google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, January 31, 2023 John Guzzetta

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Jan 31, 2023

Tuesday, January 31, 2023 John Guzzetta

POP Goes the Weasel:

Speaking of Weasels (oh, we weren't?), when we were in Vietnam we sampled some Weasel Coffee.  I brought some home and served it to my friends.  I told them after it had been consumed how it had been produced.  It's actually quite good.

20-Across. Rebate redeemer's requirement, usually: PROOF OPURCHASE.  First POP!

39-Across. Motto for a socially responsible corporation: PEOPLE OVER PROFIT.  Second POP!

56-Across. Academic ultimatum: PUBLISH OPERISH.  Third POP!

And the Unifiers:

70. With 71-Across, Destiny's Child or the Supremes, and an apt description of this puzzle's longest answers: POP.

71. See 70-Across: TRIO.

Together these two answers give us a POP TRIO.  Both Destiny's Child and The Supremes are/were female pop trios.  Beyoncé (née Beyoncé Giselle Knowles; b. Sept. 4, 1981) is the best known member of Destiny's Child and Diana Ross (b. Mar. 26, 1944) is the best known member of The Supremes.  There is also a TRIO of P-O-P theme answers.

Across:
1. Shapeless mass: BLOB.  //  And 2-Down. Shapeless mass: LUMP.

5. Syst. with hand gestures: ASL.  As in American Sign Language.

8. Zac of "High School Musical": EFRON.  His role in High School Musical is probably the role that is most identified with Zachary David Alexander Efron (b. Oct. 18, 1987).  [Name # 1.]

13. German automaker: AUDI.   Everything you wanted to known about Audi, but didn't know to ask.


14. Ill-mannered sort: BOOR.


16. Like some dips: ONIONY.

17. Metropolitan haze: SMOG.


18. Skin care balm: ALOE.  This has become a crossword staple.


19. Argon and oxygen: GASSES.

23. Acct. earnings: INT.  As in Interest.

24. "Arrested Development" actor Will: ARNETT.  Will Arnett (né William Emerson Arnett; b. May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Gob Bluth on Arrested Development.  He was also  married to Amy Poehler (b. Sept. 16, 1971) for over a decade.   [Name # 2.]


25. Patterned fabric: TOILE.  This is not the first time this fabric has appeared in the crossword puzzles.


28. Manolo Blahnik creation: SHOE.  Manolo Blahnik (né Manuel Blahnik Rodríguez; b. Nov. 27, 1942) is a Spanish fashion designer best known for his very expensive shoes.  He was the subject of 2017 documentary entitled Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards.  [Name # 3.]



29. Long story: SAGA.  I love a good saga.  Ken Follett (né Kenneth Martin Follett; b. June 5, 1949) is known for writing fabulous historical sagas.  He wrote three sagas that make up his Century Trilogy: Fall of GiantsWinter of the World, and Edge of Eternity.  The series follows 5 inter-related families throughout the 1900s, beginning with World War I in the first novel, followed by World War II in the second novel, and concluding with the  Cold War and the civil rights movements.


32. Branch: ARM.

33. __ deco: ART.  Our old friend Erté (né Romain Petrovich de Tirtoff; Nov. 23, 1892 ~ Apr. 21, 1990), who used to make frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles, was an expert in Art Deco.


35. Moving vehicle: VAN.  My favorite clue of today's puzzle.

37. Golf course rental: CART.


43. Motown genre: SOUL.

44. Reddit tell-all sesh: AMA.  As in Ask MAnything.


45. Attempt: TRY.

46. "Mean Girls" screenwriter Tina: FEY.  Tina Fey (née Elizabeth Stamatina Fey; b. May 18, 1970) was also the star of 30 Rock. [Name # 4.]


47. "Halt!": STOP.

49. Curved foot part: ARCH.


51. Live (in): DWELL.

53. "Lucifer" actress Helfer: TRICIA.  I am not familiar with the Canadian-born Tricia Helfer (née Tricia Janine Helfer; b. Apr. 11, 1974), nor am I familiar with television series Lucifer.   [Name # 5.]


55. __ Lingus: AER.  Aer Lingus is the airline of Ireland.


62. Egypt's continent: AFRICA.

63. Colorado Plateau natives: UTES.  The Utes make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

64. Well-behaved: GOOD.

66. "Carol" Oscar nominee Mara: ROONEY.  Rooney Mara (née Patricia Rooney Mara; b. Apr. 17, 1985) is probably best known for her role as Lisbeth Salander in the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  [Name # 6.]


67. Meh-worthy: SO-SO.

68. "Reservation Dogs" streaming service: HULU.


69. Donkeys: ASSES.


Down:
1. __-relief: BAS.  I saw a lot of Bas-Relief on the wall of Angkor Wat.


3. Smell: ODOR.

4. Bloc in the fossil fuels lobby, collectively: BIG OIL.

5. To the back, on a boat: ABAFT.  We need our friend Spitzboov to explain this answer.

Spitzboov and his wife, Betty

6. Song for one: SOLO.  He sang solo we couldn't hear him.

7. Shower scrubber: LOOFAH.


8. Passes into law: ENACTS.

9. Seafood snack in a shell: FISH TACO.  Yummers!


10. "Undone" voice actress Salazar: ROSA.  Rosa Salazar (née Rosa Bianca Salazar; b. July 16, 1985) is our second Canadian actress in today's puzzle.  [Name # 7.]


11. Dollar bills: ONES.

12. Org. with opening and closing bells: NYSE.  As in the New York Stock Exchange.

15. Admonish: REPROVE.

16. Fantasy brute: OGRE.


21. Former NBA great Shaquille: O'NEAL.  Shaquille O'Neal (né Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal) played basketball for Louisiana State University for 3 years before leaving for the NBA.  He later returned to LSU and earned his B.A.  [Name # 8.]


22. Dig up: UNEARTH.

25. Lights-out music: TAPS.


26. Double Stuf cookies: OREOS.  A crossword staple.

27. "See ya": I'M OUT.
28. Tolerate: STOMACH.

30. Social blunder: GAFFE.

31. Disney mermaid: ARIEL. She is actually fictional because mermaids aren't real.  [Name # 9.]


34. Stephen of "The Crying Game": REA.  The Crying Game is a 1992 film that starred Stephen Rea (b. Oct. 31, 1946).  [Name # 10.]


36. "All Things Considered" airer: NPR.  As in National Public Radio.

38. "bye 4 now": TTYL.  Textspeak for Talk TYou Later.

40. Story's framework: PLOT LINE.  The Plot Line is very important to 29-Across.

41. Assorted: VARIOUS.

42. Actress Winona: RYDER.  Winona Ryder (née Winona Laura Horowitz; b. Oct. 29, 1971) has appeared in numerous films.  In 2000, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  [Name # 11.]


48. Does some comparison shopping: PRICES.

50. Like some cargo carriers: CAR TOP.  Oh, as in something to put on top of your car to carry extra luggage, not a cargo ship.


52. "Native Son" novelist Richard: WRIGHT.  Richard Wright (né Richard Nathaniel Wright; Sept. 4, 1908 ~ Nov. 28, 1960) was an African American writer.  Much of his literature concerned racial themes.  His work was instrumental in helping to change race relations in the United States.  Sadly he died young ~ at age 52.  [Name # 12.]


54. "My stars!": I SAY!

55. Greek storyteller: AESOP.  You can read his fables here.  [Name # 13.]

56. Prefix with sail: PARA-.  It looks like fun, but I don't think I would really like to try parasailing.



57. Some fuzzy tabloid pics: UFOs.  As in Unidentified Flying Objects.


58. Dudes: BROS.

59. Mexican money: PESO.  One US Dollar is currently about 18.85 Mexican Pesos.


60. Like unripe grapes: SOUR.

61. Hindu spring festival: HOLI.  Everything you wanted to know about Holi, but didn't know to ask.  This year, the Holi falls on March 8, 2023.

65. Couple: DUO.

Here's the Grid:




חתולה



39 comments:

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Enjoyed this one but didn't know half the names. Thanks, J.G. Liked the theme. It POPped up easily.

Thanks, Hahtoolah, for an informative and amusing expo.

Now back to bed.

unclefred said...

A very clever CW with several fun clues but too many proper names, many obscure (at least to me) to hafta perp. Still, an entertaining Tuesday morning, thanx, JG. Hahtoolah you also always entertain and educate with your write-ups, and today was no exception. Thanx for your time and effort. Now, for the first cup of coffee.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one was just right for a Tuesday. There were lotsa names (most were unknown to moi), but the perps were kind, and it all came together quickly. There was that stumble in Texas -- what is a NOP TRIO? Oh, that cargo container is CARTOP not a CARTON. D'oh. Crisis averted. Nice one, John. You outdid yourself with the cartoons this morning, Hahtoolah. Great stuff.

RIP Cindy Williams.

Subgenius said...

WEES about obscure proper names, and how the perps surrounding them were kind. Otherwise, definitely a Tuesday level (read “pretty easy”) puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.

OwenKL said...

a LUMP, a BLOB, a SHAPELESS MASS
On to a potter's wheel is cast.
A novice hand,
With poor command,
Will make it to a clayey blast!

In a chat room, yell I'M OUT.
"Talk To You Later" without doubt.
A textalk squib
Is what it is.
In Real Life you wouldn't shout!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased egad for I SAY (do 'Mericans say that?) and abide for DWELL (misread the clue.)

It took me waaaaay too long to come up with TAPS. I must have still been asleep.

I finally know AMA in the Reddit context, so we can move on now.

How many other POP candidates can we come up with? I'll start:
Post Office Protocol - Legacy email standard
Point Of Presence - Area of a Telco building leased to a competitor. Mandated (and named) by the FCC.

Thanks to John for the fun challenge, with only a few superfluous names. And thanks to Ha2la for yet another entertaining, colorful tour.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Crossword friends: I, too, was surprised to see so many names in today's puzzle. They ranged in birth dates from the BCE's (Aesop) to the 1980's, so I suppose there is "someone" for every solver.

QOD: If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner. ~ Tallulah Bankhead (née Tallulah Brockman Bankhead; Jan. 31, 1902 ~ Dec. 12, 1968), American actress

Anonymous said...

Took 6:43 to finish, but at least I didn't have a pelvic organ prolapse.

Abaft was unknown, as were several of the proper names including today's writer and actress (Tricia someone from some show or movie). Clever theme, but too many proper names.

KS said...

FIR, nice easy Tuesday effort. Got the theme early, clever.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I saw the P O P repetition but the reveal was still a nice Aha. I stumbled over Club/Cart and I’m Off/I’m Out. IMO, I’m Out doesn’t jibe with the clue, but Hahtoolah’s cartoon example does, much more clearly. Car Top made no sense until I read the write-up. I always thought those were called car carriers, but I guess it’s correct. Perps were needed for Annette, Tricia, Hulu, and Rosa. The solve was a typical Tuesday but I could do with fewer proper names.

Thanks, John, for an enjoyable solve and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the usual delightful commentary and cartoons. Today’s favorites were the CVS Receipt, the Aloe cell phone, the Snowman’s dislocated arm, and the hilarious Canine Eye Chart! Your time and efforts to entertain us are much appreciated!

A little anecdote for fans of All Creatures Great and Small. I went to the PBS web site to have a question about Mrs. Hall resolved and happened to see a tongue-in-cheek quiz titled Who’s Your Darroway Darling? There were ten questions focusing on romantic relationships, such as, what you’d consider the perfect date, which type of flower arrangements you’d send to impress someone, where would you choose for a romantic getaway, etc. There were 5 choices of answers to each question. I couldn’t wait to see if my perfect match would be James or, God forbid, Tristan or Siegfried. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that I was perfectly matched to Tricki Woo, the Pampered Pekingese, the cosseted canine who thrives on Champagne and Caviar! 🤣

Have a great day.

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, John and Hahtoolah.
I FIRed in good time and saw the POP theme, but inkblots abound.
Thankfully, the six unknown-to-me names (including three Canadians!) were perp friendly.

I made several spelling errors- I before A in ONEAL, E before A in ASL, D before F in EFRON (dish before FISH in the perp), OU before OO in LOOFAH.
I had EGAD before I SAY (hi Jinx), and needed to parse PROFIT properly to see OVER.
Favourite clue was for TAPS.
Hand up for thinking of Spitz with ABAFT.
I counted 14 three-letter fills, but no complaint from IM.

We had AER and REA (RAE was yesterday).
SHOE and ARCH (Blahnik reminded me of Marti-HeartRx who used to blog here)
ASSES and GASSES too.
But the best combo is SOLO and DUO (plus ONES) and our POP TRIO.

I will beat Misty to creating a SAGA (like AESOP?) today with a PLOTLINE. PUBLISH OR PERISH! Perhaps about a trip in a VAN (RYDER rental?), CART or AUDI with a CARTOP carrier. Several STOPs would be required for GAS(SES) at BIG OIL (I won’t DWELL on their lack of PEOPLE OVER PROFIT motto! but take your PESOS for those high PRICES). You might need a PROOF OF PURCHASE to prove your length of stay if you are crossing the border. OK, I’M OUT. TTYL.

Wishing you all a great day.

Anonymous said...

FIR, pretty slow for a Tuesday, which is unsurprising because of the proper names and slightly oversized grid. POP TRIO helped me quite a bit in figuring out the long answers.

ATLGranny said...

Another FIR today, thanks to John's apt Tuesday puzzle. A good week so far! The theme pattern was obvious but the reveals clinched it. No problem with that.

Here's my confessional part: WOs at Club/CART (Hi, IM!), Europe/AFRICA (what was I thinking?), alAs/I SAY (agree with Jinx here about the unlikelihood of Americans using it), and finally the spelling of LOOFAH (I tried LOOFFA first, a common problem for me seeing downward fill). Perps were helpful where I needed them.

Hahtoolah, I thoroughly enjoyed your review and all the info and humorous cartoons. Thanks!! My favorite fill was TAPS (Hi, C Eh!). I was familiar with CARTOP as we owned several through the years including one for skis as Hahtoolah pictured.

Nice to see your contributions recently, Madame Defarge and OKL. At ABAFT I too thought of Spitzboov, Hahtoolah. Thanks for the photo.

Hope everyone has a productive day. I need to POP into the kitchen now and get some baking done. See you later.

Yellowrocks said...

Fast Tuesday. Unknown names were easy to wag from a few perps. AMA in this context was impossible to wag, so it was all perps.
Weasel coffee is so unappetizing to me. I see the fermentation can be faked and tastes the same. I am a coffee fiend, but will not pay those prices for any cup of coffee, even one time out of curiosity.
Also overpriced are Manolo shoes. Hundreds and even thousands of dollars NO thanks. The same goes for Jimmy Choo shoes. Some of them cost more than a complete matching set of clothing.
The CVS receipt cartoon LOL. CVS must be responsible for the destruction of whole forests. Ridiculous.
I read The Girl with the Dagon Tattoo, much too violent
One of my students from India describe HOLI for us. I have read about it in novels,
For her the beest part was the throwing of the colors.
"Rangwali Holi (Dhuleti) where people smear and drench each other with colours. Water guns and water-filled balloons are often used to play and colour each other, with anyone and anyplace being considered fair game to color." Wikipedia
I do not understand the merits of PUBLISH OR PERISH. Students attend colleges to be taught by eminent professors who are too busy publishing to teach, and so they re taught largely or wholly by TAs.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-My son-in-law only will drive an AUDI although he has to drive to Omaha to have it serviced
-C.C. is a shoe connoisseur and I’m sure she knows of this shoe designer
-Googling “Famous people named TRICIA” yielded this unknown-to-me woman as #1 and I only know of Nixon’s daughter. The only ROONEY and ROSA I know are not the two here. What, this is 2023? :-)
-NETFLIX’s The Crown does a great job of showing how Britain lost EGYPT and how Sir Anthony Eden brought shame to himself and the country by trying to cover it up
-Nebraska’s state capitol building features many BAS Relief works of art like this one
-How would you like to try and stop 7’1”, 325 lb O’NEAL from backing into the basket on the dribble?
-I can’t STOMACH Super Bowl pre-game programming. I’ll tune in at the exact time of the kickoff
-Trying to follow the PLOT LINE in Pulp Fiction is impossible when you first see it.
-“I SAY” is something Captain Hastings is likely to say in Poirot’s ART DECO apartment
-Irish, you deserve cossetting!
-Lovely write-up, Susan!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Perps were kind so a dirty / inky mess of a FIR.

Nice puzzle John; cute theme in a 16x15 grid (oh, @9:34 spotted that too)

Hahtoolah - that was a fun expo! I loved the comics and some back-story on who the names were.

WO: TRIshA is how Mom spells it. I have other smudges but those were just inking errors (fingers move faster than the brain b/f coffee)
ESPs: ABAFT, TRICIA, WRIGHT, ROONEY, REPROVE(? - new to me), & I put ARM in ART's squares.
Fav: I'm going with NYSE just 'cuz John pointed out they open and end the day like gradeschool.

REPROVE looks like something you have to prove again - like Geometry proofs.

Native Son is the first track on the Judybats' first album. //Down in the Shacks where the Satellite Dishes Grow is their best album, IMHO. (you might like this WC :-))

Jinx - I have a buddy that still uses POP (Post Office Protocol (RFC 1939)) - I keep telling him it's not secure but he doesn't seem to care. Yet.

OKL - your first one reminded me that Eldest just learned how to throw pottery - she's supposed to send me a snap.

IM - the life of Riley; the dog and you :-)

C, Eh! - nice SAGA. Misty - you're up next :-)

YR - I posted this HOLI scene a bit back; maybe your missed it. //Outsourced was a cute show.

Getting ready for another meeting so I gotta run //this is brutal when you feel puny; I'm stacked 'till 5p. I hope for a nap at lunch :-)

Cheers, -T

Monkey said...

WEES. Fun puzzle, lots of names easily gotten. I found out only recently that Erté’s name was the pronunciation of his initials R T in French.

Hatoolah always comes through with lots of funny cartoons. Having been a customer of CVS I loved the one about their receipt length.

Lucina said...

Hola!

WEES. As usual I'm late to the party and agree with what you all have written. POP goes the weasel is what came to my mind for the theme.

LOUFAH or LOOFAH? BOOR and ALOE determined that outcome.

Much as I love TACOS, FISH TACOS do not tempt me. I don't care for any seafood except possibly shrimp. My mother always made enchiladas on Fridays because in those days Fridays were always meatless.

My only trip to AFRICA was to Morocco from Spain on a twenty minute ferry ride.

I don't subscribe to HULU but it perped easily.

Thank you, Hahtoolah, for your colorful interpretation!

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

Charlie Echo said...

Too many names, but the perps were very fair. FIR. Ha2la-when I was in Viet Nam, the beverage of choice came in a brown bottle with a big red "33" on the label.

Wilbur Charles said...

The Blob(1958) interestingly Steve McQueen was the costar

There are BOORs and bores,
INT not inc

The Rodney's and the MARAs respectively own the Steelers and Giants
Streaming seems to have overtaken cable. Unfortunately, the former needs strong internet.

I would say Govt is a lobby for BIG OIL(oops is that politics?(

ABAFT, abeam sounds like Jinx jargon

How to spell LOOFAH* was the main conundrum (I tried 3 or 4 ways). What an inky mess that section was

Foes TACO Bell have those TACOs?

LOOFAH in ad provokes uber-woke folk . I was originally looking for old spice ad

Hahtoolah, you've outdone yourself re. Pics. Great, great write-up

"How many other POP candidates?" How about pop-cul?

So Gary, what do you do at halftime?

I'll listen when I get time soley on your recommendation

WC

* It has an R in there just as any bostonian pronounces things like that fe. PaRm Harbor

Anonymous said...

Greetings! Nice Tuesday puzzle. Thanks, John! I'll have to google ABAFT. I'm only familiar w/ the 3-letter version.
Perps worked for unknown names, so I'm happy there.
Had the T and jumped ahead without verifying, so had to WO Text for TTYL.
WEES praises for an entertaining review. Tx, Ha2la!

CrossEyedDave said...

DNF ( on a Tuesday.?)

Rea/ama was a personal Natick ( although I feel I am not alone )
Egad b/4 I say.
But aside from misspelling loofah, I am having a very hard time accepting "abaft."
Nope, never heard of it, not in my lexicon,
I can't even chalk it up to a learning moment, because to use it would make me queasy...

Can't find any silly pop trio links, but it was fun looking.
how many can you name?
Although, there was one honorable mention...

The talk of the worlds rarest coffee brought back memories.
I first found out about it from the movie, The Bucket List, although they did not mention any Vietnamese weasels. If you have never seen it, I recommend it highly as a thought provoking emotional film. Here are some clips that might whet your interest. I have to include several, as just one does not make much sense to the plot.

the coffee...

This clip is not very good quality, but it is the only one that includes the writing off of item #3 on the bucket list.

Here is the movie ending.
Note how he accomplishes bucket list item: kiss the most beautiful girl in the world.
To explain, one of their shared bucket list items was to climb Mt Everest. And it is ironic, that their ashes ended up there IN COFFEE CANS!

Showing you the end of the movie will not spoil your enjoyment, as the film is about how the lived, and shared their lives and bucket list.

Misty said...

Neat Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, John. And your pictures are always a pleasure, thanks for those too, Hahtoolah.

Well, I was going to apologize for not having time to post a puzzle story today, but to my delight I saw that CanadianEh! has filled in for me! Many thanks for the help--greatly appreciated! So glad you didn't have to be disappointed, Anon-T.

Have a good day, everybody!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Ok, ok. I'm no Spitz, but I'll try.

If someone asks you where that spare case of beer is, you say "aft, below the life jackets." If someone asks where the dinghy is supposed to be, you say "abaft."

If someone asks you the width of your boat, you say "she has a 14 foot beam." If someone asks you where that beacon light came from, you say "abeam," or "off the starboard beam."

If someone asks you where to sit in the dinghy, you say "on the thwart." If someone asks you where you want the life raft stowed you say "athwartships, over the center of the keel."

Not to be obtuse, but they can be combined. "Where's Glory Days?" "She's 20 degrees abaft of abeam, 3 boatlengths alee."

waseeley said...

Very busy week so far and I'll make my comments brief [please hold your APPLAUSE].
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks you John for a fun Tuesday which I FIW due to a FTPR (Failure To ProofRead). The scene of the accident was 53A x 50D: TRACIE -> TRICIE and didn't notice that CERTOP made no sense at all. Fill is still supposed to make sense on Tuesdays.

And thank you Susan. Loved your review. PASS on the Weasel Brew.

FAV clue 55A AER. Flew Air Lingus to Ireland once. The service in coach was First Class!

Best cartoon. The "hindsight" vision test. I had my eyes examined just last week and I can relate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLN

Thank you Baylee for a Monday FIR [y'all can APPLAUD now]. Noticed that the themers were all down clues, but the theme was ABOVE my pay grade.

Thank you sumdaze for a fun review and for the CSO. I recall that when the FSK Bridge was finished my Father packed us all in the car and we drove over it and back. As it's on the other side of town, these days we usually take the Harbor Tunnel to get across the Harbor (funny that). Our new car gets much better gas mileage and the next time we may just take the scenic route.

Favs:

30D OLD YELLER. I'm with you Renee on not watching it again. It always reminds me of the song my Daddy used to sing called "Old Shep".

TOP HAND. Not a themer, but your theme. Reminds me of the All Creatures Great and Small (Hi IM!) episode where TOP HAND and horse whisperer extraordinaire Siegfried Farnon doesn't give up on a race horse that the owner wants to have put down. The scene where Siegfried finally rides the horse off into the Yorkshire hill country is enough to make a grown man cry. ACGS has a lot of scenes like that.

Cheers,
Bill

CanadianEh! said...

Oh, Jinx@12:30- after wading through your explanation of ABAFT, I think I will just stay aground. LOL, how you sailors can obfuscate the deck.

Lucina said...

You will never see me ABAFT or anywhere on a ship that goes farther than a short ferry ride. I'm terrified of being on open water! The ocean "voyages" I've been on have all been short. One overnight from Helsinki to Stokholm and another from Seattle to Vancouver Island and oh, across the Strait of Dover to Calais. I can recall two more short ones but not exactly where since it was many, many years ago. Oh, from Cadiz, Spain to Tangier, 20-30 minutes. My sister and I also once visited some friends who lived on an island across the water from Seattle. But I would never go on a long cruise, anywhere!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

C-Eh, you sound like my former office mate. When I bought my first boat I had a lot of rigging to buy, and no one had everything I needed. I called a local chandlery (kind of a nautical hardware store) and asked for "2 inch Nicro Fico swivel snap shackles." When I hung up, my (landlubber) office mate was roaring with laughter. He said he had never heard anything so ridiculous in his life.

sumdaze said...

Thank you for the puzzle, John. I had to find the theme to help get PEOPLE started. FAV: Seafood snack in a shell.

Thank you for all the smiles today, Hahtoolah!

IM@8:05. I want to take that quiz. Fingers crossed I'm matched with Tricki Woo, too. I'm waiting for Season 3 from the library. I'm 9th on the queue so it will be a minute.

I knew Manolos from watching Sex in the City. Carrie raved over them.

Will Arnett is on the list of celebrities playing in the Pebble Beach ProAm this week. The private jets were flying in every 10 minutes yesterday afternoon.

FLN, I appreciate the good wishes, Lucina!

sumdaze said...

Oh, no! I was matched with Siegfried!

Jayce said...

I rather enjoyed solving this puzzle. I have developed the practice of simply ignoring a clue that requires as its answer the name of somebody I have never heard of, and just let the perps fill it (assuming I can solve the perps).

Some of the best fish tacos we have ever had were at The Blue Marlin (El Marlin Azul) in Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco), Mexico.

Loved your write-up, as usual, Hahtoolah.

Good wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

I matched to Mrs. Hall.

"Your perfect match is the one and only Mrs. Hall! Mrs. Hall is a woman who can run the ship and somehow manage to make it look easy. She's responsible, no-nonsense, and motherly, and the men of Skeldale House would surely be lost without her. She'll go out of her way for others, and expect nothing in return. But she's also a woman who deserves to be wooed, and would like some of the attention she gives so willingly to others to be shown to her. Perhaps you could cook for her?"

Sheesh.

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm,
Thank you Jinx @ 12:30.
This landlubber would have never had a clue, as...

If somebody asked me where the spare case of beer was,
I would say: I drank it...

If somebody asked me where the dinghy is,
I would say, I lost it last year...

If somebody asked me the width of my boat,
I would say three wives, (and quickly be thrown overboard...)

If somebody asked me where that beacon light came from,
I would say, "it's the cops."

Now, "on the thwart" sounds fascinating.
There has got be a way this landlubber can use this vernacular in everyday life.
see noun...

I know,
How wide is the thwart of your canoe?
"One wife."
(Dang it, overboard again...)

Anonymous T said...

Blogger really needs a laughing-crying-out-loud emoji to respond to posts like CED's above. -T

Monkey said...

-T.@4:43. Amen to that.

Ol' Man Keith said...

No diagonals today; too bad, as I enjoyed the XWD.

PUBLISH OR PERISH actually depends on one's field. I served as Head of directing for many years in a drama department. Our mantra was "Produce or Perish"!
And a good thing too. Whatever the discipline, we really want teachers who are practitioners or researchers or writers or composers, or otherwise demonstrable experts. Students should have the benefit of mentors who are established in the areas they teach.
~ OMK

Anonymous said...

LOL

Irish Miss said...

CEH @ 9:27 ~ I have my own personal grading systems for the number of 3 letter words in a weekday grid:

1-9 Outstanding
10-16 Acceptable
17+ Failure

HG @ 10:28 ~ Thank you. Now all I need is someone to do the Cossetting! Oops, autocorrect doesn’t like that word, but you get the gist!

Anon T @ 10:45 ~ Sounds good to me, and Tricki agrees!

Sumdaze @ 3:56 ~ Lotsa luck!

Jayce @ 4:24 ~ Lucky Mrs. Hall!

Hahtoolah said...

I'm Mrs. Hall.