Theme: "PR" pressure
Puzzling thoughts:
Another "reveal-less" Friday puzzle; one that adds the letter "P" next to a phrase that begins with the letter "R" to form 5 "new" phrases based on a hypothetical clue
As a constructor I enjoy creating this kind of "add a letter" (or "subtract a letter" puzzle)
Margi Stevenson has had four recent puzzles (dating back to last fall) published at the LA Times; one each on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So, it's only fitting that her 5th puzzle would be on a Friday; in poker terms, we call that "filling in (or making) a straight"
Here are the 5 entries:
17-across. Stellar essay?: PROSE GOLD. Rose Gold is a term used in the jewelry trade to indicate the color (in this case, "rose") of a piece of gold (bracelet, ring, watch, et al); the other colors being "white" and "yellow". The added "P" twists the phrase to denote that a work of prose might be "golden" (stellar)
22-across. Modest proposal?: PRUDE REMARK. Rude remark is a term used to negatively characterize a person or their demeanor. Too often we hear these from politicians ... the added "P" might soften this a bit as prudes are often quite shy or modest
35-across. Compliment a nice thatching job?: PRAISE THE ROOF. Raise the roof is an oft used term to indicate a cacophony of noises, or maybe loud cheers (at a basketball game, e.g.). The added "P" contorts the idiom by giving kudos to one who performs repairs to the highest point on a house ... kind of like what a pigeon might do if it perched on one and gave "high coos" ...
49-across. June celebrant's social media posts?: PRIDE SHARES. Rideshares is a term that found its way into lexicography when Uber and Lyft became popular. The added "P" here gives a SO to the month of June which has become synonymous with "Pride" month. Of the five entries, this one gave me the biggest chuckle. The only (44-across. Little gripe:) NIT I have with this one is that the word rideshares can be used singularly
56-across. Comparison shop at BevMo?: PRICE WINE. Rice wine is also known as "sake". Sake is a distilled spirit made from rice grain rather than corn, rye, wheat, malt, et al. BevMo! (note the exclamation point after "Mo", which is missing from the clue) is both a big box and on-line retailer of wine and spirits, with stores in California, Arizona, and Washington state. Those of you located east of the left coast probably aren't familiar with them. Personally, I don't shop there. The added "P" makes this answer almost too obvious ...
Here is the completed grid: (see my two corrections: the O in iPod nano and the L in Kal)
Across:
1. Home of S.D. and the O.C.: SO CAL. S.D. is for San Diego; O.C. is for Orange County. Given the BevMo! reference in one of the entries I can only guess that Margi hails from the Golden State. Wonder if she likes IN-N-Out Burgers, too?
6. Cardinals gp.: NFL. Anybody else try MLB before NFL? I did
9. Hall of Famer Piazza who caught the ceremonial last pitch at Shea Stadium: MIKE. Mike Piazza is an erstwhile MLB catcher who is also a member of the HOF. I'm guessing that Patti had a hand in this clue (she's a METS fan)
13. __ myrtle: CRAPE. Anybody else try CREPE before CRAPE? I did
Fun Fact: The Crape Myrtle's roots actually begin in China, where it was named “Pai Jih Hung,” meaning hundred days red for its beautiful color and long bloom season. The Chinese also called it the “monkey tree” because monkeys could not climb the smooth, slippery trunks
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| Crape Myrtle |
14. MSN rival: AOL. Puzzles with 5 entries usually have a plethora of TLWs (18 of them at my last count). Sorry, Irish Miss - and I know that this kind of puzzle is not one of your favorites ...
15. Country with one of the highest life expectancies in the world: JAPAN. I took a wild guess at this based on my knowledge of 5-letter countries ... and when (15-down. Dried meat snack:) JERKY appeared at its perpendicular, I knew I was correct
16. Dried poblano: ANCHO. CSO to Lucina. If she cares to, maybe she'll give us a bit of its history or an anecdote or two about her experiences with using them in recipes
19. Zero-stress period: ME TIME. Nice phrase for a Friday fill, though a tad selfish! 😃
21. Cyberhandle: USER I.D. Mine is "Chairman Moe", duh!
24. "Never gonna happen, laddie!": NAE. What I said to MM last week when he tried to make us believe that he would turn down a dram of Glenmorangie
27. Pt. of 61-Across: SYS (61-across. Pre-Sierra Mac platform:) OSX. I will defer to our resident computer geeks to explain this one
28. Use a straw: SIP. Knowing the mean age of this group, I am guessing that most of you recall when a straw was made of paper, not plastic
29. Go around: BY-PASS. Having just read this book, I am quite familiar with how the US Interstate highway system had to by-pass many cities to preserve some historic areas
31. Spotter's confirmation: I SEE IT. First of the three "IT" phrases
34. "Can do!": ON IT. Second of the two "IT" phrases
39. Eldest Brady boy: GREG. The "Brady Bunch" TV series - back in the day - was the forerunner of blended families. Actor Barry Williams played the role of Greg
40. Sea salt: SAILOR. Not the condiment; the "nickname" for a seafarer
41. Hit Ctrl+R, say: RE-LOAD. When I am writing my blog I often use "Ctrl+C" (copy), "Ctrl+V" (paste), and Ctrl+X (cut), but never Ctrl+R. We had this word earlier this week (Monday)
45. Fig. on a mountaintop sign: ALT. Unlike the previous clue (which referenced HTML), this one chose the abbreviation for altitude rather than the keyboard key just left of the space bar
48. Waste watchers org.: EPA. A bit of play-on-words for the clue
53. Harangue: TIRADE. I had to see if the Thesaurussaurus agrees:
 |
| He does |
55. Singer-songwriter Billie: EILISH. Eilish appeared in the May 10 puzzle
59. Martini's vermouth partner: ROSSI. It's for sure that you can find this brand of vermouth (in both the white and red versions) at BevMo! Vermouth is both an aperitif as well as a mixer. I use one-part red vermouth to two-parts rye whiskey to make a Manhattan cocktail
60. Tackle box supply: HOOKS. Anybody else try LURES here? I did
62. Subsequently: AFTER.
63. Refuse: DENY. The entry subsequently to AFTER
64. Satisfied, as expectations: MET. I always hope that I MET your expectations when blogging these puzzles, even if I didn't have one single Moe-ku among all of the "across" answers. MET was recently used in this past Monday's puzzle (5/20/24)
65. Turn on: START. My prurient thoughts immediately went another direction ... but as clued, it was a fitting answer as its opposite clue appeared at 12-down. (Turn off: END)
Down:
1. Rapscallions: SCAMPS. A definition of the Friday bloggers here?? 😂
2. Like Scrooge: ORNERY. I mean, the mean couldn't be mean, could they?
3. Flora that's tricky to transplant: CACTUS. As a new Arizonan, I came to learn quickly that transplanting a cactus is not just tricky because of the thorns/spines/prickles, but because of multiple laws and protections for native plants - my favorite cactus is pictured below:
| Crested Saguaro; quite rare |
4. Garden pest eaten by hoverfly larva: APHID. I think on Monday sumdaze mentioned that she enjoys clues that offer a bit of trivia ... Hoverfly larvae
5. 2022 World Cup Golden Ball winner: LEO MESSI. From the FIFA World Cup Football event in Qatar. His "full" name is Lionel Andres Messi, but fans call him "Leo"
6. Power __: NAP. I am not quite old enough to qualify for taking a daily power nap, but I am getting close ...
7. Rome landmark: FORUM. A funny thing happened on the way there:
8. Writer Mario Vargas __: LLOSA. This guy
9. Christmas trio: MAGI. And they presented the Christ child with gifts of Frankincense, Myrrh, and a stellar essay of Prose Gold ... don't believe me? Ask Margi, our constructor ...
10. Big little tech release of 2005: iPOD NANO. I had iPAd Nano at first
11. Actor Penn: KAL. Sean didn't fit. Kal is becoming quite the character actor
18. Balkan native: SERB. Margaret's daughter-in-law is a Serb; originally from Belgrade (nee, Yugoslavia)
20. Native Ohioans: ERIES. Buckeyes didn't fit. ERIE is more commonly seen when referring to one of the Great Lakes. The Eries were a native American tribe who lived in what is now known as Ohio
23. L'escrime equipment: EPEES. "Frawnch", as our erstwhile and sometimes substitute blogger Splynter would say. This solved as a perp since I don't speak the language of the Gauls. I'm guessing that L'escrime has to do with fencing ...
25. "Never gonna happen, bud": AS IF. Well, this is what's happening! A video that explains it so much better than I could:
26. Repair shop fig.: EST. This fig. is only good during the hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, EST
30. "__ Things": Oscar-winning Lanthimos film: POOR. Yorgos Lanthimos, director, producer, film writer, et al
31. Who Othello declares "is most honest": IAGO. Somehow this didn't need perps or prior knowledge. Just about any time I see a four-letter Shakespeare-based clue that is also a proper name, Iago is inserted
32. "Give __ go!": IT A. Third and final of the "IT" phrases, my sole Moe-ku du jour, and maybe another way to clue this:
In 1950
High school geeks were advised to
"Give I T a go"
33. Yours, biblically: THINE. The word appears in the Lord's Prayer. This hymnal version (though done in a sort of Barbershop Quartet style) is quite good. One guy (Tim Waurick) does all four parts:
35. Get ready to cook: PREP. My four-year-old grandson and his mom were making a batch of banana bread muffins this past weekend. I got to see them via FaceTime. It was interesting watching him help with the prep
36. Many a wedding guest: RELATION. And in some parts of the U.S., it may also be the wedding participants ... [Margaret just rolled her eyes]
37. Name in a Beethoven title: ELISE. The video has some interesting variations on this theme
38. Untaxed investment options: ROTH IRAS. Unlike conventional IRAs a Roth IRA taxes the investment amount up front rather than on withdrawal. But in the end, regardless of which way you go, the government is going to get THEIRS (which, when the letters are separated spells THE IRS)
39. Hurdle for M.A. hopefuls: GRE. Would a hurdle for an NCO field combat hopeful be MRE?? Having never tried one, maybe they are tasty?
42. __-ski: APRES. This entry word was captured in my 5/10/2024 blog with a cartoon. In case you missed it, here it is again!
43. Lure: DRAW. Another Friday-level clue. On Monday the answer to "lure" might be bait
45. Label founded by Clive Davis: ARISTA. Some pretty big name artists recorded with Arista
46. __ of two evils: LESSER. This phrase used to be my go-to whenever someone asked me who I might be voting for ...
47. Part of a summer camp uniform: T-SHIRT. Merit Badge Sash wouldn't fit. I wonder what the Camp Grenada T-Shirt looked like?
50. Kick to the curb, for one: IDIOM. An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For example, saying that something is "beyond the pale" is an idiomatic way of saying that it is improper or "over the line," but you would only know that if someone had explained it to you, or if you had been able to infer its meaning based on context
Why didn't I think of this title before?
51. Crowded: DENSE. Is this also a Friday-like clue for this word?
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| The Thesaurussaurus agrees! |
52. Like a kite: ALOFT. I felt pretty soar after figuring this one out
54. Totally gross: ICKY. I almost TITT when I saw this clue; I was trying my best to figure out how something "twelve-dozen"-ish was icky
56. Deg. held by Wilson, but no other U.S. president: PH.D. Learning Moe-ment. I was unaware that Woody was the only POTUS to have a Ph.D. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University
57. Tuna tartare topper: ROE. Too bad that the word entry didn't begin with a "T", too. Very alliterative clue
58. Tel. no. addition: EXT. Why not end on a TLW?? 😀
BTW, I thought of another possible entry that was likely discarded due to its being too long for a 15x15 grid:
Clue: Beef choice for an old seafaring storyteller? Answer: PRIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER
Well, as always, I am anxious to read your comments and thoughts about today's puzzle ... see you next month
44 comments:
By the time I got to the second themed entry (“prude remark”) I understood the gimmick, and that helped me solve the rest of the puzzle. Besides the crossing of “Mike” and “Kal” which doesn’t seem quite fair, I don’t have too many complaints about this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
27/61 across. Apple operating system before Sierra was called OSX. Sierra and beyond it was renamed macOS.
Good morning!
BevMo, OSX and IPOD NANO seemed cruel to this non-left-coast, non-Apple-user puzzler. Got 'em, though. Thanx for the revealless Friday, Margi. Enjoyed your expo, C-Moe, even without the expected high coos.
CRAPE Myrtle: They are everywhere in our little town. Most of them are in full bloom right now. Last year we planted one of the Natchez variety. (Well, actually it was dw.) We call him Gnat.
FIW, missing WAGs at NFc x cLOSA and tILISH x ELISt. Yup, erased lures for HOOKS and a couple of others.
Today is:
NATIONAL YUCATAN SHRIMP DAY (a dish invented in Florida)
NATIONAL ROAD TRIP DAY (They say getting there is half the fun. Make this trip all about the journey to the destination)
NATIONAL COOLER DAY (hey, what could be cooler than working crossword puzzles?)
AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN DAY (would it kill you to make sure the door plug has its bolts?)
NATIONAL ESCARGOT DAY (these things taste like snails to me)
NATIONAL SCAVENGER HUNT DAY (Flea Market Flip contestants do a great job of this)
NATIONAL DON’T FRY DAY (no, no, no. Eat your Buffalo wings, but use SPF 5,000 if you go outside for a sec)
Hand up for wanting to crowbar in "buckeyes" where ERIES settled.
I didn't consider mlb, but wanted NL(c? w?) before settling for the equally wrong NFc(onfrence). At the cross of the Naick, I figured no one would be named LLOSA. Wouldn't it be great if his first name was LLOYD? Would love to hear a JAPANese host introduce someone by that name.
Thanks to our Chairman for the fun review of what I thought was a rather pedestrian puzzle. BTW, I wanted to fill to be plural - RELATIONS - and the clue to be "wedding invitees, or activities following the ceremony." (Mags rolls eyes again)
Good morning.
Same as Jinx. NFc and and cLOSA.
Nice job, Moe.
Yes, Rime of the Ancient Mariner might be hard to get in except on a Sunday grid.
Maybe something with (P)REPAIR. Prepair clinic?
Or (P)ROOF. Prooflines ?
Thank you, Magi
Took 8:47 today for me to use P & P (and P & P & P).
I didn't know today's writer (Llosa), OSX, and crape. I was unfamiliar with "rose gold."
I passed today's French and Scottish lessons, but originally had "relative" before "relation."
I was pretty sure Lionel Messi was correct, but man, there just weren't enough squares. Ah, Leo.
I agree with SubG about the crossing of two proper names.
FIR. I'm amazed I finished this puzzle. The proper names were a bear, and when they cross like Mike and Kal, that is sooooo wrong.
I sensed a west coast flavor to today's puzzle and it is lost on my south Florida mindset.
But I got the theme, and it's clever, and that helped me solve the puzzle. So overall, I'm pleased.
On Monday I wrote, "The clematis got blown over in the wind. It had climbed freestanding to over twice it's supported height by curling and twisting around its own stalks. I'm going to stand it back up and add some form of support. I think I have an old hoe or rake in the shed that should work nicely."
I just took a pic of it with the support I added that day. clematis and support. When it opens, click on it to enlarge and then you can zoom in. I think there are 4 tines left on that old rake.
Here's a pic of Husker Gary and his wife Joann's clematis from
Scroll down to 19A in Gary's review.
With croswords I generally begin in the NW and work my way down. That was perhaps a mistake today. What is poblano--or ancho? Other than a word that is an R short of anchor? And 27A is somehow connected to something called Sierra Mac? And what knucklehead spelled crepe myrtle, crape myrtle?
Alright, so the NW took awhile, but I somehow survived it, albeit a bit cranky.
The rest of Margi's handiwork required a bunch of wags and luck (Get it? It required LUCK). Never have I been so appreciative of well-placed perps. There were a couple slow-downs: for instance I was reluctant to give up on LATER for 62A until the neighboring perps insisted otherwise.
Lest these comments sound negative, au contraire! I found Margi and Patti's work to be fun and downright sprightly. Look at that 48A clue, for instance. Or 6A. I can think of at least three legitimate answers to that one: NFC, MLB, or NFL.
Thank you, Margi and Patti, for such a lively and clever Friday-appropriate puzzle. And despite my curmudgeonly comments, I was able to FIR.
We’re big Doc Ford fans and have Yucatán shrimp whenever we revisit Florida!
Good Morning! A fine workout this morning. Thanks, Margi.
A bit of trial and error to see me to the finish line.
WOs: AdobO -> ANCHO; Hand up for IPaD -> IPOD; RELATIve -> RELATION.
I have a lovely CRAPE Myrtle out front that looks quite similar to the one pictured. It blooms around August.
SIP reminded me of the paper straws that came in a wrapper which said: “It’s a pleasure to serve you” in a script font. It was a teenage thing to fold the wrapper to say, “I LOVE YOU” and give it to your honey. 😍🤩😍
Thanks, C.Moe. What a wealth of fun & info in your summary today.
RosE, I saw a similar modification of a commercial message when I lived in SOCAL. Some wag took the scissors to an In and Out Burger bumper sticker to make it read "In and Out urge." If THAT doesn't say love, I don't know what does!
A typo on my part: it was supposed to say that it required pluck; or in the spirit of the puzzle, LUCK.
Got the R -> PR theme, but wondered if there was a deeper meaning. Hand up had CREPE before CRAPE. There seems to be disagreement about the name origin. Hand up RELATIVE before RELATION. Hand up, not knowing ROSE GOLD slowed me in that area, which was last to fill. FIR.
We were privileged to spend time with this amazing woman Sadae Kasaoka in Hiroshima, JAPAN.
She has certainly beat the odds for LIFE EXPECTANCY by surviving the atomic bombing when she was 14 years old. The rest of her family were not so fortunate.
From Yesterday:
RosE Thank you for explaining the unusual collection of letters that spells the name of a flower we see in today's puzzle. But with odd capitalization.
And thank you for explaining the EKTORP term. I think this term should not be used until or unless it is accepted enough to appear in the glossary for this site:
https://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/2009/02/comments-section-abbreviations.html
Others may disagree.
Jinx Yes, we used to see the IN AND OUT URGE sticker a lot, but not anymore for some reason.
Hi All!
Whew! Margi's puzzle was a noodler until I got to PRIDE SHARE. After the penny fell, it was smooth(ish) sailing.
Thanks Margi for a fun Friday. Thank you C.Moe for a fantastically pullzedom / humorous review [Hello Mudder...]
WOs: going for avatar b/f USER ID; MAjI [sic]; deRiDE -> TIRADE; THyNE -> THINE [really, no Y in there?]
ESPs: can we say "Names!?!"? At least I knew MESSI's last name and Billie IILISH.
Fav: SAILOR and clue [IMO (#NIT), I thought the clue could have used a ? but, whateves...]
31a - nobody thought Spotter as in the ripped guy who keeps you from crushing your chest while bench-pressing?
TTP - I love those variegated little bushes. What are they? //yeah, better use of that "rake."
My last house had a CRAPE myrle - the flowers would blow off making the pool look like a "love spa." :-)
We have In-N-Out [RIP Bourdain] in Houston now. I still like WhatABurger's basic [with mustard!] better.
OK, I'm too young to know paper straws before plastic became verboten. Now you get paper straws (and they're soggy b/f you finish your lemonade) at all the "healthy" food restaurants.
Y'all have a great day!
Cheers, -T
DNF. Really struggled on this one, managed to fill about one-third, and finally gave up the ghost when I realized how little enjoyment I was having. Just not on my wavelength today. Too much of the arcane and obscure, not my cuppa.
Struggled to FIR and enjoyed it! Clever theme. I had already filled in POOR Things when my daughter called to ask if I'd seen the movie, because she watched it last night. (I had! Weird and wildly creative!) PREP reminded me of last night's dinner, when I measured all the spices, chopped the veggies, drained the tofu and made the rice, before DH appeared and turned it all into a delicious curry.
I know that people love their CRAPE myrtles and other imported trees and plants, but every non native planting is a choice not to support native bees, butterflies, and birds with the sources of sustenance with which they have co-evolved. My garden is 100% native to my address, it's gorgeous, and it's a huge DRAW for wildlife in the midst of a big city. Something to consider when you need a new plant!
Many thanks to Margi for a great puzzle, to Patti for editing, and the Chairman Moe for the review. Loved the one man quartet.
The puzzle was tough until I saw the light. Then it got easy, with only four unknowns-LLOSA, OSX, the clue BevMO, and the movie "POOR Things". Thank you perps for MESSI's nickname. I noticed the PR but not the added P to complete the clues. Even with Moe's explanation I still don't get the PRUDE REMARK having anything to do with 'modest'. But those ORNERY PRUDEs do make RUDE remarks.
CREPE myrtle definitely before CRAPE (never seen it spelled that way). Don't park your car near one on a regular basis unless you want to repaint it down the road.
MLB or NFL- wait for a perp
Changed REBOOT to RELOAD and LATER to AFTER
ROTH IRA- how much is yours? Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, put his original, basically worthless bought for $.30/share, and managed to turn his Roth IRA's value to over five BILLION DOLLARS, never taking a dime out but trading in that account. Not that he needs it but he can take the money out tax-free because he used after tax money to invest in his Roth.
Big Easy @ 12:04
With regards to the PRUDE REMARK entry, I was somewhat puzzled as well. If you look at the meaning of PRUDE it focuses more on their modest "behavior" towards sex and sexuality. Not sure that the clue and entry capture this, but I am just the blogger not the publisher/editor. I suppose that (a stretch) a prude making a remark about their modesty fits the clue ...
NaomiZ @ 11:16
Tim Waurick's work is phenomenal. If you are into quartet singing, I suggest you check out his YouTube videos. I saw one where he literally sang/voiced/uttered each and every key on the piano - a ten-octave range - and it didn't sound "forced"
Hola!
I'm still not 100% awake but did manage to finish the puzzle which I actually STARTed about 6 this morning. After about halfway through it I returned to bed.
Yes, ANCHO chiles bring back many memories, especially when my mother roasted them and the aroma filled our whole house. Yummmm.
PRAISE THE ROOF was my favorite fill.
Billie EILISH is a talented girl who hides herself under oversized clothes.
Does everyone know that LLOSA is pronounced YOSA? Now, Rosa LLOSA would be interesting.
I have no idea what OSX SYS means.
Have a sensational day, everyone!
Musings
-Yup, I had the MLB Cardinals first
-PRAISE THE ROOF led to the gimmick
-A unique restaurant in West Omaha is named ANCHO and AGAVE
-Some of my apps only work on OSX (what I still say) and some only on IOS.
-BYPASSES around here are killing commerce in towns that are, uh, BYPASSED
-The call of “I SEE IT” came too late on the evening of April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic
-I’ve always thought Ctrl + R (Cmd + R in OSX) meant Refresh
-After a windy 18 yesterday, a 10-minute POWER NAP got me completely refreshed
-POOR THINGS: What Joann says when bird feeders are empty. I’d better be right ON IT!
-LLOSA comes to the rescue as an “any port in a storm” fill
-Thanks, TTP, for mentioning my wife’s wonderful green thumb
-I enjoyed Tim’s four-part effort and your write-up, Moe!
-Another inch of rain last night and golf courses are closed.
What I said to begin my Thursday comments applies to Friday: None of the theme entries dawned on me without perps, so it took a while to FIR.
I finished at PROSE GOLD, still at sea as to what “rose gold” means. Apparently it’s an obscure jewelry term. PRUDE REMARK was a homely stretch, both in itself and also because the word “modest” in the clue barely pertains to “prude,” if at all. All the synonyms I found readily were more precise, including puritan, prig, killjoy, moralist, Mrs. Grundy, blue nose, and goody-goody. Similarly, I’m a gay-friendly guy, but I still see “June celebrant” as more readily pertaining to “bride,” rather than “pride.” PRAISE THE ROOF and PRICE WINE did work fine (I have frequented BevMo!), but 40 percent isn’t a good score.
I definitely liked PRIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. Good one, C-Moe. Your creative sensibilities always hit the mark – and your doggerel even scans, unlike that of too many enthusiasts.
Elsewhere, it took me quite a while to change RELATive to RELATION, and with good reason. I also was thrown by the soccer clue. “LEO” is fine on second reference for Lionel MESSI, but the nickname combined with Messi isn’t often used on first reference. The “spotter” clue turned out to be a carryover from Thursday’s theme, but I SEE IT doesn’t exactly sparkle. Didn’t much like RELOAD, as clued. Ditto for USER ID, as clued. And OSX? I’m squawking along with many of you on that one.
I did like ANCHO chile, the “sea salt” clue, ROSSI, ARISTA, and CRAPE myrtle. I noticed the spelling before I bought my pair about 10 years ago. The one at the south end of the driveway isn’t doing as well as the one at the north end.
T-ANON: I did see your Ninfa’s remark yesterday. Thanks. Now we move on to comparing In-N-Out with Whataburger. I always get the one-patty cheeseburger at In-N-Out, which is inexpensive and just the right size for me. It also has just the right ratio of ingredients, and the lightly toasted bun with a hint of margarine wins my approval. I get back to Texas every five years or so, but I’m usually with the in-laws in Houston and we focus more on seafood, barbecue and Tex-Mex. But back in Corpus Christi, where Whataburger was founded, and where DW and I met in the Caller-Times wire room, I still find Whataburger to be one of the world’s best. Thumbs up to both chains.
Clever Thursday puzzle today, many thanks, Margi. And always appreciate your helpful commentary, C.Moe, thanks for that too.
Well, if your USER ID gives you some ME TIME, you might not only solve the puzzle but also take time to attend a FORUM, where unfortunately you may hear a TIRADE and a RUDE REMARK. After that you ought to go home and put on a T-SHIRT and SIP a bit of RICE WINE. That would make you feel better, I'm sure.
Have a great day, everybody.
What TK said @9:26 about the NW. I always start there, but today it ended up being the last part of the CW to fall. CREPE/CRAPE, S.D and O.C. did not bring to my mind SOCAL until I got a few perps, which were hard to come by. Scrooge? MISER, CHEAP didn't fit. FRUGAL did, but perps ruled it out. DNK POBLANO or ANCHO, so tough fill for me. 45A ELA/ALT W/O. As many others said, RELATIVE/RELATION W/O. So this CW was a mess of W/Os, but eventually I did FIR. Thanx for the very challenging (for me) CW, MS. C.MOE, another great write-up, thanx for all the time and effort you put into your efforts.
My complaint about palm trees. Not native to So Cal!
Dash T, those are variegated hostas. That particular type of hosta is probably the So Sweet. The Francee and the Patriot are very similar though. That hue of green with narrow white margins pretty much makes it one of those three varieties/cultivars. Then it's about the typical height and width. I have 3 or 4 other varieties of hostas in the gardens.
I knew I'd find a good re-use for that old rake when I bought the new one last year. (Actually just never got around to throwing it away, and with only 4 tines left on it, it's really good for reaching deep into the driveway culvert pipe when the leaves try to block it up.) :>)
A 'poblano' is the chili in its fresh state. 'Ancho' refers to the chili in its dried state. Either form may be roasted for yet two more flavors. I grow poblano peppers and dry them for winter use or roast he fresh chilis and freeze them for winter use. depends on the dish I'm making.
In-N-Out burgers in California and whataburgers in Texas. The best fast food hamburgers in the land
Moe, that crested saguaro at 3D appears to be the one on the Bajada Loop in Sabino Canyon RA. If so, it resides 1/2 mile from my humble townhouse. I, too, am a recent full time Arizonan (after 8 years of being a snowbird from Oregon). LOVE the desert!
That Fur Elise video is ON IT! Wow!
Thanks, Margi, for your Friday add-a-letter puzzle! Those are always fun.
FAVs: IPOD NANO (I love mine!) and Waste watchers org.
Hand up for ?LOSA and RELATIve before RELATION.
Do mountaintop signs say the ALTitude or the elevation?
31A reminded me of yesterday's SPOT quintet.
One NIT, ROTH IRA dollars are taxed before going into the account so I am hesitant to call them "untaxed".
TTP@9:01. What a clever reuse of your rake!
Thanks to C-Moe for navigating us through this one! I always love that Camp Granada song! Speaking of camping, I take MRE's when I go backpacking. To answer your question at 39D, they aren't too bad taste-wise but they really score points for convenience. They have a lot of food in one package so one turns out to be 2-3 meals for me.
My nose wrinkled more times than I could count while filling this puzzle.
unclefred @ 1:33 the pleasure was all mine! Appreciate your kind comments
Prof M @ 3:39 I will have to check the location of that one. I randomly pulled a photo that I could legally use but didn't check where specifically it was in AZ. I have seen the ones in the Saguaro National Park; the ones in N Scottsdale; and the one @ Boyce-Thompson Arboretum. I live in the far East Valley for reference
Happy Birthday to our dear Monkey!!
TTP - thanks for the info on the plants. I have a perfect place in the yard to put them. //It's a bland area w/ (oh, I'm having a brain-fart - what's that big fingered-leafed plant that D-O nick-named? -- his fell back after the freeze a while back).
CopyE - Louisiana has the best low-down sea (Gulf) food but many folks migrated to Houston after Katrina so... Yum!
//There was a dude on the street that'd listen to every Astros game outside of the stadium and then hit me up for a smoke outside of my downtown office. He complained about all the migrant NOLA guys hitting his territory! :-)
//they played Jazz!
Of course I gave him a cig and we'd have a smoke together. He was an Astros fan that knew way more than I did about every player's back-story. #Learning!
KS BBQ is anathema to yummy; NC's sauce can get the Frog out. //sauce hides mistakes #MyHumbleOpinion.
sumdaze re: MREs. When you're hungry they're everything.
I like the old-school dehydrated pork patties -- you put it in your mouth and it'd hit your tongue like Pop-Rocks! I stayed away from anything with "sauce" - thems be nasty. //looking at you spaghetti in a pouch.
The MRE's condiments were fun. One can mix the coffee w/ the coco powder ++creamer & sugar ++a bit of water to make a pudding that will keep you going.
And the little toilet paper packet cleaned up after :-) #GoArmy!
Cheers, -T
Philodendrons! That's the plant.
//It's like my own little brain puzzle ;-)
HBTY, Monkey.
Cheers, -T
Thanks Margi for a fun Friday FIR.
And thanks MOE for elucidating the theme. I saw the dropped Ps, but didn't notice that Remaining fills all started with R. Funny that.
A few favs:
13A CRAPE. Wanted to spell it CREPE (they taste a lot better), but that didn't perp. We have a beautiful one in the front yard and are trying to grow another one in the back yard -- if we can keep the deer from eating its tender bark! I'm keeping a cage around it until they lose interest. I hope I'm around to see that!
24A USERID. Mine is waseeley -- DUHER! When I first joined the blog I used my first 2 initials and last name, because I didn't want to waste a lot of time trying to come up with something clever and unique, e.g JOEKNECHT, the protagonist of Hesse's Beadgame, my favorite novel. Wouldn't you know it, somebody had already thought of it! Hey TTP -- how many profiles are there on Blogger?
29A BYPASS. Some of them don't bypass old communities, they just flatten them, especially if they are inhabited by minorities -- like Baltimore's infamous Highway to Nowhere.
35A RAISE THE ROOF. Reminded me of Salinger's Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters.
55A EILISH. Billie Eilish got the 2024 Oscar for the song What am I made for? in the movie Barbie
6D NAP. I missed mine today, so I'm turning in early. Later!
Cheers,
Bill
Bill S @ 7:10 - the book I read about the Interstate Highways spent a long portion talking about the problems they were having in Baltimore; especially regarding I-70. I guess it's interesting now to note that I-70 never did transverse Baltimore and disrupt the neighborhoods, and yet because of the likely threat that it would, many neighborhoods went into disrepair
MOE @7:20 PM Yes, you can enter on the city side headed out of town, but in less than a mile or two it peters out and dumps you dilapidated street with red lights all the way to the suburbs -- the main source of opposition to it. They just wanted to keep people in "their place".
Sumdaze and A-T. Thank you for the BD wishes.
I deleted my last comment.
Happy birthday, Monkey!
(Not sure where it was referenced that the 24th was your birthday, or how sumdaze and Dash-T knew.)
waseeley, I have no idea how many Blogger profiles are active.
TTP @ 4:30 AM Friday. Thank you for the BD wishes. I also have no idea how Sumdaze and A-T knew about my BD date.
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