Hello Cornerites!
sumdaze here. Today's puzzle was constructed by a Erik Agard. Erik has had several of his creations featured on the L.A. Times puzzle pages. Most (but not all) have been themeless Saturdays.
Perhaps I was a bit slow on the upTAKE; but, at times, I felt today's puzzle was both later-in-the-week difficulty and even themeless. I had to make a few laps before I was able to complete the grid and spot the pattern. In the end, it all came together nicely.
Erik has given us four 2-word entries that have a _AKE _OLD pattern.
Turning that around, we arrive at today's theme: Old Ache
I will let that thought simmer a bit while we look at the grid and appreciate its masterful symmetry. Notice how the themers align in column 8.
26 Across. Dessert-shaping aid: CAKE MOLD. This is not as gross as it sounds. It is a baking pan used to make special-occasion cakes. (This answer has the potential to keep CED occupied all morning!)
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| Here is a heart-shaped CAKE MOLD for tomorrow. |
33 Across. Inspire fearlessness in: MAKE BOLD. Another way to clue this could be "Ctrl B".
46 Across. Start to have an effect: TAKE HOLD.
52 Across. Cheap jewelry material: FAKE GOLD. Does it sound fancier if we call it "faux gold"?
And now, the mistAKEs fortOLD...
Across:
1. Cut on a cutting board: CHOP. I checked a perp before entering "dice".5. Decorative or dental creation: INLAY. Even with a double clue, I was still lost.
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| decorative wood floor & dental INLAYs |
10. Bestselling South Korean band: BTS. Credit to ATL Granny for her memory trick "Boys That Sing".
13. Duration of a massage, typically: HOUR. I am 'all in' on the hot rocks.
14. Followed a doctor's instruction: SAID AH. Two weeks ago we decided that ahh was a contented sound (see 13A) and that aah was uttered with a tongue depressor. Aargh!
16. Creature in fantasy stories: ORC.
17. See 38-Down: ALTO. and 38 Down. With 17-Across, Silicon Valley city: PALO.
PALO ALTO is named after a majestic 1,000 year old coastal redwood tree along San Francisquito Creek where early Spanish explorers once camped and has grown alongside Stanford University for more than 125 years. Palo Alto is recognized as a global leader in cutting-edge technological development and is known as the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley.”
18. As opposed to: UNLIKE. This meaning usually fits when UNLIKE is the first word of the sentence. Example: UNLIKE pre-Facebook days, today's trollers often use icons to SLAM others' ideas.
18. As opposed to: UNLIKE. This meaning usually fits when UNLIKE is the first word of the sentence. Example: UNLIKE pre-Facebook days, today's trollers often use icons to SLAM others' ideas.
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| fashionable NIA Long |
21. Highway or byway: ROAD. Cute clue!
22. Not banned: LEGAL.
24. Flag holder: POLE.
28. "Without further __ ... ": ADO.
30. "I just got it!": AHA.
32. Grains that aren't part of a healthy diet: SAND. Today's winner of The Best Misdirection Award!
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| grains of SAND |
36. Spingarn Medal org.: NAACP. I am familiar with the NAACP but was unfamiliar with the Spingarn Medal. This is what I learned.
39. Part of a process: STEP.
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| Bucatini and capellini PASTAs |
42. Criticize: SLAM. (See 18A.)
44. Studio Ghibli specialty: ANIME. Studio Ghibli is an animation studio founded in 1985 and based in Tokyo. Here is a sampling of their films:
48. "¿Qué te __, calabaza?": PASA.
Spanish slang. It literally means, "What's happening, pumpkin?" and is a childishly friendly way of asking someone what is going on.
50. Like the main characters in "Fire Island": GAY.
50. Like the main characters in "Fire Island": GAY.
Fire Island (2022) official trailer (2:21 min.)
51. "Help!" letters: SOS.
Speaking of Morse Code, did you know that the Morse Code for the letter V ( . . . -) is a tribute to Beethoven's 5th Symphony? Get it? 5=V in Roman numerals. Now say it in your head, "dot dot dot daaaaash". Source: Good Job Brain podcast (where I get most of my trivia knowledge)
56. Woman yelling at a cat, for one: MEME.
56. Woman yelling at a cat, for one: MEME.
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| Is this is what this is about? Is it supposed to be funny? I do not see the humor. |
58. NCAA basketball powerhouse: UCONN. National Collegiate Athletic Association is abbreviated, so is the University of Connecticut.
59. Basketball great Leslie: LISA. LISA Leslie did not go to UCONN. She went to USC (1990-1994). She and her team played in the NCAA tournament 4 consecutive years.
61. LSD: ACID.
64. GPS stat: ETA. Global Positioning System is abbreviated, so is Estimated Time of Arrival.
65. Familiarized with: USED TO.
67. Earned: MADE.
68. "Gr8 joke!": LOL. Both are textspeak.
69. Turn indicator, e.g.: SIGNAL.
70. Squander, as cash: BLOW.
71. Spanish title: Abbr.: SRA.
72. __ dish: biologist's container: PETRI. and 25 Down. Experiment site: LAB.
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| amoebas in a petri dish |
73. Enemy's opposite: ALLY.
Down:
1. Talk a bit: CHAT.
2. Doughnut's middle: HOLE.
3. Very vocal: OUTSPOKEN.
(adjective) direct and open in speech or expression; spoken or expressed without reserve.
4. Prefix with type: PROTO.
4. Prefix with type: PROTO.
5. "Uh, yeah, it better be!": I SURE HOPE SO.
6. Prefix with tech: NANO. Hand up for first entering robO.
I learned this from listening to Neil deGrassse Tyson:
The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second which is about 1 foot per NANOsecond (1 billionth of a second). So if I am sitting 3 ft. away from you, I see you 3 billionths of a second in the past.
Kind of mind-blowing, right?
7. Purple flower: LILAC.
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| Depending on where you live and the variety you choose, LILACs bloom April through June. |
8. Nike competitor: ADIDAS.
9. Talk a lot: YAK. "gAb" changed to YAK
10. Afro-Cuban drum: BONGO. Here are 3 beats:
11. Experiment: TRIAL. as in "a trial run"
12. Heat to nearly boiling, as milk: SCALD. why it is good to scald milk
15. Montana capital: HELENA.
23. Long punctuation mark: EM DASH. I remember this was discussed here on the Corner not too long ago. Here is a reminder.
27. Native Hawaiians: KANAKA MAOLI. This is a tough one but it is made 54% easier if you know that there are only 13 characters in the Hawaiian alphabet. One is a glottal stop (the okina, indicated by an apostrophe). These are the other 12:
IMHO, this clue plays a bit fast & loose with the Ante Meridiem ... but I like it.
29. Experiment results: DATA.
31. __ carte menu: À LA.
29. Experiment results: DATA.
31. __ carte menu: À LA.
34. Emergency treatment for an allergic reaction: EpiPen.
35. Setting not observed by Hawaii: Abbr.: DST. Is this because the letters D, S, & T are not in the Hawaiian alphabet? 😉
This year, all states except for Hawaii and Arizona will switch to Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, March 12, "springing forward" from 1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
37. "Phew!": CLOSE CALL. Here's one for baseball fans:
37. "Phew!": CLOSE CALL. Here's one for baseball fans:
41. Word after price or phone: TAG. another fun clue!
43. Hosp. personnel: MDS. "Hospital" is abbreviated, so it Doctors of Medicine.
45. Name that means "great" in Latin: MAGNUS. Most Popular Viking Names
47. Retina's place: EYE.
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| This is Husker Gary's helpful diagram from Saturday's puzzle. |
49. Claim: ALLEGE. verbs
52. Propane and ethanol: FUELS.
53. Cast member: ACTOR.
54. Australian marsupial: KOALA.
55. "__ Cha Know?": Erykah Badu song: DIDN'T. The "cha" was a hint at the contraction.
57. Fast snake: MAMBA. Black MAMBAs are among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds up to 12.5 mph (20 kph). Tonight when you go to sleep, try not to dream about them chasing you. more black MAMBA facts
60. __ of David: STAR.
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| Israel's flag features the Star of David. |
62. Big celebrity: IDOL.
63. Description for hydrated skin: DEWY. The Dewey Decimal System is spelt differently.
66. Quick drink: SIP.
Here is one more before I go:
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| snowflAKE cOLD |
That's all for today. I look forward to reading your comments!
40 comments:
I agree this was a little “crunchier “ than the usual Monday puzzle, particularly the “Hawaiian Native” thing, which I doubt any one of us could have gotten without the use of. ESP; I know I certainly couldn’t have. But, as Sumdaze said, “all’s well that ends well.” FIR, so I’m happy.
In the LAB we used a PETRI dish,
Got the DATA that we wished.
Did some TESTS,
Used the best,
A TRIAL PROTOTYPE worked-ish.
“MAGNUS traveled to the North POLE on his quest.
Then he tried the other poles, South and East and West.
Looking for the emerald EYE,
His sword hilt to beautify;
And its power o'er tummy ache -- that was the ACID TEST!
Good morning!
Thursday came early this week. Lotsa crunch in the morning cereal. Needed my trusty Wite-Out to correct fOrm to MOLD and gaseS to FUELS. Took twice as long as your typical Monday offering. Thanx, Erik and Sumdaze. (Cute observation about no DST in Hawaii.)
GAY -- Back in the late '60s the Limeliters recorded a Fire Island parody of their famous Chesterfield (cigarette) singing commercial. Chesterfield was not amused.
TURN SIGNAL -- Texans consider the turn signal to be a sign of weakness. After all, you know where you're going.
FIR, but erased anima for ANIME and aledge for ALLEGE. UNTIE!!!
The big NCAA powerhouses are struggling this year. UCONN, UK, KU (where it all began), UCLA and UF may miss The Big Dance. All credit (or blame) goes to the NCAA, using a lot of the cash it pulls in from TV rights to endow the lesser-known programs with enough resources to have the facilities and coaching talent to attract top talent. Looks like SC is the cream of the women's crop this year, but who knows what the men's tournament seeds will look like.
Finally a great Super Bowl game. I didn't have a favorite this year. DW's uncle played for the Steegals (WWII combined Steelers - Eagles team), and there is a natural affinity between Cowboys and Chiefs fans. IIRC, Dallas once owned the football name "Chiefs" for a potential minor league that didn't materialize, and gave it up without compensation when the Chiefs were formed.
Thanks to Erik for the fun, tough Monday. I'm glad I no longer have hangovers, or this one would have been unworkable. And thanks to Sumdaze for another fine tour. You are a natural. But your fact source got one thing wrong - Spoken "dots" are pronounced "dits", and "dashes" are pronounced "dahs".
A little more difficult than a typical Monday as it took me a midweek time of 13:17, and harder than most of the CW’s that Erik Agard edits over at USA Today. KANAKA MAOLI? Impressive fill, an ESP for me. Having no reveal I just figured the theme was the rhyme scheme of AKE OLD 🤷🏼♂️.
Sumdaze ~ a really fine review today, liked all the graphics, especially the Life Cycle of Pasta!
FIR, but sorry, this is not a Monday puzzle. More like a Thursday effort. I never got the theme, but it wasn't needed. Kanaka Maoli was brutal; but the perps saved the day. Likewise 36A and 44A.
FIR today, though Erik's name as constructor gave me pause. I eased around the puzzle, filling for the most part, my first thought, as often happens early in the week. However I too needed ESP for the unknown name for Hawaiians. That plus DST were learning moments. I expected complaints about PASA but perps helped people out there. I was familiar with the phrase as well as another similar rhyming Spanish one, so that was a help. Thanks, Erik, for being versatile.
Thanks, sumdaze, for the quite enjoyable review, full of extras and smiles. My WO section was SAlt/SAND. I wondered about HELENA (before the perps were filled) when I saw DAH at the end of 14A. Then the rest of the word filled and it was OK. The theme was easy to see today.
It was a good start to Monday, easy enough but not boring. D-Otto and sumdaze, thanks for the turn SIGNAL fun! Hope everyone has fun today!
Good Morning! Thanks to the versatile and clever Erik for today's puzzle. I was surprised to see him on a Monday because I remembered his Saturday offerings, but my local newspaper carries the USA Today puzzle, so I know he can ease it down. Thanks, Erik.
And thanks, sumdaze, for the review. I even looked for a theme, but never saw it until I read your reveal. I especially enjoyed the pasta toon!! :-)
Can I call today's CW a "perp walk"? Because that's what it took to slowly build the fill with a few WAGs.
KANAKAMAOLI was ESP,
One WO - ANIMa to E. Vowels can be fluid for me, but I know, two different words......
I SURE HOPE SO filled like Wheel of Fortune.
DNK LISA, but glad today was not loaded with names of obscure people.
Musings
-BTS joins BLT, PDQ, et.al. as a bailout for consecutive consonants
-My career as a science teacher had kids TEST hypotheses, do TRIALS in the LAB and collect DATA
-I could have taken less ADO in the halftime show last night
-Covid - I MADE $3,600 subbing in 2021 and $9,600 last year
-The USSR was an ALLY in WWII, until they weren’t
-LILACS are a sure harbinger of spring here on the prairie
-HELENAUTICA was part of last Friday’s gimmick
-KANAKAMAOLI filled without a whisper but I wonder how Erik came up with it
-Here come a gaggle of sophomores!
So, Sumdaz, I guess that means that MOANA LOA and MOANA KEA are not the Hawaiian names for those volcanos?
Went with RACER for the snake until the perps dictated otherwise.
DO, while propane is a gas, ethanol is a liquid and not particularly useful in evaporated form.
"I sure hope so" took a few perps before it became clear.
Toughest for me was the "grain" clue since it was plural, I used S as the final letter so S_NS didn't make sense. The 23D and 27D crossings didn't help as I was unfamiliar with each. Google to the rescue!
Good workout.
Definitely a bit less day-of-the-week appropriate than most.
Some days are just like.
A perp walk, indeed!
Hola!
This is a puzzle to wake one up! Thank you, Erik! And thank you, sumdaze, for your elegant analysis.
On Mondays I don't have much time to comment since I have to go do my volunteer work at church so I'm glad the puzzle was a quick endeavor.
PTERI dish brings back memories of the biology LAB!
BONGO and MAMBA take us to African surroundings.
As is my custom I went to a movie yesterday while the world watched something on TV. 80 for Brady was fun with those four golden girls, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Lily Tomlin and Rita Moreno.
Time to go.
Have a magnificent Monday, everyone!
Phew, EG created a perfect Monday for an intermediate solver. Tricky but timewise same as last Monday
Didn't Erik have a great Jeopardy run?
Don't confuse your NIAs and SIAs. Unless it's ___ Farrow or a ___ Soul.
58A is Woman's CBK where UCONN is a perennial powerhouse like Kentucky and UCLA in the past.
I inked Lobo/LISA and gAb" < YAK
Jinx, Boeheim(SU) got into hot water with his "Buying programs" comment. $$ is evening things in college sports. And….
Fln, re. Sam Huff. Yes, in the 50s college FB'ers were making more in college than in pros (tax free + Room and Board)
And… re. SB and "The Call". As a former ump one must train oneself to ignore the setting and call exactly what you see. The Ref saw the hold and called it regardless that it might decide the game.
And again. Replay is not necessarily better than naked eye
Maybe not classic Monday level but very entertaining
WC
Not a big deal, but: For AMS, isn't "Mornings, briefly" more accurate than "Morning hrs"? Nitpicking here....
Not the walk in the park as expected for a Monday. It took some adjusting on my part. But I won’t SLAM this lovely CW. Sumdaze’s revelation of the theme is icing on the CAKE.
I too admired the SAND clue.
At first I had crown for INLAY. HELENA shows up again. Nice learning moment with KANAKA MAOLI. To be able to insert that in a puzzle is a BOLD feat.
I don’t get the cat woman as a MEME. ?
All in all satisfying puzzle. To quote Subgenius, I’m happy.
Lee, the names of the volcanos are mauna loa and mauna kea.
Kanaka = people and maoli = native
Aloha
Kerry_at_Acoya
For a minute, I wasn’t sure what day it was, then I saw it was an Erik Agard puzzle and knew it would be a bumpy road.
Totally missed the “AKE OLD” pattern. Off to a bad start at 5 across, “decorative or dental creation” was a “grill” not INLAY.
¿Qué pasa? is very common here, but never heard “¿Qué te calabaza?” Since I live in AZ I knew 35 down “DST”
“Kanaka Mali” and “SAND” needed perps.
Hope everyone has recovered from the Super Bowl, we will be enjoying all the leftover brats, burgers, chips, guamole, etc.
JJB. Yeah, OK. Doable. But Monday? Not exactly buzz throughable! I think we are used to consistency and since the new regime it has taken a back seat. Would be good to get back on the escalator again for those of use types that like rote. Some clever stuff, but edgy nonetheless for the beginning of the week. Hawaiian name only doable by perps. And please, no more female basketball players! Nuff said.
I am enjoying all of your comments & insights!
Lee@9:31. You might be misreading the graphic for 27D. All of the crossed out letters are not in the Hawaiian alphabet. The remaining letters are in it.
Not sure where you’re getting your data…..
Please don’t mess with the lady Huskies….
The UConn Huskies are the most successful women's basketball program in the nation, having won a record 11 NCAA Division I National Championships….
1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Please correct the commentary, 4 isn’t even close to 11.
AnonymousPVX@12:12. My data was on their men's team, not the women's. I can see how that would be confusing because I wrote about the women's team in the next clue. I removed the note to prevent any further confusion. Thank you for pointing that out.
Thanks fer the FIR Erik!. Time flies when you having fun [EM DASH] is it Friday already?
And thank you sumdaze for another sparkly, funny review. Saw the AKE OLD patterns, but don't quite understand how they get transformed into OLD ACHES. Although I do understand the latter. As my old friend Merrill used to say with a grin, "Old age is not for sissies!"
Some favs:
5A INLAY. CROWN -> INLAY.
17A PALO ALTO. I recall spending a week there once for an IT course during Holy Week and went to a incredible Tenebrae service ("Darkness and Light") in a chapel lit by candle light. As a chorus sang the hymns the candles were extinguished one by one, ending with the congregation leaving in silence in total darkness. Here is the London choral group Tenebrae singing Renaissance composer Gregori Allegri's haunting setting of Psalm 51, Miserere mei, Deus (lyrics). Legend has it that this music was considered so beautiful that the Church tried to monopolize its performance by forbidding the publication of the sheet music. The monopoly ended when a young man named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart attended a performance and walked out with a copy in his memory.
26A CAKE MOLD. Your comment about the grossness of MOLD reminded me of a famous discovery made in a PETRI dish.
32A SAND. My last grains to fall through the hourglass for this puzzle.
56A MEME. I think this MEME was MEANT to be pathetic -- and it succeeded.
69A SIGNAL. Couldn't quite see the gimmick with the "amazing little gadget".
10D BONGO. The most famous BONGO player of all time was even better known for this quote: "If you think you understand Quantum Mechanics, then you don't understand Quantum Mechanics".
15D HELENA. I was having troubling getting a foothold in the North and I gave Erik a bit more credit for misdirection than was due: HELENA -> DOLLAR -> HELENA.
27D KANAKA KAMAOLI. Total ESP.
Cheers,
Bill
WC, to amp up your "n the 50s college FB'ers were making more in college than in pros (tax free + Room and Board)", I remember that in those days star players also got "no show" jobs at businesses owned by boosters. Car dealerships were especially generous. Then the spoil-sports at NCAA nixed such graft, er incentives. But I suspect that a lot of current stars will make more money selling NIL rights than the old guys did making phantom car sales. I also think that NIL will change recruiting practices. Don't know if the likes of UK or KU will be able to compete with UCLA, Houston, Illinois, St John's, SMU and other schools near big city media markets.
waseeley@12:51.
Not "transformed" but "transposed".
; )
Lovely music. Thanks for the link!
waseeley ~ I think the “amazing little gadget”, is the turn signal itself, implying that people don’t use it.
As Pogo would say, “I guess Friday the 13th come on a Monday this month.” This was a real toughie for a Monday. I’m glad I decided to stop posting my terrible FIR times, today would be another embarrassment. But I did eventually FIR. 22A could be a number of answers including LEGAL or LICET, and needed perps. Surprisingly, no W/Os. Thanx EA for the struggle. Sumdaze, thanx for the terrific write-up, AND for ‘splaining the theme, which I missed completely.
Monday toughie, but still, thanks, Erik. And always enjoy your commentary, Sumdaze--thanks for that too.
Well, I guess I am a little OUTSPOKEN about how tough this was, but I still want to MAKE BOLD and CHAT or YAK a little about some fun items. Could we find some clothes to go along with those ADIDAS, maybe a LILAC dress or some FAKE GOLD jewelry? How about some music or some art? An ACTOR, a STAR up on the stage, might enjoy the sound of a BONGO or play a role where he'd have SAID AH in a LAB so they could check their PETRI dish? Wait, wait, I just found some food references! Yes, there's that CAKE MOLD, and some PASTA, and . . . It's no use, maybe best just to leave and play with a KOALA or a MAMBA for some fun.
Anyway, have a good day, everybody.
A learning experience in Hawaiian, no less! Never knew maoli meant native, but did know that haoli meant non native. The maolis referred to tourist sunburn as "holiday rot".
Dang otto-correct. "HAOLI ROT".
No, Misty; no playing with a MAMBA. They are deadly. Once they wrap around you, it's curtains.
Speaking of CAKE MOLD I plan to bake a CAKE for Valentine's Day tomorrow. I believe I have a recipe for a diet CAKE and no, that is not an oxymoron. It's flourless. Well, it does have sugar but not too much.
Puzzling thoughts:
As others have said, this puzzle was more "Thursday-like" than the usual easy Monday's we've come to expect ...
Lots of things about this puzzle to enjoy (Renee's write-up and finding Erik's "theme")
One minor thing (from the recap) to nitpick on "... CAKE MOLD. This is not as gross as it sounds ..." Sumdaze, in our household the word "gross" is defined ONLY in its true German definition; "great or large". ;^) [insert smiley face]
YP @1:05 PM My new car is one big gadget. If I change lanes on an empty road without signaling, it beeps at me. I'm starting to tow the line. This vehicle could teach B.F. Skinner a thing or two about operant conditioning!
Extremely unenjoyable difficult puzzle. The worst clue in a sea of way too many obscure, difficult clues is 32A (sand). I print my puzzles from an E-paper and never print Friday puzzles like this one. A waste of printer toner.
Jinx, there's two scenarios: College bball and fb. The former more urban(c. NYC) and latter the big south unis like Bama. Boeheim specifically pointed to Pitt trying to buy an NCAA crown
Bring a winner and the fans will come
Both Sherlock Holmes (Speckled Band) and Nero Wolfe (Fer de Lance) had ti battle MAMBA-like snakes
Apparently asking us to use our brains to solve a Monday xword is verboten. Again, thx Erik for entertaining us
WC
I have nothing to add to what you all have already said about this puzzle. Thank you, sumdaze, for your enjoyable write-up. Thank you, waseeley, for linking to that music.
Yesterday we met our son and his wife for brunch and had a lovely time. Good food and good conversation. They drove all the way down to Mountain View just to see us. After that there was that football game and solving the Sunday puzzle. A full day.
Anonymous @2:55 ~ if you thought this puzzle was unfair maybe you need to look elsewhere for your CW entertainment, it may have been a little tougher than a normal Monday but very doable, personally I like to have to think.
WC, that's rich for Jim Boeheim to talk about "buying" a team. What's the old phrase: "he who lives in a glass house should not throw stones"? The fact that Boeheim "apologized" afterwards was still pretty lame. He needs to retire
Manic Monday. Thanks for the fun, Erik and sumdaze.
Ach, I had a dreadful time with this CW. But I did see the AKE-OLD theme.
And I did WAG the N in NAACP and the A in LISA to give me ESP for KANAKAMAOLI.
But I failed to do a thorough check, and my Gab did not get changed to YAK.
PHEW reminded me of the response you get when you guess the Wordle on the last (sixth) chance.
Maybe I can claim Canadian disadvantage. I had no idea what NAACP stood for (although I now recall looking it up after a previous CW). We have nothing similar here. I do know NCAA!
ALTO PALO was a WAG. PASA was a good guess at the Spanish (but I knew SRA).
I noted CHAT and GAB (OK it was YAK).
I had SALT grains before SAND. It fits the clue IMHO.
Wishing you all a good evening. Perhaps I will do better tomorrow.
My sentiments exactly. I understand though. Imagine the NCAA allowing teams to do legally what he was doing under the table all those years
Excuse me! Smart a**.
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