google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, December 8, 2022, David Alfred Bywaters

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Dec 8, 2022

Thursday, December 8, 2022, David Alfred Bywaters

 

 

Would it Saw or Wood it Knot?

This will mark 43rd appearance of David Alfred Bywaters in the LA Times crosswords.  He was one of the first constructors I blogged and I always find his puzzles a delight.  David's puzzles make extensive use of wordplay, with less use of obscure people and places.  Since I have no puzzle to solve on Thursdays I always go to his website for a puzzle.  He hosts one of the most beautiful sites on the web and it's always worth a visit.

Today he teases us with 4 clues for the names of SAWS, tools commonly found in a wood shop and then gets his fill by riffing on another meaning of the word SAW:  a MAXIM or PROVERB.  For those interested I've linked pictures of the tools into the clues, and then followed with annotations of David's punny fill:

20A. Band saw?: UNITED WE STAND.  The Band of Brothers in the 2001 HBO American war drama stood united in their struggle against the tyranny of Hitler in WWII.  The series was based on the 1992 non-fiction book of same the name by historian Stephen E. Ambrose. Here's a trailer from the mini-series, created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who also served as executive producers. It won the 2001 Emmy and Golden Globe awards for best miniseries.

25A. Circular saw?: IT IS WHAT IT IS.  An example of  circular reasoning - a logical fallacy often referred to as "begging the question".   But in 1949 the term It is what it is morphed into an idiom meaning: "Deal with it": a response to a frustrating or challenging situation that a person believes cannot be changed and must just be accepted.  Here's where the phrase originated.

48A. Power saw?: MIGHT IS RIGHTAnother logical fallacy called Argumentum ad baculum ("appeal to the stick").  I'm afraid this  saw is becoming more and more pervasive around the world, including here at home.

 56A. Coping saw?: ONE DAY AT A TIME.  An approach to dealing with obsessive thoughts about the past or the future.  A phrase often heard in addiction therapy settings.  And good advice from our 16th President:
 
Here's the grid:
 
Across:

1. Courteous title: MAAM.  An elision of MADAM.

5. "Make tracks!": SCRAM.

10. Be rife (with): TEEM.  Whenever we go to the National Aquarium, we always visit the Australian Exhibit  and head for the tank TEEMING with Archerfish.  You sport fishermen out there could learn a few tricks from these remarkable animals:

14. __ mater: ALMAAlma mater (Latin: alma mater, lit.'nourishing mother';  is an allegorical Latin phrase used to identify a school, college or university that one formerly attended or/and graduated from; also the name of the school song.  Hand up if you're a Columbia grad!
Columbia University
Daniel Chester French 1903

15. Fragrance: AROMA.

16. Fairy-tale antagonist: OGRE.

17. Expanding Asian desert: GOBI.  Its size is expanding due to desertificationHere are 20 interesting facts about the Gobi Desert.


18. Temporarily unavailable: NOT IN.

19. Work hard for: EARN.

20. [Theme clue]

23. Tuned to, as a radio dial: SET AT.  Sorry, I couldn't resist.

24. Genetic material in some vaccines: RNA.   The history of mRNA vaccines.

25. [Theme clue]

33. Trail behind: LAG.  Sometimes clued as "Internet problem".

36. Photographer Leibovitz: ANNIEAnna-Lou Leibovitz (born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses.
Annie Leibovitz 2008
37. Incline: SLANT.

38. Concerning: IN RE.

40. Zenith's opposite: NADIR.  If you're fortunate enough to live far from the light pollution of big cities and you go outside after dark and look up, you'll be looking at the Zenith.  If you're not sure what you're looking at, one of these cellphone apps might help.  Even though I have poor visibility in my neighborhood, I still occasionally use one called Startracker to verify the identity of planets, which I can still see.  One neat feature of these apps is that they can look  down through the earth past your sky's NADIR, and straight through to the Zenith in the Southern Hemisphere to see what celestial objects are rising and setting.  BTW, those touting trips to the GOBI Desert (17A) claim that it has the clearest night skies in the world.

42. Place to build: SITE.  E.g. if you want to create a web SITE, you'd build it on a web server..

43. Back up an apology, say: ATONE.  I.e. make amends.

45. Pampering treatments for feet, informally: PEDIS.  A CSO to our Lucina.

47. Sad: LOW.  Or a sound that cattle make.

48. [Theme clue].

51. Spot for a sleeve tattoo: ARM.  I've seen people with these, but didn't know they had a name.  Hand up if you have a tattoo!  ARM up if you have a sleeve tattoo.

52. Abates: EASES.

56. [Theme clue]

61. Stylish: CHIC.  People with sleeve tattoos?  YMMV.

63. City south of Gainesville: OCALAOcala is the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida.  Here are some things you can do there.
64. Image in the Timberland logo: TREE. Timberland LLC is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoor footwear, owned by VF Corporation and founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1952. The company also sells apparel and accessories including watches, eye wear, and leather goods. Timberland's corporate headquarters are located in Stratham, New Hampshire.
 
65. Proficient: ABLE.  Or in crosswordese: EPT.

66. More up-to-date: NEWER.  Or less OLD.

67. Allow to borrow: LEND.

68. "Cheers" bartender Woody: BOYDWoodrow Tiberius Boyd is a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Woody Harrelson. Woody came to Cheers at the beginning of the fourth season of Cheers in 1985 in the episode "Birth, Death, Love and Rice".   A goodhearted goof:
Woody
69. Accounting giant __ & Young: ERNST.  I'm only giving them all this press because they're based in Baltimore.

70. Finishes: ENDS.  Thus ENDS the Acrosses.

Down:

1. Wizard: MAGUS.  Three visited a stable one snowy night in Bethlehem a long time ago.

2. Unaccompanied: ALONE.  For 4 letter fill use SOLO.

3. Sphere of influence: AMBIT
 
/ˈambət/
noun
the scope, extent, or bounds of something.
"within the ambit of federal law"

4. Cocktail typically garnished with an orchid: MAI TAISome history, pictures and a recipe.
Mai Tai
5. Surface for beach volleyball: SAND.  One of my granddaughters started playing volleyball on SAND, but now plays it indoors at her high school.  Here are the rules.

6. Imitate a rooster: CROW.

7. Mechanical learning method: ROTE.

8. "Inside Story" novelist Martin: AMISInside Story is an autobiographical novel by the English author Martin Amis, published in 2020.
Martin Amis
9. Words of incantation: MANTRA.  A mantra is a sacred utterance, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. Christianity also has analogous repetitive sayings, e.g. the Jesus Prayer, common among Orthodox sects.  All of these can be thought of as ways to calm the mind, empty it of distracting thoughts, and make it a space for the Divine.  Perhaps the most well-known mantra is this one:
Om

10. Canvases for 45-Across: TOENAILS

11. "Zounds!": EGAD.  Both are expressions of astonishment. 

12. Make a blunder: ERR.

13. Chaps: MEN.

21. James who sang "At Last": ETTA.  I've linked the clue song before for ETTA,  so how about Something's Got a Hold On Me (lyrics):


22. Inhabitants of a classroom "farm": ANTS.  We had these critters a while back clued as "Animals in a farm".  It stirred up a real ants nest.

26. Travel guide listing: INN.

27. Round closers on a onesie: SNAPSSNAP is versatile fill.  Just last week it was clued as "Show appreciation at a poetry slam".

28. Not as narrow: WIDER.

29. Former North Dakota senator Heitkamp: HEIDIMary Kathryn "Heidi" Heitkamp (HYTE-kamp; born October 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from North Dakota from 2013 to 2019.  OK so she may be obscure to most of us.  Does anyone from  North Dakota  visit the Corner?
Heidi Heitkamp
30. Long part of a comet: TAILComets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock, and ices. They range from a few miles to tens of miles wide, and as they orbit closer to the Sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet. This material forms a TAIL that stretches millions of miles.  The most famous of comets, Halley's Comet appears at intervals of approximately 75 years.  It last appeared in 1986 and is due to return in 2061.
Halley's Comet 1982
31. Very much a fan of: INTO.  I'm very much INTO Maurice Ravel.  Here's his Gaspard de la nuit, about which he said: “Listen! Do you know what you hear? Handfuls of rain that I've thrown against your window, thrown by me, Ondine, spirit of the water.”
32. Crockpot dish: STEW.

33. Hemsworth of "The Hunger Games": LIAM.  Here's the trailer with Hemsworth and his co-star Jennifer Lawrence (BTW 68A is in it too):

34. Opposed to: ANTI.

35. Rum-and-water quaff: GROGA definitive guide to grog, which uses the same spirit as the Mai Tai at 4D.   Also the object of Captain Stratton's Fancy, a song by Peter Warlock, here sung by the late, great baritone John Shirley-Quirk (lyrics):

GROG is also the name of an ingredient used in most clay bodies to add strength and texture.  It also reduces shrinkage, cracking and warping, the latter particularly important in tile making.

39. Made better: ENHANCED.

41. Drilling structure: RIG.  Not a SEMI this time, but one of these:
Oil Rig
44. Raison d'__: ETREPURPOSE, lit. "Reason for being", today's metaphysical French lesson. 

46. Home of the N.Y. Mets until 2008: SHEA.  Now they're in CITI FIELD, which is adjacent to the location of the old stadium, which was demolished in 2009.  Full disclosure -Teri and I use their sponsor's credit card.
Citi Field
49. "Stick a fork in me": I'M DONE.  Not quite.  Just eleven more clues to go ...

50. Spill the beans: TATTLE.

53. Tornado watch sound: SIREN.  We rarely get tornadoes in Maryland, but in areas where they are common they can be deadly.  Have a plan for staying safe in a tornado, before the SIREN sounds. 
Tornado
54. Fix: EMEND.  Bloggers do a lot of this.

55. Botanic beginnings: SEEDS.  I wonder how they do that?

56. Unctuous: OILY.  A characteristic of a dirty rotten scoundrel, an apparently timeless story.  You'd need a 41D to extract all the oil in these two guys:

57. Aspire notebook maker: ACER.

58. Show fatigue: YAWN.  Hang in there, you've only got to stay awake for 4 more clues ...

59. Many taps in a brewpub: ALES.  Okay, so DAB does occasionally imbibe a little crosswordese.

60. Fruit-filled dessert: TART.  And I'm sure he likes desserts.

61. Taxi: CAB.

62. "Barry" cable network: HBO.  I hope HBO is paying the LA Times advertising fees.  Here's Barry and here's the trailer:


Cheers,
Bill

As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

David Alfred Bywaters, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.


Notes from C.C.:

1) Belated "Happy birthday" to Lucina!

2) Happy 76th birthday to dear Jazzbumpa (Ron)! Ron has been faithfully guiding us on Wednesdays since Jan 2011. He's a total pro.

 
 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFcrQLbXp7zO1qnE6QGSgIugyJtA233wJ_moS-1uOB_CqERSLNZO6qxrQFBgfea-k5CYAppySLFYB9q612clSy43muGdDPTXTvSUff7WeIU2n7bcq8zvI_nrZEif4B0Sf0mQttymFR5a2/s1600/Ron.PNG


62 comments:

OwenKL said...

We had a rooster that would CROW, sir,
And a crow that was his main booster,
Till the crow flew away.
It was a sad day,
Now the rooster don't crow like he useter.

See what you must understand, MA'AM,
Is the crow, he just had to SCRAM.
He was eating our crop,
So almost got shot
By the shotgun of cousin LIAM!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Good to see you back in poetic form, OwenKL.

Caught the adage/saw gimmick, and finished this one faster than yesterday. No Wite-Out need apply. Very clever, D.A.B. Interesting, as always, Waseeley. (Most offshore drilling rigs are "semis" -- semi-submersible.)

Happy birtday, JzB. Take your trombone and make it a blow-out.

waseeley said...

OwenKL @5:00 AM What a pleasant surprise to be greeted this morning by your clever verses. It's good to be hearin' the rooster crowing like he useter!

Lucina said...

Hola!

Happy birthday, JazzBumpa!

What a pleasure to see DAB's handiwork! I know the newer, younger constructors are needed but what a refreshing return to a more accomplished one in DAB. That's MHO.

Another feature I appreciate is that there are no obscure names. ERNST is a well known one as is ANNIE Leibovitz. Okay, BOYD might not be as well known but it easily perped.

Thank you for the CSO! And yes, it's almost time for a mani/pedi again. Did I mention that the nail salon has been completely remodeled? It looks classier and more up to date. I have not been able to accomplish much in the last few days thinking about having to possibly replace my car. I have yet to hear from the insurance company about that.

My computer is an ACER but I have no idea about Aspire notebook.

It's still early here so I'm returning to bed.



KS said...

FIW. I had "not on" instead of "not in". Never heard of Martin Amis and guessed Amos.

unclefred said...

WD.O.S; faster than yesterday. DNK MAGUS, or AMBIT, which made the NW the last for me to FIR in 19. I, too, got the theme, which helped me to finally parse UNITEDWESTAND. Also DNK AMIS or LIAM. Anyway, an enjoyable CW with good clues and as Bill mentioned not a slew of obscure names. Thanx, DAB for the fine CW. And thanx too to Bill for the very nice, fun and informative write-up.

Subgenius said...

This puzzle was not too difficult to solve, particularly because I understood the meaning of “saw” from the first themed solve. Also, the number of obscure proper names was blessedly small. FIR, so I’m happy.

Anonymous said...

This felt like a Tuesday. FIR with only minor W/Os (SLOPE/SLANT, ASTO/INRE). Just as KS thought, NOT_N felt like it could also be NOTIN and guess what, AMOS looks more name-y than AMIS. If this was one of my puzzles, I'd just clue AMIS in the traditional French pals way, and go with BOYS/ENHANCES instead of BOYD/ENHANCED. But it was perfectly doable, just not Thursday-hard IMO.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I thought this was a clever and fresh theme, with very solid themers. Coping saw threw me until a post-solve search verified its validity. Heidi needed perps but everything else fell into place quite easily. The low three letter word count was a plus and the minimal pop culture references were refreshing, although the clue for Tree struck my unnecessary proper name-usage nerve. Mai Tai brought back pleasant memories of a long ago neighbor’s two adorable Shih Tzus, Mai Tai and Ling Ling. Sleeve tattoos or any tattoos, for that matter, hurt my eyes.

Thanks, David, for very enjoyable solve and thanks, Bill, for filling our brains with facts and figures, and our hearts and souls with a generous dose of the beauty of the arts. Thanks to Teri, for aiding and abetting, as usual.

Owen, nice to see you back. Hope you’re health has improved.

Happy Birthday, JazzB, hope you celebrate in style. 🎂🎉🎁🎊🎈

FLN

Anon T, hope you’re pain free and fit as a fiddle!

YR and Lucina, my sister Eileen is turning 86 on December 30, but doesn’t look or act a day over 70. I call her the Energizer Bunny. After hearing of both of your recent whirlwind of activities and involvements, I now know three Energizer Bunnies! Hats off to you both! Lucina, once a Nun, now a Cougar, I love it!

Have a great day.

inanehiker said...

No time to linger - but I enjoyed this puzzle which was pretty quick for a Thursday. No erasures today!

Thanks Bill and Teri!
and HBD to JazzB!
Fun that Lucina and YR on opposite sides of the country were both 85 this week!

Anonymous said...

I’m was so delighted to find this blog months ago. It helped me understand a puzzle theme back then. Now I come back daily- mostly to read the comments! But today I learned a new word..ambit! If my comment gets published I’d like to comment more frequently. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Oops… I was .. not I’m was

Anonymous said...

I SAW the theme, which allowed me to finished this in 6 minutes flat.

Unknowns today were the (male) author (Amis) & his book, also the former ND senator. I knew Boyd, but found that a little obscure.

I agree with the others that found this easier than a usual Thursday.

friendly reader said...

Yes, I am in ND and visit the Corner every day!

ATLGranny said...

A welcome puzzle from DAB, which I FIR. It went smoothly and I felt I was on his wavelength today. Thanks waseeley and Teri for the extensive review today.

The themers were familiar to me and filled quickly. The first time I heard "It is what it is" was from a German friend years ago. (Es ist wie es ist) I don't think of it as negative thinking, but as permission to accept what you can't change. The "trick" is to know if it can be changed.

My WO happened when I wrote HEIDI in the spaces for WIDER. I recently saw her on a Sunday news program.

So good to see your contribution this morning, OwenKL!

Happy Birthday, JazzB! With 75 more trombones you can lead the parade and celebrate!

AnonT, hope your back feels better soon.

And hope you all have a fun day!

Yellowrocks said...

This was a lot easier than yesterday's puzzle, more like a Tuesday for me. I interpreted SAW as an adage and filled the theme answers with common phrases. I still didn't see how the answers fit the clues. It took me a long while to realize how they did.
I used a few perps for some answers I knew but needed a hint to bring them to mind. AMIS and LIAM were new to me, all perpable. Not a fan of The Hunger Games. I needed two perps for BOYD, but I easily remember Woody. AMBIT was no problem.
I have seen Heidi Heitcamp as a contributor on CNBC news. I somehow remember her name that trips easily off my tongue. I also knew Annie Leibovitz's work.
Jinx's dig at WNBA and LGBTQ+ people set my teeth on edge.
Happy birthday, Ron. I enjoy your posts.
Anon T, I hope your back feels better soon.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...


I miter said "What a difference a day makes" Didn't need to hack away at this easy Thursday puzzle compared to yesterday. Very clever theme. : I SAW right throughit 😁 . (But I thought the ole sawwas "MIGHT makes RIGHT" )

Inkovers: slope/SLANT, tort/TART

Woody Boyd (Harrelson) got his break when "Coach" Ernie Pantus(s)o (Nicholas Colasanto) passed from an MI

ALMA settled the MAITAI/Mohito question. EMEND, only seen in CW's.

Did Jane ____ by marrying Rochester?....ERR. (cuz he hadda stop working for Jack Benny? 😆)
Flowers and candlelight set ____ for an apology....ATONE.
"We don't want to, you can't ___...MAGUS

Thanks for all the info, Waz 🧐, Welcome back to Owen, the Cornerite bard.

Happy 76 trombones... I mean birthday to JZB

Wilbur Charles said...

Fln, Anon-T kept his sense of humor describing his accident. He was alluding to Alice's Restaurant("Police officer's station")


CSO to Jinx et moi @ OCALA. If you're around dem parts beware of the fire ANTS(we pop them bites when we can, Jinx)

I perped in AMIS not realizing I was familiar with the author

I wonder how many caught onto the plot of DRS when viewing it. Seems like a fun movie

Hbd jazzb.

I too was pleased to see so few pop-culs.

When I hit a link I get the opportunity to view a snippet of Cheers. Woody BOYD was a great character

WC

YooperPhil said...

A fine grid by one of the quality veteran constructors, thanks David A.B. for the enjoyable solve with a fresh theme! Managed a FIR in 8:56, exactly matching my time from yesterday. I knew AMIS from previous CW’s but I thought it was AMIS Martin and not Martin AMIS 🤷🏼‍♂️.

No Columbia grad here.

Too many Anonymous’ on here, I recognize SS of course and one other, wish they would create a user name, still wouldn’t know who they really are.

Bill (and your proofreader/editorTeri). ~~thanks for another enlightening Thursday review, always replete with info,, this blog sure offers a continuing education!!

unclefred said...

Oops: forgot to say HBD to JzB!!!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
- As clever a theme as I have ever saw, er, seen.
- My first cars had the push buttons SET AT 590, 1110, 1290, 1340 and 1520. FM, what’s that?
- Our town is building four new schools. Where to SITE them was a big issue.
- Each MAGUS might have heard the cattle LOWING at that stable
- OIL CAN BOYD would be an obscure reference to all but us baseball peeps.
-SAND VB is a big part of UNL’s championship program
-One of these days I’ll have to say “stick a fork in me, I’M DONE” and walk away from any more teaching
-Happy Birthday Lucina and Ron!
-It’s good to see Owen back in the limerick saddle again.

Subgenius said...

Yooper Phil, I agree with you about people who go by the tag “anonymous .” With the exception of SS, whom I consider a personal friend, I have a hard time addressing directly or even relating to many people who refuse to identify themselves, at least in some basic way. I mean, I know people need to have their space, but c’mon!

Monkey said...

Just loved this puzzle and its theme. How clever! Also I knew all the proper names. I’ve read most of Martin AMIS’s novels.

ONE DAY AT A TIME is my niece’s MANTRA. She began using it when 12 years ago she dealt with her husband’s long and painful illness.

I agree more Tuesday level than Thursday, but IT IS WHAT IT IS.

Happy birthday to JzB. 🍰🎂

Malodorous Manatee said...

Happy B'day, JzB!

As for the number of folks posting under the "Anonymous" moniker, I wonder if there is a way to make to registration process more transparent and user friendly.

Anonymous said...

Good Morning! I sussed the "saw" right off which headed me in the right direction. However, I was much too hasty this morning and didn't verify, thus:
toil to EARN
slope to SLANT
as to to IN RE
tire to YAWN
New words: MAGUS (I guess 3 yrs. of Latin didn't click in...) and AMBIT

RE: YooperPhil, Yes, I've been thinking about creating a "name" for the blog, but I haven't quite followed the tutorial. Will try again.

waseeley said...

Subgenius @10:17 AM Who is SS Anonymous anyway? Is he the same as SANS SIRCLES?

waseeley said...

Subgenius @10:17 AM <-- this is the convention for targeting your comment to a particular perp, ANONYMOUS or otherwise.

CrossEyedDave said...

Yay!
OwenKL is back!

HBD to Jzb!

Waseeley,
I would never say TMI, but will say oh my gosh!
If you read and watched everything, your write up must have taken the better part of a week!
Fascinating stuff, I still have to go back and read about Ocala. If they really have mountain biking, (in Florida), it would be worth the 4 hour drive from Naples... learning moment: thanks to Waseeley, and Annie Leibovitz, The Queen really can be "overdressed."

Re: night sky,
I use the free version of Starwalk2, but you can pay for more bells and whistles if you want to...
The best thing is you can see a star, and just point your phone at it, and it will show you exactly what it is.
check it out.
My only gripe would be a phone is too small, it is much better using an iPad!

Re: comets,
I recently watched a video that recapped our landing a probe on a comet several years ago.
I remember watching every tidbit of info as it came available at the time, but somehow the recap in hindsight is much more satisfying.

I know there was about a hundred other things I wanted to comment on, but I can't remember...
I'll just have to go back and reread everything from the beginning...

waseeley said...

Anonymous @11:02 AM It's not a particularly "user friendly" process to set up a profile. I also wish there were a better way to search for profiles by other user attributes. If you have any concerns that your information could facilitate a Internet invasion, you don't have to include an email address, the most likely means to spam you.

waseeley said...

CrossEyedDave @11:17 AM I think I'm going to create a standard disclaimer on my verbose reviews (paraphrasing one I've already posted):

"Reviews are like smorgasbords - if it looks good to you taste it, if you like the taste eat some, stop when you've had enough. I certainly don't read or view completely all the stuff I link. I have bots for that!"

YooperPhil said...

SubG ~~ when I first discovered this blog and commentated the first few times I also published under “Anonymous”, but when I realized I may contribute on somewhat regular basis I came up with a moniker, as I remember you did also. Anonymous SS DNLC pretty much owns the title now, very recognizable style. Anonymous @11:02, I also know your writing, but the others, no idea, and a lot are probably regular commenters.

YooperPhil said...

Waseeley, Anonymous “Speedy Solver”, may have been Irish Miss or CanadianEh theta gave him the handle.

CrossEyedDave said...

Waseeley,

Don't get me wrong, I love it!
(But, you know me, I've got to look at everything twice...)

Disclaimer, I only watched the 1st 3 minutes of the queens photoshoot...

Oh my gosh!
this mountain biking in Florida is beautiful!

Hmm, on second thought,
I may be too old for these bike trails...

The comment Jinx made reminded me of 2 bits of trivia, plus the fact that I never stand in one place for more than 5 seconds in Florida. I don't know if it works for fire ants, but it is said that ants hate coffee grounds! An environmentally safe way to deter them.
Also, you cannot kill ants by microwaving them! They are smaller than the wavelength, and have very little water in them to heat.
As far as the last paragraph, I didn't quite understand it. (Is crowbaring a word? Or a typo?)

Anonymous said...

This is a small point, but at least where I live, sirens are not sounded for a tornado WATCH. They are sounded for a tornado WARNING. A watch means conditions are right for the formation of a tornado. A warning means a tornado has actually been sighted in the area.

Misty said...

Delightful puzzle, David--a real treat, many thanks. And always enjoy your comments and
pictures, Bill and Teri, thanks for those too.

Owen, loved your neat verse this morning, many thanks!

Puzzle made me think of how the OGRE scared ANNIE, who was ALONE, and made her yell EGAD and SCRAM across the SAND of the GOBI desert. She took refuge in a diner in OKALA, and ordered a STEW along with a GROG, and the waiter helped her find an INN and ordered a CAB to take her there, where she was ABLE to get a job. And so all things came to good ENDS for her.

Happy birthdays, Lucina AND JazzB.

And have a great day, everybody.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Oy! I got in my car, turned my neck to back out of the driveway and, Nope. A WFH [work from home] today.
IM - the brain is just a bit fogged by I'm fine.

Another wonderful puzzle from David. The first 'saw' threw me 'cuz I've been eyeing a "Band saw" for Christmas // I have no respect for my fingers :-)
David, that you made every themer clue a real power-tool is *chef's kiss.*

Waseeley - did you do anything else this last week but research? A fantastic smorgasbord of an expo! Thank you.

WOs: SHae (UNTIE!), AvER
Aspire notebook - I was thinking along the lines of the Trapper-Keeper (an '80's must! for the cool-kids) and entered AvER(?) Florida city saved me.

ESPs: MAGUS, AMBIT, AMIS
Fav: Woody BOYD played by Harrelson. Stepped in for Coach (Nicholas Colasanto- if that's not Italian enough for you???*) and was just as brain-dead-pan-funny on Cheers.
//Anyone else note Kirstie Alley passed the other day? She was funny-smart but had um, bat-s*... Thumper.

Happy Birthday, JazzB! Toot your horn!

OKL - Great to see you in fine poetic form. I feared for you for a while; nice you're back in style.

FLN - Lucina, you saucy little minx :-)
FLN - WC, D-O & Jinx, playing with pencils and the piece of paper, put graffiti on the Group-W bench too.

YooperP - some of us are Anon until we aren't [see: 12/ (the future) :-)]
@8:12am - Yes. Check the right side of the blog on how to "go blue" (<-- there, I made it easy for you) and play. //don't feel bad I was @anon for about 6 months until OMK called me Anon -T and then I just hadto. :-)

ONE DAY AT A TIME? Is that Merle Haggard or a Sitcom from the '70s?

YR - I'm with you on The Hunger Games. I've read enough dystopian future from the likes of Orwell. My Girls loved it though (maybe that’s how the warning gets out?)
HG - There's no way you can change now. You're going to continue inspiring kids in STEM.

Jinx - Growing up in TX, the Girls are so scared of ants b/c they only know the fire ones. I tried to get them to play with black ants when we were in IL, nothin' doin'.

EGAD - I only took 1/2 dose of Doans but... I'm going to rest b/f 1p meeting.

Cheers, -T
*Ray-O beat me to it.

Anonymous T said...

Didn't refresh b/f posting...

CED - you are the most interesting man on the internet. I loved your links.

Wasseley - LOL that you too used the word smorgasbord.

And another fun x-word mash-up story from Misty happened.

Cheers, -T

desper-otto said...

Husker, let me guess. KASP, KFAB, KOIL, KHUB, and KOMA (?). What, no WLS at 890?

Jinx in Norfolk said...

YR, I'm fine with WNBA players and LGBTQ+ (or today's term - I have a hard time keeping up) people. My favorite high school teacher was openly gay, and as an adult I have had many friends and colleagues who were nonbinary. It just hasn't ever been an issue. My problem is that it seems that most of Patti's puzzles MUST have one or both. We get a lot of NBA and rap stuff that I don't know, but those don't seem to appear as frequently. Just seems forced, like persuasion, not education or entertainment is her aim.

CED, sure "crow" "bar" and "ing" can be made into a gerund. If you prize on something with your crowbar, you are crowbaring, even if spellcheck hates it. We see suspect construction in these puzzles all the time, so not wanting to be left out I thought I would create that one.

Anon @ 11:52, a tornado warning is also issued when Doppler radar indicates there is one, at least in southeastern Virginia. Our meteorologists go to great lengths to show how they can "see" a twister before eyes on the ground can get to them, and when rain and/or darkness make them hard to see.

Husker Gary said...

D-O,
-590 - WOW Radio (Woodmen Of the World) was a Husker radio station then with the fabulous Jack Payne but it lost Husker Football and sold out to ESPN Sports Talk who could afford to keep it.
-We did occasionally listen to Dick Biondi on WLS depending on atmospheric conditions in the pre-satellite era.
-1520 KOMA in Oklahoma was our goto make out station but it only came in at night. In the morning that was just static.
-1340 KHUB was the local station here in town. It covered local sports and also the cultural event of my childhood - The Washington County Fair.
-1110 KFAB played elevator music but had the #1 Husker FB broadcast Lyle Bremser. His call of the Johnny Rodgers punt return is still a legend and can be found on YouTube. https://journalstar.com/video-rodgers--yard-punt-return-in-game-of-the/youtube_1f63d314-1730-52a2-97aa-8ca879fe35b7.html
-1290 KOIL played all the hits of the 50's and 60's and was what we all had on during the day and most nights.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Anon T at Noon

Get your girls to play with black ants???

🐜 🐜🐜

Why don't get them a dog...for a pet...or a parakeet ?

😁

Kelly Clark said...


Love this one! Super theme, great grid -- thank you, David!

Happy Birthday, JazzB!

Big Easy said...

WAm I ALONE or was it an easy Thursday, a really easy one? After the first two 'saws", MIGHT IS RIGHT and ONE DAY AT A TIME were filled without looking at the clues after a few perps were in place. ONE DAT AT A TIME could be a future Xword clue for a TV show.
Easy, after stumbling out of the NW. Never seen MAGUS and had to change ARENA of influence to AMBIT. And every MAI TAI I've ever had came with an umbrella, not an orchid.


UNITED WE STAND- Stephen Ambrose taught history at UNO and there's a stretch of I-10 just east of the Pearl River named STEPHEN E. AMBROSE Memorial Highway.

27D- 'Onesie" should be CAPITALIZED; it's trademarked.
LIAM, BOYD, ANNIE- other unknowns filled by perps
Never heard of a 'sleeve tattoo'. Why would people want to fake it, like they have one.


Happy birthday Ron and Lucina. As for nail salons there are about 20 of them within a 5 mile radius of my house, all run by Vietnamese women.
I'M DONE for now.

Big Easy said...

Anon-T, what do you mean dystopian 'FUTURE' from Orwell? It's slowly creeping in. Video cameras everywhere. People whipping out cell phones to video anything and everything. It's already completely there in China and N. Korea and does anybody remember the 'disinformation czar' lady. Smacks as Orwell's Ministry of Truth.

billocohoes said...

Always fascinated how MAGUS, plural MAGI used at Xmas for the Wise Men also connected to MAGIcians, meanwhile Middle English Wisard (wise ones) became wizards, also not sure if witch and Wicca relate to the same root.

RosE said...

Ah me. I don't know how it happened. I followed the instructions to create a name but kept finding roadblocks. I already have a gmail acct, and I don't want my own Blog, but somehow a name I keyed in on one of the screens showed up. Will miracles never cease!! Fingers crossed that's all I need to do.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks a bunch for a fun puzzle, DAB, which was 5 minutes faster than yesterday's. I SAW the theme early. Thanks, Bill & Teri, for an impressive expo.

DNK: MAGUS, AMBIT, AMIS, LIAM, HEIDI, BOYD, ACER.

Liked the placement of ENDS. Yes it did.

I have no tattoos. My bro & SIL bought fake sleeves that looked so much like real tattoos, they were the hit of the Halloween party. Both of them are so NOT tattoo types.

Happy Birthday, JzB!

waseeley said...

HG @12:46 PM Any Red Green fans out there? I mean besides CanadianEh!

Malodorous Manatee said...

Hand up for being a fan of Red Green and The Possum Lodge.
I'll bet that you're shocked, simply shocked!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Thank you, waseeley for guiding us through Mr. Bywaters' clever PZL.

Saws, indeed?! All it would take to improve on this play-on-words would be one fill with an actual physical saw, to give us a double flip.
I am not sure what that would be, but probably something to include "ripping" in it.

Happy Birthday, JazzB! Have yourself a good 'un!
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Two diagonals, one per side.
The near side diag is too short on vowels (2), so we turn to the far end. There we find a richer harvest, offering an anagram (13 of 15) of an insult that may be applied to several of those who would make the mistake (right?) of arguing with us.
Such folk may (each) be said to possess a ...

"MEAN BIRDBRAIN"!

Chairman Moe said...

FIR in pretty reasonable time

Thanks Bill S for the smorgasbord recap; thanks, too to DAB for the fun fun fun puzzle

Note: every time I see a DAB puzzle, I think of Chris Berman, and have flashbacks to his SportsCenter reports on ESPN. Berman was known for giving clever nicknames to sports athletes, and used them to spice up a broadcast. If Berman were to honor today's constructor the same way, I'd suggest:

David, "one if by land, two if by sea, three if Bywaters"

Misty said...

Thank you for your kind comment, Anon T.

Subgenius said...

Jinx, I’m glad you said what you said at 12:35 p.m. I’ve always liked you, particularly your “salty” jokes (I believe you are an “old salt” are you not?) but what you just said makes me like you even more. And ROSe @ 2:35, congratulations on achieving a “name”. As Yooper Phil said, sometimes it can be a difficult process, and I’m glad you persevered. And AnonT, thank you for being helpful, as always.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Thank you for your comments, Sub. Yes, I became addicted to sailing when on a whim, I had a 15 minute lesson on how to sail and was turned out in a rental boat in Mission Bay (San Diego). I knew that I only scratched the surface of learning sailing in that first session, but little did I know that I would still have a lot to learn 45 years later.

My favorite of many great JFK quotes:
"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came."

waseeley said...

MalMan @3:41 PM I AM SHOCKED! I AM SIMPLY SHOCKED! But in retrospect, it goes a long way toward explaining your sense of humor.

CMOE @4:03 PM ROTFL!!! I might mail him that. I'm sure he'd love it.

OMK @4:03 PM "ripping"? "crosscut" might be more apropos for cruciverbalists. It's what constructors do with words.

sumdaze said...

Thanks to DAB for a fun puzzle and to waseeley for his thoroughly awesome recap (Archer fish -- just wow!) and to Misty for her clever story!

Filling the solid themers really helped with the other bits. I came close to a FIR but I misread "desert" as "dessert" and just could not think of an "Expanding Asian dessert". (not kidding...unfortunately)
Hand up for "slope" before SLANT. The math side of my brain dominates the language side.
Style points to DAB for ENDS in bottom right!

Happy to see OKL has his poetic pencil sharpened again!

Hello & welcome to the new commenters!

Happy b-day JzB!! I hope you will share a slice of CED's cake with us.

sumdaze said...

INRE: bae
My apologies for dissing "bae" as "loathsome" in my last write-up. Today I learned that it has been added to the Scrabble dictionary. I take that to mean it is a 'thing'. I will do my best to embrace it going forward.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-added-to-the-scrabble-dictionary

(not a link. You'll have to copy & paste it into your browser.)

LEO III said...

FIR. I really enjoyed what I thought was a very clever theme. Yes, it did seem easier than the usual Thursday fare, but being able to suss the theme answers early in the process certainly led to a quicker solve.

Thanks DAB and Teri and Bill!!

I too was pleased that knew most of the names. Even though I watched CHEERS back in the day, I didn’t know Woody’s last name was BOYD.

Hope you get to feeling better soon, -T!

sumdaze - I dissed BAE here long ago.

Lucina said...

AnonT
I missed learning that you were not well and I'm sorry to hear that. Please take good care of yourself and I hope you get well soon.

Michael said...

More than you ever wanted to know about "bae."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bae_(word)

sum daze @ 9:48 -- Couldn't get your Mirrian link to work, so ....

TTP said...

I kinda-sorta-ish missed some things over the last days.

Happy Birthday, Lucina !
Happy Birthday, JzB !
Welcome back, Owen !

Lucina, sorry to hear about your car, and I hope your nieto is feeling better.
Dash T, sorry to hear about your car, and I hope you are feeling better.

WOW ! I totally whiffed on Tuesday's 4d "Really wowed" connection to the theme answers. Nice catch, Hahtoolah. GOOD ONE !

Bill, et al, DAB ist eines Deutches Bier. :-) Dortmunder Actien Brauerie.

Michael said, "sum daze @ 9:48 -- Couldn't get your Mirrian link to work, so ...."
It worked just fine. Perhaps you had a keyboard error ?
- This is it as a URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-added-to-the-scrabble-dictionary
- This is it as a link: Words Added to the Scrabble Dictionary

Anonymous said...

Please tell me how to create a user name so I don’t have to post as anonymous TIA