google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 31, 2016 C.W. Stewart

Advertisements

May 31, 2016

Tuesday, May 31, 2016 C.W. Stewart

Theme: Celebrity Coupling - An "in language" pairing is reimagined with the first word representing a famous person and the second a comestible.

20A. Photo caption for Condoleezza with a bowl of pintos? : RICE AND BEANS

36A. Photo caption for Chris with a sandwich bun? : ROCK AND ROLL

42A. Photo caption for NFL Hall of Famer Sam with a pastry shell? : HUFF AND PUFF

58A. Photo caption for Kevin with his Easter basket? : BACON AND EGGS

Argyle here and a four row theme grid. No reveal needed but you have two things to solve; who the celeb is and what the food is. Slight weakness in that two of the second words don't change meaning from the base pair (BEANS, EGGS) and the other two do change. (ROLL, PUFF) The first pairing gave it way but I still needed perps to confirm my people. A secondary result is the initials are somewhat famous, too. R&B, rhythm and blues; R&R, military time off; H&P, medical use, History and Physical examination; B&E, police speak for Breaking and Entering. Pretty sure it's unintentional; you can take almost any *&* and find it has a meaning.

Across:

1. "The Aviator" actor Alan : ALDA

5. Subtle attention-getter : "PSST!"

9. Charge the quarterback : BLITZ

14. Enter : GO IN

15. Indian princess : RANI

16. Haunting : EERIE

17. Boot out : OUST

18. __ before: deadline words : ON OR

19. Gone up : RISEN

23. Take for granted : ASSUME

24. Neptune's domain : SEA

25. White lie : FIB

28. Fillable flatbreads : PITAs

31. Ultimatum words : "OR ELSE!"

33. "__ as directed" : USE

38. Headlights-in-fog effect : HALO

40. Put on television : AIR

41. Film spool : REEL

47. Farm pen : STY

48. Joins : UNITEs

49. Uncomplaining type : STOIC

51. Chewie's shipmate : HAN

52. Like many a morning coffee: Abbr. : REG.ular

54. Fake : UNREAL

61. Jeweler's unit : CARAT

64. Fat used in baking : LARD

65. Bellini's "Casta diva," e.g. : ARIA



66. Love : ADORE

67. Not busy : FREE

68. Become softened by cuteness : MELT

69. Study aids : NOTEs

70. Whole bunch : SCAD

71. Canonized mlles. : STE.s French saints.

Down:

1. Greek marketplace : AGORA

2. Jazzman Armstrong : LOUIS

3. Spinal column components : DISCS

4. Poker dealer's request : "ANTE UP"

5. Characterized by : PRONE TO. Some poker players are characterized by their failure to "ANTE UP" and are PRONE TO being called out on it.

6. Material for some castles : SAND

                                  or
7. Supercilious sort : SNOB

8. Runs out of gas : TIRES

9. "The Natural" author Malamud : BERNARD

10. Luau keepsakes : LEIs

11. 1040-reviewing org. : IRS

12. __ score : TIE

13. Path to enlightenment : ZEN

21. "The Kite Runner" boy : AMIR

22. Really long time : AEON

25. Arctic ice phenomena : FLOES

26. Land in a river : ISLET

27. Beer __ : BELLY

29. Military sch. : ACAD. (academy)

30. Decides not to go to : SKIPS

32. Goof up : ERR

33. "Yep" : "UH-HUH"

34. Steamy setting : SAUNA

35. Pixielike : ELFIN

37. Stuck in __ : ARUT

39. Many a time, poetically : OFT

43. Fizzes up : AERATES

44. Fraction of a min. : N-SEC

45. Word seen on cornerstones : FOUNDED

46. Come across : FIND

50. Bath & Body Works products : CREAMS

53. Plays a round : GOLFS

Looking for his ball?
55. Everglades wader : EGRET

56. Physically well-coordinated : AGILE

57. Exams for legal wannabes, for short : L-SATS

58. Like floors without rugs : BARE

59. Pusher catcher : NARC

60. Vicinity : AREA

61. Item in a food drive donation : CAN

62. Brouhaha : ADO

63. Go bad : ROT

Argyle


42 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

BBQ ended up going off without a hitch yesterday, with the rain tapering off just before grill time.

Got through this one in decent time. Slowest spot was HUFF AND PUFF because (a) I had no idea who Sam HUFF was and (b) I had ELVIN before ELFIN. Oh, and (c) I've never really though of a PUFF as being a "pastry shell" (although it certainly makes sense). Anyway, the perps eventually got me where I need to go.

Another slowish spot was PRONE TO, which I just could come up with from the clue and needed every perp to get.

Lemonade714 said...

This was for a rare speed run with no slow downs except trying to write while my arm heals. Sam Huff was a very well respected and hated linebacker who tried to make Jimmy Brown and the Cleveland Browns miserable.

I agree with Argyle that the theme had some inconsistency with 1 and 4 both parts as food and 2&3 only the second half.

Here is a RECIPE that can be adapted for dessert or side dishes.

Back to work and hurricane season looming. Be safe all

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

AHEM before PSST, but other than that, this was a Tuesday speed run. HUFF was an unknown, but it perped easily. Good start to the day.

Wow, Argyle, "comestible" -- is that a Tuesday-friendly word?

Guess I missed it. Lemon, what's wrong with the arm?

OwenKL said...

{B, C+, B-.}

Poor John had some painful slipped DISCS.
Which he got from one too many fun risks.
He tried to be STOIC,
Now he's moving aerobic,
They slipped back when he was hit by a BLITZ!

The Deadline, by which they must be done ON OR...
OR ELSE heads will ROLL, Oh, the horror!
Jobs will ROCK,
Beat the clock,
HUFF AND PUFF, if it's done, Oh, the honor!

If you found what you lost, that is fine.
But later, it's not FOUNDED you may FIND!
You may lose what's too loose,
Don't blame it on LOUIS,
Finder's keepers, so what I FIND is mine!

TTP said...

Good morning all.

Got to fill in an X again on this speed run. Got the theme early with BACON and then HUFF AND PUFF as a very early fill. Then went back and filled in AND EGGS.

I had three type overs. AmORE to ADORE and SAUte to SAUNA. Both valid answers for the clue. The third type over was at the end by aSST to PSST. Gotta quit filling in letters based on partial strings.

Also a FIW and no TADA upon completion. Hit the G key when aiming for F in GOLFS and ended up with GOLgS and GREE.

Hope to go GOLgING later today.

unclefred said...

Speed run on this one, thanx, C.W. for not busting my chops. Perfect Tuesday. And I very much enjoyed the theme and relatively straightforward clues. Barry, think of cream-puffs. My maternal grandmother used to make them from scratch. And make home-made noodles. Lemon, what happened to your arm? Owen, thanx for the limericks. C, C, C, but still a grin! Terrific write-up Argyle, "comestible" excepted! Use words like that on Friday or Saturday!! LOL Hope everyone had a good Memorial weekend. I really enjoyed my three days off.

billocohoes said...

Sam HUFF was a linebacker for the Giants and Washington from '56 thru '70, and was the Redskins' radio broadcaster thru 2012. Some think modern sports journalism began with Howard Cosell's feature "The Violent World of Sam Huff".

I think of PRONE TO as meaning "likely to" do something and "characterize" as a description - someone who is prone to fall down is characterized as clumsy.

Similarly the clue for RISEN feels off, shouldn't it be clued "gotten up"" rather than "gone"?

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Mostly easy. Wanted Louie @ 2d, but ASSUME pointed to LOUIS. Otherwise, no erasures or lookups. Agree w/ Argyle's take on the theme. 4 AND's contributed to ample anchor points.

Yellowrocks said...

Easy to suss theme. Quick and interesting puzzle.
In my mind some poker players are PRONE TO failure to ante up, not prone to being called on it. In this sense, characterized fits okay.
The air balloon has RISEN or GONE UP.
The prices have RISEN or GONE UP.
COMESTIBLE would be too difficult as a Tuesday clue or answer, but I think it is fair game for an expo. Those who haven't heard it can learn something painlessly.
Fine weather this weekend. The overnight rain Sunday into Monday let up here fairly early yesterday morning. Plenty of outdoor time left. My only complaint is that 85 to 90 degrees, especially in May, is way to hot to have a picnic. We moved our extended family picnic indoors. I am looking forward to the very pleasant 70's later this week. Hope you all had a grand holiday.

Abejo said...

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

Got through this easily.

Tried AHEM for 5A without checking downs. Fixed that quickly with PSST.

Them was excellent. Great job!

Read "The Kite Runner" several years ago. Excellent book. I remembered AMIR.

Have to cut the second half of my lawn today, before the rains come. Gardening work also.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up.
C.W. Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle.

Fave today was 6-d, Material for some castles, SAND.
I see kids make Sand Castles every time I walk on Honeymoon Island.

Had to laugh at Beer BELLY ... I have a neighbor who drinks about 2 6-packs (of Bud, now America) a day ... and he probably has a 30 inch waist ... maybe less. LOL.

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

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I loved this theme, despite the inconsistency. It was clever and fun to solve. Fav c/a was Pusher catcher=Narc.

We were under a severe thunderstorm watch last night, until 8:00 but ended up with brief, non-threatening showers. At least we're out of the 90's for awhile. I share YR's dislike of really hot weather.

Can anyone recommend a decent brand of bacon? (Besides, Kevin!). I usually buy Oscar Meyer but that and every other brand I have tried tastes nothing like the bacon of years ago, but, then, again, what does? I cooked some yesterday and it had as much flavor and texture as a piece of cardboard. I don't like an overly smoky product, either; I tried a brand once and it was so smoky that I couldn't eat it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (I envy anyone who has access to top-quality meat. Don't get me started on fresh tomatoes!)

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

I got so carried away with the bacon saga that I forgot to thank CW and Argyle for the Tuesday treat, so, Thank you both!

Anonymous said...

Loved this puzzle.....................

CrossEyedDave said...

Rice and Beans

Rock and Roll

Huff and Puff

Bacon and Eggs

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle and the theme. Just right for a Tuesday. Thanks CWS and Argyle.

Irish Miss, we like regular Farmer John bacon. I don't know if it's available where you are. If not, maybe online from Amazon or ??? Re. tomatoes, I am not happy either unless I get them from the local Farmer's Market.

Chairman Moe said...

Irish Miss @ 8:58:

Try this brand of "bacon". The DW and I love the taste and texture, as well as the fewer calories, etc. It's made from the pork shoulder but the cure makes it taste as good or better than any other brand we've tried. I know it's sold in BJ's clubs, as well as Super Target stores

Lucina said...

Food on a Tuesday! What fun! Thank you, C.W. Stewart and Argyle. Once ALDA slid into place, the sashay commenced and I hardly put down my pencil except to steal a sip of coffee now and then. Each theme fill brought on a chuckle. The unknowns, BERNARD and HUFF easily perped. If I had ever heard of Sam HUFF he has been quite forgotten. I do remember Howard Cosell, however.

Like Abejo, I recalled The Kite Runner and AMIR. Two of my grand-nieces are high on the cuteness scale with their ELFIN looks.

I would be might surprised if any bakery still used LARD. I do at home to restore some flavor into tortillas which are now completely devoid of any taste.

EGRET, our crossword bird mascot is actually very small. Seeing it described in many clues I imagined it to be tall and large.

Irish Miss:
If you can find it, try Wright's BACON. It has thick, tasty slices and comes in a variety of flavors including plain. It's pricey but worth it.

OwenKL:
Whatever you think of your poems and limericks, they are always amusing and entertaining to read. Keep it up!

Have a fantastic day, everyone!

Lucina said...

Oops. That should read "mighty surprised."

Yellowrocks said...

The egret I am most familiar with is the great white egret, native to the southern US. 3.3 feet tall, 31-41 inches in length,52-67 inch wing span. very impressive. I do not know the smaller variety.
Although there is nothing that can compare to a local summer tomato, the best I have found at this season is Compari, a small but relatively tasty tomato.

Bluehen said...

A fun, fast foray today with no naticks, write-overs or hang-ups. Well done Mr./Ms. Stewart. And an entertaining, educational explication, thank you Argyle. Liked the Maria Callas link.

IM, my favorite bacon is "Father's" brand, even though it is not available in stores, is pricey, and considering what you said earlier, probably too smoky for you. I love it. If you want to check it out, Google "Father's Country Hams". For everyday, supermarket type bacon my top choice os "Farmland" brand. Even though it is city, factory-made bacon, it tastes the most like old-fashioned butcher bacon. It was also the winner in the America's Test Kitchen taste-off. A very good readily available alternative. Bon Apetite!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Enjoyed today's easy romp, with its uncomplicated fun theme. Never heard of that Huff guy but of course it didn't get in the way.

IM, I am not knowledgeable about bacon (except to say that it's usually yummy and I hope it's not really all that bad for you) but when it comes to tomatoes, I am much in agreement with you! If we added together all the tomatoes grown in the U.S., in gardens large and small, I bet we'd find that only two or three percent are actually worth eating. The rest are wooden abominations selectively cultivated for their toughness. It's a crime!

Howdy Argyle, thanks for 'splaining.

Dudley said...

Adding to that: I remember a funny Garrison Keillor skit about tomatoes, in which the good examples were tasty enough to make you want to tear off your clothes and dance around singing Gershwin. Now that's a tomato!!

Spitzboov said...

I also did the WSJ puzzle today. One of their clues was for a 4 letter word denoting "Pennsylvania port."
Abejo, I need a little help with this one.

IM - We usually get Oscar Mayer bacon. Some of our local farmer's market vendors sell homemade bacon. We like the very lean somewhat thicker bacon.

Irish Miss said...

Thanks to all who chimed in on the bacon inquiry. Here's a recap, so far: Farmer John's is not available except through Amazon and S&H charges are prohibitive. Applegate and Father's sound too smoky for my taste and Farmland is the brand I tried and couldn't eat because it was so smoky. One possibility is Wright's (Lucina's suggestion) which is sold at Walmart. Lucina, do you find it heavily smoked?

YR and Bill G, the tomatoes I get at the farm stand are better than those in the supermarket, but they still leave a lot to be desired compared to what was the norm years ago. (Our local tomatoes aren't harvested until mid-to-late August.)

Bill G. said...

The tomatoes I used to grow in my garden (Early Girl and Better Boy) were universally fantastic. The ones at the local Farmer's Market are very good too. But vine-ripe tomatoes are too fragile to be loaded into a big truck and shipped. So, as Dudley said, they have tougher varieties that are picked before they are ripe. Then they are made red with Ethylene gas. That is the same reason that beautiful red supermarket strawberries are relatively tasteless compared to the ones I used to grow and pick fully ripened. The Farmer's Market strawberries are very good too.

Misty said...

What a great way to start a Tuesday morning, C.W.--many, many thanks! Not a single write-over--I just got the whole thing in one try! And I got the theme with RICE AND BEANS so it didn't matter that I didn't know HUFF, it just filled itself in. A really fun experience! Argyle, that's an amazing SAND castle you posted! Would love to have seen that one in person.

All that bacon discussion is really tough to handle while you're eating a bowl of morning cereal. But I bet I'm the healthier for it!

Have a great day, everybody!

Anonymous said...

Dry-farmed tomatoes. 'Nough said.

Lucina said...

Irish Miss:
I buy the non-smoked Wright's bacon. As mentioned, there are about four varieties of flavor.

Dudley:
Once several years ago I had one of those tomatoes that made me want to dance around. My daughter's mother-in-law brought them from So. Dakota where she had grown them in her yard. I took one bite then just ate the entire tomato like I would an apple. I've never had another like it.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A very pleasant pzl from CWS! Thank you!

I see that many commented on the ease and speed of solving more than on its rewards. Despite questions of consistency, I found the theme pairings to be both helpful and fun. I was glad to be reminded of such a fine tale as Malamud's The Natural and Vincenzo Bellini's soulful aria, "Casta Diva." (Special thanks to Argyle for linking us up!) And Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner may be today's best bridge to Afghani culture, so I was pleased to see it honored here.

All in all, a very nice start to my day.

Avg Joe said...

Fun outing with a pleasant theme. Pretty much what's been said. Didn't know Huff and had a hard time parsing Proneto, but no major slowdowns anywhere. Thought it clever that Carat and Karat could have both been right, so had to wait on the perp for that one. Thanks C.W. and Argyle.

Agreed on the tomato topic. We might eat one or two per year from the store, but we eat them by the pail full when straight from our garden. I've always liked bacon, but have never smoked it. It's impossible to light.

Irish Miss said...

CED - Thanks for the cute links. My fav is the rice and beans bear!

Lemonade714 said...

The tomatoes grown by my father as I was growing up were often picked and eaten like an apple. One of the things I do miss about Connecticut is the produce. Florida soil cannot grow a good tomato.

Yellowrocks said...

Living in PA and NJ I never had a poor home grown tomato nor a poor one ripened on the vine at a local farm and sold the day it was picked.Trucked in tomatoes do not measure up.There is one exception. At the tail end of the growing season you may get some poor local ones. I eschew fresh tomatoes for the winter months. By now I miss them so much I settle for an okay tomato rather than none...the compari.

CrossEyedDave said...

Eventually I will want to try to grow tomatoes in Florida, when I can
be there full time to care for them. In the meantime, I continue to grow them
in New Jersey, but they do not get a full day of sun in my backyard. So I end up with a lot of green tomatoes at the 1st frost.

I always thought that cracked fruit was caused by extreme swings of too dry/too wet weather.
But according to this guy, it is just to much water...

So, if you want to grow tomatoes in Florida in summer, where it rains every day,
you might want to put them under an umbrella...(or some such rain protection...)

Bill V. said...

Enjoyed the Maria Callas aria. Quite surprised not many (if any) comments about it,

Chickie said...

Hello Everyone, A speed run for me today, also. Thank you Argyle and CW for a fun write-up and puzzle.

The Kite Runner was one of my favorite books. The second half of the book took place here in our area, so that made it even more memorable.

Very hot here the next few days--in the high 90's and even supposed to go to 100's before the week is over. It is actually too hot to use our new deck and dining table and chairs, even at 7:00 PM. We'll have to have breakfast out there this week instead.

Have a great rest of the evening, everyone.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks, guys! Enjoyed the puzzle and expo.

Bluehen, I'm not sure why you would think Farmland bacon is "city factory-made bacon". The hogs are raised on farms.
The Farmland Brand of bacon and other foods started as a joint venture of local farmer owned cooperatives many years ago. The company had headquarters in Kansas City as a subsidiary of Farmland Industries. They contracted with local farmers in my home county to raise the hogs with certain standards for facilities and waste management and feed for the animals. No wallowing in the mud. Most producers had to build new facilities that are kept very clean. The industry provided a profitable living for producers who had once had to rely on a hit-or-miss price market. I toured and wrote about several facilities when I was doing newspaper writing. It was a really good deal for family farms out here which are still providing the pork. I had some money invested in Farmland bonds at one time. Farmland Industries became overextended when they tried to expand their oil refining branch and ended up taking bankruptcy. I sweated out whether or not I'd lose my investment for several years, but the bond was paid back with interest, so I still eat Farmland products. The foods portion was apparently bought out by Smithfield, but I don't know anything about them. Google won't let me into the websites.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All:

WEES - A quick fun run w/ only the hang up TTP mentioned; SAUte b/f SAUNA making me "see" UNTIES @ 48a. Dyslexics UNTIE!
Thank you C.W. Thanks too Argyle. The contrasting SAND castles was LOL.

ESPs - 9d, 21d, and HUFF (well, not really, getting AND PUFF it's an educated WAG).

Fav: c/a 59d NARC. IM we have the same sense of humor. BEER belly gets an honorable mention.

Well, we talked about BACON and tomatoes, what about some lettuce? I OFT USE "spring-mix" greens on mine.

{B,C+,B+}

D-O: How's it GOIN' up there? Can you leave the 'hood yet? The Brazos River, a few miles from my house, is 7.5' above flood-stage -- up-stream! News says its at 54' and 3' higher than the record. I attest; I went over it on 59/69 this eve and it's higher than I've ever seen it. And, it's raining again. Some apropos ROCK AND ROLL.

Oh, you wanted puzzle-related R&R? The Ballroom BLITZ.

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

I forgot to comment on the ARIA by Maria Callas. I loved it!!! In fact I shall bookmark it to listen again and again. Thank you, Argyle.

Anonymous said...

Boy, do I owe an apology to Argyle!

I was ready to disparage you for not linking the obvious "castles made of sand".

So, I wwnt searching for it and only found this documentary.

And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDNupQIis_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDKGgkajDqg

Apparently the good tracks have been censored

OwenKL said...

AvgJoe: "I've always liked bacon, but have never smoked it. It's impossible to light." LOL!! That deserves an OwenKL treatment!

I've always liked BACON, the taste's a delight!
I like it at breakfast, in a sandwich at night!
I like how it sizzles,
But one way that it fizzles --
I've never smoked BACON, it's impossible to light!