Monday May 29, 2023 Mike Peluso

 

Hello Cornerites and Happy Memorial Day!  

On Memorial Day we remember and honor the men and women
who died while serving in the U.S. military.
It is a day of both celebration and grief.

Today's theme:          A Cool Water Puzzle!

The Sons of the Pioneers recorded Cool Water in 1941.

(Dan is his burro.)

Constructor Mike Peluso gives us four 2-word phrases, each ending with a word that can also be found in FRONT of the word WATER for a different type of WATER.

The 4 themers are:

18 Across. Blended condiment: GARLIC SALT.  SALT WATER

23 Across. Fictional band that uses an umlaut on the "n" in its name: SPINAL TAP.  TAP WATER

We recently saw this Christopher Guest mockumentary in last Tuesday's puzzle. The joke is that umlauts over consonants are rare, but the bandmembers are not bright enough to match their own artistic airs. Here is a fun article on the American fad for gratuitous umlauts.

49 Across. Like recently harvested produce: FARM FRESH.  FRESH WATER

57 Across. Leavening agent that's also a cleaning product: BAKING SODA.  SODA WATER

The unifier is a grid-spanner on row 8:

39 Across. Oscar-winning Marlon Brando film, or where the last words of 18-, 23-, 49-, and 57-Across can literally be found: ON THE WATERFRONT.  

 "I coulda been a contender".

Rod Steiger and Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront (1954).

The film received 12 Academy Award nominations and won 8, including Best Actor.

If you missed the theme, there is no need to turn on the waterworks. This puzzle has plenty of delightful fill. Let's dive in.

Across:
1. Meghan Trainor's "All About That __": BASS.  

Stand-up BASS player, Esperanza Spalding has won 5 Grammy Awards.

Here, she performs Overjoyed in 2009.

5. Catholic service: MASS.

9. Tossed: THREW.  I hope you did not TITT!

14. West Coast gas brand with ampm convenience stores: ARCO.  Not every ARCO has an ampm, but over 1,100 do. You can find them in CA, OR, WA, NV, AZ, OH, IL, GA, and FL.

The first ampm location opened in Southern California in 1978.
I wonder if that is the station where, one Sunday afternoon, I learned my bank put a hold on my credit card because I was using it while driving from Colorado to California and I had not notified them to expect travel. #LessonsLearned

15. Fatherly nickname: PAPA.

16. Grocery section: AISLE.  

17. Fibber: LIAR.  

This one is for my fellow math geeks.

20. Pinochle plays: MELDS.  MELDS are combinations of cards that add up to different point values. How to Play Pinochle

22. Snowball pile, say: AMMO.  

26. "Rats": DRAT.

30. Portuguese lady: DONA.  

DONA Maria 1, Queen of Portugal
18th century oil, artist unknown
She was the first queen of Portugal, married her uncle, and eventually went mad.
a brief history

31. Honker in a gaggle: GOOSE.  We have many new goslings in our area now. DH took this pic last week at the reflecting pool.

#SwimmingLesson

32. Local source of 49-Across produce, for short: CSA.  Community Supported Agriculture

It is unusual to see self-referential clues pointing at one of the themed clues.

35. Twin of Romulus: REMUS.  The legend of Romulus and REMUS was the inspiration for this (IMHO disturbing) sculpture.  

This Capitoline Wolf replica is in Rome.

38. Tiny bits: IOTAS.

42. Word before pointer or printer: LASER.  I like clues like this one!  

43. Letter embellishment, in typography: SERIF.  

44. Comedian Romano: RAY.  Parade did a cover story on him last month.

45. Neighborhoods: AREAS.

46. Airborne mysteries: UFOS.  

48. Open-handed hit: SLAP.  If you watched How I Met Your Mother, you know about the SLAP bet.

54. Unremarkable: SO SO.  Teen slang:  mid

55. Trial versions of software, e.g.: DEMOS.

In 1979, Weird Al Yankovic recorded his DEMO of My Bologna in a bathroom across the hall from the Cal Poly radio station because he liked the acoustics...and it was free. It was his first official hit.  

This is the teaser trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022).

Yep, that's Daniel Radcliffe from Harry Potter.

63. Locale: SITE.

64. Regional flora and fauna: BIOTA.  the animal and plant life of a particular region, habitat, or geological period (rhymes with the root of 38A)

65. Give off: EMIT.

66. Smart __: ALEC.  The term came to us from police slang for a criminal who was too smart for his own good, or whose cockiness led to his arrest.

67. Refreshingly cool: CRISP.  Anyone else suddenly craving lettuce?

68. Actress Daly: TYNE.  IMDb page

69. Result of a sting, maybe: WELT.  a ridge or lump raised on the body (as by a blow or allergic reaction)

Down:
1. Salve: BALM.  You can make one out of aloe to put on a welt.

2. Zodiac sign also called the Ram: ARIES.  birthdates Mar. 21 - Apr. 19

3. Spot for implants: SCALP.  Oh, that type of implants!

4. Filthy: SORDID.  SOileD also fit...for a while.

5. Car sticker stat: MPG.  Miles Per Gallon

6. Roadside aid org.: AAA.  

7. Jack who could eat no fat: SPRAT.  

8. "Frida" star Hayek Pinault: SALMA.  

Frida (2002) Official Trailer

9. Food truck snack: TACO.

10. That dude's: HIS.  

11. Cape Town's country: Abbr.: RSA.

12. Right-angled bracket shape: ELL.  

L-Bracket

13. Damp: WET.  an Easter egg???

someone who is not enjoying the bathWATER

19. Little pest: IMP.

21. Noisy sleepers: SNORERS.

24. Once again: ANEW.

25. Tibetan spiritual leaders: LAMAS.

26. Cuckoo clock part: DOOR.  Also, I learned from Good Job, Brain! that a book written in 1930 by American writer Mary Roberts Reinhart called The DOOR is generally credited with introducing the trope, “The butler did it.”

27. Windmill part: ROTOR.

28. Yoga pose: ASANA.  Poses are but one of the 8 Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.  

29. Short-tempered: TESTY.  Perhaps practicing yoga will help.

31. Kathie Lee of morning talk: GIFFORD.

32. Some soft drinks: COLAS.

33. Entangle: SNARL.  to cause to become knotted and intertwined; to make excessively complicated

I took this photo in Ayutthaya, Thailand.
The head of a stone Buddha has become embraced by a SNARL of a bodhi tree's roots.

34. On a cruise: AT SEA.

36. Sport-__: off-road vehicle: UTE.   UTility vehicle

37. Skin rejuvenator: SERUM. If the bottle is small, you know it must be worth the high price.

40. Messy mound: HEAP.  

41. Repeated jazz phrase: RIFF.

for example, Wes Montgomery's Road Song (1968)

47. Two-person playground fixture: SEE-SAW.    The name might have come to us from the French ci-ça, meaning literally, this-that; seemingly attributable to the back-and-forth motion for which a see-saw is known.

49. Weather condition common around the Golden Gate Bridge: FOG.  

San Francisco averages 108 foggy days per year. (I would have guessed more.)
Look for your city here.

50. Profit-and-loss figure: ASSET.  Hmmm... ASSETs generally go on the Balance Sheet but you might find small ASSETs on a P&L Statement.

51. Spacious: ROOMY.

52. Grin: SMILE.  OK  😀

53. Suite spot: HOTEL.  fun clue!

54. Round closer on an infant's onesie: SNAP.

56. Offshoot group: SECT.

57. "Doctor Who" TV network: BBC.  In looking for a pattern to the clueing of British shows and 3-letter fills, my guess is that if it says "airer", we go with PBS; but if it says "network", we go with BBC.

58. Beach ball filler: AIR.

59. Colorful carp: KOI.  Because they swim against the current and overcome great obstacles, KOI, in Japanese culture, symbolize strength, courage, and success through perseverance.

KOI flags are flown to celebrate Children's Day.

60. "__ about time!": IT'S.  Not quite. Two clues remain.

61. Clamor: DIN.

62. Downed: ATE.  as in, "He downed 4 hot dogs, 2 pretzels, and a beer."

Here is today's grid:  

Have a sparkling day, everyone. I look forward to reading your comments!  

Thursday, April 15, 2021 Mike Peluso

Today we have a return engagement by Mike Peluso.  Old timers will remember that Mike has published here many times over the years.  He has visited at least 5 times in the past year, the most recent being December 27, 2020.   This is a WORKING PERSON's puzzle, but even the retirees on the corner have to solve it.  The reveal best describes the TASK at hand:

36. Comment about routine work ... and hint to the ends of the answers to starred clues: IT'S A JOB.  That is the last word is a "type" of JOB.

And here are the themers:

17. *Closest to the rail, at Churchill Downs: ON THE INSIDE. e.g. INSIDE JOB is a documentary on the 2008 financial crisis, still available for streaming from Amazon Prime.  Haven't seen it, but I think they name names.

53. *It may be used with a grunt or two: ELBOW GREASE.  e.g. I did a GREASE JOB on my tiller the other day using WD40.  Did a spritz or two, but not much grunting (other than to drag the beast out of the shed).

11. *Suzanne Somers' "Three's Company" role: CHRISSY  SNOW. e.g. Oxford Languages defines a SNOW JOB  as "deception or concealment of one's real motive in an attempt to flatter or persuade".  I've never seen "Three's Company"  and as a legally blonde male, I much prefer dumb brunette jokes, but HERE'S CHRISSY ...

25. *Barely triumphs: WINS BY A NOSE.  e.g. a NOSE JOB never occurred to Cyrano de Bergerac but he won anyway.  My favorite movie version of this story is titled with the object of his affections, ROXANNE, and stars  Daryl Hannah and Steve Martin:
 

Hey, the work's just getting started:

Across:

1. Mail in: REMIT.  Not a themer, but often a metaphor for minimal effort on a JOB.  Same with "phone in".

6. Hair-raising experiences?: PERMS.

11. Bare-bones sleeper: COT.

14. Egypt's Mubarak: HOSNI.  an Egyptian military and political leader who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.

15. Font that's a homophone for a mermaid: ARIAL.  The font is rather dull, so here's Ariel.  She is the first non-human Disney princess, and even has her own wiki.
 

16. Color: HUE.  There are varying ways to define HUES, one of the most common being as factions of  RED, GREEN, and BLUE. "RGB" is a digital standard for this approach.

19. Mitch McConnell's org.: RNC.  The Republican National Committee, the titular governing board of the Republican Party.

20. Balance sheet category: ASSETS  versus LIABILITIES.

21. "Love Story" author Segal: ERICH.

23. The Big Easy, locally: NAWLINS.  A CSO to our very own Big Easy!

26. Works: OPUSES.  But there's really only one OPUS:
 

27. Get one's bearings: ORIENT.

28. Refines, as ore: SMELTS.  Also a small silvery fish resembling a sardine.  I've always thought of them as food for larger fish, but apparently they are good eating if you know how to prepare them.   I'll be interested in what CC or Boomer have to say about them.  This fish is a tiny fraction of the size of the Ling cod in 44D.
 

Smelt

30. Loads: TONS.

31. "Dandy for your teeth" old toothpaste: IPANA.   And here's Bucky!
 

32. Guffaw: YUK.   I don't see anything funny about this at all:
 

Mr Yuk

35. Ambulance letters: EMS.

38. Wee, in Dundee: SMA.  New to me.

39. Apply gently: DAB.

40. Novgorod nos: NYETS.  No, NOT the New York Mets!

41. Financial news channel: CNBC.

42. Judge of baseball, for one: YANKEE.  UMPIRE didn't perp, so I had to use perps to get this.  As I'm not a YANKEE fan so I hadn't heard of Aaron Judge.  AL Rookie of the Year for 2017:
 

44. Pakistani metropolis: LAHORE.

46. Jolson classic: SWANEE.  Jolson is best known for his appearance in the "Jazz Singer", the first "talking picture".  But he performed in many Broadway musicals prior to this, including the hit Sinbad in 1918.  At some point he included George Gershwin's Swanee in the song list.  It was a smash hit and helped launch Gershwin's career.

48. Dispensed (with): DID AWAY.

49. Privilege of playing first, in golf: HONOR.  All of you golfers may know this term, but this lefthander certainly didn't.  This explains it.  I do find it very relaxing to watch.  All those greens, and an occasional patch of brown.

50. Kid's retort: ARE NOT.  ARE TOO!

52. Latin 101 verb: AMO.  Okay, let's not get too personal here.
 
58. Network soliciting donors: PBS.  Use to donate.  Now I just sponge off of people with JOBS.

59. Spry: AGILE.

60. Stubborn: BALKY.  This was a stubborn clue, especially crossing the NATICK ADORBS (see 45D).

61. Atlanta-to-Charleston dir.: ESE.

62. Evaluated: RATED.  This review is RATED PG.

63. Everly Brothers song sleepyhead: SUSIE. "Wake Up Little Susie" is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957.   The Everly Brothers' cover of it came out in September of that year and quickly went to the top of the charts.  Alright everybody, hands up if you found yourself in a similar situation years and years ago:
 

Down:
1. Pi follower: RHO.  Don't get 'em too close though.  You might start a FIRE.

2. Ages and ages: EON.

3. Casper winter hrs.: MST.

4. Consumes eagerly: INHALES.  Unlike some politicians of a certain age who didn't ...

5. Connects logically: TIES IN.  Personally I think everything TIES IN.

6. See-through sheets: PANES.  I have some friends like that, but I can't see thru 'em.

7. Once, old-style: ERST.

8. Social reformer Jacob: RIIS.  And a gluey one at that.

9. Magazine with "The Lighter Side of..." features: MAD.  [considered inserting a cover, but didn't want to blow my PG RATING.]

10. Where apnea might be diagnosed: SLEEP LAB.  I can speak from personal experience, I predict that the person who invents a low-cost, paste on, disposable, blue-tooth EKG sensor will become a BRAZILIANAIRE.  Those of you who've been there know what I mean.  There's a CSO for ya' Anon-T (and I want a finder's fee)! 

12. Prevention unit: OUNCE. Always a good investment.

13. Many Microsoft employees: TECHS.  And a lot of them have nothing better to do than lard on useless new features to the next release of Windows.

18. "It __ fair!": ISN'T.  IS TOO!

22. Tire track: RUT.

23. Famous: NOTED.

24. Bakery draw: AROMA.  This is starting to make me hungry.

26. Napa prefix: OENO.  OENOLOGY is the science and study of wine and wine making. This is distinct from viticulture, the agricultural endeavor of vine-growing, and the agricultural endeavor of grape-harvesting. The English word oenology derives from the word oinos, "wine" and the suffix –logia, "study of" from the Ancient Greek language.  - Wikipedia.
 
28. Overflow: SPATE.

29. Some mil. brass: MAJS.

31. "Understood": I SEE.  Most of the time I really don't though.

33. Eclipse shadow: UMBRA.  What is an UMBRA?

34. Country singer Musgraves with six Grammys: KACEY.  New to me, but I was glad to make her acquaintance.  Here's Merry-go-Round from her breakthrough album, Same Trailer Different Park released in 2013:

36. Cochlea site: INNER EAR.  Here's your inner ear explained.   And here's a 'pitcher', and "they have BIG EARS" (as my Dad often said to Mom when I was in the room).  The COCHLEA is the part that looks like a conch shell on the right:
 

37. Child: TYKE.

41. Loire Valley sight: CHATEAU.  In addition to a CASTLE, also an Appellation Contrôlée, an official designation for French wines, certifying that the grapes in a vintage were grown, pressed, barrelled, and bottled on the CHATEAU estate. This is the highest standard.  The next highest I believe are COMMUNITY appellations, where the grapes are all from the same community in a REGION. Here is a map of the wine communities in the LOIRE VALLEY REGION (C MOE for more on appellations):
 

43. 2021, por ejemplo: ANO.  Today's leccion de Español.

44. __ cod: Pacific Coast catch: LING.   I'd not heard of this fish, and it's not really a cod, but those in the know consider it a delicacy ...
 

Lingcod

45. "Totes __!": really cute: ADORBS.  New to me. "Totes adorbs" is a slang abbreviation of "totally adorable" that's evolved among the 20 and under age group here in the States", per the Cambridge English Dictionary.

46. Fitness magazine: SHAPE.

47. Development sites: WOMBS.  More often UTERI, but it didn't perp.

48. Like morning grass: DEWED. Wet morning grass always brings to my mind this song, the lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 –5 June 1965), set to an old Scottish tune called "Bunessan", and sung by Cat Stevens:
 

50. Somewhat: A BIT. A humble but very versatile word.  With just a series of the values "0" or "1", they can be used to create vast universes,  or little ones like the Corner.

51. Part: ROLE.

54. JFK alternative: LGA.  A remarkable story began here on January 15th, 2009.   If you haven't seen the movie SULLY, I highly recommend it.
 

Miracle on the Hudson

55. Pacino and Capone: ALS.

56. Water __: SKI.

57. Hurricane center: EYE.  Hurricane Andrew (1995) had a "pinhole" eye, the most destructive type.  A CSO to Spitz or any other Cornerites with tales to tell about these storms.
 

Hurricane Andrew

 Here's the grid:
 

  

To get some insight into Mike Peluso's background, inspiration, and theme preferences here's C.C.'s interview with him from the early days (2009).

waseeley

Cheers,
Bill

Sunday December 27, 2020 Mike Peluso

Theme: "Eye Exam" - Letter I is inserted into each familiar phrase.

24A. Workplace movie screen?: OFFICE IMAX. OfficeMax.

43A. Apple product for unmarried men?: BACHELOR IPAD. Bachelor pad.

53A. List of PGA players with pictorial links to their bios?: PROS AND ICONS. Pros and cons.

73A. Order to a construction worker?: RAISE THE I-BAR. Raise the bar.

82A. Apple media player for silly songs?: LOONEY ITUNES. Looney Tunes.

104A. Brew with a hint of chocolate?: HERSHEY IPA. Hershey PA.

36D. Perfect one of three meals?: SQUARE IDEAL. Square deal.

39D. Kauai breakfast restaurants?: ISLAND IHOPS. Island hops.

Ideally we just have an iPad or iTunes, not both, since it's the same iThing. But Mike's choices are quite limited. Words like IRAN, IRON just won't work.

ICON & IDEAL works perfectly since they share no root with the original CON or DEAL.  

Mike Peluso

 Across:

 

1. Bend in pointe shoes: PLIE.

5. Style: MODE.

9. Dark film genre: NOIR.

13. __ Sticks: drain-cleaning aid: SANI. Never tried this. Good?

17. Sweet-talk: COAX.

18. Barn-raising group: AMISH.

20. Worth a rave review, in show biz: BOFFO. Learned from doing xwords.

21. University near Durham, NC: ELON. Give MUSK a break. 

22. Half-off sale acronym: BOGO. Buy One, Get One free.

23. Destination for aficionados: MECCA.

26. Small Kia SUV: SPORTAGE. Can the front passenger seat be raised?

28. Street show: RAREE.

30. "Dust in the Wind" rockers: KANSAS.

31. Tampico abode: CASA. It's JIA in Chinese. Wo Jia Zai Minnesota (I live in Minnesota).

32. Silas with a loom: MARNER.

33. Chicago-to-Indianapolis dir.: SSE.

34. Good news, in a metaphor: MUSIC.

37. Chill-inducing: EERIE. And 109. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.

38. Prepared for surgery, in a way: STERILE.

42. Titles for attys.: ESQS.

47. Frites seasoning: SEL.

48. Generate, with "up": DRUM.

49. "I Left Something Turned __ Home": 1997 Trace Adkins hit: ON AT.

50. Côte d'__: AZUR.

51. Court game word: ALAI. Jai alai.

52. Actress Lupino: IDA.

57. Fist bumps: DAPS. Like this.

58. Action movie staple: CAR CRASH.

60. Worked with a crew, maybe: OARED.

61. Utah range: UINTA. Google shows that "Uinta is derived from the Ute word Yoov-we-teuh, which means pine tree or pine forest." We also have 77. Utah Valley University city: OREM.

62. Upper class: ELITE.

63. Graceful: FLUID.

64. Checked out in advance: CASED.

66. Trojan king: PRIAM. Father of Hector and Paris.

68. Some steaks: LOINS. Click here for D-Otto's legendary potato dumplings. Very labor-intensive.

69. Contentious filings: LAWSUITS.

72. Swimsuit designer Gernreich: RUDI. We just had him before.

76. __ polloi: HOI.

78. Corrida cries: OLES.

79. Diamond's opposite, on the Mohs scale: TALC. 1 on the Mohs scale. 10 for diamond.

80. Parachute necessity: CORD.

81. Ovine cry: BAA.

86. __ facto: IPSO.

87. E.T.'s Earth pal: ELLIOTT. "E.T., stay with me"

89. Eat away: ERODE.

90. Day of the PGA: JASON. Here he is. Hi Lemonade!

91. Arrest: NAB.

92. "Which one will it be?": CHOOSE.

94. Cheater's device: CRIB.

96. Emulate Earhart: AVIATE.

99. "Silent Night" et al.: HYMNS.

100. The NFL had two of them in 2018: TIE GAMES. Why didn't they go overtime?

106. Gets a ride, but not a Lyft: UBERS.

108. Jazz club group: TRIO.

110. Dorm diet staple: RAMEN. Instant noodles just became popular when I entered college in 1990.  KFC entered Xi'an shortly after. It was cool to eat at KFC or have instant noodles for lunch. So dumb.

111. Puerto Rico's third-largest city: PONCE.

112. U. of Maryland athlete: TERP.

113. Like Span. o-ending nouns: MASC. El Nino.

114. Nor. neighbor: SWED.

115. Test for jrs.: PSAT.

116. Summer quaffs: ADES.

Down:

1. EPA-banned toxins: PCBS.

2. Chicago district, with "the": LOOP.

3. "Othello" villain: IAGO.

4. Event in a classic William Peter Blatty novel: EXORCISM. Not a fill we see often.

5. Half a '60s quartet: MAMAS.

6. Last of 24: OMEGA. Greek alphabet.

7. Cut into cubes: DICE.

8. Upper left key: ESC.

9. Like some ATM withdrawals: NO FEE. And 54. "True dat!": NO LIE.

10. Proposal: OFFER.

11. "__ had known ... ": IF I.

12. Standouts in a field: ROCK STARS.

13. One with net income?: SEINER. Seine net.

14. Charity: ALMS.

15. Weather-monitoring gp.: NOAA. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

16. "Devil Inside" band: INXS.

19. African capital once known as Salisbury: HARARE. Capital of Zimbabwe. Known as Salisbury until 1982.

 

20. Island east of Sumatra: BORNEO.

25. Alleviated: EASED.

27. It may be an X or an O: TAC.

29. Seed pod: ARIL. These pomegranate seeds are called arils.

32. Conductor Zubin: MEHTA.

34. "M*A*S*H" figure: MEDIC.

35. Vitamin spec: USRDA. U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances.

37. Bitcoin, e.g.: E CASH.

38. Twirled: SPUN.

40. Vaulted: LEAPT.

41. Donovan of "Clueless": ELISA.

43. Title Kazakh in a 2006 spoof: BORAT. Played by Sacha Baron Cohen.

44. Win by __: A NOSE.

45. Beat anxiously: RACED.

46. Brand that once sported a crocodile: IZOD.

51. Bye that's bid: ADIEU.

53. Stiffly proper: PRIM.

55. Intimidate: DAUNT.

56. Type of whiskey: IRISH. Hi there Irish Miss!

59. Assert: CLAIM.

61. Cold War enemy: USSR.

63. "All That Jazz" choreographer: FOSSE (Bob)

64. Suspension bridge support: CABLE.

65. Surveillance plane acronym: AWACS. Airborne Warning and Control System.

66. Investigation: PROBE.

67. Like much of Nebraska: RURAL. Anyone else from Nebraska other than Husker Gary, Avg. Joe and Brad?

68. Form of security: LIEN.

69. Balaban of "Definitely, Maybe": LIANE. Stranger to me. Beautiful.

70. Trunk: TORSO.

71. Lebanese port: SIDON. Another learning moment.

73. Dad's and Mug: ROOT BEERS.

74. Much: A LOT.

75. Chopin work: ETUDE.

80. Holey Italian bread: CIABATTA. For panini.

82. Reluctant: LOATH.

83. Loyal servant: YEOMAN.

84. Press: IRON.

85. 50-50 chance: TOSS UP.

88. "Hang on ... ": IN A SEC.

90. It may be up, with "the": JIG.

92. Opine, with "in": CHIME.

93. Promoted to excess: HYPED.

94. Around: CIRCA.

95. Trip odometer function: RESET.

96. Throaty attention-getter: AHEM.

97. Aloe __: VERA.

98. Flower from the Greek for "rainbow": IRIS. We used to have a regular named Iris, right, Agnes?

100. Second place?: TENS. Column, right?

101. "A horse is a horse" horse: MR ED.

102. Cork's home: EIRE.

103. Absorbs, with "up": SOPS.

105. Deviate from a course: YAW.

107. Conk: BOP.

Happy Birthday to Dudley, a regular on our blog a few years ago. Dudley started the "Rabbit, Rabbit" tradition. This picture was taken during Montana's visit to Northeast in September, 2013. How time flies!

Left to right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana

C.C.