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Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
CROSSWORD SETTER: Nancy Salomon
THEME: Start Eating … each of today’s themed answers starts with a verb associated with eating:
20A. Accepts a grim reality BITES THE BULLET
39A. Hams it up CHEWS THE SCENERY
56A. Is raring to go CHAMPS AT THE BIT
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 27s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. 5th Dimension vocalist Marilyn MCCOO
Marilyn McCoo is best known as the lead female singer with the 5th Dimension, a group that was very successful in the sixties and seventies. McCoo married another member of the 5th Dimension, Billy Davis, Jr. The couple are still performing, but now as a duo.
6. Degrees for mgrs. MBAS
The world’s first Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree was offered by Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.
15. Honolulu’s island OAHU
O’ahu has been called “The Gathering Place”, although the word “O’ahu” has no translation in Hawaiian. It seems that O’ahu is simply the name of the island. One story is that it is named after the son of the Polynesian navigator who first found the islands. The island is made up of two volcanoes, Wai’anae and Ko’olau, joined together by a broad valley, the O’ahu Plain.
17. Not glossy, as a finish MATTE
“Matte”, meaning flat and lusterless, comes from the Old French word “mat” meaning beaten down and withered. In turn, the French “mat” comes from the Latin “maddus”, meaning “maudlin with drink”. Sometimes I wonder about these derivations …
23. Thickening agent used in ice cream AGAR
Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.
25. Rock’s __ Speedwagon REO
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, and is still going strong. The band’s biggest hits are “Keep On Loving You” (1980) and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (1985). The founding members chose the name for the REO Speed Wagon flatbed truck. Note that the band’s name is one word “Speedwagon”, whereas the vehicle’s name uses two words “Speed Wagon”.
26. Slalom need SKI
“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”. There is a longer version of the traditional slalom that is called giant slalom.
28. Cavs-vs.-Mavs event NBA GAME
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970. The team plays at the Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland, a facility that the locals refer to as “the Q”.
The Mavericks are the NBA franchise in Dallas, Texas. The team was founded in 1980, and the Mavericks name was chosen by fan votes. The choice of “Mavericks” was prompted by the fact that the actor James Garner was a part-owner of the team, and Garner of course played the title role in the “Maverick” television series.
32. Tax deadline mo. APR
April 15th wasn’t always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.
35. In need of calamine lotion ITCHY
Calamine is mainly zinc oxide, with a small percentage of iron oxide. Calamine is incorporated into a lotion that is used for many things, including treatment of sunburn and itching.
38. Cobb or Waldorf dish SALAD
Ty Cobb’s first cousin, Robert H. Cobb, owned the Brown Derby chain of restaurants. One of his regular customers was the famous Sid Grauman, who ran Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Late one night, Grauman asked for a snack, and Cobb came up with a chopped salad simply made from ingredients he happened to have in the refrigerator. Grauman liked it so much that continued to request it, and the Cobb salad was born.
As one might expect, the Waldorf salad was first created at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City (now the Waldorf-Astoria), back in the 1890s. The classic version of the Waldorf salad is made from apples, celery and walnuts dressed in mayonnaise and served on a bed of lettuce. Anyone who is a fan of the BBC sitcom “Fawlty Towers” will remember how much trouble Basil Fawlty had coming up with a Waldorf salad for an American guest, as the kitchen was “out of Waldorfs” …
39. Hams it up CHEWS THE SCENERY
“To chew the scenery” is to overact, to ham it up.
The word “ham”, describing a performer who overacts, is apparently a shortened form of “hamfatter” and dates back to the late 1800s. “Hamfatter” comes from a song in old minstrel shows called “The Ham-Fat Man”. It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the “acting” qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.
44. Ballot markings in boxes XES
Today a “ballot” is a piece of paper used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.
47. Eeyore’s pal ROO
Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, the kangaroo named Roo was inspired by on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
Eeyore is the donkey character in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”. Eeyore is very lovable, but has a gloomy and pessimistic outlook on life.
49. Nonstick spray brand PAM
PAM cooking oil was introduced in 1961 by Leon Rubin and Arthur Meyerhoff. The name “PAM” is an acronym … standing for “Product of Arthur Meyerhoff”. Who’d a thunk it …?
50. Troop gp. BSA
As every little boy (of my era) knows, the Scouting movement was founded by Lord Baden Powell, in 1907. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) soon followed, in 1910. And, the Boy Scouts motto is “Be Prepared”.
60. Layered hairdo SHAG
A shag cut is a layered hairstyle. Meg Ryan was famous for wearing a shag cut for many years.
61. Japanese rice drink SAKE
We refer to the Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice as “sake”. We’ve gotten things a bit mixed up in the West. “Sake” is actually the word that the Japanese use for all alcoholic drinks. What we know as sake, we sometimes refer to as rice wine. Also, the starch in the rice is first converted to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. This is more akin to a beer-brewing process than wine production, so the end product is really a rice “beer” rather than a rice “wine”.
64. Pigmented eye layer UVEA
The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball.
68. American Pharoah, e.g. HORSE
American Pharaoh is the twelfth winner of the Triple Crown, achieving the feat in 2015. The horse’s name was inspired by that of his parents: Pioneerof the Nile (dam) and Yankee Gentleman (sire).
Down
1. Deadly African snake MAMBA
The mamba, and most famously the black mamba, is a highly venomous snake that used to be responsible for a great number of fatalities before anti-venoms became available. Mamba venom is a deadly mix of neurotoxins that attack the nervous system, and cardiotoxins that attack the heart so a bite, if left untreated, causes the lungs and the heart to shut down.
2. Newmark with an online list CRAIG
Craigslist is an online network of communities that features classified advertisements organized geographically. Craigslist was started by Craig Newmark in 1995, originally as an email distribution list for his friends who lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area.
3. Terra __: earthenware COTTA
The name “terra cotta” comes to us from Latin via Italian and means “baked earth”. Terra cotta is a ceramic made from clay which is left unglazed. Maybe the most famous work in terra cotta is the Terracotta Army, the enormous collection of life-size figures that was buried with the Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China around 210 BC. I had the privilege of seeing some of this collection when it toured the US a few years ago, and just the few pieces on display were so very impressive.
4. Many John Wayne flicks OATERS
The term “oater” that is used for a western movie comes from the number of horses seen, as horses love oats!
John Wayne was named Marion Mitchell Morrison at birth, named after his grandfather who was a Civil War veteran. When young Marion was a little boy, a local fireman used to call him “Little Duke” because he was always seen walking with his large dog called “Duke”. Marion liked the name “Duke” and so he called himself Duke Morrison for the rest of his life. That said, Duke Morrison also used John Wayne as a stage name.
6. Coffee-and-chocolate flavor MOCHA
Mocha is a port city in Yemen on the Red Sea and was once the principal port for the capital city of Sana’a. Mocha was the major marketplace in the world for coffee until the 1600s, and gave its name to the Mocha coffee bean, which in turn gave it’s name to the mocha brown color, and to the flavor of coffee infused with chocolate.
8. Captain in Ishmael’s tale AHAB
Ishmael is the narrator and protagonist in the Herman Melville novel “Moby-Dick”. Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod whaling boat.
9. Many a commuter’s home SUBURB
Our verb “to commute”, meaning “to go back and forth to work”, ultimately derives from the Latin “commutare”, meaning “to often change”. Back in the late 1800s, a “commutation ticket” was a season pass, so named because it allowed one to “change” one kind of payment into another. Quite interesting …
10. Lay’s “Betcha can’t eat just one” is one AD SLOGAN
“Betcha can’t eat just one” is a famous slogan introduced by the Frito Company for the Lay’s brand of potato chips, and that was way back in the 1960s.
Lay’s potato chips were introduced in 1938 by Herman W. Lay. Lay started selling his chips out the trunk of his car, travelling all over the US. In those days the chips were pretty much handmade, but Lay put an end to that in 1942. He invented the first continuous potato processor in 1948, and chips started to take over the world!
21. “Foolish Pride” singer Travis TRITT
Travis Tritt is a country singer from Marietta, Georgia.
27. Smooch shower on a Jumbotron KISS CAM
The “kiss cam” is a diversion during some sporting events in which a video camera picks out random couples in the crowd, projecting their image onto the giant screen at the venue. The couples are encouraged to kiss, for the entertainment of the fans. Famously, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama kissed for the kiss cam at a basketball game a few years ago, as did former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
A JumboTron is a big-screen television system from Sony, often seen in sports stadiums. The brand name “JumboTron” is used pretty generically now for any big-screen system in such venues, even though Sony exited the business in 2001.
28. Wall St.’s “Big Board” NYSE
The roots of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) go back to 1792 when a group of 24 stock brokers set up the New York Stock & Exchange Board. They did so in an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree outside 68 Wall Street. That document became known as the Buttonwood Agreement.
29. “Jeopardy!” host Trebek ALEX
The word is that Alex Trebek will step down as host of the game show “Jeopardy” in 2016, when his current contract expires. The list of names mentioned to replace Trebek includes Brian Williams, Dan Patrick, Matt Lauer and Anderson Cooper. I vote for Cooper, but I can’t see him taking the job …
31. Nestlé ice cream brand EDY’S
Dreyer’s ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyers in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.
32. Electrical adapter letters AC/DC
Anyone with a laptop with an external power supply has an AC/DC converter, that big “block” in the power cord. It converts the AC current from a wall socket into the DC current that is used by the laptop.
33. Golfer Mickelson PHIL
Phil Mickelson is one of the most famous left-handed golfers currently playing on the PGA Tour. Less well know is the fact that outside of golf, he is right-handed. Despite his great success as a golfer, the US Open championship has always eluded him. He has finished runner-up six times, more times than any other player.
34. Brand in contact lens care RENU
ReNu is a brand name of contact lens products sold by Bausch & Lomb.
37. In a lather, with “up” HET
Someone who is “het up” is “worked up, angry”. “Het” is an archaic word meaning “heated”.
40. Google search successes WEB PAGES
The search engine “Google” was originally called “BackRub” would you believe? The name was eventually changed to Google, an intentional misspelling of the word “googol”. A googol is a pretty big number, 10 to the power of 100. That would be the digit 1 followed by 100 zeros.
41. Gemstone weight CARAT
A carat is a unit of mass used in measuring gemstones that is equal to 200 mg.
51. T-bone or porterhouse STEAK
The T-bone and porterhouse are related cuts of meat, with the latter being a larger version of the former, and both being cut from the short loin.
53. Mammy Yokum’s lad ABNER
Mammy Yokum is the mother of Li’l Abner Yokum, the main character in Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner”. Mammy Yokum was born Pansy Hunks and married Lucifer Ornamental Yokum, who became Pappy Yokum.
54. Christian’s dresses? DIORS
Christian Dior was a French fashion designer. As WWII approached, Dior was called up by the French military, drawing a temporary halt to his career in fashion. He left the army in 1942 and for the duration of the war designed clothes for wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators. After the war his designs became so popular that he helped reestablish Paris as the fashion center of the world.
55. “Gypsy” composer Jule STYNE
Jule Styne was an English songwriter who made a name for himself in America with a series of popular musicals. Styne wrote a number of famous songs including “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from “Funny Girl”, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from “Gypsy”.
“Gypsy” is a 1962 musical film based on the book by Gypsy Rose Lee titled “Gypsy: A Memoir”. Stars of the movie are Natalie Wood as Louise Hovick (Gypsy’s real name) and Rosalind Russell as Gypsy’s mother Rose Hovick. By the way, the real-life Gypsy Rose Lee became a fiction author in 1942 when her mystery thriller was published called “The G-String Murders”. The novel was adapted into a movie a couple of years later and released as “Lady of Burlesque” starring Barbara Stanwyck.
56. Libya neighbor CHAD
The landlocked African country called Chad takes its name from the second largest wetland on the continent, which is known as Lake Chad.
The Italo-Turkish War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 1911 and October 1912. At the end of the conflict the Ottoman Empire ceded to Italy the three provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. These provinces became Italian North Africa, and ultimately the country that we know today as Libya. The name “Libya” comes from the Ancient Greek “Libúē”, the historical name for Northwest Africa.
59. Slinger’s dish HASH
The term “hash-slinger” is slang for a waiter or short-order cook in a diner.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. 5th Dimension vocalist Marilyn MCCOO
6. Degrees for mgrs. MBAS
10. On a trip AWAY
14. Like cheering stadiums AROAR
15. Honolulu’s island OAHU
16. Give (out) sparingly DOLE
17. Not glossy, as a finish MATTE
18. Sourpuss CRAB
19. Short comic sketch SKIT
20. Accepts a grim reality BITES THE BULLET
23. Thickening agent used in ice cream AGAR
24. “Way cool!” RAD!
25. Rock’s __ Speedwagon REO
26. Slalom need SKI
28. Cavs-vs.-Mavs event NBA GAME
32. Tax deadline mo. APR
35. In need of calamine lotion ITCHY
38. Cobb or Waldorf dish SALAD
39. Hams it up CHEWS THE SCENERY
42. Enjoys an elegant meal DINES
43. Bothered big-time ATE AT
44. Ballot markings in boxes XES
45. Train amenity with drinks and food CLUB CAR
47. Eeyore’s pal ROO
49. Nonstick spray brand PAM
50. Troop gp. BSA
52. Small notebooks PADS
56. Is raring to go CHAMPS AT THE BIT
60. Layered hairdo SHAG
61. Japanese rice drink SAKE
62. Irritate ANNOY
63. Stretch out, say LAZE
64. Pigmented eye layer UVEA
65. Not at all lenient STERN
66. Verses of praise ODES
67. Exec’s benefit PERK
68. American Pharoah, e.g. HORSE
Down
1. Deadly African snake MAMBA
2. Newmark with an online list CRAIG
3. Terra __: earthenware COTTA
4. Many John Wayne flicks OATERS
5. Valuable rocks ORES
6. Coffee-and-chocolate flavor MOCHA
7. Uncovered BARED
8. Captain in Ishmael’s tale AHAB
9. Many a commuter’s home SUBURB
10. Lay’s “Betcha can’t eat just one” is one AD SLOGAN
11. Responded to the alarm WOKE
12. Touched down ALIT
13. “Still and all … ” YET …
21. “Foolish Pride” singer Travis TRITT
22. Charge for using, as an apartment LEASE TO
27. Smooch shower on a Jumbotron KISS CAM
28. Wall St.’s “Big Board” NYSE
29. “Jeopardy!” host Trebek ALEX
30. Fully grown filly MARE
31. Nestlé ice cream brand EDY’S
32. Electrical adapter letters AC/DC
33. Golfer Mickelson PHIL
34. Brand in contact lens care RENU
36. Scorch CHAR
37. In a lather, with “up” HET
40. Google search successes WEB PAGES
41. Gemstone weight CARAT
46. Intensifies AMPS UP
48. Not against trying OPEN TO
50. Cake maker BAKER
51. T-bone or porterhouse STEAK
53. Mammy Yokum’s lad ABNER
54. Christian’s dresses? DIORS
55. “Gypsy” composer Jule STYNE
56. Libya neighbor CHAD
57. Thin fog HAZE
58. Squirrel away SAVE
59. Slinger’s dish HASH
60. __-mo replay SLO
Good morning, Monday ….. easy puzzle, had lots and lots of fun. getting ready for work, I couldn't sleep so came to finish off this Monday puzzle.
I wanted Girl Scouts before BSA …. girls should also have their day in the sun with THEIR troops.
I, at first, thought that American Pharaoh was a brand of prophy– . Not that I would know … plus it wouldn't pass the breakfast test.
Bill, you write,'On Sake ….. It is indeed made from rice, but it is brewed rather than fermented and so is more like a beer than a wine'.
With deep respect …. 1. To produce alchohol, a product has to be fermented. Tea is brewed, but has no alchohol.
….As per Wiki, 2. In wine the alc. comes from the sugars already in the grapes etc.
3. In Sake, and beer, the alc. comes from the starch, since not enough sugars are naturally present there.
In beer, the "starch to Sugar", and the "sugar to alc. fermentation " is done in a distinct 2 stage process. In Sake, the two processes are done simultaenously or rather concurrently.
Bill, I realize, you have to make a precis of lots and lots of clues, and I'm sure you know the above differences, but they – the deep distinction, may have /were eaten up in your attempt to make a manageable copy for the blog. Thus, maybe, no change is actually required to be made…. the copy is good as it is.
I have never tasted Sake myself, and one day, if I happen to wander into a Japanese Rest. I will certainly consider ordering a small cup of Sake, in the honor of this blog.
Have a nice day, all.
Pretty much a prototypical Monday on all fronts (no errors on anything). Not too much to get HET up about with these grids other than the obvious. No reason to go CHAMPS AT THE BIT other than the obvious.
Today is birthday number 53. I'm off to have my birth certificate altered here shortly. I'll be a little younger afterwards…
Nice puzzle that was pretty easy although I hit a few snags in the SE corner that I had to get through. I completely whiffed on the theme until I came to the blog. I noticed something-the-something but nothing beyond that.
Thanks for the Fawlty Towers reference. I think the same thing every time I hear the term Waldorf salad. What a great show. I'm sure it's available somewhere for streaming or DVD or whatever.
I've tried sake before, but I can't say I'm much of a fan of it. I will say it tastes much more like beer than it does any kind of wine. Whatever the correct terminology is (which I don't know..), I'm not surprised the process is more similar to beer than wine making.
Best –
Best –
Agreed. Simple grid, standard fill.
A few things:
1. If HET is an archaic word, why is it in crossword grids? Aren't they supposed to retire words that become obsolete?
2. Isn't the expression "chomps at the bit?"
3. ALIT…see #1
Today's Seinfeld reference is PAM from "The Soul Mate."
Off topic: the Easter Uprising celebrations in Dublin were quite moving, broadcast on RTĒ. Especially the reading of the Proclamation outside the Post Office, which you can see here. I was struck by the tone, and how it contrasts to the Declaration of Independence here.
Slainte.
@Vidwan
Thanks for pulling me up on my "sake" comments. I've changed my little blurb to reflect the real process. Well spotted!
@Jeff – I'm a non-drinker, but I would have guessed rice, being a grain would produce a beer rather than a wine.
@Willie – Het is the lesser "the" in Dutch, so if crosswords ever include any language beyond French to any extent, i'm for it.
I still use alit (I'm old), in reference to skeeters and my flesh.
I did the puzzle from top to bottom, and when I hit "Accepts a grim reality," I couldn't believe it would be "kIckS THE BUckET. I do tell everyone that if they tell me I need to go to a nursing home, I'm going for a last swim in the Mohawk (a few blocks away).
Didn't know CRAIG had a last name.
Some nice memories: Li'l ABNER, the 5th Dimension.
Has anyone noticed Mickelson – whom I see in ads – rarely blinks his eyes. Could be a result of his meds.
@Willie D
1 & 3: I actually started learning how to make grids over the weekend and found out a lot of answers (though still need several more). A lot of the "junk fill" is usually just the setters trying to shoehorn something to make things fit that they want on the grid. This is likely where things such as HET, ALIT, and the ever-dread EPEE comes from so often. There's a lot of "scrub words" like that which come up in a pattern matcher when you use one. Basically, in the dictionary, but no one really uses them. Speaking of that, I think that's how a lot of the periodic appearances come up that we've been noticing as well. Depending on the word list one uses, it can pull up the more used/more recently used words in the databased grids, so things will repeat themselves that way.
2. See my link up above. Proper English is CHAMPS though since the word is archaic by itself, most have switched to CHOMPS.
I wanted to refrain in general until now on these over the contest rules on this:
@Jeff, @Tony Michaels (on your WSJ comments Friday)
They're good grids for most part. WSJ is mainly the Mike Shenk Show, as most of the submitters are a plethora of his pseudonyms. He is a generally able setter. Usually one or two of the late week grids (Wed-Sat) are interesting challenges, but most of the rest are at about LAT Wed level. Speaking of which, I understand Rich Norris (LAT) works similarly, but I have picked up on a number of his pseudonyms yet.
The big draw for me is the meta grids (Fri, though others are picking up the trend), which are new to me (and relatively new in general). Basically, after you solve the regular grid, there's some item to work out of the grid by one means or the other as indicated. WSJ runs a contest which starts on Fri and ends on 12AM Monday, which pretty much limits discussion of it for those who honor it.
For example, the last grid was an easier one. I referenced egg puns in the clues, which mark the meta clues. We know this by the title "Egg Hunt". We are also told the answer is a 7 letter name of a bird. Eggs hatch into things, so we know to look for birds in those answers. Those happened to be OWL, SWAN, TERN, ROBIN, IBIS, CROW and HERON in that order. Put the first letter of each word together, and you get OSTRICH, which is the answer.
Thank you, Bill. I would have been perfectly content had you decided to do nothing, and if you had just let me know that you read my piece. You have a thousand another to-do items to think about. Just because a guy get het up on something – its all in good cheer – its not that I'm chomping / champing at the bit(s) or foaming in the mouth.
Jeff, Congratulations !! I could have chosen All these birthday CAKES – so I chose them all …. take your pick or picks … or all of them.
Take it from a person who atleast a decade older …..
1. Its probably too late to think about retirement planning …. but its never too late to try. ( This is meant to be a joke …) Social Security will be on its last legs by the time you become eligible for it …. but Medicare may be a thing of the past. 😉
2. If you are at present single, hurry up and get married. Sure there will always be 7 females for every man, at higher age groups, but you'll be starting to wonder whether thats even a relevant factor.
3. If you have kids, get them married as soon as possible, (if, at all, possible – ) because pretty soon, you may sleep through the whole ceremony.
4. If you want to travel or have a hobby, indulge in it. Later on, it may seem like a waste of time. "Old age hits you like a bug on a windsheild, while travelling 80 mph." – said by somebody famous (?).
Have a great day, and don't do anything I wouldn't do. ( come to think of it, that's pretty much includes everything.)
@Vidwan
Thanks for the well wishes! My joke to that stat of 7 women for every man has always been…"yes, but I don't like my 7.."
Always tried to figure out if you're a chemist, a CPA, or both. If you're both, that's quite an interesting and unusual combo…
Best
To do your own taxes these days you need to be an "alchemist" so maybe Vidwan is both?
@Glenn – "Ostrich" from the first letters in the birds hidden in the long answers. That is clever and I never would have spotted (my owl joke) without you pointing it out to me. Thanks for that.
I had two errors in the Sunday grid yesterday. Ida instead of Oda for the character played by Whoopie in Ghost and "Scalers" instead of "Scalars" for 13 Across. I thought that the Sunday grid was pretty difficult. Maybe not Saturday hard, but hard none the less.
There's a small bottle of SAKE one of the Japanese students gave to us in the cupboard. It was from his wedding in Japan.It's still there. Does it get old?
Never tried sake either.
Easy Monday except METE instead of DOLE.
CHOMP before CHAMP.
@Jeff A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!
I think horses champ at the bit, but don't know why.
Bill, thanks for the info abt CRAIG. Our family has a "Craig's List Queen". She seems to be always borrowing Dad's truck to move furniture in and out. I never know what I'll find when I visit!
I had a birthday yesterday…a big one! I'm still feeling the love from my family, but really, I was hoping to be wiser by now!
Take care, all
Bella
@Bella
HAPPY,HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY!!!!
You said it was a BIG one. ^0^
Happy birthday Bella, we never knew you had it yesterday.
Here you go, Bella ! Happy, happy Birthday !click on this.
As for the part about wisdom, we don't promise anything.
Bv the way, Vidwan means 'wise man', but I'm no wiser either. I might as well have stuck with Dumbo.
Hah!I have grown children. This was a BIG one! It's a good thing it's never too late to grow wise. I'm going to keep working on it.
But thanks, Pookie and Vidwan.
Bella
Hey all! Happy birthday, Jeff and Bella!
Vidwan, that's so cute what you did. And, now Jeff is apparently a king, while Bella is a princess… 😀
Easy grid after a VERY tough day…I'm having tree work done so the yard is a mess, and my nerves were a-jangle (!!) all day from the chainsaws.
Never thought I'd have anything in common with a pro golfer, but I do: I'm left handed but I BAT right handed. And I can't switch hit.
Come to think of it, I'm not much of a hitter anyway…
Be well~~™