google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, March 28, 2016 Nancy Salomon

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Mar 28, 2016

Monday, March 28, 2016 Nancy Salomon

Theme: Maw, git me m'teeth! - Gonna need'em fer this here puzzl'.

20A. Accepts a grim reality : BITES THE BULLET

39A. Hams it up : CHEWS THE SCENERY

56A. Is raring to go : CHAMPS AT THE BIT

Argyle here. If you're raring to nit pick on the above usage, please go here first. Grammarist There are a few crunchy spots that might slow you down and that's a good thing. I don't think it should be rushed even if you can.

Good to see Nancy Salomon back. She's the mentor to many many constructors.


Across:

1. 5th Dimension vocalist Marilyn : McCOO. Sensational voice.

6. Degrees for mgrs. : MBAs. (Master of Business Administration)

10. On a trip : AWAY. Destination 15A. Honolulu's island : OAHU

14. Like cheering stadiums : AROAR

16. Give (out) sparingly : DOLE

17. Not glossy, as a finish : MATTE

18. Sourpuss : CRAB. What! No Trader Joe's Crab Gyoza!

19. Short comic sketch : SKIT

23. Thickening agent used in ice cream : AGAR

24. "Way cool!" : "RAD!". So retro.

25. Rock's __ Speedwagon : REO

26. Slalom need : SKI

28. Cavs-vs.-Mavs event : NBA GAME

32. Tax deadline mo. : APR.

35. In need of calamine lotion : ITCHY



38. Cobb or Waldorf dish : SALAD

42. Enjoys an elegant meal : DINES. A nice pairing.

43. Bothered big-time : ATE AT

44. Ballot markings in boxes : X'es

45. Train amenity with drinks and food : CLUB CAR. from Amtrak : "On most medium and long-distance trains, food service is available in the Lounge Car, featuring table and casual seating."

47. Eeyore's pal : ROO. In the 100 Acre Wood.

49. Nonstick spray brand : PAM

50. Troop gp. : BSA. (Boy Scouts of America)

52. Small notebooks : PADS

60. Layered hairdo : SHAG

61. Japanese rice drink : SAKE

62. Irritate : ANNOY

63. Stretch out, say : LAZE

64. Pigmented eye layer : UVEA

65. Not at all lenient : STERN

66. Verses of praise : ODEs

67. Exec's benefit : PERK

68. American Pharoah, e.g. : HORSE. I admired his coming to Saratoga. A valiant effort.



Down:

1. Deadly African snake : MAMBA

2. Newmark with an online list : CRAIG. Needed the perps for this one. Wiki link

3. Terra __: earthenware : COTTA

4. Many John Wayne flicks : OATERs

5. Valuable rocks : OREs

6. Coffee-and-chocolate flavor : MOCHA

7. Uncovered : BARED

8. Captain in Ishmael's tale : AHAB. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale.

9. Many a commuter's home : SUBURB

10. Lay's "Betcha can't eat just one" is one : AD SLOGAN

11. Responded to the alarm : WOKE

12. Touched down : ALIT

13. "Still and all ... " : "YET ... "

21. "Foolish Pride" singer Travis : TRITT



22. Charge for using, as an apartment : LEASE TO. No need for the "to", is there?

27. Smooch shower on a Jumbotron : KISS CAM

28. Wall St.'s "Big Board" : NYSE. (New York Stock Exchange)

29. "Jeopardy!" host Trebek : ALEX

30. Fully grown filly : MARE

31. Nestlé ice cream brand : EDY'S

32. Electrical adapter letters : AC/DC

33. Golfer Mickelson : PHIL. Lefty

34. Brand in contact lens care : ReNu

36. Scorch : CHAR

37. In a lather, with "up" : HET

40. Google search successes : WEB PAGES

41. Gemstone weight : CARAT

46. Intensifies : AMPS UP

48. Not against trying : OPEN TO

50. Cake maker : BAKER

51. T-bone or porterhouse : STEAK

53. Mammy Yokum's lad : ABNER. His'n jest a li'l fella.

54. Christian's dresses? : DIOR'S

55. "Gypsy" composer Jule : STYNE. Jule Styne, Hugh Downs, 1979 Interview and Song from "Gypsy" Clip(12:31)

56. Libya neighbor : CHAD

57. Thin fog : HAZE

58. Squirrel away : SAVE

59. Slinger's dish : HASH. Hash slinger is diner-speak for waiter or waitress or the cook or even a kitchen worker.

60. __-mo replay : SLO

Argyle


39 comments:

OwenKL said...

There was a STERN miss from OAHU,
Decided to go wild and wahoo!
Next morn, when she WOKE
Her head felt half broke --
But that hunk in her bed? Well Yahoo!

How can a limerick weave MARILYN McCOO
Together with Milne's joey-doll ROO?
Take a lead from TV,
In fine, BBC,
And have them introduced by Doctor Who!

The pigmented eye layer is know as the UVEA,
Blue if you're Nordic, brown if from Nubia.
Here's what you can do,
Get contacts from RENU
To change, if your color is longer good to ya!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Yeah, definitely a little on the crunchy side for a Monday. I'm familiar with CHAMPING AT THE BIT, so that wasn't a problem. But Marylin MCCOO threw me for a loop right at the start. Also had trouble coming up with WEB PAGES from the clue, but overall the perps came to the rescue when needed and I didn't have any real problems.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

No big problems this morning. Didn't get the theme until Argyle laid it out. Natch. I agree that the "TO" in LEASE TO was superfluous. Not sure how else to clue it, though, without using "to."

I would have bet that STYNE's first name was Jules, not Jule. Good thing nobody was handy to take me up on it.

thehondohurricane said...


Morning all,

Rain is messing up my plans for today, wind will be the culprit tomorrow, so the spring yard work continues to lag. Therefore, why not have another Monday failure, which is what I have accomplished.

Never heard of Travis TRITT and guessed bad for 24A instead of RAD. Thought his (or her's) name might be Travis T Bitt. I knew RAD, but today it just did not look correct.

Darn near had another, but I did rectify my goof. Had chomp......... for 56A but Web Poges did not look so good, so I decided the A made the most sense.

Everything else I sailed through, but as someone once told me, close only counts in horseshoes. Tomorrow will be a better day, I hope!

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning,

Nice little bit of Monday crunch. On my second pass BITE THE BULLET fell right in, and I had an idea where to go. I was stuck at CHAMPS in lieu of chomps, but I do imagine that is perhaps a regional usage. Thanks, Nancy.

Another nice tour, Argyle. Thank you!

Have a good day, all.

Anonymous said...

Misspelled HORSEs should not be allowed in crossword puzzles (not even in the clues).

Micheal said...

Maybe his owners couldn't spell...

Isiah said...

I agree.

Hungry Mother said...

For some reason, I always think of CHOMPS at the bit, but the perp fixed me up.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

A nice, easy-breezy start to the week. Theme was obvious early on which helped with the solve. I prefer chomps but also know champs is correct, as well.

Thanks, Nancy and Argyle, for a fun romp and review.

Barry, you sound more like your old self again. Glad you're feeling better.

What a gloomy day we have today after a glorious, sunny Easter Sunday! And, as Hondo said, tomorrow is supposed to be wild and wooly, with gusting winds. The roller coaster weather continues.

Have a great day.

Lemonade714 said...

Champs at the bit all the way for me helped this Monday go smoothly, along with knowing McCoo and Tritt.

Always nice to see a Nancy Salomon by-line and I enjoyed rereading her interview. The puzzle is a perfect example of her philosophy- use only good theme fill not lots of them.

Thanks Nancy and Argyle

Yellowrocks said...

This Monday had a little more "bite" to it, LOL, but it was very perpable. The theme was obvious.
No nit with PHAROAH vs PHARAOH. Many people around here use their own invented spelling for given names. Spelled oddly, or not, that is the official name of the horse. It would be wrong to change the spelling in the clue.
I hope those who celebrate it had a delightful Easter. We did. My sister and my son and his family came over. It was a nice afternoon for a walk. This morning's rain is clearing up now.
I guess I am old-fashioned. Although I have heard both champed and chomped, I prefer the rarer CHAMPED. To me CHOMPED seems to denote chewing it up. I know that is just a personal whim of mine.
I feel like having a lazy day off today, but we had better go to the gym now to work off the extra calories from the weekend.

Husker Gary said...

Amen Argyle, that was my experience too. The unnecessary reveal never came.

Musings
-Larry David only got one SKIT on air when he was at SNL. He had better luck creating and writing Seinfeld
-NBA GAMES only get interesting to me in May and June. Yes, they do play that long!
-I’ll see a lot of this PAM for the next few months
-Easter went well here yesterday. No one seemed to get irritated or ANNOYED
-This horse had a pretty good last Saturday
-CRAIG’S List has never failed us
-The small towns around here are holding up as SUBURBS for Omaha workers
-A local sod company raised some eyebrows with the radio AD SLOGAN jingle “Grass Pad, We’re High On Grass”
-Foolish pride makes for a very dissatisfying meal
-AC/DC
-In Tiger’s prime, PHIL was the best they could do for a rival. He’s a lovely man but no where near the golfer Tiger was.
-WEB PAGES – I run any rumors in these through http://www.snopes.com. You?
-The mudslinging will really AMP UP this fall.
-Are you wearing DIOR, Gary? Nope, Kohl’s.
-Name this DOLE song - You’ve been keeping love from me just like you were a miser”

Bill said...

"His'n jest a li'l fella"

A nit to pick here - I'm from eastern Kentucky so I think I have more than a passing familiarity with hillbilly-speak. "His'n" is possessive - think "his 'un", or more formally, "his one" - as in "That piece of pie is his'n". So, "his'n" doesn't make sense as the phrase as constructed. And, he probably wouldn't say "fella" - it would undoubtedly be "feller".

I'm assuming the phrase wasn't lifted verbatim from a Capp work somewhere.

Lucina said...

What a treat to see Nancy Solomon's puzzle today! It has been a long while since she did a LAT crossword.

I fail to see any unusual crunch in today's grid, but then I knew Marilyn MCCOO so got off to a good start and sashayed all the way through. I'm not a country music fan but have heard of Travis TRITT.

It's a good way to start the week. Thank you, Nancy and Argyle!

Have a sensational day, everyone!

Yellowrocks said...

Bill, that was my first reaction, too.
I'd like to note that LIL ABNER and his brother, TINY YOKUM, were huge and were portrayed as perpetual teenagers. The title LIL was ironic. I have known quite large men who were called TINY. LIL ABNER and Daisy Mae's son was HONEST ABE YOKUM. He was portrayed as an infant who eventual grew to grade school age. You can see ABNER, TINY, and HONEST ABE in Argyle's picture.
Argyle, I liked your title and your write up.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Easy enough. The theme phrases filled in fast and covered a lot of ground. Hand up for preferring Champing to Chomping as used in the phrase. To me they don't mean the same thing - close, but not quite.

Morning, Argyle, thanks for 'splaining.

Colony from yesterday: a few of you commented on this, thank you. I wonder if the intent was that some number of groups of bats merge to form a colony. In that example, group would be a subset of colony, not equal to colony.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Happy Dyngus Day to everyone, especially of the Polish persuasion.

Crunchy for a Monday, but, take it slow and enjoy it like Argyle said. Got it all in eventually. Had CHOMP before CHAMP. Did not know it had two spellings. Did not know ROO or RENU so had to rely on perps.

CrossEyedDave said...

From Yest: Clue for "not a soul" without using "no,"
how about "uninhabited."

I would bite these bullets...

Chews the scenery?

Champs at the bit does not bother me because J.R.R. Tolkien made me well versed
from a young age. see riddle #2

VirginiaSycamore said...

Thanks to Nancy for a very crunchy and satisfying puzzle. And to Argyle for his edifying write up. I also had CHOMPS until I saw WEBPOGES.

To Hondo at 7:10 am,
A longer version is "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

Thanks for all the comments, especially to Yellowrocks for naming the Yokum family members and to CED for the Lord of the Rings puzzles and ANSWERS link.

Live Well and Prosper,
VS

Yellowrocks said...

CE Dave,
Now I know why I favor CHAMPS over CHOMPS. I learned it from a Mother Goose nursery rhyme book (your riddle #2) when I was knee high to a grasshopper.

CanadianEh! said...

Just a little crunchy for a Monday but that's OK. Thanks Nancy and Argyle.
Hand up for CHOMPS before CHAMPS. I didn't know STYNE and TRITT but perps filled them.

I was Asea before AWAY but then filled in AROAR and knew we wouldn't have that many of the hated A words. Then ALIT filled in. (SIGH)

I smiled at "Hams it up" and "elegant meal" right after Easter. No HASH here yesterday but leftovers today.

Yes Husker G, I use Snopes to check out all those rumours.

Most memorable SHAG
Farrah

Canadians have until April 30 to file income taxes.

Have a great day!

thehondohurricane said...


To Virginia Sycamore @ 10:13

You are absolutely right. My goof for the omission.

Chickie said...

Hello Everyone, Hands up for Chomps rather than Champs, but that was fixed with the perps. Tritt and McCoo and ReNu were unknowns but again, the perps saved the day.

I didn't find this too difficult, except for the above items. Monday's are great for the ego--mine anyway. I did get the theme. That's always a plus, too.

Thank you Argyle and Nancy for a nice beginning to my week.
Have a great day.

gmony said...

This puzzle made me feel (clues) 43a, 62a(add -ed) and turned me into a 18a for the rest of the day. Terrible for a monday. Leave these for wednesdays. So now i'll have to 20a.

Argyle said...

I'm assuming the phrase wasn't lifted verbatim from a Capp work somewhere. - Bill.

A correct assumption.

Monday Stoic said...

Thank you Nancy Salomon for an enchanting and enjoyable puzzle. Thank you Argyle for an enjoyable blog.

When I looked at Ms. Salomon's picture, I thought I'd seen her somewhere before. She looks like a spittin image of Elena Kagan, the Associate Justice - without the robes. It might help at the airports, she could probably just breeze thru the TSA security...

Her interview was also very gracious and informative.

Misty said...

Fun Monday puzzle, even though I didn't know three folks, MCCOO, TRITT, or STYNE. But the theme was no problem at all and overall very enjoyable, so many thanks, Nancy. And you too, Argyle.

Glad you're feeling better, Barry.

Have a great week, everybody!

Jayce said...

A very enjoyable Monday puzzle. Have heard and said "champing at the bit" since childhood. Wrote in STEIN and discovered it was really STYNE. Cool to see SALAD, DINES, ATE AT, and CLUB CAR all in the center.

Argyle, nice to see a view of Diamond Head from the other side.

Best wishes to you all.

Tinbeni said...

WOW !!! This was my "Favorite Write-up of the Year" by our guide Argyle.
Especially enjoyed watching the replay of Keen-Ice winning over American Pharoah at your Saratoga Travers Stakes.

Nancy: Thank You for a FUN Monday puzzle with an awesome theme.

Faves today, were the SAKE ... I enjoyed in the CLUB-CAR.

Needed ESP (Yup! Every-Single-Perp) to get CRAIG & STYNE ...
And both answers were "Learning Moments" ... always a plus!

Well, it is lightly raining ... what's that old expression???
"March Showers bring April Flowers ..."

And "It's Five O'clock Somewhere!" ... Sooooooooo ...
Cheers!

Ol' Man Keith said...

What a great way to start the week!
Over the past two or three Mondays I've noted how the week-starting pzls have gotten tougher--and I applaud it. It used to be that solving Monday grids was like dropping a hot knife through warm butter. Now that they've become more resistant, really chewier, I look forward to working my way through them. Ms. Salomon's is an excellent example--a pzl that requires some thinking, not so hard that it tempts one to cheat, yet not a pushover. And with a neat theme to boot!

Ol' Man Keith said...

I just remembered that for years I was a great fan of the "Lil' Abner" strip. Back in my 7th grade days I took to reading the comics every morning. I followed every twist and turn in that strip. Who else remembers the Shmoo? Oh, I loved that lil' critter.
"Lil' Abner" bonded me to newspapers, so that to this day I must have my morning read.

It was the only comic I found myself still reading through high school and college days. Al Capp's adventures of the Yokum family took on dimensions of parody and political satire that anticipated such worldly commentators as "Pogo," "Calvin and Hobbes," and "The Far Side."

Jerome said...

I was honestly thrilled to see a Nancy puzzle. We've been too long without one. For those of you not familiar with her, please read her interview with C.C. that Argyle posted. The word "legendary" gets tossed around so much that at times it seems to be a meaningless word. It's like the word "genius". Everyone in the spotlight seems to be labeled a genius. Nancy is truly a legend among crossword constructors and editors. I'll always adore her for mentoring me, and always feel proud that she agreed to co-write my first two published puzzles.

I always get a kick out of remembering telling her I hated writing clues and she telling me "So do I". I didn't expect that since Will Shortz said she's one of the greatest clue writers of all time! Ironic.

Good to see you once again, teacher.

John Lampkin said...

What Jerome said. She was my mentor also so I was delighted to see her name today. She's a CHAMP!

Bill G. said...

Keith, those are my favorite comic strips too. We have a complete collection of 'Calvin and Hobbes' and Jordan and I enjoy taking turns reading it aloud and laughing together. I starting enjoying Pogo at Cornell since it was featured in The Cornell Daily Sun. However, you left out another reason we both enjoyed Lil Abner. Al Capp had a wonderful was of depicting Daisy Mae, didn't he?

Argyle said...

How about this as a weird connection. Cite site

"The Shmoo Song" – John Jacob Loeb and Jule Styne (1948)

A song called "The Shmoo Song" was published as sheet music in 1948, but it doesn't appear to have been recorded. It was cowritten by Jule Styne, who wrote the winter classic "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" "The Shmoo Song" includes the following lyrics:

"The shmoo is the power of jet propulsion

The laugh convulsion of Bob Hope or Shmilton Berle

The rich, foamy lather in your shampoo

Was caused by Mr. Shmoo."

Abejo said...

God afternoon, folks. Thank you, Nancy Salomon, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

I started South today and headed North. I could not get 1A right off the bat. After a while I did remember MCCOO.

I like CHOMPS. However, I fixed it after PAGES forced me to.

Lil ABNER was my favorite comic always. Until Al Capp died. Liked Eddie Ricketyback of Dogpatch Airlines, Big Barnsmell, and Senator Phogbound.

50D BAKER was easy. My last name.

Did not know Travis TRITT. Perps.

Now i have to go back and enter Sunday's puzzle.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Maci45 said...

Ol' Man Keith...I remember the Shmoos! I was just telling my son the other day about my mom, dad, granny and grandpa gathered around the radio, listening to L'il Abner when the Schmoos were run out of town.

Glad someone else mentioned that Monday's are getting crunchier. Thought I was just getting stupider!

ATEAT and HET were snags for me. Knew of Marilyn MCCOO, Travis TRITT, and perps pulled in Styne.

Anonymous T said...

Hi all!

WEES re: a BIT of CHoMP in the CLUB CAR this Monday. Thank you Nancy. Tuesday difficult but completely delightful. I love the chosen anachronistic phrases. Thank you Argyle for an equally fun writeup.

Yep - Hand up for CHoMP b/f CHAMP. Other WOs: rOsE b/f WOKE @11d and had ABNoR before I was STERNly reminded of the spelling.

ESP - 1a, 21d, and 55d. Basically all the names.

Upon reading Argyle @1a I asked myself "He know's a UK boy-band?" I half-read the clue 'cuz it had a name in it and was thinking of 1-D, you know, that band my daughters' friends were nutz over a year ago. LOL on me. (And good on the girls - they don't like that bubble-gum stuff; Daddy taught 'em right - AC/DC Rocks!!!)

Likes: MAMBA instead of the ASP we always see. Same for AHAB v. OMOO. Also the HORSE in the same corner w/ the BIT he's CHAMPin' at.

I recall in 6th grade I was sick and had the school nurse call Pop at work. The nurse (a Nun) called and then told me, "He said, 'BITE THE BULLET and get your, um, bottom*, back in class.'" How you gonna argue that?

Glad you're feeling better Barry.

Fun little thing to try tomorrow after puzzling. Apparently enough folks turn to Google for answers. Not knowing who MCCOO was, and being assured by Argyle she had a lovely voice, I went to Google for 5th Dimension's music. As soon as I got '5th Dimen' typed-in 1a's clue was the 3rd suggestion verbatim. I have heard their music.

Oh, right, I found Aquarius to calm you after AC/DC :-)

Cheers, -T
*I know my dad didn't say bottom. That Nun lied to me!