google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, March 16 2016, Kurt Krauss

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Mar 16, 2016

Wednesday, March 16 2016, Kurt Krauss

Theme:  

 16. Venue that keeps you up-to-date : NEWS CHANNEL. Channel Islands. Chain of eight islands off the coast of Southern California.


27. Tropical cocktail whose color comes from curaƧao liqueur : BLUE HAWAIIAN. Hawaiian Islands.


47. Chaste priestess of ancient Rome : VESTAL VIRGIN. Virgin Islands. Wikipedia:
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, and form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.



61. Biblical wise man : KING SOLOMON. Solomon Islands. Interesting.


37. This puzzle's theme, as suggested by the ends of 16-, 27-, 47- and 61-Across : ISLANDS

Melissa here. Very do-able but messed myself up a bit in the west with a few too-eager guesses. Didn't catch the theme until I had all but one theme answer filled in. Nicely done 37a ISLANDS right in the center.

Across         
 
1. Latte option : MOCHA. If you add chocolate syrup to a latte, you get a mocha.



6. Difficult position : SPOT

10. It's cut and dried : HAY. Love this clue.


13. Loud, as a crowd : AROAR
 
14. African city where pounds are spent : CAIRO. Capital of Egypt.



15. Tree feller : AXE
 
18. __ Tin Tin : RIN

 
19. Hunk : SLAB

 
20. Really bother : IRK

 
21. Bus terminal : DEPOT

 
23. "Beaches" actress Midler : BETTE

 
25. Canadian stadium renamed Rogers Centre in 2005 : SKY DOME

 
30. First name in game shows : VANNA. Fooled me, was reaching for a male's name, like Monte.

 
31. Work-wk. start : MON

 
32. Basic Latin conjugation word : AMAT

 
36. "Got it, man?" : DIG

 
41. Big heart? : ACE. Nice clue.

 
42. Ladies of Sp. : SRA'S. Senoritas.

 
44. Chicago's __ Center : AON. I had no idea about this building.

 
45. Elena of the Supreme Court : KAGAN

 
51. Record covers : SLEEVES

 
54. "__ a stinker?": Bugs Bunny : AINT I

 
55. Upright, e.g. : PIANO. Fooled me. Tried ERECT first.

 
56. Bow (out) : OPT

 
57. Disaster relief org. : FEMA

 
60. Longtime football commentator Cross : IRV

 
65. Actress Charlotte : RAE

 
66. Where to learn une leƧon : ECOLE. French. Une
leƧon = a lesson; ecole = school.

67. Practical joke : PRANK
 
68. CIA forerunner : OSS

 
69. "Man, you are not serious!" : DUDE

 
70. Rocker Patty married to John McEnroe : SMYTH
 
Down

 
1. 24 Hours of Le __: auto race : MANS. Oldest active sports car endurance race, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France.

 
2. Hurler Hershiser : OREL

 
3. Ninja Turtle's "Awesome!" : COWABUNGA

 
4. Faded star : HAS BEEN

 
5. Curved part : ARC

 
6. Went under : SANK

 
7. Alley target : PIN

 
8. Load from a lode : ORE

 
9. "Shoulda listened to me!" : TOLD 'YA

 
10. Silent Marx : HARPO

 
11. Assumed truth : AXIOM

 
12. "Fiddler on the Roof" matchmaker : YENTE. Always try to put an A or L at the end.


14. Hall of Fame infielder Rod : CAREW
 
17. Words before homer or brick wall : HIT A

 
22. Novelist Ferber : EDNA

 
24. Takeout option : THAI. Tried To Go, which makes no sense, then Taco ...

 
25. "The Da Vinci Code" priory : SION. I'm probably the only person who never read any of Dan Brown's books. Wikipedia.


26. Warm-hearted : KIND
 
27. Some undies : BVD'S

 
28. Lion's den : LAIR

 
29. Range maker : AMANA

 
33. Rod Stewart classic with the line "You stole my heart but I love you anyway" : MAGGIE MAY

 
34. Trendy berry : ACAI

 
35. Ky. neighbor : TENN

 
38. Postage-paid enc. : SASE. Self-addressed stamped envelope.

 
39. Gobs : LOTS

 
40. Banana peel : SKIN

 
43. Kristoff's reindeer in "Frozen" : SVEN

 
46. Sculpture or ballet : ART FORM

 
48. Brought forth : EVOKED

 
49. Run out : LAPSE

 
50. Corleone patriarch : VITO

 
51. Veep between Hubert and Gerald : SPIRO

 
52. Turkish coins : LIRAS

 
53. Some nest sites : EAVES. Barn swallows like to nest in eaves.




 56. Give the eye : OGLE
 
58. __ Blanc: tallest Alp : MONT

 
59. Egyptian cross : ANKH

 
62. Post-ER area : ICU. Intensive Care Unit.


63. Sign of approval : NOD
 
64. Old DJ's records : LP'S



Note from C.C.:

Please click here to see a few pretty azalea pictures D-Otto took yesterday. What did you see in the first two pictures? D-Otto said "The one with the cat under it isn't an azalea, but it is spectacular looking."

50 comments:

OwenKL said...

Once said by a VIRGIN from Virginia --
No matter what he tries to put in ya
If he won't take no, but
You kick in his nuts,
The good Lord won't hold it agin ya!

There once was a basso from TENN.
Who went by the name on Henn.
He tried his urgin'
On a 'Giny VIRGIN,
Now he's singing his songs in a key.!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Nice work, Kurt and mb!

Cute theme!

Several items perped: SKYDOME, MAGGIE SMYTH, IRV, AON.

But OK in the end.

Cheers!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Got through this one easily enough for a Wednesday. Some minor missteps included EDUCED before EVOKED and TO GO before THAI. Knew all the theme islands, but some were rather obscure. COWABUNGA was a gimme, since I was a Turtles fan back in the day when the original B&W comic was being published.

Learning moment of the day was that they use pounds in CAIRO. All of Egypt, I presume? Either way, it was pretty easy to guess with a little perp help.

Actually woke up a few minutes before my alarm this morning. Still exhausted, but it's a sign that my circadian rhythm is starting to reset.

Big Easy said...

Good morning. I'm pretty sure that Rod wasn't Singing about a VESTAL VIRGIN in MAGGIE MAY. Let's just assume that the cougar 'had been around' a few times.

I purposely avoided reading the them clue-37A- to figure it out, but as usual I couldn't. But there were really no unknowns or sneaky clues in this puzzle. When describing LIRA, wouldn't LIRE be the plural? Maybe the constructor was cluing 'individual' coins.

PIANO- I would have filled ERECT but the perps had already taken care of it.
COWABUNGA- I haven't seen any Ninja Turtle show but it's an old surfer's term and it was mostly filled by the crosses.

Melissa- make that two for the Dan Brown Books. I haven't read any either, nor do I care to.

C.C.- I have about 20 azalea bushes in my yard. The front yard ones- Encore Azalea- bloom three times a year at the same time. But the back yard's are never in sync with each other. Some just started blooming as the other flowers wilted.

Hungry Mother said...

Used AON twice this morning and never before as far as I remember.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

No prob, as they say somewhere. Got 'er done in typical Wednesday time. Even figured out the theme before ISLANDS showed up.

FEMA -- Patron saint of New Orleans.
BVDS -- I'll stick with my "Flute of the Rooms."
COWABUNGA -- Isn't that a Bart Simpson exclamation?

Melissa, I had no idea about all those coffee nuances. I just stick with cafƩ noir (or is it "noire"?), not to be confused with Guy Noir up on the twelfth floor of the Acme Building.

unclefred said...

Got 'er done with about usual Wedbesday time, in spite of stating off with MOCCA instead of MOCHA. Soon corrected. Never heard of AON Center. What is AON, anyway? Overall, fun perfect Wednesday CW, thanx, Kurt! And terrific write-up, thanx, Melissa! Also especially enjoyed Owen's limerick today. Reminds me of a joke: Men and women sometimes argue about which is most painful, childbirth or a kick in the nuts. The answer is a kick in the nuts is more painful, because after a while women will often say they'd like to have another baby, but men never say they'd like another kick in the nuts!!

inanehiker said...

Smooth and steady solve. I like to play Geography quizzes on Sporcle.com so the ISLANDS were all pretty well known. Constructor could have found a way to put Marshall in, but would be hard pressed to find another meaning for island groups like the Seychelles.

Also count me in for not having read any of Brown's DaVinci books.

Thanks Melissa and Kurt!

thehondohurricane said...


Struggled a bit, but got through it okay. Melissa, nice to hear from you and thanks for the write up. Kurt, enjoyed the challenge.

A few re-writes today.

55A Erect/PIANO Guess I'm not the only one .
35A Acia/ACAI Always screw this one up.
12D Yenta/YENTE
70A Smith/SMYTH

44A AON was all perps. Never heard of it so I'm guessing "athletic supporters" are not part of the dress code for it's inhabitants.

The role of Vito,IMO, was made for Marlon Brando.

After leaving the booth, IRV Cross became athletic director at Idaho State U. Did not last too long as I recall.

Rod CAREW, one of the good guys, has to be high on CC's list. He was a player.

And one MEH for the day. 13A AROAR. But, been through this complaint in the past.



CrossEyedDave said...

Did the puzzle in the waiting area while DW is having her hip replaced. What now?

Good thing I brought along one of George Barany's offerings.

CC, I clicked on the azalea link only to be told I had won a new iPhone! From Amazon!
I started to fill out my address except I got bombarded by questions that are none of their business.

I disconnected. Oh we'll, there goes a free phone...

Bill said...

I had no idea on the Dan Brown reference, either - so there are at least two of us who haven't read his books!

oc4beach said...


Nice one today thanks to Kurt and Melissa. No cheats or red letters today, but as usual perps to the rescue.

I had already filled in all of the theme clues by the time perps filled in the theme reveal. I love the Hawaiian islands but have never been to the other ones.

COWABUNGA actually goes back to the "Howdy Doody Show" from 1947 to 1960 and was the favorite expression of Chief Thundercloud. I probably wasn't aware of it until we got our first TV set in 1952. The expression then got picked up by the California surfer community ala "COWABUNGA Dude!" The rest is history.

I've read the Dan Brown books and seen the first two movies made from them. The books are better. I'm not sure his other books would make good movies.

Have a great Saint Patrick's Day Eve.

CanadianEh! said...

Fun trip to the ISLANDS today. Thanks Kurt and Melissa Bee. Thanks also to C.C. and D-otto for the photos to remind us that spring is not too far away. Loved how the cat posed for the photo and noted the deer in the other photo.

COWABUNGA was a favourite expression of my sons during the Ninja Turtle craze in their youth.
I had emited (wrong spelling) before EVOKED and bras before DVDS. That gave me Aih for Got it Man? (this was before Cowabunga filled in) and I wondered if it was a new American spelling for EH!
SKYDOME was a quick fill; sometimes we forget to call it by the newer name.
We are usually looking for Elena's first name in CWs.
We saw Mont BLANC from Chamonix, France. Beautiful.

Have a great day. Best wishes for your wife's surgery CED.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Nice, straightforward Wednesday offering which I completed in less time than Tuesday's took me. Didn't get the theme until the reveal which is always an aha moment.

Thanks Kurt and Melissa for an enjoyable mid-week treat.

DO, the flowers are spectacular and the kitty fit in purr-fectly! šŸˆ

CED, best wishes to your DW.

PK, how are you coming along? Any more mobile?

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Lovely exposition, Melissa, especially the ISLAND pix
-The difference between my LATTE at home and at Starbucks is ~$5.00
-Last summer’s ideal weather on the prairie EVOKED ☺ LOTS of HAY
-3 huge fails by one player on VANNA’S game
-MON is just another day around here
-ELENA KAGAN joins YOKO ONO as a frequent cwd denizen
-After Katrina, FEMA had 120,000 trailers built to temporary housing but it turns out they were full of formaldehyde and made people sick. So they sit.
-Yup, oc4beach, What COWABUNGA elicits for some of us
-Hollywood’s most famous HAS BEEN, of course, is Norma Desmond
-That 10 PIN can really IRK a right-handed bowler
-Rod CAREW HIT A homer at about a 5/year rate
-Uninteresting BVD’S replaced much more interesting BRAS
-Many retirees fear their money will LAPSE too soon
-Name the movie: The title character turns over the ACE of Hearts for a full house but gets beat by Yancy’s straight flush

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy as others have said. Liked the theme. Speculated about other Islands - Philippine, Canary, Commander, and Cook come to mind. Probably a very limited number that can be combined with another word and clued independently.
Got both 9 ltr downs from the perps. Thanks Kurt and Melissa.
Also loved the HAY clue. Good Anglo-Saxon word. Hau - L. German; Heu - German, hooi - Dutch

Enjoy the day.

C6D6 Peg said...

Nice, easy theme today. Thanks, Kurt & Melissa for the great write-up and pics of the islands.

D-O, the azaleas look beautiful. My front flowerbed is covered with Encore Azaleas, but since they bloom October thru February, not much time for them to recover to bloom again in spring.

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle. Wednesdays are right in my wheelhouse. Thanks K-squared and Melissa.

CED, good thoughts for your wife and you. I hope all goes well.

Here in southern California, we have a well-known channel island right off the coast, easy to see on most days. It's Catalina Island. Remember "Twenty-six miles across the sea..."?

Gary, that Wheel of Fortune player may be a nice guy but he isn't the brightest bulb in the knife drawer. :>)

oc4beach: As I remember, that Howdy Doody character was Chief Thunderthud.

One of my childhood's friends family had more money than we did. They got a TV before we had one. I used to go over to his house to play in the afternoons. Then we'd come in to watch TV. We'd start by watching the test pattern. Then Howdy Doody would come on.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Enjoyed this puzzle, Kurt! Enough known perps to WAG the rest. Very nice ISLAND tour, Melissa.

WEES! D-O's flowers flicked on then off so I just got a glimpse several times I tried. Two of Melissa's pictures were blank. Don't have the right programs, I guess.

Much more mobile, Irish Miss, thank you for asking. Regaining my confidence.

CED, hope DW's recovery is uneventful for both of you. Good luck!

I am not a poet and know it said...

I usually enjoy a good limerick but the second one today from OwenKL is a real head scratcher. I hate to be so stupid to admit that I haven't a clue to its meaning, even though I think the TENN. should be said as Tennessee, and the HENN. as Hennessy (as in the Cognac) - but what about lines 3-5, and how does it all tie together??

Jayce said...

Fun puzzle; I enjoyed it.

JD said...

Good morning all,

Enjoyed Kurt's puzzle and whizzed thru the top catching onto the theme right away...not a usual happening for me.When I hit AON crossing SASE, I was stymied and from there I slowed down. I KNOW we have seen SASE many times, but I still don't remember it.Took awhile to fill in King Solomon; changed leave to lapse and vito was unknown.

Did the CW in the car early this morning on our yearly drive down to the little farming/wine community of Hollister where our tax man resides...such a beautiful drive. Everything is green with the recent rain.D-otto, your azaleas are gorgeous!

CEDave... good thoughts for your wife's quick recovery. I know you will help her with those daily exercises to get her back to 100%.
Melissa, always a good write up from you...thanks!

We are "off" once more to Buenos Aires, and a cruise through the Falkland ISLANDS and thru the Strait of Magellan. What a great way to learn more about geography.I will catch up when I can, but we never buy WIFI on the ship.

SwampCat said...

I must have been on the right wavelength. I thought this was easy. I even got the theme right away. (That never Happens!) Thanks, Kurt. Loved the Load from a Lode clue.

Melissa, the island pictures were beautiful. Thanks!

Fun limericks today, Owen.

melissa bee said...

hi all,

anyone having trouble seeing the second two ISLAND pics?

Jayce said...

Melissa, yes, I can't see the last two island pics.

If my feet could show it they'd be Longfellows said...

SwampCat @ 1:14

Can you please explain Owen's second limerick to me? Thanks

Anonymous said...

Cannot enter VESTAL VIRGIN without singing a little Procol Harem to myself. Has to be one the most recognizable songs of its era. And, man, that organ! I'd link it if I could on my phone. There was some kind of lawsuit concerning the sound but I can't remember the details.

Anonymous said...

Me,too, Swamp Cat. And the first one skated very close to bad taste.

melissa bee said...

Jayce (and anyone else who couldn't see the second two ISLAND pics), howbout now?

OwenKL said...

There once was a basso from TENNessee
Who went by the name of Hennessy
He tried his urgin'
On a 'Giny VIRGIN,
Now he's singing his songs in a key of C!

High C. Sorry for the confusion.

I read one of Brown's books, and started on a second, and realized he was killing people off too often, and in the most gruesome of ways, that I really wasn't comfortable with them. A thriller I like, horror I stay far away from!

OwenKL said...

'Giny is short for Virginia.

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2
-Just back after18 holes on a windblown but warm and sunny day
-MB, I still cannot see the pix
-Owen, C! looked like C Factorial to me. Your always-great limericks are appreciated
-I don’t think I’d like the plumbing alteration to guard the VESTAL VIRGINS
-The great scene where an ACE of Hearts (4:44) meets a straight flush
-Yes, oc4beach, that was Chief Thunderthud who today would probably be considered racist
-I enjoyed both of Dan’s books - Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons
-Thinking of you and your wife Dave!
-Bill, I enjoyed your mixed metaphor!

oc4beach said...


Bill G: You're right, it was Thunderthud. I was going from memory on the name and I got half of it right. LOL

Melissa: Nope, still can't see the second ones even after multiple refreshes.

Jayce said...

Melissa, still can't see those pics. When "enlarged" they just look like a tiny red dot.

Jayce said...

I read both The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons and enjoyed them okay. It drove me nuts how the author blatantly ended every chapter with a clumsy "come on" to continue reading, such as ending a chapter with, for example, "... and he was astonished at what he saw."

Tinbeni said...

Melissa Bee: WOW !!! What an outstanding write-up and photo links

Kurt Krauss: Thank You for my "New-Favorite-Puzzle of the year, 2016."
Geez this was a FUN solving experience, especially for a Florida Beach Bum.

Favorite theme (as if you had to ask, lol) was VESTAL VIRGIN ... there's a soft-spot-in-my-heart for Vestal Virgins ...

Another fave, of course, was the RIN TIN TIN cluing. Is that a Double-CSO?

BTW, regarding my "new" Part-Time Job ... I made it through 8 days of training ... with a huge-smile-on-my-face.
(Though it has forced my Crossword Solving Time until later in the day. tears ...)

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

Lexicographer Lex said...

OwenKL @ 2:19 and 2:26

I think you'll find that 'Ginny is an acceptable abbreviation for the woman's name, Virginia. 'Giny - not so much . . . suggest that you Google "'Giny definition" . . . you'll find something I'm sure you weren't intending

Tinbeni said...

Finally read all your comments ...

Never even saw the clue for AON ... perps got it.
So I never even had to wonder whether I would have known 44-a, Chicago's___Center was AON. Thanks perps.

And to be "clear" ... I have 2 days left of "Training" then "Go-On-The-Floor" next week.

My schedule is 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
(Which still leaves me 143 hours per week to be a Florida Beach Bum).

Cheers!

Ol' Man Keith said...

My only false start was HAM for HAY, but I caught it soon enough.

Thanks, CC, for linking the AON building. Like you, I'd no idea of it beforehand. It was the only fill I wasn't sure of. Now that I've seen a view of the building itself, I am reminded of the contemporary passion for creating tall structures that are almost not there. The AON reminds me of our latest cool tall one, here in OC, the first of a soon-to-be-built matching twin, this one labeled "200 Spectrum" at Spectrum Center Drive in Irvine, CA.
OOPS! I was going to link you to it, but somehow our local Big Brother, the Irvine Company, has managed to remove all of its pix from the internet. (Who says you can't remove something from the net?! - at least from the obvious URLs....)

Bill G. said...

Was it yesterday we had a clue about a modest skirt with the answer MAXI? I am seeing them show up on guests on talk shows more often lately. Geez, they look so frumpy to me. I'll take an immodest miniskirt any day.

I'm off for a short bike ride, a macchiato and then a pleasant hour of tutoring. See ya...

Kurt said...

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments. This was a fun one to construct.

Kurt

Spitzboov said...

Back in '58, we stood out to sea from Long Beach, CA transiting past the Channel Islands on the USS Philippine Sea (CVS-47).

The bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey including Alderney and Sark are also referred to as Channel Islands on maps. They are in the English Channel just off Normandy.

CrossEyedDave said...

DW is up and about
(for a distance of about 5 feet...)
(with a walker..)
but, considering all she has been thru, it is amazing!

Re: Puzzle, Thank you Kurt, it got me thru some anxious hours.
(With a ditto to George Barany for the Pi puzzle.)

The Trivia Island!

The serious island?

The reality island...

&, of course,the ever popular dessert island...

OwenKL said...

Lex: darn it, I want a nickname for the state, so it needs to be a soft G, but the girl's name Ginny has a hard G, and Jinny is spelt differently enough that the link to Virginia isn't evident. What do I have to do, change it to Verginny? I guess maybe 'Ginnee or 'Ginnie?

Anonymous T said...

Hi all!

Very late today as I was attending a Critical Infrastructure CyberSec seminar (followed by beers) today. The conference was good but scared the poo out of me!

Fun pzl Kurt. You almost got me in the SW but I matched ya' today. Thanks. Thanks too to Melissa for the writeup (and pics) and to D-O for sharing his azaleas (and Keillor link).

WOs - many today... I wanted cured HAm b/f HAY; hand up Unclefred for MOCcA; anch PRANK'd me; and,

why the SW was a bugger - treES b/f EAVES and remakES (killed a tree) for cover (as in songs) b/f SLEEVES. I finally remembered SPIRO and was done (hey, he was before my time) thanks to perps on stack'd names @60 & 65a

Notables: c/a @7d == PIN and we see SKY DOME again (what WNBA team plays there? I already forgot). MAGGIE MA_ was the 1st in the SE (love it!) - I had to wait for Patty SMYTH to perp 'e' vs. 'Y'.

How is it no one linked Whiter Shade of Pale for VESTAL VIRGIN?

Fav: Y'all know it's Bugs' "AIN'T I a stinker."

Barry G. Yes, Egypt uses the "pound" but it AIN'T £-Sterling. They have their own. When I was there is was $1US to £7 EGY.

CED - Yeah, the Nigerian prince won't return your emails either... Glad your DW is up and about already (even if a step or 7).

UncleFred - LOL - DW birthed two kids while, after once, I learned to protect 'em at all cost :-)

Cheers, -T

Misty said...

Bet I'll be one of the last people to check in to the blog today. Medical procedure thing took up most of the day, but getting the puzzle this morning got me off to a good start. Many thanks, Kurt--it was a lot of fun. And Melissa, your pics are wonderful.


Hope you all had a great Wednesday!

Anonymous T said...

Misty - Nah, I'm one DUDE that's always up late. I just logged off from the office and now reading the paper to see if I missed anything important/interesting (y'all see a 1503 shipwreck was discovered w/ a rare (this is apparently only the 2nd know to exist) Indio-coin on it?). Hope all went well w/ you procedure. C, -T

Anonymous T said...

Here's the shipwreck story on Huff-post. C, -T

Bill G. said...

I've been noticing girls/women wearing something I think is called yoga pants. Some of them appear to be painted on rather than pulled up.

Misty, I'm up late too.

Anonymous T said...

COWABUNGA Bill G! - Are you sure you're not California Dreamin' :-)

I've read about those Yoga pants, but, sadly, never seen 'em in real-life :-)

Cheers, -T