google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday March 19, 2018 Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

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Mar 19, 2018

Monday March 19, 2018 Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

Theme: DOUBLE DATES (61. Two-couple outings ... and what the answers to starred clues are?) - Both words in each theme entry can precede "date".

 20A. *Begin preparing an evening meal : START DINNER. Start date. Dinner date.

 11D. *Downpour : HEAVY RAIN. Heavy date. Rain date.

 35D. *Steaming morning mugful : HOT COFFEE. Hot date. Coffee date.

Boomer here.

Good morning or afternoon (as the case may be) and a shout out to our normal Monday morning quarterback, Argyle, under care in the hospital.  Best wishes and I am sure the crossword enthusiasts that frequent this blog hope you are back soon, so they won't have to put up with me.
  
Across:
        
1. Bird's crop : CRAW

5. Pols with a donkey symbol : DEMS - I cannot imagine two more questionable logos than a donkey and an elephant but it is what it is.  I think Seinfeld jokes about it.

9. Specialized, committee-wise : AD HOC - I believe this is Latin for something.  But Latin is a dead language, as dead as dead can be.  First it killed the Romans, and now it's killing me.  (From my high school days).

14. Operate with a beam : LASE 

15. Natural burn soother : ALOE - Of course.  What would a crossword puzzle be without a four- letter word with three vowels ?

16. Set of beliefs : CREDO - more Latin

17. "__ That a Shame" : AIN'T - I think Fats Domino said it first.  Is Fats his real first name?

18. "Hold your horses!" : WHOA

19. Cybercommerce : E-TAIL - a clever spin word (not really a word) selling things on the internet (Like maybe on eBay which is not really a word either)

23. Nov. 11 honoree : VET - Yes I am and thankful for all the freebies offered on that day.

24. Capital of Minn. : ST PAUL - We Minnesotans had no trouble with this clue.

25. Taxi driver : CABBY

27. Many a '50s pompadour sporter : GREASER - I don't know.  A pompadour is more like a Bryce Harper do while a greaser is more of a Fonz'.


30. Catastrophic 2017 hurricane : IRMA

33. "The fresh air is delightful!" : AAH - Or the first part of a sneeze.

36. Suffix with Jumbo : TRON - Seen now at most Ballparks


37. Spreads apart, as one's fingers : SPLAYS

39. Hunt like a cat : PROWL

41. Internet connectivity delay : LAG - Or Tiger Woods laying up on a par five.

43. "The Waste Land" poet T.S. : ELIOT

44. Tennis great Gibson : ALTHEA. Ann Marie Johnson's role In the Heat of the Night.

46. Starlet's goal : FAME

48. Org. with Bulls and Bucks : NBA - Chicago/Milwaukee connection.

49. Bonkers : LOCO

50. Tart plant stalk diced for pie filling : RHUBARB - A conversation between Earl Weaver and Ron Luciano.  (May they rest in peace)

53. A : Z :: alpha : __ : OMEGA - We just returned from an OMEGA reunion in Las Vegas.  It stands for Older More Energetic Graybar Associates.


55. Originate (from) : DERIVE

59. Arctic toymaker : ELF - I thought Santa made the toys, The elves just helped.  But I have never been to the North Pole.  But I live in Minnesota - weather is the same.

64. Civilian attire : MUFTI

66. Wordsmith Webster : NOAH - I think it was clued this way because no one knows if that other Noah had a surname.

67. Hertz fleet : CARS

68. Spring for a meal : TREAT

69. Fish in some cat food : TUNA - Cat Food ????  I don't like the clue.  I grew up on tuna sandwiches, tuna casserole, and tuna salad, and I never meowed once.  So there.

70. Otherwise : ELSE

71. Oozes : SEEPS

72. "Don't go" : STAY

73. Actress Cannon : DYAN - Was married to Cary Grant but it only lasted about 3 years.

Down:

1. Yearbook section : CLASS - "And the class of all of us was just part of history".

2. Grammy winner Bonnie : RAITT. She loves Minnesota and will be here for a concert this June.

3. "It's __": "No problem" : A SNAP - Sounds like an insurance company with a duck spokesman.

4. Counter-wiping aid : WET RAG - I guess two three letter words are okay.

5. Procrastinator : DAWDLER

6. Pre-college, briefly : EL-HI - Short for Elementary and High School, but I have never heard it.

7. Cow's hurdle, in rhyme : MOON - Where Alan Shepard played golf.

8. Mystical gathering : SEANCE

9. Severe, as criticism : ACERB

10. "__ & the Women": 2000 Gere film : DR T

12. "Garfield" dog : ODIE - Good old crossword Odie, another four letter word with three vowels

13. Future stallion : COLT - OR an Indianapolis football player.

21. Slowpoke in a shell : TURTLE

22. Body parts that may be pierced : EARS - I am so old that I remember when ears were the ONLY thing that people had pierced.  Just two extra holes in the head.

26. List of charges : BILL - OR a Buffalo football player

28. Big name in ISPs : AOL - An acronym for "America on Line".  Internet pioneers for sure.

29. Chaotic mess : SNAFU - I am sure every high school graduating class had a fellow with this nickname, and I don't think he liked it.

31. "Butt out," for short : MYOB. Mind Your Own Business. True, but I like Ben Franklin's motto "Mind your Business" which was used on a coin.

32. Dog in old whodunits : ASTA - From "The Thin Man" Movie.  I am not old enough to remember the movie, but I seem to remember a TV series of the same name, with a dog of the same name also.

33. "C'mon, be __!": "Little help, please!" : A PAL

34. Woody's son : ARLO - Take the "City of New Orleans" train to "Alice's Restaurant" and get anything you want.

38. Looked closely : PEERED - OUCH - for a moment I thought this was another two- three letter word answer.

40. "To __ it may concern" : WHOM

42. Yak it up : GAB

45. 2012 Affleck thriller : ARGO. I did not see the movie, but I have corn starch of the same name in my cupboard.

47. Seized the opportunity : MADE HAY - and speed it up will ya'

51. Favorite hangouts : HAUNTS

52. Prepared (oneself), as for a jolt : BRACED - You may leave he orthodontist this way.

54. Does film splicing, say : EDITS

56. Lombardy's land : ITALY. Change the Y in the clue to an I and you have Green Bay Wisconsin.

57. Vice __ : VERSA

58. German steel town : ESSEN - I never visited this town,  I was further North in a small town called Hardheim.

59. Rescue squad VIPs : EMTS - I keep posting that EMT is Electrical Metallic Tubing but nobody listens.

60. Light, to a moth : LURE - NO, NO, This an implement used to catch fish (not tuna) in Minnesota !!

62. Match in a ring : BOUT - I remember when these were on free TV every Friday night.  I think it was sponsored by Gillette.

63. Singer Del Rey : LANA


65. Bojangles' dance genre : TAP - Nope, Mr. Bojangles did a soft shoe dance.

Boomer


Notes from C.C.:

I still have not been able to talk to Argyle. The phone is still off the hook. But Jennifer, Argyle's friend, told me that he is getting clearer and stronger. He even asked about me yesterday. So it's all good and comforting. She said they don't know how long he'll be in the hospital, but the next step is a rehab facility.

Sorry I don't have more information. I"ll let you know the exact surgery once I get Argyle's OK.

Dear Santa

58 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIWrong -- on a Monday! The shame, it burns! EmAIL crossing DR.m ! Oh, the humanity !
The theme I sorta guessed. I avoided looking at the reveal, but noticed it started with D, which was enough of a hint to let me get it. The irony was, the D that I saw wasn't for DATE!
I note that the 6 companion words broke down to three categories: calendar DATES, intensity of a DATE, and venue of a DATE.

ALTHEA had a HOT DATE, DYAN had a HEAVY DATE
Both of their beaus were Fantastic-Four mates!
Now the attraction
Might lead to action --
Depending on how Human Torch and The Thing rate!

At last it came, the N.B.A. START DATE!
The games were arranged, the wins left to fate!
But a SNAFU fire sprinkler
Made the bleachers a sink, sir!
The fans couldn't STAY, so were given a RAIN DATE!

A DINNER DATE was requested by NOAH,
But cautious IRMA responded with "WHOA!
I can't stay out late,
But a noon COFFEE DATE --
And if things get too hot, I'll bring my ALOE!"

{A-, B+, A-.}

D4E4H said...

Hi everybody! Welcome to the Easy Peasy Monday CW by Mr. Bruce Venske, and Ms. Gail Grabowski. I knew it would be fun when I saw her name, and it was.
I caught myself rushing to FIR in 17:26. Letters just flew out of my fingers. Some were even the correct ones.

Aargh! Not Boomer again. Hi young fella. Thanks for Argyletizing so well today.

Re, "Is Fats his real first name?" You weren't concerned about "Domino?" His full moniker is "Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino Jr. "

Caw, Caw, -- 1A Bird's crop CRAW -- This is the new "oboe, ono, or elba."

64A Civilian attire MUFTI You will NOT catch me using this word to mean the kind of clothes I have always worn.

3D reminds me of a pet peeve. When I thank my server in a restaurant, they reply "No problem." Where did "You're welcome go?" It is so much warmer, and meaningful than "No problem." Blah!

Today's paraprosdokian: "A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way." Mark Twain

Dave

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but my starlet first wanted a "role" before she wanted FAME. My family drove from Kentucky to Knotts Berry Farm before I was born and tasted strawberry RHUBARB pie for the first time. My mother asked for the recipe, and it became a specialty at our restaurant for years.

I was surprised to see SNAFU in a family environment. I think "AD HOC" means "for this" - a specialized committee, report, procedure, etc.

March madness is especially mad this year. I would never have guessed that my Kentucky Wildcats would make it to the Sweet Sixteen, let alone becoming the top remaining seed in their Region. Last weekend's puzzles will have to wait.

We're off to Ft. Myers for four days to wrap up our extended vacation.

Thanks to Gail and Bruce for another fun puzzle. And thanks to Boomer for filling in. I hope Santa gets better soon.

KS said...

Simple, easy, speed run Monday!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

It's very difficult typing with a cat sprawled on my desk in front of the keyboard. I don't recommend it.

No, d-o did not get the theme. Nothing new there. MUFTI seems very obscure for a Monday puzzle -- is it common where you live? Thanx BV, GG and BB for filling in today.

Boomer you really had me scratching my head. How could ITALI translate to Green Bay, Wisconsin? Doh!

RHUBARB pie is one of my favorites, though I haven't had it in many years. Mom called rhubarb "pie plant." The stems are edible, but the leaves are poisonous.

Nope, nobody labeled SNAFU in my H.S. I never heard the expression until bootcamp, several years later.

billocohoes said...

Those concerned about family values can be told the “F” in SNAFU stands for “Fouled”

AD HOC literally translates “to this” - by extension “to this purpose”

inanehiker said...

Thanks Boomer for filling in and to Bruce & Gail for a fun puzzle!
Late for work since I have to drop my husband's car at mechanic on the way!

Continued prayers for Argyle!

Yellowrocks said...

Wikipedia: “Althea Gibson (August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first person of color to win a Grand Slam title (the French Open). The following year she won both Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals.” I saw a TV special about her amazing life.
"Greasers would like Elvis because he looked like them! He had longish hair (for the time), used hair oil, wore jeans, and displayed a lot of greaser attitude. He was also emotional like the greasers, not repressed."
Johnny Cash was known for his cool Pompadour in the mid ’50s. Elvis Presley was also known for rocking a Pompadour during the beginning of his career.
50's pompadours
As billocohoes said there is a PC version of SNAFU, Systems Normal All Fouled Up.
My mom made great strawberry-rhubarb pie which I preferred to straight rhubarb.

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

Just one WO; LAN>LAG, but the 42d clue quickly corrected that SNAFU. Cute puzzle and recap, although I couldn't see the Forrest in the trees, so the theme went straight over my head.

WJINS, this year's NCAAT is pretty LOCO. But when the FF convenes in a couple of weeks, I figure it will be the "blue bloods" of BB "DUKE-ing" it out. Duke, Villanova, Kansas, and Gonzaga (sorry, Jinx) are my NEW Final Four picks, with Duke cutting down the nets ...

My Moe-ku du jour:

We need committee
To guide a bean soup kitchen;
They decide, ADd HOCk.

My limerick du jour:

There's a new haberdasher, named Clyde,
Whose cravats he sells often, with pride.
But he hates when his guests
Cover them with their vests,
When he knows they were fit to be tied.

Enjoy your week ...

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks, Bruce and Gail for lots of Monday fun. I really stalled at MUFTI, but the rest was pretty smooth. Fave today: SPLAYS. I have to do that often to keep my hands limber for those knitting needles.

Thanks, Boomer, for taking us on today's tour. Like D-O, the theme eludes me, but when it's parsed, I really enjoy it. Like today. I'm with you on the GB,WI Lombardi, which is how I read it first. Alas, the crosses proved my reading incorrect.

Continue to heal, dear Argyle.

Have a sunny day today.

Lucina said...

Fun and easy romp from Gail and Bruce! The cells filled as fast as my fingers could move but, no, d-o, I didn't suss the theme, either.

I knew Dyan had married Cary but didn't realize it was for such a short time.

Thank you, Boomer for explicating the theme; you're an excellent sub for Argyle and my prayers continue for his recovery.

Have a superb day, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

An easy, breezy Monday from Gail and Bruce. No hiccups, just a quick, smooth solve. Coffee date, IMO, is not as strong as the others, maybe because I don't drink coffee and never had a coffee date. I've always liked the word Mufti but have never used it; I believe it was used mainly by British military officers.

Thanks, G and B, for starting the week on such a pleasant path and thanks, Boomer, for the cheery and amusing expo. Also, thanks for pinch hitting for Argyle who I hope is feeling better and on the road to recovery.

Jinx, Ft. Myers is my old stomping grounds. We lived just south of FM, in Estero. I doubt I would recognize the area today with the growth and sprawl along 41. We left there in 2002 so I'm sure it has changed considerably. Enjoy the rest of your time in Florida.

Have a great day.

MJ said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Bruce and Gail for today's fun puzzle. I definitely needed the reveal to see the theme. Thanks for the expo, Boomer. It's always enjoyable when you take the helm.

Best wishes to Argyle, with continued prayers for a full and speedy recovery.

Enjoy the day!

SwampCat said...

Clever romp this morning. Thanks, G. And B.

Boomer, I see someone beat me to expound on Antoine Domino. He was called FATS from childhood mainly because his father was Antoine first.... and he seems to have been chubby even as a kid. His recent funeral here produced a great outpouring of affection. Such a nice man.

And I also agree with you on Bojangles, but "soft shoe dancing" wouldn't fit in a three letter space. Thanks for all the fun.

Owen, yesterday was definitely and A, (with a yuk added on!). Today all three are A+ !

Prayers for Argyle. Keep us posted.

Yellowrocks said...

My acquaintance with mufti, mainly from novels, has meant civilian clothes, in contrast with military or other uniforms, or as worn by a person who usually wears a uniform. I would not call our everyday clothing mufti.
LIU, I see that it now can be used for any out of uniform dress or, loosely, even "casual Friday" wear, for thus who usually dress more formally.
mufti
Chairman Moe, I liked your limerick du jour.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

PK et al,
I still have not been able to talk to Argyle. The phone is still off the hook. But Jennifer, Argyle's friend, told me that he is getting clearer and stronger. He even asked about me yesterday. So it's all good and comforting. She said they don't know how long he'll be in the hospital, but the next step is a rehab facility.

Sorry I don't have more information. I"ll let you know the exact surgery once I get Argyle's OK.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Hello from the desert! I am just leaving the hotel here in Phoenix and only half way done with the puzzle but I saw CABBY and had to comment. When we left the Cubs game in Mesa yesterday there was a line of CABBYS on the north side of the street doing nothing and on the south side there were dozens of us waiting for our UBER cabs.
-Gotta run for our tour, hope to finish this afternoon.

Misty said...

Ooh, a Monday Bruce and Gail puzzle--always exciting. This one was a pleasure, smooth and comfortable to get through with no problems. I was just a little worried about the middle because TRON and AOL weren't totally familiar to me, but they were fine and all was well and I got a fun Monday Ta-DA! Many thanks, Gail and Bruce. Boomer, I've begun to look forward to your witty commentaries, many thanks to you too.

My favorite clue this morning was "Arctic toymaker" for ELF. Took me a minute before I figured that one out. And Jinx, I too had ROLE before FAME for that starlet's goal.

Thanks for posting the sweet pictures of Argyle, C.C.

Have a great week, everybody!

CrossEyedDave said...

Seinfeld, donkeys and elephants.

SwampCat said...

Jinx and Misty, your starlets were not as ambitious and G and B's. Some folks head for the top from the beginning!

oc4beach said...


A good Gail and Bruce Monday puzzle with a little bit of rasp but not crunchiness. Boomer, it's nice that you are doing a yeoman's job in subbing for Argyle. I like your take on things.

No real problems, just a few initial errors that were easily corrected. I had TENET vs. CREDO, STALK vs. PROWL, ROLE vs. FAME, and I wanted EMANATE vs. DERIVE, but it was too long.

Since I left out the H in RHUBARB at first I figured there was some other "plant stalk" that could be made into pie filling, but I don't think Celery or Asparagus, etc. would make a good tasting pie.

When I was a child in the 50's I told my Dad that I loved boxing just so I could stay up late on Friday nights to watch the "Friday Night Fights" with him. I remember Gillette's "Look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp" and its "How're ya fixed for blades?" jingle's.

Here we are in a new week with the possibility of some mid-week snow. C'mon spring.

Have a great day everyone.

Picard said...

CC: Thanks for the Argyle update! The news is encouraging!

Fairly smooth, fun Monday run. MUFTI/TAP had me wondering. Never heard of MUFTI. Sounds Middle Eastern. Never saw CABBY spelled that way. Had to finish the entire puzzle before I understood the theme.

Just found this long-forgotten TURTLE experience photo set!

I would never have seen it except for searching for photos for this puzzle!

From yesterday:
CanadianEh: Thank you for the kind words about my QUE(bec) photo at the Chateau Frontenac. I have friends in Montreal and I took a side tour to QUEbec. I loved both cities very much.

Big Easy: Interesting about the Southern Decadence Festival. But do they allow nudity? There are two big events in SF with lots of nudity and the LGBTQ Parade is one. Nudity is officially allowed by law.

Yellowrocks: Thanks for letting me know MOM and JACK are familiar to you in that way. Learning moments!

WikWak said...

I'm with D4E4H: when someone replies to a "thank you" with "no problem" it always seems to me that there is "if it had been any trouble, I wouldn't have bothered" being left unsaid.

ELHI? Again? Really? Nearly 40 years of teaching and I have never once seen or heard this term used outside of the LA Times puzzles. Yuck!

HG, I just had an email from my sister in law, who with her husband is spending a month at spring training there, and she was mentioning all the Ubers there. I have never used one; I mainly take the train / El / bus when I'm not wheedling rides from friends.

Super easy puzzle today, a speed run for sure. I'm not certain just how long it took, but it was well under 10 minutes. I always enjoy a Gail puzzle. And Boomer, it's always nice to read one of your dissertations. I'm just sorry about the reason for your needing to be here this morning.

Yellowrocks said...

I loved Seinfeld's choice of an animal to represent the political parties. LOL

Wik Wak and Dave, I, too, am turned off by "no problem" or "no prob," instead of "You're welcome." Likewise, I am turned off by "my bad" or "oops" in place of "I am sorry."

Collins Dictionary say ELHI is rarely used. I am sure we all agree. We say K-12.

Many of the e- words have made the dictionary. They are recognized as real words. I am sure they will become as common as email in time. For now they have a hyphen.
e-tail, e-zine, e-magazine, e-trade, e-commerce, e-business.

Our daily high temps have been below normal so a large amount of our March 2 snow is still around. More snow is coming on Wed. Enough already! Tomorrow is the first day of spring.

AnonymousPVX said...

Big movie Thin Man fan here, I had no idea there was a TV show....starred Peter Lawford....with the way everything is rerun now I’m super surprised it hasn’t been reshown.

Anyway, nice Monday puzzle with no issues.

Tinbeni said...

Boomer: Good job "pinch-hitting" for Argyle.

Bruce & Gail: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle.

My temp in Tarpon Springs is in the "Mid 70's" ... but it has been raining.

No beach weather until Wednesday ... oh well ...

Cheers!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Glad to hear that Argyle is on the mend! In reading that his next step will be re-hab, I am reminded how often this is the case as we get older. Last time I was hospitalized for more than a couple of days, I had to do re-hab too, and my younger brother in Florida is currently in his second round of hospital/re-hab.
I mean, sometimes you just wanna go home!

Ta- DA! Today's pzl from the Venzke/Grabowski team was a nice way to start the week, and Boomer's response was both witty and engagingly humble.

"D'ja ever have the feeling that you wanted to go; but still you had the feeling that you wanted to STAY?" - Sorry! I can't help it. It doesn't take much; a single word will set me off. Once again I found myself running through that old Durante number. It is half sung/half chanted and totally infectious.
Here he is, folks, the ol' Schnozzola himself - Mr. Jimmy Durante!

____________
Diagonal Report: Three diagonals, the center line and two flankers running NW to SE.
No hidden messages, although I thought for just a moment we might be onto one. If you follow the center line down from square one, you get CAN RUE ...
Aha! CAN RUE what?!
But then it all turns to gobbledygook.
I guess this is better than DRINK YOUR OVALTINE. Right?

Roy said...

FIR. Did not get the theme.
CROP/CRAW: a repeat from Saturday.
GREASER pronounced |gree-zr|. When a was a kid, variations on the pompadour (without the DA; with or without the hair oil) and the buzzcut were the most popular haircuts for boys.
Cat food is usually made with red TUNA; canned for humans is usually white or light TUNA.
My favorite ARLO Guthrie song is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF_0iNiCFHw>the Motorcycle Song</a>.

Roy said...

How does one delete a post?

Spitzboov said...

Hello everyone.

I'm with Wik Wak and D4 on the "no problem" problem.

Agree with YR on her MUFTI take.

Easy Monday as it should be. No searches or white-out needed. Clean as a whistle.
We showed 16mm movies at the close of day on our ship. Occasionally they would break and the movie PO's (IC men [internal communications men]) would patch'em up using the splicer.
RHUBARB - In summer my mom would always make and have on hand rote Grütze (red fruit pudding) made mostly with RHUBARB and a few strawberries. On a hot Summer's day, it was as good as ice cream.

In French it sounds so elegant: Le rote Grütze ou gruau rouge est une spécialité typique du nord de l'Allemagne. C'est une compote de fruits rouges, cuite avec du sucre et du jus de fruits, le tout épaissi avec de la maïzena.Ce dessert est toujours servi, bien froid, accompagné d'une crème chantilly ou d'une sauce vanille.
They stress it hails from northern Germany where my Mom came from.

C.C. If you think Argyle's phone is off the hook, I would call the nurse's station on the floor near him and ask that they check it. I have done so in the past, and the nurses are usually helpful.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

C. Moe, Duke and Kansas won't both go to the Final Four, since they are in the same (Midwest) Region. Kentucky might not make it either, but they are the top remaining team in the South Region. They have already overachieved in my view. I thought they would be an NIT team from the way they played in November and December.

Bill G said...

Roy, to delete or modify a post, click on the trashcan icon at the end of your post and follow the directions.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks, Gail & Bruce. Very witty, always welcome, Boomer!

Still streaming prayers for Argyle! Spitz, the nurses may be the ones who took the phone off the hook because of all the well-wishers for our popular Santa. Sometimes patients need rest most of all.

CRAW three days in a row? START needs an "ing" to pair with DATE in my vocabulary. Never heard of LANA Del Ray or DR T.

I love Bonnie RAITT's song, "I Can't Make You Love Me". Too HAUNTingly true.

I swear I have never worn MUFTI in my life, so there! It was a MuuMuu.

I made a lot of mulberry-RHUBARB pie and cobbler in my farmhouse days, both in season at the same time in my yard. Alas, the dog ate all the strawberries.

FLN: Welcome back, Hahtoolah! Missed you. Re: your message to Swamp Cat, now we're all curious about Purim activities. Please share.

PK said...

Yay, Kansas University & Kansas State U.!!! Go get 'em!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Bruce and Gail, for the easy start to the week. Thanks for filling-in for Argyle, Boomer. I enjoy your sense of humor.

Spitzboov, thanks for the French description. I remember enough high school/college French to be able to read/understand the paragraph.

Today has bee a beautiful spring day but winter returns tomorrow. I've had to break out the Claritin for both myself and the dog. Aa-choo!

Still sending positive thoughts to Argyle.

Have a great week!

CanadianEh! said...

Straight-forward Monday solve. Thanks for the fun Bruce and Gail, and Boomer.
ELF made me think of Santa. Thanks for the update C.C.

Boomer and d'otto- this Canadian is missing the Itali Green Bay humour. Is it an insider joke?

This Canadian also had to debate between DEMS or Reps for that elephant. Is politics the elephant in the room here?

I LOLed when I saw CRAW again for the third time in the last few days.
EL-HI has been seen here before and criticism has been ACERB.
ST PAUL today after no St. Pat theme on Saturday.
Depending which direction your mind went, you could find offence with SNAFU, SPLAYS, and all those other pierced body parts besides EARS.
WET RAG to clean the counter made me shudder as I thought of a smelly old cloth. Apparently kitchen dish cloths are associated with some of the highest levels of bacteria, moulds.

I associate ACERB more with a sour, bitter taste (like RHUBARB) but I guess criticism could leave that kind of taste in your mouth.
I haven't looked to see whether my RHUBARB is breaking the ground in my garden but I doubt it (although the tulips on the south side of the house are up!). I'm envious of AnonT who said that he was making garden planting plans with his daughter.

Enjoy the rest of the day.



WikWak said...

C Eh! -- For years the Green Bay Packers' head coach was Vince Lombardi. Does that help?

Lucina said...

Gary, welcome to Arizona! I hope you are enjoying our "winter" weather of 70s temps.

D4E4H said...

desper-otto at 7:54 AM

Your cat conundrum will be solved if you follow the sage advise of Mark Twain. See my earlier post.

Picard at 11:39 AM

Thank you for the PICS of turtles. This reminds me "The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks Which practically conceal its sex. I think it clever of the turtle In such a fix to be so fertile." Ogden Nash

Dave

Ol' Man Keith said...

As a kid I only knew RHUBARB as the name of a cat in a comic novel, viz. Rhubarb the Cat!

I first encountered real RHUBARB in my grad student days in England. The house we rented outside Stratford had RHUBARB growing wild in our field. I learned to take the stalks, clean and dice 'em, boil 'em with sugar and a little salt into a nice flavorful pudding.

I rarely see it these days. It's not a favorite flavor in US supermarkets or on desert menus.
I wonder why ...

Spitzboov said...

pk said: "the nurses may be the ones who took the phone off the hook because of all the well-wishers for our popular Santa. Sometimes patients need rest most of all."

It's worth a try if C.C. thinks so. The nurse station will tell her if it would be better not to bother him. I agree that rest is very important.

I'll be going through this next weekend; BH is getting her 2nd hip replacement.

Madame Defarge said...

Okay!

Madame is here to admit a bad behavior. When a server (etc) says, "No problem," Madame says, "Oh, Goodness what was the problem?" DH then pokes Madame in the side. Madame likes to face things head on. Hub is more subtle. I'm Italian. He's Irish.

CH-- It'as an American football thing: Vince Lombardi was the coach of the Green Bay Packers. He read the clue ironically, I read it wrong. Your are not off on your question!!

PK: You are so right on Bonnie Raitt's "I can't make you love me." You are also so right on many other topics. Love your posts!!

Glad to hear Argyle is progressing. PT is perfect. Go Santa!!

Have a good evening at the Corner.

Lucina said...

Picard:
I enjoyed your pictures of the turtles.

Seeing them reminds me of an incident which I may have related here before. A good friend and former 2nd grade teach took her class on a field trip to the zoo where they encountered the giant turtles, some on top of each other making a giant ruckus. Screaming, the children asked, "Mrs. Ruiz, Mrs. Ruiz, what are they doing?" Always quick at thinking on her feet, she replied, "Oh, they're playing leap frog. Don't pay attention to them." She was a great story teller and always entertained us at lunch time.

Ol' Man Keith said...

In the language of Starlets (or the actorly language they ought to understand), a ROLE may be the immediate text or beat, but the sub-text is always FAME.

desper-otto:
My little brown guy
doesn't take very much room
for his sleepy-bye.

Cats on keyboards might
be distracting. But try my
dog for a real plight.

Roy said...

Bill G -
I don't see a trashcan icon.

OwenKL said...

Roy: The trashcan is only on the page where comments are posted, not on the main page that you're probably reading. It's at the bottom of the post, immediately after the time stamp.

PK said...

Madame, why thank you! I enjoy your posts too.

D4, thanks for the cat quote and the Nash poem. I'd never heard that one. LOL!

Keith, a starlet or few have found a good roll in the HAY led to a better role and FAME.

Picard, interesting turtle pics. A couple I would have liked some informative captions.

Husker, how smart of you to escape the last days of winter. Lots of blue/white stuff on weather radar passing over NE.

Roy said...

Anyone and everyone:
How do I get to the mystical "page where comments are posted" and the mythical trash can icon appears?

Hahtoolah said...

Good Evening, Boomer and friends. Boomer, always good to read your commentary on the crossword clues. I thought this was a bit of a challenge for a Monday. MUFTI for a Monday? The perps helped with that word.

Way late today. I had jury duty and had to get in very early. After waiting for several hours, I was dismissed. Still, I did my civic duty and won't be called to serve for at least 2 years.

I fall in line with those who tried Role before FAME. I rather like PK's take on the "Roll".

My mom made the best RHUBARB-Strawberry pie. She would make them when the rhubarb was in season, then freeze them so we could enjoy them year-round.

QOD: Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for. ~ Earl Warren (Mar. 19, 1891 ~ July 9, 1974)

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

PK & C, Eh!, I too chuckled at CRAW again. Thanks Gail and Bruce for a fun puzzle. Hand-up, I didn't "get" the theme either. Thanks Boomer for pointing it out with your typical humor.

No WOs today and ESPs were minimal - ALTHEA, DYAN, and I knew-ish MUFTI but forgot why (thanks YR!).

Fav: TRON but not as clued. [2m of the game]

{B+,B,A} {ha, cute}

Maternal Grands had RHUBARB in their garden. At 9 or 10yro, my buddy and I didn't know what to do with it and thought it "cool" to dry it out and smoke it in a pipe. We were bored I think :-)

Of course, now-a-days RHUBARB makes me think of A Prairie Home Companion, er, Live from Here.

I'm one of those annoying to y'all "No Problem" or "No Worries" and "My Bad" guys. Note, these are for the small things (like holding a door for someone or a minor error (respectively) - big things get a "You're Welcome" or "I'm Sorry" (respectively)).

Roy - I right-click->Open in new Tab on the "Comments" link under the grid and it opens a page where I get a trash-can after posting. I'll save you the trouble [<-Roy's link]
I too read Vince into 56d. I kinda thought Lombardy was with an 'I' but, being a poor speller, went with it. Still thought is was Vince - his name ends with a vowel so he must be Italian :-)

Cheers, -T

Chairman Moe said...

Thanks!

CanadianEh! said...

D'uh! Boomer wrote "56. Lombardy's land : ITALY. Change the Y in the clue to an I and you have Green Bay Wisconsin."
I missed "clue" and changed the Y in Italy to I.
Then d-Otto seemed to reinforce this idea with "Boomer you really had me scratching my head. How could ITALI translate to Green Bay, Wisconsin? Doh!"
Lombardi, I might have pulled out of the sports knowledge in my Canadian brain. Delayed LOL!
Thanks Wik Wak, Madame D, and AnonT for helping to turn on the lightbulb.

Anonymous T said...

Just catching up on yesterday's funnies says...

Did y'all catch Luann?

Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

Lombardi was offensive coach of the NY Football Giants of the fifties .Anybody remember the defensive coach?

Loved Boomer's write-up.

And the l'icks. Owen, that should have been MLB with the bleachers.

WC

Chairman Moe said...

I meant to say the FF will be KY, Gonzaga, Villanova, and Duke.

PK said...

Moe: don't count Kansas out yet. Coach Self pulls out some real surprises.

Chairman Moe said...

That was cool

Chairman Moe said...

Yes he does