google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 C.W. Stewart

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Dec 15, 2015

Tuesday, December 15, 2015 C.W. Stewart

Theme: Where's my cape? - Actually, it's PACE that has been changed up and hidden in the middle of the theme entries.

20A. Madison or Jackson, e.g. : STATE CAPITAL. Wisconsin/Mississippi

32A. Workplace social event : OFFICE PARTY. 'Tis the season.

41A. Camper's gift from home : CARE PACKAGE

53A. Deviation from a normal routine, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : CHANGE OF PACE

Argyle here. We've gone from C.C. to C.W. There are circles and they help but the jumbled letters are easy to spot if you sussed the reveal.

Across:

1. Big name in designer bags : PRADA

6. Wild guess : STAB

10. "Oh, darn!" : "DRAT!"

14. Edmonton NHL player : OILER. (hockey)

15. Caen's river : ORNE. In Normandy, northwestern France.

16. World's longest river : NILE. The Orne, 110 mi; the Nile, 4,258 mi; both 4 letters.

17. Gets dirty : SOILS



18. Facts and figures : DATA

19. "My life. My card" co. : AMEX

23. Start of something? : ESS

24. Figs. : NOs. (numbers)

25. Golf lesson subject : STANCE

29. Little taste : SIP. Neat!

30. Illegal diamond pitch : SPITBALL

36. MADD concern : DUI

37. Scottish denials : NAEs

38. Many a Monopoly rd. : AVE.

39. "__ No Sunshine": Bill Withers hit : AIN'T



40. Emancipation Proclamation first name : ABE

45. Like the Titanic : ILL-FATED

47. Monk's title : FRA

48. Put up a fight : RESIST

49. Bikini part : BRA
50. Float up and down : BOB. Must Resist Mental Picture. gave in(1:29)

57. Traffic complaint : [HONK!]

60. Prejudicial view : BIAS

61. Churchgoer's donation : TITHE

62. Figure skating leap : AXEL

63. Tackling a problem : ON IT

64. Bygone anesthetic : ETHER

65. Shopping bag : TOTE

66. Cravings : YENS

67. Salon employees : DYERS

Down:

1. Wild West law group : POSSE

2. Laugh-a-minute types : RIOTS

3. Name after 39-Down : ALIAS. 39D. Police blotter letters : AKA. "Also Known As"

4. Shoulder muscle, informally : DELT. (Deltoid)

5. Pesticide poison : ARSENIC

6. Coke and Pepsi : SODAs

7. Catch : TRAP

8. Voting against : ANTI

9. Skedaddles : BEATS IT

10. "CSI" facility : DNA LAB

11. Canyon edge : RIM

12. Pub choice : ALE. and 52D. Pub choices : BEERS

13. Apt name for a Dallas cowboy? : TEX

21. Deal with it : COPE

22. Divorce proceeding rep. : ATTY. (attorney)

26. Gymnast Comaneci : NADIA

27. Stuck : CLUNG

28. A-list group : ELITE

29. Sally, to Charlie Brown : SIS. (little sister)

30. Fed the piggy bank : SAVED

31. Word in some private school names : PREP. Preparatory school for further education.

32. Broadcasting : ON AIR

33. Story with a lesson : FABLE

34. Senses : FEELS

35. Remove, as a rind : PARE

41. Payment option : CASH

42. "Way to go, kid!" : "ATTA BOY!"

43. Hardly a buzz cut : AFRO

44. Skillfully made : CRAFTED

46. Prone to flip-flopping : FICKLE. Remember the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate?



49. Triumphs over : BESTs

50. Get clean : BATHE

51. Earth pigment : OCHER

54. Four and five, but not six and seven : NINE. 9, not 13.

55. Dieter's setback : GAIN

56. "That's a shame" : PITY

57. Bowler or boater : HAT

58. Kitchen gadgets brand : OXO

59. Common URL ending : .NET

Argyle




36 comments:

  1. Greetings!

    Thanks, CW and Santa! Also, thanks CC and Santa, for yesterday!

    No problems. No circles. Darn.

    Laugh In was such a great show!

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Morning, all!

    Blew through this one faster than yesterday. Got off to a slow start when I tried GUCCI before PRADA and didn't know ORNE, but after that it was a smooth ride all the way to the end.

    No circles, but they weren't necessary to solve anything and I actually did figure out what the theme was about after reading the reveal, so that was nice.

    I'm not really a baseball fan, but I've never understood the whole SPIT BALL rule. I always thought it meant that pitchers aren't allowed to put any foreign substance on the balls, but whenever I've actually watched a game (usually when the Red Sox are in the playoffs) I always see the pitchers reach up to their caps, wipe their fingers on something and then rub it on the ball. But nobody ever mentions it. Are some substances actually allowed, or is it just so widespread a violation that everybody ignores the rule?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, friends!
    CHANGE OF PACE for me to be up so early and this puzzle was so fast I hardly had time to think. It seems that Monday and Tuesday puzzles were switched. With POSSE/PRADA I was off and running. And when STATE CAPITAL was in place I thought the theme might have something to do with geography but NILE and ORNE were the only fill that followed that trend.

    Argyle, thank you for the photos and links. I love hearing Bill Withers singing and I, too, loved Laugh In.

    Well, this was fun, thank you, C.W. Stewart, but now I'll try to resume my shut eye.

    Have a lovely day, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Morning,

    As usual, no circles, but no problem because of it. Pretty easy solve with only a minor hiccup or two.

    53A Began with CHANGE OF Plan, but PACE emerged when I got to the down fills for 50, 51, & 52.

    NADIA Comaneci was a no brainer. Scored the first perfect ten in Olympic gymnastics at Montreal, circa 1976. Her performances were all "Wow's".

    Had horn before HONK for57A.

    Many pitchers have enhanced their careers by doctoring the baseball. And a lot of them are in the Hall of Fame.

    The Oilers in the mid to late 80's were a show. The Whalers usually played them tough at home, but it was a rare day when they beat them. Gretzky and company were the best I'd ever seen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good morning!

    GUCCI went in immediately...and then came back out. That was the only stumble on this one. Waited for the perps to decide if it'd be ORNE or OISE and OCHER or OCHRE. Interesting shots of BOB, Argyle -- unusual name for a girl.

    When I see C.W. I expect the last name to be McCall or maybe Moss, not Stewart.

    OFFICE PARTY reminded me of another reason I'm glad to be retired. I used to hate those "festivities."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good Morning.

    I'm back to my morning routine: Coffee, Puzzle, the Corner, and the newspaper--in that order. Christmas knitting is complete!

    Thanks C.W. for a fine start and workable return to my routine. My favorite today was NINE. I also (finally) didn't overthink the start to something: ESS. I tend to forget those "letter" clues when I'm delving too deeply for the answer.

    Argyle, thanks again for the links and the tour.

    Have a wonderful day--even if yours skies are also dreary.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Less time today than yesterday; I agree Monday was a bit tougher than today. Started with COACH but that didn't last long. The rest flowed pretty well. Had ether when I had my tonsils taken out as a kid. And got measles while still recovering in the hospital, which was a very big deal back in the day, both forme (the virus could have killed me, with my fresh incisions) and for the hospital, with highly contagious measles in their midst. I cannot understand the anti-vaccine people. If everyone got all their vaccinations, many of these viruses could be eliminated, meaning the next generation wouldn't need the vaccines. Oi. Maybe you had to experience the days of the iron lung to really appreciate vaccines.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Quick work today. With the circles, I also thought it might be Cape instead of Pace, but that became evident.

    Where's your cape, Argyle? Courtesy of Guy Clark, Right here (3:29)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Like Lucina, I wondered whether Rich switched Mon. and Tues. puzzles. Easy-peasy. I suspected CHANGE OF PACE early on with 20A. Then 32A confirmed it.
    I haven't thought of the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate for years. So funny! I loved Laugh In.
    There is ongoing debate whether the Amazon or the Nile is longer. It is difficult to measure exactly where they begin and end.
    Link Amazon vs Nile
    The Devil Wears Prada is one of this Streep fan's favorite movies.
    Beautiful, warm April like day here.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think my co-president of our dance club and I play good cop/bad cop.
    We have a square dancer who doesn’t control his diabetes. In conjunction with slight senior dementia, it seems to have affected his mind and personality. Over the past two years he has become more and more verbally abusive and profane. Now he insults our callers and accuses various ones of us of stealing his $50. (The same $50, in fact.) Under my leadership we officers have officially banned him from attending. I feel so guilty because he had been such a nice man and loyal member, but we can’t take the weekly upset and abuse. The officers all wanted this move made, but no one else would take the final responsibility.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice change of pace, but there were no circles on the Mensa site, so I didn't get it until Argyle 'splained it. Sailed through it mostly with perps filling in the unknowns.

    My daughter is an avid cookie baker. When she went away to college she would send us CARE PACKAGES of cookies every now and then. Her grandmother lived near the college, so she would go there and bake her cookies. It's been 25 years since she graduated and she is still sending cookies (mostly at Christmas and birthdays.) I don't bake cookies, but I do send her care packages of a local brand of potato chips (Middleswarth) that she and my grandson love, but can't get in New Jersey.

    The weather has been weird for this time of year, but I hope everyone is enjoying it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good morning, folks. Thank you, C. W. Stewart, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

    Got through this quite easily. Theme appeared as the puzzle evolved.

    Nice BOB link, Argyle. I almost spelled BOB wrong.

    Now I know how to spell AXEL.

    Tried APB before AKA became the answer. Only inkblot.

    12D and 52D are both similar.

    Off to my day. Heading to Waukegan tonight. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello Puzzlers -

    Breeze easy, in the style of a Monday.

    Morning, Argyle! I'm willing to bet you screened out some of the more "energetic" videos before choosing that one for Bob.

    Oc4beach - my sister ran a bakery in her converted garage for many years. At some point she hit on the idea of offering care packages that far-away parents could order for their kids, attending one of the local colleges or prep schools. She planned to call this business Food for Thought, but somebody else had already taken that name.

    ReplyDelete
  14. How could I miss CHANGE OF PACE when I saw PACE immediately and tried every phrase I could think of? Duh!

    Musings
    -All things Jackson are in peril of being changed
    -Granddaughter loves the Mac ‘n Cheese in our college CARE PACKAGE
    -The River ORNE was a reference point for parachutists on D-Day
    -Keep your opinions to yourself, until you show me DATA.
    -The master of the SPITBALL (1:46) wetting his fingers but drying others
    -The ILL-FATED Titanic was full of passengers and its owners were full of hubris
    -Gosh, Argyle, you got BRA and BOB in the same clip!
    -[HONK] away idiot, the delay is 3 miles ahead
    -Rapper Nelly and his smartly attired, modern-day POSSE
    -ARSENIC was an element of many of Agatha Christie’s plots
    -My retired minister neighbor gently disabused me of one BIAS I had held
    -Joe, I made that leap off a roof at 10 yrs old while wearing my Superman shirt but no CAPE. I found out what a greenstick fracture is.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good morning all.

    Thank you CW and thank you Argyle. A well-CRAFTED puzzle and review.

    Early error in the Mid north with SWAG prior to STAB. And that was it. In retrospect, with WILD and GUESS in the clue, SWAG wouldn't pass muster as the answer in a puzzle edited by Rich Norris.

    Opened a new browser tab and brought up the puzzle at the Chicago Tribune website after getting to 53A and seeing that there were circles. It wasn't necessary, but I want to get in the habit.

    OK, with all of the song links, here's Stevie Ray Look at Little Sister. Not Charlie Brown's little sister Sally.... He breaks a string around 2:30 and gets a new guitar from his roadie just before 3:00...

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  16. TTP, #6 in your "pass muster" list of misused phrases is Ice tea. Discuss, compare and contrast, as is your wont. At least it wasn't the Oxford comma.

    ReplyDelete
  17. D-O, Oh no, not that again. Maybe we should nip that in the butt before it brings back some deep-seeded resentments.

    By the by, there are some other interesting links there, including the one for Dr Who fans, WHONIVERSITY...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Still around and breathing. Read your comments, but unable to post everyday. Wishing everyone a Happy holiday in advance. Hope those that celebrated Hanukkah, had their fill of latkes and donuts.

    Today's puzzle was a breeze. No muss, no fuss. All done.

    Be well.

    ReplyDelete
  19. DO @ 10:02 and TTP @ 10:30
    At Villa Incognito it is "_ _ _ Tea" ... and the discussion is over. LOL

    OH, About today's puzzle ...
    At least it had ALE & BEERS, though they didn't make it an interesting solve.
    TOO Easy ...

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am trying to log on with my former identity and avatar since I figured out how to fix the Firefox onscreen format. I assume that is preferable in providing a little continuity. Yes?

    I just open the LAT puzzle on Cruciverb and see where the circles are supposed to be on my Mensa puzzle. Easy peasy.

    TTP, I really enjoyed your Pass Muster link. Good stuff, both your link and Dijon mustard.

    Some jerk sent an e-mail with a threat regarding the Los Angeles School District. As a consequence, ALL the LA schools are shut down today while the schools are swept for bombs, etc. (Our school district is not in LAUSD.) Many thousands of kids are out of school today. Many parents are scrambling regarding what to do with their kids who aren't in school while both parents are working. Geez... There's no reason this can't happened again and again. Geez...

    ReplyDelete
  21. A great and fun speed run this morning--many thanks, C.W.! And great pics this morning, Santa (I'll call you that until Christmas). I sailed through this and even got the theme early. Figured Tinbeni would love the BEER and ALE, but the SODAS not so much. There were actually lots of liquids in this puzzle, including the NILE and the ORNE, and DIRTY WATER, not great if you want to BATHE.

    Yellowrocks, what a sad business with that square dancer.

    Have a great day, everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Everyone:

    Late to the dance due to yet another medical test, grocery shopping, getting gas ($2.139), doing some banking, and then reading all the comments. (It's 1:45 and I haven't had lunch yet! ACK

    Anyway, easy, breezy and solved in much less time than yesterday's crunchy crumpet from CC. After filling in the first theme answer, I thought it was going to be cape-related but that didn't fit the reveal. It was a fun solve, no nits, no bumps.

    Thanks, CW, for a Tuesday treat, and thanks, Santa, for taking us through the "paces."

    Nice to hear from you, Coneyro; I'm sorry you're not up to posting more often, YR, what you had to do was sad but necessary, based on how you've described his behavior. Hope CED is okay.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nice Tuesday puzzle, CW and excellent write-up Argyle.
    WEES. Following latest "in" words, I tried ARTISAN first for 44d.
    TTP, your "pass muster" link also has a link to a Can You Pass as British quiz. I got Oi, OI, you are WELL British which made my day, although I am sure I got some wrong.

    Argyle, you forgot the most famous movie scene of a woman running on a beach. TEN

    VS

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  24. Float up and down: BOB

    Caused me to recall that truly tasteless joke: what do you call a man with no arms or legs floating in the ocean?

    The same guy hanging on a wall?


    The same guy on the floor near a door?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Good afternoon everyone.

    Easy, and straightforward today. CLUNG was a little Wednesdayish. But got it all without help or erasures.
    PACE - If early explorers decided Cape Agulhas instead of Cape of Good Hope was the southernmost point in Africa, then CHANGE OF CAPE would have worked, too.
    AXEL - Only 4-letter jump in skating that I know. The perp, OXO, made it easy.
    Good puzzle, CW. Keep 'em coming.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Y'all! Fun & Fast, C.W. Did it in 2 1/2 minutes less than yesterday. No circles. Didn't recognize CHANGE OF PACE as the reveal of theme. Duh!

    Great expo & links, Santa. Love the "AIN'T No Sunshine" clip especially. I had to laugh because the BOB link had an ad showing at the bottom of "Four Signs of Heart Attacks". I figure two "signs" were shown in the clip. Elderly men beware!

    I wanted Gucci but couldn't think of the name so tried PRADA, thinking they didn't do purses. Voila!

    Irish Miss, I read your gas purchase as $2 thousand and did a double-take wondering how big your tank was.

    Yellowrocks: I hope your demented old grouch doesn't own a gun.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Dudley: Did your sister follow through with the Care Package idea? Possibly with a different name.

    I know that there are a few outfits that here at Penn State that offer care package services.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Spitz, there's also a 4-letter Lutz jump in ice skating. Don't remember ever seeing it in a cw, though. Then there's the Salchow -- too many letters.

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  29. Fun puzzle. Thanks to Mr. Stewart.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi all -

    Nice play today and I even got the theme without circles. Thank you CW and Argyle!

    @TTP - love the SRV video! I was amazed by the switch so had to rewind and show the DH. He watched the whole thing with me and didn't mention until it was over that we own the DVD. And I've seen it. What a nice guy!

    @yellowrocks - I was wondering if there was a way you could contact the gentleman's family to help with the situation? I realize that might be overstepping bounds but I would guess that they have no idea how volatile he has become. This may be an effect of the disease process that the doctor doesn't know about because the gentleman doesn't see it as a problem. Also, sometimes sufferers do better in the early part of the day versus evening so maybe he could find a morning class instead? It's sad to see a disease take the best parts of people. I think a one-on-one approach in neutral territory would be the easiest way to break the news. I wish you luck.

    There are only 10 days until Christmas! So much to do still!

    t.

    ReplyDelete
  31. D-O I forgot about the Lutz. I don't remember having seen it in CW's either.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thanks to Ellen, this is probably one of the funniest videos I have ever seen. I don't usually laugh out loud but this cat cracked me up. Enjoy!

    Cat showing a stuffed tiger who's boss

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi all!

    WEES re: Monday-easy. I too was looking for a CAPE @53. Cue the V-8 whack!

    Thanks C.W. for the CHANGE OF PACE and thanks Argyle for the writeup and music (BOB'n' BRAs wasn't bad either :-))

    W/os - 6d: I was about to take a STAB at colAS b/f I checked the perp. W/ the C in place I tried Caugh(t) b/f I ran out of spaces @27d. Almost put in ?BALk @30a.

    ESP - 15a

    Close Fav - 54a... not even, not odds, not Fibonacci... another V-8 cue'd up...

    Fav - .NET. I've had .edu (OU), .mil (AF), .net (redacted), .gov (NASA), .com (too many to count), and .org (DW's charity) email addrs but I never got a .int :-(

    We had the Company PARTY Friday at the House of Blues (it was fun even for DW). Our OFFICE PARTY is Thurs and we hit up vendors for "nerd toys." There's one... the Hover Board; I laughed when it was donated as that's the scratch-off-ticket-prize I slipped on to break my ribs. Some vendors do have a sense of humor.

    unclefred - MIL feels the same way re: anti-vax'ers and also cites the iron lung. We're fully vaccinated here and only see iron lungs in museums where I hope they stay.

    TTP - loved the link... I found I say "Chomping." Now corrected, Thanks. Cut the Mustard I've said, but not in that context -- erm, we had enough potty humour yesterday.

    SNL AMEX ad.

    When a POSSE puts up a toll booth...

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  34. Oc4 - yep, it was ultimately called Cookies From Home, I think. Lots of tasty cookies and other goods went to school.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Work is done and paper read... As I was headed for the funnies I saw that Tim Conway is 82 today...Mr. Tudball out-takes. Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  36. Last night we had a delightful holiday square dance. I was not called A--H--- like eight or so previous times. My friends and I were not accused of stealing $50. I didn't have to appease an insulted caller. But, we did miss the old version of our thorn in the side.

    Tawnya, thanks for your suggestion about the gentleman(?) in question. We have gone the whole nine yards. Before banning him we tried counseling him and talking to the son with whom he lives. The son and his family have suffered the same problems and worse. He knows exactly what we mean and was surprised we put up with it. The son has been trying to sort out the medical problems with doctors. You can't force a person to give up unhealthy snacks, take medication and go to the doctor if he refuses, short of committing him. His very, independent, unreasonable father takes umbrage at every attempt. Last week the father was in the hospital for 5 days due to diabetic foot and leg problems. The doctors changed his meds. We shall see if that helps.

    ReplyDelete

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