google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, October 3, 2011 Janie Smulyan

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Oct 3, 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011 Janie Smulyan

Theme: Talking Cereal - I'll let them tell you themselves. Clip.(0:60)

17A. "Get a grip!" : "SNAP OUT OF IT!"

37A. Crafts technique for an old-fashioned look : CRACKLE FINISH

60A. Connector that completes a phrase made from the starts of the three longest across answers : AND

61A. Get the front of one's bike off the ground : POP A WHEELIE


Argyle here. This certainly passes the breakfast test. This is Janie's second LAT puzzle. Still too many esses for my taste but I like the long theme entries.

Across:

1. What ice cream does in the sun : MELTs

6. Mythical weeper : NIOBE. One of the more tragic figures in Greek myth.

11. With it : HEP

14. "Terrific!" : GREAT

15. Play-of-color gems : OPALs

16. Bambi's aunt : ENA

19. Albums kept in jewel boxes, briefly : CDs

20. Dogpatch dad : PAPPY. The Dogpatch crew.

21. Eat like a bird : PECK AT

23. Anti-alcohol types : DRYs

25. Greenish-blue hue : TEAL

28. Room for Renée : SALLE. French.

29. Stubbed extremity : TOE

30. Internet company : DOTCOM

32. Bear's advice : SELL. The bull says, Buy.

33. Screen partner : STAGE. The entertainment industry.

35. Folded Mexican snacks : TACOs

42. More than fumed : RAGED

43. Trifled (with) : TOYED

45. Green eggs and ham lover __-am : SAM-I

48. Scrape, to a tot : BOO-BOO. So good not to see 'owie'.

51. __ culpa : MEA

52. Pizza's outer edge : CRUST

54. Scissors sound : SNIP

55. With competence : ABLY

56. Cardinal's headgear : RED HAT. Image. It is called a biretta. I think it has appeared in later in the week puzzles

58. Film idol Greta : GARBO. Image.

66. Bro : PAL

67. Muse for Browning : ERATO. Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

68. Super Bowl hoverer : BLIMP

69. Opposite of NNW : SSE

70. Spread widely : STREW

71. Big name in foil : ALCOA

Down:

1. Brit. sports cars : MGs. Shout out to Garlic Gal and Bill G.

2. West ender? : ERN. Western.

3. When presidential elections occur : LEAP YEAR

4. Noshes in Nuevo Laredo : TAPAs. Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from Laredo, Texas.

5. Passenger pickup point : STOP

6. Reply to "Is it soup?" : "NOT YET"

7. Wall St. headline : IPO. Initial public offering.

8. Clumsy sort : OAF

9. Radar screen spot : BLIP

10. Colorado's __ Park : ESTES. View.

11. Badger at the comedy club : HECKLE. They aren't badgers; Heckle and Jeckle are magpies.

12. Ultimate goal : END-ALL

13. Muted, as colors : PASTEL

18. With 62-Down, at a satisfactory level : UP TO 62-Down. See 18-Down : PAR

22. Othello's lieutenant : CASSIO.

Othello. The servants of the duke, and my lieutenant.
The goodness of the night upon you, friends!
What is the news?
Cassio. The duke does greet you, general,
And he requires your haste-post-haste appearance,
Even on the instant.

23. Sot's woe, briefly : DTS. Delirium tremens.

24. Military prep org. : ROTC

26. Did something about, as an informant's tip : ACTED ON

27. Bread unit : LOAF

30. Ten: Pref. : DECA

31. Former telecom firm : MCI. Now acquired by Verizon Communications.

34. Overly ornate : GARISH

36. Aware of : ONTO

38. CIA Cold War counterpart : KGB

39. Some summer births, astrologically : LEOs

40. Like some gestures or logic : SYMBOLIC

41. Cad : HEEL

44. Week segment : DAY

45. Collage materials : SCRAPs

46. Convention sites : ARENAs

47. Work clumsily (through) : MUDDLE

49. "I'm so not impressed" event : "BIG WOW". Sarcasm.

50. Exotic sushi fish : OPAH

53. Carton sealers : TAPEs

55. "Does this ring __?" : A BELL

57. Legal wrong : TORT

59. McEntire of country : REBA

63. Put away at dinnertime : ATE

64. Texter's "Here's what I think" : IMO. In my opinion.

65. Clean air org. : EPA


Argyle

64 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Mostly innocuous Monday outing, wih only a few minor bumps. CASSIO was a complete unknown (I really need to brush up on my Shakespeare). I tried CASSIA at first, but the perps finally caused me to change my mind.

I had a sinking feeling that 12D was going to be END AIM after getting the first 4 letters. So I was relieved when it turned out to be END ALL instead. Then I realized I didn't much like END ALL either...

Oh, and just to be pedantic, I'll point out that TAPAS are a feature of Spanish (as in, from Spain) cuisine and not at all related to Mexican cooking.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - I too wondered if we'd get END AIM, but END ALL suits me fine. Today's effort felt like a Tuesday to me, not a bad thing.

Had WRINKLE in there first, cleared that up when I caught on to the Rice Krispies theme. Couldn't recall NIOBE, of course.

TAPAS mmmm...

Anonymous said...

NIOBE is not a Monday word.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up & links.

Liked the SNAP, CRACKLE AND POP theme.
Though I thought it was pretty thin (even for a Monday).

Hahtool, As if the "election-period" isn't long enough, they add an extra DAY by having it every LEAP-YEAR.

DT'S crossing DRYS was the highlight.

Always like seeing Yogi's buddy BOO-BOO.

Hmmm, "Be-all, END-ALL". Never heard "end-aim" as a common expression.

Cheers to all at Sunset.

Mainiac said...

Morning All,

Kind of a "Meh" experience this morning. My big Boo Boo was spelling misspelling Wheelie with a Y which allowed me to fit in Pull A. Snap and Crackle got me Out of It though along with a Pop.

Niobe??

I like hard Taco shells so there isn't any folding required. I do fold burritos which I had one for breakfast which was wonderful. Cheese and fresh tomatoes. Wicked Good!

Have a good Monday.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

I thought I would finish today's puzzle filling in the across clues only until I reached the SW corner. Sami (who??) an unknown, red hat too easy (wanted mitre, or something else more formal) and sib for Bro. Pal never crossed my mind.

Otherwise a pleasant experience with no other hold ups. Snap, crackle & pop a clever theme. For a Monday, I thought the cluing was pretty clever.

I did not remember Cassio, but the across fills made it a non-event. A lot of Shakespeare has faded away from my eroding memory bank.

Hahtoolah said...

Tinbini: That's very funny!

Yellowrocks said...

Smooth sailing today. I seem to meet Niobe often in Xwords. When my grandson was little, I read Green Eggs and Ham over and over until we both had it memorized. I can still quote it. "Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, SAM I AM."

Yesterday I was curious because we all seem to have expereinced BRASSERIE as less than upscale. I looked it up. It is much tonier in France. I am happy to sip my CAB (but not the too sweet for my taste ZINS)in a prosaic American brasserie.
Link Brasserie

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks, from Johnsonburg, PA. Thank you Janie, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for your review. Still looking for another one with your socks in it.

Enjoyed this puzzle. I think it was closer to a Tuesday puzzle than a Monday. A few puzzlers, such as: NIOBE, SALLE, TAPAS, and OPAH.

Great theme. Came easily.

Thought GARISH was a good word. LEAPYEAR, too.

Lots of old standby words. I won't list them.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Hahtoolah said...

Argyle: never mind. I stand corrected. I saw the clue for Spread Widely and, having just seen the movie Contagion, immediately thought of Strep instead of Strew.

kazie said...

Nice Monday for me--relief after the last few days. Only pauses, no stumps. Didn't know either CASSIO or NIOBE but perps got them.

Barry G,
In Italian, Spanish and Latin, and thus many Shakespearean names, the "o" ending would always be a male and an "a" always a female.

I agree with all of you on TAPAS being Spanish and not Mexican.

BRASSERIE brings back memories of my then DH to be, who has never learned much French, saying he wondered why there were so many brassiere shops in France when he was there for the first time.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning Argyle and all.

A nice fresh puzzle, today. A few pauses here and there, but other than CASSIO and NIOBE, easily gotten from the perps, no out-of-the-ordinary words. At 4d, I had tacos at first but when that became the fill at 35a, I rethought it, and the SNAP part of the theme helped me change it to TAPAS. No searches were needed.

Have a great day.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning, Argyle and the gang.

Easy going Monday. As others have mentioned, a few non-monday fill thrown in, but all were easy enough to suss with a few perps.

Just as pizza isn't limited to Italy, Tapas are starting to show up on menus everywhere and there are chains of Tapas bars now. I'm sure I could find Tapas somewhere in Nuevo Laredo, but Tacos would be much easier to find.

I spent about a month there 20 years ago. Very interesting town. Not sure I'd want to go back now, though.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Janie Smulyan for a very nice puzzle and Argyle for a very nice and stimulating commentary.

I knew Niobe from Niobium, a favorite (?) element of mine. Anodized Niobium ( see Google images - ) is a favorite of some jewelry manufacturers.

No hangups today, tho' I first thought Cassio was Cassius. The first is a convenient calculator (manufacturer- ) , the second is guy 'with a mean and hungry look' from 'Julius Caesar'.



Alt QOD: - Sunday School: A prison where children make penance for the guilt of their parents. ~ H. L. Mencken.

Have a good week, you all.

Anonymous said...

Leap years don't happen on years that are divisible by 100, unless they are also divisible by 400. So in 2100 we won't have a presidential election?

Yellowrocks said...

ANON @8:59 Good point. "When most Presidential elections occur" might have been a better clue.

Grumpy, I agree on where to find tapas, but couldn't put it into words. Well said.

fermatprime said...

Hi all,

Not a Monday puzzle for me. It went more slowly.

Thanks Janie, Argyle. Favorite answer, NIOBE. Was once a mythology buff.

Ate some Greek yogurt yesterday that must have gone bad. I took my anti-lactose pills as usual, so that wasn't it. Boy was I sick!

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

With it is "Hip", not "Hep".

fermatprime said...

Lucina: I like A Gifted Man also. (He is much too handsome, though.) Also got around to Terra Nova finally. CG --great, plot--not so great!

janie said...

dear posters -- just want to say thx for the positive and constructive feedback. and as i said on "the other" lat blog, i send wishes for "the best to you *each* morning"!

;-)

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

I like the crossing of DTS with DRYS.

A SNIP: Are you ready to SNAP OUT OF IT? NOT YET.

The big BEAR market in tech stocks a decade past was a DOT COM BOOBOO.

I never PECK AT TAPAS or TACOS.

Ever see PAPPY POP A WHEELIE?

I believe ERATO visited Robert Browning as well.

My Tigers and Tinbeni's Yanks are all knotted up. Justin vs. C.C (not ours) again tonight - and I'll be at rehearsal BOO HOO!

Yesterday was the most amazing Detroit sports day ever. I have no fingernails left to SNIP.

Cheers!
JzB

Anonymous said...

Good morning all,

This felt like a Monday, but took me longer than usual. Ouchie had to be replaced by boo boo. Salon was really salle.Stage fit but seemed wrong so took awhile.Had to change hip to hep.But, I was so glad red hat fit, as I wouldn't have known biretta.

So, this was not a big wow for me, but enjoyed it.

Kazie @8:178,...funny!

JD

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

It's all been said. This was a typical speed run for a Monday puzzle, but I guess I thought that NIOBE was more common than some of you did.

The theme entries SNAP OUT OF IT and POP A WHEELIE were particularly sparkly, IMO (Texter's "Here's what I think"). And I especially liked "Badger at the comedy club" for HECKLE. Fun puzzle, Janie!

eddyB said...

Hello.

LOL. Non Sequitur has joined the band
wagon. IMO next?

I'll drink to that too.

eddy

Anonymous said...

From The Free Online Dictionary
hep [hɛp]
adj hepper, heppest
Slang an earlier word for hip

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Nice way to start this Monday. Had same experiences as you all did. Did exactly the same thing with changing TACOS to TAPAS that you did, Spitzboov.

Can never remember Bambi's aunt's name. Nor his mother's. Or father's.

Can never remember NIOBE and ERATO, either.

Damn near spit coffee when I came across "Spread widely." (Calm down, Jayce.)

I thought SYMBOLIC was an excellent fill. DRYS not so much.

Best wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

Yeah, I put in HIP, too. As in, "I'm hip, dude." Having to change it to HEP was okay with me, though. As in "hep cat."

Argyle said...

Thanks for stopping by, Janie, even if you did leave a KELLOGG tag in your POST.

Bill G. said...

As with others, I originally had TACOS instead of TAPAS and HIP instead of HEP. Messed me up for a bit.

Janie, thanks for stopping by and thanks for a fun puzzle. Re. TAPAS, do you think that was a small error by you and Rich or is there some other reason that the clue wasn't changed to something like Noshes in Madrid or something similar?

Beautiful day here with temperatures in the low 70s. Rain is due Wednesday but I'm skeptical.

I enjoy 60 Minutes last night. There was a nice story about Fort Bragg, CA; a sister city of a Japanese town at the same latitude that was wiped out in the Tsunami. Then there was Andy Rooney's sad farewell. I'll miss him.

Lucina said...

Good day, puzzlers. Thank you, Argyle, for your great blogging. It's funny seeing the Dogpatch crew again.

All of you have listed my experience today though it seemed more like Wednesday.

My own misdirection sent me to SALON then SALLE, ROCOCO followed by GARISH and CROCHET before CRACKLE.

My mind seems to recall ancient history better than recent as ENA, NIOBE and CASSIO emerged quickly.

I agree that TAPAS as more Spanish than Mexican, but it's true, now they are found everywhere.

Jayce:
LOL. My thought, too.

fermat:
IMO there's no such thing as "too handsome;" he is eye candy.

Kazie:
Funny!

Have a lovely Monday, everyone!

Argyle said...

Yiddish, Spanish, Mexican: no problem.

Maynard G Krebs said...

Like, if you say hip, you're not, y'know?

dodo1925 said...

Good Morning group,

Nice Monday offeriing and I'll get back to you in a while.

IMBO
dodo

Anonymous said...

Last week had tex mex snack as taco. I said it imex not tex mex.some one remarked "tis so. Look it up" i did and i guess todays author did. So to u who "Heckled the Boo Boo" swallow an "Opah Cad!"

Unknown said...

Everything has been said. Thanks, for the blogging and for a great puzzle.
I agree on the Tapas debate, but then again I saw salmon on a Mexican menu! So, what do I know? Foods are getting all mixed up anyway.
I am a foodie and watch food trends all the time! Tapas is hot right now as is street food. Go figure.
While in NYC we didn't eat the street food although it all smelled yummy!
Tata!

Anonymous said...

Sorry. Is Mex not Tex Mex (Mexican snack). And Swallow an Opah, Cad. Thats better huh.

Lucina said...

Anon@2:48
Not really. That's better.

Husker Gary said...

I was UPTOPAR this morning and just now got home, ATE and did the puzzle. What a nice Monday offering Janie! After getting about 1/3 done, I simply finished with the Across clues.

Musings
-I think more of being HIP than HEP
-Didn’t know I knew NIOBE but got it after NI_ _ _. Yay me!
-I saw my dad go through the DT’s and he was “seeing” fellow soldiers in the room from 40 years ago.
-TAPAS not TACOS. Wait, there’s TACOS.
-Don’t say BADGER to a HUSKER this week!
-The EPA can be very helpful and very overreaching as well.
-I thought cardinal hat would be more esoteric
-Jazz, those Lions have some former Huskers really contributing (Raiola, Suh, and Vanden Bosch)! Everybody likes a comeback both in yesterday’s game and from the 0 – 16 of a few years ago! Go blue and silver!

Anonymous said...

HEP is better than HIP. Ever heard of "Hep-Cat"? The Jazz people used it in the 1930's and 1940's.
Check out the song "Give me some skin" by The Delta Rythm boys.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

A fun and easy Monday puzzle. I remembered NIOBE, ENA and OPAH from other puzzles and perps helped in a few spots where I wasn't sure, i.e. BIGWOW. Stumbled a bit on 45D since I read it as 'College' materials instead of COLLAGE ~~ Duh. Thanks for the informative write-up, Argyle ~~ enjoyed the links!

Now that the "monumental collapse" of the Red Sox is complete, I'm following the Tigers, my husband's team. It's a lot less stressful than the past month has been!

Enjoy the day!

Jayce said...

Um, I thought I already said hep cat.

Marge said...

Hi all,
This really was a Tues. or Wed. puzzle to me. My mind keeps betraying me.

29A-Toe. I stub mine often and usually have at least one that's purple.

Thought End all was cute-also never heard End aim.

Husker, I won't say Badger but will say Wisc. All our teams won this weekend, including Packers and Brewers! Actually we really liked the Huskers and hope those who came to Wisc. enjoyed themselves even though they lost.

Have a good eveniing all.
Marge

Husker Gary said...

Marge, Hooray for the Badgers and Brewers! Over 30,000 Husker faithful made the trip and spoke glowingly of the experience, especially the Jump Around tradition that really shakes the nearly 100 year old stadium!

Avg Joe said...

Marge, We did have a good time and it was fun being part of a new chapter in history. Madison is beautiful (though very tough to get around in), the people were largely friendly and the weather was fine. Most folks we encountered were very civil, even though some of those were belligerent by mid way through the game. There was only one person that I thought was a complete ass. That's not a bad ratio. The only thing really bad about the weekend was that 40,000 Nebraska fans showed up and the football team forgot to.

Badgers?! Badgers?! We don't got no Badgers! We don't need no stinking Badgers!!! :-)

crazyhorse said...

Hi everyone,
Just thought I'd let you know that one of our young constructors just won on Jeapordy. His first name is Joon

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, With Muddle, symbolic, garrish and strew, this didn't seem like our usual Monday fare. I didn't need to go to Mr. G., but I did use my CW dictionary to sus a few of the answers.

A fun puzzle with a satisfying theme. Thanks Argyle for your writeup which is always fun as well.

To me Tacos are not just a snack, but can be a main dish. I put in Tacos, then erased it and had to put it in again. Oh well, that is what the other end of my pencil is for.

My learning moment for today: I didn't realize that Presidential elections are held on Leap Years. I never really thought about this before.

Anonymous said...

Tapas are also well-known in Costa Rica as appetizers.

Chickie said...

Bill G. We also enjoyed 60 Minutes last night. We thought the Andy Rooney segment was especially poignant. He will be missed. I'm hoping he'll appear from time to time as promised.

Our rain is here already. I've covered all the patio umbrellas and cushions. Our sunny season was way too short for my liking.

Lucina, LOL!!

Avg Joe said...

For those of you in markets where Jeopardy hasn't aired yet, I'd highly recommend it. Joon is very impressive (no spoilers from me on the outcome). But I do have to wonder about the headgear of his male opponent. What was that? A bale of hay?! :-)

Lucina said...

AvgJoe:

Thanks for the tip. Jeopardy! is coming up in 40 mins.

TB Chihuahua said...

Speaking of folded Mexican snacks, tomorrow is National TACO Day! Check your local listings; I'm sure you'll find some restaurant or another giving away TACOS!

Make it a pink one for me!

Clear Ayes said...

Good Evening All, I just stopped by to let you know that "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt is a very good movie. I like Brad Pitt because he takes rolls where he isn't necessarily a romantic hero and he doesn't mind portraying somebody his own age. Anyway, the movie would be a hit with baseball fans, statistics fans, "doing the right thing" fans and even Brad Pitt fans.

I may be rather sporadic with crossword puzzling for the next couple of months. We may have a buyer for our house (we'll find out tomorrow if they qualify for the loan they want). Then we have to get busy finding a new house, getting packed, moving, etc. Phew, I'm tired out already.

Anyway, I'll stop by when I can and will be back when we are permanently settled.

kazie said...

Dare I add another sports story? Some of you will remember that during August, my son talked DH and me into going to a Brewers game to celebrate his birthday with some Milwaukee friends. Well, on our way back the next day, he decided that our older son and his wife might like to go during their September visit, since she had never been to a Brewers game during the 2 years they'd lived here. This they did, not this weekend, but the previous one when the Brewers lost. The punchline is that she ended up getting two--(yes, 2) balls! So only once to a game, she gets two balls, something most people only dream of doing once in a lifetime.

Hahtoolah said...

Clear Ayes: I second your recommendation of Moneyball. It was fabulous! (I thought Brad Pitt looked like a young Robert Redford.)

Lucina said...

Wow! That was a great Jeopardy! game. I love it when the contestants are so good.

dodo1925 said...

Well, now that I've read you all, I don't need to say anything. It's all there!

Handup, though, for the tapas/tacos and the hep/hip goofs. Niobe was a gimme, even though I have never read about her, just references in other books. I don't even know what the ---- all the tears were for! Cassio was an unknown since I've never read Othello and probably never will. Howeever, the one that makes calculators, etc., is spelled Casio.

I do love the sound of 'Niobe,' not the sobbing, just the name.

Anonymous said...

From yesterday`s wine-name puzzle


Pebble in a pond: Ripple effect.

Why is Ali grimacing? champaign

A mother putting her child to be: I`m tired! Anjou?

A neutral shoe color: Beaune

Result of drawing too fast: Chateau

Aircraft carrier`s command; Clos de Beze

Anonymous said...

Yellowrocks @9:24AM, your revised clue for LEAP YEAR is an improvement, but it's still a plural clue for a singular answer. How about, [When a US presidential election may occur]?

Avg Joe, I apologize on behalf of my home city for that one boorish Madisonian you encountered. Glad you had a good time otherwise, the final score notwithstanding.

Anonymous said...

Good night all.

I ditto all the comments about today's puzzle. I DNF. So it didn't feel like a Monday.

I appreciated two call outs last week for Sal: one was a mule and the other, I think, was a baseball player.

Will be gone for the rest of October, or at least until the 26th. Visiting my son in Manhattan and in Margaretville, NY. Then an Elderhostel on the Hudson, then a friend in D.C. Whew.

Cheers

Anonymous said...

I've always dreamed of having two balls.

Seldom Seen said...

I'm watching "Prohibition" so DRYS and DTS were SYMBOLIC.

Very timely.

Great sports weekend!

And more to come...

Bill G. said...

It was fun to see Joon do well on Jeopardy tonight. Thanks for the heads up.

Clear Ayes said...

Congratulations to Joon Pahk for his win on Jeopardy this evening. When I heard his name and listened to Alex Trebek's mini-interview with him, I told GAH, "Hey, I know who he is!" and went on to explain his status as a constructor. It was lots of fun to see him demonstrate his trivia knowledge. Good luck tomorrow and successive nights.

Jazzbumpa said...

Why does Valverde always have to make it so INTERESTING?!?

Gasp . . .
JzB