google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday November 22, 2021 Robert E. Lee Morris

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Nov 22, 2021

Monday November 22, 2021 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme:  POTATO HEAD (54. Toy that can be either Mr. or Mrs. ... and what the first part of the answers to starred clues can literally be)- The first word can precede "potato" (Thanks, YooperPhil!)

17A. *Arkansas resort known for its geothermal waters: HOT SPRINGS. Hot potato.

37A. *FDR recovery program: NEW DEAL. New potato.

11D. *Affectionate bedtime words: SWEET DREAMS. Sweet potato.

24D. *Silky-coated bird dog: IRISH SETTER. Irish potato.

Boomer here.  

Happy four days before Thanksgiving to one and all! Time to decide which kind of potato you may be adding to your dinner table.  C.C. and I have a 20 pound turkey which I will be stuffing with carbs called stuffing and so no potato is necessary on our table.

Across:

1. The Grateful __: rock group: DEAD.

5. Odometer units: MILES.  Many will be traveling MILES to be with family and friends who are thankful to be together.



10. Ukr. and Lith., once: SSRS.  Bowling tournament designation for Super Seniors. I am one.

14. Wrinkly fruit: UGLI.  I am not sure if those will show up on Thanksgiving day tables.

15. Arabian Peninsula resident: OMANI.

16. Scrape, in tot-ese: OWIE. Careful slicing the bird.

19. Great Smokies st.: TENN.  I spent time at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  Oddly most of it was in Tennessee.


20. Trolley sound, in an old song: CLANG.

21. Top of a wave: CREST.  Toothpaste.

22. Ill will: ANIMUS.

25. On one's way: EN ROUTE.  Might be a bit safer to be EN ROUTE to holiday greetings on Tuesday. 

28. SoCal NFL team: LA RAMS.  Looking forward for a matchup with Vikings on the day after Christmas.

29. Put on television: AIRED.  Yup, I am sure the game will be on TV.

30. Thor's father: ODIN.

31. Dividing membranes: SEPTA. Plural of septum.

33. Letter between pi and sigma: RHO.  It's Greek to me.

36. Bath towel word: HIS.  I guess we are simple folks.  We have no words on our towels.

39. Musical ability: EAR.  What ???

40. Sound of contentment: AAH.  CHOO !!!

41. Newspaper opinion pieces: OP-EDS.  I only scan the section.  I guess I am not too interested in others' opinions.

42. "__! The Herald Angels Sing": HARK.  "Glory to the new born King"

43. More than gratified: SATED.

45. Garlicky shrimp dish: SCAMPI.



47. Film critic with a cameo in 1978's "Superman": REX REED.   Not interested in his opinion either.

49. Holmes' friend and flatmate: WATSON.  "Elementary"

50. Adorable one: CUTIE.  Q T

51. Muslim religious leaders: IMAMS.

53. Palo __, Calif.: ALTO.  A bit lower than a Soprano.

59. Abound: TEEM.

60. Baking tray of cookies: BATCH.  Not here - Only pumpkin pie.

61. Paris airport: ORLY.

62. Makes a mistake: ERRS.  "And nobody left on base."

63. Cropped up: AROSE.

64. The "P" in IPA: PALE.

Down:

1. "How silly of me!": DUH.  That's why I changed to Boomer.  DUH is too close to Doug.

2. Freud's "The __ and the Id": EGO.  Start with an "L" and you have a huge display of plastic blocks at Mall of America.


3. Space bar neighbor: ALT.

4. Sony audio product unveiled in 1984: DISCMAN.

5. Marshy tract: MORASS.

6. "You can count on me!": I'M IN.  It may cost you in a poker game.

7. Oscar winner Jessica: LANGE.  Famous lady from Cloquet, Minnesota.


8. The "E" in ESL: Abbr.: ENG. English.

9. Family nickname: SIS.  I have three, and no Bro.

10. "I totally agree": SO TRUE.

12. Lather, __, repeat: RINSE. And Conditioner?

13. In the mail: SENT.  Stupid PNC Bank claims the mail lost my September payment.

18. Professor in Clue: PLUM.  With a Rope in the Kitchen?

21. Reef material: CORAL.

22. Honolulu hello: ALOHA.  I have never been to Hawaii so I just say Hello

23. 1976 Olympic great Comaneci: NADIA.  Incredible!  Although those games were scarred by boycotts and a debt to Canada.


26. Places where moms grab puppies when they pick them up: NAPES.

27. Actress Hayworth: RITA.  Lovely RITA Meter Maid.  Nothing can come between us. Beatles.

31. Stockholm native: SWEDE.  Never been there but I have been called a Swede. Blonde hair and blue eyes.

32. Advanced teaching deg.: EdD. Doctor of Education.

34. Silent Marx brother: HARPO.  He was not silent.  He had a horn.

35. Pest control biggie: ORKIN.

37. __ Dame: NOTRE.

38. Fencing tool: EPEE.  One sport that never attracted my interest.

42. Milliner's store: HAT SHOP.  Can a store survive by just selling hats??


44. Algebraic givens: AXIOMS.

45. Wrap snugly: SWATHE.

46. Army garb, for short: CAMO.  Short for CAMOFLAGE and pretty drab.

47. Head of state: RULER.  A piece of wood. 12 inches long.

48. "Same here": DITTO.

50. Actress Blanchett: CATE.

52. Brits' raincoats: MACS.  You can get a BIG one at McDonald's.

54. Kegler's org.: PBA.  Finally a bowling clue.  I bowled in one Senior Professional tournament in a center about one mile from our home.  I averaged 207 in the 10 game qualifying and did not make the cut. I learned that the PBA is very fussy about bowling balls, but mine passed the regulations.  Also this tournament was in 1997 and I was on the lanes with a guy named Dick Weber.


55. Dory propeller: OAR.

56. MLB hurler's stat: ERA.  Earned run average.

57. Every one: ALL.

58. Salon coloring: DYE.  Never used it.  I am still blonde with gray mixed.

Boomer


40 comments:

OwenKL said...

There was a gourmet OMANI
Who was overly fond of shrimp SCAMPI.
He thought that an UGLI
Tasted more like a CUTIE,
But his cooking always cost him an OWIE!

"IRISH" MILES thought it test
To climb to a tall mountain CREST!
But he fell while ENROUTE,
So changed his pursuit --
Now a surfer who rides a wave's CREST!

{B, B+.}

D4E4H said...

Good morning Cornerites.

Thank you Robert E. Lee Morris for your enjoyable Monday CW.

Carol FIR in 17 minutes, 59 seconds. I did help her with 56 D ERA, but only that one.

Thank you Boomer for your excellent review.

Ðavið

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

And joy abounded throughout the RELM. This was a quicky. Along the way d-o missed seeing several clue/ans, the theme, and the reveal. Par for the course. Nicely explained, Boomer. (I'm gray with some blond mixed in, but I have been to Stockholm.)

Yellowrocks said...

Quick and easy Monday. Needed the reveal to get the theme.
I thought all scampi was garlicky. I don't even taste a hint of garlic in the scampi here. I sprinkle in garlic salt, not ideal, but better.
Too much animus in politics and in the general public these days. The Constitution was only passable by making big compromises. Families, marriages, friendships, work groups all require compromise.
I always read the op eds. I like to hear both sides.
A deviated septum causes a lot of sinus and allergy problems.
I see more and more gray and white hair everywhere. It seems natural is "in."
David is coming today to help me with my Christmas decorations. IMO, too early, but I can't look a gift horse in the mouth. I am grateful.

KS said...

FIR, but have to admit I'd never heard of Irish potato.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR without erasure. No NTM items, but I tried to crowbar Siskel or Ebert where REX REED belonged.

I think of a BATCH of cookies as being one mixing bowl, not one baking tray. Could be a little glass Mixmaster bowl or a big, stainless steel Hobart one. Not the Boomer-kind of bowl.

I stayed in HOT SPRINGS, but didn't partake of the soaking opportunities. I played golf at Hot Springs Country Club. I don't think there was a flat lie on any fairway on that track.

FLN, I'll pile on the USPS. My Florida mail forwarding was supposed to start Friday, but hasn't. I start the forwarding a few days early because the most reliable part of our post office is that they will mess up forwarding. FWIW, I'll bet they lost Boomer's check, too.

Thanks to REL Morris. Fun, easy start to the week. And thanks to Boomer for the fun. I look at the political cartoons on the OPED pages, but don't read the drivel.

Boomer said...

Today's date will live in my heart forever. I was a junior in High School around lunchtime when we learned that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas Texas. About an hour later it was announced that he had died. To this date, I never understood why President Kennedy chose to parade in an open top Lincoln Continental. I still recall a day several years earlier when President Eisenhower toured Minneapolis in a Cadillac convertible with a bubble top which I assume was bullet proof. Anyway, I will not forget November 22 as long as I live.

desper-otto said...

Boomer, I think everyone who was alive (and over 10 years old) on that date can remember where they were and what they were doing on 11/22/63. It was a very weird, memorable weekend.

YooperPhil said...

Boomer ~~ I think you meant to state “precede” potato, not follow it, not to be picky :) Anyway, a good start to the week with a FIR, thanks Robert and Rich, and Boomer for the expo. I’ve actually worked in Cloquet MN on a few occasions, pretty town west of Duluth, but didn’t know Jessica Lange hailed from there. Hope everyone has a good Holiday week, and safe travels if you’re hitting the roads or sky!

Anonymous said...

I was able to root through this one in just under the 4-minute barrier (3:58).

Similar to KS, have to admit I'd never heard of "new potato."

Great Smoky Mountains are also in N.Car., not just Tenn.

ATLGranny said...

A quick Monday FIR, though with a few twists that required WOs. My last fill was DITTO, and I agree with DO that the puzzle was a joy. Thanks, REL Morris.

Thanks go to Boomer also for his review today. It doesn't sound like you will miss having a POTATO course with all that tasty stuffing on Thanksgiving. (KS @ 6:35 AM White potatoes in the South are called IRISH to distinguish them from SWEET ones.)

Hope everyone has a special week, full of old and new memories as well as turkey.





Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

The early birds are in fine fettle this morning; 12 comments by 7:30 is unusual. Nice, easy offering to begin the week. The theme was fun and well-hidden until the reveal. I join the chorus of those having never heard of Irish Potato, but, of course, I’ll accept a CSO at Irish and also the Fighting Irish of Norte Dame. And Boomer gets his at PBA. I’m In/Imams and Ear/Era stood out, as did the O Team of Rho, Alto, Potato, Ego, Ditto, Harpo, and Camo.

Thanks, REL, for a pleasant solve and thanks, Boomer, for the humor and commentary. Stuffing (dressing) aside, I can’t picture a Turkey dinner without mashed potatoes and gravy.

I tried to order chicken livers from Hannaford the other day but the only choices that came up were for Friskies Cat Food. My nephew looked for them at Price Chopper but was told they no longer carry them, which I find odd. Trying to find fresh calves liver is futile. (I can almost hear DO’s and HG’s cries of “Yuck” at the thought of liver. This is only a guess, based on some of their other food dislikes.)

Have a great day.

inanehiker said...

Quick solve - but I definitely needed the reveal to tie it together.
We often have both mashed potatoes and stuffing on Thanksgiving - but that is when we have a big group and both are equally scarfed up! I never want the stuffing to be all eaten, because I love it with the turkey for leftovers - we often make it with an extra casserole pan that is just left for the next day! and I love using leftover mashed potatoes for potato pancakes!

Thanks Boomer - how fun to have a bowling answer for you on a Monday and to REL for the puzzle!

Wilbur Charles said...

Thanks Boomer for entertaining us with the RELM Write-up. NEW potato?*

I love to hit a diner for breakfast that appreciates pan frying. I've been able to eat anything and everything I want the past year and stay below 175. But I haven't weighed myself for a week.

I received two checks mailed to my Assoc which has same street number.. Postman was parked across the street and said "Gracias"

WC
* What is a new potato?

New potatoes have thin, wispy skins and a crisp, waxy texture. They are young potatoes and unlike their fully grown counterparts, they keep their shape once cooked and cut. They are also sweeter because their sugar has not yet converted into starch, and are therefore particularly suited to salads.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-I am subbing 50 feet from where I was when I heard the news on this date at 12:30 pm 58 years ago
-HOT and IRISH coffee jumped out when I started looking for the gimmick but alas…
-All the potatoes were familiar to me and are responsible for about twenty extra pounds I carry!
-We drove through the Great Smokies in a driving rainstorm. I’m told they are beautiful
-LA RAMS – St. Louis RAMS (1995 – 2015) never sounded right and then they moved back
-I’m guessing that the group of people who actually read/or really care about OP-EDS is pretty small
-Bell, not Holmes, said, “Mr. WATSON. Come here, I need you.”
-Jessica LANGE, Sissy Spacek and Jane Fonda testified in front of a Congressional agricultural committee because they played farm wives in a movie. No, really!
-HARPO did speak on film in a 1925 movie called Too Many Kisses
-Irish, you’ve got me pegged on my extreme dislike for liver! Is there some food you can’t tolerate? :-)

unclefred said...

A wonderful Monday CW. My time to FIR was 19 minutes, but that was with several interruptions. My best guess would be 12 minutes of actual CW time. One W/O SAUDI:OMANI. DNK EdD. I got the theme but not until the reveal. Thanx RELM for this clever and fun CW. And thanx Boomer for your wonderful, entertaining write-up. I have almost everything for the Thanksgiving dinner. Couldn’t decide between Turkey and ham so bought a small (12lb) Turkey and small (7lb) ham and will make both. Can’t find giblets for the gravy, though.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun & fast, thanks, RELM. Amusing & friendly, Boomer. Thanks.

Got the theme which was very apt for this week. I served big turkey dinners to family every year as a farm wife. Mashed POTATOES had to be included, but we knew to pass them to everyone else before my older son got the bowl. He usually cleaned the bowl no matter how full.

Never heard of Irish potatoes? They had that big Irish potato famine once upon a time that caused so many Irish to migrate to the USA. My mother's family always called "white" potatoes Irish potatoes. Her grandparents were immigrants.

RIP JFK.

CrossEyedDave said...

When is an Irish potato not an Irish potato?

When it's a french fry...

hot potato?



Speaking of run into.

I don't know why this conversation is making me thirsty...

for Irish Miss.

CrossEyedDave said...

HG,
Harpo spoke in "too many kisses," really?

in case your interested....

I know I have heard him speak,
There used to be a video of Harpo accepting an award
At his retirement, and he thanked the audience, and everyone gasped!
I cannot find this rare video today.

CanadianEh! said...

Marvellous Mashed Monday. Thanks for the fun, Robert and Boomer.
I FIRed in good time and saw the theme. Thanks ATLGranny for explaining IRISH potato. (I assume RELM is from the south and would be familiar with that term.) I thought of the Irish Potato famine.
I knew the term NEW potatoes (it usually refers to plural). As WC has posted, they are the tiny first crop, and lovely boiled whole.

I overcame my Canadian disadvantage today and entered MILES (obviously Kilometres would not fit). Our odometres have both units (with miles in smaller size). LA RAMS filled after a perp or two. Same for NEW DEAL. Three perps required for PBA, plus Boomer’s explanation. (Sorry Boomer, that I did not get your CSO!).

I waited for perps to decide whether the towel was labelled HIS or HER. Morain (yes it needs an e and doesn’t match the clue)changed to MORASS. Swaddle was too long, but SWATHE fit (the former would have fit with the HARK carol).
I corrected AIR ON from the present to the past tense AIRED.

We took a lovely trip today ENROUTE (perhaps via that CLANGy trolley in St. Louis) to Arkansas, Palo ALTO and So Cal, TENN. and overseas to ORLY (to see NOTRE Dame perhaps), SSRS of Ukr. and Lithuanian., OMAN(I), SWEDEn, ENG (where we might need our MAC), and the IRISH isles. We even said ALOHA in Honolulu.

Wishing you ALL a great day.

And yes, I have vivid memories of that Nov. 22/63 day (and weekend).

desper-otto said...

Unclefred, aren't the giblets included with your 12-lb turkey? They were there originally.

EDD: Forgot to mention, that was a gimme -- dw has one.

oc4beach said...


Got it done without actually solving most of the down clues today. Nice puzzle and Expo.

I think 18 down was the first down clue I actually had to solve.

I remember my Mother anxiously waiting to dig up her new potatoes in the spring. She made new potatoes with green beans and ham in a ham broth.

I needed perps for REX REED. I vaguely remember him but wanted Siskel or Ebert.

CanEh: My vehicles have an option for choosing between Kilometers (Kilometres) and Miles.

My son is a beer snob and will only drink certain IPA's. His favorite is Dogfish Head IPA 120. To me beer is beer.

Here is a joke about the founders of Coors, Budweiser and Yuengling breweries:

Adolph Coors, Adolphus Busch and David Yuengling were sitting in a bar. Coors said that he was going to order a Coors Light. Busch said he was going to have a Bud Light. Whereupon Yuengling decided to order a glass of water. The other two brewers seemed surprised at Yuengling's order and questioned him about his choice. Yuengling said that if the other two weren't going to drink beer then he wouldn't either.

Oh well, have a great day everyone.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Nice way to start the week. Neatly inked in.
But I thought the CW censors had put OWIE on the banned list.🤬

NEW DEAL. I was surprised to learn that there were many politicos who felt the Great Depression should be allowed to burn itself out. Those who survived survived, those who didn't didn't. No government interference. I doubt the NEW DEAL would ever get passed today.

My "Mr Potato Head" came with a crummy piece of fragmenting styrofoam. When I asked Mom for a real potato she said "we don't play with food" echoes of her experience with The Great Depression. 🥔

"HARK" the Herold Angels Sing. (Who is Harold and why doesn't he know the rest of the words?)

Finally looked up Palo ALTO "Tall tree" (not big buddy) 😁

CEDave @ 9:58 ...More emotional was when Clarabel the clown first spoke on the last Howdy Doody show. "Good bye Kids" 🥺

The first film I saw in Italy (at university 1971) was REX REED in the movie "Myra Breckenridge" My then limited grasp of the language and the weird story line...I left the theater asking ..what the heck was that?? 😳

Winfrey gets it backwards...HARPO
Restrained laughter...ALOHA
Radio guy "In the Morning"....ANIMUS
That mule is ____ than horse...MORASS
Don't miss your flight, get to the Paris Airport ____ Orly

Off this week...Gonna ENROUTE spring bulbs, 🌷(wrap them in steel wool seems to discourage the critters.)⚘


waseeley said...

FLN to Yellowrocks

I had a lot of discomfort with CPAP masks initially, but finally changed to a DreamWare mask. Very well designed and very comfortable. You might want to see if Alan's supplier carries them.

And thank you Boomer for the usual PUNSTROSITIES. Keep 'em rolling!

Thank you R.E.L. for this puzzle. Marylanders often say that nothing tastes a good as TOMATO right off the vine. I'll add to that nothing tastes as good as a freshly dug NEW POTATO (all varieties). BOTH vegetables are in the Nightshade family. However you do want to stay away from "Deadly Nightshade", a.k.a. Belladonna.

Favs:

47A REX REED. Also a crossword critic, who writes reviews for that other newspaper.

49A WATSON. M.D., ex-army. He's the one who wrote all the stories. Sherlock was too busy solving crimes.

53A ALTO. The A in SATB, the voice parts in a choir.

55D OAR. I thought DORY was a fish?

Cheers,
Bill

waseeley said...

KS @6:35 AM It was a blight in Ireland that caused the "potato famine", resulting in a mass exodus of starving people, many to the US.

waseeley said...

The mourning for JFK persisted for weeks. I recall hitching a ride to D.C. with a friend before he was buried, and we waited in hours to walk past his coffin lying state in the Capitol Rotunda. I'll never forget actually being able to touch it.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Waz @ 11:09

Belladonna (Italian for Beautiful Woman, Renaissance Madonnas put drops of it in their eyes to dilate them and look more alluring) important medical drug Atropine

A Kid in our HS locker row told us the President had been shot, I told him he shouldn't joke around about something like that then heard the overhead announcement. Not a sound in the usual chatty end of the day homeroom. Remember dreading walking home that the Russians were probably going to attach us now.

Misty said...

Perfect Monday puzzle--many thanks, Robert. And fun commentary, as always, Boomer, thanks for that too.

Thank you for reminding us about this date, Boomer. I was teaching a fifth grade class at a Catholic school in Bethesda, Maryland, when a message reported that President Kennedy had been shot. The night before the funeral friends and I stood in a mile and mile long line of people waiting to go to the Capital to pay our respects at the coffin. We slowly made our way there all night, but just as we got there in the morning, they closed the Capital doors to proceed with the funeral. A sad but meaningful experience I will never forget.

We have family coming for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and on Wednesday I'm going to cook shrimp SCAMPI for supper.

The trolley sound will ring in my ears all day: "CLANG, CLANG, CLANG went the trolley."

Have a great week, everybody.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I call them "new whites" and include them in nearly anything I cook in a crock pot.

So how is light beer like sex in a canoe? It's f***ing near water. (Cornerites know that if it's "Lite", it's Miller.)

58 years ago I was watching my little town's Thanksgiving parade with my two sisters and my parents. Someone in the crowd who had one of those newfangled transistor radios told us the president had been shot. When he later told us that a priest had been called to administer last rites, my dad said simply "he's gone". That was the first time I had heard the term.

Irish Miss said...

HG @ 9:31 ~ There aren’t too many basic foods that I don’t like but a few that come to mind are turnips, anything with a licorice (anise) flavor, sweet potatoes, some squash, oysters or raw clams; I’ve never had any wild game so I can’t say one way or the other. I’ve never had Sushi, Indian food, true Mexican food, etc. but I’d be willing to try most ethnic foods provided there were no strange ingredients, like insects!

CED @ 9:40 ~ Thanks for the potato sentiment but my favorite potato dish comes in a bag labeled Chips!

PK said...

"Clang, clang, CLANG goes the trolley. Ding, ding ding goes the bell." My daughter hired antique trolleys to transport guests from her wedding church to the reception in an old mansion where there was limited parking. Being frugal, I argued against that. Guess who had fun sitting up front with the trolley driver and ringing the bell whenever we saw people along the way? Guess whose family called her a ding=a=ling for some time after that. Fun!

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR fir a change!

I just filled in the puzzle from top left to bottom right, and didn’t even look at the reveal clue until the final letter in the SE corner - good theme, although new and Irish are lesser known words to be adjectives for a spud

Not sure why or what causes it, but I have a major gag reflex when it comes to SWEET potatoes. It’s probably the most despised/avoided food for me

Ol' Man Keith said...

A nice Monday morning treat from Mr. Morris.
Well answered by our favorite bowler, Boomer!

JFK's death anniversary reminds us all where we were when we heard the terrible news. I was in my final year of grad school when a friend phoned to turn on the TV.
We did not know yet whether he would survive the bullet. The shocks came one after another, first with the news of his death, and later to see his assassin murdered on a live broadcast!

The only mourning that was equally intense (in my lifetime) was for FDR. I was a 6-year old, but very aware of the grief that wounded the entire country. It may not have been as unexpected as young JFK's death, but FDR died in wartime, before we were sure we had won, and that seemed especially wrong.
He was our leader in many, many ways.

With FDR, we lost a father, a man who had accomplished so much. JFK was a dear brother, and with him we felt we had lost hope.
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Four diagonals today! One on the near side, a 3-way opposite.
The nearest yields an anagram (12 of 15 letters) that speaks volumes regarding the most desired fate of those who have nothing better to do than give lip to those who bear responsibility for them.
This need not be done with sticks or whips as in olden times. Sometimes a mere spanking will do.
So long as in the end it amounts to...

"CUDGELED SASS"!

Michael said...

On JFK's assassination ... I think it was the shock that such a thing could happen in 1950s and 60s America: we've never been big on assassination as a political tool (Lincoln's death 'cured' us of that, we thought).

Was standing in line at the Fort Benning Travel Office, when some trooper [i.e., soldier] with a transistor radio shocked all of us in line with that news. What was equally memorable was the train ride from Benning to DC, to get to Ft. Meade, and especially the emptiness of the streets in Washington that Sunday after.

TokenCreek said...

re JFK: I was taking a weekly test in personnel management at Fort Jackson, SC. How do you finish a test after hearing that ?

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Michael - There isn't any accounting for public attitude, but if we were lulled into low vigilance we shouldn't have been. Since Lincoln there have been an assassination attempt every 15 to 20 years: Garfield, 1881, McKinley 1901, T. Roosevelt 1912, FDR 1933, Truman, 1950, then JFK 1963. Since then it has accelerated: Nixon 1974, Ford 1975, Carter 1979, Reagan 1981, Bush 41 1993, Clinton 1996, Bush 43 2001, Obama 2011.

I think that the Secret Service has gotten better in foiling these plots, thank goodness. As you probably know, Abe's protective detail consisted of just a couple of guys, one of whom was dead drunk at the time.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. I never met a potato I didn't like.

Vidwan827 said...

Again, Late to the game ... Thank you REL Morris for a very easy Monday puzzle, and Boomer for a pun filled and tongue in cheek review.

I had not heard of an IRISH potato ... Irish Wolfhound, yes .... my neighbor.
NEW potatoes are generally cooked whole.

I was in the 8th grade, in a boarding school in India, when we were told at the morning assenbly-hall meeting, that the US president had died.
The school was closed for the day ... which is no big deal when it is a boarding school.

It was about 4 years later after I read all about him that I realized what a big deal it was. I also saw the USIS film, 'Years of Lightning, Day of Drums' atleast 3 times, and read a dozen books about him, to fully understand his legacy.

Ray-O_Sunshine, I respectfully disagree, the New Deal would be more possible today, with the more liberal attitudes, and the monetarist economists in the govt today - we have to see how our leaders and govts have acted in a recession or during a downturn of the economy. Any more discussion would be political.

Have a good Thanksgiving preparations and get together all.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks RELM for the Monday morning fun. Thank you Boomer for kicking-off the after-party in style.

WOs: DISkMan; in my haste, I got ahead of myself at inking potao [sic]. I quickly caught it and only T's square is messy.
ESPs: EDD, PBA
Fav: The Grateful DEAD - Truckin' [5:44] has been in my head all day.

{B, B+}
DR: "How-many-times-have-I-told-you?" with a whack at each syllable and you reply "I donno, 7?"

I read the OP EDs most every day. Often it's just talking points sans evidence so I jump to the end for their "solution."

inanehiker: ++ POTATO pancakes Friday morning.

The Challenger disaster my generation's JFK (prior to 9/11).
Ray-O: I had a buddy come in the library after lunch and tell me about it. My reaction was same as yours, 'let's not joke about such things.'

CED - Thank you for the much needed laughs!

Cheers, -T

The Curmudgeon said...

5A: Our car has a button to switch between MILES and kms.

I'll accept a CSO at SWEDE.

>> Roy