Good morning, cruciverbalists. Long time no sea. Just
squidding. Malodorous Manatee here hoping that things are
going swimmingly for all of you.
You can tell from the reactions of my friends, above, that today's
puzzle from Susan Gelfand provided them with some serious
guffaws. Although some solvers might believe that Ms. Gelfand
should be made to walk the plankton for her groan-worthy homonyms, I
suspect that most of us got through it without having to
be brain sturgeons.
SOMETHING FISHY'S GOING ON HERE
At four spots within the grid, Susan Gelfand has paired an everyday item,
expression, or name with an adjective and turned it into a mirthful
homonym. A PERCH, a SOLE, a RAY and a SKATE are each a type of
fish. But not here. Not today.
17 Across. Noble fish?: LOFTY PERCH. LOFTY PERCH has several meanings in everyday use.
Things fish-related are not among them.
58 Across. Elastic fish?: RUBBER SOLE RUBBER SOUL is an album released by the Beatles in 1965.
The Beetles likely would have enjoyed the pun.
Rub Her Sole
11 Down. Massive fish?: COSMIC RAYS It was a bit, but not too much, of a stretch to
get from Massive to COSMIC. Some Rays very much enjoy word
play.
You Can Call Me Ray or You Can Call Me . . .
30 Down. Stingy fish?: CHEAP SKATE
Jack Benny - World Renown Cheapskate
That wraps up the fish jokes - at least the ones furnished by the
constructor. At the end of the recap I have "thoughtfully" supplied a
link to a song in which other fish jokes, homonyms, and puns are
presented. There are also quite a few (non-fish) homonyms and
homophones that Susan (intentionally?) seems to have teed up in the
clues/answers along the way and, with your kind indulgence, we might have
some fun with those - even if it is, with apologies to my friends, like
shooting fish in a barrel.
Let minnow if you have any suggestions. Make up your own fish
puns. Don't leave it to salmon else . . . there is no need to be koi
about it.
And now . . . .
. . . on to the rest of the puzzle:
ACROSS:
1. Distressed cry: YOWL. Not to be confused with Howl which, by definition, is a
different sound . . . and a poem by Allen Ginsberg.
5. Capture, in Westerns: LASSO.
Wonder Woman With Her Lasso of Truth
10. Pond film: SCUM.
14. Singer Brickell: EDIE.
Bob Dole, E.D. Spokesperson
15. Rap sheet entry: ALIAS. Fat Albert's super villain
ALIAS is Fatal Bert.
16. __ Linda, Calif.: LOMA. Famous for its medical
center.
19. Arthur Ashe Courage Award, e.g.: ESPY.
I Know. I See It, Too.
20. Radio tuning shortcut: PRESET. A good way to
remember your plaice.
21. Longtime "American Top 40" host: KASEM. The children
of Casey KASEM, from a previous marriage, charged in a lawsuit that his
widow had mistreated, neglected and abused him. More lawsuits
followed from both sides. All were eventually settled.
23. They're sold in bars: SOAPS. Not, in this case,
shots.
They're Sold In Bars
26. Force out: EVICT. What do you call a snail who has
been EVICTed? A slug.
29. Goes along with: ACCEPTS.
32. Come again?: REECHO.
33. Oldest Musketeer: ATHOS. Neither Porthos nor Aramis
nor D'Artagnan would fit.
Actually, Larry Larsen Was The Oldest
34. Keyboard goofs: TYPOS.
36. Campaigned: RAN.
37. Flute feature: STEM. As clued, a champagne glass
reference.
38. Management opening: MICRO.
Your Crow?
39. Protest, in a way: FAST. FAST has so many different
meanings it is difficult to even begin to play with the word. Here it
is used as a verb. If you are curious, the link, below, will take you
to Merriam Webster:
40. Argentine aunt: TIA. Today's Spanish lesson.
41. Caffè __: chocolate-flavored drink: MOCHA.
42. Reach via jet: FLY TO.
One Fly Too Many
43. Oliver Twist, for one: ORPHAN. Did he get a hit . . .
. . . Or Fan?
45. Not farmed out: IN HOUSE.
Out House
47. Spruce up the lawn: RE SOD. I RESOD in Southern
California. Where do you resod?
48. Jim of "Wide World of Sports": MCKAY.
The Classic Opening
51. Much more than a mere fan: ZEALOT.
56. Word of lament: ALAS. There once was A LASs from
Kilglass who had a magnificent ass. Not rounded and pink, as you
probably think, but was grey, had long ears and ate grass.
61. Singer with The Blackhearts: JETT.
Not Joan's
62. Typical: USUAL.
63. Caffeine-rich seed: KOLA.
A Koala
64. Graph lines: AXES.
Axes
65. Chaps: GENTS. I hear that it is relatively easy to
get ladies to refrain from eating Tide Pods but not so easy to deter
GENTS.
66. Kind of folder: SPAM.
Monty Python
DOWN:
1. Online site whose reviews are reviewed: YELP.
Yelp
2. Fragrance: ODOR. If a polite but unclean man was
heavily into wordplay would he have a pun-gent odor?
3. Certain partner: WIFE. What did the string theorist
say when his WIFE caught him with another woman? "Wait, I can
explain everything!"
4. Frees, with "out": LETS.
5. Common carry-on item: LAPTOP. What do you call a
LAPTOP that can sing? A Dell.
6. Pub order: ALE.
7. What Marcie calls Peppermint Patty: SIR.
8. Fires: SACKS.
Sacks
9. Fed. workplace monitor: OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
10. Short item on many a tee: SLEEVE.
12. Diamond authority: UMP. A baseball reference.
13. Possibly will: MAY. Possibly, Elaine.
Elaine May What?
18. Many RSVP responses, hopefully: YESES.
22. Notices: SEES.
22. Notices: SEES.
Sees Candy
24. Top story: ATTIC.
A Tick
25. Medium: PSYCHIC. What shall we do today?
Pinky - A Famous Sidekick
27. Pure: CHASTE.
28. Scout rider: TONTO. Scout, in the case of this clue,
is the name of a horse.
Scout and Silver
29. What you have on: ATTIRE.
A Tire
31. Dot follower, at times: COM.
32. Piglet's pal: ROO.
Roux
33. Tycoon who is an Oregon city namesake: ASTOR.
Aster
35. Play a joke on: PRANK. Usually seen as a noun.
Here used as a transitive verb.
(With Apologies to The Craw)
38. Day named for a satellite: Abbr.: MON.
Show Me The Moonday
39. Winter bug: FLU.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
41. Anti-DUI org.: MADD.
42. Entrance area: FOYER. I was in the lobby of a hotel many years ago when I overheard
Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky bragging about their prior
victories. They were chess nuts boasting in an open FOYER.
44. Raises: HOISTS.
46. Variable eye colors: HAZELS.
MM Granddaughter - Hazel's Lunch
48. Touchpad alternative: MOUSE.
50. Pharmacy item: DRUG.
52. Sets as a price: ASKS.
53. Circuit: LOOP.
Lupe Lu (Shindig Pilot Episode - 1964)
54. Earthenware pot: OLLA. A crossword staple.
Ever wonder what one actually looks like? There are several
styles. Here is one type:
Olla de Hierro
55. Bears or Lions: TEAM. What, no Tigers?
56. 1977 Steely Dan album: AJA.
56. 1977 Steely Dan album: AJA.
57. Latin law: LEX.
Lex Luthor
59. Dog holder: BUN. One of the wurst references that we
have seen here.
60. Diamond tool: BAT. A flying mammal as we saw yesterday. An eyelash
movement. A piece of insulation. A caped crusader. In this case, another
baseball reference.
For those who have, by this point, had more than their fill of homonyms and
terrible puns (fishy, and otherwise) you may go now and enjoy the rest of
your day. For those who might prefer to dive a bit deeper into the
subject, this marine mammal humbly offers the following ditty first heard on
the Doctor Demento Show:
Kip Addotta - Wet Dream
________________________________
____________________________________
__________________________________
MM Out !
Carp-e diem!
FIRight. My last fill was the natick at A_A + _ETT. I first tried K, no ta-da, so tried J and Ta-Da!
ReplyDeleteI'll take a sort-of CSO at ASTOR. I used to go surfing at Astoria when I was a teen-ager.
From his LOFTY PERCH o'er door
The raven REECHOED, "Nevermore".
My RUBBER-SOLED shoe
At the bird I threw.
Now he shall mock me, nevermore!
I sought to catch some COSMIC RAYS,
Despite my elsewise CHEAPSKATE ways.
I'd FLY TO the Ozone
In a balloon of my own,
And come back with a tan of grays!
{B+, B.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWow, you sure gave my groan organ a workout, Mal-Man. No missteps. No Wite-Out needed. It's a wonderful day. That picture of Mr. Wizard brought back fond memories of my ute. Thanx, Susan and Mal-Man. (I think the olla in that photo is made of cast iron. Lucina?)
Today, it took me 7:12 to finish the puzzle, and probably twice that long to finish the fine write-up.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the odds of having a crossword fish puzzle without "gar"?
Good morning. I FIW with HELP, not YELP, strictly from perps. HOWL was already in place. I'd heard of YELP but that's all; have never bothered to go to that web site.
ReplyDeleteCOSMIC meaning massive was unknown to me; just something from outer space.
CHEAPSKATE- we are all cheapskates at times. No need to waste money.
EDIE Brickell- don't know what she sings but she's a crossword staple.
RE-ECHO- got it but never heard the term.
ATHOS- the others wouldn't fit.
'Peanuts' was not in the comics section of the newspaper when I was growing up. SIR, Marcie, & Peppermint Patty were all unknowns.
SLEEVE- great clue
Considering that we never use our front door and all our friends use the carport door, the FOYER at our house is an expensive waste of money- to build, heat, and cool (ditto for the formal dining room). I would have been a CHEAPSKATE but DW had the final say. 31 years of eating in there ONE time a year plus the cost of new table, chairs and two china cabinets. Cost?-at least $1000/meal- not including food, taking down wallpaper, and repainting.
Theme is cute, creative and original. Kudos to the creator for this one.
ReplyDeleteHowever... four different obscure music clues??? "Singer Brickell", "Longtime American Top 40 host,"... and best of of all, "Singer with The Blackhearts" crossed with "1977 Steely Dan album"?
Anyone think the obscure music clues are excessive? I'm fine learning new things and not getting everything right, but I'd like to learn something useful that makes my brain better. And I feel that entertainment trivia is the most low brow of them all...
The only music clue that seemed a tad obscure to me was AJA. Also had to look at reecho for at least 30 seconds before I realized it was re-echo.
ReplyDeleteAmusing theme even though it was fishy...took a few minutes to redirect the top story from a newspaper answer to the top story of a house with ATTIC. I had to wait on perps to decide on ALE vs. IPA. I spent many an hour in my teenage years listening to Casey KASEM's "American Top 40".
ReplyDeleteAJA ended up being a gimme - as I listened to "Wait, Wait, don't tell me" on NPR last weekend and they interviewed A'ja Wilson, this year's WNBA MVP. She said she was named AJA because her dad loved that song on the Steely Dan album so much!
Interesting that both the clue and answer at 39A could be both a verb and a noun- "Protest" and FAST.
Thanks MM and Susan!
Won't make a comment about a fishy puzzle (you just did !)
ReplyDeleteThe SW corner was treacherous: thought Joan JETT was a good guess since I didn't know the album but then confidently put AJe thinking "exes", X (and Y) axis. So...FIW!! (RE ECHO a YOWL!!)
The oldest MOUSEqueteer way ROY, he'd be 113 .... oh the French guys... sorry...
MICROmanage: kinda what the puzzle editors do (but you didn't hear that from me!). Golfer's in short SLEEVE shirts can show up at the tee as well
Diamond tool is not a bit. TONTO was the Lone Ranger's PSYCHIC? (I think that's side-kick).Is there a Sputnik day
Jim MCKAY needed a podiatrist, always complaining of "the agony of de feet" if he were ALAS I'd offer to RUBBERSOLE
Does anyone remember one of my favorite after school shows Adventures in Paradise with Gardner MCKAY late 50s early 60s.
The blades might fall off a _____ ..CHEAPSKATE
A gift ____ new house .... FOYER (please, not fwai-YAY)
Zealot, is an enthusiastic devotee _____ OR PHAN
Susan our contructor a favorite of the female Cornerites....lots of.. GELFANS
MALMAN. Spoke to my niece attorney and ASTOR if I could sue you for stealing my best puns!!
Mwah..😫😫😫
Mal, All I can say is WOW!
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Even the “any port in a storm” inclusion of REECHO didn’t diminish this fun puzzle
-Obscurity is in the pencil of the solver. I knew all the musical entries. Now, if they were poets or authors…
-LOMA Linda (beautiful hill) I enjoyed learning that Linda is “beautiful” in Spanish
-How many of these current Top 100 songs do you know?
-I wish OSHA had been around when I worked construction
-The best an UMP can hope for is to not be noticed
-Just follow U.S. 30 from my hometown
-The MOUSE does a great job of tracking along the X and Y AXES
-A pun write-up Joe!
Manatee: Wonderful write-up & 55 links. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone is "Safe-N-Sound."
Cheers!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteFLN - Gout is a sign of intelligence.
Enjoyed this puzzle a lot, but ALAS, got 2 ltrs wrong. Sigh. Liked the fishy theme. Had 'accedes' before ACCEPTS. Thnx to LAPTOP.
FAST - RE: Many different meanings. L. Erie has several hundred sq miles of FAST ice cover this time of year. No, it's not going anywhere; being 'locked' in place until Spring thaw. (We haven't had Erie in a couple days so I welcomed a chance to write about it. :-))
Thanks MM for your punny intro.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteMM, you outdid yourself! I could not STEM my laughter! Yes, d-otto, that OLLA looks like cast iron to me and "hierro" means iron.
The faux fish were fun to finish. ALE is the USUAL drink in a CWD puzzle.
CSO to Misty at LOMA Linda. I believe she lives there.
Thanks to Susan Gelfand for the phun!
Have a phantastic day, everyone!
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan Gelfand, for a charming, and (eventually ) easier Thursday puzzle. I didn't know those long answers were musical terms, but I have heard them as common phrases. It was a relatively quick solve, except for the AJA and JETT crossing.
Malodorous Manatee, what can I say ? A tour-de-force ... a blog that was a gigantic english grammar excercise, .... and clear as mud .... for the explanation of the clues.
But, it was absolutely unique, and I'm sure it must have consumed a lot of time and effort.
It sure did consume a lot of time and effort, for me, to go through it .....
Seriously, I have to deeply appreciate the avant-garde style of your blogging experiment.
Strictly, IN THAT SPIRIT, you missed an opportunity for an ultimate pun ....
10 Down ... Short item on (a) Many-a-tee
Answer: Ooh, Ooh, I know, I know, ....
... But, I can't write it down, here ...
... after all, this is a family blog ....
Have a nice day, all.
Singing LAPTOP - A DELL? Really MManatee? Really??? :-)
ReplyDeleteHi All!
Not my FASTest solve but got 'er done. Thanks Susan for the phun with phish; favorite themer was RUBBER SOLE #Beatles.
MManatee... Mate, er, GENT, er Chap. What were you smokin'? (pass it around).
WOs: YELP->YOWL, lOMA Linda seamed ok until 10d dawned on me. cASEM, ZElLOT, cOLA; ASKs me how I fixed it
ESPs: ATHOS, MCKAY, RE-ECHO (?!?)
Fav: I thought BUN was cute.
No problem with the music clues; they were all in my wheelhouse. EDIE Brickell & the New Bohemians were big in the '90s.
Did y'all know that Casey Kasem was the voice of Shaggy Rogers and the Boy Wonder? [5:45]
{B+, B+}
Play later!
Cheers, -T
An amazing FIR after meandering around the puzzle looking for fill. Saw kinds of fish were at the ends of themers but until RUBBER SOLE didn't catch the trick. Then it got easier. Lots of think-twice fill but only needed MalMan to clarify Flute feature. Was thinking of music, wondering what part of the instrument would be called the STEM! RE-ECHO was my last fill and I figured it was necessary to get the puzzle to work. So, thanks Susan for putting it together and thanks MalMan for such a humorous review. Lots of fun with puns.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your first limerick today, OwenKL. I'm looking forward to more comments as they come in from everyone, and wish you all a great Thursday!
Again, the same answers show up in the NYT and LAT puzzles. Today, we had Tonto and Athos. What are the odds?
ReplyDeleteLoved the puzzle and came here to exclaim over the fast, fun fill, only to be surprised and delighted by MM's hilarious blog! Well done, Susan, Rich, and MalMan!
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan for a punderful, piscatorial pilgrimage, which was smooth SKATING for a Thursday. And MalMan I don't want to PUFFER your ego, but you've really out pun yourself on this one. A REEL OLLA of BOILINGBASS made with low-hanging BAIT!
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of FEED for TROUT here:
10A "Pond film": Wanted GOLDEN but it kept overflowing the BANKS.
19A ESPY: Make out? What's necking got to do with it? Oh of course, LITTLE NECK CLAMS!.
37A STEM: I think Technology and Engineering should be combined and the E given over to ENGLISH, a dying art practiced only in ARCANE places like the Corner. And BTW, an Erlenmeyer Flask isn't a very elegant way to serve BRUT.
43A A serious TWIST on this one: ORPHANS are also the set of GENES found only in a single SPECIES.
IN-RE 56A: And now it's MalKus. The Corner is turning into a COSMIC poetry SLAM!
And congratulations to MalMan for FIN-ally LANDING the perfect puzzle for your TREASURED Doctor Demento clip (and I got it straight from the SEAHORSE's mouth that this is the UNBOWLDLERIZED version).
D-O @ 6:39AM I noticed that too D-O, but MM weaseled his way around it by referring to the cast-iron version as a "style" of OLLA.
Cheers,
Bill
FIR, with two write-overs: KASEM 4 KASEn and LEX 4 rEs. Fun with the themer puns.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun and easy solve and my only complaint (Reecho) is very much out weighed by the numerous positives, I.e., dazzling duos like Yowl/Yelp, House/Mouse, Tonto/Lasso, Mouse/Laptop, Foyer crossing House, House beneath Fly, and the hat trick with Bat/Ump/Team. Susan also brought her A Game: Loma, Tia, Mocha, Kola, OSHA, AJA, and Olla.
Thanks, Susan, for a terrific Thursday offering and thanks, MalMan, for a rollicking review. I burst out laughing at the Lass poem! None of the links or graphics showed up but I’ll check back later. You were in a fine fettle of fish this morning!
FLN
Wilbur, XEROX and XERES was second in my list of duos. 😉
Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteQuestion : 10 Down, Short item on many a tee. SLEEVE
Is this the sort sleeve worn by the golfers, via their T-shirts ?
If so, why on 'many a tee' ? What happens on other tees ?
Or, are there physically sized, 'short' tees for certain situations or for certain holes ?
I dont play golf, so - Does the word sleeve have a different connotation for a particular golfing equipment ? Is the sleeve the lenght of the shank of a tee.?
ReplyDeleteMade the same mistake, HOWL instead of YOWL, didn’t check my work.
TEES refers to the T-Shirt....there are also long sleeved Tees...I have a few.
My shoulder hurts a bit today....yesterday was more than a bit, but no problems otherwise. My 2nd shot is already scheduled. It’s a strange feeling, getting the shot but still not being safe. Tick-tock I suppose.
Stay safe anyway.
The first shot is nothing. The second one can give you side effects! I know from experience.
Delete
ReplyDeleteAlso, and how could I forget, Steely Dan is (was?) my favorite group, appreciated the AJA reference...a superb album.
MalMan,, you outdid yourself today! I enjoyed your write-up so much. I knew one hit in the list,, but maybe I'd recognize the music rather than the titles. I didn't go all the way through, though.
ReplyDeleteEdie Brickell is marred to Paul Simon and has been for a while.
Becky
While the theme was easy to catch,
ReplyDeleteI found the rest of the puzzle to be quite a workout.
Little things bugged me,
Like fragrance = odor?
The definition of fragrance is a pleasant, sweet smell
The definition of odor is a distinctive smell, especially an unpleasant one...
I wonder if "lets" could have been clued "do-overs in tennis?"
And finally, reecho is not a word! It's an oxymoron!
Golfing Duffer, my assumption was that the clue was distinguishing between long-sleeved tee shirts and short-sleeved Tees. Speaking of which, Vidwan, I totally whiffed (fanned?) on the Man(y) A Tee. I shall endeavor to pay closer attention!
ReplyDeleteI.M., glad that you enjoyed the limerick. Sorry, that the graphics did not appear on your platform.
Thanks, all, for "groking" what I was trying to do even though that meant that some of the explanations were "clear as mud." Eschew obfuscation!
Fun Thursday puzzle, Susan--many thanks. I did pretty well, even though I didn't get any of the names. But I loved the fish theme, and got the lofty PERCH and the cosmic RAYS right off the start. And clever commentary, MalMan--thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteSome clues were easy and others a little tougher. I figured that item on a tee might be a golf club, but got SLEEVE as soon as I realized it was a T-shirt. But that "top story" really stumped me--of course I thought of a newspaper or something, not an ATTIC. Very funny.
Lucina, thank you for the sweet shout-out, but I'm afraid I live in Laguna Beach. Loma Linda is also in California, but in another county. Have never been there, and should probably visit it sometime.
Have a great day, everybody.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme which helped fill in a couple of the words. I liked Susan's puzzle a lot. MalMan's tour was a delight.
I started with HELP for 1 Across but YELP changed it to YOWL.
YORBA didn't fit, so it had to be LOMA LINDA.
Perps had to fill in STEM because I was thinking of the wrong kind of Flute.
Even though he passed away in 2014, with a lot of controversy surrounding his death, Casey KASEM can still be heard with rebroadcasts of his American Top 40 shows on Sirius/XM every week.
Although I filled it in with perps, I had a little problem with RE ECHO being a stretch.
As far as the crossing of AJA and JETT goes, I never knew the album name, but it was already filled in by the time I got to the Down clues.
Well, enough for today. There has been snow on the ground continuously since the week before Christmas and now it looks like it might disappear this week. In the beginning and after each snowfall it was pretty, now it's just dirty and ugly. Time to go away!
Be safe everyone, and please wear your masks.
Anonymous at 7:32:
ReplyDeleteI'd consider these music clues as crossword staples. A lot of times you see "Falco or Brickell" for EDIE. AJA stumped me at one time long ago, but I've seen it as fill probably a couple dozen times over the years. Perhaps this Gen Xer is of an age where everybody knows Joan JETT and Kasey KASUM.
Bob
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Susan and MalMan (Wow with all those puns!).
ReplyDeleteOfficially a FIW today with the Natick for me (and others I see) of AJA and JETT. (I picked D instead of J.) But I saw the fishy theme (although I a little trouble parsing 11D correctly, seeing CRAYS (and thinking of Crayfish).
The only ODOR (beyond that of all the fish! and the lack of U) was REECHO (and I see many of you agree). But a simple addition to the clue, "Come again and again?" might have helped. An echo implies the sound has returned or come again; if you want to add RE, the sound must come again AND again (reverberate)!
Hand up for Bit before BAT. I had moved from the baseball diamond to the tool box. But it was a clecho with 12D clue.
I'll take a CSO with 50D.
I always have to pause to get the letter order correct for your American OSHA. We use OHSA - Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario).
My "certain partner" was Sure (as in Sure and Certain), before WIFE perped and I had a lightbulb moment.
SACKS today, not Saks.
I learned OLLA in my early CW solving days. (And to differentiate it from Oleo (since we have margarine.)
Favourite today was the clue for SLEEVE. Many a sleeve being rolled up for Covid vaccine, but rollout is slow here. Over 80s start March 22. I may be a while!
But one happy side effect of Covid and all our masks, hand-washing, physical distancing, is that FLU has been almost non-existent this winter.
Ray'O- we probably have as many pronunciations of FOYER as we have Cornerites! Of course, being a good Canadian, I say Foy-eh! (which is apparently the British pronunciation - but also closer to the French). Our American-bred minister says the -er and we just roll our eyes!
Wishing you all a great day.
MalMan @ 11:51 ~ I just revisited your write-up and the graphics were there in all their glory and just as impressive and clever as I expected them to be. Thanks for the limerick vs poem correction.
ReplyDeleteI arrived at the vaccine clinic at 12:40 for my 1:00 appointment and walked out the door at 1:10 and this included the 15 minute reaction waiting period. Talk about streamlined! Because last week’s doses didn’t arrive on time and the bad weather, 1500 people had to be accommodated with this week’s group of 4000. They added two extra days of administering and they doubled the injection stations. I’m relieved to have it behind me and I hope everyone joins me soon!
I.M. Congrats on the injection. I received my second one week ago tomorrow. I am pleased to learn that the graphics showed up and were enjoyed. Limerick was used more as a synonym than as a correction.
ReplyDeleteNot that anyone asked, but that is Valerie at 22 Down. On a lark, she worked this past holiday season as a temp at her local Sees Candy Store and they keep asking her to come back to work some more. She has fun at the shop but I think that what she enjoys most is putting on the Mary Sees uniform.
AltGranny, I am happy that the explanation of Flute/STEM helped as it was one of the few things that I actually explained (at least directly) in this somewhat experimental outing.
Bill, you are right on target with your comment on the phrasing that included "style". Time now to dredge up some lunch.
MManatee - I meant to comment on SEES candies...
ReplyDeleteThe ones we ordered for St. Valentine's Day just arrived two days ago. I was introduced to SEES years ago by Pop's WIFE's dad - the man was an epicurean and everything he did was top-notch; including his choice in chocolates.
I got to visit a SEES 'factory' on one of our trips to SFO to visit DW's Aunt. Oh the fragrance, er ODOR.
Did Valerie bring you home samples?
Cheers, -T
Loved the puzzle, loved the write-up...I'm still laughing out loud!
ReplyDeleteI’m forced to ring in because MalMan’s write-up was so over the top. I laughed out loud several times and made my husband admire some sections too. MICRO/my crow? He loved that one. SOAP in bars/shots (in bars)... my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI also loved the OSHA poster having had those yearly inspections at an elementary school where I worked. The inspectors were always so apologetic about writing the school up about the slightest items.
The puzzle? I loved it! I’ve seen AJA several times associated with Steely Dan, but never heard the music. EDIE is a frequent answer often clued with Falco.
I had side effects with the first COVID inoculation, so I’m dreading the second shot.
I always liked Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians
ReplyDeleteWasn't a fan of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. If the song sounds familiar, it's the theme from Sunday Night Football
Aja is one of my favorite Steely Dan albums.
Who doesn't remember Casey Kasem's "America's Top 40"???....or as the voice of Shaggy
I didn't find the music clues to be obscure. All lay-ups. I figured Anonymus T would think the same
AnonT... Do you remember that Casey's real life wife played Loretta Tortelli (Nick's new wife) on Cheers
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteMALMAN: All I can say is I am speechless
MOEMAN
Anon-T, yes she did/does. . . and she gets a discount so friends and family are always placing orders. The last time I remember seeing this many small packages being sourced and subsequently distributed was in Berkeley in the very early 1970's when "my roommate" knew people who his friends did not.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI agree.
The three newest bloggers have each brought a new style and their unique flair to the crossword blogging.
Canadian Eh, I am with you. It will be awhile. In the county, Phase 1a was healthcare personnel (58K). We're now in Phase 1b (268K). I'm not 65 or older, and have no underlying conditions, and am not an essential frontline worker, so I don't qualify in that group. The next phase (May to June) will be 1c for residents 16 to 64 w/ underlying conditions and other essential workers (368K). I don't check either of those boxes. Right now it looks like I'll be in Phase 2 starting in July - "the rest of the population" unless something changes. I can wait.
As I was typing that, the early evening news said that the Governor has just expanded Phase 1b to include those under 65 with selected medical conditions. It will also be announced tomorrow that the United Center (home of the Chicago Bulls) will be opened as a mass vaccination center), but the news stations are also reporting that many in 1b haven't been able to get their second shot due to lack of supply.
I guess they are predicting the Bulls will make the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteShould have been. "... will not make the playoffs."
I loved this puzzle and MalMan's write-up. Excellent humor! The last cell to fill was the J crossing AJA and JETT. Like Mrs. Eh!, I wanted SURE and certain before I learned it had to be WIFE. I also had NANCE before MCKAY.
ReplyDeleteSorry folks; I say "foy yay". I know, I know...
The LOMA I am most familiar with is LOMA Prieta, "famous" for that huge 1989 earthquake, although I must have driven on I-210 past LOMA Linda many times to and from Phoenix, AZ.
We have also driven through the little town of Ajo (not AJA), AZ, to and from the little town of Puerto Peñasco, Mexico.
I love taking road trips, but my wife hates them. Take a guess as to whether we do or do not take many road trips.
Tomorrow we get our second Covid shot.
Good wishes to you all.
Well, I had to check in! MalMan, what a brilliant writeup. The puns, the graphics- I laughed. I cried. I danced. Fun puzzle all the way around.
ReplyDeleteFYI - Edie Brickell co-wrote, along with Steve Martin the Broadway musical, "Bright Star". It was set in the the Blue Ridge Mountains. Guitars, mandolins, banjos, slide guitars, fiddles - it made for an unusual orchestra pit. Enjoyable show that was nominated for a Tony, unfortunately it was the same year as "Hamilton" which blew all the competition off the stage.
Glad to see you all are getting your vaccinations. My husband has had both and had no reactions to either. I'm scheduled for #2 next week. I hope I'm as lucky as he was.
We are sure enjoying the glorious sunshine in NorCal. So long everyone.
An exciting PZL today from Ms. Gelfand.
ReplyDeleteWith a brilliant, beautifully illustrated response from our Malodorous Manatee. Great photos and cartoons!
I'm with you, Jayce ~ My last fill was the "J" in AJA. I thought I was stuck, as I mentally tried other letters, but when the "J" popped up, I knew it right away.
Lucina - Gotta kick outta your word play today.
LOMA Linda has the longest living residents in the country. Must be a lot of cruciverbalists there.
~ OMK
___________
DR: Two diagonals, one to a side.
The near side offers up an anagram for a three-word descriptor (12 of 15 letters) for an actor who goes undercover on behalf of his local police department to gain inside intel on a gang of wild youngsters who frequent the crazy people-banging area in front of concert halls, mixing it up while their fave metal bands play.
This is of course the guy who...
"MOSH PLAY ACTS"!
BUT for a truly weird couple of anagrams, check out the opposite diagonal--on the far side. Depending on how you interpret it, you have an emergency medical professional who is EITHER focused on a particularly Female matter--
-or-
the same pro, but attending to a Male specialty.
Either way, this uses 14 of the 15 letters. The nine-letter word is constant, while the five-letter word shifts its gender focus.
This anagram is of either a...
"MENSE PARAMEDIC"
-or a-
"SEMEN PARAMEDIC"!
Go figure...
Took a little longer than usual but once I got going I finished with no problem. I really enjoyed the theme for a change. I give it an A+
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle and expo!
ReplyDeleteFIW! I'm angry at myself for leaving the "H" in 1A/D; couldn't figure out 32A for the life of me. Everything else worked out very smoothly, in my slow, plodding way.
Odor is in the nose of the beholder, especially with the stink over the wearing of scents in the workplace.
Gotta work tomorrow and Saturday. Might rain both days. Supposed to have Open Ramp Day on Saturday. We'll see if the rain stays away.
Talk about talking to the ether. It was a long day.
ReplyDeleteRe. "SLEEVE" and "Tee". I was thinking of a SLEEVE of golf balls being opened up on "Tee". Aha, PVX has it. "Short" SLEEVE Shirt.
I made RayO's mistake of inking eXES as more than one X Axis. Thus creating an impossible Natick for even if I WAG JETT it yielded AGE.
"Wait, Wait don't tell me" is a fav of mine. As is Terry Gross*
I knew Anon-T would eat up the Music links. I see PVX is a fan. Music fans far outnumber Sports fans in here.
So CED, you're putting RE-ECHO in the class of IRRegardless?
I knew Casey but I thought she wanted the first name and thought Kasey or Kasee might be the spelling.
TTP, Bulls have rebounded after a slow start. 50-50 chance of stealing that 8th spot. My Celtics better pick up the pace.
Foy-yay is pretty close to the French. The Brits habitually refused to say anything resembling the French** pronounciation.
Among so many brilliant groaners "chess nuts boasting in an open FOYER." was my fav. Great Write-up MaloMan
WC
*She had Tim O'Brien who penned Vietnam stories yesterday
** I almost said "Frogs". Oops.
ReplyDeleteOMKeith:
Thank you. I love puns and alliteration especially when the words lend themselves for it. It doesn't happen very often. Does anyone else like to read mysteries by Helen Tursten? I love them and a new one arrived for me today. Happy reading!