google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday September 11, 2011 Robert H. Wolfe

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Sep 11, 2011

Sunday September 11, 2011 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Let Me Interject - One word in each common phrase is replaced by a sound-alike common interjection.

24A. Frat for complainers? : FIE BETA KAPPA. Phi Beta Kappa.

26A. "Look! Ghosts!"? : LO SPIRITS. Low spirits.

112A. Complaint about a weak morning cup? : COFFEE BAH. Coffee bar.

119A. Unfriendly store owner? : SHOO MERCHANT. Shoe merchant.

13D. At exhilarating times? : IN THE WHEE HOURS. In the wee hours.

36D. "Pauses are normal" adage? : TO ER IS HUMAN. To err is human.

42D. Like kittens and puppies? : AW- INSPIRING. Awe-inspiring.

52D. One skilled at expressing relief? : MAN OF PHEW WORDS. Man of few words.

Nice theme entry intersection!

I love puzzles where the base phrases of the wordplay are all familiar to me. And it's always a treat to solve Bob's puzzles. I looked at some of his earlier NYT a few weeks ago. They were so creative and fun.

Favorite clue today is GASPS (34D. Pants you can't wear).

Across:

1. Low tide revelations : MUDFLATS. Good start.

9. Dorm bosses, briefly : RAs

12. Give out : DIE

15. Like some tea : ICED

19. Coda relative : EPILOGUE

20. Nonresident doctors : EXTERNS. I only know interns.

22. Letter-bottom letters : SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope)

23. Sea brass : ADMIRALS

28. Spill clumsily : SLOSH

29. Point a finger at : RAT ON

30. Doctor's order : PILL. I'm always afraid pills will mess up my brain.

32. Natural to a region : ENDEMIC

34. Gainesville gridder : GATOR. University of Florida.

39. Twisted look : SNEER

41. Baa maids? : EWES. Lovely clue.

42. Bottom-row key : ALT

45. Islands to which canaries are native : AZORES. On the west of Portugal.

47. Firefighter Red : ADAIR. Learned his name from doing Xword.

49. 17-Down's org. : NHL. And 17D. Old Bruin nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito. Hall of Famer.

50. __' Pea : SWEELink
51. Chest protectors : STERNUMS. Sterna too.

53. __ muffin : STUD. Oh, look at him.

55. First printing, say : EDITION. The first edition of "The Godfather" is worth a lot.

57. Public role : PERSONA

58. Like most mules : STERILE

60. "An Inconvenient Woman" author Dominick : DUNNE. Strange title.

61. Biol., e.g. : SCI

62. White water? : SNOW. Nice clue too.

64. Jazzy Vaughan : SARAH

65. Inception : ONSET

66. Place to see a sched. : STA

69. Drop : OMIT

71. Jared of "Mr. Nobody" : LETO. He dated Cameron Diaz for a few years.

72. Indy additive : STP

73. Drinks for Radar : NEHIs. Knee-high.

75. Side with : FAVOR

77. Bud : CHUM

79. Creator of Auric and Julius : IAN (Fleming). Auric Goldfinger. Auric is the adjective of Au (Gold). Dr Julius No. Too sophisticated a clue for me.

82. Blow : ERUPT

83. Diagnostic school exam : PRETEST

85. Mention : REFER TO

88. Minx-like : VAMPISH. Firefox doesn't like this word.

90. Poor, as an excuse : LAME

91. David, to some scholars : PSALMIST

92. "My word!" : I SAY

93. It's heard in Isr. : HEB

95. Bottle size : LITER

97. One with net gains? : SEINER. Seine can mean "net" or verb "Fish with a net".

98. Novelist Deighton : LEN

99. Rob of "Parks and Recreation" : LOWE

100. Tropical starch sources : TAROS. I miss freshly made taro cakes.

102. Swimming pool concern : ALGAE

103. Word in some carriers' names : AIRWAYS

106. Show saver : TiVO

107. Capital near Lake Volta : ACCRA. Ghana's capital.

110. Exams during which students can talk : ORALS

122. Shop in airport stores, say : KILL TIME. So true.

123. Incites to attack : SICS

124. "Roots" Emmy winner : ED ASNER. Very friendly letter combo. Hence his frequent appearance in crossword.

125. Pottery worker, on occasion : ENAMELER. Any comment, Warren? And 129. Ones who swear in court : DEPOSERS

126. Road across Penn. : TPKE (Turnpike)

127. Retired flier : SST

128. Some ranges : GEs

Down:

1. Part of a seder : MEAL

2. Bun, for one : UPDO

3. Makes faint : DIMS

4. Resell quickly : FLIP

5. Petty of "A League of Their Own" : LORI. "Field of Dreams" is so much better.

6. Culture medium : AGAR

7. Subject of an annual Ottawa festival : TULIPS. Was unaware of the Ottawa festival.

8. Poems whose structure is based on the number six : SESTINAS. You'd think it's sextinas, since sex is Latin for "six".

9. Whistle blower : REF

10. Turning point : AXIS

11. Inscribed monument : STELE

12. City on the Elbe : DRESDEN

14. Conductor __-Pekka Salonen : ESA. No idea.

15. Son of Abraham : ISAAC

16. Hook or Cook: Abbr. : CAPT

18. Senior member : DEAN

21. "Whose radiant eyes your __ brows adorn": Dryden : EBON

25. Singer Kristofferson : KRIS

27. One following dogs : SLED

31. Minimum : LEAST

33. Combine : MELD

35. Worshiper of the rain god Tlaloc : AZTEC. Man, they had a rain god?

37. 49-Across's Bobby et al. : ORRS. And who else?

38. Vegas alternative : RENO

40. They may be last : RITES. True.

43. Sierra __: African republic : LEONE

44. Church holding : TENET

46. Important stars : SUNS

48. Countrified : RURAL

50. Double's doing : STUNT. On movie set.

54. Lead : DIRECT

56. Union exchanges : I DOs. Unison seldom refers to "labor union" in Xword.

58. Turn in place : SWIVEL. Great word.

59. Plastering strip : LATH

63. "... a Loaf of Bread ..." poet : OMAR

67. At risk of capsizing : TIPPY

68. Italian wine area : ASTI

70. Cereal brand : TOTAL

73. "On the Beach" novelist Shute : NEVIL. Another stranger to me. What's the novel about?

74. Rub the wrong away : ERASE. I like this clue too.

76. Pay : REMIT

78. Sq. mi., e.g. : MEAS (Measurement)

80. Adrift, perhaps : AT SEA

81. Dame intro? : NOTRE. Notre Dame.

84. Ambush, perhaps : SET AT

86. FRONTLINE target : FLEA

87. Disney's "__ and the Detectives" : EMIL

89. Restaurateur Toots : SHOR

91. Kicked up, as a fuss : PROVOKED

94. University of Cincinnati player : BEARCAT. Looks fiery.

96. "The Red" guy : ERIC. Eric the Red.

99. Neeson of "Schindler's List" : LIAM

101. 1959 Fiestas hit : SO FINE. Argyle, link away.

103. Got off the chair : AROSE

104. Approvals, in 105-Down : YAHS. And 105. Much street talk : SLANG.

107. Helper: Abbr. : ASST

108. Shoulder troublemaker? : CHIP. Oh, a chip on one's shoulder.

109. Prepare to fire : COCK. Are you there, Dennis?

111. Bygone cutter : SNEE

113. Tent part : FLAP

114. Red Muppet : ELMO

115. Times when Cognac heats up? : ETES. Cognac the town in France.

116. Venom : BILE

117. Part of USA: Abbr. : AMER

118. The lady's : HERS

120. Some tech sch. grads : EEs

121. __-80: old computer : TRS

Answer grid.

Today we remember 9/11 and those who lost their lives on that tragic day and thousands of American soldiers who died since that day. We also celebrate the birthday of our witty Husker Gary. May you lose less balls, drive straighter and score more birdies!

Additionally, JD, eddy & Chickie went to Warren and his wife Ruth's pottery sale yesterday. Here is a their picture. Everyone looks happy & cool!

C.C.

32 comments:

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

Mr. Birtwell et al,
Re: USA clue yesterday. Rich must have changed the clue after he sent out his monthly puzzles to various newspapers. I'm certain he subsequently sent out a clue change email also. Some papers just did not make the correction. All the on-line clue is "Divided country". This has happened before.

Jayce,
Are you using Internet Explorer? The picture embeds in Splynter's writeup show up fine in Firefox.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

A very enjoyable Sunday experience. As always, I love a good pun, and this one was chock full. I did think that COFFEE BAH was a bit weak, simply because it was the only one that changed pronunciation a bit. Of course, being from the Boston area I probably shouldn't have noticed...

"On the Beach" is a novel (later a movie) about a group of people in Australia who may be the last survivors of a global thermonuclear war. They receive a garbled radio transmission from America and decide to go investigate.

Argyle said...

OK

So Fine(2:21) by The Fiestas.

Abejo said...

Good Morning, folks. Thank you, Robert Wolfe, for a tough, but doable, Sunday puzzle. Got through it and enjoyed it. Thank you, C.C., for the swell write-up.

Well, I see he got ICED tea correct. I am glad the "D" is included.

I was just on the Pennsylvania TPKE on Monday. First turnpike in the country.

Enjoyed David as a PSALMIST. Good clue/answer.

Liked White Water/SNOW.

Nice to see STP again. That used to be a well-used answer years ago. I think Andy G. is probably gone by now.

The theme was so so.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, C.C. and friends. Today wasn't my day as a really struggled with today's puzzle. I did, however, find many amusing clues.

So, is tea that is ICED considered ICE TEA?

A misread Sea Brass as Sea Bass, so was looking for some type of fish, not an ADMIRAL.

I also thought a Twisted Look was a Braid instead of a SNEER.

My favorite clues were Pants You Can't Wear = GASPS.

I also liked One Following Dogs = SLED

QOD: A kitten is in the animal world what a rosebud is in the garden. ~ Robert Southey

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning! Thanks for the fine blooging, C.C.

Well, if TO ERr IS HUMAN, I guess I'm human. With the G and the S, that range just had to be gas. SNEa didn't ring any bells but I figured it must be right. Oh, well... Otherwise, a very enjoyable puzzle.

Happy Birthday, HG. Great pic, JD, Eddy, Chickie and Warren.

I knew right away that Auric just had to be Auric Goldfinger and we were looking for IAN Fleming. Goldfinger is one of the few James Bond novels that I read.

Red ADAIR gained fame as 'The' expert in fighting oil well fires and I knew the name long before I started doing crosswords.

Esa-Pekka Salonen guest conducted the Cleveland Orchestra and was talked about extensively on the Cleveland fine arts radio station at the time. I always liked the way the name rolled off the tongue of the announcer.

And always remember, TO ERr IS HUMAN, but to forgive is against company policy.

Husker Gary said...

Thanks for the lovely write-up and gracious birthday wishes C.C.! On this celebration of my 65th orbit of the Sun I will be meeting my family in Nebraska City to pick apples at the Kimmel Orchard, watch the 10 year old play soccer and eat a nice meal at my favorite eating spot in Lincoln. It don't get no better than that!

The puzzle had some ups and downs but I have to get in the shower right now and will blog later!

Lemonade714 said...

A punday sunday- great. Mr. Wolfe is another of the old masters who never disappoint. The puns were fun and lots of new stuff. It was odd to see both BAH and BAA used in the same puzzle.

If you wanted some even finer than SO FINE the work of SALONEN is classic in every sense.

Well, I will stick an oar in the water to answer your query C.C., we have JAMES ORR a theologian and JAMES ORR a writer director and a few others, but I agree, using a plural when there is really only one famous person with the name is lame, but hey Sundays are soooooo big.

Well another potential word for discussion Prepare to fire, speaking of which I loved your STUD Muffin pic, and the D making a come back in ICE.

I got SEINER from perps and thought it had to do with fishing the river; ah well, all's well than ends well

Grumpy 1 said...

Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts The Rite of Spring

Hahtoolah said...

Husker Gary. I was remiss in not wishing you a Happy 65th. I sounds like you will have a pleasant day with your family.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.

Loved your write-up on this one, C.C. My fav link was of the STUD muffin – he was just AW INSPIRING, LOL!!

Favorite theme entries were IN THE WHEE HOURS, intersecting FIE BETA KAPPA. Great fill and funny puns – what more could I ask for on a Sunday?

Happy, happy birthday Husker Gary!! Have a great time with your family today. And what a lovely picture of the happy foursome – I could only glimpse some of the pottery, but it looks beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

Have a relaxing day, everyone.

eddyB said...

Hello.

The Flag is flying. I wondered if
it should be flown at half staff.

On the Beach also has a sports car
race. It was fun to see all of those old cars.

My .45 is a single action handgun.
With a round in the chamber, the
hammer has to be thumbed back (cocked) before it can be fired.
After the first round, the action is automatic.

Again with the STP.

eddy

Anonymous said...

Yes, half-staff.

Lemonade714 said...

hbdty HG; you like the big ten? ohio state looks ripe for picking.

enjoy the return of sunday nfl all

grumpy, glad we picked different compositions

Grumpy 1 said...

Lemonade, your choice was a good one to showcase his talent as a composer. Mine highlighted his talent as a conductor and his showmanship. Quite a talented person.

Bill G. said...

Hi everybody on a sad day of remembrance.

Happy birthday Gary!

I haven't read the other comments yet but this is my impression. Dunno why but I didn't care for this puzzle much. I did like ICED for some teas of course. The puns in the theme entries seemed kind of weak and not much fun. The cluing and the fill didn't match my wavelength. In particular, EXTERNS, VAMPISH, SESTINAS, and others left me luke warm. There was nothing wrong with the puzzle; it just didn't appeal to me very much.

Now to the other comments.

Xavier Ortiz said...

Is anybody else not able to access the puzzle online today? Dang, the eggs and coffee are getting cold.

Xavier said...

Ok, found it here.

http://webcrosswords.com/la-times-crossword/

Strange that it would not show up on the LA Times site.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~

I found this puzzle to be challenging yet doable and enjoyable. I caught the theme with AW INSPIRING and that helped with some of the other theme answers. Thanks for a great write-up C.C. I thought of you with 5D ... I think you blogged another recent puzzle with a reference to "A League of Their Own." I remembered you didn't like it much.

~~ Was glad too see the D on ICED TEA.

~~ Favorite was 'Shoulder Troublemaker'--CHIP ... so clever!

~~ Hahtool ~ I liked your QOD ... so true about kittens. >^:^<

~~ J.D. Chickie and EddyB ~~ what a nice picture! Thanks for sharing.

~~ Husker Gary ~~ Hope you're having a wonderful birthday!

Jayce said...

Hello everybody, and congratulations to you, Husker Gary, for reaching the big Six Five!

I liked the puzzle today, a lot. Some terrific clues and fill, and it was challenging but solvable. I'm no constructor but I couldn't help but feel this was masterfully constructed.

Sure enough, C.C., the pictures in Splynter's writeup yesterday do show up in Firefox. I'm becoming less and less happy with Internet Explorer and may switch over to Firefox permanently.

Very cool pic of JD, eddy, Chickie, et al. By the way, Chickie, it is a place called Barbara's Fish Trap, out on Pillar Point, at Princeton-by-the-Sea, that has the great clam chowder. It's a teeny little joint overlooking the marina, and has been a favorite of LW and me for many years. Check it out the next time you're on Highway 1 a few miles north of Half Moon Bay.

Hahtool, as Ogden Nash wrote,
"The trouble with a kitten is that
eventually it becomes a cat."

And now, in the persona of the great PoohBah, I shall unleash my RoomBah upon the CasBah to vacuum up the Rumbaba.

Yellowrocks said...

I enormously enjoyed Mr. Wolfe's puzzle and his puns, especially GASPS and AW INSPIRING. HeartRX, CC's cute STUD MUFFIN was truly AW INSPIRING.

I enjoyed both Salonen links. Thank you. His full name does trip off the tongue, doesn't it?

I watched "On the Beach" at least 3
different times. Great movie!

When students of mine received poor test grades because they didn't study, their yuppie parents successfully petiioned the principal to treat that test as a PRETEST, with a "do-over" offered in its place. I had to knuckle under.

The clue should have been 49 Across' Bobby AND FAMILY = ORRS.

ICE TEA and ICED TEA are equally common. What I want to be sure to get straight on my order is sweet tea or plain ice(d) tea. I can't stand sugary tea. I'm no Southerner. LOL

Happy B'Day Gary Husker. I greatly enjoy your daily comments.

Yellowrocks said...

VAMP is quite common in movie lingo referring to a woman who is manipulatively seductive. Theda Bara, that long ago, was a VAMP. Besides, there are many examples of the use of VAMPISH on the Internet. It seems to be popular in writing about movie stars. VAMP came readily to my mind and the ISH ending quickly followed.

EXTERN also seemed quite logical. Because an INTERN is a type of resident doctor, although not officially titled "resident," the opposite: non resident doctor must be EXTERN.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I'm not usually a Sunday puzzler, but I wanted to wish Husker G. a Very Happy Birthday, and many, many more.

Also, thanks, Jayce for the tip on the restaurant at Princeton-By-The-Sea. We'll have to check it out next time we're over that way.

We usually go to Duartes in Pescadero, which is in the opposite direction of your favorite place.

Have a nice rest of the day, everyone.

dodo said...

Good afternoon, friends,

Great blogging, C.C. Just about what Bill G. said will take care of my comments. I never have heard the word 'extern' but if there are interns, that must follow, I suppose. However, I really like 'sestina'. What a pretty word, would make a nice name for a girl, like 'Octavia'!

Is Salonen still conducting the LA Philharmonic? I haven't read anything about him for a long time. He still looks like a young boy, doesn't he?

Fave clue/answer: White water/snow.
I think I'd welcome a bit of it; I'm getting tired of 90 degrees!

Thanks for the great picture. JD and Chickie, you both photograph well. Nice to see Warren and Eddie B. I see some nice jars of what looks like jelly or jam.Are they from Ruth? Fun market, I'll bet!

Jayce said...

Husker Gary is my muse;
My admiration please excuse.
A plethora of great clues
Along with several pairs of shoes
Makes one happier than two screws
A'churning in the thickened ooze.

May you ne'er suffer from hepatitis,
Measles, mumps, or meningitis.
May you be free from want and hunger
As we all know we get no younger.

We will still need you,
We will still feed you,
When you're sixty five.

eddyB said...

Hello.

Jayce. Maybe next time you will come down. Would love to have you.

I remember a place up near Montara
where the boats would tie up next to the restaurant and the daily catch hauled up. Can't get more fresh than that. Used to camp at Montara Beach.

Wasn't thinking. Should have had JD
copy my photo of The Indian Chief.
Too worried about backing down the
hill. Good thing Warren helped. Thanks.

Listened to Alan Jackson's Where
Were You. (You Tube) Had tears in my eyes again.

eddy

Lucina said...

Hello, puzzle people. C.C., great blog, thank you.

Happy birthday, Husker Gary!

Late to the party again; the baby seems to be staying over more and more Saturdays. hmm

Lovely puzzle but it took all day because of above overnight guest.

I enjoyed the puns and cute theme answers but by the end of the day was really tired so DNF a few cells, SHOOMERCHANT and SNEE. GAS seemed right for ranges and TPKE was way off my radar.

Thank you, Robert, for the nice challenge.

Today is my older granddaughter's birthday but she is attending her other grandmother's funeral so we'll celebrate next wee.

I hope your Sunday has been memorable, everyone!

Bill G. said...

Grandson Jordan had his first soccer game today. Afterward, we went to The Olive Garden for lunch. I had Tilapia. Very nicely done. But the soup was great; something with potatoes and Italian sausage. Really yummy!

Now I'm digesting while watching the Dodgers. Next, a macchiato.

Spitzboov said...

Good evening C.C. and everyone.

Happy 65th to Husker G. Nice picture of the group at the Pottery.

Did the puzzle late today because of earlier commitments, so I won't comment specifically except to say that I think Robert Wolfe is a real pro and provides a fun challenge. I did it on line at the Chicago Tribune site; there seem to be fewer pop-up interruptions compared to the LA Times site. Jayce, I have had no problems with picture rendition using Safari. (so far). Glad to see that at least some tea is ICED :-)

Have a great evening.

Lucina said...

Chickie, JD, Warren, eddy, your picture is great! What a nice gathering.

Anonymous said...

marine24@aol.com

linearthinker said...

I get my cross-words by lifting them from abandoned papers in cafes. This one is a keeper. The far right column of cells and the bottom two or three rows of cells were not printed. Fresno Bee, 9-11-11. Unfortunately, the provenance is lost as I ripped the puzzle from the page without the paper's name or date, thus diminishing the value of my collector's item.