google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday July 5th, 2021 Andy Wang & C.C. Burnikel

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Jul 5, 2021

Monday July 5th, 2021 Andy Wang & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: TIE BREAKER (63. Overtime round, e.g. ... and what a black square acts as for the circled words?) - Three different ties are broken up.

 17. Gibberish: MUMBO JUMBO. And 19. Passed-down stories: LORE. Bolo tie.

 28. "Just as I thought!": AHA. And  29. Tax evader's comeuppance: IRS AUDIT. Hair tie.

 47. One who scoffs at Bud, perhaps: BEER SNOB. 50. Dominate in competition: OWN. Bow tie.

Boomer here.

Andy is C.C.'s brother. He is a logistics supervisor for an electronic commerce company in Xi'an, China. Great job Andy!

Andy Wang

On the home front of course I am on the course on Monday mornings. But last Wednesday the league president had organized a picnic get-together for  the players and their wives.  C.C. and I were happy to attend and we found out that several of the other wives were crossword solvers and they were fascinated with C.C.'s work. Oh, and by the way everyone brought some food to share and I was happy to bring a sheet cake with "Happy Birthday, C.C." on the frosted area. The group sang the song in honor of C.C.'s birthday. A good time was had by all. And of course I am hoping you all enjoyed the July 4 holiday!! 

C.C., 6/30/2021

Across:

1. Light in a socket: BULB.  We have been using the LED bulbs for awhile.  They are high tech, use less energy and last longer.

5. Hunt for bargains: SHOP.  One of C.C.'s favorite activities.

9. Tick off: MIFF.

13. Enjoyed immensely: ATE UP.  Everyone ATE UP the aforementioned picnic.  However I brought home a few pieces of cake that I am continuing to work on.

Boomer, 6/30/2021

15. Smooth engine sound: PURR.  Not Meow.

16. Love, in Lima: AMOR.

20. Support for a side plank exercise: ARM.  I use the right one for bowling and both for golf.

21. Country singer McGraw: TIM.  The Tiny one tiptoed through the tulips.  There is another named Anderson who plays shortstop for the White Sox who handed the Twins their lunch last week.

22. Finished, as a deck: STAINED.  I think ours is just painted.  It was redone last summer.

24. David Muir and Lester Holt: NEWSMEN.

27. "Thor" actor Idris: ELBA.

33. Very beginning: GET-GO.  I believe that this is the first tee.

36. Like strung guitar strings: TAUT.

37. "If u ask me ... ": IMO.  In My Opinion this was a pretty good puzzle by a veteran and a rookie.

38. Sought-after celeb: A-LISTER.

40. Springsteen's __ Band: E STREET.

43. Edge of a glass: RIM.  You may need to put a tire on one.

44. "I claim that!": DIBS.  Great word!  I have not used it since I was a kid.  

46. Perform better than: OUTDO.  This morning I am trying to OUTDO others on the course, but we all have a good time and nobody really wins or loses.  We all just try to beat the course. 

51. Dough for spanakopita: FILO.


52. Attacks: COMES AT.  If your shot COMES AT someone, don't forget to holler "FORE"

56. Kind of salad named for a NYC hotel: WALDORF.  I've never been to New York, but I remember this salad has fruit and nuts in it.

59. Make a dent in: MAR.  Between FEB and APR.

60. Mister, in Mumbai: SRI

62. Grammy winner India.__: ARIE.

66. Crystal ball gazer: SEER.  I am pretty sure that the Crystal Ball is not related to Lucille.

67. Landfill emanation: ODOR.

68. Coffee or tea: DRINK.  "Drink, Drink, Drink, said the privates, happy men are we.  There's none so fair that can compare to the fighting infantry."

69. "No thanks": PASS.

70. Nada: NONE.  My teachers in grade school were known as NUNS but I don't know why.

71. Draws to a close: ENDS.  This is the END of across.  Now we go DOWN.

Down:

1. Ole Miss rival: BAMA.  Home of the Crimson Tide.

2. 180-degree reversal: U TURN.  Please don't do this on the highway.

3. ''I wanna try!'': LEMME.

4. Fella: BUB.  The sergeant on "In the Heat of the Night" is BUBBA Skinner.  He played football for the Crimson Tide.


5. Ocean froth: SPUME.  In "God Bless America" it's called foam.

6. Smooth engine sound: HUM.  Once in awhile I will see one of those HUMMERs, but I don't hear them HUM.

7. Planets, in poems: ORBS.

8. Formal objections: PROTESTS.  Minneapolis is full of them.  There is always somebody PROTESTing about something.  The George Floyd story is still living on.

9. Ritzy California beach city: MALIBU.  Also a Chevrolet that I once owned. 1965. 

10. "No dessert for me today": I'M ON A DIET.  I am never on a diet.  I just try to avoid sugar and keep the blood glucose low.

11. Warning after a slice: FORE.  I use to have a slice but I fixed that.  Now we wait until the group ahead is off the green.  If I need a slice, I order a pizza. 

12. Mister Rogers: FRED.


14. Random criticism: POTSHOT.

18. Iwo __: JIMA.  A terrible battle in World War II.  I think my Dad was there but he never talked about it much.  He was a medic.

23. Fashioned after: A LA.  Crimson Tide again

25. Friendly dog greetings: WAGS.

26. Actress Vardalos: NIA.

30. Regrets: RUES.  I suppose you will all RUE the day at the end of the week.  The puzzles are a bit tougher.

31. Used WhatsApp, say: IM'ED.

32. Dog in Oz: TOTO.  "I'll get you my pretty, And your little dog too."

33. Clothing: GARB.

34. Fashion designer Saab: ELIE.

35. "The years just zip by!": TIME FLIES.  "When you're having fun"!

36. The Chicks or ZZ Top: TRIO.  Or the Chad Mitchell guys.

39. Ralph Kramden's pal: ED NORTON.  "Oh, How sweet it is "

41. Dwarfed, with "over": TOWERED.

42. Ski resort trails: RUNS.  The Minnesota Twins are producing a serious shortage of these.

45. "Killing Eve" channel: BBC.

48. Lyft patrons: RIDERS.  Then the RIDERS become SKIERS.

49. __-mo videos: SLO.

50. Actor Epps: OMAR.  Minnesota has a 5th District Congress Rep named OMAR.  She occasionally says the wrong thing at the wrong time.   

53. Blending of one hue to the next, from the French for "shaded": OMBRE.

54. Invite to enter: ASK IN.  "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin !"

55. Get big on Twitter: TREND.  I have never used Twitter.  I do not know how and Facebook is enough for me.

56. Stinging insect: WASP.  "Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee"  Cassius Clay.

57. Farmland measure: AREA.  Golf courses seem to be measured in Yards.

58. Classic dog name: FIDO.

61. Ticks off: IRKS.

64. Very long stretch: EON.  Okay, If it took you an EON to solve this puzzle, hop on the comments section and tell us what you think.

65. "What __ you looking at?": ARE.

Boomer

Note from C.C.:

In case you missed it, here's a picture of Tony (Anon-T) and Leo. Great to "see" you guys.

Tony & Leo, 7/3/2021

 

48 comments:

  1. The correct spelling of 51 Across is “Phyllo”, not the phonetic “Filo” as most crosswords use.

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  2. Good morning!

    No major problems, as a Monday should be. Nice themeless effort. D'oh. Noticed the FILO/FIDO pairing, HUM crossing PURR, and the FORE CSO for Husker and Boomer. My learning moment was OMBRE; thought that was a fella. I guess my hair is OMBRE, a bit of blond and a lot of gray. Thanx, C.C. and Andy.

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  3. FIR, but erased mine for DIBS, togs for GARB, and IReS. I can't seem to remember ELBA or ARIE. Don't know my Saab from my Volvo, and thought an OMBRE was a guy in a John Wayne movie.

    DW and I call WALDORF, MD "Salad City." Don't try to drive through there between Thanksgiving and Christmas - the traffic is horrible. (We also call Salisbury, MD "Steak City.")

    TIM McGraw's father Tug was a famous pitcher for the Mets and Phillies. Coined the phrase "ya gotta believe," my second-favorite rallying cry after "what about them Cowboys."

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  4. ODSG, good morning to you. The correct spelling is neither Phyllo, nor Filo but φύλλο. It is a Greek word. When you do transliteration, making an English word from a foreign one, you get (PHYLLO) or if you simply trying to get the sound you get (FILO). More suggestively, PHYLLO has NEVER appeared in any major puzzle publication. Never, on;y FILO has.

    How cool that C.C. has been able to interest her brother in her avocation. The theme was easy to spot but I had some bumps in the road. SPUME took some perps, as did OMBRE as clued, though I know C.C. has used it before. I also did not know the famous Lesbian, oops I mean Lebanese designer ELIE SAAB who has done many Oscar dresses. He created this unforgettable HALLE BERRY DRESS .

    If you have the day off, enjoy. Thank you C.C. and Andy and Boomer

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  5. CC and Andy, lovely collaboration.
    I suspected the theme was TIES right from the GET GO when the first set of circles read BOLO. I needed BREAKER to get the full theme.
    Adding to Lemon's FILO comment, Google says, "Phyllo consists of tissue-thin sheets of dough. The sheets are almost as thin as leaves; phyllo spelled filo or fillo means "leaf" in Greek. In contrast to puff pastry, phyllo dough has almost no fat, it's mostly flour and water and can dry out easily" Phyllo or filo are alternate spellings in English..
    I don't make spanakopita because it is tie consuming It's yummy when the filo is crisp. In restaurants I always ask if it was made that very day. Otherwise I pass. It is terrible when the filo is soggy.
    "What are you looking at?" or "He's looking at me!" are grammar school or sibling PROTESTS.
    I heard of India Arie but needed every perp.
    ACRE before AREA.
    Dictionary says "Nun comes from the Old English nunne, and the Late Latin nonna, "nun," originally a generic word for addressing an older person."

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  6. I really liked the puzzle, although I put in ANCHORS rather than NEWSMEN and so the NW was all messed up for quite a while. I had a hard time figuring out which answer was wrong. It took me longer to complete this puzzle than any other Monday for quite some time.

    d-o, I think OMBRE is more specific in that I think it means that you use hair dye to have a transition from one shade closer to the scalp to a lighter or darker one at the free end. So your salt-and-pepper look wouldn't count. (If you're blonde, maybe it's salt-and-white-pepper!)

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  7. Very nice puzzle from C.C. and brother Andy. Thanks! I must be distracted this morning, or the caffeine has not kicked in yet, because I had a FIW. On a Monday! While changing Acre to AREA (Hi YR), I finished India's last name with an A instead of E. Never checked the Down clue obviously. Before that, I had a couple of WOs getting ED NORTON and MUMBO JUMBO. I wanted to MUMBleJUMBle which is even more gibberishy. Oh well, as said before, tomorrow is another day.

    Thanks Boomer for the jaunty puzzle review plus the birthday party pictures and report. Hope the golf game today goes well. And hope everyone has a good day, whether working or holidaying.

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  8. Clever theme though I'm sure it was a head scratcher if you didn't have the circles.
    No paper today for me - so solved on-line. Weird to me how a lot of it fills and I haven't read the down clues until I get here!
    OMBRE I mostly knew from people's hair dye where they dye the outer third lighter and the other part closer to scalp darker. Not a fan - it just looks people need to get their hair dyed because they have dark roots grown out! That's probably why it's popular - a person can go longer in between coloring.

    Thanks Boomer, and thanks for the Andy/CC collaboration!

    One of our sons lives in DC - he sent us a short video of the fireworks going off - we were watching "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS and watched the same thing on TV that he was sent us!

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  9. Relatively easy puzzle. Thankx CC and Bro. Always a phunny write-up from Boomer. Yesterday, we in Token Creek, celebrated with our 39th "World's Biggest Little Parade". Always Fun. Two-block long parade with a lot of funny stuff. TC

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  10. Good morning everyone.

    Nice puzzle. Thanks Andy and C.C.

    Solved it all without being IRKed. Looked back at the solve after filling in TIE BREAKER, confirmed I had the circles right, and went on. Appreciated the longer downs. No errors; FIR.
    SPUME - is fine. Saw lots of it but don't remember it coming up much in conversation. Probably too busy holding on to the hand rails to keep from being upended.
    I'M ON A DIET - - sort of - for the last three years. Lost 50 #. Cut out BEER, pies, most sugars, and ice cream.. If a dessert isn't 'special', I PASS.
    Probably was a bit of a BEER SNOB. Favored Stella, North European like Heineken or Beck's.; and Utica's Saranac line, particularly their Legacy.

    Thanks Boomer for another fine recap.

    Nice picture of -T and Leo.

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  11. He was a BEER SNOB, there was no argument.
    He'd pan the DRINKS wherever he went.
    A barmaid once weed
    In his glass of mead,
    He told her she was six weeks expectant!

    TIM was determined, from the GET GO,
    To OUT DO his foe's FILO dough!
    But he let it sag,
    Distracted by WAGS
    From friend FRED's Greek dog, FIDO!

    {B+, B-.}

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  12. Musings
    -What a wonderful brother/sister act! Names from 70 years apart - ED NORTON – ARIE, learning with OMBRE and a delightful gimmick!
    -STAINING wasn’t getting it done. $10,000 later we had a beautiful deck of engineered wood
    -MINE didn’t work for DIBS. It seems to be the second word toddlers learn after NO!
    -I was shocked when my uncle pulled a U-TURN on an 8-lane highway in Long Beach
    -TOWERED over – My neighbor showed me a picture of her 5’6” daughter trying to guard a 6’5” center last year at state
    -Baseball needs to find a way to get more RUNS in a game. Strikeouts and walks aren’t all that entertaining
    -Yesterday we celebrated the idea that Minnesota’s OMAR can say whatever she wants
    -A farmer would say one ACRE not 43,560 sq. ft of AREA. Don’t ask me what I put!
    -FORE!

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  13. Good Morning:

    When I saw Andy’s unfamiliar name, I thought, Aha, CC has a new collaborator, never dreaming it was her brother! And what a successful partnership it proved to be. I thought there was a bit of crunchiness for a Monday, but that’s okay with me. Not at all familiar with Ombré and found the cluing less straightforward than usual but, again, that’s okay with me. I think my only write over was Bud/Bub. Plenty of eye-catchers, too: Filo/Fido, Hum/Purr, Ala/Bama, Toto/Fido/Wags, Tim/Fred, Miff/Irks, and Are/Area/Arie. Ends was in the perfect spot.

    Thanks, Andy, for a fun start to the week and welcome to the Corner and thanks, CC, for introducing us to a new talent and for this very enjoyable solve. Thanks, Boomer, for the chuckles and nostalgia and for making today’s outing a true family affair. BTW, the photos were great! Good luck on the links!

    The fireworks last night from DC and New York were spectacular. I hope all of our canine companions survived the noise!

    Have a great day.

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  14. Spitz, maybe this would be Special enough for dessert. It's one of the brews of my ute, back when every Wisconsin city had at least one brewery. A beer from my college days was Fauerbach. Rumor was that a purity report from the Wisconsin Dept of Agriculture came back, "Sir, your horse has diabetes."

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  15. D-O - - I've never heard of it. Don't think it is sold here. I'll have to try it sometime. Thanks for "Point"-ing it out.

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  16. Spitz, it's a very small brewery. I doubt it's available anywhere outside Wisconsin, and probably in only a few spots outside Portage County.

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  17. Andy, congrats on your LA Times debut - very nice Monday puzzle and wow, what a beautiful backyard! And thank you CC for kindly mentoring your BRO. I really liked the pic of T and Leo. It's really great to place faces with names. Have you ever thought about organizing a face to face Cornerite Convention in MinnesOta? We'd probably all need a years notice.

    And thanks for the groaners BOOM. I really ATE UP your pic @13A. So you actually admit to being a TWINS fan?

    I too liked the confluence of PURR and HUM. It would have been really neato to finagle ODIE crossing FIDO, but don't think that 'OMBRE would allow it.

    29A IRS AUDITS appear to be in the offing for some BIGLY DONS.

    44A I had my MITS on that one but ANDY had first DIBS.

    56A JINX @6:54 AM Sounds like you pass thru Merlin quite a bit. I always say, it's a great place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit it. Actually I say that about Bmore, but I doubt that you pass thru there very often.

    34D Lemony - thanks for the Halle Berry EYE WORM.

    55D I'm not a TWITTERER either, nor an FBer, but I AM an occasional TWITCHER (Brit slang).

    Cheers,
    Bill

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  18. OwenKL - Insert "BIG FAT" before Greek in the last stanza of the 2nd POME and I'll give you a {B+, A-.}

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  19. Hola!

    Ooh! A Family Affair today! Neato. Welcome Andy Wang! This puzzle was just right for a Monday!

    STAINED recalls one summer when we STAINED all the dining room chairs. It was one time when the adage, "many hands make light work" definitely proved to be true. I was not a nun yet, but training to be one.

    Looking at Idris ELBA still makes me wish I were younger.

    Boomer, thank you for the all photos. It is really nice to pair names with people.

    Have a marvelous Monday, everyone! I loved all the fireworks last night.

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  20. Hi Y'all! Nice to meet you, Andy. Great puzzle from the A/CC collaboration. Amazing that anyone whose first language is not English can have such a successful enterprise. It wasn't an easy puzzle for me, but it was doable & enjoyable. Thanks.

    MIFFS & IRKS, not IRES I tried both times. Not acre but AREA.

    DNK: ELIE SAAB or INDIA ARIE.

    I'm definitely a BEER SNOB. I'll SNuB all of it.

    This morning I watched three huge hawks on the ground in my back yard, flapping their wings and lunging at each other. One was a red-tail male, I think. Another possibly was female & the third maybe a fledgling. I couldn't decide what they were doing, unless they were trying to get the baby to fly up to a higher, safer level.

    Most of the weekend was quieter than in years past, due to some new laws that prohibit firing fireworks off in the city only two days. Last night, however, I suffered through the worst six-hour bombardment with huge boomers that I have ever experienced. My windows & whole house were rattling & humming strangely. The country club golf course was shooting some of them & several other points surrounding my neighborhood were also setting off the things. Amounts to abuse of elders, sick people & pets. Kept thinking how much the local charities would have benefited from the money spent on making some of us miserable.

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  21. Boomer, forgot to thank you for a very enjoyable expo. Your love of your wife is always a treat to see. Lucky lady!

    I need to add to my rant about the fireworks that I live about a block as the crow flies from the country club where they were shooting the big boomers (no relation to our esteemed gentleman with that name.)

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  22. Bit of a crunchy Monday puzzle, but with lots of clever clues and items. How nice to see that it was a C.C. and brother Andy collaboration--many thanks to both of you. And then more family--thanks for the fun commentary, Boomer.

    Got BULB right off the bat, which gave me all the downs, except that I put LET ME before LEMME. That made MUMBO-JUMBO a little tougher to get. Neat to see words like MIFF and PURR almost next to each other. Also FIDO and FILO. I'M ON A DIET and BEER SNOB also worked well together. Never had a WALDORF salad, but got it immediately, thanks to that WASP. And so it went--lots of fun.

    Oh wait, it was also cool to get ED NORTON and that sweet TOTO.

    Have a good week coming up, everybody.

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  23. Congrats, Andy. Thanks to C.C. and Boomer, also. A very nice start to the week or, alternatively, a start to the end of the long weekend.

    Valerie solved it first on paper (LAT) and then I solved online. The only hitch was one that Val encountered with OMBRE. I, also, did not know that word but perp'd it fairly easily.

    I am always amazed at the grasp of a (or two) Xi'an native(s) have of such a broad spectrum of American English idioms and names. I have been to Xi'an (twice) and other than ni hao and xie xie could not even speak, let alone write, anything that did not come out as MUMBO JUMBO.

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  24. Boomer Thank you for introducing us to Andy Wang as CC's brother and for the recap of the birthday celebration!

    I first tried UMBRE thinking "UMBRElla". Anyone else? After that snag the rest was smooth even with no idea about TIM MCGRAW or SAAB as anything but a Swedish car. Enjoyed the TIE BREAKERs, too.

    After our hot hike in TOPANGA Canyon in LOS Angeles last month we stopped for lunch here at the Reel Inn in MALIBU.

    Not too ritzy or expensive for us at all and loved the surfer theme.

    Is anyone familiar with these POT SHOTs by my dear friend Ashleigh Brilliant?

    I got my first one at the airport in Chicago travelling with my family as a child. When I came to Santa Barbara I was delighted to meet the creator and we have been friends and hiking buddies ever since. We also write for the same newspaper now.

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  25. Lemme check the calendar, is today Monday.or Friday?!🤔 The puzzle is way too hard for a first-day-of-the-week at least for my feeble brain. plus try as I might I could not figure out the them. (Andy and CC yer killin' me!) 😫

    LEMME...I obviously use it all the time but took forever to Let go of "LETME" , other inkover: tax/IRSAUDIT

    Did Saab go from car hoods to hoods on GARB?. Misspelt "Malibu" with an "A" the first time (actually was tempted to fill "La Jolla")...

    "Almost" didnt finish!! sheesh
    ,
    Seems "farmland measure" is more properly "acre"

    More improperly...
    Afro...OUTDO
    Executioners ....NEWSMEN
    Horse...ASKIN
    What Montresor did to Fortunato in "The Cask of Amontillado"....WALDORF

    (After my son read the above Poe short story in HS, I asked "what did you think?" He answered " What's a cask?") 🙄

    Have a great week..

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  26. No issues at all with this Monday grid, save one exception.

    No write-overs today.

    But the clue for 57D is just…poor. Especially since C.C. is the doyen of constructors. I don’t believe any farmer ever told anyone his farm was “x” in area….no no no….acres. Back 40. All of that.

    It seems especially poor since so many other accurate clues could and should have been used instead. “Geometric calculation” for one.

    But that’s me. See you tomorrow.

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  27. From Yesterday
    I was not up to driving yet to see our Santa Barbara fireworks. Usually we have fireworks in the park across the street from us, but those were cancelled. But friends came over to visit and we watched the Santa Barbara fireworks show online. Not quite like being there.

    Lucina Glad you enjoyed that July 4th travel ad "If you want to be a better American, get out of America!". But I had a different interpretation. I saw it as a way for Americans to become more sensitive and open to the outside world. And to understand the challenges for visitors and immigrants coming to a strange place. All by way of making us better citizens.

    Jayce Thank you for the kind words, but I am not sure what exactly you were referring to?

    Wilbur Charles Thank you for the further explanation about your liver and your hernia. Glad that all has been well ever since!

    From Earlier:
    Thank you to all who viewed our Virtual Solstice video. It was an honor to be in the opening with STILT man Robert as I rode my unicycle. Yes, I am very grateful to be a part of the special festivities that we have in our little city!

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  28. Thank you, Andy (and you, too, C.C.)! Beautiful puzzle and I loved every minute of it. And, of course, thoroughly enjoyed Boomer's write-up.

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  29. Waseeley, my explanation: Crosswords is the most boring subject in the world so we have CC so we have folk to talk about it. And of course, everything else.

    Speaking of qurrelsome founding fathers and DIBS

    Boomer, if there's nae gamblung, there's NAE Golf

    I suggested that we should yell HORE since we can yell it faster. My friend took the suggestion and was very unhappy with me

    In Florida the UTURN is everywhere but often there's a sign saying "Yield to cars turning right" But they're supposed to come to full stop.
    Madness awaits*

    "Hello Ball!"

    Owen, I have at least A- on #1

    Picard, my knowledge of Malibu is the Harper bros and son Jake

    Halfway through I checked the constructor. AHA, CC with a twist. Agree on THE AREA Clue, ugh.

    WC

    * And...The sheriffs are not fond of Yankees

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  30. Marvellous Monday. Family affair today - thanks Andy (congrats on your debut) and C.C., and Boomer.
    I FIRed and got the theme, but I had a lot of inkblots for a Monday.

    Hand up for Let me before LEMME, which led me to enter Mutterings before MUMBO JUMBO perped. Another hand up for Bud before BUB; Bud was the BEER today.
    I shot myself in the foot trying to spell JIMA - perps to the rescue again.
    I wanted Outset before GETGO.
    I had Win before OWN, and Acre before AREA (agree with AnonPVX about that clueing (we will blame Rich😮😁).

    PURR and HUM brought a smile, as did ENDS at the end.
    The slice in 11D clue had nothing to do with the dessert in 10D. (See below for something that I would never refuse a slice of”😀)

    Of course I have learned to spell ODOR without a U for CWs, but I have never seen FILO. I was trying to fit PHYLLO into the four spaces with no success. I can hardly blame it on a British/Canadian spelling for a Greek word 😮😮😮
    I love Baklava! I attended a Greek shower when nephew married a Greek girl. Everyone arrived with a tray of their OWN homemade Greek pastries; of course, we could not eat them all and each lady went home with a mixed tray of everyone else’s. Just like a cookie exchange 😁

    Belated Happy 39th Anniversary to Token Creek.
    Wishing you all a great day.

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  31. Hi All!

    Congrats, Andy, on the debut. As I'm sure you know, C.C. is an excellent constructing mentor. Nice puzzle from yous twos.

    Thanks for kickin' off the after-party, Boomer. Oh, and for confirming ELIE, ARIE & AREA(?).

    WOs: hand-up re: LEtME, MUMBle (Hi ATLGranny)
    ESPs: NIA, ARIE, ELIE, ELBA, OMAR (see a pattern?), OMBRE
    Fav: E STREET xing RUN? Yeah, The Boss [5:00]

    {A, B-}

    Cool re: POT SHOTS, Picard. Nice pics in MALIBU too.

    Funny, OUTDO, Ray-O.

    Our Independence Day celebration is today; In-laws are coming over for grilled fare and summer salads. It's so nice we're all vax'd and can play together again.

    Cheers, -T

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  32. Hello, all! Back again, after a few days of working at the museum and not quite finishing the recent puzzles nor reporting here at the Corner. Still have to go back and go over the solutions and comments from the last few days, but I’ll get to them eventually.

    uj............mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

    Oops! Avatar Kizzy (Mr. Kismet, to you) wanted some ME time. That’s his note saying hello to all of you – complaining again because I’m here and not paying attention to him, even though it is early afternoon nap time. His typing skills are not the greatest. I took out the obscenities.

    Thanks again –T for the kind words and the photo! – and C.C. for posting it again. The airplane (1942 Lockheed L-18 Lodestar – N31G) is the real star of the photo.

    1942 Lockheed L-18 Lodestar – N31G

    Hope to see everyone else at the museum sometime, if you’re ever in Houston.

    FIR today. Not too much to say, except thanks C.C and Andy! As usual, I had some trouble with some of the names, and I didn’t know OMBRE, but the perps were very kind today.

    I DID know TIM McGraw, and Jinx gave you the family connection with his father, but here’s the rest of the story:

    My very favorite Tim McGraw song is LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING, which is Tim’s tribute to his father, who died way too young from brain cancer.

    "Live Like You Were Dying"

    Tug McGraw sometimes wasn’t the nicest person in the world (but who among us always is anyway), and Tim was 11 years old before he even met his father. No, Tim did not write the song, but the message is powerful.

    The last scene in the music video used to be that of Tug striking out Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals for the last out of the 1980 World Series. Don’t know why it’s no longer there. My guess is that MLB squawked about it on a copyright issue, which was their right, but it was a nice touch in the video. Of course, I have much bigger issues with MLB these days anyway, as I’ve already told you.

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  33. I liked this puzzle but did scratch my head at how AREA was clued. Very nice to meet Andy. Yes, that is quite a magnificent back yard!

    Whew, ODSG sure got got piled on!

    Nifty fireworks last night.

    I like Lester Holt and can't stand David Muir.

    That Bubba guy looks like he's wearing Captain's insignia.

    Good wishes to you all.

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  34. Sorry, Boomer! Thanks for a great expo!

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  35. Picard, the reason I said thank you to you last night was for posting the pictures. I realize I was not clear. Sorry.

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  36. Really good to see the photo of T and Leo. Thanks for posting it.

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  37. Puzzling thoughts:

    FIR with a few W/O's

    Enjoyed Andy's debut with his sister C.C. Talk about "All in the Family"! Boomer recaps his wife and brother-in-law's puzzle!!

    More "celebration" today with Margaret's son, d-i-l, and grandsons coming over for a swim and BBQ

    Great to see a photo of Dash T and LEO

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  38. A happy Monday PZL today. Thanks to the Wang/CC team!

    I saw on the news they're bringing the Marine dogs out of Afghanistan.
    The older "veteran" animals are being awarded a retirement pension.
    I believe they are being re-located to a very nice farm, upstate.

    Semper FIDO!
    ~ OMK

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  39. Thanx T for the Springsteen clip - ya da BOSS! and
    Thanx LEO for taking away my McGraw virginity. A real tear jerker.

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  40. Picard:
    I'm sorry I did not make myself clear. Great pictures of your Malibu dining experience!

    I'm with PK when it comes to BEER. I, too, snub all and any of it. Too many memories of alcoholics.

    Hand up for ACRE before AREA. We have seen India ARIE before.

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  41. You're welcome, Bill. Yes, it's kinda a tearjerker song, but I look at it also as a song of hope and promise.

    If anyone is interested, here's an interview with the songwriters, discussing how it all came together.

    Interview with "Live Like You Were Dying" Songwriters

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  42. Picard, I got Ashleigh Brilliant's first couple books years ago, and once upon a time haunted his website. But haven't thought about him in years ! He's still around? And you know him? Wow! Once again I envy you!

    Ray-O "noose men" took a long bit of thought, and I still don't get "horse AS KIN? A SKIN?".

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  43. I can find ads and recipes for filo dough spelled both ways. You can also see both spellings in the frozen food section of the supermarket.

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  44. I think RayO was referring to Horse , a one on one basketball game where each successful basket is a "skin". Not that I played it that way.

    WC

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  45. Leo and -T, my favorite aircraft displays (so far) have been: 1) The Edwards Air Force Base open house, complete with fly-bys of a B-52, a B1B, and an F15. Static display of an SR71 (dripping fuel) and an A10. Best part was the exhibits were manned by the current crews - the pride in their aircraft and their duty shone like the sun. 2) The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. I was there the first weekend it opened. In addition to the impressive static displays they featured a new film, "I Fly", made specifically for the (then) latest and greatest cinematic technology - IMax. 3) The Boeing museum in the original factory near Seattle. Still want to see Wright Pat, and now Houston is on my list.

    Picard - I used to go to nearby Gladstone's 4 Fish quite a bit. Great food, a little pricey, and long waits to be seated even if you have a reservation. But at least the people watching opportunities kept the waiting tolerable. I lived in a development at the very top of Topanga Canyon Highway.

    I got a ticket for making a U-Turn on Ventura Blvd in Encino. It was 6 or 8 lanes plus a center left turn lane. It was about 10 PM, and no one in sight. The following weekend, a fellow engineer got a speeding ticket flying down northbound Topanga Canyon Highway. On his bicycle. Got a fine and points on his (motor vehicle) license.

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  46. FIW because of my personal Natick of IMO and IM'ED. Knew IMO,butdidn't make the connection; learning moment: looked up WhatsApp.

    An acre is a measure of AREA. Nice bit of misdirection.

    >> Roy

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  47. I enlarged the photo and both you guys look great! Nice.

    I still think the clue for AREA is really broad. AREA could be anything, not just farmland.

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