google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, May 8, 2019 Sam Acker

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May 8, 2019

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 Sam Acker

Theme: ON THE DRAWING BOARD.  Here we will DRAW on our library of in-the-language phrases, to finalize certain concepts.  Since that seems a bit cryptic and abstract, let me DRAW it  more clearly.  This will be easier if we start with the unifier.

7. Infer ... or what the answers to starred clues end with?: DRAW CONCLUSIONS.  Gleaning the meaning from information that may or may not be complete.  In the theme answers, the 2nd word of two-word phrases can also follow the word DRAW to CONCLUDE another two-word phrase.

17. *Mint target: BAD BREATH.  Halitosis.



To DRAW BREATH is simply to breathe, or to pause a moment, and take a breath, before doing something, such as DRAWING a CONCLUSION.

20. *Overhead buzzers: POWER LINES.  Conduits for electricity.  Sometimes they're noisy.  To DRAW LINES is to set limits; figuratively LINES that should not be crossed.

31. *Lists of wrestling matches, say: EVENT CARDS.  Schedules of specific activities occurring at an event.  This phrase also has a variety of other meanings, which you can google, if interested.  To DRAW CARDS is to select specific cards from a deck as part of a game, trick or reading.

39. *Building sites: VACANT LOTS.  Plots of land that are currently undeveloped.  To DRAW LOTS is to decide something - such as who will do something, or in what order things will be done -by picking an item or items at random.

57. *HBO vampire series: TRUE BLOOD.  Never watched it.  Here's the season 1 trailer.



To DRAW BLOOD means to injure an opponent, either figuratively or literally.  Alternatively it means collecting a BLOOD sample from someone to run lab tests.

50. *Civil War volley: CANNON FIRE.  Cannons are now historical weapons.  To DRAW FIRE is to attract an enemy's attention in order to distract him from other tactical activities.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here to see what kind of CONCLUSIONS we can DRAW.  The first one is that with 6 theme entries and a grid spanning unifier, this puzzle is extremely thematically rich.  And second, with a central vertical unifier and two stacked theme answer pairs we have an unusual, and quite creative construction. So let us commence.

Across:

1. Try to punch: JAB AT.  Could be a swing and a miss.

6. Org. concerned with outbreaks: CDC. Center for Disease Control.

9. Follower of Guru Nanak: SIKH.  The word means a "disciple", "seeker," or "learner."  This is a monotheistic religion started in the Punjab region of India during the latter part of the 15th century.

13. Shapes for running laps: OVALS.  Typical track contour.

14. Shapiro of NPR: ARI. The host of All Things Considered.

15. Sunlit lobbies: ATRIA.  Often with a glass roof.

16. Crunch-like exercise: SIT UP.  Do it properly.



19. Soccer legend Mia: HAMM.




21. Verb type without a direct obj.: INTRansitive.   It' s always an action verb. Frex.: We arrived just in time.

23. Sing smoothly: CROON.



24. Bad guy you root for: ANTI-HERO.  Like Matt Scudder in Lawrence Block's mystery novels.

27. __ de cologne: EAU.  Originally a perfume formulation fron Cologne, Germany, but now a generic term for scented formulations.

30. Slangy "No reason": CUZ.  Cuz I says so.

35. Prepare to drag: REV.  Gun the engine in preparation for a fast take off.

36. Like maple syrup: VISCOUS.  Thick and slow to pour.

37. Geographical resource: MAP.  It lets you know where you are.  But, as Ned Stark often told his son Robb, "The map is not the territory."

41. "Wherever __": One Republic song: I GO.



42. "I see it now!": OH O or O HO!  Exclamation of surprise or discovery.

43. Yet to be tried: UNTESTED.

45. Flightless birds: RHEAS.  Large South American ratites, distantly related to the ostrich and emu.

49. Aspiring DA's exam: LSATLaw School Admission Test.  It's pretty well established that such standardized tests have little if any actual value, but they continue to be used.

54. Pet healers: VETS.  Animal doctors.

58. San Diego player: PADRE.  National League West baseball team

59. Like games in an arcade bar: RETRO.  Appealing nostalgically to a time in the not too distant past.

60. Protein-building molecule: RNA.  Ribonucleaic acid.

61. Shoelace tip: AGLET.  The plastic or metal tube the keeps the end of the shoelace from unraveling.

62. Young woman: LASS.

63. Mountain road curve: ESS.  A series of curves that double back in the shape of the letter S.

64. Spanish rulers: REYES.  Kings.

Down:

1. Kid: JOSH.  Tease playfully or joke.  Also, our 11 year old grandson is a kid named Josh.

2. Nike competitor: AVIA.  Brands of athletic shoes

3. Jewish girl's coming-of-age: BAT MITZVAH.  A ceremony held on the girl's 12th or 13th birthday, in varying traditions, after which she, instead of her parent, is considered to be responsible for her own actions.

4. Grads: ALUMNI.  Those who have completed a program of study and received a diploma from an educational institution.

5. Baker's meas.: TSP.  Teaspoon.

6. __ San Lucas: Baja resort: CABO.   Located at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula.

8. Fall drink: CIDER.  Unfermented juice pressed from fruit, most typically apples.

9. "Gone With the Wind" composer Max: STEINER.  [1888-1971] An Austrian born American composer of music for theater and films.  He was one of the first composers for movies and is known as the father of film music.

10. Shiraz's country: IRAN.  Located in the southwest of the country, Shiraz has been a trade center for over 1000 years.

11. Toy on a string: KITE.  A light frame with thin material stretched over it, to be flown in the wind.

12. Guffaws: HAHs.  Laughs

15. Woody's son: ARLO. Woody [1912-1967] died of Huntington's disease. Arlo [b 1947] is most famous for his epic recording of his narrative song Alice's Restaurant.

18. Pal: BRO.  Buddie.

20. Musician André with 11 Grammys: PREVIN.  [1929 -2019]  He was famous and highly accomplished in three areas - scores for over 50 films; music director and/or conductor for several major symphony orchestras; and jazz pianist, composer and arranger.




22. GIs' support gp.: THE VA. Veterans Administration.

24. Like six starred puz. answers: ACR. Across. A meta, theme-related clue that is not part of the theme.

25. New, in Nogales: NUEVO.  Literally, in Spanish.

26. Snooze: REST.  Sleep.

28. "Truth be told ... ": ADMITTEDLY.

29. Grammarian's concern: USAGE.  The manner in which words and phrases are normally and correctly employed.

32. Animation creation: TOON.  A cartoon character.

33. Nautilus cousin: CUTTLE.  A cephalopod having 8 arms and two tentacles with denticulated suckers to latch on to their prey.  They are typically 6 to 10 inches long.

34. Donkeys: ASSES.  Horse-like animals that are smaller, having longer ears and a braying sound.  They have been used as working animals for over 5000 years.

38. Sci-fi escape unit: POD. A small, secondary vehicle used to evacuate from the main vehicle when under duress.

40. Least gooey brownie pieces: CORNERS.  They bake harder due to having more edge surface.

44. Brutal: SAVAGE.  Fierce, violent, and out of control.

46. Stereotypical train hopper: HOBO.  The term originated in the western U.S in the 1890's, referfing to an impoverished migrant worker or vagrant.

47. Blowup: Abbr.: ENLargement.

48. Ere: AFORE.  Having occurred previously

50. Bottom row PC key: CTRL. A modifier key that performs a special operation when pressed with another key.

51. Real estate calculation: AREA.  Sizes of the lot surface, total dwelling and interior room spaces.

52. Bar freebies: NUTS. Either snacks, like peanuts, or the company of bar flies in questionable mental states.

53. Nutritional stds.: RDAS. Recommended Daily Allowances.

55. Christmas decoration: TREE. I'm going to quibble.  The tree is a symbol. It is adorned with decorations.

56. "Action!" places: SETS.  Places where movie scenes are filmed.

58. 72 for 18 holes, often: PAR.  The nominal proper score for a round of golf.

That wraps it up. Despite my one ADMITTEDLY picky nit, I found this puzzle to be quite up to par.  You, of course, are free to DRAW your own CONCLUSIONS. 

There doesn't appear to be another puzzle by Sam Acker in our library.  So this might be his first L.A. Times entry.  If so, congrats for a highly successful introduction!

Cool regards!
JzB




52 comments:

OwenKL said...

A Maple Leaf player may be vicious,
And MAPLE SYRUP may be VISCOUS,
A maple TREE
May stalwart be,
While a May Pole will be most twistious!

I live in NUEVO Mexico
In Santa Fe is my home, O-HO!
It's where I GO
When I need a BRO
To join me as a ANTI-HERO HOBO!

The televangelist claimed to have revelations
That were goosed by increasing donations!
So send in that tithe
To help make things bright,
And we'll REV up the REVS to the REV!

{B+, B, A-.}

D4E4H said...

Wonderful Wednesday Cornerites and Cornerettes!

Lucina FLN at 6:39 PM, -- Obviously the turtles were cheering on the team in the stacked position.

Or could it be...

The Turtle
by Ogden Nash

The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks
Which practically conceal its sex.
I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile.

Here is my "Lack of progress report".

I have read posts FLN thru CED at 8:49 PM. My first task is to finish those posts.

Next I must work today's CW, read Jazzbumpa's review, and compose my post.

I'm grunting like those turtles.

Ðave

Lemonade714 said...

I enjoyed the creative grid without any nits from me. I went off in search of more knowledge of the nautilus and the cuttlefish. Very interesting.

There was a mini-theme of movie composers with Mr. Steiner and Mr. Previn who also took Mia Farrow away from Frank Sinatra.

I have enjoyed the Matt Scudder novels.

Welcome to the world of published puzzle making Sam and thanks JzB

desper-otto said...

Good morning! [glug, glug]

I admit to taking the TV weatherman's name in vain yesterday with his "chance of widely scattered showers" that dropped north of 7" of rain on us. Not sure exactly how much -- our rain gauge only goes to 5" -- but TV reports range from 7-9". I kept urging DW to wade out there and dump the rain gauge, but in vain. Water came over the road and 50' up the front lawn. All gone this morning, though our woodlot is still underwater.

Wow, six themers plus a reveal on a weekday. Did I say wow? I'm impressed, Sam Acker. Thanx for the esoteric tour, JzB.

THE VA: CSO to Boomer. They're doing OK by him.

TTP said...

Good morning. Thank you Sam Acker and thank you JazzBumpa.

I'll conclude that this was a fine debut for Sam at the LA Times.

I don't recall encountering VISCOUS in a puzzle before. Same for ADMITTEDLY, VACANT LOTS and EVENT CARDS.

Had a few head scratchers until I worked them out. Great clue of Overhead buzzers for POWER LINES.

Had CANNON BALL before CONCLUSION made me change it to FIRE.

Great explanation on the theme JazzBumpa. I pulled a D-O this morning and didn't look for it. Thanks for the expo.

BobB said...

Spelled batmitzvah with a s instead of a z. That gave me"cus". Looked OK.

inanehiker said...

I enjoyed this puzzle with the creative theme and layout. Words that were gettable (is that a word) but not common in CWs like ADMITTEDLY. I was going for yo-yo before KITE was needed by perps.
For those who love to read - I just read a gem called "Virgil Wander" by Leif Enger (author of one of my all time favorites - "Peace Like a River") One of the main characters is Rune a visitor to northern Minnesota from Scandinavia who is an amazing KITE builder.

Thanks JzB and to Sam (and congrats if this is your debut)

Anonymous said...

Enjoyable puzzle today: good mix of atypical crossword answers (event card, viscous, vacant lots, etc.), and not many of the usual crossword fill (RNA, ess, etc.). Finished in under 8 minutes, but didn't see/need the theme.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

FIR. No searches were needed. I tend to get confused with DNA or RNA so I wait for the first letter to fill in. Same with ……MITZVAH's Z as BobB mentioned.
Like maple syrup - VISCOUS - - I always felt it was thixotropic, but Wiki says it is pseudoplastic because its viscosity is time dependent. In any event it is non-Newtonian in it viscosity behavior.

Off to play some bridge.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-The Listerine commercial said a lot about the 50’s
-There are now officially 450 VACANT LOTS that are small in AREA across the fence from us
-Teams who score first are said to have DRAWN first BLOOD
-Nice assessment, Jazz!
-EAU de Cologne sounds much better than EAU de Toilette
-I see many kids in school who will be ALUMNI with no interest in class reunions
-Tedious teacher USAGE correction – Student - “Can I please go to the bathroom?” Teacher – “I don’t know can you?”
-These two Russian Soyuz PODS are designed for escape from the International Space Station
-Gotta run, sophomores (another often mispronounced word) are coming in

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Enjoyed this one a lot and was stymied about the theme until filling in that delicious, grid-spanning reveal. It took a minute to see the Draw connections, but then, suddenly, AHA. Needed perps for Cuttle, Sikh, and Rheas (all of which I've heard) but they were all fairly crossed. I liked the RNA/RDA(s) crossing. Smooth sailing to the finish, with no w/os.

Thanks, Sam, for a mid-week treat and congrats if this is a debut and thanks, JzB, for another wise and witty review. I especially liked your alternative definitive of Bar freebies=Nuts! Chuckle time, indeed.

FLN

I hope Anonymous T and DO are safe and dry today.

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

Autocorrect strikes again! Definition not Definitive!

John E said...

I don't believe I have ever seen "aglet" anywhere and now I've seen it twice in a week in crosswords.

oc4beach said...


Nice intro puzzle from Sam Acker. JZB's tour through the grid was enlightening especially since I didn't get the theme when I solved the puzzle.

NUEVA and AHA were a little off in my initial trip through the puzzle. The two "O's" changed the errors and gave me the Ta Da at the end.

It's National Coconut Creme Pie day. Sounds good. I have a frozen Marie Calendar's coconut creme pie in the freezer. I think I'll get it out and let it thaw for dessert tonight.

Have a great day everyone.


CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Sam (congrats on debut) and JazzB.
Just a little bit of crunch today but I FIW and saw the theme (although like Irish Miss I took a minute to connect the conclusions of all the themers to DRAW.) (Yes, I was trying to link 24D to the theme but it was just ACR.)

Hand up with inanehiker for thinking of Yoyo before KITE. (Thanks for the book recommendations!)
My only inkblot was changing Bud to BRO.
I almost had a Natick with 22D, 33D, 36A since CUTTLE was new and this Canadian was slow to parse THEVA.

Thanks for the Canadian Maple Leaf first verse, Owen!
I was thinking of synonyms for sweet before VISCOUS appeared.

I would say Aha before OHO. I see Irish Miss & oc4beach agree.
John E I learned AGLET doing CWs but we may not have seen it for a while.

Another despised A-word. (We'll let Anon@8:28 get away with "atypical" LOL.) Do you say Fore AFORE teeing off?

Stay safe, those of you with flooding (d'otto, AnonT)
Wishing you all a great day.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Sam Acker, for the interesting and convoluted puzzle; and thank you, JazzB, for unraveling the theme in such an entertaining manner!

OHO! I guessed at the spelling of BATMITZVAH though first had CUS which didn't look right so switched the S to Z. I also had AHA before OHO.

STEINER appears in many old movie credits as the composer.

I agree, AGLET is commonly found only in CWDs

Easy Wednesday!

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

CrossEyedDave said...

Yes, Aglets go in Eyelets...

Fun puzzle...

Inference reference...

Does anyone remember this old TV series? The Littlest Hobo.

Wendybird said...

Thanks for the suggestion. Love to read and in need of new material.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, JazzB. This is the first thing I thought of. Never heard of One Republic.

WHEREVER I GO


Haiku Harry said...

Arthur Miller wrote
Screen play ‘bout halitosis:
BREATH of a Salesman

Thanks, TTP, for recalling my BASQUEtball haiku yesterday ...

VirginiaSycamore said...

Thank you Sam for the interesting Wednesday puzzle and to JazzBumpa for his explanation. I really needed the theme explanation, I just couldn’t get it.

I recalled A-LET but couldn’t get the last letter until it was a perp.
RHEA had to be perped, then I recalled it.

Spitboov, your discussion of the flowing of Maple Syrup has piqued my interest and I am going have to do some Wikipedia searching on the topic.
CED – I adored the The Littlest Hobo show. The trainer and his dogs did an event at our shopping center and it was amazing. I bought a book he had written.
The show used several dogs because different tricks required a different size dog.

Finally, all this USAGE talk brings up the oldie but goodie Weird Al video “Word Crimes”.

Word Crimes

Live Well and Prosper,
VS

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Congrats Sam on your LAT debut. The downs were fun and the themers running ACR were cute.

Excellent expo JzB as is below PAR for the course; learned a few things I did.

The theme helped me wag the C & R in CARDS.

WO: CANNON BA--; oops that's not going to work.
ESPs: PREVIN, STEINER, REYES, CUTTLE
Fav: 35a's clue for REV is devilish
Sparkle: VISCOUS, BAT MITZVAH [needed perps to get that right], ADMITTEDLY

{B+, B, A}

There was a Phineas & Ferb on AGLET. You can learn a lot from cartoons [read the 3rd & 4th comments down].

VS - Love me some Weird Al!

Thanks all for asking - we're all dried out now [no water in cars nor house] but expecting more tonight. I decided to work from home and advised DW to cancel her meetings late this afternoon. We'll see what the next few days bring. Here's the No Nonsense aFOREcast.

Cheers, -T

Lemonade714 said...

These are the appearances of AGLET in the major reviewed puzzles since 2010

LA Times - May 8, 2019; Universal Crossword - Feb. 3, 2019; New York Times - Dec. 16, 2018;
Universal Crossword - Aug. 24, 2017; Canadiana Crossword - Aug. 7, 2017; Universal Crossword - July 23, 2017; WSJ Daily - May 3, 2017; New York Times - April 19, 2017; LA Times - April 16, 2017; Universal Crossword - April 13, 2017; Washington Post - Dec. 02, 2016; New York Times - Nov. 23, 2016; Universal Crossword - Nov. 09, 2016; Universal Crossword - Nov. 03, 2016; Washington Post - Sep. 24, 2016; Universal Crossword - Aug. 30, 2016; Universal Crossword - Feb. 14, 2016; USA Today - Dec. 21, 2015; Universal Crossword - Dec. 04, 2015; Buzzfeed - Nov. 23, 2015; Universal Crossword - Oct. 04, 2015; Universal Crossword - Jul. 16, 2015; Universal Crossword - May. 08, 2015; USA Today - Mar. 18, 2015;
Universal Crossword - Feb. 25, 2015; LA Times - Feb. 14, 2015; Washington Post - May. 13, 2014: Universal Crossword - Mar. 17, 2014: USA Today - Feb. 24, 2014; Washington Post - Jan. 09, 2014; New York Times - Nov. 10, 2013: New York Times - Oct. 21, 2013: New York Times - Oct. 20, 2013; USA Today - Oct. 08, 2013; Universal Crossword - Aug. 03, 2013
Universal Crossword - Jun. 29, 2013; Merl Reagle Sunday Crossword - Mar. 17, 2013
New York Times - Mar. 13, 2013; USA Today - Feb. 19, 2013; Universal Crossword - Jan. 07, 2013; USA Today - Aug. 17, 2012; USA Today - Aug. 11, 2012; USA Today - Aug. 01, 2012
Universal Crossword - Jul. 17, 2012; Newsday - May. 18, 2012; Washington Post - May. 08, 2012; Washington Post - Apr. 12, 2012; Washington Post - Apr. 04, 2012
USA Today - Mar. 24, 2012; Washington Post - Jan. 28, 2012; New York Times - Dec. 04, 2011;
Wall Street Journal Friday - Aug. 26, 2011; Universal Crossword - May. 21, 2011; USA Today - Apr. 01, 2011; Universal Crossword - Jan. 02, 2011; LA Times - Dec. 29, 2010; Canadiana Crossword - Dec. 13, 2010; Newsday - Dec. 10, 2010; LA Times - Nov. 10, 2010; LA Times Sunday Calendar - May. 30, 2010; Universal Crossword - May. 24, 2010; Universal Crossword - Feb. 03, 2010

Big Easy said...

Duh! I didn't notice the theme because I didn't read past 'Infer' on the 7D clue and filled DRAW CONCLUSIONS by the crosses. Didn't know SIKH, INTR, STEINER, or Wherever I GO but the perps took care of them. NUEVO- I had 'nueva' & OHO before CORNERS corrected it. I'm with CanadianEh! Other than a crossword puzzle, I've never heard anybody say "oho" (or AGLET which Lucina stated)


PAR- anybody who can shoot 'par for the course' is a fabulous golfer. Other than the pros, I don't know anybody who can shoot par consistently, NOBODY.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but was another yo-yo who had to erase to make room for KITE. Also erased girl for LASS, and cocoa for CIDER.

For some reason I thought Shiraz was from NZ or Australia. Before I went on the wagon, I drank more than my share of Shiraz. Actually, it would have been more accurate had I left off the "of Shiraz" qualifier.

Seems to me that we used t get AGLET a lot, circa "one of Columbus' trio" for NINA.

The CARDS in EVENT CARDS was the last to fall for me, which gave up CUTTLE and STEINER.

My mother specialized in pies, especially coconut cream, pecan, strawberry rhubarb and lemon custard. Kept our little restaurant in business long after he interstate bypassed our town.

Thanks to Sam for the fun Wednesday puzzle. And thanks to JzB for your usual thorough review.

TTP said...

Ha ! I knew AGLET but didn't know Phinneas and Ferb until Anon-T linked that video.

Big Easy, you must golf in limited circles. I have two friends that play almost exclusively from the tips now because they routinely shoot at par or better from the white tees. I believe both played on their college teams. Another friend, Doc, golfed at the U of I, is a middle single digit handicapper, and would be even better if he played more often, but doesn't because of his vet practice.

Speaking of golf, there's been a break in the rainstorms, and we might be able to get our league in this afternoon. Fore !

Jayce said...

I enjoyed solving this puzzle, and really like the theme about things you can DRAW. Very clever. I think POWER LINES is excellent fill and very well clued. Somehow I remembered AGLET from previous puzzles. Knew BAT MITZVAH right off the bat (ha ha), which gave me a good start, propelled by SIKH, STEINER, ATRIA, PREVIN, and HAMM. Not only is CABO San Lucas located at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula, we have a Point REYES Peninsula just north of San Francisco, at the tip of which is a place called Drakes Beach (named after Sir Francis Drake), that my wife and son and I liked to go to. Loved this puzzle. Sam Acker, thank you.

JazzBumpa, I love your write-up. Thank you. OwenKL, I love your verses today. Thank you.

"O you take the high road, and I'll take the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland AFORE ye."

Michael said...

-T, I knew there was a reason I don't live in Texas ... that's worse rainfall than we get in California. 5 inches in one hour???!!!??

Alice said...

The puzzle was above average today in theme -- I loved it. Also loved the picture/ reference to Mia Hamm who is a great athlete.

Jinx, a good pie is hard to find.

D-O, that's a scary amount of rain.

AnonymousPVX said...


No issues with this fine Wednesday puzzle.

No markovers as well.

About Shiraz, from Wikipedia:

Shiraz wine refers separately to two different well-known wines. Historically, the name refers to the wine produced around the city of Shiraz in Persia/Iran.[1][2] In the current era, "Shiraz" is a marketing term for Syrah produced in Australia and South Africa. The modern "Shiraz" grape is identical to Syrah and originated in southeast France with no established connection to Persia (Iran).

So Jinx was correct.

Misty said...

Late to the Corner this morning--I had an Emeriti Board meeting. Then stopped off to see if I could order a pair of glasses as a backup--in case the ones I have get broken.

But I did enjoy your puzzle this morning, Sam, and now your commentary, JazzB. Many thanks to both of you. It got Batmitzvah without any problem and even remembered the "z". But that amazingly long 7 down was pretty much beyond me. For not being a sports person, I was proud to get the San Diego PADRE. So, fun puzzle experience, and now on to the Jumble.

Have a good day, everybody.

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm,

it appears it was my mistake posting The Littlest Hobo video,
I never knew there was a 1980's remake.
(I should have known when he requested to parachute out of a plane...)

No, my littlest Hobo was aired 1963-1965,
& instead of saving one kid and a couple of Cougars,
This little Hobo saved a whole Busload of kids!

Anonymous-T, Looks like you could use a little Hobo where you are too...

Alice said...

VirginiaSyc, "Word Crimes" rocks. I haven't seen it before but I'm going to save it to my computer and make my husband watch it. 😉

Spitzboov said...

AGLETS - You can buy AGLETS from Amazon to make or repair your own shoelaces. It had been in cw's like Lemon and others have mentioned. I have a vague recollection of that word being bandied about while I was growing up. I believe the word is a very close relative of "aiguillettes" which are seen on military uniforms of aides or attaches.

WikWak said...

What a great first appearance for Mr Acker! And JzB, I haven’t read one of your expositions for a while (I’ve been a bit irregular in doing the puzzles/reading the blog). I was really glad to see you in print today. (Wow—autofill would have had me say “glad to see you in PRISON today!)

I’m with Jayce on “overhead buzzers” = POWER LINES. Great clue/answer.
WEES about AGLET.
AFORE, for some reason, doesn’t bother me as do most of the other A-words.
Liked seeing CANNON FIRE.
No HBO = no TRUE BLOOD.
Dunno why, but “toy on a string” instantly said KITE to me, and I never once thought of a yo-yo. Weird.
I have never understood why making a low score is such a big deal in golf. I consistently shoot in the low 80’s. On each hole. :P

Well, enough of this... it’s time for some serious napping.

Have a great evening, all.

Duffer said...

I normally shoot in the mid 70's. But when it gets hotter than that, I stay home.

Ol' Man Keith said...

JzB, I missed your "picky nit," whatever it was.
Sorry. Can you elucidate?

And I spent far too much time trying to figure out how 24D ACR related to the pzl's theme. I appreciated the write-up because I would otherwise have missed the whole "ON THE DRAWING BOARD" cleverness. (7D was no help because I completed the long fill before having to read that clue.)

ARCHIE? The only ARCHIE I remember is the old radio program featuring ARCHIE Andrews.
I can still hear the opening, with his mom yelling in her distinctive call, "Ar-chie! Archie Andrews!"
To which he would reply--in a gulping adolescent voice--"Coming, Mother!"
~ OMK
____________
DR:
A single diagonal for the home team.
It contains an anagram for doctors who claim to treat the animals that serve as mascots on magical tribal poles. Witch doctors, or...
TOTEM VETS”?

Wilbur Charles said...

The theme or it's hint was to clever for me today. After FIR'ing I tried to figure it out. Then I came here. A good reason to solve in p&I, red would be right there at my fingertips.

I would say that “sophomore” has one pronunciation but is probably misspelled often. I don't think the”O” is ever pronounced.

AGLET is in the ENA, EFT category.

BTW, I've started adding the Sunday xword carried by TBTimes. Some research revealed that the author, Evan Birnholz provides for the Washington Post. Is his work considered more difficult than LAX or NYT?

Plus I can't keep them straight.

THE VA Dr recommended that I see a local Dr in addition. Almost two schools of medicine.

Some golfers might think of shouting FORE! AFORE they hit. I suggested that instead of ”fore” my friend shout “hore!” since it's microseconds quicker to get off. I should say former friend.

WC

Jayce said...

Archie!?!? Sheesh.

As a red wine drinker, I like a GSM blend also. It stands for Grenache, Syrah (aka SHIRAZ in Australia), and Mourvedre. Hahn makes a nice one.

Jayce said...

Every time I hear/read the name Archie I think of Archie Bunker, that fictional TV character, and Archie (actually Archibald) Leach, the real name of Cary Grant. I imagine Lemonade thinks of Archie Goodwin. Maybe to some of you the Archie comic character comes to mind.

Maybe a crossword puzzle could be made with the theme of celebrity's real names. Eg, "Elton John's real name" = Reginald (Reggie) Dwight. "John Wayne's real name" = Marion Morrison. "Rita Hayworth's real name" = Margarita Carmen Cansino. "Natalie Wood's real name" = Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko. Etc. Could be fun, but it would be too easy because one could simply look the person up to get the answer.

CrossEyedDave said...

Hey!

It's not an Aglet!

It's a Flugelbinder!

Sam Acker said...

Thanks all for the positive support! This is, in fact, my published puzzle debut. I have never visited this site, but ADMITTEDLY had to search for an LAT crossword puzzle review site to see how my debut fared.

I enjoy the positivity on this site, so I'll be sure to visit more often!

Jerome said...

Don't know how to post it, but if you go to YouTube and get the routine by Robin Williams on golf in Scotland you will crack up over its zaniness and hilarity. Need a good laugh, there's the ticket.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, Sam, Acker, for a fine puzzle. Thank you Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.

Puzzle was a good Wednesday level puzzle, IMHO. A little tough, but somewhat easy.

Caught the theme after I finished. Made sense.

ANTO HERO to me a little to figure out.

I am guessing that a CUTTLE is a fish of some sort, perps helped.

Never heard of TRUE BLOOD. Perps and a Wag got me to the answer.

DRAW CONCLUSIONS I actually got quite easily. I am amazed at myself.

STEINER was unknown. Perps.

If this is Sam Acker first puzzle, congratulations. Great job!

Went to the Cubs/Marlins game last night and froze our butts off. Cubs won. Now they are in extra innings vs the Marlins.

Picked up our Vidalia Onions today. 2,000 pounds. We will be selling them over the next week or two. Been doing this for about 30 years. I love it.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Anonymous T said...

Jerome - Here you go... [4:47 - MA!]

OMK - LOL! w/ the DR.

Jayce - that would be a nightmare of a theme for this guy. It'd be like me creating a puzzle of RUSH songs or Monty Python sketches :-)

Sam - welcome to The Corner. I hope you stay and play. Based on your puzzle, you've got to be an interesting character.

Cheers, -T

Lemonade714 said...

Welcome, Sam, many constructors come here often and we're hosted by the awesomely productive and creative Zhouqin "C.C." Burnikel.

For Jerome here is the very funny, and very curse-filled GOLF IN SCOTLAND

Lemonade714 said...

Anyone else who wants to post the Robin Williams link?

Wilbur Charles said...

My thanks for the Scudder reference. Thank God for the CC. I read the Block Burglar stories but knew nothing of the AA detective.

I've got some reading to catch up on. I love the premise of Block’s Hitman who delays the hit of a MLB’ er until he reaches the 400 HR milestone.

The NAUTILUS was Capt Nemo's sub, if I recall correctly after all these years.

Another ARCHIE. Did anyone ever try to send files over the net using ARCHIE and Veronica? I had this TOME explaining it when I was handed a cassette with Netscape on it. I was reminded of that when I got a Netscape email (address).
Instant obsolescence.

WC

And of course I'm another Rex Stout devotee. Except I'll be reading Block for awhile.

Misty said...

Thanks for checking in with us, Sam--and come back again! Look forward to your next puzzle.

Anonymous T said...

WC - yes I recall the Archie FTP indexer/interface. We had that and Gopher right before HTTP the WorldWideWeb browser (hence, www.site.com). Wow time flies.

Cheers, -T

D4E4H said...

FIR in 33:56 min. Last fill "L" at 50 A and 47 D. No hangups, no thank yous, no reada da review.

On to 5-9.

Ðave

fermatprime@gmail.com said...

Greetings!

Thanks!

Good puzzle.