Rodney D. was having trouble getting the superintendent of his building up to his apartment: “He won’t fix anything. So I tricked him — I invited him up for a party. He said “Great, should I bring anything?” I said “Yeah, a wrench and your galoshes.”
Many serious crossword folks are geniuses in other areas: math, music, the arts, cultural matters. (Not me, of course. I don’t even know what a logarithm is.) So Rafael Musa, subbing for Rex today, shared this observation. The clue was “1099, e.g.” and the answer was TAX FORM. He pointed out that 1099 is not a prime number. Its factors are 157 and 7. So tuck that away somewhere. It’s bound to come in handy some day. Hey, it just did for me!
Do you gamble when you’re in Vegas, Rodney?
Yeah, I enjoy it. I enjoy the slots. There are slots every where you go in Vegas. Even in the supermarket. Last week a gallon of milk cost me $238.
Andy Spragg of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) posted this image:
Here are some of the duller comments:
Richard Hopkins: That’s somewhat recursive isn’t it? [characterized by recurrence or repetition]
Andy: I think more self-referential than recursive, although I suppose self-reference is a form of recursion.
[What? Please stop hurting my brain. I’m still reeling from the prime numbers.]
Greg Smith: That woman in the background seems to have very long fingers.
George Jackson: She does the prostate checks.
Greg: How much does she charge?
George: By the inch.
Rodney: I asked my wife how she did on her driver’s test. She said she got 18 out of 20. Two of the guys jumped out of the way.
How hot was it yesterday at the ballparks? Pretty damn hot. At the Cubs game in Wiggley Field, home plate ump Chad Whitson cashed in his chips after the fifth inning and the remainder of the game was played with only three umps on the field. Whitson threw up in the home dugout and was treated for heat exhaustion. Later in the same game, Seattle reliever Trent Thornton crouched down behind the mound after walking a batter. It was his third inning out there, and he crashed and had to be helped off the field.
And that wasn’t the worst of it. Brace yourselves, Chatterheads. In St. Louis, Cincy shortstop Elly De La Cruz actually threw up on the field when overcome by the heat. He drank a lot of water, generally a good idea, but gave it all back. The grounds crew came out for the cleanup. Amazingly, De La Cruz stayed in the game and later hit a two-run home run.
Let’s all go to the wedding in Crossworld now! Today’s puzzle in the Times was called “Bringing a Plus One,” and it was by a mom/daughter team. How neat is that? Ruth Bloomfield Margolin and Hannah Margolin. Hannah says she and her mom have been solving puzzles together for years. Do you think your mom was/is protective? Hannah said her mom sent her puzzles when Hannah was at summer camp and would pre-fill in the answers she thought Hannah wouldn’t know.
Anyway, the theme answers were all wedding-related phrases but with one letter added for wackiness (the “plus one”). The two best were:
“Fancy headpiece garment?” FEATHER OF THE BRIDE
“Parent who foolishly wore stiletto heels to a garden event” MOTHER IN LAWN
Also decent, IMO, was “Cause of many headaches while planning the big day? WEDDING DURESS
On the topic, commenter Gary noted: “My wedding was basically a party for my mother-in-law’s friends.” Good thing he’s not still bitter.
Most of our moms told us if we can’t say something good about someone, don’t say anything. Lewis’s mom must have gone further: say something good no matter what, godammit. No matter how badly Rex rips a puzzle, Lewis will always find something in it to praise. He took special delight in today’s puzzle and was not shy to gush:
There’s ha-ha happiness and there’s warm-the-heart happiness, and for me, today’s puzzle pulsed with both.
First of all, it’s wedding-centered, based on an event where the heart often swells with elation, where the eyes often fill with the best tears, where the air is filled with delight, merriment, and high spirits. Where love is palpable.
Then, it’s made by a mom and daughter. As I imagine them working side-by-side, laughing and high-fiving at coming up with finds that land, cocooning in earnest while brainstorming and chiseling their creation, well, that’s a mom-daughter relationship that touches my heart, that reminds me that so much good pervades this world.
Also, this is a puzzle whose purpose is more than just to create riddles to crack – it’s also to entertain. It wants to get us to smile and even burst out with a “Hah!” or giggle. Who doesn’t like that?
It succeeded with me, kept me in a jolly good mood throughout, punctuated by genuine laughs, while keeping my brain happy untangling clues and theme answers.
Crossword success in the highest. Started with an empty box, and exiting feeling, through and through, that life is good. Wow and thank you, Ruth and Hannah!
Just as Mel Ott and Bobby Orr will forever be popular in Crossworld, the official cookie is OREO. And I was today years old when I learned there’s a new limited-edition Oreo on the shelves. Selena Gomez is spicing things up (quite literally) with an Oreo inspired by horchata, the refreshing Mexican drink made with rice, cinnamon, and sweetened condensed milk.
Looks like you’ve got a winner there, Babe. I’m going to limit myself strictly to five billion of them!
See you tomorrow everybody. Thanks for popping by.
The Wellington Files 