google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday December 31, 2022, Evan Mulvihill

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Dec 31, 2022

Saturday December 31, 2022, Evan Mulvihill

 Saturday Themeless by Evan Mulvihil


This is Evan's first solo Saturday puzzle for me. He and Adam Simpson co-authored one on November 5 of this year. I told Evan we must be of similar minds because I got this one done in 17 minutes and had fun in the process!
Evan told me, "I am a­ clinical pharmacist at Zuckerberg, San Francisco General, a crossword constructor and lover or all things word-play related."



Across:

1. Accessory that may be paired with a smoking jacket: ASCOT.


6. "Euphoria" network: HBO.


9. Okra or orca unit: POD - Orca/Okra similarity did not get me

12. Like pins and needles: PLURAL.

14. "I cleaned my plate!": ALL DONE.

16. Largest moon of Uranus: TITANIA.


18. Many of the "GoodFellas" main characters: MADE MEN In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a MADE MAN is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oath of omertà, the Mafia code of silence and code of honor

19. Behavioral psychologist's concern: PATTERN.


21. Squash: STEP ON.

22. Account statement?: SWORN TESTIMONY - Your account of what happened while under oath is SWORN TESTIMONY but still...


24. Maureen presented with an Honorary Academy Award in 2014: O'HARA - Presented by Clint Eastwood and Liam Neeson


25. Buff: FAN - I am a Husker buff. 

26. Kermit sipping tea and Keanu playing with puppies: MEMES.


27. Clothing store department: BOYS.

28. Turn in: GO TO BED.

30. Psyche segments: IDS.


31. Border dispute: TURF WAR - The most famous one in the movies was the Sharks vs Jets


32. Corp. execs: VPS.

35. Puzzle that uses every letter: PANGRAM.

36. Athlete who wrote the memoir "My Life and the Beautiful Game": PELE.


37. Drained of color: ASHEN.

40. Poetic dusk: EEN.

41. "Being the Ricardos" role: ARNAZ - The actual 1940 marriage license for Desiderio Alberto ARNAZ and Lucille Desiree Ball


42. Robin DiAngelo book about race relations: WHITE FRAGILITY.


45. "Very funny": HA HA HA.

46. Shut up: KEPT MUM - A requirement of all who worked on The Manhattan Project

47. "Did not expect to survive that": I'M ALIVE.

49. Like some passes: LATERAL - Here is a forward pass and two LATERAL passes (passes that do not travel toward the opponent's goal line)


51. "Hm ... ": LET'S SEE.

52. Have the gumption: DARE TO.

53. Mag wheels?: EDS - EDitorS are big wheels at MAGazines 

54. Archipelago part: Abbr.: ISL - Here in The Marianas Archipelago you will find the ISLand of Tinian from which the Enola Gay took off on August 6, 1945


55. Portends: BODES.


Down:

1. Apropos: APT.

2. Careless: SLIPSHOD.

3. Film flashbacks, essentially: CUTAWAYS Titanic starts with Rose in modern times with the crew searching for the diamond called The Heart Of The Ocean. The bulk of the movie is a flashback to her time on the doomed ocean liner.


4. Figures of speech: ORATORS.

5. Mystical text in Sanskrit: TANTRA Here ya go


6. Scenery chewer: HAM - I nominate Jim Carrey 


7. Heck of a party: BLAST.

8. Honoree who might wear a vintage uniform: OLD TIMER - Do you know these old Yankees? (
* Answer at the bottom of the write-up)


9. Santa hat feature: POM POM.

10. Impossible NFL score: ONE ONE.

11. Chain with "all day diner deals": DENNYS.


13. Property claim for outstanding debt: LIEN.

15. Held: DEEMED.

17. Master of disguise?: ART FORGER - I'd bet our art curator/puzzle constructor, Jeffrey Wechsler, could spot the work of this person


20. One whose priorities are in order?: NEAT FREAK.

23. Winter figure: SNOW ANGEL.


24. Sash tied with a butterfly knot: OBI.


28. Staple __: GUN.

29. "Just like that!": BAM.

31. "Between the World and Me" writer Coates: TANEHISI.


32. Hazarded, as a guess: VENTURED.

33. Schoolyard friend: PLAYMATE.

34. "__ who?": SEZ - Mike wrote thousands of columns for the Chicago Tribune and always wrote exactly what he thought.


35. Potpourri pieces: PETALS.


36. First, in Spanish: PRIMERO - PRIMERO, segundo y tercero (First, second and third. masc.)

37. For a spell: AWHILE.

38. Brought low: SHAMED.

39. Kit parts with pedals: HIHATS - I'll bet you can pick out this part


41. Window-switching shortcut: ALT TAB.


43. Top picks, slangily: FAVES.

44. Apple TV+ device: IPAD.

48. Unadon fish: EEL.

50. "__ Espookys": 6-Across comedy series: LOS - 
Variety confirmed that on December 2, HBO canceled Los Espookys, the spookiest, weirdest, and most original comedy on television. Here is the weirdest 2 minute trailer you will ever see.


* Those Old Timer Yankees are Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Joe DiMaggio and Casey Stengel. 





37 comments:

Subgenius said...

I did the puzzle very early this morning, then fell back asleep. When I got up again I thought it was Sunday and I had missed contributing to this blog. I was happy to find out I was mistaken.
So now, I wonder. What will my fellow Cornerites say about this puzzle today? Will they say it was a slog? To me, it certainly was that. Will they say it seemed easier than some Saturdays have been? Perhaps. I think I might say that. However, there were some major hurdles. One of the big ones, for me, was coming up with the title, “White Fragility.” I kept thinking about something like “fragments “ instead. Surprisingly, the totally unknown name “Tanehisi” (which turns out, apparently, to be “Ta-Nehisi”) was easily perped, which is one reason I say that the puzzle seemed (for a Saturday) a bit easier than usual. So I say “FIR, so I’m happy.” But, what do you folks say?

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Stumbled here and there with ALL gONE and wEnT MUM. Four-letter athlete -- gotta be ASHE, right? Wrong. Timely; PELE succumbed to colon cancer this past week. Can't claim that I was on Evan's wavelength this morning, but progress was steady with no Naticks. Suits me. Thanx, Evan and Husker.

Now it's time to read 'em and weep. I'm referring to the year-end financial figures. 2022 was abysmal.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

It must have been a very easy Saturday crossword, because even my dumbass self finished it. I finished it WRONG, but I finished it. I had PRIMERa x BaDES. Hand up for erasing ashe for PELE. Also rubbed out silent testimony for SWORN TESTIMONY, fit for FAN, ricky then arnez for ARNAZ, and omen for the equally wrong BaDES.

ONE - anything is an impossible NFL score. Anything - ONE is impossible too.

Can you get arrested for mooning uranus? Asking for a friend.

Thanks to Evan for the challenge, even if I wasn't quite up to it. And thanks to Husker Gary for the fine tour.

TTP said...


Good morning. Thank you, Evan and thank you, Husker Gary

It is my SWORN TESTIMONY that I was ALL DONE in 24:13 on this challenger. However, I'm SHAMED because I had one stupid error and one typo.
1) It's Maureen O'HARA, not O'HARe. I know this. The cross ? TANTRA yes, TANTRe no.
2) I know it's BODES, not BiDES. That was a typo.

Actually solved this one last night while watching the Tennessee / Clemson game, so distraction for sure. For instance, the familiar PANGRAM was on the tip of my tongue but I needed perps.

Wasn't familiar with either HBO series.

Nice clues for ORATORS and SNOW ANGEL. "Like pins and needles" was not Pointy.

POM POM and ONE ONE in the NE corner was cute.

A full slate of bowl games today. Iowa v Kentucky gets the part started in a few hours.

ATLGranny said...

This is usually the kind of layout that gives me fits, but today I have a FIR and it didn't take all day. I wandered around, little by little filling the grid, surprised by some of the answers: NEAT FREAK and EDS. I had a couple of WOs but who cares. HA, HA, HA. I'm happy and thank you Evan.

Thank you, Husker Gary, for your helpful review and information about Evan. I needed your explanation of MADE MEN and EDS, and I was slow to get why buff=FAN, thinking of fit or toned instead. I always look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Looking forward to reading the comments and expect Irish Miss and others will say it is an easy puzzle.

Have a fun New Year's Eve. I will GO TO BED early.

Wilbur Charles said...

PELE coincidentally passed away this week, the G.O.A.T. of Soccer
Patriots had a LATERAL disaster two weeks ago

NW was tricky as ORATORS flew right by and TITANIA was UNK until it perped. PLURAL was tricky too

TANEHISI needed 8 peeps

I knew all but Ford

Difficulty level was 8.5. FIR by Wilbur drops it a few notches

WC

Big Easy said...

LET'S SEE, I was on Evan's wavelength for the right side but the left took A WHILE to get going. Especially the SW. TANEHISI looked so wrong but I couldn't think of anything to change the perps. Like Wilbur it needed 8 perps. The cross of TITANIA and TANTRA- both unknown- finished it for me. Wanted FADAWAY before ASCOT made it CUTAWAY.

HBO, MEMES, LOS- perps for those
WHITE FRAGILITY- never heard of it.
NEAT FREAKs- what our grandkids call us

SWORN TESTIMONY- if you've ever been on a criminal jury (I have), a lot of that 'sworn testimony' is not believable.

Jinx- 'mooning Uranus'- that's a good one. TITANIA does it

ALL DONE and Happy New Years Eve.

Anonymous said...

I finished in 17:36.

SubG: I found the top-left to be a slog, not knowing the actress, the moon, and the mystical text. I also struggled with the unknown book title (thought it ended in "agility," took forever to see "fragility") and today's unknown author (Tanehisi).

Jinx: I respectfully disagree with your comment about a 1-anything being an impossible NFL score. This is very, very obscure/arcane, but there is a thing called a 1-point safety, which can only occur on a 2-point attempt following a touchdown. It has never been done in the NFL. So, you could have a 6-1 score, or many other something-1 scores, but not (1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 7-1).

KS said...

FIW. Didn't know pangram, and guessed pengram. Never heard of Tanehisi, so the perp did me no good. My WAG didn't work out this time. Missed by one square.

YooperPhil said...

A fairly typical Saturday themeless, challenging but fair and doable, many first glance unknowns but with a little thought and much perp help I managed a FIR in 23:10. Surprised that many were unfamiliar with PANGRAM, they must be sort of difficult to construct in a 15X15 grid cuz we don’t see a whole lot, but I always look for them if I see J’s, Z’s and X’s in a puzzle. Thank you Evan for the morning brain workout, nicely done.

HG ~ another finely put together review, always enjoy your entertaining/informative write-ups. Also I always did like the writings of Mike Royko. Nice pic of J. Wex too, one of the best in the business, haven’t seen his byline lately.

And on a 🏈 note ~ go Maize and Blue!!

Anonymous said...

This is Yuman, haven’t done the puzzle yet, I changed my avatar and now I can’t post on my iphone using my Goggle acct. any suggestions?

Subgenius said...

By the way, folks, it seems we haven’t heard from Ms. Irish Miss in a number of days, now. I certainly hope she’s okay!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

FIR on a Saturday! BAM!!.. makes up for the rest of the week's puzzling disasters ..the usual unknowns but some klever klueing too

Moon and Uranus, that's all I'll say about that!! Although Jinx couldn't resist..😄

Some things you STEP ON, others you step in 😃. "Mag wheels"? EDS? Haven't seen the "scenery chewer" clue or OBI answer in a month of Sunday LA Times. Not sure how an ARTFORGER is a "master of disguise?

Almost put bras instead of BOYS ☺

"Just like that" Booyah? nope, too long (does anyone still say that?). Pulling out my hair when I just couldn't remember what you guys call an all-letter puzzle! Mostly perped

Inkovers: abased/SHAMED, tan/fit/FAN ?? For "buff"? Anyone?

Watched a couple of episodes of "Los Espookys": couldn't get into it, maybe I'll give it another try. My one question after finishing "Euphoria" is ..with all the sex, drugs, and constant partying when do these HS kids find time to do their homework!!

Hour glass....OLDTIMER
SHAME Nana...PANGRAM
Wan Kenobi to his buds...OBI
Fight over who gets the steak in a fish-steak entrée...TURFWAR
Frankenstein's monster's first words...IM ALIVE

Gonna go over 50⁰ today. The Christmas snow has melted. 🥵

Lee said...

I checked back. Irish Miss last posted on Tuesday, this week. No indication in the post of anything amiss. Now I'm worried too.

Tough puzzle in spots. Did not know writer Coates. Looked it up. That finished the SW for me. Got SWORN TESTIMONY which opened the top half. Also went ALL gONE until. DEEMED showed up.

RosE said...

Good Morning! This was an open book excursion for me today. DNK TANTRA or authors PELE, DiAngelo, or Coates.
My favorite fill was SLIPSHOD, a description I haven't heard in a long time.
Buff: I first went with tAN, I remember those suede shoes..., then wondered if it might be a verb (to shine) finally got to FAN. But I struggled w/ 17D because I had PATiEnt instead of PATTERN, so I knew AnT FORGER didn't make sense, but caved at that point. Waited for Husker Gary's recap. Thanks, Gary.
Good puzzle overall for a Saturday. Thanks, Evan.
Happy New Year to all! Stay safe!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Our constructor indicates he is a clinical pharmacist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General hospital..the name intrigued me.

Google..."Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s adopted hometown of San Francisco on Tuesday formally condemned the naming of a major hospital after him and his wife, the latest flashpoint in the debate over the proper role for billionaire philanthropy." They gave 75 million to the nearly 400 bed hospital

What was supposed to be called Mohawk Valley Medical Center, an architecturally stunning 400 bed hospital will be completed in downtown Utica this October and the two current hospitals will close. Last year Steve Wynn (grew up in Utica), of casino fame contributed 50 million to change the name. It will now be called the Wynn Hospital instead.

Slot machines in the Emergency room?

inanehiker said...

This was a puzzle that started slow since I didn't have much in the NW - but then it all opened up in the SW and NE and filled in from there.

Several gimmes for me - I read DiAngelo's "WHITE FRAGILITY" a few years ago in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder and it was quite impactful for me. Also Ta-Nehisi Coates National book award winner "Between the World and Me" He grew up in Waseely's neck of the woods in Baltimore. Between those 2 it opened up much of the SW which spilled over to the SE part of the puzzle.
WEES about fit before FAN like history buff. I waited for perps to fill the ends of PRIMERO vs primera and LOS vs Las . Enjoyed the cluing for Master of disguise and One whose priorities are in order

Thanks HG for the amusing blog and Evan for the puzzle!
I'll be hoping it's a day for upsets for Kansas State and TCU in their bowl games!

Monkey said...

I recognize this puzzle had some clever clues, but it didn’t really work for me. I entered saves for FAVES, and keep mum for KEPT MUM, so got discombobulated.

Pelé was one of a kind.

And now Barbara Walters has left us. She was also one of a kind. And one more, retired pope Benedict XVI, another original, the first pope to retire, has died. These deaths make me feel real old, but I’M ALIVE. As Maurice Chevalier used to say when asked how it felt to be 80, it beats the alternative.

Happy EOY to everyone.

Irish Miss said...

Subgenius @9:40 and Lee @ 10:06 ~ Thank you for your concern about my absence. Nothing seriously wrong, just feeling under the weather since Tuesday. 🤢

inanehiker said...

Oh I also had read an article after PELE's death this week which mentioned his memoir and the term the Beautiful Game.

waseeley said...

Thanks EVAN for a Saturday FIR and congrats on your first SOLO.

And thanks for the review Husker.

Lots to do today, so just one fav:

24A OBI. DNK that the OBI was tied in a butterfly knot. This is perhaps where Cho-Cho-San, better known as Madame Butterfly, gets her name. Here's her beautiful aria Un Bel Di Vedremo

Cheers,
Bill

inanehiker said...

IM - thanks for touching base on the blog - hope you feel better soon!

Picard said...

Hand up TANEHISI seemed impossibly wrong, even with all 8 perps. Sad about PELE dying this week. Even this guy who ignores sports knows PELE. FIR.

Husker Gary Thanks for the LOS ESPOOKYS video. Intriguing. We just have one TV channel in our small city and no cable.

From Yesterday:
Lucina Thank you for taking the time to look at my young cousin Sophie's BAT MITZVAH photos. Thanks for asking about this, which prompted me to do some research. I was well aware that the Bar MITZVAH for boys takes place at age 13 and represents the official transition to adulthood. I also was aware that the BAT MITZVAH ceremony for girls is a very modern invention. Apparently, the first one in the US was exactly 100 years ago, in 1922.

Growing up, my parents would use the word MITZVAH to refer to a "good deed". But I just learned that MITZVAH literally means "commandment" or "law". Bar MITZVAH means coming to the age of being subject to the law. The father is very grateful for this passing, because it means he is no longer legally liable for his son's actions!

But the other meaning of MITZVAH as "good deed" is indeed relevant. My cousin Sophie was in fact expected to do certain good deeds for others as part of her preparation for her BAT MITZVAH. My other cousins are a bit older and I remember one of them helped build houses for Habitat for Humanity as his MITZVAH.

Anonymous said...

A worthy Saturday challenge. I started slow in the NW (should’ve trusted my initial instinct with ASCOT ORATORS LIEN) but PANGRAM was a gimme and the SW filled quickly.

I had POINTY instead of PLURAL for some time. I wonder if that’s really a fair clue, even for a Saturday. Just for fun I decided to see how it has been clued in the NYT… and it was once clued as “Like mice and geese”, on a MONDAY, without a question mark AND without quotation marks around “mice” and “geese” which would definitely help. On the other hand, the clue for NEAT FREAK was my favorite.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see Ms. Irish Miss is ok, and that my friend Sub G has adopted her title too.

Also, to follow-up on my "point" above about the single NFL point possibility, check-out a website called: Scoragami. It explains it much better than I did/can (at the 18:23 mark).
https://nflscorigami.com/

Misty said...

Tough but fun Saturday puzzle, many thanks, Evan. And always enjoy your commentary, Gary, thanks for that too.

Well, LET'S SEE: should an OLD TIMER like me DARE TO comment on this Saturday puzzle? Makes you picture a bunch of BOYS wearing an ASCOT and a POM POM and getting caught up in a TURF WAR.
That's a pretty SLIPSHOD comment, isn't it? I probably should have KEPT MUM, but I'm just such a FAN of these weekend puzzles. But okay, I'll stop and GO back TO BED for AWHILE.

Have a fun day, everybody--if you don't have rain, like we do.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Late to the party though I started the puzzle quite early then returned to bed after almost finishing it. When I awoke and while drinking coffee, I slogged through it only because of TURFWAR/ARTFORGER. That wouldn't quite come together for me. Finally! I got it!

NETFREAK is a personality feature we Sandovals inherited from my paternal grandmother. I have a mental image of her arranging the cans on a shelf with all the labels turned forward and matching the sides. Then there was the time when my sister glued the GREEN STAMPS in a SLIPSHOD manner and was forced to steam them off and arrange them NEATLY. Then when she took them to be redeemed at the Green Stamp store, the clerk tore them up. Heartbreak ensued!

No SNOWANGEL here! It rained heavily, though.

My grid is littered with wite-out from the many mmisdirections I had to change. Thank you, Evan, for the challenge.

IrishMiss
I'm sorry you are feeling unwell and hope you soon feel better.

Have wonderful New Year's Eve, everyone!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-It always seemed to me that PANGRAM should have another A three syllables like ANAGRAM
-It’s good to see Irish back in the saddle again and I hope she is feeling better
-Watching the Iowa Hawkeyes offense or watching ice melt? It’s a toss-up. At least they are in a bowl game.
-Agreeing to talk to Mike Wallace or Barbara Walters came with some risks. No softball questions from either of them, so you’d better “buckle up buttercup”.
-48°F and sunny on the Great Plains today. New Year’s Eve will pass rather uneventfully at this venue.

sumdaze said...

FIW but enjoyed the challenge. Thank you, Evan! FAVES: Pangram, Turn in, Okra/Orca, SNOW ANGEL, and Like pins and needles.
We had POM POM, HAHAHA, and ONE ONE.

Add Ian Tyson to the list of famous names we lost this week. I know Waseely & Teri are FANs.
"But our good times are all gone
And I'm bound for movin' on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way."

Thanks to H-Gary for his PRIMERO write-ups!

Jayce said...

I think today's puzzle is what a good crossword puzzle is all about: fairness, sussability, and challenge. Hand up for needing all 8 perps to fill TANEHISI, and for filling FIT before FAN. MAFIOSI had to change to MADE MEN, and MENS to BOYS.

It's really a pleasure to read all your comments. Goodbye to PELE, Kirstie Alley, Barbara Walters, Pope Emeritus Benedict, Queen Elizabeth, and 2022.

Good wishes to you all.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Woot! I nailed a Saturday! Sure it took me (way!) longer than HG's 17m (about 3 hours on-and-off - got me a hair-cut too) but I cracked it.

Thanks Evan for the fun grid. The cluing was Saturday-hard but a) very cute wordplay & b) you gave us (me) just enough toe-holds to hang on.

Thank you HG for confirming all my squares were right and for the great after-party expo. Oh, and EDS for MAGs explanation #V8Can

WOs: ALL gONE (Hi D-O!), I started inking Dezie [sic] ARNEZ, I'll LIVE, dOS Espookys'
ESPs: TANTRA|O'HARA, TANEHISI, TITANIA (ish - I knew the TITIAN bit but...)
Fav: PANGRAM even if the grid isn't one [no J,Q, nor X (if I counted correctly)] it was #AlmostMeta

FLN - Nice pics, Picard. Your good-deeds Bar Mitzvah definition [today] sounds like an Eagle Project.
//I'll still claim my daughters actions - they're both smart & studious, even if a little devious.

Cute "story," Misty.

TTP - I was thinking Pokie / Pointy too. PLURALS? Needs a ? in the clue, me thinks. (as does @11:37a)

Ray-O: I'll say Booyah! if a) things were tense, b) I solved the issue, and c) I'm in a playful mood -- breaks the tension after hours of noodling syslogs.
LOL PAN GRAMs and, re: @10:38a, don't hospitals already have slot machines / gambling tables? When it comes to the bill at the end, I'm out of $$$ quicker than Vegas. //How is it a Dr. at the hospital (who saw you for 4 minutes) is not affiliated and insurance won't cover?

LOL Jinx -- I got the memo they changed the pronunciation of Uranus 'cuz Gen-X scientists would always giggle and mention Klingons around Uranus.

Who here recommended Glass Onion / Knives Out? We watched it last night and, my take, really cute - not Christie or Doyle smart but cute nevertheless.

Get well soon, IM. Healing love your way.

Cheers & Happy New Years!, -T
R.I.P. Barbara Walters, PELE, & ex-Pope B.
I tried to find the interview of B. Walters coming to terms with Gilda's take but my Google-Fu is weak. I'll just give you this ABC recap.

Lucina said...

R.I.P. We lost some big ones this week. Pope Benedict's funeral will be on January 5th and will be large, I'm sure. My question is, where will he be buried?

Jinx in Norfolk said...

-T, Healthcare roulette? The glass guy who was here yesterday brought his very pregnant wife, just in case the baby arrived. I mentioned that if she had the baby today (Friday) or tomorrow (Saturday), they'll get the nice little tax dependent. He told me that would be nice, but if the baby is later than that his deductible for delivery will go up to $15,000. Didn't say anything to them, but if that happened to me I would fly to Michigan and have Dr. Pol or one of his other vets deliver the little bundle of joy. (Michigan needs a little joy after being upset in the Fiesta Bowl this afternoon.)

Anon - Thanks for the heads up about the 2015 NFL rule change. I'm still not sure I understand, and it is a bit too esoteric to spend much time thinking about.

Too many fireworks happening here for me to go to bed. Zoe just keeps panting, and I just keep stroking her and telling her it's OK. Probably be up until the revelers pass out.

LEO III said...

I cannot say that this was an EASY Saturday puzzle. I will say, however, I’m pretty sure that this was the first Saturday puzzle I have completed (I often just give up), and I even got an FIR! Needed a bunch of perps, though. Once again, I also needed Mr. Wite-Out to finally eradicate a few penciled-in answers that had been sitting on the grid all day not giving me any help.

I worked on it on and off throughout the day. I think I got a good third of it on the east side done this morning. I had printed it out after I left the corner last night around midnight --- or whenever it was. The west side gave me most of the trouble. Inserting CIGAR in 1A as my first fill didn’t help at all. Once I finally saw the light, I was able to slog through the rest of it.

The fireworks have started here in the 'hood. They are illegal in the City of Houston (and maybe some of the surrounding municipalities). One cannot even transport them through town. The po-po have been known to watch the fireworks stands and then ticket (and probably confiscate from) drivers who buy outside the city limits and cross the line with them.

Beautiful downtown Clodine is outside the city, so there are some fireworks stands here in the 'hood. Not as bad as it used to be: The neighbors behind me used to spend a bunch of money when they had kids at home. Either the kids or the neighbors themselves have moved, because it's pretty quiet here now.

Oh, and I haven't gone out on Amateur Night in at least 20 years!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Anonymous T said...

LEOIII - When I was in Greatwood, neighbor and I would shoot off $$ over the bayou into the golf course for our cul-de-sac. Then we were annexed by Sugar Land and that had to stop.
//Constable even came by the last New Years it was legal and warned us that it was the last legal time to shoot 'em off. He parted with, "Have fun & stay safe."

Now I'm in Spring - I wasn't sure if I was allowed pyrotechnics or not, so I held off. Fortunately, the neighbors didn't and I'm getting a free show out on the back patio.

Jinx - I hope Zoe's (and your) nerves stay un-frayed.

Cheers, -T

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Fireworks still poppin', but Zoe has given up being afraid and is sleeping. I'm next.

LEO III said...

-T --- We have to have HPD guys/gals at any museum events where we have booze. There are about half a dozen of them that take turns, depending on their schedules. Last thing I say to them when they are headed home is, "Stay safe!"

Where in Spring? I used to live in Northampton, right across from Klein Oak High School, until my visa up there was cancelled.