google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday, October 2, 2016 Thomas Bianchi & Patti Varol

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Oct 2, 2016

Sunday, October 2, 2016 Thomas Bianchi & Patti Varol

Theme: "Beatles Mash-up" - Each theme entry is a mash-up of two Beatles' songs.

27A. Cold War defector's observation? : I'M A LOSER BACK IN THE USSR. I'm a Loser. Back in the USSR.  Defectors tend to have high esteem.

43A. Promise to the IRS? : WE CAN WORK IT OUT, TAXMAN. We Can Work It Out. Taxman.

67A. "Please take the van, dear"? : HONEY, DON'T DRIVE MY CAR. Honey Don't. Drive My Car.  Not familiar with "Honey Don't". But the mashup is fantastic.

90A. Agreement with a Scandinavian furniture maker? : LET IT BE NORWEGIAN WOOD. Let It Be. Norwegian Wood. The latter is also a very popular Japanese novel we all secretly read in high school. So mild by today's standards.



108A. Words from the brokenhearted? : TELL ME WHY YOU WON'T SEE ME. Tell Me Why. You Won't See Me. The latter is unknown to me.

Only 5 theme entries, but they're all very long, occupying a total of 101 theme squares. I mentioned before that somehow grid spanners for a 21*21 are tougher to deal with than spanners for 15*15.  19 & 20 are tricky too. 15 or under are friendlier.

Congratulations on your LAT debut, Thomas Bianchi! Are you this professor? The six characters on the podium says Ocean University of China, which is based in Tsingtao, famous for its beer.

Patti is Rich's assistant and editor for The Crossword Club. She taught me by example what a clean puzzle is. Don't miss this great interview. Patti is also a super fast solver. She probably nails every Sunday puzzle in 8 to 10 minutes, or even faster.

Across:
      
1. Really silly : APISH. Not a word I use.

6. All-__: high-end cookware : CLAD. Holy smokes, D-Otto/Steve/TTP, look at the price.

10. Scribble : JOT

13. Chows down : EATS

17. Looie's underling : NON-COM

19. Mata __ : HARI

20. Condo, say : UNIT

22. Work for a captain : CREW

23. Transfer, in a way : DECANT. Oh, wine.

24. "The Rachel Papers" novelist : AMIS (Martin)

25. Attorney general after William Barr : JANET RENO. We also have HARPER LEE (116. 1961 Pulitzer-winning novelist) and ANAIS NIN (89. "A Spy in the House of Love" novelist). Three full names. Wonderful. All women.

30. Physicist Mach : ERNST

31. Double-crosser : RAT

32. Pommes frites sprinkling : SEL

33. Shelf-filling bks. : OED (Oxford English Dictionary). 20 volumes.

34. Accident initials : EMS

37. Platform for Apple mobile devices : IOS

38. Disinclined : AVERSE. I used to think CenturyLink's 1 Gig package is ridiculous. Man, how time has changed!

41. Antique auto : REO

49. In a crowd of : AMONG

50. Cover up : HIDE

51. Have : OWN

52. "You got that right!" : AMEN

54. Colorful salamander : NEWT. Looks like a plastic toy.

55. Bias : SPIN

57. Dublin-born rocker/activist : BONO

59. "Fantastic!" : BRAVO

60. Facetious way to vote : OFTEN.  Not really "facetious" for All-Star fan voting. You can vote up to 30 times.

62. Volvo competitor : SAAB

64. Holiday evergreen : FIR

66. Entomologist's tool : NET

72. Netizen's guffaw : LOL

73. Agnus __ : DEI

74. Follow : HEED

75. "Gladiator" setting : ARENA

76. Traveler's aid : ATLAS. Today's kids probably will never touch a real atlas.

78. Druid, for one : CELT

80. Formerly, formerly : ERST

81. Pizza Quick sauce brand : RAGU. Staple in our house.

85. Layer of ore : VEIN

86. Beheld : SAW

87. Vehicle for hire : TAXI. And 56. Human-powered 87-Across : PEDICAB

89. Creator of a cocky hare : AESOP

96. In-flight info : ETA

97. Leans (on) : RELIES

98. Nashville awards org. : CMA

99. Storied abduction craft : UFO

100. Barely make, with "out" : EKE

103. Sign of a hit : SRO (Standing Room Only)

105. WWII female : WAC

106. Assume as fact : POSIT

117. Aspiring atty.'s exam : LSAT

118. Protective finish : ENAMEL

119. Many a folk song writer: Abbr. : ANON. Or many a blog commenter.

120. Hospital fluids : SERA

121. Forget about : OMIT

122. Highway postings : LIMITS

123. Van __, Calif. : NUYS. What's it famous for?

124. Gravel alternative : TAR

125. IRS auditor's requests : RCTS (Receipts)

126. Longship language : NORSE. Wiki says "Longships were a type of ship invented and used by the Norsemen for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age."
   
Down:

1. "The King __" : AND I

2. Work with a writer of its ilk contained in it : POEM. Can you explain this clue to me?

3. South American native : INCA

4. Deli sight : SCALE

5. In tribute to : HONORING

6. Meeting illustration : CHART

7. Moussaka meat : LAMB. Never had Moussaka. Wiki says it's eggplant-based.

8. The Habanera from "Carmen," e.g. : ARIA

9. Separate : DISCRETE

10. Self-defense method : JUJITSU. Which one do you use: Jujitsu, Jiu-Jitsu or Jujutsu? The Ju part is the same as the Ju in Judo, meaning "gentle". Jitsu means "technique".  Below is how Jujitsu & Judo are written out in Japanese/Chinese. Notice the first character Ju is exactly the same? The Do in Judo is the same as Chinese "tao", meaning "way".




Judo
11. "... roasting __ open fire" : ON AN

12. Salon supply : TINTS

13. Light brown : ECRU

14. Childish comeback : ARE SO

15. Needing a chill pill : TENSE

16. War metaphor : SWORD

18. Aptly named Vt. ski resort : MT. SNOW

21. Braves' All-Star pitcher Julio : TEHERAN. Easily obtainable via crosses. It's also the alternative spelling of Tehran, I think.

26. Fax predecessor : TELEX

28. "Put a tiger in your tank" brand : ESSO

29. Big name in corn syrup : KARO. Some Korean Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang) have corn syrup. Some have rice syrup. I can't tell the difference. They're just delicious.


34. McGregor of "Trainspotting" : EWAN

35. Internet __: viral item : MEME

36. Garbage barge : SCOW

38. Analogous : AKIN

39. YouTube clip, for short : VID. I recently discovered this song. Lovely.

40. School for some princes : ETON

42. He played Yuri in "Doctor Zhivago" : OMAR

44. Composer Bruckner : ANTON

45. Savanna heavyweight : RHINO

46. Some bargains : TWOFERS

47. Freezer maker : AMANA

48. "When pigs fly!" : NEVER. Followed by NOT (53. Word in most Commandments)

55. Eye problem : STYE

57. Meter writer : BARD

58. Japanese sash : OBI

59. __ Mawr : BRYN

61. Agents of Uncle Sam : FEDs

62. Leave in, to an editor : STET

63. Sports drink suffix : ADE

65. "How __ Your Mother": CBS sitcom : I MET. Not a dupe of METS (114. 2015 National League champs). Patti's team.

67. Most of the RMS Queen Mary, now : HOTEL. Have any of you boarded that ship?

68. Skateboarding leap : OLLIE. We just had this a few months ago.


69. Red Wings' org. : NHL

70. Brazilian airline : VARIG. Total stranger to me.



71. Panama-born MLB Hall of Famer : CAREW (Rod). Used to bowl in Boomer's league.

72. Head, for short : LAV

77. Price of hand delivery? : ANTE. Oh, poker hand.

79. Decorative pitcher : EWER

80. They're no longer together : EXES. I really like Jennifer Aniston. She's so sweet and kind.



82. Not worth __: valueless : A SOU

83. Loaf, with "off" : GOOF

84. Beehive, e.g. : UPDO

86. Rubberneckers : STARERS

87. Like some pasta : TRICOLOR

88. Amaze : AWE

91. Caller ID? : IT'S ME. Fun clue.

92. When a ball may be dropped : NEW YEAR

93. "Challenge What's Possible" skin care brand : OLAY. Been using it since college.

94. Computer image : ICON

95. Dutch brewery : AMSTEL

100. "__ Frome" : ETHAN

101. Sandra's "Speed" co-star : KEANU

102. "The Jetsons" boy : ELROY

104. Young hooter : OWLET

106. Annie of "Ghostbusters" : POTTS. We just had her recently.


107. Día de San Valentín sentiment : TE AMO. It's these three characters in Chinese.

109. ICU caregivers : LPNs

110. Mount Olympus VIP : HERA. VIP made me think the answer might be abbreviated.

111. Letters at Camp Lejeune : USMC

112. "Stop right there!" : WAIT

113. Qatari chieftain : EMIR

115. "If all __ fails ... " : ELSE

C.C.


49 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIW. TEHaRAN + SaL. >:-{
The theme was inventive enough, but the wrong era and/or genera for my narrow musical knowledge.

E.A. POE is a poet who was very in to POEMs.

AESOP was an ERST-while storyteller;
AVERSE sometimes to verse, he'd aver!
Taunts aren't really hurled
Between hares and turtles,
But it makes a good picture on the side of an EWER!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Thomas, Patti and CC!

Went pretty fast for me, although I know virtually nothing about Beatles's songs.

Had "inane" first in the number one spot.

No cheats.

Sharp catch, Owen, re Poe.

Have a great day!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Got through this one OK, although a little slow in spots. Got off to a bad start trying INANE and ANILE before APISH (which I really don't care for), so I was predisposed to be grumpy for the rest of the puzzle, but everything else was fine. Well, except for trying to parse the clue for POEM, that is. Ouch!

I got the theme early on but, despite knowing a lot of Beatles's songs, I had to guess and rely on the perps for several of the theme answers. Just didn't know TELL ME WHY, YOU WON'T SEE ME, HONEY DON'T or DRIVE MY CAR and barely remembered TAXMAN. I guess I don't really know that many after all (or these are all pretty obscure).

TEHERAN was a complete unknown that looked odd, but the perps insisted. Ditto for VARIG.

Off to the Topsfield agricultural fair for the day with the family. This may be our last annual trip there, since Joshua is probably outgrowing his interest in cute farm animals and large tractors. Maybe next year I'll start taking him to King Richard's Faire (a renaissance fair that runs at the same time elsewhere in the state).

Have a great week, and I'll see you all next weekend!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Yup, INANE and ANILE before APISH dropped in. Otherwise, things went pretty smoothly. With no perps in sight, I confidently inked MARIO PUZO where HARPER LEE needed to be. D'oh! I'm probably Wite-Out's best customer. Or only customer. Thanks, Thomas and Patti.

Years ago I flew VARIG from Miami to Rio, so that was a gimme.

C.C., I would never buy All-Clad non-stick. Non-stick just doesn't last. I do own a few pieces of All-Clad stainless steel -- a 9-inch and 12-inch skillet, and a pair of 2-1/2 quart saucepans. They see a lot of use, and they'll last forever.

Time for that bike ride...

TTP said...

Good morning CC and blog faithfuls. Thank you Patti and Thomas.

A very entertaining puzzle. Enjoyed the theme. Many memory-driven musical interludes. Definitely not as fast as Patti, but I was happy with my solve pace today. Might do better (time-wise) if I didn't try to make patterns in the fill. Today the goal was to completely fill the middle rows while leaving the top and bottom third of the puzzle for last. That was a success.

Unfortunately, a FIW. DNF yesterday. FIW today. TRICOLOa / aCTS. DOH ! Haste makes waste.

Should have realized TRI-COLOR for "Like some pasta." (Alternately, "Like some H-P cartridges"). I was thinking of type rather than feature (of). We don't buy it but have had the common tricolor rotini in pasta salads... Probably would have got the answer if I had taken the time to test each letter. I was looking at the crossing clue, "IRS auditor's requests" and hastily threw in the a as my final fill. My abbrv for receipts would always be rcpts, should there be a need to abbreviate.

We (figuratively speaking) made single color farfalle (bow-tie) with goulash last evening. Not in ALL-CLAD cookware. We might have a piece or two of All-Clad that we bought open stock, but definitely not a set. Through the years we've amassed a utilitarian hodgepodge of stainless, cast iron, enameled cast iron, granite-ware, and ceramic surfaced cookware. We've eschewed the teflon-type non-stick and copper cookware. BTW, we've come to near perfection for a neapolitan-style pizza made in a cast iron skillet, borrowing from a couple of different recipes...

Since I typed it while reading your write up, I'll also leave it in: 2(D). Work with a writer of its ilk contained in it : POEM. '...a writer (POE, Edgar Allen) of its ilk (type,kind) contained in it.

Football starts early today, with the Colts and Jaguars playing in London.

Lemonade714 said...

What a fun Sunday morning with this different Sunday from PV and her mentors and a challenge from our guide C.C. for today's NYT. Patti is getting very prolific here and elsewhere and we all know C.C. and her awesome output. Check it out.

Other than not liking APISH and not knowing ANTON, this was a walk in the park. In addition to IMET and METS we have add a letter fill
NEW NEWT
CREW CAREW


And the always appreciated CSO to ADE

TO ALL L'ShanaTovah

Yellowrocks said...

Very much fun. Quick for a Sunday, but I am no Patti, so no eight minute solve. I had forgotten many Beatles songs, so needed a few perps in each one to jog my memory. One of my hangups and write-overs was placing MEME in 34D instead of 35D. Finally righting that made that section easy. LODE and SEAM before VEIN. AHA, LAV. So that section then filled quickly, as well.
I loved the POE in POEM. Clever. VARIG and TEHERAN were all perps.
I use tricolor rotini for my Mediterranean pasta salad.Yummy.
I liked Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman even better than To Kill A Mockingbird.
I found many references for APISH in all three meanings, like an ape or monkey,imitative, or inane and silly. All the references were literary, rather than in current publications.
I agree with Patti, LOOK IT UP. After solving I also look up things I think I know to learn more about them. It certainly helps cement new words and new ideas in ones mind.

L'Shana Tovah to all who celebrate.

Avg Joe said...

This was a very enjoyable puzzle. Congratulations on the debut, Mr Bianchi.

Most of the theme answers came with perp help on the back end and the front blank, but all we're pretty easy to get going back to the clue. Though I did have a "Vee Vill make you tock!" Moment when I named Mr McGregor Evan instead of Ewan. Easily fixed. Knew all the songs without a hitch. They're not obscure at all, Barry. But with the exception of "Back in the USSR" and "Let it Be" they are all from their early career. So it might be a generational thing. I guess the best thing about having so many familiar tunes in the grid is that there's too many for a single earworm to inflict the rest of the day.

The final corner was the SW. I knew Van Nuys with just the S in place, but had to spell it 3 ways to get it right. Nyes, Neys, then finally Keanu squared it up. Liked it a lot. Thanks C.C.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Just right for my Sunday solving skill level. No help and no errors. Erased inane for APISH, divert for DECANT and AMSdEL for AMSTEL. I know most of the Beatles stuff from the White Album onward, but was able to figure out the earlier stuff. Unknowns were AMIS, longship, the Poe reference, MT SNOW, TEHERAN, ANTON Bruckner, TEAMO and only knew worth A SOU from previous XWs.

DW and I stayed on the Queen Mary for about a week while we shopped for a sailboat. We had a tentative deal for one in Long Beach, but when we looked at it it was a mess. Found a sister ship in Ventura and had that one shipped to Texas for us. I remember going to the nice restaurant in a nice Polo shirt and "dressy" slacks. They made me wear a gross jacket that they provided for the ten feet between the hostess station and my seat. (Sir, jackets ARE required for dining here, but you can take it off when you get to your seat.) It was in the early days of cell phones, so I had to pay a per-day roaming fee (I think it was about $15/day) and $0.20 per minute. Anyone from home trying to reach me had to call the 800 number for the LA area, then they would be prompted to enter my 10-digit number. The rooms were small and a little musty. I loved the stay in spite of all that. The best thing was having drinks in the magnificent bar in the bow, complete with a panoramic view all across the beam of the ship.

When I worked for GTE in LA we hired a new college graduate in our engineering department. Until he got his feet on the ground he did a lot of what one would expect an intern to do - kind of peripheral support work. He took a message for my boss regarding a meeting the next day in Van Eyes [sic], and another engineer saw it and spread it around the office. Great fun ensued. It would probably be considered bullying now, since no one can ever, under any circumstances, hurt anyone's feelings today.

Thanks Thomas and Patti for a fun grid, and of course to CC for another top notch narrative.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-IM A LONER BACK IN THE USSR fit as I thought the gimmick might be a variation on one Beatle song but was delighted when I saw it was indeed a “Mash Up” of two songs!
-I filled in NORWEGIAN WOOD backwards immediately and then got the front end
-ANTIC seemed better than APISH but…
-All my JOTS are now electronic
-Some second LOOIES were OCS “90 Day Wonder” grads of whom some NON COMS said, “My socks have more time in the service than he does”
-When Baylor plays FB, I think of Waco and Janet Reno’s dilemma
-Alas, one bad cell sAl/tehArn crossing
-Vote OFTEN
-Entertaining HEED The Call! (3:20)
-The KC Royals were getting $80 a pop for SRO tix last fall’s World Series
-One famous POE POEM was The Raven
-Gotta run!

Tinbeni said...

C.C. Wonderful, informative write-up and links.

Patti & Thomas: Thank You both for a FUN Sunday puzzle. Really enjoyed the Beatles themes.

I rarely solve the Sunday puzzles, but I was up at 3:00 am to watch the Formula-1 race, and the paper came early (I must first on the list for delivery) ...
Sooooo, I figured "why-not" ... glad I did!

Jinx in Norfolk @10:20
I remember that Bar when I had drinks (Yes, plural!) with my brother and sister-in-law on the Queen Mary.
Beautiful view!

Fave was WE CAN WORK IT OUT, TAXMAN.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Tinman, I didn't think the Sunday puzzle reviewed here appears in newsprint. At least not the LA Times not my paper. It appears in yours? Weird stuff. I'm sure the reason is the same as why there is an early football game today in London. Money!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a thoroughly enjoyable Sunday outing, despite the fact that "Let It Be" was the only title that I was familiar with. Because of this shortcoming, the solve was slow but, overall, steady and successful. The clue for poem stymied me until Owen explained it. Cunningly clever, constructors! It took awhile to figure out hotel for Queen Mary and Ollie was also elusive. I thought it was a neat feat to have the three complete names rather than just the ubiquitous Anais or Nin or Lee, etc.

Thanks, Patti and Thomas, for a challenging and satisfying offering and thanks, CC, for the informative expo. Really enjoyed the interview with Patti. I wonder when someone who wears that many hats finds the time to sleep! (I wonder the same thing about you too, CC!)

TTP, I would love to have that skillet pizza recipe if you care to share.

Jinx In Norfolk - I had to smile reading about the jacket/restaurant moment because I know how my husband would have reacted. We would have either found somewhere else to eat or have gone hungry! To expand upon your tongue-in-cheek nudge about today's PC climate run amok, one of the headlines in today's Washington Post is: "Is Your Dog's Halloween Costume Sexist?" What's that saying about "Hell in a hand basket"?

Have a great day.

desper-otto said...

Anon@10:57 -- The LAT Sunday Puzzle is still syndicated in print in many newspapers, but not the LAT. And not the Houston Barnacle. They carried it until about a year ago, then decided we'd rather see a week-old NYT that we'd already solved. Makes you wonder why dead-tree newspapers are going extinct, doesn't it?

Tinbeni said...

Anon
The LA Times Sunday Puzzle appears every Sunday in the Tampa Bay Times.

I solve "only on newsprint" with a black ink pen.

The fact that Patti can solve a Sunday puzzle in 8 minutes is amazing.
I probably took an hour this morning ... though I was also watching race cars racing half a world away at the time.

Anonymous said...

RCPTS is the abbreviation for receipts, not RCTS.

Yellowrocks said...

My motto is LOOK IT UP. My unabridged dictionary and several others give RECT as the abbreviation for receipt, rectangle, rectified, rectifier, rector and rectory. So the puzzle answer is not incorrect, however, RECPT does seem more common. It is my own preferred spelling because RECT has so many uses that it seems ambiguous. Remember crosswords can use variants. As is true most of the time there is no "one and only" correct answer.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

I found this to be on the easier side for a Sunday, but that's probably because I knew most of the song titles. Like many, my first thought for 1A was inane, but "The king AND I" said not. VARIG was totally perpped. Thanks Patti and Thomas.

C.C., in answer to a couple of your questions, I don't think Van NUYS is famous for anything. Perhaps Fermatprime can enlighten us, as I believe it is near where she lives. A number of years ago, we attended a wedding on the Queen Mary. We took advantage of the opportunity to tour the ship afterward. Lovely!

Our oldest son earned his black belt in JUJITSU this year. We are proud of his hard work and dedication.

Thanks for guiding us through today's offering, C.C., and for the link to the interview with M's. Varol.

Enjoy the day!

Spitzboov said...

Good afternoon everyone.

No 8-10 minutes for me but relatively easy for a Sunday. Only unknown was MEME, but perps saved that. Wanted loo before LAV.
NORSE - Icelandic and Faroese are direct descendants of Norse.
All CLAD - BH has several skillets and a saucier. No sets though. Getting them through the base exchange made them more affordable. They last forever and get a lot of use.

Oscar Brand, the folk singer died yesterday at 96. RIP

inanehiker said...

Nice steady fill on this one, except WEES about the NW corner. The theme clues came easily as I had just gone to see the Ron Howard directed/ documentary "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" on Friday night at our local art house cinema. It was very well done - I think they are also releasing it on Hulu which is an interesting dual release - though if you saw it at the movie theater it included a 30 min extra of footage from the Beatles Shea Stadium concert.

Thanks CC, and Patti and congrats to Thomas!

Bill G. said...

While looking at the guide on my cable box, I came across the last few minutes of the Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach. That's a spectacular backdrop for some of the most beautiful old cars. Barbara and I went there in person once years ago. I only got the end of the show on TV and I missed my favorites--the old Packards and their ilk.

Do you remember a show on TV from many years ago called The Last Convertible?

desper-otto said...

I remember Oscar Brand. He had a whole series of "Bawdy Songs" albums -- very risqué back in the day. Not so much now.

Anonymous T said...

Van Nuys Blvd. And to get that out of your head, Back in the USSR in Moscow. -T

Yellowrocks said...

Not my day. I put clothes in the washer, added detergent and set up the cycle. When I came back in an hour nothing had happened. I forgot to push START. Today I had many other similar snafus, including my last post. I looked up RECT instead of RCT. Rct is also an abbrev, for receipt. But its only other use is recruit. Still it is an acceptable alternative. I'm not functioning on all cylinders.

Jayce said...

Terrific puzzle today. I only knew a couple of the song names, but the solve was very pleasurable anyway. And the interview with Patti was inspiring.

LW keeps asking me to look up Le Creuset cookware and then balks at the price. Yes, I said "keeps" because she has done it multiple times. I've even bookmarked some of the web pages. She won't let me buy it for her birthday or Christmas. I hope she eventually gets "over the hump" and pays the price; I know she wants it.

I've always known the martial art as JuJitsu. I am not clear on what the difference between it and Judo actually is. I once took Judo lessons, but didn't last beyond about 4 sessions. All we did was practice falling without getting hurt; it involves slapping the floor a lot. I think I washed out because I found it boring so my heart wasn't in it.

Some of the first characters I learned to write in Chinese were 你 (you), 我 (I,me), 好 (good), 中國 (China), 蔣介石 (Chiang Kai-Shek), and 台灣 (Taiwan). I didn't learn how to write 爱 (love) until much later.

Best wishes to you all.

tawnya said...

Hi all!

This was just the perfect Sunday puzzle for me. Growing up, Sunday mornings meant my mom had KLOS playing Breakfast with the Beatles. I still listen to the show (thanks internet!) or to my Beatles-Pandora station on Sundays. So, the theme was easy and fun; like HG I filled in several backwards and waited for the front.

Honestly, this is the first I'm a Loser makes me think of Beck first...

Born and raised in Long Beach but only went on the Queen Mary once. Seen lot's of pretty sunsets with it in it though!

@Jinx - LOL re: Van Eyes! Love hearing people trying to pronounce and spell street and city names!

Happy Sunday!

t.

PS - @anon-T from last night, perfect clip from an old family favorite!

Misty said...

I again got about four-fifths of this puzzle before I had to start cheating, but thoroughly enjoyed it and even got some of the Beatles tunes. Yay. Many thanks, Thomas and Patti. Loved the clue for NEW YEAR ("when the ball may be dropped"). But can't believe I didn't see the POE in POEM, even though I used to teach Poe's creepy stories early in my teaching career. (I liked his mystery works, though).

And great expo, as always C.C. I too wonder how you do everything, puzzles, expos, the blog, and still made it to the Fair with Boomer a couple weeks ago (that made me really happy?).

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Avg Joe said...

On the California city names topic....back in the aught years I had an imaginary friend (Internet acquaintance) from La Jolla named Ben. We'd spent years bantering back and forth in a Yahoo stock chat room, and met in person a couple of times. First time was in a large crowd prior to an annual shareholders meeting, but the second time was a small group over a round of golf (which was rained out). By the second meeting, I knew his wry sense of humor very well, so I decided to have some fun. I asked, as seriously as I possibly could: "Your're from the San Diego area. Is that pronounced 'La Jah-Lah'?" And with the gravity of an elderly mortician he answered: "No. It's 'La Joe-Lah'!" He didn't hesitate. Didnt miss a beat.

We never spoke of it again. He died in a car crash in 2005, but I've always wondered if he knew I was playing him as much as I knew he was playing me.

desper-otto said...

It's not La Joe-Lah? Who knew?

Avg Joe said...

Well Tom, you earn a pass on this since you're from the land of San Jah-sin-toe. ;-)

Anonymous said...

So no one has mentioned today's New York Times crossword is by someone named, "Zhouqin Burnikel"

Yellowrocks said...

Several music students went down in the subway searching for the Metro Gnome.

Anonymous T said...

@3:449. You insensitive clod! D-O,TxMs, & I won't see that 'till next Sunday in what we in HOU call the paper.

Congrats C.C. on back-to-back Sat LAT & Sun NYT!

D-O & Ave Joe: please stop -- Y'alls cracking me up and I can't get a nap. And, Ave Joe, it's San-jack. Period. Got it? Period* :-)

YR - you're not helping :-)

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday.

Cheers, Lurk -T
*it would be funnier if you could "hear" my fake NY accent as I typed it...

Wilbur Charles said...

NW almost got me. I had to use that alphabet trick. I related my xword journey to my son who doesn't care a whit and upon recanting, oops ... POEM I got it

I was thinking of LOOIE from TAXI and a driver named N??! And to bring it all around more circles than I can count, I recall singing Hey Jude with another second LOOIE at the end of an INANE night HIKE. HJ had just come out

Yes, I'm familiar with all of the songs, helped a lot.

I live on La Jolla(Ave). I wanted the creator of bugs Bunny before Aesop.

Would one say Mt Snow is eponymously named.
I know all the ballplayers for the last 70 years but not Julio Teheran.

Trivia question to wrap up Part I

I won a batting championship with Philly
despite taking 37 Days Off.
No wiki-cheating 😂

OWEN. I give you an A. Btw, Owen explained one day that he deliberately stays away from strict meter. I forget why.

Anonymous said...

Desper-otto@11:06 Perhaps I'm not understanding your post but this puzzle appears on page F12 of the Los Angeles Times published on October 2. That's the back page of the Arts & Books section.

At least it does in the edition delivered on Sunday morning in my part of Orange County.

Unknown said...

Thanks, OwenKL. Just what I was looking for-an explanation for 2D.

Avg Joe said...

Tuneagment break for a Genesis evictee other than Adam or Eve that's tangentially related to the offbeat conversation:

<a href="http://youtu.be/VIRmDmAwsok>San Jacinto </a>

tawnya said...

I tried to stay away but I just can't!

I lived in San Luis Obispo (San like sand - Luis with a hard S, do not say Looie or you will get a very icy stare - O-bis-po), where one of the main streets is Higuera (local pronunciation: High-gerra, like terra). Was trying to give a well-educated new-comer directions to my place of work on South Higuera, and she kept correcting me on my local pronunciation. Finally I had to tell her "Yes, you are saying it correctly in Spanish. But Spanish rules don't apply here and no one here will know what you are talking about." She was not pleased!

The LA Rams players were put to the test by KFI and failed. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, Patti Varol and Thomas Bianchi, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.

As others have said, I really enjoyed this one.

It was easy, but tough, at the same time.

Jinx and Tinbeni. I also was on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. A co-worker of mine got married on it. Jinx, I worked at GTE California, not for them, I was with Automatic Electric. Where did you work? A central office? Head quarters in Santa Monica or Westlake Village? I was all over the place.

Liked the theme, even though I did not know all the songs. The clues helped.

I tried ADMIRING for 5D. That goofed up that corner for a while. Finally HONORING appeared.

My friend the NEWT again.

Just had KEANU the other day, as well.

HARPER LEE had a new book released I think, recently. Not sure if she is still alive.

Just got home from Las Vegas for a reunion of Automatic Electric Installers. It was fun and I got to see some old friends. Did not gamble. Not my thing.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )


Big Easy said...

Once I had the Beatles theme with I'M A LOSER BACK IN THE USSR by mainly by perps, the puzzle rapidly filled with only two write overs. I had filled _MEN before FEDS and wrote in YOU 'DON'T' SEE ME instead of 'WON'T'.

All-CLAD, TEHERAN, OLLIE, VARIG, TE AMO, METS, ANAIS NIN, Annie POTTS- those unknowns didn't cause me to TWIST AND SHOUT because the rest of the puzzle was easy.

Facetious way to vote-OFTEN- LA has a history of dead voters voting so somebody must have voted multiple times. Two LA Congressmen were thrown out back in the 1970's for vote buying; they actually admitted it.
Why does SAAB keep showing up? It is not a competitor to anything in the auto business. The new name is NEVS- National Electric Vehicle Sweden.

"When pigs fly" NEVER- remember the 'swine flu'- I guess pigs can fly.

Big Easy said...

D-O, we have some Club Aluminum that's over 50 years old. My wife's good friend from HS & college lived in La-JOL-LA and then put her return city as PO Box ___ RSF,CA. We didn't know how to pronounce the first one and later found out that RSF was Rancho Santa Fe, CA.

Jayce- impressive writing those characters. I have trouble even writing cursive any more because I've been using a keyboard for the last 46 years. And after scribbling my signature on the flimsy plastic pads after using a credit card, my signature is getting pretty bad.

C.C.- as far as the 'correct' spelling of the capital of Iran, I always wondered how PAREE became PARIS, ROMA-ROME, ITALIA-ITALY and so on. Farsi to English- any spelling could be considered correct if it were close.

Wilbur Charles said...

On my baseball question. Hint number 1 is in the question. Hint no. 2 is that the question is misleading but I can't correct until hint no.

That should be clear.

Did I express my appreciation for the authors and CC especially. She could have clued 2d as eponymous poet.

Perhaps on a Monday or Tuesday.

TX Ms said...

Anon-T @ 4:21 - Your humor always slays me - guess it's because I've been around law firm IT guys and find their humor, well ... a bit of the wall. Thanks for all the laughs.

TX Ms said...

Also, D-O @ 11:06, I wish there was another newspaper other than the Houston Barnacle. Around the same time of dropping the Sunday LAT c/w, the "new" intelligentsia changed the whole darn decades-old format of the newspaper - Obits now can be found in the Business Section (I sent an email to them that I was thankful they didn't publish it in the Sports Section-didn't get a reply), those stupid and annoying third-cut pages to wrestle with started appearing, and, most importantly, the posting of Lottery winning numbers on some obscure page in the Sports Section - takes me a lot of precious time in the a.m. to see if I need to go to work. (Well, since I'm unemployed at the moment, I guess that makes my point moot.) ... End of rant - I feel better - g'night

Reality said...

TX Miss: You will NEVER win the lottery. You can stop checking.

TX Ms said...

Reality - check your humor quotient. Evidently very low. LOL

Anonymous T said...

TXMs - happy to oblige :-)

Anon @3:49 - I hope you knew I was Meme'n' on you w/ "insensitive clod." I looked it up and C.C did have an NYT today and Rex was, um, nice. I didn't read his whole write-up 'cuz I can wait to play next Sunday when the Chron drops.

Big E - If I don't print I can't read what I write... And, expounding on what you said re: Jayce - I kept looking at the kanji [is that even right?] characters. No, I have no idea how to read 'em. What I found fascinating is they kinda look like what they mean. Judo looked like the Karate Kid doing the 1 leg move-thing and Love looked like someone covering their blush of emotions. Maybe it's just a Rorchach thing... Thanks Jayce for informing us. Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

On my baseball question. Hint number 1 is in the question. Hint no. 2 is that the question is misleading but I can't correct until hint no.

That should be clear.

Did I express my appreciation for the authors and CC especially. She could have clued 2d as eponymous poet.

Perhaps on a Monday or Tuesday.

Picard said...

I loved the theme! I know pretty much all the Beatles songs and these were all very familiar to me. HONEY DON'T is the only one they did not write, but I love their version.

I agree, CC, that LOSER does not come to mind when it comes to defectors.

Never heard of the TEHERAN guy. Wonder how he got a name from Iran? My freshman room mate was from TEHERAN, Iran.