google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday July 16, 2023 Zachary Schiff & Shannon Rapp

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Jul 16, 2023

Sunday July 16, 2023 Zachary Schiff & Shannon Rapp

Theme: "You Don't Belong Here" - U is added to each famliar phrase.

21. Paid one's respects to Charlie Brown and Snoopy?: SALUTED PEANUTS. Salted peanuts.

31. Good name for a salon offering a sweet treat with every haircut?: DOS AND DONUTS. Dos and don'ts.

45. Tech for toddlers to play with?: FAUX MACHINES. Fax machine.

62. TV pilots that soar?: OUTSTANDING DEBUTS. Outstanding debts.

81. Like the birthday money from Grandma to a responsible kid?: SAVINGS BOUND. Savings bond.

96. Nice vengeful spirits?: FRENCH FURIES. French fries.

108. Discussion board with topics like "How to get back to your home planet"?: ALIEN LIFE FORUM. Alien life form.

To me, "You Don't Belong Here" suggests that "U" is removed from each phrase. Plus, we also have "Dos and Don'ts" as a theme entry. 

This might be our constructor. Congrats on your LAT debut, Zach!

Across:

1. Paintball garb: CAMO.

5. Mason jar, in a pinch: VASE.

9. Cape __: COD.

12. Pink quaff, informally: COSMO. Cocktail. And 17. Blonde brews: ALES.

18. Tightwad: MISER.

19. "Absolument!": OUI.

20. Playful back-and-forth: BANTER.

24. DeBose of "West Side Story": ARIANA. In yellow skirt. Also a talented singer.


25. Confessional music genre: EMO.

26. Low-power mode: SLEEP.

27. Bruins great Bobby: ORR.

28. Mete out: ALLOT.

29. Sack of old clothes, perhaps: DONATION. The mantra: Does It Spark Joy?

35. Profit opposite: LOSS.

36. Dakar's locale: SENEGAL.

37. "Save me __": A SEAT.

38. Trees used to make some Fender guitars: ALDERS.

41. Reggae kin: SKA.

42. Complete, as a PDF contract: E-SIGN.

44. General with a chicken dish: TSO. Try "lo mai gai". It's wrapped in lotus leaf. So good. Gai is Cantonese for "chicken".



49. Lawyer's gp.: ABA.

50. Link letters: HTTP.

51. Disney role for Kristen Bell: ANNA.

52. Loophole: OUT.

53. Select with care: CULL.

55. "Elf" actress Deschanel: ZOOEY.

57. Rapper MC __: REN. N.W.A (gangsta rap). "Straight Outta Compton". Dr. Dre and Ice Cube were in that group also.


58. "Better Call __": AMC drama: SAUL.

60. "I smell trouble": OH NO.

61. Goes "vroom": REVS.

67. "The Five Second Rule," e.g.: MYTH.

68. Fullness of flavor: BODY.

69. Dorm unit: ROOM. And 77. Not single-sex: CO-ED.

70. Balancing pro: CPA.

73. Exceptional: SUPER.

75. Cow house: BARN.

76. Calico coat: FUR.

78. "Language!" elicitor: CUSS.

79. Insurance market reform law, initially: ACA.

85. "Ready when you __!": ARE.

86. Is too sweet: CLOYS.

88. Sumi-e medium: INK. Sumi-e  is Japanese ink painting.


89. Takes in: LEARNS.

90. Soul singer Hutson: LEROY. Learning moment for me.

92. Blotchy: MOTTLED.

95. Journeys home?: MALL. Never visited this store.

98. Monty Python's "The __ of Silly Walks": MINISTRY.

102. Team race: RELAY.

103. "How bizarre": ODD.

104. Glue: PASTE.

105. Break ground?: HOE. OK, verb.

106. Cream container: CARTON.

111. Wilts: DROOPS.

112. The Guardians of the MLB, on scoreboards: CLE. Hi there, Janice! We also have 4. Brutus Buckeye's sch.: OSU. Also 63. Diamond experts: UMPS.

113. Sturdy: SOLID.

114. Glam gala: FETE.

115. Preserves, as beef: CORNS.

116. Slow start?: ESS. Slow.

117. Skin concern: CYST.

118. Many a new driver: TEEN.

Down:

1. Scoped out for a heist: CASED.

2. Budget rival: ALAMO.

3. Fruit served with prosciutto: MELON. Never had this. Cantaloupe?


5. TikTok uploads: VIDEOS.

6. Roaring Fork River city: ASPEN.

7. Ooze: SEEP.

8. Bullpen stat: ERA.

9. Tasting menu unit: COURSE.

10. "This is an __!": OUTRAGE.

11. Put down: DIS.

12. Aid in obtaining a Passport?: CAR LOAN. Honda Passport.

13. Soffritto ingredient: ONIONS. From Google: "Soffritto is an aromatic mix of diced onions, carrots, and celery gently cooked in olive oil or butter. In fact, the Italian word soffritto means “slightly-fried”. Sounds like the Louisiana holy trinity.


14. Oscar, for one: STATUETTE.

15. All eleven of "Ocean's Eleven": MEN.

16. British singer Rita: ORA.

18. Actress McCarthy: MELISSA.

20. Like worn-out tires: BALD.

22. Noisy weather event, briefly: T-STORM. If not for the Canadian wildfires, our weather here would have been perfect. Hazy at times.

23. Hands-up time: NOON.

28. Respond in an improv class: AD LIB.

30. Amazon Echo assistant: ALEXA.

31. Academic VIP: DEAN.

32. __ spray: NASAL.

33. Delicious: TASTY. I still dream of Liang Pi from time to time. Have not had it for over 21 years. Popular street food in my hometown Xi'an.

34. "Enough!": STOP.

36. Burlesque bit: SKIT.

38. Not even close: AFAR.

39. Road division: LANE.

40. "Beats me": DUNNO.

41. Only NFL coach with a perfect season: SHULA (Don)

43. Garden structure: GAZEBO. My neighbor has a gazebo in his yard.

46. Well-mannered: COUTH. Uncouth is more common.

47. Egg-laying mammal: ECHIDNA.

48. Like a beach-friendly day: SUNNY.

50. Podcast presenter: HOST. Don't always agree with Sam Harris, but I like him.


54. Roleo surface: LOG.

56. Egg cell: OVUM.

58. Eye sore: STYE.

59. Celestial: ASTRAL.

60. Stenches: ODORS.

61. Result of a corp. audit, perhaps: RE-ORG.

64. Org. that pits Grizzlies against Pelicans: NBA.

65. "__ on You": Luke Bryan hit: DRUNK.

66. Use a Brillo pad, say: SCOUR.

71. Ivy in Philly: PENN.

72. Puts into the mix: ADDS.

73. More reliable: SURER.

74. Problem not caused by the computer: USER ERROR. Nice fill.

75. Catfish habitat: BAYOU.

76. Discover: FIND.

77. Fire-walking materials: COALS. I just don't get this. Crazy.


78. Soleus muscle location: CALF.

80. Like jammies: COMFY.

82. Strives (for): VIES.

83. Not on the level: SLANTED.

84. Conviction: BELIEF.

86. One-eyed monster: CYCLOPS.

87. Goes for a walk: STROLLS. Windhover might visit me next year. He's 77 now. He and his wife Irish are still farming. Incredible!

91. Pickup capacity: ONE TON.

93. Straightens (up): TIDIES.

94. Journo's article opening: LEDE.

95. Fish out of water: MISFIT.

97. Composer Zimmer: HANS.  From Wikipedia: "Since the 1980s, Zimmer has composed music for over 150 films. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score for The Lion King (1994), and Dune (2021). His works include Gladiator, The Last Samurai, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Man of Steel, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and No Time To Die."

98. Sends off: MAILS.

99. Midafternoon: THREE.

100. Waze suggestion: ROUTE.

101. Red Sea country: YEMEN.

104. Cunning ruse: PLOY.

106. Yellow Book org.: CDC.

107. Like one in a queerplatonic relationship, for short: ARO. Short for "aromantic". The short form of "asexual" is ACE.  OK, from Google: Queerplatonic relationships may involve some forms of physical affection such as hand-holding, cuddling, kissing, or occasionally having sex. Sounds romantic to me.

108. Big name in bandages: ACE.

109. Foreign policy gp.: NSC.

110. Many a time, in verse: OFT.

C. C.


27 comments:

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

The theme was obvious with SALUTED PEANUTS. Would've been better without that stray U. Went sideways with SCRUB/SCOUR and CURES/CORNS, but those USER ERRORs were resolved quickly. Nicely done, Zach and Shannon. Enjoyed the tour, C.C.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

As DO said, Saluted Peanuts (plus the title) set the tone for the theme, but I still had to put the thinking cap on to parse the other themers, which was challenging and fun. My favorite was Dos and Donuts; that really struck my funny bone, and French Furies was a close second. I am very ambivalent about even doing Sunday puzzle, and I usually tackle them with a low level of enthusiasm and an even lower expectation of enjoyment or satisfaction. Today was one of the rare offerings that proved me wrong. The theme was cute and well-executed, the cluing was a fair mix of straightforward and clever, there was no dreck, there were only 28 three letter words which is more than acceptable in a Sunday grid and, despite numerous unknowns (to me), the perps were more than fair, and I didn’t have a single w/o.

Thanks, Zach and Shannon, for a truly enjoyable solve and thanks, CC, for the review and analysis. As usual, your food photos are a highlight for the eyes and a growling tummy! Melon (Cantaloupe) and Prosciutto is one of my favorites! Thanks, also, for the profile of Zach, an interesting young man.

We have another rainy, gloomy day. So far, the summer has been a bummer, but I shouldn’t complain, as many other parts of the country are suffering from much worse conditions. 😔

Have a great day.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased, then steted, LANE. Also fixed reeks with ODORS, aims with VIES, and aligns with TIDIES.

Our SHULA's Steakhouse closed after a few years. I ate there a couple of times, and found the food to be good, but a little spendy.

"One-eyed monster" had to be CYCLOPS, because "trouser trout" wouldn't fit.

Which reminds me - FLN, maybe PEA milk is what you get when you milk a gentleman cow.

Today is National Ice Cream Day. I've been saving the last of our half gallon tub of Blue Bell Pecan Pralines 'n Cream to celebrate this august occasion in July.

Thanks to Zachary and Shannon for the fun, except for ORA x ARIANA. Loved the theme for a change. (Don't usually dislike them, but am more often than not "meh" toward them.) And thanks to CC for another fine guide through the grid.

KS said...

FIR. Got the theme early with the first salted peanuts clue. This was a fairly straightforward Sunday endeavor.
Only learning moment for me was echidna. If not for the perps, this could have been really nasty.

Anthony Gael Moral said...

I enjoyed this clever puzzle ---great theme--- immensely, but I admit it took me 61 minutes, slow even for me.

Norah aka Shannon said...

Hello again! What a beautiful Sunday, and thanks CC for another great write up.

This is Zach's first ever puzzle and I was so happy to help him bring it to life.

Hope you all enjoy!

CrossEyedDave said...

Fairly easy Sunday, except for Journeys home=mall?!?!
(I would never have understood that one without the Blog...)
But it perped, so no complaints.

Thank you Anon-T, that Heckle and Jeckle link brought back memories.
Enjoy your NYC VK! That townhouse rental looks awesome.

Lee said...

Took a while, but FIR. Saw the theme with the first entry which, yes, helped with the rest of the theme answers.

Almost went wrong with emiLY instead of ZOOEY Dechanel. But, GAZEBO straightened that out. Started to ink MELindA instead of MELISSA, but the plural of 38A corrected me. The rest was perps and persistence.

Thanks to Zach and Shannon for their fine collaboration and to C.C. for her Sunday review.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely loved this puzzle for reasons already mentioned. Great job, Zachary and Shannon!

Monkey said...

I agrée à fun and clever CW. I started out rapidly filling in the answers, understood the trick right off, then the middle slowed me down. I’ve never heard of ECHIDNA, then I wanted fund instead of BOuND. I finally figured it out, ergo the enjoyment.

There were a few unknown names like REN, and thanks to CC I now understand the Journey’s clue. I had the right answer but didn’t know why. Also I wanted motley instead of MOTTLED.

All in all, a fun Sunday morning.

Yep, it’s hot, but we’re used to it here. I just read that on this date the record low was 59, in 1969, unfortunately yesterday’s was 80.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-I like when the letter additions completely change the sound of one of the words
-Too often BANTER can get confrontational
-I’m not sure my E-SIGN is consistently the same
-A 2021 grad got assigned to the very same room in an old dorm (now COED) with no a/c that I had 57 years ago
-We’re getting close to where UMPS will be told by computers if it is a ball or strike
-CORNS – Corned beef hash leapt to my mind at last
-That combo of salty prosciutto and sweet MELON looks wonderful
-OUTRAGE? Daughter’s family of four paid $600 for an eight COURSE meal in Malibu last week
-DRUNK On You had to be the title for a country song!
-SUNNY: It will be SUNNY for today’s big parade here in town after a forecast of rain last night
-Before riding in the back of a pickup became illegal, the capacity of a pickup taking us out to the fields was about ten boys
-Gotta run to the aforementioned parade

Big Easy said...

Very easy Sunday offering today. I FIR while watching Djokovic win the first set against Alcaraz in the Wimbledon finals and caught the added U at SAL-U-TED PEANUTS. Just a few proper name unknowns today and unheards of Journeys (MALL) and ARO.
Didn't know ARIANA DeBose, HANS Zimmer, ANNA, INK, ZOOEY, LEROY, or ONIONS but perps did.

Podcast presenter-HOST- mostly amateur wannabe TV celebrities but they are making money from someone. I've never watched one.

SAVINGS BOUND. Savings bond? Nope. Forget the bond. For my granddaughter's birthday and college grad I gave her three grand but made her put it in a Roth IRA. Got her started right and played MC Hammer's song: "You can't touch this" until age 62.

Subgenius said...

Hi, everybody! Sorry I’m late today. I solved the puzzle early, as usual, then went to church and totally forgot to put my input on this blog. Anyway, on to this puzzle. WEES about “sal(u)ted peanuts.” Also, I couldn’t for the life of me remember how to spell “echidna.” Thank God for perps! Anyway, it was a fun puzzle and a relatively easy solve. FIR, so I’m happy.

Acesaroundagain said...

Enjoyed this one. My favorite, "Aid in obtaining a Passport". Good one. I also enjoyed CC's puzzle in the USA Today. GC

Charlie Echo said...

Clever puzzle today! Tough in spots, with quite a few D'Oh! moments that made for a very enjoyable outing. CULL took a while to drop, as I usually think of "cull" as "DEselect". DNK LEROY, MCREN, or ECHIDNA. Learning experience. ARO? Nah. Great re-cap of a fun grid, CC!

waseeley said...

Thank you Zachary and Shannon for a fun Sunday puzzle with a very FN theme. The FIR today broke a string of FIW's over the weekend. But it wasn't as easy for me as I'm hearing from my fellow Cornerites. Got a good start before going to Mass and saw the theme right away (well the Sun did title the puzzle "You Don't Belong Here"). When I got back I settled down expecting more of the same, until I found myself in a MORASS down in the LA/FL region. Took a 1-1/2 hour nap and when I got up I got my FIR with only a few minor skirmishes.

Thank you C.C. for the review and for all the food pictures. We bought a cantaloupe on the way home from church and I'll pick up some prosciutto a the local supermarket. Oh and here's a recipe for Liangpi (Spicy Cold Skin Noodles).

A few favs:

67A MYTH. I know a chef who taught me "The Five Second Rule". So far I find it to be TRUE.

70A CPA. Cute clue.

88A INK. A delightful change from the usual "BODY ART".

95A MALL. Last to fall. It perped, but I had no idea what the connection was. Thanks for the picture C.C.

98A MINISTRY. Since -T is on vacay, somebody had to do this.

115A CORN. Had CURE, but that gave me ARU for 107D, which isn't vary PLATONIC.

12D CAR LOAN. Clever clue and reminder to to renew our passports. Rumor has it that it not a good idea to wait until you actually need one.

41D SHULA. I met DON SHULA once when I was in high school at a Young Life meeting hosted by my physics teacher. I think Mr. Owen knew him when he was coaching for the Baltimore Colts. I doubt that a teacher could get away with that today.

47D ECHIDNA. This was buried deep and didn't surface until I got the D from BODY, which I just couldn't taste until the very end.

Cheers,
Bill

Jinx @8:28 AM You're naughty Jinx. 😁 Your clue also might FITr 95D "Fish out of water.

TTP said...


For those of you (the few of you) that enjoyed the Friday Ella Dershowitz "Imaginary Friends" puzzle... You might want to solve today's Evan Birnholz crossword "Imaginary Creatures" at the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/crossword-puzzles/sunday-evan-birnholz/

sumdaze said...

Thanks to Zachary and Shannon for the fun theme and clever cluing! Congrats on your debut, Zachary!
FAVS: DOS AND DONUTS; Hands-up time; Balancing pro; Not on the level. Also, Aid in obtaining a Passport. Yesterday's 'Escape' clue helped me see through your PLOY.

Hand up for struggling to spell ECHIDNA.

I'm a fan of HANS Zimmer's work.

Thanks to C.C. for her helpful review! I did not know Journeys either. It looks like they sell shoes.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. Hand up for not understanding Journey home until C.C.'s explanation.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Bill @ 4:21 - I don't know what the eel you're talking about!

I have to admit that when I saw MALL for Journey's home I thought about the Winnebago Journey, the top of their line. MALLs usually have big parking lots, which are magnets to motor homes. (Walmarts and the big grocery chains often have oversize parking lots too, making them attractive to these diesel guzzling retiree haulers as well.)

Wendybird said...

Wonderful puzzle today, even though I had to look up 2, so I FIR-WH (with help). It was so refreshing to experience a clever, intelligent crossword puzzle, not a trivia contest. The misdirections were fun.

Great Wimbledon match today. The tennis was amazing, and Jokivic was classy in defeat.

sumdaze said...

TTP @ 4:44. Thanks for the recommendation! Fun puzzle! Loved the challenge! I'd say more but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't tried it yet.

TTP said...

sumdaze,

Glad you enjoyed it. I got a kick out of it too. Not everyone's cup of chai, but I always look forward to his puzzles. Funny that there would be two very similar puzzles so close together.

Wilbur Charles said...

From two weeks ago:
"I watched IGA defeat Coco Gauff with Betsy. Game,set, Match, Ad in/out, deuce etc should be second nature by the end of Wimbledon"
Nope.. But what a final!

Wilbur Charles said...

My nephew, Patrick, has a podcast on music and movies

Got a very late start as you can see but FIR . Why was CARTON so hard to come by

So what's the "Five second rule "?

WC

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a really fun puzzle to Shannon and Zach, with special props for working in ECHIDNA! I knew what the animal was, but needed SOLID perps to recall how the heck to spell it…

====> Darren / L.A.

Anonymous said...

If you drop a cookie on the floor but recover it within five seconds — it’s still okay to eat it!
====> D