google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday August 19, 2021 Tomas Spiers

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Aug 19, 2021

Thursday August 19, 2021 Tomas Spiers

 

 Follow the Money

Tomas Spiers, our constructor today, invites us to do what all the solvers in the mystery shows do, that is "Follow the Money!".  I tried tracking down Tomas on the Net, but as he doesn't leave a trace, this could be his debut puzzle, for the LAT at least.  Perhaps Lemony or HG could weigh in on that.

Tomas gives us 4 themers for "Money", all filled with common synonyms or slang for "Legal Tender for all debts, public or private".

20A. Money for a visit to the Colonel?: CHICKEN TENDER.  "the Colonel" is of course a reference to Colonel Harlan Sanders, the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain.  But if you want really TENDER chickens you need to get them from a TOUGH man, like Frank Perdue.  Perdue raises his own breed of chickens on on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay:

Some people contend that the run off from poultry farms on the shore have made it TOUGH for the fish, crabs, and oysters in the bay, but I'm not mentioning any names.

28A. Money for some golf course features?: PUTTING GREEN.  The COLOR of MONEY (well paper and old copper coins maybe) is GREEN.  But these guys don't GIVE A DAMN about it!


45A. Money for government expenses?: STATE CAPITAL.  There seems to be a lot of it going around these days.  But before there was a United States, there were English colonies in the New World, and they all issued there own money.  The U.S. Currency Education Program will tell you all about it.

53A. Money for meteorological studies?: CLIMATE CHANGE.  I'm sure that the Cornerites on the West Coast can tell you that this is real, whether it be natural or anthropogenic.  While you're pondering that I'll nickel and dime you with this old chestnut:

Just so we can lock up the themers, here's the grid:
 

Now you've got some more sleuthing to do:

Across:

1. Champagne choice: BRUT.  Champagnes vary in sweetness from dry (BRUT) to sweet (DOUX) as explained here.

5. Technical detail, briefly: SPEC.  Short for SPECIFICATION.  Synonyms include OPERATIONAL DEFINITION and EFFECTIVE PROCEDURE, unambiguous descriptions for how to do something.  Two or more reasonable individuals following these descriptions should get the same results.  In my experience effective procedures are like computer programs, and must be tested to ensure that they actually work. "But we don't have time to do it right".  But we always have time to do it over.

9. Faith that acknowledges the value of all religions: BAHAIBAHAI is relatively new and originated in Iran in the 19th Century.  You can tell they must be doing something right, as the Bahá’ís have been severely persecuted for their faith.

14. Mysterious character: RUNEThese writings frequently appear in crossword puzzles, and like the latter they are often mysterious.

15. 2012 Best Picture: ARGOARGO is a 2012 American historical drama thriller film directed by Ben Affleck.  There apparently was a lot of controversy from all sides as to how it depicted the events of Iranian hostage crisis.  I have not seen it.

16. Use: EXERT.

17. Chichén __: pyramid site: ITZAChichén Itzá is a ruined ancient Maya city occupying an area of 4 square miles (10 square km) in south-central Yucatán state, Mexico.
18. Thought input?: FOOD.

19. Texas battle site: ALAMO.  The ALAMO is one of several Missions in San Antonio, TX founded by the Spanish Franciscan Fray Antonio de Olivares in 1724.   The famous battle referred to in the clue was fought here from February 23 – March 6, 1836:
23. Like a roulette wheel: SPUN.

24. Callas offering: ARIA. Greek soprano Maria Callas is considered by many to be the greatest soprano of the 20th Century.  Here is her offering of Lauretta's ARIA O Mio Babbino Caro ("My Dear Daddy") from Gianni Schicci, Puccini's short opera and only comedy.  It's fast paced, an absolute hoot, and a highly recommended intro to opera.  I've included this English translation for Owen and it also contains the backstory as to what's going on.

25. LIRR org.: MTA.  After a short intermission I hope you New Yorkers don't mind a shift in the MTA's venue to bring you a repeat engagement by the Kingston Trio:
32. Coll. application stat: GPA.

35. Brunch serving: CREPE.  Here's a quick and easy recipe.


36. Trash pile emanations: ODORS.

37. Good evening omen, it's said: RED SKYJust an old wives' tale?

39. Contract part: CLAUSE.

40. Wile E. Coyote once attached one to a balloon: ANVIL.  You could see this coming couldn't you?
41. Soccer star with six Ballon d'Or awards: MESSI.  The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious award for individual soccer players.   Alright soccer fans, here's everything you want to know about  LIONEL, and he has been awarded 6 of these!
Le Ballon d'Or
I've got to start boning up on this sport.  My second oldest grandson is turning into quite a soccer player and all I know is OLẾ!  And I learned that here.

44. __ Aviv: TELThe economic and technological center of the State of Israel:
Location of Tel Aviv within Israel
48. Paella cooker: PAN.  Here's the party version, but this recipe is easily adapted to what you like and what you've got:
49. Back __: making a comeback: AT IT.

50. Forum wear: TOGA.  Very fashionable on the Corner.

58. Toyota hybrid: PRIUSThey get excellent gas mileage, but they're not large enough for grandparents.  We drive a Camry hybrid, but will probably replace it this year.
60. "__ arigato": Japanese "thanks a lot": DOMO.  Today's Japanese lesson (a first for me at least).  Sounds almost like Italian, but Google translate wouldn't go for it.

61. Borzoi and Brittany: DOGS.  The BORZOI is a Russian Wolf Hound and the Brittany is a retriever originally from France:
Borzoi and Brittany Dogs
62. Ho-hum: BANAL.  Had this answer 2 weeks ago.  This is starting to get BANAL.

63. Its national animal is the Arabian oryx: OMANOMAN is on  the Southeast coast of the Arabian peninsula.  Here's an ORYX.  Beautiful animals, but apparently their horns make them much sought after as hunting trophies.
64. Let out: EMIT.

65. Shift gears: SEGUE. Must be an automatic transmission, as SEGUE usually connotes a seamless transition, especially between movie scenes.

66. Sales staff: REPS.

67. Monopoly card: DEED.  Here's the board and the House Rules:

Down:

1. __-a-brac: BRIC.  or GEE-GAWS.  You get the picture:
2. Baby __: candies: RUTHSApparently there is some controversy about the origin of this name.  If you still have a sweet tooth for this sort of thing try this site (but as they say "Chacun a son goût")

3. Begin to remove, in a way: UNZIP.

4. Vessel for a spot: TEACUP. Here's a TEACUP for a "spot of tea" made by my great, great uncles Felix and Richard Pratt in their pottery in 19th century Fenton, England:
5. Close call, maybe: SAFE.  There's nothing like an optimistic crossword constructor.

6. Rotate inward while walking, as one's foot: PRONATE. From the Oxford Dictionary of Languages:

verb 
Anatomy

  1. turn or hold (a hand, foot, or limb) so that the palm or sole is facing downward or inward.
    "the patient is asked to maintain this position while the examiner attempts to pronate the foot"
    • walk or run with most of the weight on the inside edge of the feet.
I almost lost my balance just trying to visualize it!

7. Journey with stroking: EGO TRIP.  Since the pandemic started this seems to have become a widespread substitute for travel.

8. Cough syrup ingredient: CODEINE.  This pain reliever sounds tame enough, especially when compared with contemporary opioids like FENTANYL.  But CODEINE was one the first widely abused narcotics.  Buffy Saint-Marie wrote a song about her addiction to it after being treated for a bronchial infection.  Here's an excerpt from her song COD'INE from the Newport Festival:
Here is the complete version of COD'INE (5 min.) from her debut album It's My Way!.

9. Sweat bit: BEADBEADS are "bits" of many things.  They are also metaphorical units of reality, strung together from subatomic particles to atoms to macro-molecules, like DNA.  "The Glass Beadgame" by Hermann Hesse, one of my favorite novels, is also based on metaphorical BEADS and concerns the intimate inter-connectedness of all knowledge.  It's a game we play here everyday.

10. Toll booth pricing unit: AXLE.

11. "Just listen": HEAR ME OUT

12. Shot spot: ARM.  Topical clue/fill.  If more people would FILL up on vaccines, we might beat this pandemic.

13. "Who am __ judge?": I TO.  "Judge not, lest ye be judged" - Matt. 7:1.

21. __ under: give in: KNUCKLE.  "Say uncle!"

22. Bug: NAG.

26. Succinct: TERSE.

27. Early Sierra Club member Adams: ANSEL.   Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West.  Here is his gallery website, just in case you want to buy a print.
Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite, 1927
29. Put to the test: TRY.

30. Book of Samuel aggressor: GOLIATH.  This is an iconic story showing that "might doesn't always make right" and sometimes the "little guy wins".  As the clue "Book of Samuel" implies the single volume version in the Hebrew Bible, as opposed to "1or 2 Samuel" books in Christian Bibles, I've chosen a Jewish source to describe the encounter between David and Goliath in detail.  We now join the fray with Israel facing its enemies, the Philistines, "in a hilly country between Shochoh and Azekah":
GOLIATH and David
31. Nutritional fig.: RDA.  Although still a crossword staple, Recommended Daily Allowances for nutrients were actually replaced in 1997 by NIH Dietary Reference Intakes.  Hand up if you remember this?  Simple huh?
32. Wrap one's mind around: GRASP.  What's really hard to "wrap one's mind around" is the MIND!

33. Hepta- minus two: PENTA*.  Today's Mathematics Lesson, in Greek no less.  And the word Mathematics is
from the Greek mathēmatikē (tekhnē), from the base of manthanein ‘learn’.
34. Lender's activity: ADVANCING.

38. Pet-training word: SIT.

39. Winter hrs. in Ill.: CSTCentral Standard Time. Which commences Nov 7, 2021 according to this reference.  It also tells you whether and when you need to "Spring ahead" or "Fall behind".

41. Cape user: MATADOR.  This bull apparently wasn't too happy with this CAPE USER after being stabbed between the shoulder blades with a sword.
42. Perfect example: EPITOME.  A dying breed I think.

43. Structured internet listing: SITEMAP.  If you're out on a tree limb, and can't figure out how to get back down, look on the main menu for a SITEMAP.

46. Spy __: CAMThis one looks good.  Can you spot the camera?
47. Really rich: LOADED.  Not really a problem for me.

51. Pointy-hat wearer: GNOME.  I'd like to get one of these for our garden, but DW says "Why don't you just stand out there yourself!":
52. Longhorn rival: AGGIE.  I've been hearing about this rivalry for a long time, that I decided to check it out.  Take this link with a grain of salt though, as it looks suspiciously like it might be an AGGIE site.
54. Lomi-lomi salmon might be served at one: LUAU.  Hand up if you've ever been to a LUAU.  Here's Rachel Ray's recommendations for throwing your own.  Since Rachel didn't include a recipe for Lomi-lomi salmon here's one.  BTW, "Lomi-lomi" is Hawaiian for "to massage", as in "to toss".  And here's a little of Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole's ukelele to go with it:
55. Scotland's __ of Arran: ISLE.  We've been to the ARAN ISLANDS off of Ireland, but not Scotland's ISLE of Arran.  Looks like a beautiful place to visit.
56. Decision-making column heading: CONS.  Don't let 'em fool you though.  You can't trust 'em!

57. Began, as a co.: ESTD.  Often seen on a CORNERSTONE in ROMAN NUMERALS.  What a nightmare that was!

58. Judy Woodruff's network: PBSShe's been a broadcast journalist for nearly 50 years.
Judy Woodruff
 59. Actress Issa: RAEJo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985) was married less than a month ago to her longtime boyfriend Louis Diame over a weekend in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a commune in the South of France.  Not bad for an "Awkward Black Girl"!
Issa Rae
What more can I say?

waseeley

Cheers,
Bill


43 comments:

OwenKL said...

The MATADOR was the EPITOME of calm
As the bull thunderously charged on and on.
Her cape she would swirl,
For, being a girl,
She had challenged male dominance for so long!

ANSEL ADAMS took his pics in black and white.
He loved the wild land, day and night.
He led on its way
The SIERRA CLUB of today,
As they lead the CLIMATE CHANGE fight!

Softly the young man UNZIPPED,
Excited when he saw A TIT.
From its case he drew binocs
Which he put to his ocs,
And watched as the songbird would flit!

CHICHÉN ITZA saw the Spaniards surrender
When Mayans their claims they did render.
But later generations
Reassessing situations,
Printed Spaniards on their money: CHICKEN TENDER.

{B, B+, A-, C.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Started with MOET for BRUT and DEISM for BAHAI, and d-o was off and stumbling. Hooray for Wite-Out. Needed at least six applications in the top quarter. Did like the placement of ITZA/CHICKEN and "Judge"/ITO. Thanx for the adventure, Tomas, and for the esoteric expo, Waseeley.

ALAMO: Great was the tumult a couple months ago when a Barnacle reporter's book questioned the heroic myth. Our Lieutenant Governor thought it was not only anti-American, but even worse, Anti-Texan. He ruled it couldn't be discussed at a state-funded venue (ie: university). We must protect those moldable minds from such heresy. Gotta love him.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, with mood/same instead of FOOD/SAFE. Like DO I had deism at first, and I also liked judge and ITO, and I'll raise him TRY at 29d. Also erased untie for UNZIP, teapot for TEACUP, and massi for MESSI.

I first encountered PRONATE in Ben Hogan's classic "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf." He explain why it is so important in the golf swing, and why a golfer can't consciously control it.

My third shot is due October 5. I got my first two in Florida, and I'll be in North Carolina that day. I wonder if I'll have any problems getting it due to residency requirements.

FLN, may I offer clarification to OMK. When the kicking team is trying to get possession of the kickoff, it isn't a SQUIB kick, it is an onside kick. Different lineup rules apply. A SQUIB kick is intended to keep the best returners from getting the ball, and is usually secondarily intended to run time off the clock. Usual kickoff lineup rules apply. A SQUIB kick goes further downfield as well. Not to be confused with a "pooch punt." These are done when the ball is too close to the end zone to allow for a full punt, but too far to try a field goal. Don't worry, pooch punters are still kicking a pigskin, not a dog skin.

Thanks to Tomas for the fun challenge. In addition to the the ito/judge/try, I liked "journey with stroking" for EGO TRIP. And thanks to Bill for another fun review.

desper-otto said...

Jinx, I'll see your teapot and untie and raise you one drop for BEAD.

Anonymous said...

I cashed in today at 6:36.

I always enjoyed those SNL banking skits.
"Volume." Of course.

KS said...

Who else put teapot before teacup?

ATLGranny said...

Thanks Tomas for a worthy Thursday puzzle. But FIW, I did. I put DOMa and CaNS and didn't rethink that while proofreading. Jinx, I did get SAFE and FOOD all right, finally thinking of the expression "FOOD for thought." As far as the theme goes, I found it helpful after I corrected my first fill CHICKEN fodDER. (Oh, mixed up fodder with feed, but in this case we need TENDER.) The others were quickly filled when I saw the money theme.

Other WOs were AXel/AXLE, ADVANCes/ADVANCING (before I saw it was too short, and AnGus/AGGIE (40% correct). I liked pointy-hat wearer GNOME. First thought I had for that was "dunce" but didn't enter it so no WO. Thanks waseeley for the rich banquet of information in the review. Cheerio!

TTP said...



Good morning.

This puzzle reminded me of "For The Love of Money" song by the O'Jays. Money money money money, money.

CHICKEN was obvious but I first tried to put in scratch. TENDER fit more better :-)

Perhaps the most famous futball player on the planet, Lionel MESSI has earned over $1B in his career. That's a lot of scratch. He was in the sports news headlines quite a bit lately after deciding to leave FC Barcelona where he developed into a superstar.

I watch PBS Newshour with Judy Woodruff almost every night. Since back in the day when Gwen Ifill was the co-host with her.

Medical research effort to completely map the genetic blueprint (DNA) of human beings ? The International Human GeNOME Project.

A few months into the pandemic and with the golf courses closed, one of my frustrated golfing friends had a natural turf PUTTING GREEN installed in his backyard. Then a sand trap. Then a driving range. He's 47d.


FLN, Ray-o, I've never seen or even heard of "December Bride" or "Pete" before. The only shows I've seen from the 50's were reruns, as were a lot of the 60's shows. I was last in line. My sisters pretty much controlled the channels we watched.

Also, you get toll again today in clue for AXLE. So you were saying that the NYS Thruway continues to collect tolls even though they promised to end tolling after the thruway was paid for ? Same here.


Great write-up today, Bill. I have an appointment this AM so I didn't get to the links yet. Back later.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I thought this leaned toward the easy side for a Thursday but that could be a result of familiar fill and user-friendly perps. I loved the theme and had that “Why didn’t I think of that?” feeling. I also liked the cluing, some sparkling fill, and the very strong themers. CSO to Jason at Argo and to me at Aggie, although only family and old friends call me that.

Thanks, Tomas, for a very enjoyable solve and thanks, Bill, for the melodic links and the highly informative review. After I read your many and varied riffs, I feel as though I was in a classroom, auditing a gamut of subjects, taught by a very wise and knowledgeable professor. 🤗

My subscription to the New York Times crossword ran out awhile ago and I didn’t renew it. However, I have been signed up for quite awhile for various email newsletters on food, TV shows and movies, current affairs, etc. Just received notice that as of September 1, the one on TV shows and movies will now require a paid subscription. I wonder how long before the others meet the same fate. To quote Gordon Gecko, “Greed is Good.”

FLN

Ray O, condolences on your aunt’s passing. It’s sad when the aunts and uncles are no longer around. The only thing I remember about December Bride is that Spring Byington was in it. I remember watching it, but that’s about all.

My sister got a good report from the ophthalmologist, the subs were yummy, and the Bloody Mary was delish, so a good day! (I was in and out of the Lab in 20 minutes.)

I hope CED made it back from the UK OK! 🙃

Have a great day.

Bob Lee said...

I had ECOTRIP for the journey with stroking, and ARCO was a movie? Oh well, let's see what the answers say. Oh, EGOTRIP. Clever!

For me, I always think: DOMO arigato, Mr. Roboto!

LOL about Wile E. Coyote - he's always using anvils and giant boulders. He never learns.

And it was a good thing the soccer star was MESSI. I only know a few soccer names. Hey--we need a few of the USA woman some day like Megan Rapinoe or Alex Morgan. (My luck, you'll pick some Manchester City gal and I'll have no idea).

Big Easy said...

The money clues made the fills very easy to complete. I'm glad I like Baby RUTHS because the spelling of "Chichen ITZA" would have been a WAG. My first thought of champagne was PINK, not BRUT. IMHO Tomas' puzzle was the EPITOME of a good one; almost void of A&E references. Wile E. Coyote if today's A&E clue.

KS- I was also thinking TEA POT but the perps filled the CUP for me.
The Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge tolls use both AXLE and height for toll calculation. They sock it to the motor homes.

TTP- my Grandniece's father-in-law has a business that builds PUTTING GREENS in 47D people's yards.

I only knew MESSI ( it was a WAG) because he shows up in puzzles regularly. PBS & DOMO arigato were filled by perps.

GPA- these days everybody makes the Dean's list or the "A" Honor Roll. And while I'm AT IT, every child is above average. When the minimum requirement at LSU-S as a full time student was 14 credit hours there were only THREE students ( I was one of them taking 19 hours) who had a 4.0 GPA for the semester. The next year 12 credit hours was considered full time and the 4.0 GPA list was very long in the student newspaper.

When I quit working in the drug business (2000) we sold more CODEINE drugs than hydrocodone- both were Schedule-III. (Tylenol w/codeine vs. Vicodin). Oxycodone (Percodan) sold about as much as it always did and the MS-Contin & Oxycontin sales were minimal. Ritalin abuse was the big problem then. The only fentanyl was the Duragesic Patch and it was mainly used for hospice patients. How times have changed.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got it all w/o wite-out. No help needed. FIR.
Cute theme. Terms were well-known phrases.
KNUCKLE - Also used to describe a small eddy of water in a propeller wake. Akin to German Knochen, L. German Knoken for "bone"
ARGO - I've described before how I had the pleasure of meeting Ken Taylor at Ft. Drum, a few years after the event. He was the Canadian Ambassador depicted in the movie. He died in 2015.

Good job, Bill. Thanks for enlightening us.

unclefred said...

FIR in 24. For me, that’s pretty good. DNK: BAHAI, and had 9D DROP and 10D MILE, so that pretty well buggered up the NE for a while. ALAMO finally got me on the right track to eventually fill BAHAI via perps.Also DNK: ITZA. Filling 3D UNTIE didn’t help. Filling 4D, 20A and 23A finally perped in ITZA. I got the theme immediately with 20A, which was a big help getting the other theme fills. I kept waiting for a reveal clue, but it never showed up. The rest of the CW went fairly well. With Irish Miss that this seemed a bit easy for a Thursday, and that is NOT a complaint. CWs are getting more difficult as time goes by, so a big thanx to TS for making this a fun and DOABLE Thursday CW. Bill, what an outstanding write-up!! All the musical links, all the information. How did anyone ever figure out how to read those runes? Thanx for the truly terrific effort, Bill! It looks like I’m finally gonna come to terms with my roofer this afternoon. While I’m at it I am having solar installed at the same time, the roof being built specifically to hold the solar panels. The whole thing is very big bucks, more than I paid for this house in ‘84. Take a deep breath, swallow hard, sign here. Due to materials shortages the roofing work can’t be done until February of next year, but I’m told the can do the whole project beginning to end in three days. Leap of faith here.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-BACK AT IT – I’m subbing three days in a row! When is Friday coming? :-)
-All time bad SEGUE!
-I once had a college roommate who had very little money but was usually LOADED
-Here come a gaggle of sophomores

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you Tomas spiers for a challenging puzzle ... I had no idea of the money theme ....
The long answers were an easy fill, and I let it go at that.

Thank you Bill W. for a very erudite review, which touched on many topics that you seem to be interested in or involved in. I am repeating some common prior comments, in that you seem to be a polymath, interested in many different subjects. A blog review inevitably centers of the personality of the reviewer, and you seem to have a multifaceted one ....

CHICKEN ITZA: The Col Sander's Logo in Rome ? ( Apologies to Dr Ray-O-S ....)
ALAMO : Andean animal on its way to the prom ...
BRUT: A drunken beast who paws at the opposite sex
BAHAI : A Bi-lingual sheep welcome
CREPE : See BRUT
MESSI : A typical college dorm room
RDA : While making love, put some more of this into it ....

Finally 47 Down: Really rich : I thought was the epitome of the L A Crossword puzzle ....

I had not heard PRONATE: I wrote Pinnate, which means something different ( botany: Leaves on either side of the stem.). But, I do know, most female models stand pronate in mini skirt Ads, hoping to look sexy...

Codeine is a 'natural' opiod, occurs with morphine etc., from the poppy plant.
It also DOES calm the cough control nerve part of the brain .... literally, the 'gold standard' for such activity.
Too bad, it is the drug abusers drug of choice ....
With a Dr's Rx, you can still buy it, readily, at $4.99 per 250 ml.
Unless you're Michael Jackson, Fentanyl is strictly limited to a hospital setting/OR room. It cannot be prescribed... too dangerous.

Have a nice day, all.




Jinx in Norfolk said...

D-O, I fold.

TTP - Your family must have been 49d. We only got NBC, from WSAZ in Huntington, WV. Much to my mom's dismay, we watched boxing every Friday night and Grand Ole Opry every time it came on. But they carried Popeye and Friends, Fury, Sky King, Sea Hunt, Dragnet, Death Valley Days and Rocky and Bullwinkle, so it was OK with me. I was a teen before I learned about Wide World of Sports, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Vid, unfortunately fentanyl has caused a huge number of drug overdoses. It is cheap and easy to get on the black market, so the bad guys make counterfeit prescription drugs with it without regard for consequences. They also use it to offset baby laxative and other filler when they cut heroin. Drug experimentation has never been so dangerous. There have been several incidents of the police being injured by just getting a little of it on the skin during drug busts.

Misty said...

Thursday toughie for me, but still fun--many thanks, Tomas. And Bill, your pictures are a delight, many thanks for those too.

I actually got my start with ALAMO, which gave me ARM for the place where you get shots, and the obvious 'Who am I TO judge?" Corner filled in right after that, and expanded with the help of ARIA. And what could cause 'trash pile emanations' except ODORS? Got that one quickly too.

Delightful poems, Owen.

And glad you and your sister had a good day yesterday, Irish Miss.

Have a good day today too, everybody.

AnonymousPVX said...


This was a clever Thursday grid.

Write-overs…FORE/FORE, SIC/SIT, AANDM/AGGIE.

unclefred…not gonna ask again about the termite bond, either your state or you do not have that, or a sore spot maybe.

I just read a story that said the policeman that had a reaction to fentanyl on his skin was BS. Still, you gotta be nuts to put any powdered street drug into you. Nuts!

See you tomorrow.

waseeley said...

Vidwan @11:08 AM "Really rich". Darn Vid, I really missed that one!

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Thursday. Thanks fo4 the fun, Tomas and waseeley.
I FIRed and saw the theme with just a brief pause in the S- central area.
MESSI was not coming to mind (I thought of Pele), I was fixated on Superman with that cape, lightly penned in Iran, had no idea about the Japanese thanks. Then I thought of OMAN, and the area opened up. DOMO was all perps and I didn’t see it until I got here.

I thought of Moët (hello d’o) but checked 1D and saw the B for BRIC and BRUT.
Hand up for wanting TEA pot before CUP. (Loved the cup in that photo, waseeley!)
I didn’t know those dogs. Perps to the rescue.

We had RED GREEN today; also ODORS and EMIT.

I could tell stories about Americans coming across the border (usually on a holiday weekend) to attempt to buy OTC products containing low-dose codeine (222s, Tylenol#1, Benylin with codeine). It wouldn’t have been so obvious if they had not had everyone in the car come in separately over a short period of time and asking for two bottles each!

Wishing you all a great day.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

PVX Which fentanyl OD story is supposed to be bogus? There are many of them from different cities, reported by Big Media (abc, cbs, fox, NY Post, yahoo) and it is hard for me to believe that they are all bunk. When I was young, dumb and a few other things I lived in a glass house, so I won't cast stones at those who are experimenting now. Except I never injected anything, but that provides little safety these days.

unclefred said...

Oh, a tiny nit to pick. 49A ATIT is having a spat. "Making a comeback" would be INIT. But I really liked this CW, so that really IS a tiny nit.

waseeley said...

Unclefred @2:02 PM The answer struck me as slightly off too. However, in reading your comment it just occurred to me that "Making a comeback" would be something two people who are "AT IT" might DO, rather than BE.

I liked the puzzle too. The theme was pretty easy and the clue/fills were Wednesday level. But as Tomas' debut puzzle, perhaps he is "keeping his power dry" for a "change up" the next time he's pitching!

Lucina said...

Hola!

I'll have to read you all later. I've been corresponding with my BFFs about our upcoming trip being canceled. The sister-in-law of one died of Covid-19 and her brother is ailing with it. Another friend is also ill but with something else. When it rains, it pours!

I liked the puzzle for its simplicity and no forced fill. Some I can relate to such as Chichen ITZA which I visited many years ago on a trip to Yucatan.

My very good friend Kathy drives a PRIUS; I agree that it gets excellent mileage.

I believe I've mentioned before that my daughter collects GNOMEs and even has special ones for holidays.

Did not know MESSI but MATADOR, yes. The only time I've seen an actual bullfight was in Pamplona on July 11 19?? when we were on a tour and saw the running of the bulls.

I really liked this theme with its play on words which made me laugh. Thank you, Tomas Spiers.

Have a delightful rest of the day, everyone!

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. Thanks to Tomas Spiers for making it.
I love your write-ups, waseeley. Thank you.
Hand up for TEAPOT before TEACUP.
Good wishes to you all.

TTP said...

Back for awhile now, but got caught up in other things that needed attention. Finally got back to the blog and have read most of your links, Bill. Enjoyed the review.


Big Easy, maybe you could get a discount price on a backyard putting green ? When my friend said he was having the putting green installed, I asked him if he was using the artificial grass. No, the real stuff. Then he said he was looking for a walk behind greens mower, but hadn't found one yet. Even the least expensive of those is in the thousands of dollars !

Jinx, LOL, but we were far from 47D. However, we did live where we could pick up the TV stations from Pittsburgh and Youngstown. Probably seven or eight channels, maybe nine channels.

Vidwan827 said...


Thank you Bill W. for your kind words.

Lucina's comment on Bull fighting reminds me of a story ...

An couple of american tourists were visiting Bogota, Columbia, and were being escorted round a bull fighting stadium.

The guide said," Bull fighting is the most popular sport in Columbia ..."

The lady tourist says ," How revolting !"

'That, ...' said the guide, ".... is the second most popular sport .... "

Vidwan827 said...


COLOMBIA ... i must be losing my marbles.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

That was fun! 1st-pass, I thought it was going to be a huge DNF yet, I FIR!

Thanks Tomas for the puzzle; enough money in there get us LOADED.
IM's first paragraph were my impressions of the grid too. Nice job and congrats on the LAT debut.

Great expo, waseeley (LOL ANVIL clip)! -- I'll have more clicking todo later tonight.

WOs: CRaPE, back inIT -> AT IT, oMIT -> EMIT
ESPs: MESSI, RAE
Fav: ANVIL, as clued.

The Fixx: RED SKYs at Night.

{B, A, A+, ha!}

Lucina - Sorry your trip has been postponed; I know you were looking forward to it.

Ha!, leave it to the Canadian to spot RED GREEN ;-)

Nice catch on Charlie Riley AKA 'Really rich', Vidwan.

Vidwan: You made me think of Wizzard of Id & BC: The peasants are revolting!.

Cheers, -T

waseeley said...

Vidwan @4:48 PM ROTFL!

Avg Joe said...

Let's not forget the old joke about a bistro, and by association, the toreador. The punch line is: "The bull does not always lose."

On the topic of OD's by cops by merely touching siezed fentanyl: It's happened in my county. Don't think that's BS at all.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Late to the party. Busy day. Lots of work and the painter is here. As with car washing, once a decade whether it needs it or not. Hopefully, I will be more time here in the coming days. Great recap, BTW, Bill.

Michael said...

The DEA fact sheet says this about Fentanyl:

"How is it abused?
Fentanyl can be injected, snorted/sniffed, smoked, taken orally by pill or tablet, and spiked onto blotter paper. Fentanyl patches are abused by removing its gel contents and then injecting or ingesting these contents."

So apparently it can penetrate unbroken skin. (Now it's clearer why police are often wearing exam gloves: "Who knows what that powder is.")

Jayce said...

Dang it, I really don't like how singers elongate that high note in the aria O mio babbino caro.

O mio babbino caro
Mi piace, è bello, bello
Stretched out . ↑

Personally I think it is inappropriate both musically and linguistically (the words). Musically, there is no fermata in the score (fermata means "hold" the note), and it totally destroys the rhythm.
Linguistically, nobody says "bell OOOOHHHH bello."

Sheesh.
Just my opinion.

waseeley said...

Jayce @7:25 PM La Divina did because she COULD. 🙃

waseeley said...

Jayce @7:25 PM. Dang. I knew I should have gone with "Casta Diva". But I'm really glad that someone was paying attention.🙂

Jayce said...

Waseeley, yeah I know often the singing is done to showcase the singer and not to express the meaning of the story.

Ol' Man Keith said...

No diagonals today...
~ OMK

LEO III said...

Like –T, I thought I didn’t stand a chance with this one. First pass through didn’t produce too many filled squares. When PUTTINGGREEN fell fairly early, I knew what to look for in the long fills, so I was off to the races --- er, kinda slow walks.

I had to do some airport/museum stuff today, so I worked on the puzzle in drips and drabs. My last AHA moment was MATADOR, which confirmed OMAN and DOMO for me (I remembered the song, but I was still unsure), so I was pleased with today’s FIR.

Thanks, Tomas and Bill!

Busy weekend ahead of me. Regular museum workday tomorrow and Open Ramp Day Saturday (should be a fun day out on the ramp ALL DAY --- 95 and 95 temperature and humidity), and I rarely finish Sunday’s puzzle in time to comment, so you might not see me until Monday.

Anonymous T said...

LEOIII - this weekend is Open Ramp?... Oy! How did I let it sneak up on me?
//Never put off to tomorrow what can be done two days from now...

OMK - that Bric(k)-a-black 3-block in the middle does impede the DR; better luck tomorrow.

Nothing puzzle-apropos follows:
God didn't say "Let there be LIGHT."
S/He said, "Let there be Time."
And, That created order to the universe.

My fellow EEs, who can calculate things in the Frequency Domain*, I link this video on time and order, aka, synchronicity.
//well, I found it thought provoking anyway - and I'm not even LOADED ;-)
no, really... every body in the same relativistic-frame works together over spans of time. Order!

Humanities majors, you may find it interesting too. It may explain poetry :-)

OK, I need sleep (but Youngest won't be home for another hr)

Cheers, -T
*I suppose FRACTIONS from yesterday is more elementary. *sees self out*

Michael said...

Dear Anon T:

Wow! Physics and crosswords, marching in step.

The video was perfect for a Thursday night, but of course there are questions ... Physical resonance is clear enough, but what is the survival advantage of synchronicity for fireflies? Do you, I, humans in general, existence, have some fundamental frequency which we navigate to, or towards?

Anonymous T said...

Michael:

I think we've come full circle this week...
I know someone mentioned The Police. [Synchronicity I]. //Stewart Copeland is such a bad-ass drummer.

Oh, heck... why not? Here you go: Synchronicity II.
//The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is in there somewhere; look for it :-)

Cheers, -T