Saturday Themeless by Zhouqin Burnikel
C.C.'s 380th puzzle is rife with wit, learning and her trademark devious cluing along with two 11-letter stacks! Of all her pictures, this is one of my very favorites! It was taken on 8/16/10 soon after she had become a citizen. Our old friend Spitzboov got her the flag from the Navy.
1. Signs of recognition: NODS - Around here, this usually accompanies that NOD
5. Goddess symbolized by the peacock: HERA.
9. Folks who are totes inseparable: BFFS - Totes and BFF in the same clue/fill? How hip!
13. Ropeless climbs: FREE SOLOS.
15. Horn blast: BLARE.
16. Drift apart: LOSE TOUCH - Our 60th anniversary of high school graduation is this spring but we have LOST many members and LOST TOUCH with most all others and so no one is left to organize anything.
17. Apt name for an optimist: ROSIE.
18. "The Secret Life of Bees" novelist: KIDD.
19. Nonsense: BLATHER - I try not to but the best laid plans of men and mice...
21. Times Square abundance: ADS - For $40 you can get a 15-second video to run in Times Square
24. Hides: LIES LOW - Mrs. Thomsen, my sophomore English instructor would be aghast if she knew I put LAYS LOW first! 🤨
26. Cards: IDS - Card and IDS as verbs
27. Bug: NETTLE.
29. Inner ear?: CORN COB 😀 Ya gotta love that one!
31. Starchy roots: TAROS.
32. Element in some textured paint: SAND.
33. Ortiz of "Love, Victor": ANA - Santa ANA winds or Santa ANA, CA were eschewed for a Saturday puzzle.
34. Perfect spot?: EDEN.
35. Hole number?: YARDS 😀
35. Hole number?: YARDS 😀
 |
| Yikes! 841 YARDS/Par 6 |
36. Ferret kin: MINK.
38. "The Marvels" actor Park __-joon: SEO - Two of C.C.'s 11-letter fills helped here.
39. "Allow Me to Retort" writer Mystal: ELIE.
40. Alabama's state nut: PECAN - Your pronunciation: puh KAHN or PEE can?
41. Words of admission: IT WAS ME - Mrs. Thomsen would be aghast yet again seeing ME instead of I after a linking verb! 😀
43. Post in a studio: MALONE - New to me but filled itself. "Danson's Cheer's character" would be better for me.
44. Club alternative: BLT - Two of my fave sammiches!
45. Inspiring device: SNORKEL 😀 Inspiring here means to breathe in! No one wore one better:
47. "Uh-uh": NAW.
48. Jumps aboard: LEAPS ON - Our school system LEAPT ON the "Open Concept Classroom" and LEAPT OFF soon after.
50. Somewhat: A TAD.
52. Pained cry: UNCLE - My uncles used to delight in making my brother and me cry UNCLE!
53. Sought-after change: RARE COINS 😀 I loved this one!
58. "To Kill a Mockingbird" narrator: SCOUT - SCOUT and the first line
60. Gas company known for its toy trucks: HESS - This 50+ year old model is worth $900
61. Sisters with similar habits: NUNS 😀
62. Staff note: MEMO.
62. Staff note: MEMO.
Down:
1. Commanders' org.: NFL - To diehards, they'll always be the Redskins
2. Word in Montana's motto: ORO.
 |
| Gold and Silver |
3. From overseas?: DES - DES is a French word (thus overseas) that is always followed by a plural noun, and can be used as a preposition to mean "of", "from," or "by."
4. Go after: SEEK.
5. Cozy top: HOODIE.
6. Get by: ELUDE.
7. Skin care brand started in Paris in 1957: ROC - My DW has used their products for years
5. Cozy top: HOODIE.
6. Get by: ELUDE.
7. Skin care brand started in Paris in 1957: ROC - My DW has used their products for years
8. Salon selection: ASH BLONDE 😀
9. Dab dry: BLOT.
10. Style guide?: FASHION ICON - The 20 greatest of all time. FWIW, Princess Diana is listed as #1.
11. Treat similar to tostones: FRIED BANANA - Tostones are fried plantains.
12. Forward thinkers?: SEERS 😀
14. Film studio stock: STILLS
15. Beefiness: BRAWN.
20. Ones with very good manors: LORDS 😀
21. Front money: ANTE 😀 Ya gotta pay to play
22. Unsettling stillness: DEAD SILENCE - A comedian's worst enemy
23. Food truck fare: STREET TACOS.
25. More alarming: SCARIER.
28. So far: TO NOW
30. Brown hue: CAMEL.
32. Food source for grizzly bears: SALMON RUN.
35. Like some questions: YES NO.
37. Taylor Swift's "I __ You Were Trouble": KNEW.
40. Residence that's fit for a queen: PALACE - QEII having a few people over at Buckingham PALACE
42. Desirable trait: ASSET.
43. Olympic units: METERS - I suspect the Paris Olympics will use METRES 😀
44. Red state: BLUSH.
46. Carpenter with pipes: KAREN - Karen's musical career started as a teenage drummer in her brother's group, The Richard Carpenter Trio. He was on keyboards.
49. Positive sign: PLUS. 😀
51. Quarters near a quad: DORM 😀 A drone's eye view at UNL
54. Sparky the Sun Devil's sch.: ASU.
55. Red state: IRE 😀
56. Adèle ou Céline: NOM - Adèle ou Céline sont des noms. (Adele or Celine are names)
57. Cheap tix option: SRO - Standing Room Only tix at Yankee Stadium are $62.50.
56. Adèle ou Céline: NOM - Adèle ou Céline sont des noms. (Adele or Celine are names)
57. Cheap tix option: SRO - Standing Room Only tix at Yankee Stadium are $62.50.
When I saw this puzzle was constructed by C.C., I thought I had a good chance at it; certainly better than the last couple of weeks (which, as you may recall, I failed at) and I was right! There were only two or three obscurities, and for those the perps were kind. So, for the first time in three weeks on a Saturday, FIR, and you can bet I’m happy about that!
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThe north was still snow-covered when things started to come together on this one. Worked my way back north once the south was filled in. Yay, d-o managed a Saturday stumper. Never noticed it was a C.C. pzl until Husker's summary. The horizontal 9's and vertical 11's were very nice. SNORKEL, CORN COB, and KAREN were cleverly clued. Kudos to C.C. and Husker.
Ferret/MINK: Happened to watch a Mutual of Omaha nature show about black-footed ferrets yesterday. The San Diego Zoo has been instrumental in bringing them back from near extinction. I would've guessed they were forest denizens, and was surprised to learn they were native to the Great Plains where their favorite food was the prairie dog.
Finished it! Wrong, but I finished it! (Missed with ORa, DEl, and ReC.)
ReplyDeleteToday is:
NATIONAL MISSING CHILDREN’S DAY (those pictures of missing children in Walmart are heartbreaking)
NATIONAL TAP DANCE DAY (perfected by politicians being asked tough questions)
GEEK PRIDE DAY (celebrate this one, or this might be your last day as a (crossword favorite) USER)
TOWEL DAY ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have." - Douglas Noel Adams, 1952 -2001)
NATIONAL BROWN-BAG-IT DAY (everyday lunch if you work from home)
NATIONAL WINE DAY (everyday lunch if you work from home)
CSO to our own RosE
Times Square teems with ADS, because "pickpockets" wouldn't fit.
We're from the south, so of course we LIE SLOW.
I add some beach SAND in my porch paint in areas that might get wet or icy.
Around here, black bears are foraging in neighborhoods. If garbage cans aren't on the menu, bird feeders will be just fine. The experts say the danger will subside around the middle of next month.
Thanks to CC for the fine Saturday challenge. And thanks to H.Gary for the fun review.
FIR. I really enjoyed today's puzzle. It was a workout for sure, but everything made perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I still don't get is Malone? And I shot myself in the foot spelling snorkel wrong (I had snorkle).
But in the end I finished, and in good time, so I'm pleased.
I'm out of town at a wedding - but everyone else is still asleep
ReplyDeleteFaster than usual Saturday solve or maybe I'm just on CC's wavelength.
KS - Post Malone is a singer/rapper/music producer - he has many hits on his own- but just had a collaboration with Taylor Swift that is one of the biggest hits on her recent album that came out in April "Fortnight"
Thanks HG for the enjoyable blog and to CC for the puzzle!
This was a close FIW. Ultimately, the northwest did me in and I had to resort to red letters to finish. But that’s okay, because it was a very enjoyable puzzle. As if that weren’t enough, yesterday afternoon I had a 90 minute full body deep tissue massage and last night I slept for nine hours. So in the words of our beloved You Know Who, I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI think one of CC's greatest achievements (there are several) as a puzzle constructor is her ability to provide the solver with a balanced mixture of fairness and challenge. I struggled (but without frustration) in certain areas today, but never had any doubt that I would prevail and, as usual, the generous perps led to a successful, satisfying completion. Seo, Elie, Des, and RoC all required help and further adjustments were needed for Bar/Bat/BLT (this wack-a-mole exercise made me chuckle!), Leta/Hera, Pester/Nettle, and Ste/Nom. The cluing was very clever, the grid was clean and junk free, and the fill was fresh and lively, e.g., Fashion Icon, Salmon Run, Street Tacos, Rare Coins, Lose Touch, Fried Banana, plus Snorkel, Blather, and Nettle.
Thanks, CC, for another outstanding Saturday challenge and congratulations on your monumental feat of having 380 puzzles published in the LA Times. Thank you for all the joy and pleasure you've given us over the years! Brava to a very special friend and mentor. Thanks, HG, for your always entertaining and informative reviews and commentary and for the constructor background snippets that you share with us.
FLN
Belated Happy Birthday, Monkey, hope it was a special day. 🎂🎊🎁🎈🎉
Have a great day.
I thought this puzzle was a little too kind for a Saturday, but after the identity of the constructor was revealed now I know why. Thank you C.C. for a fun puzzle, without too many obscure clues + fair perps. And thank you for all that you do for us. You're the best!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Husker for the fun tribute to our fearless Blog Maestra!
Some favs:
19A BLATHER. Don't worry Husker, you've got nothing on me.
24A LIES LOW. I did the same, but it didn't play nice with the cozy top.
27A NETTLE. Don't walk through a field of stinging nettles in shorts!
43A MALONE. I had no idea, but perps don't lie.
45A SNORKEL. Favorite bling! 😁
58A SCOUT. It took a while for this to surface. On any other day but Saturday it would have been "Tonto's horse".
59A USER ERROR. In our shop we just programmed an automatic call to the "Electrify keyboard intrinsic".
3D DES. It perped, but I didn't get it until Gary 'splained' it
7D ROC. Not a gigantic bird? Teri helped me with this one.
8D ASH BLONDE. Strictly speaking my hair (which was a "Gene selection") is ASH BLOND. Two of my sisters are ASH BLONDES (which were "Salon selections". The difference? We had this fill last Thursday and someone commented that I was technically incorrect. I didn't know why, and now I do.
32A SALMON RUN. The gif from one of of my first reviews.
Cheers,
Bill
Congratulations C.C. for all your hard work and dedication to this blog. You beat me today. I couldn't finish the NW. I should have known HERA but my brain was hard wired for T-SHIRT and I knew THOR wasn't a goddess. KIDD and ROC were unknown, so HOODIE didn't have a chance.
ReplyDeleteThree unknowns across the middle-SEO, ELIE, and ANA- all came from perps.
I think KARAN Carpender and Ann Murray were born being able to effortlessly sing.
I have heard of Post MALONE but have only recently seen a photo of him. Scary.
SAND is also mixed in the paint used to texture tennis court surfaces. It will slow the ball and that's why some courts play slower than others.
CORNCOB in the 'Inner ear'? Where I come from people would describe other as "walking with a corncob stuck" somewhere else and it was not their ear.
I found this CW absolutely delightful. I enjoyed figuring out CC’s sneaky little clues like the ones for CORN COB or BLT.
ReplyDeleteI figured MALONE had to be someone’s name that I didn’t know.
I love FRIED BANANAs.
Congratulations to C.C. on her 380th anniversary on LA TIMES.
Thank you HG for a neat review.
Thank you IM☘️for the BD wishes. i had a great day.
Good morning.
ReplyDeleteThank you, C.C., and congratulations on your 380th published crossword at the LA Times!
That's simply amazing! Must be some kind of record. Maybe multiple records.
Husker Gary, that's a beautiful banner to commemorate the event. Very nice.
Back later.
I loved this puzzle! Could comment on so many clues - just yummy treats for my brain - to affirm and challenge. I languished over lays/lies for quite some time - cuz hoodies and elude eluded me 🤦🏽♀️. And about street tacos - did y'all see that there is now a Michelin star street taco in Mexico City? That tickles me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTook 16:36 today to finish.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very good Saturday puzzle. Had a few solid answers, then felt I may not get any more, but then was able to figure it out. Well done, C.C./Z.B.
There were lots I didn't know, including either writer, the foreign language lessons, and actors/actress, such as: Kidd and Elie, roc, oro, des, nom, seo, and Ana.
What a nifty puzzle! Saturday tough, but with fair perps and no dreck. Gave me quite a workout, but finally managed to FIR. IMHO, this is what a crossword puzzle should be. Clever misdirection, and filled with Aha! moments and a great sense of satisfaction upon completion. Thanks, CC!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely tough but very fair as CC's puzzles always are. Loved 'Carpenter with pipes" and "Hole number". Never heard of Malone. PEBKAC gave me a laugh. Great job CC. GC
ReplyDeleteWhen I FIR, it seemed like it had been a fairly easy puzzle for a Saturday, but that’s not how it seemed early on. Perps kept piling up until everything gradually fell into place.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons C.C. is one of the five or six best constructors we see here is that her sense of good puns and good misdirection is seldom lame. Her “inspiring device” clue for SNORKEL was a hall-of-famer.
The ‘B’ clues and answers were other bright spots. Her “totes” clue gave us the right idea about the answer, although I had to replace “baes” with BFFS. BLARE, BRAWN, and BLATHER were in the upper right, but they were the heart of the puzzle for me.
I also liked SALMON RUN, and I was tickled that ASH BLONDE, a term not fully appropriate for waseeley’s former hair color but appropriate for a salon, turned up just two days after our discussion.
My only complaint about unknown names was SEO. I wonder if that was originally about Search Engine Optimization. I was afraid to accept CAMEL as clued, and although I’ve heard of Post MALONE, I thought the reference was too obscure for us oldsters. Some of you may have objected to the “from overseas” entry, but I figured early on it was either “DES” or “del.” An emphatic vote from me: peh-KAHN. As for the LIES/lays entry, I was relieved when LIES perped.
Thank you, C.C. and H.G. for an enjoyable Saturday. I think Miss Thomsen would grant H.G. that a subject pronoun at the end of a phrase is difficult to identify.
Copy editor, I cringe when I hear somebody say PEE-can.
DeleteI found this tough, but mostly fair. Struggled with HERA/ROC area. Favorites were clues for KAREN CARPENTER and CORN COB. FIR. Fun ride!
ReplyDeleteHere Merlie and I met up with her cousin Shalane in Osaka. Lots of ADS like in TIMES SQUARE.
Amusing learning moment about PEBKAC!
TTP AND OTHERS: There is room for praise AND criticism in our comments.
ReplyDeleteSeldom do our commenters, much less our bloggers, eviscerate anyone in the manner that Rex Parker attacks the New York Times Sunday puzzle, including Will Shortz personally, in his blog. His commenters somewhat temporize the atmosphere, but fewer of them admit to struggles than our commenters.
I wish our bloggers were somewhat less constrained than they are. I felt Steve often said negative things I would say too, and C-Moe and MalMan are not overly timid either, which makes them all the more credible. I’m not interested in being mild, and I think all the linkages our blogs provide appear too time-consuming, so much as I’d like to, I’m unlikely to step forward.
I like our atmosphere of thanking the bloggers, whose biggest reward is our appreciation, but I don’t necessarily feel the constructors or editors should be immune to criticism. I comment mostly on the difficult puzzles. I almost always FIR, but when I struggle, I do evaluate how much those struggles were due to my shortcomings or those of the creators.
I am mindful of our strictures against personal attacks and politics, but ultimately good critics are idealists who just want things to be done well and want to explain why when they’re not.
I'm not about to 'flame' the nice people here. I save it for idiotic politicians.
DeleteOh, I forgot to mention - peh-KAHN unless I'm in Texas, then it's PEEcan.
ReplyDeleteRemember the golden-oldie about the guy that lost his girlfriend? Seems that he forgot where he laid her.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteCongrat's to C. C. on her puzzle and record # of them being published @ LAT. I FIR (eventually) in a little over 25 minutes, with more write/overs than I care to list
Thanks, HG for the fun pic's and commentary
FLN: TTP, I am now curious as to why you removed your post? It also removed my response to it. I won't regurgitate the details. Maybe you can email me to explain?
Hi there~!
ReplyDeleteI am stunned to read that C.C. has published 380 puzzles - and that's just the LA Times~!
As usual, I had the exact same solve as you, HuskerG; always a pleasure to read your write-up.
Proper names undermine any puzzle, despite the fact that I was on to the "Post" misguidance; really deceptive cluing, but I love it - our hostess' effort is an "inspiring device" urging me to make my own grids.
Never heard of PEBKAC; when I looked it up, got a great laugh - PICNIC,too.
I AM a carpenter with PIPES~!
Here's my Hess Truck; has to be 30yrs old.
Splynter
I loved this puzzle. Like some of you, I filled the NW area last. I only had to look one thing up, namely KIDD; once I had that, the rest of the NW became solvable. It took perps to reveal EVADE vs ELUDE. HOPE was too short for the optimist's name, but ROSIE is much cuter. Hand up for changing BAES to BFFS. Excellent write-up, Gary; thanks.
ReplyDeleteGood reading all your comments.
P.S. LW and I are looking forward to having dinner with our son, his wife, and his wife's mother this evening.
Delightful Saturday puzzle, many thanks, C.C., I really enjoyed it. And as I've said before, your commentary is always very helpful, Gary, thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteThere was lots of glamor and even wealth in this puzzle. I'm guessing ROSIE is not a riveter but an ASH BLONDE young woman who is a FASHION ICON, and who hangs out with LORDS at the PALACE. She probably has a hobby collecting RARE COINS, and loves good food, like SALMON served with FRIED BANANA, and even non-fancy stuff like a BLT, and CORN COBS and STREET TACOS, as long as they're served with some PECANS. Well time for her to take a nap while listening to FREE SOLOS.
And time for me to take a nap too. Have a great weekend, everybody.
Cheers, Misty
Anon @12:58, I enjoy our regional differences. Learning "ute" for "youth" was one of the best parts of My Cousin Vinnie. Can you imagine the mental nose-crinkling Brits must do when they hear what we've done with the King's English?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and really fun puzzle...congratulations, C.C., and many thanks for HG for the cool commentary!
In my family, which hails from the Philadelphia area, has always called them "p'CAHNs".
ReplyDeleteI know I usually take longer than most of you to complete the puzzle, but I really enjoy the journey, and when I can finally claim FIR with a very challenging entry like C.C.’s was today, the sense of happy satisfaction is worth every bit of nose wrinkling and eye scrunching and lip pursing. It was FUN! I echo (sorry) Charlie Echo’s opinion of the quality of the puzzle. I wish they were all like this.
ReplyDeleteThank you,C.C. for all you do for us and for the inspiration you provide in so many ways.
Thanks, Husker, for the great tour - loved the James Bond clip.
Congratulations to C.C. on her 380th LAT puzzle. Wow!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed today's Saturday struggle. I agree with IM on her "without frustration" comment.
FAVs: Fun clues for SKIRT, LORDS, NUNS, KAREN, and RARE COINS. Another FAV was STREET TACOS.
I saw the CSO to RosE at 17A!
Like many of you, the NW was my challenge today. Fortunately I waited on "usn" for 1D. "Isis" changed to HERA, giving me ELUDE, then LOSE TOUCH opened up the whole area.
Hello to Kelly @ 2:00! It's been a minute. Good to see you today. Do you have any upcoming puzzles for us? I hope so.
Thanks to H-Gary for explaining my unknowns. I make a list every Saturday of let's-see-what-Gary-says-this-is answers. The top of today's list was PEBKAC, followed by MALONE. I also enjoyed your FASHION ICON link. Those prices...yikes!!
Congratulations, C.C. -- a great accomplishment, and most of the Corner loved it! For me, it was a rare DNF, even after coming back from a long break.
ReplyDeleteSo many DNFs: KIDD, SEO, ELIE, MALONE, PEBKAC, HESS, ROC, and tostones. Could not think of a "club alternative" -- honestly don't remember what's in a club sandwich and haven't seen one in decades -- and unfortunately did not come up with BLUSH for "red state." KNEW was a guess -- an ektorp, perhaps.
In the end, I had two empty squares (44 and 60) which is not too bad, but I am puzzled by all the FIRs and praise from folks who are usually grumpy over much easier fare. Still, C.C. deserves all the NODS of approval, while I cry UNCLE.
I meant to write, "So many DNKs."
ReplyDeleteCC and Patti, your crossword today made my day. I wrote some comments hours ago, and then they entirely disappeared before being published. I'm sure I did something stupid; I'll try again.
ReplyDeleteI can see why your puzzles for the LAT numbers something like 380, CC. What an accomplishment. I find them nifty, devious in a fun way, lively, fair, clever, and I'm going to run out of adjectives.
Before I hit the wrong key here and everything disappears, I'm going to focus on just one clue, 46D, "Carpenter with pipes." You could have clued it "Carpenter with drums," and a dozen other ways, and I would have known instantly that it was the late Karen Carpenter.
The "pipes" to which you are referring were those magnificent vocal cords of Karen's that gave us one of the most beautiful contralto voices ever. And one that extended three octaves. I still miss her; she died at 32.
The other reason that I love your choosing Karen Carpenter for your clue is that you could have chosen many other people named Karen, or taken the easy way out by using the current recent and insulting use of the word. As in, she's so unpleasant she's a Karen.
Well, my comments haven't disappeared, so I'll touch on one or two other items from your puzzle. First, 3D, "From overseas?" I lived in Paris for two years, so am fairly conversant with French, and even I feel that you were perhaps being overmischievous with that clue.
But I loved the two identical "Red state" clues, neither of which was referring to a current U.S. state that is Republican.
Patti, please take credit (or blame) for any of the above comments that may apply to you. I never know with a puzzle how much of the work is the editor's. Whichever, this was a great puzzle today, Saturday-appropriate, and I was able to FIR!
I learned to pronounce "peh-KAHN from a Texan, who corrected me when I was reading aloud and the character who mentioned the nut was a Texan. I said PEE-can and was set straight immediately.
ReplyDeleteCopy Editor - where was that Texan from? I'm betting Austin. Austin, Michigan that is:-)
ReplyDeleteMy native Texan peers lived in Dallas, but most were from San Angelo. Maybe that's how they say it there. One guy was from Pecos, and he taught me how to pronounce that like a Texan too. Kinda like having a Hawaiian teach you how to pronounce their state.
Of course, Texas is just huge. When you are in Texarkana, you are closer to the Atlantic Ocean than you are to El Paso. When you are in El Paso, you are closer to the Pacific Ocean than you are to Texarkana. And when you are in the northernmost point in Texas, you are closer to Canada than you are to the southernmost point in Texas. So there's plenty of room for local dialects. (I saw a bumper sticker when i lived there that declared "TEXAS - Plenty of room for improvement." Most likely from a disgruntled transplant.)
Looking at maps can be deceiving. Texarkana and El Paso are very close in latitude. 33.42 vs. 31.76 is about 35 miles, basically due west.
ReplyDeleteThe latitude and longitude of NOLA is easy to remember. 30N & 90W.
Congrats on 380 LATs, C.C.!
ReplyDelete//does that include co-constructing? I only ask b/c some of us only got into the LAT with your gentle guidance.
Thanks for the puzzle but it was above my pay-grade.
Thanks HG for bailing me out. Stellar expo too.
I did love PEBKAC! It's like "a nut is loose behind the keyboard" and "ID-10-T" errors.
//In the 90's I told my accounting buddy about the ID-10-T (read idiot) error we'd put in tickets. A month later he called laughing that he saw that on an invoice.
I grew up in the Midwest and have lived in Louisiana, OK, and TX. I say many forms of pecan (peecan, picon, pAcAn).
CopyEd - I think it's about keeping things light and a keep nice place on the internet. We will nit but not with malice.
//I'll be guest blogging for Hahtoolah for the next month and ripping me for nits would not make it worth it.
I've been all over Texas - ElPaso for Basic, San Antonio for AIT (ElPaso -> San Antonio was an overnight trip!), Dallas to meet-up with college buddies from Shreveport...
I don't know where I was going with that but STREET TACOs in Houston are some of the best.
Cheers, -T
Wow, C.C. — 380 of these, and you’re rockin’ it! This was IMHO one of the best Saturday puzzles ever — snazzy fun clues, but still a real workout for the ol’ brain matter. My faves were SNORKEL and the PEBKAC gag. So here’s to the next 380, kiddo! 🤙🏽🤣
ReplyDeleteYou beat me to the Michelin star story for the street taco stand in Mexico City, Sophia @10:15am (not surprising since, being a night-owl, I usually get to the cw late late!). It’s called El Calife de Leon, if any of y’all are heading down there anytime soon — but expect a 2-hr wait now that the joint has become famous…
Have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend, everyone! And thanks to the veterans here on the blog for your service 🇺🇸
====> Darren / L.A.