google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday May 5, 2013 Jean O'Conor

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May 5, 2013

Sunday May 5, 2013 Jean O'Conor

Theme: "Hack-er" - ER is hacked from the end of each theme entry.

23A. Oatmeal? : MORNING PAP. Morning paper. Poor Spitzboov! He's having pap every morning.

25A. Smooth con man's tool? : NATURAL FIB. Natural fiber.

34A. Victoria's Secret ad? : UNDERWEAR DRAW. Underwear drawer. Mine are like this. I don't fold them.



47A. New member of the faith shaking things up? : CATALYTIC CONVERT. Catalytic converter. 

61A. Soup kitchen scene? : EVERYONE AND HIS BROTH. Everyone and his brother.

81A. Skewed priority? : DISLOCATED SHOULD. SHOULD is a noun here? Dislocated shoulder.

90A. Foot pain location? : AROUND THE CORN. Around the corner. So, as someone mentioned last Sunday, we have yellow corn, red corn, white corn, CORN is still not plurable?

107A. Edam? : CHEESE BURG. Or STAD. Cheese burger.

109A. Tired of watching "Downton Abbey"? : SERIAL NUMB. Serial number.

Nice title. I think this is Jean O'Conor's first Sunday puzzle. Congratulations! 

Two of the Across entries OPERA HOUSE (20A. Venice's La Fenice, for one) and HORSE SENSE (111A. Good thinking) have the same letter count as two of the theme entries. Since neither has ? mark in their clues, so solvers should not mistaken them for theme entries.

When theme entries are all placed in Across, constructors tend to have long Down entries and cap the maximum letter count of their Across non-theme entries to avoid any confusion. Normally they're shorter than the shortest theme entry.
 
Across:

1. Roasting aid : BASTER

7. Monopoly token introduced in 2013 : CAT. Did you nail it, Dave? 70A. Token replaced by 7-Across : IRON

10. Preserve, in a way : SALT

14. Hardly eye-catching : DRAB

18. Fifth-century plunderer : ATTILA. The Hun.

19. Woodcutter Baba : ALI

26. Bridge : SPAN

27. Building sites : LOTS

28. Roman statesman : CATO. "The Censor".

29. Refer (to) : ALLUDE

30. Bit of climbing gear : PIT-ON

32. Words before DVD : OUT ON

33. Celebrity entourages : POSSES

38. People at the supermarket counter? : MAG. People magazine.

39. Fifth of a century : SCORE

40. Fictional barber Sweeney : TODD

41. Leeds leave-taking : CHEERIO

46. "Don't reckon so" : NAW

52. Pisa's river : ARNO

54. Exhilarating : HEADY

55. Makes better : HEALS

56. "You're looking at her" : I'M IT

57. Queen dowager of Jordan : NOOR. What if she remarries?

59. Unstable particle : MUON. PION, KAON, no difference to me.

60. Felicity : BLISS. Oh, I loved Felicity.



68. Jordan's only port : AQABA. Another U-less Q.

69. Award-winning 2012 film thriller : ARGO

71. Hill of "Psych" : DULE. His face looks familiar.
 

72. Tickle : AMUSE

74. One to ten, say : SCALE

77. German one : EINS

84. Soft slip-on : MOC

85. Bee student : SPELLER

86. Wave to from the curb, maybe : HAIL

87. Courtmate of Elena and Ruth : SONIA (Sotomayor). This love letter Ruth Bader Ginsburg's husband Marty wrote to him shortly before he died is so moving.

89. Drying-out problem : DTS

94. Café : BISTRO

98. Orly arrival : AVION

99. Subject of the 2008 biography "The Man Who Made Lists" : ROGET


100. Kutcher of "No Strings Attached" : ASHTON

101. Marathon prep run : TEN K

102. "Wuthering Heights" setting : MOOR

104. Befuddled : ASEA

112. Diplomatic VIP : AMB (Ambassador)

113. "Katie" host : COURIC

114. Diamond datum : STAT

115. Stag, e.g. : DEER

116. Spot markers? : X'ES

117. Collectible Fords : EDSELS

Down:

1. Cries from Emeril : BAMS

2. On : ATOP

3. Attach to the luggage rack, say : STRAP DOWN

4. Less resonant : TINNIER

5. Hillary Clinton, e.g. : ELI

6. Dwindled alarmingly : RAN LOW

7. Cook, for one: Abbr. : CAPT. Captain Cook.

8. "Ah, me!" : ALAS

9. Handicapper's help : TIP

10. Beethoven's "Pathétique," e.g. : SONATA

11. "Bridesmaids" co-producer Judd : APATOW. Look at his beautiful family. They're all in "This is 40".


12. Show you know : LET ON

13. 1989-'90 Broadway one-man show : TRU

14. American Girl collection : DOLLS

15. Chaka Khan's original band : RUFUS. Learning moment for me.

16. Remark to the audience : ASIDE

17. Nice infants : BEBEs

21. Wyoming natives : ARAPAHOS

22. Chlorine or fluorine : HALOGEN

24. Used up : GONE

28. Like cottage cheese : CURDY. Never used this word before.

31. III, in modern Rome : TRE

32. "You'd never guess, but ..." : ODDLY

34. Pres. Carter's alma mater : USNA

35. Cape Fear's st. : N. CAR

36. Congratulatory contraction : ATTA (boy/girl)

37. Place for a hog? : ROAD. Oh, road hog.

38. Mid-century year : MCCL. 1250. Non-clue clue to me.
 
42. Archfiend : EVIL ONE

43. Send in : REMIT

44. Gaeilge, to its speakers : IRISH. I only know Gaelic.

45. Baseball's Mel and Ed : OTTS

47. Bok __ : CHOY. The secret to delicious bok choy is the soy sauce, right, Jayce? Has to be the sweet kind.

48. Flying prefix : AERO. 63. Suffix with 48-Down : NAUT

49. Clunk cousin : THUD

50. The "I" in I.M. Pei : IEOH. Totally irrational Cantonese spelling. In Mandarin, Ieoh is spelled as Yu. Pei was born in Guangzhou, where Cantonese is spoken.

51. "Pleeease?" : CAN I

53. Seaman's 12:30 : ONE BELL. For Spitzboov/D-Otto (Shocked at your Chronicle picture. But, what can you do?)

58. "Chopsticks __ fork?" : OR A

59. Phone button letters : MNO. 6.

60. Fella : BRO

61. Provide with gear : EQUIP

62. Triple-meter dance, in Dijon : VALSE. I forgot. We had this before.

64. Language that gave us "clan" : ERSE

65. Like much wine and cheese : AGED

66. Houseplant spot : SILL

67. Raised on a farm : BRED. Hello, PK!

68. Totals : ADDS

72. Flammable solvents : ACETONEs

73. Bar in a brown wrapper : MARS. Dark brown.

74. Snowboarding gold-medalist White : SHAUN
 
75. Bit of change : COIN
 
76. Word sung after midnight : AULD. Was not thinking of New Year's Eve.

78. "Can't really say" : I'M NOT SURE.

79. "The Third Man" genre : NOIR

80. Digitize, in a way : SCAN

82. Antique grayish-pink shade : OLD ROSE. Like the color of these beads.


83. Trembled : SHOOK

87. Part of a line: Abbr. : SEG

88. Father of the river gods : OCEANUS. You'd think it's Poseidon.

90. Reluctant : AVERSE

91. Lookalike : RINGER

92. Enterprise counselor : TROI.  "Star Trek".

93. Ancient odist : HORACE. Roman lyric poet.

94. Baroque musical dynasty : BACHS

95. Has sex appeal : IS HOT. For Splynter.
 
96. He-Man's twin sister : SHE-RA


97. Statistical tool first used to monitor the quality of stout : T-TEST. Well, Lemonade & Abejo & Windhover might know this. I have no idea.

98. Hum __ : A TUNE

102. Cultural idea that may go viral : MEME. DFN (Did Not Finish) is a meme on our blog. Everyone just adopted it in quick fashion.

103. Round bodies : ORBS. Hello, "Round body"!


105. First Best Actor Oscar winner Jannings : EMIL

106. Basics : ABCs

108. Soil holder : BED. Flower bed.

109. Adderley's instrument : SAX

110. City close to Ben-Gurion Airport : LOD

C.C.


29 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Took awhile to figure out theme, especially since (once again) the title of the puzzle was obscured in the app. Once I got it, however, it was a delight to get the theme answers.

The only theme answer I struggled with was EVERYONE AND HIS BROTH. Had EVERY___ and wanted MAN instead of ONE. To make that section worse, I also had HUGO instead of ARGO at 69A and couldn't think of NAUT at 63D. Oh, and then there was ARNE instead of ARNO at 52A and DULE, which I steadfastly refused to accept, so ONE BELL remained hidden for awhile as well.

[inteorme]

HeartRx said...

Good morning C.C. et al.

Great explanation of the theme today. I thought of Splynter, too, for the first theme entry. (Have you had your fill of PAP today, Splynter?) SERIAL NUMB could also apply to "Tired of hearing about Downton Abbey."

I went top to bottom, leaving only a few holes that were easy enough to fill once I reviewed them. The Student's T-TEST was an ubiquitous statistic when I was in medical research. Danged if I could remember the formula off the top of my head, though!

I'm not surprised that you did not know RUFUS and Chaka Khan. They were a huge hit in the '70s and I remember disco-ing the night away to this song. It makes me want to get up and get going.

(...maybe after another cup of coffee!)

Have a great day, everyone!

Dennis said...

Good morning, gang - this was really a fun solve and a great effort by Ms. O'Conor. Even though the title gave away the theme, there was still a decent challenge here.

I had a unknowns, including APATOW, IEOH, T TEST, and SHERA. DULE came quickly, as I liked his character in West Wing, one of the best-scripted shows to ever hit the small screen. Same with RUFUS, since I was (and still am) a big fan of the music of that era. Marti, you're right - music from back then, especially songs like Disco Inferno, always gets me jacked up. It was happy, get-up-and-dance music. However, let's NEVER discuss the clothing we wore at the clubs...

Pretty much smooth sailing aside from the unknowns, although I stared at EVILONE for a good bit before succumbing to a tiny bit of intelligence. Very well-done puzzle.

Hope it's a great, pleasant-weather week for everyone; our first real monsoon (eight inches in one day, along with a small tornado about a quarter-mile from here) has passed, and we're looking at mid-80s and sunny the rest of the week.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I thought this one was tougher than average. My HALOGEN started out as HALIDES, but that made the second letter of POSSES an I. Didn't look quite right. IEOH didn't look right, either, but I let it stand.

C.C., thanks for 'splainin' SHERA. That one made no sense to me. And keep using "plurable." It's bound to catch on.

Anonymous said...

C.C.: Shocked by your link for 53d. What does that article have to do with ONE BELL?

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Ah, that's better. After yesterday's humbling defeat, it was rewarding to sweep through a clean solve. Of course, there were a few uncertain places, at Dulé, Ieoh, and She Ra particularly. Once again I misspelled Atilla and delayed that section. Did not remember Rufus either.

Morning, CC!

Anonymous said...

I like a good challenge, but ...

"The 'I' in I.M. Pei : IEOH"

Is there nothing that is out of bounds?

Otherwise, nice puzzle.

Husker Gary said...

How can I pick between CATYLITIC CONVERT and CHEESE BURG as my favs in this wonderful Sunday exercise? All right, SERIAL NUMB was first rate too.

Musings
-Morning papers are on the endangered list but not here
-I spent 23 years AROUND THE CORN with detasseling
-Millions of private dollars are being spent to renovate our OPERA HOUSE
-Some rich Athlete’s POSSES have become problematic
-OMG, duLe/vaLse was right. Mark me down for a 100%
-A fun movie based on the 1 – 10 SCALE
-Will Demi go after someone even younger than ASHTON?
-TIP – ORB’s a mudder
-Both iterations of Cape Fear are full of suspense
-I got three “ATTA BOYS” yesterday
--What fabulous movie had a deceased relative STRAPPED DOWN to the roof of the family truckster?
-I was in Mr. Jerry OTT’s social studies class listening to Walter Cronkite on his transistor radio on Nov. 22, 1963. Where were you when you heard?

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

I came close but ended up with one blank square. I had absolutely no idea at the crossing of MUON and IEOH ~ didn't even bother to guess. Thanks for explaining it all, C.C.

Liked the theme and caught it early which helped with some of the other answers. Misspelled SHAUN as 'Shawn' which held up that area for a while.

Wondered about:
~ No 'Abbr' needed on 38A - MAG?
~ 51D - CAN I not May I?
~ At 104A - Befuddled - thought 'At sea' instead of ASEA - on the ocean?

Favorite: 61A - Soup kitchen scene - EVERYONE AND HIS BROTH - great!

All in all an enjoyable puzzle ~ thanks, Jean O'Conor.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

This was a DNF for me thanks to Mr. Pei/unstable particle crossing. I didn't really enjoy the solve but certainly appreciate the creativity and craftsmanship involved. Congrats to Ms. O'Conor and thanks to CC for the cogent expo.

Happy Sunday.

windhover said...

Husker:
Standing in front of the plate glass window that housed the teletype machine (remember those?) in the Journalism building at U of K, which I did 3 days a week just before my 1:00 class. There was very soon a large crowd behind me.

Anon @ 8:24:
Shocked, you say? It happens roughly 90 times a day in this country.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Good explanations, C.C.

Well, it's seven BELLS into the 8-12 watch and I finally got it done. Medium difficulty for a Sunday. Fun theme.

57a NOOR - I believe that's the Jordanian name she has taken. Her father was a CEO of Pan Am.

68a AQABA - Also the name of adjacent gulf, an arm of the Red Sea.

7d CAPT Cook - A prolific navigator and cartographer in the 1770's. He mapped most of the coast of Newfoundland and later in the S. Pacific, New Zealand and many other islands. He was one of the early users of the modern chronometer which gave him the ability to establish Longitude much more precisely and thus render accurate maps of areas he visited.

HeartRx said...

HG @ 10:21, ah, that would be the classic movie "Vacation" with Chevy Chase. Hilarious!

I remember the day vividly. I was in math class when that broadcast came over the school intercom. The girl in the next row mumbled "Good!" under her breath. Evidently, her parents were staunch republicans. I hated her from that day on.

CrossEyedDave said...

Yes CC, I nailed the 2013 Monopoly token, but unfortunately that is as far as I got. It was right after 7A that I said to myself, "what are you doing on this beautiful spring day?"
"The Sunday puzzle is best done late afternoon while lazing in a hammock.." (Obviously I peeked at the Blog, but luckily I do not remember much these days, so doing the puzzle in the late afternoon should still be a challenge...)

If you have trouble sleeping, there is "something" about this guys voice that will put you to sleep. T-Test Explanation (over 9 minutes long,,, I only made it to 1:47)

Here is a chart explaining Seamans Bells. Unfortunately it lists military time which I do not easily read, so the entire chart is incomprehensible to me. Spitz! A little help pls?

Anonymous said...

Windhover: I think of it as thinning the herd. Just like those organ donors cruising down the road on only two wheels. Ride free, I say, and thanks for the kidney.

Spitzboov said...

CED @ 11:35. Yes the chart seems to be correct and easy to read and comprehend. Just think of a 24 hour day as 6- 4 hr mini days, each broken down into ½ hr intervals.
When I bought my ships' clock a few years ago, BH wrote the conversion chart onto a 3 x 5 index card and memorized it. If that isn't true love I don't know what is.
You will note that they allow for the 'dog' watch. The Navy does not have a 'cat' watch. This is another example of the relative superimportance dogs have over cats in our society.
Hope this helps.

Husker Gary said...

-Of course it was Vacation Marti. Poor Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca) was strapped to the roof and dumped at her house in a rainstorm so Clark could complete his quest to get to Wally World! Funniest Eulogy EVER!! (worth waiting thru the commercial)
-I’m a socially liberal, fiscally conservative Republican/Independent but would never celebrate the death of anyone, then or now. My neighbor is a staunch Democrat and we disagree agreeably and like this blog, mostly avoid politics at all cost. He was very surprised how liberal I am in some areas but still…
-Wow, Wind, a Teletype machine? You’re my age and I haven’t heard that phrase for a long time. I think it’s on the other end of your state, but we have now been to the Kentucky Dams twice and they never fail to amaze!

Lucina said...

Hello, Peeps!

Hi, C.C. What an interesting pic of your drawer (I assume it's yours). My OCD, though mild, doesn't allow me to stow anything unfolded and must be laid in a particular way. Sigh! It's a gene from my maternal grandmother.

I really liked this puzzle and surprisingly realized the theme and hand up for EVERYONE AND HIS BROTH. How lovely to see the correct pronoun instead of the now ubiquitous THEIR.

The NE gave me fits because I had no idea about RUFUS though I know who Chalka Khan is and finally had to consult Mr. G for APATOW as I would not let go of ASHLEY, silly me.

Most of this was finished before church and just needed that bit of fill.

AQABA is forever committed to memory from having watched Aladdin soooooooooo many times.

Like Dennis I recalled DULE Hill's excellent performance in the West Wing.

Thank you, Jean O'Connor for a very nice challenge.

One reason my mind was foggy earlier is that I took my sister to the airport at 4:30 A.M. and though I returned to bed, it isn't the same as a full night's sleep. But it was wonderful having her here.

I hope your Sunday is delightful, everyone!

Bill G. said...

Another high-quality Sunday puzzle that took me a while because of the larger number of squares to fill in. Thanks Jean and CC.

I'm going to agree with LaLaLinda. I think ASEA for befuddled is just plain wrong. At least in my quick check of online dictionaries, it should be AT SEA. ASEA means on the ocean. Of course, it may have been used incorrectly enough that it shows up in some dictionaries since they chronicle popular usage but it doesn't seem right to me.

Sunday Morning was good as usual. It's sad to see the slow deterioration of Bill Geist because of Parkinson's. I always enjoy the nature shots at the end of the show. They also had some beautiful photos of migrating birds.

We're off for lunch at one of our favorite places up in Playa del Rey. I should try something new on the menu but I like their sand dabs so much...

PK said...

Hi Y'all! So many amusing theme answers, Jean, Bravo! I saw "hacker" but didn't "get it" until CATALYTIC CONVERT showed up. Chuckled then forged ahead confidently with some others.

C.C., thanks for the shout-out. I definitely got BRED on the farm. As for your lovely undies drawer, it's almost impossible to fold and keep folded those little slinky silky things. My less-glamorous cotton unmentionables fold easily and stay stacked.

This puzzle had a bunch of unknowns as well as multiple possibilities on a lot of clues. No wonder Mr. Pei uses only his initials. MUON definitely looks unstable to me. What a NATICK. Do constructors sometimes end up with strange bunches of letters like those and look them up to see if they could possibly be a word?

At 88D I tried Neptune then Poseidon then OCEANUS when perps turned up the "O".

I completely missed Shaka Khan when she was popular so I didn't know RUFUS. Enjoyed the link.

Bill G. said...

Goodness, has everybody had too much tequila for Cinco de Mayo? It's awfully quiet around here--almost too quiet...

"I used to know a schizophrenic guy. He was good people."

“I will never understand why they cook on TV. I can’t smell it, can’t eat it, can’t taste it. The end of the show they hold it up to the camera, ‘Well, here it is. You can’t have any. Thanks for watching. Goodbye.'"

PK said...

Bill, I guess its just you and me--if you're still here.
Just got done watching the finale of the Amazing Race. Must have been some fun things somewhere to keep everybody occupied. Cold & gloomy here, but some good basketball games this afternoon helped.

PK said...

Whoops, forgot to thank you for your little funnies. I feel just that way about food shows. I think I'd probably lose weight better if the food ads on TV didn't whet my appetite.

Bill G. said...

I'm still here. I'm glad you enjoyed my attempt at a little levity.

We had a nice lunch today. I had my usual sand dabs in a lemon-caper sauce along with rice, beautifully cooked zucchini and carrots. Oh, and lentil soup. Barbara got French onion soup that was great too. Then the drive both ways along the Pacific in nice weather. Now if the Dodgers could only put it together one time...

A woman told her doctor, ‘I’ve got a bad back.’ The doctor said, ‘It’s old age.’ The woman said, ‘I want a second opinion. ‘The doctor says, ‘OK, you’re ugly as well.’

A man walked into the doctor’s. The doctor said, ‘I haven’t seen you in a long time.’ The man replied, ‘I know. I’ve been ill.’

Bill G. said...

I wish I knew how to help this fellow. If I lived in his area and had a job to offer him, I'd be happy to do it. Sad...

Dudley said...

Oh Rats. I just tried to snag the Monday puzz and it's missing from Cruciverb. *sigh*

fermatprime said...

Great puzzle, Jean! Fine write-up, CC!

Had fun with the theme! Favorite: CATALYTIC CONVERT!

Slept most of day. Feet wanted to wiggle half the night. What is that about?

Dulé Hill very funny on Psyche (but show has gotten too ridiculous)!!

Have more to say, but perhaps I can blog at a reasonable time tomorrow!

Lucina said...

BillG:
I like your cute, funny jokes.

I've been watching two episodes of Mr. Selfridge on PBS. Couldn't watch with company here. It's been fascinating and I can visualize the store. They have a nice restaurant on the mezzanine. I had clotted cream on scones when in London.

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

Lucina & PK,
The drawer picture is not mine. I simply said "Mine are like this". If you right-click the image, you'll notice the URL address.