I learned something about American History from the puzzle today. At 1A the clue was “Workplace for a young Abraham Lincoln.” When the answer worked out to BAR, I figured it was a reference to his years as a lawyer. BUT in fact, earlier in life, Abe owned a bar with one of his friends. (On a related note, I also learned that George Washington owned the largest distillery in the country in his day, in addition to farming.)
Customer: OK, what do we owe you for two beers and a corned beef on rye?
Bar Owner: That’ll be one score, three eighty.
Customer: C’mon Linc! Just tell me in plain English!!
Among his countless insane rants, Trump has been insisting that Harris wants to ban red meat and do away with cows. It prompted Dana Milbank to write in WaPo: “The steaks could not be higher in this election.”
In the awwwwww dept today, the clue at 4D was “Baby that’s up all night,” and the answer was OWLET. But I crashed on the puzzle, not knowing the singer SZA or that the letter after Epsilon is Zeta. D’oh!
Actress Salma was easy to get though: Hiya HAYEK! Dammit! — did Phil wake you up for this shot, Sal?? I thought he stopped sneaking into bedrooms since he’s been on probation. We’re so sorry. Just go back to sleep, we’ll catch up later, girl.
Commenter Janet M had this on Sza: She is a Jersey Girl and graduated from the high school where I taught before retirement, Columbia High School in Maplewood. She has returned several times to talk to the kids and also to perform, showing her generous spirit and understanding the importance of giving back to community. We all love her!
Hey, I see she was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in ’23. Sweet!
Darren Noonan of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) asks: Can anyone tell me definitively whether these little bad boys are safely edible? UK based Southeast. I’m not a massive fan of mushers but I do rather like foraging and I’m a particular fan of free food. They’re definitely free, because they’re in my back garden.
Justin McAree wrote: All mushrooms are edible. Some are only edible once.
Several others noted it was a “fairy ring,” i.e., a naturally occurring circular pattern of mushrooms that can be found in forests and grasslands. They are caused when the spawn of a mushroom falls in a favorable spot and sends out a network of underground threads. These grow in a circle, and mushrooms grow from the underground mat. An old folk tale says fairies danced in circles to form them, but the fairies themselves have ridiculed this notion.
Marianne Morant cautioned: Do not interfere with a fairy ring, the fae are not to be messed with.
[Fae is a term for fairy.]
Thanks for dropping in. See you next time!
The Wellington Files 