google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Amanda Rafkin and Ross Trudeau

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Mar 10, 2020

Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Amanda Rafkin and Ross Trudeau

Homophonitically for You and I.  Very strange concept today.  Each theme answer has two words that contain the letters U and I next to each other.  (Homophonitically: Having the same sound; Having or characterized by a single melodic line with accompaniment.)

16-Across. Citrus drink in a sea breeze cocktail: GRAPEFRUIT JUICE.

27-Across. Frivolous legal entanglement: NUISANCE SUIT.

47-Across. French luxury retailer since 1854: LOUIS VUITTON.  Same sound?  You decide.


And the unifier:
59. 2011 Dolly Parton single, and what homophonically happens twice in 16-, 27- and 47-Across: TOGETHER YOU AND I.  Not to be parsed as To Get Her, You And I.  I am not familiar with this song.



Across:
1. __-been: washed-up celeb: HAS.  I have a friend who called her ex-husband her Was-been.

4. Shared again, as a story: RETOLD.

10. Samantha Bee's network: TBS.  Samantha Ann Bee (b. Oct. 25, 1969) is a Canadian-born comedian who got her start as a political commentator on The Daily Show with John Stewart.  She now has her own show entitled Full Frontal.


13. Frequently found in poetry?: OFT.

14. One with a hunger: YEARNER.  Awkward!

15. Go bad: ROT.

19. Philosopher Kierkegaard: SØREN.  Søren Kierkegaard (née Søren Aabye Kierkegaard; May 5, 1813 ~ Oct. 11, 1855) was a Danish philosopher and theologian.  He is considered to be the first modern existentialist philosopher.  Sadly, he died at the young age of 42.

20. Dawn goddess: EOS.

21. Bridal veil trim: LACE.  There is a lot of lace on this wedding dress.


22. Packed in a slatted box: CRATED.

25. Like bath mats: NON-SLIP.

29. Prez on a fiver: ABE.

30. "Cream of" concoction: SOUP.

31. Lonely place, so they say: THE TOP.

35. Former: PAST.

37. Part of rpm: PER.  As in Revolutions Per Minute.

39. Actress Russo: RENE.  Rene Russo (née Rene Marie Russo; b. Feb. 17, 1954) makes very frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.


40. Bury: ENTOMB.

43. Frontier lawman Wyatt: EARP.  Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (Mar. 19, 1848 ~ Jan. 13, 1929) also makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.


46. HBO rival, briefly: SHO.  Home BoxOffice versus Showtime.



50. Gives a hand: ASSISTS.

53. Celebrity socialite: IT GIRL.  Clara Bow (née Clara Gordon Bow; July 29, 1905 ~ Sept. 27, 1965) was the original "It Girl".


54. One who stirs the pot: CHEF.


55. Former flier: TWA.  Trans World Airlines was founded by Howard Hughes in 1930.  It ceased operations in December 2001.  My first airplane ride, when I was about 5 years old, was on a TWA flight.  That was back in the day when airlines gave out little gifts to children who were flying.  I still have the little red bag that was filled with little toys to keep me amused on the flight.


57. "Live" sign: ON AIR.

63. Night before: EVE.

64. Most authentic: REALEST.  Awkward!

65. Generation __: GAP.

66. "Lust for Life" singer Lana __ Rey: DEL.  I am not familiar with Lana Del Rey (née Elizabeth Woolridge Grand; b. June 21, 1985).



67. How theater seating is arranged: IN ROWS.


68. Hurricane center: EYE.



Down:
1. Keeps to oneself: HOGS.
2. Early form of Latin jazz: AFRO-CUBAN.

3. Like the most twinkly sky: STARRIEST.


4. Boxing official: REF.  As in the Referee.

5. Musician's asset: EAR.


6. "Can't deny that": TRUE.

7. They might bring you to tears: ONIONS.  Why Onions make you cry.

8. Releases from a cage: LETS OUT.



9. Basketball's Erving, familiarly: DR. J.  Julius Erving (né Julius Winfield Erving, II; b. Feb. 22, 1950) had a long career in the NBA.


10. Dry run: TRIAL.

11. Italian lawn bowling game: BOCCI.  Usually spelled with an "e".



12. Pricey: STEEP.

14. Gossipy sorts: YENTAS.

17. Podded plants: PEAS.

18. Coat named for an Irish province: ULSTER.

23. "Music for Airports" producer Brian: ENO.  Our old friend Brian Eno (né Brian Peter George Eno; b. May 15, 1948) is also making a guest appearance in today's puzzle.


24. Bra spec: D-CUP.

26. Med. research agency: NIH.  As in the National Institutes of Health.  You can get information about Covid-19 at their website.



27. Tough spot to self-trim hair: NAPE.


28. Olympic swords: ÉPÉES.  These fencing swords are often found it the crossword puzzles, too.

32. Simulated launch site: TEST RANGE.

33. Taking a vacation, Brit-style: ON HOLIDAY.

34. Lowly worker: PEON.
Peony.

36. English "L'chaim!": TO LIFE.



38. Sitar master Shankar: RAVI.  Ravi Shankar (Apr.  7, 1920 ~ Dec. 11, 2012) is the father of musician Norah Jones.

41. Jan. and Feb.: MOs.  January and February are the first 2 Months of the Gregorian calendar..

42. Words introducing a plot twist: BUT, THEN ...  Not to be parsed as Butt Hen.


44. Road groove: RUT.

45. Hit the buffet in a major way, say: PIG OUT.
48. "Scout's honor!": I SWEAR.

49. Singer Turner: TINA.  Tina Turner (née Anna Mae Bullock; b. Nov. 26, 1939) turned 80 on her last birthday.   I should be so lucky when (if) I turn 80.


50. Played a part: ACTED.

51. Push roughly: SHOVE.

52. Jason of "How I Met Your Mother": SEGEL.

Jason Jordan Segel (b. Jan. 18, 1980)

56. Guthrie of folk: ARLO.  Arlo Guthrie (né Arlo Davy Guthrie; b. July 10, 1947) is the son of Woody Guthrie, but you knew that.



58. Like avocados ready for guacamole: RIPE.  Yummers!

60. Bi- plus one: TRI-.

61. Tree with elastic wood: YEW.  This evergreen tree has red berries and is used for to make archery bows.  We have seen the YEW several times in the past few weeks.


62. WWII spy gp.: OSS.  As in the Office of Strategic Services.  Before becoming a cooking guru, Julia Child was in the OSS.

And Here's the Grid:

QOD:  Courage is the ladder upon which all other virtues mount.  ~  Clare Boothe Luce (née Ann Clare Booth; Mar. 10, 1903 ~ Oct. 9, 1987), American journalist and diplomat

35 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

FLN; our first dog was a longhaired dachshund named Fritz. A beautiful animal and a loyal friend, except he had seizures. I was 8 years old, and the first one scared me as I was sure he was dying. The breeder from whom he was purchased never mentioned this PREDISPOSITION . He lived only 10 years, but they may have been caused by his tendency to eat wood and metal. He loved the attention and hated birds, trying to keep them from flying over our property.

Today was easier than yesterday for me. I have always enjoyed Ravi Shankar who played at Woodstock along with Arlo Guthrie. Ravi has two daughters, by different wives. It is ANOUSHKA who has had the more traumatic life.

AMANDA RAFKIN also had her debut puzzle with Ross in the NYR last September.

Thank you all for the entertainment

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but had to fix BOCCe.

McCartney's "And Jet, I thought the only lonely place was on the moon". My idee fixe that made TOP difficult for me.

57 across makes sense, but in the real world the ON AIR sign lights up whenever a microphone is open in the studio - even for recording or rehearsal.

I liked TRIAL and TEST RANGE being lined up. But I thought the TEST RANGE was where they actually launch, fly and land. When lived in LA I would occasionally be close enough to see Rocketdyne's engine TESTs near the Pepperdine campus on Pacific Coast Highway. Big noise. Bigger smoke.

A golfing buddy told me that when he and his wife were newlyweds, it was TRI-weekly. In mid-life it was try weekly. Now it's try weakly.

Thanks to Amanda and Ross for the fun puzzle. My favorite was D CUP, but I can't put my finger on just why. And thanks to Hahtoolah for the fun tour.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

No problems with this one, though I needed an alphabet run for that L in DEL/SEGEL. Thanx, Amanda, Ross, and Hahtoolah. (I've still got an Ozark ditty bag and a PanAm comb -- both well-used, so probably not worth much.)

It's Lonely At The Top -- Randy Newman.

Taxing day...gotta run.

Hungry Mother said...

Very nice, very easy today. Writeover on BOCCe when I saw the perp. I was heading toward iNTerr until I saw the light. The rest was solid.

inanehiker said...

Pretty fast Tuesday - didn't need the theme to solve - but I had noticed a lot of UIs in the theme answers. I had LEARNER before YEARNER - which I think is the better answer - but YENTAs wouldn't let that work. I have always had a hunger for knowledge as a lifelong learner!

Thanks Susan for a fun blog - I loved the video of Dolly Parton's song - at first I thought it was filmed in Memphis because of some of the cancer kids in it - and St Jude's is in Memphis but then realized it was Knoxville - which makes sense given that it is so close to Sevierville/Gatlinburg area where Dollywood is.
and thanks Amanda and Ross for the puzzle.

Anonymous said...

Took 6:19 to finish, and didn't notice the theme until completed.

Dr. J played several seasons in the ABA prior to the NBA.

Yellowrocks said...

Susan, I always love your visuals. I especially liked the chef stirring the pot today, and all the rest of them.
Straying from your onion clip I read about chilling the onion before cutting to reduce tears. Come to think of it, when I chop a half of a leftover onion stored in the fridge, there are no tears.I should have realized this hack.
I have seen bocce and bocci both, although I think BOCCE is more common.
Misty, I was sorry to hear of Dusty's health scare. I hope she will be fine now.
Our Mystery Bus Trip has been canceled. We were going to dance in a town that has covid-19 cases so there will be no dance.
At our dance last night we touched hands at every step, but then were told not to shake hands or hug.
Here is a nice safe virtual yellow rock to all of you.

billocohoes said...

D CUP in a puz with a Dolly Parton theme? That actually understates it.

Lucina said...

Hola!

A dubious thank you to Amanda Rafkin and Ross Trudeau; dubious because of REALEST.

Hand up for BOCCE before BOCCI. Eww! Wite-out to the rescue. I also had lonely on the THRONE before THE TOP. More wite-out but those were the only spots.

A TRIAL might be the result of a NUISANCE SUIT.

It always bothers me that RENE Russo isn't Renee but I'm trying to let it go.

So that's what L'chaim means!

Thank you, Hahtoolah; I always enjoy your unusual illustrations.

Now I'm going to try to sleep a bit before my doctor's appointment later. It's just routine every four months.

Have an exquisite day, everyone!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got it all except the G in TOGETHER YOU AND I. Not familiar with it. I thought the puzzle was a bit chewy for a Tuesday. Liked the original feel, but felt there were too many compound words (like TEST RANGE, BUT THEN) for my taste.
D-CUP - - Ample spec.
BOCCI seems to be an alternate spelling of Bocce.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Easy, peasy except for the unknown, to me, Afro Cuban. I saw the UI repetition but had no clue to what the reveal would be. I'll overlook the Lets Out ~ Pig Out dupe, but Realest was a definite nose wrinkler! I liked Yew crossing You, though. I'm used to Bocce with the E, but the I ending is acceptable, as well.

Thanks, Amanda and Russ for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Hatoolah, for the always enjoyable and enlightening review. The visuals are much enjoyed and appreciated.

FLN

Jayce ~ What does a smog check of your car entail?

It was 75 degrees here yesterday, but the ubiquitous March wind brought it down a few notches. Call me Debbie Downer, but I can't believe we're going to get through March without a snow storm. This has been one of the oddest winters that I can remember.

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

Autocorrect strikes again. Ross, not Russ. Sorry.

Bluehen said...

Hats off to anyone who found this puzzle quick and/or easy. 19+ mins. for me. YEARNERS and REALEST still don't pass my smell test, and are "burial" and "entombment" really the same? In the end I got it almost done in one pass, across and down. But it sure did exercise the little grey cells. I'll call that a good thing and move on.

Not much going on at the Bluehen Ponderosa. Just the usual chores, and taxes for friends and family. I need to get after the taxes and get them behind me. Sounds like a plan.

Oh, and one last thought: Decaffeinated coffee id dispresso.

Cya!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Neither REALEST, SEGE_/DE_ nor alternate for BOCCE stumped me
-I have some med that requires I drink no GRAPE FRUIT JUICE
-“YEARNing to breathe free” was part of a SESTET I quoted Saturday
-When HST reluctantly got to THE TOP, he learned how lonely it can be
-One principal I had got very upset when my desks were not IN perfect ROWS
-A rite of passage for cycling is from TRI to BI
-My favorite Dolly line

Lucina said...

Since someone mentioned Fermatprime, I emailed her last night but as yet, no reply. I looked her up, just in case, and her Wikipedia article came up but no other notice.

Yellowrocks said...

HG, TRI to BI and back to TRI.

Riddle of the Sphinx, "What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs in the evening?"

Bluehen said...

First of all, "is", not "id".

Secondly, the crying onion clue reminded me of a childhood memory. I was a youngster working in the kitchen one day, trying to help Mom and at the same time learn something about cooking. I was trying to chop an inion and having a hard time of it. My smarty-pants kid sister sashays into the room (No, not to help. Do you want the sky to fall?). She sees the trouble I'm having and needles me, saying "You know onions are the only food that makes you cry." "Oh, really", I replied and threw a cocoanut at her.

Wilbur Charles said...

Dr J(Not Doc)because of the way he "operated" was a UMass guy. Rare for that time for a School like that to have a mega star.

I got my YENTAS and Yentls mixed up. Sorry Barbra. Not to speak of L'CHAIM and M Potok.

I'm with the "Chewy" crowd on this one. Cook=>CHEF. Btw, I finished Sunday's CC Wa-Post. My take on "Building" Character was that the "characters" spanned answers.

Re. Sunday: Here's a SOUSAphone

WC


Misty said...

Enjoyable but challenging Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Amanda and Ross. And as soon as I saw all those great pictures, I knew it had to be your commentary, Susan--many thanks for that too.

Got off to an easy start on top, even though words like YEARNER surprised me a little. But it helped to know names like SOREN, EARP, RENE, and RAVI. I loved being able to get long answers like GRAPEFRUIT JUICE without any cheating, and then when I got to the reveal with the Dolly Parton song, I saw all the U and I letters in the three theme words. Lots of fun, really enjoyed it.

Thanks for your good wishes for Dusty, Yellowrocks--he has a veterinary appointment at 2:30 this afternoon. Lemonade, thank you for the dachshund information. I guess we were very luck that Dusty didn't have his first seizure until now, when he is almost 17 years old. Sorry you lost little Fritz so early.

Have a good day, everybody.

triple crown said...

If Tina Turner was born in November 1939, she turned 80 last birthday, Nov. 2019, not 79.

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Amanda and Ross, and Hahtoolah.
I finished this CW in good time earlier this morning, but then had appointments.
I saw the U and I theme, and only had 2 inkblots. Of course, one of them was BOCCe to BOCCI. (Maybe AnonT will give us an Italian lesson about the variant spelling.)
The other was LETS go_ to OUT.

I smiled at PIG OUT and HOGS.
We also had EAR and EYE, EOS and EVE.
I can never keep track of all your stations - TBS and SHO filled with perps.
This gardener also smiled at "podded plants=PEAS". Can we make SOUP (not FOS today)?

Why is "ON HOLIDAY" clued as "taking a vacation, BRIT-style"? Is that expression British, and this Canadian is just so used to it, that I don't realize Americans don't say "ON HOLIDAY"? Enquiring minds want to know. (I see that Merriam Webster says it is British!) What do Americans say??

Wishing you all a great day.

Tinbeni said...

Hahtoolah: Excellent, informative write-up & links. Good Job !!!

My fave today, of course was the "Toast" ... TO LIFE !!!
(I make that toast to Y'all and myself every night at Sunset).

Well I'm off to count about 45,000 Mail-In ballots tomorrow.
We counted 55,077 last Friday.
These machines (there are 6 for Pinellas County) are amazingly fast and 100% accurate.
When we finish next week on the 17th we will have counted over 240,000 Mail-In ballots in total.

Cheers!

Jayce said...

I liked this somewhat chUI puzzle. Like Bluehen, YEARNER and REALEST didn't pass my smell test either. My only writeover was to change BY ROWS to IN ROWS.

Hahtoolah, thanks for your write-up.

I, too, take meds that preclude me from consuming GRAPEFRUIT JUICE or grapefruit.

Irish Miss, re smog check. It entails going to a place, such as a local service station, that can do it. They put your car on a machine that simulates the car being driven at freeway speed and a hose up the tailpipe to measure the emissions. (In our specific case, since our car is a hybrid, they simply perform a visual inspection and then plug their computer into the car's computer to read out the logs.) It takes about 20-25 minutes and costs no more than $50. The tester fills out a form certifying that your car passed and, in California at least, updates the information about your car in the DMV database. In many places members of the AAA can get it done at a facility they operate or recommend. Email me for more info if you want to.

By the way, I don't think the UI's in LOUIS VUITTON have the same sound as in the other theme answers. Cool theme anyway.

I've been at THE TOP and can attest it is indeed a lonely spot. I hated it and therefore was no good at it, and got myself "demoted" back to just plain engineer as soon as the board could find a replacement for the job.

Wishing you all a good day.

Yellowrocks said...

Lucina's comment about the fact that Rene is commonly used as a feminine name these days (Rene Zwillinger, too,) and Susan's clip about how to pronounce Louis Vuitton led to to musings like the following:
Quora
Some of our problem is that the English language does not have the vocal sounds used in Vuitton.
Native speakers do not pronounce Vienna (Wien) and Paris the way we do. Japanese people do not call their country JAPAN. Other countries have their own pronunciations for English names and places. Most languages borrow all kind of words from other languages, changing pronunciation, spelling and even the meaning. The older I get the more I think Live and Let Live. I don't react to differences. I am more annoyed by the attitude of My Way or the Highway, so anything other than that must be WRONG!!
Candian Eh! On holiday seems distinctly British to me. We say on vacation.
I was wondering why no one connected the HOG in the 1D to pigging out. I was eating at an all you can eat buffet with a 90 year old friend who normally eats like a bird. She had 3 huge platefuls to my one. Then she had multiple desserts and three ice creams. I was amazed. My MIL was similar. I guess the idea is to get your money's worth.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Got a kick out of Hahtoolah's visuals.

Nice easy pzl from the Rafkin/Trudeau team. I see there's some controversy over YEARNER and REALEST, but I expect such creativity (twistability?) in Croswordlandia. Sometimes the vehicles don't quite fit the parking spaces.

I agree with Misty that it helped to know the proper names.
(SOREN reminded me I knew there was a reason I minored in Philosophy as an undergrad.)
~ OMK
____________
DR:
A 3-way on the near end.
Today’s anagram is a prediction. I venture to say that very few of my fellow Corner cruciverbalists are destined to die by the noose. We shall (most of us) probably look back and agree that we have reached an…
UNHUNG FATE”!

AnonymousPVX said...


First off, the answer to YR’s riddle is....Man. Crawls on all fours, walks on two legs, then needs a cane.

This Tuesday grid has some clues that were, for me, a bit of a stretch.

Write-overs...nope.

And on to hump day.

Lucina said...

I realize that English does not lend itself to the variations common in other languages but I do sometimes still wince. Spanish adheres more to agreement between nouns and verbs, etc. Because of pronunciation, what might be commonly accepted in English would not be in Spanish and likely other romance languages.

Actually, it's Renee Zellwegger.

Like YR, I no longer allow myself to be bothered by so many things I used to have fits about. It's just not that important.

Ken I. said...

Enough of the pop culture clues already. 3 crossing in the SW corner including the reveal clue, made it DNF.

Irish Miss said...

Lucina @ 11:16 ~ Thank you for answering my inquiry about Ferm. I hope she's not in distress.

Jayce @ 2:33 ~ I'm more familiar with the term Emissions Test, which we have here in New York State, but my Google results showed the Smog Test usage in New York, also. Thanks for expanding on my limited knowledge of the actual test procedures.

Yellowrocks said...

Lucina, I admired Renee Zellwegger as Roxie in Chicago. Great movie. Mea culpa, I misspelled both of her names. Senior moment among too many others.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Amanda Rafkin & Ross Trudeau, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.

Puzzle was a little sticky for a Tuesday, but I got through it. The theme appeared after a while. No problem. Nice to see Dolly Parton in a puzzle.

REALEST just doesn't sound right to me. But, I used it anyway.

I used to PIG OUT all the time. I was a chow hound. After I had my surgery last summer I have no appetite. I no longer eat very much, and have lost 30 pounds since then. I hope they can find out what is causing this. I went to the ENT today and she found nothing concrete. She assigned me some more pills to take. I go back in three weeks. I guess nothing is simple.

Never heard of Samantha Bee.

I did Monday's puzzle but had no time to log in here.

Anyhow, I have to hit the drug store and get my new medicine. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Jinx in Norfolk said...

C-Eh, Yellowrocks is mostly right. But USA folks under about 40 go on "vaca", or at least that's what I'm told. I would need a passport to talk to anyone that age. (Don't tell anyone, but we also go to "college" rather than "university", even when the school calls itself a university.)

Anonymous T said...

HI All!

Thanks Amanda and Ross for the interesting theme concept. I liked it.

Wonderfully illustrated expo, as always, Hahtoolah.

WO: Cook -> CHEF (Hi, WC!)
ESPs: SEGEL, DEL, SOREN,
Fav: ON HOLIDAY - I just like the phrasing of it
Also cute is "BUT THEN" "I SWEAR" juxtaposed.

Re: DR - as we should all home :-)

C, Eh! - I can't spell in any language :-)
What I found on the internet is Bocci is anglicized spelling.

Cheers, -T

CrossEyedDave said...

Did the puzzle early the AM, & it has been a long day...
Thanks to the blog, I learned how to play Bocci.
(Although I am sure if I tried it, I would break somebody's window...)

I am in Florida, sans computer, so posting is difficult.

Daughter #3 is upset because they closed NYU just as she was about to
Open A Chorus Line, which she directed...

Then we find out that that a guy that sits on the other side of the room
From DW at work tested positive for Coronavirus.

Anywho, I am surprised that no one has linked my favorite music that fits this theme.
With my iPad, I cannot link YouTube...
Anon-T, can you do me a favor and link
And You AND I by Yes for me?

I am sure some of the bloggers have not heard it, and are miss8ng something...

Anonymous T said...

CED - Yes I will for YOU - TOGETHER we'll make it work.

I had Door's Touch Me playing in my head 'cuz the refrain contains "For YOU and I."

That's a real bummer for #3. Hopefully, it will be rescheduled for later in the Spring?

Now, about the guy across the hall from your DW... My best to you, her, and I guess him.

Cheers!, -T