google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, November 21 2017, C.C. Burnikel

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Nov 21, 2017

Tuesday, November 21 2017, C.C. Burnikel


Theme: Fluff Up

16. Advocacy group descriptor : SPECIAL INTEREST

22. Decathlon event : JAVELIN THROW

51. Draw upon : CALLIN TOPLAY

60. 1999 Winona Ryder drama set in a mental hospital : GIRL INTERRUPTED

40D. Dryer screen used to "catch" a hidden word in 16-, 22-, 51- and 60-Across? : LINT TRAP

Another fun and stellar offering from our C.C. Two impressive grid-spanners. All across theme answers, with a downer reveal, so to speak.

Across:
      
1. Swelled head : EGO

4. Short-lived fashions : FADS

8. Tennis venue : COURT

13. Color similar to khaki : TAN

14. Bowling venue : ALLEY. Apt for a Burnikel puzzle.

15. Florida senator Marco : RUBIO

19. Remove from power : OUST

20. Pyramid scheme, e.g. : SCAM

21. "Can't Fight This Feeling" band __ Speedwagon : REO. From Wikipedia: "They named the band REO Speedwagon, from the REO Speed Wagon, a flatbed truck Doughty had studied in transportation history, and the initials are those of its founder Ransom E. Olds. Rather than pronouncing REO as a single word as the motor company did, they chose to spell out the name with the individual letters each pronounced ("R-E-O")." Another classic, below.

26. One in Montréal : UNE

27. Period often named for a leader : ERA

28. Disruptive forum commenter : TROLL

31. Pub projectile : DART

33. Actor Sharif : OMAR

36. Two-dimensional calculations : AREAS

38. Mighty Dog shelfmate : ALPO

39. Kathmandu's country : NEPAL

41. Apple juice eponym : MOTT

42. Bathroom bars : SOAPS

44. Freeway hauler : SEMI

45. Tend to a simmering sauce : STIR

46. Raise a stink : GRIPE

48. Gerund syllable : ING

50. __ roll: winning : ON A

55. Toss in : ADD

58. Bread with tikka masala : NAAN. Recipe.


59. Wiggled digits : TOES

65. Bath-loving Muppet : ERNIE

66. Zagreb native : CROAT

67. "I don't __ you anything!" : OWE

68. Kia headquarters city : SEOUL

69. URL opener : HTTP

70. Archery bow wood : YEW

Down:

1. Martians, e.g., for short : ETS

2. Hole in one's story : GAP


3. Bogey : ONE OVER PAR. Golf.

4. Old-fashioned clothes presser : FLAT IRON

5. Every last bit : ALL

6. Jefferson, religiously : DEIST

7. Lip-__: mouth the words : SYNCH. Don't usually see an H at the end. 


8. Coffee-mate competitor : CREMORA

9. "It can be __ little secret" : OUR

10. Lyft alternative : UBER

11. Climb : RISE

12. Dog that bit Miss Gulch : TOTO

14. Supermarket walkway : AISLE

17. Pool stick : CUE

18. Sharp-tasting : TART

22. Last Supper traitor : JUDAS

23. Like old watches : ANALOG

24. Roster entries : NAMES

25. Rewards for early birds? : WORMS


29. "Anna Karenina" novelist : LEO TOLSTOY. Nice first and last name here.

30. Salma Hayek or Sofia Vergara : LATINA

32. Debate issue : TOPIC

34. Gibbon, e.g. : APE.
Gibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae. Gibbons freak out over rodent:



35. Insert with force : RAM IN

37. Wander from the path : STRAY

43. Droopy-eared pooch : SPANIEL

47. Stylish vigor : ELAN

49. Date, with "with" : GO OUT

52. Bathroom stall fastener : LATCH

53. Motionless : INERT

54. Oomph : PEP

55. Quite some time : AGES

56. Threatening : DIRE

57. First Bond movie : DR. NO

61. Lucy of "Elementary" : LIU


62. Poppycock : ROT

63. Farm female : EWE

64. Morning moisture : DEW


48 comments:

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one felt like a Monday. My only overwrite was AEONS to AGES...easily fixed. Thanx, C.C. and Melissa. Welcome back, MB. How were the nuptials?

BobB said...

Very easy. Did not need or look for the theme until the grid was completed.

CartBoy said...

Synch? Seems forced as this "alternative spelling" is never used in the wild. Lip-sync or lip-synch? Always the former.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I really enjoyed this one - FIR with no erasure. However I kept looking for the baseball entry, since the constructor was our dear CC. I've decided to change the clue for 65A from "bath-loving Muppet" to "Banks with a bat". Done.

Thanks for a nice puzzle, CC. And thanks to melissa b for the review. Good to see your byline today.

Anonymous said...

Melissa- Where the heck did you get a video of Trump's first meeting with Comey?

OwenKL said...

What if tennis was played in an ALLEY?
Walls on each side could prolong each rally!
While bowling's a sport
That if done in a COURT
Might "spare" a JUDAS from joining a rogues' gallery!

A surprise on the Tonight Show, when Jack was the star,
Was when he was arrested, by "Sharif" OMAR!
The skit was a prank,
With Humphrey to thank --
That was when BOGIE put ONE OVER PAAR!

{B+, A-.}

Lemonade714 said...

I hate to sink to the nitpicker level, but English is seldom as rigid as many would wish. You might become involved in this DISCUSSION .

Jinx in light of the many changes made in clues by editors, your suggested clue might have been the one submitted by C. C.

Thanks, mb and C.C.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Very easy today. Only overwrite was I had LATINo before LATINA. Wasn't sure the o-a thing applied here, so I guess this is a learnING. Lots of fresh fill; fun to work on.
AREAS - When is the last time any of you used a polar planimeter? Back in the late 70's I would use one, on occasion, to determine ice AREAS on eastern Lake ERIE based on aerial observations.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

IMO, CC is the Agatha Christie of puzzle makers. The theme is usually a mystery until finding that well-hidden reveal and then, Voila!, the solution is as plain as the nose on your face! As Spitz noted, there was a lot of fresh, fun fill and, as usual with CC, a clever theme. Nice CSO to Boomer with Alley. No write-overs, no hiccups, just smooth sailing. Synch looks a little odd but that's because we're so used to seeing sync.

Thanks, CC, for a fun Tuesday solve and thanks, Melissa, for the expo and welcome back.

I'm still reeling from the news about Charlie Rose.

Have a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

Very easy, but after all, it is a Tuesday. I enjoyed the theme, CC. Welcome back, mb.
I never realized REOWAGON was pronounced r-e-o.
I have never seen SYNCH before today, but now I understand why it is used as an alternate spelling in the dictionary. Learning moment. The dictionary writers search many thousands of references to discover what is being used. I looked at many of these references and so I agree it should be included. It is actually "used in the wild." Here are just a few of many examples:
"But more than that, his mastery of his oar, his steady reliability, and his rock-solid sureness were so apparent that every other boy in the boat could sense them immediately and thus easily fall into synch with Hume regardless of water conditions or the state of a race." The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
"AMZN did not show immediate power as it broke out to new highs on March 17th, right in synch with the market's follow-through on the same day." Dr. Chgris Kacher Gil Morales, Safari
Interesting discussion, Lemonade. We do keep the CH in the abbreviation of school, SCH. I do realize that SYNC is far more common.
LATINA is feminine for Salma and Sofia. LATINO is masculine.

Misty said...

Woke up at 6:30 and so had time to read the paper and saw a C.C. puzzle. Just had to do it and it was, of course, brilliant! Thank you, C.C. and you too, Melissa, and have a great Thanksgiving, everybody!

melissa bee said...

hi all,

thank you to cc who pointed out all your congratulations last weekend so i wouldn't miss them - i so appreciate all the well-wishes. it was a wonderful day. little glitch with pictures but hope to have something to share soon. have a great thanksgiving!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you. C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa B., for a fine review.

Yellowrocks: I read "The Boys in the Boat." One of the best books I ever read. I also saw a U-Tube on them winning that last race by inches.

The puzzle was pretty easy. I am not complaining, just commenting.

Caught the theme part way through. Needed it for that last answer, GIRL INTERRUPTED. Never saw that movie. I do not do movies very much.

Took me a while to remember how to spell SEOUL.

Got JUDAS easy enough, and MATTHIAS took his place.

I clean my LINT TRAP each time I do a load of laundry. That's my story and i'm sticking to it.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Lucina said...

Thank you, C.C., for catching us in the LINTTRAP! Very clever puzzle with interesting cluing.

LATINA? Yes, I am one and happy to be in the company of Salma and Sofia. And it ends in A because it's feminine as YR pointed out.

Yea! I spelled SEOUL right the first time. Usually I'm up in the air about it and confuse the placement of O and U.

Spitz:
Used a polar planimeter? First, I don't even know what it is!

IM:
I, too, am still processing the news of Charlie Rose! That's the last person I would have suspected.

OwenKL:
You made me laugh today! Good job!

It's good to see you, Melissa, thank you for the expo and I eagerly await your pics.

Have a great and wonderful day, everyone!

Spitzboov said...

Polar Planimeter clip 6:23

C6D6 Peg said...

Fun, easy puzzle today! Thank you, C.C., for continually entertaining us with your great puzzling!

Thanks, MB, for a very nice write-up.

CanadianEh! said...

Quick work today. Thanks for the fun C.C. and melissa bee (glad your big day went well).

I noted the CSO to Boomer at 14A.
We have RUBIO and AISLE again but UNE not UNO.
Hand up for hesitating with the H on SYNCH and having to switch the E-O in SEOUL.
Another hand up for laughing, OwenKL! (I'd give the second A+)
Have our 28As been behaving lately?

Enjoy the day.

Lucina said...

Thank you, Spitz!

CrossEyedDave said...

Learning moment: Planimeter, Tx Spitz!

Lint trap?

Always good to have extra lint traps...

Out of the mouths of Babes...

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

First, Owen, your second poem was very clever. Bravo!

Second, Melissa bee, excellent recap. And kudos to Lemony for the SYNC/SYNCH linc

Third, CC, as always, a great puzzle. Well constructed, clued, and themed.

Fourth, I had my share of WO's: ARENA > COURT, SYNCS > SYNCH, AEON > AGES, and oddly, DAIST > DEIST. This was a misspelling on my part, which also made 14a incorrect, as I never checked the clue when ALLAY appeared. I figured that was ok.

Fifth, I had a pun in mind when I saw the answer for 68a. This is my Moe-ku du jour:

A black Korean
Was confused. "What do you mean,
I ain't got no SEOUL?"

SwampCat said...

This was was easier for me than yesterday but both were fun. Thanks C.C. And mb. My only write over, like D.O., Was AEON instead of AGES. Sometimes we try too hard!

Lemonade, thanks for the link. Good stuff!

A, A+

Nice Cuppa said...

WELL INTERPOLATED

But I would hardly call ANALOG watches old-fashioned. I gave up on digital watches years ago when I realized I could not read the numbers without donning reading glasses, whereas the "hands" on most analog watches (ideally black hands on a white background) can be read with the fuzziest of vision. Besides, the analog face gives both an instantaneous "read-out" of time as well as its relationship to the whole day.

Well, that's how I see it.

Mark S said...

Nice puzzle. Easier than yesterday’s. Always enjoy C.C.’s puzzles. Thanks MB and CC.

Cheers

Ol' Man Keith said...

What fine cluing from C.C.! I appreciate clues that cause us to reflect on the meaning behind words we've used unexamined for ages. Not that we didn't understand them, but that we don't generally pinpoint every aspect. See 36A and 47D.
I'm inordinately fond of grammatical factors, such as at 48A.
Plus, today's pzl is designed to allow my favorite first-scan solving path, to run directly from square 1 to square 77 (NW to SE) without a break or a black window along the way. Elegant! Brava!

And to cap it off, this easy-to-solve sweetie led to a firm Ta- DA! for me!
Bravo!

Yellowrocks said...

BTW Just as Latina describes a female and Latino describes a male, Brava! applauds a female performer and Bravo! applauds a male performer.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Gee, C.C. can make a fun & fast puzzle theme out of anything -- even LINT, for goodness sake! LOL! Good on ya', girl.
Thanks, Melissa. The new hubby looks good. Hope he treats you like the treasure you are.

GOing before GO OUT.

IM & YR: about Charlie Rose, me too. I read where he said he thought the feelings were mutual when he made his moves. Seems like all the guys are getting harassed back now. Probably be a shorter list to name the men in power who keep their hands to themselves and their zipper shut. Women are angry these days and don't want to be messed with.

Jayce said...

Nice puzzle.

D4E4H said...

Old business:

Back awhile ago a video of Treebeard was posted. I do not watch any shows with superhuman or imaginary creatures so this was new to me. I tape several of the late night talk shows. On one Sean Aston was interviewed. He is in a new "Lord of the Rings" movie. They alluded to TB, and I could picture his oaken self. The show aired before the puzzle. If I had watched it on air date, TB would have meant nothing.

Jinx, You asked if I knew Dale Greer? No. I came to Ky in 1965 at Ft. Knox, and to Louisville in 1967. How does that jibe with his time at Wave? I Googled but no aha.

New business:

C.C.'s puzzles are easy for me. We think alike. Melissa Bee., this is the first of your reviews since I have had the world "Cornered." Thanks for an excellent one.

49D
My last square was at the natick of 48A ING
O
O
U
T

I said "Oh G" and the puzzle was complete. FIR with no erasures cause I was online.

Funny business:

How can you tell that a blonde has been using the PC? There's whiteout on the screen. BASINGA

MB: DO said you are back from the Nuptials. They are beautiful this time of the year. I was there on April 16, 1967. I probably wouldn't recognize them today. Everything changes so much.

Sync/synch in either spelling you aint singing.

Spitz 811: Latino/latina Spanish has gender specific last letters "o" for bOy and a for gAl. Our weather is affected by "El nino" the boy. There is also an "El nina" the girl.

Not only have I not used a "Polar planimeter," I had not heard of it.
Is the globe warming?

Nice 1225: And another thing how can you teach CW and CCW with a digital watch? Does mama still say "See the cho cho" to her infant when the train passes?

Reviewed thru Jayce 216.

Dave

Post 1/5

Ol' Man Keith said...

YR
- And Bravissimo! captures my all-inclusive praise for each & all of today's creative cruciverbal artistes!

Ol' Man Keith said...

There is no defense or excuse for hitting on underage girls or boys, nor should anyone presume consent for one-sided sexual exploitation.
But I want to point out that we shouldn't expect Puritanical behavior from persons used to the backstage world. I learned as a young actor that casual nudity was generally tolerated backstage, especially in and near dressing rooms, but also including quick-change areas. Neither did we expect much privacy during costume fittings. That toleration extended to much personal interaction of theater people.

At age 15 or 16 I tried to cover up when I needed to apply body paint and yet was open to the girls' half of our dressing area. I was laughed at, gently but definitely, and told, "Oh, get over yourself: We've all seen it!"

Lucina said...

D4E4H:
That would be la nina.

PK said...

OMK: I think harassment depends on the people involved. I worked with one short guy who could say the most outrageous sexual things while working in the middle of three woman and have us laughing until we cried. A new hiree decided he could do the same thing and we were all so offended by him, he left shortly thereafter by mutual consent. Don't know exactly why but the one guy was cute and joyful about it and the other seemed snide and sly.

CrossEyedDave said...

Just trying to keep my place as to how much of the Blog I read...

But as long as I am here...

Psst,,, Don't tell my wife...

JD said...

Wow, a fun quick one for a day that many of us needed a break from baking. Thanks C.C. and Melissa. Clever theme. I am wondering where/why you were thinking of lint. giggle.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

D4E4H, I think his ERA was in the late '60s through the '70s. Here's a nice article about Dale that should be of interest to our many Cornerites that were or are teachers.

Ol' Man Keith said...

PK -
I agree - emphatically. But that certainly points to a problem, doesn't it? For all we can know, the second guy took the first one's example and just assumed he was cute too.
We can hope that someone would step up and help educate the non-cute guy, but it is not a responsibility easily assumed.

We had a similar situation when I hired a business manager for our rep company, one who promptly revealed that he was into dirty jokes as a means of bonding with co-workers.
Some raunchy jokes are quaint and cute; others tread a borderline between clever and foul; and some take their character from the attitude of the teller. His "jokes" turned a 35-year old gentleman of sophisticated manners into a nasty little kid giggling stupidly, much to the disdain of our mixed company.
His was a failure of taste. I spoke to him about it, and I don't believe he was evil or mean. But I wasn't working under him, so maybe others felt harassed by his choice of chatter.
(This turned out to be only one of several ways he fell short of expectations, so he did not last an entire year.)

Picard said...

Fun easy ride! Thanks, CC! We live in a 4-plex and politely ask that each dryer user clean the LINT screen AFTER each use!

ERNIE/LIU a proper name crossing, but easy to WAG.

Here are a few photos of my time in SEOUL in 1999.

We were there for an international conference. Our Asian rep showed us a good time with a traditional Korean feast and performance. I am still in the process of scanning these negatives from that adventure.

Thanks, Jinx, for explaining IGA yesterday. We live in a small city, but probably too big for IGA.

Thank you, AnonymousT for sharing your LUCID dreaming experience yesterday! Way cool! If others didn't see my post yesterday: I gave two short LUCID dreaming talks that I linked to yesterday. Along with me and a real DRAGON.

D4E4H said...


OMK 300/314 Your note to YR should change your screen name to "Ole' Man Keith. I before e except after c or the k in keith.

Re. "We've all seen it" Emily Sears is a model who forwards the selfies of junk to a significant woman in the fool's life. She stays busy doing this.

The "Dresses" worn on the red carpet need a red letter accessory. I can see thru this.

Lucina 343: Ya on the "La." Mea Culpa. Thanks for the correctamundo.

In my post of 259 49D was where it should be on a grid. It was a thing of beauty, and a sight to behold. Please move it back there in your reading.

CED 416: No lint for outies. There's "Hair of the dog that bit you, and now fur of the cat that LINT you." These cartoons rival "The Far side." I miss it.

My wife gave me a calendar each Christmas. I had the discipline to wait for today to uncover each gem. Would that I had had had (I can spell banananananana. I just don't know when to stop) the same in eating.

Jinx 509: Thanks for the article about dale Greer in "The Daily Independent" from Ashland, KY. I learned so much about this interesting icon, and yet no aha.

I was raised in northern Ohio. We lived on a farm, but to pay for his farming hobby, my father worked for Armco Steel. After I left home, Armco moved the plant in whom he worked to Ashland. To protect his retirement pay, he moved with them. When he retired, he returned to Ohio.

Eons later, as part of my PT education, I worked in a clinic in Ashland. I do not like Ashland. It is ugly.

Reviewed thru OMK 514

Dave

Post 2/5

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thank you C.C.! You pump'd my EGO after Monday's fail; I OWE you ONE.

Thanks mb for the expo - enjoyed the tunes and learning REO, the car, is one-word. Who knew? (Oh, YR did, but she didn't know R.E.O. Speedwagon :-)). Congratulations on tying the knot; we await pics.

WOs: SYNCs (hi C. Moe!), GOing (hi, PK!), and, hand-up: Aeon.
ESPs: UNE (apparently, didn't see the clue).
Sparkle: clues for TOTO, ALPO, and MOTT. Getting all of TOLSTOY in there.

Fav: LATINA! I put that in Sat for LA TIMES and today made up for it :-)

{B, A++} {groan :-)}

IM & Lucina: All I could think... ETTU Charlie?

Nice Cuppa - here, here! I don't wear a watch (iPhone is always handy) but I prefer ANALOG for wall clocks.

Speaking of ANALOG - RUSH's ANALOG Kid. [been long enough, eh? C.Eh! - rest of y'all, don't GRIPE - I've not linked RUSH in at least 24 hours :-)]

Re: SYNCH - it makes since to ADD the H - root is SYNCHronicity [Police - I & II, 7m]

In HS, I went out for track. I could run long-distance quite well with my stamina. My talent in other events was such, that um, Coach would CALL me IN TO PLAY at JAVELIN catch.

Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

D4E4H,

Actually, the full mnemonic is

"'i' before 'e,'
Except after 'c,'
Or when sounded as 'ay'
As in 'neighbor' and 'weigh,'
Or in the name 'Keith'."

Anonymous T said...

Or just weird :-)

Lucina said...

I just can't believe it! A glorious career ruined for a few minutes of lust.

Irish Miss said...

Lucina @ 9:55 ~ I am still grappling with these charges. I'm almost afraid to hear who is next! My biggest quandry is how these people can show their face in ordinary society? How can they show their faces in public?

PK said...

I was just wondering how old Charlie Rose is and googled. He's 75. So why do these women wait until the guys are so old to make these allegations? Have the guys lost enough power they won't have the backing to stay in their jobs? Are they ramping up their obnoxiousness in their old age? Are there younger people just wanting to retire the old guys whose jobs they want? Or is the political climate today just ready to listen to these women? Frankly, putting his hand on someone's thigh doesn't sound like a firing offense. Walking around backstage in the nude at 75 sure might be though.

Bill G said...

Ol' Man Keith: I taught with a fellow; he was a well-respected English teacher. He thought himself a bit cooler than was my perception of him. He enjoyed telling jokes. They were always dirty jokes; really foul and not funny. I find that jokes can be funny whether dirty or clean. His were never funny; just dirty. It got so when I could sense he about to launch into a joke, I would politely excuse myself and go anywhere out of earshot.

Lucina said...

PK:
I believe that with the accusations against Harvey Weinstein the floodgates opened and other women felt empowered in a way they had not felt before to speak out against powerful men. In the case of Roy Moore, for example, and if the reports are believable, his propensity for young women was well known and he was even forbidden to enter a certain mall because he distracted the young girls. Apparently, though, he was too influential in the community to accuse him publicly.

Anonymous T said...

Lucina - I think it was the O'Reily and Roger Ailes allegations / take-downs that opened everything up. We had Thomas/Hill and Clinton/Lewinski with eyes averted. Then The 'Coz but still not the flood-gates...

I just finished reading about Rose - egad!, even his female assistant reportedly brushed off reports as "That's just Charlie." Yes, the truth has come out - men are pigs and men in power are hogs.
//I wonder, if Women had the power would they not use that to their advantage ala Horrible Bosses [MA] or is that just a male-writer's fantasy?

Moore, on the other hand, - there's a spectrum here - belongs in jail. It's one (boorish) thing to push oneself on an underling, but, an under-ageling?
//rant over

Picard - once again, cool pix.
Lem, I just noticed (in another tab) and read the SYNCH page. Ha! That's what I said :-)

Dave - it takes a special patience to wait all year to read a Far Side day-by-day.... I got a Mensa puzzle D-b-D from Pop 2 years ago and DART'd through it in a week :-)

Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

No time. Finished yesterday but I fell asleep reading the blog last night.

Owen, not a minus but a masterpiece. Can someone link that Jack Paar show?

Congrats Melissa B if I neglected to wish you a happy nuptial.

To paraphrase a 60s Supreme Court Justice. " I can't define sexual harrassment but I know it when I see it."

WC