google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, October 5, 2015 Brock Wilson

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Oct 5, 2015

Monday, October 5, 2015 Brock Wilson

Theme: Art Form - Three mediums a sculptor might use.

17A. In a precarious situation : ON THIN ICE

26A. Like a lake during a dead calm : SMOOTH AS GLASS

43A. Permanent : CARVED IN STONE

59A. Art form in which the ends of 17-, 26- and 43-Across may be used : SCULPTURE

Argyle here(a second time; Hit a wrong button and, POOF!, my write up was gone. Oh, well.) Brock's second time also. (Debut little over a year ago.) As I was saying ... we go from transient(ICE) to fragile (GLASS) to solid (STONE). Theme entries are three part. Plethora of four letter entries. Fill is across the board. Two long columns stitch it together.

Across:

1. Having been cut, as grass : MOWN

5. Stage showoffs : HAMS

9. "The Prince and the Pauper" author Mark : TWAIN

14. The "E" in Q.E.D. : ERAT

15. Parisian gal pal : AMIE

16. Salon dye : HENNA

19. Fats Domino genre, briefly : R AND B. (rhythm and blues)



20. Tales of __: misfortunes : WOE. See 23-Across.

21. Market shelves filler: Abbr. : MDSE. (merchandise)

22. Ambles : MOSEYS

23. Pabst brand : STROH'S. The story behind the brand. Forbes

25. Swimmer's path : LANE

32. Dessert with icing : CAKE

34. Mr. Rogers : FRED

35. __ Beta Kappa : PHI

36. Really mess up : RUIN

37. Dude : FELLA

39. Resting atop : UPON

40. State south of Wash. : ORE. (Washington/Oregon)

41. Jury member : PEER

42. Struggle (through), as mud : SLOG

48. Exiled Roman poet : OVID

49. "Right away!" : "IN A SEC!". Demand and response?

52. Added financial burden for drivers : GAS TAX

55. Bag for a picnic race : SACK

57. Massage reaction : [AAH!]

58. Pretended to be : ACTED

61. Glisten : SHINE

62. Mr. Peanut's stick : CANE

63. Pac-12 member : UCLA. 59D. 63-Across, for one: Abbr. : SCH. (school)

64. "The Great" king of Judea : HEROD

65. Rec room centerpiece : HD TV

66. Number one : BEST

Down:

1. Cat conversation : MEOWS

2. "To be, __ to be ..." : OR NOT

3. One being pulled behind a boat : WATER SKIER

4. High degree, in math : NTH

5. "Don't touch that!" : "HANDS OFF!":

6. "London Fields" author Martin : AMIS. London Fields is a black comic, murder mystery novel published in 1989.

7. "Three Blind __" : MICE

8. "Get my point?" : "SEE?"

9. Big crowd : THRONG

10. "Pop goes" critter : WEASEL

11. Novelist Brontë : ANNE. "But he that dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the rose." She was the youngest and least known of the Brontë sisters.

12. "500" race, familiarly : INDY Indianapolis 500.

13. Hauls off to jail : NABS

18. Texter's "I think ..." : IMHO. (in my humble opinion) IMAO (In My Arrogant Opinion)

22. Live __: Taco Bell slogan : MÁS. LIVE MORE

24. Black cat, to some : OMEN

25. Soup servers : LADLES

27. Fearful : TREPID

28. Her face launched a thousand ships : HELEN. Thus, 1 millihelen is the amount of beauty needed to launch a single ship.

29. Puréed fruit served with pork : APPLESAUCE. Apple orchards around here are having a very good year.

30. "Scram!" : "SHOO!"

31. Perform a ballad : SING

32. Gator's kin : CROC

33. Ghostly emanation : AURA

38. Section describing the United States Constitution's amendment process : ARTICLE V

39. Annapolis inst. : USNA. (United States Naval Academy)

44. Cast a negative ballot : VOTE NO

45. Dodged : EVADED

46. New Jersey fort : DIX

47. Like a GI scraping plates : ON KP

50. Viscounts' superiors : EARLS

51. Glance sideways during a test, maybe : CHEAT

52. Serious cut : GASH

53. Throbbing pain : ACHE

54. Mix in a glass : STIR

55. Large amount : SCAD

56. Marie, to Donny's sons : AUNT. The Osmonds.

60. Place for a soak : TUB. [AAH!]

Argyle



Notes from C.C.:
 
Crosswords LA Tournaments will be held on Oct 24, 2015 (Saturday) at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. You don't need to be a wizard solver to participate. As you can see, they have four brackets for different skill levels. Doubles are always fun. Or you can just be a spectator, solving at the same time with other competitors but your grids won't be scored.

It's an annual charity event Elissa Grossman started in 2009 to raise money for Reading to Kids. I hope our readers in SoCal area will attend the event and support the cause. As Elissa said, "with only a few destined to really have a shot at the tip top, it's more about camaraderie among like-minded puzzle enthusiasts."

How fun to mingle with crossword constructors, bloggers and fellow solvers? And have crossword-themed snack? Our Steve attended it a few years ago, and he might be there this year.

42 comments:

OwenKL said...

Hot GLASS is blown, seeds are sown,
Planting time one can't postpone
But mats of grass,
Unlike cracked GLASS,
If torn, can always be re-sewn!

They say that plants, although they're grown
Have no more feelings than a STONE.
Some disagree,
It's plain to SEE
When grass is cut, you'll hear it MOWN!

Such WOES aren't for just plants alone,
For WATER'S feelings are it's own;
At any slight
It turns to ICE,
Frost crystals sprout, you'll hear them groan!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Good one, Brock! Swell expo, Santa!

No problems.

When I was elected to PBK at Occidental, my little brother was chosen to take a picture for the school rag. He did not notify me!

Enjoying the returning shows! You?

Dog has run out barking. What is skulking around, I wonder. Time to get her in and lock the door (and go to sleep--hah!)

Cheers!

JD said...

Good morning,
When I came here a few hours ago, the Sunday blog was still there. I forgot that there is such a large difference while we are enjoying the sculptures and many things carved in stone here in Spain. the day we left CA, we got .002 inches of rain!!..a lovely beginning we all hope.
Fun puzzle. Did laugh when it dawned on me what randb was! I also had to wag mas, as I'm not familiar with Taco Bell's slogan.
Owen, always a pleasure to read your daily poetry.
Ferm, I am hoping that my favorite returning shows are taping.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Pretty smooth Monday solve, although I did get slowed down a bit by TREPID. Not exactly a Monday-friendly word. Or any other day of the week, for that matter. I get that it's the opposite intrepid, but I don't recall ever seeing it before.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go get my butt probed...

Lemonade714 said...

Overall a fun Monday, though using a clue relating to art and the reveal (carved) feels inelegant. It was great to see milihelens in the write up.

MARTIN AMIS and his father KINGSLEY have been entertaining readers for decades.

October rolls on and I hope Joaquin left you high and dry. Again thanks to those who liked the pics of my granddaughters that C.C. posted Saturday. JD sounds like a great trip.

unclefred said...

Great write-up, thanks, Argyle. I found this a bit more difficult than most Monday's. Struggled with TREPID and as long as a stared at it could not see R AND B in RANDB, and was sure something was amiss. Thanks for the limericks, Owen, I always enjoy your wit.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

WBS about TREPID. Since it's clement today, it's time for that three-mile march around the 'hood. We saw six deer on our walk yesterday.

thehondohurricane said...


Morning,

Due to lack of working space in our domicile, solved todays puzzle on the computer. That's a kind explanation of the mess we are living in for a couple of weeks, minimum. First time using the computer and hopefully the last. Fortunately it was an easy solve with only a couple of slowdowns. TREPID was not one of them, never even saw it because the across fills took care of it. So I avoided a sense of TREPIDation.

Furniture "relocators" arriving, so adios to who knows when. We'll be sleeping in the dining room. I will NEVER again agree to major home improvements.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy enough. No muss no fuss. no searches, no erasures. Only issue was me; unable to read the clue numbers clearly. Guess the Sandman did a good job last night.
SMOOTH AS GLASS - Maybe a couple times a year the Atlantic would have SMOOTH AS GLASS conditions for a few hours. A good time for a full-power run.

Enjoy the day.

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

Quick stop this morning; hope all y'all had a great weekend

Today was a typical Monday speed run with a few head-scratcher clues and solves (WEES), but I had but one write-over/ink blot
I had ARTICLES in 38d before getting to 65a, for which HDTV was a lock. In re-reading the 38d clue I now know it had to be a Roman numeral ending

I know Owen is our resident poet but I had a limerick pop into my head after I saw one of the solve words. My original limerick was for the guys; but I decided to give the ladies here a "treat" for a change! (YMMV)

At the beach I sensed something was wrong,
As I saw a formidable THRONG
Gather round this old man
As he worked on his tan,
While he wore nothing more than a thong

Anonymous T said...

Morning all!

Easy, fun Monday with two write-overs. Thanks Brock for making me feel smart again and Argyle for confirming it :-) I also enjoyed the Brady Bunch SACK race pic.

W/os - Ord b/f DIX and spa b/f TUB.

Fav - ON KP. I'd never seen so many potatoes before or since.

Owen & C. Moe - as always, very nice (Moe I could have done w/o the link :-))

Barry G - good luck w/ the ETs.

Cheers, -T

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Brock Wilson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle,for a fine review.

At least the Tribune had the correct puzzle today.

Shot through this easily. Theme appeared and was easy to grasp.

Was not familiar with MAS for 22D. I do not go to Taco Bell often, even though I like their food. Not much of a fast food person.

Had to wait for HDTV before I could write in the V for ARTICLE V.

Love pork with applesauce on the side. Yum!

Lots to do today. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Madame Defarge said...

Good Monday morning.

Thanks, Brock, for a very doable puzzle. My errors were apparent with perps.

WES, and to Barry: Have no TREPIDation about today, yesterday was the worst part!

Thanks, Argyle. I love "millihelen" as a measurement. I wish I were still teaching so I could steal that!

Have a good day.

Husker Gary said...

I spent some of the puzzle thinking what a Friday clue would be but it was just right for a Monday.

Musings
-SCULPTING has to be the most difficult art form despite these easy instructions
-The world’s best glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly has a wonderful exhibit at the base of this landmark
-Despite rumors, FRED ROGERS was never in the military
-Mud SLOGGING for fun
-Chiropractor in a half hour – AAH!
-HEROD to Jesus in Superstar – Prove to me that you’re no fool, walk across my swimming pool
-Old Three Blind MICE joke
-APPLE SAUCE to go with sack race (1:53)
-Students that CHEAT are usually looking me right in the eye when I look around the room
-In what song is the word MOWN sung at an event in this puzzle every year?
-Gotta run

TTP said...


Thank you Brock Wilson. Artistically creative. I liked your mediums.

Me too, Argyle. My flash plugin crashed 3 times yesterday. I gave up. Had other stuff to do. Thanks. Liked the Forbes article on Stroh's.

Different story today. No SLOG today. Solved this one in D-O time, so the plugin didn't have time to crash.

Only had a few brief pauses waiting to see which ARTICLE, and then another because I wanted SMOOTH AS SILK. We hear that often with our favorite Saturday constructor.

No problem with TREPID, although its usage has been known to make Avg Joe gruntled.

Mr (Fred) Rogers was a man focused on providing quality educational programming for children. A true American hero.

I processed in and out of Ft DIX on my way to and from Germany. Ft DIX and McGuire AFB were co-located.

The CUBS won 97 games. 3rd best in MLB. 97 wins would have put them in 1st place in any division in baseball, other than the NL Central. Pirates won 98 games. 2nd best in MLB. Ergo, one of the three best teams will be eliminated Wednesday evening due to MLB's current one-game, wild-card-play-in format. Could ARTICLE V be used to get that changed ?

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up. Thanks for the Fats Domino tune.

Liked how AMIE crossed AMIS, since they both could be French friends.

Also, WATERSKIER crossing that perfect place to ski, a lake that is SMOOTH-AS-GLASS.
Kinda reminded me of my youth skiing on Lake Tarpon.

A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

A nice, easy start to the week. CSO to Mr. Meow(s) 🐱 and some "mice", 🐭 to boot. And no _ _ _ 🍸 for Tin, thin, or otherwise! Only w/o was color before henna.

Thanks, Brock, for a fun offering and thanks, Argyle, for the guided tour.

Hope everyone is safe and dry.

Have a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks for the fond memories, HG. My kids used to imitate Peter from the Brady Bunch, saying "Pork chops and applesauce" over and over ala Bogart. I just showed the clip to Alan. We both enjoyed it.
Could you baseball mavens please explain why having a wild card slot is a good idea? I realize it creates more interest in the post season and more revenue with more teams still in the running. Other than revenue, it seems unfair to me that a weaker team could conceivably have a winning streak and even win the World Series.

Anonymous T said...

YR - I know what you mean and it's likely money.

I didn't follow the change enough to get why there are extra playoff rounds. I can see why one wild-card is needed as there are three divisions in each league, but the one & done the STRO(H)'S play in NYS Tuesday? Donno. At least we stand a chance :-)

JzB - fill us in...

Cheers, -T

Chairman Moe said...

-T @ 8:27

Sorry for the "visual" . . . as I said, I did THIS one for the ladies here!! You notice, none of them, so far, have "thanked" me!! LOL! ;^)

Moe

Yellowrocks said...

USPS just now leaned a 10 pound package against my screen door, rang the bell and drove away. It was tough forcing the door open without damaging the screen. Don't these guys think?

Mr. Google said...

Fort DIX is now part of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst. The three were merged in 2009 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Lakehurst is probably best known as the site of the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster ("Oh, the humanity!").

Mr. Google said...

YR: "The initial wild-card format was implemented [in 1995] after MLB expanded to 28 teams and realigned its two leagues to each have three divisions. Since a three-team playoff would require one team to receive a bye, the wild card was created to allow a fourth team." - Wikipedia

Misty said...

I love a speed run on a Monday morning--many thanks, Brock. And Argyle, thanks for explaining MAS--I got it but didn't understand it. Haven't been to Taco Bell in years.

Clever, delightful limericks this morning, Owen.

Love your icons, Irish Miss.

Have a great week, everybody!

Barry G. said...

All right, I'm back from the butt probing. Everything turned out all right in the end (pun intended). One small polyp and I don't need to go back for another 5 years. And yes, the actual procedure is nothing compared to the prep. Once the needle was in and the anesthetic starting coursing into my vein, I was out like a light and the next thing I new I was waiting up in the recovery room an hour later. Stopped for a late breakfast on the way home and now everything is right with the world.

Thanks for all the kind wishes.

TTP said...

Yellowrocks,

As -T opined, the wild card team was added in 1994 when each league went from 2 to 3 divisions: East, Central and West so that there would be an even number of teams. Because of the players' strike that year, 1995 was the first year there was an actual best of five wild card series against a division winner.Postseason format history

The players and owners agreed to add a second wild card team in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement for the reasons explained here: Major League Baseball Wild Card Game. That CBA is through the 2016 season.

TTP said...


The new wild card game does add incentives for a team to win their division outright, while penalizing the wild card teams. The division winners each get added days of rest, and allows them to set up their pitching rotation most advantageously to their situation, while the wild card play-in teams will likely use their best starting pitcher and not have him available to start the first game of the best of 5 series. As a result of that, the wild card game winner may not have their best pitcher available for 2 starts in the best of 5 division series, or at best, will have them available on "short rest."

My earlier comment was lamenting the fact that either the CUBS or Pirates, as 2 of the best 3 teams in baseball, will be eliminated in a one game playoff.

Anonymous T said...

Berry G.

I'll blow a post (out of my GLASS) to thank heaven for you. You're a better man than I; I don't want people pokin' me, especially there. I know I'm supposta' go in, butt... Glad all is right with you..

HG - I saw Chihuly's work in SF w/ my friends & their rambunctious boys. I spent the whole time worried about the art.

Cheers, -T

CrossEyedDave said...

And now for something completely different...

Ice Sculpture.

Glass sculpture.

Stone Sculpture.

VirginiaSycamore said...

Thanks Brock and Argyle for the puzzle and writeup. WEES, a fast doable puzzle. I needed perps for AMIS. GASH took a while because I wanted DAVID for the king of Judea. I guess he was one of 4 Herods. The Great, Antipas and Agrippa I and II.

Fermat Prime, what is PBK?

Hondo, when we redid the kitchen it was a complete teardown to studs so we cooked and ate in a large downstairs den. Also, I washed pots and pans in the bathtub. I told a relative this and she said, "we just ate out every night when we redid our kitchen.” A richer relative.

Barry,
Glad it turned out all right. Besides drinking all the yuck to clean the pipes the next hardest part for me is getting a close friend to drive me there. Because the person coming off the “happy juice” (as I like to call it) is very vulnerable they do not want you to take a cab. Also true for most outpatient surgeries. I think the amnesia drug is akin to the date rape drug.

Anonymous said...

PBK = Phi Beta Kappa

Yellowrocks said...

Anon. T, if you are of the age where it is recommended, please go. My corner friends insisted I go. The procedure is absolutely nothing. As Barry said, you fall asleep, you wake up when it is over. You feel nothing. My sticking point is the ultra strong, terrible laxatives the day before. I am glad I was encouraged to do it. I had a quite large polyp removed, benign, but could possibly turn into the big C if left to grow.
If you put off the test you could face worse than being prodded and probed. The result is far from comfortable or pretty. I have been scared s straight.

Freond said...

Interesting work, trepid ("trembling from fear or terror," 1640s, from Latin trepidus"). We use "trepidation," but I've never heard "trepid," only "intrepid." Wonder why that is. There are a few other words only used in certain forms or phrases. "Uncouth" comes to mind; using "couth" almost sounds like a parody of that.

Bronx Boy said...

Freond: Here's a piece by the late William Safire (we went to the same high school but not at the same time), titled, "How to Be Gruntled, Kempt And Couth".

Yellowrocks said...

Bronx Boy interesting. Will Safire articles always delight me.
BTW. I have seen trepid in written work.

Thanks, guys, for the discussion of wild card.

coneyro said...

Just finished the puzzle in record time, I may add, no muss, no fuss. Straightforward, easy solve.

I had the procedure of which you speak. No problem or pain. Two things of note. I had bad gas for a while after and prior to surgery, I had to eat non-red items only. Will never look at lime gelatin the same way again.

That's all from me today.

Jayce said...

Peanut Butter & Kale

VirginiaSycamore said...

Anonymous, thanks for clearing up PBK = Phi Beta Kappa. And Jayce for the meaning of PBK for the holistic eater.

I have been out of college for a while, and I went to Case Tech (now part of Case Western Reserve U.) so we didn't have that, I don't think. All science, math and engineering majors. I also was not sure if Occidental was the college or the insurance Co.

Fermat Prime, I also sense a story about your brother's photo, what happened? For our high school National Honor Society photo in the year book we ate brownies and it got past the yearbook advisor and principal.

VS

tawnya said...

Hi all -

Interesting addition to the Wildcard topic: last year the Giants (ick!) got into the playoffs as a wildcard and won the whole thing. Dodgers didn't make it past the Cardinals even though they won the West. Lucky for me, the Giants didn't make it this year. The wildcard makes it more interesting for the diehards (like me) to watch, more competitive for the teams with their post-season future on the line, and of course, more money for everyone.

I was recently accepted into the Phi THETA Kappa Society - the honor society of two-year colleges. I had to pay $100 for the honor of putting it on my resume and it being stamped on my transcripts. Going to college at 40 is a completely different experience than my first trip thru - kids either want to study with me or hate me for ruining the curve. I've actually had one teacher throw out my perfect test score and curve the rest of the class. I'm not sure how this is helping kids learn...

Stepping down from my soapbox now. Off to study A&P!

Wishing you all a good evening :)

tawnya

Bill G. said...

I really liked the link to the William Safire essay. Thanks. If you enjoy using "kempt, couth, gruntled" and the like, you would certainly appreciate an essay from The New Yorker that I contributed several years ago called, "How I Met My Wife" by Jack Winter (I think). If I remember correctly, CC had a link to it in one of the columns at the right-hand-side of this blog's main page. I don't see it there any more. So if you might enjoy it, here it is again. How I Met My Wife.

Speaking of brilliant, the winner of the Jeopardy games for the last week or so is Matt Jackson. He's is really good though I don't much care for his personality.

Anonymous T said...

BronxBoy - I miss Will Safire's On Language columns. Bill G. Thanks for sharing that article; I don't think I've stumbled 'on it before.

Cheers, -T

Freond said...

Thanks for the Safire link.I enjoyed that.