Thanks, again, Lisa for your help a couple of weeks ago.
This week, however, you may be missing the mark.
Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here from the land of frozen (and decidedly not warm) waters to bring you today's recap. Our puzzle setter is Emma Oxford and, at four places within the grid, she has provided us with amusing takes on familiar two-letter abbreviations. Let's take a look:
18 ACROSS: Big bash honoring detectives?: PI DAY CELEBRATION. PI DAY comes on March 14th of each year because 3 can stand for March the value of Pi (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) is roughly 3.14. In this case, however, P.I. is referring to Private Investigator. PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR DAY CELEBRATION.
27 ACROSS: Take steps to prevent patients leaving mid-appendectomy?: FIGHT OR FLIGHT. We are all, of course, familiar with the FIGHT OR FLIGHT response but, in the puzzle, O.R. is used as the abbreviation for Operating Room. FIGHT OPERATING ROOM FLIGHT.
47 ACROSS: Certain facial recognition pro?: THE WIZARD OF ID. The WIZARD OF ID is a cartoon strip by Parker and Hart. In this answer, though, the reference is to identification as in (e.g.) I.D. Card. THE WIZARD OF IDENTIFICATION.
The Wizard of ID
63 ACROSS: Really annoy the computer help desk?: TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT. A familiar expression recast as TAKE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO THE LIMIT.
This is how it appears in the grid:
. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Chasm: ABYSS.
6. Every which way: AMOK. A little bit of a stretch definition-wise.
10. Worry about: SWEAT. Both FRET and STEW were too short.
15. "Better in Time" singer Lewis: LEONA. This could have been clued with a reference to the Queen Of Mean - LEONA Hemsley.
16. Placemat, in some restaurants: MENU. Serving double duty.
17. Shelf: LEDGE.
21. Running wild: ON A TEAR.
22. Try and fail to walk on ice: SLIP. Thanks for the reminder to put on those cleats.
24. Rock gp. sometimes joined by Young: CSN. More abbreviations.
25. Signifies: MEANS. MEAN sure does have a lot of meanings.
26. Besmirch: TAR. As in to TAR one's reputation.
32. Kid-friendly card game: UNO.
33. Laze: LOAF.
34. "__-daisy!": OOPSY. All about OOPSY-daisy
38. Certain English collegian: ETONIAN.
43. Grayish green shade: LODEN. A deep olive green with shorter wavelengths.
44. Fictional terrier from Kansas: TOTO. Clever. A puzzle with references to both the Wizard of Id and the Wizard of Oz.
46. Bobby of the Bruins: ORR. Not a UCLA reference.
52. Sleeve: ARM.
55. Matter basics: ATOMS. I got arrested for having one sodium ATOM and one chlorine ATOM. They said I committed a salt.
56. Pub bill: TAB. As is to run a tab.
57. Actress Seydoux: LEA. Unkown to this solver but easily perped.
58. Pool division: LANE.
66. Neptune's realm: OCEAN.
67. Home of the Blue Devils: DUKE. DUKE University.
68. "Into the Woods" song sung by two princes: AGONY. Last week, I went from AGONY to ecstasy in a span of a few days. At this rate, I’ll finish reading the dictionary in a month or so.
69. [I have no idea]: SHRUG.
71. Pick up: SENSE.
Down:
1. Pet food brand: ALPO.
2. Form of nonviolent protest: BE IN. The first Human Be-In (get it?) was held in Golden Gate Park in 1967.
3. Jedi voiced by Tom Kane on "The Clone Wars": YODA.
4. Seize: SNATCH. I will not seize the moment, but, rather, let this moment pass.
5. "What __ thou?": SAYEST. SAYEST is an archaic second person singular of say.
6. Pt. of USA: AMER. United States of AMERica
7. First name of two Spice Girls: MEL. MELanie Brown went by the stage name of Scary Spice and MELanie Chisholm went by the name of Sporty Spice.
8. Reflexive pronoun: ONESELF.
9. __ Khan: KUBLAI. Mongol general and grandson of Genghis.
10. Paul Newman hockey film: SLAP SHOT.
11. Sopping: WET.
12. Decree: EDICT.
13. Ancient Greek marketplace: AGORA.
14. Hero in operas, typically: TENOR. See also 52 Down.
19. __ oil: CANOLA. RAPESEED (from which CANOLA oil is made) was more a more difficult name to merchandise.
May the Schwartz Be With You
20. Key spot: RING. Not a reference to something important. Not a reference to a small island.
25. Juilliard deg.: MFA. Master of Fine Arts
27. Gasohol, e.g.: FUEL. A mixture of gasoline and alcohol.
28. Division word: INTO.
29. Yummy: GOOD. Some things do not get better with age:
30. "Sons of Anarchy" actor Perlman: RON.
31. Furthermore: TOO. AND would have fit the allotted space. ALSO would not.
35. Univ. lecturer: PROF. PROFessor
36. iPad speaker: SIRI. "She" speaks out loud. Not the audio speaker built into your iPad.
37. Gridiron unit: YARD. I recently found a round, black piece of plastic with a hole in the middle and grooves on both sides. I picked it up and threw it. It flew for more than 300 yards. I'm sure that must have been a record.
39. Wind up with: NET. If you ever wonder "What's my NET worth?" it's probably less than you paid for it.
40. Getting some air: INHALING. Not out for a walk.
41. "One __ time!": AT A.
42. Foray: SORTIE.
44. Call from a coach: TIMEOUT.
45. Wt. units: OZS. OZ, as the abbreviation for ounce, came from the Italian onza meaning ounce.
48. Coup d'__: ETAT. One of Today's French lessons although thoroughly incorporated into English usage. French for "stroke of state". A coup d'ETAT is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership.
49. Is unacceptable: WON'T DO.
50. Mavericks city: DALLAS. A basketball reference.
51. Do a favor for: OBLIGE. They are then OBLIGatEd to you.
52. Unlikely heroines in operas, typically: ALTOS. See also 14 Down.
53. Get to: REACH. I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him fifty bucks that he couldn't reach the meat on the top shelf. He declined the bet saying, "No, the steaks are too high."
54. Creative sort: MAKER. Earlier in the week this might have been clued as Coffee ______ .
59. Cry of delight: WHEE.
60. "That's my cue!": I"M ON. What are you on, dude?
61. __, zwei, drei: EINS. Today's German lesson. 1, 2, 3.
62. Eye affliction: STYE. A frequent affliction in our puzzles.
64. Mer contents: EAU. Another of today's French lesson. Mer = Sea and EAU = water.
65. Fight-ending letters: TKO. A boxing reference. Technical KnockOut
______________________________________________________________
50 comments:
I stared at the themed answers a long time before I made sense of the clues. Finally, I saw all the “abbreviations.” OR, IT, etc. But having no idea of the theme (at least at first) did not prevent me from solving this somewhat challenging puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
I wonder if Emma Oxford had to beg forgiveness for putting ETONIAN in her puzzle. Didn't think about the themers long enough to figure out the gimmick. Enjoyed the exercise, though. Thanx, Emma and Mal-Man. (Excellent punniness, as we've come to expect. No mention of Emma as a shoe-in?)
NW was the struggle for me. Not knowing LEONA or BE IN at all kept me from getting a foothold there. It wasn't until I guessed YODA and checked that it was right (I only remembered Frank Oz for Yoda) that things started meshing.
All in all, an enjoyable puzzle though I didn't get the theme until it was explained in the blog.
FIR. I didn't need the theme to finish this puzzle which is a good thing since I didn't get it right off. When all the squares were filled, and I sat back to look at the grid, then I saw it.
This was a typical Friday endeavor with some tough cluing, but thanks to the perps, we got'er done.
Took 10:12 today for me to finish, with a lucky guess of "i" at the intersection of "be in" and "pi day celebration."
I never saw the theme until I came here, not that I looked for it.
I didn't know today's actress ("Lea" somebody), and I didn't know how to spell Kublai.
"Maker" for "Creative sort" seems awkward, and this one seemed pretty crunchy overall.
FIR, but erased war for UNO, opsie for OOPSY, iams for ALPO, clinch for SNATCH, and and for TOO.
Today is:
KISS A GINGER DAY (a redhead by any other name would be as sweet)
NATIONAL PHARMACIST DAY (mine is an anonymous worker at Express Scripts)
NATIONAL CURRIED CHICKEN DAY (I like most curried foods)
NATIONAL MARZIPAN DAY (a confection made primarily of sugar or honey and ground almonds)
Like Whiner, I had trouble up Washington way. With everything else completed, I took Zoё for her morning walk and noodled on the first themer. I was stuck thinking it would start with PD, but with plenty of time to mull it over, I realized PI was more likely. Got home and filled BE IN, then YODA fell, then it had to be LEONA and SAYEST. Wrestled with LODEN, but the perps were OK so I accepted it with a grain of NaCl.
Thanks to Emma for the fun tester, and to MalMan for another sterling review. Except in what sport does an official signal time out with the "T" sign? Not basketball or (American) football.
Good Morning:
I understood the theme but I couldn't make sense of the themer Fight Or Flight because the other three all had an I, as in PI, ID, and IT. I never even considered the OR as being part of the theme, so was very relieved to have it explained in the recap. A case of not seeing the forest for the trees, I guess. I didn't know Leona and wanted an H instead of an I on Mr. Khan but, other than that, no serious hold-ups.
Thanks, Emma, for a fun romp and thanks, MalMan, for the usual mixture of fun and facts. Enjoyed all of the puns and especially like the Bread "Shticks" cartoon! 🤣
Have a great day.
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Emma and MalMan.
I FIRed and saw the Spell Out the Letters” theme. (Nice catch MalMan on the Easter Egg Wizards).
Two inkblots to change Upsey to OOPSY, Mar to TAR.
I also ran ahead of myself and entered Party in front of CELEBRATION. I backtracked with perps.
I waited for the final letter on KUBLAI.
Jinx- we have a Pharmacist month in March. Sorry you don’t know your pharmacist
Wishing you all a great day.
I give Emma 5 Gold stars for her contribution today, and I give MM an upgrade for his Golden assay of Emma's efforts. FIR.
Perps were very necessary in today's solving effort. Almost went with upsy for 34A, but it was too short. Never heard of LODEN, but there were the perps. There is also an ASTORIA in Illinois. Remember the shot of the ski jumper falling on his jump run with the ABC Sports background saying "the thrill of victory and the AGONY of defeat ..."?
Interesting to learn that opera uses different voice ranges for different types of characters. Kind of like using different instruments in "Peter and the Wolf " to denote different animals.
Noses should be used for sensing odors, aromas, scents, and fragrances, they should not be poked into other person's business.
Information.
Good Morning! Almost, but not quite for me today. Still a fun puzzle – thanks, Emma.
I missed PI (and me reading a Spenser novel…duh!!) because I’d never heard of BE IN – yeah, I just “got it” from the recap – Thanks, Mal Man. Loved your puns, groaners and toons. Interesting articles about OOPSEY/upsy and the WILLIES.
Sweet memory – my Dad had a LODEN green hat with a small feather in the band.
20D Key spot – I just had a key cut – twice! They both would open the handle lock but not the bolt. To the eye they look identical to the original. I can’t explain it, but the door knows….
Musings
-The wind chill is -19F with 30mph winds blowing the snow. My Omaha World Herald is buried out there somewhere.
-My daughter in Lincoln is having another snow day and just texted us to say she has taught only 4 days since Christmas.
-The gimmicks were a hoot. I gotta think THE WIZARD OF ID was the seed entry
-All the obscure names in clues or fills had accommodating escape hatches
-Speaking of abbreviations, do you remember this hilarious scene?
-March 14 (3.14) is a great day to be a sub. Math classes are full or PI(E)S
-Less obscure LEONA Hemsley to her maid: “We don’t pay taxes; only little people pay taxes”
-Hwy 30 goes through our town in Eastern Nebraska and ends in ASTORIA, OR
-Thou SAYEST much but doeth little
-My KEY ring has a 12” NASA lanyard attached to it.
-I burn gasohol in my cars but not in my snowblower
-A disastrous TIME OUT not called by a coach
MalMan I totally would not have figured out the theme without your explanation.
LODEN looked wrong. Wrong. FIR.
Never heard of BE-IN as a PROTEST.
Here is the BE-IN performance from the musical "Hair".
From Yesterday:
Anon at 8:32PM and Michael Thank you for the further comments about my Ventura PIER garb.
Whiner Sorry, I did not mean that TABLA was a gimme for everyone. Just for me because of my TABLA playing friend. Hence the "me" in gimme.
I FIR but assumed the Be In was an abbreviation of the Bed In protest that John Lennon and Yoko Ono held from their bedroom at the Hilton Hotel in 1969.
Thanks Emma for a fine Friday outing.
Thanks MMan for an interesting and fun recap
…. kkFlorida
Thank you Emma for a relatively easy Friday which I [technically] FIW'd none-the-less. Wanted IRONY for 68A and did a confirmatory lookup on 50 DALLIS [DUH!]. Rabbi Google suggested otherwise.
Thank you wise man MM for explaining the theme and for all the shameless puns.
A few favs:
23A CRO. 'cause paper and scissors didn't exist yet?
37A LEA. Ms Seydoux is Vesper Lynd, a recent Bond Girl. How could you not know her MM? I read an interview with her recently and she's actually a very shy person and prone to stage FRIGHT (but not FLIGHT).
58A LANE. A CSO to our C.C. -- the place where she exercises her water wings.
2D BEIN. So what were they protesting in 1967? There are really only two options -- "To BE or not to BE".
14D TENOR. For all you opera fans, the Met is broadcasting La Boheme tomorrow. The TENOR for this performance of Che Gelida Manina ("Your little hand is so cold") is Luciano Pavarotti. Can't seem to get rid of the ads in comment clips. YMMV.
19D CANOLA. The long running OB musical The Fantasticks had the same problem, but as that word was used in the title of one of their ballets, the show is no longer long running.
52D ALTOS. Unlikely, but not always. Here's ALTO Isabel Leonard in Rossini's The Barber of Seville singing Una voce poco fa ("The voice just now").
Cheers,
Bill
D-O @ 5:33 AM "Shoe-in"? Very ripe D-O, very ripe.
Rose @10:21 AM Try spraying a little WD-40 in the lock.
Figured I’d end up with a FIW. How could LOD EN be a word much less a color but all I had to perp was NET which fit its clue. (Doubt it’s a color even in the biggest crayola box). So an unexpected FIR
Did not suss the OR in the theme answer. Very clever. (When a patient disappears and ups and leaves the hospital it’s called an “elopement” whether they plan on marrying or not)… But…Private Investigator: There is a national PI π day and it has nothing to do with dessert ? 🥧 (March 14, Jinx don’t forget 😜)
I knew “SLAPSHOT” 🏒 🥅 cuz it was partly filmed locally at our Utica Memorial Auditorium.
Yesterday we had Lois LANE….“Running wild” free range wouldn’t fit. Apparently Eugene was not a “Fir merchant in Oregon”. Then there’s Bret, Bart and later Beau plus Tom Cruise’s “city”. aaah…not those Mavericks. Not OK was an “unacceptable” answer as was inflating for “Getting some air”
Whom a person might find on a LEDGE or “shelf” at Yuletide….ONESELF
”Are you alright?” … “Yes I ___….AMOK
EINE in Umbria….UNO
Female head of a monastery…..ABYSS
A variety of Bellis perennial, a European species of the family Asteraceae….OOPSY DAISY
Mal Man love the bread and bun/puns.
It is currently 8 degrees F here and snowing so I will take today as a day at leisure. Thanks for the nice comments.
Bread Shticks!
Hola!
Oh, my goodness! I love puns! Thank you, MalMan!
For some reason I had trouble with FIGHT OR FLIGHT. I understand the phrase just not how it fits the clue. What does any of it have to do with an appendectomy?
TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT. Isn't that the title of a song?
I have a friend who OFTEN uses the phrase, "It gives me the WILLIES".
CSO to my friend, MEL (Melanie).
LODEN is associated with Switzerland and the outfits sometimes found in the literature; think: Heidi.
LEA is more often clued as a meadow.
i think I've taken it to the limit of what I can comment for now.
Have a great day, everyone!
Instead of FIR, I feel more like I guessed it right. At any rate I enjoyed the puzzle. I also enjoyed the write-up Mal.
Edward in Los Angeles: I am colorblind. You people with color vision get on my NERVES. 🤪
Whew! Definitely a Friday-worthy workout. Managed to FIR with a LOT of effort (and WiteOut!) but the theme eluded me until MM explained it. A good workout today!
I was delighted to see the WILLIES, a representation of my home state with ASTORIA, and the salute to SLAPSHOT, and I thought the theme was fine once I figured out the gimmick. Was unfamiliar with LODEN and Ms. Seydoux, but they perped OK.
I’m dismayed that no other Cornerite is plunging us into a discussion of reflexive pronouns, given the rather obscure ONESELF. This particular reflexive is difficult to use in a sentence without running afoul of the distinction between ONESELF and one’s self, and even some of the Oxford Languages (not Emma) usages I found online are faulty. I thought “It’s easy to cut ONESELF” was a correct example. Reflexives are used incorrectly more often than not, with “myself” erroneously used as both a subject (Joan and myself went to the store) and an object (They went to the store with Joan and myself), and all too often the person making these errors is being overly grandiose. My favorite correct usage of “myself”: “Mother, please! I’d rather do it myself!!”
ERRATA: It’s Leona Helmsley, not Hemsley. And it’s not all right to say “alright,” although I fear the correct usage is becoming extinct.
Lucina @11:49A Emma has cleverly inserted three 2 letter abbreviations inside the theme fills (but not in circles!). In FIGHT OR FLIGHT, she has inserted OR for Operating Room. So the clue "Take steps to prevent patients leaving mid-appendectomy?" translates to "FIGHT OPERATING ROOM FLIGHT". 😀
Delightful Friday puzzle with tough spots here and there, but still manageable--many thanks, Emma. And I always enjoy your helpful commentary, Malman--thanks for that too.
I always look for animal references, but in this puzzle I guess TOTO wont be eating any ALPO.
He needs a more fictional MENU.
Have a good weekend coming up, everybody.
Waseeley, I think you got confused with your Bond girls. The very memorable Vesper Lynd was played by Eva Green in Casino Royale. The not-quite-as-memorable (IMO) Madeleine Swann was played by Léa Seydoux in Spectre.
H.Gary - I can relate to the cold weather. Here the wind chill temperature will max out today at +72 F. By Tuesday night / Wednesday morning it is supposed to be all the way down to +38. I'll be bringing in the brass monkey before then.
Bill - The Fantasticks may be my favorite musical ever. I've seen it many times by many companies, professional and amateur. Mostly in proscenium, but also in the round a time or two. The music is wonderful. (Full disclosure: I've never seen Phantom of the Opera but I love that music too.) Plant a turnip!
C-Eh! - I miss the days of having a relationship with my local pharmacist. But in all honesty, it is nice to just place a refill order on line and have the meds show up a few days later. No drop off, no waiting in line. It is also handy for me, because when we travel I just update the delivery address, which is fast and easy. I use Walgreens or Riteaid for shots and one-time or urgent meds.
D-O @1:11 PM Thanx for the correction D-O. IIRC I stopped watching James Bond when Sean Connery died. I didn't realize he was like Dr. Who and could regenerate. But I do think it's Eva Green who is camera shy.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR; enjoyed the misdirection of the initials referred to in the clues. Got it without checking here first, although the OR one did take a bit longer, as it was in the middle of the entry. Thanks MalMan for the humor; stay warm in CB, CO
This is my favorite skit on two-letter abbreviations
Why do I haiku?
Isn't it pretty clear? There's
No rhyme, nor reason
BTW, today is MELanie Chisholm's 50th birthday
Thanks, waseeley, @ 11:13. Good suggestion but still wouldn't turn. I'll try an actual locksmith next instead of the local battery store..
PTs #2:
Misty @ CanadianEh! -> don't know if you solved it, but today's Jumble was by far one of the best ... it reminded me of an old limerick:
Do you know of the nursery rhyme drill,
Where two kids took a pail up the hill?
Are you taken aback,
That you didn't know Jack
Had never really fallen for Jill??
(what an affront ...)
MOE @2:02 PM Definitely worth 6 mi and 19 se.
Hand up on missing OR, too
Moe @ 2:02 ~ That is one of the most clever and comical skits I've ever seen. Thanks for the chuckles! 🤣
MalMan, I forgot to compliment you on the blog's stunning closing photo.
Thanks, I.M. It really does look like that here. This photograph was taken yesterday:
Gothic Mountain With A Break In The Clouds
Also, for those who found the OR abbreviation to be the most difficult I will add that it was the last one that I was able sort figure out.
The NW stayed blank. In addition got only part of the theme. That OR puzzled me, and missed the PI. Regardless, a fun CW.
Today it’s a beautiful day here, temps in low 70s but lookout next week. I wish someone would close that door north of here and keep that Arctic blast from reaching us. BRR.
MalMan’s recap was spot on.
Bothe DH and I are recovering from a cold. We hadn’t had one in a long time. We both feel lousy.
Monique @ 2:43 -> misery loves company; I've been fighting a cough and achy feeling for a couple of days, so I know how you feel ...
I enjoyed this puzzle and MM's write-up with those lovely puns. Was and am unfamiliar with the color LODEN but the perps were firm. I like the word INHALING. I've been to a couple of MAKER Fairs here in Silicon Valley. DW and I stayed overnight at a motel in ASTORIA years ago; it's not a town we would go out of our way to visit again. There's long, very high bridge from Astoria across the Columbia River into Washington state that gave me the WILLIES to drive.
Good wishes to you all.
Chairman :Moe @ 3:29. I don’t get how a tiny virus can make a human feel so bad. Yes, it’s nice to know someone else is suffering. LOL.
Managed to FIR in half the time of yesterday. Then had a long nap, catching up on many nights of poor sleep, and now recall the CW but not the the nits and grits. I did the CW on my laptop today, instead of paper, which may be why it went faster. Anyway, I did FIR but did not take the time to figure out the gimmick, so didn't get it until MalMan 'splained it. Nice, entertaining CW, thanx, EO, and terrific write up, thanx MalMan.
What a fun Friday puzzle, despite some crunch for this intermediate solver. Took me a while to get the theme answers, which were really clever.
I’ll take a CSO in the deep south for my alma mater, Duke.
Copy Editor, I agree about the frequent misuse of “myself”. Also “I” and “me”.
Thank you, Emma, for an enjoyable challenge, with a minimum of trivia. Thanks to Mal Man too. Your puns and clever clips always keep me chuckling. What a gorgeous photo - have fun!
Hi Chairman Moe,
Here's my Friday Jumble verse, using the Jumble words: FORGO, GAUDY, OUTRAN, BUFFET, and AFFRONT. Deals with a somewhat more mature situation than your sweet nursery rhyme:
"New Job"
Fred sadly had to forgo
his job at the studio
where he took pictures
of girls who were gaudy,
and sometimes even a bit naughty.
When he outran this job
he decided to stay
and work at a local buffet
where he earned a pretty good pay.
This new job required no game and no stunt
and so did no one ever affront.
And Fred even got a free lunch
which pleased him quite a bunch.
I can't tell you how upset I get at the misuse of the English language! Being a teacher, of course, makes it all the more glaring and not being able to correct people is so frustrating! Some bad usages are now so embedded in the language that they will eventually be accepted as part of the language, and I shudder to think of that.
Misty
I like your verse!
Hi All!
I played with Emma's puzzle over a pint and a Philly sandwich while whiting on DW's eye appointment to finish. The low-hanging-fruit really helped and in the language themers really helped.
Thanks for the fun Emma.
And thank you for groking the theme for me, MManatee. Oy!, I'd have never seen it 'cuz I was just happy to (mostly fill) the grid. Excellent expo!
So, yeah, a DNF. I kept wanting Sit In and never heard of "Be In." So I missed my favorite 3.145926 day.
Notable WO: I entered Maze for MENU thinking of the placemats I got when I was a kid.
ESPs: Oh, I'm sure.
Fav: SAYEST was fun (there was so much sparkle, it's hard to pick)
Wizard of ID - I think the librarian was a fan b/c I checked 'em all out at the North End branch of Lincoln Land Library. My fav cover (which got me into it):
Advisor: "The peasants are revolting!"
King: "The sure are."
For an 11yro, that was Mad Magazine-level humor.
Great pic!, MManatee.
Lucina @9:27p - then stay away from social media ;-)
I was moaning to Pop about having to get ready for below 32F later this weekend and he texted back, "It will be 2F tonight." He's really happy he did all his outside chores last week :-)
I enjoyed reading all y'all today.
Cheers, -T
Thank you, Lucina, for the kind words about my verse. Although I was an English professor for decades I was still always a little nervous about my grammar since I didn't learn English until I came to this country from Austria when I was 11. So it's reassuring that it seems to be functioning in reasonably good shape. Many thanks, and I loved all your neat comments too.
Have a great weekend coming up.
Misty, 👍👍
AnonT
I rarely go on social media. Once in a while I check in to Facebook because my family posts there quite a bit, especially photos which I can often print.
Misty - I too liked the verse but, being a comedian, would punch up the last two lines:
And Fred even got a free lunch
which pleased him quite a bRunch.
//I'll see myself [correct usage of reflexive pronoun Copy Editor?] out.
Cheers, -T
Thanks, thanks, and see you tomorrow, Chairman Moe and Anon T.
HAH! Another hilariously punny review from the MalMan! Loved your “atomic” joke 😎🤙🏽
Big props to Emma for a really snazzy theme twist; my brain was rummaging to get the hook until I got THEWIZARDOFID, and then the ol’ light bulb illuminated. Good fun for a lazy Friday. Thanks!
====> Darren / L.A.
Post a Comment