google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday January 26, 2022 Darryl Gonzalez

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Jan 26, 2022

Wednesday January 26, 2022 Darryl Gonzalez

Theme:  We'll Get Along Swimmingly or This Puzzle Is All Wet.   You can choose.

It will make more sense if we start with the unifier.

39. '70s-'80s series about the Drummond family ... and what the starts of four long answers are: DIFF'RENT STROKES.  This was 
an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. 

Two black kids from Harlem, Arnold Jackson and older brother Willis, are welcomed into the family of wealthy New York businessman Philip Drummond when their mother, his housekeeper, passes away. The two brothers become part of the Drummond family and learn various lessons about life."  I wasn't a regular watched, but did see this show occasionally.  It was pretty good.



Back to the puzzle: the first word of each theme answer is a specific stroke used in swimming.

17 A. Oxymoronic '80s sci-fi film title: BACK TO THE FUTURE.  This is classic.



The BACK STROKE: Lie on your back and flutter your legs while circling your arms in a windmill motion. You swim on your back and propel yourself backwards. 

28 A. Out-of-the-way access: SIDE ENTRANCE.  Possibly good for sneaking in or out.

Although not one of the official four strokes in competitive swimming, the sidestroke is a great survival technique. This is commonly used by lifeguards because you can hold onto another person and keep them above water while you swim. Lie on your side and scissor your legs to propel yourself forward.

47 A. Place for a pen: BREAST POCKET.  A pocket on the front of a shirt or jacket, located over the chest.

The BREAST STROKE: Float with your stomach facing down, then move your arms in a half-circle motion in front of the body. Bend your legs, then kick back with good timing, and you’ll propel yourself up and forward. This is a great workout and is recommended for those who swim for exercise.

65. Seafood order: BUTTERFLY SHRIMP.  To butterfly a shrimp means to do a lengthwise incision on the front or back of the shrimp in a symmetrical way. Since it should be symmetrical or equally alike, both sides of the shrimp must have the same form when opened – like the shape of a butterfly with wings extended.

The BUTTERFLY STROKE: An excellent workout and common competitive stroke–possibly because it tests a mature swimmer–the butterfly is performed by bringing your arms up above your head, then pushing them down into the water to propel yourself forward. Your legs perform a dolphin kick, in which they stay together and kick simultaneously in a bobbing fashion. 


Hi, gang, JazzBumpa on duty.  I'm not much of a swimmer, but lets dive right in to the puzzle.

Across:

1. Natural sand bank: BERM.  A flat strip of land, raised bank, or terrace bordering a river or canal.  I guess it could be sand.

5. Historic times: AGES.  As, free, the jazz AGE.

9. Standing at attention, say: ERECT.  Upright, as a good soldier should be.

14. Diva's solo: ARIA.  From operas and oratorios.  If Game of Thrones were an opera there could be an Arya ARIA.

15. Meter starter: DECI-.  Meaning one tenth of.

16. Cookie maker's tool: MIXER.  To blend all the ingredients

20. "Jeopardy!" contestant: ASKER.  That's the way this show works.   Answers must be in the form of a question.

21. Cub slugger: SOSA.  Samuel Peralta Sosa [b 1968]  is a Dominican American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 and became regarded as one of the game's best hitters. [Wikipedia]

22. Paradise: EDEN.  The perfect place, if you can keep it.

23. Anasazi home setting: MESA.  A table land in the American South-west.  The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado.  [Wikipedia]

25. "__ the season ... ": TIS.  To be jolly, so cheer up, dammit!

27. Crowd no., often: ESTimation.

33. It's its own square: ONE.  Also the loneliest number.

34. Nice water?: EAU.  French.  Do you think it's nice?

35. Lanai greeting: ALOHA.  Welcome to Hawaii

44. Enjoying a scone, maybe: AT TEA.  We have tea at 4:00 every afternoon.  Sadly, though, I have to watch my carbs.

45. Call to Jude?: HEY.

 

 46. RN workplaces: ORS. Operating Rooms.

52. African snake: ASP.  As Cleopatra well knew, as the story goes.  But historians dispute the manner of her death

55. Major NJ airport: EWR.  Newark - Liberty International Airport.

56. Prepare to mail: SEAL.  As an envelope.

57. Small deer: ROES.  These are small deer native to Europe, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments.

59. NYC's __ River: EAST.  A salt water tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end.  Who knew?

61. Salamanca snacks: TAPAS.  Salamanca, in northwestern Spain, is the capital of Salamanca province, part of the Castile and León region.  Appetizers or snacks in Spanish cuisine.

68. Frisky swimmer: OTTER.  Some aquatic creatures are fish.  others are otters.  Either way, they're all wet.

69. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" protagonist: AYLA.  The Clan of the Cave Bear is a 1980 novel and epic work of prehistoric fiction by Jean M. Auel about prehistoric times. It is the first book in the Earth's Children book series, which speculates on the possibilities of interactions between Neanderthal and modern Cro-Magnon humans.

70. Fencing tool: EPEE.  A sharp-pointed dueling sword, designed for thrusting and used, with the end blunted, in fencing.

71. Feature of Mike and Ike candy?: RHYME.  Oblong, chewy, colorful candies coming in many flavors.  The only rhyming aspect I can figure out is in the name.

72. Pour: TEEM.   TEEM means to be full of or swarming with.  I can't relate it to pour.

73. Look after: TEND.  As sheep or children.

Down:

1. Quick Draw's sidekick __ Looey: BABA.

 

 2. Historic times: ERAS.

3. "Casablanca" hero: RICK.  Also classic.

 

 4. Bully's challenge: MAKE ME.

5. Turmoil: ADO.  A state of agitation or fuss, especially about something unimportant.

6. Enjoys the beach, say: GETS A TAN.  Don't forget your sunblock.  You want a TAN, not a burn.

7. Canyon comeback: ECHO.

8. Afternoon break: SIESTA.  Nap in Spanish

9. Long-legged runner: EMU.  Big bird.

10. Serious ceremony: RITE.  By definition

11. Radiate: EXUDE.  

12. Roman goddess of agriculture: CERES.  In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships.  [Wikipedia]

13. Stoke-on-__: English city: TRENT.  Known for its pottery.

18. Plant with a trunk: TREE.

19. Gladly, to Shakespeare: FAIN.  Archaic word meaning done with pleasure.

24. Old-time knife: SNEE.  A large knife.  The word has cognates in other Germanic languages. 

26. Sign of surgery: SCAR.

28. Pop at a counter: SODA.  Pop in some regions, soda in others.  or even soda pop.  What do you say?

29. Down but not out: IN IT.  As, for example, the Chiefs with 14 seconds left.

30. Slick: DEFT.  Said of something done in a neatly skillful and quick manner, as for example Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp, as can be seen here.

31. Babe and a doctor: RUTHS.  Baseball star George Herman Ruth, Jr. [1895 - 1948] and Dr. Karola Ruth Westheimer. [b. 1928]

32. "Do Ya" rock gp.: ELO.  Electric Light Orchestra.

 

 36. "That's enough!": OK OK.  TMI; stop it already.

37. "You are __": mall map info: HERE.

38. Exec.'s helper: ASST.  Assistant.

40. Big mo. for chocolate purchases: FEB.  Thank you, St. Valentine.

41. Steakhouse order: RARE.  Style of cooking.

42. Established method: SET STYLE.  I'd call a standard operating procedure, but OK.

43. Work at a keyboard: TYPE.  As I am doing right now.

48. Pretty pitcher: EWER.  A large jug with a wide mouth.  Might or might not be pretty as a picture.

49. 1994 Peace co-Nobelist with Rabin and Peres: ARAFAT.  Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini [1929 - 2004] popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. 

50. Solemn vow: OATH.

51. Brit's Bordeaux: CLARET.  Unofficial reference to red Bordeaux wines.

52. Garden recess: ARBOR.  A shady garden alcove with sides and a roof formed by trees or climbing plants trained over a wooden framework.

53. TV's "__ Park": SOUTH.

 

 54. Tom of the Traveling Wilburys: PETTY.  Thomas Earl Petty [1950 - 2017] was an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, and was also a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.


 

 58. Stop, as a flow: STEM.

60. Roy Rogers' birth name: SLYE.  Leonard Franklin Slye [1911- 1998] aka Roy Rogers was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebranded Rogers then became one of the most popular Western stars of his era.

62. Plumbing part: PIPE.

63. "Right you are!": AMEN.

64. Went too fast: SPED.

66. Before, to a poet: ERE.

67. Yosemite __: SAM.


This wraps up another Wednesday.  Hope you didn't flounder.





67 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

Good morning and happy midweek. DG is back again showing a prolific out put since his debut here last year and a quick return since his Sunday on January 16.

We do get the short but tricky FAIN which should be confused with Féin Fane or Feign . Sounds like a puzzle theme to me. Fain was used only once before in the LAT in 2016.

The theme was fun and the cluing as well. JzB, great as always and thank you Darryl.

OwenKL said...

FIRight! And figured out the theme without the reveal!

I got a few shout-outs. RITE (Mason), RHYME (poet), Anasazi (New Mexico), OK-OK (me!).

RUTH goes to the beach and GETS A TAN
Her towel on a BERM, she makes her plan.
A slayer of demons
From nether regions,
Her ultimate goal is to GET SATAN!

CERES was a nerd, there was no doubt it.
In her pocket protector each pen had a socket.
When it went astray,
She showed no dismay,
Put pens in her bra cup, her other BREAST POCKET!

{A-, A-.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Saw SIDE and BACK, and knew we'd be seeing REAR and BASEMENT soon. Nope. Missed reading the full reveal, but did suss out the swimming strokes before coming here. Thanx, Darryl and JzB.

BERM: There's a house in our neighborhood with small berms throughout the lot. Made it almost impossible to mow, and the place always looked seedy. Flippers recently bought it, leveled the berms and turned a nice profit.

MESA: We visited the Four Corners on one of our many SW excursions. We stood on the plaque that marks the official spot.

SODA: Around here it's always a Coke -- even when it's not.

unclefred said...

Not a big fan of this CW. First, a BERM is a man-made sand or dirt bank, not a natural sand bank. And I don’t know how 72A Pour = TEEM. O.K., actually, a pretty good CW with a nice theme, except for those two nits to pick, I guess. I’m just grumpy at taking so long (35 min) to FIR, and hate to admit I’m getting slower on my solve times as I get older. So I blame it on the constructor. Thanx for this CW, DG, other than my two nits, a nice piece of work. JzB you’ve outdone yourself with your write-up today, excellent, lots of fun links. Thanx for all your hard work entertaining us.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased neat for DEFT and aide for ASST. Hand up for not knowing TEEM, FAIN and SET STYLE. Knew Tom Petty and Traveling Wilburys, but didn't remember he was one. I once had a friend who was madly in love with Tom Petty. We didn't usually exchange gifts, but one Christmas I got her a large framed picture of Richard Petty adorned in his NASCAR gear, feigning ignorance that it wasn't her heartthrob. She had no idea who Richard was, and a joke that has to be explained usually isn't funny,

I have a common birth defect that causes impingement syndrome. I avoid overhead anything, which limits swimming choices. But scuba doesn't require arm use for propulsion, so I took to that like, well, a duck to water. Too old for that now.

Love me some Yosemite Sam. Favorite line (to a dragon): "Whoa, you fire breathin' lizard". Seems like he was part of a prime-time cartoon special 40 or 50 years ago.

Thanks to Darryl for the fun, but a little crunchy, Wednesday challenge. And thanks to JazzB for another interesting reveal.

Anonymous said...

I touched the wall today in 8:02.

Last square was the "y" in Ayla crossing Slye. EWR crossing ewer wasn't exactly pretty either.

desper-otto said...

Can't believe it. D-o finished faster than Speedy Gonzalez @ 6:50.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks, Darryl, for a swimmingly good Wednesday.

JazzB, thank you for a thorough tour and of course some well-chosen musical clips.


I really struggled in the NW due to my quick fills of dune for BERM and eras for AGES. Since I usually do acrosses then downs, it took me a minute to straighten that out especially with ERAS fitting in 5D. Then I was back on track.

Going to buy my leased 2019 Civic today. We leased it to see if I liked it and got enough vroom from a 4-cylinder over my old Accord which was a dual exhaust 6. They are not happy, since (due to the auto shortage) the 2019 Civics are going for almost what the asking price was 3 years ago. And it only has 7,000 miles!

The Bears have a new GM. Ryan Poles replaces Ryan Pace. Que sera, sera. At least they won't have to change the monogrammed towels in the GM's executive bathroom! As Mike Ditka said years ago, "George Halas throws nickels around like manhole covers."

It will be a sunny but below zero day here. I hope you find some sunshine also.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Thanks,JzB. It is nice to see The Traveling Wilburys referenced and the South Park clip went above and beyond.

Malodorous Manatee said...

C.C. has a USA Today puzzle either today or tomorrow titled "Show The Door". Also, either today or tomorrow there is a Jonesin' Crosswords puzzle that riffs on the Wordle game that was discussed here recently. I say "today or tomorrow" because my propensity for doing some puzzles a day early (I tell my computer that it's on the other side of the international date line) leaves me a bit confused as to the actual day of publication.

YooperPhil said...

Nice CW for midweek, which took me exactly one second longer than yesterday’s, a tad of progressive difficulty. Interesting theme Darryl, thanks for putting this one together.

DNK AYLA or FAIN (a very obscure word, but one I would expect J Wex to spring on us in some Shakespearean quote), TRENT was a WAG, but I think there are other __-__- TRENTS which helped.

JazzB ~ thank you for your informative write-up, especially liked the Wilbury’s “End of the Line” video, great tune from one of my favorite bands. What a collection of five artists, all musical icons in their own right, got together and left egos at the door at just played some great music, nothing super flashy which they were all capable of, just some very melodic tunes. You can see in their videos that they were having a lot of fun jamming together.

Wilbur Charles said...

One of the answers reminds me of a trivia question: Playing for Philadelphia I won two battling crowns, the second despite taking 37 days off*

FIW on SLuE and AuLA despite having read CotCB and recognizing SLYE when it perped. I saw SLUE and thought it referred to a chimney. I left my insert behind so I'm solving online unless I can find a Sunday tbtimes

I worked in Newark in 67-68. Before acronyms. What's the E stand for?

B,B

WC

** Ferris FAIN with Athletics(50,51). A girl said "Was there a player named 'Ferris?'" grok'ing 'Days off''

inanehiker said...

Fun theme and having the reveal in the middle made the last half faster knowing that swimming STROKES would be the start of the theme answers like BUTTERFLY.

Learning moment of the day: Newark Liberty Airport is EWR because all the airport codes that start with N are taken by the Navy air stations/bases.
I knew Bob Dylan was in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys but needed perps to remember that Tom PETTY was also in it.

Thanks JzB and Darryl
It's a crisp 6 degrees here- but sunny - heading to a funeral of a friend's dad - 98 years young. My husband is doing the service, so I'm sure he'll make the graveside portion short!!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I needed the reveal to catch the theme but that’s fine, I like being surprised. I, too, went astray at Dune/Berm and Eons/Ages, plus NWK/EWR. Nose twitch at Asker. Yesterday we had Oct, today we get Feb. Duos of note: EWR/Ewer, Seal/Otter, Arbor/Tree, Eras/Ages, and Pipe/Type. I’m always happy to see some creatures, great and small: Emu, Seal, Butterfly, Otter, Roes, and Asp. CSOs to our Arizonans (Mesa) and Lucina, specifically (Siestas and Tapas).

Thanks, Darryl, for a fun solve and thanks, JazB, for the entertaining and informative review. Your thorough explanations are much appreciated.

We have sunshine but it’s very cold. I can’t believe we’re this far into the winter with only a few inches of snow on a couple of occasions. Of course, winter is far from over so I’m sure we’ll pay the piper soon enough.

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

72A. ‘“The rain will pour down today.” “Yes, it certainly will teem”. To pour - To teem.

ATLGranny said...

A Wednesday wonder: FIR. I couldn't remember at first the names crossing AYLA and SLYE but changed my entry Y to Y in time. No Natick for me once I recognized them. Got BERM right away thanks to perps. Tried stop/OKOK and had eras/AGES, and couldn't fit DIFFeRENT in the space so not a WO free puzzle today. But a fun puzzle with an energetic theme, thanks Darryl. Nice work.

I enjoyed your review, JazzB, and learned from your links. My earworm for the day is your End of the Line song!

DO, after growing up drinking pop, I learned in Atlanta it's known as Coke here, as in Texas, from what you said.

We had the same experience as you, Madame Defarge, when we recently had to replace our old car. Huge scarcity now. Hope you all do see the sun today!

waseeley said...

Thank you Darryl FIR a fine Wednesday puzzle.

And thank you JzB for keeping us AFLOAT while you helped us CRAWL through the clues.

A few favs:

1A BERM. Found especially at bends in rivers, where centrifugal force and the relative weight of the sand causes it to be deposited on the bank. The lighter weight silt continues downstream, where it is deposited at the delta.

14A ARIA. I'm sorely tempted here, but I'll resist.

23A MESA. A CSO to Lucina, CMOE, and Yuman.

28A SIDE STROKE. My favorite swimming stroke. Very relaxing.

33A ONE. I've always thought it was also a PRIME NUMBER, but discovered that, as it has only ONE factor, it isn't.

69A AYLA. This was a SWAG for me, but somehow I dredged SLYE up from my subconscious to defeat the dreaded NATICK.

71A RHYME. Nice misdirection.

8D SIESTA. My Spanish practice everyday around noon.

12D CERES. The source of our word CEREAL.

13D STOKE-ON-TRENT. My Mother's hometown. STOKE is at the center of 6 towns in Staffordshire in Northern England, all formerly devoted to making pottery (now outsourced to China, where the trade originated in the first place). I have SCADS of relatives from there who drink a lot of TEA and love SCONES.

62D PIPE. My first full-time job was in a plumbing supply house. I TYPED invoices on an IBM BILLER (electric typewriter) on 6-part forms. I got very fast, and very sloppy: correcting ERRORS with the sequence "X, backspace, H", RETYPE. Word processors were made for me.

Cheers,
Bill

waseeley said...

Word of the Day: schism

Pronunciation: ski-zêm, si-zêm

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A cleft, split or division between two irreconcilable groups, like the Great Schism, the breach in the Catholic Church between the western (Roman) and eastern (Byzantine, Orthodox) branches in 1054.

Notes: However you pronounce this word, it is spelled schism. The adjective for this word requires the Greek suffix -at, schismatic. Like many adjectives ending on -ic, it may be further extended by meaningless -al, schismatical. As usual, we MUST use the extended form for the adverb, schismatically. Schismatic works as well as a noun referring to someone who supports a schism. The verb meaning "split apart" is schismatize.

In Play: We find schisms everywhere: "The schism between the X-generation and the old generation is wide, indeed." But the word is used mostly in reference to organizations where a division of opinion exists: "The schism between the Democratic and Republican parties' view of politics has never been wider than today."

See Alpha Dictionary for more info.

Big Easy said...

As most of CW solvers probably do I try to solve puzzles NW to SE. When I see the reveal clue in the center I purposely avoid it and try to do it last. Today I swam around it and it was almost filled by perps before I read the clue. "DIFFFERENT STROKES for different folks". With BACK, SIDE, BREAST, & BUTTERFLY in place I didn't need to read it.

I knew Leonard SLYE but didn't know Roy and I have the same middle name- FRANKLIN.
EWR- I knew Newark but not the airport code, only LGA &JFK
FAIN- thank you perps; never seen it.
MAKE ME- I filled it okay but the clue didn't make any sense to me. I guess maybe it would be 'make me' stop pushing people around.

Subgenius said...

I thought of "oily", "eely" and all kinds of things for "slick" before finally hitting on "deft" which made 44 across "at tea" which made sense. From previous crosswords I remembered that Roy Rogers' birth name was "Slye" (not a good name for a Western hero.) Also, I didn't know if the RN's workplaces were "ERs" or ORs" but the perps made it clear. And I was unfamiliar with the airport code "EWR" but once again the perps came through. So I ended up FIR, which is a good thing.

Bob Lee said...

I hate to admit it, but the only reason I know the Anasazi is because Georgio loves to talk about them on the Ancient Aliens TV series. (My wife watches it all the time.)

jfromvt said...

This was a fun, well constructed puzzle. Three 15 letter answers, not easy to create I’m sure. Now I have a craving for shrimp.

Getting my first Shingrix vaccine today. Anyone had side effects from it?

Subgenius said...

By the way, pardon my ignorance, but what is a "WAG"?

Picard said...

The theme was a bit painful for me today because DW's father had a STROKE last night. DW is pretty sure it was a result of COVID. Which in turn was the result of her father insisting on having a big family gathering for New Year's that seemed to be a super spreader COVID event. The hospitals in their Pacific Island city are overloaded, just as they are here. No real treatment given. But there was some good news this morning that he could move all his limbs and could now speak, but with slurred speech. He is probably a very lucky guy. We shall see.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the DIFFRENT swimming STROKES theme! My preference is SIDE STROKE or BACK STROKE as they keep my head out of the water. Anyone else? Either that or snorkeling. I like being able to breathe! Thought of APR or MAR for Easter before FEB. Anyone else? Never thought of ARBOR as a RECESS. Anyone else?

AYLA/SLYE total Natick crossing for me. WAG to FIR.

IN IT was utterly mysterious to me. Thanks for the explanation JazzB. I have flown into EWR to visit my family who live in that area. Had forgotten the code. I have been to at least two ANASAZI HOME SETTINGs. But, instead of those photos...

I want to share this NICE EAU photo for its cultural meaning.

In much of Europe it is impossible to find safe drinking water for free. Very annoying to me, as EAU is my main drinking stuff. But in NICE and most of France there are these cute fountains in every village square. They are not just decorative. They provide NICE EAU, to use CODE SWITCHING. Delicious and free!

Picard said...

Subgenius Wild Ass Guess

From Yesterday:
CanadianEh I actually knew LADA from my Central America travels in the 1980s, not from Europe. There is an interesting story, but you would probably have to email me to get it!

CrossEyedDave Thanks for the amusing BOX CAR parade float! It would not work in our Solstice Parade because ours is entirely human powered.

Lucina Thanks for being the one person to view my "DRAB" shirt and comment on it! Thank you for the kind words!

Here is my friend Cara who encouraged me many years ago to wear more colorful shirts. You can see she followed her own advice.

LEO III Thanks for the reply about FORE. I still don't see how someone calling FORE is a RECKLESS DRIVER. Should be RECKFUL DRIVER if there is such a thing?

Lucina said...

Hola!

No time for a SIESTA today but thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle from Darryl and swam through it easily. Something I cannot do in the water. I'm not a good swimmer.

I loved all those sitcoms from the 80s. They had great lines and good plots. today's TV not as enjoyable.

I love SHRIMP in any form and really enjoyed TAPAS in Spain. We were warned that sitting would cost us extra, so we ate standing most of the time. In those days I could stand for long periods of time. These days not much. My doctor's advice yesterday: lose weight. Easier said than done.

Visiting the four corners it is "required" to pose with hands and feet touching them. Somewhere is a photo of me in that pose.

Auel's books were riveting and I read all four of them. The last one was the least interesting but I muddled through it. It was fascinating thinking about life in prehistoric times.

Only one w/o for me; changed AIDE to ASST.

CSO to my sister Marge whose middle name is RUTH and whose birthday is at the end of this month. And I'll take that CSO at MESA, my near neighbor.

ALOHA, everyone! Have a restful day!

desper-otto said...

@Lucina, Auel actually wrote six books in that series. After book three they went downhill fast.

Misty said...

Interesting puzzle with those long theme answers but lots of manageable items as well. Thanks, Darryl, and thanks for your always helpful commentary, JazzB.

The diva's ARIA and Paradise EDEN were easy beginners for me, and I remembered RICK in "Casablanca."

Also easy foreign language items with that watery EAU and ALOHA.

And ASP and EPEE are crossword regulars too.

But BERM and AYLA stumped me a bit, as did a number of others.

Still, fun, thanks again, Darryl.

And have a good day, everybody. I'm teaching my Senior Center class on the beginning of James Joyce's 'Dubliners' today, and had better look over my notes.

TTP said...



Good morning. Thank you, Darryl and thank you, Jazzbumpa

Never saw FAIN until the review.
Did see the clue for EWR but had no idea. Thank you perps.
Guessed the Y at AYLA/SLYE for the win. I told myself that I remembered his birth name as SLYE, so maybe it really wasn't much of a guess.

JzB, I'm happy for Matthew Stafford. Finally getting out of Detroit. A great talent that was stuck on a mediocre team for too many years. I think the Lions could have had Brady, Brees, Roethlisberger, Rodgers or Montana as the QB during his stint on those Lions teams and they wouldn't have fared any better.

Funny, the other day I was watching a documentary on Eric Clapton. I think it was during the commentary about Clapton's close relationship with George Harrison and his infatuation with Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, that they showed a clip of the Traveling Wilburys playing End Of the Line.

Jinx, impingement syndrome - I read your comment and then had to look it up. Thought maybe that's what I have. Nope. I can't swim. I took lessons. I can't freestyle or breaststroke, because my shoulders will pop out of joint and then pop back in. It's weird. I also can't float. I drowned once, but that was because I hit my head on the bottom of the pool. In case you are wondering, I was resuscitated.

Madame Defarge, good for you ! I remember when you first got that Civic. Your quip about the Bears picking a GM with the same initials cracked me up. Stay warm. They said the windchill at the Aurora airport this AM was -41 F.

MM, C.C. has a crossword published every Wednesday and Sunday at the USA Today.

I also heard on the news this morning that there's a new knockoff on Wordle game called Lewdle. Same game concept, but crude and vulgar words. Not my cuppa.

Picard, best wishes for your FIL.

Subgenius, just above where your enter your comments is a blue link to common abbreviations used here at the corner.

GarlicGal said...

To jfromvt: I had my first Shingrix shot last month with no problems/side effects! And I pretty much skated through both covid vaxes, the booster and a flu shot. Just luck I guess.

Brian said...

I found the following on why Newark is called EWR:
EWR: Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey
When airport codes switched from two letters to three, the Navy reserved all codes starting with N. NEWaRk, then, used the other letters in its name to make EWR.

Brian said...

I found a great website that gives the background on over 200 airport codes and why they are what they are:
Airport Codes

A real funny one is:
SUX: Sioux Gateway Airport, Sioux City, Iowa
SioUX City petitioned twice to have its airport code, SUX, changed. With no great alternatives, it stuck with it and now uses the slogan "Fly SUX."

CrossEyedDave said...

i only knew EWR from having to pull those
sticky tags off my luggage.
Want to lose your luggage?
just leave the sticky tags on like ski lift passes on your anorak!

re: different strokes
Well, it is different,
(you try finding funny strokes...)

another sad story is the life of Dana Plato.

and with apologies t9 OwenKL,
due to m6 laz8ness,
all future sentences will probably not be capitalised...

Yellowrocks said...

Solving this puzzle went swimmingly, but not fast. My processing time has increased this last year. I can't blame the constructors. I need time to dredge up the answers.
I read Six of the Earth's Children Series. Like DO, I enjoyed the first three or four, but not so much the others. The last ones I found to be a turnoff and forced myself to finish #6. The novels had become predictable. Also, I didn't need to read over and over a minute description of how AYLA and Jondalar made love time after time.
I heard there was supposed to be a 7th in the series???
I have almost always flown out of EWR. It is much closer and more convenient from here than the other airports. I suspect my flying days are over. Bye, bye, bucket list.
Waseeley, thanks for your description of a natural berm. SAND was the tip off. You beat me to it.
Anon @ 9:03 also beat me to, It's raining, it's pouring, it's teeming.
I grew up with the old King James Bible, the only place where I have seen this meaning of FAIN. "And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him," from the story of the Prodigal Son.
Picard, sorry to hear of your wife's father having a stroke. I wish him a complete and speedy recovery.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

I did not FAIN give up..but DNF 😞...The mid south block was my downfall...Had a brain freeze on ARAFAT, , JzB, I didn't get TEEM for pour either, Couldn't recall SLYE or AYLA but both showed up on prior puzzles. So frustrated didn't notice the obvious theme.😲

Inkovers: (the first) eras/AGES, aide/ASST,ERs/ORS....Hands up, Different/DIFFRENT.. (couldn't figure out how I ran out of space?). Didn't like the clue for INIT.

What we call BERMS around our town are all man-made (like Fred said.)

TV "series" derives from CERES because the shows' sponsors were often breakfast cereals.😉

We had the Bordeaux/CLARET🍷 convo a while back which helped to CLARET up. Didn't know AYLA but it's popped up before. (At least I know my cartoon characters😊)

Fancy pitcher....EWR
" ____, I'll just have Perrier water,thanks" ____ EAU
Oars in crosswords....ROES

☃️ IM.. ony a few inches of snow? We'd be pleased to send some truck loads over from the Mohawk to the Hudson valley.❄❄❄

waseeley said...

Subgenius @10:51 AM A WAG is a "Wild Ass Guess", an ASS being an equine who makes frequent appearances in CWDs.

Picard @11:12 AM More like a THOUGHTFUL DRIVER. Nice shirt by the way. I hope your FIL continues to improve. CanadianEh! or inanehiker could fill us in on this, but I think that there is a medication that can reduce blood clots if given soon after the stroke and can significantly improve the prognosis.

Re the puzzle(s):

It turns out that Jeff Lynne, the founder of of ELO, was also a co-founder of The Traveling Wilburys along with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison. Jeff Lynne was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2020.

I squeezed in a solve of C.C.'s Show the Door puzzle in the USA Today puzzle. The themers all had door references: HINGE, FRAME, HANDLE, and LOCK. I'd never heard of a "HINGE DATE", but apparently it comes from the name of a smartphone app ...

" ... available for iPhones/iPads and Android devices, that's oriented toward relationships rather than hookups and tries to match you with people your friends know and can vouch for".

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you Darryl Gonzalez for a very nice and doable puzzle, for a Wednesday.
Thank you JazzBumpa for a charming and evocative review.

I finished the CW, okay, without wondering about the theme. I used to watch Different Stokes, but it was not my cup of tea. I once was on a plane in 1981, and Gary Coleman was travelling first class. The air hostess warned all the other passengers - not to photograph him, ask for his autograph ... or even look at him. In retrospect, all the three child actors in the show, had unfortunate, post-show, lives, despite their stardom. God forbid, that happens to anybody...

I never did learn how to swim, and that has been one of my lasting regrets in my life. As a result, I am reluctant to go on the water in a boat or anything. I have been told that Case Western Reserve University requires every graduate to know how to swim. If you don't know how to, you are expected to take classes at the university. Strange, but a good policy.

EWR - Newark Liberty Airport is the airport, that I have most used in the last fifteen years. Lots and lots of international flights ...

I. also, cannot relate POUR to TEEM, ... but there it is....

49 Down ... I was trying to fit in ANWAR SADAT ... but it wouldn't fit. I have seen Itzak Rabin, when he was Israeli Ambassador to the US. earlier in his career.

Have a nice day, you all.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Vidwan.."Don't even look at him (Gary Cokeman) in first class"

Notice how the first class folks try not to look up at us coach peasants as we board the plane... like the steerage immigrants passing the Astor family on the big T.😄

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Coleman

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

First off, I FIR; I almost had it error-free but chose TACOS/TAPAS in 61-across. That easily changed when the perps confirmed my mistake. SLYE/AYLA were WAGs, and Margaret helped me get DEFT/ONE/IN IT on the west coast of the grid

Second, I noticed all of the long fill. Three 15-letter entries and 2 12-letter's. That's quite a lot. I am pretty sure that Darryl would've wanted the reveal - DIFF'RENT STROKES - to have landed in 65-across instead of the middle row. But I guess that he tried it there first and just couldn't make it work. That is a huge frustration as a constructor. Another frustration is when the editor who accepts your puzzle tells you to change one of your entries at the very last minute. And yet another frustration is waiting 5-6 months to hear from an editor(s) about whether or not they will accept your puzzle or idea. But in fairness to them, the pandemic gave birth to maybe tenfold or more of the number of crossword constructors (myself included). All of the major puzzle sites are seeing a huge influx of submissions

Third, I noticed that the constructor has a Spanish surname - maybe I'm making an assumption, but Gonzalez seems Spanish to me . . . anywho, there were several Spanish words that appeared in the puzzle: MESA; TAPAS; BABA; SOSA; and SIESTA. Coincidence?

OK, OK; admit it Moe, you liked the puzzle. I did. The musical clips added by Ron were pretty cool, too

CSO to me at both MESA and CLARET - and FYI, a CLARET doesn't have to be a wine FROM Bordeaux despite today's clue. And now that I am thinking about a CLARET, guess what kind of wine Moe and Margaret are going to have with dinner tonight??!!

CrossEyedDave said...

on the subject of different strokes...
(ok, ok, maybe i am discussing laziness.)

i do back exercises every day,
(slipped disc issues)
and wondered if my fitbit would track heart/calories etc
during this (minor) exercise, like it does for bike rides...

now, i have become a slave to this thing.
and religiously make sure i do the minimum 250 steps per hour.
So much so, that if i have done 250 steps! i will sit still so as to not
waste steps that could be attributed t9 the next hour....

back exercises involve a lot of lying on the floor,
but i wanted to see what the fitbit said I was doing .
So i went the the available options, and the nearest poss8ble
exercise was "swimming."

this strokes me as strange, as I can't imagine wearing a watch in the pool...

anywho,
No heart data,
No strokes registered,
And i burned a whopping 14 calories...


Hmm,
I think i burned more calories typing this post...

Malodorous Manatee said...

TTP @ noon, I probably should have noticed that pattern.

Brian a@ 12:24, very cool airport code site. Thanks for the link

Vidwan827 said...


Ray Oh Sunshine, writes .... "What we call BERMS around our town are all man made, (Like Fred said)."

I can relate to that. Long time ago, when I was in London, and walking around, by chance, behind some young ladies, I heard many people comment, like, "Nice Berms" ....

So, not all berms are made only by men. ;-o)

CrossEyedDave said...

hmm,

i wonder if i would burn more calories
by manually capitizing every sentence
instead of auto-cap...

(hey! you work on your strokes, & i'll work on mine...)

Vidwan827 said...

Rayosunshine, ... without too much elaboration, a fellow passenger on that flight with Gary Coleman, informed me that GC wanted $50 for an autograph ....

No doubt, he had some serious kidney problems, and was, at the time, actively suing his entire family and all his managers for misfeasance, malfeasance and embezzlement. Which, as history informs us, he won, lost and won, ... and then he had to declare bankruptcy.

Dana Plato, got into desperate circumstances, to hold up a 7-11 with a pellet gun, and the clerk-cashier who was tending the store, was her most devoted fan ... She died at age 34, of an overdose.

As for Todd Bridges, the less said, the better. He had to hire Johnny Cochran to represent him in a criminal court case.

It is indeed, a lot of pressure to be a child actor, despite the fame, the adoration and the immense wealth that is generated. A Blessing that could become a Curse ?

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Vid

Didn't know all that distressing history. Yikes.

Wilbur Charles said...

Perhaps "Cokeman" was a Freudian slip of the finger.

Now to find out what Liberty means re. Newark Airport.

Picard, I may have been neglectful fln, but I've commented so much on those shirts...

I do like them. Hope FIL gets better.

WC

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-I knew Roy Rogers birth name by sound and did not know AYLA. I chose SLIE/AILA. Sigh…
-The first Back To The Future is among my all-time favs
-Our SIDE ENTRANCE has a digital lock with a code. Keys? We don’t need any stinkin’ keys!
-Best ARIA? I vote for Nessun Dorma!
-SOSA’s credentials for the Hall Of Fame are valid. Lying about PED’s are keeping him out.
-Kathy C. An is an actual OR nurse and plays one who had appeared in every episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
-SODA Pop is a character in The Outsiders all kids read in our high school
-Power points at our church adopted my SET STYLE of Comic Sans, 24 point, italicized.
-TYPE – I have a real issue slowing down and not make mistakes. My mind is way faster than my fingers!
-Me too, BE, on waiting on the reveal

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Concerning LEWDLE...difficulty is most naughty words in EngLish are four letters 🤔

I suggest an alternative four letter version "TURDLE" 🤣 (would have included the famous accompanying emoji but don't want to ire the CW police)🤬

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Darryl and JazzB.
Everything ended swimmingly today, but I had a few moments of floundering.
We all hate to have 1A filled incorrectly. HEY, I had to change Dune to BERM.
The cross of SLYE and AYLA was almost a Natick for me today, but then I remembered Roy’s birth name.
I had SHRIMP and filled in Battered, but had a space left over. BUTTERFLY matched the swim theme.
And of course, I spelled Different properly and ran out of space. Oh, DIFF’RENT.

Fortunately, the unknown NJ airport perped. EWR for Newark because the Navy uses all the first-letter N codes.
ASKER was a bit of a meh, but as legit as Oarer.
A pen in a BREAST POCKET reminds me of those practical (but nerdy) pocket protectors that were favoured by my DH during his career as an Engineer.
You all know that DECI starts metre for me, and my “garden recess” is an ARBOuR. LOL.

More travels today. (I love that my imagination can go EAST or SOUTH, or wherever I please, even during Covid)
Let’s start at an Anasazi home in MESA. (Can we visit our Cornerites who live nearby?). Then connect though EWR (with a view of NYC’s EAST River?) to a hub in Europe? We can have EAU in France, have a CLARET or be AT TEA in Britain ( (Stoke-in-Trent china cups perhaps?), enjoy TAPAS in Spain, GET A TAN at the beach in Casablanca, avoid an ASP in AFRICA. Then it’s off to Australia to see an EMU, and over to say ALOHA in Hawaii. Remember, you are HERE.

FLN- Vidwan- thanks for the insight into your early career work. Panadol or paracetamol are British names for acetaminophen.

I’m late to the party today. I will post this and read you all . . before I lose this into the ether.

CanadianEh! said...

I see that others had similar difficulties with SLYE.
I know it as Pop, not SODA.
TEEM, meaning to pour rain, is familiar to me.

I see that we can also have a much-needed SIESTA in Spain on our travels.

YR- you may also remember the old hymn “Beneath the cross of Jesus, I FAIN would take my stand”.

Picard- I saw that non- drab shirt too but did not comment. Same may be true for others here.
I am having internet issues today , and can’t get the Nice EAU photo to load yet.
I would like to hear the LADA story and will email you later.
Sorry to hear about your FIL. Trust his recovery will be uneventful.

Yes, waseeley, clotbusters (TPAs in the lingo) can be used for non-hemorrhagic stroke, but there is a limited time frame and specific parameters associated with their use. But they can be miraculous when used properly.

Jayce said...

Sure enough, I started off on the wrong foot with DUNE and ERAS. Took some fiddlin' with to fix it and then find ERAS at 2 down. Took all three perps to get EWR. Nice puzzle, though.

"Dubliners". Hmm, sounds like some sort of pastry. "Ich bin ein ..." oh never mind.

Thanks for the informative write-up, Jazzbumpa.

Thanks for the photos, Picard. I wish your wife's father well.

Good wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A cool PZL from Darryl Gonzalez, well managed for the Corner by Mr. Bumpa (Jazz, that is)!

But I thought EPEE was supposed to have two accents, viz.: ÉPÉE.
Les accents, zey have gone missing, non?
Hmm. Perhaps another job by the infamous Arsène Lupin?!
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Three diagonals--a 3-way right under our nose, and nothing to sneeze at.
With a little finessing, we construct an anagram (12 valid letters of 15) that speaks of a hospital that is ultra-scrupulous in its inventory, requiring one of these for every relevant transaction.
I mean a...

"BEDPAN RECEI(p)T"!

Jayce said...

Hmm, my wife just updated the OS (to iOS 15.3) on her iPhone via cellular connection in an area where there was no WiFi. It took her about 15-20 minutes. But I can't update my phone; it says I must be connected via WiFi to do it. It's going to take hours. We are both on the same family plan. Dang.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Reading that quite a few folks had trouble with EWR caused me to think about why it was so easy for me, despite not having flown into the NYC area vary often. AHA! DW used to fly into there for meetings at AT&T/Western Electric/Lucent, and as her loyal Sherpa and airport transport driver, I saw and removed them quite often. Norfolk's code is ORF (because the USN reserved the "N"s), and their catchphrase is "take orf with us".

D-O and AtlG, in the house where I grew up it was called "cocola".

TTP - Glad you are again among the living. I can swim, throw overhand, work above my head, etc, but after a few seconds it hurts like crazy and sometimes requires a trip to the sports medicine shop for a shot of cortisone from a needle about a yard (one metre, C-Eh) long.

Picard, hope your FIL completely recovers from his stroke. DNK that was a complication, but as an afib patient it certainly caught my attention.

OwenKL said...

CED Turn that auto-capitalize back on, and just STOP hitting ENTER/RETURN at the end of every line! Use ENTER/RETURN only for the ends of paragraphs! Those uneven line feeds are still there, and combined with the lack of capitals makes your posts even more difficult to parse than they were before!

TTP FLN, When I go to the comments page, yes it does open at the top of the page, but then quickly jumps to the text box, and just one (1) line above it! BTW, amazing that you remember I use Waterfox browser!

One of the other XWs I did today asked for a Game of Thrones character: ARLA. I thought it was this puzzle, and waited for someone to mention ARLA/AYLA.

TTP said...


Owen, I misunderstood your statement, "Too bad when Blogspot flips you to that page, it only shows the last line of the info, which doesn't give a hint that are another dozen lines above it."

I thought you were saying that when you linked to the Comments Section Abbreviation page you were being scrolled to somewhere below the top of the page.

Yes, when you are reading the current day's blog post, and you open the actual Comments page, it will scroll to the bottom and place your cursor in the text input box, "listening" for input.

If you select an older blog post, for example by clicking an any older entry in the Blog Archive section, it will open at the top of that day's blog post. If you then clicked on "post a comment", it would scroll to the bottom and place the cursor in the text input box.

That's just the way that the way this particular theme, and the configured setting for "comments" works.

Yes, I remembered that you use Waterfox because you mentioned it once or twice. One of my coworkers used it as well.


Jinx, yes, I ruled it out as I read about it, and it sounds painful. Good thing you worked with your head, and not in a job that required that type of physical movement. In my case, other than when I've been in the water for awhile, it rarely ever bothers me and I've never had issues working with my arms over my head for extended periods. Like I said, it's weird.

CrossEyedDave said...

Lol! Ok, ok, I turned it back on for you OwenKL.
(I guess I got enough mileage out of it...)

But if I overpost, it's going to be your fault!
(I don't count spaces as lines...)

I just finished watching Jeopardy, and was stumped by the final question.

waseeley said...

CMOE @1:09. We're having a CLARET tonight that we got from our niece for Christmas. It's called "F", Appellation Francais I guess? It's not bad and the price was right 👍

CanadianEh! said...

CED- yes, we were just watching Jeopardy too . . . . and our cable TV conked out in the last three minutes of the show.
(But my internet is now working!)
DH knew the answer (I did not),but I had to do an internet search to confirm, and to see the results.
But no spoilers here for our West Coast friends.

Sandyanon said...

I discovered a while back that Jeopardy is available on YouTube (for free) earlier in the day than its broadcast at 7pm Pacific time. And without almost all ads, too! Generally runs 19+ minutes, which just shows how much time goes to commercIals.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks, Darryl & JzB.

I can't believe I completely missed the theme. Easy after JzB explained it. I looked at that finished grid and thought it was themeless. Duh!

DNK: BABA, EWR, CERES, TRENT (tried Thames), FAIN.

I've had a box appearing in my Facebook which claims "Live Caption" whenever there are spoken or sung words. Unbelievable how incorrect the printed sentences are. Don't even come close to what is being said. What is this? Just recently appeared.

Picard: Hope your wife's father bounces back. Hospitals are doing so much better with strokes & medication than they did years ago.

LEO III said...

Because I couldn't see DUNE working with 1-4D, I didn’t fall into that trap.

I got an FIR today, but it was only by the skin of my teeth. I had forgotten Roy Rogers’ birth name. After deciding that TEEM was the only possibility for 72A, I resorted to an alphabet run, and (with my fingers crossed) stuck in the Y for the last fill. I had no trouble with the swimming strokes.

Working at a museum on an airport, and having taken and tagged literally many hundreds of pictures (not photographs – I ain’t that good) of airplanes, I know a bunch of airport codes; BUT thanks, inanehiker, for pointing out the little tidbit about the Navy’s scarfing up all the Ns. I never knew that, so rather than posting long ago as I had planned, I’ve spent hours researching them further.

I do know of ONE commercial airport code that does start with an N --- NEW (or KNEW in ICAO parlance --- your next assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to learn the difference --- basically, it just adds a country code) is the code for New Orleans Lakefront Airport. It opened in 1934, and it was a USAAF field during WWII, which might explain how the Navy didn't steal its N. Anyway, the art deco terminal building, heavily damaged by Katrina, has been completely restored with public and private funding. If you are ever in NOLA, stop by and see it. IT IS GORGEOUS!

That our museum should be so lucky....

LEO III said...

I DO have a BERM story:

Berms also run along the outside of the outfield fences at some of the spring training facilities. Years ago, my younger daughter and I, along with a bunch of other peeps, were sitting in the shade right at the left field foul pole at Dodgertown in Vero Beach. All of a sudden, INCOMING!!! Frank Howard (one of my all-time favorites from the old Washington Senators --- “WASHINGTON: FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE, LAST IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE”) --- was as far away from us as he could be, standing right in front the backstop on the first base side of home plate. He was lofting fungos out to the outfielders, who were out in left field. Only three problems:

>Frank Howard was 6’7” tall.
>Frank Howard weighed over 250 pounds.
>The wind was blowing from him toward us.

All he was doing was putting the balls up in the air, but…. Luckily, nobody got hit, and some folks got a souvenir.

It was a nice puzzle, Darryl. Thanks for a great review, JazzB.

Hoping your FIL gets well, with no major complications, Picard.

Bill G said...

Hi everybody,

I did CC's CW at USA today and noticed that the grid was not symmetrical. It seemed odd when I first looked at it. Last week's puzzle wasn't symmetrical either. What's the reason that their editor doesn't expect that from the constructors? Fun puzzle anyway...

I read somewhere that one is not considered a prime number to ensure that all numbers have a unique prime factorization. If we prime factor six, we get 6=2x3. If one was also prime, you could also get 6=2x3x1 and 6=2x3x1x1 and so on. Messy!

~ Mind how you go...

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks, David, for the fun diversion to play during the Change Control meeting this morning. Half paying attention to the meeting, I missed the theme.

Fantastic expo, JzB. Loved the cartoons & music.

WOs: AT sEA(?), DIFF[e]R...(ooops), dOES->ROES
ESPs: ROES, CERES (I read 'architecture' until it was filled :-)), TRENT, SNEE, SLYE | AYLA, EWR
Fav: HEY Jude clue
Runner-up: Tom PETTY [Runnin' Down a Dream*]

{A, A}
Ewww, DR OMK. :-)

FLN - CED, your "Box Car" appeared to have TX tags; might ONE of Houston's Art Cars.
FromToday - LOL shark comic //"they" say you smell toast during a stroke.

Picard - very sorry to hear of your FIL's stroke. Scary stuff, strokes. Well wishes.

MManatee - thanks for the heads-up on the puzzles.

MdF - You'll be happy. I have a '15 Civic (manual) and Youngest has a '17 Civic (auto). My last Civic ('06?) died in 2019 with >280k on the odo.

HEY! GarlicGal! Thanks for answering jfromvt's Q -- I'm next in-line for Shingrix.

LEOIII - Lakefront Airport looks a lot like your Houston Municipal.

BillG - Scroll down to Primality of ONE; wasn't a number, wasn't a prime, became a prime, and then wasn't again.

Growing up in the Midwest, soda and pop were interchangeable and often compounded ("want a soda-pop?"). I don't know if it was just Mom's family but I also heard "sodi-pop" a good bit. Like D-O said, now that I'm in Texas it's all Coke, with a flavor adjective:
"Want a Coke?"
"Sure.""
"What flavor you want? I've got Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, ginger ale..."

I enjoyed reading everyone throughout the day; thanks y'all.

Cheers, -T
*song makes me think of the first nice [used] car DW & purchased (with Desert Storm $$) when we were Srs at LA TECH. It was an '8(9?) Mazda 626 with a sun roof, automatic windows, ... all the bells & whistles. It was a huge step up from our '80 Datsun. Shortly after we got it, I remember driving it thinking "Wow, we're lucky -- living the dream..." when Petty came on the radio. I opened the sunroof and SPED along to the song.
Wordle: #221: 6/6 - and I had the last 3 letters on the second guess!

Bill G said...

Hi everybody.

Thanks to CC for remembering my birthday and for posting that family photo. Thank all of you guys for the kind and thoughtful comments. I've been feeling a little sad and lonely and reading your posts always makes me feel better.

~ Mind how you go...