google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, April 17, 2021 Joe Deeney

Advertisements

Apr 17, 2021

Saturday, April 17, 2021 Joe Deeney

Saturday Themeless by Joe Deeney

Today we have a familiar member of our Saturday Themeless Cadre as the Supply Chain Project Manager from Massachusetts, Joe Deeney, enters our puzzle supply chain and delivers a real challenge. His devilish cluing did not do me in but I did have one bad cell where my lack of facility with the Spanish language (¡Ay, carumba!) and ignorance of Mamet Dramas (Go figure) left me with vowel roulette and I chose the wrong one (see the red cell below)! I'll have to take one bad cell and try to get through the rest of my day. 😒 Here are Joe's comments:

Hi Gary,

All good here, hope you are well. I made this puzzle in January 2020. The seed was CEREAL AISLE, glad to see my clue [Total area?] survived. I don't usually try triple stack grids but I guess I was in the mood at that time. Other than that I don't remember much about the construction, though I suspect I couldn't talk myself out of stacking ICE LATTE on top of HOT TAMALE.
-Rich's [Crudely built city?] is an improvement over my original [Site of some crude buildings?]
-I'd submitted the same clue for PEEPHOLE and EYEPIECES, [Looky here!], sorry to see it go for EYEPIECES but it was probably too much of a stretch
-I've submitted [Do partner, for a monkey] as a clue for SEE several times over the years, glad to see a form of it finally appear in print as [Monkey's do partner?]
-This one was a bit sports-heavy again after my sports-heavy March 31 puzzle - apologies to those who don't care for that, a quirk of the schedule that these appeared so close together


-Joe








Across:

1. Technique providing percussion with a string note: SLAP BASS - A chance for a Buddy Holly fun tune on Ed Sullivan with Joe Mauldin playing SLAP BASS. 


9. Character in "The Iliad" but not "The Odyssey"?: ALPHA - Wow! It finally hit me The Iliad has an A (ALPHA) but The Odyssey does not

14. Summer pick-me-up: ICED LATTE - I treat myself to one occasionally on my way to summer morning golf

15. Use as a bed: LIE ON - You made your bed and so now you're going to have to LIE ON it.

16. Spicy Mexican food: HOT TAMALE - If I had no conscience, I'd say, "Chili today but HOT TAMLE". 

17. Extract metal from: SMELT - Also the past tense for SMELL in Britain 


18. Surg. sites: ORS.

19. Ivy near an Acela stop: YALE - Yup, I see New Haven


20. Ado: HOOPLA.

21. Big rings: PEALS - Now that was a fun clue (after a struggle)!


23. NBA writer Zach: LOWE If you're interested

25. Question of method: HOW - For this write-up, I learned HOW to type an ¡ on my Mac - Option +1

26. Durango, por ejemplo: ESTAD (a Mexican State) 
and 27. 1992 Mamet drama: OLEANNA (as if I would have an idea 😏) - Their intersection cost me a "got 'er done".

28. Crudely built city?: OIL TOWN - Cleverness from Rich. Here is Desdemona, TX that was built on crude oil money and is now a ghost town


31. Many of today's pro athletes: MILLENNIALS - Super Bowl Champ Tom Brady was born in 1977 and so is one of the last Gen-Xer's still playing pro sports. Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat was born in 1980 and so is one of the first MILLENNIALS to still be playing

34. Total area?: CEREAL AISLE - A very clever seed entry for Joe! You could also get some KIX and find some LIFE there too I'll bet


35. Result of an imagined draft: FANTASY TEAM - You pick a player at every position and score points for how well they do during the season

36. Gum with Ice and Fire varieties: DENTYNE.


37. Riverbed deposit: SLUDGE - Google if you must

41. B. A. Baracus portrayer: MR. T.


42. Warning accompanying a link: NSFW.

45. Ideal spots: EDENS.

46. Doomed 16th-century force: ARMADA A good four minute summary

49. Criminal charges: RAPS - Indictments or charges

51. Bon __: MOT.









52. Pressly of "Mom": JAIME.










53. Subdivision showcase: MODEL HOME.

55. Jeanette's "Macbeth" (1948) co-star: ORSON - Jeanette Nolan costarred with Orson Wells


56. Lenses: EYEPIECES - Telescopes come with different EYEPIECES. You can choose an EYPIECE to see a large area or get high magnification of a smaller area

57. Touch-and-go: RISKY

58. Blessings: GODSENDS.


Down:

1. Makes a point?: SCORES - Kick a Point After Touchdown, cross home plate, make a Free Throw, kick a soccer goal...

2. Unleashes on: LETS AT.

3. Big letters in security services: ADT - A friend of mine only bought the sign

4. Is far from a good sport: PLAYS DIRTY.

5. Perennial #1 NCAA football team since 2008: BAMA - If you're a College FB fan you know about Nick Saban's juggernaut in Tuscaloosa 

6. Even slightly: AT ALL.

7. Fifth-cen. pope called "The Great": ST LEO - A marble relief in St Peter's showing ST LEO repelling Attila The Hun as St Peter and St Paul appear in the sky


8. Monkey's do partner?: SEE - Monkey SEE, monkey do. Who is mimicking who?


9. As well: ALSO.

10. Long way to go?: LIMO - Last Saturday Stella Z. had 
18. Big wheels?: LIMOS


11. Look here!: PEEPHOLE - Or a Norman Rockwell knothole


12. Depressions: HOLLOWS - Some of those Appalachian "hollers" can produce some mighty strong spirits

13. __ Jamison, one of two NBA players with 20,000+ points who's not in the Hall of Fame: ANTAWN.


14. "From your mouth to God's ears": I HOPE.

20. Rears: HEINIES - Oh, those rears. 

22. Feel bad about: LAMENT.

24. Succeeded in: WON AT - Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese man to have WON AT The Masters last Sunday.

29. Three-time WNBA MVP: LISA LESLIE.


30. Synagogue text: TALMUD Here ya go

32. Performs surgery on, in a way: LASES - My dentist is looking into this. Yay!


33. Cambridgeshire cathedral city: ELY - The cathedral is 
at CB7 4DL in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England just south of the Prezzo Italian Restaurant 


34. Like a sure thing: CAN'T MISS - 1919: "I know this guy named Charles Ponzi..."

35. Company founded in 1939 as Auto Avio Costruzioni: FERRARI - Enzo Ferrari got fired from Alfa-Romeo and was forbidden to use his name on a vehicle for at least four years. So he built the Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 in 1939 


36. Key of Beethoven's Violin Concerto: D-MAJOR - Had to be [A - G] [Major, Minor or Sharp]

38. Submission to a radio station, briefly: DEMO CD - For $500 this her DEMO CD can be yours


39. Garden guardians: GNOMES.

40. Will of "Blue Bloods": ESTES - He's on Donnie Wahlberg's right below


43. Ice cream alternative, casually: FROYO - FROzen YOgurt

44. Moved between banks, maybe: WADED- I rowed first

47. Berserk: AMOK.

48. Refuse: DENY.

50. Amps (up): PEPS - Even tapes can be amped up!


53. Once-big storage unit that's now quite small: MEG - I remember when MEGabytes were huge computer storage units and then gigabytes and now you're a slacker without terabytes! 

54. Farm female: HEN.





 

46 comments:

jfromvt said...

First time I’m the first commenter. That’s what insomnia will do for you.

I really can’t believe I finished this. Was ready to give up and go back to bed, but finally got a few of the long answers and the puzzle magically filled in, as there were a lot of unknowns for me. Definitely a tough one, still not sure if it was fair or filled with Naticks. A lot of clever clues. Will be interested to see what others think.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Not sure if Joe Deeney PLAYS DIRTY or I'm just not on his wave length. Got 'er done after 42:26 minutes of mulling over.

Some pretty heavy puns here. Total area = CEREAL AISLE? Groan! ESP

Last to fill: DNK NSFW/FROYO. Who says that? I don't even eat it.

Crudely built city = OIL TOWN. Groan but good one.

HOT TAMALES: Hi, Lucina! Our authentic TAMALE queen.

NBA players were not MILLionaires but MILLENIALS. Most are both, I think. Didn't know Udonis Haslem was still playing, Gary. Haven't seen him.

Not familiar with SLAP BASS term despite having had a teenaged drummer with a full set in my parlor.

Hand up for not knowing OLEANNA or who is Mamet. Did know ESTADO.


OwenKL said...

DNF without red letter help, but with just that I finished without having to look anything up.
Living just a few hours drive from Durango, Colorado, I put in the word for town, PUEBLO, and couldn't take it out for the longest time. Also had LOSER (as in sore or poor) dangling from it to confirm I had it correct. When perps forced ESTADOS, I thought "estates?". Finally it occured to me: Durango, Mexico! Wiki: Officially named "Free and Sovereign State of Durango".

OwenKL said...

In France you can have an ICED LATTE.
In Mexico you can have a HOT TAMALE.
But for Mom's apple pie kiss
Or some stadium hot dog bliss,
You'll find it in the good old U.S.A.!

In the HOLLOWS of the hills,
When the thunder storms send chills,
It's nine-pins played
Like a fusillade,
By GNOMES who ne'er have seven-ten thrills!

{B+, B-.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Immediately inked in PLUCKING. All together now..."I really hate it when I need to use Wite-Out at 1a." Was right there with PK thinking MILLIONAIRES and then ran out of room. ANTAWN? Really? I could see ANTWAN, but ANTAWN? Next moms will be naming their kids ISIAH. CAN'T MISS -- Bernie Madoff swindled the courts out of about 138 years this week. Noticed the CSO to our own HOT TAMALE, Lucina. Anybody else try FRuit? Or ICE coffeE? Guess not. Thanx, Joe and Husker.

OLEANNA -- Got 'er right, because I remembered this old Kingston Trio song.

ADT -- As Husker mentioned, major manufacturer of lawn signs. That'd make a good Saturday clue.

Anonymous said...

I managed to finish this in 14:09 today. Estado seemed right to me, but didn't know Oleanna, so I can't disagree with the others complaining of that cell.

"Lay on" instead of "lie on" set me back in the top right, and I was unfamiliar with "slap bass". Took a long time for me to understand "a tall" was really "at all," which made much more sense.

Hungry Mother said...

FIR, with write-overs: ICEDLATTE 4 ICEDcofeE (sic), YALE 4 penn, DENTYNE 4 DENTiNE, MILLENNIALS 4 MILLioN____. Too many names, but I survived.

Big Easy said...

Gary- your 'one bad cell' was my lucky WAG for ESTADO instead of ESTADA after trying initially CIUDAD. Joe's tough puzzle was a WAG and PERP Festival today, but I IFR.

JAIME, ORSON, LISA LESLIE, ANTAWN, LOWE, OLE ANNA, ESTES- unknowns filled by perps. I filled MR T by perps before seeing the clue but it was also unknown.

HOT TAMALE- DW loves Hormel's but they have been unavailable for a year.
My "Crudely built city" started as HOUSTON before OIL TOWN made it.
HEINIES- heard it all my life but never knew how it was spelled.
CAN'T MISS- Bernie Madoff died this week.
MODEL HOME- I found out that our 795 sqft house (three bdrms and one bath) was the model home for our subdivision, bought in 1949 for $8,900. My parents didn't add on until AFTER I move out.

TTP said...



Good morning. Finished around 4 AM after waking up incredibly itchy. I forgot to take the Benadryl last night. This poison ivy is the pits. Day 9 since exposure. Anyway, thanks, Joe Deeney, and thanks, HG.

Middle rows were the toughest, in what became a tough puzzle for me. I surely wasn't fully rested, and in fact was flat out uncomfortable until the Benadryl finally kicked in. Finished correctly but it took an hour, and then finally got back to sleep. Just woke up again around 8AM.

SLAM BASS was unknown and likely will be forgotten.

"Big rigs" was SEMIS for the longest and held up the NW until I reread the clue and saw "Big rings"

I knew Jamison, but thought it was Antoin.

Houston fit for crudely built city (Hi, Big Easy), but it wouldn't be correct.

Millionaire went in but came out with LISA LESLIE

Gum with Fire and Ice ? Denteen, Dentene, finally DENTYNE

Big Easy, just to try them, pick up or order a box (5 pk for about $7) of El Monterey Frozen Tamales from the freezer aisle. I bought a box to try them some months ago, and have bought 3 or 4 boxes since then. They keep selling out at Walmart. They aren't offered in a Hot and Spicy version like the Hormel Tamales, but she might try adding some hot sauce. The El Monterey Frozen Tamales are so much better than the tamales in a can from Hormel, but then again, if that's what she's used to... Nothing beats the fresh tamales I used to get in Houston, but these are pretty good.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I came mighty close to a DNF but P and P saved the day. The NE quadrant was the source of my frustration, but I finally cracked the code and got the Tada in 28:50. The proper names were brutal, for me, even more so than usual: Antwan, Lisa Leslie, Ferrari, Mr. T, Alpha, and the totally unknown Slap Bass. OTOH, I threw in Oleanna without a moment’s hesitation because seeing Mamet’s name and 1992, I knew immediately that it was Oleanna as I saw the movie adaptation with William H. Macy. I went astray with Float/Froyo, Ewe/Hen, and Houston/Oil Town (Hi, Big Easy). Ice over Hot was cute as were the two CSOs to Lucina at Hot Tomale and Estado.

Thanks, Joe, for a challenging Saturday and thanks, HG, for your always outstanding expo.

I had my first experience with Face Time yesterday. My niece, a paralegal, brought a new Will for me to sign and two attorneys witnessed my signature via her cell phone. No muss, no fuss.

Have a great day.

Lizza said...

Another good puzzle with lots of unknowns. Still managed to finish. Froyo, slap bass, the list goes on. Lisa Leslie, Antawn, Lowe. Wanted Leo I, Houston for crudely built city. Didn’t know Ely either. Oh well, live and learn.

Have a beautiful spring day today!

desper-otto said...

I've always thought it weird that England has cathedrals in the small cities of Ely and Lincoln. Weren't cathedrals usually built in large population centers?

ATLGranny said...

Finally gave up on the middle and NE so DNF. Parts were there but CEREAL AISLE, MILLENNIALS, OILTOWN and PEEP HOLE got me. Also I had forgotten NSFW from the last time we had it so OLEANNA was a mess. Joe, it was a good puzzle but you got me this time! Thanks, Husker Gary, for explaining ALPHA and OILTOWN. "Crude" in the clue didn't help me see the O and L in OIL though I had the rest. Next time.....

On with the rest of the day. Hope you enjoy yours!

Lizza said...

Hey Irish Miss! Glad you got to FaceTime with your niece. We love FaceTime and Skype. For many months during the pandemic it was the only way we were able to see and talk with our kids and grandkids, especially the newborn granddaughter in MN, son and grandson in PA. Hope you will get to be comfortable with FaceTime, other than just for your business things. It is just great for communicating socially. Hope you will check it out.

Becky said...

TTP, I think I got my first poison ivy in the fourth or fifth grade. Did you know the more times you get exposed the more allergic you are? I actually climbed the back stairs to my doctor's office after the Northridge quake, crept down the dark hall, and thank God a doctor was there and gave me a steroid shot by the light of a Coleman lantern. The rash started to subside immediately. There are a couple of products in the pharmacy, I wish I could remember the names. One comes in a tube and is a soap that you activate by rubbing it in your hands, then applying to the afflicted area and scrubbing like crazy. It's a crazy good kind of pain. The other is a topical barrier you can apply, which I do before hikes, butI found out the hard way it eventually turns white. We went out to lunch afterwards. And then went to the restroom to wash it off! I looked like ghost!

Re the puzzle, it chewed me up and spat me out.

Becky

Lucina said...

Hola!

Good for all you wizards who found this easy! I did not. ESTADO and HOT TAMALE were the only fill I was sure about. LIMO came to me because it had ? and I've seen HOLLOWS enough times to recall it. No way would I have known ANTAWN without LIU.

OILTOWWN was clever as was CEREAL AISLE. FERRARI was a shoo-in once ARMADA joined the fray. I've often watched MOM but could not recall JAIME's name. DENTYNE is a blast from the past!

The space for FANTASY TEAM started out as FLY TO CANADA but obviously didn't work.

GNOMES is a CSO to my daughter who loves them. We saw them in almost every yard in Poland.

FROYO is just bad and should not be allowed in the language!

d-otto:
The masonry guild was powerful in the Middle Ages and might have been responsible for building that many cathedrals. That, and religion was important.

I hope you are enjoying as beautiful a day as we are here. It is a gorgeous spring day! These pleasant days are GODSENDS!

TTP said...


Becky, wow ! You must get it bad if you went to that length to get the steroids !

It is definitely true with me. Each time I get it, it seems to be worse. Couldn't get the steroids this time because I'm due for my second Pfizer shot Monday. I was helping the neighbor clean up a garden. She got it at the same time and hers has already cleared up... I actually think it may have been poison sumac this time.

Well, lunchtime is over and time to get back to the yard work.

NaomiZ said...

Joe's puzzle was VERY difficult for me, and I cheated by asking DH about all the sports figures and actors. Even then, when he said "Antoine," it was a big stretch to get ANTAWN, and when he said "Jamie," I sure as heck didn't expect JAIME. There otta be a law!

HOT TAMALE and CEREAL AISLE were GODSENDS for me.

My sombrero is off to all y'all who solved on your own.

Yellowrocks said...

TTP, so sorry to hear about your poison ivy rash. I used to get it like that in my teens and twenties, so I know how you must suffer. One steroid shot cured me for life. When I was in college I was not near enough to even see the plants but I got a horrible case of it. I was razzed for necking in the cemetery, the local make out spot. I swear I wasn't there. We had better make out spots.
I eked out the western half of the puzzle and was pleased to get slap bass, but the eastern half was such a chore I conceded and cried Uncle. I was surprised that those who thought yesterday's puzzle was difficult got today's. I found Friday easy and Saturday above my pay grade.
Cereal aisle was clever, but diabolical.
Chili today, hot tamale.

Oas said...

Great morning all.
Whew !!
Filled it all in while suntanning on our deck.
Thought I had it , but upon checking the corner saw FROYO where I had PROYO. Proyo is a frozen yogurt as well and when I checked NSPW i saw that it stood for something to do with computer security and figured ok. Could be . FIW for a Saturday not too bad with the rest filled in ok.
Cheers

Oas said...

Cereal aisle was in the grid not too long ago .
I don’t remember what the clue was but I seldom eat dry cereal and less often buy it.
Enough perps today to fill it in even though TOTAL was totally unkown to me.

Michael said...

FWIW, Boo! Hiss!

Pretty big disaster ... Antawn?? Jaime?? NSFW?? Heinies?? A real ICED TAMALE of a puzzle, IMHO.

Lucina said...

TTP:
I feel your pain! Though it was long ago, when I was in my teens, I still remember the itchy rash of poison ivy! Good luck to you. What are you putting on to alleviate it? We slathered ourselves with calomine lotion.

waseeley said...

Really just checking in on vaccine after effects for Dash T - DW and I both got mild fevers and per a sister's recommendations drank copious amounts of water all day. This morning our temps were normal.

As for the the puzzle I don't want to talk about it. You know something has gone seriously off the rails when after an hour plus you've still got 14 unfilled answers and nobody's budging. Thanks Gary for showing me that I was trying to save a sinking ship. And thanks Joe for dragging me out to sea. Still learned a few new ropes.

Glub, glub,
Bill

PK said...

I forgot to thank Joe & Gary, this morning. Gary, you are a trouper to march into this one. Thanks.

Got to thinking about that SLAP BASS. I was thinking of a bass drum. However, I googled it and learned it is a technique used to produce percussion sounds on a stringed instrument, primarily on a double bass or bass guitar. That makes more sense to me. I've seen artists whacking away at their guitars, etc. Also in jazz combos with a big bass viol.

CrossEyedDave said...

Yeah, I don't want to talk about the puzzle either.
(it kicked my butt...)

So, I am going with a PSA.
While in Florida, I wanted to do some hiking, but it is a whole
different planet down there compared to the North East.
So I researched poisonous plants and was shocked to find
THE MOST POISONOUS TREE IN THE WORLD!

The Manchineel Tree
(otherwise known as the little apple of death...)

While mainly a Caribbean plant, it can be found in Florida.
so if you see a tree with a red "X" on it,
it does not necessarily mean it is marked to be cut down
it could be the most dangerous tree in the world, and stay away from it.

Most people discover this tree by hiding under it in a rainstorm,
which mixes with the sap, and causes your skin to burn and fall off!

Here is a video for your edification:
but why the hell did the kids tie a tire swing to it???

CrossEyedDave said...

PSA(2)

Now, you can look at pictures, but it is not the same thing as identifying
poisonous plants in real life.
but it is a start.

Poison Ivy

Poison Oak

POison Sumac

Yeah, a bunch of pretty pictures that do not mean anything
when you are walking around in the brush.

However, if you are interested, watch this guy.
He will take you up close and personal with all sorts of flora.
Poison Sumac @ 6 minutes
(if blueberry picking, watch @ 13 minutes!)

Lastly,
Poison Ivy can be hiding in plain sight!
A lot of people do not know that old growth poison Ivy
often only leafs out at the top of a tree, and the vine itself
(just as dangerous)
does not look anything like the leaf!

I am sure you all have seen this on trees,
but did not recognize it!
to quote the old Boy Scout Adage:
Only a Dope climbs A Hairy Rope!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ah, yes... shades & images of the old campus, the old stomping ground. I remember it well.
York Street, Chapel Street. The Taft Hotel.
Back in th day, I knew we had a direct train stop from NYC. But now it has an "Acela" stop?!
Will wonders never...?
I guess we rate!

I did about 85% on me own today. Not too bad for a lazy ol' coot.

Among today's gimmes: ARMADA & OLEANNA.
About the latter, people always claimed Mamet was being even-handed in his play, pitting a "MeToo" female student vs a cocky junior professor. But, no. It is pretty misogynistic, loaded against the student, whom he treats as a Femme-Nazi. The guy is an a-hole, but hardly deserving of the gal's brutality.
[SPOILER COMING...]
In the end he overplays his hand, but it's anti-cathartic because his outburst wrecks his life.
~ OMK

CrossEyedDave said...

I would be remiss if i did not add one more thing,

if the above posts make you find and cut down poison Ivy,

DO NOT BURN IT!

Inhaling the smoke will damage your lungs!

Yellowrocks said...

Our so called gardeners at my condo tenderly cultivated and tended
a posion ivy vine with leaves at the top that was growing up a tree trunk. Gardeners, did I say?

Jayce said...

I liked Thursday's, yesterday's, and today's puzzles, even though today's defeated me. I also put in CIUDAD which messed me up in that area. Already having TALMUD steered me away from entering HOUSTON. I had to look up LISA LESLIE, ANTAWN Jamison, Zach LOWE, and JAIME Pressly. At least I remembered Will ESTES. Totally forgot NSFW. Very much liked the clue for CEREAL AISLE. I noticed LETS AT, WON AT, and AT ALL.

Take care, all.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Thanks, Joe and Gary, for a worthy Saturday opponent and a great write up. The puzzle took a bit of time but we were able to work our way through everything and that is supposed to be the Buddha Nature of a Saturday puzzle, IMHO.

Didn't have to deal with poison ivy growing up in SoCal but poison oak was another story entirely.

Jayce said...

Ah yes, Keith, good ole Park Street, Grove Street, the Chapels on the Green, Harkness Tower, etc. Not to mention East Rock...

Lemonade714 said...

A difficult but doable themeless if you guessed right in places. ANTAWN spelling was very tricky and CEREAL AISLE was fun, but OAS you must be referring to the February 19, 2021 appearance in an Amanda Rafkin NYT Friday. The fill has only appeared in 5 puzzles and while the first was in the LAT it 10 years ago.
LA Times - April 17, 2021
New York Times - Feb. 19, 2021
WSJ Daily - May 8, 2020
Washington Post Puzzler - Feb. 8, 2015
LA Times - Oct. 8, 2011 (Brad Wilbur) clued "Life-support system?"

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

Back to back fails for me. Today’s puzzle was another cheater as I found OLEANNA (had an A instead of O and had not filled in CEREAL AISLE so the E was missing

The inked-stained grid looks like a Rorschach image

EWE/HEN; OILWELL/OILTOWN; REVS/PEPS; MILLIONAIRE/MILLENNIAL; JASON/JAIME; FANTASY PICK/ FANTASY TEAM which also affected (TALMED ... I tried WICKED at first) ... EYEVIEWER/EYEPIECES ... you get the picture

And this all done while sober!

And I’m a blogger and sometimes constructor so I shouldn’t have any excuses!

This one kicked the other side of my skinny white HEINIE

Today’s National Haiku Day, and speaking of HEINIES, how about this:

Is “reverse spooning”
Just another way to say
Dancing cheek to cheek?

Ol' Man Keith said...

Jayce ~
Now you REALLY take me back.
When I was returned, on the faculty, I lived on East Rock Road--directly across from the Spock home.
~ OMK

Edward Duarte said...

First pass44 answers. Went to breakfast then lunch, prince funeral, sat on patio. Time enuf for my subconscious to sole it right.

Edward Duarte said...

Typo :4 answers

The Curmudgeon said...

I don't time myself, but this took a log time. A lot of blank space for the longest time, but finally things started clicking and FIR! WEES: CIUDAD, etc.

>> Roy

TTP said...



After 7:30 and it's still light outside. But not me, I'm inside and believe or not, I'm already ready for bed. So ready, I'm already in it. Big day of more yard work. Lovin' every minute of the gardening and yard work.

Lucina, I still believe in calamine lotion. Bought another bottle at CVS Thursday, along with 5 rolls of gauze, tape and neosprorin. Lots of clothes and bed linen washing with the calamine, but it helps. A lot !

Yellowrocks, couples necked in the cemetery ? I'd definitely agree that there had to be better make out spots !

CED, thanks for the pics. A long gone neighbor planted an ivy ground cover along the honeysuckle row between our properties, and it's hard to tell it from the poison ivy. That long run got me a few times over the years, but it's pretty much gone now. That's why I think it was sumac this time. Just didn't recognize it until the roots had already brushed against my skin.

Moe, your cheek to cheek for HEINIES was fun.

Anonymous T said...

Big Fat DNF - millionaire and FANTASY Pick were not going away w/o some solid perps of which I had few in the NE (just ALSO, LIMO, LIE ON, & SMELT) connecting out. I'da had a FIW w/ ASTADa even if I played longer.

Hi All!

Thanks Joe for the puzzle but the names killed me insofar as getting toe-holds up there.

Thanks for the expo HG - as soon as I saw MILLENNIALS in your grid (I was poor-man red-letters(ing)), I realized why things I wanted didn't work (I still would have spelled Hinnies [sic] wrong :-))

Of what I got:
WOs: TTP - I also put in SEMIs. UCLA -> BAMA (I don't know college football), 44d was Wired b/f WADED, 50d was Rev b/f PEP. Hen->EWE (hi C. Moe!).
ESPs: JAIME, ORSON was a lucky wag w/ just 'OR' entered, MrT, ESTES. Others' names elluded me.

Fav: Clue for MEG was cute. I was catching up on work today and had to convert bytes to MB; Oh, yeah! I know that formula (MB=B/(1024*1024)).

{A+, B}

Turns out Alpha wasn't a name... Tricky Joe. I even asked DW who died in Illiad that started with AL :-)
Total was a CEREAL and not a gas station / Supermajor based in France (couldn't spell Courbevoie even if I remembered it).

LOL BigEasy - yes, with out zoning Houston sure is Crudely built (didn't get the pun until the expo - I was looking for Shanty, tent-city, or some such).

We get Texas Tamale Co. from HEB. Not as good a Lucina's, for sure, but not bad at all. (They're a little skinnier than Street Tamales TTP).

TTP - when I was a Scout and encountered poison ivy over the weekend while camping, I'd make a bee-line to the public pool on Monday (Sunday afternoon if it was still open). Seemed the chlorine would clear it right up. BIL's not allergic to it so I send him in when I find it. :-)

LOL Cheeks-to-Cheeks, C. Moe!

Waseleey - Tired and I go cold|hot|cold|hot. After waking around noon yesterday, I went back to sleep from 5:30p to 2am. Stayed in bed listening to the AM radio and finally fell back to sleep from 6-10:30a (I'm sure I nodded off in between; but I kept tossing and then freezing).

Paul Rudd can SLAPa dBASS [Funny or Die @4:10 & @5:19]

Cheers, -T

Oas said...

Yes NYT . I find them more difficult but have enough time on my hands to tackle them sometimes.

TXMs said...

Rats, I had to resort to LIU, unfortunately; but I limited myself to one - Mamet's play - which opened the white central section from ESTADO down to DENTYNE. Don't follow the NBA at all, but perps gave me Lowe, Lisa Leslie, and Antwan (really?). When I filled in PEEPHOLE finally (what?), not a great clue IMO. Oh, well - you win some...

Poison ivy? Reminds me I need to buy a new tube of Ivarest (good stuff) - need to hack down the back 40 tomorrow post-Uri. My neighbor sprayed our fence line with Roundup, killing my cherished double althea bush that my deceased mother had grown from a clipping from her 50-yr-old althea. When I took some leaves from the "poison ivy" to a local nursery, they identified it as Virginia creeper - harmless, but pesky.

Anon-T, which vaccination did you get (I've been an AWOL lurker)? Yikes! How miserable - hope you're feeling better.

Anonymous T said...

TXMs: Moderna. My second shot was Thursday at noon. Later that eve, the feeling puny started - the symptoms aren't as bad as when I had Covid (no heart palpitations / bpm >100/min nor trouble breathing). Just a really sore arm and wanted to sleep more than normal (I usually sleep for ~ 5.5hrs at night w/ a light nap (45min) in the late-afternoon).

Cheers, -T

TXMs said...

Hey, Tony, 10 minutes after I hit publish, I remembered you and your family had the virus last summer(?). Originally, I thought it was because you're one of the young'uns here at the Corner (those over 65 have fewer side effects). I've read that those who have had the virus might have worse side effects lasting longer. But you had fever/chills in addition to a sore arm and fatigue? Glad you're feeling closer to normal.

Lucina said...

AnonT:
I am so sorry you are not feeling well. Please get more rest. Sleep is a winner when it comes to illnesses.