google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday February 28, 2022 John Michael Currie

Gary's Blog Map

Feb 28, 2022

Monday February 28, 2022 John Michael Currie

Theme: SECRET SAUCE (55. Subtle element in a success story ... and what's revealed by each set of circles) - Five type of sauces are hidden in the theme answers.

 20A. Like civilizations that antedate written records: PREHISTORIC. Pesto.

 30A. Pop singer's list of recordings, e.g.: DISCOGRAPHY. Soy.

 46A. Sourced locally, as a menu: FARM TO TABLE. Mole.

 11D. Official inspection spot: CHECKPOINT. Hot.

 29D. Diver's rotation: SOMERSAULT. Meat.

Boomer here. 

Well, I have certainly had SOY sauce over the years and I can also say I have enjoyed HOT sauce now and then. PESTO, MOLE, and MEAT are not enjoyed in our house. 

Happy to say so long to February which contributed about a dozen days where the thermometer hit a mark below zero.  Add that to January and we had about a total of 30 minus days.  I think it is a new record of minus for the land of 10,000 lakes.

Across:

1. Taiwanese bubble tea: BOBA.
 

 

5. Yawn-inducing: BANAL.

10. Dull pain: ACHE. Attacks my left leg frequently.

14. Racetrack shape: OVAL.  Kentucky Derby is coming soon.  Place your bets.  Minnesota has "Canterbury Downs" where they show a video of Churchill downs and betting is open.

15. Fruit whose oil is used in cooking: OLIVE.  Popeye's girlfriend.

16. Onetime Ralston cereal now owned by General Mills: CHEX.  My favorites are simple Wheat and Corn Chex.  I see a lot of sugary Chex in the cereal aisle and cinnamon are not too bad.  Most of the others have lots of sugar.  Except Rice which are not a favorite.

17. Wine lover's prefix: OENO. As in "oenophile".

18. Nine-piece combo: NONET.

19. U. of Maryland athlete: TERP.  Short for Terrapin.

23. Pigeon sound: COO.  We do not see many Pigeons.  They are known to make a mess.

24. "SNL" alum Gasteyer: ANA.

25. Armored vehicle: TANK.  We have one that holds about $60.00 worth of gasoline.  Of course that is this week.  Who knows about next week.

27. Tres menos uno: DOS. Three minus one.

36. Traditional piano key wood: EBONY.  Blacker than the Ace of spades.

38. Root for a luau: TARO.



39. Pâté de __ gras: FOIE.

40. Covert ops outfit: CAMO.  I used to have some Camo stuff left over from Uncle Sam.  It's gone now. 

41. "Chopsticks __ fork?": OR A.  Fork for me, sticks for my dear wife.

42. Fey with nine Emmys: TINA.  I could never stay up late enough to watch Saturday Night Live.

43. Part of BSA: Abbr.: AMER. The Boy Scouts of America.

44. Ponder (over): MULL.  I'll think about it.

45. Hunger signs that hurt: PANGS.  Not me.  I always eat before the PANGS show up.

49. Vietnamese New Year: TET.



50. Articulated: SAID.

51. Tiny colonist: ANT.  Driveway is covered with snow right now.  Amazing how these little bugs can dig holes in the tar and create a home in the spring.

53. Reggae relative: SKA.

62. Unseating plan?: COUP.  I don't know.  There is usually enough room in the back.

64. Avoid, as duty: SHIRK.

65. Broadway event: SHOW.  "SHOW me the way to go home.  I'm tired and I wanna go to bed."

66. Adept: ABLE.  I have not been ABLE to bowl for awhile. Working on PT rehab.

67. One of the senses: TASTE.

68. Joint above the ankle: KNEE.

69. Greek B: BETA.  Alpha, BETA, Gamma, Delta.  Only one Airline in the Greek Alphabet.

70. "Oof!": YIKES.

71. Abel and Cain, to Adam and Eve: SONS.  Don't forget SETH. 

Down:

1. Cutesy nose-poke word: BOOP.  Betty's last name.
 
 

2. Mind-matter link: OVER.  "Why don't we stop fooling ourselves.  The game is OVER, OVER, OVER."  Simon and Garfunkel.

3. Scourge: BANE.

4. Hawaiian greeting: ALOHA. Also can be "See you later".

5. Dwarf planting: BONSAI.



6. Very much: A LOT.  Where I park at the grocery store.

7. Barcelona boy: NINO.

8. Declare: AVER.

9. "Time to stop obsessing on this": LET IT GO.  Aaron Rodgers - are you listening?



10. Play a part (in): ACT.

12. One who comes to the rescue: HERO.  A big sandwich.

13. Montreal MLBer before 2005: EXPO.  Montreal left Canada and became the Washington Nationals.  The Minnesota Twins were the Senators that left Washington in 1960.

21. "500" race, familiarly: INDY.  This OVAL track race is also coming soon.  Around Memorial Day.

22. Automobile: CAR.  These Fast, Faster will be at INDY but never in my garage.

26. Tripartite commerce pact acronym: NAFTA.  North America Free Trade.

27. Pre-bedtime coffee, often: DECAF.  I am enjoying this now.  I guess Chemotherapy patients are not supposed to have caffeine.

28. President with degrees from Columbia and Harvard: OBAMA.  I remember him.

31. Dark beer: STOUT.  I have never liked beer.

32. Diane's "Cheers" co-server: CARLA.  Where everybody knows your name.

33. Colgate rival: ORAL B.

34. Depend (on): HINGE.  Depends on keeping your door in place.

35. Brewery need: YEAST.  Also needed for pizza dough.

37. __ Rae, Sally Field role: NORMA.

44. "Aw shucks" quality: MODESTY.

45. Writers' tools: PENS.  Pigs lived in them on my Uncle Bill's farm in Siren, Wisconsin..

47. Apt "it's" anagram: TIS.  The season to feel jolly.

48. Hanukkah pancakes: LATKES.


52. Duties: TASKS.  The physical therapy lady gives me a few tasks.

53. Wound cover: SCAB.  I cover with a Band Aid.  The SCAB comes later.

54. Asian beef city: KOBE.  Mr. BRYANT was a great LA Laker Basketball player, before he went down in a helicopter.

56. Indian spiced tea: CHAI.

57. Take a chance on: RISK.  I think Kramer played RISK with Neuman in Jerry's Apartment.


58. Art Deco artist: ERTE.

59. "Hmm ... doubt it": UH NO.

60. Ethan or Joel of film: COEN.

61. Fleecy females: EWES.

63. Podded plant: PEA.  C.C. likes all kinds of veggies.

Boomer


43 comments:

  1. FIRight. It's Monday.
    The reveal must have changed in revisions, since it must have originally been SPREAD SAUCE.

    Back in PREHISTORIC times was a key
    To discovering wheels, the help they could be.
    I wish there were a list
    Of inventors of this --
    That would be the world's first DISCOGRAPHY!

    BOBA TEA is a drink made to feel!
    Makes your mouth a lava lamp for real!
    TASTE is secondary,
    If it's CHAI, be wary,
    Synesthesia may be a result of the deal!

    {A-, B.}

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good Morning All. I had a disappointing weekend yesterday. The Grumpy Old Men Festival was held Sunday in Wabasha Minnesota, and I was not invited.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Smooth sailing. A typical easy Monday puzzle. Like I've said before, I don't mind circles. To me, they add an extra element to the puzzle. FIR, so I'm happy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning!

    Zipped right through this one. Not a snag in sight. Thanx for the outing JMC and for the cheery expo, BB.

    BONSAI: When we played army as kids, we'd scream "Bonsai!" as we jumped over the "cliff" at the town's sandpit. Thought it sounded fierce.

    ReplyDelete
  5. T A COol 4:02 (get it, "Taco" sauce?).

    Like I've said before, "Oh joy, circles."
    But, I know, Subgenius and others seem to enjoy them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good Morning:

    This was an easy, breezy Monday with a cute theme and reveal. I saw the sauces early on but the reveal was a surprise. JM gave us plenty of duos this morning: Bonsai/Kobe, Boba/Chai, Pangs/Ache, Aloha/Taro, Check/Chex, Indy/Car, Yeast/Stout, Or A/Oral B, Said/Aver, and Oval/Oral. He also brought his A Team: Boba, Aloha, Ana, Or A, Tina, Ska, Beta, NAFTA, Carla, Norma, Pea, and Obama. Nice CSOs to Moe (Oeno), Bill W (Terp), Lucina (Dos and Nino), CanadianEh (Expo), Keith (Act), and Hahtoolah, Lemony, MalMan, Picard (Latkes).

    Thanks, John Michael, for a fun farewell to February and thanks, Boomer, for tickling our fancy, as usual. Good luck to you and CC as you begin your busy and demanding week of treatments and therapy. 😉

    Has anyone heard from PK? She hasn’t posted in ages and I hope she’s doing okay. Also, Picard has been absent for a while, as well. Hope all is well with him.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. FIR, getting the Natick BOBA x BOOP right. Erased aeno to ONEO, chia for CHAI, and fixed MODiSTY (UNTIE!).

    TINA, because "Sarah" wouldn't fit.

    I used to work right around the corner from BSA's National office in Irving, TX.

    Had the clue been "latkes" and the fill PANCAKES, I would have gotten it right away. As presented, I had to wait for perps.

    I liked the homophones COUP and COO.

    A writer using a pen - how quaint. Maybe a typewriter, too.

    Washington Capitals great Peter Bondra was nicknamed BONSAI. Scored five goals in a single game, four of them in the first period. Kinda sounds like Al Bundy's high school football brag.

    Thanks for the fun, John Michael. L love all five of the sauces. and thanks to Boomer for the giggles, especially for being grumpy from being snubbed by the festival. BTW, my RV's tanks hold about $400 worth of diesel at current prices.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bonsai is a dwarf tree. Banzai! is shouted during an attack which may be suicidal. So when desper-otto shouted "Banzai!", it was much more fierce than shouting "dwarf tree"!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Montreal's hopes for sharing the TBRays was nixed by MLB. EXPO attendance never recovered after the strike. Speaking of…Is Baseball crazy?

    Every time I hit a link I'm offered Cheers vignettes. I still needed perps for CARLA(and STOUT)

    KOBE&BOBA were fln. Speaking of… We had some late complainers. Yes, lots of names

    They also played RISK on the Subway. To the demise of the game
    Combination of easy and obscure with latter including Naticks at ANA/BONSAI

    Was it MOLE or MOLET(Dict says var. of mullet)

    WC

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fun and amusing puzzle and theme. I usually hesitate with BOBA and soba (the noodles) but since we had BOBA yesterday with the BILBO BAGGINS tea-fest yesterday, it went right in!

    Thanks Tony for clearing up the BONSAI /Banzai difference!

    Thanks Boomer and JM!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wilbur, it was MOLE:
    mole noun (6)
    mo·​le | \ ˈmō-lā

    Definition of mole (Entry 6 of 6)
    : a spicy sauce made with chiles and usually chocolate and served with meat

    Tony Express, thanx for that. I thought we were just being stupid (as usual), thinking BONSAI was a mean-sounding word.

    ReplyDelete
  12. FIR, but struggled for a Monday. Never heard of mole sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fun. The sauces were secret, but not a well hidden one, as the letters appeared in order. I never saw mole sauce spelled with a T. Why circle the T?
    Latkes. We of Germanic origin called them potato pancakes, made with a little bit of flour instead of matzo meal. One of my favorite dishes. Seeing the little crisp pieces of potato sticking out in the pic made my mouth water.
    I didn't like the game of RISK because it went on and on and on. I liked the start of it. When I got bored I played to lose, so I could leave.
    Tina Fey is a favorite. Amy Poehler, on the other hand, often veered into slapstick which I found to be neither funny nor clever.
    Our local breakfast spot used to be like Cheers, where everybody knows your name. Great camaraderie. With the close of indoor dining during the pandemic in favor of take out and patio dining we lost that. When indoor dining returned there was an entirely new clientele. Good food, good service, but no camaraderie.
    BOBA, no way, more than meh to my taste.
    Tony Express, yes bonsai is not banzai. Banzai has a Z sound. Bonsai has an S sound.
    Occasionally bonsai is said with a long O. You are correct about the original use of banzai, but these days in the US it is just a cry of elation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The last day of February and I finished with a FIR. I messed up my otherwise clean grid when I first put crest/ORAL B and MUse/MULL. The circles revealed the SECRET SAUCE when you realized each one was only to be used once. I wondered about MOLE (T) on the same line and later saw (E) MEAT coming down but thought OK, use only once.

    Thanks, John Michael, for a smooth Monday puzzle with some new fill that added interest. Thanks, Boomer, for your review full of smiles. Hope your week goes smoothly. Glad to see you're doing your PT homework.

    Yes, we have been missing some of our regulars. Hope you all are doing well and can check in soon.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh boy. I had typed "Took A COol ...", but must've deleted the "ook" in "Took".
    So much for my attempt at working some humor into the theme.

    YR, the T isn't for Mole. It's for "HOT" going down.

    Anonymous @ 6:30.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mouth-watering Monday. Thanks for the fun, John and Boomer (good wishes for this week’s medical adventures).
    I FIRed in good time and got the SECRET SAUCE theme.
    Plus there was a well-placed Easter Egg with TASTE (although Umami would have been even better!).

    Like inanehiker, I knew BOBA from yesterday’s CW (which I finished but just lurked here).
    Muse changed to MULL, Due changed to DOS (I mixed up my Italian and Spanish).
    BSA was unknown to this Canadian, but AMERICAN perped easily.
    We spell CHECK the same way in this usage - CHECKPOINT.
    Someone (OK, I will not show MODESTY) should tell Rich that NAFTA was replaced by CUSMA (or USMCA depending which side of the border you are on) in 2020. Clue should be prefaced by “former”.

    FARM TO TABLE was great fill. That happens here in the summer with produce from my garden.
    Nobody with granddaughters needs a link to Frozen’s LET IT GO to have the ear worm for the day.

    Timely fill today in respect to world affairs, with TANK, CHECKPOINT, COUP (although this attempted unseating is from outside the country). All the ABLE men between 18 and 60 must not SHIRK their duty, and are not allowed to leave the country. The ACHE and PANGS of my heart for the people of Ukraine are increased with every newscast. Other countries of the world must ACT and not LET IT GO. If we do not learn from history, “we are doomed to repeat it”. That being SAID, we should still aim for peace, not war!

    Wishing you all a good day.



    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for the T tip. IMO, all of the themers should have a letter in common with another themer or none of them should.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Nice way to start the week off..Only one bone headed inkover: ivory/ EBONY (it said "wood" dummy!! 😲) Like I said yesterday I lurk on Sundays to get info on clues... which helped today with 1A, BOBA. Yesterday you all were TEASed today we got totally SAUCED.🤪

    ŒNO (It: enoteca, "wine shop). CARLA Tortelli was a typical stereotype.🙄

    I use "chopsticks" when I'm out, Not super handy with them so I eat slower. CHAI tea latte I enjoy as an alternative to cappuccino. Thought LATKES was maybe a double pleural like raviolis, pierogis...LIU, nope. Latke/latka is singular


    Ah do "Declare" today TIS AVER (and not avow) 😄

    One of James' peepers....BONSAI.
    Prague people....CHEX.
    Mozart wrote concertos ____ ...INDY
    Kerosene product....NAFTA
    Orphan: Neither Pa _____ ...NORMA
    Stun gunned...TASTE
    Operate....EWES

    Great job Boomer 😀

    Off this week; sunny but frigid 🌞

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hola!

    Nothing mundane about this Monday puzzle. Thank you, John Michael Currie and thank you, Boomer. I'm glad to hear your treatments are working effectively.

    The grid filled quickly enough and then I searched for the SECRET SAUCES and all but MOLET made sense. Oh, MOLE (pronounced mo-lay) which takes many hours to make. I recall my mother making it only once.

    Yesterday I did not finish the puzzle. Still working on it.

    My great-grandson (age 2) is a little NINO.

    For years there was a CHECKPOINT between Arizona and California to ensure no diseased or unsavory plants crossed the border but that has been disbanded. Even on the bus, the AG agents would come on board to inspect.

    Have a memorable Monday, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  20. YR & Lucina: All of the sauces are hidden within a single theme entry. That T, although it's on the same row as a horizontal themer, is in a different word. No foul, IMO.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Musings
    -MOLE sauce? I’ve only encountered BOBA tea here and it would have helped yesterday
    -A request made to Pat Sajak: AN A
    -Five letter word for piano key that ends in Y. I know, I know! Uh, never mind.
    -Alfie Doolittle sang of managing to “SHIRK” in the SHOW My Fair Lady
    -Harvesting PEAS from a garden is a very tedious FARM TO TABLE TASK
    -Unintended consequences. We’re set for 60+F weather all week but very dry golf courses are shut down

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thank you John Michael for a welcome respite from the weekend. The circles made no secret of today's theme.

    And thank you Boomer for the punnishing commentary and for the Minnesota weather report. Sounds like The Grumpy Old Men Festival committed a real FOX PASS.

    Some favs:

    1A BOBA. IIRC I learned this word just yesterday.

    17A OENO. A CSO to CMOE.

    19A TERP. Short for the the Diamondback Terrapin, the Maryland State Turtle.

    20A PrEhiSTOric. Goes great with pasta, on pizza, in soups, and in stews. We make our own by pureeing fresh basil, OLIVE oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. We make it by the ton and freeze it into "pesto patties". We spoon the puree into mini-muffin pans, freeze them, pop them out, and stack them with wax paper separators in plastic freezer boxes.

    25A TANK. They are on the roll in Eastern Europe.

    26A NAFTA. You mean this isn't a STARCH?

    44A MULL. You can also MULL WINE by warming it with a stick of cinnamon.

    51A ANT. So that's where POTHOLES come from?

    64A SHIRK. A real OGRE.

    1D BOOP. For us it was BEEP, the expected response when gently pressing someone's nose. If it wasn't loud enough, we adjusted the volume by twisting an ear.

    31D STOUT. What you become if you drink a lot of it.

    Cheers,
    Bill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MOI @10:20 AM Left out an important PESTO ingredient - some kinda nut, e.g. walnuts or even better pine nuts. The latter are a lot more expensive though.

      Delete
  23. Word of the Day osculate

    Pronunciation: ahs-kyU-layt

    Part of Speech: Verb, transitive

    Meaning: 1. To kiss. 2. To come in contact with, to barely touch. 3. (Mathematics) To share at least three points in common, to touch or overlap at least three times.

    Notes: Today's is a typical Latinate word (borrowed from Latin) that comes with the panoply of derivations found among Latinate verbs ending on -ate. The action noun is osculation, and the active adjectives are osculatory and oscular. There is also a passive adjective that comes in two flavors, positive (osculable "kissable") and negative (inosculable "unkissable"). Notice that the suffix -ate is dropped before -able and -ar.

    In Play: Pucker up, angelYou might ask yourself: "Why would I want to use a three-syllable word to say the same thing that I can express with one syllable (kiss)? Well, since Latinate words are considered high-falutin', if you are seeing someone who is high-falutin', you might want to say, "Dear, I feel so romantic, bathed as we are in the moonlight, would you decline an offer to osculate?" In such a conversation, remember the large family of today's word: "No, Wilfred, I am afraid that I find you most inosculable even by the dim moonlight."

    Word History: Today's Good Word came with the hordes of Latin words that migrated to English in the Middle Ages. It comes from osculari "to kiss" (osculatus "kissed"), a verb made from osculum "a kiss".

    For more info see Word of the Day

    Bill's comment: personally I think kissing is a lot more fun than osculating. 😍

    ReplyDelete
  24. FIR in a slightly longer than usual for Monday 14. W/Os LETITBE:LETITGO, LATKA:LATKE. R-O-S @9:13 mentioned a boneheaded entry; my “bonehead” was reading PRESTO for the first theme clue, somehow including the “R” in the circled letters. Until I got SOY, and went back for the V-8 moment and saw it was PESTO, not PRESTO, I thought the theme was gonna be “magic”. (DOH!) But that mis-thought didn’t last long. DNK MOLE sauce. Overall a fun Monday CW, thanx, JMC. And thanx too to Boomer for his as always entertaining write-up. I guess you’re just not grumpy enough, Boomer! Good luck with the upcoming treatments; keep us all posted please with how it goes.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am sure none of you "intellectuals " would know
    or care about what was in the Krabby Patty Secret Formula,
    but SpongeBobs "plankton" spent years trying to uncover it.

    Rather than spend years on it,
    I found a very short clip of when he "almost" discovered "it."

    you will have to stay tuned to the end to find out where Mr Krabs hides it...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Fun Monday puzzle, many thanks, John Michael. Always great to get your Monday commentary Boomer, and this one was a delight. And of course they didn't invite you, you are absolutely not one of those grumpy old men.

    Once PESTO turned up in the circles, I knew this was going to be a food theme.

    Pre-bedtime DECAF? Absolutely not--no coffee at all after suppertime, not even de-caf.

    I miss "Cheers." Diane and CARLA were fun to watch.

    Nice to see OBAMA turn up pretty often in puzzles.

    Also ERTE.

    Nice poems, Owen.

    Have a great week coming up, everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm almost positive the "coup" was referring to a coup de'tat, where the military overthrows the government - not the kind of car. A fun puzzle to start of the week!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Bill: " You can also MULL WINE by warming it with a stick of cinnamon." That's alcohol abuse!

    Re: FLNs - I didn't like Saturday or Sunday's puzzles enough so that I quit early and didn't even visit the Corner to see what y'all had to say. Unusual for me.

    ReplyDelete
  29. We grow basil every year (to put on everything)
    but mainly for Pesto!
    DW uses walnuts as pine nuts are hard to find on the east coast,
    however I have become to prefer the taste and texture of a walnut/basil pesto.

    Way back when,
    my fav thing she would make,
    (And still today, but waistlines say no)
    Would be spinach dip in a bread bowl!
    (I don't remember water chestnuts in it)
    (But Knorrs + Mayo +sour cream + whatever ya got leftover in the fridge)
    (Really hits the spot...)


    She has since moved on to garlicky bean dips,
    but she won't tell me the recipe...

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hmm,

    I like to research things before I post
    just out of caution for public awareness,
    but the sauce of that spinach dip recipe I posted
    Should maybe be kept a secret...

    I was curious about yesterkitchen recipes
    and went back 2 years,. While it is fascinating,
    I think at my age, most of these recipes would kill me in a week...

    ReplyDelete
  31. 7 DOWN. CATALAN is spoken in Barcelona, Boy is Noi as someone said above without explanation.
    Taxi drivers there found me somewhat insulting speaking slang TexMex Spanish to him.

    ReplyDelete

  32. At first I thought the task was ShuKing* peas like I shuk'ed lobsters 60 years ago.

    Osculate: I was thinking of oscillate

    WC

    ReplyDelete
  33. A fine Monday offering from Mr. Currie, well considered by our favorite Boomer...

    DECAF? I don't drink it. Late coffee does not keep me awake.
    OTOH, I never drink much coffee at a time, as a half or even a quarter cup is all I ever want.
    In restaurants I feel taken advantage of, as I like coffee with desert, but not always a large, full cup for $5 and up!

    I used to enjoy playing RISK. I invited friends over for weekly sessions by issuing "Diplomatic Invitations" to the reps from the different countries and blocs.
    I called them to meetings in our dining room which, because of a faux-crystal chandelier, we dubbed the "Hall of Crystal."
    Those were good times. A little less serious than recent negotiations between Russia and the brave Ukrainians.
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR:
    Just one diagonal today, on the recto end.
    Its anagram (11 of 15 letters) refers to idle chats on the theme of French wines, i.e., ...

    "VIN BLATHERS"!

    -or-
    Read another way, might these not be nonsensical ratings over automobile identities?

    ReplyDelete
  34. A nice fun Monday puzzle. Interesting that we just had BOBA yesterday. As far as I'm concerned, it is not tea, and those gummy-bear-texture gooey "bubbles" will choke you if you're not careful. Who can enjoy a beverage that will kill you unless you drink it very carefully?

    Speaking of AVER, there's a line in a song in The Mikado that goes "She'll toddle away, as all aver, with the Lord High Executioner!" I always used to hear it as "as all of her."

    Lucina, we remember the CHECKPOINT going from Arizona into California on I-10. I recall it was set up partially because of that "medfly" infestation.

    Good wishes to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  35. One more sauce that DW turned me on to
    Is a raw tomato pasta sauce. (More of a salsa really)

    this guy sorta makes it
    But imho, he does it all wrong...

    Take one of your fresh summer tomatoes,
    Just grab the dang thingie and grate the whole thing
    Over a bowl until all you have left is the skin (discard)

    To the tomato juice/slurry in the bowl add:
    A splash of olive oil,
    Dash of salt
    Pepper to taste
    Chiffonade (the only french I use) of basil leaves
    And as much garlic paste as you like
    (I prefer to smash cloves with my chef knife)
    (And then add kosher salt to further smoosh)
    (Yes it's a word)
    (The crushed salted garlic into a paste)

    Add penne, and viola!

    [ you'll never use jar'd tomato sauce again!)
    (Works great as a pizza sauce too!)

    ReplyDelete
  36. IrishMiss, I really like your round-up of connected words in a puzzle. Those are what I look for in composing my l'icks, but I never see as many as you do. I'd be writing a dozen poems a day instead of just two!
    (Looks like Jinx and Wilbur and CanadianEh! still managed to spot a few that coo missed!)

    ReplyDelete
  37. CrossEyedDave @1:01 PM We used to eat "Spinach Dip in a Bread Bowl"!
    It reminds me of "Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin":

    1. You cut the top ("the lid") off of small, single serving-sized pumpkins (1 per guest) and scoop out the seeds.

    2. You put cream, butter, cubes of toast, and spices in the pumpkin and put the lid back on.

    3. Bake in an oven until the pumpkins are tender.

    4. Take off the lid, and use a spoon to scrape the cooked pumpkins into the mix.

    5. Serve the soup in the pumpkins and then eat the bowls.

    As Hahtoolah would say, Yummers!

    Cheers,
    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  38. FIR --- Got the reveal and theme too.

    Thanks, John Michael Curry and Boomer!

    I had high school English teacher who said that ALOT (or A LOT) was a piece of LAND, and he would grade our written assignments accordingly (harshly), if it was used in any other context. Turned an EASY A into an EASY F.

    Years and years ago, I saw an ad for metal luggage tags embossed with a sports teams’ logo on one side, and the purchaser's name, address and phone info on the other side. Soooo, I ordered some Turtle U tags and some for that professional football team up there in the same ‘hood that doesn’t exist anymore. Nice guy that I am, I also ordered some pro tags for my sister (Broncos) and brother (same extinct football team as mine). Still have them on all of my stuff.

    When I called the luggage tag guy with my order, we got to talking pro football, and he told me he’d slip a little something extra into the package. He sent me a 1962 edition of Sonny Jurgensen’s (one of my all-time heroes, along with Billy Kilmer and Sam Huff) 1962 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES player card. That card was from before he was traded to the team that no longer exists. I still have the card somewhere, but I have absolutely no idea where it is.

    I once had KOBE beef at a Japanese restaurant here, just so I could find out why the big fuss. Meh!

    Picard is OK. Yesterday, he posted Facebook photos from the first annual Santa Barbara Mardi Gras shindig. They do know how to party out there!

    Yes, WC, MLB is CRAZY --- millionaires fighting with billionaires! I DON’T watch or attend anymore!

    ReplyDelete
  39. My guests love Knorr's spinach dip made exactly according to the directions on the package, using water chestnuts for crunch. At a party where everyone brings an appetizer, this is one of the first to disappear. Sometimes I use a bread bowl. More often I serve it with crackers which is appreciated just as much. Personally I prefer the crackers to the bread.

    ReplyDelete
  40. OMK @2:26 --

    Or, VIN BLATHERS might be "A certain Diesel bragging again about his new movie."

    ReplyDelete
  41. Yellowrocks:
    At our family or friends potlucks I like to take that spinach dip and it, too, disappears before anything else. It's scrumptious!

    ReplyDelete
  42. "The Grumpy Old Men Festival was held Sunday in Wabasha Minnesota, and I was not invited."

    Harrumph. I would complain long and loud, Boomer.

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.