google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday September 24, 2018 Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

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Sep 24, 2018

Monday September 24, 2018 Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

Theme: Unless I miss something, it's just a set of "What To What" answers.

17. How canvassers usually work: DOOR TO DOOR.

27. How page-turners are often read: COVER TO COVER.

48. How apartment leases sometimes run: MONTH TO MONTH.

62. How pistol duelers typically stand: BACK TO BACK.

Boomer here.  

My feel good story of the week.  I help coach the varsity and JV bowling teams of my alma mater high school.  We have four members who are on student visas from China, so I asked C.C. if she could give me a "Nice shot" or "Way to go" in Chinese language.  C.C. gave me a short phrase that sounds like "hen hoa" and I used it a few times and you should see the smiles I lit on the young folks faces. (They also won their first match on Friday).

Across:
 
1. Answer with attitude: SASS.

5. Female WWII gp.: WAAC.  This is the Women's Army corps.  They dropped the A for Auxillary sometime after WWII. 

9. Ink cartridge color: CYAN. A fancy name for Turquoise.

13. " ... calm, __ bright": "Silent Night": ALL IS.  If you had trouble with this clue, you have no mistletoe in your home.

15. Stone of "La La Land": EMMA.

16. Revolutionary spy Nathan: HALE. He was hanged by the British during the Revolutionary War.

19. Correct a script, say: EDIT.

20. Satisfied sounds: AHS.  The sound you may hear when new Vikings kicker Dan Bailey kicks a field goal.

21. Golf's "Big Easy" Ernie: ELS.  High trains in Chicago.

22. Raised-baton strokes, in music: UPBEATS.  I would much rather have upbeats than be beat up.

24. Sauce with falafel: TAHINI.


26. Desk tray words: IN OUT.  Yes and no matter what, "IN" always has a higher pile.

32. Prop for Chaplin: CANE. "Ain't no more cane on the Brazos, we done ground it all in molasses, Oh, Oh, Oh."

35. Lodge logo animal: ELK.  A brotherhood organizations that advances organized youth activities, And a good place to buy pull tabs.

36. Total failures: LOSERS.  Those who bought pull tabs at the Elks Lodge.

37. Novelist Tolstoy: LEO.  Not to be confused with Sven's buddy "Ole".

38. Tallahassee sch.: FSU.

40. Thanksgiving mo.: NOV.  Sometimes Monday clues are easy,  Oops, I said that last week.

41. Blows volcano-style: ERUPTS.

45. "Double Fantasy" collaborator Yoko: ONO.  Oh No, Why is her surname not Lennon.

47. At the peak of: ATOP.  Old Smokey was covered with snow.

51. Prepare (oneself), as for a jolt: BRACE.

52. Hebrew greeting: SHALOM.  Sometimes good by or Peace.

56. "Definitely!": NO DOUBT.

59. "__ the ramparts ... ": OER. "Were so gallantly streaming."

60. Org. that publishes the newsletter GoGreen!: EPA.  Had some problems this year.  Director Pruitt considered the US Treasury his personal bank account.

61. Fictional estate near Atlanta: TARA.

65. Close tightly: SHUT.

66. At any time: EVER.

67. Count who composed "One O'Clock Jump": BASIE.


68. Depresses, with "out": BUMS.  Mindful of the old Brooklyn Dodgers.

69. Boxer Oscar __ Hoya: DELA.  I never was a boxing fan, but I have heard of Oscar.

70. Catches on to: GETS.

Down:

1. 1978 Egyptian co-Nobelist Anwar: SADAT.

2. "Welcome to Maui!": ALOHA. In Hawaii, I believe this greeting is similar to "Shalom".

3. Wade noisily: SLOSH.

4. Round Table title: SIR.  "To Sir with Love", Sidney Poitier grossed over $42 Million.

5. Ties the knot: WEDS.

6. Latin "I love": AMO.  I think that was the first Latin I ever learned, but I did not love it.

7. Invoice figure: AMOUNT.

8. Use the HOV lane: CARPOOL.

9. Frito-Lay snacks with a speedy cat mascot: CHEETOS.  The punch line in a lot of "turned orange" jokes.

10. When said thrice, "and so on": YADA.  Did "Seinfeld" start this or just make it popular??

11. Touched down: ALIT.  So if Tom Brady completes a pass in the end zone, is it alit?

12. Hockey targets: NETS.  Also basketballs, soccer balls, and butterflies.

14. Courtroom transcript pro: STENO.

18. Antipasto morsel: OLIVE. Ms. Oyl, Popeye's girlfriend.

23. Osso __: veal dish: BUCO.

25. Cooler cubes: ICE.  Sheets for Zamboni to repair every 20 minutes.

26. Annoying: IRKSOME.

28. Keebler sprite: ELF. A good old Santa helper.

29. Blow off steam: VENT.

30. Suffix with switch: EROO

31. Answer the invite, briefly: RSVP.  French acronym for "Are you coming or not?"

32. Skelton's Kadiddlehopper: CLEM.  I miss "Ol Red.  He was a classic entertainer.


33. Prefix with dynamic: AERO.

34. Grammar, grammatically, e.g.: NOUN. Knock, Knock, "Who's there? … No Un.

39. Crazy Eights cousin: UNO.

42. WWII vessels: PT BOATS. Most famous was JFK's PT109

43. No __ traffic: THRU.  Turn around.

44. Pierced with a fork: STABBED.  Met her on a mountain, there I took here life.  Hang down your head Tom Dooley.

46. Initial stage: ONSET.

47. "Eureka!": AHA.

49. E to E, in music: OCTAVE.  So an Octave is eight notes, and an octagon has eight sides.  So why is October the tenth month?

50. Pulsate: THROB.  Be still my heart.

53. Car dealer's offering: LEASE.  Sometimes this will fit your budget better than a purchase, but it usually better for the dealer than the consumer.

54. Ref. to a prior ref.: OP CIT.

55. Manufactures: MAKES.  Sometimes I manufacture a mess.

56. Govt. accident investigator: NTSB.

57. Island near Maui: OAHU. Island location of Pearl Harbor.  I lived through the assassination of JFK, and 9/11/2001.  I was not yet born on December 7, 1941, and happy to say.

58. Percussion instrument: DRUM.  Come they told him pa rum pa pum pum.

59. Pod in gumbo: OKRA.

63. "Snow White" collectible: CEL.

64. Grocery sack: BAG.  Paper or plastic?  Some cities are now prohibiting plastic bags. All Right!  Back to the fifties!!

Boomer



33 comments:

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Super easy, zoomed right through in turbo-Monday time.

Morning Boomer- about that October thing: to the best of my memory, back in high school Latin class, we were told that the ancient calendar had ten months. The last four were named after their numeric positions; the Latin words for seven through ten are septem, octem, novem, and decem. Then, the story goes, the emperors Julius and Augustus decided they needed months named after them. The calendar was gradually altered to have twelve months, with July and August stuffed in the middle. It may only be a legend, but it does explain things...

Similarly, I read an account years ago that Count Basie had to come up with a name in a hurry for One O’Clock Jump. The story goes that Basie and his band called the song Blue Balls among themselves, a title that wasn’t suitable for publication in that time; when asked by a reporter what the title was, Basie supposedly looked at the clock, saw that it was 1:00, and added Jump to that for an instant, socially-acceptable title. It may only be a legend, but it’s a fun one!

OwenKL said...

From the first 3 themers, I thought there was an additional gimmick of all words having an O in the second place (including tO), but the final themer broke that pattern.

As happened, I was munching on CHEETOS as I worked this puzzle!

Until Julius Caesar changed it, New Years Eve (or maybe Day) was the ides of March. But the ides got him back for their demotion! 7-, 8-, 9-, and 10-ember didn't get the memo. There were always 12 months, corresponding to the signs of the zodiac dating back to the earliest civilizations.

EMMA worked a brothel, as everybody's lover.
On slow nights, over a single patron she'd hover.
When business was UPBEAT
She helped to change the sheets,
Then work her way down the hall, COVER TO COVER!

Is the proper word alight or ALIT?
And EDITOR may pull a SWITCHEROO on it.
He'll quote the style handbook
And if you dispute his outlook,
He'll just lean back, and refer you to the OP.CIT.!

(What would be the opposite of OP.CIT.?)

When King Kamehameha made a faux pas
He'd say, "That's another meaning of ALOHA!"
Since he was king, it was so,
Into the lingo it would go,
But OAHU found it IRKSOME of Kamehameha!

Should one put an OLIVE or ICE in one's drink?
Cubes dilute it, is what some people think.
Frozen catsup packets
Keep the moisture in their jackets.
Don't use Olive, her sailor man will punch your twink!

{A, B+, B, C.}

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Bruce, Gail and Boomer!

Very fast puzzle. Clues filled w/o my looking at them.

One point off the lead in Word Solitaire. Drat!!!

Later today will be my last swim with my very long time girlfriend. Have not found anyone else with whom to swim.

Have a great day!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning Boomer and friends. As soon as I got the DOOR TO DOOR, I realized that the theme was, as Boomer noted, "What to What." Quick and easy Monday Run.

I'm sure your question about October was a rhetorical question, but the Roman Calendar had only 10 months, hence October, November and December are all a bit "off" with respect to their prefixes.

I tried In Box before the perps gave me IN/OUT.

Interesting to have both AHs and AHA in the same puzzle.

More than you ever wanted to know about the NTSB (aka National Transportation Safety Board).

QOD: You’re never too fat for a new purse. ~ Nia Vardalos (née Antonia Eugenia Vardalos; b. Sept. 24, 1962)

Lemonade714 said...

If you want to read a detailed history of the pre-Julian ROMAN CALENDAR click that link.
A CSO to ur own Big Easy and one for the Alma Mater of my son and d-i-l FSU
Another wonderful stream of consciousness from Boomer and the expected professional puzzle from BAG, thanks.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Nice start to the work (sorry for that four-letter word) week. Didn't know TAHINI, but I do know tankini. A few are spicy. I've never had an IN OUT tray, but I have had one of each. Even our pal Tin likely approves of ICE in a cooler.

My mother used to sing a song to us about drinking cider through a straw. Cheek to cheek, jaw to jaw, lip to lip. Led to 19 kids. We didn't even realize it was a risque tune.

Thanks to Bruce and Gail for the fun, easy puzzle. And thanks to Boomer for the tour. Sweet story about the Chinese kids.

TTP said...

Good morning. Thank you Bruce, Gail and thank you Boomer.

Finished this puzzle end to end without an error.

Jinx, I forgot you didn't do the Saturday puzzles. Thought you'd be interested in the semi boat runs on the Chicago River.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.

Zipped through the puzzle. Theme appeared quickly.

We get ELK a lot. I have been one for 45 years. Erie #67.

Good question on Octave. I think I will read Lemonade's link.

Needed perps for a couple words, but that's all. Off to church to count. See you tomorrow.

Finished Friday and Saturday puzzles yesterday. May check in later for those.

Abejo

( )

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Wow! We have Gail two days in a row, joined (or led) by Bruce today! Thanks, for a fun and speedy one today. Was sorry it was over so fast. Just zipped along word to word.

Only unknown was TAHINI not to be confused with wAHINI to whom you say ALOHA! Thanks, Boomer, for another chuckle-worthy offering.

BAG: my main grocery chain store is phasing out plastic. I've taken my own BAGs for years. My new delivery store hauls food in plastic BAGs, so I'll have a supply of bathroom waste basket liners for some time. Also liked them for smaller donations to the Salvation Army box. If it fits the sack, the stuff will go through the opening in the bin which is small so the homeless people don't crawl in and sleep there.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

TTP, thanks for the link. Quite a sight. I love drawbridges, even as a motorist. Haven't used many, since around here the important crossings are via tunnels not bridges. If a terrorist blows up a bridge the war ships might not be able to get in or out. Blow up a tunnel and it might be tragic and inconvenient, but not very important from a DOD perspective.

An acquaintance that had a sistership to my Catalina 38 got caught by a bad drawbridge operator who lowered the bridge on his mast. The taxpayers bought him a new mast and rigging.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone

Boomer, you seem to be a good coach. Your team is lucky to have you.

Cheek to cheek would have given the puzzle a little more passion.
Easy Monday but I had to change WACS to WAAC. That was IRKSOME. Sigh. Always like Bruce - Gail puzzles.
VENT - On our DD we had to lift safeties on our 600 psi boilers after maintenance to verify the correct settings.
DOOR TO DOOR - German "von Tür zu Tür". L. German Döör; Dutch deur. Again, shows the T→ D sound shift moving N and NW THRU the Germanic speaking areas.

Let's everybody be nice and adhere to the 5 posts per day convention.

Haiku Harry said...

Avon reps in France
Are very skilled at selling
Things, "Dior" to door

CanadianEh! said...

Marvelous Monday with a quick solve today. Thanks for the fun, Bruce and Gail, and Boomer.
Straightforward solve and theme; good Monday level (Gail can adjust to various degrees of difficulty).

I always have to wait for perps to GET(s) NTSB. Hand up for WACS before WAAC.
Smiled at ONO crossing UNO.
For some reason, I find the word IRKSOME worth a smile also.
Clue for 34D, NOUN, left me scratching my head - HUH! Oh, grammar is a NOUN, grammatically!

And of course, I have a nit with the clue for NOV. Canadians do the LAT CW and our Thanksgiving mo. is NOT NOV. but OCT.!!! (Note to Rich - It could have been clued American Thanksgiving mo. to acknowledge that we Canadians do exist and solve this CW). Rant over! Back to being UPBEAT(s).

Enjoy this beautiful day.

SwampCat said...

Easy and enjoyable! What more can I ask? I liked the theme. There was also 49 d, E TO E for OCTAVE. Thanks Gail and Bruce.

Boomer, always a laugh. PT BOATS were designed and mostly made in New Orleans at Andrew Higgins boat yard. Eisenhower said Higgins was the man who won the War because his LCVPs made the enormous landing of D Day possible.

Jinx, I never thought “sipping cider thru a straw” was risqué, just a bit naughty, perhaps. Styles change!

I’m still basking in the glow of the Saints victory over Atlanta. The win was nice, but the heroics were outstanding. Drew Bree’s broke another NFL record, passed for three touchdowns, and scored twice with his feet... in overtime. I was exhausted!

Lucina said...

Thank you, Bruce and Gail, for this cell to cell quick romp!

Boomer, what a sweet story and I agree, you must be a good coach. Thank you for the chuckles.

The only time I ever read a book COVERTOCOVER in one sitting was on my 14 hour trip to Hong Kong. It was Women of the Silk. I can't recall what I read on the way back but I know I switched with my sister who had a Grisham one.

AMO, UNO, ONO is a nice trio.

My late DH was an avid boxing fan so I know Oscar DE LA Hoya.

I'll BRACE myself for the continuing 100 degree temps.

Have a sensational day, everyone!

Misty said...

What a delight, to open the paper and find another Gail puzzle following her superb one yesterday--and this one with Bruce! I got the top so quickly that after getting DOOR TO DOOR and COVER, I had already gotten the theme. Made everything even more fun. I loved seeing Chaplin and Tolstoy cross, along with CLEM. Also neat to see both ALOHA and SHALOM. And even more fun stuff with EMMA and BASIE and that boxer. A totally enjoyable way to start the week--many thanks, Bruce and Gail.

Boomer, I too liked your sweet Chinese student story. And thanks for explaining the extra A in WAAC, which puzzled me for a bit.

Dudley, I liked your MONTHS explanation.

Have a great week, everybody!

Picard said...

Hand up for WACS before WAAC. Did not know EMMA. Did know TAHINI. I love Middle Eastern food. The rest was indeed a smooth, fun ride! The theme certainly made it fill quickly.

Here we recently enjoyed the ALOHA Festival in Ventura

PK Plenty of wAHINes at the ALOHA Festival. No TAHINI, though!

From yesterday:
Wilbur Charles Thank you for the kind words about my commentary and my worldly experience! I feel as if I have seen very little in this vast, diverse world! So much more to experience, share and give!

TTP said...

Boomer, I could use a bowling coach.

The guys talked me into rejoining the old bowling league. It's been ten years. It'll only be every other week. We'll see how the back holds up.

Last Thursday I dug my ball carrier out of the basement, drove to the lanes and started to get ready to throw a few practice balls. My Hammer was covered with spots of mold ! Couldn't get my fingers and thumb into my Brunswick. Will have to take the inserts out and get refitted on that one...

Picked up a washout 1-2-10 split, and then threw 2 strikes in practice. Decided that was enough practice. Not sure what my three game total was, but it was under 500. Somewhere around 450. Will have to look a week from Thursday. Many of the guys from years ago are still bowling. Most of them came up to me at one point or another and told me I was sandbagging. It's good to be bowling again !

Jayce said...

What a nice way to start Monday morning, with a Gail and Bruce puzzle and a sparkling write-up by Boomer. "I can't ask for anything more."

Interesting that Augustus Caesar's given name was OCTavius, I believe because he was the eighth child. Many Romans were called Quintus, Sextus, and Septimus. Never heard of anybody named Quartus, though.

You guys bowl a heck of a lot better than I ever did! My average was about 130.

Boomer, you and I must be pretty close to the same age.

Good wishes to you all.

CrossEyedDave said...

Boomer, thanks for explaining the auxiliary A in WAAC.

Question?
Why would Elks buy pull tabs?
(and how does that make them losers?)
Now if you said the Elks lodge is a place
to pull, pull tabs, then I might be interested in joining...

Door to Door?

Be back to play later...

AnonymousPVX said...

First, from Friday/Saturday, to Bill G....thank you, appreciated, and no problem. And just a warning, you may not like my take today.

Okay...this was a super easy Monday puzzle, themed....and the specific type of theme that I don’t care for...

As soon as I had the first theme, the “something TO something” was apparent.. so you know right away the other themes have a TO, a giveaway. Plus, as soon as you figure the first - or last - word of the theme, you have the whole thing. Giveaway City. With four theme answers, that’s a lot of giveaway squares.

Just My Take.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

Very easy Monday puzzle.

I’ve previously posted some words that show up in xword puzzles that I never use in real life. Here’s one from today’s puzzle:

ALIT

CrossEyedDave said...

Cover to Cover? I wish...

Some months are worse than others...

An improvement on a theme?

or

possibly a deeper meaning?

Jayce said...

CrossEyedDave, thanks for those dueling cartoons. Good stuff! We all are fortunate that you have such a talent for finding funny yet relevant jpg images to share with us.

Irish Miss said...

HI Everyone:

Late to the dance due to appointments, etc. Gail and Bruce are always welcome on a Monday, or on any other day, for that matter. This was an easy, breezy solve with only one c/o, Teal/Cyan and no unknowns. I like the Uno ~ Ono and Elk ~ Elf crossings. Big CSO to Tin and Big Easy.

Thanks B and G, for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, Boomer, for the chuckles and smiles. Cute story about your Chinese students. Is bowling a sport played in China?

FLN

Anoymous T ~ Your anniversary weekend sounds like it was a big success. Did you have the courage to step on the scale when you got home? 😉

CanadianEh ~ You are always upbeat and kind enough to overlook some of the puzzles ethnocentric failings. 🇨🇦

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

A perfect fall day for 27 holes, a fun puzzle and outside work.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Or a rain check, a fun puzzle and binge watching Adam Ruins Everything reruns downloaded by DirecTV's Genie. Icky weather expected here all week.

Hey PVX - Us folks who aren't exactly Mensa candidates need to have one we can solve too.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

A fun Bruce and Gail to start the work-week; thanks you two. Thanks too to you Boomer for kicking-off the after-party, picture of Clem, and explaining WAAC v. WAC.

Spitz - Passionate cheek-to-cheek may lead to mouth-to-mouth :-)

WO: N/A
ESP: CLEM
Fav: SLOSH is a fun descriptively-onomatopoeic word.

{B, A, B+, B-}

IM - we walked 10.8 miles and I have a date w/ the gym tomorrow. Perhaps I'll visit the scale then :-)

CED - The cover-to-cover comic was hilarious.

Boomer - I read sugar and Brazos and had to look it up. Based on the lyrics, this may involve Sugar Land. We're on the Brazos, had lots of sugar, and two prisons that "provided" labor to the local farms back in the day. I'd never heard of the song, so thanks.

Here's one you've probably not heard: Spiderwebs by NO DOUBT. [BRACE yourself...]

Cheers, -T

CanadianEh! said...

AnonT- I missed wishing you and your wife a Happy Anniversary! Sounds like you had a great weekend.

Wilbur Charles said...

TTP, I was invited to bowl last night but I didn't dare take a chance with this back issue I'm having. Been off the golf course too. Speaking of...
Great win for Tiger.
This was a good xword for beginners, including xword Staples like ALIT, ONO,ATOP and OER.

WC

Anonymous T said...

Thanks C, Eh! - we had a hooUt* celebrating 30!

This is for Picard:
Stumbl'd upon while waiting on firewall logs from Aberdeen say...
Weezer and Weird Al covering Toto's Africa. Weird Al totally shreds the accordion :-)

-T
*added a U since you didn't get Thanksgiving clue'd right :-)

Lucina said...

AnonT:
I also failed to congratulate you on 30 years of marriage! It sounds like you had tons of fun on your getaway weekend.

Unknown said...

I’m a typical lurker of three plus years to the corner (see JERRY on map)......try always to check out your very articulate responses. Amazing picture selection is daily enjoyed...yesterday’s Aloha Festival plus Cars (my background) led to me finally to toot your horn as I’ve contemplated for a long time. One word EXTRAORDINARY!
The Corner is fortunate to have you as a contributor.

Jerry