google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday May 29, 2011 Matt Skoczen

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May 29, 2011

Sunday May 29, 2011 Matt Skoczen

Theme: For the Record - Each two-word phrase start with L & P.

27A. George Bush in late 1992, say : LAME-DUCK PRESIDENT. Bush Sr.

43A. Delivery lead-in : LABOR PAINS

72A. Make-believe intro : LET'S PRETEND. I like this answer.

97A. Heads-up discovery : LUCKY PENNY

118A. Danube School artists : LANDSCAPE PAINTERS

16D. Edward Lear output : LIMERICK POETRY. Carol is our queen of limerick.

52D. Kaufman play based on the Matthew Shepard incident, with "The" : LARAMIE PROJECT. Not familiar with the book. The story happens in Laramie, WY.

Lake Poets, Launch Pad, what other L* P * phrases can you think of?

Simple theme. Easier to find phrases that spell out two letters than three letters. Still a daunting task to ferret out sparkly entries with matchable letter count. The whole grid feels very smooth to me.

Across:

1. Modern letters : E-MAILS

7. Surprise at the end : TWIST. Do you like "The Crying Game"?

12. Hot air : GAS. Empty talk.

15. Sight from Salzburg : ALPS. Salzburge is the setting of "The Sound of Music".

19. Trumpet relative : CORNET

20. Bandleader Shaw : ARTIE

21. Job: Abbr. : OCC. OK, occupation.

22. Dismiss : FIRE

23. Even (with) : ON A PAR

24. Composer Saint-__ : SAENS. French composer.

25. Like some bandits : ONE-ARMED. This refers to the slot machines, correct?

30. Green gp. : EPA

31. Persian Gulf prince : EMIR

32. Unruly crowds : MOBS

33. In-flight no. : ALT

34. Rip into : TEAR AT

36. Oaxaca "Of course!" : SI, SI

37. "It Ain't All About the Cookin'" memoirist Deen : PAULA. She doesn't like Tofu, Jayce!

40. Cut off : LOP

42. Houston school : RICE

47. Bolts again : RE-LOCKS

50. Animation frame : CEL

53. Wine bottle word : CRU. Grand Cru.

54. Requiem Mass hymn word : IRAE. "Dies Irae".

55. Nook download : E-BOOK

56. 60 minuti : ORA (Hour). 60 minutes.

57. Souped-up wheels : HOT ROD

60. "Psst!" : HEY YOU

62. How a player may turn : PRO

65. "Have __!" : MERCY

67. Missed __ : A CUE

69. It's charged : ION. True.

70. Either 2007 Best Director : COEN. The Coen Brothers. For "No Country for Old Men".

71. H.S. freshmen may take it : PSAT

76. Webster's entries: Abbr. : DEFs (Definitions)

77. Twenty somethings? : ATMs. The clue confuses me grammatically.

78. Poet's preposition : ERE

79. Prehistorical author Jean : AUEL

80. "Understand?" : GET IT?

81. Who, in Quebec : QUI

82. "Soap" actor Robert : MANDAN. Stranger to me.

85. Phone button : REDIAL

88. Code carrier : RNA. Genetic code.

89. Take away : ERASE

91. Noggin : DOME. Slang for head.

93. "Ciao!" : BYE

94. "__ Blues": Beatles "White Album" song : YER. I've never heard of the song.

95. Facets : ASPECTS

101. Field shield : TARP

102. Numerical prefix : TRI

104. He replaced Gumbel on "Today" : LAUER (Matt)

105. Old U.S. gas : ESSO

109. Soldiers : TROOPS

112. Baby docs : OBs

114. Hi's spouse, in comics : LOIS. "Hi and Lois".

116. At what point : WHEN

117. Old rule in India : RAJ

123. Pub : ALEHOUSE

125. Worst or best conclusion? : OF ALL

126. Like olde England : MERRIE

127. Winans of gospel : CECE

128. Former Giants closer Robb __ : NEN

129. __ Islands: autonomous Danish province : FAROE. No idea. See this map. Quite a way from Denmark.

130. Eye slyly : PEEP AT

131. French bean? : TETE. Head again.

132. One may have several scenes : ACT

133. Some grenades, briefly : FRAGs

134. Lifts : STEALS

Down:

1. Places to study anglais, perhaps : ECOLEs. French for "school".

2. Endearing words from Étienne : MON AMI. "My friend". Splynter probably wants something different. Mon cheri, maybe, from a girl.

3. Friend of Athos : ARAMIS

4. At risk : IN PERIL

5. Heavy metal : LEAD

6. Pick alternative : STRUM

7. Launches may originate from one : TASKBAR. Computer.

8. Concludes : WRAPS UP

9. Roman road of yore : ITER

10. Trig ratio : SINE

11. "Veronica Mars" actress Thompson : TESSA. Who?

12. Treating nicely : GOOD TO

13. Proactiv target : ACNE. Proactiv is quite good.

14. Essence : SCENT

15. Liberia's cont. : AFR

17. Assortment for sale as a unit : PRE-PACK

18. Gets ready for surgery : SEDATES. Glad Bob is fine, JD.

26. Dined : ATE

28. Quit (on) : COP OUT

29. "Maybe" : I'LL SEE

35. Back for a buck? : AROO. Buckaroo.

38. Home in bed, perhaps : LAID UP

39. Word with ball or guitar : AIR

41. Exploit : PREY ON

44. Sore : ACHY

45. Monastic title: Abbr. : BRO

46. "Uh-uh" : NAH

48. WWII issue : E BOND

49. Actor __ Diamond Phillips : LOU

50. 2002 Hewlett-Packard acquisition : COMPAQ. Pushed by Carly Fiorina.

51. Title words repeated after "Como una promesa," in a 1974 song : ERES TU. Sounds familiar?

58. Gave two stars, say : RATED

59. It produces lieuts. : OCS. Officer Candidates School.

61. Return : YIELD

63. Purify : REFINE

64. GM tracking system : ON STAR

66. Dol. parts : CTs

68. Generation : ERA

70. B-F span : CDE. Alphabet.

72. Not under, with "at" : LEAST

73. One of the Gallos : ERNEST. The wine brothers. Ernest Gallo & Julio Gallo, a la Wiki.

74. "Aha!" : EUREKA

75. Casual shirt : TEE

80. Secluded valley : GLEN

82. Big __ : MAC

83. They're extemporaneous : AD LIBS

84. __-TURN : NO-U

86. Spanish airline : IBERIA. Easy guess.

87. Author Rand : AYN

90. Bank seizure, for short : REPO

92. 12th-century date : MCL. 1,150.

95. Engage : ATTRACT

96. Hillshire Farm parent company : SARA LEE. Hillshire Farm is their meat brand.

98. Holiday warmer : YULE LOG. Hi there Santa!

99. Community inhabitants : PEOPLEs

100. Longbow wood source : YEW TREE. New trivia to me.

103. Porcupine, e.g. : RODENT

106. Himalayan leader : SHERPA

107. Soap, e.g. : SERIAL. Soap opera.

108. Starts : ONSETS

110. Mideast org. since 1964 : PLO

111. Gym plus : SAUNA

113. Sneer (at) : SCOFF

115. Ninnies : SIMPs

119. Tiny amt. of time : NSEC. Nanosecond.

120. At a distance : AFAR

121. Chute opener? : PARA. Parachute.

122. Old Nair rival : NEET

124. Bit of a laugh : HEE

Answer grid.

C.C.

32 comments:

  1. Good morning all!

    Quite a workout for Sunday. Managed not to cheat, but took quite a while. Good work, Mark! Great write-up, C. C.!

    I haven't been around for a while. More medical troubles. Perhaps Russian colleague's cooking is partly responsible for my PAD? Oh well, he is leaving very soon. (Anyone have PAD?)

    Loved The Crying Game, C. C.

    Favorite answers: LABOR PAINS, ATMS. Did not think MON AMI was particularly affectionate. That one really stalled me.

    As for yesterday's, I thought it was terribly difficult. As my ability with Sudokus increases, my crossword solving seems to get worse!

    Have a pleasant sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi There ~!

    Hey, I am early today, but I see Ferm got here first. Well constructed grid today, no stretches except maybe A CUE, and it took me a minute to grasp the theme, even after I was finished - I was looking at the LI, LA, LE, LU starts, didn't see the "P" part.

    I liked SISI, CECE, TETE, HEY YOU,

    the stack of ONSTAR/ONSETS

    You are right, C.C., it's a slot machine, and I was OK with the "Crying Game" - someone hinted that there was a twist, but I didn't know what it was outright...

    And the French - hey, I got it all, and is it that obvious, C.C.? I wouldn't mind hearing Mon Cheri from a MERRIE LOIS-type, tho....

    To the brother's house for a BBQ, and mom's B'day, which is tomorrow, also. Rare occasion when the two coincide.

    Splynter

    ReplyDelete
  3. Argyle here and we have been skirting the worst of the storms passing through. I hope our luck holds

    I didn't ken The Laramie Project and that kept the West Coast, from Oregon down, out of my wheelhouse. But I did feel it was a Level Playing field.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning, C.C. and friends. This was a good puzzle. Caught on to the theme quite early. Anyone still have their old LPs. I do, although I don't listen to them very often.

    I loved the new clueing for E-MAILS = Modern Letters.

    I was fooled by Noggin. I initially tried Head, but the perps changed that until I realized I needed DOME.

    I liked the Crying Game and the TWIST at the end.

    Enjoy your BBQ, Splynter and give your mom a birthday wish from this group!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Morning, all!

    I, too, have a BBQ to get ready for today, so this'll be short....

    Pretty straight forward puzzle, and I didn't get the theme until I got here. A bunch of complete unknowns in the southern half kept it from being a speed run, including NEN, FAROE, MANDAN and CECE. Also, the clue for LUCKY PENNY ("Heads-up discovery") had me on the wrong track for quite awhile (obviously, I wasn't thinking about the thing discovered being heads up).

    It's all good though...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Puzzlers - Pretty much what Barry said.

    Never heard of CECE, MANDAN, LARAMIE PROJECT, or CRU. Wouldn't have thought of the COEN brothers except I just watched their "Burn After Reading" last night. I don't recommend it. "The Crying Game" was much better, complete with the twist.

    Hahtool, I still have a handful of LPs whose irreplaceable material I like, but no means to play them.

    We're hoping for clear skies soon for an airplane trip to Block Island, RI. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Abejo: Utube spreads pix and info like a virus...everywhere and fast! Thus: "go viral"

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good day folks,

    Close, but no cigar. The central west kept me from finishing. 65, 77, & 81 A's and 50, 51 ,& 52 D's did me in. Total brain lock. Laramie project and HP's acquisition of Compaq are not unknowns to me, but today they were.

    The rest of the puzzle was an effort, but doable. Mandan, Lauer, & Faroe were "WHO?", but managed to get them with perps.

    Even though it was a DNF, I enjoyed Matt's offering. I thought the cluing was pretty clever.


    Dudley, Block Island is one of our favorite spots for some R & R. So many great watering holes & eatery's.
    A day at the beach gives my eyeballs a good workout. A visit to Paynes is always in order for one or more of their donuts. Hope you can get there.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good morning C.C. et al.

    I liked the clever cluing of this one, and you nailed them, C.C. "Latex paint" and "Love potion" would have also been scrabbly entries. Then he would only have to fit a "z" in someplace to be a pangram.

    The theme didn't really do much for me. So many phrases with "L-P", that I didn't find it very original. Like others, I never heard of the LARAMIE PROJECT, so the SW was last to fall. But I did finish w/o any lookups, so it's all good.

    Have fun at all the cook-outs, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good Morning C.C. and all,

    Pleasant write-up this morning, like the mood of Matt’s puzzle. Especially liked your link to 114A!

    “The west coast from Oregon down” was indeed rocky, Argyle; and I think Splynter and I saw “The Crying Game” together. Unknowns already mentioned were gotten with perps; and the theme, which is neat, eluded me until I got to your write-up, C.C..

    Celebrating my daughter’s B’day {June 1}tonight; so, I’m off to L’ville. Beautiful Day.

    Never heard of PAD, Ferm.


    Have a nice day everyone.

    Big gratitude to our Veterans- old and new.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello everyone. Nice write-up, C.C.

    This was a LollaPalooza of a puzzle. But other than the usual Sunday stem-winder, the puzzle was not real difficult, Tues-Wed. level perhaps. The perps were ample and generous, so no lookups were needed. Some tricky fill, like ATMS. Thought maybe it had to do with generation like 'xers'. Couldn't at first remember the COMPAQ name but it finally welled up. FAROE was a gimme; but haven't seen it in a cw in quite a while.

    L-P span (mno) could have been used. Or how about lobster pound?

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  12. good morning c.c. and all,

    agree with spitz, about a tuesday level - this may have been my fastest ever sunday solve at 30 mins.

    loved labor pains (that sounds wrong), and one-armed and let's pretend are fun. attract/engage feels a bit clunky .. and isn't lame duck president three words?

    ReplyDelete
  13. H'lo everyone. Thanks for the writeup, CC. Hope you're all having a pleasant Holiday.

    Enjoyable puzzle. Technical DNF due to the error of using an O at the junction of Erestu and Qui. A Natick for me. Also could not figure out the theme until I got here. DOH!

    I still have around 100 LP's, but they don't see the light very often. They also have to fight it out with 500~ CD's, which put's them at a serious disadvantage.

    The Crying Game was a strange but interesting movie, and I enjoyed it. The strange part was, it could have been every bit as good if it hadn't had the twist. BTW, the Lyle Lovett version of Stand By Your Man I linked the other night rolled during the credits of that movie. I don't know if it was commissioned for the movie or just picked later because it was out there. At any rate, a very fitting ending for a.....er....rather unusual movie. Matthew Sheppard ties in to a slight degree. He was in the news here a lot due to our proximity to WY.

    Oh, and Faroe. That came easy for me since 30~ years ago our local paper always ran these puzzles with a lot of 2 and 3 letter answers. Faroe Islands whirlwind appeared at least once or twice a month. Don't remember the answer at my advanced age, but I sure remember the clue.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good day, C.C. et al.

    Nice write up, C.C. thank you.

    A very doable puzzle today with only a few bumps and many WAGS along the way.

    Sashayed through the top and on down but was stumped with MANDAN, LEAST, POETRY, and RODENT of all things. FAROE emerged from the hidden recesses as did ERNEST. I could hear the commercial in my TETE, "from the vineyards of ERNEST and Julio Gallo."

    Since returning from my week long trip I have had trouble adjusting my thinking to XWDS. Does anyone else find that or is it old age?

    Happy birthday to your Mom, Splynter.

    Have a great time at your BBQs and other events, everyone. Ours is tomorrow with graduations added.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hello all.

    Decided to take a break from the Race and see what is going on in the world.

    Ferm, Hand up for PAD. It's the reason I got the wheel chair.

    Splynter, Happy birthday to your Mom tomorrow.
    Will have to go with Boston. It was my home port for several years.

    As expected, Penske drivers leading the Race. Happy birthday
    to Al Unser and congratulations for being on the out side of Row 1
    of the all-time greatest 33.

    Take tomorrow off everyone.

    Take care.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Pleasant puzzle. I enjoyed it though it didn't seem to have as much cleverness as some. Very nice writeup, C.C.

    I saw The Crying Game years ago and I can't remember anything but the twist. So for me, it wasn't a very memorable movie.

    Regarding viral videos on YouTube; the one I enjoyed the most about the poor dog being teased over tasty meat dishes has over 33 million views by now. Jordan loved it too. I may go back and watch it again for the 20th time.

    I treasure my old LPs though I haven't listened to them for years. Still, I like knowing they're there.

    C.C. mentioned limericks again. Here's one of my favorites; definitely off-color though with no naughty words.

    There was a young plumber named Lee,

    Who was plumbing his girl by the sea.

    She said, "Please stop plumbing,

    I hear someone coming."

    He said, "Don't be silly, that's me!"

    ReplyDelete
  17. I know there are veterans here and I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all past present and future brave soldiers, so THANK YOU

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hondo - the Block Island weather never improved to aviation standards today, so we had to settle for a local bike trip. I quite agree that the island is awash with pleasantness! I allow myself one hot fudge brownie sundae per year, and it has to come from that ice cream shop behind the Water Street shops. Mmmmm

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello again.

    Such a race and what an ending.

    My turn table also converts the LPs to CDs if I want. Have slowly started to do this to save weight and space. I love that analog sound
    from the vinyl though.

    The real danger from PAD is developing a deep vein thrombosis
    by keeping the legs elevated and not walking.

    See you all tomorrow. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I played golf at dawn and in decent weather for a while and then a heavy mist and quit when I literally couldn’t see any more. I can’t play tomorrow and am taking family to Orlando from Tue – Sat, so in the words of the King, “It’s Now or Never”.

    Musings
    -Ripped through all but SW corner and looked up LARAMIEPROJECT only and it call came a tumblin’ down! 99+%.
    -Alps in Salzburg were spectacular including Hitler’s eagle’s nest just north
    -One Armed Bandits are so aptly named. They a lot of social security checks!
    -Jeff Foxworthy has a great line, “You might be redneck if your 401K is a Lotto Ticket.”
    -French speaking granddaughter gave me QUI
    -Wanted Field shield to be MASK
    -I went to one Indy 500 and sat in turn 1. It was exciting for minutes and then not so much. It takes a long time for them to come around again. It is great for peeps that follow that sport and the start is breathtaking!
    -I played golf this morning with a man who lost his leg in Vietnam and it was a privilege

    ReplyDelete
  21. As Rock reminded me, we all need to remember and thank our Veterans on Remembrance Day/Decoration Day or our Memorial Day.

    I always enjoy the news magazine, Sunday Morning on CBS. They had a segment on the quarry in Vermont where they get the marble for the Veterans gravestones.

    We just got back from an excellent lunch at Il Fornaio. It's an upscale chain that might have a location near some of you. The waitstaff is attentive and professional as a result of extra training they're given. The food was excellent. We had some soup, split a spinach salad and a delicious thin crust pizza made with fresh tomato sauce. The dessert cart was irresistible. All for $48. It's my favorite restaurant in an area with lots of good restaurants.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hello again!

    Sorry that I loused up your name, MATT!

    Creature: PAD is Peripheral Artery Disease. A wonderful new acronym to plague us! Eddy, I'll write you to compare notes "off the grid."

    A very cold wind in Northridge. Crawled out from underneath the covers and consequently ache all over. The weather is all confused, it seems. Another sign of impending doom, perhaps?

    Russian colleague left his laptop (never did backups) and phone in his office unattended. Big surprise--someone appropriated them. He couldn't believe it! (I lost my naivete at a much earlier age than his!)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Good Afternoon, folks. Thank you Matt Skoczen for a very good puzzle. Thank you, C.C. for the write-up and appropriate comments.

    Was able to get most of the theme answers quickly. That helped with the puzzle. I never did catch the theme, however, until I entered the blog.

    LARAMIE PROJECT was the last to fall.

    Got several with Perps and Wags; ie ERES TU, MANDAN, TESSA, FAROE, NEN, and CECE.

    Enjoyed IRAE, ALPS, RAJ, ALEHOUSE (because I like ale), YEW TREE, and TASK BAR.

    Thank you ANON for your description of my question of yesterday GO VIRAL/YOUTUBE.

    We had torrential rains today. Had to start my pump outside to pump out my window well. Streets were flooded. Water retention areas became lakes. At least the electric did not fail.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ReplyDelete
  24. Good evening CC, et al., Tough puzzle, but fitting for a Sun it seems to me. Excellent write up CC and thank you for the Lois/Katie link. That was sweet of you. She's getting surprised with a marriage proposal while flying in a hot air balloon next month. I think that is so romantic. I just hope she doesn't drop the ring.

    Argyle: I hope you continue to stay safe, out of harm's way, and on the outskirts of the storms. This season has been horrific.

    Splynter: LOL love that Lois-type comment. Santa baby might be able to help you, but you have to be very very good...that is good at being bad. Happy birthday to your mom. I hope she has many many more. I'm sure she knows how lucky she is to have you.

    BillG: LMAO at that limerick - Very funny! We need Carol to chime in.

    Avg Joe: I knew I recognized your avatar-it's one of my administrators - spittin' image!

    Enjoy your night.

    ReplyDelete
  25. @BillG. I saw most of that piece on Sunday Morning today and found it very moving. In a former life I worked in a monument shop and have actually done the work they (briefly) described. The carving, not the stonecutting. The worst moment I had during that tenure was when I had to carve a stone for a first cousin. That one took longer than usual.

    @Lois. I swear, that's me. Any resemblance to other people in your life is purely coincidental.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have absolutely nothing to say. I'm just making use of this forum (to which I am totally devoted) to check and see if I can make it work for me. Just keeping chatting among yourselves . . . . : )

    ReplyDelete
  27. By George! I think I've got it!!!
    Thank you for the use of the hall.

    More soon, I hope.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Licensed Practitioners - 21 letters

    mpk - Welcome! (love the photo)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Argyle - Thank you. You look like someone it would be fun to hug. But I imagine I'd have to wait in llne.

    Pretty forward, no?

    But I've been around this blog for so long that I feel i know most of you. And you certainly are a bunch worth knowing.

    Good night, all.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  30. @Avg Joe (10:46 AM) - From yourdictionary.com:

    oe: noun
    a whirlwind near the Faeroe Islands
    Origin: [ Faeroese othi [ othur, raging [ ON other

    Thanks; I learned something new today!

    ReplyDelete
  31. 71 A: I thought PSAT's were taken by juniors. Are freshmen privileges new?

    ReplyDelete

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