google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday November 14, 2021 Gary Larson

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Nov 14, 2021

Sunday November 14, 2021 Gary Larson

Theme: "Creature Features" - Each phrase with animal in the first part is punnily rephrased, fitting each fictional creature in the clue. 

23A. Playlist for Bullwinkle?: MOOSE TRACKS.

25A. Pot for Sebastian of "The Little Mermaid"?: CRABGRASS. Sebastian is crab in ""The Little Mermaid".

47A. Soul mate for Jiminy?: CRICKET MATCH.

92A. Emotional triggers for Mickey?: MOUSE BUTTONS.

116A. Topping Daffy created?: DUCK SAUCE.

118A. Online news source for Henny Penny?: CHICKEN FEED.

31D. Healthy snack for Yogi?: BEAR FRUIT.

33D. Old joke told by Quick Draw McGraw?: HORSE CHESTNUT. Quick Draw McGraw is a white horse. Learning moment for me.

60D. Ping-Pong gear for Goofy?: DOG PADDLE.

Cute theme. Quite a tight set. Gary is fond of this kind of punny rephrasing theme type.


Across:

1. Folksy greeting: HOW DO. Not HOWDY.

6. "Skip to __": 1840s partner-stealing dance: MY LOU.

11. Tree on the Lebanese flag: CEDAR.

16. At all: ANY.

19. Square: UNHIP. Super unhip to wear skinny jeans these days. But I've been wearing them since high school.

20. Long periods: AEONS.

21. One of the ABC islands: ARUBA. ABC islands consists of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.

22. Bambi's cousin Faline, for one: DOE.

27. Prevents from draining: CLOGS UP.

28. Really good thing to live: THE DREAM.

29. Little bit: DAB.

32. Have-__: disadvantaged ones: NOTS.

33. Made haste, old-style: HIED.

34. Vaccine pioneer: SALK. Jonas Salk. And Albert Sabin.  Neither patented and profited from their vaccines.

37. Restless: UNEASY.

40. "Everything's fine": IT'S OK. And  42. "I need this ASAP!": DO IT NOW.

45. Abnormally tense: IN A STATE.

50. Somewhat, informally: SORTA.

51. Gray ones are hard to resolve: AREAS.

53. Defunct Houston hockey team: AEROS. Now called Iowa Wild, affiliate Minnesota Wild.


54. Online message board: FORUM.

56. Shin armor that's a homophone for a synonym of "mourn": GREAVE. Grieve. New to me.


58. Obstacle: HURDLE.

63. Preserve, in a way, as beef: CORN.

65. Soybean paste: MISO. I've been loving this brand lately.

67. Goatee site: CHIN.

68. Johnny's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" role: RAOUL.

69. Name on a "Little Women" book jacket: LOUISA. May Alcott.

71. "The Elements of Style" co-author: E B WHITE.

73. The Indian Ocean's Bay of __: BENGAL.

74. Sambuca flavoring: ANISE. Liquor.

75. Model position: POSE. I think Imaan Hammam is super pretty.

76. Wild about: INTO.

78. PC "brains": CPUS.

79. Hot dog entrepreneur Handwerker: NATHAN. I know Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, not the founder's name.

81. Muss: TOUSLE.

83. Obama daughter: SASHA.

85. Puts out there: BARES.

87. Edison rival: TESLA.

89. Deceived: LED ON.

97. Annual 103-Across-planting event: ARBOR DAY. 103. Peach or beech: TREE.

99. Least considered: RASHEST.

100. __ space: OUTER.

102. Horseshoe-shaped fasteners: U-BOLTS.

104. Absorbed: RAPT.

106. Gritty film genre: NOIR.

108. Private __: EYE. Part of the Pinkerton logo.


109. Technical drawings: DIAGRAMS.

113. Didn't do well at all: STUNK AT.

122. Tony winner Hagen: UTA.

123. Foreign: ALIEN.

124. Valium maker: ROCHE.  Swiss pharmaceutical company. Basel-based.

125. Score: TALLY.

126. Possessive pronoun: HER. Also the name of this singer.


127. Remains unsettled: PENDS.

128. Like some jackets: TWEED.

129. Snail trail: SLIME.

Down:

1. Run smoothly: HUM.

2. Plastic __ Band: ONO.

3. "Horton Hears a __!": WHO.

4. Computer insert: DISC.

5. Hesse-based automaker: OPEL.

6. Harshman of "Even Stevens": MARGO. Not familiar to me.

 

7. More frothy: YEASTIER. Not beer related. Any of you like Bolillo rolls. So soft inside.



8. Plague bug: LOCUST.

9. Doing mess work: ON KP.

10. Seagoing letters: USS.

11. Store: CACHE.

12. Transposed letters, say: ERRED.

13. Pair: DUAD.

14. Briefly, briefly: ABBR

 15. Steamed state: RAGE.

16. Unyielding: ADAMANT.

17. Refusals: NOS.

18. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" band: YES.

24. Skater Harding: TONYA.

26. Many a Marley fan: RASTA. They follow Jah.

 

28. __ torch: party light: TIKI.

29. MADD concerns: DUIs.

30. Year in Tuscany: ANNO.

35. Rapper Tone-__: LOC.


36. Elec. bill unit: KWH.

38. Floor: ASTONISH.

39. Target of a wish?: STAR. Wish upon a star.

41. Emotional injury: SCAR.

42. German article: DER.

43. However, in texts: OTOH. On the other hand.

44. "Yeah, right": I'M SURE.

46. "Ashes to Ashes" author Hoag: TAMI  Wikipedia summery. Set in Minneapolis. Sounds terrifying.


48. Hollows: CAVITIES.

49. A Wayans brother: KEENEN. Keenen Ivory Wayans. MARLON has 6-letter also.


52. Bit of encouragement: EGO BOOST.

55. Actress Thurman: UMA.

57. Sushi serving: AHI. Tuna.

59. Southwestern farm owner: RANCHERO.

61. Hilo feast: LUAU.

62. Some additions: ELLS.

63. Close-knit group: CLAN.

64. O'Neill's daughter: OONA. Chaplin. Here's her granddaughter with the same name.



66. Deadly sins, e.g.: SEPTET.

70. Naval builder: SEABEE.

72. Cougars of the Pac-12: WSU. Washington State Cougars.

73. Feathery wrap: BOA.

77. Old Russian ruler: TSAR.

80. Snatches: NABS.

82. "__ we forget": LEST.

84. Untidy sort: SLOB.

86. Boring routine: RUT.

88. '70s-'80s NHLer Pierre: LAROUCHE. No idea. Canadian.



90. Like Cheerios: OATY.

91. Nasdaq rival: NYSE.

92. "The A-Team" actor: MR T.

93. Dinghy mover: OAR.

94. It may be a lemon: USED CAR. The newspaper said that used cars are 10-15% higher than a year ago. New cars are also more expensive. We were lucky to get our Santa Fe in 2020.

95. Mideast chief: SHEIK.

96. Klutz's cry: OOPS.

98. Delta of "Designing Women": BURKE.

101. Inveigle: ENTICE.

104. Vied for the America's Cup: RACED.

105. Cries from flocks: AMENS. I started to attend Church a month ago. When the priest gives you a wafer, you're supposed to say "Amen!", not "Thank you!" as I thought.

107. Signed: INKED.

110. Rush job letters: ASAP. You should also eat the wafer ASAP. You can't hold it in your hands. It's also very bland.

111. Serious blow: GALE.

112. Wreckage: RUIN.

113. Vegas draw: SHOW.

114. Sugar bowl marchers?: ANTS. Cute.

115. Nonstick cookware brand: T FAL. My saute pan brand.

116. "Obviously!": DUH.

117. Beehive State native: UTE.

118. Old PC component: CRT.

119. Peyton's brother: ELI.

120. Shade tree: ELM.

121. Coloring medium: DYE.


Dave has mentioned Carol many times in our blog. Here's a recent picture of them. It's taken on Thursday Sept 11, 2021. 

Carol and David 11/11/2021



35 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIWrong. Misspelt GREiVE (didn't notice the cross) and had STaNK AT (the cross was unknown).
MOOSE TRACKS was a favorite flavor of chocolate ice cream until I had to switch to frozen yogurt.

D4E4H said...

Good morning Cornerites.

We haven't worked it yet, but thank you Gary Larson for what will be an enjoyable Sunday CW.

Thank you C.C. for posting our PIC. Now when I report that "Carol and I FIR" you can picture what we look like. I noticed that her pretty face has been cut off on my updated avatar. I must fix that, and will do so.

Thank you C.C. for what I know is an excellent review.

Ðavið

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

D-o labored 22 minutes to produce a DNF. Like OwenKL, I had LAROACHE and STANK AT. Bzzzzzt. Most of the nine themers were familiar to me, but not MOOSE TRACKS or DUCK SAUCE. But they do make sense. Thanx, Gary and C.C.

UNHIP: I think d-o's photo may be next to that dictionary entry. I figure if what I'm wearing isn't hip today, it'll come back around sometime.

YEASTIER: C.C., we used to buy individual bolillos from a bin at the supermarket. Now, due to Covid, they pre-wrap 'em in a plastic sleeve and you have to buy several. Pass.

Nice photo of D4 and Carol. Lookin' good, guys.

Lemonade714 said...

The proper names were mostly unknowns but it all filled in the end.

A nice CSO to C.C. from her days working for Pinkerton. A very nice pic of Dave and Carol, and yes now we can picture the solving pair.

The theme was very well done and Gary continues his struggle with DAB for dominance in the CWD world.

Happy Sunday all

Jinx in Norfolk said...

DNF, giving up and looking up EB WHITE and the mighty AEROS. Erased salt for CORN, alcott for LOUISA, and I'm so old I thought "debt free" was a really good thing to live. How very boomer of me.

If you RACED in the America's Cup you spent a lot of money. Most of the teams had budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars. New Zealand spent about a quarter billion dollars to spiff up Auckland in preparation for the event. The boats looked nothing like a boat you would ever sail on, and have very little value after the event. Organizers wanted a lot of speed to attract TV viewers (really to attract ad revenues), but I don't think it worked.

If your wife says "everything's fine", call a florist. If you tell your wife to go watch a SHOW while you play craps in Vegas, call a florist.

"The Foods that Built America" had an episode on hot dogs. IIRC, the "Famous" was added to NATHAN's before anyone, frankly, knew his food. Just something added to make the sign more effective.

For some reason I thought "Onwer of a Lonely Heart" was a Starship hit. Tried to figure out a 3-letter acronym for Starship, Jefferson Starship, and Paul Kantner before ANY provided the V-8 can.

I thought that the RANCHERO competed with the El Camino.

I'm amused that a two-letter abbreviation (CB for "Construction Battalion") was expanded to SEA BEE. There is a nice monument to them in Oxnard, CA near Channel Islands Harbor.

New cars can be lemons too. I had a Chrysler Sebring convertible that I loved, but I had a hard time getting the dealer to fix two problems that were there from the start. They were eventually fixed, but not before I got the service department manager involved. Think I got so much as an apology from him?

Thanks to Gary Larson for the fun, and to CC for the review and the fine picture of Dave and Carol.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got it all but had 2 red letters; messed up E B WHITE. Theme flowed nicely. Overall, not hard.
GREAVE was a learning.
UTA - My Rheumatologist's name is Ute.
USS - CSO here. Learned last night that one of my shipmates has passed on (age 85). After leaving active duty, he had a significant executive career with Avon and then with Mary Kay. He had an engaging bombastic character which kept our wardroom from being boring. "The man from Maine." RIP

Saw no cheater squares today.

Enjoy the day.

Big Easy said...

Thanks for the birthday wishes yesterday. It was a very long day, attending a funeral at 8:00 am, driving to Baton Rouge to watch LSU lose to Arkansas in overtime, driving back to NOLA, dropping off friends, and getting home about 1:00 am this morning.

I managed to FIR noticing the animals after MOOSE & CRAB with not that many unknowns today. I knew 'Qweek's Draw' and his side kick "Baba Louie" from the cartoons but CHESTNUT was perps and a guess. I've never heard of chestnut being used for anything other than the tree, nut, or a song written by Mel Torme. I had to change 1A from HOWDY to HOWDO- never heard HOWDO said by anybody. GREAVE (new to me too), RAOUL, LAROUCHE, MARGO Harshman and TAMI Hoad were others solved by perps.

UTA, UMA, & UTE in the same puzzle

RANCHERO- a Ford Falcon pickup truck on a car frame that competed with the Chevy El Camino for people who wanted a truck that drove like a car. Didn't know it referred to a person.
NATHAN was a WAG for the hot dog man.

Valium maker ROCHE. Years ago Roche made Valium for the US market in Puerto Rico and one time I received a pallet from them that was MISSING three cases of Valium 10mg 500 and a few other boxes of other merchandise. Thieves are clever. Somewhere between PR and NOLA some enterprising crooks either turned the pallet over or picked it up with a forklift, cut a few boards in the center, took out the cases, and let it continue its way. You would never suspect that something that heavy being shipped palletized would have something missing.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Right, C.C., what a hoot! Not only was it clever but the first word in each phrase was pretty obvious. Gary even slipped in a verb for the first animal to go along with the nouns.
-CEDARS proliferate in the uncultivated sandhills of western Nebraska
-I never called my catcher’s shin protectors GREAVES. New for me too!
-HURDLERS and pole vaulters must “sell out” and have no fear
-In a recent TED talk a sociologist recommended BARING yourself and becoming vulnerable for true happiness
-ARBOR DAY
-I lost a part of our swing canopy hardware but jerry-rigged two unsightly but effective U-BOLTS to fix it.
-Actress Hedy Lamar drew this DIAGRAM for signal hopping during WWII under her maiden name of Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler
-Oh, a biblical plague not the bubonic one
-TONYA and OJ will forever their athletic achievements dimmed by their other actions
-JIMINY CRICKET’s cartoon character famously “sang” When You Wish Upon A STAR
-Give that clerk an EGO BOOST and visit with her/him.
-Kids find my iPhone belt holster UNHIP when they look up from their cracked phone screens

unclefred said...

HOWDY led the parade here for me. OPEL perped it there. Very surprisingly I managed to FIR in 38, a better time than yesterday. I don’t usually even try Sunday CWs, they are usually beyond my meager abilities. Only W/Os ERROR:ERRED, UMA:UTA. Then UMA showed up too, at 55D. This took a lot of skipping around getting a fill here and a fill there, until it came together. My usual method is to grind away systematically from top to bottom or bottom to top if that doesn’t work. Seldom do I skip around like today. Nice CW, GL, and terrific theme, too. Thanx. Thanx, too, for the wonderful write-up, and for all you do for this blog, C.C. Jinx mentioned a new Chrysler Sebring lemon he owned. I had the same experience, a Chrysler Sebring hard-top convertible that was BY FAR the WORST car I’ve ever had. Too many problems to even list here.

ATLGranny said...

Dang! Back to a Sunday FIW after FIRs all week. Same wrong square as others, STaNK AT( Hi OwenKL and DO!) Didn't know LAROUCHE. Also didn't know AEROS or GREAVE, but luckily saw CAVITIES finally. The name YES was also new to me but ANY was solid. Lots of fun in the theme today. Thanks, Gary. Thanks, C.C. for the helpful review. Haven't seen bolillos here but enjoyed them in Mexico.

Nice picture, Dave and Carol. I'll add my welcome to YooperPhil and Helen of Marlowe. Looking forward to hearing more from you. I'm also a pen and paper solver and a frequent checker for new posts during the day and first thing in the morning. Hope everyone has a sunny Sunday!

Misty said...

Always a pleasure to get a fun Gary Larson Sunday puzzle, along with an always great C.C. commentary. Many thanks to both of you.

I loved the animal theme--especially the variety of critters big and small and from different settings: MOOSE, CRAB, CRICKET, MOUSE, DUCK, CHICKEN.

Also nice to see a series of women figures. I recognized LOUISE Alcott, and UMA Thurman, and UTA Hagen, but don't know MARGO Harshman (and I like her name, which echoes my other first name).

STUNK AT cracked me up: silly answer.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Lucina said...

Hola!

This was like visiting a zoo and Irish Miss will find a plethora of creatures to list. I counted 15 so someone can tell me if I missed any. I included BENGAL even though it's the adjective of tiger, not exactly the animal.

E.B. White was an avid writer and wrote at least 20 children's books as well as academic works. My class loved Charlotte's Web especially.

We also have a couple of plants including the word TREE and CEDAR, ELM.

CSO to my dad and uncles at RANCHERO.

Excellent puzzle by Gary Larson!

David, thank you for posting your photo with Carol. You both look well and I hope that is how you feel.

C.C., many thanks as always, for giving us your excellent review.

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm,
I can only interpret these things from my point of view,
So, here is my take on creature features...

Although for a Sunday morning
I would have preferred a Bloody Mary.

CC said "white horse learning moment."
Not being familiar with this phrase I had to look it up.
I think the 1st definition makes the most sense.
(Is that what you meant CC?)

Anywho, qweeksdraw is one of my earliest TV memories,
Which might explain my posts.
Here is a brief (2-1/2 minute) intro.
it all started in 1959...

CrossEyedDave said...

Double hmmm,,,

I wonder if he is why I picked up the guitar also...

CanadianEh! said...

Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Gary and C.C.
I FIRed with one WAG for the W in WSU, that I will blame on a personal Natick due to Canadian disadvantage. ( and then I parsed EBWHITE). DUH!
Enjoyed the theme.

Hand up for Alcott before LOUISA. Tad changed to DAB. GREAVE was a learning moment.
Great catch, HuskerG, re Jiminy CRICKET and STAR.
Canada does not have an ARBOR DAY (and if we did, it would be Arbour Day LOL)
I did not remember Pierre LAROUCHE, but I LIUed and he had several “youngest” records broken only by The Great One.

We had LAROUCHE and ROCHE. Yes, Big Easy, I remember all those popular ROCHE meds in the late ‘70s when I was starting out in my career. Valium, Librium, Restoril, Gantrisin, AzoGantrisin and more.

We had UMA, UTA and UTE. (Big Easy beat me)
I had no CAVITIES at my dental appointment this week.

Yes, the CW rules are gone. I entered STAT for 110D thinking that we could never have ASAP since it had been used in the clue for 42A . . . . But apparently IT’S OK now!!!

Great photo D4 and Carole.

Wishing you all a great day.

waseeley said...

The CEDARS of Lebanon are mentioned in several places in the O.T.:

"The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon" (Psalm 29:5) "The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar in Lebanon" (Psalm 92:12) ... "The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted." (Psalm 104:16)

waseeley said...

A HORSE CHESTNUT is a trite or overused joke, or maybe fill like UTA or UMA.

waseeley said...

Thank you Gary for a very enjoyable puzzle, chock full of punny critter clues. Had I not so carelessly filled 116D with "DOH" (isn't that how BART spells it?) and had I bothered to even look at the clue for 122A UTA, original star of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf", famous acting pedagogue to the stars, and possessor of 66.67% delicious vowels, I'd have gotten a FIR instead of a horseshoe. Oy vey!

AMEN and thank you C.C. for another informative review.

Favs:

67A CHIN. I'm sure MOE might agree with me on this one.

71A E.B. WHITE. Elements of Style is still in print, although you wouldn't know it by the state of the art.

78A CPUS. IMHO, closer to ganglia than "brains".

109A DIAGRAMS. Not just for techie stuff. Also useful for diagramming sentences. Apparently a fading art.

2D ONO. OH NO, not another clue for YOKO!

Today is the birthday of two great musicians: Fanny Mendelssohn and Aaron Copland.

Cheers,
Bill

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. Fun theme. I had to hunt down one incorrect square, which was A instead of U in ST-NKAT/LARO-CHE. Having HOWDY at 1-across caused me too much time trying to identify a German car beginning with Y. Also, having PLUGSUP instead of CLOGSUP caused additional difficulty in that area.

Fave clues are for THEDREAM, AREAS, GREAVE, ABBR, and STAR.

I knew MARGO Harshman because I used to SORTA have a crush on her when she was on NCIS. I still think she's pretty.

It's too bad Larry Ellison didn't spend all that money helping people instead of paying for that expensive America's Cup boat, which was not much more than a big EGO BOOST for himself.

Nice picture of Dave and Carol.

Good wishes to you all.

YooperPhil said...

Hi all ~~ spent the better part of yesterday traveling from the warm climes of SRQ to ORD en route to my final destination, MQT, and I didn’t have time to comment on Saturday’s fine puzzle from C.C. and brother Andy, I always enjoy the themeless and managed a FIR in a little over 22 mins which is good for me! Enjoyed the expo also, I never really knew of the relationship with the constructors and the editor and how not only the clues may be changed but also the words themselves, very interesting!

Thank you to ATL Granny and Irish Miss ☘️ for your warm welcomes to this site! 🤗

Always nice to see a Gary Larson byline, managed another FIR with major help from the perps, and I really liked the clue for CRABGRASS! Also, as others have noted, UMA and UTA in the same puzzle, took me a lonnng time to remember Hagen from Thurman but I have it down now!

Lucina said...

My 2014 Honda Accord was a USED CAR when I bought it but it has performed beautifully and shows no signs of quitting or slowing. It has gone on one extended trip to Carmel, CA and several to Highland, CA where my sister lives.

Yesterday Little Women by LOUISA May Alcott was showing on TV. Though the story is familiar I always a enjoy each performance. That one featured Meryl Streep as Aunt Marsh and Laura Dern as one of the sisters, Jo, I think. Great cast!

On with my wrapping. Yesterday Mark and I wrapped 25 packages with still more awaiting. Each of my grandchildren and great-grandson will receive at least five presents and a filled stocking.

OwenKL said...

I'm surprised no one has commented that all the themer clues used cartoon characters. Henny Penny may be a bit of an outlier because she's better known as a fairy tale, but I'm sure the story has been animated, probably more than once.

inanehiker said...

This was a slow and steady solve - helped by the themes all having toon animal characters in the punny theme answers! I didn't know 18D - so pulled out REM before YES or ELO in my 3 letter band answers list
I like the clue for 28A - Really good thing to live
I looked amiss on the grid and wanted to put the 8D answer in the 7D slot - I was patting myself on the back for knowing YERSINIA as the Plague bug from bubonic plague before I realized it was slotted wrong and had to change to plagues of Egypt literal insect for LOCUST- DUH!
I also had FLUNK AT before perps changed it to STUNK AT
Unfortunately knew ROCHE easily as Benzos and Opiates are the bane of PCPs existence!

Thanks CC and Gary!
Nice pic Dave and Carol


Anonymous T said...

Sunday Lurk say...

FLN - oc4, thanks for confirming I wasn't the only one w/ heckler. CED - Loved Quick Draw McGraw during my Sat morning cartoons.

Robbing the cradle there? eh, D4 :-)
Nice pic of both of you.

C.C. - Catholic Church?
Lucina - help me out here. I thought you had to have First Communion Rites before you could celebrate. Not that I care if C.C. did or didn't; just curious if the rules were changed.
//As an Altar Boy, in between Masses, we'd sneak unblessed wafers and a bit of wine for a snack in the back.

YooperPhil - you made me lookup MQT. That's a cold NECK of the woods but now I know.

OKL - Yes, lurking the expo, I too noticed the animated theme.

YES's Owner of a Lonely Heart was on 90125. I liked It Can Happen and Leave It (from same album) better but those got less radio play. 'Course, it still wasn't '70's YES...

Lemons? My (CEO) Bro & mates named their new band* after the Red Pinto Wagon Pop had.
Ride in the back seat and you could inhale that delicious smell of leaded gas :-)

Cheers, -T
*It's a Dad "EGO BOOST" mid-life concern :-)

Yellowrocks said...

I loved the animal theme and got the first word quickly. I needed some thought to get the last part. I knew Greaves were shin guards in medieval armor, but spelled it wrong. I didn’t know AEROS. That section was my downfall.
STANK or STUNK, both are used these days. I perped all but one letter of Pierre’s last name and U was better than A.
Jinx we had a new car like that. It was a beauty, but unreliable. We traded it in very early.
OKL, astute, about them all being cartoon characters.
Since Labor Day, for 10 weeks, I have been on and off the blog, mostly off, due to health issues. If I missed any birthdays and issues for any of you, as I dipped in and out, I am truly sorry.
In addition to my Halloween monster bloody looking face due to dental surgery, I now have a Jack o’ lantern face due to a missing tooth. Boo!

Edward Duarte said...

My dad was in the Construction Battalion = C.B. = “Seabee”

waseeley said...

-T @ 5:20 PM I think priests these days are thankful to have any new faces in the flock and may tend to not make any assumptions about their sacramental experience.

waseeley said...

Yellowrocks @5:21 PM You don't have to photo-shop your avatar for us. You look as radiant as ever!

Wilbur Charles said...

I rechecked but just the across clues so CRICKET MATES didn't seem bad. Then reading CC's write-up I saw LOC??? Oops and "unit" wasn't plural so KWs was wrong too. FIW

D-O, LAROUCHE is as obscure as you get. I'm vaguely aware which helped the spelling.

"Camino competitor " would've been a cute clue. (Old) HESTNUT is the term.

I bought a snazzy looking Sebring which cost more to fix than buy.

I solved like uncle Fred ie. I zigged and zagged looking for perp material. I finally wandered north and got OPEL and then THE DREAM dropped and I ERRED elsewhere.

WC

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you Mr Gary Larson for a nice enjoyable and challenging and fun puzzle, and CC for a fine review.
Am posting late because I had to drive 580 miles today in rain, snow and ice on I-80 .... my DW drove most of the way, so I contented myself by saying my prayers ;-) ...( it worked.)

Re: Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin patenting their polio vaccines, ... since it was financed by many organisations like the US Govt., March of Dimes, and several Universities ... I doubt it could have been patented by one researcher, or even by an entire team.

BTW, both Afghanistan and Pakistan are among the only two countries where polio amongst children is still endemic or rampant, and the WHO, the UN, USAID, the Bill Gates Foundation have spent a lot of money and dedication for its eradication. ... and the most common, oral polio vaccine, used there, is made at the Haffkine Institute in Bombay, India.

Have a good week, all.

Lemonade714 said...

OKL, I agree that Gary added the extra level of cartoon characters.

CrossEyedDave said...

OwenKL@3:34
I may be wrong, but I think the reason the cartoon characters
Got lost was because of the size of the Sunday puzzle, combined
With having to overthink the 2nd half of each theme answer
In order to solve.

I mean, I got all the cartoons first, way ahead of any of the 2nd half
Of the themes. With the exception of dog paddle, which
Gave me the clue I needed for duck "sauce" and the moose "tracks"
And then crab "grass" etc...
Which is a puzzle in itself, because, if goofy is a dog,
Then what is Pluto?

Hmm,
All the is giving me flashbacks to fridays blog.

Michael said...

Vidwan @ 7:28:

Your pointer to the trials and setbacks of the polio campaigns in Pakistan and Afghanistan -- as torpedoed by an unintelligent U.S. 'intelligence' agency -- makes me think we should just give up overseas meddling. Look at what it got us ... and cost us.

Lucina said...

Anon-T:
Strictly, and I mean very STRICTLY speaking, you are correct. But there is a liberal section of the RC Church that believes the Sacraments should be available to everyone, with or without the rigorous preparations; I have a friend, a nun, who is in a leadership position maintaining those beliefs. There are many who believe as she does and who provide the sacraments to those who want them.

The interpretation I have heard is that the Sacraments were provided by God but the rules surrounding their dispensation were created by men, who, though ordained, are still men who constrict their use. I am only the messenger here.

sasses said...

Several years ago, an America's Cup team trained in Ventura Harbor. Just north of the home of the Seabees in Port Hueneme.