google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, September 20, 2022 Amie Walker

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Sep 20, 2022

Tuesday, September 20, 2022 Amie Walker

Ticket to Ride:  The circles spell out a word that is "split" that can go with Ticket to make a new concept.

17-Across. Showers someone with money?: MAKES IT RAIN.  Train Ticket

27-Across. "Spit it out!": TELL ME ALREADY.  Meal Ticket

44-Across. Cheese, beans, guacamole, sour cream, etc.: NACHO TOPPINGS.  Hot Ticket

And the unifier:

58-Across. Voter's crossover ballot, and what can literally be found in the circled letters: SPLIT TICKET.

Across:
1. Snorkeler's destination: REEF.


5. Challenging H.S. science class: AP BIO.  As in Advanced Placement Biology.

10. Chef's meas.: TSP.  As in a Teaspoon.


13. Musical "Jeopardy!" category that's tough for many contestants: OPERA.


15. Swampy area: MARSH.  Louisiana Marshes.


16. Rower's blade: OAR.  //  Not to be confused with 66-Across. Portland's st.: ORE.

19. Undivided: ONE.

20. Lead-in to gender: CIS-.  Cisgender, the antonym transgender.

21. Use when there are no better options, say: RESORT TO.

23. City in northern Illinois: DeKALB.  The city is a bit west of Chicago.


26. Breakfast chain with bottomless stacks: iHOP.




32. Sheltered, at sea: ALEE.  This used to be a crossword staple.

33. Beef and pork: MEATS.

34. Clock-setting std.: GMT.  As in Greenwich Mean Time.  Everything you wanted to know about GMT, but didn't know to ask.

37. "Top Gun" nickname: MAV.  Tom Cruise (né Thomas Cruise Mapother, IV; b. July 3, 1962) portrayed Captain "Maverick" Mitchell in the movie franchise.  The sequel to the original Top Gun is Top Gun: Maverick.   [Name # 1.]


38. Poolside structures: CABANAS.


40. __ Grande: RIO.


41. Potato spot: EYE.

42. Prepares for a recipe, as onions: CHOPS.


43. __ one's time: be patient: BIDE.

48. Car: AUTO.

50. Creamy chocolate dessert: MOUSSE.  Yummers!



51. Sidelong glances: SLY LOOKS.

56. Afore: ERE.

57. "Is that __?": "Are you declining?": A NO.

63. Journalist Rather: DAN.  Dan Rather (né Daniel Irvin Rather, Jr.; b. Oct. 31, 1931) was the CBS Evening News anchor following Walter Cronkite's retirement.  [Name # 2.]


64. Linney of "Ozark": LAURA.  Ozark is a crime drama.  Laura Linney (née Laura Legget Linney; Feb. 5, 1964) portrays Wendy Byrde, the wife of Marty Byrde, who move to the Ozark to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel.   [Name # 3.]


65. Peak in Greek myth: MT. IDA.  Mt. Ida is the highest mountain on the Greek island of Crete.

67. Early Mesoamerican: OLMEC.  Everything you wanted to know about the Olmec Civilization but didn't know to ask.

68. Puny pencil: STUB.

Down:
1. __-com: date movie, maybe: ROM.  According to Harper's Bazaar, here is a list of Rom-Coms that are both funny and romantic.

2. Clean air org.: EPA.  As in the Environmental Protection Agency.



3. Cartoon shriek: EEK.  //  Not to be confused with 39-Down. "That hits the spot!": AHH!

EEK!

AHH!

4. Skin spot that may be darkened by sunlight: FRECKLE.


5. Acct. balance, e.g.: AMT.  Amount.

6. "The Incredibles" family name: PARR.  Who knew the cartoon family had a last name?  [Name # 4.]


7. Scottish hillside: BRAE.

8. Egyptian fertility goddess: ISIS.  Everything you wanted to know about Isis, but didn't know to ask.  [Name # 5.]


9. "That's not good!": OH NO!

10. Wide smiles: TOOTHY GRINS.  Some happy animals.


11. __ Domingo: Caribbean capital: SANTO.  Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominical Republic.  Sadly, it was in the path of Hurricane Fiona.  It was the first hurricane to make a direct hit on the country since Hurricane Jeanne struck in 2004.


12. Hosp. stop before surgery: PRE-OP.

14. "Take me __": AS I AM.

18. Small landmass: ISLE.



22. Free (of): RID.

23. Make late: DELAY.

24. Bilbo Baggins' age at the start of "The Lord of the Rings": ELEVENTYONE.  I guess you have to be a Lord of the Rings fan to get this one.



25. Panda's diet: BAMBOO.  Everything you wanted to know about Panda's but didn't know to ask.


27. Domesticated: TAME.

28. Jumped: LEAPT.

29. Kidnapper's demand: RANSOM.

30. Incoming flight stat: ETA.  A crossword staple.

31. Pack animal: ASS.


35. Gnatlike insect: MIDGE.  Everything you wanted to know about a midge, but didn't know to ask.



36. Pedicure targets: TOES.


38. Junk bond rating: CCC.  Everything you wanted to know about junk bonds but didn't know to ask.

43. Divides equally: BISECTS.



45. IM pioneer: AOL.  America OnLine.



46. Bard: POET.

47. Jewish festival when the Book of Esther is read: PURIM.  Everything you wanted to know about Purim but didn't know to ask.  Purim is a festive holiday and people dress up in amusing costumes, even while they are on the job.  The last time I was in Israel, it was during Purim.  Even the rabbi dressed in costume.



48. Pollo __: grilled chicken dish: ASADO.  Yummers, more food!



49. Of a forearm bone: ULNAR.


52. Norway's capital: OSLO.

53. Milky white gem: OPAL.  White opals are found in Australia.  Hi, Kazie!


54. Supermodel Heidi: KLUM. [Name # 6.]

Heidi Klum (b. June 1, 1973)

55. "Your Majesty": SIRE.  I guess that would now be King Charles III.

59. Tic-__-toe: TAC.

60. Assembly-required boxful: KIT.

61. School URL ending: .EDU

62. Indent key: TAB.



Here's the grid:


חתולה



37 comments:

Wilbur Charles said...

Looking back it looks Tuesday easy but it went slowly. fe. peels/CHOPS and BAMBOO was very slow to perp.

Filling the long theme answers went slow but I finally grok'ed the theme

BRAE/Bern was another inkover

Thx hahtoolah

WC

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I agree with Wilbur -- this one went slowly. Had the circles, but didn't catch the theme until the reveal. I guess that's how things are supposed to go. BRAE was a gimme; we used to live on Braewick Dr. Thanx for the diversion, Amie and Hahtoolah.

BobB said...

Puzzle was easy, theme not so much.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but pre-->ERE, uhoh-->OHNO, asada-->ASADO, and ice-->MAV. Isn't the nickname "Maverick"? Shouldn't the clue have been "'T. Gun' nickname"?

I seem to remember that ATL Granny lives in DeKalb County (pronounced deCAB).

Take me AS I AM. Or as Popeye would say, "I yam what I yam."

I worked with a guy in Dallas who called himself "Rance". I read Michener's Texas recently, and learned that the nickname is short for "RANSOM". I wonder if crossword-staple RANSOM Olds was called Rance.

AP classes in high school --> Honors classes in college. At least that's what my Biology PhD sister tells me. Football Fisics was more my speed.

Thanks to Amie for the fun Tuesday challenge, and to Ha2la for the color commentary.

Subgenius said...

It took me a while, but eventually I remembered that Bilbo Baggins was “eleventy-one “ at the start of “The Hobbit.” Other than that, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Crossword friends

Jinx: The answer to 37 is the nickname of a nickname!

QOD: People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it’s served up. ~ George R.R. Martin (né George Raymond Richard Martin; b. Sept. 20, 1948), American author

KS said...

FIR, but didn't get the theme till the reveal. Lots of split answers, like sly looks and Mt. Ida, but generally an easy solve.

Anonymous said...

Today it took me 4:16 to punch my ticket.

I knew Bilbo wasn't a "normal" age, but couldn't recall what it was exactly. I somehow pulled-out "Parr" thanks to watching "The Incredibles" with my kids years ago.

Struggled with "Purim" and "Mtida."

I find the "bisect" illustration amusingly inaccurate, as the "whole" is already bisected.

Oh joy, circles....

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Had no clue about the theme until the reveal. The Showers Someone With Money=Makes It Rain? doesnt make sense to me. I get the Showers/Rain part but not the Money connection. Maybe it’s just me. I know nothing about The Incredibles or The Lord of The Rings, so Parr and Eleventy One needed perps. The three letter words, all 26 of them, caused the usual distraction.

Thanks, Amie, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for brightening a rainy and gloomy morning, especially with the Donkey Farm and Centipede cartoons. Welcome back!

Have a great day.

unclefred said...

I managed to FIR in 16, a bit longer than usual for a Tuesday. DNK PARR, MAV, LAURA and struggled to think of BRAE. W/O KLEM:KLUM. Other than that, fairly smooth fill. Thanx, AW, for the fun CW. And also thanx Hahtoolah for the fine and fun write-up.

Anthony Gael Moral said...

Thanks, Hahtoolah. Your recap was more fun than the puzzle.

Sherry said...

Didn't get the theme but got the clues. Didn't know 20 across Cis, never heard of that. Nor did I know Olmec. 24 d filled by crosses. Otherwise good to go.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Nice Tuesday challenge, a quick FIR. Sensible Proper Names, Everyone knows DAN Rather, LAURA Linney is a fairly well established actor (ress), Quite a few have likely seen at least the first of the "Top Gun" (MAV) films. But..I needed perp help from the OLMEC tribe to remember Heidi KLUM and also DELKALB. Didn't know PARR though I've seen all the films

APBIO always throws me. Required all perps. I took APENGLISH, probably why 😁. (no, not APE ENGLISH!!)

DO: our hospital is on the corner of Genesee St. and Bonnie BRAE (goes up a pretty hill)

MT IDA...Charley Weaver's Mamma's letters from Mt. Idy....ULNAR..by the way anatomically the humerus is called that cuz it's the funny bone..🤣

The clue to the theme indicates that the answer SPLIT TICKET is literally found in the circled letters but neither word appears literally in the circled clues. Also what IM said, don't get the MAKES IT RAIN clue.

OHNO!! what a surprise, it's not "Apolo" today 😃. (LIU, ..there's also a rapper by that name but don't get any ideas, constructors!!)

Raced a bit.....RANSOME
Alternative to Uber....DEKALB
Roadside services....TOES
"That salsa and guacamole don't belong to you!"..."They are _____ " NACHO TOPPINGS
How Thailand appears on old maps....ASIAM

H2LH my fav is the pig arrested for "hauling ass" 😁


Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Amie and Susan! I knew it was you when the cartoons appeared. Welcome back!

I had no idea about ELEVENTY-ONE so needed every perp.

Last night I made tacos for dinner but no NACHOS. If any of you have bought corn tortillas lately you noticed that they have shrunk! They are almost like mini-tacos! It's ridiculous. If it were not such an arduous process I would make the tortillas myself as did my grandmother.

I really like LAURA Linney in any role she plays.

In Scotland every BRAE has heather growing on it. It's lovely.

Two places in the goals I set for myself I have not met. One is visiting all fifty states (only 36) and all the European capitals. OSLO is the other one.

Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!


Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks Amie for the grid. I had a few speed-bumps but all's well that ends.

Fun expo, Hahtoolah! LOL 'hauling ASS'. How'd your trip to Houston go? All good?

WOs: had 'DO' at the end of RESORT; eTIDA b/f PURIM
ESPs: MT. IDA, parsing AS I AM, LAURA, KLUM|OLMEC
Fav: CABANA... We had a guy on the team that worked CABANAs during college. Any time an older-lady (>35, we were in our 20's then ;-)) called the help-desk, we'd tease him, "Put on your Speed-Os CABANA Boy."

Bill Joel said she was "lonely for a man" and said "Take me AS I AM" [1:53] in the 1st track on Glass Houses.

WC - ELEVENY ONE... How many second-breakfasts is that?
//BTW, C, EH! When I was in B.C for CanSecWest, we'd have Twosies (second-breakfast) at the conference. That convinced me Canadians, at least on the West Coast, are Hobbits :-)

IM / Ray-O - the only times I've heard "Make it Rain" is in connection with guys at the strip-club shuffling $$ out of their palm "raining" green on the dancers. Please note: this is from movies / pop-culture and not IRL.

Back to work. Cheers, -T

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Amie and Hahtoolah.
We had the wrong newspaper delivered today (with no LAT CW); I was forced to solve online.
Steady advance to the Tada, with a pause to decide between T, N or M for OLMEC.
I did see the SPLIT TICKETs (although this Canadian is not familiar with that term - explanations anyone without politics!).

I counted 25 three-letter fills. Your thoughts IM? (Oh, you got 26!)
I had Eye rolls before SLY LOOKS (but we did already have an EYE).
But we did have ONE and ELEVENTYONE.
GMT again today.
It will take some time before I think of a King and not a Queen for Your Majesty!

Favourite today was TOOTHY GRINS.

Wishing you all a great day.

Anonymous T said...

GMT is the only way to keep time in system logs. When you have boxen around the world, you have to have a standard for time #NTP

C, Eh! Split-ticket voting is splitting your vote between parties (R & D). That's typically how I, an independent*, vote -- incumbents who've not been in the news for naughty get the go-ahead in my book (this usually applies to local judges who I've never heard of)

Cheers, -T
*technically, I'm registered 'cuz you can't vote in primaries otherwise. I've 'switched' parties depending on the race and who I want in / NOT in.

Subgenius said...

For those who are interested, Esther in the story of a Jewish girl who became a Persian Queen. Her husband, the King, was indebted to her uncle, Malachi, for saving his life. When he made an idol and the Jews wouldn't worship it he made a decree that would have sentenced them all to death. But Esther reminded him that a Jew had saved his life, so he didn't carry out his threat. Purim celebrates her bravery and faithfulness to Yahweh. FYI.

Wilbur Charles said...

Way, way back they originated an Excellerated Class after some testing. I asked: If I get a B in this and I can get an A in regular then why should I take this

Later they modified it so HS grades were adjusted, ie. A B became an A for GPA purposes

Anon-T, did you see this:

"Tampa teen pleads not guilty as documents reveal how feds cracked his Twitter hack case: Graham Ivan Clark, 17, remains in jail on $725,000 bail. His attorneys will argue Wednesday for a lower amount."
Apparently, using high profile accounts he offered to double any bitcoin sent. He netted $117k

WC

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Anon T @ 10:47

Last time I was in a strip club ("The Inferno") I was 17 and snuck in with some older buds. Will need to check out "Peepers" downtown only ONLY to corroborate your explanation.

🧐

CrossEyedDave said...

The puzzle didn't take too long, I just woke up late....

Wasn't thrilled with the theme, that is until The Blog pointed out that it is the word for the type of ticket that is split in the long themers. Now it makes sense, just kind of a drag that I didn't figure it out for myself.

SubGenius @ 6:44am,
I don't mean to be a Wise Ass,
but I seriously doubt anyone else here will be as big a Tolkien Fanatic as I am.
Even so I had no idea of Bilbos age at the start of the Hobbit, it was 50. (I had to look it up...)

Anywho,
It is always enlightening (to me) to see other peoples take on things, especially puzzles.
As far as split tickets, I have worked out a mutual system.
He helps, and we split the tickets 50/50...

Misty said...

Delightful Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Amie. And your pictures are wonderful this morning, many thanks, Hahtoolah!

Always neat to see "Jeopardy" in the clues, though I'm not sure OPERA is any more tougher for contestants than other categories. Well, maybe it is.

Interesting to get some body clues this morning like TOES and ULNAR, that forearm bone. Maybe its time not to DELAY getting a check-up. Nobody wants to have to prepare for a PRE-OP if you take good care of yourself. Might not be a bad idea to get your FRECKLE checked out every now and then too. And get the dentist to check out that TOOTHY GRIN of yours.

Well, enough advice for one morning. Have a great day, everybody.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Great to see Hahtoolah back in the saddle, hosting Ms. Walker's PZL.

I enjoy LAURA Linney (along with Jason Bateman, Lisa Emery, and Julia Garner) in Ozark, although the final season leaves much to be desired.
Whenever I see her I always think of that sweet seven-year old girl, doting on her Dad, who came with him to see his play about Frederick the Great. This was in Richmond VA in 1971.

Ah, MT. IDA... Sweet as Apple Cider?
No, no, this was where Zeus was born in a cavern and hidden from Cronus. Good thing, too, 'cuz Cronus had a healthy appetite.
~ OMK
____________
DR:
One diagonal, near side.
Its anagram (14 of 15 letters) seems to advertise a biography of John Wayne, re-issued in a popular format series.
Yes, I'm referring to the...

"DUKE PAPERBACKS"!

CanadianEh! said...

AnonT- I had forgotten about the plethora of choices that Americans have on their ballots.

We have a municipal election in late October, where I will get to vote for a Ward Councillor, School Board rep, and a Mayor. That’s it.
Last year we had a provincial election, where I voted fora Member of Provincial Parliament for my riding. Same with a federal election where I vote for Member of Parliament for my riding. The party that wins the majority of ridings becomes (or stays on as) the government. These elections occur typically every four years, with only a few months of electioneering.

Police chiefs, judges, etc. are hired or appointed, not elected. IMHO, this takes the politics out of the job.

sumdaze said...

FIW.I had Heidi KLUn instead of KLUM -- sort of an embarrassing mistake for someone who has watched ELEVENTYONE episodes of Project Runway.
IM @ 8:27. I think perhaps MAKES IT RAIN is a twist on the term "rainmaker". It refers to someone in business who bring in $$$ to the firm.
Fun write-up, Hahtoolah. Fav was potato head mom, " don't roll your eyes at me"

desper-otto said...

CanadianEh!, I take it from context that a "riding" must be what we would call a district. Does that sound right?

CED, at the beginning of LOTR Bilbo is throwing a birthday party for himself -- that's when he turns Eleventy-One.

sumdaze said...

I also meant to say that it would have been fun to see the clue for STUB connected to the TICKET theme, considering it's bottom, right position in the grid

Wilbur Charles said...


"Police chiefs, judges, etc. are hired or appointed, not elected. IMHO, this takes the politics out of the job."
C-eh, I got a kick out of this one

WC

Wilbur Charles said...

Oops, that comment might be political in itself

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A nice puzzle after 18 holes in what I hope is the last real heat of the season
-When all else fails, RESORT TO reading the directions
-In my part of the world, this is what DEKALB denotes
-The International Space Station goes by GMT
-Catherine PARR was Henry VIII’s last wife, kept her head and outlived him
-BISECTS – I loved using a compass in geometry
-Does anyone else remember the 50's comedian who got regular mail from his mom MT. IDY?
-My son-in-law is a “rainmaker” for his architect firm.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Sum, regarding MAKE IT RAIN, I vote with -T. I think it started in the hip hop culture, kind of an extension of rings, neckwear and gold teeth. One year my golf foursome spent a few hours in an upscale strip joint, and one of the dancers sat with us for a while and provided an insider's commentary. (I think she was just tired and wanted to take an extended break, plus we bought her a few drinks, plus we were old farts and clearly not "on the make".) One of the things she told us was that although it looks impressive, the guy is making it rain with singles, and that makes $50 look like a lot of money. She says she hates it, because the bills makes dancing treacherous, especially while dancing in those ridiculous platform / high heel shoes they wear. Apparently the VIP room is where the real money is.

C-Eh! - Prior to 1804, no one ran as a candidate for the VP of the US. The US president was the person who received the most electoral votes, and the vice president was the person who got the second most. Think of how it would have been with Trump as president and Clinton as VP. It undoubtedly would have been fun to watch, but not particularly effective. Several states, including Virginia, have separate races for governor and lt. governor. That's a little different than the old national procedure, but it can still result in the two top spots being occupied by people of opposing parties.

I like the idea of police chiefs, sheriffs and judges being appointed instead of elected. My native Kentucky had elected county judges, and they were very lenient with political allies and donors, not so much with folks outside of those circles. Most had no legal training. They changed the state constitution to separate the ceremonial duties from the case disposition duties, which are now handled by appointed attorneys. (BTW - There is no requirement here that US Supreme Court justices be lawyers, it would just be impossible to get confirmation for someone without a law license. Possibly excepting Jerry Sienfeld or Oprah.)

waseeley said...

DO @1:09 PM In binary (111) Bilbo would have been 7. As I am still recovering from 24 grandchild days (6x4) that's all I have the strength to say.

CrossEyedDave said...

Desperate-Otto,

Yes, LOTR, eleventy first, but I am afraid you are not catching my drift...
(Never mess with a Tolkien Fanatic!)

SubGenius specifically stated "The Hobbit."
(Separate Book)
The Hobbit, chapter one: The Unexpected party. ( where he meets the Dwarves, at age 50.)

Lord of the Rings:
Book One: Fellowship of the Ring
Chapter One: The Long Expected Party ( where Bilbo turns Eleventy-One)

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle, though I didn't understand what "split" had to do with the different kinds of tickets. OPAL revealed to me whether it was AZTEC or OLMEC. MEATS, CHOPS, BAMBOO (shoots), Pollo ASADO, NACHO TOPPINGS, and MOUSSE makes me hungry. IHOP does not. I like the words/phrases TOOTHY GRIN, FRECKLE, MIDGE, and BISECTS. I do not like TSP, CIS, MAV, EEK, AHH, and AMT.

Excellent write-up, Hahtoolah.

Jayce said...

I bet HeartRx could make a "GawdAwful" puzzle using only grunts and noises such as ooh, ahh, hmph, pfft, ugh, oof, wah, psst, ptui, and so on. Could maybe be interesting.

CanadianEh! said...

D’otto- yes, our riding would be a voting district

WC- glad you got a kick out of my comment

I see Jinx agrees.

Jayce- yes, I remember HeartRx

Anonymous T said...

Jinx - a buddy of mine can confirm your @2:28 story. She'd go out with another buddy to the clubs and talk with the dancers in the bathroom... The 'Make It Rain' guys were not real ballers - a stack of ONEs doesn't get you into the Champaign Room.

That's her story and all I know.
Cheers, -T