
56-Across. In 2020's MLB season, each game of one was seven innings ... and what each word of three long answers can have: DOUBLE HEADER. The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on Major League Baseball this year.
Across:
1. Like new dollar bills: CRISP. //
And 19-Across. Singles: ONES.
6. Instruction unit: STEP.
10. Last year's frosh: SOPH. Last year's Freshman is this
year's Sophomore. According to Webster's, the word Frosh for a first year student may derive from the German word for
Frog, which is what a student is called before entering the university.
14. Mediterranean mayonnaise: AIOLI. This is becoming a
crossword staple.
15. Place for pews: NAVE. There has been much discussion on
the church nave recently.
16. Crosby, Stills & Nash, e.g.: TRIO. Crosby, Stills
& Nash were a folk rock group formed in 1968. A year later, Neil
Young joined the group and the band became known as Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young.
17. Raced toward: RAN AT.
18. One cutting staff: AXER. Axer isn't in the Scrabble
dictionary, but if it was, it would be worth 11 points.
23. TSA __Check: PRE. Getting the Pre-Check on my airline ticket always makes me smile.
26. "Annabel Lee" poet: POE. Edgar Allen Poe (Jan. 19, 1809
~ Oct. 7, 1849) is known for his tales of mystery and poetry. I don't
think I had ever read Annabel Lee before.
27. Result of a coup, perhaps: OUSTER.
28. Sea surrounding Santorini: AEGEAN. Santorini seems to be
on the outer edge of the Aegean Sea,
30. Relate, as a story: TELL. William Tell had a Tale to
Tell.
32. Silly starter?: ESS. Silly Goose! It's the letter S.
36. HEATH Bar competitor: SKOR.
37. "Bel Canto" author Patchett: ANN. Ann Patchett (b. Dec.
2, 1963) has written several novels. Bel Canto is loosely
based on the Japanese embassy hostage crisis of 1996-1997, which occurred in
Lima, Peru. By coincidence, I took this book along with me to read while
I was traveling in Peru about 10 years ago. I highly recommend this
book.
38. Many an Omani: ARAB.
47. UFO operators: ETs. As in ExtraTerresterials.
50. Iowa college town: AMES. Iowa State University is
located in Ames, Iowa.
51. Egg-coloring holiday: EASTER. Tsars Alexander II and
Nicholas II had Fabergé jeweled eggs made for their wives as Easter gifts.
52. Useless: NO HELP.
54. Coll. entrance exam: SAT. The SAT exams were formerly
known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
55. Business card abbr.: EXT. Think of the telephone extension number.
60. James of jazz: ETTA. Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins;
Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) makes frequent guest appearances in the
crossword puzzles.
61. See-the-sights travel option: RAIL. // And 1.
See-the-sights travel option: CAR.
62. Banana cluster: BUNCH.
66. Came down: ALIT.
67. Poet Pound: EZRA. Ezra Pound (né Ezra Weston Loomis Pound; Oct. 30, 1885 ~ Nov. 1, 1972) was not
without a lot of controversy.
68. Vowel-rich farewell: ADIEU. Today's French lesson.
69. Surrealist Magritte: RENÉ. René Magritte (Nov. 21, 1898 ~ Aug. 15, 1967) was a Belgium artist who is known for
creating amusing images.
70. Burpee purchase: SEED. The Burpee Seed company was
founded by Washington Atlee Burpee (Apr. 5, 1858 ~ Nov. 26, 1915) in the
1870s. The company is still going strong today.
71. Transplant to a new container: REPOT.
Down:
2. River inlet: RIA.
3. Na+ or Cl-: ION. Together, these ions form table salt.
4. Word with happy or dash: SLAP. As in Slap Happy or Slap
Dash.
5. Rain-on-the-roof sound: PIT-A-PAT.
6. Asp or adder: SNAKE.
7. Cab: TAXI.
8. Like every other integer: EVEN. 2, 4, 6, 8, ...
9. Vine-covered walkway: PERGOLA. A pergola can also be a
covered sitting area. We build a pergola in our back yard a couple of
years ago and I spent many hours there during this pandemic season. The
word Pergola comes from the Latin, meaning projected eave.
10. Dots on a transit map: STOPS.
11. Highly decorative: ORNATE. The mosaics at the Alhambra
Palace are very ornate.
12. Concert choices: PIECES.
13. Uncouth types, in Canadian slang: HOSERS. Hi,
CanadianEh!
21. Rice-A-__: RONI. It's the San Francisco treat and it
comes in many flavors.
22. Pout: SULK.
23. Thumbs-down reviews: PANS.
24. Really smell: REEK.
25. Thick & Fluffy waffle brand: EGGO. L'Eggo my Eggo!
They, too, come in several flavors.
29. All __: listening: EARS.
30. Takes care of: TENDS.
31. Sicilian smoker: ETNA. Since 2013, this volcano has been
periodically been showing some eruptive action.
34. Wind indicator: VANE. The word Vane comes from an old
English word, Fane, which means Flag.
35. Grub: EATS.
39. Baptism, for one: RITE.
40. Plastic choice, briefly: AMEX. Nice misdirection:
American Express.
41. Ernie's Muppet pal: BERT.
43. Like unlikely tales: TALL.
44. Current units: AMPERES. The Ampere is named after
André-Marie Ampère (Jan. 20, 1775 ~ June 10, 1836), French mathematician and
physicist, considered the father of electromagnetism.
45. Enjoy a novel: READ. I have read just under 50 books
this year, most of which were novels.
46. Baked treat that sounds like a place to meet: DATE BAR.
47. Make precious: ENDEAR.
48. Play the flute: TOOTLE. Flute playing in the year 2020.
49. Locked up: SHUT IN.
53. Online money-back offer: E-BATE.
54. Dinner course: SALAD. In Israel, Salads are a common
breakfast food.
57. Thin fog: HAZE.
58. The Emerald Isle: EIRE.
59. Impolite: RUDE.
63. Puppy's bite: NIP.
64. Head of the corp.: CEO. As in the Chief Executive Officer.
65. Shack: HUT.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
No matter what or how you celebrate the holidays, please respect everyone.
We are all fragile and we need to look out for the health and welfare
of all. Please wear your mask and social distance. We want to be
able to hug next holiday season.
May 2021 bring Health and Happiness!
A mermaid from the AEGEAN
ReplyDeleteA two-legged man was a-seein'.
But she said they were through
And bid him ADIEU
When she observed his manner of peein'!
{B+.}
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you, Catherine Cetta, and thank you, Hahtoolah.
DOUBLE stuff today. Cute. I liked it. I also liked seeing the consecutive clues of "Burpee product" followed by "Transplant to a new container"
Hahtoolah, that "Lousy ADDER" cartoon made me laugh. Same with the one for DATE BAR. DOUBLE fun today.
Good thing I don't solve on paper. It would be messy due to the write overs. I've gotten into this habit of filling in the blank letter(s) when I recognize most of a word. Then I read the clue to confirm. In the SE corner, I had -UNCH so I put in an L and I had -EPOT so I put in a D. As D-O would write, "BZZT."
Good morning Cornerites.
ReplyDeleteDid you have a white Christmas? We did in Louisville so I made a Snow Man.
There must have been some magic in the mask that Frosty wore.
I wrote this before reading Hahtoolah's note. Honest I did.
:) :) :) :) Ðavið
AKA D4E4HE2C9C3H
Good Morning Crossword Friends.
ReplyDeleteÐavið: Your snowman was in keeping with the DOUBLE theme!
QOD: The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer. ~ Paula Poundstone (b. Dec. 29, 1959), American comedian
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteTried CAB and RIO right at the start. Fortunately, BONAT made no sense so a dreaded DNF was averted. Proved, once again, that I don't know my APSE from a NAVE. Was proud that I recognized DOUBLE HEADER as a reveal, but Header Parking and Header Space made no sense. D'oh. I think of DOUBLE TIME as a pay rate rather than a speed. Finishing this puzzle in DOUBLE TIME wouldn't be good. Thanx to Catherine (is she a new constructor?) and Hahtoolah (your style is very recognizable...in a good way).
SKOR: Heath "competitor?" Not really. Both are made by Hershey.
BURPEE: I remember driving past crop fields in my ute with signs designating which seed variety was planted there.
TOOTLE: Anybody else think of "And Henessee Tennessee TOOTLES the flute and the music is something grand."
Hola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan! I really enjoy your amusing cartoonish illustrations and of course, your erudite explanations. That is a nice photo of ETTA James whose name is a CWD staple.
Thank you, Catherine Cetta, for this Tuesday treat. It's good to see the correct constructor credited. I liked ORNATE PIECES next to each other.
I am sure that most puzzle solvers are also avid readers so we can all take a CSO at READ. That is impressive, Hahtoolah, 50 novels. I am a slow reader so have read considerably less in a year but hundreds in my lifetime. I received Bag Man by Rachel Maddow as a gift so that is my current read. Whew! Recalling those turbulent years of the late 60s and 70s is troubling. The book is about Spiro Agnew, Nixon's vice-president who resigned in disgrace.
Dave 4:
We did not have a white Christmas, but a bright one with the sun shining brightly. I like your snowman.
Have a DOUBLE-fun day, everyone!
Thank you Hahtoolah for a delightful write-up. I need to take notes when I solve because I solve ahead. I did Monday and Tuesday consecutive. I'm on the way across the skyway bridge to VA for blood work.
ReplyDeleteI'll do Wed-Thurs during downtime. I do recall that this wasn't a sprint like Monday. Plus, I need the right pen and good light plus 3.00 reading glasses. Thus the messy result.
WC
Still, lots of Pluses today
ReplyDeleteYes We Have No Bananas and Purple Haze! A great start to the day.
ReplyDeleteNice and easy today. The AEGEAN reminded me of a 28 day cruise that my wife and I took from Rio to Athens by way of Dakar, Lisbon, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Valencia, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Santorini, and Ephesus. I’m not sure we’ll ever cruise again. Write-over: SHUTIN 4 Sealed (and EllA changed to ETTA).
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah: Wonderful, informative write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteThis was a FUN Tuesday puzzle with a nice "DOUBLE" theme.
Wilbur: Enjoy your ride over the Skyway Bridge ... excellent views of the Gulf of Mexico & Tampa Bay.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset ... you get into a "Rut routine" and keep doing it every day. LOL
Cheers!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a pretty straightforward Tuesday, no w/os and no unknowns. The theme was well hidden, to me, and the reveal brought an Aha. Wasn’t keen on Axer but I’m sure we’ve seen it before. And yes, DO, Tootle from McNamara’s Band immediately came to mind.
Thanks, Catherine, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the many chuckle-inducing visual and the cogent commentary. Your masked snowman was a bit of serendipity for me as I recently sent a GIF of a masked Bichon Frisé as my morning wellness check to my niece. Each day, I try to find something cute and lighthearted to send; yesterday, I sent a GIF of three Bichons, one behind the wheel, tooling along in a white convertible.
Dave, how is Carol?
FLN
Lucina, you certainly had good instincts about your car problem. Glad you not only saved money, but have the peace of mind that the repairs were done properly. 🤗
Have a great day.
"A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset ... you get into a "Rut routine" and keep doing it every day."
ReplyDeleteNot a bad rut routine, at all. Alas, the Glendronach 15 is all gone might have to switch back to the peat for a bit. Now where did I put that Ardbeg Blaaack?
I am now waiting for the Fed Ex Ground driver to show up with a part that was shipped two weeks ago. After that arrives I will be hitting the long road back to SoCal. Fourteen hours behind the wheel, wind and weather permitting. No scotch until home.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEasy one today. Not a single strikethrough. FIR. Chortled when I got to the reveal, but by then, all the theme had been entered. Good job, Catherine.
CRISP - I maintain a supply of uncirculated $2 bills. We enclose them to the grandkids, like on Valentines day or Easter, and occasionally leave as part of a tip. Sometimes have used one or two to pay bridge losses.
ADIEU - - I occasionally would hear my mother say "Adjö". I wonder if it was a language remnant from when the Danes held sway over Schleswig. (Until 1866). Danish is 'adjø'.
שנה טובה
Nice easy Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I also thought of the song MacNamara's Band on the answer TOOTLE.
Got a paper today after missing yesterday. Yay! As "they" say, this puzzle almost filled itself. Seamless and smooth. CSO to CanadianEh at 13D. Lived in Toronto seven years, but don't recall ever hearing "hosers". Time to bundle up . Only 59° in Phoenix metro today. BRRR.
ReplyDeleteYeah, yeah, big deal I FIR, c'mon it's only Tuesday (no inkovers but had to do an alphabet run to put the X in AMEX/EXT.) But the big news is "I doubled my pleasure and doubled my fun". I figured out the theme. No easy task for moi.
ReplyDeleteWe've been down this road before but have never heard the term SOPH, (why not "Jun", or "Sen" for that matter). But finally stopped messing with the psat and moved onto the SAT!
PITAPAT: AUNT PITTY PAT in "GWTW" makes the first ever baseball reference!
EASTER...Strange that unlike any other why is an important holiday named after Eostre a pagan goddess?
The answer to UFO operators is always ETs. But if unidentifed how do we know who's flying them?
Canada eh is HOSER in French Canadian prnounced "José?"
Finally remebered M. Magrite's first name RENÉ
I guess it's OK to refer to convicts as the ultimate "SHUTINS"...and.. here we go again..put an E in front of any noun.... today it's EBATE...(used for phishing online?)
Keep your ____ the ball....ION.
You'll never know unless you _____...AXER
All ___ : cornfield....EARS.
"You're so ____ you probably think this blog is about you"...VANE
And then there's this:
ReplyDeleteADIEU mein kleiner Gardeoffizier
Musings
ReplyDelete-My H.S. reports were DOUBLE SPACED, pica type and narrow margins
-DOUBLE STANDARD – “Do as I say not as I do”
-Susan, I immediately thought of that banana song you mentioned in your lovely write-up
-Our last TRAIN trip was from Berlin to Munich overnight. We saw very few sights!
-Na and Cl are deadly alone but are table salt when bonded as IONS
-No moisture PIT-A-PAT today as 6” of silent snow is falling
-I love it when concerts contain at least some familiar PIECES
-We’ve loved some PANNED movies and hated some that got RAVES
-Mom always told us to “TEND to your own knitting!”
-My fav ET’S were in Close Encounters… because they were simply curious not hostile
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Catherine and Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and got the DOUBLE theme. (Plus I noted the EASTER eggs of ONES and TRIO). Nary an inkblot today.
OK, I'll take a CSO with HOSERS although we never hear the term here. A relic from the McKenzie brothers SNL "Great White North" sketch in 1980.
Yes, IM, AXER was a meh, but sometimes gluey fill is necessary.
TTP beat me to noting SEED next to REPOT. I also noted TELL and TALL.
I love the sound of the words TOOTLE and PIT-A-PAT (I thought of Pitter or Patter first).
We had lots of EATS today for anyone who still has room after the holiday - SKOR, EASTER eggs, a BUNCH of bananas, EGGO waffles, a CRISP SALAD (with AIOLI?), EARS (of corn?), DATE BAR, and PIE (CES)! Plus a PAN for cooking (Oh, not that meaning). Can we have a NIP of Tinbeni's Toast to wash it all down?
d'o- I had a previous lesson from Spitzboov that cemented the difference between NAVE and Apse in my brain. Now I think of NAVE and naval with the boat-shaped NAVE filled with pews.
Hahtoolah - your comment about books caused me to look at my Overdrive History for 2020. 55 books (but there were 5 that I did not enjoy and did not finish so we are about even!). One of them was Bel Canto which had been recommended by YR. Another was The Dutch House, the most recent novel by ANN Patchett. I see that she has an Oct. 2020 essay in the New Yorker, "My Three Fathers", which is a true personal story.
PatchettMyThreeFathers
Wow, I have exceeded my limit for today. But I rarely post more than once or twice - maybe I won't be OUSTEd.
Wishing you all a great day.
OK, I'm back already!
ReplyDeleteI see that Shankers agrees with me about not hearing HOSER IRL.
Ray-O - LOL re HOSER in French Canadian. Do you know the way . . . ?
You're so VANE was a LOL moment too.
ADIEU was one of the vowel-rich words on Jeopardy the other night (along with Milieu). A rerun I believe, as they decided to run the final week taped with Alex Trebek hosting on Jan. 4-8.
Pretty sure the McKenzie Brothers were SCTV, not SNL. But the "Great White North" album was funny.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anonymous @10:51 - you are correct; it was SCTV. I got the wrong initials. Thanks for your eagle eye!
ReplyDeleteAxer, uh no. If you can make up words, puzzles will become very strange. What's next... persom who interupts a "butter inner", someone who leaves a "goer". Come on. How did axer make an edit.
ReplyDeleteCanadianEh!, you're welcome. That was around the time I learned SNL didn't have a monopoly on sketch comedy.
ReplyDeleteI know, goer is a real word, I just don't like that one either
ReplyDeleteFun theme and easy Tuesday solve - I'm off this week so had a leisurely late morning solve.
ReplyDeleteI liked "Bel Canto" and I'm looking forward to reading "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett - it's on my book club's list for later in the year. If we ever get to travel again, she owns a wonderful book store in Nashville, TN. It's right around the corner from the best doughnut shop in Nashville, so stop by if you're in that area! https://www.parnassusbooks.net/
Thanks Susan and Catherine!
IrishMiss:
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't so much good instincts as fear of losing money! And I knew that Isaac would charge much less.
I read The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and enjoyed it. It's good reading.
Andre certainly knows how to please.
ReplyDeleteTTP, as a fellow Birnholzer, did you find all the ELFs?(12/20) The Fiend Write-up missed all the down ELFs
That was tricky finding answers missing E or L and occasionally F. ex. Eds(el)Ford
WC
Thanks for a quick solve Catherine and Hahtoola for an entertaining review.
ReplyDeleteOwen , Owen - couldn’t help but burst out with a good chuckle at the finish line.
The puzzle started off quick with CRISP which reminded me of me standing at the tellers window before Christmas counting out a wad of crisp bills to give as gifts rather than gift cards which some of the family said they forgot to cash in till a year later.
A little risky we thought plus cash is not restricted to any one store restaurant or other venue.
As a little side story . Grandson number five set out on a 1500 mile car trip early this morning. With plans to stop in on two brothers along the way. He’s relocating to the coast.
Twenty minutes in he texted his parents , daughter #1 that he had hit the ditch. He was cleaning the windshield, lost visibility and hit the shoulder and consequently the ditch. The ditch had about 4-6 inches of snow and he was able to maneuver his way around and back up the embankment onto the shoulder. Since 20 minutes from his place would put him about 10 miles past our house DW and I decided to go for a drive to see if we could find the signs or tracks of where he went in. Sure enough , we found the spot. This was de ja vou for me as I had had a similar experience when I was 18 . A growing up experience for him and a test to see if mom and dad can let go . By now he’s five hours into the first 13 hour leg of the trip.
Cheers
Pure fun today! Double fun, in fact. Thank you, Catherine, Hahtoolah, and Cornerites all!
ReplyDeleteDelightful Tuesday puzzle--many thanks, Catherine. And, Hahtoolah, your commentaries and especially your pictures are always a pleasure. I loved seeing the Alex Trebek clip--I will miss him so much when they stop playing them. In fact, I'm saving some Jeopardy episodes so I can revisit him from time to time next year.
ReplyDeleteNice to see EASTER and think of colored eggs--but not colored EGGOs--coming up this spring. Liked the art references with EZRA and RENE and ETTA on the bottom.
Have a great day, everybody.
Addendum
ReplyDelete-A trailer for a movie about an AXER who lives in Omaha
Wilbur, I did find each ELF in the Sunday, Dec 20 Evan Birnholz puzzle, and it helped me in a couple of places. I thought i was an appropriate puzzle for the season.
ReplyDeleteI haven't started the Sunday Dec 27th crossword yet.
Still drinking my morning coffee. Went back to bed at 6 AM and slept until 10. I should have tackled that puzzle last night when I couldn't get back to sleep.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Catherine for a fine puzzle. I didn't see the theme until the reveal.
Thanks Hahtoolah for the expo and Jimi's Purple Haze (also a good beer from Abita Brewing)
//Love Paula Poundstone!
WOs: N/A
ESPs: RIA, RENE
Fav: Take off HOSERS [Bob & Doug McKenzie with RUSH's Geddy Lee]
{B+}
D-O: we've had Catherine Cetta's grid 3x. Today, Dec 9, and Sept 29.
Ray-O: LOL eBAIT
Back to work. Play later, Cheers! -T
OAS, in my ute I'd been out in the country visiting my girlfriend. It had been snowing and the roads were slippery. Driving home in late afternoon, I lost it climbing the cemetery hill. My '53 Pontiac spun around and slammed into the snowbank. Lucky for me, it wasn't long before a guy who worked at the Cities Service station in town came over the hill, headed home in his tow truck. He pulled me out. There was no damage, but now my car was headed back down the hill. I drove to the first crossroad, made a Y-turn, and headed back up. Spun out at the very same spot and wound up stuck against that same snowbank. Lucky a second time, a guy driving a fuel oil delivery truck came over the hill. He had chains and pulled me out. He said, "Don't feel bad. You can tell from looking at the snowbank that you're not the first guy who went into the ditch here." I didn't say a thing.
ReplyDeleteGood one D O. Funny enough to share with DW. Made her laugh too , thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFIR today and almost without any WOs. I first put ESALE/EBATE but the rest of the puzzle went smoothly. Enjoyed some of the surprise answers like AMEX and the theme, once I read the reveal and got it. Thanks, Catherine and Hahtoolah for the entertainment today. Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteDid the puzzle earlier this morning before a quick trip out to Stone Mountain for a nice climb in warm, sunny weather before it changes tomorrow. Rain is on its way! Liked the snowbank stories today, especially hearing about them and not experiencing them!
Wonderful CW, thanx, Catherine!! A couple write-overs, as I couldn’t remember the spelling of AIOLE (not “aeoli”) and I always for some reason write SKOL instead of SKOR. Also had to let AEGEAN be spelled by perps, as the part of my brain in charge of spelling seems to be on holiday
ReplyDeletetoday. I got ‘er done in 13 minutes which for me is a good Tuesday time, and thoroughly enjoyed both the CW and Hahtoolah’s outstanding write-up! I even sussed the theme all on my own!! WOWSERS!!
Fun puzzle today. Thanks Catherine for the double pleasure. I loved the honesty of “Vowel rich farewell”. Well, yes it is.
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah you added so much fun, too. I loved the Frank and Ernest DATE BAR cartoon and the pouty little girl. McNamara’s Band is one of my favorite’s so TOOTLES the flute with Hennessy Tennessey came to mind immediately. I see I’m not alone! I also love Bel Canto so that was fun.
So much to like!
Owen, I loved the Mermaid and her man!!
ReplyDeleteFellow Cornerites, you are so much fun! I laughed at the stories.
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of further contributing to the economy, I went to spend my Kohl's cash that I had since Christmas shopping. Oh, don't you know, it wasn't valid until after the 25th! I also had a Kohl's gift card so I gifted myself to a new purse as my current one has some scratches. I also bought a couple of tops while I was at it. Good sales, you know. It is my policy when I buy new clothes to get rid of some old ones so I'll be purging my closet.
ReplyDeleteLucina, in re "It is my policy when I buy new clothes to get rid of some old ones so I'll be purging my closet."
Would you mind if I introduced you to my wife ?
A fun puzzle today. Owen, good one.
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle, Catherine Cetta, and your usual excellent expo, Hahtoolah! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI got it done early this morning in what I consider record time for me – about 15 minutes. No real problems; I just plod along and take my time. Proofreading today led me to cleaning up a little mess in the NW corner, as I also initially misspelled AIOLI, so I was able to salvage an FIR.
The three long fills fell right after the reveal, which was my first fill, due to the new IDIOT seven-inning doubleheader rule. (Please note that upon further review, I have deleted the remainder of my original rant. TTP would probably have had to expunge the whole thing.)
Suffice it to say that I think we really need to get rid of most of the rules changes going back to the institution of the designated hitter in 1973. (Keep the rules involving performance enhancing drugs.) I also intensely dislike interleague play. If MLB got rid of it, the Astros could go back to the National League, where they belong.
Didn't refresh before posting say...
ReplyDeleteLOL - C, Eh and @10:51. I loved SCTV (as you can tell). IIRC, there were two Second Cities - Chicago (Dan Aykroyd, et.al) and Toronto (Eugene Levy et.al). Both produced great humo(u)r.
D-O & Oas: DW love'd both your snow bank stories (glad he's OK Oas).
Lucina - Swapping in for out? Now that's a good method... DW just thinks of more ways to take over my 1/4 of the walk-in closet :-)
TTP - I'm next in line for introductions.
Speaking of space... We have a storage unit that costs $ every months. We also have dead-space over the kitchenette. I've thought about this for 10 years and DW is now on-board re: knocking out a bit of the wall in the loft and putting a door to access the dead space.
However, before I do this, I want some grown-up supervision so I Google'd residential structural (PE) engineers.
#2 on the list? Eldest's friend's dad!
I knew he did construction but didn't know he had his own practice.
He'll be here next week.
//Oh, and DW let me get a new toy for the project.
LEO3 - Heck yeah! All these "speed-up-the-game" rules ruin the game. It's a passes-the-time not a lets-get-this-over-with so I can (what??? what else is going on?). It's Baseball!
Cheers, -T
DesperOtto@1:20,
ReplyDeleteLoL at your double header...
Damn you CED! That's the best puzzle related / peanut-gallery META tie-in quip o' the day.
ReplyDeleteGood on you! -T
D-O, that was a funny story. My parent's property had about a quarter mile of frontage to the main road for two small towns. It was an elongated reversed S-curve with two moderately sharp bends, and there was at least one and sometimes two single-car accidents every year. Car in the ditch or her yard. Again. Our high school vice principal lived across the street and we were the only two neighbors in probably over 160 acres. I did a lot of clean up. Mostly in her yard because of the curves and slope of the road.
ReplyDeleteLeo, I've been practicing. You're a good straight man.
Spam and phishing posts have been on the rise, and I've about had it with a certain poster that calls every puzzle lame and full of obscure clues and names. I think regular readers know about the daily troll anon I'm referring to who has one apparent objective - criticize the puzzle and editor, and put a pall on the blog. Dude needs to lighten up, but envy is a strong motivator.
It's one thing to have legitimate beefs about a puzzle, but it's another thing to just come here almost every day to disparage. How certain am I ? I've gone through the last 6 month's comments and deleted around 150 or so posts. Like I said, I'm bored and have time on my hands. Rhetorical question... Does anyone mind if I delete that troll as he comments going forward ? Please don't engage or respond to him. Otherwise, your comment will be hanging out there like a dangling participle.
I've also deleted a few political posts I missed before. I've tried to be fair. Disparage or demean another person's political viewpoints, party or leaders, and it's gone, whether directly or through innuendo. Ditto with religion. And personal attacks. Take it elsewhere. Not the venue.
Lucina and TTP and -T: Speaking of cleaning out closets and ditching old clothes, I have no idea of how many t-shirts I have, but some of them are OLD! I have old softball shirts, old soccer shirts, old work, sports and (of course) airplane and aviation shirts. I AM a "get the t-shirt" sorta guy.
ReplyDeleteThe backstory: #2 Daughter graduated high school in 1994. Her son just turned 21 a couple of weeks ago, and we had his birthday celebration a couple of days earlier. He is gainfully employed and just moved into an apartment (facts that have no bearing on the story, except that in the process of his moving, her attic got cleaned out, and boxes got brought downstairs).
So, in going through the boxes brought down from the attic, #2 Daughter comes across her senior prom dress. Cool! Her 15-year old daughter just HAS to try on the dress, pictures are taken, and #2 daughter posts a picture on Facebook of herself standing between the proud parents AND next to one of our granddaughter wearing the same dress 26 years later. Cute!
The crowd goes wild! One of her Facebook friends mentions that we should all go back to the old house (the original photo was taken in front of the house), and recreate the photo with her mini-me standing between her grandparents in the same dress.
Time passes --- ONE day, to be exact --- and everyone is at #2 Daughter’s house for a late Christmas celebration (because granddaughter, SIL and she spent Christmas skiing in Colorado). OK, fine! I show up yesterday wearing a pair of off-white shorts and a black t-shirt (probably my newest one). Her mother is wearing a black turtle neck, but instead of black slacks and a black jacket, like in the original picture, she’s wearing a pair of jeans and a jeans jacket. No problem. Informal family get-together.
We’re standing/sitting around talking, and #2 Daughter looks at her mother and says, “You didn’t get the memo, did you?”
“Huh?”
“About going over to the old house and recreating the picture.” (Nobody had any intention of doing any such thing!). “See, Dad is wearing the same kind of shorts and a black t-shirt, just like then. He’s ready!”
Everybody: Ho! Ho! Ho! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Me, to #2 Daughter: “Ummmm, I took off the black t-shirt that I was wearing in that old picture and put on THIS black t-shirt (newer and different design on it) to come over here!"
I came very close to wearing the one in the picture (not realizing the implication), but wanted to wear my new one. Yes, I still have the older shirt, and it is still very wearable, some 26 years later!
OK, I PROMISE! No more long stories!
What a coincidence! My Burpee "70A" catalogue arrived in the mail just today. But they've gotten pretty pricey in recent years and I buy few things from them anymore. I think that "Johnny's Special Seeds" has the best catalogue, with a much greater variety of seeds at lower prices. But Bowman's, a Westminster, MD supplier to local farmers is my go-to store, with one stop shopping for seeds, plants, organic fertilizers, and hay for mulching.
ReplyDeleteTTP, good for you!
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never?!
Enjoyed the puzzle and recap immensely. Only write-over was SKOL/SKOR. Otherwise, pristine.
Counting down the days to the New Year ...
Will try to show up earlier tomorrow; I did enjoy all the comments and word-play!
TTP:
ReplyDeleteThe process of discarding clothes is a recent one (since my late DH died) and it arose after long discussions with friends about clothes, hanging on to them for YEARS and the benefits of donating to charity clothes that are still wearable but no longer of use to me. A married couple from our group volunteers for St. Vincent de Paul and has impressed upon us the need for used clothes. Okay with me though it's a trying time deciding which to donate. I really like my clothes. It's obvious when they are outdated though.
AnonT
Nice that you have a new toy! See, it's like that with clothes.
@ 9:37, Happy New Year to you, also, Spitzboov.
ReplyDeleteDarned FedEx never did show up with the parcel. A neighbor will hold it for me when they do. Got a late start out of Dodge. 600 miles down, 400 to go tomorrow.