Cheaper by the Dozen
Constructor Jeff Stillman is back with a puzzle that is so holy that I fear it might violate the Corner prohibition on religion. But in this case most people are indeed quite religious about the subject of today's theme, so I don't think we'll have any problem with the censors (although AnonymousDNLC may have a fit 😁). Here are the theme clues ...
18A. Propaganda technique that attempts to appeal to average Joes: PLAIN FOLKS.
 | |
| American Gothic Grant Wood |
26A. Accessory for early U.S. presidents: POWDERED WIG.
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| George Washington |
44A. Candy-coated caramels in a yellow package: SUGAR BABIES.
59A. Like the eyes of a person who hasn't gotten enough sleep: GLAZED OVER.
And what do they have in common ...
52D. Treat whose varieties appear at the starts of four long answers and are represented a dozen times in this puzzle: DONUT.
And these varieties are ...
 |
| PLAIN |
 |
| POWDERED |
 |
| SUGAR |
 |
| GLAZED |
And in case you didn't notice all the donut holes, here's the grid ...
My only complaint about this puzzle is that Jeff didn't include my favorite: French Crullers. For those of you who agree, here's a recipe.
 |
| French Crullers |
Across:
1. Green shade: JADE.
5. Pub offerings: PINTS.
10. Vellani who plays Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel: IMAN. IMAN Vellani (born 3 September, 2002) is a Canadian actress and comic book writer. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Vellani moved to Canada when she was a year old, and was raised as a Shia Ismaili Muslim. Before being cast in Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel at the end of her last year of high school, Vellani had planned to attend the Ontario College of Art & Design University. Here's the season 1 trailer ....
14. European auto: OPEL. OPEL Automobile GmbH is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group, a predecessor of Stellantis, from 2017 until 2021.
15. Missouri feeder: OSAGE. OSAGE is also the name of an indigenous people who lived in the region of the river tributaries and are still active today.
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| Osage River Basin |
16. On guard: WARY. The poster child for the adverb WARY is of course the Geococcyx Californianus ...
17. Curly cabbage: KALE.
18. [Theme clue]
20. Vaping device: ECIG.
21. Family room: DEN.
22. Gary of "13 Reasons Why": SINISE. 13 Reasons Why is an American teen television series, which revolves around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) and his grief over the suicide of high school student Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford). Before her death, she leaves behind a box of cassette tapes in which she details the reasons why she chose to end her life as well as the people she believes are responsible for her death. Gary Sinise plays Clay Jensen's therapist.
23. "Who else would I be talking about?": YES YOU.
25. Malleable: SOFT. What are the most malleable metals?
26. [Theme clue]
32. "Check," in poker: NO BET. Sometimes, but not always.
36. Haywire: AWRY.
37. Chardonnay adjective: OAKY. There's good OAKY and there's bad OAKY.
38. Some "Downton Abbey" characters: EARLS. I've always been under the impression that Robert Crawley, the 7th Earl of Grantham was the only one. But this article, published on the eve of the final series, spills the tea that he may have had an illegitimate son, and (with tongue firmly in cheek) speculates on some alternative outcomes to the saga.
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| Downton Abbey Dramatis personae |
40. Compare: LIKEN. LIKEN sounds like LICHEN ...
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| Lichen |
41. Cuisine with green and red curry: THAI. THAI curries are dishes in Thai cuisine made from curry paste, coconut milk or water, meat, seafood, vegetables or fruit, and herbs. Curries in Thailand mainly differ from the curries in India in their use of ingredients such as herbs and aromatic leaves over a mix of spices. Here's a recipe for Thai red curry with vegetables ...
 |
| Thai red curry |
44. [Theme clue]
47. Western Asia native: KURD.
48. Engaged, as gears: MESHED.
53. Home for una familia: LA CASA. Today's Spanish lesson: "La CASA de C.C. es nuestra CASA."
56. Bass, for one: ALE.
58. Lawn mower brand: TORO. Also Japanese for "melting in the mouth". An Easter Egg for our theme? Or even better a type of toroid ...
 |
| Torus |
59. [Theme clue]
61. Volunteer's phrase: IM IN. I've got to stop saying that!
62. Chase and Citi rival, popularly: BOFA. I have BOFEM.
63. "Dallas" surname: EWING. J.R. EWING is the EARL of America's Downton Abbey. Here's the cast. Hand up if you can name them all, and bonus points if you can tell us Who shot J.R.? (I never actually saw the show, but I did hear that he was shot 😀).
 |
| Dallas Cast |
65. Adult-to-be: TEEN.
66. Candidate list: SLATE.
67. Dry run: TEST.
Down:
1. Lighthearted: JOKEY.
2. With speed: APACE.
3. Lunch spots: DELIS.
4. Poem of lament: ELEGY. One of the most famous is Walt Whitman's epic lament over the death of Abraham Lincoln, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d
5. Hall and Oates, e.g.: POP DUO. Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American POP ROCK DUO formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two write most of the songs they perform, separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock and roll, soul music, and rhythm and blues. The one I'm most familiar with is She's Gone from 1973 ...
6. Tropical getaway: ISLE.
7. Bread brushed with ghee: NAAN.
8. __ Fridays: TGI. "Thank God It's Friday!"
9. Like some overload: SENSORY.
10. "You can't make me!": I WON'T DO IT. The final words of many martyrs, even to this day I'm afraid.
11. Mauritania neighbor: MALI. MALI, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. It has 13 official languages, of which Bambara is the most spoken one. Among the country's attractions is one of the largest adobe structures in the world, the Great Mosque of Djenné.
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| Republic of Mali |
 |
| Torah Ark Dohány Street Synagogue Budapest, Hungary |
19. Military flute: FIFE.
24. Chooses: OPTS.
25. Composer Prokofiev: SERGEI. SERGEI Prokofiev (27 April 1891 – 5 March 1953) is my favorite Russian composer. His compositions are quite diverse ranging from symphonic works, virtuosic piano pieces, chamber music, and ballets. Probably his most popular work is the story of Peter and the Wolf, a kind of young person's guide to the orchestra. Here the Philadelphia Orchestra is conducted by Eugene Ormandy with narration by David Bowie ...
27. Opening lines?: WANT AD. As in "We have an opening for a cruciverbalist".
28. Dorky sort: DWEEB.
29. Bring around: WAKE.
30. Swedish superstore with a yellow-and-blue logo: IKEA. Let's see: "four letter Swedish superstore?" A CSO to SwenglishMom.
31. Ibsen's "Peer __": GYNT. Playwright Henrik Ibsen (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was born in Skien, Denmark (about 4 hours West of the Swedish border BTW). He was one of the founders of modernism in theatre; is often referred to as "the father of realism"; and was one of the most influential playwrights of his time. His major works include Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, A Doll's House, and Hedda Gabler. One of the people he influenced was composer Edvard Grieg, who wrote incidental music for Peer Gynt. Here is the In the Hall of the Mountain King from a suite of that music (you may recognize this as the tune played by Van Johnson in the 1957 film The Pied Piper of Hamlin) ...
32. Trawling equipment: NETS.
33. Ko'olau Mountains locale: OAHU. Koʻolau Range is a name given to the dormant fragmented remnant of the eastern or windward shield volcano of the Hawaiian island of OAHU. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972.
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| Ko'olau Mountains |
35. "On the Waterfront" director: ELIA KAZAN. ELIA KAZAN, born Elias Kazantzoglou (Greek: Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by The New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Here's a trailer from his star studded masterpiece ...
40. Cut with a light: LASE. Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists.
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| Diagram of a Laser Cutter |
45. Chicanery: RUSE.
46. Come forth: EMERGE.
49. Circus prop: STILT.
50. Bro: HOMIE.
51. Native New Yorkers: ERIES. The ERIES were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, and northern Ohio before 1658. Their nation was decimated in the mid-17th century by five years of prolonged warfare with the powerful neighboring Iroquois for helping the Huron in the Beaver Wars for control of the fur trade.
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| Erie Nation pre 1650 |
53. Pride Month initials: LGBT. Today's crosswordese. Pride Month is every JUNE ...
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| It's all ya need! |
54. Household succulent: ALOE.
55. Bistro: CAFE.
56. New Balance competitor: AVIA.
57. Fast time: LENT. Next year it begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb 14th and ends on Holy Thursday, Mar 28th. No chocolates on Valentine's Day! 😞
60. Midnight mouser: OWL.
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
38 comments:
Fortunately, I knew who the director of “On The Waterfront “ was (we’ve had him in crosswords, particularly his first name, many times before.) So, that helped me solve this challenging puzzle. And, after erasing “I can” for “I’m in,” pretty much the rest of the puzzle fell into place. I was wondering why all the “o’s” were circled, but after solving the reveal, I understood. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Checked in at the Freightliner Service Center yesterday, and found out that they have changed their hours and will come for my motorhome at 7:00 this morning. I’ll have to prepare the coach for the road, even though it only goes to the service bay and out for a brief road test. Guess I’ll have to do the puzzle later.
Today is:
NATIONAL STRAWBERRY CREAM PIE DAY (does it go with…)
NATIONAL DRINK BEER DAY (don’t forget to share and prove you are a…)
NATIONAL GOOD NEIGHBOR DAY
Good morning!
Enjoyed Jeff's confection and Waseeley's sterling expo. Learning moment: Lent doesn't end on Easter Sunday. (d-o's motto has always been neither a borrower nor a Lenter be.) And shouldn't every day be National Drink Beer Day?
Once the O's started appearing I filled in all the rest of the circles. A very easy Thursday.
I wonder how difficult it is to create a cw with exactly 12 Os in it.
For all you who have crossed the finish line and would like some more, here's the Bi-weekly Bywaters puzzle
FIR. I'm sorry, but I have a problem with " jokey". This seems to me to be a lame attempt to fill a space. Not cool. And want ad, also a stretch.
Beside that, this was an average Thursday puzzle.
This was a fun solve - Misty is going to love all the DONUT options. We have a little independent grocery in town that still makes the yeast GLAZED ones the old-fashioned way. I just took a dozen to a friend's father who turned 95 and loves their DONUTS.
I'm just 10 minutes away from the OSAGE river that starts just east of Jeff City. The dams have provided several recreational lakes - the largest is Lake of the Ozarks- as well as electricity for the area.
Hall & Oates provided some of the soundtrack of my growing up years- one of the favorites
"You make my dreams come true" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EErSKhC0CZs
People either seem to like them or loathe them. Fun to dance to.
Thanks Bill & Teri for the blog and Jeff for the puzzle!
Took 6:45 today for me to take the cake.
To make a baker's dozen, here's another "o": "Oh" joy, circles!
I did not know today's actress (Iman) or the composer. I remembered today's foreign words from Spanish class, years ago.
I actually liked "want ad" for "opening lines". I wish Thursday puzzles were the old Thursday-level of difficulty.
Thank you, Bill & Teri, for the review and thinking of me.
I enjoyed the puzzle however FIR at the intersection of iman and mali. Never heard of Iman Vellani and had Iban and Bali. Done in by the unknown!
At first I had PLAIN taLKS, but changed it when the FIFE showed up. I also stumbled on ATE AT and WAKE. I think my eyes were still GLAZED OVER since I had a bad night.
I don’t know what BOFA is.
Great musical inserts from Waseely.
I know what BOFA is. It just came to me.
Musings
-The NW corner was a tough start for me with other options but I never felt stymied
-Be WARY of millionaire politicians pretending to be PLAIN FOLKS
-Our cwd model, IMAN, has been displaced by a 20-something Canadian actress
-OTOH, Gary SINISE will always be well known as Lieutenant Dan
-A very easy way to vote for for a party’s entire SLATE
-Timbuktu is a city of 54,000 people in central MALI
-Printed WANT ADS are now rare in this digital world. However, the Omaha World Herald prints a slew on Sunday for teacher openings.
-Golf today on a perfect autumn day before a spate of 90+ temps and then highs in the 60’s. Ah, Nebraska weather!
-Lovely write-up Bill and Teri.
Husker, Texas got rid of the straight-party button back in 2020. I think it was a good move. Voting shouldn't be that easy...or mindless.
I never noticed the DONUT connection and THEN realized the 'Circled O's' were donuts. Duh!!
SUGAR BABIES- I actually bought some a couple of weeks ago using a free $5.00 coupon from CVS. You can't eat them fast. They give your mouth muscles a workout.
PLAIN FOLKS and propaganda- the older I get the more I realize how ignorant most people are about what is happening outside of their own personal bubble.
IMAN, SINESE, OAKY (don't drink wine)- filled by perps for those unknowns
JOKEY- a hokey word for 'Lighthearted'; never heard it said.
LBGT- Jinx keeps us informed that EVERY day is 'this' or'that' day. Now every month is 'some' month, and most people, aka PLAIN FOLKS, completely ignore that propaganda.
Happy NATIONAL DRINK BEER DAY
A lot harder’n yesterday but ate my way through it; easy theme for my sweet tooth.
Inkovers: homey/HOMIE, Audi/OPEL, itsyou/YESYOU.
FIFE or FyFE, hesitated but opted for Barney. Also initially waffled between Bali and MALI (although I wasn’t sure where Mauritanian in West Africa was I know Bali is nowhere near it)
“13 Reasons Why” Once again a series I’ve watched but don’t remember the cast. “Elegy” example: what’s a “dooryard” Waz? A lumber yard that just sells 🚪‘s ?
1990’s “In Living Color” HOMIE D.
Clown
Be aware of the dangers of POWDERED sugar donuts (and jelly buns). Never take a breath just before biting into one or you’ll get a lung full of powdered sugar. (I tend to forget and cough my head off. ) Can lead to a type of chronic aspiration pneumonia called Donutitis Saccharinum> 😷
Unite online…..EMERGE
What the garden said to the farmer…. HOMIE.
“Lunch spots”: peanut sauce stains on my _____ ! ….. THAI
Once again the pharmaceutical company has change the size and color of my Omeprazole capsules. Now look like another capsule I take. As I was loading up my daily dosages last night I realized I was doubling up the one and leaving out the other. For folks who are even more confused than I am this could be disastrous.
A delicious 😋 challenge today. It took some skill to only have 12 “O”s in the puzzle. Fav clues were “opening lines” and “ midnight mouser” . Thanks Jeff and Bill… kkFlorida
Groundhog day! Monday again? Fast FIR. Amazing how easy a puzzle can seem when most of the A&E answers are familiar, and the few unknowns are perp and WAG friendly. I'll Echo what Big Easy said on people's personal bubbles. It's much easier with social media and the internet to completely ignore anything or anyone who doesn't completely agree with you. Civil debate is rapidly becoming a lost art.
Yes, jokey made me wince...
Thank you for all the links, an enjoyable write up. (Will Shortz articles were very interesting.)
Also, thank you for parsing troubled=ate at
(A teat was really troubling me...:)
So, where do donut holes come from?
Prilosec is OTC and cheap. Why bother with a Rx?
Hola!
Jeff Stillman offers us a sweet treat today! On paper is the only way I can imbibe DONUTS.
I often wonder if those POWDERED WIGS were itchy and if they were ever washed. Inquiring minds want to know!
Oooh. Do I ever remember SUGAR BABIES!
Oh, oh, the Lightning Bug dropped something!
I have to go. However, I have to say I enjoyed this puzzle. Thank you, Jeff Stillman and CMoe.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
As has been said before, it’s amazing how the same CW can be difficult for some and easy for others. I was very pleased to FIR in my usual Monday time! Yes, MONDAY TIME! Me, Mister C.W. Incompetent! Like BE, I didn’t even notice the dozen donuts. DOH! Anon @ 8:02, without the circles the CW doesn’t really work: there’s no dozen donuts! My only W/O = UNCASA:LACASA. Is Opel still making cars? I thought they shut down. Lots of names, by my expansive count 16, most of which I DNK. This is usually a stumbling block for me, but somehow they just flowed into the grid quickly with perps. Didn’t notice any Naticks. I do agree with other posters that JOKEY is pretty lame. Thanx so much JS for a (for me) very doable offering. Also, very clever. I can’t imagine the difficulty of creating a CW with exactly 12 “O”s. I agree with R-O-S: do not inhale as you stuff a powdered donut into your mouth. Thanx Bill for the (as always) outstanding write-up.
Tasty Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Jeff, and waseeley and Teri.
I saw that the circles were filling with O’s, and thought we might be getting a Cheerios theme. Donuts were even better (although I spell them as Doughnuts). My favourite is Boston Cream with Apple Fritters a close second.
Great catch with the TORO Easter egg. Same to d’o with noting that the circled O’s are the only 12 O’s in the whole CW.
This CW took a while to finish and I had several inkblots.
In fact the whole NW top corner is a mess where I went AWRY. That’s what happens when you enter Aqua for that green shade and then change to Teal. My European auto was an Audi, and I scratched out KALE to put Dirge for the poem of lament (when a dirge is a song). That mess took a while to resolve.
I know the model IMAN, but not my fellow-Canadian.
I had Wanted before WANT AD - great clue, but takes some thinking.
ATEAT can be parsed several ways. I was held up by AT EAT. (LOL CED had another possibility)
I noted DELIS and CAFE (not known for their DONUTs).
This Canadian had no clue what BOFA stood for. (Hello Tante Nique) Ok, I LIUed to find Bank of America, but what is BOFEM?
Wishing you all a great day.
Good Morning:
Late to the dance due to appointments, one of which was for my flu shot, and some grocery shopping, but no donuts because I don't like them, but a few salty snacks!
I was going to nitpick the 20 word clue for a five letter answer, but Bill's expo enlightened me as to the operative word "dozen" in the cluing and the 12 circled Os, so I offer a mea culpa to Jeff. I agree with HG about being stymied with the NW corner for a bit, but all's well that ends well, so no complaints. Iman, Mali, and Oahu needed perps and Maids/Earls and Lime/Jade were the only w/os. I very much admire Gary Sinise's devotion to helping our veterans and their families.
Thanks, Jeff, for a sweet treat of a solve and thanks, Bill and Teri, for your always enlightening and entertaining reviews.
Have a great day.
Greetings! I’m later than usual today. Had chores this morning (mowing – finally a dry day with about 30 seconds of sunshine…😒 I need more sun!!)
Thanks, Jeff, for a fine & tasty challenge today. Aptly placed in the Thursday spot – IMHO. A fun theme – but missed the “dozen” until coming to the Blog. The two “Os” that helped with the fill were at OAHU and OWL (WO from cat.)
Other WOs: ey -> IE for HOMIE and PLAIN facts -> FOLKS.
Hand up for SENSORY overload – my definition for trying to read with a TV on & people talking…Yikes!! Makes my brain turn to mush.
Thanks, Bill & Teri for summing it all up today.
Enjoyed the DONUT theme. No crossed obscurities.
Because of my CIRCUS connections, I have a number of STILT performing friends. I feel safer on my tall unicycle!
Here was a Cosmic Origins story told by dazzling STILT dancers at our Science of Consciousness conference in 2018.
From Yesterday:
TTP Thank you for the further explanation about Abejo/Bradley Baker. I also had assumed it was a Spanish word. If anyone has contact with his family, I hope we will find out what happened with his tuba.
Lucina Thank you for expressing your feelings about SHARKs. I feel the same way about dogs. They cause three million emergency room visits each year in the US. SHARKs and snakes, not so much.
FIW, missing with gale instead of MALI and i can instead of IM IN. I like SENISE, but can never remember how to spell his name. Erased teal for JADE, amex for BOFA, wanted for WANT AD, and sergeo for SERGEI.
The only word I know for native New Yorkers is 8 letters and NSFW or crosswords.
I usually get up without an alarm sometime between 5 and 6, but today when the alarm went off at 5:30 all I wanted to do was sleep another hour. I've been kind of GLAZED OVER all day. All went smoothly at Freightliner. I always plan an additional day in case they find something they can't fix the first day. The first time I was here, they found that the front brake drums were cracked, and they couldn't get replacements until the next day. Since then nothing like that has been encountered, but I like this little town and don't mind spending an extra day or two here.
Thanks to Jeff for the fun and creative puzzle, even though I wasn't quite up for it. And thanks to Bill 'n' Teri for another sterling review.
Fun Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Jeff. And I always appreciate your commentary, Bill and Teri, thanks for that too.
Well, this puzzle may have been addressed to some PLAIN FOLKS (not the ones wearing POWDERED WIGS or those EARLS). But it at first seemed to go AWRY when we heard guys yelling NO BET, and I WON'T DO IT, it looked as though everything would just be GLAZED OVER and that we'd end up with an ELEGY.
But there was a little relief in the background, where some DELIs and A CAFE seemed to be offering us some ALE and some DONUTS (you were right, Inanehiker, I do like them). And for dessert, even some SUGAR BABIES (whatever they are). And with a FIFE playing in the background, things are not too bad, isn't that right?
Have a good weekend coming up, everybody.
Jinx @ 1:38 ~ As a native New Yorker, I don't know why Davidson would be NSFW in a puzzle. (Ray O) Alcuri misses by 1 letter, as does (Bill) O'Cohoes, if he is a native. So, I can't imagine what 8 letter word/name you had in mind. Then again, maybe I'm better off not knowing.
CEh! @12:18 PM I have BOF a Chase and a Citi card. 😀
Kudos to SS for "Oh Joy" - a "baker's dozen"! 😀
Waseeley takes charge of today's Stillman PZL.
Funny theme! I gotta kick outta all those little DONUTs littering the grid.
I can never detect an OAKY flavor in my Chardonnay.
I guess WANT AD works for "Opening lines," but aren't such ADs used for other purposes as well?
~ OMK
____________
DR: Four diagonals today, three on the far side, one at home.
The far side's central diag presents a curious anagram (13 of 15 letters). It seems to point to the roughened throats of mid-range singers after attempting to sing above or below their octaves.
I refer you to...
"ALTO AFTERBURN"!
Nifty puzzle. But I don’t understand what PLAIN FOLKS has to do with propaganda technique.
Excellent write-up.
Too busy today. Solved early, no probs, and then on to other things all day. Now I am very tired.
Picard, yes, that AB start and then the JO in Abejo made me (initially) pronounce it and rhyme it with Abuelo.
Jayce @5:51 PM It's when a multi-millionaire pol attends a county fair and comes across as just "one of guys". We see it on both sides of the aisle.
The dozen O's was a nice touch. Thanks, Jeff.
FAV: Fast time
Well done, waseeley!
Tasty puzzle today, a gimmick that was great fun! A lot of food-oriented references (KALE, DELI, NAAN, CAFE, TORO, & of course DONUT) and now I’m hungry 😎
No worries about being holy, Bill & Teri, as DONUTs are “hole-y”!
Opel still makes cars in the EU, but none come to the US. Too bad, they have some nice little hotrods.
My favorite Hall & Oates tune is “Maneater”, because I worked on the music video a lifetime ago. Having a black panther on the soundstage was pretty wild…
BUT, yes: JOKEY is quite hokey.
====> Darren / L.A.
Hi All!
Thanks Jeff for the hole-y puzzle. Thank you waseeley for the fine review.
WOs: audi xing dirGe --> OPAL | ELEGY, SUGAR dAddyS
ESPs: IMAN, SERGEI, ELIA KAZAN,
Fav: c/a for LENT
Ray-O: LOL "Homie don' play 'dat."
DarrenLA - cool story!
Cheers, -T
Insurance pays for it!
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