google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday March 22, 2021 Val Melius & Jeff Chen

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Mar 22, 2021

Monday March 22, 2021 Val Melius & Jeff Chen

Theme: ONION RINGS (56. Circular fried food ... and what's in the circled letters) - The circled letters in each theme entry is a word that can precede ONION.

17. Accompanying dishes, like 56-Across: SIDE ORDERS. Those ONION words are on both sides of each answer.

23. Athenian now a citizen in Athens, Georgia, say: GREEK AMERICAN. Green onion.

30. Spraying gently, as plants: SPRITZING. Spring onion.

38. Expecting a baby, quaintly: WITH CHILD. Wild onion.

45. "... nothing more": PURE AND SIMPLE.  Purple onion.

Boomer here.  

SPRING arrived on Saturday, The grass is turning GREEN. And it won't be long before our WILD PURPLE Vikings will be trading those stupid cutouts with real people in the stands.

Across:

1. Bear's home: LAIR.  TTP:  I am wondering if the Chicago football team lives there.

5. Actress Winslet or Hudson: KATE.  If you're old like me, you may remember KATE Smith.

9. Clever tactic: PLOY.

13. Pig Latin negative: IXNAY.

15. Spoken: ORAL.  In High School we sometimes had ORAL tests.  Not my favorite.

16. Levitate: RISE.  RISE and shine!  Good Morning.

19. "Kapow!": BLAM.  It's a little early, but fourth of July will be here before you know it.

20. Air pressure meas.: PSI.  Per Square Inch.

21. College head: DEAN.  I bought our home from a realtor named Dean. He keeps me on his email list to let me know how much our neighbor's homes sell for.

22. Actress Lively of "Green Lantern": BLAKE.


27. Hillock: KNOLL.  There's a strip mall in St, Louis Park, MN called KNOLLwood Plaza.  It was pretty famous before Southdale and the Mall of America were built. 

28. J, F or K, in "JFK": Abbr.: INIT. Initial.

29. Fancy farewells: CIAOS.

35. Crush consistently in competition: OWN.  I used to OWN the bowlers in my league.  Now I am OWNED by others.

36. Did a stable job: SHOED.

37. Long of "Boiler Room": NIA.

41. Capture: CATCH.  Our Twins have captured two decent CATCHers this year.

43. Mayberry youngster: OPIE.  Good grief!  I watch reruns of Andy Griffith shows and I see a young Ron Howard. The credits call him Ronnie.  What a career he has had !! 



44. Secret stash: CACHE.  I have a secret stash of baseball cards and golf balls in the basement.  I also have a few golf balls in my bag which I kept in my bag in the garage that Mother Nature kept at minus 20 or minus 10 degrees for most of the winter.  Anybody know if that makes them fly further when golf season opens??

50. Tablets with preloaded FaceTime: iPADS.

51. Skin care additive: ALOE.

52. Decisive boxing victories: KOs.  Knock Out a Home Run, Shout a Hip Hurray! Cheer for the Minnesota Twins Today!

55. Bonkers: LOCO.  Maybe we should change the name of a Home Run to a Bonker.

59. Again: ANEW.

60. Tea and coffee servers: URNS.  I've seen these in restaurants, but I am happy with our plain old Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker

61. Treat with disdain: SCORN.  Plant your CORN in rows instead of S's and maybe they won't treat you with disdain.

62. Fronded office greenery: FERN.  There once was a bar and restaurant where my Mom worked called Bursch's Cafe.  Her friend, Fern Itens played and ran the Piano Bar. Yup, I was a customer.



63. Assign stars to: RATE.

64. Sheepish animals?: EWES.

Down:

1. Issue for a speech coach, perhaps: LISP.

2. x, y or z, in geometry: AXIS.  I thought this was what the world turned on.

3. Like one saying "Well, I never!": INDIGNANT.  Not me.  I just quietly turn my back and say one of those four letter words.

4. Singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE.



5. George Eastman's camera: KODAK.  I know there are others, but I cannot imagine anyone over 40 who has not used a KODAK camera sometime in their life.

6. Bowl game venue: ARENA.  Nope, we call it a Bowling Center and I am rolling three games this morning.

7. Gravel driveway alternative: TAR.  I like TAR better than gravel but ours is so old and broken up, it's hard to tell the difference.

8. Golf great Ernie: ELS.  On the Champions tour now, and frequently in a crossword regular.


9. Massive awareness campaign, for short: PR BLITZ.  I watch the news channels and I get tired of all the PR BLITZES every day.

10. Lavender cousin: LILAC.  "Love like the LILACS can change colors too." Burl Ives and others.

11. Japanese financial hub: OSAKA.

12. Country south of Saudi Arabia: YEMEN.

14. Alpine songs: YODELS.  ODE EL LADY WHO !  (How'd I do ?)

18. React to a shock: REEL.  In Minnesota it is used for fishing.

22. "Old chap" speaker: BRIT.

24. Kanga's kid: ROO.  I think I remember Captain Kangaroo having a pet named Roo Roo.

25. Stuck (in): MIRED.

26. Oklahoma city that, when reversed, is a synonym for "eat": ENID.

27. New Zealander: KIWI.

29. Dairy farm animal: COW.  Of course my late great Uncle Bill (on Burnikel Road) in Siren Wisconsin had a few COWS but now I think my cousins only plant corn. 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-CH6CQdV2MLA7k6dAIAKkvNWGaeR-NJjCfwQ103BnMe0jp3UXeGfwsKTXnvW_M-CkZ-Bh4GIrMxa4LEDaXlUFe5NFV0imC0W87wdDF5883aDaHsmVKXUkdo5D350QiIR5hZoJAf8uhY/s1600/MVC-904S.JPG

30. Recoiled: SHIED.

31. D.C. dealmaker: POL.

32. Having exclusive information: IN THE KNOW.  Congratulations to all of you "IN THE KNOW" puzzlers who completed in record time!   

33. "Cool!": NICE.

34. "Dilbert" cry: GAH.

36. Leg part guarded in soccer: SHIN.  Mine feel a little funny.  Especially climbing stairs.

39. Square dance milieu: HOEDOWN.

40. TurboTax pros: CPAS.  We use TurboTax so we don't have to hire a CPA.

41. Chicken piccata toppers: CAPERS.


42. Knee injury initials: ACL.  My legs are a little funny for bowling but the ACLs are fine.

44. "Get moving!": C'MON.

45. Savory rice dish: PILAF.

46. Barely ahead: UP ONE.

47. Indy competitor: RACER.  Memorial Day is coming.  Are they having the race this year??

48. New Orleans NFLer: SAINT.  Last week we honored SAINT Patrick (Mar 17) and SAINT Joseph (MAR 19).

49. "Uncle!": I LOSE.  No! I ain't down.

53. "Puss in Boots" monster: OGRE.

54. Nine-digit IDs: SSNS.  It is nine for sure, but you only need to memorize the last four.  That's all I am ever asked.  Except for one time at Kohl's department store.  I don't go there any more.

56. "Give us this day __ daily bread": Matthew: OUR. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

57. Gun lobby org.: NRA.

58. Rocks in a bar: ICE.

Boomer

  
Note from C.C.:
 
Today we celebrate the big 80th birthday of Pat (PK on our blog). Had to steal this perfect cake from CrossEyedDave again. So glad you're back on the blog now, PK. We all treasure you.
 


58 comments:

TTP said...




Hi Boomer. Great job again today. Good luck and have fun bowling later today !

No prob with the puzzle. Got to the "Oklahoma city that, when reversed..." clue and knew it was going to be ENID. Did you know that it is approximately 225 miles NW of Dallas, Tx ? :>) (The things we learn in crossord puzzles).

Boomer, the Bears gave up on Mitch Trubisky and signed Andy Dalton. Other big names may be on the way out. They'll probably go 8-8 this year, finish third out of the four teams in the NFC Central and miss the playoffs. Madame DeFarge and her hubby are the big Bears fans. I'm Steelers through and through.

BTW, the cold won't hurt your golf balls as much as heat does. Try a new sleeve of low compression golf balls. Choosing the right golf ball for your game is as important as choosing the right bowling ball coverstock for your style of bowling. I used the Ladies MaxFli MD 80 the year after my first back surgery. You're probably not swinging as fast as you once did, and a low compression ball will most likely give you a little added distance and a better feel around the green. As well, you'll probably hit them straighter. There's no point in shelling out twice as much for ProVs and the like if you aren't swinging over 100mph and have excellent control. I just looked it up. MaxFli sells a 2 piece low compression ball called the SoftFli. They're $20 for a dozen versus $45 for the ProV's...


TTP said...



I forgot to thank Jeff and Val. I enjoyed your puzzle and finding the onions.

Val, congratulations on your debut here !

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Hooray for the reveal. Otherwise, those circled words would just be....circled words. Got 'er done in good time, so life is good. Thanx, Val, Jeff, and Boomer. (Good luck on the lanes this morning.)

Got a notification that our tax software provider has updated the handling of Unemployment payments -- it was taxable until the latest Covid bill/law ruled otherwise. The software company advises we shouldn't fix anything or amend any returns until the IRS advises. If all filers who received Unemployment now need to file an amended return, it'll be a real mess.

Boomer said...

TTP - Thank you !! That is a great tip for golf balls. I have never used the Pro V1 but I due have some Callaways and Titleists which I believe are 90 compression. I also wish to go back to yesterday where C.C. posted a photo of a 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps rookie card. Sometimes I cannot change history and it never repeats itself. In the early 1980s, I acquired a complete set of 1952 Topps baseball from a collector. I paid $3000.00 and the set was in like new condition. I had them for sale at a collectors' show. The last series of cards issued were the "High" number, in demand and I sold the Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays, and Jackie Robinson for $900.00 total, but I got no takers on the Mantle for which I was asking $2000.00. I ended up selling the Mantle later to another dealer for $800.00. History did not repeat itself and in a year or two, All of those 1952 cards were sold. I probably doubled my $3000.00 investment but hindsight is only 20/20 vision. Another story out of my past.

Boomer

ATLGranny said...

Well, that was a nice Monday puzzle! FIR. Thanks Val and Jeff and congratulations on your debut, Val. Thanks, Boomer for verifying my answers. The theme reveal was necessary to explain the circled words: ONION RINGS, yum! My few WOs were two spelling slips and one wrong word (Neat before NICE), all quickly fixed by perps. 'Twas a smooth start to the week.

Happy big "round" Birthday to PK. Glad you are posting again. Enjoy the day. And I hope everyone enjoys a NICE SPRINGy day today!

TokenCreek said...

Unlurking, say FLN: Spitz, thanks for the heads-up on the ISS. Went out at 2028 CDT, about 90 minutes after you. W to NE @ 39 degrees. What a thrill.

Boomer said...

And may I also add to C.C. words with a glorious HAPPY BIRTHDAY to PK on this wonderful Spring Day and hopes to add SPRING in every step you take !!!

Lemonade714 said...

Welcome Token Creek and happy first Monday of spring to all and most of all to PK for her birthday milestone.

I have solved a number of Val's puzzles, first in David Steinberg's short-lived Puzzle Society Crosswords and some Universals but he is heavily published in TRADE CRAFT which has a new puzzle every Friday featuring both new and established constructors. There are so many choices for puzzles to solve now and most sites (NYT-NYET!) are free.

Boomer, I did the same thing with my comic book collection when in 1980 I was moving from Gainesville to Fort Lauderdale pocketing some huge profits which would have increased 10 fold if I hadn't decided there were too many to move. Ah well, sic transit gloria. Thanks Jeff, Val and Boomer and bowl well

TokenCreek said...

BTW, I'm sorta new at this, How do I dump the garbage can from a post.???

Lucina said...

Hola!

First, Happy birthday, PK! I so enjoy your posts and miss you when you are absent. Enjoy your day!

This was fun and fast! Sometimes Monday puzzles are just so, so, but this one was tasty! I love ONIONS and all of these in the puzzle are so delicious! Sadly, they bring on a headache for my daughter so when she comes for dinner I have to refrain from using them. Otherwise I use any excuse to cook with ONIONS.

What fresh fill! Thank you, Val Melius and Jeff Chen! I wonder if Val is a GREEK AMERICAN?

Thank you, Boomer, and have fun bowling! I guess many of us have those kinds of stories and I won't bore you with mine. Besides, it's embarrassing.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks Val, Jeff and Boomer. Fun puzzle and comments. I needed the reveal to get the theme. I never heard of purple onions. I see that they are what we call red onions. They do look purplish.
Our family uses onions of all kinds liberally. I like Arby's onion rings but not much else there. When making homemade onion soup takes a long time to caramelize all those onions, but it is delicious.
Are horses actually shoed in stables? I am skeptical.
SLAM before BLAM.
I remember Kate Smith. Lovely voice. Her given name was Kathryn Elizabeth, the same as mine. I liked the way she spelled it.
PK, a very happy birthday to you. I have missed your posts all these months. Glad to see you are back.
Token Creek, welcome to the Corner. The garbage can is there in case have second thoughts and want to delete your post. It will not appear on line when you publish.

Yellowrocks said...

Side orders, onion rings. How apt for this puzzle!

inanehiker said...

Fun and fast Monday - I like ONIONs too - but mostly grilled or carmelized rather than raw though! SO to YR with the square dance HOEDOWN. Around here the horses are SHOED in the barn or sometimes outside when they are tied up to a fence. Some people have a full time job shoeing horses, but most it is a side job to farming or something else and many are old order Mennonites (or Amish with a truck as they are referred to ;) sometimes)

Thanks Boomer for the always amusing blog and congrats to Val on the debut with able co-constructor Jeff!

HBD PK - congrats on the milestone - I got a chuckle out of the pic of the "perfect" cake - beautifully decorated but without the "r" in birthday!

Hungry Mother said...

Nice to have a calm and easy solve after the weekend puzzlers. It took me a while to realize that the circles were referring to onions rather than sides (wild side), but that was peripheral anyway.

Hungry Mother said...

Since I’m only 80, I’ll wait a few years before taking up golf.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Happy Birthday to PK. Hope your day is special.

TC @ 0721: Glad you got a chance to see the ISS.

Loved the ONION theme. Don't know if the circles were needed. Liked the long downs. No problems solving; FIR.
ONION - BH and I both love onions. She makes a fried bologna with fried onions, toasted French peasant bread (topped with Plochman's mustard) sandwich for lunch every Sunday.
CAPERS - We also love CAPERS. Had cod topped with a CAPER and red pepper sauté for dinner yesterday. I was in hog heaven.
COW - Our dairy farm hosted 50 Kö. [German Kuh, L. German Ko]. And when our Dutch neighbor dropped by I would hear 'koe'.

BLITZ and SPRITZ in the same puzzle.

Spitz signing off.

TTP said...

Happy Birthday PK !!! The blog must have been updated after I first posted. I went back to sleep after posting earlier.

Boomer, you are welcome. I should have said, "... if you aren't swinging over 100mph and DON'T have excellent control." But you got it. I had a few baseball cards but never got into it. One of the nephews was really into collecting and trading Pokemon cards.

Welcome, Token Creek.

Yellowrocks, I read a series of recipes the other day about caramelizing onions after watching an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. You agree with the experts. Some of the recipes gave "tips" for quickly caramelizing onions, but most others stressed that those quick methods may give the appearance but will not create the best taste.

I love onion rings, but only if they are made fresh, like at home, a restaurant, or at a fair or carnival. I pretty much detest the ones sold in the freezer aisle of the grocery stores, and even though I don't eat very much at fast food places, I have tried them and they are only marginally better than store-bought.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Neatly inked Monday...no fuss no muss.

I cried when I sussed the theme, not tears of joy...it's the ONIONs 🧅🧅😭

ENID is back in one of its/her various forms and thats..OK. My writing hand is as soft as Madge's Palmolive manicure soak from so much CW ALOE! Wonder if Edith PI(L)AF did rice commercial jingles: "La Vie en Riz"? ..."Uncle" indicates "I give" rather than ILOSE. Rassling, my younger bro would then say that I had cheated rather admit final defeat!!

Remember Kate Smith had a weekly TV show when I was a little guy. Watched with my GF. Her signature song was "God Bless America" I think.

Pleasure groan....PSI
Informal syncophants......YEMEN
The switch to digital cinema has been un ___ REEL
Where to find Julia's husband....WITHCHILD
Brings home..URNS

Happy Birthday PK

CIAO for naio

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-I don’t know Val but Jeff, besides making fabulous puzzles, has always been helpful and courteous when I’ve contacted him
-“The grassy KNOLL” has been firmly in our language for over 57 years now
-Ron Howard movies usually include a role for his brother Clint like here in Apollo 13
-Aren’t bowls played in a STADIUM and not an ARENA?
-The Discovery+ Streaming service has had a PR BLITZ running for months now
-Redux – Secretaries and Custodians are always IN THE KNOW before the faculty
-ONION rings – must be fresh not frozen. ONION on hamburger – Must be raw not cooked
-Happy Birthday, PK! I’m glad to see you back as well!

Bob Lee said...

Happy B'day, PK!

My favorite answer: IXNAY. Have kids these days even heard of Pig Latin?

CrossEyedDave said...

Contrary to popular belief,
Frozen onion rings can be quite good
(If you make them yourself....)

I am sure our audience here is quite seasoned,
And knows well how to make onion rings. I thought I did,
But recently saw something that is going to send me back to the kitchen.

Ever bite into your home made onion ring only to have the soggy ring slide
Out of the breading? Well, that is because you did not remove the membrane!

Membrane?
What membrane?..
I never heard of any membrane?

Anywho, being OCD, I can watch video after video on the same subject
And not get bored. Even one that is a half hour long on just making an onion ring!
After years of this, I suddenly came upon something I never heard of before..

So, if you want to make onion rings at home, watch this video.
They can be air fried, deep fried, beer battered, Panko, or even tempora,
But there are two prerequisites.

1) refrigerate your onions!
This makes for a lot less tears, and easier to remove the membrane.

Membrane? What membrane?

Oh yes, 2) watch this 30 minute video.
I believe the membrane is at 4:45 minutes.

Happy birthday PK!
The cake may suffer,
But CED prefers to write with real icing...

John E said...

Husker,
I saw this wonderful tribute to and from a fellow husker. Thought everyone might enjoy.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/21/us/eric-sauser-dead-sexy-obituary-trnd/index.html

waseeley said...

Thanks to Val, Jeff, and Boomer. FIR and loved the theme, as I grow all of those varieties in our garden each year. Was hoping that my favorite, LEEKS, would LEAK in but they didn't make the cut.

Liked the juxtaposition of KNOLL (27A) and JFK (28A). Pure coincidence I'm sure.

29A You caddying that game BOOMER? Are those WILD onions growing on the GREEN?

29D We had ENID, OK last Thursday, though several people couldn't figure out where ENIDOK was in Texas.

39D Never leave a HOE UP. You're liable to get BOPPED in the head!

56D There are actually two version of this prayer in the New Testament, a shorter one being Luke 11:2-4. An interesting thing about both of these versions is the original Koine Greek for the word "daily". It is not ἡμέρᾱν the Greek word for 'day', as would be expected, but rather a "strange" word: ἐπιούσιον ("epiousios"), which has no direct translation into English. The reason it is strange is that it occurs only two places in all of Greek literature: in these two NT passages. Thus the meaning of it cannot be derived from usage in other works of Greek literature. However, by parsing the Greek we get "epi", which means "over" or "above" (e.g. in epidermis) and "ousios", which means "substance" or "being". For more info on the meaning of "epiousios", see this article.

And Happy Birthday PK!

Cheers,
Bill

waseeley said...

Ray-O @9:22AM Inc-O-rrigible as usual!

waseeley said...

Bob @10:12AM Have any of them heard of LATIN?!

NaomiZ said...

Except for a false start at 1 Across (LAIR, not cave), this was a PURE AND SIMPLE Monday offering, which I enjoyed. Thanks, Val, Jeff, Rich, and Boomer!

I also appreciated Ray-O's "CIAO for naio" (or is it niao?). Since my daughter married an Italian fellow, and our family now includes what we call Team Italy, DH has said "ciao for now" as goodbye to all family members.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a fun, easy-breezy start to the week with a well-hidden, Aha reveal, at least to me. I liked Catch above Cache and Shied crossing Shoed and, as Spitz mentioned, Spritz and Blitz.

Thanks, Val and Jeff, for a smooth, satisfying solve and thanks, Boomer, for the chuckles and commentary. Good luck on the lanes.

Welcome, Token Creek.

Happy Birthday, PK, hope it’s a special day. 🎂🎉🎊🎁🎈Always enjoy your comments and hope to hear from you often.

TTP @ 9:17 ~ I make French Onion Soup whenever the mood strikes me and I’ve learned that patience is the key to caramelizing the onions properly. It takes a long time but the result is well worth it. I use a tweaked Julia Child recipe which always turns out yummy! The best part is having several portions to freeze for future meals.

HG @ 9:45 ~ Thanks for the learning moment about Ron Howard having a brother. I still see him as little Opie!

Have a great day.





waseeley said...

John E @10:50AM As TTP will tell you, I can cry at the drop of a hat. You really got me on this one John.

Anonymous said...

Have heard "plain and simple" many times. Don't remember ever hearing "pure and simple". Still very pleasant puzzle.

Misty said...

Delightful Monday puzzle, many thanks, Val and Jeff. And loved your pictures, Boomer, especially the one of Burnikel Road.

My favorite clue was the Oklahoma City one--I would never have gotten that if we hadn't been given the synonym for "eat." My German was delighted to get SPRITZING and PR BLITZ--words I don't think I've ever encountered in a crossword before. Always nice to see OPIE in a puzzle, especially today, with Boomer's picture.

Have a wonderful birthday, PK.

And welcome to the blog, Token Creek.

Have a good week coming up, everybody.

desper-otto said...

I've heard "pure and simple" much more often than "plain and simple." Maybe it's a regional thing.

Yellowrocks said...

I like raw onion on cheeseburgers, but I like caramelized onions on them even better. One of my favorite diner sandwiches is a patty melt with a grilled hamburger, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions placed on rye bread and grilled.
CE DAVE, interesting about the membrane in onions. That would save the dreaded long onion part sliding out of the breading.
I miss cooking, but I do not miss daily cooking on demand. Delicious dinners are provided as part of the plan here. I provide my own breakfasts and lunches. I will probably be making mainly hors d'oeuvres for company when Covid precautions become more relaxed. I have only a small pantry space and do not cook often enough to have a wide variety of ingredients on hand.

Yes, UNCLE is I give, not merely I lost. When you lose a foot race, you wouldn't say UNCLE.

Pure and simple and plain and simple have the same meaning. I use pure and simple.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

🐷🐷🐷

PiG Latin 101, Instruction by Chairman Omay

LEO III said...

Very nice Monday puzzle. Got it done early this morning.

Let’s see: Three actresses equals three perps.

Other than that, no problems. Got the onion rings (love them) and the types of onions too.

Thanks, Val and Jeff and Boomer!

Welcome TokenCreek!

The Purple Onion was a famous San Francisco venue way back when. Among other famous acts, my favorites, The Kingston Trio, played there.

I’ve been really been busy since Thursday, and I have to monitor a photo shoot at the museum this afternoon, so I’ll catch up later.

AnonymousPVX said...


Happy BD PK.

I’m with YR on the onions, raw is nice and sautéed even better on that patty melt.

But no one mentioned good old Hot Dogs with raw onions (and spicy mustard). Yum.

I hate the overly breaded onion rings some sell down here, a huge amount of fried dough with a single skinny ring of onion...I threw them away.

Oh, right, the puzzle...no issues at all to get the solve.

Three more days til my 2nd shot.

Stay safe. GO UCONN LADIES!

Madame Defarge said...

Happy Birthday, PK! Hooray for you. Enjoy your Day.

Thanks Val and Jeff for the Monday doable puzzle. I really struggled from Thursday on last week. I figured I must be losing my marbles. I'll try not to get behind this week. I like the theme. My hand is up for caramelized, like Irish Miss.

Nicely done, Boomer. Always, really. Glad you are finding your way back to bowling. The Bears. . . . I'm not sure their can find their LAIR with both hands. What a mess. To think they chose Turbisky over Mahomes. Another Bears QB head case!

YR: Thought You immediately at HOEDOWN!

I have to call the last of my athletes in five minutes. It's football season here in Illinois. It sure has helped some of them to get back to some sense of normal.

The sun has returned and the robins were singing up a storm this morning. A domani.

Ol' Man Keith said...

I do remember that KATE, Boomer--and I remember her photo-mate, Babe Ruth, as well.
He was at the end of his career, but already for decades a household name.

Ray -O- Sunshine ~ Right you are! Kate Smith's version of "God Bless America" still rings in my ears!

IXNAY? My parents were fluent in Pig Latin.
But the one that got my attention was their Double Dutch! They spoke it like natives of AmsterdamAmsterdam!!
~ OMK
____________
DR:
We have a 3-way on the far side today.
The central diagonal yields an anagram (12 of 15 letters) about a set of gawdawful ringing of the bells, a true series of...
"CARILLON DINS"!

Lucina said...

Hand up for raw ONIONS on hamburgers! Otherwise, cooked ONIONS on almost everything! I love to saute some with potatoes. Yum!

Malodorous Manatee said...

Happy Birthday, PK !

There is nothing quite as tasty as caramelized onion, unless it's caramelized garlic.

unclefred said...

Took me a distressingly long time for a Monday, but still a very novice fun CW, thanx VAL and Jeff! I will eat almost anything with capers, I love them!! And I loved the theme of this CW, too. Very nice write-up, thanx, Boomer. I thought of several jokes about freezing your balls, but none I can print here!!

unclefred said...

Very nice, not very novice

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks Val and Jeff for a tasty Monday puzzle. Thank you Boomer for kickin'-off the after-party.

Anyone think we were going to get Pearl Onions [oooh, that looks yummy - but so does this as a side for steak] at 45a?

WO: adBLITZ and that really held me up in the NE.
ESPs: BLAKE, NIA
Fav: FERNs just 'cuz it made me think... How many dead plants are there in office buildings after a year of absence?*

Happy Birthday PK! Hope you stop by The Corner to read all you HBD wishes!
inanehiker - this dyslexic never noticed the lack of an R - and I've seen that cake at least 4 times :-)

Welcome to The Corner TokenCreek. Are those hot-air balloons in your avatar?

Funny DR OKM. There is a wonderful Carillon in Washington Park in my boyhood-town. In the winter we'd also go to Washington Park for the sledding hills** -- no trees to hit like Lincoln Park's sledding "trails."

Fun Stooges clip Ray-O, thanks.
I haven't finished the ONION Ring video yet, CED. I wonder if DW will let me get an airfryer (she thinks I have too many toys on the kitchen counter already).

PVX and those are the only two things that should be on on a hot-dog -- that is, unless it's Chicago-style (basically a salad on top :-)) or a chili-dog (with Green Onions!).

Cheers, -T
*I've been in the office twice since last year.
**That's where I took DW for her first real sled ride -- Louisiana-girl had never seen that much snow.

CanadianEh! said...

Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Val and Jeff.
I FIRed and found the tasty ONION theme. DH loves to grow GREEN onions. I can only eat small amounts of onion raw as they will come back to haunt me for the rest of the day. But cooked, fried is OK. My sister has developed an onion intolerance and has to read labels carefully to avoid any traces of it. (You might not believe how many food items have onion to flavour them!)

Just a little crunch today for me.
I wanted Float (too many letters) before RISE. I was thinking of the magician making the lady RISE horizontally.
I am accustomed to Misting my FERN; now I will have to use the term SPRITZING!

Speaking of Matthew and the Lord's Prayer with OUR, I thought of Mary in Luke being described as "great WITH CHILD". Apt description of those last few days before delivery.

I wanted Plain AND SIMPLE but PURE fit the spot. (Hello Anon@11:33)
My "OLD chap speaker" was a Gent before a BRIT.

We had "recoiled=SHIED" and "React to a shock=REEL".
If we use the another meaning of REEL and go fishing, we might CATCH something (not CACHE or they will smell!).

Has IM beat me to the animals? (No I see). COW, EWES, Bear in the LAIR, the horse? that was shod by whoever "did a stable job" and SHOED it.
ROO is an animal too, but I saved him for the KIWI theme. We were missing the Emu today.

Torn ACLs and kicked SHINs are a hazard of Soccer. ICE might be required. (I think Tinbeni approves of using it in this case.)

Interesting that 27A "Hillock=KNOLL" was followed by 28A "JFK INIT". The conspiracy theory involving a second gunman on the now infamous “grassy knoll” in Dallas still crops up occasionally. (I see that HuskerG and waseeley beat me.)

CSO to YR with Square dancing HOEDOWN.
Spitz - you almost got a double CSO with SPRITZ and BLITZ LOL!
Welcome Token Creek.
Happy Birthday PK.

Wishing you all a good evening.

TokenCreek said...

Anon T Yes. Back in the day we used to crew for Token Creek Hot Air Balloons.. They had four identical balloons of different sizes. When all in the air at the same time it was a site to see. Largest was 144,000 cubic feet.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle.

Jayce said...

Well, our TV blew up. While we were watching the news it made a loud POP sound and went dark. It is totally dead. A five year old 50-inch Vizio. Today LW has had me running ragged researching TVs. Looks like we're homing in on either a Samsung or an LG. I drove her over to Costco to have a look at them "in the flesh." So there hasn't been much time to do the puzzle and read your comments today, though I have now done both.

Happy birthday, PK! (Patricia Kathleen?)

Good wishes to you all.

Spitzboov said...

Token @ 1848 - - I take it you're in the Madison, WI area.

Anonymous T said...

TokenCreek - that's so cool.

There's nothing as serene as being in a hot-air balloon floating over the Midwest.

I got to go up once... Mom's 4th (and final?) husband's brother [keeping up with this family tree? :-)] in Taylorville, IL owns a balloon and took me up during the 'x-marks-the-spot drop' for a competition in the Prairie.

It was like a snowy day where even a dog's bark was muffled in the distance.
And so beautiful on that Spring day too.

Cheers, -T

TokenCreek said...

Spitz, yes but when someone asks me, I tell them Token Creek.

Anonymous T said...

C, Eh! What's an onion intolerance and how does one eat anything?
I enjoyed your WITH CHILD comment (Well, OK, you're whole post :-)).

Bill G- I stumbled on this last night and I thought of you.
50 years of WKRP. [was there a reboot I missed?]

How you doing mate?

Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

Lemony, did you have any old Scrooge McDuck comics? I loved comic books as a kid. My barber had quite a stash. Or was it a CACHE.

I didn't notice the author(s). Jeff Chen, eh? No wonder this Monday had some spice.

Garbage can? Oh you PC posters have that?

I remember a lady at the piano singing "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain…" at the end of an afternoon show. Yogi referred to it in his famous "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings". Was it Kate?

HBD PK. Talk about inits.

WC

CanadianEh! said...

AnonT - her particular onion intolerance makes the whole meal go straight through (aka dumping syndrome”). TMI😮
And yes, it does limit the diet to “PURE AND SIMPLE” food.

How is DW? Did I miss any posts on the weekend?

Anonymous T said...

C, Eh! Thanks for asking... DW is just fine but secluding herself out of an abundance of caution (or just trying keep me at bay :-)).

I've never heard that about onions. Oy! If I had to give up onions (or, heaven forbid garlic), I'd just stop eating.

Changing tracks...
So,... I just hung up w/ Mom.
OMG! - I've got the Mark of the Beast. It's the Covid shot and I'm forever marked!!!
I literally bang'd my head into the wall (much to DW's chagrin) after the call (and six texts linking to people telling us the vaccine 'ingredients').

Mom & her 'off-the-grid' husband really need to stop getting all their information from FaceFriends.
//seriously, she thinks WHO & Bill Gates is trying to ... I lost track.

I love her but; Oy!

Hey - Birthday Girl, PK, where are you?

Cheers, -T

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks for all the cakes & birthday wishes. I'm way late getting to read the blog because I spent most of the afternoon and evening until 10 p.m. on long-winded telephone calls with beloved relatives and two zoom meetings with my son, DIL, & grandsons in OK - my first experience with that medium. Also found flowers left on my porch just before a squirrel started munching them. Very wonderful day. Will see my daughter tomorrow. My other son, DIL & two grandsons came for a pizza party on Sat. held with the lovely spring breeze blowing through the house for ventilation against covid. They brought enough pizza I'll have it for two more meals. Hadn't had any pizza for over a year & I was craving big time. So I'm happier about being 80 even if it means I have two gray-bearded sons. Hadn't seen that before. I've been waking up mornings lately thinking "Oh dear Lord, 80? How can that possibly be...?"

PK said...

Now since reading the blog, I'm craving onion rings.

Lucina said...

AnonT:
That intolerance to ONIONS is very real. They induce severe migraine headaches in my daughter if she even smells them. That's why I cook ribs or some other non-onion requiring food when she comes here.
I find it sad because like you I believe onions enhance everything!

Lucina said...

PK:
How wonderful of your family to make this day special for you.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Caramelized onions for me. Or the slices just burnt till they're nearly black.
~ OMK