Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Today's theme is:
Punxsutawney Phil Was Correct
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| How did Phil know there was a WINTRY grid in our future? Such a clever rodent! |
Our themed clues are:
17 Across. "Softens as it cleans" classic detergent brand: IVORY SNOW. 
24 Across. McFlurry competitor: DQ BLIZZARD.
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| McDonald's (first sold in 1995) vs. Dairy Queen (first sold in 1985) |
36 Across. "The Road Not Taken" poet: ROBERT FROST. (1874-1963)
49 Across. Rapper whose debut studio album was 1990's "To the Extreme": VANILLA ICE. (born Robert Matthew Van Winkle on Oct. 31, 1967)
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| This is the cover for the album mentioned in the clue. |
And the reveal:
58 Across. Combination weather that makes travel difficult, and what the ends of 17-, 24-, 36-, and 49-Across comprise: WINTRY MIX.
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| Am I the only one who wanted to put an E in WINTRY? |
WINTRY MIX is a name for variable precipitation that consists of unpleasant things like cold rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow.
The reveal is saying that the ends of the themed answers comprise a MIX of WINTRY elements: SNOW, BLIZZARD, FROST, and ICE.
Veteran constructor Annemarie Brethauer did a nice job of separating these words from their WINTRY meanings, but the gimmick still stood out like a snowman on Miami Beach. Nevertheless, seeing the theme helped me fill some of the trickier clues, making for a slick Monday solve.
Time to brr-ring on the remaining clues:
Across:
14. Cool: HIP. This video is of a song called Hip Replacement by a band in the D.C. area called The Grandsons. I first heard them when they were playing along the Marine Corps Marathon route. Their lyrics are very clever; but, unfortunately the sound quality on this video isn't helpful so you really have to listen closely.
15. Mexican marinade: ADOBO. "The word adobo is a derivative of the Spanish word adobar, which translates to marinade in English. Spanish colonizers carried the word “adobo” to the regions they conquered, so adobo means something different depending on where you are in the Spanish diaspora. In some places, adobo is a dry seasoning rub. In others, the spices are combined with vinegar and fresh ingredients to create a marinade called adobo." source & more info.
16. Grassy plain: LLANO. LLANO is another word borrowed from Spanish speakers. It translates to flat. Its English definition is "an open grassy plain in Spanish America or the southwestern U.S."
19. North Carolina's __ Banks: OUTER. The Outer Banks are a series of naturally occurring barrier islands off the coast of NC. link to a 1-min. video
20. Skull cavity: SINUS.
21. Should have said: MEANT.
23. Advantage: EDGE.
29. Filmmaker Ang: LEE.
30. Singer Rawls: LOU. (1933-2006) Fans of the 2024 movie The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling, might like this a bit of trivia: Lou Rawls played Country Joe Walker on the first episode of the 1981 TV series The Fall Guy, starring Lee Majors.
32. Country with a vital canal: PANAMA.
35. German article: EINE. From what I gather, it looks like EINE is used with feminine Nominative (subject of the sentence) and Accusative (direct object of the sentence) cases. Also, the final E is a schwa sound.
39. Dazzling success: COUP. Def#2: (noun) a brilliant, sudden, and usually highly successful stroke or act.
41. Natural ability: TALENT.
42. Gets up: ARISES.
45. Picnic pest: ANT.
46. "__! Humbug!": BAH.
52. Art __: geometric architectural style: DECO.
53. Tangle under a desk: CORDS.
54. Environmental activist Thunberg: GRETA. Greta is also the go-to GRETA for clue writers.
55. Puppy: WHELP. Def.: (noun) any of the young of various carnivorous mammals and especially of the dog.
61. Blender setting: PUREE.
62. Video game pioneer: ATARI.
63. 12/31, e.g.: EVE. December 31 is New Year's EVE.
64. Stockpile: AMASS.
65. Unlikely to bend: RIGID. My grade school principal comes to mind.
66. Hi-__ photo: RES.
Down:
1. Sculptor's tool: CHISEL. This is a 1:20 min. video showing how a sculptor uses a CHISEL. (I would be so afraid of making an irreparable mistake.)
2. Split into portions: DIVIDE. Did you know that there are two types of division?
3. Dish cleaner: SPONGE.
5. Wallet cards: IDS. identifications
6. Seemingly forever: EON.
7. Awkward word to drop on a first date, informally: L-BOMB.
8. Wooden peg: DOWEL.
9. Basketball Hall of Famer Mourning: ALONZO.
10. Most clumsy: KLUTZIEST. 
11. Stool pigeon: RAT.
12. Lowest sudoku number: ONE. Sudoku is a puzzle that uses the numbers one through nine. I like kenken. It is similar to sudoku but it makes equations.
18. Feel sorry about: RUE.
22. Feel poorly: AIL.
24. "That's all, folks!": DONE.
25. Motor oil measure: QUART. A Ford F150's oil capacity is 7.7 QUARTs. On the other hand their Maverick hybrid's oil capacity is 5.7 QUARTs. ... in case you were wondering.
26. Bickering: AT IT.
27. Kylo of "Star Wars": REN. I feel like I always get a Star Wars answer to explain on Mondays.
28. Rap's Dr. __: DRE.
30. Chocolate dog: LAB.
32. Summer treats on sticks: POPSICLES.
33. NYC transit org.: MTA. New York City and Metropolitan Transportation Authority
34. Cigna rival: AFLAC. insurance companies
36. Really mess up: RUIN.
37. Actress Russo: RENE. (b. Feb. 17, 1954) Happy early birthday, Rene!
38. Canadian prov.: ONT. province and ONTario
39. Cleveland NBAer: CAV. National Basketball Association and CAValiers
40. "You for Me" singer Rita: ORA.
43. Marries secretly: ELOPES.
44. Camera type, briefly: SLR. I only know this from doing XWDs.
46. Pricey German wheels, informally: BEEMER. BEEMER is a nickname for a BMW car.
47. On the go: ACTIVE.
48. Elaborate pranks: HOAXES. I am going to tell you about the most elaborate prank I ever played on someone. New neighbors moved in around the corner. They put three garden gnomes in their front flower bed. DH and I went to the dollar store and bought a lot of cheap gnomes of various sizes. Every two weeks or so, we would put one in their yard. At first we put them next to the three originals. Then we started branching out. This went on for over a year. That family had five kids. They loved the mystery of the whole thing. It was so hard not to tell the it was us when they talked about the gnomes. We finally gave them a gift-wrapped gnome when we moved away. The next day they put a framed embroidered gnome on our front porch.
50. Marketing battle: AD WAR.
51. Last Supper question: IS IT I.
52. Like a county that prohibits the sale of alcohol: DRY. A DRY county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages.
54. Crossword diagram: GRID. Def.: (noun) a network of uniformly spaced horizontal and perpendicular lines.
57. Pitcher's stat: ERA. statistic and Earned Run Average
59. Badger: NAG.
60. Uni- + bi-: TRI-.
We're finally 24-Down. Have an _ice day, everyone!
1. Fixed-term bank accts.: CDS. "Accounts" is abbreviated, so is "Certificates of Deposit". (Pluralizing abbreviations can get complicated.)
4. Employ, as power: WIELD.
9. Soap Box Derby town in Ohio: AKRON. Seeing soap in this clue told me I needed to change 17-A from IVORY Soap to IVORY SNOW.
4. Employ, as power: WIELD.
9. Soap Box Derby town in Ohio: AKRON. Seeing soap in this clue told me I needed to change 17-A from IVORY Soap to IVORY SNOW.
This video is of local news coverage of a past FirstEnergy
All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship at Derby Downs in Akron, OH.
14. Cool: HIP. This video is of a song called Hip Replacement by a band in the D.C. area called The Grandsons. I first heard them when they were playing along the Marine Corps Marathon route. Their lyrics are very clever; but, unfortunately the sound quality on this video isn't helpful so you really have to listen closely.
15. Mexican marinade: ADOBO. "The word adobo is a derivative of the Spanish word adobar, which translates to marinade in English. Spanish colonizers carried the word “adobo” to the regions they conquered, so adobo means something different depending on where you are in the Spanish diaspora. In some places, adobo is a dry seasoning rub. In others, the spices are combined with vinegar and fresh ingredients to create a marinade called adobo." source & more info.
16. Grassy plain: LLANO. LLANO is another word borrowed from Spanish speakers. It translates to flat. Its English definition is "an open grassy plain in Spanish America or the southwestern U.S."
19. North Carolina's __ Banks: OUTER. The Outer Banks are a series of naturally occurring barrier islands off the coast of NC. link to a 1-min. video
21. Should have said: MEANT.
23. Advantage: EDGE.
29. Filmmaker Ang: LEE.
30. Singer Rawls: LOU. (1933-2006) Fans of the 2024 movie The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling, might like this a bit of trivia: Lou Rawls played Country Joe Walker on the first episode of the 1981 TV series The Fall Guy, starring Lee Majors.
Lou Rawls performs his 1976 hit
You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine
on Soul Train.
31. Hang around: LOITER.
32. Country with a vital canal: PANAMA.
35. German article: EINE. From what I gather, it looks like EINE is used with feminine Nominative (subject of the sentence) and Accusative (direct object of the sentence) cases. Also, the final E is a schwa sound.
39. Dazzling success: COUP. Def#2: (noun) a brilliant, sudden, and usually highly successful stroke or act.
41. Natural ability: TALENT.
42. Gets up: ARISES.
45. Picnic pest: ANT.
46. "__! Humbug!": BAH.
52. Art __: geometric architectural style: DECO.
53. Tangle under a desk: CORDS.
54. Environmental activist Thunberg: GRETA. Greta is also the go-to GRETA for clue writers.
55. Puppy: WHELP. Def.: (noun) any of the young of various carnivorous mammals and especially of the dog.
61. Blender setting: PUREE.
62. Video game pioneer: ATARI.
63. 12/31, e.g.: EVE. December 31 is New Year's EVE.
64. Stockpile: AMASS.
65. Unlikely to bend: RIGID. My grade school principal comes to mind.
66. Hi-__ photo: RES.
Down:
1. Sculptor's tool: CHISEL. This is a 1:20 min. video showing how a sculptor uses a CHISEL. (I would be so afraid of making an irreparable mistake.)
2. Split into portions: DIVIDE. Did you know that there are two types of division?
Consider the problem 6 ÷ 3 = 2.
Are you picturing 6 items divided into 3 groups with 2 in each group? [Partitive]
Or are you picturing 6 items divided into groups of 3's, making 2 groups? [Quotative]
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| If you had difficulty understanding division as a child, it could be because it was presented differently from how your brain conceptualized the question. (Elementary texts often use Partitive examples but long division is Quotative.) The fact that both methods give the same answer can be even more confusing to learners. |
3. Dish cleaner: SPONGE.
Scrub Daddy on Shark Tank (46 sec.)
Watch what he does with the 10 lb. weights.
4. In more __ than one: WAYS.5. Wallet cards: IDS. identifications
6. Seemingly forever: EON.
7. Awkward word to drop on a first date, informally: L-BOMB.
8. Wooden peg: DOWEL.
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| this??? |
9. Basketball Hall of Famer Mourning: ALONZO.
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| his NBA page |
12. Lowest sudoku number: ONE. Sudoku is a puzzle that uses the numbers one through nine. I like kenken. It is similar to sudoku but it makes equations.
 |
| sudoku (lt) & kenken (rt) |
13. "That's neither here __ there": NOR. This idiom is used to indicate that something is either not important or not relevant to the subject being discussed.
18. Feel sorry about: RUE.
22. Feel poorly: AIL.
24. "That's all, folks!": DONE.
25. Motor oil measure: QUART. A Ford F150's oil capacity is 7.7 QUARTs. On the other hand their Maverick hybrid's oil capacity is 5.7 QUARTs. ... in case you were wondering.
26. Bickering: AT IT.
27. Kylo of "Star Wars": REN. I feel like I always get a Star Wars answer to explain on Mondays.
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| Kylo Ren is on the bottom row. (Kylo Ren and Ben Solo are the same person.) |
28. Rap's Dr. __: DRE.
30. Chocolate dog: LAB.
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| yellow, black, & chocolate Labrador retrievers |
32. Summer treats on sticks: POPSICLES.
33. NYC transit org.: MTA. New York City and Metropolitan Transportation Authority
34. Cigna rival: AFLAC. insurance companies
36. Really mess up: RUIN.
37. Actress Russo: RENE. (b. Feb. 17, 1954) Happy early birthday, Rene!
38. Canadian prov.: ONT. province and ONTario
39. Cleveland NBAer: CAV. National Basketball Association and CAValiers
40. "You for Me" singer Rita: ORA.
43. Marries secretly: ELOPES.
44. Camera type, briefly: SLR. I only know this from doing XWDs.
46. Pricey German wheels, informally: BEEMER. BEEMER is a nickname for a BMW car.
47. On the go: ACTIVE.
48. Elaborate pranks: HOAXES. I am going to tell you about the most elaborate prank I ever played on someone. New neighbors moved in around the corner. They put three garden gnomes in their front flower bed. DH and I went to the dollar store and bought a lot of cheap gnomes of various sizes. Every two weeks or so, we would put one in their yard. At first we put them next to the three originals. Then we started branching out. This went on for over a year. That family had five kids. They loved the mystery of the whole thing. It was so hard not to tell the it was us when they talked about the gnomes. We finally gave them a gift-wrapped gnome when we moved away. The next day they put a framed embroidered gnome on our front porch.
50. Marketing battle: AD WAR.
51. Last Supper question: IS IT I.
52. Like a county that prohibits the sale of alcohol: DRY. A DRY county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages.
54. Crossword diagram: GRID. Def.: (noun) a network of uniformly spaced horizontal and perpendicular lines.
<See example below.>
55. New Deal org.: WPA. organization and Works Progress Administration
55. New Deal org.: WPA. organization and Works Progress Administration
One of the art museums near where I live displays WPA paintings. During the New Deal era, the U.S. Government administered four separate art projects that operated from 1933 to 1943. The projects produced thousands of paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. more info.
 |
| This mural by Bruce Ariss entitled Monterey Scene was painted between 1935 and 1937 inside the school library. It is an example of art funded by the WPA Federal Arts Project. |
56. Engine noise: HUM.
57. Pitcher's stat: ERA. statistic and Earned Run Average
59. Badger: NAG.
60. Uni- + bi-: TRI-.
The 54-Down:
We're finally 24-Down. Have an _ice day, everyone!
44 comments:
Well, according to the forecast, this is certainly an appropriate puzzle for this week! But because of the Spanish words, as well as the colloquial expression “L Bomb”, I’m not going to award this puzzle the title of a “walk in the park.” Nevertheless, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Names (including brand names) made this one a challenge. Yay, d-o was up to it. Fortunately, there's no WINTRY MIX expected here -- just a little rain on Thursday. Thanx, Annemarie and sumdaze (no, those wooden pegs weren't dowels. Too fancy.)
LLANO: For some unknown reason this word is included in the NYT Spelling Bee dictionary, but "ocotillo" is not.
IS IT I?: "Who, Me?" also fit.
DRY: Until recently our county was "moist" -- beer and wine, only. Now it's wet.
FIR, but linger->LOITER, aetna->AFLAC, and popcicles->POPSICLES (UNTIE!)
I live about an hour from Nag's Head in the OUTER Banks.
We're supposed to get a WINTRY MIX tomorrow morning, but since we've been having above freezing temps lately (and our low tonight will be in the mid-30s) it isn't expected to cause driving problems.
The Caterpillar C7 diesel in my RV takes 18 QUARTS of oil.
Seems like only yesterday that we had PUREE.
DQ had a BLIZZARD in the 1960s, in my tween and teen years. It was really just an extra thick milkshake, unlike the current iteration.
I really wanted the awkward first date word to be "whips." Never heard of the L BOMB, but it makes sense. I used to watch The L Word on (crossword favorite) SHO.
Thanks to Annemarie for the fun, easy-but-not-too-easy Monday puzzle. And thanks to sumdaze for the excellent review. Loves me some Lou Rawles, but I wonder if he was lip synching. The backup singers and instruments had to come from somewhere. But most studios were recording on 8 track equipment by then, so maybe they gave him a mix that had everything except his voice. Karaoke before there was karaoke.
Took 4:49 today for me to shovel my way through this one.
Weird Monday puzzle with a Mexican marinade, a German article, Lbomb, MTA, & WPA.
Annemarie gave us an enjoyable and seasonably appropriate puzzle today. "Wintry mix" is an unwelcome forecast in my neck of the woods. I'm at 4500', so that forecast usually means snow for us. And I'm with sumdaze on the spelling of the adjectival form of "winter." I think the word should be spelled WINTERY.
Pangram update: I thought Annemarie gave us one today. There's a Q, an X, and two Z's. But I'll be darned if I can find a J!
This was a solid puzzle with a minimum of obscurities and proper names, nicely designed and constructed.
Thanks, sumdaze, for all your amusing explications, and thanks Annemarie, for giving us a pleasant start to the week.
FIR. Not a lot to say about this puzzle. It's Monday and this did not disappoint for easiness. A few oddball answers but the perps were in the right places to solve them.
I got the theme early on. I haven't experienced a wintry mix in decades, and I don't miss it. Occasionally we get some hail, but it's really rare in a tropical climate.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
This was a cute and certainly timely theme but, as sumdaze stated, the gimmick was obvious from the get-go. This is not a criticism, as it’s usually difficult to conceal themes in straightforward early week puzzles. But the 28 TLWs diminished the smoothness of the solve, IMO.
Thanks, Annemarie, and thanks, sumdaze, for the fun and fact-filled review.
Loved your gnome story and the winning comics today were The Last Supper, the Klutzy Goat, and the Hey, Diddle Diddle runaway Dish and Spoon! 🤣
Have a great day.
Jinx, I believe the L of LBomb refers to Love.
9 Proper names. Sad
Yeah, I got that. I've heard of "dropping the 'L' word" in that context, just not the 'L' BOMB. Might be age or geographic difference. Easy enough to figure out though.
Musings
-I had a much easier time with this puzzle than the Chief’s O-line did with the Eagles front four last night!
-My snow blower started on the second pull in November and since then has just been gathering dust. We finally have a big chance of snow this week.
-ADOBO – My vocab for foreign food continues to grow
-Kitty Hawk, where man first flew, is on the OUTER Banks of N.C.
-Our country saw a COUP take place last summer
-L-BOMB?
-I was at a NASA class in Huntsville, AL for two weeks. On one Sunday we made the short drive north to Lynchburg, TN to tour the Jack Daniels factory which is in DRY Moore county. The only people allowed to drink their product were the tasters.
-My hometown was DRY on Sundays when I grew up which put my dad on the road.
This puzzle started a little slow but picked up speed as it headed south.
Living in an area with 4 seasons and weather that jumps around within a week or a day, I'm very used to seeing WINTRY MIX in the forecast. It's never boring - last week was in the low 70s but now the high will be in the 30's and snow forecasted on Wednesday.
The other modern GRETA besides Thunberg is GRETA Gerwig the Oscar nominated director, producer, actor of The Barbie Movie, Lady Bird, and Little Women.She had a cameo in one of my favorite Super Bowl Commericals yesterday from Uber Eats with Matthew McConaughey which had all sorts of appearances by different XWD faves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYb6erM8z8w
Thanks Renee for the fun blog and Annemarie for the puzzle
Husker, didn't you mean last November?
This was the typical Monday easy Puzzle. Only ORA was totally unfamiliar. I know ORA as a first name, not a last name. A perp or two suggested some answers. L Bomb has been around for at least 15 years and F Bomb has been around longer.
Llanos and adobo are English words now. I remember a TV ad that said, "Time got adobo the chicken."
The soap box derby reminds me of the pinewood derby where the Boy Scouts would build miniature cars. Most scouts had plenty of help from their dads.
One year most of my students brought in fabulous projects done with major parental input. One of my students had a cool, but obviously child produced project. He was embarrassed. I gave him an A. I would have preferred my other students had had a opportunity to put more of themselves into the project.
Many times a wintry mix is hard to drive n than snow.
Grammarly says, "Wintry” is an adjective we use to describe something that relates to winter or is chilly or frigid. “Wintery” is another way to spell “wintry,” but even though it’s not incorrect, it’s far less common than “wintry.”
As averse as I am usually to proper names in á puzzle, I didn’t even notice the ones included the morning. I didn’t LOITER through this cool CW.
My grand niece and her husband just moved from south east Louisiana to á part of Arkansas that is DRY. Culture shock.
Thanks sumdaze for the nice review.
No WINTRY MIX here, thank goodness.
Only problem with Last Supper cartoon, Luke wasn't there. Still enjoyed it though
I've never had a problem dealing with dry counties. But Texas took it to a new level. Their local options were by precinct. Driving down a major street, it wasn't unusual to see beer signs on one side of the street and none on the other.
They also had a dodge for the restaurants. Alcohol by the drink was legal in private clubs. Restaurants sold memberships to their "private club" for $0.50 or $1, and there was one membership that covered quite a few restaurants that didn't have their own "club."
My old home town in Eastern Kentucky was wet before I was born, then the US Navy established a presence in the county. The sailors plus alcohol caused problems. The county voted to become dry, and stayed that way even after the Navy left. After I left town for college, they voted to be wet in the city, but remain dry in the rest of the county. I'm sure the timing was mere coincidence.
ParSan
More challenging than some Monday puzzles but no problem. I did not read the whole clue for IVORY SNOW and also had Ivory Soap. A craft project as a Girl Scout leader - we added water to make a paste out of Ivory Snow and put it around fat candles, then let them DRY. A nice gift for Mother’s Day. I don’t think they sell it anymore, at least in our area.
Our WINTERY MIX Sat. was wind and snow, 5 inches added to the 4 on the ground. I mean/MEANT, wires/CORDS.
Thanks Sumdaze for the video that brought back good nenories. The Soap Box Derby in AKRON was an exciting event in the 1940’s and 1850’.that I loved to attend. It often had crowds of 50,000 - 100,000. Boys made theirown wooden race cars and gravity took over as the rolled down the hill. Girls were allowed to enter in the 1970’s.
Happy day, all!
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Annemarie and sumdaze.
I FIRed (I thought) and saw the WINTRY MIX theme, but arrived here to discover that I had a C instead of K in KLUTZIEST and AKRON. D’uh. I should have reviewed and caught AKRON. That NE corner required a lot of perps.
Our winter has seen more snow than last year, and more coming later this week.
Two inkblots. I stared to enter Grand Banks, before I moved south from Newfoundland to the OUTER BANKS.
Then Bug changed to NAG.
LBOMB is new to me, but I figured the L stood for Love.
I’ll take a CSO with ONT.
Wishing you all a great day.
A smooth Monday puzzle, and an even smoother sumdaze recap, for an enjoyable start of the week. When I hear MTA, I always think of Boston instead of New York, and wonder if Charlie ever did get off of that train.
Just right for a Monday, a timely theme that was easily decipherable after a couple long fills. The reveal (if there is one) tends to be at the bottom of the grid most often but I never start down there to help with the solve. A rare day that I knew all the names as clued. I remember somewhat of a controversy years ago about the woman pictured on the IVORY SNOW box because of what she did for a living. Thank you Annemarie for a pleasant start to the CW week.
I have a friend nicknamed “Beamer” given to him when he went bald in high school, and for a while he actually owned a BEEMER.
sumdaze ~ your write-ups are always a treat on Monday’s and thank you for today’s! That map shows my county in Upper Michigan to be “mixed”, but I don’t know of any areas that are “dry”. No matter what Punxsutawney Phil predicts, there is always 6 more weeks and beyond of WINTRY MIX up there. Here in SW Florida, Yooper Phil predicts six weeks of ☀️, 🌴’s,, and low 80’s.
Something not permitting bold or italics Hmmm
Started out a bit sticky, a few blanks, but got easier heading south. At “Canadian province” and PANAMA thought the theme was “expansionism”. Then saw the reveal clue/answer further down.
A hospital “Code ELOPEment” doesn’t mean two patients have run off to get married but an alert that one has wandered from their room.
“Grassy plain” LLANO was known from CWs but a Spanish hint would have helped; like the “marinade” being “Mexican” (ADOBO also learnt from puzzles.)
My HS was a WPA project built in 1935.
In these parts lots of us including me erroneously say VANELLA and not just in this month of Feb-you-ary.
I considered the letter that usually goes with BOMB 💣 😱… but thankfully wouldn’t perp. (Don’t say “l Love you” on a first date unless she pays for dinner 🥰)
Pretty actress from the movie “Ground Hogs Day” Andie Mac DOWELL.
Dad’s gleaning tools … POPSICLES
Grouchy sheep sound: “___, HUMbug” … BAH
Pivoted suddenly… WIELD
It’s unfortunate that when all this snow melts the abundance of water can’t be pipelined to the parts of the country in need. 💧
Didn't you love those Blue Laws. Some places didn't allow alcohol to be sold until after noon on Sundays.
Those wooden pieces pictured more closely resemble finials, a dowel is cylindrical and one type of them should be familiar to those who have assembled furniture.
As most solvers, I try to solve NW to SE and after solving 17A, IVORY SNOW, I couldn't help but think of Marilyn Chambers on the Box's cover. That's when P&G found out that she had made an X-rated porno film a few months earlier. I remember a Supreme Court judge remarking about porno saying: I can't define it but I know it when I see it.
L BOMB is a new term for me and the perps took care of this unknown. I don't keep up with rap music but after SNOW and BLIZZARD, VANILLA ICE was and easy guess.
Wet vs. Dry- is Jack Daniels still distilled in a DRY county? Yes. Moore county, TN is DRY.
My SIL would chuckle at this puzzle, Her father's name was RENE (27d) ROUX (16D is RUE). Same sound
Tjhat's the way it was in Texas Stadium. Didn't want to get to the Cowboys game too early. (Don't know the law in their new Arlington local.) In Atlanta, even non-alcoholic beer like O'Douls can't be sold in grocery stores on Sunday. (They have about 0.5% alcohol.)
I, too, questioned that dowel picture. Dowels are rod shaped.
I think those wooden thingamajigs are called shaker pegs.
Delightful Monday puzzle, many thanks, Annemarie. And your commentary is always helpful and appreciated, thanks for that too, Sumdaze.
Well, it seems that a BLIZZARD along with some IVORY SNOW might feel like perfect weather for a guy named ROBERT FROST, who had quite a lot of TALENT in poetry. If it weren't so cold, we'd offer him some VANILLA ICE as a payment, but that would be too much of a WINTRY MIX and would RUIN his day. Let's offer him some POPSICKLES and a QUART of hot tea instead. Maybe that'll warm him up a little.
Wishing you all a warmer day too.
Annemarie, what fun to romp through your WINTRY Monday puzzle! Here in So Cal, I've never encountered the phrase WINTRY MIX, but Sumdaze's illustration confirms it is a thing. Sumdaze, your Cat and the Fiddle cartoon is a great one.
Yes, Ray-O, please funnel your snow melt in our direction!
Hi All!
Thanks Annemarie for the crunchy Monday GRID. I'm hoping Winter here is gone so I can get on with my gardening.
Excellent expo, sumdaze. LOL Last Supper comic. //BTW, My An Exaltation of Larks came in yesterday, thanks for the recommendation.
WO: Hand-up for IVORY Soap (Am I the only one that still uses it in the shower? - no perfumes to annoy me).
ESPs: LLANO, LOU, ORA, CORDS ('cuz it was filled and I skipped the clue)
Fav: PANAMA [Van Halen]
YR - as a former scout (who (mostly) built my own pinewood derby cars), I can attest - it's hard not to insert yourself into kids' projects. When Eldest needed a trebuchet for HS physics, I took her out of school for the day and we spent a fun time in the garage building & testing it. It was crude but mostly hers. She even learned how to use the chop-saw and nail-gun.
HG - I was pulling for a three-peat but, by half-time, it looked over. At least KC got on the board.
Shreveport, LA was DRY on Sundays. Houston is mostly wet except before noon on Sundays (gotta time my trip to H.E.B. Sunday mornings if I'm going to pick up wine for DW). Also, one can only buy liquor at liquor stores. When we went to SPI, the Girls were gobsmacked when they saw liquor at the grocery store and gas station.
Jinx - I was 19yro when Louisiana raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 -- except for private clubs. Every bar sold "memberships" at the door for $0.50. And, once visiting friends, wives went shopping and my buddy & I had the same experience in Dallas as you did.
DW & I had just started dating and were in a sauna. I dropped the L-BOMB. She said, "More like lust." I mean, sure, there was a bit of that but...
Cheers, -T
I am enjoying reading your comments! Thanks for the help with the DOWEL pic. I am familiar with 'regular' dowels but the 'pegs' part of the clue gave me pause.
Yes, I believe the L word is the more common usage. In fact, I checked Mr. G to make sure L Bomb meant the same.
I enjoyed solving this puzzle, reading sumdaze's write-up, and reading all your comments.
Edward in Los Angeles: that is a PEG, not a DOWEL.
No One Cares Dept:
BMW makes cars and bikes.
BEEMER - Bikes
BIMMER - Cars
Re: dowels, the jig is up...
My usual complaint: far too many names: 22 by my count. Fortunately only DNK 7. Still... I seem to be remembering to look for the theme more often, and saw this one right away, which was a help to FIR in 12. One fill is "SPONGE" as a dish cleaner. I sincerely hope nobody is using a sponge, or a dish rag, to clean your dishes. These are both absolutely LOADED with bacteria, due to trapping small bits of food and staying wet. Use a dish brush: it works far better, food bits are easily rinsed out, and it dries quickly between uses. The "wintry mix" was one reason I moved from WI. Cold is bad enough. Snow is worse. But the very worst is when it rains at 33* or 34*. Living in FLL, I get sick og the too-hot weather, but still don't wanna trade it for WI weather. I went to UW-Madison, a campus shoehorned in between two lakes. In the winter the wind would blow off Lake Mendota and I'd freeze my ..., well it was cold. Thanx for the Monday funday, AB. PLEASE try to avoid all those names, though. The mention of NC's outer banks reminds me of sailing around Cape Hatteras. Once it was smooth sailing. Every other time, it was an adventure, which is why there are so many shipwrecks there. Sumdaze, thanx for your reliably fun and informative write-up. I especially liked the "Two Roads" cartoon.
I meant to mention: much discussion yesterday about a Super Bowl 3-peat, which did not happen. My Packers remain the only team in the modern era to win three NFL Championships in a row, the last NFL Championship before it was called "Super Bowl", and the first two Super Bowls. Technically, they did not win three Super Bowls in a row, but only because the first of the three was not CALLED "Super Bowl".
That is, if you can call 1967 "the modern era". OH! And guess who the Packers defeated in SB 1? None other than the Chiefs!!
Hola! Late today because it is counting day and someone made a mistake which we had to find by re-counting three times! It's my only volunteer work so I enjoy it. However, it's tiring and afterward I need a nap.
WINTRY MIX is not phrase I hear around here. I'm not familiar with L BOMB and for some reason I knew ALONZO Mourning.
Oh, how I wish I could have a D Q BLIZZARD! And there's VANILLA and POPSICLES, too.
When my SPONGE gets too icky, I put it in the dishwasher or if it's beyond help, I toss it. Luckily they come in packets of three. That and so many other items I used to buy at the 99 cents store. I really miss it especially since it was to nearby. In years past I would walk there.
I hope you are all enjoying a nice day. It's lovely here at 75 degrees.
Oops. I meant to say, "it was so nearby."
Pop (in IL) asks, "Why Houston? It's so hot."
Me: "I don't need to shovel hot." :-)
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