google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 ~ Erik Agard

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Dec 13, 2023

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 ~ Erik Agard

Minced Metaphors

21. Get what's really going on: KNOW THE SCORE.

53. Avoid elimination: MAKE THE CUT.

29. Rhyming slogan opposing a Kansas City Chiefs fan gesture: STOP THE CHOP.

30. Take a gamble: ROLL THE DICE.

Hi All! Anon -T reporting for duty.
And what a privilege it is to review one of Erik's puzzles. For those who don't know, Erik is a Jeopardy! champion, ACPT winner (2018), and, when he was Editor of the USA Today crossword, really up'd the game and modernized the puzzle's inclusivity and current pop-culture references.

Today, Erik offers four (semi-sport related) metaphors ending in the kitchen sous'ing: Score, Cut, Chop, Dice #YesChef!

Fun, no? I enjoyed it. Let's check out the fill and see if Erik butchered that too :-)

Across:
1. Fuzzy fruit: KIWI.

5. Nails-on-a-chalkboard sound: SCRAPE.

11. Heart of the matter: CRUX.

15. Very dry: ARID.

16. __ network: NEURAL. A neural network is a group of interconnected nodes that enables computers to "learn" by example (ie. recognize patterns in data). When I studied AI, we liked the idea of neural-nets but didn't have 1) sufficient sample sizes nor 2) the storage. Our nets were dinky and the idea was mostly shelved. The internet fixed #1 and cheap storage fixed #2. Now we have NNets like ChatGPT.

17. Public prank: HOAX.

18. Taper off: WANE.

19. Not remote: ON-SITE. Post-Covid, our office is remote M,F and ON-SITE T,W,Th.

20. Highest point: APEX.
 

21. [See: Theme]

24. Abbr. in recipes: TSP. Teaspoons.

25. Prefix meaning "three": TRI. TRI-pod, TRI-cycle, TRI-dent.
 
For people with only three teeth?

26. Seconds, but for drinks: REFILLS. My buddy from Algiers said one of his first impressions of America was "Land of Free Refills!"

30. Lasagna ingredient: RICOTTA.

34. A third of a yard: ONE FOOT.

35. Standing __: OVATION. Bravo, Ole, Whoot!

36. Time for presents, for short: B-DAY. X-MAS fit too.

37. Need a shim, perhaps: WOBBLE.

40. Stitched: SEWN.

41. Your and my: OUR.

42. Warlock's repertoire: SPELLS.

43. Steamed bun: BAO.
Yum!

44. Get hot, in a way: TREND.

47. Lacking slack: TAUT.

48. Terrifying: SCARY.

50. Passover feast: SEDER.

51. "Oh, be quiet!": HUSH.

52. Poutine pieces: CURDS.

53. [See: Theme]

56. Hereditary: GENETIC.

59. "If Beale Street Could Talk" actor Colman: DOMINGO. I know Beale Street in Memphis is Home of the Blues but I didn't know of Colman Domingo [WikiP].
Colman Domingo

63. Line on a graph: AXIS.
3D Euclidian Space with x, y, and z axes.  

64. "Oh, be quiet!": SHUT IT.

67. In a slump: COLD.

68. Not full-size: MINI.

69. Former name of the NBA's Thunder, informally: SONICS. Oklahoma City Thunder nee Seatle SuperSonics. The Sonics were sold, renamed, and relocated circa 2007.

70. Burden: LOAD. ONUS fit but I perp-checked b/f fill :-)

71. In-transit figs.: ETAS.

72. "Scandal" crisis manager Olivia: POPE. Olivia Pope is a fictional character played by Kerry Washington.
Kerry Washington

73. Burnt __: barbecue delicacy: ENDS.
Corkscrew BBQ (aka Saturday's lunch w/ DW) in Old Town Spring, TX

Down:
1. Midwestern people: KAW. Tribe from Oklahoma and parts of Kansas.

2. 401(k) alternative: IRA. An Individual Retirement Account is an alternative to a 401(k) which is a bla bla something paragraph in the tax code bla bla. D-O can explain in more detail.

3. Knowing gesture: WINK. I. Can't. Resist...


A nod's as good as a WINK to a blind bat.

4. Name: IDENTIFY.

5. Vehicles for cold times: SNOW PLOWS.

6. Little bit of change: CENT. I had COIN.

7. Not take one's time: RUSH. Could be clued as "The greatest band ever."

8. "Video" singer India.__: ARIE.

9. Touches lightly: PATS.

10. Optional courses: ELECTIVES. Who elected for the easy-A v. something more interesting? Who even had electives (my EE curriculum was pretty rigid)?

11. Vehicles from old times: CHARIOTS. I was thinking Model-Ts but Erik was thinking "further back."

12. Ladder material: ROPE. We made these in Boy Scouts.
Rope Ladder

13. Dubai's fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates.

14. Spy-fi film series starring Vin Diesel: XXX.
 

I don't think I've seen a movie w/ Vin Diesel in it.

22. Capital of Norway: OSLO.

23. Largest member of the dolphin family: ORCA.
I wasted three rolls of film at Sea World trying to get a shot this cool

26. Many sci-fi characters: ROBOTS. Automatons.

27. Go on: ENDURE.

28. Was terrified of: FEARED.

29. [See: Theme]

30. [See: Theme] I wanted to fill ROLL THE BONES which is RUSH's 14th studio album and the first (and only time) RUSH tried to rap -- One could hear the collective WTF? scream of fans everywhere. Then we all had fun with it (see how many Canadians / Canadian acts you recognize during the "rap").

I won't fault you if you don't click :-)

31. Dressy accessory: TIE BAR.

32. In the direction of: TOWARD.

33. Rubs the wrong way: ANNOYS.

38. Fine specimen: BEAUT.

39. Cheek cosmetic: BLUSH.

45. Bitter enemy: NEMESIS.

46. "Curses!": DRAT.

48. Layer on a stagnant pond: SCUM.

49. Fingernail part: CUTICLE.

54. Touch lightly: KISS. In their early touring year(s), RUSH opened for Kiss.

55. Portable beds: COTS.

56. Willing: GAME. Q:"You in?" A:"I'm GAME" or "I'm willing."

57. Press Esc, perhaps: EXIT. Exit Stage Left is Rush's second live album.

58. "I Put a Spell on You" singer Simone: NINA. Nina Simone nee Eunice Kathleen Waymon (2/21/1933 - 4/21/2003) was a multi-genre musician. WikiP for more.
 

A Tribute Video

60. Halfway between midnights: NOON. Cute clue.

61. Pleased: GLAD.

62. Numbers with a colon: ODDS. Another reference to RUSH's Roll the Bones? In the song, "You Bet Your Life" the refrain contains "The Odds get Even / We play the game ..."

65. Word shouted while putting a card down: UNO. UNO or Gin; wait for perps.

66. Bit of advice: TIP. "Here's a TIP, lose the shirt." -Rodney Dangerfield, Caddyshack.

Wow, I think Erik is a RUSH fan - what, with all the references to Rush in the downs. ;-)

The Grid:
The Grid

WO: Coin->CENT
ESPs: KAW, XXX, NINA
Fav: The entire puzzle was lively & fresh so I'll just go with RUSH :-)

11 days left to shop for Christmas -- no need to panic (yet)...

Cheers, -T

36 comments:

Splynter said...

Hi there~!

Splynter here - thank you for the comments yesterday - I'm here all month~!

Anon - well done today - I enjoyed your 'toons and comments; I had XMAS at 36A. as well - lots of wite-out today; ALIENS/ROBOTS, FADE/WANE, ROUGE/BLUSH....

FLN - TTP, Outstanding musical commentary - no TROUBLE for me, I have done that Garth song at karaoke, and grew up with John Denver - I especially dig that tune, rocked it for karaoke, too~!

My metal head is still intact~!

Splynter

Subgenius said...

I “kinda” noticed the theme after I solved the puzzle, although I wondered about “score” as a cooking term (and still do). And I, too, had “Xmas” before “b’day.” Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but hand up for erasing xmas. Also rubbed out pets for PATS, rouge for BLUSH, and undo for EXIT.

Today is:
NATIONAL GUARD BIRTHDAY (started as the Massachusetts militia 387 years ago today)
PICK A PATHOLOGIST DAY (proctologists are more reflective – they have 20-20 hindsight)
NATIONAL COCOA DAY (never confuse hot chocolate and hot cocoa. Purists will cancel you)
NATIONAL VIOLIN DAY (wanna fiddle around???)
NATIONAL DAY OF THE HORSE (be mindful of the contribution of horses to the economy, history, and character of the United States)

APEX, NC is a town near Raleigh. Its elevation is 500 feet, while the APEX of North Carolina is the town of Beech Mountain, at 5,500 feet. The population of Apex is 70,000, about 7 times that of (crossword favorite) Elon. The population of APEX is growing at 5% per year.

I love BBQ, but I'm not a fan of burnt ENDS. But I do like the end pieces from a prime rib.

Back in the days when my buddies were getting married, I saw several XXX movies. None of them starred Vin Diesel. Tangentially, I once dated a woman (briefly) who said she was a TRIsexual - she would TRI anything once.

Thanks to Erik for the fun. Long time, no solve. Didn't know he was no longer the honcho at USA Today's crossword empire, since I can't get past their paywall (without paying.) And thanks to Bayou Tony for another great tour. I recognized the RUSH CSO to you before I came to the blog.

desper-otto said...

Good morning.

This was an enjoyable Rush Tribute puzzle. The cluing was clever, but obtuse, still fair. When I finally noticed Erik's byline, I knew why. KAW? Crow, yes, KAW, not really. Dash-T, you were really in your element this morning. Kudos. This was an enjoyable romp.

SNOW PLOW: That cartoon reminded me of my last winter in the Chicago area -- the winter of '78-'79. The snowbanks on either side of the driveway were about 9-feet. It was a moment of terror backing out of the driveway. That was the winter O'Hare was closed for more days than all of the previous winters combined.

TRIdent: Dash-T's comment reminds me of the Food's Fair, the only supermarket when we moved up here. When we shopped there we'd double the number of teeth in the building. Now it's a Food Town, and much more civilized.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Yesterday I did not make it here because I had three guests and then my late niece's (now) widower came to visit. He did not want us to go to his home so he came here instead. One of my sisters went to stay at her son's house. My other sister and her son-in-law are still here.

However, today, really challenged me and I am glad for the distraction. It provoked my NEURAL cells to action.

It was surprising to see XXX and I doubted it for a long time but the perps were solid.
DOMINGO was a big surprise, too. DOMINGO means Sunday in Spanish but is a common first name.


ROUGE and Tie tac had to be edited and replaced with BLUSH and TIE BAR.

CHARIOTS from "old" times? More like ANCIENT times.

Luckily SONICS perped.

Thank you, Tony, for the excellent analysis. This really was in your wheelhouse!

Have a great day, everyone! Each day really is a gift. I realize it now more than ever.



Anonymous said...

Took 8:15 today for me to smoke some hash....

I didn't know people today, including today's actress (Pope), the actor (Domingo), or the Kaw.

Vin Diesel had a small role in "Saving Private Ryan." Otherwise, I think I've managed to avoid his other films.

Whiner said...

Some keyboard whiteout today but never had to check the grid or reveal answers to get this done. I do find it enjoyable when on my second pass I see a lot of blanks and think I'll never get some of the answers, but keep grinding away at it and get them all.

Jinx--APEX, NC got it's name from being the highest point on a railroad line, one that probably didn't stretch very far west.

CrossEyedDave said...

Fr9m last nite:

Vidwan, you are the second person this month that said my email is not working on my blogger profile!

I don't understand what may be happening, I checked, and when you click on email me, it correctly opens email on my iPad with my correct address already loaded (davegordon@optonline.net). I have a gmail, but I haven't looked at it 8 years as I only created it to create a blogger account. (It only ever gave me spam)

What happens when you try to email me via the blog profile?

Also, thanks for the heads up on the "ghandi" picture on the money. I had a feeling I got it wrong, but went with the Dalhi Lama anyway just to tie it in with the puzzle conversation. PK is one of my favorite movies, and having to read subtitles is actually a benefit as I tend to miss more and more audible conversations these days...

Splynter! If I forgot to say, great write up, and good to have you back!

KS said...

FIR, but not without a struggle. I found today's puzzle a bit crunchy.
Several proper names in tough places made the going rough.
I'm not sure I get score as a cooking term, but fortunately I didn't need it for the solve.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I missed the obvious theme because I was focused on the meaning and relationship of the themers in their entirety, not just the last word. Overthinking at its best! Or worst! 🤣 No excuses but I usually find a grid with vertical themers trickier to analyze. I needed perps for XXX, Domingo, Kaw, and Sonics and I went astray at Coin/Cent. The grid was exceptionally clean with a very low (10) three letter word count. I especially liked the clecho cluing of Vehicles of Cold/Old Times and Touches/Touch Lightly.

Thanks, Erik, for a very enjoyable solve and thanks, Anon T, for an entertaining and informative commentary. Having Rush in the grid on your blogging day was Neato! and the comic for Apex brought a chuckle. Thanks for being the DH once again.

FLN

DO, your tale about the Covid test misadventure was hilarious and SS's answering quip was priceless. Thanks to you both for the humor!

Have a great day.

TTP said...

Good morning. Thank you, Erik, and thank you, Dash T.

This puzzle ties in both food and sports.   What's not to like?

I liked seeing the theme answers in both across and down.   That kept me guessing.   I too, enjoyed the clever but fair cluing.   I didn't know KAW as clued, but it easily perped.

RUSH - Any puzzle that has this word as a clue or an answer is sure to get Dash T charged up!

SNOW PLOWS - The Ohio Turnpike Commision just announced the winners of the 2023 SNOW PLOW naming contest. Names of the Ohio Turnpike snowplows.   One has a tie in with today's Vin Diesel: "Fast and Flurrious."   And another with yesterday's commentary: "I've Got Friends in Snow Places."

Last year's winners included "The Big Leplowski", "Ctrl-Salt-Delete" and "Ohio Thaw Enforcement."

I love beef brisket.   I'll always volunteer to eat the end (first) cuts of a brisket (or a prime rib roast.)   A coworker in Houston always ordered his brisket - both in sandwiches and in slices - "in and out" so that he got both the tender meat and the bark.

One of the local SONICS in the area closed for good.  I don't think the franchise owner understood that he might have needed to deep fry the breaded mushrooms, the french fries, and the onion rings in separate oils.  They were awful.   Or maybe it was that he needed to change the oil every once in a while.  Not sure what the issue was.

SubG, scoring is indeed a term used in the kitchen.   It is the term for making shallow cuts in the food before cooking.   It's often done for cuts of meats with thicker fat caps such as hams, pork bellies, some beef roasts etc, but also sometimes used to cut into the meat itself for tenderizing and to add crispiness.   It's not just meats though.   Bakers will score dough before the loaves are put in the oven.   Recipes for some vegetables also call for scoring, such as when making eggplant.

Back later.

Lee said...

SubG, scoring with a knife means cutting the surface, typically, of a piece of meat to allow it to absorb the flavor of a marinade or dry rub into the meat.

Lee said...

Nice little puzzle with just a bit of crunch. Figured out which were the theme entries then. Took a bit of time to see CHARIOTS as the old vehicle. Liked the crossing of the three theme answers. BAO was all perps. Tried DOMINIC before DOMINGO. FIR w/o aid.


Erik, you did a nice job. Always like a puzzle with vertical theme entries. DashT, always a great review from you.

Try a little tenderness, every chance you get.

Once

Ray - o - sunshine said...

Sheesh! is it Saturday already?��
Took a while to fill in any answers. In the end the NW was a problem cuz I stuck with ease for WANE, finally perp-corrected but didn’t know who the KAW folk were (LIU on Google). And then… hung on to rouge for “cheek cosmetic” too long till perps woke me up. Additional issues with the SW till I realized NINA was perped out in a MINI �� Whew! Took a while to FIR ��

Inkovers: Dominic/DOMINGO (once again I saw the movie but don’t remember the cast)…. coin/CENT, core/CRUX, and the others above.

A long time waitress told me that when a customer asks for a REFILL (like coffee) it should always be served in a new cup not added to the old one. RICOTTA (“recooked”) what that has to do with this cheese I don’t know��… (terracotta “cooked earth”, biscotto singular “cooked twice”)

✋ Almost put xmas for BDAY but X wouldn’t perp. TREND as a verb is kind of a trendy thing lately.

.The Cardiff Giant considered “America’s Most Famous HOAX”, I saw it (him) in Cooperstown when I was a kid.

tiara left a blank square. But is a TIEBAR really dressy? A Pope named Olivia?

Applause for laying eggs…: OVATION
Pennies from on high are Heaven ___ …CENT.
Bangkok buffet…. TIEBAR
”A fine specimen” of a small mesa….BEAUT.

Happy hump day

desper-otto said...

Silly me, I thought the Cardiff Giant hoax occurred in Cardiff, Wales.

Monkey said...

It took a while but finally saw the theme. Really neat. KAW, XXX, and BAO filled thanks to perps.

I did not even think of entering Xmas because many years ago when I was a student in college I had a history prof who was on the warpath against this expression.

I really don’t like the expression SHUT IT. It’s ugly.

A-t gave a fun and spirited recap.

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Eric and AnonT (great RUSH connection today).
I saw the Kitchen Kutting theme, but I thought it was CORE we needed from the first themer. We didn’t have a reveal to specify that it was the last Word ( rather than ending) that was required). Perhaps we should have had circles LOL!

Plenty of inkblots today.
Hand up for Rouge before BLUSH.
Coin before CENT.
I wanted SHUP up before IT.
The NW corner was the last to fall with that triple X. Another X with AXIS and EXIT in the opposite corner.

Wishing you all a great day.

NaomiZ said...

FIW! This was a fun puzzle, Erik, but I didn't know BAO, had TIE tAc, was willing to live with tAO, and came to the corner to find out what the heck poutine is, and what CUcDS could possibly mean. Bzzzt! I'm glad I came here not just for that, but to have Anon-T point out the knife work in the long answers. Two days in the kitchen preparing a Hannukah feast, and yet it never occurred to me! Thanks!

sumdaze said...

Thanks, Eric, for your puzzle! For some reason, all of my first guesses worked today. That never happens. OTOH, I did not see the theme but I did notice the 16x16, vertically symmetrical grid. Nicely done!

Thanks to -T for revealing the theme! Such a coincidence...all the RUSH clues on your day. Must be fate.
; )

Charlie Echo said...

Enjoyed all the wordplay in todays offering. Some truly enjoyable misdirection. KAW, DAO, & XXX were unknowns, and a hefty amount of WiteOut was required before arriving at the FIR!

Lucina said...

AnonT
What a RUSH for you today! I'm glad you got to analyze this one!

Acesaroundagain said...

Theme was easy to figure out. Fun puzzle. FIR, no problems. "Stop the chop" was good. GC

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-What a treat to have a great pro back in the saddle!
-I had too many “might be’s” and so I started in the NE and finished CW around to the start
-Fast food makes big money on drinks. We drink water.
-TRENDY things come and go in a hurry in a high school
-GENETIC: One sister looks like my mom and the other thinks and talks like her
-ALIENS vs ROBOTS!
-I am watching The Magnificent Mrs. Maisel and they just used two NINA Simone recordings
-Fun write-up, Tony but I have never listened to any Rush music. I’ll have to give it a go.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

H. Gary, we just ran into the expensive drink situation at lunch today. Lakeland Ale House has great lunch specials - dw had a meatloaf plate and I had fish and chips for $8 each - but the tea and cola were $4 each, a new high in our experience. Still pretty affordable by today's standard, but not as cheap as I first thought.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Jinx - I too was unaware that Erik stepped down; My Angel Editor caught that.

D-O: LOL Food's Fair!

Ray-O: I had to, after the solve (for the expo), Google KAW People too.

Monkey - My Mom also hates XMAS "taking the Christ out of Christmas" but someone at The Corner once posted (I wish I could find the link) that Transcribing Monks would use X as a short-hand for Christ in the old Bibles. I guess it saved ink(?).

Thanks TTP & LEE for 'splainin' SCORE as a knife-wielding term. I guess I shouldn't have assumed everyone was a fan of Food Porn.

OK, really, I'd be surprised if Erik was a RUSH fan. I just riffed off the clues & made my own connections (like the guy with pictures, news articles, and strings connectin' 'em on the wall). See, I'm such a fan that, with just about any phrase I can (tenuously) connect RUSH (or Monty Python :-))

C, Eh! - Did you watch the "rap"? Recognize The Trailer Park Boys?,

HG - For the love of all things good, don't start your listening journey of RUSH with Roll the Bones. Might I recommend Spirit of Radio (with Stone's "Paint it Black" intro). The set shows their chops. //If I need to put my butt in gear, I turn that up.

OR, the first RUSH song this SpaceNerd heard in '82 - Countdown [1st Shuttle Launch from a Canadian perspective]. I was hooked.

Cheers, -T

Monkey said...

Yes, A-t. The X comes from the Greek letter Chi which is the first letter of the Greek word Christos which became Christ in English, according to some.

Ray - o - sunshine said...



Anon Tony @ 1:03pm

I wonder if the KAW tribe were ever the spokespeople for the Crow nation?

🐦‍⬛

CanadianEh! said...

Thanks for reminding me, AnonT. I didn’t have time this morning and needed to go back a see that video. Yes;, I see the Trailer Park Boys. I had to LIU some of the rest - “The rap section in the middle is impossible to replicate onstage since it features Geddy Lee’s voice significantly altered, so the original recording is lip-synced by Tom Morello, Les Claypool, Peter Dinklage, Chad Smith, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, and the Trailer Park Boys.”

And of course, Countdown is magnificent!

CrossEyedDave said...

Kaw?

I dunno about this one, but it makes me wonder 21. Get what's really going on: KNOW THE SCORE

Did the constructor get stuck with the letters K.a.w. And got to Wikipedia to see if this would 53. Avoid elimination: MAKE THE CUT.

Did the constructor research around the editor to 29. Rhyming slogan opposing a Kansas City Chiefs fan gesture: STOP THE CHOP.

Was this entry an attempt to 30. Take a gamble: ROLL THE DICE.

Well, he pulled it off, but if you ask me, I think KAW, is dirty pool...

Unless, you are part Kaw, or have ties to these people. that are responsible for the the State name Kansas? if this was a well informed entry, as opposed to a stab in the Wikipedia, then I sincerely apologize.

RosE said...

Greetings! Another busy day is why I’m later than usual. Christmas shopping is done.👍. Baking in progress….
I’ve worked many Erik Agard puzzles, some here & more on USA Today. Quite a slow-go and perps weren’t so kind, but I got it finished. Thanks, Erik!
WO: SCRAch -> SCRAPE; IDENTItY -> IDENTIFY; (What’s one TOOT?? 🤣🤣. Easy to change - one middle crossbar.); alga -> SCUM; sAvE -> MAKE.
Perps for BAO, POPE, KAW, XXX, DOMINGO … waited for -ic or -GO ending.
Thanks, Anon-T for a musical recap. Loved the snow blower vs. the SNOWPLOW!!

Yellowrocks said...

This puzzle was solved quickly, except the NE corner. When I finally accepted XXX, I had enough perps to finish up. ACME for APEX was a stumbling block.
I really liked all the idioms. I thought they were quite common.
I was happy to learn a new tribe, KAW. The perps were fair for both XXX and KAW. For ARIE, POPE, and NINA, perps lead to wags and then the fill.
I missed the culinary theme, but I thought it was clever. I recognize scoring. Cooks often score a ham roast in a diamond pattern and place a whole clove in the middle of the diamond.
Scrape fits the theme too. An Easter egg, maybe? I often run a knife down carrots from top to bottom, instead of using a peeler. This is called scraping. It is not as deep as peeling.
Alan gets his money's worth at McDonald's. He buys a cheaper size and gets two free refills.
I like the nice juicy medium rare middle of a BBQed steak. I leave the ends for people who have to have well done.
Today I ordered the last of my gifts and wrote out my cards. One more batch of cookies to go and gift wrapping are all that is left. On Christmas Eve I will make vichyssoise and chocolate mousse pie to take to Dave's the next day. With less endurance, I set aside lots of lead time and usually finish early. I no longer can rush at the last minute, like I used to.

Lucina said...

Normally I would have already written my Christmas letter and sent out the cards, but for us this is not a normal year. Tomorrow will be the funeral for my late niece. Relatives have been arriving all day and staying at various homes including mine.

In fact, my sisters and nephew were here for a wedding that took place last Saturday and stayed over for the funeral.

By the weekend I hope to resume the Christmas wrapping and writing.

Vidwan827 said...


Thank YOu Erik Agard for a nice and challenging puzzle, I finished it last night but was unable to post. I slept most of today ... too many steroids and opiates ...

Thank You Anon=T for a charming blog and explanations. Someday, Ima gonna listen to RUSH. Meanwhile I have alot of other musicians on my mind and in my waiting list.

I enjoyed reading all you folks letters.

************************************

CED, I got nothing... nothing !! ... when I tried your email on your blogger account ... I tried with two different computers, too. Anyway, I'm glad I got my message across to you.

I also, like to have subtitles, in the movies I watch, even if the movies are in English ... because of my late age hearing problems, and I like to know EXACTLY what is being said ... not merely mumbled ... I always 'feel' I'm missing some of the important lines or the really funny jokes ....


I like to read english subtitles in Hindi movies, as well, because 1) sometimes the translation itself, is really funny, and totally off the mark ....

and 2) I cant understand the high faluting hindi/urdu that the scriptwriter has written in .... My vocabulary of HIndi/Urdu ain't too good, anyway.

******************************************
On the Crossword::

Other than KAW, XXX and BEAUT ... I had no hesitations in entering the answers...

Scoring is also a process of marking the paper in Origami before making a fold, very useful in creating complex shapes... the scoring can be done either with your fingers, or fingernails ... or with a boning tool, commonly available... I often always score fish slices, before sautaying (sp.?) or grilling....

Ray-O Sunshine - nice connection with KAW and the CROW tribes ....

All you folks, have a great Thursday tomorrow, ..... er, today.

Anonymous T said...

Lucina - I kinda (not really) know the feeling... Saturday, post Thanksgiving, we went to a "Celebration of Life" memorial for Youngest's BFF. Took some of the spark out of the Holiday and got us behind on our Christmas to-dos.
//I still need to find a "dego hat" (it's really an Irish Donegal wool cap) for Pop.

Love to you, Sister L. Keep the faith.
Peace, -T

PK said...

CED: I have known of the KAW Indians all my life and live a few miles from the KAW river named for them. I had never heard of Otoe before I started doing crosswords. Have no idea what Indians were indigenous to New Jersey. Most of the Indians in other states that I had heard of were either violent or exterminated or removed to another state back in the day.

Vidwan827 said...


PK, I couldn't help to resist posting this (garbage ...)...

Otoe Indians, I presume were 'On the other ear/eye' in text speak ;-)

As for the other Indians .... violent, exterminated or removed ... may have moved on ... but lately in the last 50 years, 'other' Indians have moved into New Jersey ...especially on Oak Town Road, in Edison, NJ. We dont know if this is an improvement in the appreciation of civilization, but apparently, thats what it is ....

As CED mentioned in his post on the movie, PK, ... PK , your moniker .... pronounced -- 'pee Kaay' ... means ' drunk, or inebriated' in Hindi and many other Indian languages. Just saying ... from 'pee-naa' meaning 'to drink' and 'kay' meaning 'having ( drunk)' ...

With deep respect and regards, to a blogger I remember from 10 years ago ....