Theme: CHANGE OF SCENE (52. Mental refresher ... and a hint to the circled letters)
20. Flexible desk accessory: GOOSE NECK LAMP.
32. Filmmaker's monochrome background: GREEN SCREEN.
41. Indecisive sort: FENCE SITTER.
Boomer here.
I guess we are having a mild change of SCENE here in Minnesota as temperatures are sneaking into the 40s and millions of leaves are hitting the ground. Not quite as shocking as 2020 when around this time we had about 6 inches of snow covering those leaves.
Across:
5. "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME.
10. Acquire: GET. Time to GET ready for "Trick or Treaters." We
never have too many, but I always treat them with baseball cards. I
hope they remember Kirby Puckett and Joe Mauer. I would not think of
giving them any of the lousy 2021 Twins.
13. Cartoon maker of a cactus costume: ACME. Road Runner was also a Plymouth.
14. Student's assignment: REPORT.
16. Artist Yoko: ONO. I cannot think of anyone else named Yoko.
17. Starring role: LEAD. I have mentioned that I was Noye in Benjamin Britain's "NOYE'S FLUDDE" I guess old Ben could not spell.
18. Roma is its capital: ITALIA.
19. Once around the track: LAP. INDY is only 7 months away.
23. Yalie: ELI.
25. VCR format: VHS. I still have a number of cartridges in the basement. Maybe some day they might be collectors items I can sell on eBay.
26. Support for a painting: EASEL.
27. "Divine Comedy" author: DANTE.
29. Acceleration control: THROTTLE. "One hand on the THROTTLE and the other on a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer".
35. Medieval Icelandic collection: EDDA.
36. Save like mad: HOARD. Yes, I have a HOARD of baseball cards. Sold some, gave some to the church garage sale, and tripped over the rest.
37. Govt. workplace monitor: OSHA. We never had too many
problems at Graybar. Heavy items were kept lower and reasonably stacked
items were carefully stacked higher on pallet decks.
43. Sport with meshed sticks: LACROSSE. Fine city in Wisconsin.
47. Teatime treat: SCONE. C.C. drinks TEA but I have not seen her nibble on a SCONE.
48. Last choice, perhaps: OTHER.
49. Communication syst. with hand signals: ASL.
51. Govt. code-breaking org.: NSA. National Security Agency.
57. Barbie's beau: KEN. I have a sister named BARBIE but she never met a KEN that I know of.
58. List of mistakes: ERRATA. There is not enough paper to list mine.
59. Like granola: OATY. Like Cheerios.
62. SASE, e.g.: ENC.
63. One who loses on purpose?: DIETER. Never worked for me. I liked food too much. Not bad now because I have to gather up strength to lift a fork.
64. Fairy tale bully: OGRE. BIG BAD WOLF did not fit.
65. X or manta follower: RAY. I am familiar with the X.
66. Salon filing aid: EMERY.
67. They open locks and start cars: KEYS. Funny old timers. Now you just push a button.
Down:
3. Pictured in one's mind: IMAGINED.
4. Second chance: RE-DO.
5. __ whiskey: IRISH. Notre Dame.
6. Heads of France: TETES.
7. Bridge: SPAN. The Twins once had outfielder Denard.
8. Spy for the other guy: MOLE. When he was spying, was he the MOLE in the HOLE
9. Guitarist Clapton: ERIC. His son was Leif.
10. Bring up the rear: GO LAST. But not least.
11. Tooth covering: ENAMEL. My lips cover my teeth.
12. Knock over: TOPPLE. We had a few trees toppled in our neighborhood this fall. Let the sunshine in!
15. Hire: TAKE ON.
21. Something to bake in: OVEN.
22. Zero deg. at the equator, say: LAT. Our sun reached zero degrees about a month ago. Now heading south to Capricorn.
23. Barely beat: EDGE. Our Santa Fe can barely beat the Ford EDGE.
24. Pie crust ingredient: LARD. YUK!
28. Earl Grey, for one: TEA. C.C. is the expert. I have never heard her mention Earl.
29. Barely discernible amount: TRACE. TRACE of snow is coming probably followed by a Blizzard. Not the one from Dairy Queen.
30. "You are __": mall map info: HERE. Here, There, and Everywhere.
31. Bordeaux and Chianti: REDS. And Cincinnati.
33. Hall & Oates' "__ Gone": SHE'S.
34. Opposite of pros: CONS. The population of prisons.
37. Like meds needing no Rx: OTC. Over the Counter.
38. Era for Fred, Wilma and Pebbles: STONE AGE. Forgot Bam Bam.
39. Egg layers: HENS.
40. Bailiwick: AREA.
41. Copied with intent to deceive, as a signature: FORGED.
42. Emerald __: Ireland: ISLE. Only been there once when my plane to Germany stopped for fuel.
43. Student's hallway hangout: LOCKER. Do not store liquor in your LOCKER.
44. Goddess of wisdom: ATHENA.
45. Dicey: CHANCY. Don't bet on the Vikings - Too CHANCY
46. "The Last Jedi" villain Kylo: REN.
49. Daisylike flower: ASTER. We still have a few flowers surviving in our garden. Not for long.
50. Like many Stephen King stories: SCARY.
53. Cleveland's lake: ERIE. Shared with New York, Pennsylvania, and Canada.
54. Utah city on I-15: OREM. Just a click north of PROVO
55. Inevitable outcome: FATE.
56. Cozy corner: NOOK. Just a click north of cranny
60. Attempt: TRY. Still trying to hit that lousy ten pin. AARGH!
61. "Absolutely!": YES.
Boomer
Into a strange future we go,
ReplyDeleteBARBIE and KEN are just for show.
She's his beard
When things get weird,
Until Ken marries G.I. Joe!
Genghis Khan took on board
A treasurer, and let him FORGE
The Khans own seal
So he could deal
With the Golden Horde's golden HOARD!
Don't leave a DIETER alone
With a creamy strawberry SCONE!
Such temptation
Is vexation,
And dieter or scone will moan!
{A, B+, B-.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThat was five minutes of fun. Catherine "Cetta" nice puzzle. No mystery, no drama, no Wite-Out required. Had the circles, and (surprise!) d-o even figured 'em out. Enjoyed the tour, Boomer. (Good luck with those ten pins.)
TOPPLE: There's a 90-footer in our front lawn that's going to have to come down soon. Two large limbs are completely dead.
GOOSENECK LAMP: We've got three, two on the bed and one at the computer desk.
"Earl Grey" / ERIE: CSOs to the late, great, Abejo.
FIR, but erased gas pedal for THROTTLE. REN was my only unknown today.
ReplyDeleteHand up for only being in an airport on the Emerald Isle. The jet had to refuel on its flight to ITALIA. But I have been to the Emerald Aisle many times. I was once a frequent renter with National Car Rental. It was nice to have the company reserve a midsize for me, then be able to drive out in a nice car.
I've never been fond of SCONEs, but I love biscottis.
Thanks for the fun romp, Catherine. And thanks to Boomer for the PUNishment. (BTW - I used to work closely with Graybar on telco projects. Graybar would engineer and furnish the equipment, and we would install it. Mainly for the little rural electric co-ops.)
Thank you for your Graybar mention, Jinx. Graybar was a good career choice for me. Now as a retiree I maintained my stock in the company, only available to employees. (Employess may purchase through payroll deduction and retirees may keep what they accumulated what they purchased through their career). I just received a first half of 2021 report which looks very promising. The Company keeps growing in a competitive marketplace, (Even without me there !!)_
ReplyDelete"And, scene!" came in just under 5 minutes (4:54).
ReplyDeleteOh joy, circles.
A perfect start to the day with a perfect FIR. With yesterday's FIR, a new string starts! I noticed a shout out to Irish Miss with IRISH whiskey. Hi! And the autumn flower ASTER makes its third appearance in a row. Coincidence? I noticed the circles made the word SCENE, so wondered what the theme phrase would be. Oh, CHANGE OF SCENE, giving us a nice start to the week. Thanks, Catherine, for a fun puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAnd Boomer, thank you for the review and personal asides, adding to our enjoyment. Hope everyone has an enjoyable day! Oh, and Happy belated Birthday to Uncle Fred! Hope you had a great day! Amazing cake you found for him, CED.
Quick even by Monday standards. Weirdly, I had been watching The Flintstones yesterday morning. Thanks for the Twins history Boomer, although I do remember some of it. IIRC, a fellow named Mudcat faced another named Sandy in 1965. We're supposed to receive something they are calling "rain" here in SoCal today. I think that I vaguely remember that, too.
ReplyDeleteNice 'n' easy.. almost filled itself...well OK, one inkover Oren/M... but not a laundry list of ERRATA.
ReplyDeleteIf ROOTLE means"root" through the ground then TOPPLE is what a bar tender does when he fills an emptying beer glass. Hands around a thro(a)t will THROTTLE.😃
You are HERE. I barely remember a 1950s TV series "You Are There" narrated by Walter Cronkite. The only episode I recall was about The Great Chicago Fire 🔥
Theme is three "changing" SCENES (jumbled letters) Isn't a "mental refresher" a CHANGE OF SCENEry?
"knock knock.", "Who's there?".ITSME but is it actually it's I or "it am I", or "It be me" 🙄
Poor mannered Norsemen had oral stories but no ____ . kit.. EDDA
I think (I am a chicken) ____. I am....HENS
Wanted the last tea biscuit bit it's____. SCONE
A frost 🥶 at camp in the Adirondacks by the lake yesterday did in all my annuals, (no ASTERS). Time to close up for the season so the pipes don't freeze.
A cold rainy week in the forecast for CNY 🌧
FIR in 12, once again undoubtedly winning the "slowest solver" award. As soon as I saw the letters in the circles, with the first clue, I guessed the theme, and the other circles helped FIR. My favorite CW: Monday level! Very nice CW, Catherine, thanx. And thanx too to Boomer for his outstanding write-up. Although I seldom attempt the Sunday CW, I did go back and give the write-up a look and read the comments. It looks like it was a creative and fun solve for those who did it. Also in the comments, "Thank You" CrossEyedDave for wishing me a happy 77 birthday.
ReplyDeleteThank you Catherine for a welcome CHANGE OF SCENE from my FIW yesterday. And thanks BOOMER for PINning down all the answers with another PUNTROCIOUS review.
ReplyDeleteA fav or two:
13A ACME. Finally, a less explosive clue for this mangy mutt.
16A ONO. OH NO, not again!
17A LEAD. Boomer, did I mention that my Brit Aunt MAE conducted performances of NOYES FLUDDE, but I don't think you were in any of them.
18A ROMA. It's been claimed that "TUTTE LE STRADE CONDUCONO QUI", although the only one I've ever seen was the main drag through the Forum.
37A OSHA. BOOMER, I also worked with GRAYBAR products. I used them in network designs that we delivered to our customers.
44D ATHENA. Note the wise OWL alighting on her arm - A CSO to Old Man Keith.
5D IRISH. A CSO and get better wish for our dear friend Agnes.
42D ISLE. Another CSO to Agnes!
Cheers,
Bill
Uncle Fred...Happy 77th BD...reminds me of Dear Dad and Grampa (his Dad): both named Raphael like me but called "Fred" (don't ask)
ReplyDeleteSo I heard "Uncle Fred" almost every day.
🎂
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Catherine and Boomer.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in short Monday time and saw the CHANGE OF SCENE.
No ERRATA inkblots today.
IT’S ME or It is I? I waited for perps to decide how formal we were today. OK, it’s casual Monday.
I thought of Tinge but had enough perps to enter TRACE.
We had REDS and REDO. Also GREEN to PAIR with REDS.
Oh, OTHER as in None of the Above. Lightbulb moment.
We had a SCONE to go with our TEA. All we need is the Devon clotted cream and strawberries. Yum. (Thanks OwenKL, you got them!)
SCONE may have crossed STONE (AGE), but the pronunciation is not the same. True Brits (and Canadians) rhyme SCONE with Gone, not Bone. (Ray-o got it right,)
I’ll take a Canadian CSO with LACROSSE (and ERIE?), and a professional one with OTC.
CSO to IRISH Miss (hello ATLGranny). Earl Grey reminded me of Abejo (hello d’o). And of course, ITALIA for our AnonT and Ray-o.
Watch out for the bomb-cyclone on the west coast.
Wishing you all a great day.
Thanks Catherine Cetta ( alpha, beta ,...) for a nice and easy puzzle, and Boomer for a charming review. Reading your blog took more time than the puzzle, I savored the many flavors of it. Glad you're doing well.
ReplyDeleteAt my next garage sale or flea market, I must buy a baseball card, so that I am reminded of you. ...
36 HOARD ... " ... gave some (cards) to the church garage sale ..."
I didn't know churches had a need for garages...
What do they park in there ? .... Oh, the Vi-Car ...
Thanks to you, I am now familiar with the name Graybar. I have never been to a baseball field, but if I saw the Graybar sign, as on the TV screen, I would naturally have assumed that it was a warning to the outfielder .... of the presence of the obstruction to prevent him from crashing into the fans....
le piu belle canzoni du Roma .... I was waiting for Ray O Sunshine, to appear and translate this for us ... but then I decided to Google it ...( who corrected my spelling, as well ) ... The most beautiful songs about Rome.
Finally, this is a serious question ... Why does Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, have to dress so sexy, ... and carry a spear ? I always thought smart girls are bespectacled and were admired for their brains and intelligence .... and did not have look physically desirable - pretty.
Have a nice day, all, and the rest of the week.
Is that a knock on attractive brainy women? LOL
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-GREEN SCREEN technology sequence in The Da Vinci Code to create St. Sulpice in ROMA where they were not allowed to film
-Fun cluing for ACME, REN fits quota of at least absolute unknown
-Last choice/GO LAST – When I sub in PE, it breaks my heart to see two captains alternately choose teammates
-This bad boy has a fine EMERY board on the back and gets the job done
-Every employee’s lounge has an unofficial MOLE, be careful what you say
-TAKE ON – My furniture store owner friend just HIRED an ex-CON he turned down five months ago
-With POA, my DW has FORGED her 99-yr-old mother’s signature with gov’t agents looking on
-As we recently learned, The Fighting Scots of Edinboro University are on the shores of Lake ERIE also
-SCONE rhymes with gone? The next thing you know, the Brits will drive on the wrong side of the road!
Vidwan @9:54 AM I think that look became trendy with Lucy Lawless in "Xena Warrior Princess". Lucy combines both brains and beauty in "Murder is My Life", now streaming on Acorn.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteOh, my! You are all in top form today. I had my rousing laugh already. Thank you, Vidwan, for Vi-car!
And thank you, Catherine and Boomer, for the Monday moves. it was quick but fun.
I, too, thought it should be SCENEry. And thought of IRISH Miss. I hope she is doing better.
Thanks to the professional use of an EMERY Board and other tools, my nails look very nice. But the prices have risen so much that I shall have to limit my salon visits to once a month.
I have two nephews named ERIC.
Vidwan, I, too, am surprised at your remarks about smart girls. Not all of them wear spectacles and many are beautiful as well as brainy.
Time to go count. Wishing you all a wonderful day!
Addendum
ReplyDelete-After 50 years of experience with teenagers, let me assure you that beauty and brains are not mutually exclusive
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Catherine, for a fun puzzle & Boomer for more fun. I never heard of Graybar until you became it's goodwill ambassador here.
ReplyDelete50. Stephen King story is SCARY. I'm reading the new Louise Penny- Hillary Clinton book which is much SCARY-er. When you read King's stuff, you know it is fantasy. With Clinton involved, the SCARY parts you hope are fantasy, may not be. Shudder!
Agnes, Still thinking of you with prayers for the return of vitality & good health.
Vidwan, Roman gods were rarely gods of just one thing. "Athena is the Olympian goddess of wisdom and war and the adored patroness of the city of Athens. A virgin deity, she was also – somewhat paradoxically – associated with peace and handicrafts, especially spinning and weaving. Majestic and stern, Athena surpassed everybody in both of her main domains."
ReplyDeleteThis is just so funny - scary how true it is!!!
ReplyDelete---------
If my body was a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model.
I've got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull...
But that's not the worst of it.
My headlights are out of focus,
And it's especially hard to see things up close.
My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.
My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.
It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently.
But here's the worst of it.
Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter,
Either My Radiator Leaks or My Exhaust Backfires!
---------
Sent to me by my friend, Kate, who is having serious health issues
Wonderful way to start the week, with a great puzzle like this. Many thanks, Catherine. And Boomer, I always love your Monday write-up.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite clue was 'one who loses on purpose' for DIETER.
I loved the picture of ATHENA, Boomer. Thank you for posting that.
OGRE and OATY come up a lot in puzzles these days, don't they?
Have a great week ahead, everybody.
Act now!
ReplyDeleteFor a short time only!
(Before it is pulled for copyright infringement)
Here is the play goes wrong
Both Peter Pan
AND
Christmas Carol
In one long video
if I could pay to watch it, I would but it's a BBC thing...
Note especially, today only, at 1:23:00
You can see a hilarious scene change
Where their green screen malfunctions
And chaos ensues..
Thank you Lucina and Waseeley for your comments .... sometimes when I make comments, my heart is in my mouth, and I do sincerely hope I don't manage to offend somebody or anybody .... The Vi-car just came to me, and I just had to put it in, despite it touching a religious subject.
ReplyDeleteAs for Athena, I have no problems with beautiful women, ... even at my age, and my current outlook on life. Its just ... I feel, like we judge smart brainy dork boys .... asexism ( if that is a word - ) would require, and insist, that men judge some females by their intellectual qualities alone, and not have double standards.
Some women, especially in my extended family ... and they are few and far between, are really hard working and smart, and consequently they have much less time to also appear pretty ... and I admire them even more, and respect them to the heavens, and I am agog at their achievements.
The pretty ones, sometimes think that they have the world to cater to them, so, in my opinion, atleast, are less compelled to work as hard and strive so much, because they think they have the world on a silver platter.... that is my thinking, anyway. Its not always true across the board, and your opinions may differ widely.
On the subject of religion, the hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom, Saraswati, wears a simple white sari, and sits on a lotus, for purity, and carries a veena or a sitar, for arts and culture. IMHO, I dont think she is sexy, at all... ;-)
ReplyDeleteO S--- I messed up ... Saraswati, Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, Wiki
YR, hands up for being ready for a trade-in. Best wishes to Kate.
ReplyDeleteVidwan, I'm usually the last one to know when someone's pulling my leg. Not this time! (Some would call a person making that comment "an outboard motor in a cesspool", just there to stir [things] up.)
PK- I am 100 pages into State of Terror too. I echo your SCARY comments. Although the book is supposed to be fiction, I am sure it speaks to Clinton’s past experiences; her portrayal of politicians may be too political for discussion here.
ReplyDeleteHere’s a CBC interview with Clinton and Penny.
Scroll down to the actual video for the whole thing.
LOL re question if writing the book was cathartic!
ClintonPennyInterview
Yellowrocks @11:43 AM Interesting litany of metaphors YR, but be aware that the term "headlights" means different things to different people. 🌕🌕
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle.
ReplyDeleteVidwan @12:14 PM She looks hot to me. This is India right? Now about the extra pair of arms ...
ReplyDeleteFull disclosure - I have an Indian-American niece named Saraswati, and let me just say that she is very intelligent, AND very pretty, AND the mother of 3.
how's this for a change of scene...
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to start the week with a relatively stress free FIR, Thank you Catherine and Rich for that, and Boomer for your always interesting write-ups! I learn new things daily from the puzzle and the blog.
ReplyDeleteRay-O ~~ no frost up here yet but surely just around the corner. Spent the morning winterizing our two family camps as those frozen pipes can be a total disaster. Always more fun to open in the spring than it is to close for winter!
Hello everyone.
ReplyDeleteNot much comment. Easy puzzle. Got the gimmick with filling GOOSE NECK LAMP. Liked seeing THROTTLE.
Nice intro, Boomer.
Not a bad PZL from Ms. Cetta.
ReplyDeleteBut not especially engaging. It felt like the EZ-est Monday XWD in weeks.
Boomer's response was excellent--as always!
~ OMK
___________
DR: One diagonal on the far side.
Not much in the way of anagram possibilities. The only one of any length (11 of 15 letters) is a neutral reference to the typical glass enclosure of a kerosene lamp, the...
"LANTERN LENS."
Meh...
Vid: you meant "Le piú belle canzoni di (not du) Roma"
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Rome and Athena (we are?) Interesting name for a church in Rome..the basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva: "St. Mary on top of Minerva." the church was built on top of the ruins of a temple to Minerva (Roman Athena)
Canada eh..my Brit/Can pronunciation was a coicidence. You really call them scawns? 😳
Yooper: Where are your camps? (if you use the word "camp" must not be too far away. My BIL's wife in Michigan calls their lake side place a "cottage" (sounds like a house for Snow White or an evil witch ...she's neither..)
Ol' Man Keith @3:49 PM Keith, I'd like to talk to you about an idea I have re: DIAGONALS. I sent you a friend request and some messages via FB just this morning and I'd really appreciate it if you could either respond there, or via the email address in my profile. I'm an FB NEWB and may not have gotten through.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
William Seeley
Ray-O @ 9:23 Thank You for the birthday wishes. Yellowrocks @ 11:43 Thanx for the chuckle with your comment about radiator leaks and exhaust backfires.
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIR with no errors
Fun puzzle and recap, although as Ray-O said, I was thinking change of scenery, too
CanadianEh! Thank you for the Clinton-Penny interview info. Very interesting. There are so many terrifying things going on in this world. Some are beyond stupid as the book points out.
ReplyDeleteYR: your age article is one where we who are experiencing all those hard facts have to laugh to keep from crying. THinking hugs to you.
As others have said, this one was a nice and easy Monday puzzle. FIR and made all of the SCENEs.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catherine and Boomer.
EDDA and REN were the only fills that required perps.
The only “You Are There” episode I specifically remember is the one about the death/execution (murder?) of Socrates.
No, unclefred, I am NOT going to let you be the slowest solver! Case closed! Oh, and HBD!
I has a SVONE at Panera Bread after my VA ultrasound today. Did a lot of driving to there and back.
ReplyDeleteAnother late night of posting. As easy a Monday as can be recalled.
Thanks Boomer and ditto on belated hbd for uncle Fred
There's a Graybar sign as I entered Gainesville. Thought it sounded familiar.
WC