Theme: Alphabet Soup
Puzzling thoughts:
Will Nediger is a name well-known to crossword puzzles. As the link describes, Will has done scores of puzzles in the NYT. I also look forward to solving his Saturday and Sunday puzzles @ Crossword Club.
Lisa Senzel may not be as well-known, but she has also been published in the NY Times. Not sure if this is her debut @ LA Times, but if so, congratulations! Also, I am not sure if she has done solo work, but the company she keeps (Will and Jeff Chen) are both solid collaborators
Today's puzzle uses a series of 4 phrases that are transformed into a play-on-words, of sorts, by adding another word which also contains a filler word ... capisce? No? Want me to explain? OK. Will do. It's why I get paid the big bucks twice a month to help figure out what's going on in today's puzzle!! 😉
16-across. *Diner's entitlement to savory flavor?: UMAMI RIGHT. Or is it: UM, AM I RIGHT?
19-across. *Reason yellowfin tuna are wallflowers at a school prom?: AHI CAN'T DANCE. Or is it: AH, I CAN'T DANCE?
36-across. *Pal who seconds whatever one says?: LIKE-WISE GUY. Or is it: LIKE, WISE GUY?
57-across. *Not-very-straight shooter?: ERRING CAMERA. Or is it: ER, RING CAMERA?
=================================================================
UMAMI = savory flavor; RIGHT = entitlement ... UM (a filler word) AM I RIGHT? (See below)
AHI = yellowfin tuna; (those who) CAN'T DANCE = wallflowers ... AH (a filler word) I CAN'T DANCE! (I dance similar to this person)
LIKE-WISE = same; GUY = pal ... LIKE (a filler word) WISE GUY (As a Stooge, I have to sneak in this image!)
ERRING = not very straight; CAMERA = (picture) shooter ... ER (a filler word) RING CAMERA (we have one installed but it's not active)
The reveal:
61-across. Sound added to everyday speech, and what's been added to create the answers to the starred clues: FILLER WORD. Not sure how else to explain it but to add this image:
1. Blue-green: TEAL. AQUA would have been a fun word to begin with
5. Short form of a name that means "merciful": CLEM. I had "no clue" and penciled in CLEO. Guessing it's short for CLEMENTINE, but I'm not going to confirm
9. Lass: MISS. I had HUGE in 9-down at first; that slowed me down in the NE corner
13. Jessica of "Sin City": ALBA. And 26-across. NHL great Bobby: ORR. Two crossword puzzle proper name staples
14. Eta follower: THETA. The "ABC's" of Greek: ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, DELTA, EPSILON, ZETA, ETA, THETA ...
15. Shape the narrative?: EDIT. Sometimes there are clues that are too clever, but sure, why knot [sic]?
18. __ therapy: GENE.
21. "Easy-peasy": NO PROB. Isn't the jargon used by kids these days just totes adorb?
24. In __ of: LIEU. Moe-ku:
They used stunt double
In The Tiger's Apprentice,
In Lucy LIEU of
25. Contacts list no.: TEL. 867-5309
27. Little dog: PUP. Does anyone recall the expression "cuter than a speckled PUP"?
25. Contacts list no.: TEL. 867-5309
27. Little dog: PUP. Does anyone recall the expression "cuter than a speckled PUP"?
29. Michelin product: CAR TIRE. This exact clue and entry were last seen at a WSJ puzzle in 2022
31. Planner division: WEEK. Back in the day, this used to be my planner of choice:
33. Q neighbor: TAB. Oh, the "Q" key on a computer keyboard ... not the neighbor fellow who lived next door to the James Bond character ...
35. Yapped like a dog: ARFED. The only dog I recall that said "ARF" was this one:
40. Lopsided: ATILT. Like this famous tower??
42. Cozy room: DEN. Most new houses feature a great room (instead of a separate living room/family room), and an extra room without a closet is now used (mostly) as a home office
43. The Emerald Isle: EIRE. Moe-ku 2:
Calling Ireland
The Emerald Isle, not
EIRE, gets my ire
46. Ill-fated: NOT TO BE. The soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To be or NOT TO BE ..."
49. "Need I go on?" abbr.: ETC. Sometimes there are clues that are too clever ...
46. Ill-fated: NOT TO BE. The soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To be or NOT TO BE ..."
49. "Need I go on?" abbr.: ETC. Sometimes there are clues that are too clever ...
51. Sister: NUN. SIB could've fit, I guess ...
52. Pump part: TOE. Part of a pair of shoes for women (pumps) ... these:
 |
[guessing that these might be open TOE??] |
53. Said, informally: WENT. [someone explain this to me, please ...]
55. Roamed freely: RANGED. Moe-ku 3:
"Home, home on the roam;
Where the deer and buffalo
RANGED. Where seldom is ... "
60. Half-moon tide: NEAP. More crossword-ese
65. Intl. alliance joined by Finland in 2023: NATO.
66. First-year law students: ONE L'S. [Wikipedia] "One L tells author Scott Turow's experience as a first-year Harvard Law School student. The book takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts where Harvard University is located. First years, or One-L's as they are often called, all face similar issues their initial year of law school. Harvard, known for its reputation as one of the best law schools in the country, takes only about 12% of applicants".
60. Half-moon tide: NEAP. More crossword-ese
65. Intl. alliance joined by Finland in 2023: NATO.
66. First-year law students: ONE L'S. [Wikipedia] "One L tells author Scott Turow's experience as a first-year Harvard Law School student. The book takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts where Harvard University is located. First years, or One-L's as they are often called, all face similar issues their initial year of law school. Harvard, known for its reputation as one of the best law schools in the country, takes only about 12% of applicants".
Didn't we just have ONE L this past Monday??
67. Sunburn soother: ALOE.
68. Pub pours: ALES. Moe-ku 4:
67. Sunburn soother: ALOE.
68. Pub pours: ALES. Moe-ku 4:
I've heard when a pub
Runs out of an IPA,
This is what ALES you
69. Gift on "The Bachelor": ROSE. "The Bachelor" is not on my watch-list. Are any of you ladies that post here fans of the show?
70. Gripe: BEEF. As opposed to "tripe" which is just offal ...
Down:
1. __ cross: TAU. If Lisa and Will wanted a clecho of sorts they might have chosen: "Sigma follower" ... The "ABC's" of Greek: THETA ... IOTA, KAPPA, LAMBDA, MU, NU, XI, OMICRON, PI, RHO, SIGMA, TAU ...
 |
TAU cross |
2. Bark beetle target: ELM. Bark beetle blog ==> for real!!
3. Old hoops gp.: ABA. American Basketball Association
4. Pulitzer-winning rapper Kendrick: LAMAR. The video clip below is NSFW (or home, for that matter) ...
5. Fashionable: CHIC. (59-across. Fr. title for 9-Across:) MLLE. (44-down. French street:) RUE. Today's obligatory foreign words needed to fill in random places in the puzzle
(in these cases, as Splynter would say, "Frawnche")
6. Pad size: LEGAL. [Blumburg dot com] "The term “legal pad” is a bit of a misnomer; it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the law. The defining feature of a legal pad is the 1-1/4" vertical margin on the left side of the paper. This margin, also known as the down line, was traditionally used for annotations or side notes.
Legal pads originated from paper mill scraps bound together and cut to legal size, hence the name. They were initially used by lawyers, which further contributed to the name"
8. Country singer Kathy: MATTEA. This is the theme song for the country version of "The Bachelor":
9. Bigger than big: MEGA. HUGE was my first thought ... yours, too??
10. Naming: IDENTIFYING. Pretty common synonym, as my friend the Thesaurussaurus says:
11. Heartfelt: SINCERE. I tried GENUINE first; another mini-roadblock on my way to solving this in 25+ minutes, but I didn't cheat too much ... had to look up MATTEA
12. Girded (oneself): STEELED. [Merrium Webster dot com] defines STEELED (transitive verb) as:
2
a
: to cause to resemble steel (as in looks or hardness)
b
: to fill with resolution or determination (girded)
The video below defines how to "gird ones loins" [courtesy of Redemption Community Church]
14. Ozzy Osbourne album in memory of Randy Rhoads: TRIBUTE. [Wikipedia] "Tribute is a live album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, featuring his work with hard rock guitarist Randy Rhoads, in whose honor the album was released. The album was released in April 1987 in the US and May 1987 in the UK, five years after the death of Rhoads"
17. "Let's put a smile on your plate" chain: IHOP. IHOP Brand Campaign - 2022
20. Garment that preserves hair waves: DURAG. I thought it was spelled "DOORAG" but I discovered otherwise: [Wikipedia] "A durag (alternate spellings) is a close-fitting cloth tied around the top of the head to protect the hair; similarly a wave cap is a close-fitting cap for the same purpose. Durags may be worn to accelerate the development of long curly/kinky hair, waves or locks in the hair ..."
21. This instant: NOW. STAT and ASAP did not fit
22. Mine find: ORE. Moe-ku 5:
"49'ers" left
CAL for their northern neighbor;
They found ORE in ORE
23. Communicating with pictograms, perhaps: PRE-LITERATE. My my, that's a big word for describing a stick-figure!! BTW, this is a debut word for crossword puzzles. Congrats!
23. Communicating with pictograms, perhaps: PRE-LITERATE. My my, that's a big word for describing a stick-figure!! BTW, this is a debut word for crossword puzzles. Congrats!
 |
Lasceaux Cave Painting |
28. Dog's attention-getter, maybe: PAW.
 |
| Covid Cartoon |
30. Loyal: TRUE.
32. Scottish wedding garb: KILT. This one is for the ladies here at the Corner ... I was told this was taken just before the wedding ...
34. eBay action: BID.
37. Nabe that might have an H Mart: K TOWN. I suppose that every puzzle needs to have an odd clue/answer or two these days ... K TOWN is an abbr. for "KOREATOWN" (as opposed to CHINATOWN, e.g.). Nabe is an abbr. for neighborhood. H Mart is a name for a chain of Asian food stores ... learning moe-ment, for sure
38. Get the picture: SEE.
39. Main courses: ENTREES.
40. Vehicle's shark fin, maybe: ANTENNA. For modern cars, yes. It's that fin-shaped device on vehicles that acts as an ANTENNA. But the "shark-fins" on vehicles that I grew up with are shown below:
41. Uncomfortably close to home: TOO REAL.
45. Sew up: END. Good mis-directional clue
47. Request, as table food: BEG FOR. I'm beginning to think that this puzzle has "gone to the dogs" 😀
48. Los Angeles neighborhood near Reseda: ENCINO. Well, I have heard of ENCINO, but I haven't a clue where Reseda is ... maybe Art Fern does, but not today:
50. Quarterback Derek: CARR. Erstwhile Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders QB, he now slings passes for the New Orleans Saints
54. Lore: TALES. Tried STORY with no success
56. Muslim honorific from which "nabob" is derived: NAWAB. I will let others comment about this entry ... I did confirm that this word has been used before in published crossword puzzles, but it's been almost a decade ... and only once before @ LA Times
58. Wall St. debuts: IPOS.
62. Flamenco shout: OLE.
63. Sushi topper: ROE. Moe-ku 6:
Sushi bar offers
New roll shaped like a ship, called:
ROE ROE ROE the boat
64. __ Jam Recordings: DEF. [Wikipedia] Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop"
And just like that, we are done. At the end of the day, I, um, hope, er, that I, ah, explained the gist of the puzzle.
Before publishing this blog I asked Margaret if she got it, and her response was "Like, totally"!
So OK, like seriously, add some of YOUR comments below ...
The grid:
52 comments:
When I got the first two themed answers, I thought I knew what was going on, but the third entry confused me again. And one clue/answer I didn’t get at all, until C-Moe explained it. The one with the answer “K-town.” But I persevered, and through P&P eventually got the win. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Thought of AQUA a5 1a, but waited for perps to confirm TEAL. It was the Gulf Coast that took the greatest effort this morning, probably because d-o insisted the bachelor's gift was a RING. D'oh. PRELITERATE was very nice -- $64 word. WENT was a stretch. "He goes, [says something], and she WENT [says something else]. Methinks that merciful name might be CLEMent, but CLEMentine works too. Got through this without scathe, unusual for a Friday. Thanx, Lisa, Will, and C-Moe (Malwarebytes didn't like your KILT link).
Got a guy coming this morning to do a drone inspection of our roof, following a very noisy hail storm a week ago. We've replaced the whole-house generator and the A/C-furnace combo during the past year. A new roof would complete the expen$ive trifecta.
FIW. I'm not a football fan so the name Derek Carr means nothing to me. I had "filled word" thinking the name was Card (a WAG), so I erred there.
I know this is a Friday puzzle, but it seems to me a lot harder than average. Between Greek letters, proper names, and foreign words, this was a bear.
Overall, this was my least enjoyable puzzle of the week. And Saturday's coming!
Explanation of 53 Across: "Said informally". A bit of a stretch, and I more often hear something like this, when someone is telling a story about what someone else said:
"So, he goes, 'Just get outta here.'"
In this sentence, "goes" is the slang substitute for "said". So I suppose "went" could be in that sentence instead of "goes". But I have rarely, if ever, heard that.
Andy
Took 11:03 today for me to "fill" in the grid.
I didn't know: the Korean store, the Muslim honorific, the Greek letters (theta & tau), the French street, or the country (which country?) singer. But, I knew the Scottish garb and the Flamenco shout.
Oddly , I knew today's actress, the crossword-friendly (and easy-on-the-eyes), Alba.
9A Lass -- where's our Ms. Irish Miss been?
32D. Scottish wedding garb: KILT. This one is for the ladies here at the Corner ...
And, for at least one of the men. Woof! Such an attractive sporran!
FIR, but erased red for TAU, omega for THETA, and yes, huge for MEGA.
Today is:
GOOD FRIDAY (it’s also what we called payday)
NATIONAL VIETNAM WAR VETERANS DAY (all gave some, some gave all)
NATIONAL MOM AND POP BUSINESS OWNERS DAY (I grew up in one of these, with a motel, restaurant, gas station and mini-mart)
NATIONAL PITA DAY (people tell me not to be a P.I.T.A.)
NATIONAL LEMON CHIFFON CAKE DAY (no one ever told me not to be a lemon chiffon cake)
For me, this was a difficult Friday or an easy Saturday. Not particularly interesting or fun, but quite the challenge.
I remember using "times the cosine of THETA" a lot, but I don't remember the context.
CSO to Valley Girls at WENT.
Zoё never begs at the table. But if she needs some quality petting time, her PAW is in play. When she needs an unscheduled treat, nudging with her long muzzle is in order.
Genesis had a big hit with AHI CAN'T DANCE.
Thanks to our Chairman for the punny moments.
Possible examples of "said" meaning "went" (53A): The cow went moo. The pig went oink. The duck went quack quack.
👍🏻
Little too clever for itself. Who plays LA Times crossword.....and also watches 'The Batchelor'?
Musings
-What a wonderful workout. An oh so clever gimmick and great long verticals!
-RING CAMERA – If that guy’s at my door, I'm dialing 911!
-Middle School speech, “So, I LIKE said I’m mad and then she WENT why’s that, and then LIKE I said…ETC.”
-I’m surprised “Well” is not on that list. It seems to be a starter word quite often.
-Governors can grant CLEMency
-Some actors don’t recognize the movie after it has been EDITed
-No paper planner here, my whole life is on my iPhone calendar
-If I had kids at Cocoa Beach during a NEAP tide, lots of shells got hauled back to the hotel
-Despite putting bands of sticky goo around our ELMS, out town lost all of them
-I wonder if you can buy KPOP music at an HMART in KTOWN
-When I messed up, I STEELED myself for a meeting with the principal when I I was 10 and 60
-_ _ _ _ N O – I quickly remembered FRESNO is way north of LA in farm country
-Nice job, Chairman!
Puzzling thoughts, 2:
Tony Express @ 8:04 ==> Your explanation was perfect; thanks
Barry T @ 7:32 ==> I am obviously an equal-opportunity blogger ... glad to know that I made your day. ;^)
Anonymous @ 7:29 ==> Irish Miss is OK; recovering @ home. I'm sure she'll be back here as soon as she is able to
Addendum
-I too was concerned about our lovely Agnes, AKA Irish Miss, and so I wrote her to say we were worried and that her comments are sorely missed. I asked her, “How can I post What Irish Miss said?” which I did so often. She is dealing with some medical issues but says she will be back as soon as possible.
Tony @ 8:04 and Ch Moe @ 10:17, additionally, WENT as the past tense of GOES. "I said blah blah blah and then she goes yada yada yada. So I GO no way and then she GOES etc. etc. etc."
Managed a FIR in 24:56, which was like, um, 4 minutes faster than yesterday. Had to correct MMLE to MLLE to get the congratulatory message. I had the EE in 70A and my first thought was YEET 😂. I’m glad the filler was ER and not ERM. I like the table of Fillers, but in a slight to our resident Canadian, it didn’t include Canada’s favorite filler, EH? 🇨🇦 PRELITERATE was new to me (and spell check didn’t recognize it either). KTOWN was perped. Thank you Lisa and Will for the fun challenge!
C-Moe ~ enjoyed your fine apercu, especially the Moe-Kus!
Greetings! Whew – I made it through – reason to celebrate! Thanks, Lisa & Will.
I saw the theme with 29A AHI…., so that helped with the others.
Lotsa perps and WAGs to help with the unknowns, but I did have to look up Derek CARR and what an H Mart is.
I have a RING CAMERA doorbell, and whenever the wind blows the tall shrub in front shakes and the alert goes off, hmmm, I'm considering transplanting it!!
Thanks, C.Moe. I enjoyed your creative Moe-Kus.
FIW! I struggled with Naticks CARR and NAWAB, but finally got those. Where I went wrong was at PAW, where I started with "grr," moved on to "mAW," and just could not SEE the light. Silly of me, with three PUPs at my feet.
Great puzzle. Loved the theme entries. Thank you, Lisa, Will, Patti, and Moe.
Could not grok this one. Not even near my wavelength today. Had to TITT, and go directly to the Chairman to make any kind of sense of this one. I realize it's Friday, but still...
Wow, what a workout. And I can only imagine how much time Lisa and Will spent in constructing this puzzle.
I was an FIW, falling short of an FIR because of a rapper, a country singer, Ozzy Osbourne, and a durag.
But I thought your overall scheme was clever, with all those filler words anchoring the long answers.
Some random comments:
--I've been to IHOPs, but I couldn't have told you that was their slogan.
--I had to go look at my laptop to see what key was near the Q.
--As a former high school principal, I am overly familiar with the usage "went"and "goes" for "said" and "says." Nevertheless, I still love my students, and miss them.
--Those of us in southern California perhaps have an unfair advantage on both Encino and Derek Carr.
Thank you again, Lisa and Will, for a Friday-appropriate challenge. Part of it stymied me, but that's OK.
.
Edward in Los Angeles:
32D is a bit scrawny for my taste
:-)
Thank you Lisa and Will for a Friday challenge. Too bad this wasn't horseshoes!
And thank you MOE for explaining the theme. I got all the themers and the reveal, but never figured out that I had to parse all, the ER, FILLER WORDS from the front. Nice Kus too.
Just a few favs ...
27A PUP. Had PUG and & TRB below it -- what was I thinking!? The irony is that PUP is the name I greet all dogs with when I meet them on the street or on a trail.
5A CLEM. Actually it's short for CLEMENT, the adjective for someone who shows CLEMENCY. It was also the name for 14 POPES and 3 ANTI-POPES -- the last 3 weren't very clement. I used to work with a man named CLEM. Nice guy.
51A NUN. A CSO to Lucina. I bet she'd like a pair of those PUMPS. 😀
10D IDENTIFYING. I IDENTIFY with a tall, dark, handsome stranger, but Teri isn't buying it ...
Gotta go, we're headed off to church to celebrate Good Friday.
Cheers,
Bill
T.Ken, I didn't have any trouble with ENCINO, except that the clue caused me to think of the line in Tom Petty's song Free Falling: "It's a long day, livin in Reseda..." Easier to rhyme than Sherman Oaks, Mission Hills, or Northridge (where I got married.) It is, after all, the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle.
RosE - My American Flag was causing my Simplisafe doorbell cam to false report, so I relocated the flag holder to the other end of the porch. Easier than resolving your predicament.
I blame TV news readers for kids using present tense for things that happened in the past. "An accident closes two lanes on I-495 until early this morning." "Then she goes, ...then he goes..."
For me, today’s theme was “Aw, C’mon!” It was a quick FIR for a Friday – but I held my nose throughout this veritable cavalcade of syntax annoyances.
Aside from “AH” NOT being interchangeable with “aw” in my strong opinion, and my resentment that “UM” has supplanted “uh” for the majority of speakers, I was confronted with easy-peasy (gag me with a spoon!), nabe, NO PROB, AMIRITE (which at least was spelled “right”), goes/WENT instead of “said,” LIKE, DURAG (it’s still “do-rag,” dammit), and The Bachelor. I’m surprised “totes adorbs” didn’t appear. I wish I could have sensed contempt on the part of the constructors for these sinners, but no. Thank you, CMoe for wading through this swamp for us.
Considering my old-fuddy-duddy mood solving this puzzle, I wasn’t too annoyed by the few unknowns, such as KTOWN, Ozzy’s obscure friend, the Muslim honorific, and the notion that a shark fin can be an ANTENNA, because I knew most of the other names and my educated guess of ENCINO panned out. (Note to Jinx: Reseda is a Valley Girl shoutout, too, and Encino comes close.) It didn’t matter that I didn’t know RING CAMERA or FILLER WORD, either.
As for CLEM, my fellow Firesign Theatre fan MalMan will recall that the running joke in “I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus” involved a “future fair” where an attendee is immediately asked to identify himself into a microphone and he says, “Uh, Clem.” Clem is sabotaging the computer system at the fair, and apparently the authorities have caught on, because they keep paging him, saying “Will our guest Mr. Ah Clem, please report to the hospitality shelter.”
I liked the two dog entries. I’m not so sure “arfed” (or “arffed”?) is really a word, but there’s something amusing about it – perhaps its proximity to “barfed” and how appropriate that notion was while I worked this puzzle. I swear that while I was solving the PAW clue, my dog was right there trying to get my attention, albeit with his nose – which I didn’t hold.
D-O…my roof took a hit with a hailstorm in January. The roof guy did the inspection, contacted the insurance company, coordinated their inspection and also came when the insurance guy came.
Insurance inspector confirmed the damage and authorized the new roof.
My end…if I put up the standard Class 1 shingle, was $500, my deductible. I chose to upgrade to Architectural Class 2 for an extra $1100, which gives a better warranty. But I then went to a Class 3 Architectural shingle for another $500. So, $500 deductible and my optional $1600…gives me a new Class 3 roof with a longer warranty plus an insurance credit for the class upgrade.
Copy Editor…
Antelope freeway 1/2 mile….
Antelope freeway 1/4 mile….
Antelope freeway 1/8 mile….
9
Antelope freeway 1/16 mile….
Antelope freeway 1/32 mile….
Antelope freeway 1/64 mile….
Antelope freeway 1/128 mile….
Antelope freeway 1/256 mile….
Geez. I'm standing here like an idiot talking to myself.
Tough but fair gimmicky Friday is back! Thank you Patti Varol!
an English PSA
a Spanish PSA
a Frawnche PSA
Plus, I tried to find a silly cartoon link for the theme, but unfortunately tragedy struck...
Anonymous PVX and MalMan: He's coming around! He's gonna be OK and ready to play Symptom Six on Beaat The Reaper (duh-duh-duh-DUH, duh, duh, duh, duh duh, dump-dum-dum.)
As a teenager I went to school in Reseda. Locals would not consider Reseda to be near Encino at nearly 5 miles away. Sherman Oaks and Tarzana would be considered 'near'.
An engineer who worked for me left me a phone message (remember those pink tablet sheets "while you were out?") to call "Frank" in Van Eyes. He was born, raised and educated in Pomona. I also had a sailing buddy who had lived in (crossword favorite SoCal) all his life. In a race to San Diego, he reported that our position was "two miles west of La Jolla, only he pronounced the "J" like the J in "jelly." As Pink Floyd sang, "We Don't Need No Education, We Don't Need No Thought Control..."
Toughie…..
FILLER Friday. Thanks for the fun, Lisa and Will, and CMoe.
I required some Google help to complete, and I sorta got the theme.
(Yes, YooperPhil, maybe I was thrown off by ER instead of Eh!)
ENCINO was unknown to this Canadian, as was H Mart and NAWAB.
CARR was not in my sport’s radar, nor MATTEA on my music list.
Hand up for Huge before MEGA
I had CLE_ and thought of CLEM and clemency (hi HuskerG and waseeley).
Chickens who roam freely are referred to as Free-RANGE.
We could see an Easter Egg (perhaps literally) to this Good Friday. Wiki says that TAU refers to life and resurrection, while THETA refers to death. The TAU cross is a symbol of God’s live and healing, and associated with St Francis.
I will be busy all weekend, and will wish you who celebrate it, a Happy Easter.
As is my norm, I IFR but the theme eluded me even after I filled FILLER WORD. I'm not a fan of "filler words" ,"you know" "and uh". The ER, RING CAMERA was a 'filler' just to round out the puzzle. I broke my granddaughter from saying like. Every time she said 'like', I said I don't like it and I would call her attention to it every time she said it.
CLEM, short for my darling Clementine. No clue of that one.
NO PROB- another sucky abbr.
I have a large DEN, no living room, and unfortunately do have a worthless dining room, used twice a year at most.
Kathy MATTEA, DURAG, K TOWN (never heard of H-Mart),NAWAB (really?), - all perps for those
The biggest users of filler words seem to be American pro athletes when they are being interviewed. But the foreign golfers and tennis players usually speak perfect English. I guess they have to think about what they will say before opening their mouths. Native English speakers don't seem to be able to do that.
As is my norm, I IFR but the theme eluded me even after I filled FILLER WORD. I'm not a fan of "filler words" ,"you know" "and uh". The ER, RING CAMERA was a 'filler' just to round out the puzzle. I broke my granddaughter from saying like. Every time she said 'like', I said I don't like it and I would call her attention to it every time she said it.
CLEM, short for my darling Clementine. No clue of that one.
NO PROB- another sucky abbr.
I have a large DEN, no living room, and unfortunately do have a worthless dining room, used twice a year at most.
Kathy MATTEA, DURAG, K TOWN (never heard of H-Mart),NAWAB (really?), - all perps for those
The biggest users of filler words seem to be American pro athletes when they are being interviewed. But the foreign golfers and tennis players usually speak perfect English. I guess they have to think about what they will say before opening their mouths. Native English speakers don't seem to be able to do that.
Jinx, I wish my 6 ft. tall shrub was as mobile as your flag!! 🌲 😄
In addition to being spared “totes adorbs,” we were spared “kiddos” and “doggos.” The latter bugs me only because “dogs” and “doggies” should suffice. The former bugs me more because it has ruined the original usage of “Kiddo.” As it happens, today’s co-constructor Will Nediger had a puzzle in the New Yorker last month that defined “Kiddo” correctly: Term of affection similar to “Sport.” (As in, here’s looking at you, Kiddo.)
YooperPhil Hand up I was sure it was MMLE and I could not figure out what a FILMER WORD might be. UM. AH. LIKE. ER. Got it. FIR.
I first learned of ENCINO in the wonderful song "Valley Girl" by Frank Zappa. With his daughter Moon Unit as the Valley Girl.
Here is the official Frank Zappa music video of Valley Girl with his daughter Moon Unit singing about being from a "really good part of ENCINO".
From Yesterday:
waseeley, Jayce, Wendybird Thank you for the kind words about my JEFF BRIDGES posts and about his "No Kid Hungry" organization. Just curious how you heard about it, Wendybird?
TOY --> POM --> PUG --> PUP.
GIRL --> MISS.
HUGE --> MEGA.
ASK FOR --> BEG FOR.
Hi All!
ODNF (Official DNF) today #Cheating!
Hand up for huGe slowing down the NE and cheating on MATTEA with a Google.
Thanks, Lisa & Will, for the puzzle. Really cute theme and sparkly fill (10d, 23d, et.al.)
Thanks for the expo, C.Moe. (and one other peak/cheat at c-TOWN for H MART (that's Eldest's go-to store in her Fairfax nabe - and she's not even Asian! (my first thought @37d))).
WOs: TOY | YAP -> PUP | PAW, c-TOWN, eLLE -> MLLE
ESPs: I cheated so...
Fav: LEGAL just 'cuz of the light-bulb moment when I realized it wasn't an eThing.
Runner-up: Tribute to (RIP) Randy Rhodes. What a great metal guitarist [UM, Splynter will appreciate it].
D-O: I got my FAA drone license a few weeks ago. According to the rules, I can't check your roof. But, then, you wouldn't want me to - ER, I crashed the thing into my garage on its maiden flight :-)
Jinx - Genesis' I Can't Dance and Petty's Free Fallin' filled my head too at 19a.
Picard - D'Oh! Moon Unit! That's how I knew of ENCINO.
@9:58a - you can't watch Kimmel w/o an ad for The Bachelor; ROSEs are prominent.
RoseE - transplanting the shrub or the CAMERA? You can change the sensitivity settings (though I still get an alert when the garbage truck rumbles in on trash-day).
Welcome to The Corner, Andy.
Cheers, -T
Copy Editor - lol on the arfed barfed comment, I thought the same thing but didn’t know how to put it into words as eloquently as you did.
On a clear day I can see a good part of Encino to from my backyard.
That "to" shouldn't be there.
Didn't care for the puzzle much, but the obscure clue for "went" was ridiculous. GC
I thought it was a great puzzle!! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The worst part of Zappa's 'Valley Girl' is that I understood EVERY word, like totally!
“Goes” is present tense; “WENT” is past tense.
Anyone buy that? 😆
It's a rough day when I DNF and didn't understand some of the explanations.
Amen
Wow! FIW. I guess it was extremely clever. Way too much for me; too obscure by half. And 90% was correct, but I don’t know rappers or Ozzie osbourne music; had Pom for small dog, and mew (from a kitten) for attention getter for the dog. Took forever to suss preliterate as I was hung up on ‘toe’, ‘not to be’ and ‘erring camera’. Not familiar either with obscure clues like nabe that might have an h mart as well as ktown as an answer. Beg for also hung me up until almost midnight. Not a fan of these too clever clues which aren’t really testing knowledge of words. Oh well.
I thought it was a great puzzle!! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Maybe it's me, but... Invariably, I can tell when a Xword has a female/female-co creator. Note the thought/clue precesses are very gender revealing...I am female but, perhaps due to having worked male-created Xwords for years, I must struggle to get in sync with thought processes of female creators and so... Sorry to say, work them only when I have no male-created puzzles left... Fact, for me, not a criticism
For a Friday, I had ONE L of a time getting through this one; but a very snazzy theme using all of those “garbage words”, as my writer friend calls ‘em, made the effort more than worthwhile. Nice play by Lisa and Will — thanks for a buggah of a challenge today!.
Speaking of garbage… maybe Wikipedia accepts DU-RAG, but the homies in my ‘hood say it’s properly “do-rag” — it’s a rag that is worn to preserve your hairdo, not hairdu. Go to the source for your info, WikiP! 😎
Hand up here, too, for thinking “huge” on 9d until GENE hurled the V8 can at me; same on askFOR before the perps intervened with BEG.
And Chairman, you’ve almost outdone yourself with another sterling review — it’s half the enjoyment of reading the Corner for me. “ORE in OR” and “Totes adorb”, BWAAHAAHAH!
====> Darren / L.A.
PS — late post for yesterday’s puzzle…I tend to do these in the wee hours, and fell asleep before I got around to doing the blog 💤
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