google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday April 4, 2010 Dan Naddor

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Apr 4, 2010

Sunday April 4, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: "Sidelined" - DL is inserted into each common phrase, changing the long vowel sound into short vowel sound.

24A. Spoiled meat?: CUR(DL)ED HAM. Cured Ham. Isn't all ham cured? (Note from John Lampkin: Not all ham is cured. Fresh ham is sometimes served at Easter.)

25A. Equestrian nobleman?: MARQUIS DE SAD(DL)E. Marquis De Sade. Sadism is derived from his name. Marquis is ranked below a duke & above an earl.

43A. Sweet scent source?: CAN(DL)E SUGAR. Cane Sugar. Triple alliteration in the clue.

48A. "Oink oink" jokes?: PIGGYBACK RID(DL)E. Piggyback Ride.

62A. Con man's strategy with a lonely widow?: PEARLS BEFORE SWIN(DL)E. Pearls Before Swine, the comic strip. My favorite theme answer. A sad, short story is told in three words.

84A. Sells shorts?: HAN(DL)ES UNDERWEAR. Hanes Underwear. Another alliteration.

88A. Horse's headgear left out in the sun?: BAKED BRI(DL)E. Baked Brie. Have never had baked brie.

103A. Lanky crustaceans?: SPIN(DL)Y LOBSTERS. Spiny Lobsters. This DL is inserted in front of letter Y, all the others in front of letter E.

111. Sidelined by injury, in baseball lingo, and a hint to how this puzzle's theme puns are formed: PUT ON THE DL. DL = Disabled List.

What an ironic & fun theme for the start of a baseball season! Dan also gave us a few more baseball references:

32D. Batters' nos.: AVGS (Averages)

63D. Angels shortstop Aybar: ERICK. This is his rookie card. Not a player with national recognition.

106D. Buc or Phil: NLER (National Leaguer). The Pittsburgh Pirates (Bucs) and Phillies both belong to the National League.

Quintessential Dan Naddor, abetted by Rich Norris no doubt, humorous, entertaining & tricky clues abound.

Across:

1. Fanatical: RABID. Wanted MANIC.

6. Beatnik?: COP. Nice clue.

9. Great service providers: ACERS. Tennis service.

14. Epps of "House": OMAR

18. Be wild about: ADORE

19. "Strange to see __ good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody": Pepys: HOW A. Have never heard of this Samuel Pepys quote. Makes sense.

20. "D'oh" moment, slangily: BRAIN CRAMP. Great answer.

22. Men's ideals: DREAM GIRLS. What is your dream girl like, guys?

27. Looks the wrong way?: LEERS. And ASS (56. Jerk) & TEAT (107D. Suckling spot).

28. Arranged to pay later: RAN A TAB

29. __ Haute: TERRE. Literally "high land". This refers to Terre Haute, Indiana, right?

30. Wane: ABATE

34. Trouble: STATIC. New meaning of "static" to me.

38. "Big Love" airer: HBO. Have never seen "Big Love".

39. Psychedelic desk item: LAVA LAMP. Didn't come to me readily.

51. The Bee Gees, e.g.: TRIO

52. WWII vessel: LST (Landing Ship Tank)

53. 1964 Tony Randall title role: DR. LAO. From "Seven Faces of Dr. Lao" (1964 film).

54. Old Russian council: SOVIET. Literally "Council " in Russian. We also have SSRS (117. Cold war gp.). SSR = Soviet Socialist Republic.

57. Academic figure: EDUCATOR

60. Without warmth: ICILY

69. Skin care prefix: DERMA. Coconut oil is great for skin.

70. Flamenco clicker: CASTANET. No idea. The stuff in her hands. Spanish for "chestnut". I misread the answer as CAST A NET.

71. Singer DiFranco: ANI

72. One interested in spreads: BOOKIE

78. Skating event: PAIRS

79. OAS part: Abbr.: ORG. OAS = Organization of American States.

82. Donald, to his nephews: UNCA'. Blank spot for me. How many nephews does Donald Duck have?

90. Prized: ESTEEMED

91. Antique auto: REO

92. Equipped with machinery: TOOLED

95. Seed coverings: ARILS. The red fleshy stuff that surround the seeds.

96. Eccentric: LOOPY

98. Fashionable Manhattan eatery: ELAINE'S. I suffered from lethologica. Can never remember this restaurant name.

102. W.C. Fields persona: SOUSE

113. Nobel-winning Holocaust chronicler: ELIE WIESEL. Nice to see his full name.

114. Graph that influences bond buyers: YIELD CURVE

115. 100 Iranian dinars: RIALS

116. Delta preceder: GAMMA

118. Complete: UTTER

119. From Jan. 1 to now: YTD (Year to Date)

120. Bikini event: N-TEST

Down:

1. USN brass: RADM (Rear Admiral). Not familiar with this abbr.

2. Historic Spanish port: ADRA. No idea. Wikipedia says Adra was the last stronghold of the Moors in Spain.

3. Afrikaner: BOER

4. 1990 Kuwait invader: IRAQ

5. In an affectedly shy way: DEMURELY. Oh, I don't associate "demure" with "affectedly". To me, our JD (in light green) always looks demure.

6. Una __: using the soft pedal: CORDA. Una corda is literally "one string" in Italian. Unknown musical term to me.

7. Barn babies: OWLET. Alliteration.

8. Volkswagen sedan: PASSAT. Derives from the German word for tradewind. Jetta derives from the jet stream. Kazie or someone else mentioned on the blog that Volkswagen used to name their vehicles after those winds.

9. Start of a tots' song: ABCD

10. Gunk: CRUD

11. 1970s-'80s bowling great __ Anthony: EARL. No idea. My husband said this guy won the most PBA tournaments until Walter Ray Williams passed him a couple of years ago.

12. Fair feature: RIDE. Alliteration.

13. TV show with recurring "Killer Bees" sketches: SNL. No idea.

14. Eschew cooking at home: ORDER OUT

15. "Politically Incorrect" host: MAHER. Outdated clue. I like the current "Real Time With Bill Maher".

16. 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year Stoudemire: AMAR'E. Nope. Not a NBA fan. Looks like A MARE to me.

17. Tach readings: RPMS

19. Boonies possessive: HIS'N

21. Glitterati: CELEBS

23. Supermodel Carangi: GIA. Played by Angelina Jolie in the movie.

26. Basic counters: ABACI. Yeah, I learned the basic counting by using abaci.

29. The ones right in front of us: THESE

30. Matterhorn, e.g.: ALP

33. Wrestling duo: TAG TEAM. Learned from doing Xword.

35. Smidgens: TADS

36. Prefix with Aryan: INDO. Indo-Aryan.

37. Caesar's 455: CDLV

40. DeGeneres's "Idol" predecessor: ABDUL (Paula)

41. Chagall and Anthony: MARCS

42. Graphic design school feature: PC LAB. Unfamiliar with this term.

44. Muumuu accessory: LEI. She looks beautiful (and demure) in her muumuu, sans lei though.

45. Last Supper cup: GRAIL. The Holy Grail, right?

46. Window alternative: AISLE. Airplane seat.

49. Petruchio's wife: KATE. From "The Taming of the Shrew".

50. Shakes setting: ROOF. Dictionary defines shake as "a shingle or clapboard formed by splitting a short log into a number of tapered radial sections with a hatchet". New word to me also.

55. Prong: TINE

58. Olive shade: DRAB

59. Bird of myth: ROC. The bird in the "Arabian Nights".

61. Site of many jewel cases: CD TOWER

62. Quaker St.: PENNA. Is this a common abbr.?

64. Criticizes: RAPS

65. Biblical birthright seller: ESAU

66. "Fear Street" series author: STINE (R. L.). No idea. Looks horrifying. Wikipedia says Stine is often called the Stephen King of Children's Literature.

67. Hospital sections: WARDS

68. Atlas blowup: INSET

69. Apply amateurishly: DAUB

73. "Now the fun starts!": OH BOY

74. Row: OAR

75. Heal, in a way: KNIT. The broken bone.

76. Meatloaf's "__ Anything for Love": I'D DO. Easy guess.

77. Spanish pronoun: ELLO. Spanish for "it". Any comment, Dennis?

80. Do followers: RE MI

81. Player of the field hockey-like sport shinty: GAEL. I've never heard of the Scottish hockey game shinty.

83. Sprays from cans: AEROSOLS

85. Caught congers: EELED

86. Transfer: REASSIGN

87. Fork sites: Abbr.: RDS. Road fork, not utensil.

89. Count (on): DEPEND

93. Queen of mystery: ELLERY. Ellery Queen.

94. Like a sunny room: DAY LIT

96. Justice Brandeis: LOUIS. Who knows? He died in 1941.

97. __ space: OUTER

99. 24-part epic: ILIAD. Oh, new trivia to me.

100. House-to-house number: NOEL. Tricky "number"!

101. "Charlotte's Web" monogram: E. B. W. (E.B. White).

102. 1974 Gould/Sutherland spoof: S*P*Y*S

103. Closed: SHUT

104. Smart-alecky: PERT

105. "... comin' __ baked a cake": old song lyric: I'D'VE. Here is a clip. Totally foreign to me.

108. Salinger title teenager: ESME. Salinger's "For Esme with Love and Squalor".

109. Radiation units: REMS. REM = Roentgen Equivalent Man. I only know the Rapid Eye Movement acronym.

110. Thin strip: SLAT

112. Ft. Worth campus: TCU (Texas Christian University)

Answer grid.

Happy Easter! And a belated Happy Anniversary to Haltool, who met her husband 28 years ago yesterday.

C.C.

22 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all! And Happy Easter to those who care about such things...

Great puzzle, great theme, and plenty of stuff to love in the clues and fills. Having said that, I could have really done without RADM and ADRA right in the NW corner where I always start out. The puzzle got much better after that, but those two left a bad taste in my mouth that took awhile to go away.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and all. What a fun Dan Naddor puzzle. I took my time, but was able to complete puzzle with no outside help.

I laughed when I filled in Window Alternative: AISLE. Instead of a plane seat, though, I thought that this meant instead of eloping through a Window, a couple wed walking down the AISLE!

Louis Brandeis was a US Supreme Court Justice, so I had to know of him. Brandeis University, just outside of Boston, MA, is where I met my husband 28 years ago yesterday. (Thanks for the shout-out, CC).

I also liked Looks the Wrong Way: LEER and the clue about Jewel Cases: CD TOWER.

John Belushi was one of the Killer Bees from Saturday Night Live. Look how young Chevy Chase looks.

Happy Easter to all who Celebrate.

In honor of Elie Wiesel, here is today's QOD:

Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another. ~ Elie Wiesel

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. ~ Elie Wiesel

Anonymous said...

When is Lois coming back?

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, busy morning, so I won't have time for the puzzle until this evening. I'm looking forward to a Sunday Dan Naddor.

I did read last night's comments and have to chime in. Unsexiest man? Lois' Michael Moore is a good choice, but he doesn't have any pretensions about being sexy (good decision, Mike). My choice(s) could be any of the leading men types who have face-lifted themselves into creepiness. Mickey Rourke, Burt Reynolds, Bruce Jenner are all men who probably thought they were making improvements ....NOT! Still, the top of my list would be Tiger Woods. He must have saved his scintillating personality and witty repartee for hospitality rooms, lounges and stripper bars, because he's never seemed anything other than "BLAH" on TV. Nowadays, he is even more unsexy.

Bill G. LOL...Madeline Albright? That's like saying Golda Meir wasn't sexy (or maybe my grandma). How about Helen Thomas, Janet Reno and Anne Coulter? If the category is women in politics or the press, all of the above are definitely in the running.

For showbiz women under 50, who actually make an effort to be sexy (I think that is what they are trying for..??), it would have to be Amy Winehouse and Courtney Love. Nothing like drug abuse for a turn-off.

Folks are getting up and looking for coffee cups, so I'd better go. Hope you all are having a Happy Easter.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Barry G et al,
Lois said last night "CC: Meant to say also that it's ok if you talk about me while I'm gone...as long as they're all lies. I think Katherine Hepburn said that somewhere. I'll look forward to reading all the comments when I get back." The quote is very familiar, but it's not Kathrine Hepburn's line, isn't it?

Bill G,
I've only seen a couple Chinese crosswords Martin in Taiwan showed me a while ago. We don't have Chinese language crosswords in Mainland. I peek at the themes of other newspapers when I have extra time. My favorite is of course LA Times, which I give my full attention to every day.

JD said...

Happy Easter CC and all,

The puzzle zapped me; did not have enough fills to go around again.
BTW, Donald Duck had 3 nephews: Huey, Dewey and Louis.

Lemonade714 said...

As always a pure pleasure to start a day with a Dan Naddor, and this one really made his passing more awful. He manages to make me feel foolish when I see the answers to clues like House-to-house number: NOEL, Beatnik?: COP, Shakes setting: ROOF.

The life of the model Carangi: GIA was ultimately a sad one, but the movie role really jump started the career of ANGELINE JOLIE and was very shocking for its time.

Judge Brandeis was one of the most brilliant men to ever sit on the Supreme Court, his opinions filled with passion for the rights of all men and unimpeachable scholarship. He served for many years with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and together they did much to help the stature of the Court. Brandeis was born in Kentucky, and was the first Jew on the court.

There are so many uses of the phrase Pearls before swine but I do believe it is appropriate for today as it is a New Testament reference.

BRAIN CRAMP is less familiar to me than BRAIN FART or BRAIN FREEZE.

Please go hide eggs for your kids, as many poarents forget how much fun being little may be.

Hahtool, many more….

Lucina said...

Good morning C.C. and fellow bloggers.
A joyous Easter to you, if you are so inclined

Wow, my heart danced a little jig at the sight of Dan Naddor's name. And what delightful theme answers!

Since I normally scope out the grid, the NE corner gave me a toehold only because Omar Epps is familiar. I picked up on the "dl" rather easily though had no idea it was related to baseball until the bottom.

Had no idea about "corda" made a stab at "gorda" do idea why.

There is a posh hotel here that has an "Elaine's" and was widely publicized as being parallel to NY's when it opened, so that rang a bell.

And, of course, Amar'e Stoudemire is a big star here, so a given.

Really liked:
shaker setting: roof
window alternative: aisle

Didn't like:
graphic design school feature: PC lab (PC labs are in every school)

I've been to Spain three times, but never to Adra, don't know it's exact location. And Spanish pronoun "ello" is rarely used.

Congratulations, Hahtool. I wish you many, many more happy years.

I'll check the links tonight after the festivities.

Wishing you all a very special Sunday!

Lucina said...

I turns out that Adra, Spain has some historical significance as the last holdout of the Moors; it was finally conguered when in January 1492 and Boabdil, the Moorish ruler, was ousted.

Adra is on the southeaster tip of Spain.

eddyB said...

Very funny Andy Capp this morning
considering the POD tie-in.

eddyB

Anonymous said...

Dear CC:
"I don't care what is written about me as long as it isn't true" - Katherine Hepburn.

Thanks for the forum.

Mary

Bill G. said...

I thought this was a harder than usual Sunday puzzle. Enjoyable though.

CA, I can't imagine Madeline Albright was sexy in her younger days. And you're right about Ann Coulter. I can't stand her.

Frenchie said...

C.C. and friends,
Dan had me up against the ropes yet again. I struggled to put it all together.
Now the MUU MUU dress...as a young girl, I longed for a Muu Muu dress. I was in Hawaii a few years ago and I finally got one! I found that the reasoning behind their design is much less than the colorful dress.
@Hahtool, the 'Hope is like peace' QOD is beautiful...great choice! Happy Anniversary!
If I knew you were coming IDA baked a cake, made it grand...hired a band?? Jazzbumpa, help me out with this one!

Chickie said...

Hello All--A very happy Holiday to those who celebrate Easter.

I haven't had time to do the puzzle yet. Our paper doesn't carry our CW on Sunday, so I'll print it out from the internet and savor it this late afternoon and evening. A Dan Naddor puzzle must be savored, and not rushed, but enjoyed.

Hatool, Congratulations on your Anniversay--the day you met your Husband.

tfrank said...

Good Day, C.C. and all,

Another excellent Naddor effort from the dwindling stockpile. I worked about a third of it before going to Easter services, and finished after lunch. Total time: about an hour. My only unknowns, Dr Lao and Pc Lab, made it necessary to do a lookup. At first, I thought the theme was to add dle, but this was before I got to 111A. One of these days I will remember to look for the theme clue first, which is usually near the bottom.

My favorite clues were those already mentioned by others.

I helped Jean celebrate her 83rd birthday today. We had a pleasant afternoon watching the Shell Open. I was glad to see Kim win, and am rooting for him for the Masters.

I am not enthusiastic about Tiger's return. He is not one of my favorite players because of his aloofness. I also object to the way the broadcasters concentrate on him: watch Tiger hit, commercial, watch Tiger hit, commercial, etc. IMO, Tiger needs to take some smiling lessons from Kim.

Hahtool, happy anniversary of you and your husband's meeting at Brandeis.

Have a good week.

Tinbeni said...

Searched out, found Dan's "pun key" at 111A, PUT ON THE DL, and was off for a fun Easter 'pun' hunt.

The 9 themes were all typical DN puns. My fave was the "Pearls before swinDLe."

OK, let's get it out of the way.
Had 'drunk' @102A for W.C. Fields persona until I realized that was me, he was just a SOUSE! LOL
Also liked that above it was LOOPY.

Other snafu was @61D, site for many Jewel cases, had 'dresser' before the CD TOWER write-over.

My problem is remembering the Greek Alphabet in order. GAMMA, 116A, Delta follower, took awhile.

Couldn't remember 1 of the 7 faces of Dr. Lao, 53A, Tony Randall 1964 title role.

BillG: I agree, a bit tougher than most Sundays, but a fun time none the less.

Bill G. said...

We experienced a 6.9 earthquake about an hour ago. It was centered about 100 miles east of Tijuana. Barbara and I were watching a play. I could see heads swaying back and forth in front of us in the theater. It seemed to last quite a while. It would have been scarier if I had been home on the second floor. The windows rattle and you can feel the shaking more. They're usually fun for me until the shaking continues and you can't tell how much worse it's going to get.

MJ said...

What a delight to wake up to a Dan Naddor Sunday puzzle! It took me longer than a usual Sunday, as I'm so weak with names, so needed all the perp help I could get. Loved the theme, esp. MARQUISDESADDLE and HANDLESUNDERWEAR. Such an ingenious mind!

@Bill G-The magnitude of the earthquake has been upped to 7.2, according to Lucy Jones at Caltech. We felt the shaking very strongly at our house. The TV is reporting that the temblor lasted about 30 seconds. I timed it, and we felt it for well over a minute, the longest quake I have ever experienced. We're concerned about the damage in Mexico, where building codes are not as stringent as they are here.

Happy Birthday to Jean!

Happy Anniversary to you, Hahtool!

Bill G. said...

MJ, we were in a theater in Hermosa Beach so nothing rattled or fell, just swayed. The woman doing the one-woman show asked about an earthquake, said the people in Hermosa Beach were tough and soldiered on. In what part of SoCal are you located?

I imagine you're right about Mexico. I'm guessing there will be significant damage there.

~ Bill G.

Lucina said...

Here in the Phoenix, Scottsdale area, the chandeliers shook and the water in the pool lapped in waves for at least a minute! Very unusual.

MR ED said...

Before the post office made all state abbreviations two letters, each one had a unique abbreviation:
Ala.,Wash., Conn., Mass., Ore., Neb., Mont., Colo., and so on.

Annette said...

I'm so glad I didn't realize it was a Dan Naddor puzzle until tonight. I wouldn't have gotten anything done until I enjoyed the experience.

Hahtool: Happy anniversary of your having met your spouse!

tfrank: Please relay a very happy birthday to Jean! I'm sure you had a lot to celebrate this year.

We had an abacus when I was little too. It was one of my favorite toys. I think learning to use that helped me catch on to Base 2 and Base 16 calculations quicker when I started taking computer classes years later.

The only reference I have for ELAINES is when they talked about it in the movie "The Big Chill".

I liked the 2nd QOD - and the pairing of neighbors ASS and ICILY in the puzzle. Usually when I deem a person an ASS and they act accordingly, I just ignore it as attribute of that condition and not worth my effort to argue with them. Besides, I'm not very good at verbal confrontations... But twice in the past week (including tonight), I'm very happy to have ICILY told off two condescending ASSes! YES!!!