google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Lemonade

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Showing posts with label Lemonade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lemonade. Show all posts

Nov 6, 2015

Friday, November 6, 2015, Victor Barocas

Theme: Letter rip.

For those of you who do not like creative and difficult puzzles, this effort from University of Minnesota Professor Victor B. will not be pleasant. When you have clues such as AAEGIMRR, there are those who will pull out Thumper and move on. You have to assume the reveal is also the seed entry as the grid is a 16x15 presentation.  Basically you are doing a big JUMBLE where you have to unscramble the clue and fit it with a word meaning to unscramble. Or looking at from the reveal, you take a word and or phrase and list the letters alphabetically. The challenge was  to create four interesting 16 letter theme fill. Some will grouse because two answers are two words and one only a single word, but I had fun as this took me longer than most Fridays to suss. With 16 columns you have room for lots of sparkly fill. I loved EVANDER, INHALER, DAY TRIPPER,  STAY ON HOLD and the three Bs BANISHED, BEEFCAKE and BEREAVED. We also had the challenging GALENA and SHARIA. Okay, let's hop on the solving train.

18A. AAEGIMRR : ARRANGEMARRIAGE (16). The word marriage is taken apart and re-imagined with its letters presented alphabetically.

28A. AACDEINNV : ORDERED IN ADVANCE (16).

47A. ADEHLNRTUY : SORTED THE LAUNDRY (16).

and the reveal:
62A. ILST ... and each of three other puzzle clues : ALPHABETIZED LIST (16).


Across

1. They're bought and soled : SHOES. Victor has had some very fun pun puzzles in the NYT. Those of us who also toiled away at the puns and anagram puzzles were prepared for today.

6. Educational foundation : ABCS.

10. Lowest part : BASSO.

15. Make like a tree, facetiously : LEAVE. More silliness.

16. "Uh-huh" : YEAH.

17. Butyl acetate, e.g. : ESTER. He is after all a professor in Biomedical engineering.

21. Balkan region : BOSNIA. We Americans are so weak in Geography, as seen nightly on Jeopardy.

22. Wild period : SPREE.

23. Edible tuber : YAM. Gotta love a good tuber. Can you name an inedible tuber?

24. __ Plantation, site of the world's largest maze : DOLE. A Pineapple Garden Maze in Hawaii.

26. Sun Valley locale : IDAHO. More potatoes.

35. Sea sound : ROAR.

36. One of Suetonius' "Twelve Caesars" : NERO. I do love this HISTORY.

37. Actor Hawke : ETHAN.

38. Youngest March sister : AMY. Little Women.

39. Sent away : BANISHED.

42. Make a selection : OPT.

43. "I've got this one" : LET ME.

45. Wax on an envelope, say : SEAL.

46. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER. The misunderstood SON.

51. Structural opening? : INFRA. Infrastructural.

52. Angler's prize : FISH. We had a discussion of the word angler recently.

53. Lack of continuity : GAP.

55. Old painting sites : CAVES. Nice clue.

58. More pinlike? : NEATER. Neater than a pin; does it mean orderly or shiny?

65. Not hold one's peace : SPEAK. Nearby the opposite 67A. Of few words : TERSE.

66. Domain : RULE.

68. Game that may involve complicated shots : HORSE.

69. Mediterranean feeder : NILE.

70. Three-layer treats : OREOS. Clue 900 for this cookie.

Down

1. Thick mass : SLAB. Of meat?

2. Rescuer, often : HERO.

3. Marine propulsion aids : OARS. Nice visual.

4. Heavyweight champ between Buster and Riddick : EVANDER. Holyfield in between Douglas and Bowe.  he had his ear then.

5. __ citizen : SENIOR. We had a luncheon at the office to meet a new lawyer joining the firm and of the 30 people there I was clearly the oldest.

6. Mate's affirmative : AYE. Aye, Aye.

7. Garden spots : BEDS. Cute.

8. Like-minded group : CAMP. Tricky, I am in the puzzle lover camp.

9. Islamic law : SHARIA. Do want to know MORE?

10. Mourning : BEREAVED.

11. "Take me __ am" : AS I.

12. Wait for help, perhaps too long : STAY ON HOLD. I really like this fill and hate staying on hold.

13. Genesis creator : SEGA. Video games.

14. Home of Utah Valley University : OREM.

19. Lead ore : GALENA. Time to LEARN.

20. Comedian Foxx : REDD. Do you want to LISTEN? Not PG rated.

25. First place? : EDEN. Really nice misdirection.

27. Porkpie, for one : HAT.
28. Advanced tests : ORALS.

29. "What light through yonder window breaks?" speaker : ROMEO.Tis Juliet and our Friday William S.

30. Other side of "We Can Work It Out" : DAY TRIPPER.

31. Like Jameson whiskey : IRISH. The favorite of Father Blackie Ryan.

32. Long time ending? : NO SEE. Or as some say, "It's been donkey years."

33. Heist, say : CAPER.

34. Contest form : ENTRY. PCH has gotten my wife hooked.

39. "Magic Mike" feature : BEEFCAKE. The TRAILER. (2:29)

40. " ... on the sand, / __ sunk, a shattered visage lies": "Ozymandias" : HALF. Inspired by the discovery of a huge remnant of a statute to Ramses II, Shelley wrote this poem which begins:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown...

41. Paige of British musical theatre : ELAINE. I am unfamiliar with this STAR.

44. Map feature with an elev. : MTN. Mountain, the elev. tells you it is an abbreviation.

46. Asthma sufferer's relief : INHALER.

48. Boring : DRAB.

49. Ale seller : TAVERN. Will Tin is happy.

50. No longer bothered by : USED TO.

53. Severe wound : GASH.

54. Dinner for Spot : ALPO.

56. Little case : ETUI.

57. Window frame part : SILL. Or sash.

59. Weary : TIRE. Verb not adjective.


60. Canadian gas brand : ESSO. Part of the Exxon Mobil family and the brand I grew up with.

61. GPS info : RTES.

63. Is down with : HAS.

64. Zipper opening? : ZEE. Well Z is an appropriate place to end a puzzle.

A shorter version, but my remaining brother is in the hospital so you all get to fill in the rest of the blanks I never got to say. Thanks Victor. Lemonade out.

Oct 30, 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015, Don Gagliardo

Theme: Who wants cake, or maybe a 7 layer theme?

I would like each of you to write up the theme , which I understand but do not know how to express. First we have a reveal early on with 16A. What each successive starting word of the answers to starred clues is to the starting word that precedes it : SYNONYM (8). We then get our first starred clue/fill, 19A. *Popular clubs : HOT SPOTS (8) but it tells us nothing because first we need a 'successive' clue which we get immediately with 20A. *Ty Cobb specialties : STOLEN BASES (11) and the light bulb goes off because HOT and STOLEN both mean something purloined. But here is the twist, the next pair is STOLEN and TAKEN from 31A. *Dressed down : TAKEN TO TASK (11) with STOLEN now a verb. 38A. *Didn't allow to remain in, as political office : REMOVED FROM (11) gives us TAKEN/REMOVED.  We  then have REMOVED/DISTANT from 46A. *It's ancient history : DISTANT PAST (11)  and we finish with DISTANT/COLD as in the b!@#$ acted so DISTANT. 50A. *They might be knocked down in a bar : COLD ONES (8) And to a second reveal of the brilliant ladder Don Hard G has built we have 56A. What the start of 50-Across is to the start of 19-Across : ANTONYM (8) which reminds us we have gone from the HOT to the COLD and from SYNONYM to ANTONYM. Awesome! 76 letters are theme related! And then he manages to work in AT LEAST,  CREATOR.  HAIRNET,  OVER PAR,  PATIENT, PINHEAD, SCIORRA,  SEASIDE, ASTINS, CHEAPO, EPILOG, HOOPLA, ON TIME, PANAMA SHANTY, SKYLIT,  SOBERS, and TOUPEE. I am worn out and have not even begun....

Across:

1. Birdbrain : PINHEAD.  Clecho 46D. Birdbrains : DOPES.

8. Crummy : CHEAPO.

14. Annabella of "Jungle Fever" : SCIORRA. This ACTRESS born in Connecticut has had a very successful career in both movies and TV.

15. Producer : CREATOR. Literally true, but I found the connection slow to come to mind.

17. Equestrian's head cover : HAIRNET. There is always something new to LEARN.

18. Newscaster Lindström : PIA.
24. The last Mrs. Chaplin : OONA. 4D. Hullabaloo : HOOPLA.  Really fun word and the equally fun.  54D. Hamlin's caveman : OOP.
25. Valuable extraction : ORE.

26. Pros with schedules : CPAS. IRS 1040 e.g.

30. Save : BUT.

35. Closing words : EPILOG. I never have used this spelling.

37. Hut : SHANTY.Has bad connotations.

42. Trouble : AIL.

43. Barely come (through) : SEEP.

44. Box "b" on a W-2: Abbr. : EINEmployer Identification Number.

45. Magazine that published advance excerpts from Stephen King's "Firestarter" : OMNI. This was a fine MAGAZINE.

55. Like bogeys : OVER PAR. These days almost all the holes.

60. Playing the waiting game : PATIENT.

61. Resort site : SEASIDE.

62. Pass : ELAPSE.

63. Minimally : AT LEAST.

Down:

1. Some email enders : PSS. I have never used PS or any variation in an email.

2. Dangerous, in a way : ICY. Cold.

3. Writer who said "The only abnormality is the incapacity to love" : NIN. Anais was born  Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell, of Cuban descent.  LINK.

5. Els with clubs : ERNIE. More golf.

6. Ancient Indo-European : ARYAN. Quite the HISTORY

7. Hydroelectric facility : DAM.

8. Pack up : CRATE. As a verb.

9. Five-time world champion skater Carol : HEISS.  More ICE, but I think even  Tin allows it for skating. A quick memory of our dear departed Clear Ayes and all our figure skaters who have come and gone.
10. 1994 Costner role : EARP. Wyatt.

11. 5 for B or 6 for C : ATNO. I think the clue needs at least a 'shortly' as neither B nor C as atomic symbols are actually abbreviations.

12. Orpheus, for one : POET.

13. Scraps : ORTS.

15. Elect : CHOSEN. This time not a verb.

19. Leaping critter : HARE. 36D. __-eared : LOP.  You like Lola?


20. Sleeps it off, with "up" : SOBERS.

21. Theatrical piece? : TOUPEE. Nice misdirection especially near HARE.

22. As scheduled : ON TIME. Airlines now over state time so they can appear on time.

23. __ choy : BOK.  A versatile vegetable.  LINK.

26. Windy City travel org. : CTA. I never have used Chicago transit.

27. Colombia neighbor : PANAMA.

28. Actors John and Sean : ASTINS. If you ever wondered why Samwise Gamgee did not look like Gomez Addams, they are not biologic father and son. It is a complicated STORY.

29. Naturally bright : SKYLIT. How many of you have a skylight in your home? I am in a second floor apartment, so...

31. Good, in Hebrew : TOV.  Yom tov.

32. Golden __ : AGE. Of comic books?

33. Musical org. based in Kawasaki : TSO.

34. Electrical measure : OHM.

39. Much of Nevada : DESERT.


40. Emotional spells : FITS. Is this now an un-pc term?

41. Strand under a microscope : RNARibonucleic acid.

45. Resist : OPPOSE.

47. Silly : INANE.

48. Good-sized combo : NONET. Nine pieces.

49. Wreck big time : TOTAL. I had one car totaled when I was broadsided.

50. Deal : COPE.

51. Roundish : OVAL. ...ish.

52. "__ Smile Be Your Umbrella" : LET A. Who ever did it better?


53. Boring type : DRIP. A 1950s term.

56. Arkansas governor Hutchinson : ASA. How many obscure ASAs are there?

57. Actress Vardalos : NIA. My big fat Greek wallet after her success. We have this new Greek restaurant near our place and we want to eat there but whenever we walk over there are no customers...

58. Abbr. near a tee : YDS. Yards, as most of you read this I am in another charity golf tournament.

59. Assembled : MET. As opposed to a New York Met. Baseball in 50 degree weather....

A classic Don Hard G. Friday, so well put together. Have a safe Halloween and set your clocks back and enjoy the extra hour.


Lemonade out


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