Tom Wild
Killington
@Scott One might say you've honed your talents.
I thought 27A was hilarious as ENDwAR, but nope.
Fun puzzle. Now I'm set for the day.
The one-l lama, He's a priest. The two-l llama, He's a beast. And I will bet A silk pajama There isn't any three-l lllama. Ogden Nash
@Linds My sister told me some years ago that she too thought it was dirt, but didn’t speak up for fear our mom would throw it away!
Deb, Thank you so much for your steady and humorous guidance over the last decade or so that I've been solving online. I always look forward to your column, and as you migrated from daily to the harder days, so too, have I been more drawn to those harder days. (And maybe some chocolate. Or something stronger.) I wish you well in your future endeavors. Thank you so much for being here, and being you!
AQUALUNG crossing SUPERGROUP is fun. Nice puzzle!
@Kurt Removing one’s hat during the anthem, perhaps.
@David S EOE is an oldie and a goodie. Equal Opportunity Employer.
I so wanted sweepssqueak. Fun Dad-joke puzzle!
Pledge, iirc, is not a dessert topping, however.
As Seinfeld pointed out, people like pronouncing the word salsa. Salsa! Salsa! Way over my average. The chips were a bit crunchy, but I swallowed them without help, so I'll take that as a win.
Fun solve, and a new best! How sweet it is.
The NW corner was the last to drop, and I had to walk away several times, but I finished without lookups or Googling, so I'll take that as a win. Beautiful, smooth puzzle.
@Francis Reminds me of the professor's admonition that there 'is no left-hand rule'. Fun story!
Wow! Once I changed from the IOS app to the laptop, everything fell into place. A new best! I've probably jinxed myself into a slog of a Friday, lol.
@Mean Old Lady TIL about YABBER. from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition [From Australian pidgin, probably from a source in the Pama-Nyungan languages of southeast Australia such as Wiradhuri ya-, to talk (perhaps influenced by English jabber).]
@Xword Junkie And it's interesting that we had Corinthian recently.
What a fun puzzle! Nick and Christina completely killed my average with this one; the theme fell easily enough, but the north killed me. Thanks for saving me, Sam. The end of 17A eluded me.
@Lewis The squares went over my head, too, until I saw the revealer. After I had ONE, then TWO/FOUR, I kept insisting the last one had to be THREE/FIVE. I finally go the music, though.
A bit over my average time. I suppose that's adequate.
OMG a new best! Must have been squarely in my wheelhouse. That is all. Carry on.
Downhill clues often reference skiing, but 14A... eek.
@ad absurdum I thought CATSUP was a really funny answer, but alas, no dice.
@sotto voce Yeah, well, now I have tears in my eyes, too. Thanks.
My finish time suggests this was on the easy side, but really fresh. The NE killed me for a time: couldn't remember Naomi's last name, and held on to pad for 7D for way too long. Charge can mean so many different verbs and nouns. I needed some crosses to finish that one. I'm not fully trained in the use of CORE, but I'll get there.
You and me both, Deb. Even after solving the livestock-related one!
@Troy I thought is was clever—an ‘ahah’ moment.
Thank you for being my collaborator, Deb. I was stalled out in the north, but once you informed me that 1A wasn't PArent, I was off to the races.
@Charles which could be sautéed, Deb’s comment notwithstanding.
@Schuyler Arghhh. I couldn't let go of UNLIT, even though I was picturing the classic flashlight-under-the-chin look. The Copa makes a lot more sense.
@Xword Junkie Took me forever to get the B. Sneaky choice having it intersect CeeLo's song.
@Nom De Plume Like grilled cheese sandwiches, but with fried corn cakes in place of the bread. Wonderful.
@Rich in Atlanta I should have searched for lama before posting. Love that little rhyme.
@dk I tried DROPEe first for a bit, with reluctance.
@Linda Bernstein I think because if you’re in reverse, I might say it’s OK to back up your car.
@Nancy Although it doesn't help the pun, a cation is the electric opposite to an anion.
@Gary Scheele Didn’t the Upsons declare their honey daquiris to be “terribly good”, to which Mame agreed?
@Seward Parker Thanks for the explanation. I've made that error often enough that you sent shivers down my spine. I never considered myself a full-time programmer, so the solution you offer never occurred to me.
@Menc One advantage of using a computer. Searching the comments works there, but not on the (Apple) app.
@J lawrence I've given up in frustration and impatience on the occasional Monday or Tuesday, and revealed it just to find the typo or misspelling. Sometimes, as @Matt says, ya just take the L.
@Dylan So I’m not the only one!
@Mean Old Lady The graphic in question somewhat represents the Halloween mask inspired by a horror movie. I think the emoji represents shock; or awe, mixed with surprise or disgust, perhaps. Maybe someone else has a different opinion.
@Maggie I somehow had a typo: FROYa, so wondered what color of blue aBSCENE was. oops. I started to Google the misspelled 'color' when it suddenly dawned on me.
@Heather K It took me forever to get that airport clue, and I've flown in and out of it! (It was a loooong time ago.)
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