google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday May 24, 2021 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

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May 24, 2021

Monday May 24, 2021 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

Theme: BACKSPACE (36. PC key with a left-pointing arrow ... and hint to the last words of the answers to starred clues) - The last word can precede "space".

18. *Major tennis tournament played on clay: FRENCH OPEN. Open space.

23. *Vegas vacation valuables holder: HOTEL SAFE. Safe space.

 52. *TV headline ticker: NEWS CRAWL. Crawl space.

 58. *99-year-old Emmy-winning actress with eight-plus decades in show business: BETTY WHITE. White space.

Boomer here again, blogging one more master grid from the two masters in crossword construction. 

Gail and Bruce

Most times I am not able to follow up on news from this blog.  I just want to wish heartfelt condolences to Jayce on the loss of his daughter-in-law.

Confidential to TTP.  I have been trying to follow the bowling playoffs which air inconsistency on FS1.  I'm afraid I missed the Sam Couley vs. Kyle Troup match.  Maybe Kyle got his pick comb caught in his eyebrow.

Across:

1. Winans of gospel: CECE.  When one of my cousins from Wisconsin sends a card, it may be addressed to "Doug and Cece."
5. Nebula Award genre: SCI-FI. The Twilight Zone.

10. Like deserts: ARID.

14. Oohs and __: AAHS.  Miguel Sano hit a grand slam last Thursday.  Maybe I'll stop picking on him for awhile.



15. Like wine barrels: OAKEN.  Do they still make barrels out of wood?

16. "Suits" actress Torres: GINA.


17. Catch in a web: TRAP.  "Sand"ones are called Bunkers' 

20. Letter after phi: CHI.  I only know the first five Greek letters. This looks like a box score heading for the White Sox or Cubs.

21. Field with cases and briefs: LAW.  There is usually a "Law & Order" rerun somewhere on a cable channel.  I am pretty sure I have seen them all, but I pass on "SVU" and "Criminal Intent".

22. Boring tools: AUGERS.  Now our fishing season is open in Minnesota.  You need not bring your ice AUGER.

27. Lone Ranger's pal: TONTO.  The Lone Ranger's horse was "SILVER'".  How many remember "SCOUT".
28. Justice Kagan: ELENA.

29. ER pictures: X-RAYS.  I've had a few X-RAYS in the past.  Now it seems I only need those scans where you have to drink something and then roll into a machine that costs more than my house. 

31. A, in German: EIN.  I think that's the first word I learned when I rolled into a camp in Hardheim.

32. Software help file: READ ME.

34. Dublin's land: Abbr.: IRE.

35. Govt. Rx watchdog: FDA.  Lots of food and drugs in our house.  No dog watching them.

39. Shed tears: CRY.

41. Lang. of the Torah: HEB. Hebrew.

42. Fuselage fasteners: RIVETS.

46. Group of two: DUO.

47. Skin openings: PORES.

49. Swab again: RE-MOP.  Sometimes we were ordered to do the barracks several times.

50. Canadian skater Brian: ORSER.


54. Early Web forum: USENET.

56. Didn't fast: ATE.  Something missing in the Puzz because seven ATE nine.

57. Land in the Seine: ILE.  The Seine, The Seine, when will I again, meet her there, Greet her there, on the moonlit banks of the Seine. 

61. Romance novelist Hilderbrand: ELIN.


62. Any of four British art galleries: TATE.  I remember Sharon TATE.  I do not remember here roles but I remember she was killed by Charles Manson.

63. Music rights org.: ASCAP.

64. What libraries do: LEND.  I've heard that banks and credit cards also do this.

65. Have the lead (in): STAR.

66. Undoes a dele: STETS.

67. Think tank tidbit: IDEA.

Down:

1. Mask wearer at home: CATCHER.  We only wear ours when we go out.  Minnesota governor has relaxed the mandate, and we both have the two shots but we have yet to trust others.  Minnesota is now around 60% vaccinated.
Boomer, Twins
2. Football helmet opening: EAR HOLE.  What??  Could you repeat that?

3. Indian spiced drink: CHAI TEA.  There is always TEA in our home.  I drink coffee.

4. Debatable ability, briefly: ESP.  Start of the Sports Network.

5. Sectionals and sleepers: SOFAS.  We have a couple, but they do not pull out.

6. Auto body coat: CAR WAX.  I don't use this.  Does it really help?

7. Clanton gang leader: IKE.  Also the nickname of our 34th President.  Speaking of nicknames President Eisenhower changed the name of the presidential retreat to Camp David after his Grandson.  A trivia question that is frequently missed on trivia game shows.



8. Boggy lowland: FEN.

9. Ancient Peruvian: INCA.  "Inca Dinka Do".  Jimmy Durante.

10. Galore, in disco lingo: A GOGO.

11. Matured on the vine: RIPENED.  Best to pick ripe grapes.

12. Subject of Newton's first law: INERTIA.

13. Ted of "Cheers": DANSON.  Also of many boring commercials on TV.

19. Makeshift shelters: HUTS.

21. Andean wool source: LLAMA.

24. Be over no later than: END BY. 9:00 PM, No extra innings please.

25. Flying Wham-O toy: FRISBEE.  I am sure most of us remember our first Wham-O toy.



26. O.K. Corral lawman: EARP.  Of course I do not remember Wyatt, he passed away in 1929.  I do remember Hugh O'Brien who played Wyatt in the TV show.

30. Common subscription period: YEAR.

33. Rebounding sound: ECHO.  HELLO, hello hello 

35. Above-normal body temperature: FEVER.

37. "Show Boat" composer Jerome: KERN.

38. Greek sorceress: CIRCE.

39. Attack with profanity: CURSE AT.  Yes, I have been there, mostly at the ten pin.

40. British Museum's __ Stone: ROSETTA.



43. Clicked "send": EMAILED.  I've been there too.

44. Rope for a tugboat: TOW LINE.

45. Low-calorie sweetener: SPLENDA.  I buy big bags of fake sugar at Aldi.  Tastes like real sugar!

46. Uncertainties: DOUBTS.

47. Hunter's quarry: PREY.  Hunting season is over in MN.  Now those large walleye are in the hunt. 

48. Try to hit, as a fly: SWAT AT.  Flies are tough to hit.  Mosquitos are easier.

51. Go into: ENTER.

53. Fitbit units: STEPS.  We have had a few of these walk counters but they don't work very well.

55. "__ the night before ... ": 'TWAS.

59. DDE's predecessor: HST.  Of course the President when I was born

60. Highway hazard: ICE.  Especially in Minnesota but it will not be hazardous again until about November.

61. Yale student: ELI.  I think he invented the cotton gin.  I did not know you could make GIN out of cotton.

Boomer

40 comments:

OwenKL said...

So easy, but the NW corner almost flummoxed me. I had RHO instead of CHI, and didn't know the Winan, so was trying to think what BAT RHER could be. Reminded me of a meme I saw the other day --
Bruce Wayne: Please fill the bathtub for me.
Alfred: Certainly sir, but what's a htub?

A chyron is added to supplement the newsies' drawl.
Digital type showing the headline NEWS CRAWL.
Digital typing is becoming immersive
While older people are CRYING for cursive.
Without proper teaching, we'll be seeing a NEW SCRAWL!

Bezos and Musk, and don't forget Branson
Are racing to orbit, the price a king's ransom!
No longer SCI-FI factors,
They're historical reenactors!
Putting up the dough to BACK SPACE expansion!

{C, B.}

Wilbur Charles said...

Re. Twins. A news blurb mentioned HR leaders leading off. In 1969 Frank Howard led off for Senators in the hope of passing Kilkebrew for HR title. Instead Harmon hit one, Frank 0-3.

Boomer do you remember Dale Evans' horse?*

I add milk to coffee thus avoiding sweeteners which are really for the cream.

My mess was SE. I had entered/EMAILED

WC

* Buttermilk

TTP said...



Boomer, hope you get to see a replay of that match. I forget which game in the match it was, maybe the second or third, but I think they said it was the 31st perfect game rolled on national TV coverage in PBA history. Both players had trouble on the right lane after that game. Maybe the oil broke down quicker on that lane, but they had a hard time adjusting their line. Troup took the trophy and big paycheck. Couley got the $10K bonus check.


Today was yet another FIW due to a typo. Mox nix.

Lemonade714 said...

TTP, it was the second game and Boomer can watch it HERE . Also, though I learned MACHT NICHT as a child, since I was never able to serve in the military MOX NIX is new to me.

Another classic GG/BV puzzle. She will be missed; so sad that she and Nancy Saloman both died this year. C.C.'s WONDERFUL INTERVIEW with Nancy.

Thank you Boomer and GG/BV forever

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Zipped right through this one. No Wite-Out need apply. NEWS CRAWL because chyron was too short. I wonder how many more Gail/Bruce collaborations are in the pipeline. I like 'em. Thanx for showing us around, Boomer.

GINA: Never saw Suits, but I remember Gina Torres from the short-lived SCIFI series Firefly with Nathan Fillion, back around '02 I think.

TTP said...


Lemonade, yes, I know it is macht nicht, but mox nix is the way most GIs said it and pronounced it. My MIL often corrected my broken German.

Thanks for the link. For anyone that hasn't seen the always colorfully attired Kyle Troup with his retro afro hairstyle, just watch a few moments.

desper-otto said...

TTP, my German MIL also "sniffs" at my non-existent German. The only words I know are cuss words.

Yellowrocks said...

Betty White was easy. The themer had to be white space, new to me. In marketing, "A white space is where the unspoken, unmet needs of customers are discovered in order to spark innovation. It's a business process used to uncover opportunities, like new audiences and product improvements."
"In page layout, illustration and sculpture, white space is often referred to as negative space. It is the portion of a page left unmarked: margins, gutters, and space."

Oak barrels are still used to age whiskey.

We said ES MACHT NICHTS. I wonder how the s sound for MACHT (MOX) came about. In German there is an S in NICHTS meaning nothing.

Boomer said...

Good Morning Everyone. Time for a few short words before I leave for the golf course and C.C. gets back online to do whatever. Thanks for the update on the Troup / Couley match. After all the TV yesterday, there was no bowling on FS1. sigh. I did watch Phil take the big trophy on that ugly course in South Carolina. I could not help but notice that crowd control on the final holes was non existent. 10,000 people moving shoulder to shoulder and I saw no masks and no social distancing. My Twins finally won an extra inning game with a home run by a guy named GARLICK !! We are now 1-8 in extra inning games ! If you ever watch the Cardinals at home in Busch Stadium, Keep your eyes out for the big Blue sign in center - left - center field. I am sure I helped pay for it once upon a time. See you later !!!

Boomer said...

Hello again, I almost forgot, Wilbur Charles, I believe Dale Evans horse was named Buttermilk. Clever name for a horse. And I do have a Troup story from the past. Kyles father was named Guppie, (No, I do not know his real name). and he participated in a senior PBA Event in Minnesota at a bowling Center and Casino named Treasure Island. I did not make the qualifier, however I was there to help the PBA keep track of things. During a break, I escaped to a draw poker machine in a room away from the bowling and started playing for my usual nickels. Along came this guy with pants of about seven colors and a shirt to not match and sat next to me but played his machine for DOLLARS ! Yup FIVE bucks a hand and I think he lost more that I brought. This was years ago so I did not even know that he had a son that would be a future PBA star but we had a solid conversation about bowling.

Hungry Mother said...

Wow, that played old, but naturally right up my alley. USENET was a blast from the past. Anyone remember the gophers?

ATLGranny said...

Starting off the week better with this enjoyable memorial puzzle by Gail and Bruce. FIR. Theme was found after the reveal in the middle, always a help. Boomer's review was entertaining as usual. Enjoy your golf game.

This puzzle was just right. Not boring easy or predictable and no naticks for me. First German phrase learned by GIs? EIN Bier, bitte. Quite a few people here have a connection to German, I've noticed.

Looking forward to reading your comments as the day goes on.

waseeley said...

HM @7:35am GOPHER ("go fer'"), from UMinn as I recall, was an early precursor of the WWW. Used it a bit back in the day, to retrieve docs of interest.

Be back later to weigh in on today's puz.

Cheers,
Bill

Bob Lee said...

I also had RHO at first (oops, that comes after PI not PHI). Corrected it later.

Long ago we went on our honeymoon to Greece with a side trip to Egypt. Both places we ran into 'the originals are in the British museum' complaints and saw replicas. (Elgin marbles named for the Scottish guy who took them, Rosetta Stone, etc.)

A few years later I took the extended family to London on vacation and we made sure to see the originals.

Returning artifacts to their 'home' country is still a big controversy. I sure couldn't tell copies from originals, so my view is they should all go back. I would still visit the museums even to see copies. (But maybe am I in a minority?)

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got it all. Only write-over was I had 'rho' before CHI. Neat puzzle. Fun to solve.
I always liked the TONTO character. Spanish translation gives 'fool' or 'moron'. In the past, I never took Tonto to be a disparaging moniker.
OAKEN - There is a cooperage in our area. I have not heard of a wood shortage.
TOWLINE - One time our destroyer got an urgent call to go to the rescue of an ocean going tugboat which had lost engine power. So our DD towed the disabled tugboat for a day or so until another Navy tug could arrive on the scene and take up the tow.

YR is right about 'machts nichts'. 'Mox nix' seems to be an English adaptation to the sound. Oddly, 'nix' is Low German for nichts.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Seeing Gail’s byline is poignant but also pleasant. This had some bite for a Monday with some of the fill and cluing. Cece was unknown to me as was the Sci Fi award. I saw the Space theme after filling in French Open and Hotel Safe, but the reveal was a nice Aha. I liked the duos of Ike/HST and Llama/Peru. CSOs to CanadianEh (Orser-remember Battle of the Brians? Orser and Boitano), Fen (Wilbur), and Law (Lemony and Hahtoolah).

Thanks to Bruce and Rich and Gail’s memory and thanks, Boomer for another rollicking review.

FLN

Anonymous T posted a very interesting article late last night, in case anyone missed it. The Downton Abbey fans will appreciate it, I’m sure.

Lucina, your exuberance and unbridled happiness put a big smile on my face!

Anon T, congrats to the graduate and thanks for posting that link. Enjoy the girls being home and Pop’s visit.

Have a great day.

Lucina said...

Hola!

An easy Monday solve. Thanks to Gail and Bruce. I also hope many more of their puzzles are in store for us. Always fun.

Thank you, Boomer, for the theme expansion. I did not stop to parse it.

It's lovely to fill words and not convoluted phrases and only a few names. I am not familiar with Suits so GINA Torres is unknown but of course I know ELENA Kagan and BETTY WHITE. Years ago, before she was even known, I saw CECE Winans presented by Steve Allen who told us she would be famous some day. He was right.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Malodorous Manatee said...

A pretty quick solve to start the workweek. A couple of the proper nouns had to be perped but those came easily. I did not know about the renaming of Camp David. I do know the name of Dale Evans' horse. Did they stuff that horse, too?

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-OPEN SPACES – One crossword metric is OPEN SQUARES which are cells that don’t touch any black squares even in the diagonal. Our daily puzzles average from Monday’s 69 to Saturday’s 95.
-The winner of the Indiana U and Purdue U FB game wins The Old OAKEN Bucket
-I recently heard the phrase “On RIVET Watch” is said of sailors confined to the ship
-Tiger Woods’ first wife ELIN is obscure enough but Gail and Bruce took obscurity to a new level today
-A recent MLB batter got hit square in the face with a 90+mph fastball. It is shocking that they are not required to wear a full face mask like FB players do.
-Linebacker threat, “I’m going to hit you so hard you’ll be looking out of your EAR HOLE!”
-The Red Sox’s FENWAY Park was built where there was originally FENS or marshland
-The EARPS, et al, faced IKE Clanton, et al, at the OK Corral
-Another GG - We are going to Branson on June 7 and the agent we are dealing with is named GG Stafford and she is the daughter of Branson legend Jim Stafford. She made me promise not to tell anyone why here name is GG (not Gigi!). :-)

Wilbur Charles said...

Actually the entire Back Bay was land filled. The FENS were east of the Park and there were paths known as "The Fenway". A dangerous place as my father warned. Living nearby he'd seen kids drowned there.

WC

unclefred said...

FIR in 14 minutes. Started off slow, since I didn’t know CECE. I hate it when the first clue I look at leaves me completely blank. I liked this CW, though, with one nit to pick: too many names for a Monday. I count 13 names. Most were easy (TONTO, DANSON, BETTYWHITE, ELENA, EARP) but some were (to me at least) obscure. Of course, that’s where PERPS come to the rescue. Anyway, thanx Gail and Bruce, for the nice CW. And thanx to Boomer, too, for the enjoyable write-up. Someone mentioned poor crowd control on the last few holes yesterday; I don’t recall ever seeing worse.

Anon said...

I agree. I dislike convoluted phrases the most. This was an enjoyable puzzle even with many proper names, most of which are well known.

Misty said...

I felt a gasp of sadness when I saw that this was a Gail and Bruce puzzle: we lost Gail Grabowski the day before Christmas last year, if I remember correctly. What lovely puzzles she and Bruce made, including this one. Many thanks, Bruce, and thank you too, Boomer, for your always fun Monday commentary.

I was delighted to almost get this whole puzzle, although I did have to look up CECE Winans in the end. But what a treat to see BETTY WHITE--one of my favorites from watching her on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" back in the day. I gather she is still alive at age 99. Also fun to get the ROSETTA stone in the puzzle today.

Have a good week coming up, everybody.

Big Easy said...

Probably the easiest Bruce & Gail puzzle ever. Never noticed the BACKSPACEs and after Boomer's write up I looked up WHITE space; never heard the term. The space between paragraphs after you hit the enter key a couple of times.

Unknown A&E's filled by perps-GINA, Brian ORSER, ELIN Hildebrand

CAR WAX- I've heard that cars have TWO coats of paint; base coat (the color) and clear coat on top that make car wax useless and unneeded. I never waxed any car I owned.

My first Wham-O toy- A HOOLA HOOP, not a FRISBEE.
SPLENDA- DW uses a Splenda-brown sugar mix.

WC- Buttercup for Dales Evans' horse. Four WHITE spaces above.

Wilbur Charles said...

I saw the beaning. Bryce Harper got hit earlier too. Are they slower to react today,? Shades of the famous FENway beaning of Tony Conigliaro. Long after the fact a soda jockey working RF told me that Tony may have hit his head going for a ball earlier.

CanadianEh! said...

Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun Gail (RIP) and Bruce, and Boomer.
I worked this CW last evening since our newspaper included both the Saturday and Monday CW since no delivery today on our Victoria Day holiday.
I FIRed in good time and saw the theme. A few names required perps, but I did know CECE!

This Canadian knew ORSER from another Era (1980s). Thanks for the CSO, IM.
DIL says CHAI means TEA, and saying CHAI TEA is redundant (like La Brea Tar Pits).

Beautiful day here for the holiday. Gardening is progressing well with tomatoes and peppers planted.
No fireworks tonight because we are still in lockdown🙁. But we have a Maple Leafs/ Montreal Canadiens game to watch tonight. Hope springs eternal for Leaf fans!

Wishing you all a great day.

desper-otto said...

From ReelRundown.Com: "DALE EVANS' HORSE, BUTTERMILK

Buttermilk lived from 1941 until 1972. He was a buckskin quarter horse and appeared with Dale in many of her films and throughout her television series.

Many sites on the internet list Dale's horse as Buttercup. Buttercup is a flower that will kill a horse if eaten."

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Sad to see Gail's name but glad her work lives after her. RIP. Thanks to Bruce also for a great puzzle. Thanks, Boomer, for brightening another gloomy Monday.

Hurrah! Mark this day on the calendar. Only one name I didn't know -- GINA. Got to be a famous first occurrence. Perps filled.

I did know CECE was the gospel singing sister of those other Winans, but it took a minute for the name to bubble to the surface of my memory. Sometimes it takes days.

Also knew ELIN. Only a few minutes before doing the puzzle last night, I was going to buy her new book but it isn't out yet. I've read her before.

Only watched the golf tournament a few short spurts yesterday, but I noticed how the crowd seemed to be wandering everywhere. They crowded around the ball path when Koepka was hitting out of the trees and I was sure someone would get beaned. He hit it easier than usual I thought so maybe he thought so too.

PK said...

Brian ORSER has been coaching several of the top skaters in recent years. He sat on the podium waiting for scores with at least two the last time I watched ice skating.

AnonymousPVX said...


Boomer…yes, that crowd was SC at its best, no concern for anyone else…including the actual golfers.

A story from the grocery store…

I was wearing my mask, even though it’s now “voluntary” and I was asked why I was still wearing one. “When did you get your shot” I asked.
“I haven’t gotten mine yet” was the reply. “I’m wearing a mask because of you” was my response. They were offended. Again, SC.

This Monday grid had a bit o crunch.

Write-overs….ENDAT/ENDBY.

I also watched the NASCAR “race” yesterday, it was unwatchable, unless you like to see blurs inside mist.

But at least the Yankees are playing decent.

Stay safe.

Picard said...

Enjoyed the SPACE theme!

I learned about IKE Clanton and Wyatt EARP from my favorite SPACE program Star Trek. They had an episode "Spectre of the Gun" which was a re-enactment of the Shoot Out at the OK Corral.

Here you can watch IKE Clanton and Wyatt EARP with the Star Trek crew playing the part of the Clantons.

My best friend and I built a HUT out of wood in a forest near our homes in Maryland. We called it The Moon so we could tell our parents we were "going to The Moon" when they asked where we were going.

Here I took my father to visit our HUT in the woods.

Notice his ever-present LEICA around his neck! Source of many of the photos I share here!

Picard said...

From Yesterday:
PK I am very sorry that I was so unclear that it sounded as if I was saying the opposite of what I intended! I intended to say that FIR is whatever the solver wants it to be! Good that you are at a stage in life where you don't need any more tests!

I also forgot to note how much I enjoyed the theme using countries and food names in a playful way.

Yellowrocks and WA Seeley MONGOLIAN Beef is a very popular dish in Chinese restaurants in the US.

CC I am guessing that the dishes we have in the US have very different names in China if they even exist there at all?

TTP said...





Who is Dale Evans ? :>)

ATLGranny, yes, bier ! As a GI living in the barracks in Sandhofen (outside of Mannheim), I can still remember the first time I left the kaserne and went out "on the economy" (as we used to say) with a few of the guys that had been there. To a bierhaus !

Yellowrocks and Spitzboov, yes, mox nix was said by the soldiers in both Mannheim and in Karlsruhe. Probably everywhere. Along with some of the words that D-O knows :>). Mox nix meant of no importance, or something didn't matter, or didn't make a difference. What kind of bier do you want ? Mox nix.

AROD was commenting during yesterday's Cubs / Cardinals game that there are many more MLB pitchers throwing fastballs in the upper 90s today than just 10 or 15 years ago, when upper 80s, low 90s were much more common speeds of fastballs. Not that there haven't been guys that could throw the ball in the upper 90s or 100 before, but there's a lot more of them in today's game.

Closer Tug McGraw named his fastballs. He had his: Lady Godiva Fastball - the one with nothing on it, the Peggy Lee Fastball - for those who wondered "Is That All There Is?", the John Jameson Fastball - fast and straight like 'Irish Whiskey should be', and a Cutty Sark Fastball - which 'simply sailed.'

Soon after he made the majors, he was asked if he preferred the new AstroTurf on the field at the Houston Astrodome to real grass, he said, "I don't know, I never smoked AstroTurf."

Lizza said...

Hello to everyone! This one had its moments. Unknowns for me were Orser, Usenet, Read me, Elin. I too remember Elin Woods, though. Somehow I knew Camp David was named after DDE’s grandson David. While the Betty White clue was easy I had never heard of white space. Liked the clue for catcher. Cute.
Fun puzzle. Thanks to everyone for always fun and interesting input. I too always learn something.

Ol' Man Keith said...

An EZ-PZ Monday Breezy!
Thanks to the old Grabowski/Venzke Team. Good to see their name again!!
~ OMK
___________
DR:
Only one diagonal today, NE to SW.
It yields an anagram (13 of 15 letters) referring to the impossibility of a renewal once one has polished off the Wine of Time.
Yes, I am speaking of the...
"NONSTART DREGS"!

Lucina said...

TTP:
Is that a serious question about Dale Evans? She was married to Roy Rogers.

Some trivia. They adopted a child. One summer he was in a bus returning from summer camp. The bus collided with a car on the freeway. In the car were a good friend of mine, Susan Huss, her mother and a sister. All were killed. I don't know if the Roger's child was killed or survived. I have grieved for Susan ever since. She was a remarkable girl attending Mt. Angel College in Oregon and would have contributed much good to the world.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Nice 'n' easy start to the week. FIR, no inkovers but negative on the theme.

Clanton gang?

The neverending IRE.. Irl.. debate.

Cursing and using profanity not really the same, goshdarnit. NEWSCRAWL an apt neologism: forced to listen and read two different news items at the same time.

I like making a homemade CHAI TEA latte.

Prior to "electronic medical record" (EMR) nurses needed the ROSETTA Stone to interpret some physician handwriting.

Aways think of the skater Brian Boitano 🎿

Wrote again...RIPENED
Visited the animal doctor again...RIVETED
"Showboat" is my favorite musical, lotsa singin' and _____ DANSON.

Super busy "first-day-back-after-two weeks-off day"..😷

Jayce said...

Owen, terrific verses today. And thanks for the bathtub joke; I loved it.

Gosh, this puzzle started out with an unknown-to-me proper name. Does not augur well. Sure enough, another unknown-to-me proper name at 16 across. Disheartening. I also did not know ELIN. But the perps were good and filled those names for me. I did know TONTO, ELENA, ORSER, EARP, KERN, CIRCE, and DANSON. So the names I knew far outnumber the names I didn't know.

Bottom line -- I enjoyed this puzzle and found it to be fair.

Boomer, excellent write-up. Thank you.

My dad, who served in the Army in Europe during WWII, often said things like "Mox nix" and "Vas iss los?"

I recently learned that in Linz, Austria, when two people toast each other with champaign, they say "Gesundheit!" Only if you're drinking champaign, though.

When I was writing software code to parse keyboard commands a routine to "skip white space" was common. It was needed to skip over redundant spaces and tabs. In fact, in this very blog, if you type in more than one space between words all but one of them will be removed. (I typed 7 spaces between "space" and "between" in that sentence).

Speaking of redundant (here's looking at you, chai tea, thank you CanadianEh!), how many of you have used an ATM machine or entered your PIN number?

Good wishes to you all.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks to Bruce and Gail (RIP) for yet another fun Monday puzzle.

Fun expo Boomer; thanks for kicking off the after-party with your trademark humor.

WO: FRIzBEE (again! will I learn?)
ESPs: CECE, GINA, ORSER, ELIN, KERN, CIRCE, IKE (as clued)
Fav: Toss-up: README for the USENET news feed...

Hungry Mother - Gopher, Archie, Veronica and Jughead (Very Easy, Rodent-Oriented, Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives & Jonzy's Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation And Display, respectively). Veronica was a distributed index of Gophers' hierarchy while Jughead was a local server indexing Gophers' hierarchy.
I used G/A/V from '90 to ~'93 when Mosaic came out.
Oh, and I was on USENETs alt.music.rush a lot :-)

{A, B+} //FLN's TOW AWAY Joe was cute.
A bit of a stretch on the DR, OMK :-)
Re-VETted - LOL Ray-O.

PVX - TX has dropped its mask mandate and banned mask requirements in public schools (DW & her colleagues are PO'd. Her school has even removed the "FEVER stations" and "stand-inline dots.")
Stores can still require masks - and the ones I've been to, do.

Picard - That is one crude HUT :-)

C, Eh! Pop was pleasantly angry ("You dirty cur") that I already had cherry tomatoes and bell peppers ready for harvest. //I saved them 'till he got here so we could enjoy together.
What else are you planting? I've got basil galore, er, A GOGO.

IM - Yes, the Girls are home (and Youngest already started her summer job) and Pop was here. Well, technically, he still his - his flight leaves in ~3 minutes. We all had a great time putzin' about (we taught Eldest how to cut rebar, so there was that :-)).

Our Army Reserve unit went to Germany to do NATO exercises for our "2 weeks in the summer." I learned "Ein Bier bitte" on the flight over but didn't know you start counting with your thumb. First time at the bar, I got two beers :-)

Cheers, -T

Misty said...

Lucina, so sad to hear the story about your friend, and her mother and her sister. Heartbreaking.