google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday August 4, 2019 C.C. Burnikel

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Aug 4, 2019

Sunday August 4, 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "Walk-off" - BAT goes backward in each theme entry.
 
3. Hacker's coup: DATA BREACH.
 
5. SunTrust Park player: ATLANTA BRAVE.

11. Presidential moniker: HONEST ABE.

15. Genre from Mississippi: DELTA BLUES.

40. Heart rhythm manager: BETA BLOCKER.

66. University of California city: SANTA BARBARA. And 50. City near 66-Down: OJAI.

74. "Sweet Love" R&B singer: ANITA BAKER.

79. Annual Arizona football game: FIESTA BOWL.

82. Almost: JUST ABOUT.

Reveal:

118. Something flipped after a walk-off home run ... and in the nine longest Down answers: BAT.

Again, the title is Rich's, who is a devoted Yankees fan. I originally had "Bat Flip" as a title. Rich suggested that I put BAT in the grid and used "Walk-Off" as title.

Rich accepts Sunday theme queries, so constructors do not waste time filling in a Sunday grid. Such a luxury!

Across:

1. Org. with the slogan "No More Victims": MADD. You can't talk on the phone while driving in Minnesota now. Hands-free law went into effect last Thursday.

5. Addis __ University: ABABA.

10. Thunder god: THOR.

14. Tributes in verse: ODES.

18. Inbox pileup: EMAIL.

20. Made level, with "up": TRUED. I only submitted "Made level". Rich added [ " with "up" ] extra. TRUED up = Made level. Hence the extra. He's just a wordsmith.

21. State since 1846: IOWA.

22. Present: HERE.

23. Mucho: LOTSA.

24. Ski resort hangout: LODGE.

25. Big name in women's apparel: ANN TAYLOR. Owns the Loft brand.

27. "Ozark" or "Fargo": DRAMA.

28. Young Darth: ANI.

29. Goose that sometimes nests in lava fields: NENE.


31. Lies for, maybe: ABETS.

32. On an even keel: BALANCED.

35. Job for Sam Spade: CASE.

37. Remote battery: AAA.

38. Two-time NBA Finals MVP: BRYANT. Kobe.

39. Asian fusion restaurant chain: NOBU. Their signature dish is miso-marinated black cod. Yellowrocks probably made this before.


41. Glad offering: TRASH BAG.

45. Become defunct: DIE.

46. Multi-platinum Steely Dan album: AJA.

47. Type of sale: CLEARANCE.

49. Language in the Tai family: LAO. Lots of vowels in Lao: 33.

52. Challenge in court: OBJECT.

54. Orchestra pitch setter: OBOE.

55. Fourth-down play: PUNT.

56. Unbearably confident: COCKSURE.

58. Instruction Alice followed: EAT ME.

60. Rapid-fire: SPEEDY.

62. "Hmm ... doubt it": UH NO.

63. Withdrawal site: ATM. Money withdrawal.

65. Cry at a shearing: BAA.

66. "I'm good with it": SUITS ME.

67. Streamed, perhaps: ON TV.

69. Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be __": ILLIN.

71. Pretended to be: APED.

72. "You don't have to remind me": I'M AWARE.

75. "The Matrix" role: NEO.

76. Big ball of energy: SUN.

78. Food since the Han Dynasty: TOFU. One of my favorite food.


81. "Casino" co-star: DE NIRO.

82. Like ripe mangoes: JUICY. These are the Asian-style mangoes.


84. "Well done, sista!": ATTA GIRL.

87. Chocolat chaud need: LAIT. Hot chocolate.

88. It has colorful suspects: CLUE.

90. __ Khan: KUBLAI. Grandson of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire.

92. Crazy Taxi publisher: SEGA.


93. Summer hrs. in Buffalo: EDT.

94. Knock response: WHO'S THERE.

96. Deli order: BLT.

98. Put a Singer to work: SEW.

99. Track tie: DEAD HEAT.

101. 105-Across output: ARTE. 105. "Mae West Lips Sofa" sculptor: DALI.


102. Modifies to fit: ADAPTS.

104. Drone, e.g.: BEE.

107. Thai chili sauce: SRIRACHA. In that red bottle. Popular sauce for Pho. You should be able to find it in your local grocery store. Asian section.



109. Saves, with "away": SALTS.

111. Cause of some nodding: BORE.

113. "Hold on a sec," in texts: BRB. Be Right Back.

114. Lunar path: ORBIT.

117. Acknowledges the applause: TAKES A BOW.

119. Early life stage: LARVA.

121. Haka dancers: MAORI.


122. "American Psycho" author __ Easton Ellis: BRET.

123. Ancient France: GAUL.

124. Prime minister after Major: BLAIR. Tony Blair was the prime minster when Hong Kong was handed over to China. I don't remember paying attention to him, or Prince Charles at the ceremony. The guy in the middle is the then-governor Chris Patten, who was very liked. So sad to see what's happening in HK now.


125. Nubian Museum city: ASWAN.

126. Have the nerve: DARE.

127. Bar worker: Abbr.: ATTY.

128. Cigna rival: AETNA.

129. "Frozen Fever" queen: ELSA.

Down:

1. Canasta play: MELD.

2. Love in Spain: AMOR.

4. Consternation: DISMAY. A bit of mess when Boomer and I went to the Mississippi dam on Friday. Lots of construction work along the parking lot area. Looks like they're going to charge a fee next year.


6. Rodeo mount: BRONC.

7. Theater group: AUDIENCE.

8. Plead with: BEG.

9. Yemen's principal port: ADEN. Their capital now.

10. "The Princess and the Frog" princess: TIANA.

12. Beat consistently: OWN.

13. Pro __: RATA.

14. "Now I remember": OH YEAH.

16. Bow-toting god: EROS.

17. Sun. delivery: SER.

19. Yellow Teletubby with a curly antenna: LAA LAA.

26. Humiliate: ABASE.

30. Quito's land: Abbr.: ECUA.

33. European pear: ANJOU. I think I tried it once. I much prefer Korean pears on the bottom.


Korean Pears

34. Sweetly, to Salieri: DOLCE.

36. Game designer Rubik: ERNO.

38. Delicate trinket: BIJOU.

42. Hickok's last hand, reportedly: ACES UP.


43. Texas school, informally: A AND M.

44. "Somebody That I Used to Know" singer: GOTYE. Unusual name. Hope this area did not give you trouble.

45. Dwarf wearing specs: DOC.

48. Punic Wars fighters: ROMANS.

51. "You don't have to remind me": I KNOW IT.

53. Jacuzzi feature: JET.

55. Nana and Toto: PET DOGS.

57. Ping producer: SONAR.

59. __ chi: TAI.

61. St. Peter's Basilica sculpture: PIETA.

64. Movement in Brahms' Serenade No. 1: MINUET. Rich's clue, of course!

68. Throat lozenge: TROCHE. MedicinNet says "Strictly speaking, a troche should be circular since the word derives from the Greek "trokhiskos" meaning "a little wheel."

70. Molokai memento: LEI.

72. Sat at a light: IDLED.

73. Winner at Gettysburg: MEADE.

77. AA flying rival: UAL. American Airlines.

80. Prompts: URGES.

83. Domed Asian shelters: YURTS.

85. Swinton of "Burn After Reading": TILDA.


86. Bar code?: LAW.

89. Dryer unit: LOAD.

91. Sausage at tailgate parties: BEER BRAT.

94. Piques, as an appetite: WHETS.

95. Locks up?: HAIR.

97. Washington port: TACOMA.

100. Remove: DELETE.

103. Sentence fragment: PHRASE.

106. Humble: LOWLY.

108. NFL Network analyst Michael __: IRVIN.


109. Lee whom nobody doesn't like: SARA.

110. Long tale: SAGA.

112. Island off Tuscany: ELBA.

115. Some S&L plans: IRAS.

116. Grammy winner Turner: TINA.

117. Sched. uncertainty: TBD.

120. Mirror Pond product: ALE. Again, Rich's clue. Never heard of this brand.


C.C.


38 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIWrong. 3 bad cells. DENIse > DE NIRO, SONAs > SONAR, TReCHE > TROCHE, MaNUET > MINUET, & ALL IN > ILLIN.

SEGA has a new game to flout,
A SAGA that one must work out.
One must locate ELSA
On the isle of ELBA.
SARA is trying, the result is in doubt!

He was an ATTORNEY who worked at the BAR,
So named because ALE is what wrote out the LAW!
So many PHRASES
Show liquor hazes!
It's all a CODE that someone should bar!

{B, B+.}

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Well, that was fun & engrossing! Thanks, C.C. for doing double duty. Great puzzle! Nice start to the week.

I was UP to BAT. GOT YE puzzle theme! So simple and clever, but not easy to construct, I bet.

I actually saw a LIP couch like that at a designer showcase house tour. It was perfect in a teenaged girl's boudoir. Big sign on it said "do not sit on couch". I didn't want to until they told me not to.

Lot of unknowns, kept pluggin' away with a few red-letter runs. DNK: SRIRACHA, LAIT, ILLIN, NOBU, BRET, TIANA, GOTYE, IRVIN, Mirror Pond product (wouldn't want to drink swamp juice).

D4E4H said...

Super Sunday Solvers!

At 12:01 AM I opened today's CW to find a C.C. masterpiece. So far I have solved the North.

Thank you C.C. for reviewing you own work.

I must be off for breakfast.

TTFN

Ðave

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Mostly smooth sailing (got GOTYE entirely from the crosses, so that wasn't an issue), but then I struck a shoal at the crossing of NOBU and DOLCE and sank. Never heard of NOBU and went with DULCE since NUBU looked just as likely as NOBO. Finally had to turn on the red letter help to figure out where I had gone wrong.

Ah well...

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

You've heard the song Three Times A Lady, well this was Three Times a DNF. Those proper nouns did me in. I had DULCE resulting in NUBU and TILDE + ERVIN yielding SRERECHA. They looked OK to me. Bzzzzzt! Tried PET NAME before DOGS perped in. I totally forgot to read the title, to read the full reveal clue, and to look for the theme. How unusual! Ya got me, C.C. Thanx for pulling double-duty today.

DIE: DW came in yesterday morning complaining that the garage door was stuck. Actually, it was broken One of the two coil springs had popped. Four hours and several hundred dollars later it was back in peak working order with two new springs. Cancelled our bike ride, though.

LOTSA: Looks like this is our week to spend LOTSA dough. My pickup is 14 years old and showing it. We always buy new vehicles and keep 'em for LOTSA years. At my age, I figure we should take the plunge and buy what'll probably be our last car. Tomorrow's the day.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, C.C. and friends. I found this to be a tough Sunday puzzle, although I did find the FLIPPED BAT in the theme answers. I didn't get a toehold in the puzzle until the ODES ~ the 4th clue!

My favorite clue was: Big Ball of Energy = SUN

I also liked the fresh new clue for the ATM (Withdrawal Site)

I never knew the Princess from the Princess and the Frog had a name.

GOTYE was and remains totally unknown to me.

QOD: When good befalls a man he calls it Providence, when evil fate. ~ Knut Hamsun (Aug. 4, 1859 ~ Feb. 19, 1952), recipient of the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature

Yellowrocks said...

FIR. I did this puzzle at midnight in the Saturday edition of the paper. I saw the reveal half way through which helped. Very enjoyable, CC.
I'm not sure whether I have heard of BEER BRATS. My last fill was the R in BEER. With the perps, it could only be BEER or BEEF. Usually brats are pork. I didn't know there was an SR beginning to SRIRACHA, but it surely was not SF, so TA DA.
I have never cooked or even eaten NOBU. Motoko used to love to cook and has made many Japanese dishes while I visited, but not this one. One of my favorites is broiled salmon with miso glaze. I make it often. Alan and my sister love it.
The only tofu I like is in miso soup. I can eat it otherwise, but MEH.
Hickok's dead man's hand was aces and eights. I wagged the UP.
GOT YE?? No it did not get me. Strange name, but I let it
My grandson is 21. I remember watching the Teletubbies with him 18 years ago.
DO, I hear ya. Ouch! I, too, had three large unexpected expenses this month in the $300-$400 range. I am surprised it took four hours to replace your garage door springs.

Lucina said...

Hola!

What a lovely surprise, a double dose of C.C., in construction and commenting!

Engrossing is the accurate word for this grid but easily filled but for me not completely correct.

I should have realized Salieri was Italian not Spanish so had DULCE instead of DOLCE. Then didn't know BEERBRATS are a thing and stuck with BEEF so that's two.

Otherwise I finished it well and GOTYE took five perps. In my head I hear a woman's voice singing that song.

Those mistakes I made can be blamed on my lack of sleep which I've had none of tonight. It was insomnia all the way and I have several sleep aids but none of them worked. My 9 year old granddaughter, however, is sleeping soundly.

I wish you all a fabulous day!

Barry T. said...

"91. Sausage at tailgate parties: BEER BRAT" had me stymied for a while... I was looking for the TAB (BAT up), thinking it was a theme entry. Wrong again. Finally settled on BEERBRAT, with the help of perps. Loved this puzzle... a bit challenging, but not a hand-wringer! Thanks, C.C.!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I always like a CC puzzle, I just didn't like this one quite as much as most. Frozen, Teletubbys and rap will always diminish the fun factor for me.

I thought for sure that it would be Addis Shoes University.

Had no idea that TOFU preceded yuppies.

I love the taste of sriracha. Sometimes I add a little Tabasco to heat it up a little.

Gomer Pyle was a patron of the Bijou Theater.

The folks I play poker with say "aces over". Never heard of "aces up".

I have a Ping Model 1A putter. It makes a "ping" when the ball is struck. It was produced by Karsten Manufacturing. Can't putt worth a damn with it.

CSO to Picard at SANTA BARBARA. DW and I wanted to hold our wedding in OJAI (pronounced OH hi), but settled for her back yard. But OJAI isn't all that close to SANTA BARBARA; it is nearer to Ventura, Oxnard and Malibu.

Loved Michael Irvin as a Cowboy. Will be watching their first preseason game Saturday.

TTP said...

Great job, C.C.

I agree with Hahtoolah. It was tough for me too, but there were just enough easy answers and just enough tougher but sussable answers to make getting the hard answers viable. With enough time and breaks. Started in the middle of the night and then finished this morning with fresh and rested eyes and an uncluttered brain.

Some of the names and brands were totally unknown. TIANA, TILDE, NOBU, LAALAA and Mirror Pond. Others I've seen but took time to recall or swag in, such as ABABA, BRET and ERNO.

ATLANTA BRAVE, FIESTA BOWL, Michael IRVIN were sports related gimmes, but I did have
(Kevin) Durant before (Kobe) BRYANT.

Also had socks away before SALTS away.

Thank you perps for filling in MINUET and enough letters in other answers to make for a satisfying solve.

I thought I typed in an across answer for a down clue with "You don't have to remind me", but I'M AWARE now it was the same clue and intersecting answers.

"Sat at a light" was IDLED of course, but Rich may have to add "perhaps" to that in the future. Expect to see more vehicles implement Start-Stop Technology with the goals of conserving fuel and meeting government mandated mileage targets. It's on our Highlander, but DW disables it with the push of a button each time she drives.

Desper-otto, I just had some work done on my '93 F-150. $426. The neighbor 18 YO offered me $7K, and last Wednesday a golfing buddy said he's give me $10K. It's an XLT Supercab with an 8' bed and trailer towing package. It just went over 69K miles. I'm going to keep it awhile yet. Told my wife I'll sell it after I get my money's worth out of it. I think I paid around $17K for it new in June '93.

JJM said...

I was taught not to show up your opponent. So, a little bat flip in today's baseball I can handle, but not the way Jose Bautista does it.
At the train station near my house they are removing all the old railroad track ties and have been for the last 3 weeks, so I must've looked at at 99A for at least 6-8 mins before I got the clue was referring to an athletic track. Funny how one's mind works and gets stuck on something

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-C.C.’s fresh cluing is always fun.
-No idea on G _ T Y E but language had to be TAO.
-At D _ L C E/N _ B U, a “U” or an “O” was a coin flip and I lost. No idea on N _ B U
-This BAT FLIP(1:45) caused the flipper to get “plunked” next time up and cleared the benches
-When the AAA batteries DIE, squeezing the remote harder won’t make it work
-ATTY Perry Mason OBJECTS with LOTSA rapid-fire adjectives (:11)
-An ATM in a casino can ABET bad behavior
-Our BLT’s this time of year have really good, home grown “T’s”
-I IDLE at at least two of the five lights I have to drive through on the way to golf because our city can’t synch them up
-The terrible plumber who built our house did not vent the dryer correctly and the condensation ruined the ceiling

TTP said...


Jinx, yes, starting with the Hall Of Fame Game last week, 32 consecutive weeks of NFL games on tap.

Anonymous said...

Well done, sista!

Yellowrocks said...

DO @ 12:40PM Aug.3. "We never called it shawarma...just whoopee." I've been puzzling over this remark for the last 24 hours. Please explain.

Bluehen said...

It's always a pleasure to solve a CC puzzle, and when she provides the commentary with its insider information, the pleasure doubles. I must admit that the reveal threw me, though. When I read the clue I was surprised to find it demanded a three letter answer. "How am I going to fit 'rigid digit' in three squares", I thought. Oh, well, shouldda known better.

21a. a state since 1846 wasn't too difficult to suss. I know from growing up in Illinois that it became a state in 1818, so we're looking for a four letter state that entered the union between 1818 and the onset of the Civil War. . . Gotta be IOWA. Boy would I have felt foolish if it were Utah.

96a. Wait a minute! A three letter Deli Order and it's not RYE?!

JJM, on 99a. cross ties on railroad tracks was my first thought, too. I spent one summer on a section gang for the ICRR. Lord, that was hard work.

121a Haka Dancers threw me for a while until some perps came to the rescue. I've seen the dance performed on tv travel shows but didn't know what it was called. For what is supposed to be a welcoming dance, it sure looks intimidating.

44d GOTYE is "Nobody That I Used To Know"

92d Beer Brats! I wish I had a dollar for every one I've served up over the years at various tailgating events, block parties, etc. Start them over indirect heat on a charcoal grill, cook them until they get a good dark brown, blistered skin. In the meantime prepare them a hot tub of mass-produced American lager with onions on the hot side of the grill. When the brats are ready, dunk them all in the beer bath, and drag pan and all over to the cooler side of the grill and cover. People can help themselves whenever they are hungry.
Piping hot beer brat on a steak roll with brown mustard, diced onion, sauerkraut, and cracked caraway seeds, with sides of German potato salad and hot pickled beets. Now you know what I want for my last meal.

Oh well, we're going to have to settled for chicken Newburg, tonight. Served over Basmati rice, with butter-poached summer squash, and broccoli scampi. Cya!

Yellowrocks said...

Anonymous @11:19, thanks. That must be it.

desper-otto said...

YR, Anon @ 11:19 was correct. I was referring to your "I didn't know that people made shawarma at home." from yesterday. I have no idea what shawarma is, but I do understand whoopee. And it didn't take the guy four hours to fix my garage door...just one hour. It took him three hours to show up.

TTP, my F150 is newer, but not nearly so fancy as yours. It's a regular cab, 6-cyl engine with 5-on-the-floor manual transmission and U-crank windows. I think most people would refer to it as a "beater." It needs tires, a brake job, and will probably need a clutch soon. Time to move on.

Anonymous said...

Sriracha in the red bottle is an asian condiment made in Irwindale, CA.

KS_in_Carefree

Spitzboov said...

Hello everyone.

Belated Happy Birthday greetings to Melissa Bee. Hope your day was special.

SUITS ME. Finished the puzzle a short time ago. Es gefällt mir ganz schön. Kudos and BZ. Favorite clue was for LAW - bar code.
FIR; no searches or white-out were needed.
KUBLAI of the Yuan dynasty; ~1200 years after the Han dynasty and its TOFU invention. A lot to keep straight here.
SONAR - Our DD had one of the best SONARS of its time.
I just finished reading Larry Bond's "Arctic Gambit"; the 6th and latest of the Jerry Mitchell series. A real barn burner. Dennis, if you are lurking about, I highly recommend it.

Have a great day.

Misty said...

Ooh, I love C.C. puzzles, even when they're Sunday toughies. And getting her commentary made this one extra special. I actually got off to a great start with ABABA and THOR and ODES, and got MADD not too long after that. But then things slowed down quite a bit. I did get both OBOE and MINUET, even though I'm not particularly strong on music. But what on earth is ILLEN--never heard of that one! And, of course, I got the PIETA--at least I know my Vatican. Anyway, lots of fun, and am already looking forward to Boomer's write-up tomorrow.

ATTA GIRL was one of my Dad's favorite expressions.

Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Melissa.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

WikWak said...

G’day everyone! It was a real treat to find C.C. blogging her own creation.

I started working this one by going top to bottom, only doing the Across clues and letting the Downs take care of themselves. Got the entire top half done that way in pretty quick order and was thinking “Wow… this is a speed run” when I hit the wall. From there on it wasn’t as much fun.

At that point I gave up any pretense of doing only the Acrosses and reverted to my usual “shotgun” method. Finally FIR in about 30 minutes.

Barry G, good to see you here!

Bluehen, I have always thought that the Haka was meant to intimidate opponents in sporting contests; not really welcoming at all. Probably I am wrong; wouldn’t be the first time—or the hundred and first!

For 5A, I was in jr high when we studied African geography and I kinda fell in love with the name Addis ABABA. Haile Selassie was Emperor of Ethiopa then.

Never heard of NOBU, ILLIN, or LAALAA, but the perps were solid.

In Xanadu did KUBLA(I) Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree


Gotta get outta here; it’s nearly birthday party time for our youngest. Stay cool, all.

Wilbur Charles said...

"prepare them a hot tub of mass-produced American lager". Ballantine? Narragansett ? if they still made it.

Maybe I'm getting old but seeing CC's "moniker" on a Sunday xword is a thrill. And she didn't disappoint. Loved it as she obviously loves baseball. Speaking of…
I suffered the Hondo curse with a doubleheader sweep of my Redsox by the hated Yankees. Aarrggghhh!!!

I got all the hard ones: TROCHE, GOTYE and then put a K in TACOMA
Double aarrggghhh!!**

I could go on ad-BORE-initem but will close in this: Guy asked "Do they have Fantasy football on exhibition games!!?
After groaning I recalled that they do have betting?
WC

** After my dnf on BATS yesterday

BRB- In an hour

Wilbur Charles said...

Re. KUBLAI and the Mongols… Betsy's watching a Z-Prime series on the "Golden Horde". The big battle was between the Mongols and the Marmelukes. The latter won when the former deserted the field to go after the valuable Arabian horses.

One thing I can Love about CC xwords is the breadth of the clueing: American slang(COCKSURE,SALTS), Popcul:(NEO, BRET Ellis,GOTYE) and just a varied OLIO* of clues .

Favorite? " Lee that (109d) nobody doesn't like" Double negative was the cherry in that cake

I saw BLT and thought "Abbrev? Yes, Deli is one"
HK's troubles were inevitable. To go on might be political

I'll leave with this anecdote: My last job before OCS entailed research. I'd head to the library with a gut full of beer. Then I went to present my masterpiece and voila! Undecipherable scribbling.

WC

** I thought this was an answer but can't find the clue

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

I had more trouble with this solve than I should have, but I'll chalk that up to fuzzy thinking after last night's partying. I was completely at sea as to the theme because I wasn't paying attention to the down fill and was solely focused on trying to tie in the across fill to the title. It wasn't until I read and filled in the revealer clue that the light came on. CC is becoming more devilish and devious in her cluing and ingenuity in concealing themes and, also, in the art of misdirection. Of course, these talents are what challenge us and make for a satisfying solving experience.

Proper nouns continue to be my stumbling blocks and today's were plentiful: NOBU, Illin, NEO, Sega, Tiana, Anita Baker, and the oddest of the bunch, Gotye. I tripped myself up in two places, trying to fit Metabolism into Beta Blocker's slot and thinking I was so smart having Hone------ and filling in Honey Fitz, which, I believe was the Kennedy's yacht name., until the perps brought forth the more logical, Honest Abe. I was a little stymied, also, because I thought Kublai was Kubla, but Chakka or Genghis didn't work, either.

Kudos, CC, for a real mental workout and for the insider's commentary, especially the workings of our esteemed editor, Rich.

Bluehen @ 11:22 ~ Thanks for sharing your dinner menu; it sounds yummy.

Enjoy the rest of the day, friends.

Jayce said...

Interesting puzzle. Seeing the title "Walk-off" I was expecting some sort of gimmick involving the removal of the letters WALK from a common phrase that would result in something else. I overthought it.

Agree about Mirror Pond (Pale) Ale being the product rather than Ale being a product of Mirror Pond. "Deschutes product" would have been a perfectly adequate, and factually correct, clue. Maybe Rich overthought it.

As Hahtoolah said, "GOTYE was and remains totally unknown to me."

I'm glad a hands-free law went into effect in Minnesota last Thursday. I think every state should have one.

I didn't realize SRIRACHA is a Thai product. With my limited horizons I only knew of the California product, which I like and use. (Awfully big bottle, though!) However, based on the ingredients (much less salt and no preservatives) I think I might like the Thai Sriraja Panich brand better.

I learned a lot about the modern Maori from a 2002 movie called "Whale Rider" which I very much enjoyed. It's rated 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. According to Wikipedia, Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and said, "The genius of the movie is the way it sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving."

While I was growing up in Sturgis, South Dakota, I always heard everybody refer to Hickok's "dead man's hand" as "Aces and Eights." "Aces Up" is a solitaire game. In Hickok's case, nobody knows what the "hole card" was; only if it were an ace would the hand be a "full house" and the term "aces over" could apply. The "up" cards in Hickok's hand show two pair: two black eights and two black aces. It is that particular pair of black aces and black eights that is the "dead man's hand."

Sorry (no I'm not) to be so nit-picky today. Good wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

I totally loved the clue "Lee whom nobody doesn't like". The clue "Big ball of energy" is right up there, too. COCK SURE is awesome fill.

Wilbur Charles said...

Re. Hickok. What I think about is Wild Bill* always sitting with his back to the wall and carelessly neglecting his rule that day.

Deadwood is a Series that I didn't follow but I assume climaxes on that fateful day.

WC

* My old nickname (Wild Willy)

Sandyanon said...

Wilbur, Hickok was killed in episode four, season one. The series went for three seasons.

Bill G said...

I agree about the "hands free" law, that is, for operation of a cell phone in a car. But I think any use of a cell phone in a car increases the likelihood of problems. I know talking on a phone takes most of my attention and means I have a harder time paying full attention to anything else.

Lucina said...

Here in Arizona a law was finally passed banning talking on telephones. Yea! I have Blue Tooth in the car and try to limit the conversation any time I use it. As Bill G notes, it's a distraction from driving.

Hand up for tryin to fit METABOLISM at BETA BLOCKER and I still don't know what ILLIN is.

I also appreciated all the different tiers of culture in the puzzle, popular, ancient history (ROMAN, Punic Wars), technology, filmdom (DENIRO), etc.

Jayce:
I remember the movie, "Whale Rider" and recall learning much about the MAORI, also. Another one in a different vein was "Rabbit-Proof Fence" about the treatment of the MAORI which was similar in many ways to what happened here at home.

I can't believe I had SRIRACHA wrong! I had only to look in my refrigerator.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

There is a toll road that bisects DFW airport. American Airlines installed a huge sign on the side of the road that listed all its upcoming arrivals and departures. After a very short time they had to turn off the sign due to the number of accidents there. Some people were actually stopping their cars in the travel lanes and getting out of the car to read the board. When you try to make something idiot proof, the result is a higher class of idiots.

I almost rear-ended stopped traffic on the Pomona Freeway once. The Goodyear Blimp was in the process of mooring, and I was fascinated by the process. Only my passenger's shouting kept me from having an accident.

CanadianEh! said...

Superb Sunday. Thanks for the fun, C.C. (and for doing double duty today). It is interesting to get the constructor's slant on the CW. I smiled at the baseball theme.
No newspaper on Sunday means my solving was done on Cruciverb/Across Lite, with red letter helps. I'm sure I would have needed much longer on paper.

WEES by now re NOBU, LAALAA, GOTYE,TILDA, spelling of KUBLAI and SRIRACHA. Hand up for Dulce before DOLCE.

I smiled at all the PHRASEs like LOTSA, EAT ME, UH NO, SUITS ME, I'M AWARE, ATTA GIRL, OH YEAH, I KNOW IT.

Ontario has had a distracted driving law in effect since Jan. 1 2019; it covers all hand-held devices and first-time offenders can be fined up to $1,000 with a three-day licence suspension and three demerit points. But unfortunately, we still see drivers texting, talking on phone!

Summer hours in most of Ontario, like Buffalo, are EDT; the areas west of 90° west longitude (just west of Thunder Bay), are in the Central Time zone.
Most of Saskatchewan does NOT use daylight saving time but remains on Central Standard all year long, while Manitoba summer hours are CDT. Also interesting, Newfoundland has its own time zone which is 1/2 hour ahead of Atlantic time.
Confused yet?? Here's a link.
CanadaTimeZones

Enjoy the evening no matter what time zone you are in.

Picard said...

Thank you CC for the University of California SANTA BARBARA shout out. My grad school alma mater. And thank you Jinx for calling it out.

This was definitely a challenge for me with so many unknowns from unknown worlds to me. I never heard of a BAT FLIP and had to look it up after finishing the puzzle. I did figure out that BAT upside down is TAB and saw it in the theme answers. Which helped the solve.

SANTA BARBARA has almost no national chains. NOBU definitely not a thing here.

GOTYE and TROCHE were not only unknown but seemed to be definitely wrong. But I was wrong so I FIR.

OJAI is about an hour drive from where we live near UC SANTA BARBARA, but I do enjoy going out there for a treat now and then. I have friends Kelli and Shane out there who organize a number of famed OJAI events, notably the OJAI Mardi Gras Festival. No, it is not meant to compete with New Orleans. It is just a fun small town event.

Here are my videos and photos from a recent OJAI Mardi Gras.

Kelli and Shane came on my Sierra Club hike last weekend.

You can see OJAI Kelli and Shane early in my article on this little hike adventure.

As for the "hands-free" laws: It has been known from extensive studies for decades that the distraction has almost nothing to do with holding a phone. It has to do with having one's attention on something not in the immediate surroundings.

These laws make about as much sense as mandating it is OK to drink liquor in a car as long as it is provided through a tube that leaves your hands free. Please turn off your phones if you are driving.

I hope I have not offended anyone with this information.

lamissmolly said...

I had tab for the revealer clue but finally sussed it was bat, from the perps.........which then made everything a clearer. Since I know nothing about baseball, I was happy to have got that far. Some clues were tough but only looked up a few. Thanks C.C. for a clever, devious puzzle.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle and review.

Worked the puzzle on the train from Normal to Chicago this morning. Took me about the entire trip, 2 1/2 hours. Great puzzle. Liked the theme. While in Normal I had no time to do any of the puzzles. Just the way it was. Busy. Busy.

When I got home the Cubs and Brewers game was starting. So, I watched the Cubs win that game. It was a good game. Lots of action.

I don't get 69A clue Run D.M.C.'s?

GOTYE was unknown. Perps.

Never heard of ANN TAYLOR.

Jinx: The did the same thing at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. Put up a big sign over the entrance to the airport with all the flights and gates, etc. That sign came down quickly. Too many rear-enders.

TILDA was unknown. Perps.

I am about ready to hit the hay. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

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Anonymous T said...

Sunday Lurk Say...

I enjoyed reading y'all today but I was too engrossed in my project to reply...

Likely no one's cuppa, but RUN D.M.C.'s You Be ILLIN //basically, "Your nuts!" First verse isa guy at KFC ordering a Big Mac, Yo!

Play tomorrow. Cheers, -T