google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, June 1, 2015 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Advertisements

Jun 1, 2015

Monday, June 1, 2015 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: The TRUTH... shall turn you LOOSE; set you FREE to be LIBERATED and UNBOUND.

20A. Coin-counting machine input : LOOSE CHANGE

33A. Capitalist principle : FREE ENTERPRISE

40A. Feminist : LIBERATED WOMAN

56A. Yet-to-be-covered volume : UNBOUND BOOK

RABBIT, RABBIT. Argyle here with the latest from Gail and Bruce. My alternate title was "Going Commando...".

Across:

1. Scrubbing Bubbles target : SCUM. Commercial.

5. Medical research goal : CURE

9. Faked on the ice : DEKED

14. Walking aid : CANE

15. "Up and __!" : AT 'EM

16. Somber verse : ELEGY. Not the eulogy but may be heard at the same service.

17. "What's going __ there?" : ON IN. Kids are too noisy or too quiet; same question.

18. Knock down, as an old house : RAZE

19. Russian river : VOLGA

23. Chaney of horror : LON

24. "Gracias" response : DE NADA. "It was nothing"

25. Dawdle : DALLY

27. Annoys : IRKS

30. Respond to with loud laughter : ROAR AT

37. Tesla Motors co-founder __ Musk : ELON. Occasional visitor to the Corner.

38. Former California fort : ORD, on Monterey Bay.

39. Sanctuary recess : APSE

45. Mall divisions : STORES

46. Say "Be careful" to : WARN

47. Chocolaty concoction : COCOA

49. Cupcake toppings : ICINGS

54. Spot for a seaweed wrap : SPA. Not a sushi bar?!

59. Stable youngsters : COLTS

61. Floating ice mass : BERG

62. Yours, in France : A TOI

63. Kate's sitcom friend : ALLIE. (1984–1989)

64. Jigsaw puzzler's starting place : EDGE

65. Upward slope : RISE

66. Southwestern plateaus : MESAs

67. Belgian river : YSER

68. Zipped : SPED

Down:

1. Admonish : SCOLD

2. Paddled boat : CANOE

3. Group for ones in labor? : UNION. Cute clue.

4. Brilliant bunch : MENSA

5. Vehicle maintenance : CAR CARE

6. Canyonlands National Park site : UTAH

7. Exiled Shah Mohammed __ Pahlavi : REZA. A rare trip to a Monday.

8. Edit, as text : EMEND

9. Come to light : DEVELOP

10. Jeff Lynne's symphonic rock gp. : ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra)

11. Morning TV host : KELLY RIPA. Looker 1

12. "Leggo my __!" : EGGO

13. Actress Cannon : DYAN. Looker 2

21. Singer Brickell married to Paul Simon : EDIE. Looker 3

22. Teri of "Mr. Mom" : GARR. Looker 4

26. Former California NFLer : LA RAM

28. Secure shoelace feature : KNOT

29. Scatter : STREW

31. Part of LPGA: Abbr. : ASSN. (association)

32. Collarless shirt : TEE

33. Move like a moth : FLIT

34. Autodialed campaign messages : ROBO-CALLS

35. Juan's January : ENERO

36. Old Norse poetic work : EDDA

37. Chicago transit trains : ELs

41. Disqualifies (oneself), judicially : RECUSES

42. "You have __": obstetrician's news : A SON



43. Old laundry-squeezing device : WRINGER

44. How some data is backed up : ON CD. (Compact Disc)

48. Cloister : ABBEY. I just borrowed the first five seasons of "Downton Abbey"; should keep me busy for awhile.

50. Letter-shaped girders : I-BARS. Commonly called an I-beam.

51. Upshot of poor service : NO TIP

52. "Duck, duck" follower : "GOOSE"

53. Maneuvered among moguls : SKIED

54. Bogus offer : SCAM

55. Flag holder : POLE

57. Ref. works that take up a lot of shelf space : OEDs. (Oxford English Dictionary)

58. Try to convince : URGE

60. Familia member : TIA. Your Spanish aunt or Tinbeni's Tia Maria.

Argyle




Notes from C.C.:

1) For those who were not able to make the Indie 500, you can now solve the puzzles at home. Please click here for details. The amazing constructors are: Erik AgardEvan Birnholz, Peter Broda, Neville FogartyAndy Kravis and Finn Vigeland. All are NYT published constructors. Several are our LAT constructors also.

2) The fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 14th, 2015 Saturday. Please click here for more details. Don G and I teamed up again this year. Hope to see some of you there.


53 comments:

Manac said...

Up and At Em Everyone!

Sleepyheads.

Some non Monday fills today but quite solvable.
7D "Reza" was actually easy. Abejo and I were in
the same place at around the same time when the Shah was
in power.
Work is waiting.
Read you all tonight.

Lemonade714 said...

While not a Monday name, REZA crossing RAZE was an anagram worth finding. A SCAM and SCUM also were a nice balance.

LON and ELON were also fun.

Thanks f or the ladies Argyle.

White Rabbit, white rabbit

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Wow, REZA was a real outlier for a Monday puzzle. Everything else was smooth, but I really did a double-take when I saw the clue for 7D. Perps took care of it, but still...

OwenKL said...

Rabbit, ribbit, as the frog said.

American, the land of the FREE,
With LIBERTY from sea to sea!
Where slaves were UNBOUND
And chances are found,
And people are LOOSE from vile tyranny!

(In this political climate, it was hard to come up with something that didn't take sides on anything, but I think I did it. Now for something lighter!)

When I set LOOSE my dog, and let him run FREE,
He'll race and he'll chase, and he'll bound around me!
It would raise all his hackles
To put him in shackles,
But prevented from bouncing, UNBOUNDing he'd be!

There's a certain part of every city
Where ladies gather, looking pretty.
If men venture there
They'd best have fare,
The women may be LOOSE, but they're not FREE!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Nice puz from the BG's. Argyle, I think I prefer your alternate title.

I'm still very happy with Nomorobo handling my ROBO CALLS. One ring. One ring only, Vasili. Unfortunately, doesn't work for political or charity callers. But you can't beat the price.

LARAM always gets me. I expect it to be a person.

You need to be "of a certain age" to remember REZA, DYAN, GARR, and probably ALLIE.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Easy Monday puzzle, but I wasn't enamored by the theme. My only error was to think of Foals before COLTS.

I had no problem with REZA and, like Lemonade, liked how it crossed with RAZE.

Group for Ones In Labor = UNION was my favorite clue of the puzzle.

I don't recall ELON Musk, but the perps gave me his name.

White Rabbit! Hurricane season begins today. Current thought is that it will be a light season.

QOD: It’s not true I had nothing on - I had the radio on. ~ Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926 ~ Aug. 5, 1962)

Beach Bum said...

My wife and I spent three weeks driving/camping out west last year. Didn't do Canyonland because we needed an extra day to see all of Arches. The entire state of Utah could be a national park.

thehondohurricane said...


Happy Monday,

Won't go down as a favorite puzzle. Theme was obvious, but it just didn't do much for me.

REZA was a gimme. That was back in the day when Iran was a friend and a lace to visit if I remember correctly.

Tin's Lightening certainly DEKED my Rangers. Would be nice to see Lord Stanley spend next winter in the Florida warmth.

Busy day ahead which includes taking our whirlwind puppy to the vet. The cats will probably hope he's permantly gone.













kazie said...

Didn't know REZA or RIPA, but perps came to help. It didn't really feel Monday-ish, but it all came together in the end. Up and AT IT seemed more natural to me, but then I was left scratching my head over ETEND as an editing activity.

Tinbeni said...

Pinch Pinch ...

Argyle: Nice write-up. Especially enjoyed the "Looker" links.
Whenever I see TIA in a grid ... I always think of TIA MARIA!
(Hmmm, some in my coffee NOW seems like a good idea. Yum!)

Gail & Bruce: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle with a great theme.

Fave today was the clue/answer for NO-TIP.

The Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup ... should be a great series.
Cheers!

CanadianEh! said...

Enjoyable Monday puzzle. We need hot COCOA here after much needed rain on the weekend and plummeting temperatures. But no BERGS.

Waited for perps to decide between Foals and COLTS, and Nave or APSE. Learned ELON doing crosswords and now I see news reports about his Powerwall home battery system. Interesting idea to take us off the power grid but not large enough yet for practical use since few people are willing to stop running their toaster and coffee-maker at the same time!

I think I have shared Pierre Berton's quote that a Canadian is a person who can make love in a CANOE! Now there's a LIBERATED WOMAN.

We had some illegal ROBOCALLS during the last federal election directing voters to the wrong polling station.
Unfortunately Lord Stanley's cup will be leaving its homeland and going to either Tampa or Chicago. Best wishes for a good series.

CanadianEh! said...

Anybody else remember The Song of the VOLGA Boatmen from piano lessons?

Gramma Jean said...

I had OBGYN for three down!!!! Liked the puzzle but loved the write up! thanks to all

desper-otto said...

CanadianEh! -- yes, I do remember that piece. But can't recall if it was in Thompson or Schaum. Long time ago.

oc4beach said...


Today was a nice puzzle but I still needed perps to fill in some answers.

Although I did the puzzle in the paper with pencil and eraser, I did check to see if the MENSA site was up to date. It did have today's puzzle, but the puzzles from May 24th through May 31st are not there. I wonder what the problem was.

On the old Superman TV show it was Up, up and AWAY, not up and ATEM. I also agree with DO on the LARAM answer. It's annoying.

Hope everyone has a great day and that everyone in Texas comes through the floods OK.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

An easy, peasy Monday offering but not quite as catchy as we've come to expect from Bruce and Gail. Reza was a surprise but easily perp able.

Thanks Gail, Bruce, and Argyle for starting June off so nicely.

Yes, Canadian Eh, I remember The Volga Boatmen from piano lessons. Wasn't it dirge-like? (I hated taking piano lessons so maybe all the music was dirge-like to me!)

Today's high will be in the 50's whereas the last week or so, it was in the 80's. Mother Nature likes to keep us confused, me thinks!

Have a great day.

JJM said...

Nothing bothered me about this puzzle, you just had to think a little harder than a usual Monday. I like Edie Brickell ( & the new Bohemians).

Also, for those who do the puzzle on the Mensa site, it's back up up there. Syndication issues must've cleared up.

GO HAWKS !

Misty said...

A delightful way to start the week, with an easy but enjoyable Gail and Bruce puzzle. Many thanks, guys, and you too, Argyle.

Didn't know DEKED, but got it with perps. Loved "Kate and ALLIE" back in the day. "Group for ones in labor" threw me for a bit, especially when it looked as though it was going to be an ONION. Thank goodness the SCUM straightened that out quickly.

Okay, I hate to ask this after all this time, but why "Rabbit, rabbit" when the first of the month comes on a Wednesday? I'm sure this has been explained before, but I must have missed it.

Have a great week, everybody!

CrossEyedDave said...

Aw c'mon! What does the last one do?

Capitalist Principle?

Sorry, the others were inappropriate...

I just like this one...

Some of the other choices, pick your own!

coneyro said...

A little "unMonday" like. Took me longer than usual, but did finish.

Started off wrong when I went with SPARE instead of LOOSE change. Took me a while to get NW corner because of it, but eventually prevailed after getting theme.

I remember the WRINGER at the laundromat in the '60's. It was what we called the machine that you put your clothes into after taking them out of the washer. It took out the excess water. THEN you put the clothes in the dryer. Each type of machine only cost ten cents. Can you imagine, only thirty cents to do your load of laundry and no added charges to your electric bill. The only inconvenience, of course, is that I had to schlep it in my shopping cart one block, and if it rained, well bummer!

Kelly Ripa started off playing the teenage character Haley, on the soap "All My Children". In fact, that is how she met her husband. She's come a long way.

Those ROBOCALLS are a pain. All a part of FREE ENTERPRISE.

When my son had friends overnight and wanted a snack, I sometimes made them waffles from scratch, or some other homemade treat. Never used prepackaged EGGOS or convenience foods. When they went home, I always got calls from their mothers admonishing me on how I'm making them look bad to their kids because they are too busy and LIBERATED to cook my way. To this day, my son has an appreciation of fine foods. No frozen or prepackaged for him. His fiancee is taking cooking lessons (he already knows how to cook).

Well, June is upon us. The year is almost halfway over. People starting to make summer plans and the weather is wonderful . Life is good for those able to take advantage of it. For those of us who can't get out, at least it's not cold and miserable.

Have a productive and pleasant day all....

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Speaking of being set free, have you seen this “going commando” commercial?
-Talk about yer liberated woman!
-A CURE for Crohn’s and IBS would simplify my and many other lives
-Don’t we all know the tune to Volga Boatman?
-DALLY always conjures up the guy on the right for me
-This Elon Musk company is launching spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station
-Does the WARNING “Drive Carefully” really affect anyone’s driving?
-Granddaughter Emma starts all jigsaw puzzles in the middle
-YSER that’s my river, no sir I don’t mean maybe…
-I fully supported my local and state education UNIONS but was forced to join the national as well which went in directions I did not support. You had to join all or none and colleagues started opting for the latter
-The RAMS may return to LA if St. Louis can’t hold ‘em
-LPGA member Paula Creamer is campaigning for a woman’s Masters to be played at Augusta National. That’d be cool!
-Who IRKED other when heard to be “singing in the ABBEY?”

Anonymous said...

Elon Musk was involved from nearly the start of Tesla Motors, but the company was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk came in less than a year later, but was not quite a founder.

Big Easy said...

I never got the theme but the puzzle was very easy as a Monday should be. DE NADA and duck duck GOOSE were they only unknowns.

Bronx Boy said...

coneyro@11:59:

I think the WRINGER you remember was actually an extractor. Not to be confused with the rollers that sat atop older washing machines through which you'd crank the wet wash before hanging it up to dry (and the source of the expression "put someone through the wringer").

I think most modern washing machines (a) use less water and (b) incorporate the extraction in the final spin.

VirginiaSycamore said...

Lovely Monday puzzle with perps helping with the ones I didn't get at first.
Kelly Ripa has been in so many puzzles that I finally learned her.
Elon Musk is in the news today because Time Magazine or someone has an article on him.

I recall OLD washers where you could reuse the soapy water. First were sheets then nice clothes then really dirty clothes. I think the rinse was new.
Also, before dryers were invented, you hung the clothes on the line.
Dryers were around by my time, but many insisted that sheets smelled best if hung to dry.

Memory Guy said...

Misty@11:23:

DEKE appeared in the puzzle two days ago.

Chairman Moe said...

"puzzling thoughts":

White rabbit, white rabbit

Today would've been my dad's 89th birthday; he shared the exact same birth day as Marilyn Monroe and Andy Griffith. Wonder if he's ever run into either of them on the other side of the Pearly Gates?

Today's puzzle was - how can I say this - interesting? I did like the clue/solve for 3d (Group for those in labor)/UNION; I'm guessing LAMAZE could work, too, when the need is for a six-letter fill; although those classes begin way before the "labor" portion; I had AT IT before AT EM in 15a; I BEAM before I BARS in 50d. No other ink blots. Thought there would be an overall "theme" clue/solve, but Argyle gave an accurate accounting of it in his recap; OK for a Monday but none of the clue/solves were overly "entertaining" . . .

CED and HG - thanks for your "revealing" links today!

Tin, good luck to your 'Bolts in the Stanley Cup; of course, had the Rangers won the series against Tampa, the resulting match up for the NHL finals would've been between two of the "original 6"

Had a funny limerick today (not puzzle-related) but it borders on "PG-13/R" rating, so I'll keep it under wraps . . .

Have a great week, all; sorry that those up north are having the return of weird weather . . .

Jerome said...

Saloons for egotistical tightwads- NO TIP I BARS

Anonymous said...

CanadianEh!, your Lord Stanley has been residing down here in the USA so long his old enough to drink!

Misty said...

Memory Guy, two days ago would have been Saturday's Silkie, is that right? I'm afraid I didn't even try to tackle that one. Well, thank goodness for perps, anyhow.

Anonymous said...

Does being a LIBERATED WOMAN make A NEW TRIM DOABLE and IT A BALDER WOMEN?

Memory Guy said...

Misty@1:32:

As Robert Browning wrote, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"

Even if you don't attempt Saturday puzzles (though I think you should), you might benefit from reading the write-up and the comments.

Misty said...

My goodness, with a Browning quote like that, I will give the next Saturday a try, or at least check into the blog. Thanks for the encouragement, Memory Guy.

Anonymous said...

Misty @ 11:23 am
I think you are looking at the wrong month. Today, Monday, is June 1st. July 1st is on a Wednesday. Rabbit, Rabbit.

Chairman Moe said...

hand up if you remember the the bra burning days of the 1960's?

As for whether body hair defines the liberated woman or not, here is an article that says you can shave and still be a feminist.

To each his (or her) own, I suppose, as far as hair removal goes . . . I do remember there being a "sideshow" at our county fair many decades ago, where one could pay either a dime or a quarter to see something like this. I often wondered if these so-called "freaks" were really as advertised . . .

CanadianEh! said...

Anon @1:27
Yes we have had a major drought. The last Canadian win in NHL was in 1993 (Montreal). That was also the year the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series (2nd in a row). Hope springs eternal for the next season!

kazie said...

Canadian Eh,
My parents had a beautiful rendition of the Volga boatmen on an old 78 record. It sounded like the boat approaching along the river to a crescendo in the middle, then fading away again until at the end you couldn't hear it. The only version I have now is of Ivan Rebroff singing it in German on a CD called Seine Größten Welterfolge.

Chairman Moe said...

I saw this article when I was getting my other links, and it made me wonder why hasn't NASA DEVELOPed this before?

Interesting; we've had this notion of what an alien spacecraft looks like, and been using those images for decades. In all of science fiction, and even cartoons, the design of a spaceship was that of a saucer. Interesting that NASA just now came out with one in that shape . . .

Chairman Moe said...

Canadian Eh @ 2:27:

Maybe with the acquisition of Mike Babcock as the new coach of the Maple Leafs, the tide will turn. He was certainly successful with the Red Wings, and is arguably one of the best in the NHL. Too much tradition to not have a Canadian-based team win Lord Stanley's Cup in 22 years . . .

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, My comments are much the same as everyone else's today. I didn't know deked/Hockey term? We aren't hockey fans here, despite the Sharks being based in our city.

We drove by the old Fort Ord just a few weeks ago on our way to Monterey for the weekend. There is a fairly new Calif. State U. campus on the old Ord site. The area is beautiful for a university. Close to the water and lots of other touristy areas.

Garlic Gal, JD, and I are looking forward to a lunch with Lucina this coming Wed. We will have a bottle of champagne at the ready to toast Dodo.

Canadian Eh! I think "The Volga Boatman" was in my old Thompson beginners book.

Avg Joe said...

I enjoyed this effort. It had some bite, but was easy enough for a Monday. Needed some perp help along the way, but it all worked out. Saw the theme after the second one filled and was a bit surprised at the final one.

It brings to mind a Shel Silverstein song. Liberated Lady R-Rating for strong language and sexual content.

AnonymousPVX said...

The only thing that misled me was 64A, I always start with the corner pieces. I know they're on the edge!
A nice start to the week nonetheless.

Misty said...

Okay, thanks Anon, and let's see if I can get my question right this time. So on the first of the month, one says "Rabbit, rabbit"? Is that right? If so, why, and what does it mean? Hope that's a fair question because if I don't get the question right, I'll never get an answer, will I?

Curmudgeon Guy said...

Misty@3:58:

Saying "rabbit rabbit" on the first of the month is one of those silly superstitions that you'd think the (presumed) adults on this forum would have long ago outgrown.

Dudley said...

Rabbit Rabbit

Hello Puzzlers -

I do the rabbit rabbit thing just for the fun of it.

Misty - the way I learned the thing is: on the first day of every month, when you wake up, you say "rabbit rabbit" before any other word. Doing so is supposed to bring good luck for the whole rest of the month - a rather good return on your investment, I'd say!

The tradition was not part of my family life as a child. I learned it from a very cheery student at Mount Holyoke College back when I was the right age to be loitering on such all-female campuses.

Misty said...

Many thanks, Dudley, and Curmudgeon Guy. I finally decided to look it up on Wiki. Nobody quite seems to know where the superstition originated, but it seems to have to do with thinking of rabbits as lucky, as in carrying a "rabbit foot" around for good luck. Well, I'm not much into superstitions but maybe on July 1 I'll give it a try!The tough part will be to remember to say it first thing in the morning.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_rabbit_rabbit

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, G and B. Santa, too!

Gale in NetWord today also. What a gal!

Fell asleep trying to blog earlier.

Cheers!

Occasional Lurker said...

Further to Dudley's note on rabbit, rabbit(s) at Mt. Holyoke college ....

I was informed in the 70's by a girl, yet, that saying 'Rabbit, Rabbit' was not only a harbinger of good luck for the month, but also a subtle warning to active ( read - sexually active girls) girls on college campuses that to watch out for situations that may required the 'Rabbit test'; also known as the Friedman test - a test for pregnancy before the dip test (self test) became readily manufactured and available.

Two things, - First, as the Wiki article explains .... the female ( injected - ) rabbit had to be 'sacrificed', slaughtered, whether or not the test was positive or negative - because the female rabbit's ovaries had to be examined, post mortem.

Secondly, for Dudley, as far as I am concerned, personally, lest you think otherwise, this does NOT create any impression in my mind, that I think, that your encounters were even remotely suggestive, of the above nature of the problem. ;-)

Dudley said...

Fair enough. My loitering was, in those days, accompanied by rather a lot of wishful thinking.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

"What's Goin' down", er, ON IN there? Was my SCOLD (my bedroom was in the basement). Today's puzzle is inkier-blottier than a normal Monday. I thought the NE was going to be my downfall, but 3 WAGs provided the CURE.

The NE WAGS - VOLG?, DY??, tOm (bzzt), er, KELLY RIPA, LON(?), DYAN(?). Whew!, Argyle said I got 'EM right, no DNF for me. Thanks for that and of course your lookers 1-4 :-). G&B thanks for the effort, but that corner was murder for a Monday.

Lurker-status thanks to Splynter's write-up Sat. - Something you said kept DEKE(D) in my head for at least two days. The NE wouldn't have fallen w/o it.

WEES re: favs. RECUSES is another fun word.

My buddy REZA and I spent a week working in Cairo and then another in Scotland. Now he's an expat in Cairo. When oil goes up again, we'll get together and have a scotch.

So no one linked our favorite x-word genre Emo? OK, here's The CURE. I can only listen to the 1st minute until I'm bored.

I was WARNed about the LIBERATED WOMAN in my youth (that's for you OKL!), but I'm happily married to an English / Woman's Studies major (PhD) who can put me through the WRINGER :-)

HG - re: pic 1 - Careful, she'll shoot your eye out kid!

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Just for Bill G 'cuz I know he's still up... WKRP S1E4 - SCUM of the Earth. C, -T

Anonymous T said...

HG - Don't say you weren't WARNed about UNBOUND URGEs (Austin Powers). Cheers, -T

Bill G. said...

AnonT, yep, I'm still up and I still love WKRP. Thanks for that.