google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Patti Varol

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Jul 11, 2017

Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Patti Varol

Theme: Shhh! - Variations on a theme.

20A. "Hush": "PLEASE BE QUIET"

32A. "Hush": "DON'T SAY A WORD"

41A. "Hush": "PUT A SOCK IN IT"

57A. "Hush": "BUTTON YOUR LIP"

Argyle here with Constructor and Editor, Patti Varol. I notice a subtle increase in harshness in the HUSHes, IMO.

Across:

1. Like a rough winter: HARSH

6. Opera number: ARIA

10. "Beat it!": "SCAT!"

14. Nebraska city on the Missouri: OMAHA

15. "Shoot!": "DARN!"

16. Bear whose bed was too hard: PAPA

17. Like granola bars: OATEN

18. Arabian sultanate: OMAN

19. "College GameDay" airer: ESPN. (Originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Networks)

23. Funnyman Caesar: SID. Argument to Beethoven's 5th.



24. It's often heated up for dinner: OVEN

25. Table salt additive: IODINE

28. Banishment: EXILE

30. FYI relative: BTW. (For Your Information / By The Way)

31. Cincinnati ballplayer: RED

36. Cathedral area: APSE

39. Ocean west of Eur.: ATL. (Atlantic)

40. Murray or Roddick of tennis fame: ANDY

46. Big bird Down Under: EMU

47. Pizza __ restaurant: HUT

48. Ready to pour: ON TAP

51. Forbidden actions: TABOOs. 44D. Forbidden action: NO-NO

53. Payroll IDs: SSNs. (Social Security number)

55. Lav of London: LOO. Head, john, little house outback.

60. "Shake a leg!": "C'MON!"

62. Pakistan neighbor: IRAN. 8D. Baghdad's land: IRAQ

63. Despicable character: LOUSE

64. Painter Chagall: MARC

65. Fictional sleuth Wolfe: NERO

66. Tacked on: ADDED

67. Hathaway of "Interstellar": ANNE

68. Olympian's goal: GOLD

69. Marsh stalks: REEDS

Down:

1. Basketball targets: HOOPS

2. Charlotte __: U.S. Virgin Islands capital: AMALIEWiki link


3. Like adult movies: RATED X

4. __ butter: cosmetic moisturizer: SHEA

5. Space pilot who insists, "I take orders from just one person: me": HAN SOLO

6. Photoshop software developer: ADOBE

7. Budget noodle dish: RAMEN

9. Retirement income source: ANNUITY

10. Radar gun reading: SPEED

11. Like some durable skillets: CAST IRON

12. Smartphone download: APP. (Application)

13. Almond-colored: TAN

21. Fairly matched: EVEN

22. Where Grant Wood's "American Gothic" house is: IOWA


26. Geeky type: NERD

27. Jacuzzi effect: EDDY

29. Inventor's spark: IDEA

30. "__ Ha'i": "South Pacific" song: BALI


The lyrics can be found on the YouTube link.

33. Ambassador's asset: TACT

34. E*TRADE purchase: Abbr.: STK. (stock)

35. Light bulb unit: WATT

36. In __: moody: A PET

37. Mountain cat: PUMA

38. Tough to budge: STUBBORN

42. Small liquor amount: SHOT

43. Giving the boot: OUSTING

45. Completely cut off: INSULAR

49. Refer (to): ALLUDE

50. Self-assured: POISED

52. Postal scale unit: OUNCE

53. Hairbrush target: SNARL

54. Church council: SYNOD

56. Pages for opinions: OP EDs

58. Cookie shaped like two of its letters: OREO. A new clue for an old answer.

59. Biked, e.g.: RODE

60. Nashville awards gp.: CMA. (Country Music Association)

61. Guy: MAN

 Argyle




Notes from C.C.:

1) Chickie (Leah) was not able to post from her Blogger account. She sent me below. Hopefully she'll return to our blog soon.

"Please send my thanks to everyone on the Corner. The virtual hugs, condolences, and thoughts for me on Bill's passing are so very comforting."

2) Happy birthday to dear CanadianEh!, who's been with our blog for a few years. Her comments are often always so warm and insightful. Dinner at the winery, CanadianEh!?

43 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Patti and Santa!

So sorry, Chickie, I did not know.

Happy birthday to you, CanadianEh!

No problems with puzzle. Cute theme!

Have a great day!

TTP said...


Good morning. Thank you Patti and Argyle.
Hush, hush, I thought I heard her calling my name...

Archie Bunker told Edith ?

Happy Birthday Canadian Eh ! BTW, it's also the birthday of the convenience store, so a free small Slurpee for all, 11 am to 7 pm.

OOPS, R RATED, then RATED R, and finally RATED X. No messy inkblots though.

How many times have you heard it pronounced as "IN SHUE LAR" ? Not making fun, but INSULAR seems particularly hard to pronounce for some people.

OUNCE, SHOT and ON TAP. Hmmm. How is Tinbeni going to work with those ?

OwenKL said...

Some interesting pairings: CAST IRON opposite STUBBORN, an INSULAR remark by HAN SOLO, and others.

{A-, B, A.}

"PLEASE BE QUIET," they said in OMAHA
To the sculptor who used a noisy chainsaw!
"PUT A SOCK IN IT!"
But he wouldn't quit --
It was all that drowned out his wife's ARIA!

Some ALLUDE that each OUNCE of avoirdupois
Will chase off another LOUSE of the boys!
But DON'T SAY A WORD,
That's thinning the herd
To the one real MAN who admires your POISE!

Down under there's not a lot that's TABOO,
But one thing's a NO-NO when using the LOO!
If it's out in a HUT
Keep the door BUTTONED up
So your pecker ain't pecked by a passing EMU!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This was a nice zippy puzzle...I really liked the non-hidden theme. Hand up for RATED R. Also tried AMELIA, which gave me ARILE for "Banishment." Quickly fixed. Thanks, Patti, he said VAROLy.

Happy Birthday, CanadianEh! Hope you didn't take offense yesterday.

Hungry Mother said...

Very fast solve today. Theme answers were easy to fill with a couple of letters. A relief to have a comfortable one.

desper-otto said...

PK [FLN): Yes, AC units can freeze up. That'll happen in the evaporator unit, usually in your attic, not in the outside compressor unit. It can result from a loss of freon. If that's the case, hang onto your wallet. Freon was about $75/lb last year, but now it's over $100/lb. Naturally, the problems show up when the system is under stress; ie the hottest time of the year. I'm told that in a few years old-style freon will no longer be available, and loss of coolant will result in a complete system replacement. Yippee!

thehondohurricane said...

Morning,

Started with RATED R, and still feel it is correct. X Rated is for sleeze bags; R is for Adult.

An FIW because I always spell Mr Caesar's name SyD, not SID.

I'm sure any some point in the past I knew IODINE was an additive to table salt, but today it was all perps.

I hope Aaron Judge remains a down too earth guy as his notoriety continues to grow. The world needs more people like him.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR - OATiN x SHiA. SHEA was an unknown (erased coco), as was in A PET. I ate at Pizza INN before HUT and erased goal for HOOP. At my beloved Univ of Kentucky, basketball targets are NBA lottery picks. One year at UK then on to the pros.

Hondo, not all X-Rated flicks are smut. Midnight Cowboy won the Best Picture Oscar.

Thanks Patti for a witty puzzle. And Thanks to Santa for another fine early week review.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, not FIR.

Anonymous said...

11 to 7 or 7 til 11?

Lemonade714 said...

Continued warm thoughts for Chickie and HBDTY for Canadian Eh.

I have lived through a/c units freezing up on more than one occasion. In Florida you learn to have a maintenance contract which caps the costs in exchange for a fee.

It is always instructive to have a puzzle from Rich or Patti. I wonder if Rich edited this and changed clues. It certainly gives insight into what a Tuesday puzzle should look like.

I agree with Argyle that the theme was intentionally progressively HARSHer.

Here in the US it is 7/11 which means we should all be gambling today.

Thanks Patti and Scott.

inanehiker said...

Easy, breezy puzzle but a fun run - didn't know there were so many ways to say "Hush". At first I thought each would have a different meaning but they all were ways to say pipe down.

I think most of the X rated movies (now NC 17) are pretty much sleaze/porn these days because after the time Midnight Cowboy came out, everything has shifted down. It would be rated R these days. What was rated R back then are mostly PG 13 now and the R Rated are a mix of the more extreme former R and X. Directors will do whatever they can to not get the X rating because it lowers revenues so much.

Happy birthday CanadianEh!
Thanks to ARgyle and Patti!

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one who noticed a letter missing from Argyle's name, right below the four theme reveals? I just can't imagine "Y" everybody else missed that...! :)

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Happy Birthdays to Canadian Eh!, and a belated one to Anon T.

Enjoyed Patti's puzzle today. Cool theme. Easy solve; no searches or wite-outs were needed.
REEDS - German 'Reet'. Also the word for 'thatch'

Have a great day everyone.

desper-otto said...

For those of you with access, C.C. has today's CW in that other paper. RADII, nope. ULNAE, nope. Almost got me.

Lucina said...

Happy birthday, Canadian Eh!!

Thank you, Patti Varol and Argyle! I found today's puzzle quick and clever. Wasn't sure if OMAHA is on the Missouri, but that became obvious after a letter or two. CSO to Gary!

Here it's not the winters that are HARSH, it's the summers!

Have a delightful day, everyone and enjoy your free slurpee!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I always enjoy Patti's puzzles because while her themes may be basic, she finesses them to a higher level of subtlety and freshness. Also enjoyed a lot of the cluing which can be challenging on early week difficulty levels. No problems at all, just zipped right through to the Tada.

Kudos, Patti, for a fun romp and thanks, Argyle, for the fun tour.

CanadianEh, best wishes for a very Happy Birthday; I hope your DH has something special planned for your special day! 🎂🎁🎈🎉🍾🇨🇦

Hondo, it's good to see you back. I hope your return means you are back to your old self, health wise. 😊 Don't let the 3 H's get you down!

Have a great day.

CrossEyedDave said...

Wilbur Charles, from late last night/early this morning.
Of course it's on YouTube!

HBD YouKnowWho...

Aaaand... Taking it to the streets...

MJ said...

Happy birthday to CanadianEh!, and good day to all!

I found today's puzzle to be fun and fast-paced. Thanks for the expo and links, Argyle (That "Argument to Beethoven's 5th" was a hoot!), and for pointing out the progressive harshness in the theme's directives.

Enjoy the day!

Misty said...

I loved this puzzle, Patti. Not a speed run, but I got the theme answers without any problem, and I too noticed that they became HARSHer as they went down the grid. Having both IRAQ and IRAN in the same puzzle was interesting too. And I'm glad I had no problem with most of the names, MARC, ANNE, NERO. So, many thanks, Patti, and you too, Argyle, as always.

Have a wonderful, wonderful birthday, CanadianEh!

TTP, your reference to Archie Bunker cracked me up.

Great Tuesday morning for me--since I got all four, crossword puzzle, Sudoku, Kenken, and Jumble. I have friends coming for lunch today, a grandma, daughter and her husband and three children. Glad they're all okay with a Chinese delivery, because my cooking skills are down to zero, so this makes it a bit easier.

Have a great day, everybody!

C6D6 Peg said...

Fast, easy puzzle..... much easier than yesterday's. Thanks, Patti, for a cute theme and smooth fill.

Nice write-up, Argyle. Loved the pic of Charlotte Amalie.... beautiful place!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fast solve, theme was easy to suss. Easier than the Monday puzzle. NO RED letters appeared. NO RED-letter runs necessary. Thank you, Patti. Thanks, Argyle.

Only two pauses to wait on a few perps: ANNUITY (thought it might be savings or pension) and INSULAR (wasn't trapped).

Happy birthday, CanadianEh! I enjoy your international neighbor additions to our companionship.

D-Otto & Lemony, thanks for answering my question about the a/c. I'm so happy to have central a/c in my home for the first time in my life these past 14 years, I don't mind the cost of freon. In my stone house on the farm, the rooms were set up so it was impossible to run ductwork. The 18-22 inch thick stone walls made the farm house easier to cool & heat once we got the drafty windows replaced. My husband was already using another refrigerant gas in vehicles and machinery 20 years ago, so I wasn't sure if freon was still used at all. However, I thought I had to have more freon once before a few years ago in my current house.

Tinbeni said...

Happy Birthday CanadianEh! ... My first Sunset Toast tonight is to YOU!


Good job on the write-up Argyle/

Patti: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle. Enjoyed the "HUSH" theme.

Fave today, of course I have a couple, SHOT at 42-d and ON TAP at 48-a.

Also liked the CSO to me at 40-a, since ANDY is my real first name.

Cheers!

AnonymousPVX said...

A nice and appropriate Tuesday puzzle.

About AC freeze-ups....you CAN get a freeze up on the outside unit, happened to me. The unit ran but the the inside blower fuse blew, got a big iceberg outside. Blower fixed, waited a while, it melted and ran fine.

Also - not sure how old your AC is, mine is 7 years old and it's the newer juice, R-410A, and it's not expensive at all. Only the older units use the old expensive Freon, R-22 and these units are not as efficient as the newer ones. R22 is being phased out and after 2020 I believe the only source will be reclaimed and recycled R22.

R22 and R410A cannot be used together or one substituted for another! No replacing R22 with R-410A!!!

It might be time to check prices on new R-410A units, as stated above they are much more efficient anyway.

TX Ms said...

Happy Birthday, Canadian Eh!! Hope it's a special day.

TTP - "Stifle yourself, Edith!" Loved that show.

So tired of the heat and humidity, and it won't cool down to mid-October. Civil War General Philip Sheridan said in 1836, while stationed in Texas then as a US Army lieutenant, “If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell,” when asked what he thought of Texas.

Jayce said...

Nice puzzle, very well executed. I really enjoyed all the hushes. Hush, hush, sweet Charlotte AMALIE!

Argyle, that "Argument to Beethoven's 5th" was hilarious. Thank you for linking it. Otherwise I would never have known about it.

For some people, pronouncing "nuclear" is as difficult as pronouncing INSULAR.

Happy birthday to CanadianEh! and good wishes to you all.

Trubrit said...

Really enjoyed today's puzzle, however top-lefthand corner held me up for awhile. Did not know Amalie, had rated R, Coco instead of Shea (I use it all the time) and never heard of Han Solo. Pleased I got the rest pretty speedily.

Thanks Patti & Argyle.

Have a great day everyone, especially CanadianEh!

TTP said...


Misty and Tx MS, that Archie Bunker was some character, masterfully played by Carol O'Conner, and Jean Stapleton played the perfect Edith.

Jayce, yes on nuclear too.


I just caught the tail end of some comments on the radio about regionalisms. Of course, we've probably beat soda, pop and coke into the ground. They were also taking about garbage versus trash, and athletic shoes vs gym shoes or tennis shoes...

If I heard it correctly Cincinnati and Chicago most often use gym shoes, and most of the rest of the country uses athletic shoes. Supposedly Chicagoans and New Yorkers call take out the garbage, and most everyone else takes out the trash...


Hondo, yes to Judge. Hope he keeps his head where it's at now. Impressive. Glad he's not a jerk or egoist.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta-DA!
My thanks to Patti Varol for today’s well-wrought pzl. The theme was easy enough to catch onto, and the variations were on a similar idiomatic level. (I really didn’t miss SHUT YER *#@! PIE-HOLE!)
No new or unfamiliar words were encountered today, but it is still early in the week.

And thanks to Argyle, esp. for posting that brilliant clip of SID Caesar & Nanette Fabray in their priceless argument to Beethoven's 5th. It brings back a wonderful memory! Notice how precisely matched the mime is to the music!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-All appropriate phrases when someone is hitting any shot in golf
-PAPA is a beloved name I am called by grandkids
-ANDY Roddick was born in OMAHA
-FB fans will know many of these names in ESPN’s first low-tech FB Draft broadcast
-I loved the SID/Nannette clip and the rest of your write-up, Argyle
-Click on symbols to hear pronuncaions on both sides of the ATL
-Every version of The Music Man has this scene of American Gothic framed in the crate top that delivered the infamous pool table
-Just as Norman Lear took on racism, James Michner did also in South Pacific -That theme is forecfully expressed here (:53)
-HBD, Canadian, Eh! No hoser you!

CrossEyedDave said...

Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut...

Wilbur Charles said...

What a day. Just as I was about to drop off my last customer, I had a flat. I actually finished this xword while waiting on triple AAA.

I agree, Patti V knows early week xword construction. Entertain us but allow the newbie to have some fun.

OMAHA is the city of the week. CED thanks for finding Ralph and Ed. Can we call absolutely knowing something but unable to cognate it a "Misty Moment"? tm

OAT(e)(y) is also getting a workout. Lots of QODs lately, how about a Wilbur qod for BTW.

Btw... Owen nice try at an example of X-rated. I loved all three.

I've rented a house in Nashua NH for nine years and the people want to find a way to buy it. Rent to own, Federal or State inventive programs to get people off Section 8. ???

I'm on good terms with my local banker, I'll talk to her.

Cheers, I'm shutting up now

WC

PS. HBD to Canadian-Eh.

Michael said...

Sorry to rain on the parade, but for 24a, the table salt additive is potassium iodiDe. IodiNe is the element, and like the other halogens, not good for you.

Spitzboov said...

Since I is in KI as part of the KI molecule, it is an additive. The clue does not suggest speaking at the elemental level. Table salt, NaCl is a compound, itself. We don't look at metallic sodium in the salt shaker. When we say, watch your sodium intake, it is implied that we are speaking of sodium compounds. You can put the umbrellas away.

BunnyM said...

Good evening all

Nice puzzle from Patti- perfect for a Tuesday and the first time in a long time I had no perps!
Thanks Argyle for guiding us along :)

Did the puzzle earlier this morning after returning from a lumbar epidural steroid injection #2 ( in this series. Lost count how many I e had over the years) No major issues other than the doc giving me an extra boost of numbing medication along with the steroid so my leg was completely numb for awhile. I also always feel a little "off" the day of. I didn't do much of anything all day. I'm always on the go, despite my back and knee pain. The only time I don't feel guilty being lazy is when the doctor orders "take it easy the rest of the day" :)

Happy Birthday, CanadianEh! I do hope you've been enjoying a lovely, fun filled and happy day 😊🎂🎈🎉

Enjoy the rest of the day, everyone!

Misty said...

Argyle, forgot to say that your pictures were great today.

BunnyM, I hope you'll feel better tomorrow after your treatment. Sorry to hear about the pain.

Wilbur, yep, I do have that occasional 'Misty Moment.'

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

I was flying through the top-half of the puzzle, thought "The fun's going to end too soon :-(" and then hit the south. A PET stopped me in my tracks, wanted NONO for 51a, MARC, C'MON man...

Thank you Patti for a fun puzzle that brought me peace & QUIET. Of course, that all ended with SID's argument - Thanks Argyle!; that clip is funny.

WOs: N/A
ESPS: AMALIE, APET, MARC, SYNOD, ANDY@40a. ESPN was one too but just 'cuz it filled itself - I read the clue later during the expo.

Sparkle: IRAN & IRAQ, three off-limits (if you stay away from X-RATED films), and PUT A SOCK IN IT - how many times did I hear that growing up?
Fav: HAN SOLO spelt out.

{A,B,A (snicker)}

Anon(y) @8:27a - Good eye. Argyle's fixed Argle now.

Wilbur - you have AAA AAA AAA? Must get thrice the service :-). //kidding; I feel for you - a flat at the end-of-your-day sucks.

BunnyM - re: "with no perps!" Did you just not do the grid :-)

Deep Purple's Hush for TTP [love the song - thanks for the earworm]

CED - Drive-by comic was unexpected; I was thinking Doobie Brothers...

MIL's knee surgery went well today and they already have her moving about w/ a walker.

While boss-man was looking at an email on his computer I watched from the window a backhoe nudging what had to be a communications cable as they dug up Post Oak near Westheimer. I summoned BM to the window and said "They cut that, we can go home 'till Monday and run off of the Dallas DataCenter". Boss-man took a snap of it and attached it to a text to the Comms Gal with the caption "Open a preemptive ticket with AT&T."

Boss's Boss-man later came down the hall, "What, now Cyber does Comms?" Boss-man piped-up "We watched everything." I ADDED, "1/3 of CIA* is Availability." Being NERDs, we all got a good laugh.

Happy Birthday C, Eh! I hope it's all that and a Slurpee!

Cheers, -T
*CIA triad is Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. Some call it IAC now as not to confuse it w/ the TLA.

OwenKL said...

This is the HUSH I was remembering thruout this puzzle!

TTP said...


Canadian Eh, did you get you free Slurpee ? Do they even have a 7-Eleven near you ?

Anonymous T - I was beginning to wonder who was going to get it. Of course Avg Joe did, but he's been on radio silence lately.

Here's the original sound from 68. I prefer it. Had it on 8-track. Deep Purple - Hush.

BUT, you have to also look for and listen to "My Woman from Tokyo" and when you get that Alfa running, make sure you crank up Highway Star... That intro ought to get you going.

OwenKL, I remember the Herman's Hermits' song from 67. It was one of the 45's played over and over again at the high school graduation party of the older girl across across the street from us. Lots of good songs in 66 and 67. I didn't even know the Carpenters did it. I was already in Germany when their version came out in 76.

Anonymous T said...

TTP - I knew the version I linked was was missing some funk & groove. The keyboard in the intro is a must. LOL Highway Star in the Alfa, let's hope things don't end in Smoke on the Water :-)

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Did anyone see B.C. Today?. No, not ZOT! but M.C. Escher. Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

AnonT:
Yes, I saw that this morning and smiled recalling M.C. Escher's recent appearance in a puzzle.

Picard said...

Has anyone ever heard or said "In A PET" ?

Other than that, a fun theme and puzzle.

Had OATEY before OATEN. Had me confused for awhile who would be named HAY.

Only unknown: AMALIE. Learning moment.