google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday August 15, 2022 Carly Schuna

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Aug 15, 2022

Monday August 15, 2022 Carly Schuna

Theme: "Awesome!" - First word in each theme entry is a slang for "awesome".

20. Awesome event in military history?: BOSS BATTLE.

33. Awesome side at a barbecue?: SWEET CORN.

41. Awesome double Dutch accessory?: TIGHTROPE.

52. Awesome tennis racket?: FLYSWATTER. Read here.

Boomer here. 

Good Morning all. I completed my visit with oncology doctor a week ago and my blood draw work was good except the PSA. We'll wait for two more months to see if the new chemo is working on my cancer cells. Thanks to all for your good wishes and care regarding my PSA. The oncologist told us he has seen some as high as 10,000.

Across: 

1. __ the fat: CHEW. That's what we do on this website.

5. Fill, as a teddy bear: STUFF.  Or "fill, like my stomach."

10. Bonneville Salt Flats state: UTAH.  A Four Corners state.


14. Toy block brand with Creator 3-in-1 sets: LEGO. Happy Birthday to these great toy blocks,  just turned 90 years old. Very popular at Mall of America. 

15. Pitch-fixing pro: TUNER.

16. Indian flatbread: ROTI.


17. Hankering: URGE.  Generally I have an URGE for breakfast before checking this site.

18. Submit taxes online: E FILE.  We do this with Turbotax.

19. Severely overcook: BURN.  The first four letters of my last name.



22. Desertlike: ARID.  We have had a pretty HOT summer in this land of 10,000 lakes this year.

23. Signs off on: OKS.  Not yet - OKAY ?

24. Tree in a tray: BONSAI.

26. Penne and pappardelle: PASTAS.  I just like really thin spaghetti.

30. Minor mistake: SLIP. We all make a few while solving.

32. Scrub energetically: SCOUR.

38. Comic __: casual typeface: SANS



39. Warty jumpers: TOADS.  We used to catch them when we were kids.

40. "That is a fact": TRUE.  TRUE or FALSE test ?

43. Judy Blume's "Tales of a Fourth __ Nothing": GRADE.  Easy high GRADE

44. Softball scores: RUNS.  I was the slow pitch pitcher on the Graybar team.

45. Telephoned: CALLED.

46. Hypothetical scenario: WHAT IF.

50. Hotmail alternative: AOL.  America On Line.

51. A pop: EACH. A bottle of Pepsi did not fit.

59. Digging: INTO.

60. Spaghetti Western director Sergio: LEONE.  Yeah, but why is it called "spaghetti"?


61. Roof overhang: EAVE.  Keeps rain from dripping.

62. Splits: GOES. "A nasty bowling leave" had too many letters.

63. Superexcited: EAGER.  I am EAGER to see Orthopedics at the end of this month to see if I get my left arm back.

64. Marvel Comics mutants: X MEN.

65. __-and-seek: HIDE.  Great game for kids!

66. Trades blows: SPARS.

67. Structure with stakes: TENT.  I spent quite a few nights in one.

Down:

1. Sandwich type: CLUB.  Thirteen cards within a deck.

2. Sandwich type: HERO.  We also have a plumber in Minnesota that uses that name.

3. Spaghetti carbonara ingredients: EGGS.  I like scrambled.


4. Misfortunes: WOES.

5. Swordfish servings: STEAKS. I prefer tenderloins.

6. Clumps of fur: TUFTS.

7. Scoville __: chili pepper heat measurement: UNIT.

8. Succumbed to gravity: FELL.  That's why I am now waiting for my shoulder to heal.

9. Giveaways for sampling, e.g.: FREEBIES.  When the senior PGA played the 3M tourney in Minn. We received many free 3M products, just for showing up.

10. "Blue Ain't Your Color" country singer Keith: URBAN.



11. Travels with the band: TOURS.  Our favorite was a tour of Myrtle Beach.

12. Open courtyards: ATRIA.

13. Asian language related to Urdu: HINDI.

21. Wild pig: BOAR.  I'll bet those pork chops are tougher.

25. Choose (to): OPT.

26. Hissed "Hey!": PSST.  Do you want to know a secret?

27. Smoothie bowl berry: ACAI.

28. Spotify selection: SONG.  I can do Simon and Garfunkel.

29. Booty: TUSH.  Sit in it!

30. Scoreless Scrabble turns: SWAPS.  I SWAPPED many baseball cards in my lifetime.

31. News story opening, in journalism jargon: LEDE.



33. Shortly: SOON.  Almost done.

34. __-Alt-Del: CTRL.  It takes long fingers to hit this.

35. Spoken, not written: ORAL.

36. Disrespectful: RUDE.  Not me - Not nice.

37. "__ a lift?": NEED.

39. Artisan chocolate treats: TRUFFLES.  Delicious.



42. Uni- + bi-: TRI.

43. Huge bash: GALA.  Our Minnesota State Fair is a huge bash.  I cannot make it this year.

45. Quakes in fear: COWERS.

46. Put on a scale: WEIGH.  My weight is down about thirty lbs.  Unbelievable!

47. Vietnam's capital: HANOI.

48. Played a role: ACTED.  I played Noah (spelled Noye ?)

49. "The ones I'm pointing at": THOSE.

50. Ed of "Up": ASNER.  Liked him in the Mary Tyler Moore show.



53. Jeté, e.g.: LEAP.

54. Lotus pose discipline: YOGA.  Not Mr. Berra.

55. Smartphone message: TEXT.  I have never done this.  I guess I am not a smart person.

56. Subdue, as wild hair: TAME.

57. Neck and neck: EVEN.  "And down the stretch they come "

58. Tenant's monthly payment: RENT.  We own but have a questionable neighbor who RENTS.

Boomer



 

46 comments:

Subgenius said...

Although the other themed answers are common expressions, I never heard of a “boss battle.” Can somebody fill me in.

Subgenius said...

Actually, that should be “in?” Other than that, smooth sailing. FIR, so I’m happy.

Anonymous said...

"Boss battle" as in a fight against a videogame boss. As a gamer I was surprised to see that entry as a themer.

unclefred said...

FIR in 15, with an interruption. Probably 13 minutes actually on CW. Nice Monday week starter, although (DOH!) I did not get the theme until Boomer ‘splained it. Spaghetti westerns were filmed in Italy, but made to look like they were filmed in the American West. Lots of good movies made by Leone Sergio, who pioneered the spaghetti western. Only three proper names (hurray!). 53D coulda been leap/jump/step, had to wait on the perps. Thanx, CS, for the entertaining CW. Thanx yet again to Boomer for his outstanding write-up. I would sure like to lose thirty pounds, but not the way Boomer did it. I’m glad things seem to be coming along, Boomer, other than the PSA. Any more comments about the V.A. cafeteria chow? Find any favorites?

unclefred said...

Ach, Sergio Leone, not Leone Sergio. Jeez.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

We had Italian salad this morning with PASTA, Spaghetti Carbonara, and Spaghetti western. Managed to go wrong with NAAN/ROTI, CHAR/BURN, and ANON/SOON. Hooray for Wite-Out. Thanx for the easy romp, Carly, and for the sterling expo, Boomer.

unclefred said...

This CW has me hungry for pasta. That spaghetti carbonara looks like it’s gonna be my lunch! Several good Italian places within a few blocks of me.

Anonymous said...

Today's took 4:26 to win the battle.

Just to expand a little on the prior comment, in some video games to get past a certain level, you have to beat ("battle") a tough character (a "boss"). So, "boss battle" is a "thing."

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW Monday. I had "skips" for the scoreless scrabble turns, resulting in SkoTT CORN and LoDE. A little proofing would have fixed the problem. Erased nann for ROTI and anon for SOON.

I knew about BOSS from the muscular Ford Mustang that wore that badge. I've used SWEET as a superlative for a long time. Never heard of TIGHT as being one, but remember Titus Canby in Bringing Up Father, and TIGHT wasn't a complement. I'm pretty sure that a WASP using FLY is cultural appropriation, and since I am well-known as a super-woke individual, I'd never utter the word in that context.

I used to use Comic SANS in PP slides for presentations and when I was teaching, until I noticed that a LOT of people also used it. Using the same font as most others contributes to "death by Power Point".

Thanks to Carly for the fun Wednesday-on-Monday puzzle, and to Boomer for another fine tour.

Sherry said...

There was four clues I hadn't heard of before today. Jete, Indian Flatbread, Scoville, and Lede. Learned something new tks..

inanehiker said...

This was a fun Monday romp - amusing themers. I had a 7:30 dental appt which went smoothly so have a little break before I have to be at work at 930 - so stopped at a local coffee shop and have time to catch up on a few important things, like this blog :), before I dive in for the day. My MA likes me to have an appt because I always bring her something back which makes a good start for the week.

As usual I could just say - whatever D-O said. Comic SANS is the preferred font for reading for those with dyslexia - not a lot of extra on the letters that make them harder to figure out.
Thanks Boomer for the amusing blog and Carly for the puzzle!

CrossEyedDave said...

Ditto,
Naan, anon,,,
Oh Well....

Hmm,
Even I don't believe that photoshop,
maybe I should tone it down a little...

Yellowrocks said...

Not a Monday or Tuesday puzzle, maybe Wednesday. DO I puzzled over the NE corner, too. I missed the theme, but I have heard all of these synonyms for awesome, but never heard of BOSS BATTLE
All languages use cultural appropriation. Especially English. We have tons of "loan" words. And other languages borrow from us.
39A.Toads are not know to be jumpers. Google: "Toads actually prefer to walk rather than hop. If they do jump/hop, they only move short distances. As such, they don't really need long legs like a frog does so their legs are relatively short." There are better traits that can be used here. Warty amphibians?
Boomer, hoping your PSA is lower next time.

CanadianEh! said...

Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Carly and Boomer.
I FIRed in good time, with three inkblots.
Naan turned to ROTI, SWEET Slaw Turned to CORN (that makes better sense, and turned Want to NEED), Blip turned to SLIP.

Is our BBQ SLIP a Sear, Char - no BURN. Totally inedible! I waited for perps.
Unknowns like SANS, LEONE , and even UTAH for this Canadian) filled with perps. No nits.

Wishing you all a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-It was so fun to see the name Carly Schuna again. I had her first Saturday themeless on March 22, 2022 and she had this to say about herself:
When I am not making crosswords, I am a circus performer and coach specializing in German wheel (see picture). I also teach static trapeze, flying trapeze, juggling, teeterboard, and more. If anyone is ever near Madison, WI and wants to learn some circus, check out Madison Circus Space, the organization I co-founded where I teach, and we can do some circus together!
-She and I became FaceBook friends and have had several very pleasant exchanges.

waseeley said...

unclefred @5:24 AM They also looked like Westerns because Clint Eastwood started in a lot of them.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

This puzzle was "baaad" (awesome)

Close FIR ...WAGged SANS crossing TUSH (thought "booty" used as slang meant "body")
Started off with an inkover: trim/CHEW, later: blip/SLIP....how many of us had naan (c'maan!) for "Indian flatbread". I stuck with it waaaay too long..🙄.

Boomer: "Spaghetti Western" kind of a. disparaging, dismissive term. ..."a movie about the American Old West made cheaply in Europe, typically by an Italian producer and director"...If it wasn't for Spaghetti Westerns you might never have heard of ...Clint Eastwood...."Il Buono, il Brutto e iI Cattivo", The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. "Un Pugno di Dollari", A Fistful of Dollars ..ETC. ..🤠

A Mass. U.......TUFTS
Regretted...RUDE
Split down the middle...INTO
Who's arguing?.....WHATIF?
Nylon oh nos....RUNS
Goatherds bovine equivalents....COWERS
007 peeper...BONSAI

Never heard of this constructor, fun puzzle. A circus performer AND a CW author..super BOSS, FLY.... SWEEEET! 🎪

Boomer, my brother just diagnosed with prostate cancer. Starts radiation next week. My GF, Dad and his 2 brothers and all my male father-side cousins too. I'm just waiting for my PSA to do something funky.







PK said...

Hi Y'all! Really fun & easy puzzle, thanks, Carly. Thanks for the SWEET expo, Boomer.

Never heard of any of those theme terms meaning AWESOME except maybe SWEET. Couldn't make sense of the theme, therefore.

DNK: LEONE, SANS, ROTI (know we've had it recently. just forgot it)

On the farm, I had a TOAD living dug into a big flower pot. Whenever I hosed in cold water, it very definitely jumped a couple feet in the air and startled me every time. I don't know why Google thinks TOADs don't jump. The commenter must never have known a TOAD personally. Mine hopped around the flower beds and over obstacles.

My father, his brother, and four nephews had prostate cancer. Dad had surgery & radiation and lived a number of years, dying of a stroke. The cancer spread rapidly in the younger generation nephews because they didn't see a doctor. One of my brothers had prostate cancer & treatment due to his nagging sister (me) telling him it was a family problem. He is free of it. When I was at the newspaper, I did stories kicking off a big PSA testing clinic which had a profound effect on our community.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A nice, welcome/needed rain and highs in the 70’s make for a pleasant day and change of pace.
-I remember BOSS from surfing slang of the 60’s. That’s a BOSS car/wave/board etc.
-TUNER – Years ago I used tuning forks from my physics lab for my guitar. Now I use this iPhone app
-BONSAI is a tree and BONZAI is a battle cry
-WHAT IF they had a war and nobody came?
-I’m okay on a Bicycle and TRIcycle but I’ll leave a UNIcycle to our friend Picard
-Last Saturday’s constructor Lewis Rothlein is a YOGA instructor in Asheville, N.C. His class tomorrow is called Gentle Yoga and it starts at 4:00 p.m. at 211 South Liberty Street. :-)

Yellowrocks said...

HG, now I remember BOSS from the Surfing 60's. BTW Alan liked to play all the old surfing songs.
Our school didn't have a tuning fork which I wanted for a science demonstration. I had read that doctors may use tuning forks, so I asked a doctor's daughter who said, "Sure we have one." The next day she proudly brought me a small fork from her mom's dinnerware set. Seafood fork? OOH, tuna fork! I had to swallow my laughter. How sweet.

waseeley said...

Thank you Carly for the Monday romp. The theme was so cleverly camouflaged that I thought that this might be Saturday (see thanks to Husker below). But then I realized that the thing that all the theme clues (the ones that ended in "?"?) started with "Awesome". My guess is that the first word of each themer is generational slang for "Awesome". Awesome! I think that my generation (people of a certain age) might at least agree that SWEET CORN is Sweet! Which reminds me that we've got a dozen ears of fresh picked Eastern Shore Silver Queen in our fridge downstairs and a couple would be sweet to have for dinner.

And thanks for all the dad jokes Boomer and for your indomitable spirit.

A few favs:

25A BONSAI. That reminds me that "Buckaroo Banzai" is still on my bucket list.

26A PASTAS Teri makes a great PASTA dish with peas, cubed ham, cream, and PAPPARDELLE nests (balled up pasta).

38A SANS. Today's French lesson?

60A LEONE. The reason they're called "Spaghetti Westerns" Boomer is that "Pappardelle Westerns" wouldn't FLY over here.

31D LEDE. "Bury the lede: fail to emphasize the most important part of a story or account" - Oxford Languages. In contemporary online journalism, the LEDE is always the last thing you read, after wading through all the adverts. A subspecies of this approach is "click bait", in which you never, ever get to the LEDE.

Cheers,
Bill

Husker @9:13 AM Thanks for the capsule bio and link on Carly. Sounds like a very interesting lady.

Picard said...

Enjoyed the AWESOME theme. Hand up never heard of BOSS BATTLE which slowed me down. Learning moment!

Husker Gary Thank you for the UNIcycling shout out! Yes, not for everyone!

Vidwan Commented on my photo yesterday of me and my hiking and UNIcycling companion Danielle on a LEDGE. Not sure anyone else saw this. That LEDGE does not scare me as there is solid footing. What scared me? The infamous Scary Rock soon after that.

This is my video of Danielle scaling the Scary Rock. Very happy that no one FELL.

From Yesterday:
Not sure if anyone saw my post about the BEGGING THE QUESTION theme. I loved the puzzle. But it is a PET PEEVE for me that this term is used incorrectly to mean ASKING THE QUESTION. I explained this at some length.

CrossEyedDave caught this incorrect usage that permeated the puzzle. Anyone else?

Malodorous Manatee said...

Thanks,Boomer,for the awesome recap.
Another hand up for never having heard of BOSS BATTLE.

sumdaze said...

FIR, enjoyed CHEWing this PHAT puzzle.
Thanks to Carly and Boomer for the fun! Best wishes on your continued recovery, Boomer.
Anonymous @ 6:49, thank you for explaining Boss Battle
I am wondering, are Boss, Sweet, Tight, & Fly perhaps in a time-line order?

sumdaze said...

Picard @ 11:47
Yes!!! I am in the Cringe Camp when I hear Begs the Question used incorrectly.
That said, I am trying to let it go. I recommend you listen to Grammar Girl's podcast from March 6, 2014 where she discusses common usage versus established meaning. Her advice on the topic is to, "Avoid using 'begs the question' to mean 'raises the question'. Reestablishing the traditional meaning of 'begs the question' is a lost cause, but even though almost nobody will realize you've made an error, there's also no compelling reason to misappropriate the phrase. If you mean "raises the question," say "raises the question."
Hearing Grammar Girl call this a "lost cause" helped me to accept the fact that language evolves. I've now adopted a "can't beat 'em but NOT joining 'em" attitude. I hope that helps you, too.

Misty said...

Perfect Monday puzzle, many thanks, Carly. And Boomer, I love your Monday commentaries--always a delight. Take good care of yourself, and have a good week coming up.

Well, this puzzle really had a lot of food and almost made me hungry. I haven't had breakfast yet, but as soon as I saw EGGS, I had an URGE for some STUFF to CHEW, but not yet ready for STEAKS or even PASTAS. Maybe some SWEET CORN or some TRUFFLES? Or a HERO sandwich?

Puzzle also had a travel theme with possible TOURS, WHAT IF going to HANOI, or to some place where they speak HINDI were possible? No, I'd rather GO INTO some place less URBAN, maybe in the country, in UTAH, where I'd NEED to, and be EAGER to, RENT a TENT and do YOGA and just HIDE out for a bit.

Naah, I think I'll just stay home, and enjoy a quiet day, after a fun start with this puzzle.

TTP said...

Good afternoon. Thank you, Carly, and thank you, Boomer.

Today's crossword and review were both, dare I say, AWESOME !

Bill, I also noticed that awesome was in each of those clues. I was fully expecting that HG would comment about that. I'm fairly confident that awesome is one of his least favorite words. Most likely because he's probably heard it a hundred thousand times.

I thought Clint Eastwood got his major start as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide, as a drover herding beeves to market. Also starring Eric Flemming as trailboss Gil Favors in the lead role and Ol' Man Keith as the cook Wishbone, under pseudonym Paul Brinegar. :-)

I love those Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, and will still watch them even though I've seen them so many times. At his
website, Mark Franklin writes, in his review of A Fistful of Dollars (1964) , "The Spaghetti Western was about to become a phenomenon that would spawn hundreds of films and many imitators of Leone. And the director was about to give us four of the best examples of what could be done with the tired old Western genre when viewed from a new perspective, culminating with the greatest Western ever made, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968)."

I too did not know what BOSS Battle meant. On another note, I would love to have a numbers-matching 1969 or 1970 BOSS 429 Mustang, but am not in position to spend $250,000 or more for one.

Mecum has two Boss 429s going on the block at this week's auction in Monterey. The presale estimate is $300K to $350K for one (Lot F81) that originally sold for $4,045.23 in 1969, which included an added charge of $1.23 for 4 gals of gas.

Lot F54 is also a 1969. The presale estimate is $400,000 - $450,000. Lot 54 - 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback This one has the special 820-S "NASCAR" engine.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Picard, I read your comments this morning before coming here, but didn't comment. Yes, I also cringe when I hear "beg the question" misused. When I was in high school (or maybe jr. high) they used the example "So Senator Swampman, do you still beat your wife?". Of course the intent was part of helping us learn how to properly interview people. (Kinda like a textbook I had in my MBA program How to Lie With Statistics. The intent was to teach us how to avoid accidentally misusing statistics.)

Brent said...

When you say the theme is "Awesome!" is that actually written somewhere in the body of the crossword puzzle? The Los Angeles Times Edition never gives the puzzle a title, so if there is indeed one for most to see, I feel a little bit at a disadvantage. Regardless, today's solve was relatively easy for a dumb lump of coal like me.

waseeley said...

sumdaze 12:24 PM I agree. I think "circular reasoning" is more descriptive of what this fallacy means, as Picard's examples amply illustrated.

Carly said...

Hey, Boomer, I very much hope the new chemo wins the BOSS BATTLE against those cancer cells. Thank you for the nice write-up of my puzzle, and may your future doctor visits be uneventful and great.

Thanks all the rest of of you for your kind comments, too! I really love creating puzzles and it is so satisfying when other people solve them and share thoughts. I appreciate all of you!

TTP said...

Brent, hi.

Unlike The USA Today, the Universal and others, the LA Times crossword puzzles do not have title that is provided by the constructor or the editors, except on Sundays.

The bloggers at Crosswordcorner often add a title of their own creation as they see fit. Today, Boomer chose Awesome because as noted, it is the first word of the 4 theme answers.


Carly, thank you for dropping a comment on the blog ! We love it when constructors drop by to say hello.

waseeley said...

Brent @1:07 PM The theme wasn't explicitly hinted at by a reveal clue, but one convention is to use a consistent structure and end the clue with a question mark, which Carly did. All the themers begin with the word "Awesome". You may have missed them, as another conversation is to move them to the top of the puzzle.

Picard said...

sumdaze, Jinx, Bill Seeley Thank you for your comments on the misuse yesterday of BEGGING THE QUESTION.

I think what bugs me most: That people are trying to sound more high class by using what is actually the wrong term. Two other examples come to mind as other PET PEEVES:
Joe inferred that Bill is not honest. WRONG! Just say "implied".
Joe gave Mary and I apples from his tree. WRONG! "Mary and me".

sumdaze Can you provide a link to that Grammar Girl piece from March 6, 2014? I am not able to find it. I agree that some battles are futile if the language is changing. But I am not sure that applies in these cases above.

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR

I didn't "see" the theme until reading Boomer's blog

Hang in there, Boomer - praying that you'll find the right treatment for your prostate cancer

Got some news this morning that neither I nor Margaret were expecting; our landlord has decided to move back into our rental home. We have until Nov 30 to vacate, so not too terrible. But nevertheless, relocating sucks. Time to toss more $hit, I suppose ...

Brent said...

Thanks. I do know sometimes crossword puzzles will have a punny title that act as a clue to the puzzle's theme. So I was unsure if Awesome was the actual title or something the blogger came up with!

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. Everything I had to say I said yesterday. (Note to self: if you're going to post long postings, don't do it on Sundays when few people will see them.)

Good wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ah, Monday with Boomer! Today he leads us through Ms. Schuna's well-wrought PZL.

LEGO! The brand that finally put Denmark on the map!

COMIC SANS - the font that gets a bad rap. I dunno why; I like to use it myself. Seems to be popular with others as well.

Congratulations to Waseeley!
He took first place in the Diagonal anagram contest of 8/13, with his winning entry of G.P.U.!
(Following the official challenges of PUG and GUP...)
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Two diagonals, one per side.
The near diag has an anagram (13 of 15 letters) that celebrates THOSE arhythmic honking anserinae.
Yes, I refer to...

"STACCATO GEESE"!

desper-otto said...

Jayce, I read it. Sounds like you had a great time at that gathering.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Jayce, I was just mad that you think that being forced to go by boat is a bad thing! All of mine have even been wind powered, before it was cool to depend on wind power. 'Course I haven't gone sailing since I quit drinking, so I might not like it any longer.

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2
-Just back from a nice shopping trip where we bought practically nothing. Joann asked, “Do you want to go to the Nebraska Crossing Mall?” Husbands soon learn that that is not a question!
-TTP, I do not dislike the word AWESOME, I merely get upset when it is used so lazily. I tell kids that their chewing gum is NOT AWESOME. AWESOME is something like a birth of a baby or a sunset on Maui.
-Carly is a lovely person and I am glad she posted a comment. With her other occupation, I might even sneak in the word AWESOME for her. :-)
-My sister is very bright, pleasant and a good employee, which begs the question: Why does she stay in such a dead end job?

Vidwan827 said...


Thank You Carly Schuna for a challenging Monday morning puzzle.

Thank You Boomer, for the explanation of 'Amazing' .... which was beyond my ken.... so I just solved the puzzle through the perps, and hoped for the best.

Glad you're doing a little better, and I pray and hope that the latest chemo cocktail will help conquer the invader, and be the magic bullet. When I had prost cancer, about 5 years ago, I was offered an option of proton therapy, because the Godzilla size machine ( 12 stories high - ) is only available in Cleveland, in all of Ohio ... and if I remember correctly, the therapy was long and involved, 84 sessions, but no major side effects, and I did manage to solve 24 complicated jigsaw puzzles, while biding my time. I realize all postate cancers are not alike, and some are more damming than others.

Back to the Crossword, I never -the-less solved all the answers, though some of them made no sense. I figured that maybe, they were like Buckeroo Bonsai, in the 8th dimension .... I noticed the 'awesome' words, in the main clues, but for me, because of my relative ignorance of regional and modern slang, however hard I tried, I could not suss it. Also, despite the fact, that I should be aware that such contrivances would occur ... But, Never on a Monday, a Monday, a Monday ...

Although, HIndi is most closely related to pre 1950 Urdu ...the modern Urdu spoken in Pakistan, exchews Hindi words and vocabulary, as much as possible,
and as a matter of prestige ... and borrows extensively, ( .... party by govt mandate ... ) from IRANI ( which also fits the spaces -) and from the ARABIC. The Sanskrit words and vocabluary, are apparebtly an anathema, in modern Pakistan. No politics.

Have a nice day, you all.



Vidwan827 said...


My earlier post became too long, and I went off on a tangent ... but the picture for the Roti, set me thinking....

The Roti picture, for 16 Across, .... looks suspiciously like a mini-Naan !!

The photo shows it to be fairly plump, made from enriched flour, and fluffy, though of a smaller size than a regular Naan.

See Naan Google images.

Rotis are Normally and notably smaller, much thinner, and made from unfermented, whole wheat flour.

See Roti Google images.

The picture appears to be, for lack of better words ... more of a poor man's mini Naan.



ROTI OTOH, is low in calories, fairly nutritious but definitely not fattening ... it may or may not have added oil or Ghee ( melted butter ) on its surface.

Roti is far, far, more common than Naan, in India, because it is cheaper, more economical in size, and easy to roll out and bake on a frying pan.

Naan in generally served in restaurants and wealthier homes, and requires a greater degree of planning and preparation.

TMI ?? But hopefully, it'll help you to remember.

TTP said...


HG, my mistake; I stand corrected. I misconstrued your frequent comments over the years about the usage of awesome. Or, as they say in today's vernacular, "My bad." Wait, that may no longer be current. I'm so out of it now. Oh well, like that guy sang back in the '80s, "It's hip to be square."

Vidwan, aren't roti traditionally cooked on the wall of a tandoori oven ?


On a totally unrelated note, last week I unleashed 1500 lady bugs at the base of my Star Magnolia tree. I showed them to some of the nearby tots before releasing them. Sparkling eyes ensued. Then excitement and questions. Lots of questions.

I'm hoping for an all-out, unrelenting attack on the sap-sucking Magnolia scale. As described, they immediately started climbing the main trunks of the tree, although some seemed to be a bit disoriented at first. I'm hoping they spread out as they climb the multitude of limbs, branches and twigs, and that they are truly the voracious little bad bug eaters that they have been made out to be.

The Morton Arboretum suggests that they are highly effective against aphids, and may be effective against soft scale insects. We'll see. I'm giving them another week. Then I'll spray the tree with horticultural oil. It purportedly doesn't cause harm to the lady bugs. Then I'll release the next army of 1500 lady bugs. They're in the refrigerator now, awaiting deployment.

Wilbur Charles said...

Wicked cool xword although crunchy for a Monday. Booty(call) TUSH?. Yes I had naan and char. "Blip turned to SLIP for me too

"Ol' Man Keith as the cook Wishbone"... Too funny. King Lear as Wishbone

Speaking of Denmark… I had to solve the Boston Globe Sunday xword where the clue was "Common fate in Hamlet"*

Posting from Danbury Conn. Hope to make some serious mileage tomorrow

WC

*OMK would know: POISONED

LEO III said...

FIR, but I didn’t get the theme. I forgot to look for it, but I don’t think I would have figured it out anyway. I more or less saw the first three, but FLY would have escaped me.

Thanks for the nice puzzle, Carly, and thanks for stopping by the Corner. I’m going to have to go back and check out your Saturday themeless again. I’m sure I didn’t finish it, but I’d like to give it another shot.

Yes, Clint Eastwood was a heartthrob long before the spaghetti westerns, but he was definitely a different type of character in the latter.

Nice video, Picard. Now that summer vacation is over, and the kiddos are back in school, I’ll have time to go back and catch up on all of your photos.

Great write up, Boomer!