Theme: "Begone" - B is removed from the each theme entry.
22A. Sports venue where the home team hasn't won in years?: RINK OF DISASTER. Brink of disaster.
In
all theme entries, B is removed from the start of the key word. Very
consistent. And there's no stray B's in the grid. The professionalism
of Mark McClain, who has generously helped me and many other
constructors with various crossword questions.
Mark is also a regular contributor to Newsday crossword, which Splynter solves every day.
Across:
8. Fendi rival: PRADA. Beautiful. Miranda Kerr.
19. Victim of river diversion in Asia: ARAL SEA.
20. Like some R-rated films: EROTIC.
21. Comfortable: AT EASE.
24. Boulevard feature: MEDIAN.
25. Invoice no.: AMT.
26. Brainstorm: IDEATE. Not a word I use.
27. Dreyfus defender: ZOLA. Émile Zola. "J'Accuse…!"
29. Heavy weight: ONUS.
30. Hubbub: HOOPLA.
33. Trimming plans: DIETS.
35. Industrial site: PLANT.
37. Like memories to smile about: FOND.
39. Sock part: TOE.
41. Hottest, in a way: SEXIEST.
51. __ Stephens: 2017 US Open Women's Singles champ: SLOANE. Followed by 52. Tennis feature: NET.
_(35347283294).jpg/1200px-Stephens_WM17_(7)_(35347283294).jpg)
53. Isolated work group that hinders corporate efficiency: SILO.
54. Bone near a calf: SHIN.
56. Belgian artist James: ENSOR. Here is his "Christ's Entry into Brussels".
57. Chews like beavers: GNAWS.
60. "I __ noticed": HADN'T.
62. Change for a ten: ONES.
64. Drop the ball: ERR.
65. Bird rarely on the wing: RATITE. Like emu or ostrich. Copying Gary's picture.
67. Pitt URL ending: EDU.
68. Toys"R"Us giraffe mascot: GEOFFREY.
76. Stayed to the bitter end: SAW IT OUT. Great entry.
79. NBA impossibility: TIE.
80. Hide out: LIE LOW.
84. Sushi bar order: AHI. Have any of you tried Trade Joe's sushi rolls?
85. Company named for the exaggerated height of its tallish bottles: NEHI.
87. Bowling headache: SPLIT. And 95. Pain pill target: ACHE. Boomer! The amount of pain he endures every day.
90. "Crazy" vocalist: CLINE.
91. Mountain gap: NOTCH.
94. Blood bank fluids: SERA. Boomer's going to get the hormone shot in 2 weeks.
96. Blackthorn fruit: SLOE.
97. FD employee: EMT.
98. Magnate: TYCOON.
105. Feeling guilty: ASHAMED.
107. Ducks org.: NHL.
108. Frozen Four org.: NCAA.
109. Tough goings: SLOGS.
110. Like some promises: EMPTY.
114. Swan dive revelation: ARMPIT. Not sure if you guys heard of
this 14-year-old diver Quan Hongchan. She scored two perfect dives at
Tokyo. She's from Guangdong Province. Guangzhou is the capital city of
Guangdong.
118. Expected result: NORM.
120. Cause for a claim: LOSS.
123. Not as relaxed: TENSER.
125. Smeltery input: ORE.
126. French star: ETOILE. Our state moto is "L'etoile du Nord" ("Star of the North") .
132. Having a twist: IRONIC.
133. Bug, for one: INSECT.
134. Gets back to business: RE-OPENS. I just can't believe how long this stupid COVID lasts.
135. Sorrowful tune: LAMENT.
136. Free-for-all: MELEE.
137. Red Sea land: ERITREA.
Down:
2. First-class: PRIMO.
3. Totaled: RAN TO.
4. Reindeer cousin: ELK.
5. Japan's Mount __: ASO. Aso-san. San is just mountain in Japanese.
6. Disobedient: DEFIANT.
7. Org. concerned with youth substance abuse: SADD. Students Against Destructive Decisions.
8. Ramble on: PRATE.
9. Egyptian site of a historic 1799 discovery: ROSETTA. The Rosetta Stone.
10. NFL passing stat: ATT. Attempt.
11. Nueve y uno: DIEZ. 9 +1 =10.
12. Bat prefix: ACRO.
13. Spicy food truck items: TAMALES. 14. Had some 13-Down: ATE.
Here's the Guangzhou tamale. It's called "lo mai gai", sticky rice
& chicken wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed. So tasty.
15. Purplish veggie: RED ONION.
17. Biblical twin: ESAU. And 20. Actor Morales: ESAI.
18. Entertainment center sites: DENS.
23. Iraq War weapon: Abbr.: IED.
28. Vinyl revival items: Abbr.: LPS.
31. Low USMC rank: PFC.
32. MLB Hall of Famer Brock: LOU. Boomer just sold a Lou Brock
patch card on eBay. Also a Pujos patch card. A few dollars. Patch cards
are not popular. Rookie cards rule!!
34. Family guys: SONS.
36. Bar on a truck: AXLE.
38. Chef's creation: DISH. This is called Cai Jia Mo, a popular Xi'an street food. I never found similar bread in the US.
40. Cavern phenomenon: ECHO.
42. [Bo-ring!]: SNORE.
43. Absorbent fabric: TERRY.
44. Many an MIT grad: ENGR. Engineer.
45. Lawless role: XENA. Lucy Lawless.
46. Coup d'__: ETAT.
47. Routing word: VIA.
48. Respected figure: ELDER.
49. Concerto finale, perhaps: RONDO.
50. Depend: HINGE.
55. Poetic contraction: NE'ER.
58. Hot spot service: WIFI.
59. ER demand: STAT.
61. Research university with a Boston campus: TUFTS. And 66. School near Windsor: ETON.
63. Agronomist's concern: SOIL.
69. Org. created by the 1933 Banking Act: FDIC.
70. Sense: FEEL.
72. Shades: HUES.
73. Early number?: ETHER. Parse it as Numb-er.
74. Buzzed: TIPSY.
75. Familiar greeting: HELLO.
76. Fall mall hiree: SANTA. Here's our Santa with Spitzboov. They were at a local county fair. Here's my state fair John Deere.
77. Ship-to-ship greetings: AHOYS.
81. Actor Schreiber: LIEV.
82. "I'm buying!": ON ME.
83. Moistens: WETS.
86. Country whose name ends in the same three letters as its capital: IRAN. Tehran.
88. Debtor's note: IOU.
89. Gull relative: TERN. Reminds me of D-8's Buoys and Seagulls picture dilemma.
92. Lynn's father worked in one: COALMINE. Loretta Lynn, the "Coal Miner's Daughter".
93. Primate genus: HOMO.
99. Ignore: NEGLECT.
101. Provider of shade: ELM TREE.
102. Harder to get: SCARCER.
103. Corn unit: EAR.
104. Fast flight: LAM.
106. U.K. military award: DSO. Distinguished Service Order.
111. Goal of an accord: PEACE. Tiny clue/answer dupe: 116. Peace goddess: IRENE.
112. Flanged fastener: T NUT.
113. Fashion initials: YSL.
115. __ face: POKER.
117. "The Gondoliers" bride: TESSA.
118. Playwright Simon: NEIL. He wrote "The Odd Couple".
119. Sierra's "other": OTRA.
121. Carpenter's wedge: SHIM.
122. "Auld Lang __": SYNE.
124. Cork's home: EIRE.
127. Maya __, Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer: LIN. Lin means "forest" in Chinese.
129. ISP option: DSL.
130. French king: ROI.
131. Just right: APT.
C.C.
FIWrong. Couldn't remember if it was Distinguished Service Medal or Award. Went with A, so have LASS as reason for a claim, and that sounded good.
ReplyDeleteSeventeen-ninety-nine, at ROSETTA,
The key was found to alpha and beta!
Some NOTCHES in stone
Gave three tongues a home,
Had it talked of rocks, that would've been meta!
Never shake hands with a RATITE.
Big birds denied the gift of flight.
This lack they LAMENT,
It makes them DEFIANT,
And very irate in a fight!
{B, B.}
Thanks CC! DNF, couldn't draw out diez/zola from my mind. Still, was recovering from astonishment at seeing Tufts in the middle of the grid, my undergrad alma mater class of '83 (Technically of course Jackson college cuz I'm a lady).
ReplyDeleteVery cool here in Sweden! Luckily the new pipes for the heating system were completed just a week ago. New radiators too. No more crazy noises as the heating fluid circulates thank goodness. It was a bit of a nightmare last winter, especially when the electricity also went out. Several days without hot water as well in freezing temps. But we survived, and now have new bath, new basement and new kitchen flooring to boot, after all the water damaged bits were demolished and removed!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteFinished before I figured out the theme. RINK OF DISASTER revealed the trick...but it was my last themer to complete. We've seen this use of SILO a few times recently. News to moi. Enjoyed it, Mark. Thanx for the tour, C.C. (If those restrooms were labeled with words rather than pictures, I would've figured it out. I keep telling myself that.)
ARMPIT: Weird clue/answer. Those Chinese women divers at the Olympics were amazing. They learned from Moses -- the water just parted as they entered. Almost no splash. And so consistent.
SwenglishMom, our inspection team visited Hedemora years ago for diesel engine training. We learned a bit about Swedish plumbing, too. I was impressed with the simplicity of the Swedish bathtub -- a footed tub positioned over a floor drain. No need for an over-flow. If water splashes out of the tub, no problem...it just runs to the floor drain.
ReplyDeleteI envy you living in that beautiful part of the world, except for those l-o-n-g, l-o-n-g winter nights. I like to see the sun now and again. A couple hours a day isn't enough.
FIR, speedy fill, got the theme very early.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle, but I agree with d-o that the ARMPIT clue was weird. Kind of trying too hard. It's especially weird because, in my understanding of a classic swan dive, you don't actually reveal your armpit until towards the end, with a large portion of the dive performed with your arms stretched out to the sides.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGood morning.
Hah ! SwenglishMom, the clue for TUFTS was the first one I looked at. I often try to start near the center of the puzzle on Sundays, and spread out from there.
It wasn't long after that EXECUTIVE RANCH emerged. That's when I looked at the published title. "B"e gone gave me the theme so I knew then what to look for. From there, it was a pretty quick romp around the grid, with few pauses. I had SAt IT OUT, and I didn't know SLOANE. I quit watching tennis when so many female players started grunting loudly on every shot.
Purely coincidentally, the answer to the final question on yesterday's Jeopardy rerun was Dreyfus. The guy in 3rd place was the only contestant that got the answer right, and he bet $0. The lady in 1st place going in still won, but she wagered $4K and had an answer of "Who is not (someone) ? I forgot what she had after who is not, but I was perplexed as to why she would wager 25 % ? of her money on an answer she knew would not be correct.
Mark's puzzles never disappoint. In fact, when time permits, I'll go over to the Best Crosswords site and binge on them. His "Weekly Breeze" series of crosswords are quick and fun. I just checked. His latest there (Weekly Breeze # 124) was just published today.
Musings
ReplyDelete-DANG! _OLA/DIE_ is not an “S”
-It appears that if Miranda Kerr is coming from an affair with an impressive SPREAD, she ATE none of it
-FOND memories of Husker FB success is all I have left
-Dixville NOTCH, NH casts the first votes of every presidential election at midnight
-Playing a tough course in 108F heat index was a SLOG for me last Thursday
-Spending on our kitty Lily RAN TO over $100 this weekend. She’s worth it!
-Medical philosophy for some males – Ignore it and it will go away
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteNot so difficult. Did have to wite-out 3 squares, tho. Neat theme which did help with some fill. Favorite clue was for 73d ETHER.
Well done, Mark. BZ
8a PRATE - L. German 'praten'. In Dutch 'praten' is skewed a bit; meaning simply to talk.
61d TUFTS - - Sister has her MD and DIL received her mech ENGR degree from there.
76d SANTA - Picture was taken in Aug. 2014, at Washington Co., NY, Fair. CC, nice pic of you w/ JD.
Good to see SwenglishMom.
Enjoy the day.
Thanks for the gastronomical tour this morning, C.C. and thanks for Sit Up Front. Bother were quite tasty.
ReplyDeleteTTP, you have to remember that the Jeopardy! contestants make their bids (bets) after seeing the category, but before they know what the question will be. Maybe she thought she had a good shot on that category, but drew a blank on the final answer. (question?)
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteD-O, thanks. I've never really paid attention to the show, but have caught glimpses of it from time to time and watched for a few minutes here and there. You may or may not remember that I thought the host was Pat Sajak and was reprimanded here. :>) Anyway, I didn't know those were the rules. It all makes sense now.
A great theme, esp. since it helped me fill in lots of squares.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree--ARMPIT was a weird answer.
I really liked HOOPLA. Great word.
And thanks for why it was ETHER. Ooh--tricky!
The winds are howling about 30-40 mph and power has been lost. But it will get worse for the next few hours. But the generator kicked on and nobody knows how long the electricity will be out. Neither oak tree can hit my house this year. Zeta took out one last year and I had the other one cut down and the stumps ground out (or grinded down).
ReplyDeleteNo newspaper today so I had to download the puzzle. It was a DNF. Didn't know 1A, 1D, 2D, or 5D- SARAH, SPREADS, PRIMO, or ASO. Couldn't get a toehold on HOOPLA. I was thinking PRIME I wasn't PFC but my GOOD memories wouldn't allow them to be FOND. The dropped "B" was easy to see.
My only other error was the same as SwenglishMom - cross of DIEZ & ZOLA- I wrote DIES and didn't look back. No other problems with just a few unknowns today- LIEV, ENSOR, TUFTS, TESSA
PRADA was a guess and that Kerr girl reminds me of TWIGGY. You're right Gary.
ARMPIT- I thought the IOC raised the minimum age to 15 for athletes
Thanks, C.C. for another great writeup! And to all for the nice comments. As usual editor Rich comes up with some colorful clues that I can't take credit (or blame) for. ARMPIT? Hard to clue that without being annoying, but how about "Axilla, in med school"? That was my suggestion. I like the clue for SILO, though it is a little business jargon that not everyone knows - also Rich's contribution. Hope to be back soon!
ReplyDeleteBig Easy, and all others in the path of IDA, please take care and know that we are all thinking of you and your.
ReplyDeleteMark, thanks for stopping by. ARMPIT, itself was annoying but, after solving it, I realized that the clue was really quite good and not at all annoying.
FLN, Gary are you saying that my eraser is bigger than your eraser?
I'm extremely grateful to CC for mothering this blog all these years. But I'm not a fan of her expos, which often are too sparse. She does well when she explains things, but otherwise is little help. For example, I'd never seen SILO in today's context, and had to google it:
ReplyDelete"In business, organizational silos refer to business divisions that operate independently and avoid sharing information. It also refers to businesses whose departments have silo' system applications, in which information cannot be shared because of system limitations."
Also she rarely expands abbreviations, which are crosswordese to us old-timers, but may be opaque to novices looking here for explanations. For the benefit of any today:
FD employee: Fire Department,
EMT: Emergency Medical Technician.
NHL: National Hockey League, professional ice hockey's governing organization.
Frozen Four: Men's collegiate ice hockey championship,
NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association. Wiki: "Sports sanctioned by the NCAA include the following: basketball, baseball (men), beach volleyball (women), softball (women), football (men), cross country, field hockey (women), bowling (women), golf, fencing (coeducational), lacrosse, soccer, gymnastics, rowing (women only), volleyball, ice hockey, water polo, rifle (coeducational), tennis, skiing (coeducational), track and field, swimming and diving, and wrestling (men)."
IED: Improvised Explosive Device.
LPS: Long Playing recordS.
USMC: United States Marine Corps,
PFC: Private, First Class.
MLB: Major League Baseball, professional baseball's governing organization.
NE'ER: never.
ER: Emergency Room,
STAT: (medicine) Immediately; now. From Latin statim (“immediately”).
FDIC: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
YSL: Yves Saint Laurent.
ISP: Internet service provider,
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line.
This is a REAL rarity: a Sunday FIR!! O.K., it took just short of two hours of struggle, but I usually don’t even try a Sunday CW, it is really beyond my ability. I was so happy to get a FIR yesterday I stretched my luck and tried a Sunday, and…. Well anyway, a nice long but FUN struggle, thanx, RN and NL. Favorite clue was 73D Early number: ETHER. Diethylether, specifically, but that much doesn’t fit. I managed to suss the theme with the first theme clue, which was a big help. Could not recall how Toys “R” Us spells Geoffrey (Jefferey?) so big messy W/O there. WMD/IED another W/O. Filled WITCHROOMS first creating yet another W/O mess. Anon is having a good laugh I’m sure at my almost two hour struggle, but I’m just happy to get a Sunday FIR. The first one in YEARS. I usually don’t even try Sundays. C.C., thanx for the terrific write-up. Except it made me hungry. I’m trying to lose weight. A LOT of weight. What a struggle. I’m gonna check with my favorite local Chinese take-out and see if they make those delicious looking dishes. I had a coupon for two Arby’s Classic Roast Beef sandwiches for $4 I cashed in yesterday. Very good, actually. Afterward I looked up the calories: 360 calories EACH, total 720 calories! But wait….there’s more (as the tv ads say). Three Horsey Sauces on each sandwich: who would believe that little Packer is 60 calories? So add that and my two sandwiches add up to 1,080 calories! Geez. Anyway, everyone enjoy your Sunday.
ReplyDeleteDNF, looking up RATIT_x_TON. Probably should have gotten ETON; I blame fumes from painting the front porch this morning. Erased zulu for ZOLA, SAt IT OUT, DieZ (I can barely spell "ten"), eggplant (oh yeah, it's a fruit) for RED ONION, DSc, OTRo, and pei for LIN.
ReplyDeleteI thought "swan dive revelation" was a great clue for both ARMPIT and TUFTS.
Wanted "personnel" or "legal" for "isolated work group that hinders corporate efficiency" but neither fit.
The "DD" in SADD is "destructive decisions"? Aren't a few destructive decisions part of learning to be an adult? (I'll let you know once I've grown up. So far I've just gotten older.)
My best wishes remain with those in harms way from Ida.
Thanks to Mark for another fine challenge, and to CC for another fun review.
Mark is a long time friend of the Corner and mentor to Chairman Moe who returns for Friday's fun this week. OKL, each blogger has a distinct style and C.C, is self-taught in the world of blogging. She details what is important to her and knows others like you you will add to the information as needed. Bear in mind, she is doing Sunday which is not designed for novices. When I began we were constrained from the type of write-ups you now see from many of the bloggers. It just was not done.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thank MMc and C.C. and welcome home Chris.
And I too pray for all who will be effected by Ida.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Big Easy – I once heard a very skinny woman say, “Nothing tastes as good as being skinny”
-Mal – Maybe we could get together sometime and compare the sizes of our erasers
-I always enjoy C.C.’s exotic food references and her general perspective on things
-I have seen many SILO’s where I have worked but never been in one
-It was nice to hear from you, Mark! I have stopped commenting on the authorship of clues unless the constructor has told me that he/she was responsible.
-Cool and rainy in the heartland today.
Addendum
ReplyDelete-My golf partner’s brother died on Monday. This is how he told me:
Partner – “Gary can you get the Moser Funeral Chapel site on your phone?”
Me – “I sure can”
Me – “Hey your brother’s name is on the obits there!”
It's hard to corner someone in a SILO.
ReplyDeleteMy earlier comment: that should be “packet” not Packer. My G.B. Packers have managed to lose all three preseason games. Packers scored on average 7 points/game, to opponents 23 points/game, so the games were not even close. :-( Even our ultra-reliable kicker, Mason Crosby, missed an easy field goal. Crosby is the leading GB point scorer in the team’s 100 year history, and still missed an ~30 yard kick. Oy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark and CC for the distraction from the winds which are pounding on my window. Big Easy I haven’t lost power…yet…but our winds are quite high now that the hurricane is onshore. Thanks for all the good wishes. Everyone in Ida’s path, stay safe!!
ReplyDeleteOwen, all the poems lately have been great. And today was no exception!! Thanks
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, intelligent all around great puzzle - which translates to I FINALLY got an FIR after days in the FIW swamp.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a long time , more than 2 hours, but I stuck with it, stared, groaned, sighed, corrected errors, and eventually got to the Ta Da.
My favorite clue was EARLY NUMBER, and I fell into the misdirection trap but eventually extricated myself. As a swimmer/diver I can attest to the veracity of 114A - no Tufts, however.
The theme answers were not difficult but were clever.
Thank you, Mark, for restoring my self-esteem. Thanks C.C. for the tour and the mouthwatering pictures. I have a suggestion: if you compiled your delicious recipes into a booklet, I’d be first in line to buy one! Maybe think about it?
Best of luck to those in harm’s way - stay safe!
Thanks Mark for a Sunday challenge and this time the theme was a big help (it also helps that the SUN titled the puzzle Begone! and thank you C.C. for another excellent review. Got a horseshoe on this - thought 11D in Spanish ended in an S. If I'd of guessed Z, I would have probably recognized ZOLA and J'Accuse.
ReplyDeleteGotta rush so just a few favs:
1D SARAH was called SARA before Abraham's covenant with God.
84A TJs is one of my favorite stores, but if I can't watch SUSHI being made I ain't a gonna eat it. I'll have more to say about that latter in the week, as AHI is a crossword staple.
114A ARMPIT. I believe the picture for this is incorrect - looks sort of like a "Jackknife". A Swan Dive is performed like this
134A It's not just COVID that's stupid!
9D The ROSETTA stone was discovered in Egypt, but now resides in the British Museum. What's wrong with this picture.
45D FYI Lucy is starring in Series 2 of "Murder is my Life starting with Episode 1 tomorrow. Can't wait!
73D Got ETHER on perps, but was clueless for how it fit the clue. Thanks C.C.
Cheers,
Bill
Fun puzzle today. It is a small world, etc. Have relatives in Arboga, Orebro and Stockhom (SwenglishMom), plus a schoolteacher in Hedemora (desper-otto)!
ReplyDeleteStupendous Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Mark and C.C. (DH loves those JD photos as he is a retiree).
ReplyDeleteI FIRed and got the Begone theme, with a couple of red letter helps to steer me in the right direction.
Naughty changed to DEFIANT,
I noted AT EASE and TENSER. SHIN and TOE, MELEE and HOOPLA (I think a HOOPLA is happier😁).
SARAH was joined by her grandSON(S) ESAU (but not Jacob). The Biblical references made me want Egypt instead of ERITREA for the “Red Sea land”. We had the ROSETTA stone from there.
Yes, TTP, I saw that Jeopardy show, and it gave me ZOLA (the third contestant wrote “?- Not Zola”)
Hand up with Owen for having DSA before DSO.
I would have know RATITE if I had observed HG’s illustration better the other day.
I wanted “I never noticed” before HADN’T, but then we had NE’ER.
Glad to hear from you Swenglish.
Stay safe BigE and SwampCat and any others in Ida’s way.
Wishing you all a good day..
And if Boomer picks up just one 7-10 SPLIT all ACHES will disappear.
ReplyDeleteNH has Franconia NOTCH ski area
Yes, saw Quan, amazing
NW was last to fall. I finally recalled SARAH. After finally FIR I like HOOPLA and PRIMO. It's not a RINK but Arsenal is a DISASTER in British Football
Wasn't TAMALE part of a clue yesterday?
TUFTS has a big medical center in Boston. I was there for kidney diagnosis.
Spitz, if you understood ETHER I'm listening. Aha, as CC did explain: Numb-er
Gary: classic golf story. Ted the golf fanatic all of a sudden stops, takes off his hat, bows his head as a funeral passes.
Partner says: "Gee Ted, that was awful nice of you"
Ted responds:"That woman gave me 35 blessed years of marriage"
I always pictured that joke as the 17th at Dedham Country&Polo where I caddied. The road passes the 17th Green
Preseason anything can be safely ignored. Don't let it interfere with watching grass grow
WC
I liked this puzzle; I usually like Mark's work. The theme was fun and RINK OF DISASTER showed me the way. I am ASHAMED to admit that I got fooled by "Early number" for far too long; a couple of perps lit the light bulb for me. I love love love the clue/answer ARMPIT; so imaginative! Last letter to fill was that Z.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't tried Trader Joe's sushi but we did pick up some pretty nice sushi from Safeway on Friday.
Speaking of Buoys and Gulls restrooms, I remember seeing a patron confused by Herren and Damen restrooms the last time we dined out at a local German restaurant.
Owen, terrific poems today.
Sheesh SwenglishMom, that was some serious rebuilding!
Be well and stay safe, all.
This homo loves tamales!
ReplyDeleteFirst read-through felt impossible, but like New Orleans streets during a hurricane, it filled in from the bottom, up!
ReplyDeleteSunday Lurk Say...
ReplyDeleteOKL - That's why it's a blog and not just a website: Donno? Ask. Know? Expound.
Wendybird - check out Blog Recipes.
I'm with Waseeley - I want to see the chef with my fish. Grocery-store sushi (yes, *sigh* I've done it) is a sign of sadness in your life.
//I'm kidding! HEB's (local grocery chain) sushi is OK but just not the real-deal.
Same with some restaurants.
EdDuarte - I'm assuming spell check 'fixed' homie for you?
Tamales* are awesome no matter how one identifies themselves ;-)
Nice to read you again SwenglishMom.
Nice reading you too Swamp! - you & BigE stay safe (Hahtoolah is still on E.Coast, right?).
Cheers! -T
*Back in my consulting/wining-dinning-client days, there was a street-vendor that would sell her tamales outside of Houston's pubs near Montrose. Amazing food!
We're not sad to eat grocery store sushi. Sure, it's not Shimogamo (in Chandler, AZ) by a long shot but it will suffice once in a while. The only sadness in our life is the recent (May 19th) loss of our son's wife to cancer. Basically LW and I are a pretty happy and content couple.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed a delightful early Sunday lunch with friends in town today, so was late doing the puzzle and checking in with the blog.
ReplyDeleteLots of fun clues, Mark--many thanks. And always love your commentary, C.C., thanks for that too.
Some of my favorites today were "early number" for ETHER--oh, "numb-er"!I also liked "trimming plans" for DIETS--not branches or trees, I guess. "Bug" made me think of harassing someone, not INSECT. YSL is showing up a lot in puzzles these days. And for personal reasons I loved seeing IRENE as "Peace goddess." We lost my sweet sister IRENE when she as only 32 from lymphoma many years ago--still miss her.
Have a great Sunday evening everybody. I'm looking forward to watching "The Love Boat" on TV.
Two DNFs in a row! LAT batted 1.000 against me this weekend. I pose a question to the LAT puzzle editors: Is it your purpose to drive out long time solvers like me with esoteric and senseless puzzles such as this weekend's two drudges? After over 50 years of solving LAT puzzles, these two entries make me consider cancelling my subscription!!
ReplyDeleteWorked on the puzzle off and on until 4 PM when the NW corner filled. Proofread next and caught a misspelled ERITREA. C.C. in her helpful review confirmed my FIR and explained ETHER. Maybe next time I'll remember the numb-er parsing trick. I did catch the missing B with no trouble. Thanks Mark for the puzzle and for stopping by. It was a full day's entertainment for me.
ReplyDeleteI too tried to make eggplant work, Jinx, because it fit and was the right color. It took a while before AT EASE straightened me out. I liked the clues for DIETS and INSECT. It was a PRIMO puzzle. Monday's will be here soon for more fun.
Thinking of you all being affected by Ida. It's looks bad. Stay safe and keep us posted as you can.
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all! Great puzzle, Mark, I usually enjoy yours. Great expo, C.C.! I always learn from you.
ReplyDeleteOKL: How dare you criticize our beloved C.C. Not cool!
Big easy: thanks for your update on the storm. I was relieved to learn this evening that my granddaughter who lives in NOLA had evacuated to Houston with her roommate & roomies' family. Her birthday is in a few days. Don't think she was expecting a big blowout for that.
TTP: from the other day, I don't think we get reduced electric rates for use in off-peak hours. Just makes sense to me to run my dryer when the A/C is not running, especially since my a/c outside unit is just a few feet on the other side of the wall where my dryer is located and vented. Two fans vying for the same airspace.
No, No, No to armpit. Geez.
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