google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, June 24, 2023, Damon Gulczynski

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Jun 24, 2023

Saturday, June 24, 2023, Damon Gulczynski

 Themeless Saturday by  Damon Gulczynski 


D.C.-based Damon has been published here on 2/18/10 and 12/29/22. I got this one done in 25 minutes but my smooth sledding was was slowed down when I hit some blizzards of proper names but managed to work my way through them.

                  



Across:

1. Gallery display: ART which would attract an 34. Gallery visitor, perhaps: AESTHETE.


4. Sweetener option: AGAVE - If you're not making tequila out of AGAVE...


9. Penner of classic tributes: ODIST - Penner is not a proper noun, it is an unusual name for one who pens or writes 

14. Spy rings?: PEEPHOLES 😀

16. Butter up, in a way: BASTE.


17. Geographic feature of nine states: PANHANDLE - Nebraska's used to me more pronounced.


18. Unfamiliar: ALIEN.

19. Common ingredient in wellness products: ALOE.

20. Sparks st.: NEV - Sparks is 5 minutes east of Reno down I-80.


21. Writer whose first novel was adapted as a film by Wayne Wang: AMY TAN - I had no real idea but with a few letters our cwd friend AMY TAN showed up.


22. Turkey bacon?: LIRA - Bacon is a euphemism for money and one of these 100₺ = $4.23


23. First name in soul: ARETHA.

25. "Some things are best left unsaid": TMI.

26. Creamy cold beverage: LASSI however I did know (What is one and how do I make it?
54. Creamy hot beverage: LATTE

LASSI

28. However, briefly: THO.

29. "__ bien!": TRES - "Very well" in French 

30. Appropriate time for acting unprofessionally: AMATEUR HOUR - Will this karaoke guy really sound like Jim Morrison?


34. "To put it mildly": AND THEN SOME - To put it mildly, we screwed up...


35. Spoilsports: WET BLANKETS.


36. Moccasin sound: HISS - Cottonmouth Moccasin 


37. Lack of space?: AIR - Yes, space has a definite lack of air. 


38. Hinged fasteners: HASPS.
42. Med. specialty: ENT - My ENT and my audiologist are in the same building. One day I left there with hearing aids and a CPAP machine.

43. David Rakoff compositions: ESSAYS - On leaving Canada and becoming an American citizen: George W. Bush made me want to be an American. It was a need I had not known before. A desire that came over me in a rush one day, not unlike that of the pencil-necked honors student suddenly overwhelmed with the inexplicable urge to make a daily gift of his lunch money to the schoolyard tough.


46. "This is fun!": WHEE - Would you be filled with too much 
56. Apprehension: DREAD to ride this?


47. Prepare, as leftovers: REHEAT


49. Dude: BRO.

50. Easy to maneuver, at sea: YARE - Landlocked me has only seen this word in cwds


51. Looks out for, in a way: ABETS.

52. Ones fluent both in JavaScript and Klingon, perhaps: UBER NERDS - Seems right 

55. Youngest MLB player to record 100 career home runs and 100 career stolen bases: MIKE TROUT - Mike makes the list of the best MLB players to never win a World Series

57. Hide away: STASH.

58. New beginning?: NEO.



Down:

1. Shock: APPALL.

2. Teaching aids that illustrate everyday life: REALIA - After 50+ years in education, I have never heard of this word but used it constantly in my classes. At the bottom of my emails, I have, "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand."

3. Barbershop fixtures: TENORS - Towels didn't cut it. I was a TENOR as a freshman in our barbershop quartet and a bass as a senior

4. Insightful remark: AHA.

5. Fixin' to: GONNA - Billy Williams had a 1957 hit with this old Fats Waller song about what he was GONNA sit right down and do.


6. Tree whose roots contain nitrogen-fixing organisms: ALDER.


7. Plush toy in a Margery Williams classic: VELVETEEN RABBIT - $12,500 will get you this 1922 first edition in near fine condition


8. Legal conclusion?: ESE - LEGALESE for "date": In witness whereof, the parties hereunto have set their hands to these presents as a deed on the day month and year hereinbefore mentioned.

9. "The Audacity of Hope" memoirist: OBAMA.


10. Longtime "Last Call" host: DALY - Another DALY, John Charles DALY, was the longtime host of what TV show? (*answer below)


11. "Should I believe this?": IS IT TRUE.

12. Dumpling cooker: STEAMER.


13. Court activity: TENNIS 😀

15. Long-tailed birds: PHEASANTS - My friend missed my daughter's wedding because it was on the first day of Nebraska's PHEASANT season


21. In the saddle: AHORSE - Damon probably swallowed hard before he put in this archaic fill.

24. Dull sound: THUNK - How the fill above hit me.

27. Film site: IMDB - and 
39. Leal of "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin": SHARON SHARON Leal's IMDB entry

29. Twain lad: TOM SAWYER - This 1876 first edition is $45,000


31. Jazz classic with the line "My lonely days are over": AT LAST - and 
48. 31-Down singer James: ETTAETTA sings her signature song at her 1993 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame


32. Many Bangkok Post readers: THAIS.

33. Ice planet with tauntauns and wampas: HOTH - I'm told this is a Star Wars Wampa preying on a Tauntaun. 🤔


35. Pour house?: WINE BAR 😀

36. Announce with pomp: HERALD.


40. Tyson rival: PERDUE - Oops!


41. Makes sure of: SEES TO.

43. Facilitated: EASED.

44. California town near the Oregon border: YREKA - YREKA (wy REE kuh) is 645 miles north of LA on I-5 and it is like a whole different world.


45. Tender spots: SORES.

52. Hesitant sounds: UMS.

53. To the __ degree: NTH.

In case you missed yesterday afternoon, here is my view as I blog. I got this by using the PAN function on my iPhone.




*10 Down option for (John Charles) DALY





46 comments:

  1. I had some “dread” before I started this puzzle, knowing how Saturdays usually go, but it wasn’t as difficult as I expected. For one thing, there were several “gimmes,” especially for those who were avid readers in their youth (as I was). To wit: “(The) Velveteen Rabbit” and “Tom Sawyer.” There were also several well-known phrases in this puzzle, such as “amateur hour “ and “wet blankets” that made the puzzle easier to solve. Of course, there were also some of the expected obscurities. For example, I’d say the crossing of “realia” and “lassi” was a near Natick, but I got through it. On the whole, I found this puzzle fair and eminently sussable. FIR, so I’m happy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A quick look at the grid shows OBW strikes again. I had E for the UNK LeSSI/REALIa

    Yes, seemed easy for a Saturday with more LHF than usual. I didn't need many perps for MIKE TROUT fe.

    It wasn't CORMORANTS but PHEASANTS

    My Saturday CBD smart pill helped but as you see, keeps me awake

    WC

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  3. Good morning!

    Two days in a row. Today d-o got stranded on the Washington/Oregon border, and left two blank spaces. Didn't get the currency reference to "Turkey bacon" for LiRA, didn't know LaSSI, and never in my whole life as a person have heard REALia. Bzzzzzt. Thanx, Damon and Husker. (At least I got the What's My Line? bonus question.)

    YREKA: L.A. to Yreka is similar to Galveston to Amarillo in Texas -- 650 to 690 miles, depending on whether you're willing to pay tolls. They're also two very different worlds.

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  4. There are 10 states with panhandles and never heard of realia

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  5. This puzzle seemed daunting at first, but after a while the grid started filling in nicely.
    Ultimately it came down to one lonely square at the intersection of Amy and Daly with a resulting FIW. Still, I completed the grid without the help of any outside resources or red strike-throughs. That RARELY happens for me on a Saturday.

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  6. FIW, missing my Natick guess at LeSSI x REALIe (hi WC and DO.) Erased brew pub for WINE BAR, hindi for THAIS, purdue for PERDUE, ensure for SEES TO, and erased then steted ENT.

    Noses all around the Corner wrinkled at AHORSE. AHORSE is AHORSE of course, of course. (I apologize for my singing voice.)

    I quit going to barbershops. In about 6 months, my 5-minute haircut went from $10 or $15 to $30 or $35 (plus tip,) and from walk-in to appointment required. I found an old, barely used dog grooming trimmer, oiled it up, selected the #3 (3/8") comb, and had at it. I think it looks OK, but my eyebrows don't trim as much as I'd like, and I can't shave the back of my neck and around my ears. I wish I could find someone to give me honest feedback, but unfortunately my DW doesn't really understand the question.

    Thanks to Damon for the fun challenge. My favorite was "film site" for IMDB. Probably didn't take as long for people younger than 70. And thanks to Gary for another fine Saturday tour.

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  7. FIR, which surprised me since the NW was the last to fall, not knowing lassi and never hearing of realia.
    There were some serious curve balls in this puzzle, and at times I thought I wouldn't finish at all. But after a few rounds of revisiting some clues, it finally came together.

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  8. Good Morning:

    I really enjoyed this solve and found it less difficult than most Saturdays, yet it wasn’t a stroll in the park, either. The Realia and Lassi cross was a toss-up and perps were needed for Daly, as clued, Yreka, and Hoth. I looked askance at Ahorse and was only familiar with Yar, not Yare. (Who could forget the incomparable Katharine Hepburn’s wistful, “My, she was yar.” in The Philadelphia Story?) interestingly, Autocorrect doesn’t like either. My only w/o was Thump/Thunk and I got a chuckle seeing Ums following yesterday’s questionable Erm. Seeing three complete names, Tom Sawyer, Amy Tan, and Mike Trout, was an unusual treat. Overall, the puzzle had lots of creative clueing, lively fill, and a modest number (12) of three letter words.

    Thanks, Damon, for a rewarding solve and congrats on your book and thanks, HG, for your always entertaining and informative review. Loved all of the bright and illustrative visuals, especially the photo of your blogging surroundings. I wouldn’t want to maintain those numerous windows, though! I presume the camera-shy Darling Lily was cat-napping somewhere in that vast expanse!

    I watched the movie, Tár, last night, with Cate Blanchette, one of my favorite actors. I found it, at times, boring, confusing, disturbing, and choppy, and I didn’t (still don’t) fully understand all of the entire story arc. However, I was mesmerized by Ms. Blanchett’s powerful performance, the demands of which must have rendered her physically and emotionally drained while filming.

    Have a great day.

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    Replies
    1. Agree about the movie Tar. Fascinating music but references to the effects of her sexual orientation not understood. Too subtle?

      Delete
  9. Good Morning! Thanks, Damon, for a mostly doable puzzle. DNF, but the closest I’ve come to finishing on a Saturday in a long while, so I’m happy. A fun challenge.

    A few WAGs & WOs along the way, but the SE did me in. Too many obscurities lumped together. HOTH, YREKA, YARE, UBER NERDS, MIKE TROUT. ers -> UMS didn’t help.

    Perps for the unknown DALY, LASSI & AMY TAN.

    Thanks, Husker Gary, your recap filled in the blanks. When I saw AT LAST, I was hoping you would add the video. Yea! And 46A – Nope, not fun. Not an adrenaline seeker but have at it for those who do.

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  10. Was this puzzle ever a complete ski slope with just a few trees on the first pass? Yes. I think I had filled NEV, TMI, ETTA, AIR, and TOM SAWYER before I got to NEO. I felt like I was performing on AMATEUR HOUR, AND THEN SOME. But somehow I managed to work it from the SE back to the NW before the cross of REALIA & LASSI- never heard of either. FIW today with REALIE & LESSI-Lassi-E is a dog.

    PANHANDLE- we have way too many of them doing than around here at the corners of major intersections.
    AMY TAN was a WAG, so were ESSAYS and MIKE TROUT.
    VELVETEEN RABBIT, DALY, THUNK, SHARON, HOTH, YREKA- didn't really know them but got 'em.
    Filled THUMP before changing to THUNK, and I've heard people use thunk instead of thought as an intentional past tense of think. "I tawt I taw a puddy tat." I thunk I did.

    What's My Line & Candid Camera- Sunday night at 9:00 CST were the only shows my mother ever watched. Arlene Francis, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf and a guest panelist who would have to wear a mask when the celebrity guest came on the show.

    D-O, you can still drive another about 100 miles north from Amarillo before you reach the Oklahoma PANHANDLE.

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  11. Can't do todays puzzle, as I have a thousand things to do...
    (Multiple Bdays, must make cakes...)
    But In reading HG's write up (tx HG) it struck me (aside from realia) that many/most q/a's were not hard in retrospect.
    (I should have tried this one.)
    Anywho, when I get a chance, I will take a look at those hard ones, to see if they were perpable...

    Anonymous-T has advised me that he has tickets to Peter Pan, the play goes wrong, on broadway!
    And asked about a waterfall in Central Park I had once recommended. Sorry, but I do not remember any falls in the park, but it is a landscaping wonder that should not be missed.

    However, this is not to say NY'ers were not big on waterfalls...

    In fact, there are hundreds of very pretty, smaller waterfalls and fountains for which you can pitch a penny, make a wish, or pick up some loose change...

    Currently, the largest waterfall in NYC would be the 9/11 reflecting pools.

    Anywho, watch the YouTube Peter Pan first before seeing the play, because without that, you will not be aware of all the audience interaction Ad libs that the live play provides.

    This fountains for you Anon-T, we aim to keep 'em clean!

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    Replies
    1. CED @9:55 AM Are there any sources for Gone Wrong streaming without commercials? I really DREAD them. IIRC THO, the Peter Pan Gone Wrong show we saw didn't have them. I'd even pay s small fee. I break out in hives when a show is interrupted by ADs. ☹️

      Delete
  12. BE, that's true, but there are no widely-known Texas cities north of Amarillo. Galveston-to-Booker, or Galveston-to-Perryton would be meaningless to most folks.

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  13. Irish Miss
    -Lily was asleep in our very chilly basement when I took this picture yesterday (the outside thermometer on the right of the pan shows 95F). You can see her scratch box on the floor where she only scratches on the left corners. The box behind the scratch box is one we got from Amazon and let sit for a while (usually not allowed in Joann’s house) and it has remained since Lily found she likes to sit in there. I am very proud of the rocket display that a dad and his two sons made for me for my retirement that sits on top of the baker’s rack and you might notice a putting practice device also. :-)

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  14. Big Easy, you didn't grow up with this tongue twister?

    The skunk sat on a stump
    The stump thunk the skunk stunk
    And the skunk thunk the stump stunk

    Might be a hillbilly thing...

    Gary, I noticed the putt practice stuff but not the others. Didn't know there would be a test!

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  15. I used to be an AESTHETE.
    ART shows were my favorite beat.
    Until the day
    I got turned away
    For admiring sculptures with my feet!

    There's a word in this puzzle, I tell ya,
    That I didn't believe: twas REALIA!
    IS IT TRUE? I looked it up.
    It was there, sure enough!
    In linguistics. (It rhymes with murderphilia!)

    {A, B.}

    ReplyDelete
  16. WEES. Nice clues, enough crunch to be fun. I missed AMY TAN I’m very familiar with because I was looking for one name.

    LASSI sounds like a similar drink I enjoyed in Turkey and used some of its bacon to buy, but I can’t remember the name Turks use.

    I’m a little puzzled by UBER NERDS. .

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    Replies
    1. They are just overachiever whose interests include both web programming and Star Trek

      Delete
  17. Never heard the word realia and couldn't think of Mike Trout. Got Amy Tan, but no clue on aesthete, but liked peephole and panhandle. Liked the match up with LASSI and LATTE and the inclusion of ETTA and ARETHA. They are certainly no amateur hour!

    Finished, but with lots Google. Thanks to Damon for a tough puzzle (yare??) and a fine synopsis by Gary

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  18. Hi Y'all! Picard kindly contacted me yesterday to ask if I was okay and thought Cornerites would want to know. I am okay in that I am able to walk around and tend to my basic needs. However, I have had a lot of sad news and bad news that has kept me occupied so I haven't been coming to the Corner much. I have done the puzzle most days to get my mind off the tough stuff. This too will pass. Life throws a lot of curve balls we have to endure.

    As for the puzzle, I almost quit when the first pass thru only let me fill PHEASANT and OBAMA and left the rest of the top tier white. Fortunately, the rest of the puzzle filled more easily. But I had to do some serious red-letter runs to fill that top.

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  19. I now get the UBER NERDS meaning. I was fixated on the riding UBER, not the German word. Duh.

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  20. Thank you Damon for a Saturday slog, which after much wailing and gnashing of teeth I managed a FIR. BTW you might want to see what Merl Reagle has to say about crossword puzzle content in the video about the ACPT Wordplay (not shown in this trailer, so you'll have to watch the whole thing).

    And thank you Husker for the exemplary review. But that's no biggie, because that's the only kind you do! BTW I really love your email sign off.

    Some favs:

    22A LIRA. It took a coupla times around the grid before the penny dropped on this.

    26A LASSI. Teri and I used to drink a lot of these in our vegetarian days.

    36A HISS. SPOILER ALERT: A boy dies after being attacked by a swarm of Water Moccasins while crossing a river in the great Western series " Lonesome Dove". Streaming on Prime.

    2D REALIA. Needed LIRA and LASSI to get this.

    6D ALDER. DNK they could fix their own nitrogen. I wonder where the other trees get theirs.

    21D AHORSE. Yeah, that took a lot of nerve!

    31D ETTA. AT LAST she's become crosswordese.

    33D HOTH. Needed ESP for this.

    Cheers,
    Bill

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  21. A fun puzzle with some clever clues and a few groaners… wtf is “ahorse” ! I solved about 85% but it was a DNF … an enjoyable Saturday morning. kkFlorida

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  22. HG @ 9:58 ~ I did notice all of the items you mentioned, especially that meaningful NASA rocket, but Darling Lily’s absence and the walls of windows really captured my attention. 😉

    PK @ 10:49 ~ I’m sorry that such difficult circumstances have kept you from the blog, but I’m glad to hear from you, at last. We’re here for you whenever you need us.

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  23. Whew! A true Saturday workout. Got a lot further than I thought I would, but hit the wall in the Northwest Territory. Realia (really?) and Lassi (what? Timmy fell in the well AGAIN?) didn't help. Enjoyed the struggle, though.

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  24. HOTH looks like a texting abbreviation. Like "He's Over The Hill"? I resemble that remark.

    Gary, I can't say I would be filled with dread to ride either the blonde or the brunette.

    ReplyDelete
  25. This was a typical Saturday challenge for me - but nice footholds with VELVETEEN RABBIT and TOM SAWYER. And having a son who was a Star Wars UBER NERD- I remembered the planet HOTH.

    I forgot about YREKA on I-5, just Eureka in Northern California on the coast- so took a minute. DH wouldn't have, because he drove that stretch many a time between college and his hometown in Oregon.

    We have Tyson and Cargill plants nearby, but PERDUE is more to the Eastern US, but I have heard of the company

    Thanks Gary for the fun blog and Damon for the puzzle!

    ReplyDelete

  26. And I’d pay if people didn’t post up “spoiler alerts”. I really don’t understand why anyone does, if not to self-brag ( I saw this!) or just ruin the viewing experience for others while posting the fake warning. And this goes for both shows and upcoming puzzles.

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  27. PK@10:49. So sorry about your difficult circumstances. Nice to hear from you when you can. Yes, CW puzzle are good for a much needed distraction. I’ve been there. Best wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  28. AnonymousPVX @1:11 PM I'm sorry. I won't do that again.

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  29. Husker G offers to help us with a Gulczynski PZL.

    Allow me to give a shout out to my friend WC!
    Thank You, Wilbur for dropping MIKE TROUT over on our Jumble site.

    Like many (MANY!) others, I don't know what a LASSI is--other than a Colli. (That's a large dog minus an "e.")

    Good taste in Soul and Blues today.

    YARE is a great word!
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR:
    One diagonal, far side.
    Again, the overabundance of vowels limits possibilities,
    but we can create one anagram (a mere 9 of 15 letters), an awkward one, apparently referring to some kind of device in support of a baby (perhaps!) in the act of suckling.
    This would be a...

    "TUTOY AIDE"!
    Would it not?

    ReplyDelete
  30. There were slow spots but time away from the puzzle gave me more ideas which led to a FIR eventually. Thanks, Damon. A successful Saturday solve is satisfying AND THEN SOME.

    Thanks, Husker Gary, for reviewing the puzzle for us with interesting additions. You have a comfy place to write it up!

    Good to hear from you, PK. Best wishes.

    Enjoy the rest of the weekend, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hola!

    Busy day today. My granddaughter's car needed repairs so I followed her to the site but they were too busy to take hers. Finally, after trying Walmart which was also backed up, she went to my mechanic and he gave her precedence because she needs it to go to work.

    Also, my sister's granddaughter called to say they were on the way and will stay here overnight. SO MUCH GOING ON TODAY!

    I've never heard of YREKA. Eureka, yes. But I'm not familiar with northern California.

    I've no idea about LASSI but am very familiar with LATTE.

    AHORSE? Really?

    SHARON Leal is also new to me.

    I hope you are having a good day. PK, I am sorry you have so much to worry about and hope that things improve.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Maybe my under 30 min. Sat. FIR (whoop! whoop!) is tainting my opinion, but I thought this puzzle was just fun, fun, fun! Thanks to Damon for giving us what IM calls "lively fill": Court activity; AMATEUR HOUR; TOM SAWYER; WET BLANKETS; film site; PHEASANTS; PAN HANDLE.
    Barbershop fixture was my last to fill.

    I often see LASSI on Indian restaurant menus.

    REALIA is an education buzzword familiar to me because I used to train math teachers. I would say, "If you say to the students, 'Imagine you have a ____', then you need to bring in that _____ (or a picture of it) to help them better visualize your message." This is especially helpful to ESL students.

    40D. Boxing?? Universities?? Chicken!! AHA!

    PK. Thank you for posting today! Just yesterday I was asking about you. I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties. Please continue to check in with us when you are able. Thanks, also, to Picard for reaching out to you.

    H-Gary. Loved your take on the clues and answers. Thanks for the help with the ones I filled but still didn't "get" like LIRA and AESTHETE.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I thought this was a pretty well-made puzzle overall. Darn near choked on the LASSI/REALIA crossing, but the letter A seemed the most likely as the last letter of REALIA. CORMORANTS didn't fit. HOTH, YARE, REALIA, and LASSI were completely unknown to me.

    I remember in a 5th grade English class we had a sort of "grammar bee" (like a spelling bee) in which we were supposed to give the past tense and past participle of a verb. The student ahead of me had the verb "drink" to which the (correct) answer was "drank, drunk." The student before him had "sink, sank sunk." Then it was my turn. The verb was "think" to which I far too quickly and unthinkingly answered "thank thunk." Even before the teacher said that was wrong I already knew it was wrong. Talk about a forehead slapping situation!

    Excellent write-up, Gary. Good the "see" you, PK.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous @ 3:21 ~ I just felt that so many situations and relationships weren’t clear or developed enough for me to really understand exactly what was going on. It may be a movie that requires more than one viewing but I don’t have the desire nor the need to sit through it again. Disturbing was one of my initial reactions and once is enough down that path. Thanks for commenting.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Jinx, next Ocala trip I'll bring Betsy over with scissors, razor etc. She's got 3 hair dresser* licenses

    Dorothy muddled in JFK assassination politics and met a sudden demise

    UBER NERDS? Try TBBT

    PK, take care of yourself. I like your comments

    WC

    * I should have said Cosmetology licenses

    ReplyDelete
  36. YAY, a rare Saturday FIR with no help at all. Fun.
    The NW was easily filled except for the IA. I had REAL and IA seemed the best possible ending. REALIA made sense. I used REALIA especially in teaching ESL kids who were mainstreamed for part of the day. I asked to have them in my class. I like interacting with other cultures.
    That is why I like Amy Tan's novels like The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, The Bonesetter daughter.
    That A gave me LASSI which somehow rang a bell and the I produced LIRA which baffled me. Thanks for explaining, Gary. Clever misdirection.
    YREKA was mostly perps, but then I recognized it. HOTH, all perps, not a clue.
    I believe we had YARE here before. I knew it, thanks to reading many royal navy historical novels.
    Ahorse is similar to afoot in construction. Vocabulary.com has many examples of it in writing. I have seen it in novels. It seems okay to me.
    When I meet a new expression, instead of dissing it or doubting it, I look it up and usually add it to my vocabulary.
    Interesting puzzle, Damon, and fine review, Gary.
    Good to hear from you, PK.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi All!

    Remiss lately as I had full days Thur, Fri, & somewhat today.

    Thanks for the puzzle Damon. I had fun putting ink in squares and then HG telling me *bzzzt*.

    As always, HG - nice expo and thanks for the cheats. That shuttle model is post STS-2 when they saved 600lbs on liftoff by NOT painting the external fuel tank.

    Fav: Tom Sawyer [RUSH]
    Turkey Bacon == LIRA was cute too.
    Tyson had nothing to do with Holyfield; when I finally thought of chicken, H.E.B. (Texas grocery) was all I could come up with ;-)

    I thought "ahorse(?)" but refused to ink it until HG said it was OK.

    {A, B+}

    FLN - congrats on success seeing clearly again ATLGranny. I concur re: PAN IN's clue.
    PK - thanks for checking in //and thanks Picard for ping'in' her

    Jinx - Your voice is no Mr. Ed ;-)
    LOL Looney Tunes for Thunk (past tense), BigE.

    Thanks for the Central Park recommendations, CED. Last time I was in NYC was to get the girls baptized at the same church (kinda -- # Episcopalian :-)) DW was Christened at - it was JAN '03 and -100F (or so it seemed). This time it should be warmer.

    WC - I need to know what those smart gummies are. I don't know if I'm just too distracted or #squirrel!
    //I got a FlipperZero Thursday and so far have cloned my credit cards and office badge - garage door opener is next. There's so many mods to the thing I'm kinda lost for now.
    Ooooh, and I want to get a ham license at Defcon - too much time on my hands(?) #UBERNERDs!

    Even though I didn't post, I did enjoy reading y'all the last couple of days.

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  38. -T @7:59 PM Purdue is a Maryland poultry magnate who's slogan is "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken". Big polluter of the Chesapeake Bay.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Very fun, and not overly befuddling puzzle for a Sat.

    I’m with everyone else on the AHORSE deal — my wife was a horsey gal for years, and she’s never heard the term. I guess we need to backtrack to the Middle Ages for c/w words these days!

    ====> Darren / L.A.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anon-T, CBD "snart" gummies are your basic CBD gummies. 375 MG.

    I take 1/2 but only for the Saturday xword. Circumstantial evidence says they make me smarter.

    I may not have needed it last night but some clarity occurred for SW and finally NW

    WC

    ReplyDelete
  41. This was a very interesting puzzle, and I enjoyed many of the clues, but I ran into too many unfamiliar things to FIR - I did finish but only by holding hands with Google - maybe “FWH” - Finished With Help.
    I still don’t know what IMDB stands for - can one of you dear people help?

    Thanks for the workout, Damon, and thanks for the great tour, Gary.

    ReplyDelete

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