Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper is by “Lester Ruff,” Stan Newman. And yes, it started so easily. 1-A, eight letters, “The ones that got away”? Feels like a getaway giveaway. 1-D, six letters, “Southwest’s second-largest city”? Obvious after 1-A. But I struggled with 11-D, three letters, “Don’t just look” (huh?), 16-A, six letters, “Italian art glass” (and yet I have a piece of it, duh), and 34-D, eight letters, “Circle look-alike” (again, huh?). This puzzle turned out to be Maura Ruff than I expected. The distinctive feature: two fifteen-letter answers, 8-D, “That’ll do” and 34-D, “Optimistic sentiment.”

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

19-A, three letters, “Something drawn to scale.” I think the clue is a pun, but I still don’t get “drawn,”

21-D, three letters, “‘The definitive record’ updated quarterly.” Long may it wave.

24-D, seven letters, “Handle.” The answer makes me think of something from a 1930s movie.

38-A, six letters, “It might be a snap.” Sweet.

44-D, six letters, “Hypothesized transitional guy.” I thought of a KInks song, and I don’t mean “Lola.”

48-A, four letters, “Litter pickup point.” Cute.

If the Newsday paywall makes it impossible for you to access the Stumper, you might try a different browser. I can access the Stumper in Brave but not in Safari. Or try another source — GameLab, for instance (which requires that you turn off your ad-blocker). Newsday would do well to offer a crossword subscription. I’d happily pay for the puzzle, but I won’t pay $6.98 a week for a digital subscription to Newsday.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.

Hi and Lois watch

[Hi and Lois, November 5, 2021. Click for a larger view.]

I missed this moment yesterday (oil change). I’m not sure if it’s a Hi-Lo attempt at edgy humor, or one more exhibit of the strip’s cluelessness. At any rate, Chip has taken his dad’s advice and is in the closet.

Related reading
All OCA Hi and Lois posts (Pinboard)

Recently updated

The oldest Ellingtonian? Eve Duke, earlier this year.

Reading in NYC

“Even in the busiest of places, if you have a good book, you can retreat into solitude”: photographs of people reading in New York City (The New York Times).

Browse the titles where possible. I spotted the same 1959 paperback edition of Jacques Barzun’s Teacher in America that’s on one of my bookshelves.

Droste fail

From Over-Exposed (dir. Lewis Seiler, 1956). Click for a larger view.]

When is the Droste effect not the Droste effect? Right here, with Shirley Thomas, host of Phone Call to a Personality, interviewing famous photographer Lila Crane (Cleo Moore).

[IMDb has nothing for the role of Shirley Thomas. TCM has Shirley Thomas playing herself. Other sources say Constance Towers.]

Out to the parking lot

The town festival was underway, with people leading their animals into the community center. I noticed a pony and a sheep. All the animals were seated at long tables running down the sides of the community center’s conference room.

I went out to the parking lot, where two young women had parked their car so that the driver’s side was smack up against the back of our Prius, making it impossible for me to back out. And the only way they could back out without damaging both cars was to first maneuver forward, turning the wheel ever so slightly, before backing out. I asked them to do so. They were reluctant. I offered to maneuver their car myself and pay if there was any damage. They agreed. So I got in and maneuvered their car out of its space. (I’m a capable driver.)

I asked them if they liked the Rolling Stones and expected them to say “Who?” But they said that they thought the Rolling Stones were a pretty good band, and I agreed. And I got out of their car and into our Prius.

Related reading
All OCA dream posts (Pinboard)

[Possible sources: Hallmark (town festival), Peppa Pig (animals), oil change (Prius), events in Dallas (the Stones).]

MSNBC, sheesh

No, it is not going to be a “fulsome” investigation.

Related reading
All OCA sheesh posts (Pinboard)

“The Moors”

[A Peppa Pig story.]


The premise developed when Elaine and I were walking. I am lucky to have such a partner.

Related reading
All OCA Brontë posts (Pinboard)

[Daddy Pig’s knowledge of the moors appears to derive from Merriam-Webster. Yes, an American dictionary. It’s my story. A little context for the Gift Shop scene: after Anne Brontë’s death in 1849, Charlotte Brontë prevented republication of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall until 1854.]

Repurposed rake

In today’s Nancy. I like repurposing.

Real-life household items, repurposed
Cooling rack : Dish drainer : Doorstop : Tea tin : More tea tins : Yogurt jar

Genuine headline

From Newsweek: “Confused QAnon Followers Question Whether Keith Richards Is JFK After ‘Reappearance’ Flop.”

Just another day in these Untied States.

[Untied: not a typo.]