google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, November 14, 2016 Craig Stowe

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Nov 14, 2016

Monday, November 14, 2016 Craig Stowe

Theme: No Reveal Monday - Theme entries start with related items.

17. Celebration with personnel: STAFF PARTY

29. Hangman man, e.g.: STICK FIGURE

44. React in the slightest way: BAT AN EYELID

60. Hoarse-voiced "Maggie May" singer: ROD STEWART

Argyle here and Craig (back so soon) Stowe. After last week, we needed a nice easy puzzle to start the week. Starting in the NW corner though gave me some doubts but it worked out alright.

Across:

1. Joined, as a team of oxen: YOKED

6. Per person: A POP

10. Pockmark, e.g.: SCAR

14. Bacteria in rare meat, maybe: E COLI. Big maybe. Unless the meat is ground, e coli can only be on the surface of your cut of meat.

15. Hockey score: GOAL

16. Get through tough times: COPE

19. Like certain inappropriate remarks: UN-PC

20. __ Destiny: 19th-century U.S. doctrine: MANIFEST. 8th grade US history, remember? No quiz ... this time.

21. Television host: EMCEE

22. Cloister members: NUNS

23. Title for Elton John: SIR

25. Young fellow: LAD

26. Sound from a flock: [BAA!]. Sound from a Scrooge: [BAH!]

32. More than enough: AMPLE + 46-Down. More than enough: LOTS OF

34. Alludes (to): REFERS

35. Exaggerated publicity: HYPE

36. Garish: SHOWY

38. Hospital helper: AIDE

41. Enter sneakily: EDGE IN

43. Not exactly: ABOUT

48. Born, on society pages: NÉE

49. Israeli weapon: UZI. Both machine guns. 58-Down. WWII weapon: STEN

50. Thurman of "Gattaca": UMA



51. Bygone automaker: OLDS

53. Knocks down completely: RAZES

55. Says over: ITERATES

59. Ticks off: IREs. Ha, it IRKed me.

62. Puts on TV: AIRS. Soon they will be airing Christmas airs. (I know that's un-pc.)

63. Norway's capital: OSLO


64. Sudden power increase: SURGE

65. Cut with a beam: LASE

66. Complaint: BEEF

67. Soup-eating utensil: SPOON

Down:

1. Polite rural reply: "YES'M"

2. Hexa- plus two: OCTA

3. Zen paradox: KOAN. A problem or riddle that admits no logical solution. Trekies know about this.

4. Spritelike: ELFIN

5. Scatter widely: DIFFUSE

6. Court great Andre: AGASSI

7. Word with "of entry" or "of call": PORT

8. Muesli morsel: OAT. Cool alliteration.

9. Two-__ tissue: PLY

10. Problem in a neglected pool: SCUM

11. Ending: CONCLUSION

12. Perform (in): APPEAR

13. Draw back, as one's hairline: RECEDE

18. Repressed, with "up": PENT, 52-Down. Escorted to the penthouse, say: SAW UP

21. Buffalo's lake: ERIE


23. Distort, as data: SKEW

24. Questionable: IFFY

26. "Phooey!": "BAH!" "Humbug!"

27. Comic/writer Schumer: AMY



28. Starters on a menu: APPETIZERS

30. Witch: CRONE

31. Snatch: GRAB

33. Woman seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan: LEDA

36. Look to be: SEEM

37. Casual greeting: "HI, YA"

39. Expected at the station: DUE

40. Nice summer?: ÉTÉ


42. Bearded beasts: GNUs


43. 221B Baker Street, e.g.: ADDRESS. The address of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

44. Part of a time capsule ceremony: BURIAL

45. Hank who voices some "Simpsons" characters: AZARIA. Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson and numerous others.

47. "__ it get to me": I LET

54. Latin being: ESSE. (to be)

55. Eric of "Monty Python": IDLE


56. Hawaiian root: TARO

57. "And thus ... ": "ERGO ... "

60. Steal from: ROB

61. Suffix with rib- or lact-: OSE. Ribose is a pentose sugar. Lactose is sugar from milk.


Argyle

44 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Craig and Santa!

Fun puzzle. Did not know KOAN, otherwise OK.

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

{A, A, B-, A.}

A CRONE there was, the SCUM of her coven
Who liked to cook ELFIN kids in her oven!
The elves, they were sad,
But one brave little LAD
Got a better price A POP, which everyone's lovin'!

The ghost would APPEAR when the house was in use,
Not SHOWY, but wispy, its ESSE DIFFUSE.
The tourists would gripe
It was less than the HYPE,
And BURIED the poor thing under verbal abuse!

The vampire would SEEM canny ABOUT where he hid.
He'd transform where no one could see what he did!
As a wolf he might howl,
Or change into an owl --
At a night-flying mammal, none would BAT AN EYELID!

The lama had only one KOAN he'd repeat
He ITERATES it to all he might meet!
He says, when provoked,
"When odd beasts are YOKED
Llamas are bad GNUS, they won't BAA nor bleat!"

unclefred said...

Fun Monday CW, thanx, CS! AZARIA was all perps, and for some goofy reason, I had a hard time dredging RODSTEWART out of my brain. Terrific write-up, thanx, Argyle! Great job on the limericks today Owen!!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Theme? Nope. Otherwise, no real problems on this Monday speed run. Thanks, Craig and Argyle.

AZARIA was a gimme -- if you've never watched an episode of The Simpsons, you really owe it to yourself to sample it. It's quite sophisticated with multiple levels of humor -- not a kid show. That's probably why Fox just renewed it for seasons 29 and 30. Unprecedented.

Anonymous said...

LOTS OF is not necessarily enough, let alone more than enough (you might be greedy).

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Fun Monday wake-up, with enough unknowns to make me think but configured so that the perps made them gettable. Didn't pick up a theme today, but thought I got a sniff with STAFF PARTY and STICK FIGURE.

No bad cells today, but I erased ladle for SPOON, IRkS for IRES, alga for SCUM and CONCLUde in for CONCLUSION. Favorite entries were having BAA and BAH together. Least favorite was BAT AN EYE LID. Isn't "lid" redundant? Can you bat an eye with anything other than a lid? (Maybe a Louisville Slugger?)

Thanks Craig for a just-right Monday, and to Santa for a fun reveal.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

I found this to be a little tougher than a typical Monday, but certainly doable. KOAN was a complete unknown, and I needed most of the perps before I remembered AZARIA. The NE was the last section to fall. Thanks, Craig, for today's offering , and thanks, Argyle, for the expo.

Enjoy the day!

Anonymous said...

I've might have missed it but did something happen to the Mensa website to get the LA Times crossword? I no longer have access and must resort to the Chicago Tribune website and its advertising. Thanks

Clarence Thomas said...

"Though shalt not discuss thy rod with thy staff."

Yellowrocks said...

More fun than usual for a Monday. Easily doable. Needing some perps to be sure made it more enjoyable. KOAN was new to me. I sussed the theme from staff and stick, which helped with rod.

Oddly enough, many dictionaries cite iterate and reiterate as synonyms I use iterate to mean say repeatedly. It is related to iteration. Reiterate is more common these days when it means say over again for emphasis. However, both have come to be used interchangeably. Some sources think re- was added to iterate in the mistaken idea that it was needed to signal "again"and it has become mainstream.

Great afternoon yesterday. My friend Judi and I attended a regional square dance. Lots of dancers, many friends and acquaintances and peppy music with great callers.It was scheduled from 1:00-6:30 PM. Judi and I had had enough exercise by 4:30 and left to eat at a Chinese/Japanese restaurant, where we had delicious meal spiced with warm companionship. I remember the days when we danced for 12 or more hours, stopping only for a quick lunch and dinner on site.

Alan is doing very well just now and worked his normal schedule last week. Cross my fingers.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got going once I spelled YOKED correctly. No serious potholes. No theme hits me: what Argyle said, suffices.

desper-otto said...

Congrats to C.C. on today's NYT.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Great write-up.
Craig: Thank You for a FUN Monday puzzle.

Other than needing ESP to get KOAN everything else was a "how-fast-can-I-write" speed-run.

Was looking forward to the FULL-MOON tonight ... but alas, it is over-cast.

Going to have to guess as to when that "Sun gets over the yardarm."
Cheers!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Craig Stowe, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

Zipped through pretty quickly. Had to change EACH at 6A to A POP. Only inkblot.

KOAN was unknown. Perps.

I see my former lake, ERIE, made the puzzle again. I have seen it many times in Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo, and all points in between.

Theme eluded me until I came to the Blog. Made sense. I did not need it to solve so I did not look too hard.

Almost wrote in ALGA for 10D, but held off until I had a cross letter. SCUM was it!

Did not know AZARIA, but it fit and had lots of perps, 6 to be exact.

Well, I did not finish the Sunday puzzle (yet). Hope to before the day is out. Just finished guarding the Crossing at the Grade School. Heading to church to count this morning, then to an Almoner's Meeting at the Scottish Rite. Tonight is Book Club. Other than that, a lazy day.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-After STAFF PARTY, I confidently put in STICK PERSON to keep the S_ P_ pattern but…
-It’s hard to be YOKED on a team where you don’t respect the others
-JH is the home of UN-PC - Boys used to derisively call another one a girl, and then it was gay and last week I heard a boy call another a Tranny. I had a quiet talk with him.
-Our church used to have LOTS OF NUNS. Now? Not so much
-I liked every OLDS I ever bought
-While a crew was RAZING the building to the right in my hometown, one of its walls accidentally did this to the Post Office
-Can you LASE bread? (:32)
-I forgot ELFIN and hated that we might get ELFIE ☺
-Truckers can encounter a PORT OF ENTRY anytime they cross a state line
-Recent polls had SKEWED data because some people lied or refused to participate
-We rarely do APPETIZERS or dessert unless we split an entrée
-Sherlock an Dr. Watson are still at the same address in this 21st century ITERATION

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning,

Thanks, Craig, for a nice Monday start with a little bite. I also liked the crossing of BAA and BAH. I've never watched the Simpsons, but my Seniors did, and no matter what we were reading I seemed to hear, "They did that on the Simpsons." Hamlet, Othello, Moby Dick and on and on. I guess it gave our curriculum some sort of street cred for them. ;-)

Thanks, Argyle, for another fine tour. I always look forward to your choice of links. Very nice.

The sunrise on Lake Michigan was magnificent this morning. I hope tonight's moon rise is also, but I do fear the sailors warning about a morning red sky. . . .

Have a great day everyone!!!

Hungry Mother said...

@Yellowrocks: a little like "flammable" and "inflammable".

Yellowrocks said...

The Super Moon, the largest and closest to the earth in 70 years, is coming tonight. I saw it last night just as it rose above the horizon. Spectacular! The largest I have ever seen. So beautiful. I hope the sky is clear enough to see it again this evening. I recommend moonrise as the optimal time to see it.

Gary, we had a 1967 Olds convertible which I loved. I was surprised when Olds was discontinued.

I can't understand why appetizers are so large. Sometimes with a larger group we order one or two to split among us. The senior special in a restaurant near here is a free appetizer with an entree. Most seniors don't need that. A small discount on the entree would be a better come-on.

Lucina said...

Except for changing CONCLUDING to CONCLUSION, all else floated in easily. Thank you, Craig Stowe. KOAN was one of those words I learned early on in solving puzzles.

My favorite Hank AZARIA role is in Birdcage where he plays the houseboy. It makes me laugh every time I see it.

Thank you, Argyle. Nice pics.

Have a special day, everyone!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Yellowrocks and Hungry Mother - It pains me that "irregardless" is in the dictionary as well. My other pet peeve is "alot" for "a lot".

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was an easy, breezy Monday that had an obvious theme that needed no reveal. Only unknown was Koan. CSO to Abejo with the ubiquitous Erie. I wonder what word holds the record for the most used in crosswords.

Thanks, Craig, for starting the week off nicely and thanks, Argyle, for aiding and abetting said start!

YR, glad to hear such a good report on Alan and glad you had such an enjoyable day with your friend yesterday.

Having another beautiful Fall day and a week ahead with temps in the 50's. Not too shabby for mid-November!

Have a great day.

JD said...

Just enough of a challenge to wake up those lazy brain cells. I had lots of write overs in the south east, while picturing Rod Stewart in my head and taking forever to jump out. I hesitated on ose, never hearing of ribose. Plenty > lots of. I had heard the expression bat an eye lash, so had no lid until it all came together. Fun romp.

Tonight I need to drive to an area where the moon comes up over a hill, not house tops. Such a beauty it was.

The actress\nun who sang Climb every Mountain in The Sound of Music Yesterday was fantastic. I took one of my grandsons who enjoys musicals.

Have a lovely week and enjoy the foliage while it lasts.

Anonymous said...

Oh sigh, YR, you're being played. Some reading for all you super moon fans out there:
Closest supermoon

Sailor said...

Fun fact: "reiterate," from the Latin "reiterare," actually predates ITERATE in English usage.

From The New York Times Magazine: ITERATE "came on the scene in the 1530s, more than a century after its repetitive comrade reiterate grew out of the Latin reiterare (sharing the sense of iterare). That chronology should put to rest the notion that reiterate is nothing more than a redundant form of iterate (a pet peeve for some), since the re- prefix could be used simply for emphasis in Late Latin and its European inheritors. The seemingly superfluous re- shows up in other English words, like reduplicate and redouble. While reiterate took hold in common parlance with the meaning 'to state something (over and over) again,' iterate and iteration retreated to more scholarly corners of the language."

Sailor said...

Hmm. Having trouble with the link to The New York Times Magazine article for some reason. Trying one more time.

Yellowrocks said...

Anonymous, your technical details don't spoil the super moon for me. I couldn't care less. I value this as an aesthetic, rather than a scientific experience. It was a spectacular moon rise, the best I can remember ever having seen. We noticed it as we were driving along. It is well worth going outdoors just to see, as I intend to do tonight.
However, I do admire the brilliant and always interesting Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Sailor, interesting. Thanks. I have just read an article that has similar info as the NYT Magazine, which seems to be a more authoritative source than the first article I read.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

The puzzle part of Mensa website is under construction. They don't know when the puzzle will be up.

Please go to Meriam-Webster's site, which has the same puzzle format.

Wilbur Charles said...

As the owl said to the "bearded beast"...
Who, GNU.

I like IRRegardless. As I do REiterate.

I really do have to watch a few Simpsons.

Craig, thanks for making Monday interesting. And Argyle, for the write-up. A for excellent I agree, Owen.

As someone said, needed a lot of perps today. I didn't get the"theme" until YR's post.

I got started on Saturday's xw. Thx to the baseball clue. Looks like an all week slog.

How appropriate that the Pat's Seahawks would be decided by the back judge.

WC in prime time

oc4beach said...


Here is the link to the Merriam-Webster LA Times puzzle.

oc4beach said...


Good Monday puzzle from Craig. Argyle's expo and links were enjoyable. Didn't get the theme, but didn't need it.

Only had a few initial differences from the correct entries. EACH vs APOP, IRKS vs IRES, ACNE vs SCAR and ALGA vs SCUM. Needed ESP for KOAN, no clue there. Otherwise a relatively smooth sail today.

It's National Pickle Day. Enjoy your favorite type. Bread and Butter goes well with a ham sandwich. Of course so does a Dill.

Jayce said...

A nice, welcome, easy Monday puzzle. Thanks to Craig Stowe. And thanks also to you, Argyle, for anchoring 2 days every week. In fact, thanks to all of you who steadfastly keep this blog going day after day, week after week, year after year.

I smiled at BAA crossing BAH and UMA following UZI. Hank Azaria is such a talented voice actor. So is Dan Castellaneta. Good to know e-coli only grows on the surface. Is there ever another adjective to describe bosom besides AMPLE? I don't know if a woman's hairline can RECEDE, but Dancing With The Stars pro Cheryl Burke seems to be an example; or maybe it's just that she doesn't have her hair in bangs this year so her AMPLE forehead is more noticeable.

Best wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

Oh wow, oc4beach, I didn't know it's National Pickle Day. Don't eat too many, C.C.

Misty said...

Delightful Monday puzzle--many thanks, Craig! Didn't know AZARIA or KOAN, but the perps helped out with those. And I had ALGA before SCUM became clear, well, not clear, I guess that's the whole point of SCUM. Took me a few minutes before I figured out the STAFF/STICK/BAT/ROD theme.

Yellowrocks, glad you're square-dancing again, and that Alan is feeling better.

Lovely Christmas photo of OSLO, Argyle. I'll be visiting family in Austria this Christmas, and hope to see lovely scenes like that there.

Woke up in the middle of the night, and saw the hallway and dining room so illuminated I thought I'd forgotten to turn out some outdoor lights. But when I looked out the window there was that amazing gigantic moon! Have never seen anything quite like it.

Have a great day, everybody!

Anonymous said...

"your technical details don't spoil the super moon for me"...

Once you invalidate the technical aspects about a technical matter ... you've eliminated the defining characteristics of the event. So you've joined the world of Humpty Dumpty, where a word means exactly what you say it means, you who quotes the dictionary with carefree abandon.

By all means, enjoy the waning gibbous moon. Especially after the autumnal equinox, when the inclination of the moon's orbit is shallowest to the apparent horizon, it's inspired many, many poets and writers. And it happens every year, as it has since the beginning of mankind. If you haven't been enjoying the harvest moon, or the hunter's moon until now, feel free to spend the rest of your life being inspired by our satellite. Just know you're misusing the word "supermoon" to describe what you're seeing, Humpty.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Surprised to see so many colleagues unfamiliar with the word KOAN. It was a pop notion in the '60s, at least where I was born/raised (San Francisco). It was generally illustrated by the question, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
I'm sure that query is familiar to many of you. I used to laugh it off - because my hands were flexible enough for me to slap my straightened fingers against the same hand's palm and create a snapping sound. Zap! End of KOAN!
Anyway, today's pzl seemed just about right to me. Easy, but not TOO easy. These semi-tough ones make Mondays more fun. Thanks, Craig Stowe, and thanks, Argyle!

Lucina said...

"...And it happens every year, as it has since the beginning of mankind..."

I believe it has happened since BEFORE the beginning of mankind; eons before.

Anonymous said...

How many poets and writers were inspired by the autumn moons, before mankind?

Koan the Barbarian said...

And there you have today's enigma.. Well done.

Manac said...

For the DF crowd
31 Down

Yellowrocks said...

Many astronomers say that the Nov. 14 super moon is something unusual and they use that term.
super moon
Enjoy life!!

PK said...

Oh Geesh Kathy. Don't wrestle with pigs...

Misty said...

So sad to hear that Gwen Ifill, whom I've been watching on Friday's "Washington Week" for years, has died at the age of 61 of cancer. A total shock, since I'm sure I saw her chairing the program just a few weeks ago.

TTP said...

Hi all.

I've been heads down on another project, so haven't been commenting for awhile. Just popped in to see what's going on. Hope all is well with everyone.


Misty, I heard the sad news on the evening CBS News broadcast. Gwen Ifill has been a favorite for quite some time. Saddened to hear of her passing. Washington Week won't be the same.

Anonymous said...

This is useful because my teacher made our entire class do this, I guarantee everyone search and found this site. The puzzle was nearly impossible to complete without the answer sheet.