Theme: Sometimes You Fell Like A Nut
Happy Monday, everyone! Well, I sure felt like a NUT looking for hidden nuts in the themed clues. It turns out NUTS were there -- just not almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.
Let's take a closer look:
16 Across. Elements of a PG-rated outburst: MILD EXPLETIVES. An example would be yelling out, "Aww NUTS" after stubbing your toe.
22 Across. Groups of groupies: FAN CLUBS. These college football FANs look NUTty to me.
35 Across. Dessert served in a goblet: ICE CREAM SUNDAE. Here is a SUNDAE in a goblet (drinking glass with a foot & a stem) with peaNUTS on top. 
43 Across. Common accessory at a construction site: TOOL BELT. I am skeptical that one would have NUTS & bolts on a TOOL BELT but the "hardware" connection is close enough for me. Let's just go with it and smile while we try to spot any on this favorite construction worker's TOOL BELT.
Village People YMCA (1978)
Here is the reveal:
52 Across. Allergy warning, and a description of 16-, 22-, 35-, and 43-Across?: MAY CONTAIN NUTS.
MILD EXPLICITIVES, FAN CLUBS, an ICE CREAM SUNDAE, and a TOOL BELT may contain different types of nuts. 
Constructors Aidan Brand and David Karp opted for a 14X15 grid to accommodate their three 14-letter fills. Let's see what else they might have stashed away for us to find....
Across:
1. Reduce to a paste: MASH. This one made me think of making guacamole with a mortar & pestle.
5. Self-confident and then some: SMUG.
9. City in "Aeneid" and "Iliad": TROY. The ancient city of Troy was located along the NW coast of Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey.
1. Reduce to a paste: MASH. This one made me think of making guacamole with a mortar & pestle.
5. Self-confident and then some: SMUG.
9. City in "Aeneid" and "Iliad": TROY. The ancient city of Troy was located along the NW coast of Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey.
CSO to our two Cornerite TROY inhabitants!
13. Field of expertise: AREA.
14. __ Grey tea: EARL. DH drinks this but I stay away from caffeine.
15. Philosopher Descartes: RENÉ. (b. Mar. 31, 1596 in France; d. Feb. 11, 1650 in Sweden)
13. Field of expertise: AREA.
14. __ Grey tea: EARL. DH drinks this but I stay away from caffeine.
15. Philosopher Descartes: RENÉ. (b. Mar. 31, 1596 in France; d. Feb. 11, 1650 in Sweden)
19. Computer capacity: MEMORY.
21. Yoga pose: ASANA.
29. Still contending: IN IT. ...to win it!
30. Vehicle for a large family, perhaps: VAN.
33. Jazz legend Fitzgerald: ELLA. I'm always happy to see ELLA in a grid. I need the footholds.
34. __-toity: HOITY. haughty or snobbish
38. Former Iranian rulers: SHAHS.
39. Ferris wheel locale: FAIR. county FAIRs
40. NBA tiebreakers, for short: OTS. Overtimes
41. Speck: IOTA. an extremely small amount or, later in the week, the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet
42. Covers for outdoor wedding receptions: TENTS. Who does covers at a wedding reception? The obvious go-to is Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer (1998). 45. Larceny: THEFT.
50. Charged particle: ION.
51. Baby's foot warmer: BOOTIE.
 |
| BOOTIEs for future MLB players in Pittsburgh??? |
57. Color associated with the L.A. Dodgers: BLUE. This is an L.A. Times puzzle, after all.
 |
| Shohei Ohtani got some serious green when he donned the Dodgers' BLUE. |
58. "Checkmate!": I WIN. The terminology of modern chess has Persian etymological roots: the Persian word rukh ("rook") means chariot; the term shah mat ("checkmate") means, literally, "the king is frozen".
59. Adjust for space limitations, say: EDIT.
60. Long-term goals: AIMS.
61. Addendum to a real estate sign: SOLD. I like this clue. An addendum is something added. The SOLD part is added after the sale.
62. Strong urges: YENS. strong desires or propensities
Down:
1. "__ Mia!": Meryl Streep film with ABBA music: MAMMA.
59. Adjust for space limitations, say: EDIT.
60. Long-term goals: AIMS.
61. Addendum to a real estate sign: SOLD. I like this clue. An addendum is something added. The SOLD part is added after the sale.
62. Strong urges: YENS. strong desires or propensities
Down:
1. "__ Mia!": Meryl Streep film with ABBA music: MAMMA.
Here's Meryl with Mama Mia (Here I Go Again) (2008).
2. Zodiac ram: ARIES. March 21 - April 19. (Segue alert!) They are supposed to make a good match with Aquarius birthdays like today's birthday girl, Wendybird. Happy birthday, Wendybird!! 🎂
3. 2014 civil rights drama set in Alabama: SELMA.
4. Was dressed in: HAD ON.
5. Hot: SEXY. I'd give you a link but I already get plenty of weird adds based on the Googling I do to write this blog.
6. Weather report backdrop: MAP. When I lived in Japan, I always got a kick out of the big, foam ball pointers the weather reporters used to point at the map -- so wonky for a country with serious tech cred!
7. Cybersquatter's target, for short: URL. Cybersquatting is an internet-based crime where one seeks to profit off of someone else's name or trademark by registering an expired domain name. An example would be if C.C. stopped this blog then someone else took over the URL. Unsuspecting victims would come here and click on bad links because they trusted the site in the past. This happens more than you might think. Be careful out there!
8. Gathers bit by bit: GLEANS. Humans used to GLEAN grains that fell after the harvest. Now we GLEAN intel on the internet.
9. Enormous number: TRILLION. One TRILLION equals a thousand billions or a million millions. You can write it as a 1 followed by 12 zeros. A TRILLION seconds equals almost 32,000 years. Imagine!
10. Fire up, as an engine: REV. This clue did not go over so well last Tuesday.
11. Dollar bill: ONE. and 55 Down. Early afternoon: TWO.
12. "That's correct": YES.
Would you like to take a physics class from The Doctor? Yes. Correctamundo!
[David Tennant played the tenth incarnation of The Doctor
in the Doctor Who serries (2005-2010; 2013).]
17. Whiteboard wipers: ERASERS.
18. "90 Day Fiancé " channel: TLC. TV channel questions are always 1 perp and 2 WAGS for me.
22. Vegetarian pita filler: FALAFEL. I like to pick these up at my local Greek restaurant on Saturdays. Falafels are made from garbanzo beans ("chick peas" for you east-coasters) and various herbs and spices.
24. Reino __: England's country, in Spanish: UNIDO. I have not gotten this far yet in my Duolingo Spanish lessons.
26. Eyelid woes: STYES.
28. The NBA's Cavs, on scoreboards: CLE.
31. "Bless you!" trigger: ACHOO.
32. "Peachy keen!": NEATO.
34. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" author Zora Neale __: HURSTON. goodreads link
36. Goblets: CHALICES. Did you notice "goblet" was also in the clue for 35-Across?
37. Take a load off: SIT.
The Weight by The Band (1968)
"Take a load off, Fannie."
42. Sport played on a variety of surfaces: TENNIS. There are four main types of surfaces for tennis courts: grass, clay, hard, and artificial grass.
44. "Get off the stage!": BOO.
46. Mead need: HONEY. Mead is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey, water, and other flavors.
It turns out humans can be extremely resourceful when it comes to making alcohol. Some native tribes near the Artic Circle make alcohol from dead seagulls. Only look at this list of 5 weird alcoholic beverages if you have a strong stomach.
47. Many a Chopin piece: ETUDE. Def.: a short musical composition, typically for one instrument, designed as an exercise to improve the technique or demonstrate the skill of the player.
48. Feel at home: FIT IN. 
49. Class challenges: TESTS. not conflicts between social classes
51. Tie: BIND.
52. Deg. for a CFO or a CEO: MBA. Chief Financial Officers and Chief Executive Officers typically have a Master of Business Administration.
53. "Rumble in the Jungle" boxer: ALI. He coined this term to refer to his heavyweight boxing championship bout against George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire on October 30, 1974.
54. "Tastes great!": YUM. See 22-Down.
56. Feel poorly: AIL.
47. Many a Chopin piece: ETUDE. Def.: a short musical composition, typically for one instrument, designed as an exercise to improve the technique or demonstrate the skill of the player.
This one is Etude Op. 25 No. 6 in G# minor "Double Thirds".
49. Class challenges: TESTS. not conflicts between social classes
51. Tie: BIND.
52. Deg. for a CFO or a CEO: MBA. Chief Financial Officers and Chief Executive Officers typically have a Master of Business Administration.
53. "Rumble in the Jungle" boxer: ALI. He coined this term to refer to his heavyweight boxing championship bout against George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire on October 30, 1974.
54. "Tastes great!": YUM. See 22-Down.
56. Feel poorly: AIL.
Today's grid:
Have a great day, everyone! I'll cashew later!
33 comments:
Although there were three grid spanning entries, I didn’t find this puzzle to be much more difficult than the usual Monday “walk in the park.” I will admit, however, that I had no idea what tied the themed answers together until the reveal. Pretty clever way to wrap things up, IMHO. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR with no erasure.
Today is:
NATIONAL WEATHERPERSON’S DAY (forecast here is showers likely)
NATIONAL SHOWER WITH A FRIEND DAY (better water saving method than dishwashers that don’t)
Bill Gates is often quoted as saying "640K of memory should be enough for anybody." When asked about it, he said "I've said some stupid things and some wrong things, but not that. No one involved in computers would ever say that a certain amount of memory is enough for all time." It would still have been a great story, even if it had been true.
I'll bet that Aidan, David and Patti have never worked a day on a construction site. Safety belts may contain nuts, if men are wearing them. Tool belts don't. Yes, sumdaze, they also don't know squat about cars.
Tommy Lasorda's catch phrase was "if I get cut, I bleed Dodger blue."
Our national debt is now more than $34 trillion. Politicians are addicted to OPM (other people's money.)
Thanks to Aidan and David for the mostly-enjoyable Monday grid, and to sumdaze for the all-fun review. HBDTY, Wendybird!
Good morning!
Got through this one in typical Monday time. Even paused long enough to read the full reveal clue. Nice one, Aidan and David. Interesting chess etymology in your sterling expo, sumdaze. (At my advanced age I'm shocked to admit that I've always thought it was "Take a load off, Annie." Of course, I often think it's the Dallas Cavs and the Denver Cowboys.)
Good Morning:
I agree with sumdaze on nuts not being a typical tool belt item, but I'll be as gracious as she is in accepting it. This was a fun solve which kept me in the dark about the theme until the very surprising and perfect reveal. There were a couple of non-Monday words, but perps were fair so no foul. I Won instead of I Win was the only w/o but I always spelled Bootee as such. Turns out both spellings are acceptable, although there is a slight difference in usage. Just an observation but there was an inordinate amount of plurals, IMO. I'll take two CSOs at Troy and Aries and Hahtoolah gets one at Yum(mers).
Thanks, Aidan and David, and thanks, sumdaze, for the fun, facts, and the musical mélange of Chopin, ABBA, and The Village People. Cute comics, as usual, but The Whom wins the day, with Slim Jim, Jr. a close second.
Happy Birthday, Wendybird, hope you celebrate in style! 🎂🎈🎊🎉🎁
Have a great day.
Once again, I was considering the theme answers and didn't see any common associations until I got to the reveal. And then like sumdaze, I looked at each of them again to find nut names.
Tool belts hold more than tools. It depends on the trade of course, but they often have pouches to hold nails, construction screws and other fasteners, depending on the job that is being worked on. In particular, linemen and ironworkers often have them on their tool belts. Just search "tool belt nut and bolt pouch" They are specifically made to hold nuts and bolts.
I think Patti or her assistant must add "as an engine" to that clue, or just change the constructor's clue for REV. You can fire up (rev up, inspire, etc) a crowd, but with machinery, engines, appliances and the like, fire up would mean start. "Billy Bob, fire up that grill and let's burn some meat!"
Rev up reminds me of redd-up, which yinzers would know to mean to clean up or tidy. It's an example of Pittsburghese. "Redd up your room before you go out to play, Johnny."
BTW, Pittsburg is a town in Kansas, and a few other states. In PA, the H is added. It's a common mistake for out-of-towners. Watch the video for a little bit istory on it. Happy 'H' Day! A celebration of how Pittsburgh ISN'T Pittsburg
FIR. I agree that nuts in a tool belt makes little sense. In fact the entire theme seemed a tad lame. I stared at the reveal for a while forcing my brain to see the connections.
The puzzle itself wasn't that hard, a typical Monday. The only misstep on my part was throwing down park before pier at 39A.
A nice puzzle to ease us into the CW week, thank you Aidan and David for your collaboration. Got a FIR in a little over 9minutes, no real obstacles and the perps were friendly. Another synonym for oodles could have been my first entry, SLEWS.
Always enjoy your Monday synopses Sumdaze! As far as the tool belt issue, there are a great variety of them depending on what type of work the person wearing one is doing, some have many pockets to carry specific tools..A carpenter most likely wears one with a loop to dangle a hammer, and a few pouches, offering easy access to nails. An iron worker may wear one that holds wrenches, and pouches to carry, yes, nuts and bolts.
OOPS, I see that I clipped off the start of my comment. It was supposed to start with:
Good morning.
Thank you, Aidan Brand and David Karp. Thank you, sumdaze.
Cybersquatting - It's been a few years, but I went through each of C.C.'s crossword links on the main page. There were a few URLs that had gone dormant and had been taken over by bad actors. C.C. removed those links. I should make it a point to go through and check each one again.
As I went to get my coffee, I also thought about the crews that erect "built up" electrical distribution towers and those that do the same for cell towers.
One of my friends is a "tower climber." He travels all over the U.S., climbing towers to add or replace components, such as transceivers and the aircraft warning lights. He makes a lot of money doing that dangerous job. I forgot the details, but he told me he has to get new safety rigging (expensive) after every so many climbs or after so much time. No way I would climb up to the top of those towers.
It's been a stormy 24+ hrs but things seem better this morning. They went ahead and cancelled the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. I imagine the courses are a mess. I'll be working to pick up my yard today. I'm fortunate in that I did not lose power even though a large tree went down just two blocks away.
Thanks for the spelling help TTP @7:42. I fixed it.
Good Morning! What a nice way to start the week. Thanks, Aiden & David. I must admit I had to re-read 52A clue and fill for the theme to sink in! So fun!!
No WOs! I’m familiar with FALAFEL from cooking shows but had to wait for the perps for spelling. I’ve never tasted it.
Sumdaze, another one of your delightful recaps. Thanks.
SUNDAE: I don’t see them anymore, but we used to make a Mexican sundae (Hola, Lucina). Vanilla ice cream, Hershey syrup, Spanish peanuts, whipped cream & a cherry on top!
MASH: I’ll have my guacamole chunky, not creamy, please.
Happy Birthday, Wendy! 🥳🎈🎂🥳
ESP: UNIDO
TTP @7:42 ~ I didn’t see your comment before I wrote mine, but I see we both agree that the tool belt clue was correct to the theme.
Another "walk in the park" Monday for us from Aiden and David. Thanks.
A 51A call is 5D. I often drink 14A. Both my computers have 32Gig of 19A. Most of life isn't 39A. In the Army, I often lived in 42A. My DW's second favorite movie is 1D.
A gracious thank you to Sumdaze for the review.
Mention my name in Sheboygan and get a free tour of the local city hall.
Hide.
Although I vaguely thought I got the theme, I’m glad sumdaze explained it clearly.
I agree a walk in the park this morning. Thank goodness no obscure names to contend with.
Two common 3 letter words in this CW: ALI and AIL.
By coincidence this weekend, DH and I were going over some old songs and “Take a Load off” was creeping through my brain, but i couldn’t remember any words just the tune. And Sumdaze supplies them here. How wonderful.
TTP, I don't mean to pick on sumdaze, but I commented on that same Pittsburg typo last Monday.
Musings
-I too looked for the name of nuts and thought our peeps who dislike circles would be pleased.
-I got it when I thought of Gen. McCauliffe telling the Germans “Nuts” when they demanded he surrender
-Lotto: You may be IN IT to win it but your odds are 300,000,000 : 1 against saying I WIN
-Accurately pointing at that TV weather MAP on your side while looking at the actual image straight ahead of you must take a lot of practice
-It was about TWO in the afternoon one day when I decided that teaching full time was no longer an option
-America seems to have no TENNIS players among the elite of today
-I spent a week putting cross braces on steel floor joists and therefore I had a tool belt full of NUTS and bolts.
-Nice job, Renee. I too have had many “unusual” links pop up after the searching I do for images here.
D-Otto@9:46. LOL..Your clever comment last week buzzed right past me. TTP did say, "It's a common mistake for out-of-towners." Guilty!
It's pouring rain again....
Thank you Aiden, David and Sumdaze for a fun outing.
In PA Dutch country we said, "Redd up." That's the only place I ever heard it.
In Israel we enjoyed falafel. It was served with creamy, rich Tahini sauce. Some places added Middle East hot sauce. Yum.
I like my guacamole chunky, too.
UNIDO was the only fill unfamiliar to me.
Happy birthday to Wendy. I hope you have a delightful day.
Wow! Sunshine for the second day straight after almost two weeks of cloudy gloom. I'm with John Denver, "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy."
Hola!
First I will say that MAMMA Mia is one of my favorite movies, too. And last night at the Grammys Meryl Streep was accompanied by her son-in-law to present an award.
If you read Zora Neale HURSTON'S book in dialect be prepared for some awkward and, for me, almost undecipherable dialog.
A priest is given his personal CHALICE on the day of his ordination.
MASH brings me images of preparing masa for tamales. It has to be very well and thoroughly MASHed.
Happy birthday, Wendy!
I hope you enjoy your day, everyone! Every day is a gift!
Pleasant start to the week, answers filled in about as fast as I can print. Still don't like the clue for REV. I knew "90 Day Fiance" only because DW is addicted to it for some reason. I too thought of Gen. McCauliffe and the 101st at Bastogne at "NUTS"! Nice tunes and 'toons today Sumdaze!
Neat puzzle with a clever theme! Honestly, even if I could learn to construct a crossword, I would never be able to come up with embedded humor like this. Many thanks to Aidan, David, Patti, and Sumdaze.
A pleasant start to the week with this Monday offering.
I FIR in just a few minutes but spent time looking for the “ 🥜 🌰 “ nuts.
I didn’t get the theme until sumdaze’s awesome explanation.
Thank you sumdaze. Your recaps and the added clips, cartoons, and informative narrative are always brilliant.
Thanks Aidan and David for a perfect Monday level puzzle.
….. kkflorida
Took the reveal to realize this fun puzzle was “Chock Full ‘o Nuts” MAY CONTAIN NUTS? Nope.
MILD EXPLETIVES sounds like an oxymoron. Wondered why erasures was too long 🙄. How come Trigger 🐴 needs a blessing?……oooh…..never mind 😆.
My “sundaes” arrive in a glass cup with a short stem🍨, “goblet” implies metal like a gold or silver CHALICE
I knew it was “Regno Unito” in It. so UNIDO was a good guess. Started to fill TOOLchest, too long.
TENNIS is an older variant form of pickle ball 😃….speaking of games….You can’t just knock over your king and resign I wanna yell “Checkmate!”😮
“I convinced Pop, now you have to ____” ……SELMA
“No Eve, the fig leaf goes here” is what ____ and he was ____….. ADAMANT.
Caress a large book….FEELATHOME
”I AIL from too much ALE, I just “____ FALAFEL 🤣
Sumdaze: At least on my I phone all your vids were blank, but enjoyed the cartoons
Have a good week 😃
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with my lone w/o being the second "C" in CHALICE. I misspelled it, then scratched my head when I saw "MAYSONTAINNUTS" as the reveal
I also looked for hidden nuts in the entry words; the only one that I didn't "get" was the MILD EXPLETIVES, until sumdaze explained it
Speaking of sumdaze, this was another in her continuous line of excellent recaps
I guess I can accept that TOOL BELTS might contain nuts; and I somehow wonder if Aidan and David considered using HANES UNDERWEAR as an entry (it has 14 letters) ... depending on the gender, it may contain nuts ... just sayin' :^)
TTP and Yellowrocks: regarding "redd up" ... I thought the expression came from a German word, but its origin is actually from the Middle English verb "redden" which means to rescue or free from, or clear. It has its roots in Scotland, and the early settlers of Pittsburgh were Scots
I am linking a short video that explains "Pittsburh-ese". At 2:30 into the video, "redd up" appears"
I eat a lot of NUTS, so the MAY CONTAIN NUTS theme was fun for me. Glad I don't have that ALLERGY. My brother does. Hand up was puzzled over NUTS being enough of an EXPLETIVE to rate PG. Seems like a G rating to me. Learning moment that SOJOURN is a VISIT. I thought it was more of trek. FIR.
We were fortunate to get this photo of us on a FERRIS WHEEL high above San Francisco Golden Gate Park.
Not at a FAIR.
Of course, I got a photo of the other couple to send to them, too.
sumdaze Thanks for the learning moments!
Fun and pretty 'fair' Monday puzzle, many thanks, Aidan and David. And I always appreciate your commentary, Sumdaze, thanks for that too.
Enjoyed working my way through all the 'scads' of items, and traversing through the 'area'. Didn't have to 'edit' much, and when I was done, I said 'I win.'
Have a great week coming up, everybody.
How the heck did I miss this one? Twenty years ago today, Facebook was launched Back then, you had to have a .edu email address to access it.
Ok, ok, I guess that just because a TOOL BELT, "a common accessory at a construction site," is unlikely to contain nuts AT a construction site, in other places it likely would.
I wasn't a good tower stacker or climber. I was able to climb to 50' to fix a connector on an antenna of our client (the Kentucky National Guard,) but that was as high as my mind would let me climb. My boss (rightly) said that if I fell from 50' I would be just as dead as if I fell from 1,200 feet (the tower on top of a mountain near Pikeville, KY that only he climbed.) Knowing that was true didn't enable my body to climb higher than that 50 foot tower.
Chores of the day are out of the way.
Yooper Phil, yes. Agreed. I also recalled when I was building my deck. My scaffolding had me about 10' off the ground to install the railing posts. Each post is through-bolted to the framing with two 1/2" x 10" stainless steel carriage bolts and nuts. I used stainless because the posts face the street, and I didn't want to get bleeding from the tannins. Definitely had the nuts, bolts and washers close at hand in my tool belt for that job. Along with my ratchet and wrench
D-O, I've been missing quite a bit lately. I guess I missed that last Monday. I've been trying to catch up. I had to do quite a bit of cleanup the last few days. I even got to add a new phrase to my list of trigger words that Blogger wants to automatically block.
Sumdaze, thank you for fixing that; you are far from alone in dropping the H. BTW, I've been watching some of the weather coverage about the rains and mudslides, and snow in the higher elevations. They were showing scenes from Tarzana, and they had something on a day or so about Topanga. That's a place name I learned from doing crosswords here. Like Del Taco. Dodger BLUE was a gimme for this MLB fan, but in general, I think some of answers that are regionalisms should be avoided.
Chairman Moe, thanks for that video. I grew up hearing slippy for slippery, gumband for rubberband, nebby for nosey, jags (and jaggers), buggy, sweeper for vacuum, worshing the car or clothes, yinz, n'at and many more... My MIL immigrated to Chicago in the '50s. She also used buggy for shopping cart, and her children thought it was so funny. It sounded normal to me.
See all y'all later n'at!
happy birthday Wendybird!
Omigosh! I had a puzzling puzzle experience today!
I started early, and turned on red letters, ( I know, Monday... but hear me out....)
Because I had to rush breakfast to drive DW & D#1 100+ miles to catch a cruise boat.
(So round trip was bout 230 miles.)
But we got delayed leaving, so I went back to the crossword, and it would not load, except from the initial start up screen.
( you know, ads...)
And it said 11% finished. So I reloaded it and turned on the red letters etc, and only got a couple of words 8n before we had to leave.
I came bac' about 4 hours later, and typed in "hard hat" instead of tool belt. But someth8ng was screwy, a bunch of letters had been changed, but I did not realise it. Like, smug had changed to amug crossing aexy, not only was a bunch of letters changed all over the place, the red letters were turned off, so I didn't catch on to the errors. (Which we're all over the place!) then I got the them reveal, combined with realising the perps didn't allow hard hat but preferred tool belt, all the while trying to make some kind of nuts fit somewhere....
Aaaaarrrgghhh!
Mondays are not supposed to be this hard!"!!
CED. What a sad story.
Thank you Aidan and David for an absolutely INANE start to the week.
And thanks for the fun sumdaze and most especially the theme explication which drove me NUTS before I got here -- then it became perfectly clear.
A few favs:
1A MASH. Count me was the MASHED GUAC crowd.
15A RENÉ. A homophonic CSO to our blogger!
30A VAN. The mother of my 8 grandchildren drives a VAN with a bumper sticker that says "B4U Ask, They're All Mine".
58A I WIN. The term "SHAH MAT" comes from the early Persians (see 38A).
5A SEXY. Google follows me around too (often within minutes of a search) but it hasn't a clue as why I would be investigating such diverse topics.
8D GLEANS. The Cleaners is a famous painting by Jean-Francois_Millet which wasn't very popular among the SMUG, HOITY-TOITY French upper classes.
12D YES. Favorite clip. Dr. Who (David Tennant) re-appeared for a Christmas special late last year and created quite a stir among Whovians with his BIGENERATION.
Cheers,
Bill
I liked this puzzle, sumdaze's recap, and all your comments.
Happy Birthday, Wendybird!
Hmm, SHAHS is spelled the same forward and backward.
Took me 3:40-something today to crack this nut.
I guess my post disappeared this morning, unless a censor got me....
Didn't see the theme, nor look for one.
I think you mean “Des Glaneuses.” The Gleaners. The Cleaners is where yah take the clothes that say “dry clean only”
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