google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, July 21, 2022, Erica Hsiung Wojcik, May Huang

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Jul 21, 2022

Thursday, July 21, 2022, Erica Hsiung Wojcik, May Huang

 

 

Today's constructors, Erica Hsiung Wojcik and May Huang appear to be making their debut in the LA Times, but they are not new to constructing.  Erica, who is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College, recently debuted a Friday puzzle in the New York Times on 4/29/22.  And this is a  brief chat with her that the Times published for the occasion

May often collaborates with her husband Kevin and they both run an indie constructor site.  She is a writer and translator, originally from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

And unless I missed something, their theme is pretty simple.  Enclosed within the circles (sorry Anon) in each themer are the reversed names of three shades of the color RED:

17A. Some plant-based patties: SOY BURGERSRUBY, as in gem quality corundum.

27A. Little by little: SLOWLY BUT SURELY.  Little by little, in the presence of oxygen iron turns to RUST resulting in Iron Oxide .

46A. Opening for some nostalgic stories: WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE.  As in WINE, or as one of my local DJs likes to call it, "the world's favorite beverage".  Recently I was having one of those "WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE" talks with my precocious 6 year old grandson.  The problem was getting a word in edgewise.  I can't imagine where he got that from.

And here's the reveal:

61A. 2022 Pixar film about a girl who goes through unusual changes, and the change seen inside each set of circles: TURNING RED.  A movie about a little girl with a walking identity crisis:



Here's the grid:
 

Across:

1. Sprouted: GREW.

5. Britcom starring Joanna Lumley, to fans: AB FABAbsolutely Fabulous.  This was the only G rated clip I could find (well GP maybe).  Unexpectedly called upon to get something to eat for a friend, Patsy Stone finally brings herself to eat a a crisp (we'd call it a potato chip) ...



Lumley has a long history in British entertainment and is also absolutely fabulous in dramatic roles as well.  Teri and I saw her recently in the 1998 series Coming Home set at the time of WWII, starring opposite Peter O'Toole.

10. Swing set site: YARD

14. Five-star: A ONE.

15. Cruz known as the "Queen of Salsa": CELIAÚrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of guarachas, earning the nickname "La Guarachera de Cuba". In the following decades, she became known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" due to her contributions to Latin music.  Here's her signature Bemba Colorá (lyrics not available):



16. Completed: OVER. If you want this to be OVER see clue 63D.

19. "Star Trek" creator Roddenberry: GENESTNG was my favorite series, although I confess that I haven't been able to keep up with the rest of the universe that Roddenberry launched:
 


20. After-school org.: PTA.

21. "The Bachelor" flower: ROSE.  Often RED, but not a themer.

22. Tours of duty: STINTS.

24. Word in many California place names: SANSAINTLección de Español número 1 and a clecho to 28DThe Spanish missions in California comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California.  The oldest cities of California formed around or near Spanish missions, including the four largest: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco.  A few years back, after attending a wedding in California, we were able to visit the missions in San Francisco and San Diego.
Spanish Missions in California

25. Title of honor: SIR.  The English SIR reminded me of the Hindu SRI and according to this blogger they may be related.

26. Highway sign: GAS..

33. Tiny opening: POREPORES can be almost infinitesimally tiny.  A nuclear pore is a part of a large complex of proteins, known as a nuclear pore complex that spans the nuclear envelope, which is the double membrane surrounding the cell nucleus. There are approximately 1,000 nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in the nuclear envelope of a vertebrate cell.  The entire nuclear pore complex in humans has a diameter of about 120 nms (there are 25,400,000 nms in an inch). The diameter of the actual channel through it is approximately 5.2 nms.  I cannot help but find these cellular components to be astonishing.
The Cell Nucleus

34. Sea cow: MANATEE.  Known for their malodorous sense of humor, Manatees swim thru these waters bi-weekly, so keep your eyes out for one this time next Thursday ...

35. Grilled meat dish: ASADO.  I wanted ASADA, as in Carne Asada (recipe).  But the adjective must agree with the gender of the meat being grilled.  LA CARNE  (e.g. beef) is feminine and its adjective is inflected with an A.  Apparently Erica and May wanted a meat like EL POLLO (chicken (recipe)), which is masculine and its adjective is inflected with an O.  A CSO to Lucina if I haven't gotten this right (and/or you've got some favorite recipes to share!).

37. Legendary pro wrestler Flair: RICRIC FLAIR, Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career that has spanned almost 50 years.
Ric Flair 1996

38. Get going: START.

42. Made into law: ENACTED.  "Every time we enact a new law, we create a new criminal" - Lao Tzu.

45. Oberlin's state: OHIO.

50. Evil spell: HEX.  From HEXE, the German for WITCH.  My favorite HEXing story, is about a hunter encountering a bewitchingly beautiful young woman in the forest at nightfall.  This scene is depicted in a German poem set to music by  Robert Schumann in his song Waldesgespräch ("Conversation in the Woods").  Here it's sung by baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (lyrics and translation):



51. Dragon boat race need: OAR.  The history of Dragon Boat Races in words and video  ...



Apparently these races are popular not just in China, but all over the world.  When Teri proof-read this review she mentioned that a former employer of hers was a sponsor for the Baltimore Dragon Boat ClubCheck out some of their Past Years Photos.

52. Choose (to): OPT.

53. College donors, often: ALUMNI.

55. Tea brand: TAZOI'll let them speak for themselves.

57. Blue-__: pain relief brand: EMU.  What a relief!  A new clue for this flightless foul.

60. Relinquish: CEDE.

64. Felt in one's bones: KNEWBut how do we know that we knowEverything you'd want to know about it.

65. Project on stage: EMOTE.  Usually connotes projecting TOO much, as in "chewing the scenery".

66. Breakfast brand: EGGO.  Two gerunds just waiting to happen, sandwiched between two delicious vowels.

67. Cheek: SASS.

68. Match.com matches: DATES.  I was careful not to simply Google match.com and was lucky to hit on this site (poor choice of words?).  It's not free you know, but then nothing in life really is.

69. Interlibrary __: LOAN.

Down:

1. Have a sudden inspiration?: GASP.  I hope this review is still breathing.

2. Jicama, e.g.: ROOTPachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as jícama, Mexican yam bean, or Mexican turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root.   Buying, cooking, recipes.  Hand up from anybody who's eaten it.  I think I've seen it in our local grocery, but didn't know what it was:

Jicama

3. New Age artist who often sings in Irish: ENYAEnya Patricia Brennan (born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic music. Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall in Ireland behind U2.  Here's her Caribbean Blue (lyrics):


 
4. NAACP co-founder Du Bois: W.E.BWilliam Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relatively tolerant and integrated community, and after completing graduate work at the University of Berlin and Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate, he became a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University.  And a CSO to ACE solver ATLGranny.
W.E.B. Du Bois

5. Radar or sonar: ACRONYMRADARSONAR.

6. Is a bad dog by the dinner table, say: BEGS.  Well, dogs do have big noses you know.  We just thought of our Labs as the pre-rinse cycle before loading the plates into the dishwasher.

7. Run for the hills: FLEE.

8. Broadcast: AIR.

9. Guitar player such as Este Haim or Kim Deal, e.g.: BASSISTEste is the co-founder of the band Haim.  Here's a 3 minute bass solo (one of the advantages of being a band owner):




Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.  Here she is on bass playing Gigantic with the Pixies:



10. Asana expert: YOGI.  Another CSO to Lucina.

11. Get even for: AVENGE.  But someone may get even for getting even.   Repeated REVENGE was the central theme in the trilogy of Greek plays by Aeschylus called the Oresteia, about murderous actions that took place before and following the Trojan War.

The Murder of Agamemnon
art.com

12. Beach house, maybe: RENTAL

13. Not casual: DRESSY.

18. Risk territory that borders Siberia: URALRisk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of the world, divided into forty-two territories, which are grouped into six continents.  I recall many a rainy Summer afternoon as a kid trying to take over this world:
 

23. Squares up: TRUES.   I found a lot of possible definitions for this, but as my father was a carpenter I settled on this one.

24. Bothnian Bay country: SWEDEN. The Bothnian Bay is East of Sweden in the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea.
 

25. Voting rights activist Abrams: STACEYStacey Yvonne Abrams (born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017.
Stacy Abrams
27. Facial venue: SPAAccording to this site, SPA is the 25th most common fill in crossword puzzles.  The site contains lots of other useful information of possible benefit to our constructors.

28. Word in many California place names: LOS.  The most famous of these of course is LOS ANGELES.   Spanish for THELección de español número 2, and a clecho to 24A.

29. __ pro nobis: ORAPRAY FOR US.  Today's Latin lesson.  A common response to litanies of intercessory prayers.

30. Place to unwind on a train: BAR CAR.

31. Textbook divisions: UNITS.

32. Comeback: RETORT.  Also a device for the distillation of spirits, a RETORT (aka a CONDENSER) is what moonshiners call a 'STILL.

36. Vidalia bulb: ONION.  Chopping Vidalia onions is a cheerful not a tearful experience.  By US law these sweet onions are grown only in the State of Georgia.  Another CSO to ATLGranny.

39. "I've got it!": AHA.

40. Contraption: RIG.  For example, a RETORT (see 32D).

41. Low digit: TOE.

43. Expected: AWAITED.

44. Ripsnorters: DOOZIES.   A real humdinger of a clue.

46. Sharp blows: WHACKS.

47. Capital near the Great Divide: HELENAHelena, Montana was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would become a wealthy city, with approximately 50 millionaires inhabiting the area by 1888. The concentration of wealth contributed to the city's prominent, elaborate Victorian architecture as well as this Gothic Revival cathedral on the National Registry of Historic Places:
Cathedral of St Helena

48. Oozes with: EXUDES.

49. Atop: UPON.

54. Kitten's cries: MEWS.   Mews is also a British word for a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. 
Horsbury Mews
Notting Hill, UK

55. Jogging pace: TROT.

56. Poker stake: ANTE.

57. "By that logic ... ": ERGO.  A Latin word made famous by philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.

58. Ginormous: MEGA.  Or GIGA.

59. Shabu-shabu noodle, often: UDON. Everything you'd want to know about UDON noodles.  You can use them in Shabu Shabu, which is a popular Japanese-style hot pot where the meat and assorted vegetables are cooked in a flavorful broth called kombu dashi. Everyone at the table takes part in the communal cooking and enjoys the ingredients with different dipping sauces.  Here's a recipe (video and text).
Shabu-shabu

62. Actress Thurman: UMA.  Move on.  Nothing to see here. 

63. Come together: GEL.  Well, it looks like this review has finally GELLED!

And thanks as always to Teri for proof reading and her constructive suggestions.

waseeley

Cheers,
Bill

Erica Hsiung Wojcik and May Huang, you are both invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.


48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, this is Subgenius. Like our genial host, waseely, I too wanted “asada” but because of the perps, it had to be “asado.” And I didn’t get the gimmick until the reveal, but I got it then. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy,

Wilbur Charles said...

Inkover #1: park/YARD; I thought 10D said Asana export but YOGI perped as I recognized Asana

Norm and Cliff play the revenge game

Kramer vs Newman in Risk

I remember discovering the BAR CAR in 1967

Pleasant Thursday run, no real issues. FIR

WC

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Well, back to the "reveal" puzzles. Yup, missed it. Saw the circles and wondered what BURY and RUST had to do with one another. The final fill was that C at the STACEY/RIC cross. I was thinking old-timey rights activist rather than the current Democratic candidate for Georgia governor. Enjoyed the challenge, Erica and May, and the erudite expo, Waseeley and Teri

BLUE EMU : There's also Blue Buffalo pet food.

W.E.B. Du Bois : Back in college I learned that his name is pronounced "du boys" rather than the "du bwah."

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I didn’t make the connection until I filled in the reveal because, like DO, I was parsing Ruby as Bury. And, like Subgenius, I had Asada before Asado, which I don’t believe I’ve ever seen in a puzzle. I also went astray at Recoil/Retort and Scoot/Start. Thanks to solving so many previous puzzles, I didn’t hesitate to enter Ab Fab, TAZO, Ric, and Gene. Major CSOs to MalMan (Manatee) and Montana (Helena).

Thanks, Erica and May, for an enjoyable solve and thanks, Bill, for the usual enlightening review. I enjoyed many of the clips, especially Norm and Cliff’s buffoonery, and I always enjoy seeing Jeff Bridges. Coincidentally, the last episode of The Old Man airs tonight. Both Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow have been outstanding in this series. Thanks to Teri, also, for her contributions. BTW, Bill, what was so funny about the Ab Fab lady eating a crisp? I’ve never seen the show so I’m not familiar with the characters’ foibles.

Subgenius @ 3:49 ~ I’ve noticed you post very early and am wondering if you suffer from insomnia or are just a very early riser. Normally, I’m a lazy head but this morning a 5:30 coughing spell caused a rude awakening and involuntary rising. How’s the iPhone working out?

Have a great day and stay cool. Yesterday we had a record-breaking 97, cool compared to Texas, Arizona, etc., but pretty darn hot, with high humidity.

OwenKL said...

FIWrong. Had mATES < DATES, and didn't notice it made AWAITEm a misspelling.

My hardest area was the SE corner.

Think I have to take a loss on this one themeicly. I saw the reversed red items quickly, but never heard of the film or had any idea about how it fit.
[later, LIU. I sorta did know of it, but from the trailer I saw, I guessed Red was a huge puppy. Had no inkling of transitions.]

Hot-air balloons of colorful miens
Were preceded by dirigibles schemes.
Those cetaceans of the open skies
Would paint their envelopes as disguise.
The Graf Zeppelin was made to look like a whale.
For the Hindenburg, a SEA COW was its style.
When it launched, there was a MEGA celebration
Reported in the newsreels all across the nation!
The radio reporters had a field day of a spree!
Herbert Morrison reported, "Oh, the Huge MANATEE!"

{A+.}

Anonymous said...

Irish Miss, this is Subgenius again . I do suffer from insomnia at times, but I also generally get up about 4:00 in the morning anyway (and go to bed about 8:30 p.m., so I am getting enough sleep, I suppose.) This is just a habit I’ve gotten used to in my senior years, but I’ve always been an “early bird.” Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine with it. After all,as old Ben said, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Oh, well, two out of three ain’t bad!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased WEs for WEB.

Never seen "Bachelor", but I hear "didn't get the rose" a lot.

I've had a couple of photos published in National Lampoon magazine. One was of my favorite replenishing stop when I drove from LA to Las Vegas. Atop a mountainous area of the desert, "Pass GAS" sold fuel, beer and snacks.

I thought "dragon boat" was going to be a CSO to Hagar the Horrible.

Many people think that DOOZIES comes from the Duesenberg car. It does not.

A BAR CAR often carries a fat man. Bockscar carried Fat Man to Japan.

I'll bet that Johnny Bench is an EMU rancher. A lot of Okies are.

Thanks to Erica and May for the fun. Hardest part for me was conceding that ASADO was right. But I was certain that ONION was right, so left it. And thanks to Bill for the visual treat and review.

Anonymous said...

I turned this one around in 7:07.

"Asada" before "asado," but "anion" had to be "onion."

Subgenius, which 2...?

Oh joy, circles. (Thanks for the mention, Bill.)

Anonymous said...

SS, I ‘m not sure it’s very modest of me to call myself “wise” but I am certainly not “wealthy!”

inanehiker said...

This was a quick solve for a Thursday. I have seen TURNING RED - it's from Pixar on the Disney+ Channel. Amusing take on the challenges of adolescence - especially managing emotions and the pull between peer pressure and parental pressure. Everytime she loses her cool she turns into a large Red Panda. It's set in Canada.

Gotta go - thanks Bill & Teri and congrats to Erica & May on the publish!

Anonymous said...

The above comment was from me, Subgenius,of course. And to answer your other question, IM, the iPhone is working out great! The only minor carp is that, for some reason it won’t let me access my avatar for this site. But it does everything else so well ( including many things I haven’t even tried yet!) that I can live with that!

waseeley said...

Wilbur Charles @4:51 AM Great Seinfeld clip. Had I known about it I'd have included it in the review, but you you did it for me. There is a lot of RISK in that game and it can drive players to extremes, especially the Putin's of this world. And the Ukrainian subway rider was a sad, coincidental reminder of that.

Yellowrocks said...

This was fast and easy, except for the NW corner. I didn't know jicama was a root. IMO PTA is not an after school activity. Our PTA meetings were in the evening. The mothers did their PTA responsibilities at home during school or in the evenings. Otherwise, technically, dinner could be an after school activity. Not!
I don't associate GASP with inspiration, but I suppose some people gasp when getting an inspiraation.
The rest of the puzzle I enjoyed.
My DIL makes good shabu shabu. She says it means wash, wash in Japanese. Each diner uses chopsticks to hold a piece of meat of vegetable in the broth to cook it.
I had two students who were always fighting to "get even for getting even." I called in the dads, who said they told their boys that they should always push back. I pointed out that this was escalating and could go on forever. The dads then realized it had to end. The boys were fine with that.
FLN Anonymous @7:08. The operative word was "debate." I didn't mean that only the names could appear. What Bill said @ 4D today about DuBois was fine, informative without stirring rancor and debate. I love hearing different points of view if they are expressed civilly, but on blogs, even this one, civil debate tends to degenerate into rancor and takes over all the blog space.

Yellowrocks said...

Not "of". The dinner holds a piece of meat OR vegetable.

ATLGranny said...

A nice FIR Thursday today for me. Thanks for your welcome debut puzzle, Erica and May! I needed the reveal too to unscramble the circled words and see the theme. (Hi, IM and Subgenius) All in all a puzzle with interesting but not obscure words.

Thanks, waseeley and Teri, for a thorough review full of extras. And for the CSOs to me. I feel honored! I had a few WOs due to assumptions that perps corrected: RETurn/RETORT, SOYBean.../SOY BURGERS, and like many others, ASADa/ASADO. Hand up for eating crunchy jicama ROOT occasionally.

We're getting lots of rain this morning and will try to go to the grocery store between showers today. It's cooled off a little, at least. Have a great day!

Sherry said...

Not a TX native but a transplant from LA. And yet have never heard of Asado. Names threw me as usual esp. when they cross each other, like Ric and Stacey. . Not bad for a Thurs.

desper-otto said...

YR, "inspiration" can mean "sucking wind" -- thus GASP.

unclefred said...

FIR in my usual snail-pace of 25 minutes. DNK TAZO. Lipton or Tetley didn’t fit so needed perps. For once I got the theme and saw the RUBY, RUST and WINE themers. TURNINGRED is a movie I do not know of, but that’s no big (or even little) surprise. Thanx EHW & MH for the fun Thursday challenge. Thanx too to Waseeley for the entertainment packed write-up. Jinx @7:52 you say DOOZIE is not named after the car? I am one of those who thought it was. Where does the term come from then?

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-TURNING RED – My teacher group is not teeing off today until noon.
-GAS at the new convenience store in Wahoo, NE is always at least a dime/gal. cheaper. Loss leader?
-Dang! ASADA and ANION seemed perfectly okay so I didn’t proofread.
-My students get a When I was your age alert before I start a story
-I always told my kids that the hardest part of a project was to START.
-After a “trial marriage”, my daughter hit the jackpot on match.com
-The soldiers did not know what the new RADAR technology was showing them on that “date that will live in infamy”
-Poirot’s Murder In The Mews (52 min) on YouTube.

Malodorous Manatee said...

I did not grasp the theme but did not need to do so to FIR. I did get 34 Across. Thanks to Erica, May, and to Bill for the in-depth recap with those great clips. I am not sure if Este Haim belongs in a class with, say, Victor Wooten / Geddy Lee / Les Claypool but that was sure fun to listen to.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

The SE was last to fall cuz I wouldn't leggo of "Post" cereal brand till I saw the whites of EGGO's eyes. Plus it was a MEGA mistake hanging on to "huge". Then the theme: shades (or what CWs like to call "hues") of TURNING RED. Didn't see the flick, now on my list. But oops I did it again, 2 days in a row....FIW for one letter DOOnIES crossed with TAnO. And TAZO chai latte is my favorite tea drink .🙄

One more queen left out from yesterday plus salsa one of yesterday's answers. Add Virgin Maryyesterday, today ORA "pro nobis" from Ave Maria ... all just another coincidence? Hmmmm.

"Can I roll up my "Asana" mat and go home?" YOGI: "It ain't over till it's over"... or.... "till the fat lady does the dog."

veggieBURGER too long. "Comeback" orate or EMOTE, (thanks UMA). Return or RETORT (thanks OHIO) "Match.com" DATES or (eventually maybe) mATES? 👫👭👬

What the unhurried goat did to actress Booth...SLOWLYBUTSURELY
Lowest form of....BASSIST
Ceasefire sometimes ...TRUES

Waz, very informative write up 🧐

Engineer said...

I have eaten jicama. It is easy to prepare; just peel it and dice it. It is crispy and has a delicate flavor, just right for adding to a salad.

OwenKL said...

<https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=DOOZIE+>

doozy

also doozie, 1903 (adj.) "excellent, splendid," 1916 (n.), "an excellent or splendid thing or person," perhaps an alteration of daisy, or from popular Italian actress Eleonora Duse (1859-1924). In either case, reinforced by Duesenberg, the expensive, classy make of automobile from the 1920s-30s.

OwenKL said...

Otto, "inspiration" can mean "sucking wind" -- thus GASP. Great catch, I didn't think of that!

Years ago I had a dr. who advised Jicama as a snacker to help with weight loss. Don't know why. I think drs are as vulnerable to fad ideas as the rest of us.

Subgenius said...

I just thought I'd do a quick post to remind you guys what my name and avatar look like. Like I said, the iPhone is a great phone, it just has a few little quirks like not recognizing my avatar and name on this site. Now that I'm at a computer, it's (a least temporarily) a moot point.

waseeley said...

Malodorous Manatee @9:30 AM And thanks for the cameo appearance.

TTP said...



Good morning. Thank you, Erica and May. Thank you too, Waseeley and Teri.

Well, that was easy. Almost too. A pretty good Tuesday puzzle. The expo took far longer to get through than the crossword. I still have links to explore.

CSO to Crossword Corner blogger Malodorous Manatee ! Funny how words cycle through crosswords in spurts. Manatee was also an answer in a recent Universal or USA Today, and in one of the Best Crosswords of late.

Hand up for having had hick uh muh. In salad. I like it. Jicama fries are pretty good as well. See if you can order them as a side the next time you have carnitas (Mexican pulled pork), carne asada or pollo ASADO at your favorite Mexican restaurant.

Interlibrary LOAN - "Reading is FUN... damental !" Our elementary school didn't have much of a library. But once every week or two, the "Bookmobile" would roll in. It was a treat to enter the bus and be able to check out books to read. Our new middle school was grades 5 to 8, and had a nicely stocked library. I think it was in 5th that we all had to learn the Dewey Decimal system. The high school library was fine, but the librarian was highly suspicious of most teenage boys, and she had a lot of rules. "No talking. No eating. No popping your chewing gum. Don't dog ear the pages. Put the books back where you got them. No making out with your girlfriend." She was tough.

Subgenius, try this on your iPhone. Scroll down to the very bottom of the comments. Press the "View Web Version". After it loads, scroll to the comments section and see if you are able to select your blogger profile from the Web Version when you comment.

My new glasses are in at Costco. Gotta run.

waseeley said...

Irish Miss @6:29 AM I've never seen Ab Fab either. I admit that the clip wasn't all that funny. But all the funny ones were R Rated. The only shows we've seen her in were the British dramas Coming Home and it's successor Nancherro, in which she was quite good

Subgenius said...

I may not have totally completed the process TTP but at least I can have my name right

Misty said...

Fun Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Erica and May. And always enjoy your commentary, Bill, thanks for that too.

Liked the geography in the puzzle, with SWEDEN, OHIO, and HELENA.

Wonder if a lot of ALUMNI become members of the PTA later on?

Getting a LOAN might help some folks to afford a beach house RENTAL.

Great poems from you today, as always, Owen--many thanks.

Have a great day, everybody.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Subg..if TTP's suggestion works lemme know. I hate my android and would like to switch to an IPhone. Make my annoying comments on my phone during breaks at work. I can't "preview" anymore anyway.

Irish Miss said...

TTP @ 10:52 ~ Your high school librarian sounds a lot like mine. One minor misstep and Sister Rose Catherine would see you to the door poste-haste. No second chances with the Nuns!

Bill @ 10:53 ~ According to Mr. G, Patsy is anorectic. I guess that explains everyone’s surprise when she eats a crisp.

SubG @ 12:26 ~ Keep working on that iPhone glitch so we can enjoy seeing your Avatar as well as your name. 🐨

Lucina said...

Hola!

ASADO is more of a stew whereas ASADA is usually associated with carne ASADA.

Thank you, Erica and May for the puzzle. It was an easy solve. I believe there is some TAZO tea in my kitchen. One of my granddaughters likes to drink tea.

I've never had a SOY BURGER and it's been a very, very long time since I had an EGGO.

Did not know legendary wrestler RIC Flair but perps were helpful.

Have great day, everyone! I'm meeting a friend for lunch. Yesterday was her birthday.

unclefred said...

Subgenius I was gonna make the same suggestion to scroll to the bottom and click on 'View web version' but TTP beat me to it.

Monkey said...

Perfectly OK puzzle, but not very exciting. I liked the long phrases. What would crossword constructors do without EMU and UMA?

I tried making my own waffles, but I’m a klutz so most of the batter ends up on the counter, so I resort to EGGO.

Picard said...

Very pleased to see two of my heroes GENE RODDENBERRY and STACEY ABRAMS today. Also please to see our friend Malodorous MANATEE get an appearance.

These MANATEEs were in our Solstice Parade in 2017.

The theme was "Unity". Huh? On the other side of the float from the MANATEEs was a Unicorn. UNI-TEE. Get it?

Here is the Unicorn opposite the MANATEEs.

Learning moment about this TURNING RED film. It actually did help me with the solve.

Bill Seeley Thank you for sharing the preview of the TURNING RED film. And thanks for validating yesterday that the usual QUEEN OF THE SCIENCES is Mathematics.

Also from Yesterday:
AnonT Thanks for the learning moment about L33T. I also had no idea what was meant by "PD". TLAs are tough enough, but a two letter abbreviation is usually impossible to Google. Unless it is MD, MR, DR or a state, probably better to write it out.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

For those that were interested, here's the pulled pork in the crock pot recipe I'm currently using.

CrossEyedDave said...

I dunno,

I tried hard, but nothing is turning up that is even slightly amusing in Google searches for "turning red."
In fact 99 peer cent returns are for that movie I have not seen that means nothing to me...

I even tried looking for time lapse videos of peppers turning red, and before I knew the whole day was gone...

So I made fresh batch of red tomato salsa,(secret ingredient=cumin, makes it taste like Chilis!) and tried to remember when turning red was funny to me. That only thing I can come up with was years ago, we went to a Mets baseball game, and it was Rusty Staub day. Everyone was wearing a red wig.... (& of course, he hit a home run!). (The crowd went wild!)

Or,
you could just take my doctors advice...

Malodorous Manatee said...

I am always interested in pulled pork. I usually apply a good rub and then cook it on the pellet grill for 12 - 16 hours at 225 degrees F until the internal temperature is 190 degrees F. I like it best with a North Carolina style (vinegar based) sauce but many other styles of BBQ sauce taste very good, also. Serving it on a pretzel roll with some homemade coleslaw is a nice way to go.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle, waseeley's write-up, and all your comments. Having THUS instead of ERGO, HUGE instead of MEGA, and THU instead of EMU stymied me in the SW for quite a while. Eventually I just erased everything in that area and started over; it worked.

Good wishes to you all.

TTP said...

Jinx, thanks. I've bookmarked that recipe. I really want to try one in the crockpot.

Here's the recipe I used the last time. Oklahoma Joe's Pulled Pork I actually smoked 4 pork shoulders on my pit that that day. One neighbor wanted two done, and another neighbor wanted one as well. I don't know what rubs they used.

Years ago around 92 or 92, I had my smoker freighted up from Texas. It's the 3rd one from the left in the top row of this image: Lyfe Tyme 16 x 40 with firebox.. Lyfe Tyme was the original designer of this style of pit smokers. Made out of 1/4" oilfield pipe. Smaller 6" wheels back then. Guaranteed to never rust or burn through. If you pull up the image, notice where they are made. They were much less expensive back then. Oklahoma Joe's copied the designs and they sell these pits too. They also used to be made out of 1/4" pipe, but I don't know anymore. Now you can buy cheap knockoffs made out of sheet metal at Lowes, Home Depot and other places, but they don't hold the heat and they don't last.

Unfortunately, Costco had no pork shoulders today, so I'll have to get one from a grocery store. Almost bought a brisket to smoke, but I'll save that for when the temps return to normal. Did buy a 24 oz cryovac package of smoked shredded brisked. Just heat and serve.

Malodorous Manatee, that North Carolina style sounds good too. Which pellet grill did you get ? I saw one on Steven Raichlan's "Project Smoke" on the PBS channel that fed compressed pellet discs automatically. As I think about it, I guess it was a smoker rather than a grill. Either way.

Malodorous Manatee said...

TTP, those types of units are definitely more smoker than grill. Most do not have a "direct heat" (grill) option although some do. I went with the Fast Eddy PG 500 from Cookshack. This was about ten years ago. In part, I went with the PG 500 because it did offer direct cooking. . . and I have used that option maybe three times in ten years. Low, slow and indirect is the way to go IMHO. The computerized controllers on all brands have improved since I bought mine but fire and smoke are still fire and smoke.

TTP said...


MM, that Fast Eddy PG 500 is impressive !

I want to come over to your house after you've fire that bad boy up ! Drinks on me !

Malodorous Manatee said...

You're on. Bring some xword friends!

Check out the MAK pellet grills, too.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

FIW - filled ASADA and never looked back :-(
//well I did, but not at the clue - AN ION seemed fine ;-)
//and I'm in good company with HG!

Thanks Erica & May for the puzzle. I've not seen TURNING RED, but the trailer posted looks cute.

Fun expo, waseeley. I'm looking forward to clicking more links later.

WOs: STACie Abrams, mATES -> DATES
ESPs: HELENA
Fav: Toss-up ABFAB (seen 'em all) or GENE Roddenberry (saw everything through DS9).

{A+}
Funny DR, OMK.

With the Y in place, I almost inked BeYond Meat. Glad I held off for the perps.

Blue EMU - never seen it but their ads used to be in heavy rotation on AM radio.

RISK is a kids' game compared to Axis & Allies. We played it all the time in HS. Lance would usually win which is why he was voted "Most likely to take over a South American Country." He's a Major in the LA Nat Guard now :-)

D-O: I leaned it was 'du boys' in 2nd-grade 'cuz I went there 2nd, 3rd, & 4th while living with Mom.

TTP - we too had skimpy libraries at school. Fortunately, a Lincoln Library branch was just off my paper-route. I read every Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators and Judy Blume's books. Ooomf, I did see where the smoker was invented #Uvalde :-(

MManatee - you know how folks spend $$$ on gear to catch fish or shoot a dear? And, all in, price/lb is 10x more than at the grocer? How many pork roasts do you have to make to justify the price of that grill instead of just going out for BBQ? //I'm mostly kidding - there's something to doing it exactly how you like it or, even better, learning exactly how to do it.
I'll bring another case of beer when this Que is on.

Cheers, -T

Malodorous Manatee said...

When I bought the pellet grill ten years ago it was not as expensive as it is now. That said, your comment that "there's something to doing it exactly how you like it or, even better, learning exactly how to do it" pretty much sums it up for me. I went down the BBQ rabbit hole with gusto.

Lucina said...

I may have written about the year of our family reunion when my brother, cousins, late uncle and others dug a pit for the barbecue; many guests were expected the next day. Then about midnight it started raining! Much digging up ensued and the meat was then slow cooked in pots.

LEO III said...

FIR. Had a few unknowns, but the perps got them. I also didn’t get RUBY. I had jotted down BURY, which I knew was incorrect, but I forgot to go back and look at it again.

Thanks, Erica, May, Bill and Teri. Nice work all around.

Tomorrow’s puzzle is ready to be printed. I’ll take a quick pass through it and then get some sleep. I too have strange sleep patterns.