google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Jeffrey Wechsler

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Apr 2, 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Rhyme Time - Rhymed word pairs in the pattern of ?O?O's *O?O.

18A. Crooner Perry's ad? : COMO'S PROMO

23A. Space pilot Han's shirt? : SOLO'S POLO

33A. U2 frontman's bit of naughtiness? : BONO'S NO NO

40A. Cartoon possum's corporate symbol? : POGO'S LOGO

47A. Japanese general Hideki's talisman? : TOJO'S MOJO

57A. Movie pooch's picture? : TOTO'S PHOTO

Argyle here. Not much to say. Two fun puzzles in a row.

Across:

1. "SNL"-like show filmed in Canada : SCTV. (Second City Television)

5. "Doctor Who" network : BBC. The Beeb.

8. Rafters shoot them : RAPIDS

14. Pre-Euro Italian coin : LIRA

15. Nest egg letters : IRA

16. With 3-Down, way west for many American pioneers : OREGON. 3D. See 16-Across : TRAIL

17. __-Iraq War: '80s conflict : IRAN

20. Self-righteous sort : PRIG

21. Manicurist's aid : EMERY. Did you remember the spelling?

22. Rage inwardly : STEW

25. Through : VIA

26. Classic racecars : GT's

27. Lighthouse light : BEACON

30. Nouveau __ : RICHE

36. Back in the day : AGO

37. Bedevil : TORMENT

39. PC monitor type : LCD

42. Chilean range : ANDES

44. Camera stand : TRIPOD

45. Roman 1,051 : MLI

46. Winery container : TUN. Big container.

53. Triumphant cries : AHAs

55. Disconnect : SEVER

56. Explosion sound, in comics : [BLAM!]

59. Poetry unit : LINE

60. Church key, e.g. : OPENER. Why? (From C.C.: I googled. Wiki said Church key is a kind of bottle opener. Never heard of it before.)




61. "__ My Party": Lesley Gore hit : IT'S

62. Fairly matched : EVEN

63. Great suffering : MISERY

64. Easter egg dip : DYE

65. "That didn't go well" : "RATS!". as Charlie Brown would say.

Down:

1. Pink ones are unwelcome--except in lingerie : SLIPS


2. Prefix with cumulus : CIRRO. High-altitude cloud.


4. Self-portraitist with a bandaged ear : VAN GOGH

5. Bodybuilder's "guns" : BICEPS

6. __-Seltzer : BROMO

7. Desert safari beast : CAMEL

8. Pink-cheeked : ROSY

9. Dada pioneer Jean : ARP

10. __ Gulf: Arabian waterway : PERSIAN

11. Reason given for calling in sick : I GOT A COLD

12. Rounded roof : DOME

13. Winter whiteness : SNOW

19. Pizarro's gold : ORO

24. Broad-brimmed hat : STETSON


25. Chaste priestesses of ancient Rome : VESTALS

27. "__ appétit!" : BON

28. Fairy tale start : ONCE

29. Dozes : NODS

30. Like one who can't put a book down : RAPT

31. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR

32. Ponders : COGITATES. Today's word to work into conversations.

33. Male sib : BRO

34. "Egad!" in an IM : "OMG!"

35. Opposite of paleo- : NEO

38. Long in the tooth : OLD

41. Tommy Dorsey hit tune : "OPUS ONE". Clip(2:56)

43. Less clumsy : NIMBLER

45. Sullen : MOROSE

47. Internet slang based on a common typo : TEH. Slang for THE, go figure. The 'T' was almost a Natick until I remembered Tojo.

48. Egg-shaped : OVOID

49. Harbor wall : JETTY

50. Eight-time All-Star Tony of the '60s-'70s Minnesota Twins : OLIVA
C.C. & Oliva, 2011

51. Sister of La Toya : JANET

52. Warning signs : OMENS

53. Elemental particle : ATOM

54. Arizona native : HOPI

55. Twinkle-toed : SPRY

58. Rev.'s message : SER. (sermon)


Argyle


63 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Fun little romp today with a cute theme (sooooo much easier than yesterday's nightmare... ^_^). Got a little bogged down in the SW due to putting in CONSIDERS instead of COGITATES at 32D and being completely unfamiliar with OPUS ONE (although I have at least heard of TOMMY DORSEY). Didn't take long for the perps to set me straight, though.

[zschoug]

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

I wouldn't have known Oliva if it weren't for C.C.; when that clue popped up I had to re-check the constructor's name - it looked like a C.C. clue to me.

I didn't realize "Teh" was a big thing until reading about it in Urban Dictionary. I make that typo error a lot, but Autocorrect always fixes it.

Morning, Argyle!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Had a couple of missteps today. Dr. Who is shown on PBS around here, and my OVOID started out as OVATE.

Can't remember the last time I saw a bottle of BROMO Seltzer. I do remember their radio ads though -- a chorus whispering "Bromo-Seltzer, Bromo-Seltzer" in railroad rhythm.

Argyle, can't believe you've never heard of a CHURCH KEY. I'll bet all of the Wisconsin/Minnesota contingent got that one right away.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I caught the theme early with Como's Promo. The top portion went fast, but I slowed down a bit on the bottom portion. Like Barry, I was not familiar with OPUS ONE, even though I had heard of Tommy Dorsey.

Unfortunately, both Vincent and VAN GOGH filled the space and the V and N are placed correctly. The perps set me straight, however.

Nice photo of C.C. and Tony OLIVA. Too bad I didn't know/remember his name earlier this morning.

QOD: All good ideas arrive by chance. ~ Max Ernst (Apr. 2, 1891 ~ Apr. 1, 1976)

[tsraden]

Middletown Bomber said...

what was looking to be a speed run was intterupted so this easy puzzle slipped right by. great write by Argyle and a fun puzzle by jeff.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

We used to refer to bottle openers as "church keys" all the time. Must be a regional thing, I guess.

Like desper-otto, I wanted PBS for Dr. Who's station, but decided to wait for the perps. CAMEL for safari? Oh, they did specify "desert," so I'm good with that. The rest was pretty much a read-the-clue-fill-in-the-answer run. Cute theme, and nicely executed with different letters in each entry.

Have a nice day, everyone!

Sfingi said...

Cute puzzle.

The church key is certainly an oldie thing. That's what we called them in mid-1960's college.

The STETSON pic did not come through here.

Avg Joe said...

DNF for me with the natick at Tojo and Teh. Went with Meh, but didn't like the repetition of Mojo's mojo. Oh well.

Church key was a common phrase in my ute too.

61Rampy said...

RATS! Speed run through everything except the SE. Didnt know: TOJO and TEH, TUN, OLIVA and OPUS ONE. Also had BooM for BLAM. Got it all from perps, except for Tojo, which I had to look up. Wanted mEH, but that would have given me mOJOS MOJO, and I didnt think that was right. Seemed more like a Wed puzzle to me. Maybe I needed to COGIITATE a bit more?

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Nice pic, C.C.

Here's one: Ringleader's extinct bird:
'Frodo's Dodo'

Great little theme. Quickly got the hang of it. No problems in the solve. We always used the 'church key' term for a bottle OPENER. (I grew up near where Argyle lives but I might have gotten it from my NYC relatives/friends.)

Off to Bean Town for a day and a half. See you when I get back.

Mari said...

Good morning all, Nice puzzle. I couldn't place TOTO in the SW until I remembered the clue needed two "Os". Voila! TOTO'S PHOTO!

COGITATES is a great word. Yes Argyle, how can we use it in a sentence today?

I've never heard of Church Key. Never heard of BROMO Seltzer.

63D reminded me of the Stephen King movie MISERY. Where Kathy Bates' character TORMENTS James Caan's character. (I didn't like that movie.)

Another cold day in Chicago. I hope your's is pleasant and warmer.

Anonymous said...

It’s funny what occurs to you.

All of the theme answers rhymed except Bono’s Nono. U2’s Bono is pronounced bah-no. If Jeffrey had used Sonny Bono, he could have avoided this travesty.

Chip

desper-otto said...

Here's one of those old-timey Bromo Seltzer radio commercials.

Mari said...

HG @ yesterday morning: I loved your April Fool story!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jeffrey Weschler, for a swell Tuesday puzzle. Thank you Argyle, for the Great review.

Started this one in the SW and worked up and over. Did not want to think about 1A.

All worked out. Enjoyed the theme. TOJO was interesting. I think he was hung by the Allies after WW-II.

Church Key is a term I have known all my life. I use one when opening a bottle of beer, the non-twistoff types. I have what I believe is the traditional Church Key. If I can figure out how to do it I will try to send it to the blog, somehow, maybe later.

Today is going to be a little calmer for me. I finished dying all the bib overalls yesterday, all 15 pair.

See you tomorrow, or maybe later today.

Abejo

(longkf)
(icsdif)

Lemonade714 said...

Fun, easy romp. Thank you Argyle and JW. Meanwhile, for the many who read Pillars of Earth, it should be remembered it was the monastery where beer was made. The monks carried a key to the cellar. Many exclusive alcohols, beers, wines, brandys are still made by Friars.

kazie said...

Like others here today, I didn't really know church key, but when OPENER seemed obvious, I thought, OK what else do keys do? I also started with BOOM before BLAM, and not knowing TOJO, ended up with MEH because I haven't ever imagined that TEH would be an acceptable substitute for THE anywhere. Maybe the next time I reverse those letters I should just leave it?

I do have frequetn (see what I mean?) problems with reversed letters, and have tried to COGITATE over why it happens with increasing frequency. I don't know how many times I've had to correct studnets in my writing. Anyone else?

OW from CT said...

I doe this puzzle from the Hartford Courant (CT) but it does not print the "theme" for the day. I have also printed it off the Chicago Times website when my paper does not arrive, and there is no theme there either. It would be easier to contend with if one knew the theme. Is there any explanation for this?

Abejo said...

If I did this right, my Avatar is my Church Key.

Abejo

Dennis said...

OW from CT

Outside of Sunday, when the theme title is published along with the puzzle, the theme title is the handiwork of that day's blogger here.

I too am surprised that so few have heard of 'church keys' - I just assumed it was a common phrase everywhere.

Montana said...

Good morning, everybody.

kazie, I think I have typed studnets as often as students in my lifetime. Autocorrect started after I retired, so never got help with that typo.

I didn't know 1A or 1D so plunged onward into the puzzle. The theme and then perps really helped me as I finished the puzzle. Pogo had to come from childhood memories--not a comic strip carried in my state newspaper.

Church key was the common term for that opener in Montana when I was growing up. We used one for fruit and tomato juice cans in the kitchen, too.

I rode along with my brother-in-law last summer to retrace the Oregon Trail. If you have the time, I have the link to a blog I made about the trail and trip, listed where we have our 'blue' names. I am still at my daughter's home and on her computer, so I don't have Husker's instructions on how to make a blue link sitting next to my computer. I am leaving for home this morning.

Have a good day, all,

Montana

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

This went very quickly - no write-overs and no real slow-downs. As Anon/Chip @7:50 has already mentioned, BONOS NONO didn't rhyme and I hesitated but knew it was what was needed there.

~ Thought of Lucina with 54D - Arizona native, Carol with 16A - OREGON and of course C.C. with OLIVA - love that pic!

~ Church key is very familiar in my neck of the woods.

~ Lately I've been having a problem with letter reversals so TEH came easily! (I even typed 'si' for 'is' the other day) Didn't know about the Internet slang thing, though.

Temps are back to winter today - waiting for a warm-up. Enjoy the day ~~

CanadianEh! said...

Fun Tuesday with a few areas that slowed me down. Tried URN, VAT before getting TUN. Yes, Argyle, I spelled EMERY properly today!
I remember seeing a live Second City stage show while at University of Toronto (before the TV show). I'm dating myself!
Liked PINK SLIPS.
Didn't understand BOTTLE OPENER for church key. Not a Canadian term.
Wanted ALKA Seltzer first.
DH and I are planning a safari (but no camels!)

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Canada has exported a lot of comedians south of the border
-Many Euro countries are upset about having to help out other countries that didn’t manage their money
-Does anyone else remember the two early Apple II games Oregon Trail and Lemonade Stand?
-I am trying to STEW less. Most of that stuff never happens or it is no big deal.
-Last week some of us recounted the VIA Dolorosa story
-Other than Samuel Clemens, Hannibal, MO produced Nouveau RICHE Molly Brown who famous for…
-Joann thinks my Y buddy from the ANDES is hot
-Were any prominent Romans in the class of MLI?
-TUN not vat, RATS!
-Debra threatened to withhold sex from Ray Barone and he said, “I’m a sexual CAMEL, won’t bother me."
-Addendum to yesterday’s April Fool list. My 58 year old friend posted on his Facebook page that he and his second wife were adopting a black child from Africa. His daughter who is a singer in Nashville freaked!
-Oops, more kids, gotta run! Read y’all later!

Misty said...

Fun! Fun! Fun! I got the theme as soon as I had SOLO'S POLO and then COMO. The rest was a speed run. Only snag: like Avg Joe, I put MEH instead of TEH. I spell lots of stuff wrong, but never THE. Anyway, many thanks, Jeffrey, and you too, Argyle. I've always known what a CHURCH KEY was but never why it was called that. So thanks, Lemondade, for your Friars explanation.

Hahtoolah, I liked the rare Max Ernst quote.

About SPRY. A slightly older friend of ours was once quite insulted when a young woman saw her walking briskly, and said "My, aren't you SPRY!" She took that to mean, "aren't you surprisingly mobile for a woman your age." As a result, I've developed a sort of aversion to the word. But TWINKLE-TOED I like a lot.

Great photo, C.C.

Have a great Tuesday, everybody.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Another nice, easy-peasy Tuesday offering. Very clever theme, Jeffrey W., and neat expo, Argyle.

Winter whiteness (13D) = snow was quite apropos as my deck is covered with a thin coating of it this morning. So much for spring has sprung wishful thinking! (-: Our high today: 38 and low tonight: 20. Add in some fierce winds and the end result is a not-so-pleasant start to April.

Monday Mornings was very intense again last night. I think it's a very good show.

Have a great Tuesday. BTW, CC, great picture!

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up.
Jeff: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle.

Fell into the pbs B4 BBC and meh B4 TEH traps.
Otherwise a speed run (in my "sloth-solving" manner).

Fave today (of course) was that "Church key" OPENER.

IT'S Five O'clock Somewhere!
Cheers!!!

Dennis said...

Irish Miss, very intense indeed. I love how the simple act of pouring water has become an 'uh-oh' moment. The show's rapidly becoming one of my favorites; excellent casting.

Lucina said...

Hello, all.

Nice almost-speed run from Jeffrey Wechsler, thank you.

I can't believe many people don't know CHURCH KEY! It was a common term in high school. You surprised me, Argyle.

Once I had SOLOS POLO and COMOS PROMO I saw the theme and had fun looking for it. I sashayed all the way down but had a Natick at TEH/TOJO, finally looked up Hideki in Google. I don't text but TEH is something I do often.

EMERY was almost filled by BROMO and CAMEL so no problems there.

However, SCTV did not emerge easily so had to rely on perps all the way.

I really liked the clue, like one who can't put a book down, RAPT because that describes me often as I COGITATE over a book I'm reading.

Have a super Tuesday, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Dennis @11:43 - I agree about the excellent casting, especially, IMO, Alfred Molina. And you are spot on with that uh-oh pouring water moment: simple but ominous.

Lipton said...

We have had this church key discussion before. At least a couple of times. On March 13 last year, Argyle blogged a puzzle that contained church key and even posted a picture of one. How soon we forget.

Here is something fresh, iced tea vs. ice tea, discuss!

HeartRx said...

Abejo, yes, that is exactly the kind of "Church key" I had in mind - thanks for putting it up there!

Montana, I read your entire saga on the Oregon Trail, and could almost feel your pain from all the walking. It sounds like a great trip, and you certainly made the most of it. It's incredible to think of how many people made that trip in covered wagons.

On a related note to TEH, I just spent some time COGITATING over "Leet" speak, or 1337. TEH would be written as T3H. My name would be something like /\/\4R+1. Bill - it might even be a fun game to post leet words and have people guess what they mean. Like C@7L0vr.

Pookie said...

Didn't get much on the first across-pass.
Then the downs helped suss the theme.
Don't get TEH.

Old bottle openers
(Scroll down a little)

Ebay church keys

PK said...

Hi Y'all, Very amusing theme today, Jeffrey! Caught on with the SOLOS POLO then enjoyed the anticipation as the others emerged. A reward after not knowing the first two British entries.

Thanks, Argyle! OPUS l tune familiar, not the name.

I was amazed that our military buffs didn't know TOJO. I didn't recognize the Hideki, but as soon as I perped in a "J", TOJO flashed in my mind. When I was a toddler during WWII in Kansas City, I heard a lot of war talk. My mom said one day they were going somewhere and I was refusing to go. They asked me why and I said, "TOJO might get me there." Caused much amusement and TOJO became the word for boogeyman for years.

HG: Molly Brown was famous for being "Unsinkable" when the Titanic went down.

What do you guys think: Is 7-yrs-old big enough to go whitewater rafting in Montana? That's the summer trip my DIL is planning. Her mother and I have been trying to get them to stay in the USA, so we should have known she'd still find something scary to do. She has no sense of doom. We have too much.

2poodles said...

LOVED this puzzle! Great clues, fun theme. I motored right along till I got to TUN and TEH. Here in Madison WI we have a campus bar called the CHURCHKEY.

aka thelma said...

PK... I would strongly vote no on a 7 year old whitewater rafting anywhere! ... just my opinion...

thelma

Tinbeni said...

PK ... On the Ocoee River in Tennessee the minimum age limit is 12.

I think TEH rules vary by each State and depends on which River and Water levels.

Here in Florida, I'd say yes ...
though it would be very difficult to find any "white-water."

desper-otto said...

Irish/Dennis: Enjoy it while you can. Season Finale is next Monday.

Dennis said...

Well damn, desper-otto, that was a fast ten episodes. It'll be interesting to see if it's picked up for a second season; I've heard nothing about its ratings.

Avg Joe said...

Tin, I'm not sure there's a river in Florida that has enough fall to avoid flowing backward at high tide, is there?

CrossEyedDave said...

All I can say is RATS!

My daughter took over my favorite spot to do the crossword in ink, on paper, so I went down the basement & tried it on the computer. Figuring it was a Tuesday, I went straight to "Master Skill Level." (My only experience with PC Crosswords are red letter...)

Man did I get totally lost! Not only did I write a note to complain about American Crossword Constructors stating that Dr. Who is on PBS, I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to fit "Freznl" into "Lighthouse light."

To add insult to injury, I have noticed that the Blog now has Ads,,, & todays stated "Early Signs of Dementia???"

Really?

Ouch!

Marge said...

Hi all,
Not the easiest puzzle but since I am doing it from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and they have the answers on the day the puzzle is in the paper it's always tempting to peek.

I don't remember hearing that Church Key was the same as opener. I'll have to check that out sometime.

Tonight we are going to downtown Atlanta to see "Mary Poppins." Our son Dan, is a photographer and shoots a lot of concerts and musicals. He gets us the tickets. I'm not too happy to get home so late but that goes with it.

Hopi was good, we spent a week at the Hopi reservation in Arizona a few years ago at an Elderhostel.

Have a good evening all!
Marge

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone.When I didn't know 1A or 1D I thought I was sunk. However, I did finally start getting the answers. Couldn't believe that a Tuesday was too hard for me.

I think I've heard of a church key. Maybe it was the blog Lipton @ 12:40 referred to.

Did not realize that TEH was slang for the. Learn something every day.

this is 4D "Vincent"

Pat

Marge said...

2poodles

I just finished reading the rest of the blogs and saw yours. I live
4 miles west of Baraboo.

Marge

fermatprime said...

Hello, all!

Nice puzzle, Jeff! Got the theme right away. Swell write-up, Argyle!

I just finished watching 5 episodes of Dr. Who ON BBC! So, I won't quibble about that answer.

Church key/OPENER was a gimme. (Show's my age.)

I cannot find anything about status of Monday Mornings. This is really disheartening as I find the show to be quite wonderful! I saw Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Dr. Oz recently. Very interesting fellow. (Am slowly catching up on the shows. Dr. Oz not always consistent.)

Cheers!

Bill G. said...

Happy day after April Fools' day. (I wonder if I put the apostrophe in the right place?).

Hand up for easily remembering Church Key as slang for a beer can opener. No need for can openers or bottle openers these days what with pop tops and screw off tops.

CED, were you thinking of Fresnel lens? That's a very clever invention to cut down on the mass and weight of a big lens.

Well, the Dodgers are undefeated and the Lakers are on the cusp of not making the playoffs.

Here's a very simple little math puzzle. AB x BA = ACA where A, B and C are different digits.

Ree said...

What a fun puzzle today ! Just an enjoyable time ! My Mom has always had a hard time with April Fool's day as her mom passed away on that date & Mom worked at an Elementary school where the children enjoyed the day so much. She's glad when it's over each year !

Coleman said...

Law breaking peer group rally cry: BEACON

Robinson Cano said...

Required for entry into Jay-Z's house party: RAPIDS

Sparky said...

Pete's lesser known brother Maurice: MOROSE

Michael Crichton said...

Feature of an all-you-can-drink hospital: OPENER

Rick Steves said...

Result of seeing one too many European cathedrals: TRIPOD

Tinbeni said...

A Google search of "Monday Mornings" reveals that the show is a "ratings" fizzle.

It is only averaging about 1.4 million viewers per week.

Figures ... It's well written, well acted, from a unique point-of-view for a TV Medical Show.

Probably "only" appeals to people with a brain.

Sooooooo, it never had a chance and probably won't be renewed.

tears ...


(dang, I couldn't get the "link" to work!)

Irish Miss said...

Tin, I hope you are wrong about MM not being renewed. The cable stations aren't as hung up on ratings as the network stations, so maybe the powers that be will give it another season. I watch Suits, Southland, and Unnecessary Roughness on cable stations and I doubt any of those shows have huge ratings, yet they are in their 3rd or 4th seasons. So, let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. Cheers!

HeartRx said...

From 5:50 - 6:03, is that you, Jerome???

HeartRx said...

Whoever U R, clever!!

Bill G. said...

Here's a slide show of really neat space pictures from MSNBC. Slide show

Lucina said...

Does anyone know of action we can take to keep MM? Maybe sign a petition? I like it, too.

Blue Iris said...

Praying and thinking of Sallie today.

Poor VANGOGH held his paint brushes in his mouth and went crazy from lead poisoning. I like the commercial where his mother is begging him to turn on the web cam and he doesn't want her to see his missing ear.

I was a camp nurse in 1976, when counselors and camper were going down the RAPIDS. I was taking care of a camper's broken nose when I found out a counselor had been pulled out and wasn't doing very well. Unfortunately, his lungs had filled with water. Helicopter to the rescue. About that time, my husband came dragging out of the water and said, "You're lucky you still have me!"

In 1979, I decided to ride a CAMEL on safari while I was doing missionary nursing in Kenya. He threw me off. I had a lacerated Rt brow and basilar skull fracture. It seems when I decide to take a risk it ends badly.

Blue Iris said...

I meant to add- I STILL DON"T LIKE CAMELS!

Nikki said...

Thank you HeartRx. No, my name is not Jerome!??! Just a Wordplay fan. Speaking of puzzles, what does this post have in common with my earlier ones?

Anyone?

CrossEyedDave said...

Blue Iris @ 10:20

Your post made me go looking for the Van Gogh Mom commercial. While I did not find it yet, I went thru many interesting commercials, & then ran into this interesting piece.

(If only I had a touchscreen, & could find the original website...)

CrossEyedDave said...

P.S. I watched it twice before I realized it needs to be seen in "full screen mode."