Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee, here, with the recap. Our puzzle setter today is Hoang-Kim Vu who sometimes constructs/publishes with his wife, Jessica Zetzman. A web search will return quite a few hits for each/both of them.
Today's puzzle does not have a "reveal" but it does contain four themed answers and the theme could be dubbed Job Descriptions. At four places in the grid, the answers are tasks required of an employee. Each of those four clues employ a bit of paranomasia - punning, playing on words. The job descriptions are also all presented in a somewhat Tarzan (or Tonto)-esque manner in that gerunds are eschewed.
Tonto, Tarzan and Frankenstein
Here are the four themed clues and answers:
17. Part of a DJ's job description?: KEEP RECORDS. The clue riffs on recorded music.
28. Part of a matchmaker's job description?: PLAN MEETINGS. Matchmakers PLAN (potentially) romantic meetings.
50. Part of an umpire's job description?: WORK FROM HOME. In this case Home plate.
65. Part of a squire's job description?: DELIVER MAIL. MAIL as in chainmail armor. A squire was a young man who hoped one day to become a knight himself.
Here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Savory jelly made with meat stock: ASPIC.
6. Focus of many HGTV shows: DECOR.
11. Animal that brays: ASS.
14. Animal native to the 54-Down: LLAMA. Ogden Nash having been invoked last week, let's go with this: What did the mama LLAMA say to her children as they got ready for a picnic? Alpaca lunch. Maybe I should have gone with the LLAMAS and the Papas.
15. Produce concern: E-COLI. Produce used as a noun. Fruits and vegetables. A hand up, here, for trying to work out something ripeness-related.
16. Deep __: CUT. SLEEP and STATE were both too long. Never cared much for PURPLE and $H#T was not going to appear in an LAT puzzle.
19. Gene messenger: RNA.
20. Belt-maker's tool: AWL.
21. Pop-folk singer Williams: DAR. Dorothy Williams. The first of many proper nouns in today's list of clues/answers the abundance of which in recent puzzles has been previously discussed.
22. Celebrated: EMINENT.
24. Some car deals: LEASES. As opposed, one supposes, to SALES.
27. Gift to new parents: ONESIE. Actually, wouldn't it would be more of a gift for the infant?
31. "Look alive!": HOP TO. HOP TO IT. Begin to do something quickly and energetically.
32. Have a life: ARE. Often this is clued with "exists".
33. Snooty sort: SNOB.
37. Pitching stat: ERA. A baseball reference. Earned Run Average
38. Sport for Amanda Nunes, briefly: MMA. Mixed Martial Arts. Her nickname is The Lioness. Ronda Rousey might have been the clue earlier in the week.
41. Single, for one: Abbr. SYN. Thanks, perps. This marine mammal scratched his head over this one for a while. . . and flippers aren't the best for scratching. Then came an aha moment: Single can be a SYNonym for one.
43. "Hadestown" Tony nominee Noblezada: EVA. Two unknowns in a row. Thanks, again, perps.
44. Pitching stat: WINS. Nice job repeating the clue. A record of WINS and losses is kept for baseball pitchers.
46. "Christopher Robin" hopper: ROO. Roo also visited us two Thursdays ago. Christopher Robin is a character in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories. So are Kanga and her child, ROO.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
48. Portend: AUGUR.
54. "Mother of Democracy," to Filipinos: AQUINO. Corazon AQUINO is best remembered for being associated with the revolt which overthrew Ferdinand Marcos.
57. Least possible: FEWEST. By definition.
58. Tricky soccer moves: NUTMEGS. I am not completely ignorant when it comes to soccer but I had never heard this term. Here is what the move is and how it is done:
60. "__ Mubarak": holiday greeting: EID. HOSNI would not fit. Arabic. Roughly, "have a blessed holiday".
61. L'eau land: ILE. C'est la leçon Français d'aujourd'hui. Eau = water. ILE = island.
64. "The Chronic" rapper, familiarly: DRE. This time, at least, it wasn't Lil Nas X. Rap culture is a good source for constructors because it offers additional letter combinations outside of established usage.
68. Tuner's asset: EAR. For tuning instruments, it is better to have a good EAR than a tin EAR.
69. Elegance: GRACE.
70. One "She's Gone" vocalist: OATES. Daryl Hall and John OATES.
71. __-Cat: SNO.
72. Best Upset and Best Driver, e.g.: ESPYS. ESPY awardS seem to be handed out quite frequently in our puzzles.
73. Pet __: PEEVE.
Down:
1. __-Seltzer: ALKA.
Plop Plop Fizz Fizz
2. Boatload: SLEW. We sift through those other four-letter alternatives - among which are TONS, ALOT, LOTS, GOBS, and MANY - to find the one that works.
3. Redundantly named equipment for a rice-and-seafood dish: PAELLA PAN. From the old French for frying pan. In Spanish, PAILA refers to certain metal or clay pans.
4. Little troublemaker: IMP.
5. Spice in many chai mixes: CARDAMOM. Alternative clue: Identify A Matron. CARDAMOM is an accepted alternative to CARDAMON which is what I always thought it was called.
6. Edict: DECREE.
7. Fuel-saving mode in some cars: ECO.
8. Plank target: CORE. ABS was too short to work.
9. Nouveau riche counterpart: OLD MONEY. Hand up for first trying to think of something having to do with being needy.
Randy Newman - It's Money That Matters
(with Mark Knopfler on guitar)
10. On the up and up?: RISING.
11. Griffith Park's 4,210+: ACRES. Located in Los Angeles.
12. Largest division of Islam: SUNNI.
13. Condition: STATE.
18. Slide (into): EASE.
23. Loch in hoax photos: NESS.
The Loch Ness Monster?
25. Tolkien talking tree: ENT. ENTs and ORCs often come from Middle earth to visit us.
26. Metro stop: Abbr.: STA. Okay, is it going to turn out to be STN or STA?
28. "That was close!": PHEW. Okay, is it going to turn out to be WHEW or PHEW?
29. Greiner of "Shark Tank": LORI.
30. Org. to report tax fraud to: IRS.
34. Discuss terms: NEGOTIATE.
35. Certain gamete: OVUM. Why do Romans use more eggs in their omelets than do Parisians? Because in Rome they feel that as far as eggs go you can never have too many OVUM while in Paris the feel that one egg is un ouef.
36. Austere: BARE.
39. Neighborhood guy: MR ROGERS. Clever cluing. The TV show is beloved by millions . . . and often spoofed.
40. Hunky-dory: A OK. Having not gone with Eddie Murphy (Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood), just above, this seems appropriate. What do you say, Eddie?
42. Try to impress by association, say: NAME DROP. Today's construction drops several (perhaps too many) actor/actress/singer/athlete names.
45. Triathlon part: SWIM. SWIM, bike, run.
47. Switch position: OFF. ON was too short.
49. Stumbling blocks?: UHS. ERS? Hmm. Punt.
51. Jittery: ON EDGE. A Dachshund and a Labrador are walking together when the former suddenly unloads on his friend. “My life is a mess,” he says. “My owner is mean, my girlfriend ran away with a Pomeranian and I’m as JITTERY as a cat.” “Why don’t you go see a psychiatrist?” suggests the Labrador. “I can’t. I'm not allowed on the couch.”
52. Actor who plays himself in "Always Be My Maybe": REEVES.
53. Boo-boo: OWIE. Not Boo Boo the cartoon bear.
54. Chilean range: ANDES. The ANDES mountain range is over 5,500 miles long, extends through seven countries and averages more than 13,000 feet in elevation.
55. Sacred text read during Tarawih: QURAN. Hand up for first trying KORAN.
56. In __: not yet born: UTERO.
59. Put (on) hastily: SLAP. SLAP on a coat of paint and call it done.
62. Actor Schreiber: LIEV. The penultimate name in this list of clues/answers.
63. Besides: ELSE.
66. Needing salt, maybe: ICY. Hand up for first thinking it had something to do with food.
67. Actress Whitman: MAE. The final proper name in this list of clues/answers.
DNF when I TITT. I got maybe 1/3 done on my own. Then had to use red letters several times over. Had to use the reveal button for the unheard of PAELLAPAN, also the multi-natick LIeV + OaTeS + MaE. I was not happy with this puzzle. A lot of tricky clues which were legit, too many of them for this size puzzle, and the everpresent overuse of proper names. Besides PANPAN, NUTMEG was also unknown. So few actual unknowns are about par for the course.
Nit -- ENTS are not trees! they look like them, herd them, and talk to them, but they are animals!
I certainly never heard of “Dar” Williams, and I never knew there was a sports move called a “nutmeg.” ( Apparently, it has a fairly vulgar derivation.) This puzzle was definitely a bit of a slog, but through P and P I eventually made it through. FIR, so I’m happy.
Couldn't parse MR ROGERS, and that M refused to fall. Bzzzzt. Tried SERE before BARE elbowed in. Yup, M-M, d-o tried KORAN first. OOPS for OWIE, too. Wite-Out got a workout today. Thanx, Hoang-Kim Vu (is your first name Vu?), and Mal-Man.
MR ROGERS: Years ago the saying was, "Mr. Rogers is still alive, and still on public TV. Lawrence Welk is still dead, and still on public TV." Both have finally been retired from view.
Wow. What a ball-buster of a CW. Wait….am I allowed to say that? Let me change it to a brain-buster of a CW. Or maybe nut-cracker. Yeah, that’s it. Too many DNKs to list, like all but one of the proper names. And Reeves at least I know who he is, but did not know the movie, so knowing the name didn’t help. NUTMEG? Filled with all perps, then thought, wait, WHAT? That’s a spice, not a soccer move. But I guess it is. “Nouveau riche counterpart”: STILLPOOR didn’t fit. Who on earth is Amanda Nunes? MMA is so absolutely brutal. I can’t and won’t watch it. HGTV? Never hoid-a da bum. Almost quit on the CW several times. But eventually FIR in 34 unclefred-time minutes. Nice theme. Thanx (I think) H-KV for this really tough (for me, at least) CW. MalMan, terrific write-up, thanx. That cat pic is hilarious!
Hi Everyone, I have been enjoying the puzzles every day. Sometimes they’re easy, sometimes challenging, but always satisfying when I get them right. Every day! I unfortunately don’t always get to read the blog, but when I do, total enjoyment. Thank you . First of all , best wishes to Boomer and CC. I’m so very sorry for your continued health problems and all of the criteria you must go through. God bless you. Lots of prayers. Very busy summer, 3 vacations, Cape Cod, Jersey Shore (hello Yellowrocks, it’s still a great place 😎) and the Poconos in PA with a whole lot of people. Just great. I feel a strong connection to MN. DIL is due with baby #2 end of October. DH going to Minneapolis in September, me early December. All good 😊 One negative comment though. I really dislike most of the proper names. I really don’t know who these folks are. Oh well Have a great day everyone.
Chronic rapper, Mubarak (not Hosni?),Tarawih, Whitman, MMA, NUTMEG, DAR, SYN, Noblezadan, Griffiths Park,...Is it Saturday already? 😳...(Thought a SNOcat was a snowmobile; apparently not based on Malman's picture). Excellent puns, BTW well worth the punchIine anticipation.
Refurb wouldn't work for "HGTV" Almost put "Imelda" for Filipino democracy but just didn't seem right. Now her kid is running the place. I had to force myself to fill in OWIE!!!🤬. Was HOP TO the Cartwrights' Asian servant HOP Sing's brother? ESPYS not Espies. LIEV plays "Ray Donovan" on Showtime.
If DJs KEEP RECORDS they'll soon be out of a job. It's all digital now. A "squire" helps a knight SLAPON a suite of armor?
A friend moved his family to New Hartford, a sometime uppity suburb of Utica. His son came home from grade school and said he was asked "ARE we New Money New Hartford or OLD MONEY New Hartford?" My friend told his son "Tell them we are No Money New Harford!!" 😆
Inkovers: RBI/ERA, elm/ENT, whew/PHEW (OWIE),
DNF: don't have time.
Check a mothers ID....CARDAMOM Smote....SLEW. First Nation tribe...DECREE
Heading to The View, our Adirondack theater, right after work today to see John Lloyd Young, Tony winner for "Jersey Boys" perform. 🌝
Thank you Vu for a Thursday challenge. I was lucky to SWAG through this P&P fest to a FIR, so I guess I can't complain. Loved the terse (gerund-less?) theme, which kept us EMPLOYED while we solved the puzzle.
Thank you MalMan for keepING us entertained. One of my grandsons is a soccer player (celebrated his 18th trip around the Sun yesterday), and some bottled NUTMEG is already on its way his way.
As I have a meeting planned with Vu next week (please don't tell Patti) and have to plan for it, I'll just add this OLDIE but GOODIE:
MM, you answered your own question. A onesie is a present TO the parents FOR the baby. Hand up for Koran before QURAN. Thought Williams was Don. Finally sussed OLDMONEY, which I have heard before. All in all a bit of a tough row to hoe, but fair. Agree with too many proper names.
Musings -I’m here late because I had a lovely struggle. When I am floundering, I find the north end of my pencil is as useful as the south end. That proved true in the top middle when RELOS, ALARM and LATS had to be expunged. -The Natick at CAR_AMON/_AR got me but I still had a good time. -Fore!
Hi Y'all! PHEW! Needed ALKA seltzer to help recover from this puzzle. Lots of unknowns. WEES. Filled it a letter or two here and there & red-letter help. Liked the theme, but not eleven 3-letter fills & names. Finally, thought of AUGUR but spelled it with an "ER".
Shocked myself knowing CARDAMOM. Okay, I admit I thought it ended with an "N".
My yard man showed up to cut my grass just at dark last night, second time in a row this month. He was weed-eating with a flash-light in one hand. He said he'd been mowing since early morning. I'm last on the list because he parks the mower at my neighbors. I'd rolled my trash can to the curb but had to bring it back up so it wouldn't be in his mowing way. Forgot to go out and roll it back down, so it didn't get collected. Aaaegh! Hope there is room for another week's trash.
H.G. @ 10:08 - "When I am floundering, I find the north end of my pencil is as useful as the south end."
Me, too. While much of a puzzle gets worked out between my ears I find the visual aspect of solving to be very helpful. As a result, I have become very willing to put in letters just to see how they might work out. I have learned, however, that I must be just as willing to remove those letters.
First off, I loved the theme, simple yet clever and fun. I questioned the strength of the Plan Meetings clue, though, until I realized it was Matchmaker’s Job, not Watchmaker’s Job. My favorite C/A was Umpire’s Job=Work From Home. My only stumble was the ending of Cardamom, so a learning moment there. My enjoyment of the solve, however, was lessened somewhat by the slew of unknown, to me, proper names, to wit, Dar, Eva, Eid, Oates, Reeves, Mae, and Nutmegs. The passel (25) of three letter words, as previously noted by SS, detracted, as well.
Thanks, Hoang-Vu, for a challenging Thursday and thanks, MalMan, for the many chuckles your jokes provided. “Alpaca lunch” tickled my fancy, as did the Doxie and the Lab canine quandary. Great write-up!
Tomorrow is my annual Wellness appointment, so I think I’ll spend some time later practicing drawing clocks and testing my memory with groups of random words. 🤓
Trying Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Hoang-Kim and MalMan (thanks for the laughs, esp. that egg joke!). I thought I had done well, but arrived here to see that I FIWed (twice). I did see the job theme (although I needed MM’s description to understand MAIL). I had no idea what sport Amanda Nunes played, and I spell the spice with an N (CARDAMOM could be a job description for a soccer ref; some of those mouthy moms need a yellow card!). Plus, my hand is up for Koran! But I never changed it to QURAN, not knowing the NUTMEGS move (and I’m a soccer Mom - but never mouthy LOL). I did wonder about AKUINO but forgot the proper spelling. I almost had a Natick name-cross with OATES and MAE, but managed to fill correctly with perps and wags.
Yes, there were many misdirections- ICY, that produce noun or verb dilemma, SLAM- brakes not clothes to put on. Oh no, I just realized that I have another FIW. It should have been SLAP and ESPYS. I could have used red letters today, but none in my newspaper!
Whew changed to Phew. As per 41A SYN, can we call 27A a Singlesie?
FLN- AnonT- we polite Canadians are always welcoming to those who want to be honourary Canadians (especially when they add the U and love Rush! OMK- that Japanese anthem is hauntingly beautiful. I think it loses a little in the translation with the pebbles and mossy rocks.
It was an eventual FIR but this puzzle had too many unknowns to be enjoyable. If you don't follow soccer, MMA, live in NYC, know about Tarawin, listen to RAP, or watch movies and TV...ETC, then NUTMEGS, REEVES, EVA, DRE, DAR, LIEV< MAE, LORI, EID, and QURAN (KORAN?) can only be filled by perps and WAGS. Had one change SLIP to SLAP for 'Put on hastily'.
SYN- MM is not the only person without the V8 moment. I had not a clue. ECO mode- I'd never heard of it until I got my new car two months ago. And I found out this week that IT DRIVES ITSELF if I put the cruise-control on. I never use cruise-control unless I'm on an Interstate in the middle of nowhere.
PLAN MEETINGS- could a 'pimp' be considered a Matchmaker? OLD MONEY- not from where I grew up. It was the NO money neighborhood. FEWEST- 'Least possible' is always ZERO unless you go negative CARDAMOM- Only because NMA was not an abbr. for any sport I'd heard.
unclefred- did you ever see the movie 'Porky's' with Beulah Ballbreaker?
Irish Miss: I liked the theme but I didn't like 11 three letter fills & names which were unknown. The others I got okay. Part of my sentence turned blue and disappeared. I didn't get it reconstructed correctly. Trying to type on my laptop is frustrating some days. The curser has a mind of its own.
Yes, it was clever. (But there is such a thing as being too clever....) Do you think this puzzle was on the up & up?
Nutmeg was interesting. I looked it up, and the cockney slang version seemed to make perfect sense. but reading further reveals it came from a more sensible explanation...
So, to sum up, I think an apt job description for people wanting to do this puzzle would be as follows...
Thank you, Hong-Kim Vu, I think! This was partly easy and partly hard. The easy part was the top and center; the hard part was the bottom. I'm looking at EID, MAE, ESPYS, NAME DROP and OATES though I should have known that last one. Also unfamiliar is MMA Amanda Nunes but then, I don't know most sports figures.
However, I liked seeing PAELLA PAN. PAELLA is a delicious, savory dish especially when it's freshly made. That was the case for us in Madrid one year when we arrived, very hungry, at a small cafe. They were about to close for the afternoon but accommodated us. We tipped generously as a result.
I knew AQUINO was spelled with a Q, but didn't change the K.
Though I feel a bit frustrated with this puzzle, I shall try to exit with GRACE.
Big E - That's the movie with Samantha Jones playing Miss Honeywell. AWOOOOOOOOO!
Sub / IM - But they don't tell you that you will be asked to regurgitate the words after you draw the clock. I had trouble the first time they gave me the test, but now that I know the gimmick it's been easy. I've made them stop giving the test to my DW. She would get a zero anyway, so it's not worth getting her frustrated.
Jinx Very wise move to avoid being raging mad at crossings that cannot be guessed. For me it was obscure CAR?AMO?/?AR/?MA. Managed to figure out MMA because we have seen that before. But DAR is not a name any normal person could guess. I guessed GAR which seemed just as good. An otherwise clever and delightful puzzle spoiled for no reason.
CrossEyedDave I actually watched the entire MILITARY RANK WORDS video that you linked to. A bit longer than needed, but I found it a valuable learning moment. Thanks!
Good afternoon. Thank you, Hoang-Kim, and thank you, Malodorous Manatee
Well nuts. I spelled the name of the sacred text with the perfectly acceptable variant KORAN, and then changed the O to a U for NUTMEGS (had no idea, but that sound better than NOTMEGS). So I ended with the Filipino's Mother of Democracy as AKUINO. A different day and I wouldn't have made that silly error.
Not a perfect solve, but still fun. The unknowns perped in, and a couple of good guesses helped.
Griffith Park's 4210 ? Really ? The answer was easy enough to work out, but I'll nominate that clue for the ESPY for most nebulous and vague clue of the year award. Never heard of it. Similar to Topanga a while ago. I wonder if the people that have heard of, or even frequent Griffith Park, would know off hand that is has 4210 ACRES. Talk about arcane clues, that one takes the cake.
MM, that has to be the best OVUM joke I've ever heard. ESPY for you, too.
MR ROGERS had a great clue and produced an AHA moment !
If you click on my avatar, and then click on TTP's blog, you can scroll through the Food Recalls issued for things like E.coli, foreign substances, mislabeled and undeclared ingredients, allergens, listeria and more. You can also press a link for all FDA recalls, and even get your personalized daily calorie plan.
FLN, Lucina, my back yard isn't all that big. Maybe it is just the perspective in that picture. The front yard is. It takes twice as long to mow as the back yard. And yes, I have a John Deere riding mower that cuts a 42" wide swath to make it easier. And a couple of self propelled walk behind mowers. I mowed Sunday afternoon. I should have mowed again yesterday. It rained all night and it's too wet to mow now.
CrossEyedDave, last year my string trimmer got harder to start and was leaking gas. So I replaced the fuel lines, put in a new spark plug, cleaned the foam air filter and sprayed the carb. It still ran rough. So I took off the valve cover and adjusted the rocker valve arm clearances. Runs like a champ. Usually starts with two pulls. Fast forward to a month ago. The bump feed assembly quit advancing the line. Long story. One broken slider and many worn out parts in the bump feed assy. About $80 worth. I found a Ryobi complete replacement trimmer head assembly at Home Depot that was supposed to fit any Ryobi back to 2002. Mine is a 2001 model. So now I have this good running, 4 cycle (regular gas) engine string trimmer. It's the RYOBI 825R 4 Cycle String Trimmer. It's actually the expensive part of Ryobi's old "Click-Link" system. Not compatible with their new "Expand It" system. You can change the attachments to make it a hedge trimmer, blower, edger, tree pruner or a cultivator. I only had the string trimmer attachment. It's yours for the asking. Just give me a call before you swing by to pick it up.
Thursday toughie, but still fun, many thanks Hoang-Kim. And I always enjoy your commentaries and pictures, MalMan, thanks for those too.
This puzzle had more business stuff than most, thanks to its theme: PLAN MEETINGS, NEGOTIATE, KEEP RECORDS, WORK FROM HOME, LEASES, OLD MONEY, WINS, DELIVER MAIL and maybe more.
But not much food, except for ASPIC and NUTMEG. I was going to add OATS, but remembered that was a vocalist's name with an E, not a breakfast cereal. Oh, but I almost forgot that PAELLA PAN and that CARDAMOM.
MalMan, your "dad" jokes today were the best - as were your videos
I had to turn on too many red lights; had too many mistakes to recall
I am working with a crossword editor whose best advice is: "Don't make a clue harder by indicating obscure info". Griffith Park's 4,210+ fits that. SMH
Since there were only three letters for the braying animal, my choices were limited. I guess it became my ASPIC {groan}
[SPOILER ALERT] Tomorrow's puzzle ain't gonna be any easier, but there are also fewer proper names (IIRC) and the clues were more "Thursday-like" [SPOILER ALERT]
A toughie from Mr. Vu, rendered less obscure by MalMan.
I am shocked, d'you hear!? Shocked! -that I was able to finish today's challenge. Because it started off slowly, painfully, with all those proper names and generalized clues. I was ready to give up and start cheating about half-way through. Ah, but then, P+P started paying off, with lotsa small discoveries--and that wonderful feeling that comes when you find you know more than you thought you did. ~ OMK ___________ DR:. But, sadly, no diagonals to report. At a glance, I thought the far side would come through. But it crashed right in the center, between MMA and SYN. The black hole, there.
Hmmm, let’s see, sports terms no one has ever heard of…that can be clued better…names of people I’ve never heard of, and too many of them, and general horrible clueing. Again.
Apparently the new editor has marching orders to make the LA TIMES puzzle so hated that no one will want to solve it.
Agree with others on cardamoM - Chronicle has a weekly food columnist who gives recipes for Southern Asia food, and I've never seen CARDAMON spelled that week, so a FIR. Also, Amanda Nunes? After the fog cleared, my favorite was MR. ROGERS. Had the _RRO_ERS, but I kept thinking an average Joe. Never watched a soccer game or read a soccer recap, until the clue "neighborhood" popped in my head - duh!
Hmmm... (possibly) interesting thought triggered by that, TXMs. Perhaps some of the puzzles are now being constructed using autocorrect robots to complete the fill.
This was unpleasant every step of the way. Maybe I could have finished but it was so annoying I just junked It. Seems like it's becoming an everyday thing. PP filled puzzles.
I had a feeling you were a tinkerer when I saw that garden tractor minus the engine cover.
Funny you should mention the ryobi trimmer. I found a craftsman 4 stroke weed eater in the junkyard with that same interchangeable tool extension feature, but that pop in connector had broken off, plus it would not run. Cleaned the carb, adjusted the valves, replaced the oil and wacker string, and since I already had one, gave it to daughter #3 for their newlywed home. (I found a gas mower for them too, but they wanted to go electric.)
If anyone else out there has the urge to fix junk for free, Check out home garage for some excellent advice.
Me? I'm a hopeless tinkerer, so much so that rather than watch TV, I will watch "Mustie1." This guy can fix (and has fixed) anything. Plus I would love to get my hands on his "toys." He explains everything, and talk to you like you're right there. As a matter of fact, the first comment in this video is you know you are a part of Musties army when you start talking back to him...
Glad you liked the Japanese anthem, CanadianEh! I could not find a recorded version that quite captured the spirit our company brought to it. Imagine it without any instrumental accompaniment, entirely a cappella, hummed--and slightly slower than the YouTube piece.
The closest modern equivalent I can think of, is the humming chorus near the end of Madama Butterfly. Puccini must have studied the anthem. ~ OMK
DNF - no 'd' in DAR, 'a' in MAE, nor an 'i' & 'e' in LIEV. Looking back, the 'a' should have been an easy guess but I still don't think I'd have gotten OATES - I kept hearing the song in my head and it sounded Light-Soul.
Thanks for the grid Hoang-Kim. I gotta ask, did you know all the 'names' before making the grid?
Thanks for bailing me out, MManatte. The humorous expo is the bright spot in today's puzzling.
WOs: N/A ESPs: EVA, NUTMEGS, AQUINO, REEVES | FEWEST(? - oh, literal 'least'! Cute) Fav: OLD MONEY as clued. Mirroring SUNNI and QURAN was a nice touch.
Welcome back, Lizza.
Moe - I had no idea where Griffith Park is but the clue screamed ACRES. //Sqft would be a small park ;-)
FIW, due to spelling errors. Hand up for CARDAMOn / nMA and kURAN. When the cat ran through the dog's legs, DH used to say the dog got NUTMEGed. After a few perps, that seemed like a reasonable answer for a "tricky soccer move". I often ask Google to "play yacht rock radio" when I'm doing chores around the house ... lots of Hall & OATES on that playlist. Fav: MrRogers. Those 2 R's in a row had me looking for a starting vowel for quite some time! Safe travels, Picard! Thanks to MalMan and Hoang-Kim Vu!
DNF when I TITT. I got maybe 1/3 done on my own. Then had to use red letters several times over.
ReplyDeleteHad to use the reveal button for the unheard of PAELLAPAN, also the multi-natick LIeV + OaTeS + MaE.
I was not happy with this puzzle. A lot of tricky clues which were legit, too many of them for this size puzzle, and the everpresent overuse of proper names.
Besides PANPAN, NUTMEG was also unknown. So few actual unknowns are about par for the course.
Nit -- ENTS are not trees! they look like them, herd them, and talk to them, but they are animals!
The theme was difficult but very fun.
I certainly never heard of “Dar” Williams, and I never knew there was a sports move called a “nutmeg.” ( Apparently, it has a fairly vulgar derivation.) This puzzle was definitely a bit of a slog, but through P and P I eventually made it through. FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteXxxxxxxxxxxHere is are some Soccer NUTMEGS
ReplyDeleteThe 'neighborhood guy' clue was sweet.
I managed to survive the onslaught of pop-cul - many of them Naticks.
I'll post this and go to the write-up
WC
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't parse MR ROGERS, and that M refused to fall. Bzzzzt. Tried SERE before BARE elbowed in. Yup, M-M, d-o tried KORAN first. OOPS for OWIE, too. Wite-Out got a workout today. Thanx, Hoang-Kim Vu (is your first name Vu?), and Mal-Man.
MR ROGERS: Years ago the saying was, "Mr. Rogers is still alive, and still on public TV. Lawrence Welk is still dead, and still on public TV." Both have finally been retired from view.
Wow. What a ball-buster of a CW. Wait….am I allowed to say that? Let me change it to a brain-buster of a CW. Or maybe nut-cracker. Yeah, that’s it. Too many DNKs to list, like all but one of the proper names. And Reeves at least I know who he is, but did not know the movie, so knowing the name didn’t help. NUTMEG? Filled with all perps, then thought, wait, WHAT? That’s a spice, not a soccer move. But I guess it is. “Nouveau riche counterpart”: STILLPOOR didn’t fit. Who on earth is Amanda Nunes? MMA is so absolutely brutal. I can’t and won’t watch it. HGTV? Never hoid-a da bum. Almost quit on the CW several times. But eventually FIR in 34 unclefred-time minutes. Nice theme. Thanx (I think) H-KV for this really tough (for me, at least) CW. MalMan, terrific write-up, thanx. That cat pic is hilarious!
ReplyDeleteNope. Did a pass of the acrosses and downs, then realized that even if I managed to finish it, it wouldn't be fun.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI have been enjoying the puzzles every day. Sometimes they’re easy, sometimes challenging, but always satisfying when I get them right. Every day! I unfortunately don’t always get to read the blog, but when I do, total enjoyment. Thank you .
First of all , best wishes to Boomer and CC. I’m so very sorry for your continued health problems and all of the criteria you must go through. God bless you. Lots of prayers.
Very busy summer, 3 vacations, Cape Cod, Jersey Shore (hello Yellowrocks, it’s still a great place 😎) and the Poconos in PA with a whole lot of people. Just great.
I feel a strong connection to MN. DIL is due with baby #2 end of October. DH going to Minneapolis in September, me early December. All good 😊
One negative comment though. I really dislike most of the proper names. I really don’t know who these folks are. Oh well
Have a great day everyone.
Sorry I wasn’t able to identify myself. Lizza
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what SYN meant
FEWEST nor rarest. PHEW is Wordle speak for a 6. I got a Mag aujourd hui(2).
FIW after all. The M in CARDOMOn/nMA got me.
WC
Took 9:45 for me to get the job finished.
ReplyDeleteVery clever theme execution, but the fill suffered (most prior posters seem to agree).
I debated the M/N end of Cardamo_, but vaguely recalled Ms. Nunes was in the MMA.
The 3-letter answers/clues were sub-standard for a Thursday (or, Ms. Irish Miss may say any day).
Chronic rapper, Mubarak (not Hosni?),Tarawih, Whitman, MMA, NUTMEG, DAR, SYN, Noblezadan, Griffiths Park,...Is it Saturday already? 😳...(Thought a SNOcat was a snowmobile; apparently not based on Malman's picture). Excellent puns, BTW well worth the punchIine anticipation.
ReplyDeleteRefurb wouldn't work for "HGTV" Almost put "Imelda" for Filipino democracy but just didn't seem right. Now her kid is running the place. I had to force myself to fill in OWIE!!!🤬. Was HOP TO the Cartwrights' Asian servant HOP Sing's brother? ESPYS not Espies. LIEV plays "Ray Donovan" on Showtime.
If DJs KEEP RECORDS they'll soon be out of a job. It's all digital now. A "squire" helps a knight SLAPON a suite of armor?
A friend moved his family to New Hartford, a sometime uppity suburb of Utica. His son came home from grade school and said he was asked "ARE we New Money New Hartford or OLD MONEY New Hartford?" My friend told his son "Tell them we are No Money New Harford!!" 😆
Inkovers: RBI/ERA, elm/ENT, whew/PHEW (OWIE),
DNF: don't have time.
Check a mothers ID....CARDAMOM
Smote....SLEW.
First Nation tribe...DECREE
Heading to The View, our Adirondack theater, right after work today to see John Lloyd Young, Tony winner for "Jersey Boys" perform.
🌝
FIW. Had cardamon and couldn't suess out NMA. And nutmeg also did me in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jinx!
ReplyDeleteThank you Vu for a Thursday challenge. I was lucky to SWAG through this P&P fest to a FIR, so I guess I can't complain. Loved the terse (gerund-less?) theme, which kept us EMPLOYED while we solved the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThank you MalMan for keepING us entertained. One of my grandsons is a soccer player (celebrated his 18th trip around the Sun yesterday), and some bottled NUTMEG is already on its way his way.
As I have a meeting planned with Vu next week (please don't tell Patti) and have to plan for it, I'll just add this OLDIE but GOODIE:
46A ROO. This is one of the earliest lullabies I can remember my Mother singing to me 😢.
Cheers,
Bill
MM, you answered your own question. A onesie is a present TO the parents FOR the baby. Hand up for Koran before QURAN. Thought Williams was Don. Finally sussed OLDMONEY, which I have heard before. All in all a bit of a tough row to hoe, but fair. Agree with too many proper names.
ReplyDelete12 proper names. Yuk. Celebrated : eminent, portend: augur, single: syn. Just a few of my issues with this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-I’m here late because I had a lovely struggle. When I am floundering, I find the north end of my pencil is as useful as the south end. That proved true in the top middle when RELOS, ALARM and LATS had to be expunged.
-The Natick at CAR_AMON/_AR got me but I still had a good time.
-Fore!
Pencil?
DeleteHi Y'all! PHEW! Needed ALKA seltzer to help recover from this puzzle. Lots of unknowns. WEES. Filled it a letter or two here and there & red-letter help. Liked the theme, but not eleven 3-letter fills & names. Finally, thought of AUGUR but spelled it with an "ER".
ReplyDeleteShocked myself knowing CARDAMOM. Okay, I admit I thought it ended with an "N".
My yard man showed up to cut my grass just at dark last night, second time in a row this month. He was weed-eating with a flash-light in one hand. He said he'd been mowing since early morning. I'm last on the list because he parks the mower at my neighbors. I'd rolled my trash can to the curb but had to bring it back up so it wouldn't be in his mowing way. Forgot to go out and roll it back down, so it didn't get collected. Aaaegh! Hope there is room for another week's trash.
H.G. @ 10:08 - "When I am floundering, I find the north end of my pencil is as useful as the south end."
ReplyDeleteMe, too. While much of a puzzle gets worked out between my ears I find the visual aspect of solving to be very helpful. As a result, I have become very willing to put in letters just to see how they might work out. I have learned, however, that I must be just as willing to remove those letters.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I loved the theme, simple yet clever and fun. I questioned the strength of the Plan Meetings clue, though, until I realized it was Matchmaker’s Job, not Watchmaker’s Job. My favorite C/A was Umpire’s Job=Work From Home. My only stumble was the ending of Cardamom, so a learning moment there. My enjoyment of the solve, however, was lessened somewhat by the slew of unknown, to me, proper names, to wit, Dar, Eva, Eid, Oates, Reeves, Mae, and Nutmegs. The passel (25) of three letter words, as previously noted by SS, detracted, as well.
Thanks, Hoang-Vu, for a challenging Thursday and thanks, MalMan, for the many chuckles your jokes provided. “Alpaca lunch” tickled my fancy, as did the Doxie and the Lab canine quandary. Great write-up!
Tomorrow is my annual Wellness appointment, so I think I’ll spend some time later practicing drawing clocks and testing my memory with groups of random words. 🤓
Have a great day.
PK @ 10:18 ~ You’re being too kind with mentioning only 11 three letter words, as I counted 25. 😉
ReplyDeleteTrying Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Hoang-Kim and MalMan (thanks for the laughs, esp. that egg joke!).
ReplyDeleteI thought I had done well, but arrived here to see that I FIWed (twice). I did see the job theme (although I needed MM’s description to understand MAIL).
I had no idea what sport Amanda Nunes played, and I spell the spice with an N (CARDAMOM could be a job description for a soccer ref; some of those mouthy moms need a yellow card!).
Plus, my hand is up for Koran! But I never changed it to QURAN, not knowing the NUTMEGS move (and I’m a soccer Mom - but never mouthy LOL). I did wonder about AKUINO but forgot the proper spelling.
I almost had a Natick name-cross with OATES and MAE, but managed to fill correctly with perps and wags.
Yes, there were many misdirections- ICY, that produce noun or verb dilemma, SLAM- brakes not clothes to put on. Oh no, I just realized that I have another FIW. It should have been SLAP and ESPYS. I could have used red letters today, but none in my newspaper!
Whew changed to Phew.
As per 41A SYN, can we call 27A a Singlesie?
FLN- AnonT- we polite Canadians are always welcoming to those who want to be honourary Canadians (especially when they add the U and love Rush!
OMK- that Japanese anthem is hauntingly beautiful. I think it loses a little in the translation with the pebbles and mossy rocks.
Glad to hear from you Lizza.
Wishing you all a great day.
It was an eventual FIR but this puzzle had too many unknowns to be enjoyable. If you don't follow soccer, MMA, live in NYC, know about Tarawin, listen to RAP, or watch movies and TV...ETC, then NUTMEGS, REEVES, EVA, DRE, DAR, LIEV< MAE, LORI, EID, and QURAN (KORAN?) can only be filled by perps and WAGS. Had one change SLIP to SLAP for 'Put on hastily'.
ReplyDeleteSYN- MM is not the only person without the V8 moment. I had not a clue.
ECO mode- I'd never heard of it until I got my new car two months ago. And I found out this week that IT DRIVES ITSELF if I put the cruise-control on. I never use cruise-control unless I'm on an Interstate in the middle of nowhere.
PLAN MEETINGS- could a 'pimp' be considered a Matchmaker?
OLD MONEY- not from where I grew up. It was the NO money neighborhood.
FEWEST- 'Least possible' is always ZERO unless you go negative
CARDAMOM- Only because NMA was not an abbr. for any sport I'd heard.
unclefred- did you ever see the movie 'Porky's' with Beulah Ballbreaker?
Irish Miss: I liked the theme but I didn't like 11 three letter fills & names which were unknown. The others I got okay. Part of my sentence turned blue and disappeared. I didn't get it reconstructed correctly. Trying to type on my laptop is frustrating some days. The curser has a mind of its own.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss - if they're testing you for possible approaching dementia you have nothing to worry about - you're sharp as a tack!
ReplyDeleteWOKLs!
ReplyDelete(What OwenKL said...)
Yes, it was clever.
(But there is such a thing as being too clever....)
Do you think this puzzle was on the up & up?
Nutmeg was interesting.
I looked it up, and the cockney slang version seemed to make perfect sense.
but reading further reveals it came from a more sensible explanation...
So, to sum up,
I think an apt job description for people wanting to do this puzzle would be as follows...
Hola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hong-Kim Vu, I think! This was partly easy and partly hard. The easy part was the top and center; the hard part was the bottom. I'm looking at EID, MAE, ESPYS, NAME DROP and OATES though I should have known that last one. Also unfamiliar is MMA Amanda Nunes but then, I don't know most sports figures.
However, I liked seeing PAELLA PAN. PAELLA is a delicious, savory dish especially when it's freshly made. That was the case for us in Madrid one year when we arrived, very hungry, at a small cafe. They were about to close for the afternoon but accommodated us. We tipped generously as a result.
I knew AQUINO was spelled with a Q, but didn't change the K.
Though I feel a bit frustrated with this puzzle, I shall try to exit with GRACE.
Have a great day, everyone!
Big E - That's the movie with Samantha Jones playing Miss Honeywell. AWOOOOOOOOO!
ReplyDeleteSub / IM - But they don't tell you that you will be asked to regurgitate the words after you draw the clock. I had trouble the first time they gave me the test, but now that I know the gimmick it's been easy. I've made them stop giving the test to my DW. She would get a zero anyway, so it's not worth getting her frustrated.
I loved the JOB DESCRIPTION theme. But...
ReplyDeleteJinx Very wise move to avoid being raging mad at crossings that cannot be guessed. For me it was obscure CAR?AMO?/?AR/?MA. Managed to figure out MMA because we have seen that before. But DAR is not a name any normal person could guess. I guessed GAR which seemed just as good. An otherwise clever and delightful puzzle spoiled for no reason.
My nephew took me here to the ruins of the old Los Angeles Zoo in GRIFFITH PARK.
Has anyone else been there?
From Tuesday:
CrossEyedDave I actually watched the entire MILITARY RANK WORDS video that you linked to. A bit longer than needed, but I found it a valuable learning moment. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon. Thank you, Hoang-Kim, and thank you, Malodorous Manatee
Well nuts. I spelled the name of the sacred text with the perfectly acceptable variant KORAN, and then changed the O to a U for NUTMEGS (had no idea, but that sound better than NOTMEGS). So I ended with the Filipino's Mother of Democracy as AKUINO. A different day and I wouldn't have made that silly error.
Not a perfect solve, but still fun. The unknowns perped in, and a couple of good guesses helped.
Griffith Park's 4210 ? Really ? The answer was easy enough to work out, but I'll nominate that clue for the ESPY for most nebulous and vague clue of the year award. Never heard of it. Similar to Topanga a while ago. I wonder if the people that have heard of, or even frequent Griffith Park, would know off hand that is has 4210 ACRES. Talk about arcane clues, that one takes the cake.
MM, that has to be the best OVUM joke I've ever heard. ESPY for you, too.
MR ROGERS had a great clue and produced an AHA moment !
If you click on my avatar, and then click on TTP's blog, you can scroll through the Food Recalls issued for things like E.coli, foreign substances, mislabeled and undeclared ingredients, allergens, listeria and more. You can also press a link for all FDA recalls, and even get your personalized daily calorie plan.
FLN, Lucina, my back yard isn't all that big. Maybe it is just the perspective in that picture. The front yard is. It takes twice as long to mow as the back yard. And yes, I have a John Deere riding mower that cuts a 42" wide swath to make it easier. And a couple of self propelled walk behind mowers. I mowed Sunday afternoon. I should have mowed again yesterday. It rained all night and it's too wet to mow now.
CrossEyedDave, last year my string trimmer got harder to start and was leaking gas. So I replaced the fuel lines, put in a new spark plug, cleaned the foam air filter and sprayed the carb. It still ran rough. So I took off the valve cover and adjusted the rocker valve arm clearances. Runs like a champ. Usually starts with two pulls. Fast forward to a month ago. The bump feed assembly quit advancing the line. Long story. One broken slider and many worn out parts in the bump feed assy. About $80 worth. I found a Ryobi complete replacement trimmer head assembly at Home Depot that was supposed to fit any Ryobi back to 2002. Mine is a 2001 model. So now I have this good running, 4 cycle (regular gas) engine string trimmer. It's the RYOBI 825R 4 Cycle String Trimmer. It's actually the expensive part of Ryobi's old "Click-Link" system. Not compatible with their new "Expand It" system. You can change the attachments to make it a hedge trimmer, blower, edger, tree pruner or a cultivator. I only had the string trimmer attachment. It's yours for the asking. Just give me a call before you swing by to pick it up.
Thursday toughie, but still fun, many thanks Hoang-Kim. And I always enjoy your commentaries and pictures, MalMan, thanks for those too.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle had more business stuff than most, thanks to its theme: PLAN MEETINGS, NEGOTIATE, KEEP RECORDS, WORK FROM HOME, LEASES, OLD MONEY, WINS, DELIVER MAIL and maybe more.
But not much food, except for ASPIC and NUTMEG. I was going to add OATS, but remembered that was a vocalist's name with an E, not a breakfast cereal. Oh, but I almost forgot that PAELLA PAN and that CARDAMOM.
Wonder if that little IMP wears a ONESIE?
Enough for now. Have a great day, everybody.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteMalMan, your "dad" jokes today were the best - as were your videos
I had to turn on too many red lights; had too many mistakes to recall
I am working with a crossword editor whose best advice is: "Don't make a clue harder by indicating obscure info". Griffith Park's 4,210+ fits that. SMH
Since there were only three letters for the braying animal, my choices were limited. I guess it became my ASPIC {groan}
[SPOILER ALERT] Tomorrow's puzzle ain't gonna be any easier, but there are also fewer proper names (IIRC) and the clues were more "Thursday-like" [SPOILER ALERT]
A toughie from Mr. Vu, rendered less obscure by MalMan.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked, d'you hear!? Shocked! -that I was able to finish today's challenge.
Because it started off slowly, painfully, with all those proper names and generalized clues. I was ready to give up and start cheating about half-way through.
Ah, but then, P+P started paying off, with lotsa small discoveries--and that wonderful feeling that comes when you find you know more than you thought you did.
~ OMK
___________
DR:. But, sadly, no diagonals to report. At a glance, I thought the far side would come through.
But it crashed right in the center, between MMA and SYN. The black hole, there.
DARs a silly name fur ya!
ReplyDeletePK @ 11:59 ~ I’m sorry, I misunderstood your perfectly clear statement. 🫢
ReplyDeleteSubgenius @ 11:05 ~ Nice of you to say, but some days I wonder! 🤔
Jinx @ 12:30 ~ I haven’t experienced that subtle trickery, thank goodness. 🙃
ReplyDeleteHmmm, let’s see, sports terms no one has ever heard of…that can be clued better…names of people I’ve never heard of, and too many of them, and general horrible clueing. Again.
Apparently the new editor has marching orders to make the LA TIMES puzzle so hated that no one will want to solve it.
You’re getting there.
I have to agree.
DeleteJeez, so now we have to know Arabic to solve a puzzle?
ReplyDeleteAgree with others on cardamoM - Chronicle has a weekly food columnist who gives recipes for Southern Asia food, and I've never seen CARDAMON spelled that week, so a FIR. Also, Amanda Nunes? After the fog cleared, my favorite was MR. ROGERS. Had the _RRO_ERS, but I kept thinking an average Joe. Never watched a soccer game or read a soccer recap, until the clue "neighborhood" popped in my head - duh!
ReplyDelete"that WAY" not week - sheesh.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... (possibly) interesting thought triggered by that, TXMs. Perhaps some of the puzzles are now being constructed using autocorrect robots to complete the fill.
ReplyDeleteThis was unpleasant every step of the way. Maybe I could have finished but it was so annoying I just junked It. Seems like it's becoming an everyday thing. PP filled puzzles.
ReplyDeleteTTP!
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling you were a tinkerer when I saw that garden tractor minus the engine cover.
Funny you should mention the ryobi trimmer.
I found a craftsman 4 stroke weed eater in the junkyard with that same interchangeable tool extension feature,
but that pop in connector had broken off, plus it would not run.
Cleaned the carb, adjusted the valves, replaced the oil and wacker string, and since I already had one, gave it to daughter #3 for their newlywed home. (I found a gas mower for them too, but they wanted to go electric.)
If anyone else out there has the urge to fix junk for free,
Check out home garage for some excellent advice.
Me?
I'm a hopeless tinkerer, so much so that rather than watch TV, I will watch "Mustie1."
This guy can fix (and has fixed) anything. Plus I would love to get my hands on his "toys."
He explains everything, and talk to you like you're right there.
As a matter of fact, the first comment in this video is
you know you are a part of Musties army when you start talking back to him...
Glad you liked the Japanese anthem, CanadianEh!
ReplyDeleteI could not find a recorded version that quite captured the spirit our company brought to it. Imagine it without any instrumental accompaniment, entirely a cappella, hummed--and slightly slower than the YouTube piece.
The closest modern equivalent I can think of, is the humming chorus near the end of Madama Butterfly. Puccini must have studied the anthem.
~ OMK
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteDNF - no 'd' in DAR, 'a' in MAE, nor an 'i' & 'e' in LIEV. Looking back, the 'a' should have been an easy guess but I still don't think I'd have gotten OATES - I kept hearing the song in my head and it sounded Light-Soul.
Thanks for the grid Hoang-Kim. I gotta ask, did you know all the 'names' before making the grid?
Thanks for bailing me out, MManatte. The humorous expo is the bright spot in today's puzzling.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: EVA, NUTMEGS, AQUINO, REEVES | FEWEST(? - oh, literal 'least'! Cute)
Fav: OLD MONEY as clued.
Mirroring SUNNI and QURAN was a nice touch.
Welcome back, Lizza.
Moe - I had no idea where Griffith Park is but the clue screamed ACRES. //Sqft would be a small park ;-)
Thanks for the 'nutmegged' link, CED.
Gotta run. Cheers, -T
FIW, due to spelling errors. Hand up for CARDAMOn / nMA and kURAN.
ReplyDeleteWhen the cat ran through the dog's legs, DH used to say the dog got NUTMEGed. After a few perps, that seemed like a reasonable answer for a "tricky soccer move".
I often ask Google to "play yacht rock radio" when I'm doing chores around the house ... lots of Hall & OATES on that playlist.
Fav: MrRogers. Those 2 R's in a row had me looking for a starting vowel for quite some time!
Safe travels, Picard!
Thanks to MalMan and Hoang-Kim Vu!
I forgot to mention that I know a woman named DARR though I never thought to ask if it is a shortened version or if that is her complete name.
ReplyDeleteYowza! We're having a cool down! It's only 99 degrees! However, humidity is high and that is normal for August.
I knew of Griffith Park from reading novels about Los Angeles detectives. Knew it was big, so ACRES was the first thing I tried.
ReplyDeleteGriffith Park was in the LA Times this week due to 25 car robberies in one day near its Planetarium!
ReplyDelete