Good morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here. "What!?," I hear you ask. "Isn't this Tuesday and not Thursday? Did I oversleep? By forty-eight hours? Where is Hahtoolah?" Well, as she let us know last Tuesday, and D-O further informed us last Wednesday, Hahtoolah is touring in Europe this month. I have the honor of filling in for her today. While I do not expect to come anywhere close to her level of clarity and humor, perhaps we can still share some insights and some laughs.
Today's puzzle setter, in what is not her L A Times crossword debut, is Robin Stears . Here is a link to a December, 2017 introduction to Robin on the Puzzle Nation site: Robin Stears / Puzzle Nation.
The puzzle's reveal comes after all four of the themed answers (if you solve from top to bottom):
54. "Shoo!," and an instruction that goes with the last words of the answers to the starred clues: GET OUT OF HERE.
The starred clues and answers are:
19 Across: *Social media time-out: FACEBOOK JAIL. Get out of jail.
26 Across: *Channel bottom: CREEK BED. Get out of bed.
34 Across: *Area of Hersheypark with the Candymonium roller coaster: CHOCOLATE TOWN. Get out of town.
47 Across: *Bit of trickery on a return: TAX DODGE. Get out of Dodge. From oaters.
Here is how this all looks in the grid:
. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Multivitamin mineral: ZINC. What kind of metal was RMS Titanic made of? ZINC.
13. Ranch rope: LARIAT. See also 8 Down.
15. "Knives Out" actress de Armas: ANA.
16. Foam ball brand: NERF.
22. Pinnacles: ACMES. When the clue is singular we have to choose between ACME and APEX but neither APICES nor APEXES was going to work.
25. Church topper: STEEPLE.
30. Frozen rain: SLEET.
31. How-__: DIY guides: TOS.
32. "Life of Pi" director Ang: LEE.
33. Jazz poet Scott-Heron: GIL. New to me but easily perped.
40. Half an umlaut: DOT.
41. "Blue Bloods" actor Cariou: LEN.
42. Thumbs-up at NASA: AOK. Not a dyslexic tree.
44. Land measures: ACRES. A quarter ACRE of undeveloped land might not seem like much to some people but to me it's a lot.
50. Move in a breeze, as a flag: FLUTTER.
53. Printer brand: EPSON.
58. Skeptical laugh: HAH. Not to be confused with a sneaky laugh, HEH?
59. "__ Rouge!": Kidman film: MOULIN. Français. En anglais, c'est Red Mill.
60. Written reminder: NOTE.
64. MSNBC journalist Melber: ARI. See also Exodus, Entourage, and Jackie "O".
65. Came afterward: ENSUED.
66. Actor McGregor: EWAN.
67. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE.
68. Papaya discard: SEED.
69. Many an auctioned auto, for short: REPO. REPOssessed.
REPOSSESSED - 1990
Down:
1. Super chill, informally: ZEN.
2. "Now __ seen everything!": IVE.
3. Neither's partner: NOR.
4. Dunkin' serving: COFFEE. In 2019, Dunkin' Donuts changed its name to, simply, Dunkin'. Several years earlier, Merl Reagle gave us all a laugh by relocating the D and thereby changing the name to Unkind Donuts.
9. Cocktail party bite: CANAPE.
10. Among one's records: ON FILE.
11. "Swan Lake," for one: BALLET.
21. Dessert that quivers: JELLO.
22. Play a role onstage: ACT.
23. Shoe with lots of holes: CROC.
24. Netting material: MESH.
27. Rorschach test component: BLOT. What do you see?
28. Fish that can swim backward: EEL.
29. Handed out cards: DEALT.
33. Group with fortysomethings: GEN X. Born between 1961 and 1981.
35. Poetic opening: ODE TO.
36. Halloween garb: COSTUME.
37. Spill the __: gossip: TEA.
38. Fistfuls of dollars: WADS.
39. Thumbs-down at NASA: NO GO. Not A OK.
43. Jeong of "Community": KEN. This was beyond my KEN. Thanks, perps.
44. Crocheted coverlet: AFGHAN.
45. "Ramona the Pest" novelist Beverly: CLEARY.
46. Blues and folk singer/songwriter Foster: RUTHIE.
Ruthie Foster Covers Johnny Cash
48. German article: DER. We have to figure out if it will be DER or EIN.
49. Warm-up act: OPENER.
51. Jackets named for a British school: ETONS.
52. Shake awake: ROUSE.
55. Chimney part: FLUE.
56. Hurried, quaintly: HIED.
62. Slight touch: TAP.
63. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO. Another frequent visitor.
As a postcript, some cruciverbalists might find the following article to be of interest:
Discover Magazine - Neural Crossword Solver Outperforms Humans
. . . . and now, perhaps, it is time to get out of Dodge . . .
פרת ים
MM Out
43 comments:
FIRight. It's still early in the week.
Lot of people's names, but I think it curious most were 3-letters: ANA, LEE, ARI, NYE, LUC, KEN, ENO. 7
Longer than 3-letters: EWAN, GADOT, CLEARY, RUTHIE. 4, with Gadot clued by a 3-letter name.
I didn't see the theme until the reveal, but that's normal for this type of puzzle. I don't like them personally, but I've got to admit it was good -- for that type of theme.
The control room is quiet with tension.
On the launch pad, the count-down's in progression.
Will the crew say
Everything's A-OK,
Or will a NO-GO scrub this ascension?
At one time we had 3 cats. The first two were SNAFU and FUBAR. We didn't know a third word in that progression, (is there one?) but I knew the term "Normally Occurring Abnormal Occurrence" (in other words, the rocket blew up), so our third cat became NOAbO.
It's time for me to type an ODE TO
The FLUTTER that mutters, in my chimney FLUE
I tried to stash my hash,
Instead got drenched in ash,
And when a fire was lit, all the neighbors flew!
{A, B+.}
Hi Y'all! Fun and fast solve, thanks, Robin. Always a fun read, thanks, MalMan.
Had one natick that needed a red-letter run: "G" in GIL/GENX cross. DNK: GADOT, ANA, KEN, RUTHIE but they perped in easily.
CANAPE took perps. Not a word I ever used.
Never used EVOO in my cooking. Not popular in my area. When I tried it after Rachel touted it, no one including me liked the taste.
Hope Hahtoolah is having a better time than my niece's MIL with her European tour.
Fortunately, I was familiar with Beverly Cleary's work, which is the only reason I was able to solve that Natick of the southwest corner, and it still took some WAGing to do it! Other than that, the rest of the puzzle came fairly easily, and I managed to FIR, so I'm happy.
FIW. I erased iron for ZINC, then confidently wrote ZiN, which seemed as good as any for iVOO. (I've never given up ZEN, but I used to love me a good bottle of ZiN.) Also erased river BED and lou for LEN. I knew KEN Jeong only because of the eye drop commercial he has a cameo in. I'm fairly sure that the dirt area he pulls over in was adjacent to the driveway where I used to live, just as Topanga Canyon Highway starts to wind down to the San Fernando Valley.
Usually the OPENERs are lesser acts. When I was in England circa 1968, a little-known Joe Cocker OPENed for the hottest group in Britain, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. A few years later I went to the traditional big concert the night before the Kentucky Derby. The Marshall Tucker Band opened for Charlie Daniels, who opened for the Wet Willie Band. I guess the promoters are more worried about who's hot now, not who has legs.
FLN - Lucina, my Honda's "wrench" icon is also called a maintenance reminder. It tells me when it is due for new oil, air filter, etc. The little engine icon is universally called the "Check Engine" light, and means that something's wrong. If yours is like mine, the wrench doesn't go away when the oil is changed, it goes away when the technician resets it (just a few pushes on the steering wheel buttons). You can drive a few hundred miles before tending to the maintenance minder, but you need to get a Check Engine light checked out right away. Sometimes those can wait, like an oxygen sensor, but there are many that need action right away. Several places will scan your Check Engine codes for free, and tell you what they mean. (I fixed a Check Engine on my Honda by replacing the gas cap, but it usually isn't that simple.)
Thanks to Robin for the fun puzzles, even if had too many names for my taste. And thanks to the MalMan for pinch hitting.
Good morning!
Guess who finished the puzzle correctly without reading the full reveal clue, and without getting the theme. Yup. Thanx, Robin and Mal-Man.
I was having a problem with _ENX until I realized it was a two worder(abbrev)
I think I messed up HeH/HAH.
The Naticks were conveniently located in SW much like the town SW of Boston
Maloman, I loved 'pattern' baldness test
I've mostly refrained but the plethora of pop-cul has gotten out of hand, methinks
So, technical FIW but FIR by Wilbur rules
Check engine light? "It's been on for a month"
WC
Like an old pair of Levi's, this one was 5:01 today.
"Jazz poet Scott-Heron"? I certainly didn't know that. Nor did I know Ruthie Foster.
Easy today, despite the many names. I knew most of them and easily wagged the one or two others. Still I prefer actual words. I wonder how machine solving has access to all of the oddest names.
I think maybe the pop culture clues are meant to attract a younger audience.
I learned SPILLED THE TEA from x-words.
I tuned into Downton Abbey in the middle of the TV series and gave up due to too much back story missing. I don't like to binge watch to catch up. But, last week I saw the movie, Downton Abbey The New Era, and really enjoyed it.
I like the herb, SAGE. Most of the family likes just a hint of it. I would use more if it was for me alone. In addition to chicken and turkey stuffing I like sage with stuffed pork chops.
For this elementary school teacher, CLEARY was a gimme.
Ruthie, CSO to my wonderful youngest sister.
Fun theme, Robin. Interesting blog, Mal-Man. Thanks for pinch hitting.
My check engine light has come on several time over the years due to a loose gas cap. The light stays on for another 50 miles or so after I reset the gas cap. That alarmed me the first time it happened.
FIR. A few proper names, Len, Gil, and Ruthie, stopped me for a bit. And I've never heard of "spill the tea"? New to me!
FIR Tuesday as confirmed by Hahtoolah's substitute, MalMan. Well done, MalMan! All your extras were definitely Hahtoolah quality, complete with the cat cartoon at the end. How sweet!
Other than entering "iron" and "icy" before ZINC and ZEN (Hi! Jinx, except I did know EVOO from watching Rachael Ray on TV) I had a clean grid. Like DO, I hate it when the first words on a crossword are wrong or difficult to get. But the rest of the puzzle was not hard and perps were friendly. Thanks, Robin, for the enjoyable puzzle.
Spill the TEA is an expression we've had before, I think, but it took a minute to remember it. It's not an expression I have heard.
MalMan for me in German, the first decision is whether the article is DER, "die," or "das" before "ein" is considered.
And FLUE reminds me of having our chimney relined. Nice illustration, MalMan. And a chimney limerick from OwenKL today as well!
Hope everyone has a smooth Tuesday.
Can you pls elaborate on RMS Titanic and zinc reference?
I thought it was wrought iron rivets and low quality steel plate...
In addition to "check engine."
When daughter #2 colleged in Washington DC we visited her twice in my Odyssey minivan.
At one point returning on the NJ Tpke, the "D" started flashing, indicating a transmission problem.
Dealer repair ensued.
In the second visit, the "D" started flashing again at the exact same spot on the tpke as last time.
Again dealer repair ensued.
Now I just avoid that exit on the turnpike and I have never had another problem...
Get out of here? my Mom told me they had to pull me out with forceps...
Too many proper names that crossed each other. IMO poor construction.
Happy to oblige, CED. Zinc sounds like sink.
Started with an inkover, iron/ZINC, always a bad omen 😰...DNF. Too many obscure unknown proper names crossing on top of each other in the SW. Especially for a Tuesday. Didn't even bother to try WAGs. IM must be "ired" with all the 3 letter words as well.☹
(theme) "Get Out" was a great horror/thriller movie from 2017, speaking of films, EWAN McGregor starred in "MOULIN Rouge" with Nicole Kiddman. YR...DW and I saw the "Downton" movie a few days ago. She had watched the series, I didn't, but I enjoyed the movie as well..
....."Ramona the Pest" wha? Guessed at LEW and TEA (old CW). When I was a kid my Aunt Anna and many local ladies made afghans..(we thought they were called "africans") all knitted with colorful yarn used like blankets. Isn't crocheting done to make lacey things like doilies, tablecloths? (Gram's specialty).
LARIAT, haven't seen the old standy "Riata" in awhile
We had a "chimney fire" in an old house we first owned. Firemen said the fireplace FLUE was faulty. 👨🚒🔥
Canapes.
Road to obesity....ETONS
Seasonal virus...FLUE
Curly and Moe wanna know where's ____" LARIAT.
MALman. The "shoot first" questions reminded me of the nonsense questions the knights had to answer to cross The bridge of Death in Monty Python's "Holy Grail"
Fetchez la vache!
"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries"
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Robin and MalMan (thanks for filling in).
I FIRed and saw the theme in good time. No inkblots, but I did pause in entering Iron before ZINC. Multivitamins generally have “and iron” in their title labelling to distinguish them from “plain” multivitamins.
Again a plethora of names, but all perped. The SW crosses of ARI, CLEARY, RUTHIE could have been Naticks, but I WAGged correctly.
Was ROUSE an Easter Egg to GET OUT OF BED?
I smiled at palindrome EEL crossing LEE.
Another smile at AOK crossing NOGO.
Perps stopped me from entering Donut for that Dunkin’ serving.
“HIE thee to hell” was hurled at Richard III by Queen Margaret in our play at Stratford on Friday.
A quivery JELLO (with two layers that didn’t properly set to each other) nearly caused an embarrassing incident on the lap of potential FIL to my brother on a first dinner visit with my parents.
LOL Ray-o re Canapés. Also MalMan re AOK “ not a dyslexic tree”.
FLN- welcome JoyK.
Wishing you all a great day.
Thank you Robin for a Mondayish puzzle, which I GOT a lot OUT OF, including my second FIR in the week (whoot!). The P&P on this wasn't too bad, with fair perps. And thank you Patti for pulling the punches again.
Thank you MalMan for stepping into some pretty big shoes and coming CLOSE to filling them. Between you and the CAT I'm not even going to try next Tuesday (although I haven't seen the puzzle yet, you can expect the review to be even more MEH than this Thursday's). Very clever sign-off too!
Some favs:
19A FACEBOOK JAIL. Is this where they house the TROLLS when they step over the line? I think TTP handles that job for us.
26A CREEK BED. CREEK BEDS sort the stuff flowing down stream by particle size and density: gold at the bottom, sand in the middle, and clays on the top.
33A GIL. Didn't recognize the name, but knew "The Revolution will not be televised". Seems he was wrong about that.
40A DOT. Cute clue.
47A TAX DODGE. I can honestly say that we've never resorted to one of these.
37D TEA. Learned to drink this from my Mom, and learned what spilling it meant from a granddaughter.
55D FLUE. The Chinese invented the downdraft kiln, which had the FLUE (the exit to the chimney) at the bottom of the chamber, instead of the top as in European kilns. This forced the fire down from the ceiling before exiting the kiln, thus heating the ware twice. This revolutionary design enabled them to produce the first high-fired stoneware and later porcelain.
I'd better post this before I get mesmerized by the Magic Froggy, and CONK OUT.
Cheers,
Bill
Good Morning:
I liked the clever theme which was well hidden until the Aha reveal, always a plus in my book. No real stumbles except for seeing Kuala instead of Kampala and entering Lumpur instead of Uganda. The only unknowns were Gil and Ruthie. (Hi, SS) It was an enjoyable solve but would have been more enjoyable with fewer proper nouns (27 plus 3 unnecessary clue references), and fewer three letter words (26). (Hi, Ray O) I don’t object to pop culture in the grid in small doses but, lately, the amount is staggering. Solving has become far less challenging (in a serious vein) and far less enjoyable, IMVHO.
Thanks, Robin, for a cute Tuesday offering and thanks, MalMan, for pinch hitting and entertaining us with your “Dad” humor. Loved all the visuals, especially the final cutesy cat. Shades of Hahtoolah!
Ray O, did you receive my reply to your last email?
DO, I read about a gruesome finding in Roman Forest. Isn’t that your neck of the woods?
FLN
oc4beach and Anon T will appreciate this. Two weeks ago, I received an order of Gibble’s potato chips that had a “Nibble By” date of June 7th, which was only 12 days from the day I received the order. As much as I love chips, there was no way I could, nor would I want to, consume 24 1.75 Oz bags in 12 days. I was very disappointed and surprised because, in the past, the dates were always 2-3 months out from receipt of an order. Just to voice my displeasure, I sent a pointed but polite email to both the manufacturer and the distributor. I never received an acknowledgement from either but yesterday I received a replacement order with a Nibble By date of August 22nd. I guess Customer Service and Satisfaction is alive and well, after all.
I can’t say the same about our HOA’s management company, though. I received an email from them this morning stating that the processing fees for paying the monthly maintenance by credit card is now $15.00 and by debit card is $6.00. While this doesn’t affect me as I pay by automatic withdrawal, I think it’s a little excessive. I have several of my monthly recurring bills charged to my credit cards with no extra fee, so this particular charge seems more like a penalty.
Have a great day.
Irish Miss, I hadn't heard about it. Weird that the news arrived via a UK newspaper forwarded from New York. Yes the bodies of two teenagers were found in a rural section of our little town (pop. abt 1500). One of the bodies has been identified as a local girl who was reported missing on May 23rd. The other body is believed to be her boyfriend. They were found just off a road we often pedal down on our weekend bike excursions. Sad.
Southwest corner was ridiculous with 3 proper names crossing. What happened Editor? I did like the mix of "nogo" and "AOK"
I'm in agreement with Irish Miss re pop culture. I feel in desperate need of a dictionary of modern slang, and a "card index" of modern personalities and company names that exist only in big cities. However, I did improve my time in both yesterday's and today’s cws this morning...I didn’t have time to work on Monday's until this morning.
IM, I understand (at least a portion of) the fees. The credit card fee the association pays is probably 4%, and I'm guessing that this would be paid by the HOA, not the management company. So if your dues are $375, the Association would only get $360 from you (if you paid that way), while those paying by direct deposit or check would contribute the full $375. (In one way or another, the homeowners will pay the fee charged by the credit card company. If it isn't booked directly against the HOA account, it will be built into the management fee. But with this arrangement, the cost causer is also the cost payer, which to me is "more fairer".)
Around here many restaurants have started charging a credit card fee. Before covid-19 and the ensuing chaos in the business world, restaurants were starting to charge extra for using cash INSTEAD of credit cards.
I might have mentioned this so forgive me but when we went bowling on a cold day in Reboboth Beach (DE) a few months ago the clerk would not accept cash which I thought was illegal if you read what it says about "legal tender" etc on the bills. But according to the web page of the Federal Reserve they can.
💵🚫
Hola!
Many thanks to Robin Stears for this puzzle which I finished fairly fast. No need to go to JAIL.
CHOCOLATE TOWN reminded me of our trip to Hershey so many years ago but what fun. I especially liked the "KISS" shaped light fixtures along the street and the enormous vats of chocolate.
Oops. I though LEN was LOU so DNF there.
It is comforting to have an AFGHAN my mother made for me.
ESL students often were confused between COSTUME and CUSTOM. COSTUME was, of course, always a timely topic in October. Much discussed ENSUED.
Thank you, MM, for not only your entertaining narrative, but also for posting the ETON's jacket. I'd never seen it before but filled many Xwords with it.
Have a wonderful day, everyone! Stay well.
Was Beverly Cleary a novelist? Are children's books really "novels"?
Two names crossing a name? HAH :-( DNF in SW.
Hi All!
Thanks for the grid, Robin; cute theme with some fun fill.
MManatee - love the salute to Hahtoolah at the end. Fun images in your expo. Thanks for stepping in early in the week.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: ANA, KEN, EWAN, and the DNFs
Fav: NASA crossings.
I was 10yrs old when USofA returned to space. I delivered the paper the next morning: In a massive font that took up 2/3rds above the fold "What a View!" A year or so later, RUSH recorded Countdown to mark the occasion [HG - I know you know why some of the footage in this video is NOT the first Shuttle launch / STS-1*]
{A, A+}
PK - Don't like EVOO? I use it for everything save pancakes. Maybe you need better olive oil. For my birthday last year, DW got me 4 pints from Italy for dippin' bread.
Ray-O: I only watched Get Out 'cuz I'm a fan of Key & Peele. That movie was scary! but really makes one think. #NoPolitics
LOL CANAPES. What's the average airspeed of an unladen swallow?
Now 'GET OUT OF HERE' or I shall taunt you a second time-a.
//DW hates when I'm with 'nerd-friends' and someone quotes Holy Grail - we'll go on and on at nauseam.
Ellen has (had?) a game called Spill the TEA. I don't know why I know that.
IM - extra chips?!? Fantastic. Now if you can get your Dewers' guy to screw-up your order... ;-)
Back to work. I'm in a class all week and teach has the personality of a bad-dad-joke and the voice pattern of Bob Ross. #ASMR. If I can make it to 4pm w/ out a nap,... ;-)
Cheers, -T
//HG SPOILER!!!!
*First few launches NASA painted the liquid O2 tank white. They stopped painting it when they figured out they could save fuel [the paint is heavy!].
Also, it was Columbia not Discovery that went up 4/12/81
Yes, book length young adult fiction books are considered novels.
"Middle grade novels are typically for the ages of 8–12. They are usually shorter, and are significantly less mature and complex in theme and content than YA. YA novels are ages 12–18, and tackle more mature and adult themes and content. Middle grade novels usually feature protagonists under the age of 13, whereas young adult novels usually feature protagonists within the age range of 12–18." from Wikipedia.
I taught many YA novels, like Beverly Cleary's books.
Definition of NOVEL. a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism. (no mention of age)
My intro to EVOO. Years ago I was reading a Rachel Ray recipe in a magazine while waiting my turn to see the doctor. EVOO? No explanation given. I had to look it up. I like EVOO in some recipes.
Fun Tuesday crossword puzzle, Robin--many thanks. And we always appreciate your helpful commentary, MalMan.
Still remember the time back in the day when I SANG in a choir.
But I never visited UGANDA--or CHOCOLATE TOWN, for that matter.
It would make my heart FLUTTER, to try to climb a STEEPLE. I mean, they are so STEEP.
Well, time for me to get some COFFEE and a CANAPE. No, wait, it's too early for that.
Have a fun day, everybody--except me. I have a dentist visit this afternoon.
MalMan, you and Robin should take your act on the road. She is an extremely experienced and witty constructor and you are at least half of what she is. You have so many unique observations that the enjoyment lasted after solving. It never occurred to me to wonder about the Hebrew word for manatee, or to read an article about them in Hebrew. Since I am not fluent in speaking, reading or writing Hebrew you added another challenge and more information. Apparently, in addition to the Dugong family, there are a group of related creatures who are called Dachshunds, but not the dogs.
I agree that the puzzles and the cluing are smoothing out so all is good. Thank you all
Hurray!! Unclefred managed to FIR in 14, a typical Tuesday time, unlike yesterday's sluggish FIR for a Monday of 20. Lots of names, but WOKLS, most were short and easily perped. I even knew several and filled immediately, which is unusual for me. When MM mentioned 26 3 letter fills, I thought, "There were a lot, but surely not 26!" until I counted them. Sure enough. DNK EVOO, but it reminded me of being in Costco yesterday. I like FRESH EVOO, but find once a jug is opened and air gets in, it soon turns rancid. Costco had huge bottles of EVOO, and I thought, "Yeah, great value per ounce, but I'll end up tossing out 3/4 of it, so....no." MM mentioned "Easy Crosswords for Seniors for Dummies". Geez, right up my alley! Anyway, an enjoyable Fast-Fill-Terrific-Tuesday, nice theme and clever clues, thanx, RS. And thanx too for the terrific write-up, MM. Oh, also at Costco I bought one of their rotisserie chickens, amazingly enough still $4.99. It is huge! I made a meal of part of it last night, then thought, "Oy! WAY too much chicken here for just little ol' me!" and texted my neighbors, one by one, if anybody wanted a half of a Costco rotisserie chicken. Each texted back some variation of, "No thanx, those things are full of steroids, hormones and preservatives." I thought to myself, "Really? Good!! At my age I need all the steroids, hormones and preservatives I can get!" Looks like chicken for every meal for a week, ending with a big pot of chicken soup.
DO @ 10:53 ~ Sad, indeed, but, unfortunately not uncommon in today’s world.
Jinx @ 11:54 ~ Your explanation makes sense but if I had to pay a fee to make a payment , I would resort to good old snail mail and the price of a stamp. The last I knew, a cash payment fee was $10.00, but I doubt any homeowners use that payment method as the management office is at least 15 miles away.
Anon T @ 1:01 ~ I gave the first order of chips to my cleaning lady who has a large family capable of devouring those chips before the freshness disappears. (I don’t think Dewar’s has a “Drink By” date, though! 😝) Just an hour ago, I gave her the bulk of the monster watermelon which will also be devoured before it turns bad. She put 3 separate pieces into a sturdy grocery bag which promptly split open from the heft. At least no one had to go to the ER this time. 🤣 (I’m a big fan of EVOO and use it often.)
A PZL from Stears by way of MalMan...
First of all, ya gotta admire that op-art frog!
Next, I wanna acknowledge the cluing. When a crossword is this EZ, the only thing that makes it worth one's time, is how well it is clued. This one struck me as "No nonsense"; it got right to the point. (Liked "Half an umlaut"!)
I only paused at the minor Natick in the SW (lower left) corner.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal, close at hand.
I don't know quite what to make of its anagram (13 of 15 letters). The diagonal is rich in vowels and has a few exotic consonants.
I mean, I can read the anagram for literal sense, but what CAUSED the condition it describes is beyond me.
Maybe it refers to a great northern blizzard that selectively struck only the reed section of an orchestra.
Or it might relate to some musician's union action limiting the instruments available for the next concert.
In any event it is an...
"OBOE & SAX FREEZE"!
(Any other suggestions?)
Musings
-The string of perfect days for golf continues
-Daniels Produce in Monroe, NE will have wonderful sweet corn for sale in a few weeks
-“HOW TO’S” on YouTube have saved me time and money
-I wonder if Robin or Patti have heard of GIL Hodges
-I’ve never seen what was ON FILE about me at school
-My daughter (born in 1971) told me yesterday someone called her a “baby boomer” and not a GEN Xer.
-A negative event (e.g., failure to dock) at NASA can cause someone to call out, “NO JOY”
-RUTHIE’S cover of Ring Of Fire was fun
-The Beatles were the OPENERS for Roy Orbison but as the Beatles shot to monster fame, the roles reversed during a 1963 tour
WooHoo. I just finished emptying my paper shredder. What an ordeal! I did not realize it was so full and luckily I line it with a plastic bag but even with that, the overflow created a mess! Well, this room needed vacuuming anyway. All the junk mail I receive goes in there so no wonder it was full.
I love EVOO and use it frequently.
HG: I'm happy for you that your golfing weather continues. And my mouth is watering for that fresh corn. The one I bought recently had no flavor at all. Sad. Slathering it with butter was the only redeeming quality.
I liked this puzzle except that SW corner. The theme was fun. Checked the downs before deciding whether that multivitamin mineral was IRON or ZINC.
LW has bought several brands of EVOO and most don't taste like olive oil at all. I have read that the market is saturated (ha ha) with fake olive oil, which is really just vegetable oil like Mazola or Wesson, and what it says on the label cannot be trusted, even with major brands (perhaps even more so with major brands). Good EVOO tastes like black ripe olives, and if you like ripe olives you'd like good, real EVOO. When we eat out I usually order just olive oil on my salad, but more often than not I can tell it's just vegetable oil, probably the same oil they make "oil and vinegar" or "vinaigrette" dressing with.
By the way, EVOO is not so good for frying, as it smokes at relatively low temperatures. Lighter-colored olive oils are better because they can be heated hot enough without smoking or burning.
Wel, sheesh, I just looked it up and found many articles claiming that in fact you can use EVOO for frying if it is pure and not blended with other (inferior) oils. (Many are. See above.)
Many years ago we had a Datsun 810 (the forerunner of the Maxima) and the Check Engine light came on. When we took it to the dealer they informed us that the light always comes on, no matter what, at 60,000 miles, and then proceeded to remove the light bulb. Yes, we were billed for, and paid for, the labor.
Malodorous Manatee, thank you very much for the excellent write-up.
Good wishes to you all.
unclefred - This morning I heard a story on NPR about Costco rotisserie chicken. They keep the prices low but put the birds all the way back of the store hoping you buy something else with higher profit margin along the way. Also, they opened their own chicken plant a few years ago(?)
IM - yeah... If booze had a drink by date, I'd be worried [I think I have gin from 8 years ago in the bar area].
Jayce - LOL 'idiot light' story. I had a Datsun/Nissan Z-car back in the day. Nothing worked right but you could work on it; very much unlike new cars these days.
And, yes, I will brown meats w/ EVOO.
Cheers, -T
Musings 2
-Yes, T, NASA thought painting the boosters white made them look sleeker. However that paint weighed 600 lbs and getting that paint off the ground meant that was 600 lb of payload that had to be left off. Leaving the boosters orange (the color of the insulation) still looked pretty cool.
-Yes, Lucina, Daniels Produce plants their sweet corn where the ground is covered in black plastic which really gives the corn early "heat units". The result is early, wonderful corn.
Thank you all for your kind comments. It is particularly gratifying to note that the nod to Hahtoolah went neither unnoticed nor unappreciated.
Late to the Party, as usual. Reminds me of an old joke ....
In New Yoek, you can attend any party ... if you're dressed right ... in Paris, you have to really look around to find a party ( going on - ) .... in Moscow, you dont have to look for a party, because you dont find the party,... the party finds you ... ( Bob Hope's joke from 1960).
Thank you Robin Stears, for a crunchy but enjoyable Tues puzzle, and thank you MailMan for the review, which I enjoyed very much, and your sense of humor.
I was going to ask about the hebrew lettering, at the end of the blog, .... ala Hahtoolah, but thanks to Lemonade doing the ( some sort of ....) translation. The rest of the readers did not mention it, at all.
I have used Extra Virgin Ol Oil, EVOO, since 1990's ), .... and even got used to the initials, for CWs, since last month.
But I once served it, as a salad dressing, at a rare dinner party I gave and attended as a co-host, and many people did not like it.
When I told them it was an E V O O , imported under a famous (?) italian company name, and directly from Italy ... they made some rather tasteless jokes, that I would not repeat. Now, I just use melted butter and corn oil .... might as well get my money's worth of the Simvastatin, and Atorvastatin, and Rosuvastatin ... that I pay good money to consume, every day ....
Lots of names in the CW, but I knew Beverly Cleary because I used to read to my daughters every night... right from Syd Hoff, onwards.
Now, I think, the 28 Across clue ... the fish that can also swim backwards. Could be and should be .... ELE ... Atleast its a palindrome.... ;-o)
Good night all, and have a great day, tomorrow.
Tony: EVOO. I used very little oil or grease in my cooking. My husband was on a perpetual low-fat diet because of heart problems in his family. We got fat from home-grown choice beef which I trimmed and pan broiled. I never "fried" anything. Now the only fat I have in the house is to smear on my toast a couple times a week and Pam to spray my dish before cooking an egg in the microwave. Being Italian, I'd guess your genes are coated in EVOO.
Another night-time storm just moved in to keep me awake 'til all hours. The sunny days are nice, but I then tend to sleep during most of them.
Would you believe I forgot the LA Times puzzle was mine? I figured it out after my work day was over.
But thanks for all your kind words. In case anyone was interested, I owe TAX DODGE to the evening news. I had a very hard time coming up with a not-Fort Dodge phrase. Luckily, tax cheats exist and they saved my theme. :D
Musings 2
-Thanks for the comment, Robin. Were you referring to Fort Dodge, Iowa?
-Errata - It has been a long time since I taught about the shuttle for kids I was taking to KSC and so I mislabeled the components painted white as being the boosters and not the External Tank which was heavily insulated for having liquid oxygen and hydrogen at -400F.
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