Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Today we have DOUBLE the fun from collaborators Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas. This is their fourth LA Times puzzle.
Theme: 
Each of the starred clues consists of two words such that the word PARK can be placed after each word to give a new concept. One might say the result is a DOUBLE PARK. Let's take a look:
16 Across. *DieHard product: CAR BATTERY.
23 Across. *Presence in a pet-friendly workplace: OFFICE DOG.
 |
| DieHard is a CAR BATTERY brand, not to be confused with the 1988 Bruce Willis film, Die Hard. CAR PARK is Britspeak for "parking lot". BATTERY PARK ( a.k.a. "The Battery") is a 25-acre public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City. It faces New York Harbor. |
23 Across. *Presence in a pet-friendly workplace: OFFICE DOG.
 |
| On the left is an OFFICE DOG hard at work. An OFFICE PARK is an area where a number of office buildings are built together on landscaped grounds. On the right is my dog, Meadow, exploring a DOG PARK when we lived in Colorado. |
32 Across. *Los Angeles neighborhood in many John Singleton films: SOUTH CENTRAL.
Unknown to me but a few perps made it easily sussable. This is JS's IMDb page. We have some Cornerites from L.A. Perhaps they can tell us some of the area's better-known landmarks.
 |
| On the left is a map of SOUTH CENTRAL Los Angeles. SOUTH PARK is an animated TV show that first aired in 1997. It is still running and has been renewed through 2027. New York's CENTRAL PARK is a world-famous public park, created in 1858 to address the recreational needs of a rapidly growing city. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. |
44 Across. *University in Muncie, Indiana: BALL STATE.
Again, not on my RADAR; but once I clocked the theme, it fell into place.
 |
| BALL STATE University was founded in 1918. A BALLPARK is a stadium where ball games are played. It is also a range given in an estimate. The photo on the left is of Tahquamenon Falls STATE PARK, located in YooperPhil's neck of the woods. |
Here is the unifier:
52. Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: DOUBLE-PARK. This means to park one's vehicle beside a row of vehicles already parked parallel to the curb. The FedEx truck is DOUBLE-PARKed in the picture below. 
Here are the remaining clues:
Across:
1. Roof spots for holiday lights: EAVES. Martha May Who (Christine Baranski) has the perfect tool for this job. (2 min.)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
BTW, that is Molly Shannon playing Betty Lou Who.
6. Trims, as grass: MOWS.
10. Highs: UPS. think "moods"
13. Swindler's accomplice: SHILL. This is a person who acts as a decoy for a gambler or pitchman so bystanders (prey) are more apt to believe the con.
14. Milky birthstone: OPAL.
15. "The baby is sleeping!": SHH....
18. __ culpa: MEA. Forgive me if I am repeating myself. "MEA culpa" is a noun which comes to us from Latin meaning, "through my fault".
19. Sinks, as an easy putt: TAPS IN.
 |
| I think this usually refers to a golf ball -- not an alligator! |
20. Vampire tooth: FANG. Here's a quick clip of Vincent Price with Kermit the Frog.
21. Debtor's letters: IOU.
26. Muzzles: SNOUTS.
29. Learning institution: ACADEMY.
30. Soccer superstar Lionel: MESSI. Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (b. June 24, 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.
31. Drippy ice cream choice: CONE. and 43 Across. Thawed: MELTED.
38. Exposed: BARED.
46. Nickname of the 34th president: IKE. and 39 Down. Initials of the 34th president: DDE.
47. Disability Pride Month: JULY.
48. Keyboard instruments: PIANOS.
51. Stately tree: ELM.
56. Sch. whose alumni include Anthony Bourdain and Roy Choi: CIA. Both are chefs who attended the Culinary Institute of America. Click here to see about making a reservation at a CIA restaurant.
57. Competent: ABLE.
58. Muppet who sings to his rubber duckie: ERNIE.
59. Full complement of players, in men's lacrosse: TEN. ESP. I am at a loss when it comes to lacrosse. 😜 I did not even know the clue was asking for a number.
60. Kitchen protector: MITT.
61. High-end hair dryer manufacturer: DYSON. "High-end" indeed. Their supersonic hair dryers run from $430 to $600.
Down:
1. Key for exiting full-screen mode: ESC.
2. "I've got it!": AHA.
3. Accomplished musician: VIRTUOSO. and 11 Down. Young sensation: PHENOM.
A VIRTUOSO excels at the technique of an art. A PHENOM is a young person of phenomenal ability or promise. Mozart was both. Here is Rondo Alla Turca (Turkish March) played on a 48-Across.
4. "Zootopia" voice actor Idris: ELBA. He voiced Chief Bogo in this 2016 animated film.
5. High-five sound: SLAP.
6. Repeating design: MOTIF. This explains it better than I can.
7. Like some sandwiches: OPEN FACE. They do not have tops. Use your napkin.
8. Two-person card game: WAR.
9. Probably plotting: SLY. cute
10. Sporting a union label, perhaps: U.S. MADE. Did anyone else think of these TV commercials from the late 70s/early80s ?
12. Like the coats of most sheepdogs: SHAGGY.
17. General __ chicken: TSOS. I think my neighbor might be cooking this tonight. Something smells good!
20. Architectural style that flourished after the American Revolution: FEDERAL. I am linking an article from This Old House plus information on the Hamilton Grange National Monument (as in "Alexander Hamilton").
21. Ideological suffix: -ISM.
22. Singles: ONES. dollars
24. Symbol: ICON.
25. "No way": CAN'T BE. Or can it?
27. Most of the time: USUALLY.
28. Filmography list: TITLES. You can find these on the IMDb website.
33. Clue: HINT. I had the "H" so I entered "Help" which did not help with the SW (my trickiest area today).
34. Boulder-hurling weapon: CATAPULT. Poor Wile E.! He forgot to read the fine print. (2:30 min.)
35. Craftspeople: ARTISANS. You can find these on the Etsy website.
36. Chive kin: LEEK. I like to put cooked LEEKs on my pizza.
40. Item: OBJECT.
41. Rocky's best friend in the "Rocky" films: PAULIE. "Adrian" also has six letters. Paulie Pennino was Adrian's brother.
42. Comedian Tracey: ULLMAN. Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. She starred in The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-90) and, more recently, as Irma Kostroski on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Perhaps you have heard that The Simpsons famously first appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show.
43. Supper, e.g.: MEAL.
45. Neighbor of Nepal: TIBET.
49. Necessity: NEED. "The mother of invention" did not fit.
50. Nashville's Grand Ole __: OPRY.
52. Beaver creation: DAM.
53. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI. Star Wars
54. __ de Janeiro: RIO. Oklahoma City, U.S.A. is a sister city to Rio de Janeiro. I wonder what they have in common.
55. "Jeopardy!" host Jennings: KEN. Both Ken and Idris were in yesterday's puzzle.
4. "Zootopia" voice actor Idris: ELBA. He voiced Chief Bogo in this 2016 animated film.
 |
| Hi Lucina! |
5. High-five sound: SLAP.
 |
| Maverick and Goose ~ Top Gun ~ 1986 |
6. Repeating design: MOTIF. This explains it better than I can.
7. Like some sandwiches: OPEN FACE. They do not have tops. Use your napkin.
8. Two-person card game: WAR.
9. Probably plotting: SLY. cute
10. Sporting a union label, perhaps: U.S. MADE. Did anyone else think of these TV commercials from the late 70s/early80s ?
12. Like the coats of most sheepdogs: SHAGGY.
 |
| Underneath all that hair, Old English Sheepdogs weigh 60-100 lbs. |
17. General __ chicken: TSOS. I think my neighbor might be cooking this tonight. Something smells good!
20. Architectural style that flourished after the American Revolution: FEDERAL. I am linking an article from This Old House plus information on the Hamilton Grange National Monument (as in "Alexander Hamilton").
 |
| Geometrical designs are a common 6-Down of the FEDERAL style. |
21. Ideological suffix: -ISM.
22. Singles: ONES. dollars
24. Symbol: ICON.
25. "No way": CAN'T BE. Or can it?
27. Most of the time: USUALLY.
28. Filmography list: TITLES. You can find these on the IMDb website.
33. Clue: HINT. I had the "H" so I entered "Help" which did not help with the SW (my trickiest area today).
34. Boulder-hurling weapon: CATAPULT. Poor Wile E.! He forgot to read the fine print. (2:30 min.)
35. Craftspeople: ARTISANS. You can find these on the Etsy website.
36. Chive kin: LEEK. I like to put cooked LEEKs on my pizza.
40. Item: OBJECT.
41. Rocky's best friend in the "Rocky" films: PAULIE. "Adrian" also has six letters. Paulie Pennino was Adrian's brother.
 |
| this Rocky's friend ... not that Rocky's friend |
42. Comedian Tracey: ULLMAN. Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. She starred in The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-90) and, more recently, as Irma Kostroski on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Perhaps you have heard that The Simpsons famously first appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show.
45. Neighbor of Nepal: TIBET.
49. Necessity: NEED. "The mother of invention" did not fit.
50. Nashville's Grand Ole __: OPRY.
52. Beaver creation: DAM.
53. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI. Star Wars
54. __ de Janeiro: RIO. Oklahoma City, U.S.A. is a sister city to Rio de Janeiro. I wonder what they have in common.
55. "Jeopardy!" host Jennings: KEN. Both Ken and Idris were in yesterday's puzzle.
CSO to Tehachapi Ken, who I hope is on the mend!
Feel free to do a double take on today's grid:
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteD-o saw the double-T in BATTERY, the double-F in OFFICE, and the double-L in BALL, but failed to find any double-letters in SOUTH CENTRAL. D'oh. Got 'er done in just over 5 minutes, so it was still a nice start to the week. Thanx, Sala, Emily, and sumdaze.
ULLMAN: We used to watch her show back in the day. She always ended it by waving both hands and telling the audience to "Go home."
Interesting way to clue “CIA.” Interesting, too, that this puzzle was all about (double) parks. Do I see an (indirect ) CSO, I wonder ? After all, you all know my favorite expression on Mondays. And, yes, this particular puzzle was yet another Monday “walk in the (double ) park.” FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteOnly know DYSON from vacuum cleaners, not hair dryers, but both move air.
ReplyDeleteBALL STATE is famously the alma mater of David Letterman
I've eaten at the CIA, where the class of student chefs-to-be are also waiters in the dining room
Took 3:41 today for me to shift it into park.
ReplyDeleteSeemed like a fine themeless early part of the week puzzle to me.
I found the John Singleton/South Central clue/answer a little odd, and enjoyed Rocky's "Paulie" and "Sly" in the same grid. I even knew today's foreign language lesson (mea).
FIR, but erased ACADaMY. Bad spelars of the world...UNTIE!
ReplyDeleteAfter the recent unpleasantness at Sears, Auto Zone bought the DieHard name for their house battery line.
I just could not believe that Bourdain and Choi were spies. Oh, THAT CIA. I think we've seen that in previous xwords. But it almost HAD to be PAULIE, even though I was never into any of the 22.4 Rocky flicks.
I knew BALL after the STATE became apparent. Morehead State used to (and may still) play them every year. (Morehead State produced a pretty good QB named Phil Simms. Also pitching star and MLB player rep for the NYYs Steve Hamilton.)
I don't know of any points of interest in SOUTH CENTRAL, but of you find yourself alive in the area, nearby Watts Towers is definitely worth a visit. Go in the daytime.
Forgot to thank Sala and Emily for the fun Monday puzzle, and to sumdaze for another fine review.
ReplyDeleteFIR. Only area that caused me any grief was the SW. Wasn't familiar with Ball State, and CIA and Paulie didn't compute for me.
ReplyDeleteOnce I got the reveal, I looked back and saw all the "parks".
Overall a so-so enjoyable puzzle. But of course, it's Monday.
Easy Monday. I got the clever theme with the reveal.
ReplyDeleteMea culpa seems more elegant than my bad, which seems flippant. To me no prob is not as warm as you're welcome.
I, too, think of Dyson as a vacuum cleaner, but hair dryer was not a surprise. Only Paulie was totally new to me.
I liked the Sunday puzzle. FIR. After a busy day, I usually solve it late in the evening on Sunday. I should have seen the theme. I knew all the teams. My excuse, I was too tired.
When going out to lunch with my teacher colleagues, I saw many of them discard the top piece of bread in a sandwich, open faced.
Sweet CW. I moved right along, then got temporarily stuck in the SW, but I trusted the perps. What, Bourdain a spook? I always hesitate between oak and ELM. Anyway all’s well that ends well.
ReplyDeleteThanks sumdaze for a fine review. Great illustrations for the theme.
Cw
ReplyDeleteMonday fun. Nice ‘n’ EZ. No weird Proper Names. Took a DOUBLE take but eventually parsed the two-PARK theme.
AHA it’s not aah. LIKEd the DDE crossing. Never heard of Ball State. Sounds like a party school 🥳
WEES…“Dyson” vacuum cleaners have powerful suction but didn’t know they could dry hair!! Emily is that really your last name or an anti-electric car promotion.
I guess it’s official, the island of “Ere I Saw ELBA” has been replaced with ldris. Almost put MOsaic for MOTIF (wouldn’t fit anyway). A VIRTUOSO is not necessarily (Italian for “virtuous”) plus it’s “Ronda alla Turca” (no K in the Italian alphabet.)
There have been a few remakes of “The SHAGGY Dog” since the 1959 original (I was 9 yo and paid 15 cents at the Avon Theater downtown Utica, If I had been 12, a whole quarter).
Wait, I thought “Rocky’s best friend” was Bullwinkle🤨
Spinster who owns a “boulder-hurling weapon”. Childless ____ lady…… CATAPULT
Phyllis Diller’s husband….FANG
Wiener from the break room….OFFICEDOG
Hamlet’s dilemma at the casino: “___ or not ___ “ …. TIBET.
Sorry I ruined “supper”, ____ culpa” ….. MEAL
OK OK I’ll leave now ☺️. No need to shove!😖
Top of the week to all 😊
Ray-O, for Dave Brubeck it was Blue Rondo A La Turk.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct in the “Rondo” part. Spell check changed Rondo to Ronda in my post. “Help me Ronda!”
DeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Double your pleasure, double your fun… What ITEM used this ad jingle?
-When I see SHILL, I think of 3-card-monte
-Oh, that CIA!
-MITT: It appears I am now in charge of our air fryer
-The Pittsburgh Pirate rookie PHENOM: Scouts seated behind home plate at Wrigley Field for Paul Skenes' dominant start in May clocked more than 20 percent of his pitches at 100 mph or faster. Multiple pitches in the 90s measured at more than one foot of break. Significant? The distance between the center of the plate and either corner is 12 inches.
-My lovely bride thought she was buying ARTISIAN jelly
-Thanks to Sala, Emily and Renee.
-FWIW, From Stella Zawistowski’s daily “Commuter Crossword”. Would you know the “Cape Cod town with T _ _ _ O? Asking for a friend.
That would be DoubleMint Gum. It's amazing how ad jingles crawl into a corner of your brain and never leave. I guess it's a testament to the ad jingle writers. Remember Gillette Blue Blades? How many times did the ad use the word "sharp"?
DeleteGood Morning! Fun puzzle to start the week!
ReplyDeleteNothing to report but good news. No WOs or ESPs. Although I did have to pause to see if “muzzles” (26A) would be the noun or the verb.
CONE. We are fortunate to have a Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream nearby. The best!!
Clever theme revealed to me when I got to 52A. Parks are wonderful things to have.
Thanks, sumdaze. Cute pic of your pup, and what a pretty name! That golfer was braver than I would be!!😲!
Truro
ReplyDeleteThe clue for 56Across makes clear that we're looking for an educational institution. The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), which has several campuses, was in existence when the other CIA was still known as the OSS.
ReplyDeleteSumdaze, thanks for the shout-out!
The DoD's CIA also operates schools. I'd tell you about them, but then I'd have to delete your account.
Delete-Thanks Anonymous PVX. I got the answer because Stella's daily puzzles are really easy but I had never seen that city before. I just wondered if this was common knowledge. The crosses were
ReplyDeletehTml (Web language)
eRie (A Great Lake with four letters? Hmmm...)
lUna *Moth)
pRintad (Newspaper promotion)
sOmeone (to watch over me)
Monday’s are always DOUBLE good, first Patti tosses us the proverbial bone, then we are treated to a sparkling review from sumdaze, what better way to start the CW week! Lots of fresh fill today with VIRTUOSO, CATAPULT, OPULENT and ARTISANS. Several words filled entirely by perps which I didn’t see till the review, very few names today, the only one I DNK was PAULIE, FIR in 7:50. Wasn’t aware that FEDERAL was a type of architecture. Hard to find clothing that is US MADE unless you seek it out, but I just bought a new truck assembled in Missouri by the hard working folks of the UAW. The last time I was in CENTRAL Park was a little over 20 years, first time I ever paid $10 for a 🍺 at Tavern On the Green, probably $20 now. Thank you Sala and Emily for your fine collaboration!
ReplyDeletesumdaze ~ your Monday reviews are a treat! Always upbeat and informative with graphics and cartoons, I know you put a lot of time into authoring them. Thanks for the SO in reference to Taquamenon Falls, they are quite beautiful especially in the splendor of fall colors. The water has an amber tint due to the tannins in the river formed by the watershed of wetlands. Especially liked the cartoon about family recipes 🤣. Alligators are a presence on many of the golf courses I play in Florida.
Truro? I've never heard of that. How many miles from there to Natick?
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteA fun puzzle who's theme whizzed over my head very much as deadlines do.
Thanks Sala & Emily.
sumdaze - Bullwinkle was my first though and then APOLLO Creed from Rocky III (when they* became fast friends b/f our pugilist hero's fight with Ivan Drago in IV) filled (bzzt).
BTW, a great-fun expo. Thanks!
WOs: apollo -> PAULIE, dEicED -> MELTED
ESP: PAULIE
Fav: Tracy ULLMAN is a UK national treasure.
Jinx - I left the last vowel out of ACAD_MY waiting on 10d to come. Link to SOUTH CENTRAL's Watts Towers.
Also, K-SHE 95 out of St. Louis always praised MORE HEAD college.
HG - DOUBLE mint gum. Growing up in the '70's, we got the bestest commercials :-)
CIA's clue was too easy w/ Bourdain in the clue.
Cheers, -T
*SSolver - I missed the SLY connection. Kudos to you!
When i still lived in Kentucky, Morehead State hired the Eagles for their homecoming concert. (The MSU teams are named The Eagles.) The roadies bought every piece of clothing in the bookstore that had "Morehead Eagles" on it.
DeleteRaced through this one so quickly that the theme was unable to catch up with me. I, too wanted "Bullwinkle" for 41 down. Nice recap by sumdaze. Looks like Wiley Coyote should've stuck with Acme!
ReplyDeleteThis is what folks have in mind when they sit down to solve a crossword puzzle! Lots of fun and very doable. The theme is icing on the cake -- and a useful self-check while solving. Thank you, Sala and Emily!
ReplyDeleteSumdaze, I love the way you stitched three photos together for each of the theme answers to reveal their three part meanings. Details in the photo captions! Nifty layout, and easy to read. I enjoyed seeing your dog Meadow in the meadow, too. Brava!
Have I mentioned how much I like Monday CWs? Fun and doable: what a CW should be. Contrast this to this past Saturday nightmare. Yeah, I know, Saturday CWs are SUPPOSED to be difficult. But loading one area with crossing obscure names takes all the fun out of it, and, for me anyway, makes it impossible. Today was fun! Very nice, and I even sussed the theme. The only W/Os were due to carelessly writing the correct fill in the wrong place (DOH!).
ReplyDeleteThanx SW&EB, well done! I FIR in 8, got the theme, and had fun. Sumdaze as always your write-up was informative and fun. That Mozart piece is astonishing. Really fun to listen to, and to marvel at the pianists ability. Also an excellent example of how classical music can inspire jazz, by doing multiple interpretations of a theme. Great fun, thanx, Sumdaze.
I call CFIW: Constructor Finished It Wrong. The puzzle was appropriate for a Monday. The DOUBLE PARK theme was clever and must have taken a lot of work. And then they Finished It Wrong with cross of proper names PAUL?E/C?A.
ReplyDeleteOn Labor Day, DW followed me up the steep side of this DAM in a local PARK.
From Yesterday:
Irish Miss Thanks for seeking forgiveness. I am honored that you found me handsome with the Tower of PISA. Even if you thought I was Tony. The photo was from about 30 years ago. Before I developed my wardrobe of colorful shirts. And back when I still had most of my hair. When I travel now I have reverted to travel shirts that are not very colorful.
Lucina Thank you for looking at our Solstice FLYING PIG and for your kind words.
CC I will add that I have also been to Wyoming. Mostly to see Yellowstone, but there are other things to see there.
Delightful Monday puzzle, many thanks, Sala and Emily. And your commentary is always a pleasure, Sumdaze--thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle's CAR BATTERY was probably US MADE, so it wasn't a SHAGGY PHENOM. Its owner probably taught in an ACADEMY where he might have had an OFFICE DOG with a SNOUT and FANGS. Maybe that's why he took a HINT and moved to a BALL STATE where he got a job playing the PIANO and where he had to DOUBLE PARK. But we all wish him well.
Have a great week coming up, everybody.
Sumdaze, is that art deco example you provided from the Chrysler Building?
ReplyDeleteunclefred ~ I can see why you would ask that; however, I think the image is of the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse. I pulled it from this article:
Deletehttps://decoroutdoor.com/blog/art-deco-look-opulent-style/
Hola! Thanks to Sala, Emily and sumdaze for the Monday merriment! I started quite early but then had to leave for my volunteer tasks at church. That went quickly and well I'm happy to say.
ReplyDeleteThen the puzzle was Monday easy and filled in good time. MEA culpa of course, calls to mind the days when our liturgy was voiced in Latin. Happily it is now all in English or the local vernacular. However, a few traditionalist still use Latin. It shocked me when I went to a bridal Mass that was conducted in Latin.
My sisters traveled to TIBET without me; they thought I wouldn't be interested, but, of course I would have gone with them.
When shopping for anything I try to look for US MADE but it's rare to find any.
Yes, I, too, was surprised when CIA emerged but realized it was Culinary Institute not the spy school
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Wonderful to see all the positive comments today!
ReplyDeleteSame here, I have a DYSON vacuum cleaner (with a special 'pet hair' attachment) but not a hair dryer.
Monkey ~ I thought you might laugh at this. Last month I asked you about Amor Towles' latest book. After that I put it on my library queue. Last Thursday it became available so I picked it up. The first 'chapter' was really good. I liked the second 'chapter', too, but wondered how the author was going to connect those characters. I was totally confused when the third 'chapter' started in first person. At that point I finally read the jacket and realized it was an anthology! Good grief!
ReplyDeleteHowever once you get to the last section, it turns out the characters are very subtly connected.
DeleteMonkey ~ Ooooohhhhh.... Good to know. I'll look forward to that. So far I am only seeing the NY connection.
DeleteI am late and my comments have been usurped! Okay, I liked it and on Labor Day I solved a tricky Monday (9-2-2024) using a somewhat similar concept in the NYT created by the becoming famous pair of Sala and Emily. Even without the Die Hard reference I got a charge out of this puzzle. Prayers for Bruce Willis and regards to all at the Corner
ReplyDeleteGood Monday. No issues… other than the fact that Mondays are just way too easy. The beginning of the week is too hot, the end of the week is too cold, but the middle of the week is juuuuust right.
ReplyDeleteSumdaze, that’s a lot more exciting “tap-in” than I usually see in golf!
Idris Elba was well known to me before he became a CW superstar, from his iconic role as Stringer Bell in HBO’s “The Wire.” After watching all five seasons I saw him in an interview and was shocked to hear that he had a British accent! Also the lead actor of the show, who played Jimmy McNulty is actually Australian. Not only did they fool me with their American accents for five seasons, they also had Baltimore accents for the show! Just blows me away.
Oops, forgot to thank Sumdaze for the very entertaining write-up and to mention you can watch all 48 episodes of the Simpsons which ran at the end of Tracey Ullman's show from 1987 to 1989. I no longer know how to link to websites but it is fun to revisit.
ReplyDeleteMarvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Sala and Emily, and sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time, and saw the DOUBLE PARK theme, but it was not exactly a walk in the park in that SW corner. But I WAGged the PAULIE/CIA cross correctly.
I noted VIRTUOSO and ARTISAN.
Hand up for liking the cross of IKE and DDE.
Another hand up for waiting for perps to decide between Oak or ELM.
Wishing you all a great day.
I liked this puzzle. I found the gimmick to be nicely inventive. Loved sumdaze's write-up and all your comments.
ReplyDeleteRIP Darth Vader. What a voice!
ReplyDeleteJames Earl Jones -- most beautiful voice I ever heard. Sandyanon
ReplyDeleteAgreed. James Earl Jones had a voice for the ages. I will never forget his sonorous paean to baseball in "Field of Dreams":
ReplyDelete"If you build it, Ray, they will come."
Thank you, Sala and Emily, and thank you, sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteI liked the DOUBLE PARK theme. I needed the reveal to see how each of the starred clues were related. I also liked how SHAGGY, DOG and FANG all intersected in the northeast corner.
I tried to tune in and watch every episode of the Tracey ULLMAN show when they first aired. She is so talented.
i failed to mention how much I enjoyed seeing the photo of IDRIS ELBA. Seeing him just makes me wish I were 30 years younger. Sigh. Thank you, sumdaze, for the CSO.
ReplyDelete