google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, Ed Sessa, February 15, 2017

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Feb 15, 2017

Wednesday, Ed Sessa, February 15, 2017

TITLE: WAIT THERE'S MORE! or HOMOPHONES RUNNING WILD!


Husker Gary at the humpday helm today and as you can see below in the grid the homonyms for TO, FOUR, WON, SAIL and GOODBYES are employed to make the marketing slogan you see here at the right. How cool is that? Uh, it took me a while to see it. You?



Theme fills


20. *More than is wise : TO (TWO) A FAULT - C'mon that's funny! 


26. *Luxury resort chain : FOUR (FOR) SEASONS - Yeah, this FOUR SEASONS buffet in Singapore seems to qualify as Luxury



36. *Dominated the election : WON (ONE) BY A LANDSLIDE - Attributed to Joe Kennedy when he was backing JFK's presidential race




44. *Complete with ease - SALE (SAIL) THROUGH - She did! 




Reveal: 


54. Farewells ... or, homophonically and read top to bottom, what the first words of the answers to starred clues represent? : GOOD BYES 

BTW, I got this TWO FOR ONE SALE - GOOD BUY last month and they are great:



Watt ells does Ed half four us two day:


Across


1. See 1-Down : FOOD paired with 1. With 1-Across, Whoppers and McRibs, e.g. : FAST for a clever start in the NW corner!


5. Risk taker : DARER


10. Minimally : A TAD


14. He sang about Alice : ARLO - He sang about Alice for over 18 minutes




15. Ooze with : EXUDE


16. Bond's first movie foe : DR NO - You mean someone other than Ursula Andress was in that movie?



17. Word with interest or service : SELF - Marty McFly had to go back to 1955 to see a FULL service station like here

18. Lavin of "Alice" : LINDA


19. Water retainer : DIKE


22. River racers : SCULLS


24. Rose of Guns N' Roses : AXL


25. Poetic pair : COUPLET - How many times have you read these wonderful couplets to a child?




31. "__ to leap tall buildings ... " : ABLE - ...or FROM a tall building




32. "David Copperfield" villain : HEEP


33. Cain, to Abel, informally : SIB(ling)


41. Teachers' org. : NEA



42. Sufficient, to Shakespeare : ENOW - Methinks there are many at this site who know of whom the Bard is speaking when he wrote "I must not think there are evil ENOW to darken all his goodness". I had to look it up.


43. Working hard : AT IT


48. Descends, as a rock wall RAPPELS - I'm not sure I have courage ENOW to give this a go




52. Fluke-to-be : ROE - Baby fluke eggs


53. Worried : UNEASY


59. Fly in the ointment : SNAG


60. Fly-fishing catch : TROUT - A trout going after that fly




62. Tennis score : LOVE - It's means nothin' 

63. Floor piece : TILE


64. "Maybe, just maybe" : I HOPE


65. Big name in furniture : IKEA


66. Clairvoyant : SEER And now, the great SEER, soothsayer, and sage, Carnac.... the Magnificent. Johnny often called the question to this answer the funniest bit he ever did in this character. That question to this answer is at the bottom of this write-up.


67. Got by : COPED


68. See 58-Down : PENN with 58. With 68-Across, "Milk" Oscar winner : SEAN



Down


2. Embossed cookie : OREO - Another clue for the ubiquitous OREO


3. Southwestern clay pot : OLLA


4. Remove respectfully : DOFF - Dr. Suess had a Hat DOFFING Cat as well as tales of Green Eggs and Ham

5. First-class : DELUXE


6. Armpit : AXILLA - Hey, don't look at me, I didn't know either! :-)

7. Squirt : RUNT

8. Teacher's deg. : EDD - Doctor of Education degree - usually seen as EdD. 


9. Thought (out) : REASONED


10. Make sense : ADD UP


11. Composer's embellishment : TRILL - Do you have any problems with National Antems sang with "Triplets, quintuplets, mordents, TRILLS, turns, six-note slides and grace notes?"



12. Bracelet spot : ANKLE - How Lindsay Lohan disguised hers while under arrest. A fashionable felon?

13. Biblical verb : DOEST - Perhaps thou DOEST but shouldst thou?


21. Toy inserts usually not included : AA'S - Batteries


23. Crescent points : CUSPS


25. Either "The Man Who Wasn't There" director : COEN - My favorite COEN brothers' movie is Fargo


26. Doe's dear : FAWN


27. Wind in a pit : OBOE


28. Arm bone : ULNA - About 12" below your AXILLA


29. Bull Run soldier : REB - Johnny REB showed this would not be a quick war


30. Over-the-shoulder garb : SHAWL


33. In __: as placed : SITU


34. "Understood," in hippie-speak : I DIG


35. "Little Women" sister : BETH


37. Verbal nods : YESES


38. Kind of geometry : ANALYTIC - How far did Yogi have to throw? Piece 'o Pythagorean Cake for our math heads!











39. "The Giver" novelist Lowry : LOIS - What? Ed didn't use Superman's girl friend here?

40. Thai language : LAO - Everyone knows hello is ສະບາຍດີ


45. Entertainers on the road : TROUPE


46. Partner of hollered : HOOTED


47. Wine choice : RED


48. Reddish-brown colors : RUSTS


49. Singer Lennox : ANNIE - One reviewer's list of ANNIE'S Top 10 songs omitted my favorite - Sweet Dreams


50. "Positive thinking" advocate : PEALE


51. "Your table's ready" signaler : PAGER


54. Sticky stuff : GOOP


55. Radar dot : BLIP


56. Team connection : YOKE - A YOKED means of crossing Nebraska before I-80




57. All tied up : EVEN


61. Letter after pi : RHO


Carnac answer/question: The answer is "Sis, Boom, Bah". And the question is "What sound does an exploding sheep make?"


Weed luv four ewe two comment:


Husker Gary

 

Note from C. C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Skip (Hondo on the blog), who is a huge fan of UConn women's Basketball. Skip is also an expert on vintage sports cards & attends shows often on weekends.
Left to right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana (Sept 2013) 

56 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Ed and Husker!

Nice, workable puzzle. Didn't know LOIS.

Very tired.

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

FIW¡ AX¡LLA + L¡N¡A + ED¡. 6d I'd never seen before, 18a I wagged LINUS which had the I correct, but didn't match the perp at REASONED, and 8d I had EDU, since I don't think I've ever seen EDD in that context before. Shouldn't it be DEd, Doctor of EDucation?

The theme I got quickly, tho at first I thought it might have to do with numbers: two four one... But the FOUR wasn't homophonized that way, so it had to be TWO FOR ONE...

{B+, C, B-, B+.}

We're going out shopping, do you like IKEA?
Or would you prefer movies, maybe Godzilla?
If you like concert shows
There's one with AXL ROSE --
Guest-playing the OBOE in the orchestra AXILLA!

The SEER told SEAN, "I see your life lit
By revolutions, and while you are AT IT,
You'll lead a small coup,
Just a BLIP to SAIL THROUGH,
A paean about it will be called a COUP-LET!

Clowns were preparing to perform as a TROUPE,
The ringmaster announced them, "Comedy DELUXE!"
Through their antics they scooted,
In joy the crowd HOOTED,
They most liked the FOOD fight with pies full of GOOP!

The cesspool installer had a strange gig.
His reputation in town for wisdom was big!
His decisions were REASONED,
With ANALYTIC thought SEASONED --
No matter the problem, he answered, "I DIG!"

Anonymous said...

This Wednesday morning puzzle threw me for a loop – and even once I found out the theme, all I could do was roll my eyes… Time to go back to bed!

TTP said...


Good morning. Thank you Ed and thank you Husker Gary.

Happy Birthday Hondo ! How's Casey ?

Really good puzzle. Some of the intentionally vague cluing made it tougher. Made me reflect to the very time when I first started to do the puzzle online, and saw the REGULAR / MASTER options. My assumption was that he puzzle would have two sets of clues.

I had to sound it out, but yes I got the theme. Also got your math quiz.

Embarrassed at my won soul (loan) airer. I entered that sometimes vowell when I shouldn't have.

Green eggs and ham. Read yesterday that Seuss rhymes with voice, but Geisel never corrected anyone.

I was pulling for Rumor.

desper-otto said...

Good morning (and Happy Birthday, Hondo)!

Had some false starts along the west coast: (STAG/FAWN, ROANS/RUSTS, I'm lookin' at you.) Husker, I got the theme immediately -- as soon as you told me what it was. Nice to see the "Alice" connection with LINDA and ARLO. Remember the 60's political slogan? Vote for the Kennedy of your choice, but vote. EDD was a gimme. DW's got one, as she never tires of reminding me. Thanx, Ed with one D. Especially nice writeup, Husker.

I've been binge-watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. Did anyone else notice the title could as easily have been Baking Bread? I'll bet Jerome did.

Time to hit the road...

Lucina said...

Happy birthday, Hondo! Celebrate well.

Yes, I got the theme but had to pronounce TWO, FOUR, WON several times before it made sense. Nice one, Mr. Ed Sessa.

Luckily I remembered AXILLA which I learned from CWs as well as AXL Rose. And having read The Giver many years ago, I couldn't recall LOIS. Perps rescued that one.

TRILL did not come easily until ATAD made sense to me. CSO to my sisters-in-law named LINDA and LaLaLinda, too.

Thank you, Gary, for a well delivered expo.

Have a great day, everyone! I, too, am returning to bed.

unclefred said...

AHA! CW on my iPad this morning, much better than iPhone. Nice CW this morning, thanx, Ed! Terrific write-up, thanx, HG! Several false moves on my part (WRIST:ANKLE, for example), but eventually got 'er done. Never saw the theme until I came here.

Big Easy said...

I haven't seen any TO FOUR WON SAILS lately; many places offer BOGO, which formerly meant 'buy one, get one free' but now it's 'buy one, pay 50% on the second one'. Any way you cut it, it really means that it was overpriced to start with.

No problems with the puzzle as SEAN PENN was the only unknown. The EDD looked strange as I have only see DEd. as a Doctor of Education.

D-O, my DW only has a MEd. She said the courses taught her exactly zero that she didn't already know from classroom teaching experience. But teachers with masters get paid more than teachers with bachelors.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Made it! I thought this one was really crunchy, but it IS Wednesday after all. I erased lake for dyke, then dyke for DIKE. Also had to fix repells and doeth. Eight unknowns - too numerous to list.

Got the theme fairly quickly. Two things drive me crazy about modern commerce. The worst is BOGO, which I think should be BOGOF and is germane to today's puzzle. The other is the characterization of a payment method as "card swiped". Call security - this guy is paying with a swiped card. Fortunately, this one is rapidly going away as chip readers propagate.

The SCULLS entry reminds me of the wonderful book "The Boys in the Boat". A great read for fans of sports, perseverance and freedom.

COUPLET is also used by city planners to describe a pair of one-way streets. Nice safety improvement for old, narrow two way passages.

Thanks, Ed, for a challenging but doable puzzle today. And thanks to HG for your graphical tour through the grid.

Yellowrocks said...

I SAILED THROUGH this one, but didn't get the theme. I didn't spend much time trying to figure it out.
I knew Lois Lowry from teaching. AXILLA was a gimme.
I haven't thought of ANALYTICAL geometry since I left college.
DO, I, too, liked the Alice connection with Linda and Arlo.
EdD, with a lower case d in the middle is the usual abbreviation, but you can't use lower case in puzzle grids.
Years ago my young grandson and I read Green Eggs and Ham so many times that hat we could recite it just from the pictures.

Wiki on the pronunciation of Seuss.It seems he switched to the Anglicized pronunciation:
"Geisel's most famous pen name is regularly pronounced /ˈsjuːs/, an anglicized pronunciation inconsistent with his German surname (the standard German pronunciation is [ˈzɔʏ̯s]). He himself noted that it rhymed with "voice" (his own pronunciation being /ˈsɔɪs/). Alexander Laing, one of his collaborators on the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern,[61] wrote of it:

You're wrong as the deuce
And you shouldn't rejoice
If you're calling him Seuss.
He pronounces it Soice(or Zoice)

Geisel switched to the anglicized pronunciation because it "evoked a figure advantageous for an author of children's books to be associated with—Mother Goose" and because most people used this pronunciation. He added the “Dr.” to his pen name because his father had always wanted him to practice medicine.

billocohoes said...

LBJ won one of his early elections with a late addition of a few hundred votes from a remote district, he was known afterward as "Landslide Lyndon".

Yes Husker Gary, I think the National Anthem should be sung as written, not as an opportunity to show off the singer's pipes. If a band can play it in 1:05, a singer shouldn't need more than about 1:20

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Happy Birthday to Hondo, and belatedly to Marti.

A few tough areas today. Got bogged down near the bottom, but ANALYTICAL gave a tendril to build on. Eventually got it all without help.
BLIPS - A Navy tradition is that the first watch of the New Year log entry is done in verse. I had the Mid(watch) on Jan 1, 1961. As I recall the log entry started out something like this:

'Moored at Pier 20, in a nest of five ships,
Our radar's secured; there are no BLIPS,
……………'

On CBS morning show they had a special piece commemorating 75 yrs CW at the NYT. And a Will Shortz interview.

Tinbeni said...

Happy Birthday Hondo ... my "first" Sunset Toast is to you.

Gary: Great, informative write-up. Good Job!

Ed: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. Enjoyed the "2 for 1 sale theme."
Have to admit this seemed more like a Thursday or Friday level offering.

Needed ESP to get AXILLA, learning moment I will forget by noon.

Cheers!

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

DOFF of the cap to Ed S and Husker G for today's crossword entertainment - coo does

As a limercist and punster I Thoreau-ly enjoyed this witty ditty

A few "right oeuvres" butt mostly correct. Had MEd for 8d; SHELLS > SCULLS in 22a; LIEU > SITU in 33d; and HEMMED > HOOTED in 46d

Loved the opposite corner perpendicular connectors w FAST FOOD and SEAN PENN.

I oddly did have the AXL / AXILLA crossing with no perps or wags. Minutiae

You'd think on a day when all of the homophones are T'd up I'd have a pome. Knot two de.

Been humming a tune the past day or two, and if you click on this link, maybe you will too. I'd forgotten that this group was white, not black.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Early Alzheimer’s symptom? I fed our kitty, made my Keurig Coffee and PBJ on twice-toasted English muffins (crisp like my bacon), got the paper off the step and sat down to do the puzzle. Something looked very familiar about that first clue! DOH!!
-I have 40 hrs past my M.A. and I can truthfully say I learned precious little from all the post B.A. work. You learn to teach by teaching.
-BTW, a former colleague will make $90,000 this year for mediocre teaching. Teachers are compensated pretty well these days if they stay at it and get advanced degrees.
-YR, I can’t figure out your pronunciation guides ☺
-Hey, I just realized pronunciation drops the o from pronounce. Thanks spell check
-Speaking of today’s homophonic theme, my best friend in high school was Ron Seuss and he pronounced (there’s that second O) it CEASE.
-It was great to see the picture of our friends. It’s sad that Marti no longer participates. I mentioned Hondo this week in a posting about Willy Mays being ON DECK. Skip took Hondo as his nickname because Cliff Hartung was on third base when Thompson hit his home run and Cliff’s nickname was Hondo.
-HBD, Hondo! I hope my Royals and your Giants play again in October!

MJ said...

Happy Birthday, Hondo, and good day to all!

Enjoyed today's puzzle and its clever theme. Thanks, Ed, for our second treat of the week from you. And thanks, Husker, for a grand review. Is that someone special with the A+?

Enjoy the day!

Yellowrocks said...

Gary, I just copied Wiki's pronunciation. I think according to the poem there, Seuss either rhymes with deuce or rejoice. Apparently, Seuss said his name was said like SOYCE. When he became famous for children's books, he anglicized it to rhyme with Mother Goose, bowing to the way his fans pronounce it.
I, too, don't care for adding frills to the national anthem.
I love a well REASONED debate, presenting both sides logically. I can learn something from that and sometimes it changes my point of view. Often I believe that there are good points on both sides. When snark and barbs are substituted for debate I resent it and learn nothing from it. To my mind snark and insults delegitimize the speaker's point of view.
Happy birthday, Hondo. I hope you have a fun day. I like your posts.
Owen KL, A for the last one.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Theme blue rite buy mi.

Still, a fun solve.

Having the connected fills symmetric in the NW and SE corners was a nice, elegant touch. That's my contribution to ANALYTIC geometry for the day.

Had a chance to make some music with the Livonia Stevenson High School Jazz Band and guest artist Roger Ingram yesterday.

Here we are rehearsing on Monday. You can see part of my gray head left of center.

It was a nice event also involving the parent's band and a few kids from Holmes Jr. High.

We did these 2 songs with Roger. He's a terrific musician, and a really wonderful human being.

Enchante

Beauty and the Beast

Cool regards!
JzB

oc4beach said...

Multiple Ed Sessa puzzles this month (3). And I was able to do all three of them with a certain amount of difficulty. Another good one Ed. HG tip-toed us through the tulips explaining the theme and gave us insights to Ed's thought processes.

I got the FAST FOOD connection right away but had the answers reversed until ARLO reared his ugly head. BTW: ARLO Home Security Cameras work nicely because they use batteries and WiFi and don't require any hardline connections for power and the internet.

I didn't get the BOGO theme or even look for it until I read HG's explanation. Some stores these days are getting trickier with their promotions. I have been stung by "Giant Food's" Get One Free, but the small print says you have to buy two. Sneaky. Some stores will just charge 1/2 price for one BOGO item and some require that you buy two. The stores usually raise the price on the item to the highest retail price that they can and if you don't get 2, you are stuck paying the higher price. You have to be careful these days.

Like billocohoes, I agree with HG that the National Anthem should be performed straight.

I had some of the same hitches that others had but perps took care of them.

Will we get more Ed Sessa puzzles this month?

Have a great day everyone.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you Husker Gary, for a fine review.

Happy Birthday, Hondo, and many more.

Got into the puzzle quickly with FAST FOOD, ARLO, OREO, DOFF, and SELF. However, it slowed down quickly with the due North parts as in AXILLA, EXUDE, LINDA, EDD. Finished those last.

Almost wrote in LAKE for 19A. Held off for a crossword check and then wrote in DIKE. TRILL helped.

Did not take the time to suss the theme. Since coming here it does make sense. Good one.

Seeing Dr. Norman Vincent PEALE here was nice. I really respected that man.

Off to my day. Cooking for 20 people for tonight's meeting.

Abejo

( )

C6D6 Peg said...

Ha, ha, Ed! Took me about 3 times to say the words to get it, but finally it sunk in. Nice theme and puzzle.

Thanks, HG, for your tour, as always. Fine work!

CrossEyedDave said...

Not my idea of a two fer one sale,
because I finished it wrong twice!

My 3d pot was an Ollo, making 20a TooFault instead of to a fault

My 11d was"F"rill, making 10a minimally = a fad.
(I thought it might work, you know, it was just a passing fad???)

Oh well,

Happy Birthday Hondo!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Sailed right through without noticing the theme, oops!

Hand up for performing the national anthem as written, even at major sporting events. No exceptions. There ought to be a law. Just another example of how our nation is sliding downhill.

Another hand up for missing Marti. I've not been in touch with her in half a year, no news.

Happy Birthday Hondo! Spring is coming, eventually.

Anonymous said...

re: 25d:
Last night, upon the stair,
I saw a man who wasn't there;
I saw him there the other day;
I wish that man would go away!

Bill G. said...

I finished the puzzle correctly. I didn't get the theme. I read the reveal. I still didn't get the theme. I felt silly and kept going back to it. FINALLY!

Here's a word I learned from watching Jeopardy. [SACKBUT] I'm guessing there is at least one person here who knows it without resorting to Google.

Very happy birthday wishes to Mr. Hondo. I enjoy your company.

Also, happy 75th anniversary to NYT crossword puzzles.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I smile when I see Mr. Sessa's byline because it means fun and frivolity. It also means devious, devilish and delightful! I just love a puzzle that keeps you guessing to the very end and then, whammo, there's the theme and there are the aforementioned "D"'s, in spades! I had several w/o's with Roans/Rusts, Kayaks/Sculls, Pipe/Dike, etc. but, eventually, everything else fell into place nicely.

Thank you, Mr. Ed, for brightening my day and thanks, HG, for your wisdom, wit, and outstanding visuals. You're the tops!

Truebrit's daughter is the singer appearing in a few episodes of "NCIS:New Orleans"; I DVRed it along with the Westminster competition, "This Is Us", and "Chicago Fire."

Unclefred, glad to hear you have an iPad to access the puzzle and blog with ease.

Happy Birthday, Hondo, hope it's special! 🎂🎁🎉🍾🎈

Have a great day.

Chairman Moe said...

Here is a link to Carson's "Carnac, The Magnificent" sketch where he uses the line:
Sis, Boom, Baa!

Bluehen said...

What a great puzzle and theme. Of course, I didn't get the theme until Gary explained it, and even then it took a minute for the penny to drop. Love that. Great expo as always, HG. Love your style.

HG, re. the Shakespeare quote: You are really testing this old curmudgeons memory but I think I have this one. It's from "Antony and Cleopatra", spoken by Lepidus (sp?), to Octavia Caesar, and I believe about Antony. Pretty close anyway. I remember because I had a minor role in a college production of that play. We later had the chance to see a professional production. Good Lord, we were rank amateurs.

Why is it I can remember stuff like that from my 'ute, but most days I can't remember what I had for breakfast?

Happy belated Birthday, Marti. Happy Birthday, Hondo. And many more to come for both of you.

I'm outta here. Cya!

PS It's Enescu, not Enesco.

TTP said...

OC4BEACH, since you brought it up...

One of the stores we frequent is Jewel. They run "4 for $5" and "4 for $10" ads but are pretty good about letting you buy one or two at the reduced price. They almost always have a sign that specifies "Must buy 4" when they don't. That's good. I've grown accustomed to some of their rules.

They were running many pregame specials a few days before the Superbowl. One of them was, "Buy 1 case of beer for $14.99, get 2 bags of chips for a penny." You could choose from any of the various Lays potato chips, 7 to 10 oz size, and any Tostitos, 8 to 12 oz. Something like that.

At the store was a prominent display of a large stack of cases of the different beers that qualified, with a large ad promoting the deal. Put a case of beer in the cart.

On two sides of the stack were opened box cases of the various flavors of Lays and Tostito chips. Had to go the aisle where the chips are normally.

The bags all around the big display ? They didn't qualify for the promotion. They were the larger $4.99 bags of chips whose net weight was greater than sizes specified in the promotion.


BLUEHEN asked, "Why is it I can remember stuff like that from my 'ute, but most days I can't remember what I had for breakfast?"

I don't know, but when Husker Gary posed his math questioned, I also remembered that the difference between two squares is equal to the product of their sum and difference. Don't know that I've ever used that theorem, but it has stuck with me.

trubrit said...

Thanks Irish Miss for the plug. Not sure when they are being shown.
Hugs

Ol' Man Keith said...

Happy B'Day, Hondo!

This was a slow but steady slog, well positioned for our Wednesday challenge. There were several gimmes to get the ball rolling. BLIP was a natural, as that's the name I gave our little Yorkie. My wife had already started to call her "Radar - because of her pointy ears." I thought that sounded too technical for the lil' critter, so I chose BLIP for her size. It all worked out, and her formal name (for her registration) became "Radar BLIP."
And I got ENOW right away, although I had to think hard to remember where Husker G found his quote. Bluehen found it before me. Of the Shakespeare plays I neither directed nor acted in, Antony and Cleopatra tops my list. It is a very tough show to stage, mainly, I think, because of Antony's awkward death scene. I have an idea to make it work.
I saw a production of it at the Cleveland Playhouse, ages ago, in which Antony's end came across as one of those upper story construction projects where the crane goes off its moorings. The audience snored through much of it, although at intermissions many said it was "Wonderful [yawn]."
It was fun & strange to treat the theme fills homophonically, turning written numbers into non-numbers and vice versa. I didn't get it instantly, but pretty quickly to judge by others' responses. Thanks, Mr. Sessa!

oc4beach said...


TTP: Sometimes our stores are good about specifying their rules. But for some reason when they do the "must buy 2" promotions it is stated "Get One Free" and the must buy 2 is in much smaller print. I always check my receipt before I leave the store. That is when my DW is not with me. She gets impatient and a little crabby if she has to wait on me. Therefore I shop alone most of the time.

Maybe the stockers didn't know what size bags should go on the display. Or maybe they did.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Bluehen, the only reason I remember what I had for breakfast is that I still taste it for the rest of the day.

Seriously, as I bid a slow farewell to short-term memory, I do take consolation (and compensation) from the long-term version.

Most of us remember better from certain earlier ages than others. My implicit memory from kindergarten and first grade is much better than junior high recollections. My explicit memory, especially for the verse scripts I learned, is very strong for roles I acted in my 20s. But I have a very hard time remembering similar texts from only ten years ago.

AnonymousPVX said...

A nice Wednesday puzzle that went smoothly.

Misty said...

Fun puzzle this morning--many thanks, Ed! The northwest corner gave me a lot of grief even though I got ARLO right away and figured it was SELF. But I just don't know my Whoppers and McRibs, so it took a while to get FAST FOOD. I both got and didn't get the theme, 2 by 2, 4 by 4, 1 by 1, and, what! SAIL? Thanks for the sign, Husker Gary, that finally made it clear.

BETH in "Little Women" has been coming up a lot lately. And I'm beginning to remember DR. NO even though I've never seen a Bond film.

Thank you Blue Hen and Ol' Man Keith for saving me the agony of trying to find the Shakespeare quote. At least I got ENOW without a bit of trouble.

And Happy Birthday, Hondo! Nice picture of Marti, again, too.

Have a great day, everybody!

Jayce said...

Some things ya just hafta say out loud to understand. Reminds me of when my big sis used to read me the story of Ladle Rad Rotten Hut. I know, it's not the same homophonic thing as in this puzzle. Fun stuff, though.

Although my sister (the same one mentioned above) got her EdD, I never got my PhD.

On a local TV station there is a news reporter name Da Lin. I don't know if he's Chinese or Vietnamese, but I bet his grandparents would call him LIN DA.

CrossEyedDave, that "one beer for the price of two" sign was laugh-out-loud funny. I'd give them my business for that.

Happy birthday, Hondo, and best wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

Oh, I forgot to mention, we watched NCIS: New Orleans last night and there she was, the singer in the bar.

TTP said...

OC4BEACH, yes, I tend to think it was a stocking error. I couldn't imagine a directive coming down to store managers in a large chain. They wouldn't risk customer good will. Probably a distracted Millennial* stocker...

Sounds like we have similar circumstances. She's in and out. I like to walk most of the aisles and consider all that's offered, especially during the winter. It's the opposite when we go clothes shopping. I'm in, find the Menswear dep't, find my size slacks or jeans, find the register, and I'm outta there. She ponders over various shades of color, cut, and cloth way too long.

Shopping together for groceries and household goods is becoming a thing of the past. Since retiring, these are part of the tasks that have been delegated to me get done during the weekdays while she's at work. She makes the lists and tells me where to go.

She's educating me. I've learned that I'm to buy certain things at certain stores. Some things must be bought at Costco, other things at Jewell and Aldi, some things at Walmart. They're all close by, so no big deal. What amazes me is that she knows the locations of all the regular purchases at each store. Which is important only when we're shopping together.

But I'm not complaining; we complement each other well. In areas where I am strong, she is weak, and where I am weak, she is strong.

* I really have nothing against Millennials. Every generation has its quirky behaviors. Though Millennials do seem to be a little too preoccupied with social media... A Millennial Marriage Proposal

Hungry Mother said...

Didn't use the theme or reveal, but had no problem with this one.

Lucina said...

The only other version of our national anthem I like is Whitney Houston's. That is an outstanding interpretation, IMHO.

Our Albertson's store has an occasional buy 1, get 2 free pork rib slabs and I consider it a great value because the slabs are a generous size and the price is about $35-$43. For three slabs, that's a good deal! I can usually find three smaller ones and keep them frozen until needed.

Jazzbumpa said...

Bill G -

You have me pegged .

Cheers!

JzB

CrossEyedDave said...

TTP, I enjoyed the marriage proposal,
actually,the second one today,
I found another on Jay Leno after getting lost
in the Siss Boom Bah sidelinks...:)

Misty!
Never(I mean really,Never?) seen a James Bond movie?
Ok, I admit, even I have not watched some of the later ones...

So, what have we missed?

Madame Defarge said...

Oh wow!! late to the game today so basically, WEES. thanks, ed and Gary for a great Wednesday.

There is an Illinois plate to complement mine. He crazily honked at me one day, and I couldn't figure out why till he passed me and I saw URIA HP!

This English major loves Geometry. It's important to be able to figure out the distance from home plate to the mound!!!

Never read Dr Seuss to my kids. I hate clowns; most of his characters resemble them. We read lots of other great stuff.

I taught for 35 years, yet I refused, even as an undergrad, to get a degree in Ed. I opted for a BA, and elected all my Ed classes. I have two Masters, neither is and ED, first one in Rhet-Comp, which invigorated my teaching of writing, and the second in Afro Centric studies, which greatly enhanced my work with students of color. When my daughter was getting her degree, she said her Ed classes were the worst! I welcomed her to the club. AND we wonder what's wrong with education in America! A high school English teacher's work is not enhanced with a degree in Ed. Only in English. Same with math, bio, physics, music and . . . .

SHAWL at the center? Yay! Madame just cast one on yesterday!!!

Happy Hondo Birthday!!!

Have a good evening!

thehondohurricane said...


Good evening everyone and thank you for your kind wishes. Yet today is not as important to me as is tomorrow when Casey turns two. He has had a very eventful two year and shows no signs of letting up quite yet. But, he has earned his way to becoming a very
important and loved member of our family.

GO HUSKIY LADIES!

Terry said...

Great thanks.

Irish Miss said...

CED @ 4:49 - I, also, like Misty, have never seen a James Bond movie. Nor have I seen any of the Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Fast and Furious, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, X-Men, etc. Just not my cup of tea. (I don't even drink tea! 😉) Some people like cats 🐈 and some people like dogs 🐶.

Trubrit, I believe the last three episodes of NCIS:New Orleans are February 21, March 7, and the season finale, March 14. I haven't watched last night's yet but someone said there was a singer, so I'm assuming that was your daughter.

Argyle said...

If it was Maren Morris then she was on last night.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Here ya go - Here’s how far Yogi had to throw.
-Ah, I get to sub in Spanish and solve the puzzle tomorrow!
-Buenos noches.

Bill G. said...

Excellent solution for Yogi's throw to second. Here's another approach.

The triangle from home to third to second and back to home is a 45-45-90 right triangle with the hypotenuse as the distance from home to second. The hypotenuse of that triangle is sqrt2 times the length of one of the legs. The square root of 2 is approximately 1.414, so the desired distance is 1.414 times 90 or about 127.3 feet.

I was tutoring a girl in geometry this afternoon and we were doing problems just like yours. Just before she left, she said something like, "I like this stuff. I think it's really cool!" It made my day. Good ol' 2000-year-old Pythagoras. A cool old guy.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Multitasking a Wed pzl is not for me. I've been busy on REDACTED all day and muck'd up but good. I don't have the brain-power to finish right-eNOW. I did get the theme early and loved it (FAV!). Thanks Ed. [NW & SW corners were icing - shows you care].

Mmm, I'm sure 33a isn't Bro. I DIG it's got to be SIB. What the heck is 33d?

Aw, screw it and HEEP it on the DNF pile. What's HG got to say?...

HG - great expo! Sweet Dreams for you

{B,A,B+,A+}

TTP - LOL proposal.

Jinx - Hand up 19a w/ a Y protective D?KE, aka, Women in comfortable shoes (@6:15)

Mmmm, maybe not 2 for 1, but I got a Land's End 40%-off yesterday. I only wear their French-blue shirts to the office. I was going to BYE them anyway...

And not least... Happy Birthday Hondo! And an extra for Casey tomorrow!

Cheers.
By, -T

Anonymous T said...

D'Oh - still can't multi-task. I meant NW & SE corners. -T

Misty said...

Cross-Eyed Dave, I guess I better put a Bond film on my bucket list. Which one do you recommend?

Lucina said...

MJ:
I haven't forgotten the flan recipe; I'm just too busy right now but shall do it soon.

Bill G. said...

Misty, I'd say the earlier the better; ones with Sean Connery. I'd vote for Dr. No, From Russian With Love, etc. The newer ones have more action, more violence and aren't as much fun in my opinion.

Wilbur Charles said...

Fell asleep at the blog again last night. I dashed off the xword about six but couldn't get here until nine and barely got to the hypotenuse of 90$+90$(Sqed) of which sqroot is 127.279221.

Btw. After getting the devilish SW I forgot to go back to LINDA/EDD. RAPELLED finally came to me. I did that in basic. Much easier than it looks. However, from a mountain top...

Clint Hartung. That's the name I was trying to come up with last night. Happy birthday Hondo, I know you recall why Hartung was on third, not to speak of who was on first.

On that October day in 1951. I was watching the Western. Howdy Doody was for kids. I was two weeks from my 7th birthday.

The distance to the mound is an arbitrary 60'6". You'd need survey equipment and trig to get it geometrically.

I mostly just read the Ian Fleming books along with my Mel Martin baseball books. I must have seen a few Bond movies. Under the Yum Yum Tree was more my taste.

I had to get in here, even this late

WC

Picard said...

I was in San Francisco on vacation when "Milk" came out with SEAN PENN and all the theaters were sold out! I had to wait to get home to watch it. An excellent film. We think of San Francisco as so welcoming to gays, but it was not at all the case not very long ago.

Learning moment that LAO is a Thai language.

I have never seen DR NO. As a child I watched Get Smart which had parodies of famous movies. Their version involved a DR YES!

Fun pun ? theme!