google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, March 8, 2024, Joe DiPietro

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Mar 8, 2024

Friday, March 8, 2024, Joe DiPietro

 


Greetings, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of today's puzzle by veteran constructor Joe DiPietro.  Let's jump right in with the reveal at:

57 Across: "That's a lost opportunity," and what can be said to the writer of four clues in this puzzle: YOU'RE MISSING OUT.

Alternatively, you might say to the writer "That's not what Timothy Leary meant!"  At four places in the puzzle, Joe has literally dropped OUT from the clue.  In other words, we are, indeed, MISSING OUT.  As solvers, we must mentally append OUT to the sole remaining letter and thereby create a perfectly acceptable, albeit brief, crossword puzzle clue.  Here are the four places where the gimmick is employed and what can we say except, "Far out, man!":

17 Across:  R.  When we add OUT to R we get ROUT.  LOPSIDED VICTORY.

24 Across:  B.  Tack OUT onto B and the result is BOUT.  PRIZEFIGHT.

38 Across:  P.  P plus OUT equals POUT.   SULKY EXPRESSION

46 Across:  T.  A CSO !  Appending OUT to T results in  TOUT.  CREATE HYPE.

The perps were certainly helpful in sussing out the above answers but, after the gimmick was recognized, none were overly difficult or obscure.  Of course, prior to grasping the gimmick, this solver was seriously considering WTF as a possible title for this blog.

The completed grid appears near the end of this recap.  For now, here are the ins and outs of the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Sanitizer targets: GERMS.  Bacteria was too long.  HANDS was, briefly, considered.

6. "Mad Money" cable network: CNBC.  The first of about a dozen (depending on one's criteria) abbreviated answers in today's puzzle.  TBH SMH IYKWIM

10. Actress Mazar: DEBI.  Per Rotten Tomatoes:  A character actress known for feisty and heavily accented New York roles.

14. Lab vessel: FLASK.  Not Lab as in Labrador Retriever.  Lab as in chemistry lab.


15. Does some horticultural work: HOES.  We had several horticultural/botanical references in today's puzzle.  This was one of them.

Otis Lee - Hard Row To Hoe - Circa 1968


16. Group with reserves: OPEC.



20. Widespread alert, for short: APB.  All Points Bulletin

21. "The Tilled Field" painter Joan: MIRO.  A surreal botanical reference.  I wonder what MIRO was dropping (ingesting).  



22. Speed: RACE.  Used as a verb.  Otherwise, PACE?

23. Leaves in hot water?: TEA.  Not leaves as in departs.  Another botanical reference.

27. Trifle (with): TOY.

29. __ pen: VAPE.    Doctor to patient:  Do you smoke?
                                        Patient:  Yes.
                                        Doctor:  Cigarettes, VAPE, cigars, marijuana?
                                        Patient:  Brisket and pork shoulder, mostly.

30. Whit: IOTA.  A crossword staple although clued many different ways.

32. What coastlines and hairlines may do: RECEDE.  This solver would have preferred a slightly different clue.

35. Reel Big Fish genre: SKA.  SKA Punk, actually.

Take On Me


41. "Three Little Kittens" treat: PIE.  Lose your mittens.  Then find them and get rewarded with PIE.


42. Quick bursts: 
SPURTS.

43. Go: EXIT.  Used as a verb.

Snagglepuss


44. Like racehorses: SHOD.  Hand up for FAST.
 
45. Skin pic: TAT.  TATtoos are frequently visible in our puzzles.

51. "Go me!": YAY.  See also 63 Across

54. Harvest: REAP.  Possibly another botanical reference.  Anyone first think of this?:



55. "__ Flux": 1990s MTV series: AEON.

56. HHS agency: FDA.



61. Spoonful, perhaps: DOSE.  Hmmm, should we go with Julie Andrews here?  Nah.

Royal Albert Hall - 2005


62. __ learning: ROTE.  Memorization, basically.

63. "Go me!": I RULE.  See also 51 Across

64. Brief timetable: SKED.  Right up there with SESH on the "Come on, enough of this type of thing already" scale.

65. Takes to court: SUES.

George Harrison


66. Organizes: SORTS.


Down:

1. Major key for some piano works by Chopin and Schubert: G-FLAT.  We knew that this answer had to begin with either A B C D E F or G

2. Travel to an away match?: ELOPE.  Cute clue.  Match as in wedded pair.

3. Climactic scene in the Eminem film "8 Mile": RAP BATTLE.

4. Bks.-to-be: MSS.  A punt that we have seen before.  Books-to-be are ManuScriptS in this instance.

5. Revealing, in a way: SKIMPY.  Today's "I had better pass on the GIF" moment.

6. French endearment: CHERI.

Pepe LePew



7. Help for the overnight shift, maybe: NODOZ.  UPPER would have fit but is not "crossword friendly".

8. Writer/activist Harris in the documentary "Hacking Democracy": BEV.  The documentary explored the level of integrity of electronic voting machines.

9. Procedural franchise since 2000: CSI.  A TV show reference often viewed in puzzles.

10. Mental decline: DOTAGE.

11. Unit in geochronology: EPOCH.  Has geochronology previously appeared in our puzzles?  Geochronology is the scientific study of the age and history of Earth's rocks and rock assemblages.

12. Top of the art world?: BERET.  Cute clue, although TOP more often refers to a shirt or blouse than it does to a hat.  Artists are stereo-typically depicted wearing BERETs.



13. Distant: ICY.  Not as in far away.  A behavioral reference.

18. Hollywood VIP: DIR.  DIRector, I suppose.  Probably not the constructor's favorite answer in this grid.

19. "Jinkies!": CRIPES.  Not previously a part of this solver's vocabulary.

25. Chris who won four straight US Opens in the 1970s: EVERT.  A women's tennis reference.

26. Tapered haircuts: FADES.  FADES, to this observer, seem to combine the worst elements of two older hairstyles.



28. Wine cask wood: OAK.  Another botanical reference.



30. Web access co.: ISP Internet Service Provider

31. "Certainement!": OUI.  Clue en français / Answer en 
français

32. Tend to an overgrown plant: REPOT.  Smoke another doobie?

33. Give off: EXUDE.

34. EMT skill: CPR.  A common crossword pairing.

35. Number of squares on a chess board: SIXTY FOUR.  Eight by eight.

36. Fish that can transform into a dragon, per Japanese legend: KOI.


37. Little pest: ANT.  Anyone try IMP first?

39. Tuning fork feature: Y SHAPE.  I have an A-440 tuning fork lying around somewhere.  These days, one uses an electronic gadget.





40. Neptune's realm: SEA.  A reference to the god and not to the eponymous planet.

44. Pan-__ scallops: SEARED.

45. Game of love: TENNIS.  Cute.  In a tennis match love means zero.

Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders


46. Thief: CROOK.  Or not.  Or not not.




47. Get more mileage out of: REUSE.  I tried to change the color of my monk's cowl costume so that I could REUSE it but old habits dye hard.

48. Celerity: HASTE.  Anyone first misread this as Celebrity?  Celery?

49. Some 20 Questions answers: YESES.

50. Luau fare: POI.  Often served in our puzzles.

52. Not for minors: ADULT.  When my children were little they sometimes said "When I grow up I want to be a dult."

53. "Revolutionary Road" author Richard: YATES.

57. NFL stat: YDS.  YarDS  A football reference.

58. "__ Doubtfire": MRS.  You are missed, Robin Williams.



59. Letters of credit?: IOU.  Not letters of credit as your bank might issue. I OWE YOU.

60. Syllable in some lawn product names: GRO.  Today's final botanical reference.



As promised, here is the completed grid:




And now, in keeping with today's theme . . .

_______________________________________________




“I'm paranoid about everything in my life. Even at home. On my stationary bike, I have a rear-view mirror, which I'm not thrilled about.”   - - - Richard Lewis  1947 - 2024

39 comments:

Subgenius said...

This is one of those puzzles were the themed answers are found only through perps and WAGs. Then the reveal comes and it all becomes clear and obvious, but certainly not until then. So I found this puzzle rather challenging, but I won out in the long run. FIR, so I’m happy.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

D-o found several ways to go wrong on this one: far/ICY, RiP up/REPOT, imp/ANT, tDS/YDS. And that's why God created Wite-Out. Managed to suss the theme before the reveal, he said smugly. This one was just right for a Friday. Thanx, Joe and Mal-Man. (Keep dyeing those old habits!)

G FLAT -- I hated any key with more than three sharps or flats, and G FLAT has got six of 'em. Ugh. My favorite key was E Flat -- 3 flats.

I know you're just dying to hear. The great furnace and A/C change-out went off without a hitch, and my checking account was successfully drained. I do feel more confident about the soon-to-arrive cooling season. As they've been saying on Jeopardy! lately, "Bring it!"

YooperPhil said...

I should have started this one on the bottom and gone for the reveal, cuz the one letter clues for the themers made absolutely no sense. I really enjoyed the solve though, FIR in 18:32, took some thought and the usual perps but just the right amount of crunch for a Friday. DNK DEBI, BEV, YATES, AEON. RAP BATTLE was a new one, and now I know the definition of DOTAGE. Thank you Joe D for putting this one together!

MM ~ thanks for explaining it all in your stellar recap! I also have a tuning fork, a definite relic in today’s hi-tech world. Gives you a starting point and you figure the rest out by ear, at least on a stringed instrument. I’m assuming piano tuners have also kept up with technology.

Anonymous said...

Took 12:19 today for me to, um, get out.

I didn't know today's actress (Debi), and that "D" was my last letter and a very lucky guess.
I also didn't know today's writer/activist (Bev), either of today's French lessons, or today's writer (Yates).

Too many abbreviations for my liking (MSS, Dir, Yds, IOU).

KS said...

FIR. This was a workout for me, especially the NE corner, which gave me fits. Of course there would be an obscure proper name there.
Never heard of jinkies, and I have a problem with sulky expression? That seems a bit of a stretch use of the word sulk.
I too didn't see the theme until I came here. All I can say is thank heavens for perps, and a few WAG's along the way.

Big Easy said...

I was lost when trying to figure out this puzzle and could not figure out the NE. Jinkies, CRIPES, BEN, DEBI, & DOTAGE- complete unknowns. Torn between FAR & ICY. I was thinking LOPSIDED HISTORY, not VICTORY. I had PRIZE but FIGHT wasn't to be. But somehow I got the others but had no idea why.

RAP BATTLE, AEON Flux, BEV, YATES- got them via perps

Whiner said...

I went from thinking WTF, never gonna get these on the single letter theme hints to totally getting it after YOU'RE MISSING OUT. I thought the other theme answers were right on the mark. I had a few corrections and needed some perps, but I only struggled in the NE corner and had to reveal DEBI. This Friday puzzle went much better for me than most of them do. I agree about too many abbreviations.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This solve went from minor annoyance at the indecipherable one letter clues to major surprise and appreciation when I filled in the reveal clue and saw what was going on. What a fresh and fun approach to the add/subtract a letter/word theme! There was a nice balance of crunch and challenge vs fair and easy fill. I needed perps for Rap Battle, Epoch, Bev, and Aeon, and the Ska/Koi crossing, and I had to correct TDs/YDs and Russo/Yates. Noticed the row of successive Ss: Skeds Sues Sorts and the Pol/Koi duo. There was some clever cluing, my favorite being Top of the art world=Beret.

Thanks, Joe, for a very enjoyable solve, and thanks, MalMan, for a fun and factual review. The Vape joke was cute, as was the cartoon for Dotage. Hope your old, humorous habits never dye!

Have a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

This seemed difficult until I understood my first themer, sulky expression=pout. A sulking person often pouts. AHA! Knowing what to do with the Single letter clues helped immensely. After that I finished quickly.
I knew Joan Miro, a Spanish male artist.
I knew DOTAGE, but not DEBI. It took too long to get BERET.
SKED seems common. I hear and read it often.
Velma in Scooby Doo says JINKIES.

Lee said...

Nailed it! FIR. No peeking or Googling today. Lots to like about the puzzle.

Got the theme by solving the reveal clue so it made sense.

Joe and MM did good work. A tip of the hat to each.

Smarts may help advance your life, but kindness gets you further.

Swim.

CanadianEh! said...

Frazzling Friday. Thanks for the fun Joe and MalMan.
Officially. DNF since I had to resort to Google to make headway all over the north. But I did get the theme, although at first I was thinking that the themes were missing the OUT - no the clue is missing Out! That helped me go back and fill.

Hand up for immediately thinking of Hands at 1A, but H is not a key. GERMS eventually perped.
I had to Google for CNBC, DEBI, BEV to get traction in the snowy north.
Far changed to ICY for that snowy north.
My chess board moved from Forty to Fifty to SIXTY-FOUR squares.
I had Prune before REPOT.

We had EPOCH (crossing OPEC) and AEON, KOI and POI, EVERT and TENNIS, SKA and RAP.
Did we all mentally recite the rhyme to get to that PIE?
I smiled at clues for ELOPE, BERET, RECEDE.

Wishing you all a great day.

Anonymous said...

A clever and creative puzzle that was a satisfying Friday offering.
It took me a long time to suss out the the theme.
I should of started at the bottom and worked my way up.
Thanks Joe for a fun Friday
Thanks Mal for the recap.

….. I saw this Text Message and wondered when it will appear in a CW puzzle:

LSHMSFOAIDMT

Laughed so hard my sombrero fell off and I dropped my taco 🌮

Enjoy the weekend

…… kkflorida

RosE said...

Good Morning! I thought today’s was a challenging but fair puzzle. Thanks, Joe.

Lots of WO, but it finally came together. Once 57A filled, it helped with the other theme clues only partially filled at that point. My first impression when seeing this puzzle was disbelief that a single letter could be a gettable clue. Nice!

I had to look up the chess board # - I’ve never played…but that helped finish the middle & SE corner.
I tried a couple of groups with reserves (Army, ROTC, USMC) before OPEC appeared, but I remember DEBI Mazar from the series, Civil Wars, so that was the starting point in the NE.
Least favorite: Jinkies / CRIPES.

Thanks, MalMan, for your amusing review. It brightened my day.

NaomiZ said...

This was a clever puzzle, and the reveal definitely helped me with the solve. FIR. The last spaces to fill were the B in DEBI/BERET (somewhat obscure name and too-clever-clue crossing) and the R in CRINGE/RACE (not pACE). Excellent offering, Mr. DiPietro! MalMan, you made my morning with your psychedelic cat, musical selections, and word play, making sure we didn't miss OUT. YAY!

Yellowrocks said...

When I was teaching about sound, the school did not provide a tuning fork. A girl in the second grade said she had one at home and eagerly brought in a fish fork. (Yuppy homes.) After a minute it dawned on me that it was a tuna fork, not a tuning fork. I smiled as I thanked her and suppressed my laugh.
HG, Snagglepus's picture was flipped. Good eye.

Charlie Echo said...

Clever puzzle! Unfortunately, a tad too clever for me this morning. Just could not get traction, especially in the NE corner. The themers were perfectly clear (after MM 'splained them)! A big DNF, but an enjoyable grapple.

Tehachapi Ken said...

My son--aka Arizona Jim--often approaches inscrutable puzzles by heading south immediately to solve the theme and/or reveal. Luckily I remembered Jim's strategy when I became exasperated on this one. It saved me from initially thinking evil thoughts about Joe DiPietro, to applauding him for his devilishly clever puzzle.

Like others, I could have done without obscurities like jinkies/CRIPES, DEBI, BEV, and RAPBATTLE. Perps often came to the rescue, as did the fact that solving long theme words helped immensely to deal with the obscurities.

Malodorous Manatee said...

YR @ 10:22, as you well know you can tune a piano but you can't tune a fish.

Happy to have learned that a few chuckles, some entertainment and a bit of clarity have been provided.

Lucina said...

Hola!

This was not only a LOPSIDED VICTORY for me but a nearly impossible one. Most of it filled quickly but the theme eluded me until CREATE HYPE which I thought was a stretch.

Yes, I am MISSING OUT because this is my least favorite kind of puzzle.

However, the fill was genuine and I like it when all are real words.

DEBI Mazar was in a sitcom many, many years ago. I don't even recall the name.

Thank you, Joe DiPietro and MalMan! I hope all are having a great day!

Parsan said...

Clever and hard but finally doable, With YOU’RE MISSING OUT in place, I thought the long answers were missing “out”, but the light went on with LOPSIDED VICTORY. Mns for MSS, imp/ANT. Did not know BEV, YATES, AEON. I wanted Banksy for “top of the art world” but too many letters.

DEBI Mazar had a very good Tv series with her chef husband filmed in Italy. It was a real contrast to the characters she played.

MM - Enjoyed the recap.

Happy day,all!

Parsan] said...

HA HA (from yesterday) to Yellowrocks and MalMan!

Anonymous said...

Too many obscure names and too many abbreviations. Never heard of jinkies .

Copy Editor said...

FIR, as I perped all the theme entries and finished the puzzle and only then bothered to figure out the rout-bout-pout-tout aspect. Is KS’s objection to SULKY a CSO to Barry C. Silk’s much-missed Saturday puzzles?

The only supposedly clever clue I liked was the NO-DOZ entry. The clues for ELOPE and BERET were trying (too hard). Saying TENNIS is a game “of” of love makes it sound like love is a major component. It’s a game “with” love. “Jinkies” might be an appealing synonym for CRIPES to, well, six or seven people worldwide.

I liked seeing DEBI Mazur, whom I know mostly from Entourage, which I thought had more depth than the somewhat similar Sex and the City. As a creative writer, I was more interested in the ongoing assessments of film scripts than I was in Carrie Bradshaw’s shallow column-writing.

I’m glad I’m not the only one commenting on the excess of flats in the key of G-flat major, which has five black keys among its six flats (C-flat isn’t black). It’s much easier to deal with F and G, which have one black key apiece. Some musicians think there’s a big enough difference in emotional impact to warrant the hassle of all those black keys, whereas others don’t make that distinction. I like the key of F, because it matches my range as a vocalist.

CrossEyedDave said...

Oh wow!

Late to the party, but I must express my appreciation for this Gimmicky Friday puzzle!
To explain, I am trapped in my house, as they have applied seal coat to the pavers in the driveway, front, and rear. I cannot walk on the polyurethane for 4 hours, or drive a car on my driveway for two days. So I started the puzzle late, and was completely absorbed by the fact I could not fathom the first three across clues. (Constructor/puzzler out of tune issues) being trapped, I was rewarded with much sussing (no cussing, this was fun) for quite some time.

I have also amassed a trove of links, for which I must edit down to a saner level. So I will be busy all day... thank you Joe Dipietro!
Which begs the question. I thought this might be a new constructor, but was surprised to hear he has been at it for a while. I would like to know where I can find his older puzzles to do, as I like what I have seen today, and want to do it again...

MM, great write up!
One question begs more info (for me) though, the clue for iota (whit, 30A) does not fit any dictionary definitions, and I cannot make the connection in my head...

One other question intrigues me, how does Yellowrocks know that "Jinkies" is a Scooby Doo reference?
(Yellowrocks, your knowledge of English astounds me...)

Will be back asap, as soon as I can sort some links...

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-What a wonderful puzzle. I tried to twist the clues into emojis for the fill but the great reveal got me on track. Then, the gimmick was in the clues not the grid!
-If you TOUT a BOUT that turns into a ROUT, you might POUT.
-Except when heating a liquid, I had my middle school kids use plastic lab FLASKS
-The “too many to list” choices in the NE and SE required a real but rewarding effort
-This week our school has installed VAPE detectors in every bathroom after kids reported what was going on and custodians said the cannisters were backing up the plumbing.
-Snagglepuss is EXITING stage right not left
-Memorization and NOT learning are necessarily synonyms
-Of those SIXTY-FOUR squares, to start the game the queen always sits on her own color
-Resonance with tuning forks used to amaze my kids
-Nice job, M²

CrossEyedDave said...

HG, thanks for the tuning fork resonance link! I remember getting started in guitar as a teen, and those stupid pitch pipes kept breaking or getting clogged up with spit. So I invested in a real tuning fork! (440Hz)

Did you know that it was Tesla that discovered resonance could be used as a weapon?
think destructive, I.E.: the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster.
Anywho, daughter #3 (now a grade K thru 5 music teacher) was enamoured with it, and borrowed it to teach her kids.
(Ok with me, but she didn't return it!)
Little did she know, that for me it was a memento of my past. I did finally get it back when I convinced her of my attachment to it.
You see, I had spent many hours tapping the thingie, and pressing it to my forehead, and teeth, to hear that perfect 440Hz "A".
It has imprinted a permanent reminder in me of what "A" sounds like. You might say, "I'm in tune..."

Also,
Daughter #2 sent me a pic of my cabinet at home for the "shelfie" post, but I can't find HG's post now.
Doesn't matter, aside from a collection of radio controlled toys, including a dragon class sailboat made from scratch that I converted to R/C, and a book on beer that my kids gave me that I never read, (I learned more about beer by drinking it than reading about it.) anywho, it reminded me that Malodorous Manatee sent me a response pic to my temporary shelfie pic I sent to HG, which I forwarded to HG for inclusion. I guess now I'll never know if he included it. So I will include it here for posterity.

the email was titled, "I don't know, but," . . . this should be filed under "great minds think alike" or not but the coincidence could not be ignored.

image.png
--
Joseph, AKA MM

Sent from a desktop computer with a monitor and a mouse and a keyboard so any typos are real.

Anonymous said...

Surely a "Brief timetable" should be spelled 'sched'?

It should also be pronounced 'shed' but that's a whine for another day.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Fun puzzle and cool theme, Joe. I was aSEA until 57a filled; it was smooth sailing from there.

Great expo MManatee. LOL VAPE jape plus the nice nod to Richard Lewis.

WOs: MSc->MSS, SKInnY -> SkIMPY, Yea -> YAY
ESPs: BEV, DEBI, MIRO, YATES, BERET as clued.
Fav: 45d was cute but 35d wins for the chess clue.

Velma says "Jinkies!" [Scooby-Doo] //YR beat me to it.

YR & MManatee@11:00 - That's actually an REO Speedwagon album title.

Gotta run.
Cheers!, -T

Jinx in Norfolk said...

DNF, TITT and looking up "celerity."

Today is:
NATIONAL PEANUT CLUSTER DAY (if you don’t want yours, just pass them along to me)
NATIONAL PROOFREADING DAY (is this skill becoming passe?)

Back home in Norfolk, safe and sound. Tired, but happy to be back.

Thanks to Joe and the MalMan for the fun.

Misty said...

Slightly tough, but delightful Friday puzzle--many thanks, Joe. And your commentaries are always a pleasure, MalMan, thanks for that too.

I found a surprising amount of romance in this puzzle, beginning with ELOPE, presumably with a French CHERI. I also presume they were ADULT and therefore able to go to the altar and say OUI (rather than IDO or IOU) since they were French, and the lady then became a MRS.

Hope they could stay together for 64 years without a single PRIZE FIGHT.

Have a good weekend coming up everybody!

Malodorous Manatee said...

CED at 11:52 Does this, from The American Heritage Dictionary help?

whit /noun

The least bit; an iota.
"doesn't give a whit what was said; not a whit afraid."
The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence.
Similar: iota
The smallest part or particle imaginable; an iota.

Also, the link to the pic (at 12:39) did, once, lead to the pic but twice just led to a Shutterfly promo. In any event thanks for the nod to posterity (posterior?).

Arizona Jim said...

Barely couldn’t finish that NE corner because of the DOTAGE & DEBI unknowns. Couldn’t come up with BERET, ICY or OPEC, though the clues are good. Cheated and looked up Mazar (surprised no one has mentioned Goodfellas, which is the only thing I’ve seen her in), then FIR.

Thanks to Joe for this puzzle which has a type of theme I absolutely love. It’s like you get to be a detective and investigate all the clues to solve the case. As my father mentioned above, I went for the reveal straightaway and sussed it with just the last four letters (…GOUT).

My [relative] youth helped me out with the “8 Mile” clue. Knew that one without any perps. Such a cool scene…

waseeley said...

FIR but I solved this one the hard way. When I saw the single letter clues, had I taken the time -- to stop whining, find the reveal, read it carefully, concentrate on whatever perps I needed to solve it, and done what it said, I wouldn't have MISSED OUT on so much time!

Thanks Joe for the challenge.

Thanks Joseph for clearing it all up -- not doubt abOUT it, ya done good!

Cheers
Bill

OVER and OUT!

CrossEyedDave said...

MM@3:50,

Thanks, my mistake. I guess I thought whit, and wit, were synonymous.

Also Tx for the heads up on Shutterfly. I guess I don't see the ads being signed in as a user. Anyone got any suggestions on what to use as an internet available source for photos, without ads?

Malodorous Manatee said...

When I was writing trip reports for the FJR motorcycle community I used Photobucket as a site to store photos and then link to them. Now all I receive from Photobucket is and endless string of notices saying that my account will be deactivated unless I send them money.

sumdaze said...

Thanks for the fun challenge, Joe! I hope you have another one like this up your sleave.
FAVs: Travel to an away match? and Game of love

I knew Debi Mazar from Entourage. Interesting to read which shows others know her from.

I use the GuitarTuna app on my phone.

Did everyone but me know that Tehachapi Ken and Arizona Jim are kin?

OUTstanding reveiw, MalMan! Thanks for making sense of it all. Loved the tunes, too.

Michael said...

Copy Ed @ 11:41 " “Jinkies” might be an appealing synonym for CRIPES to, well, six or seven people worldwide."

You think it's that many? I was thinking the number is nearer to √i.

Charlie Echo said...

Sumdaze, the "Game of Love" is Green Bay Packer football!

Anonymous said...

I’m with you, MM, on this one being a huge “WtF??” Even after getting everything filled (thank you, perps), I still had nooo idea how those single-letter clues related until your recap. Talk about a “Doh!!” moment. Still didn’t like it much, though; stuff like “Jinkies!” and SKED (yes, Anonymous @1:40pm, it’s “sched”, as in short for “schedule”…CRIPES). Even with the snazzy clues for ELOPE and BERET, I almost TITT today…but toughed it out. I dye hard too 😆

I also still keep a 440-A tuning fork on hand for my guitars — no battery to go dead (unlike my electronic tuner…). And, speaking of which, Mr. Manatee, you can indeed tuna fish — but only if you have the correct scales… 😎

====> Darren / L.A.