google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, August 21, 2017 ~ Roger & Kathy Wienberg

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Aug 21, 2017

Monday, August 21, 2017 ~ Roger & Kathy Wienberg


Theme: Things that go BUMP ... in a Monday puzzle.

16. *Feature of gated community entrances: GUARD HOUSE. Bumper Guards.


21. *GEICO product: CAR INSURANCE. Bumper cars.


33. *Plaything for a backyard swimming spot: POOL TOY. Bumper pool.


44. *Source of showroom shock?: STICKER PRICE. Bumper sticker.


53. Abundant farm yield ... and what the first words of the answers to starred clues comprise?: BUMPER CROP

Argyle here. A lot of classics today.

Across:

1. DEA agent: NARC

5. Traveller in London's Tube: BRIT

"I took the tube back out of town
Home to the rolling pin."

9. With 15-Across, Apple media player since 2005: iPOD. and 15A. See 9-Across: NANO

13. Over the hill: AGED. Ageism!

14. Colorado-based brewery: COORS

18. Sprouted: GREW

19. Like checks, when splitting the tab: SEPARATE

20. Dungeness and Alaskan king: CRABS

24. "I got a great break!": "LUCKY ME!" Two rock-n-roll classics today.

27. ID card picture: PHOTO

28. Adam's grandson: ENOS

29. "... disguised as Clark Kent, mild-__ reporter": MANNERED

32. Hoopla: ADO

36. Fifth month: MAY

37. Warns of: PORTENDS

39. Batman's hideout: CAVE

40. Donna Summer's music: DISCO

41. Spun, as a baton: TWIRLED

47. The Stones' "__ Tonk Women": HONKY



48. Subscribers' continuations: RENEWALS

52. And others, in Lat.: ET AL.

55. Past the deadline: LATE

56. Foreign relief org. created by JFK: US AID

57. Pac-12 sch.: UCLA

58. Hotfooted it: FLED

59. Curve in a road: BEND

60. Easier said __ done: THAN

Down:

1. Badgers: NAGS

2. Fever with chills: AGUE

3. Garner from the fields: REAP

4. Music media holders: CD RACKS

5. Infant foot warmer: BOOTIE

6. City where Joan of Arc died: ROUEN


7. Tax form org.: IRS. (Infernal Revenue Service)

8. "The Waste Land" poet's monogram: TSE. (T. S. Eliot)

9. Thankless sort: INGRATE

10. Like "X-Files" cases: PARANORMAL

11. Year before AD yrs. started: ONE BC

12. Wield a divining rod: DOWSE

14. Captivate: CHARM

17. Low, sturdy cart: DRAY


20. Close friend: CRONY

22. Quarrel: SPAT

23. "Sorry, that's not happening": "UH-NO"

24. Jump: LEAP

25. "Go back" computer command: UNDO

26. Match, as clothing colors: COORDINATE

29. Chicago Fire's org.: MLS. (Major League Soccer)


30. Roof projection: EAVE

31. Colored like Easter eggs: DYED

33. Bothersome: PESKY

34. Fairy tale start: ONCE

35. Skunk's defense: ODOR

38. Got giggles out of: TICKLED

39. Close-cropped hair style: CREW CUT

41. Apprehensive: TREPID

42. __ and dined: WINED

43. Cake decorator: ICER

44. Bookcase unit: SHELF

45. Sum: TOTAL

46. Image maker, briefly: PR MAN. (public relations) Sometimes called a spin doctor.

49. Curved foot part: ARCH

50. 1970 Kinks hit: LOLA



51. Stretch across: SPAN

53. Fella: BUB

54. Employ: USE


Argyle

47 comments:

OwenKL said...

Said the P.R. MAN to Mr. T.Rex, "Today's your LUCKY day!
It's a good thing for your career that I came your way!
I can make you big, impress
Some key reviewers in the press,
Just give the word and I'll get started, whaddya say?"
. . . *Gulp* . . .

We had an exorcism, but the PESKY spirit stayed!
A PARANORMAL who was TICKLED at the ADO we made!
We were at our wits end
When a PHOTO crew we let in --
The ghost FLED, "They're so annoying!" As farewell he bade!

{A, A-.}

BobB said...

Shocked we did not have an eclipse related theme.

desper-otto said...

Good morning (and happy eclipse day)!

This was a nice, easy start to the week from the Wienbergs. Turning in my CD CASES for CD RACKS was a PETTY / PESKY problem. Worst was wondering what a DEND in the road could be...oh, BUB, not BUD. D'oh! Thanks, Roger, Kathy and Argyle.

Argyle, what's supposed to be going on in ROUEN? Chairs in the middle of the street?

Billocohoes said...

I was gruntled when I saw TREPID (words we usually only use the negative, tho autocorrect wanted to put in TREPIDation.)

Chicago Fire had me thinking of the TV show, not soccer

Hungry Mother said...

Nice and easy for a Monday. For some reason SHELF looked weird, maybe because it was a down. I spent a summer at UCLA in 1960; very smoggy back then.

Yellowrocks said...

Neat early week puzzle.
These days ague is found only in crosswords, period novels or earlier journals. Davy Crockett spoke of having the ague. Ague is not heard in every day speech or found in current publications.
"Pronounced 'A-(")gyu with the accent solidly on the "A", the word "ague" is an example of how medical terminology changes with time. Not only are new terms introduced (with great speed these days) but old terms such as "ague" may decline in usage (become archaic) and eventually may be dropped entirely (be obsolete)." Ague rhymes with argue and has a long A at the start.

Meriam Webster says, "Don't be afraid to use "trepid." After all, it has been in the English language for more than 350 years - longer, by 30 years, than its antonym "intrepid." "Trepid" (from Latin trepidus, meaning "alarmed" or "agitated") isn't used as much as "intrepid," but it can be a good word at times. Bill Kaufman, for example, found a use for it in a May 7, 2000 Newsday article, in which an aquarium volunteer is "asked if she is perhaps a little trepid about swimming with sharks in a 12-foot deep, 120,000 gallon tank." (Her fearless reply: "Not really.") The more intrepid among you might even consider using "trepidate" for "to tremble with fear" and trepidant, meaning "timid" or "trembling." These are uncommon words, granted, but they haven't breathed their last."

This source also has an interesting take on disgruntled.
The verb disgruntle, meaning "to make ill-humored or discontented," has the familiar prefix dis-, but it isn't the dis- we know. Rather than meaning "to do the opposite of," the dis- in disgruntle is a rare version of the prefix that acts simply as an intensifier.
Disgruntle, which dates to the late 1600s, comes from this intensifying prefix and a now-archaic word gruntle, meaning "to grumble." The early 20th century writer who humorously coined the new gruntle by removing the dis- to form an antonym of disgruntle likely knew nothing about the original gruntle. And neither do most people today who choose the word gruntle (often humorously) to mean "to make happy."

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Happy Monday! The few unknowns (US AID, ROUEN and the Chicago Fire) were well-placed with easy perps. I'm not sure I have heard of TREPID, but it makes sense. My only erasure was where I turned my IPOD mini into a NANO. Wouldn't it be great if the Chicago Fire's coach was named O'Leary? Delicious, like a mayor of Atlanta named Sherman.

My sister was a majorette in high school and college. She TWIRLED (and tossed) a fire baton, the ends of which were soaked in gasoline. What were my parents thinking? I don't think she ever burned herself, but she lived in a dorm and probably would never have admitted it had she.

Thanks to the Weinbergs and Santa for a nice start to the work week. I'm teaching for the next three days, so I'll likely not chime in until Friday.

desper-otto said...

YR, you could also mention TREPAN -- 'fraid you're gonna have a hole in your head.

inanehiker said...

Fun breezy puzzle. TREPID made me think of this essay in The New Yorker magazine which Click and Clack then read on their NPR radio program "Car Talk" - on "How I met my Wife"
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1994/07/25/how-i-met-my-wife

http://www.cartalk.com/content/how-i-met-my-wife

it always brings a smile to my face.
Happy Eclipse Day!
Thanks Argyle and Roger & Kathy!

Anonymous said...

After my first pass, 24A was: _UCK_ME

My head spun for 10 seconds until "LUCKYME" became apparent. Whew.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was what a Monday puzzle should be: a simple, yet clever theme, fun fill, and an easy but satisfying solve. My only hiccup was not being able to dredge up Bumper Crop when I read the clue for the reveal; the word Bumper was just totally blocked and I had to fill in the downs to get it. Talk about a senior moment! Before the reveal, I was in the dark about the theme, which is the way I like my solving e peri ende.

Nicely done, Roger and Kathy, and nicely explained, Argyle.

I caught the last 40 minutes of An Affair To Remember last night on TCM. It's one of my all-time favorite movies and I have seen it so many times, I could practically recite the dialogue verbatim. Deborah Kerr was just stunningly beautiful and what can I say about my suave, debonair, strikingly handsome Cary Grant? [Sigh, sigh, sigh!] Yesterday must have been a CG marathon on TCM because there were a couple of his movies on earlier in the day.

RIP Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Clouds PORTEND a 50% chance for eclipse viewing today
-CAR INSURANCE for safe BUMPER CAR driver (:30)
-I’ve never seen the need for any BUMPER STICKER
-Storage facilities are still full of last year’s BUMPER CROP
-Nebraskans used to drive to Colorado for COORS Beer. Now it’s just another brand
-My driver’s license ID PHOTO is 15 years old. Got to get a new one this year
-I never understood why fun DISCO music was so hated
-Ya gotta admire that she still TWIRLED (1:38) even with a knee injury.
-Do you think someone is an INGRATE if they don’t wave when you let them in a traffic line?
-COORDINATE – Joann had to show me which pants were black and not navy blue to go with my black shirt yesterday
-For frequency of use - TREPID:INTREPID = FURLED:UNFURLED
-Educators at my pay grade never got WINED and DINED

Irish Miss said...

The last word in my first paragraph should be experience. (I haven't suddenly learned a new language, despite autocorrect's interpretation.)

desper-otto said...

IM, I thought you were just being covfefe.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

A breezy Monday puzzle to enjoy today. Thank you Roger and Kathy, and thank you Argyle for the expo. There were a few words that we don't usually see until mid-week such as TREPID and PORTENDS, but all the perps were friendly.

My middle son drove from San Diego to Wyoming to watch the eclipse. He's been looking forward to this day for years. He made a road trip adventure of it, camping along the way. He found his spot for viewing on a ranch not far from Casper, where the rancher had created an instant campground. Each unit is staked off, 25 feet by 25 feet. There are ample port-a-potties, a stand selling lattes and the like, and commemorative t-shirts and eclipse glasses for sale.

Enjoy the day and as much of the eclipse as your location allows!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Mostly easy but I thought a tad crunchy for a Monday. No searches needed; no other issues. Favorite fill was PESKY; reminding me of the Pesky squirrels trying to compete on out bird feeder.
CAR INSURANCE - I've been with the same company for 57 years. If they offer a 60 year BUMBER STICKER I would probably display it when the time comes. (Lots of water under the bridge before then, tho.)
Eclipse - I shun the sun now that I have skin cancer issues and plan to have cataract surgery in one eye in October. Too much carelessness in my yute I guess.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

HG - And FLAMMABLE:INFLAMMABLE is closer to GRUNTLED:DISGRUNTLED as revealed by YR. Too bad - I loved the phrase "less than gruntled".

Irish Miss said...

DO @ 8:41 ~ Only you would come up with that! 🤓

Yellowrocks said...

DO, I might have a hole in my head, but I believe I have discussed trepan before. I am interested in primitive medicine. Link horrors!
I am not sure why you brought this up. Maybe you should be the one to comment on it.

sparky said...

did you also wake up in a Soho doorway? I've used the tube many times and I'm not a brit!

desper-otto said...

YR, Trepid / Trepan was what I saw as the connection. The "you" in my post wasn't you -- just a generic somebody. Sorry for the confusion.

SwampCat said...

Easy but interesting. Just perfect for a Monday. Thanks Roger and Kathy, and Argyle for walking us through.

Of course, my favorite clue was X-Files at 10D. It wasn't the PARANORMAL I liked. It was the weird, nerdy "hero" with impaired interpersonal skills who made me laugh at his wry humor. I believe he was the first who wasn't a Rambo type. Others have followed.

Enjoy the eclipse! Has anyone seen it yet? We get it about 1:30 CDT, according to the newspapers which of course are never wrong.

Native American lore has it that the sun dies during an eclipse and has to be reborn, hence it is a time of renewal. I like that.

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks, Kathy & Roger, for a fun Monday. Lot of fun fill, as well!

Nice write-up, Argyle. The pic of ROUEN is exactly what I remember seeing when I went there in '98. Thanks!

Yellowrocks said...

DO, no worries. I didn't make the connection because the two words have different roots. Trepid comes from the Latin trepidur meaning agitated or perilous or alarming. Trepan comes from the Latin trepan meaning to bore and trepanon meaning auger. I now see a wry connection. A patient facing the trepan procedure will most certainly be trepid. The practitioner should be trepid, too.
Jinx @8:59, that does seem to similar in construction to gruntled-disgruntled.

I don't have special eclipse glasses. I think I will get a better view on live TV than I would with one of those home made box thingies.I prefer TV for many sports events, also. I can see them better there. I realize I miss the excitement of being part of the crowd, but you can that from watching with friends or family.

AnonymousPVX said...

Typical Monday puzzle. As much as I dislike the theme puzzle, this was a harmless one, no need to figure the gimmick out to solve.

And if you MUST have a gimmick, why no Eclipse related one? Maybe the next time? Geez.

MJ said...

Michael (from late last night)--I lived in Pasadena in the mid 1970's when I worked for the LATimes. I rented a tiny house on S. Los Robles for $120/month. I bet it would run $1500-$2000/month in this day and age.

Lucina said...

Thank you, Roger and Kathy, for a quick and easy Monday puzzle.

And thank you, Argyle, for explaining the theme, of course I didn't see and also MLS. No idea about that.

I wondered about those chairs in the middle of the road, too.

Being so far south we will likely see about 60 percent of the eclipse.

Have a great day, everyone!

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up.

Roger & Kathy: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle. Enjoyed the BUMPER theme.

Fave today, of course, was COORS ... if it is a booze answer, it is always a fave!

Only getting 80.4% of the eclipse at 2:49 pm ... but I got the glasses ...
Soooooooo I will take a look ... and then probably "toast-it" ...

Cheers!

Argyle said...

Maybe C6D6 Peg can tell us about those chairs. I believe they are in a square. Look closely and you can see a little round table between the sets of chairs. Other views make it look like an outdoor cafe, complete with umbrellas.

Misty said...

A perfect Monday puzzle speed run, with no erasures, no cheating, no hesitations--a perfect way to start the week! Even better than an eclipse, which I see no sign of, here in Laguna Beach, California. So, many thanks, Roger and Kathy. I didn't understand the theme until I came to your BUMPER CROP reveal, and then found it delightful. Both long downward clues filled in immediately too--it doesn't get any better than this. Well, it actually does, when you also get a perfect Sudoku, Kenken, and Jumble. Really, what a great way to start the week, and have a good one, everybody!

Michael said...

Dear MJ @ 11:40:

How strange -- my second job was stuffing the Sunday LA Times (all those ad and specialty sections used to get integrated [stuffed] by hand -- and after I was out of the Army (1966 or 67) I threw [delivered] the Times for a good while.

But the Pasadena I grew up in is now long gone ... the spot where the hospital I was born in was, is now 30 feet above the freeway.

And I agree with Husker Gary about Coors.....

Anonymous said...

Ta- DA!
A fine pzl from the Wienbergs!
TREPID certainly surprised me. Seems like a back formation from that wonderful warship moniker, "HMS Intrepid."

Excuse me, please, if I am absent for a while. This is "Ol' Man Keith," letting you know that computer access is difficult right now. I am hammering this one-finger message out on my iPad because I can't access my desktop until a new mouse arrives. The old rodent died, and in trying to set up the new wireless one, I hit some wrong keys and froze my cursor. Anyway, while I wait for another (wired) one, I am clumsily making do...

PK said...

Hi Y'all! After our last experience with the Weinbergs, I was very TREPID seeing their name again. However, they have redeemed themselves to me with this puzzle. Thanks. Thanks, Argyle, for all you do. However, Kinks & those other guys aren't making it into my playlist.

I thought the foreign relief org. by JFK would be the Peace Corps so US AID was all perps.

"Thankless sort" = INGRATE (a/k/a Adult Children which didn't fit).

We're close to the total eclipse zone but I almost slept through it. (Bad night). Phone woke me in time to leap out, dress, & rush outside. Heavy cloud cover left no visible sun or corona. It did get "twilight" dark enough that the streetlights came on at 1:02 in the afternoon. No wind. Hot 86 degrees. Most notable thing was a screaming bug chorus, much louder than usual on recent summer nights. My neighbor & I stood in our driveways and called to each other. He watched TV coverage on his Iphone.

Lots of hype here pre-eclipse. Special glasses were ordered for all school children from Amazon. Turned out to be defective glasses which were then replaced by Amazon. Then the cloud cover made them unnecessary. A nearby town hyped a view party on TV for weeks. Advertising must help because the sky cleared just in time for them to see the total eclipse.

I've been trying to get my mind around the fact that the sun moves east to west but the eclipse was seen west to east. I don't remember the last eclipse at all. Probably won't see the next one.

PK said...

Keith, you promised to let us know how your ear looks today. I hope it is better than expected and your "mouse" comes soon.

Jayce said...

We had a small backyard get-together to watch the partial eclipse this morning, and it was interesting and exciting. We got 75% coverage on a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. A pretty awe-inspiring sight. My wife was able to snag 6 pairs of proper filter-glasses for us all to look through.

It was also fun to watch all the hoopla on CBS news. The news reporters were unusually "human" and excited. It was fun to see them acting totally natural and unscripted, oohing and aahing along with everyone else.

More later.

CanadianEh! said...

Back to the party after a busy week and just the occasional lurk. I enjoyed today's puzzle. Thanks to Roger and Kathy, and Argyle.

At first I thought we were having a Home theme with HOUSE, CAR, POOL, but STICKER PRICE would not fit and then I hit the reveal! Oh BUMPER. Hand up for expecting an eclipse theme today.

I cringe when I see SEPARATE spelled Seperate! (Auto-correct doesn't like it either!). I saw the current Facebook favourite "The only thing that should be separated by colour is laundry" spelled incorrectly. Picture is cute though.

Hand up for Bud before BUB (giving me Dend before BEND).

I did know MLS because DH was watching the soccer game on Saturday. Toronto FC gave Chicago Fire their first loss at home of this season.

When daughter was in S. Korea, she noted that many couples would COORDINATE their clothing.

We had about 76% of the eclipse this afternoon. It did get somewhat darker and very still. Yes, awe-inspiring. Apparently eastern Canada gets totality in 2024. Start planning your visit!
Have a great remainder of this special day.

Anonymous T said...

HI All!

LUCKY ME! Thanks Roger and Kathy for a puzzle filled with musical references! And thanks to DJ Argyle for queuing up the tunes [Tell me, WHO are you? You? Who are you?]; Love the music.

WO: Started spelling the wrong EaVE and substituted the 1st A in SEPARATE w/ an E.
ESPs: ENOS

Fav: DISCO just so I can link Dr. Johnny Fever's take[1st 0:45 - Funny, that's from the WKRP "Who concert / stampede episode."]
Sparkle: PESKY, PORTEND [such a fun word!], PARANORMAL, TREPID, and "Who you callin' HONKY" :-)

{A+,A}

OMK - First the ear, now the mouse... Did you know they GREW an ear on a mouse? [too soon? //grimace]. Good luck with the computer.

Re: Eclipse. This is the last week Youngest is home b/f school. I took the afternoon so we could watch the eclipse together. A bit of a letdown in H-Town (maybe about 40% or so) but her excitement was worth it.

PK - I know you won't add this to your play list either but... You gotta Keep 'em SEPARATEd is for Tawnya :-)

Cheers, -T

Misty said...

Good to hear from you, Ol'Man Keith, and sorry about the computer problem. When it gets fixed, let us know how your ear is doing. I've been thinking about you. I get my basal cell stitches checked at the dermatologist's tomorrow.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Eclipse was spectacular even through some wispy clouds.
-Traffic looked like there was a Husker FB game in Lincoln but many cars were from out of state and we were patient
-We were told where we went out in the country that the parking lot was full and we’d have to park a mile away and walk back. We drove in to turn around and suffice it to say, uh, there was room
-At totality we removed our glasses for 30 seconds and saw an image very much like this. A mighty cheer went up from us and the hundreds around us! WOW!
-As soon as the Sun starting peeking back out, we left.

Anonymous T said...

IM - I just heard on NPR Lewis Black quoted re: Gregory & Lewis ... "After last week, I guess God really needed a laugh." Perfect epitaph for two Giants of Comedy.

HG - Thanks for the Eclipse pic! So cool you were in the path. Like C, Eh, we'll get Totality in 2024... //Sigh, the NEST will be empty....

-T

Wilbur Charles said...

Oops. I lost my post. I hit "Edit profile" and lost it. I didn't have much.

I think Roger and Kathy were spoofing us old timers with AGED==Over the hill

Owen, a pair of good ones. Argyle thanks for explaining the theme. Went right by me.

Ok. Eclipse song: one hint. Vanity, vanity
Ok. Second hint: Nova Scotia

I gave it away

Oh. Don't look at the eclipse in 2052 through your cell phone camera

WC

oc4beach said...


WRT AGED: Today is National Senior Citizens Day.

The big question is when do you become a Senior?

Anonymous T said...

Oc4 - when you have a son name'd Jr? //ducks

Jayce said...

I liked this BUMPER puzzle. For some reason I like the word BUMPER. Agree that words such as TREPID and PORTENDS would normally be seen later in the week but all is good. Hand up for entering BUD and then wondering what a DEND is.

Lucina, thank you for the information last night about how to roast the chiles, and for the stew recipe. I love rellenos and would love to make them, but they sure look like a lot of work.

I guess I became a Senior at age 25!

Good wishes to you all.

Wilbur Charles said...

...walked into the party
....
Your scarf it was apricot
...
You flew your learjet to NOVA SCOTIA
to see the total
ECLIPSE of the sun

WC

Btw Carly Simon uses the word "gavotte" ???

WC

Argyle said...

ga·votte
ɡəˈvät/Submit
noun
a medium-paced French dance, popular in the 18th century.
a piece of music accompanying or in the rhythm of a gavotte, composed in common time beginning on the third beat of the bar.

Wilbur Charles said...

That is so clever Argyle. Carly's vain FOP doing a little "dance" in front of the mirror. She was the wrong woman to scorn

WC who just finished Tuesday but has a run to do before going over there

Cheers, thx 🎅