google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, April 28, 2021, Jerry Edelstein

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Apr 28, 2021

Wednesday, April 28, 2021, Jerry Edelstein

Theme: AIR APPARENT

20. Public transit commuter's nightmare: BUS LINE STRIKE.

32. Access point indicator on many streets: MANHOLE COVER.

43. Have fun on a diamond: PLAY BASEBALL.

58. Acting affectedly ... and, based on what can go with the three parts of 20-, 32- and 43-Across, this puzzle's title: PUTTING ON AIRS

Wow, that's a lot of airs. 

20A:  Airbus: an aircraft designed to carry a large number of passengers economically, especially over relatively short routes. Airline: an organization providing a regular public service of air transportation on one or more routes. Air strike: an attack made by aircraft.

32A: Airman: a pilot or member of the crew of an aircraft, especially in an air force. Air hole: a hole or passage that allows air to pass through. Air cover: protection from aircraft for land-based or naval operations in war situations.

43A: Airplay: broadcasting time devoted to a particular record, performer, or musical genre. Airbase - a base for the operation of military aircraft. Air ball - in basketball, a shot that misses the backboard, rim, and net entirely.

Melissa here. 

Across:

1. Kid around: JEST.

5. Abacus unit: BEAD.


 
9. Promote heavily: PUSH.

13. Fever with chills: AGUE.

14. "I do" site: ALTAR. Aw.

16. "A Death in the Family" Pulitzer winner: AGEE.

17. Word with head or meal: BONE. I think we all know what a bonehead is. Bonemeal is an organic fertilizer for plants made from animal bones and slaughterhouse waste products.

18. Supply chain intermediary: WHOLESALER.

22. Blow up: ERUPT.

24. "
¿Cรณmo __?": ESTA. Spanish for "How are you?"

25. Some systems pros: Abbr.: EES. Not 100% sure, but I'm thinking this refers to Electrical Engineers.

26. Mal de __: MER. Seasickness. In French, mal means "bad" or "sick" and mer means "sea."

27. Beaujolais, e.g.: RED. Wine.

30. Bird on a court: LARRY. Larry Bird, basketball player, coach and executive in the National Basketball Association. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

37. Pretentious with a paintbrush, say: ARTY.

38. Hindu teacher: SWAMI.

39. "Mamma Mia!" group: ABBA.

46. Shopping __: SPREE.

49. High-__ monitor: RES. Resolution.

50. Meadowland: LEA.

51. Arg. neighbor: URU. Argentina vs. Uruguay.

52. Withdraw by degrees: WEAN.

56. Make sense: ADD UP.

62. Kind of fortitude: INTESTINAL.

63. Copied: APED.

66. __-do-well: NEER.

67. Arduous jobs: SLOGS.

68. "La maja desnuda" artist: GOYA. Oil on canvas painting that portrays a nude woman reclining on a bed of pillows. Goya created a pendant of the same woman identically posed, but clothed, known today as La maja vestida (The Clothed Maja).

69. Old Norse poetic work: EDDA. Body of ancient Icelandic literature contained in two 13th-century books commonly distinguished as the Prose, or Younger, Edda and the Poetic, or Elder.

70. Canadian gas: ESSO. Stands for the S and O of Standard Oil

71. Plant support: STEM.

Down:

1. Poke: JAB.

2. Alter __: EGO.

3. Like one who got careless at the beach: SUNBURNT.

4. Get set to drive: TEE UP. Golf.

5. Scold, with "out": BAWL.

6. K-12, for short: ELHI. Elementary through high school.

7. Make amends: ATONE.

8. Lowlands: DALES. LEA and DALE today.

9. Late-night TV pioneer: PAAR. Jack. Second host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962. Johnny Carson took over after him.

10. Harder to watch: UGLIER.

11. Catcher of the Golden Snitch, in Quidditch: SEEKER. Harry Potter.

12. Rejection of religious dogma: HERESY.

15. Remainder: REST.

19. Like an old joke: STALE.

21. Houston MLBer: STRO. Short for Astro.

22. Stone or Watson: EMMA. Actresses.

23. Raise: REAR.

28. "Frozen" snow queen: ELSA.

29. Like morning grass: DEWY.

31. Many an Omani: ARAB. Oman is a country occupying the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.


33. Pre-release buzz: HYPE.

34. Dry 27-Across, briefly: CAB.

35. Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan __: OMAR.

36. Gripping device: VISE.

40. Hairless area: BALD SPOT.

41. Veal cordon __: BLEU. The truth is, while chicken cordon bleu gets its name from the French term for blue ribbon (denoting excellence), this dish actually stems from Switzerland. The base of this dish, the breaded chicken is commonly known around the world as schnitzel.

42. Swim __: do one full pool circuit: A LAP.

44. Lamb Chop creator Shari: LEWIS. Now I'm hungry.

45. Actor Morales: ESAI.

46. Lying face-up: SUPINE. Opposite of prone.

47. Spruced up, as a spruce: PRUNED.

48. Groovy?: RUTTED. Cute.

53. Middle-earth tree creatures: ENTS. Ents are a species of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees.

54. Deft: AGILE.

55. They're forbidden: NO-NOS.

57. They're boring: DRAGS.

59. Trillion: Pref.: TERA.

60. Scolds to death: NAGS. That sounds severe.

61. Too: ALSO.

64. Set one's sights on: EYE.

65. Beaver's project: DAM.





50 comments:

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Went wrong with REAM before BAWL, but that was the sole Wite-Out moment. Noticed the SO to Lucina DALE. Failed to notice the reveal...or the theme. [Sigh.] Thanx, Jerry and Melissa Bee.

AirPLAY: In the good ole days, each radio station had its own Music Director. Today there are few locally-owned radio stations. Ownership is controlled by a few conglomerates (iHeartMedia owns more than 1,000 radio stations). Now a single music director can control if a new artist receives any national AIRPLAY.

Taxing day. I wonder how many folks will show up. (I'm taking my Kindle along just in case.)

Anonymous said...

I must be an airhead today, because I didn't see the theme or the reveal.
Finished it in under 6 minutes

ATLGranny said...

Thank you, Jerry, for another puzzle that I could FIR! It had a few places that were SLOGS for me, but little by little with some WOs (more than DO) I found my way. Understood the theme after filling in the reveal. Learning moment that SUPINE is lying face-up. 1A and D were slow to fill because of the letter J. And lastly, LARRY Bird made me smile. All in all an enjoyable puzzle. Thanks Melissa B for explaining.

Our rhododendron bushes are blooming beautifully. The Spring show continues.... Enjoy your day!

Wilbur Charles said...

Xword 101. As someone said about Monday: a perfect xword to coach a beginner through.

Thanks for 'splain'n things Melissa

WC

Ps, went back and sussed the AIR theme. As Picard says, "Sussing the theme completes the solve"


Lemonade714 said...

I am always amazed at these multiple addon puzzles, often stymied because of the need to break some words into two pieces. This one was no exception, but an impressive array of air words. The rest filled quickly.

On a totally unrelated front, did you know the African nation of Swazi land changed its name to eSwatini ? It is the last absolute monarchy in Africa, the king has 15 wives, which sounds like many but his father had over 100. And, wait, there is more! One of the princesses is a RAPPER .

Now there is a crossword fill/clue for Moe, or you could use the Princess' name Sikhanyiso Dlamini

Thank you mb and Jerry

Oas said...

Great morning all .

Fairly easy FIR today . Thanks Jerry E.
Interesting and informative review thanks Melissa B.

Right off the hop I had to change Joke to JEST and the game was on.

WAGs at 11 down SEEKER and 16 across AGEE.
I have little knowledge of Harry Potter and didn’t know much about “Death in the Family. “

A few Spring time jobs left to do around the yard before we start our gardening in earnest.
Pressure washed the backyard deck yesterday and aim to go to town to purchase stain for it and load up on peatmoss and sheep manure for the garden later this morning.
Planning lunch out with one set of grands today, grandson and his wife. They both work in town and hope to synchronize their lunch hour , we’ll gladly make it work on our end.

Cheers

Barry T. said...

If I'm not mistaken, the theme addresses all three parts of each theme answer:

20. Public transit commuter's nightmare: BUS LINE STRIKE.
AirBus, Airline, Air Strike (latter as in a combat mission).

32. Access point indicator on many streets: MANHOLE COVER.
Airman, Air Hole (gotta breathe!), Air Cover (shelter in combat?)

43. Have fun on a diamond: PLAY BASEBALL.
Airplay, Air Base, Air Ball

Nifty!?!?

Bob Lee said...

Easy for a Wednesday.

After done, I pondered for quite a while trying to grok the theme. Finally came up with:

AIRSTRIKE, AIRCOVER, AIRBALL (Much better IMHO than AIRBUS, AIRMAN, AIRPLAY)

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Jerry and melissa bee.
I FIRed in good time, but didn't get all the triple AIRS of the theme. Too rushed.

I wanted Fool at 1A but saw JAB perping (& thought of my Covid shot!); I confidently entered Joke, but then EGO made me change to JEST. Not a good start but I soon sped up until I got to the NE corner. SEEKER was unknown, UGLIER was not my first thought for the clue "harder to watch", and I was trying to fit Atheism into 12D. But I soon saw the light and cruised on.

RED and CAB reminded me of Marti who used to be here regularly. Say hi if you're lurking!
I'll take a CSO at ESSO, especially since I commented the other day (with Arco) that we had not seen our Canadian gas lately.
CSO to all our EES.
That "bird on a court" was LARRY not a badminton birdie.
Change c to s and device produces VISE at 36D.

Efts are baby Newts; ENTS are "Middle-earth tree creatures". Thanks Picard for helping me to remember which one to choose (especially when the next clue is Deft!)

Wishing you all a great day.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got it all without aid. Only real unknown was SEEKER which was grokked with 5 perps and an educated guess at EES. FIR.
Theme was clear and easy.
Thanks Melissa for fleshing out GOYA and EDDA.

Have a great day.

inanehiker said...

I'm always impressed when the theme answers have connection to another word in 2 parts, but 3 parts is over the top!
Only write over was WANE before changing to WEAN. I had a lot of places that I put a minor pause on filling in while checking if perps would confirm. Nice to see SUPINE get some puzzle play - prone gets a lot more coverage in the word world.
At first I thought the Harry Potter clue was referring to a particular person who was a SEEKER in Quidditch- but then realized it was the generic position. Haven't read Harry Potter or watched the Simpsons - but between crosswords and Sporcle I've picked up a lot of info about them.

Thanks Melissa and Jerry!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A little slower today. I’m subbing for a math teacher who doesn’t have a pencil on/in his desk and so I did this in pen! I had to wait to get SEEKER, AGEE and GOYA
-A very impressive and fun gimmick!
-We sat in the cold last night and saw our high school PLAY BASEBALL. They were ahead 9 – 5 going into the last inning when a reliever walked four in a row and they all scored to make it 9 - 9. Our team won 10 – 9 on an unearned run anyway.
-HI-RES/LO-RES brought pixelated into our vocabulary
-Promote heavily/HYPE? They’re PUSHING Discovery + everywhere!
-My favorite DALE is Lucina and this surf music pioneer is my second
-We got no DEW or frost on some below freezing mornings because of very low DEW points
-ENTS and EFTS are star boarders here, not to mention EMT’s ,EDT’s and EATS
-EYE or SEE was a “doing it in ink” pause too
-I found where the lovely princess raps in English. I wonder if she also raps in Swati.

Malodorous Manatee said...

FIR but it took a while as the Shortyz app has, once again, stopped publishing current LAT puzzles and the LAT site is a bit different to navigate. One good thing about the LAT site is that, like the NYT site, the themed answers are highlighted so the theme is hard to miss. Only "white out" was that I had HYPE at first where PUSH needed to go...and then HYPE showed up later, too.

inanehiker said...

Today's puzzle at USA Today is CC's.

Anonymous T said...

Doh! FIW.

I knew there was a M-something on the opposing Quidditch team (ILiU - Draco Malfoy [oh, good thing I didn't recall - it fits!] so, I left PUmp in place @9a (wanted HYPE (Hi MM!) but found that at 33d). Don't think I even read 12d's clue.
Cue sad trombones....

Thanks Jerry for the puzzle. Good fun. Fun expo too mb - LOL'd 'hungry' at Lamb Chop.
//I thought cordon BLEU included ham & cheese under the breading(?).

WO: Josh -> JEST (since you're not using it today, pass the Wite-Out @1a, D-O)
ESPs: URU, EDDA, Mal de MER(?)
Fav: I'm going to say Beaujolais RED turning into a CAB. [not the way it works,.. is it C. Moe? :-)]
I look forward to Duboeuf's nouveau every Thanksgiving (Jadot's is good too).

FLN - Happy belated Birthday Old Okie!
FLN - Funny Ave Joe.

Oas - sounds like an ideal day! Enjoy.

Back at it. Cheers, -T

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I’m claiming the dunce hat this morning as I missed the second and third word connection, I only applied Air to the first word. I do believe this was a case of DOitis, AKA not reading the clue carefully. I also started out thinking Hole was going to be in the theme because of Wholesaler and Manhole. Of course Play Baseball shot down that thought. MalMan, I also mixed up the Hype ~ Push entries, funny when that happens. I smiled at Esta crossing Dales and immediately thought of Lucina. I, too, had Wane/Wean (hi Inanehiker! ) Bawl/Bald/Ball struck my fancy. Nice CSOs to CEh (ESSO) Moe (Red and Cab) Golfing Gang (Tee Up) and Anon T (EEs).

Thanks, Jerry, for a most clever challenge and thanks, Melissa, for explaining the extra layer that I missed.

Have a great day.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Very nice solve today. Thank you, Jerry Edelstein and Melissa Bee!

I'm honored to be included in the grid though surely that is not what JE intended! But thanks anyway, desper-o and Gary.

It's always good to see AGEE acknowledged! GOYA, too. I've seen the original Maja at the Prada in Spain.

One of my long-ago teachers used to emphasize INTESTINAL fortitude as necessary for survival. She was right!

JAB has taken on mew meaning since we are required to be vaccinated. I've had my two.

Yes, I picked up on all the AIRS while waiting for my computer to open.

CSO to my granddaughter, EMMA.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

Lucina said...

Oops. It's the Prado Museum in Spain, not Prada.

Thank you, IrishMiss, also, for the thought.

Yellowrocks said...

Very easy today, but this BONE HEAD is sick that I wrote AGUE in 16 A instead of 13A. When I then wrote AGUE in 13A I didn't go back to 16A to erase it. The pity is that I do know AGEE, which would have given me a FIR. I am definitely not a Harry Potter fan, other than it motivated some of my reluctant readers to read. I thought 11D might be a name, SUIKER instead of SEEKER.
Inanehiker said, "Nice to see SUPINE get some puzzle play - prone gets a lot more coverage in the word world." I think the reason prone gets much more coverage is that so often it is used incorrectly for a person lying on his back. That annoys me.
Supine, face up
Prone, face down
Very few shopping SPREEs for me. I shop from necessity, not for fun.
Nice to see PRETENTIOUS in a PUTTING ON AIRS puzzle.
I have been sunburnt only twice in my life and then only in small patches.
I have switched my favorite red from Merlot to CAB which is heartier and more robust.

TTP said...


Good morning. Thank you, Jerry Edelstein and thank you, Melissa !

Nine AIR words today. Nice job, Jerry, and you covered them all very nicely, Melissa. I'd go with Electrical Engineers (EEs) for the Systems pros clue.

LARRY Bird was nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick" (Indiana). He didn't mind. "Larry the Legend" would be more like it. Won the league MVP three straight years MVPs when Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan were playing. The opponent team's best defensive player was always assigned to guard him, and they rarely could. He'd get inside their head, tell them where he was going to make the game winning shot from, and then do it. Known for his all around game and competitiveness, clutch shooting and trash talking. He entered the locker room full of All Stars before the three point shooting contest, and famously asked "Which on of you is going to finish second ?" He not only won, he did so in his warm up sweats ! Against the best three point shooting players in the game ! So many great videos to watch of his highlights, but here's one: What NBA Legends think of Larry Bird - The Brutal Truth

Love Veal cordon BLEU. I've made it at home a handful of times but it is never as good as at better restaurants, so much more often it's chicken cordon bleu. And schnitzels ? Yes, yes, yes. Veal, pork, chicken. Either Wienerschnitzel or Jaegerschnitzel (mit spaetzle und salat) ! So good.

ATLGranny, what is this ? 10 days of FIR in a row ? Keep it up. I'm pulling for you. Every time I get a streak going, I end up with some typo or something stupid to spoil the run.


Me too, OAS. Everything is ready except that I have yet to order Zinnia and Gaillardia seeds from Burpee. Still time, ordering this morning. Here, the Zinnia seeds get planted in June. Gaillardia will be new for us this year. DW (and Burpee) say they grow well in full sun and poor soil conditions, which is what is needed for an area near the driveway.

The other day Picard mentioned a couple of coincidences, and I meant to comment on that. On the CBS Sunday Morning program, they not only mentioned TOPANGA CANYON, but they also had a segment on Merry Clayton, who immediately came to mind when an answer the other day was the Stones "GIMME SHELTER"

FLN, Happy Birthday to Old Okie !

CrossEyedDave said...

FLN,
belated happy birthday Old Okie.

Puttting on airs?

I had no idea where to put "Airs."
(Thank you blog...)

Ack!
Now according to Barry T & BobLee
I could have put the "airs" anywhere!?

boy do I feel stupid...

NaomiZ said...

I loved this puzzle, and want to express admiration for its construction. Imagine coming up with those three long phrases, each word of which can be preceded by AIR, and then tying them together with the unifying phrase! Genius. I also loved Melissa's title for the puzzle, AIR APPARENT. So clever!

If I am annoyed with Barry T. and with Bob Lee for essentially repeating Melissa's solve and claiming it as their own revelation, am I falling for a prank?

Good day, Cruciverbalists.

Picard said...

Hand up I am in awe of the skill and creativity taken to create this puzzle. My mother uses that term INTESTINAL FORTITUDE but I had never heard it anywhere else. Learned SUPINE from reading my surgery reports.

Wilbur Charles, CanadianEh, TTP Thank you for the shouts out! Yes, I feel it is disrespectful to the constructor not to take the time to appreciate the hidden delights he/she has created.

This has to be the most unique POOL I have ever seen for swimming A LAP.

This house is on our Mountain Drive overlooking Santa Barbara. The owner is a brilliantly funny and creative man who lives like a hermit. "Never before and never again" was the once ever chance to see his unique place. I was grateful to take advantage of this over 20 years ago.

Lemonade Thank you for the news item about the country formerly known as Swaziland. Highest rate of AIDS/HIV in the world is a special distinction. I wonder if it is related to all the wives.

OwenKL said...

I've wondered how this word was pronounced. I think it sounds like "egg you".

When James AGEE suffered AGUE,
Did he become SEEKER of a new venue?
Did he pull through
From INTESTINAL flu?
Did he search for a cure on a menu?

To find the best VEAL CORDON BLEU
You may visit the LEAS of URU-
Guay, to find a lamb
By the side of her DAM,
Who's healthy, not suffering any AGUE!

{B, B+.}

Husker Gary said...

BONUS: 50 Atta girls/boys if you can name this 1962 song and the brothers who sang it
She's in love with herself; you know the kind
Always PUTTIN' ON AIRS!
The guys in town all think she's a Mona Lisa
And she's got 'em all goin' out of their way to please her
Whatever they see's a mystery
'Cause she don't do a thing to me

Picard said...

From Yesterday:
desper-otto Thanks! Yes, before posting I Googled that to discover that it was Mark Lenard and not MARTIN LANDAU who played Spock's father. I have moderate "face blindness" which makes it very difficult for me to follow some movies. I find it difficult to tell people apart or recognize them at all. Causes problems in real life when people think I am pretending not to see them. When in fact I really did not "see" them!

Wilbur Charles Thank you for trying to clarify the "***" footnote. It was actually the "****" footnote, which was part of the problem. But I am still feeling dense and not sure I got the full meaning. Unless it is just the vroom, vroom feeling about WONDER WOMAN?

CrossEyedDave said...

You guys know I watch a lot of YouTube,
And it is rare to find something new and funny "airing."

But I liked this so much I thought you might too...

It had me rewinding to laugh again,
Rewinding to try and understand what was happening,
And sorry that at ten minutes, the guy "airing" out his
Fishing net was the last one....

& now for something completely different...

Wait a sec,
It's titled random #19
Could there be more?

Anonymous said...

Larry Bird did win the MVP three straight years, and for some more context:
the first year he won it was Michael Jordan's rookie year;
Magic Johnson also won the MVP three times; and,
Jordan won MVP five times.

Since then, LeBron James won the MVP four times, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has won it the last two seasons, thus, he has a (small) chance this season to make it three in a row.

Magic's Lakers beat Bird's Celtics two out of three times in the NBA Finals.

unclefred said...

Wow, what a beautiful CW, Jerry, congratulations and Thanx!! I must confess I did not see the reveal until Melissa explained it, and that’s after I took the time to try to find it. Like a real BONEHEAD I couldn’t see what “AIR” had to do with a BUSLINESTRIKE, MANHOLECOVER, or PLAYBASEBALL. If only I’d looked at each word! (DOH!!) The fill went swiftly though (for me) with a 16 minute FIR time, same time as yesterday. I managed to WAG each long answer with few PERPS, which was a big help. Really, really fun CW, thanx again, Jerry! And thank too you Melissa for all the time and effort she put into her excellent write-up....and for giving me the head-slap of explaining the reveal.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun & clever, Jerry, thanks. Got the theme with the reveal. Great info, melissa b.

Had a few dumb hiccups. Couldn't remember the third letter in URUguay. Wasn't "A".

Couldn't remember Shari's last name without a couple perps.

Couldn't think of SUPINE without perps. Never heard that term spoken in real life.

Never heard of Golden Snitch in Quidditch and didn't know they were in Harry Potter. Not a fan.

Hand up: Joke before JEST. Not Ewok but ENTS.

Yellowrocks said...

PK, probably the reason you have never heard supine spoken in real life is that a large number of people, including novelists, erroneously use PRONE in place of SUPINE.

Grammar Book, "The victim was found lying prone, her eyes gazing sightlessly at a full moon. Sorry, but this is a maneuver only the swivel-headed girl from The Exorcist could pull off, because when you're prone, you're lying on your stomach. Make that supine, which means "lying on one's back."

"Mnemonic clues to help you remember which is which include thinking of the pro- in prone (which actually means “forward”) to remind you that when you are prone, your face is toward the floor or ground. Supine, meanwhile, can be related to spine, which when you are supine is in contact with the floor or ground."

PRONE- PRO fall forward
SUPINE - SPINE fall backward

Kelly Clark said...

Yellowrocks, thank you for the mnemonic!

Anonymous T said...

Firing Prone was part of Basic. Couldn't imagine trying to fire SUPINE.

CED - Cute video (some bits were pretty funny).

Picard - I annoy they heck out of DW when watching a move...
Me: "Is that the same woman?"
"Yes, it's just her hair is wet."

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

D'Oh! Sorry OKL... {B+, A+} -T

Yellowrocks said...

ANON T, I am giggling when I picture firing supine, however on cowboy shows and other shoot-em ups they fire from every weird impossible position.

I went birding early this early AM with an avid birder who is among our residents. He is a very interesting fellow. We saw and ID'ed many bird species.
When I first moved to my condo, before they leveled the woods for apartments, I saw more than 100 species of birds from my patio doors. My feeder kept the birds close enough for me to ID them from inside by means of Peterson's guide'
When the baby birds fledge they leave the nest and sleep perching on tree branches as the adults do. Sometimes the mothers raise a second brood in the same nest. When all the babies are fledged the nest is no longer used that season. Some types of birds will return to the same nest year after year to raise babies.

Anonymous said...

I've found it easy to remember supine has "UP" (sUPine) in it. So, lying supine is lying face-UP.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A fine PZL from Mr. Edelstein! I hesitated only at BONE head or meal. Still don't like it, but whaddya gonna do?

Along with Yellowrocks, I no longer shop for fun, but of pure necessity.
But there was a time when I enjoyed strolling through a mall, picking & choosing which shops to enter.
Especially Christmas shopping--the later the better! The best way to catch the spirit of the season was to go into busy stores on Christmas Eve!
The carolers would be out. You'd bump into crowds of people, all apologetic & frantic but sharing in the joy of the season.
Now those were true SPREEs.
~ OMK
___________
DR:
A single diagonal, on the near side.
"Can I get an [Fill in the blank]?!"
The anagram (13 of 15 letters) refers to that moment when the preacher--or anyone in a "sermonizing" role--builds his/her rhythm in such a manner as to assure that the congregation--or other supporters--will respond in a predictably affirmative manner.
I mean the...
"'AMEN' GUARANTEE"!

AnonymousPVX said...


I liked this Wednesday crossword.

Just got home from the eye doctor, no issues.

Now I’m going to get my certified Neapolitan pizza. They just opened, it’s great. Sure beats the ride back to New Haven, haha.

Stay safe.

Anonymous T said...

Sure to overpost gonna say...

I forgot: FLN TTP re: Kid Rock's intro. That song always got me 'cuz I loved Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and not so much Kid Rock.

YR - I tried to be delicate re: firing SUPINE but... one can lose his man-hood :-)

OMK - Did you ever read Sci-Fi? Your DR made me think of Asimov's Ignition Point [the poster gets the gist but, IIRC, there's certain punctuation notation in the written speech that informs the speaker how to inflect / move his/her hands - to the point the speaker believes what s/he's saying... Speaking of which... anyone catch the last five years? :-)].
Regardless - fun DR.

PVX - who certified that pie? I think you need to send me a slice for the -T(eal) of approval.

Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...


Tommy AGEE was a 69 MET who had his day in the sun in the WS

Gary, reminds of my last game in LL. I relieved in the last inning and gave up four. Struck out the side though

YR, yes Rowling should get an award for her contribution to young literacy, especially young males like my son

Yes, LARRY was a basketball genius and so was Bob Cousy before him. Couz didn't have 3pt shot but his running right-handers would've been perfect. And so was Magic

Picard it was the line "Yes, we see" from song".

Anon-T, prone as the opposite of standing has become ingrained. Boy do I have a rifle range story for you

WC

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Happy humpday challenge, FIR..no inkovers nice 'n' neat but the clever theme let the air outta my tires... had no idea!! What an airhead. ๐Ÿ˜ณ

Thought it was "Ball out"..the receiver of the scolding should be BAWLing.๐Ÿ˜ญ

Abba: Swedish group with a Hebrew name meaning "father" singing a song in English with an Italian title. SUPINE or prone lying is still fibbing!

HERESY is not rejection but believing in an alternative to an accepted religious doctrine. Sounds more like atheism.

INTESTINAL..large or small guts and the source of Canadian gas (Canada eh, was that you?) Hoped ELHI would be one of the crossword NONOS by now.

I assume the following has been noted by the blog in the past but...this is from Esai Morale's Wikipedia entry: Morales' first name is frequently used in crossword puzzles, because its rare construction makes it a prize for crossword constructors (it is a four-letter word in English that is 75 percent vowels, including the first and last letters). One crossword clue website estimated that between 1994 and 2016, "ESAI" had been used as a crossword answer over 100 times in American papers such as The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Emblazoned forever in cruciverbia...better than an Oscar.

Mine are dumb jokes not sophisticated JESTS....

Pirate without a pegleg....WHOLESALER
COVID -19 mask....MANHOLECOVER
Equine ailment...MAL DE MER
Applying depilitories..PUTTINGONAIRS
Engineer trio....EES

Awww, I can't continue stacking firewood at camp today....raining...forced to sit by the fireplace and empty a couple beer bottles ๐Ÿคซ

Spitzboov said...

ABBA is an acronym for the start of the group's first names:
Agnetha Fรคltskog, Bjรถrn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

Like one of the anonymouses said, this one solved in record time, but I too, did not see the "AIRS" fitting with the three words in the entries; quite clever! Thanks MB for 'splaining it

Zero W-O's

SUNBURNT or SUNBURNED? Or both?

Chilly and rainy day right now, but tomorrow and Friday forecasts are in the '90's and the weekend will provide our first 100+ degree temps

No, Dash T - Beaujolais won't turn into a CAB! Actually, Beaujolais is a region in France that grows primarily GAMAY grapes, which have a similar taste and body as Pinot Noir. The region is just to the south and west of Burgundy (Pinot Noir "Mecca"). If you want a really good and affordable Beaujolais be a SEEKER of Louis Jadot's 2019 Beaujolais Villages (get the Villages, not the "regular" one). At around $12 a bottle it is all you'll want for a decent RED that is quite food friendly and tasty all by itself

I know that there are JUMBLE solvers who frequent this blog. Today's four words were easy but I couldn't get the "reveal"

Misty said...

Late to the blog--had to teach my Senior Center class this afternoon. And just got around to the crossword. But I really liked it, Jerry, and was excited to get all of it. And thank you for your commentary, Melissa.

I used to love Shari LEWIS's "Lamb Chop" routines. Also nice to see both EMMA's and ABBA in the puzzle. And thanks so much for explaining how their ABBA title refers back to their names, Spitsboov.

Really enjoyed your poems this morning, Owen, thanks for working in all those puzzle words.

Have a good evening, everybody

Jayce said...

What NaomiZ said.

melissa bee said...

just checking in to say hey and thanks for your comments.

naomiZ, i think sometimes ppl come to comment without first reading the blog. who knows?

fun to see everyone's way of remembering prone and supine. eons ago in massage school was when i first had to keep that sorted out. i remembered supine at the time by imagining lying on the forest floor, looking up at PINE trees.

yellowrocks, birding is one of those things that turns out to be so much more interesting than it sounds. i took some wilderness survival classes through tom brown's tracker school and how fascinating they are. as the harbingers of the forest, their calls and behaviors convey so much about seemingly unrelated things. i admire experienced birders very much.

Oas said...

TTP DW collects seeds from the Zinnia flowers and has good success with that. She says however that not all Zinnias reproduce well and when she wants more color she buys seeds. The fuchsia color does well and becomes the dominant color.
Happy gardening !

OwenKL said...

Ooh, can I get in on this?
Prone, the nose is like a stalactite pointing down.
Supine, the nose is like a stalagmite pointing up.

Chairman Moe That's what you're supposed to come over to the Jumble Hints blog for (and liking poetry, I'd have expected you to be a regular there). But okay, the fee is a pun on phenominal.

Wilbur Charles said...

Owen, I was going to give him the first letter F_ _. I had to sneak a peek and shaded all but the first letter

I gotta get over there.

WC

LEO III said...

Nice puzzle today. FIR. Did most of it early this morning, and when I was on my way to the Corner this evening, I saw that I had left a handful of spaces in the NE blank. Got them filled in OK, but then I got busy again, so I'm late again.

I got the long fills and reveal pretty quickly, but I forgot to come back and do the theme.

Thanks, Jerry and melissa bee.

Here's how they trademarked their name...

ABBA Logo

Still busy! Got a bunch of Corner write-ups to wade through!

Later....