google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, November 28, 2018, Gary Cee

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Nov 28, 2018

Wednesday, November 28, 2018, Gary Cee

Theme: A Breed Apart. 

17. High-tech classroom: COMPUTER LAB. The Labrador is the most popular dog breed by registrations (191,988) worldwide. (Wikipedia.)

23. Fighter at the Olympics: AMATEUR BOXER.


51. Court long shot: THREE POINTER.


61. Astute attorney: LEGAL BEAGLE.


38. Military IDs ... or what 17-, 23-, 51- and 61-Across have: DOG TAGS. Clever - each answer is 'tagged' with a breed of dog. I guess you could call it Collar-ID. Snort.

Melissa here. Several clues related to New York made me wonder if our constructor is from there. Yes.

Across:

1. Mary Oliver, e.g.: POET.

5. Tweak: ADJUST.

11. Obliterate in a flash: ZAP. Good description for microwaving food.

14. Prefix with sphere: ATMO. Dictionary.com: Greek, combining form meaning “air,” used in the formation of compound words.

15. Self-moving vacuum: ROOMBA. Tried to put an H in there somewhere.

16. "I __ you one": OWE.

19. Starchy grain: OAT.

20. Bygone Persian rulers: SHAHS.

21. Long-jawed fish: GAR. Gar species of New York, below:


22. Present: HERE.

27. Man-horse hybrid: CENTAUR.

30. Synagogue reading: TORAH.

31. Country between Vietnam and Thailand: LAOS.

32. Quaint contraction: TIS.

34. Type of coffee or whiskey: IRISH.


37. Congressional statute: ACT.

41. Life highlights, briefly: BIO.

42. Moby-Dick, e.g.: WHALE.

44. Hula strings: UKE.

45. Pungent quality: BITE.

46. Rice dish: PILAF. Dictionary.com defines Pilaf as: a Middle Eastern or Indian dish of rice (or sometimes wheat) cooked in stock with spices, typically having added meat or vegetables. A quick google search turns up recipes for Moroccan, Japanese, Armenian, Asian, Indian, Persian, Lebanese, Russian, Turkish, Italian, and Greek versions.

49. "The Shawshank Redemption" extras: INMATES.

54. __ hog: ROAD.

55. Org. whose returns were never sales: IRS.

56. Get to: REACH.

60. Trellis climber: IVY.

64. Golf peg, or where it's used: TEE. Not being a golfer, C.C.'s explanation in Sunday's write up (87D) of TEE colors in MN was interesting - are the colors not standard?

65. Long cold spell: ICE AGE. Opposite of a cold snap.

66. Image in a botanical print: LEAF.

67. Make a typo, say: ERR.

68. Litter box visitor: PET CAT.

69. Pre-Easter season: LENT.

Down:

1. D.C. influence gps.: PACS. Political Action Committees.

2. "However," in tweets: OTOH. On The Other Hand.

3. "Handsome, clever, and rich" Jane Austen character: EMMA.

4. Headwear with tails: TOP HATS.

5. Works on walls: ART. Sneaky. Works used as noun, not verb.

6. Stag's mate: DOE.

7. Longtime Univision news anchor Ramos: JORGE.

8. Two dots above a vowel: UMLAUT.

9. Pizza chain in many food courts: SBARRO.

10. Bar bill: TAB.

11. Madagascar!, in the Bronx: ZOO EXHIBIT. Anyone seen it?

12. In the know: AWARE.

13. Pan in Neverland: PETER.

18. Inst. with the fight song "On, Brave Old Army Team": USMA.

22. Frost: HOAR.

24. Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of __-Tune)": AUTO.

25. H.S. subject that covers all the angles?: TRIG. Nice clue.

26. Jewish ritual: BRIS.

27. Jaguar's weapon: CLAW.

28. Individually: EACH.

29. "Fat chance!": NOT A PRAYER.

33. "The Simpsons" disco devotee: STU.

35. Locale: SITE.

36. Soil-clearing tools: HOES.

38. Mark for omission: DELE.

39. Related: AKIN.


40. Well-mannered man: GENT.

43. Made up things: LIED. Could also be LIES as a noun - needed 54A ROAD to be sure.

45. Reveal everything: BARE ALL.

47. Individually: APIECE.

48. Draw a blank: FORGET.

50. Nothing but: MERE.

51. Done to death: TRITE.

52. Float in the air: HOVER.

53. Actor Oscar __ of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi": ISAAC. I've only seen him in Inside Llewyn Davis. Did not know that he was born in Guatemala. His family settled in the US when he was five months old.


57. Pulitzer-winning author James: AGEE.

58. Close-knit group: CLAN.

59. Test by lifting: HEFT.

61. Backtalk: LIP.

62. Alternative to JFK or EWR: LGA. NYC's three major airports: JFK = John F. Kennedy International, EWR = Newark Liberty International, LGA = LaGuardia.

63. Perfecta or trifecta: BET.

40 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Gary Cee and mb!

Nice dog puzzle!

Didn't know: POET, ART, JORGE, ZOO EXHIBIT, AUTO and ISAAC. They all filled in nicely, though!

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

FIW. I struggled the longest time with middle center because I had frEezE and kiTtiy, with linking perps, so I couldn't shake them! Eventually LIP and BET forced me to do so. but I still had a sleeper cell that I couldn't find until I gave up. I couldn't understand what happened to the T in ROAST HOG.

Once there was a POET, could not ADJUST to the ZAP
When doozies he'd invented, came back with a snap!
"I like that they get passed around,
But my name is seldom on them found,
Still, if I didn't write them, they'd eat me up as a snack!"

There was a retriever, at fetching was fab,
Got into college with a scholarship tab!
Did poorly in Latin,
English wasn't his fashion,
But graduated with honors as a COMPUTER LAB!

He was a grad student who used vivisection.
His ego had expanded to a frightening dimension!
Grafted most of his torso
To a horse, don't ya know,
So that he would always be the CENTAUR of attention!

OwenKL said...

{C, B+, B+.}

Vivisection was part of the backstory of yesterday's _J poem.

Lemonade714 said...

After some difficulty with Monday and Tuesday, this puzzle filled itself. Thanks, Gary - it has been more than 3 years since we saw you here; though you have been very active at NYT. This led me down the rabbit hole of Gary's first puzzle- LINK which coincidentally was the debut post from our dear Lucina and if link, you will see it was a different world with a different MOREL and some dear ladies who have moved on to other interests. I do miss you ladies, and red shoes.

I also reread the INTERVIEW C.C. had with Gary in 2011.

Which brings me back to this puzzle and the labs. When I returned home in 2011 for the 50-year reunion of our graduation from 8th grade, I stayed in a B & B that was also home to Labrador breeders. I have some great pics with my oldest boy and the pups which I will try and figure out how to link.

Thanks, mb always a pleasure to see one of the ladies who is still here

CartBoy said...

Had FELINE, quickly became PETCAT.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

No problems. Didn't catch the theme until I'd finished, but then I saw all the dogs at heel. Oh, there was a reveal clue. Didn't notice it. Interesting to see TORAH crossing BRIS [shiver!]. No Wite-Out needed today. Thanx, Gary and Melissa.

ROOMBA: Not a solution for baby spit-up or pet messes.

SBARRO: Recognize from cws, but have still never seen one in the wild.

Oas said...

Good morning all
Enjoyable puzzle , thanks Gary C and Mb
Got the theme at DOGTAGS and FIR in good time.
Wanted to write Amature boxer but the U from UMLAUT kept me at bay till JORGE showed me the correct spelling for AMATEUR.
A few well knowns , nothing too TRITE.
Enjoyed the theme and the clues kept the solve within REACH.
Sunny days everyone :-)

Oas said...

Plaudits to Owenkl , how you can come up with new poems morning after morning amazes me . I’d say hats off to you but there’s cold wind blowing. Wouldn’t want to catch the sniffles. - Keep it up please.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Melissa Bee and friends. This was a fairly easy Wednesday puzzle. Getting the DOG TAGS helped me with the other theme clues.

I am not familiar with Mary Oliver, but after getting the P and T, I guessed she must be a POET.

My favorite clues were Works on Walls = ART and Org. Whose Returns are not Sales = IRS.

CSO to our own IRISH Miss.

Hand up for wanting Lies before LIED.

SBARRO has appeared in the crossword puzzles before. I was in Jerusalem in 2001 when there was a terrorist attack at a SBARRO's, that killed 15 people and wounded numerous others.

QOD: If you don’t stick to your values when they’re being tested, they’re not values: they’re hobbies. ~ Jon Stewart (né Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; b. Nov. 28, 1962)

Big Easy said...

Good morning. The canine connection flew over my head but was an easy spot in 20/20 hindsight. I've heard of LEGAL EAGLES but not BEAGLES. JORGE, BRIS,ISAAC, and any rap song by any rapper were solved by perps.

FORGET- I draw a blank many times when I see someone I know but don't remember their name.
ZOO EXHIBIT & Jaguar's CLAWS- Earlier this year a jaguar bit through his cage at the Audubon Zoo and in a few hours managed to kill four alpacas, an emu, and a fox.

TEE- Melissa, the colors are standard at almost all golf courses. Some courses name their tee boxes but it's usually red (women), silver (senior), white (regular), blue, black, and I've seen purple.

billocohoes said...

I wouldn’t say colors are standard at “almost all” courses. Mine have gold for seniors, another green for regular, and some have up to seven tee boxes that you should choose depending on skill level regardless of your sex or age.

I’ve seen LGA often, but not EWR

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

A delightful puzzle today. Sussed the theme halfway through and managed to prefill ……POINTER with a minimum of perps.
IRISH - CSO to IM as Hahtoolah said.
UMLAUT - While they are (sort of) dots, my mother always called an umlaut "de twee Striche" (the two strokes).

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Back to day-appropriate puzzles! FIR, but erased law for ACT, odor for BITE, only for MERE, lag for LGA and jamie Ramos for JORGE.

Never heard of LEGAL BEAGLE; we always called them EAGLES. DNK DOA, but I'm all for the death of AUTO Tune. Those (like me) who can't carry a tune shouldn't try to make a living from singing.

I find it interesting that some actresses eschew roles requiring nudity while in their prime, but(t) BARE ALL as their careers wane.

Thanks to Gary for the fine Wednesday-level puzzle. My favorite was "present" for HERE - like a good consumer I was thinking of a token under a tree.

And thanks to our dear melissa b for the fun tour. BTW, there are near-standard colors on golf courses. For tees, they are black - blue - white - red - gold (from furthest to nearest to the green). Yardage markers are disks in the fairway: blue for 200 yards to the center of the green, white for 150 yards, red for 100 yards. Flags on the pins indicate how far from the front the hole is: red for front, white for middle, blue for back. But maybe 10% of courses decide not to use this convention for whatever reason. The reason for having various tees is so that all levels of players can reasonably play without it being too easy for anyone. For example, a par 3 hole might be 135 yards from the gold, 150 from the red, 160 from the white, 180 from the blue and 225 from the black. Only a small percentage of golfers can drive a green from 225, and seniors (especially ones with torn knee cartilage) may be plenty challenged to reach from 135.

SwampCat said...

I must be out of step. I found this one Monday easy! It was a welcome relief after two Thursday level puzzles. I wondered if they all got mixed up.

I loved “ org whose returns were never sales” for IRS. Thanks, Gary, and mb for the expo.

KenoRunner said...

Shorthand like OTOH are more common in texts, not tweets.

JJM said...

Lemonade, In the event you didn't see my late post yesterday
From my daughter:
"The Peng River on the bridge near the Night Bazaar !!"
"along that main road (Thanon Thapae) there was a Wat (temple) which is where i released my lantern and monks help you set it up. but most people go to the bridge and release them and their kathrongs (floating flowers) but its very crowded !!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-My friends on local lakes treat GAR as a nuisance
-BTW, MIL calls me GAR (rhymes with care)
-HERE and now – In good marriages you don’t revisit old disagreements
-Two yrs ago during early March, I threw down what I thought was a sample soft drink in a grocery store. Oops, it was IRISH Whiskey.
-Congress seems to be unable to ACT except to take PAC money
-We baseball peeps would have known JORGE as “7. Mariano’s catcher”
-Omaha’s zoo has one too for its extensive lemur population
-Have you ever asked a price on a group of things and then been astounded when you found out the quoted price was for EACH?
-ISSAC/ISAAC? Wouldn’t you know it, I had I S _ A C.
-A 5-1-11 Kentucky Derby Trifecta BET this year would have won you $8,297.20.
-In today's PC world, red TEES are called forward TEES not Lady’s TEES

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

What's not to like about a canine-themed crossword? Before I filled in Dog Tags, I thought the reveal was going to be something TRUE related because of the first two entries, compUTER lab and amaTEUR BOXER. I was delighted when I saw all the dog breeds, Pet Cat, notwithstanding. I liked the Site-Bite and Bris-Torah (Hi DO) crossings. I also liked seeing Irish, both coffee and Whisky! (Hi Hatoolah and Spitz). My unknowns were Poet, Zoo Exhibit and Auto, all as clued. While Legal Eagles is more commonly known (30 million hits), Legal Beagles is more than acceptable. (3 million hits).

Thanks, Gary, for a doggie-treat of a puzzle and thanks, Melissa, for a fun expo, especially the Irish coffee video.

I have to pick up my car later, post inspection and winterization services. Then, I'm off to the store to purchase an inordinate number of greeting cards for Christmas and oodles of December birthdays.

Have a great day.

Lucina said...

Thank you, Gary Cee for the doggy treats! This was fast and fun.

Mary Oliver is a contemporary POET nicely crossed by EMMA; I have several of her books and I'll find a quotation later.

That feature on Sunday Morning about IRISH whiskey was aired this past Sunday and brought many memories of my visits there.

I also smiled at the crossing of BRIS/TORAH.

d-o:
Here you would find SBARRO in the local food court at the Mall.

At my daughter's house you might encounter her ROOMBA going around when you enter.

My trellis climber is a huge jasmine which smells heavenly when it's in bloom.

STU: I've finally learned a few of the names of the Simpsons' characters.

Have a magnificent day, everyone!

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday (I awoke to a Winter Wonderland here). Thanks for the fun, Gary and melissa bee.

When I filled in DOG TAGS at 38A, I went back and saw the LAB and BOXER. Then I moved forward and filled in POINTER and BEAGLE, which helped the solve.
But when I arrived here, I discovered that I FIW with the S on LIE (hello melissa, Owen and Hahtoolah). I did have a ? beside ROAS - duh!

Only a couple of inkblots - Hemi changed to ATMOsphere, and Geom changed to TRIG (wrong class!)
I was a letter short with TOP HAT until I realized the clue could be either singular or plural (headwear and tails can be worn by one person or several).
I smiled at BARE ALL after our Lady Godiva discussion the other day.
55A clue for IRS brought a smile too. Canadian equivalent would be the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency).

Enjoy the day.

GJ said...


Thank you for an enjoyable and fair Wednesday challenge, especially after my first Tuesday DNF in 4-ever! I'm also on the LEGAL EAGLE bandwagon.
We have had the tee color discussion before and I still cry foul when a constructor wants BLUE instead of BACK or TIPS for "most challenging tee" clue. I think in past decades when most golf courses offered only three tee positions, blue, white, and red was the standard. I can't think of many courses today which offer less than five tee positions with varying colors according to difficulty. BLUE as the answer for this clue is, I believe, out of date.

CrossEyedDave said...

Nuts I put Regal Beagle without thinking about it.
(backtalk=Rip? Oh well...)

"Dog"-Tags?

EWR = Newark Liberty Airport
(I see it on my luggage all the time...)

Makes me wonder what the 3 letter code for Ben Gurian is?

Honorable Mention: Military Dogtags...

Hmm,
curious,
I started with nuts, and ended up with nuts...

Misty said...

Woohoo! Woohoo! I'm back from my Thanksgiving visit to Dad and brother in Pennsylvania, and what a delight to get this completely doable and fun Wednesday puzzle. Thank you so much, Gary, for this lovely treat (and I'm so glad I missed the Monday and Tuesday bears others have mentioned). I moved right through this one without any problems, and was just delighted when I got the theme and found all those DOG TAGS. Have missed seeing my sweet Dusty dachshund this past week, and did this puzzle with him curled up next to me on the sofa. He says thank you to Gary too. And I thought it was sweet that a PET CAT was included in the puzzle for cat lovers. Anyway, a total delight and a wonderful way to spend my first morning at home after a week away. And Melissa, your photos were terrific!

Loved your poem, Owen.

Have a great day, everybody!

Sandyanon said...

Looking forward to seeing you on the Jumble site again, Misty.

billocohoes said...

HG, it’s not just PC, courses are trying to get male players to move up from the tees they played forty years ago without telling themselves they’re playing from the girls’ tees.

Hahtoolah said...

CrossEyedDave: It's TLV for Tel Aviv.

Misty said...

Thank you, Sandyanon! It may be a while before I get to the Jumble with all the unpacking, etc. but will give it my best shot.

Ol' Man Keith said...

I got stuck at 43A and just couldn't see my way from ROAS to the (now) obvious ROAD. I was about to blame Mr. Cee for leaving the "T" off.

Otherwise, this was a champion puzz. Fun to solve, with a neat payoff in Melissa Bee's delightful dog gallery!

WooHoo! WELCOME BACK, MISTY!
Ah, de ol' joint ain't bin the same wi'out ye.

~ OMK
____________
DR:
A 3-way on the near side, NW to SE, with a central anagram honoring the loser in a medieval joust, the venerable ...
"KNIGHT AMPUTEE"!

AnonymousPVX said...

A bit of a breeze today, not a complaint...didn’t get the theme until done, so a no giveaway theme today at least for me.

Only markover was LIES/LIED...as has been discussed.

My ROOMBA comes Friday....I never would use any vacuum on a pet mess or any other, dry floors only.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle and the theme. Excellent write-up and pictures of the dogs, melissa. Loved your collar ID joke. *Snort*

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Gary gave us something for both dog lovers and those w/ a PET CAT (and y'all knows who you are). Thanks Gary.

Nice jaunty expo mb; I liked the pics of the pups up TOP.

WOs: USNA [Naval Acad], started to write Geometry until I saw 4 letters were needed.
ESPs: ISAAC, AGEE. Waited on perps for where to stick the Us in UMLAUT and CENTAUR (those must be Canadian words :-))
Fav: TORAH xing BRIS
Runners-up: what Hahtoolah said - ART & IRS as clued. Third-place: c/a for POET was cute.

{B, B+, A}

Welcome back Misty!

Love your Jon Steward QOD Hahtoolah!

Jinx & BigE - glomming onto the theme 1/2-way through saved me from the Eagles entry. I've not heard LEGAL BEAGLEs either (unless I've been hearing it wrong ALL these years!).

IRISH Miss - Bring your big wallet for all those cards; I can't believe they're ~ $8 for a decent one.
Lucina - I do the Jasmine on one trellis and Honeysuckle on another. Lovely in the spring.

OMK - Funny DR; let's hope it's not the BRIS-kind!

BillO - so I don't have to drop my pants to prove I'm a dude if I fail to hit past the 'gold' TEES nomore? :-)

My sentiments on AUTO Tune [:34] exactly.

A-A-Ron? Iz-A-ac? Pre-zent. [Key & Peele - 3:01]

Cheers, -T

Irish Miss said...

Welcome back, Misty, you were missed!

Anonymous T @ 2:19 ~ The damages weren't too bad. CVS has a Hallmark section that offers very nice cards for $2.00 each. The selection is limited but I was able to get several of those, but two special cards were $4.59 and $5.59. I spent $33.00 but was pleasantly surprised at checkout when I was given a gift card for $10.00 because I spent over $30.00. Took a little of the sting out of having to spend that kind of money on simple greeting cards.

Anonymous T said...

IM - so I spend $31 and get $10 back? Um, not quite as good as this ATM in Houston but still a good deal.

Cheers, -T

Misty said...

Many thanks, for the kind welcome back, Ol'Man Keith, Anon T, and Irish Miss. I can't tell you how much I missed the blog in Pennsylvania. It's great to be back on it!

TX Ms said...

D-O- Sbarro's used to be in the Northwest Mall about 30 yrs ago (possibly the rent was too high in major malls). Maybe before your time down here?

Easy cw today, except "tophats" took a while; I couldn't get out of my mind "headgear with tails" meaning some sort of hat with tails attached (duh). I'll blame it on my search for a paper to buy since the Chronicle carrier missed my house - AGAIN. They're so erratic that I always look out the window before opening the door - it's become an auto-habit. Going to check yesterday's comments - APPARAT? On a Tuesday - never heard of that power structure.

Tony, thanks for the Key & Peele video. I think you linked it several years ago - my niece found it hilarious as it brought back some HS memories. Yeah, wish I had been @ that BofA ATM! Guess the BofA till filler is out of a job?

MB - great write-up - loved your collar-ID snort! also!

Yellowrocks said...

Cute theme. Mb, I loved your gallery of dogs.
I hired a legal beagle today. Alan's appeal is not going well. Some of Alans' counsellors say they have worked with more able clients than Alan in group homes. I think Alan looks competent because of the support and backstop he knows he can count on. When I am not in the picture he will not seem so independent.

Bill G said...

I just came across the last 20 minutes of "Rudy" on cable. I enjoyed it all over again for probably the fifth time. By the end, my face was wet with tears as usual. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it as a movie centered around Rudy's love for Notre Dame football. It's a sports movie with a huge heart.

"Don't believe everything you read on the Internet."
~ Abraham Lincoln

SwampCat said...

Bill G, you can always trust ole Abe!

Wilbur Charles said...

Owen, as a J-guy, #3 was an A+

MBee, also TEE can be where one"TEEs off from or the peg on which one balances the ball whilst hitting it. They also come in various colors: mauve, cerise, magenta even TAN. And of course, white. *
I found the spaghetti at SBARRO's tasty eg. Not too spicy.

Misty, welcome back, sorely missed at the J which I thought would be your first "deposit"

Except for the TRIG/GEOM thingy and spelling LEGAL (sigh) this went smoothly.

I'll have to click the link lemony suggested. I wonder if I go back that far.

WC

Ps. Picard, you've outdone yourself with that shirt.
* And speaking of...tees the color of the above

Misty said...

Thank you, Wilbur. Hope to see you on both crossword and Jumble tomorrow!