(Except, Perhaps, Today)
Good Morning Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with your Friday puzzle recap. Today's puzzle comes to us courtesy of previously-published Wendy L. Brandes.
Let's start with the reveal:
52 Across: Chophouse order, and an apt title for this puzzle?: NEW YORK STRIP.
What the constructor has done is remove (strip) the NY (New York) from recognizable word patterns and, thereby, created new, humorous definitions for four clues. Here are the four themed-answers:
20 Across: Dinner roll that provides an unexpected boost?: ENERGIZER BUN. ENERGIZER BUNNY.
27 Across: Outlandish stories about Vietnamese soup?: PHO BALONEY. PHONY BALONEY PHO, of course is a Vietnamese soup. BALONEY, in addition to being a lunch meat, is slang for nonsense.
37 Across: Valued at one fancy ballpoint?: COSTS A PRETTY PEN. COSTS A PRETTY PENNY. Ballpoint pen.
46 Across: Golfers who just need to dance, dance, dance before every drive?: TEE BOPPERS. TEENY BOPPERS. May the gods forgive me: I never thought that I would cite the following anywhere, anytime , for any reason:
and here are the rest of the clues and answers . . .
Across:
1. Meet portion, or portion of meat: LEG. For example, a leg of a relay race or a chicken leg.
4. Film franchise featuring Lightning McQueen: CARS.
8. Regarding: ABOUT.
13. Portfolio options, for short: IRAS. Individual Retirement AccountS
15. Perched on: ATOP. The god of thunder rides to the top of the mountain atop his noble steed.
Upon reaching the summit, he gets off his horse, raises his hammer to the sky and yells, "I am Thor!" The horse turns around and says, "That'th cuth you forgot your thaddle thilly!"
16. Deteriorating: WORSE. A bit of a head scratching moment because the clue is a gerund but the answer is not. WORSEning?
17. "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of __": NIMH.
18. NYC gallery with a Bell helicopter on display: MOMA.
19. Melted together: FUSED.
23. Pool necessity: CUE. Not a swimming pool.
24. Had as a regular customer: SOLD TO.
32. Bulky boats: ARKS.
Noah's Ark
34. Lithium-__ battery: ION.
35. Seized auto: REPO. Derived from REPOssession.
36. Tease mercilessly: RIDE.
42. Texter's "But ... ": OTOH.
42. Texter's "But ... ": OTOH.
43. "Monday Night Football" commentator Aikman: TROY. I would have clued this with a reference to UCLA.
44. Young man: LAD.
When I was a lad I served a term
As office boy to an Attorney's firm.
I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,
And I polished up the handle of the big front door.
45. Anklebones: TALI. Plural, in Latin, of TALUS
49. Stretching muscle: TENSOR.
51. Common Market letters: EEC.
58. Silky fabric: SATIN. Letters I've Written Never Meaning To Send (mail).
61. The "genu-" in "genuflect": KNEE.
Tom Lehrer -1967
plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
62. American tennis phenom Gauff: COCO.
63. Begins: OPENS. COMMENCES was far too long and STARTS would not fit either.
64. Low-pH stuff: ACID.
65. Is shy: OWES. Not a reference to social interaction but, rather, a financial reference.
66. Play area: STAGE. Not a reference to children on the schoolyard but, rather, a theatrical reference.
67. Egg layers: HENS. This clue is to be taken literally and not, in this case, idiomatically as in "to lay an egg" meaning to do something poorly.
68. After taxes: NET.
Down:
1. Command to a prompter: LINE. The use of "Command" threw me off a bit. I think of it as more of a request.
2. Actress Moriarty who plays Starlight on "The Boys": ERIN.
3. PlayStation, for one: GAME CONSOLE.
4. Strappy top, for short: CAMI. CAMIsole
5. Comprehensive: ATOZ. From A TO Z.
6. Trevi Fountain city: ROME. Was the answer going to be ROME or ROMA?
7. Like Greenland's population: SPARSE. 0.14 people per square kilometer. For comparison the USA population density is 34.05 per square kilometer.
8. "Zero stars": AWFUL.
9. Edge: BOUNDARY. I just found out that my girlfriend is mad at me. According to her diary, I have "BOUNDARY issues".
10. Sterile work environs: ORS. Operating RoomS
11. Employ: USE. I once saw a car with a bumper sticker that said:
12. "Thank you for coming to my __ Talk": TED. A phrase that has become a part of the urban lexicon. The phrase parodies the popular TED talk series, where in some cases the statements made by the performers are very obscure and meaningless.
14. Azalea, e.g.: SHRUB. I bought a new SHRUB trimmer last week. It's cutting hedge technology.
21. Park and drive: GEARS. VERBS would have fit. An automotive reference.
22. "If I Were a __": Beyoncé ballad: BOY. If she were, she probably would not look like this:
25. Horseracing achievement: TRIPLE CROWN.
26. "Will do, hon": OK DEAR.
27. Crochet loop: PICOT. A learning moment. Thanks, perps.
28. Heckle: HOOT AT.
29. Seydoux of "No Time to Die": LEA.
30. On the facing pg.: OPP. Punt! OPPosite
31. Compass dirección: NORTE. Spanish in the clue . . .
33. Mails: SENDS. Baby You Mail me?
Sam Cooke
38. Watering down: THINNING.
39. Tarzan creator's monogram: ERB.
40. Also: TOO. It can mean overly, too.
41. Blood groups: TYPES.
By Percent of US Population
46. AAA job: TOW.
47. Neo-soul artist Badu: ERYKAH. Troy, Coco, Erin, Lea and now ERYKAH. Okay, that's enough of this for today.
50. Feel: SENSE.
53. "... cut __": end of a carpentry maxim: ONCE. Measure twice . . .
54. Bridle strap: REIN. Neither RAIN nor REIGN.
55. Canvas shoe brand: KEDS.
56. Frozen treat brand: ICEE. SLURPEE wouldn't fit. SQUISHEE is almost never seen in our puzzles.
57. Station: POST. One of those words that can either be a noun or a verb.
58. Distress signal: SOS. Morse code.
60. Leaves for dim sum: TEA. TEA leaves.
________________________________________________
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCaught the gimmick with the first themer. Stumbled with TRis before TROY -- must be a different commentator. Recognized the reveal clue. Yay. Didn't understand it. Boo. This one seemed Friday-worthy, even with the plethora of names. Thanx, Wendy. I like the way you drive the bus, Mal-Man.
This one was quite a slog, and I agree with D-O that it was “Friday-worthy.” I actually completed the reveal before I had completed any of the themed answers, and knowing the gimmick definitely helped me to solve the puzzle. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteVery easy for a Friday.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but erased tendon for TENSOR, lab for ORS, and north for NORTE. I had trouble reading the print this morning, and that's my excuse for two of the three. DW is having a hard time, exhibiting some odd behaviors like stripping a roll of toilet paper into little piles. She also has to go to the bathroom several times an hour, and her vocabulary skills have deteriorated to the point that she can't tell me what type of elimination she's doing, and if she feels ill. I must have gotten about 3 hours of sleep, and my eyes don't work very well when I don't get at least 6 hours.
ReplyDeleteI didn't enjoy this puzzle, which is unusual for a puzzle I FIR. It might be my overall demeanor from lack of sleep, but the "Mrs. Frisby", "Gauff", "Starlight", Beyonce, Seydoux and Badu clues grated. I also didn't like the clue for SOLD TO. I don't get how "regular" is relevant.
But I did like the Mal Man's write-up. I'll see your "Only Users Lose Drugs" and raise with a sign an old buddy had in his den. It looked like one of those official city traffic signs, and declared "School Free Drug Zone."
FLN - Good stuff on the Tx/OU (or OU/TX) rivalry.
Took a little under 10 minutes for me to finish while sitting on my fan().
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I agree with the commentators above/earlier, especially Jinx's point about the lack of enjoyment. Friday-level? Yes. Add/subtract a letter? Yes. Fun? Not so much.
I didn't know today's actress (Lea), Beyonce's ballad, or the crochet loop. "Hoot at" sounds unfamiliar and forced to me too - would've preferred a clue with an owl.
I knew Erykah, but could only remember that she uses an odd spelling.
I thought it would be a DNF or FIW but ended up a FIR with a WAG of N to fill in LI_E. I liked the puzzle. NIHM made no sense for the unheard of book. Just a lucky guess. I caught the 'missing' NY at PHO BALONEY, Pho is Vietnamese and NIHM looks like a Vietnamese name. NEW YORK STRIP- I've never ordered one, just filet, ribeye, T-bone, sirloin, cowboy, or porterhouse.
ReplyDeleteKNEE for 'genu'- another WAG for an unknown. ERIN, PICOT, LEA, ERYKAH- perps for those.
SHRUB- I had to pull out all my azalea shrubs two years ago; they kept dying one at a time due to fire blight.
43A-TROY Aikmn only went to UCLA because he lost his starting QB position at Oklahoma Jamelle Holieway.
COCO Gauff was in town a couple of years ago visiting relatives and hit against the better junior players. My grandson played one game against her, actually won a few points, but I had to laugh when he hit a 'tweener' shot when she lobbed it over his head.
Big Easy @ 7:45: If you've had a T-Bone and Porterhouse Steak, you've essentially "ordered" a NEW YORK STRIP, as one half each is a NY strip; the other half a filet mignon. These are difficult steaks to cook as the "strip side" gets done faster than the filet side
DeleteI've had a cold the last few days and perhaps has my head belonged. I SPELT AWFaL so I couldn't see the BUN(NY) and tried O and Y on CAMI. Plus..
ReplyDeleteI broke a rule. I immediately inked RIB as I read the clue as Meat part. I just wanted to verify that it wasn't a typo*
And I really didn't need the G because I had _A__CONSOLE. When I finally showed Phil he had it sans perps
So, massive FIW
THINNING not DILUTING. The rest of this xword was no walk in the park.
I'm with the classic Fri level difficulty although as BobB opines there was a lot of hanging fruit allowing perps (fe. ERYKAH)
I will need some CBD smart pill to tackle Saturday
WC
* Mr S. said it was okay
FIR, but struggled with all the proper names. The NW corner had me for a while, and was the last to fall.
ReplyDeleteYay! A Friday FIR! It was a fun() puzzle, Wendy. Thanks. The first corner was the last I filled. I had in mind rib/LEG (Hi WC), was slow to remember NIMH and didn't see ENERGIZER for a long time since I had A TOn/A TO Z. Actually I put in "a lot" first of all! Three tries and success there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, MalMan for your review. By the time I read it I mostly understood the answers but your clarification and humor were much appreciated. I thought KNEE was a kind of Easter egg for the theme's missing sound. Maybe?
I put dilution/diluting/THINNING without the excuse of a head cold, WC. And I filled arena/STAGE. So many WOs! But the reveal and getting a couple of themers were a big help to finish the puzzle.
Hope you all have a sun() day today (credit goes to Anon @ 7:36 AM for the idea)!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteOn its own merit, the puzzle was fine, with typical pun(ny) humor, but I still prefer the head-scratching, brain-busting Fridays of yesteryear! It took me quite awhile to fill in any of the themers, therefore I struggled with the other fill. Nimh, Picot, Erykah, and Lea all held me up, but once I got going, the solve went quickly and the reveal made sense. I would have clued Troy as Where Irish Miss lives and where Uncle Sam is buried.! 🤭 Strange to see Arks two days in a row.
Thanks, Wendy, for a Friday flight of fancy and thanks, MalMan, for amusing, entertaining, and enlightening us. My favorite humor today was the Canine’s To Do chores and the PetCo basket of puppies. Whenever I see or hear Genuflect I’m reminded of an acquaintance’s story dating back to his love affair with alcohol. He, a non-Catholic, was invited by a friend to attend Midnight Mass, preceded by a lengthy stop at the local tavern. As he was closely following said friend up the aisle, the friend stooped to genuflect at an empty pew and, not being accustomed to the ritual, the poor soul ran right into him and sailed over him and they both ended up sprawled across the aisle.
Jinx @ 7:24 ~ We’re here for you whenever you need us.
Have a great day.
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Wendy, for a tricky GAME. Thanks, MalMan for more fun.
ReplyDeleteLots of unknowns in this. WEES. The NW corner just wouldn't come. Finally resorted to red-letters to fill. Didn't know Lightening McQueen or that Rats book. LEG & LINES were a shock. Duh!
Filled some of the squares and was surprised to be right, like TROY Aiken. But then I couldn't think of the Tarzan author ERB. That annoyed me because I had a big ERB book when I was a kid that I "inherited" from a relative. I read & reread those Tarzan stories and revered Edgar Rice Burroughs greatly.
Jinx, so sorry to hear about your wife's problems. Bless your heart! She is fortunate to have you. I'll be praying for strength for you and healing for her.
Is this constructor our WendyBird?
If something is deteriorating, it is WORSE than it was, so I'm OK with that clue. But as one of the diminishing number of people who can drive a standard, I can't think of Park and Drive as GEARS. Positions on the gear shift, OK, but Park is "out" of gear, and Drive lets the tranny select which gear you're using.
ReplyDeleteForgot to say, I got the theme on the first one filled.
ReplyDeleteThank you Wendy for the Friday FIR. I saw the truncated themers, but didn't bother to connect the dots.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you MalMan for connecting the dots and for your Merry Malodorous review.
I liked:
32A ARKS. Yesterday we had "Slow-moving boats: ARKS. I guess it's because they're bulky.
45A TALI and 49A TENSOR for the anatomy lesson.
1D LINE. The missing piece in the NW until the end. One thinks of the prompter as giving commands, but "LINE!" is cry for help from one on the STAGE.
27D PICOT. A new one on me.
25D TRIPLE CROWN. The PREAKNESS is the second LEG of the race and takes place in Baltimore about 2 miles from my house.
Cheers,
Bill
Sorry to hear of your travails, Jinx. It's a truly terrible disease.
ReplyDeleteVery sorry, Jinx, to hear of DW's and your extreme challenges.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note, I was previously unfamiliar with, and am still laughing at, your "first corollary" to the bumper sticker.
Musings
ReplyDelete-TRIPLE CROWN – an obscure person in an obscure music genre with an obscure spelling of her first name
-Grandkids in the backseat were singing this song of my yute and when I asked where they learned it they said in unison, “CARS”
-NIMH – Silent “H’s” are not my crossword friend
-Happy to learn meaning of “genu” and hear The Vatican Rag
-Our government is about $30T short but doesn’t seem to care
-Shocked by her first pay check, my sister called me and asked, “What’s this FICA stuff?”
-Feb. 15 will find me in an OR for a one-hour procedure from which I might leave in the afternoon
-KEDS were the poor kids’ Converse when I grew up. I had KEDS.
-Sorry to hear of your wife’s issues, Jinx. It sounds like what C.C. went through.
-Nice job, M²
ReplyDeleteAs I was just about to accept a humiliating DNF I suddenly realized it was GAME CONSOLE not control and everything fell into place especially the theme. NY stripped off the end of the theme answers
"Regarding" is usually a clue for as per or in re..not today. "Pool (CUE) necessity" ...years ago when I was in Los Angeles the first tune, I noticed bars advertising "free pool"... made sense, I thought. If you couldn't get to the beach relax in the bar's pool with a beer.
I thought it said "Malls" not "Mails" so I had STRIP first. Plus I didn't notice that the "dirección" was not English so north/NORTE
Other inkovers: linen/SATIN
Badu, Gauff, Moriarty, Seydoux...c'mon.🙄
Jinx sounds like you're having a rough time with DW, don't hesitate to get help.
Off today so unfortunately for you all I can ramble..🙂
IMHO in the near future real people constructors will be replaced by totally computer generated CWs . Human editors will be around for a while to tweak the results but will eventually be phased put. Computers can also be programmed for levels of difficulty, include or not include proper names etc....We already see this to a degree with constructors relying on databases to come up with bizarre clues to explain weird answers. The days of a constructor pouring over a blank grid and using their own knowledge base with maybe a OED are already long over.
End of ramble 🤓
Ray-O-Sunshine: In my brief time as a crossword constructor, I've learned that some publishers/editors prefer having certain day's puzzle more or less difficult to solve, based mostly on the clues. I'm still trying to figure out Patti's clue preferences as they seem to be all over the board. But I will tell you this: writing clues is as or more difficult than coming up with a filled grid. And in the end, an editor is likely going to change/alter the clues anyway
DeleteI’m so surprised I FIR. When I first looked this CW over, I knew I was in trouble because I kept seeing proper names I didn’t know, but I got down to work and VENI VIDI VINCI. Once I got the gimmick I started having fun.
ReplyDeleteI think Friday puzzles should be challenging and this one was.
Ooh! Nights in White Satin. Blast from a happy past.
I liked the PETCO clue. MM gave us cute basket of puppies.
BigE - NIMH == National Institute of Mental Health. It did a lot of phsyc studies using Rats at the lab. In the Frisby books, the rats got smart(?). Play later. -T
ReplyDeleteMalodorous Manatee Thank you for the Tom Lehrer "Vatican Rag" link. That song is the only reason I know the word GENUFLECT.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Wendy and MalMan for the Friday frolic. I FIW as I got caught in the Natick of HOOT AT/PICOT
ReplyDeleteFrantic Friday. Thanks for the fun, Wendy and MalMan.
ReplyDeleteI worked diligently and finished this CW, saw the NY STRIP theme, but officially FIWed.
I arrived here to discover that I used the D from the French Nord instead of the T in the Spanish NORTE. I didn’t notice the odd dROY instead of TROY (I was just happy to get that R in ERB).
I got the theme early, and smiled.
Great catch ATLGranny re Easter Egg, KNEE.
WEES re those names.
This Canadian did not know PETCO (although apparently Canadian Tire sells their pet products), but I WAGged the C for COCO.
NIMH perped, but I Googled it as it was unknown. Thanks AnonT for posting it for others. I thought it was just this Canadian who was unaware.
Genuflect has its origins in Latin - genu for knee, and flectare meaning to bend.
We had an ACID today, not ABASE.
I noted WORSE and SPARSE, ATOP crossing ATOZ.
I thought of SOLD TO as a salesman with a regular clientele of buyers, businesses.
Jinx- could DW have a UTI? It can cause delirium.
Wishing you all a great day.
All the SUN newspapers across several Canadian cities have stopped printing the L.A. Times Daily Crossword. They have opted for N.Y. Times Crossword and the Universal Crossword to be published on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteGreetings! Wasn't sure I was going to do this puzzle when the 1st box is a hard start, but with a little help with the UNK names, I worked my way through. Thanks, Wendy. Nice theme.
ReplyDeleteMM, you were in fine form today!! LOL at you Sonny & Cher comment, and then Thor!! Made me glad I persevered! Loved the chore puppy clip.
We just had ARKS for a fill yesterday, hmmm. Synchronicity?
DNK ERIN, NIHM, or ERYKAH (fna Erica...) COCO from the perps.
WO Sell TO -> SOLD TO. Shoulda paid attention to the tense. Caught it when Beyonce fill was BOY not BeY.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteFriday finish! Once done I realized this puzzle was easier than it seemed. I'm not a big fan of incomplete words or phrases and only upon reading MM's narrative did the light bulb go on.
The Rats of NIMH was a fourth grade favorite and provoked some lively discussion about how really smart rats are or are not. It's amazing how cynical ten year olds can be! After reading the book we watched the movie.
Luckily I watch enough TV to know of ERYKAH Badu and that strange spelling of her name.
Good clue for TEA!
It has been soooo many years since my embroidery days that PICOT emerged slowly.
CARS (not the movie) are my great-grandson's favorite toys.
When visiting my sister in Charlotte I revel at the beauty of not just AZALEAS but all the gorgeous flowers and plants that thrive in that climate. Sadly, mosquitoes also thrive and I discovered how alergic I am to their bite!
CSO to Irish Miss at TROY.
Time to pull in the REIN and stop. Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Picard, me too!
ReplyDeleteHG, 31T = approx 100K for every man woman and child in the country. That works out to very roughly 1 million for every tax-paying family of four (how quaint, I know). If the gov'mnt asked each of those households to go out, secure a loan in that amount, spend it, and then start to repay the loan I suspect the response would be WTF!? The foregoing is merely a mathematical fiscal exercise and is not politics.
Mal-Man, how does $100K per person equate to $1M for a family of four?
ReplyDeleteInteresting Friday puzzle, many thanks, Wendy. And your commentary and neat pictures were helpful, as always, MalMan, thanks for those too.
ReplyDeleteWell, this puzzle was clearly all about money, or so it seemed--worrying us all that it COSTS A PRETTY PENNY to work through it without becoming an OWER with SPARSE funds, whose NET income might be WORSE than it should be. Would be AWFUL to not stay in the BOUNDARY and keep track of everything from A TO Z, and end up having your property SOLD TO someone after a REPO and having someone TOW your car away. Let's not think about this any more and just get an ICEE or some TEA and relax.
Have a good weekend coming up, everybody.
D O, here's the "leap". In 2020, roughly 60% of US households paid no federal income tax. Therefore the "tax paying" qualifier.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we're talking politics who do you think should play the part of George Santos when the inevitable hard-to-believe movie is made.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all for the kind comments about my DW and me. I'm thinking UTI also, but without the ability to communicate what kind of elimination she's doing (or if anything even happens at all), it is hard for me to help her. C-Eh!, it's Alzheimer's that is causing the delirium. It's just a tough time right now. I'm thinking this is our last winter in Florida. I think she would do better in our way-too-big sticks-and-bricks home than in this 400 sq foot ARK on wheels.
ReplyDeleteFinally, thanks to everyone at the Corner. Reading and writing here gives me my best connection to the adult world.
Ray, how about Alec "I did not pull that trigger" Baldwin?
ReplyDeleteMisty, you're hilarious today. You could run for Senator with your fiscal acumen
ReplyDeleteWC
Nice puzzle, Wendy, but I did WORSE than AWFUL today.
ReplyDeleteGreat write up, MalMan! Now I need to go edit my Mon write-up to remove the Sonny & Cher clip.
; )
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteNot sure how a "this is going to DNF" turned into a FIR but, despite the hang-ups, I FIR - very much unlike yesterday.
Thanks Wendy for the Friday challenge. Some fun cluing but I'll echo others on names. A NY STRIP / Porterhouse is my go-to when someone else is buying :-)
MalMan - Moody Blues? I knew there was a reason I liked you :-) Fun, up-beat expo (that is one well-trained dog; the husband? Not so much :-)). Thanks.
WO: hOSTS A PRETTY...
ESPs: aplenty (Lucina know of ERYKAH - I don't. //sounds like something Archimedes said)
Fav: NOT! PETCO - I bought only one thing from them, ever! - a 50gal turtle-tank for Eldest's red-eared Frankie [named for that show] and signed up for the 20% discount. Now I get two emails a day from them for 'instant discounts'... Grrrrr!
My grid worked from SE to NW. I got the reveal &, with TEE_OPPERS, figured out the gimmick which really paid-off in the north. Not a fast-fill (about 1.5h over breakfast and an IPS config meeting) but it's fully-ink'd so I got that goin' for me :-)
//Y'all thought this easy?!? - I was thinkin' Sat-hard. After 30 min, it was only bottom-triangle filled.
Today, I'm this years old and I just connected that genuflect (what every Catholic does before entering a pew and, well, like, a lot) means bend the KNEE.
Jinx - man... You show up at The Corner nearly everyday with positive-reality even with all going on... It's gotta be hard - your Corner "Adult" Friends are here.
*Chef's Kiss* Misty!
RosE said Synchonicity [The Police] in reference to ARK.
ATLGranny - KNEE, NY (pronounced) - OK, I'll go w/ the Easter Egg.
C.Moe - we should collaborate then 'cuz I find the gridding the hard part (I paint myself into corners). To me, cluing is the fun bit.
//happy to say, less that 20% of my clues are edited. *Ka-pow*
Ray-O: - I totally disagree inre: AI xwords. Personality is required in the cluing or it's just rote.
And I think we've reached enough poly-banter. As middle-of-the-road guy, I know both sides (and the extreme's are nutters - politics is Hollywood for ugly-people egos).
//was that too much? :-) I'm an ornery little bugger, aint I?
Cheers, -T
Sorry to be tardy, even later than usual. Just got back from another round with my dermatologist.
ReplyDeleteThe only negative thing I have to say about living in SoCal is the penalty we pay in late-life skin cancers. These squamous cells aren't all that serious, so long as we have them surgically excised. But they're an ongoing, nagging nuisance.
Still, it was worth it--spending all those lovely years swimming & basking on the beaches.
SoCal may be dermatology hell, but it's dermatologists' heaven!
A Brandesian PZL today, by way of the MalMan...
Clever theme. It took me longer than usual to catch on.
Got it in the end, except for 4A. I just couldn't think of the right "McQueen." Doh.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Just one near-end diagonal.
Not a good one for anagrams. The best I can do (10 of 15) is to take note of what happens when a tenor's vibrato hits a sour note.
Technically speaking, it is to...
"ERR TREMOLO"!
OMK, I'm another SoCal kid and I shared a few minutes with my doctor's nitrogen "gun" last week.
ReplyDeleteThis guy wants his steak to be a T-Bone
ReplyDeleteWC
MM @3:58 PM I'm a "Land of Pleasant Living" guy and I got a half dozen squirts just this morning"
DeleteRight.
ReplyDeleteYes.
"Measure twice, cut once," so they say.
But if the two "measures" should differ...,
ya better measure THRICE.
Just sayin'
~ OMK
OMK @5:06 PM My carpenter dad taught me that. His second measurement always agreed with the first.
DeleteI liked the gimmick of stripping off the letters NY. I did not like so many names. And ERYKAH proves my point that one can never know, unless they already know of that particular person, how someone spells his or her name these days.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Park and Drive are not GEARS. I know crossword clues can be pretty stretchy, but IMO that clue snapped the rubber band. That's like cluing BOTTLES as "Water and beer".
Sorry to be so grumpy, but sheesh.
At least I was able to FIR without looking anything up, so, as subgenius says, I'm happy.
Good wishes to you all, and especially good ones to Jinx.
Thank you for your kind responses, Wilbur and Anon-T. I'm hoping tomorrow's puzzle will be about something other than money.
ReplyDeleteJinx
ReplyDeleteI'm sending positive thoughts and many prayers for you to stay strong. Is there anyone who can help you?
It's the pits when the choices are slim and none, and the only way out is through the reality waiting for us. Whoever penned, "Grow old along with me; the best is yet to be, ...." must have been through some dillies, to be thus enabled
ReplyDelete