google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday, July 30, 2023 Desirée Penner & Jeff Sinnock

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Jul 30, 2023

Sunday, July 30, 2023 Desirée Penner & Jeff Sinnock

Theme: "Double Plays" - Each theme entry is mashup of two songs by the same musician.
 
23. "Time to blaze a trail in frozen desserts, Ms. Lee": GO YOUR OWN WAY SARA. Go Your Own Way. Sara. Fleetwood Mac

37. "You'll never make it big in the toy industry, Holly Hobbie!": DREAM ON RAG DOLL. Dream On. Rag Doll. Aerosmith.

50. "Stop tormenting the mail carrier, you mangy mutt!": DON'T BE CRUEL HOUND DOG. Don't Be Cruel. Hound Dog. Elvis.

73. "Whoa there, cowboy!": TAKE IT EASY DESPERADO. Take It Easy. Desperado. The Eagles.

88. "Stop futzing with that, Mr. Law": HEY JUDE LET IT BE. Hey Jude. Let it Be. The Beatles.

106. "Get off the court, Ms. King!": BEAT IT BILLIE JEAN. Beat It. Billie Jean. Michael Jackson.

OK, this beautiful couple must be our constructors. Congrats on your wedding and your LAT debut!

Thought of D-Otto, not only because of Desperado, but his love of music and wordplay.



Across:

1. Buddhist monks: LAMAS.

6. Totals (up): ADDS.

10. NPR host __ Simon: SCOTT. Host of the Weekend Edition.


15. Up in the air: IFFY.

19. Clock app feature: ALARM.

20. Female kangaroos: DOES. And 22. Garden digger: MOLE.

21. Blanches: PALES.

26. Frigate front: PROW.

27. Classic songs: STANDARDS.

28. Nnedi Okorafor genre: SCI-FI. Hugo Award & Nebula Award winner.



29. Tosses, slangily: YEETS. We just had this & YEET.

30. Gibson ingredient: GIN.

31. Lay out in advance: PLAN.

32. Mold, mildew, etc.: FUNGI.

33. Like fancy caramel: SALTED.

42. Farm team followers: PLOWS. The real "farm".

43. Welcome: SEE IN.

44. Banque currency: EURO.  And 47. Bank claim: LIEN.

45. __ flottante: French dessert: ILE. Floating island. Wikipedia says it's "a dessert consisting of meringue floating on crème anglaise (a vanilla custard). The meringue used is baked in a bain-marie. It may be served at room temperature or chilled."


46. Brazilian berry: ACAI.

48. __Clean: laundry brand: OXI.

49. Hiccup: SNAG.

57. "Paradise Lost" figure: EVE.

58. Croupier's tool: RAKE.

59. Handwriting features: LOOPS.

60. Bouncy Milne character: ROO.

61. Sunday message: SERMON.

63. Former name on a Chicago skyscraper: SEARS. Sears Tower.

64. Get-up: OUTFIT.

68. Geologist's unit: EON.

69. Mails: SENDS.

70. Arts town east of Georgia O'Keeffe's Ghost Ranch: TAOS. So dry.

72. High court action?: LOB. Tennis court.

77. Corner shop: MART.

79. Family guy: DAD.

80. Roadie's burdens: AMPS.

81. Moriarty of "The Boys": ERIN.

82. Ballpark fig.?: ERA. Or RBI.

83. "Let's __ it a night": CALL.

85. Enlists again: RE-UPS.

87. Deplete: SPEND.

92. Highland girls: LASSES.

93. Stands watch for, say: ABETS.

94. Not on a tape delay: LIVE.

95. Baton: ROD.

96. Sings like Ella: SCATS.

97. Nickname of the NBA star whose #3 was retired by the Heat: D-WADE. Dwyane Wade. Minority owner of the Utah Jazz.


99. Native American ceremony performed in the dry season: RAIN DANCE.

105. Pans with high sides: WOKS.

108. "Bonne __!": IDEE. Good idea!

109. Run the show: EMCEE.

110. Apogee: ACME.

111. __ Domingo: SANTO.

112. Knight-time story: GEST.

113. Stuff on a shelf: GOODS.

114. Honey brew: MEAD. Never had this. Good?



115. Arborist's charges: TREES.

Down:

1. Straggles: LAGS.

2. Substantially: A LOT.

3. Poet Angelou: MAYA.

4. "East of Eden" brother: ARON. I watched this movie years ago.


5. Performs a Native American cleansing ritual: SMUDGES.

6. Beautify: ADORN.

7. Ann of "The Leftovers": DOWD. Don't know her.


8. Comfy retreats: DENS.

9. Vane dir.: SSW.

10. Secret recording device: SPYCAM.

11. House of cards?: CASINO.

12. Snowman who says, "Some people are worth melting for": OLAF. Oh, I think I'm worth melting for.

 

13. "The Fosters" actress Polo: TERI.

14. Org. that checks bags after check-in: TSA.

15. Loom: IMPEND.

16. Just mentioned: FOREGOING.

17. Small armada: FLOTILLA.

18. Conifers with bright red berries: YEWS.

24. "Kills bugs dead" brand: RAID. I like this brand with picaridin. I have both the spray and the lotion. It does not have that chemical smell.


25. Lion of Narnia: ASLAN.

29. Car on many "worst cars of all time" lists: YUGO.

31. Canadian prov.: PEI.

32. Word repeated in "Star Wars" introductions: FAR.

33. Trick-taking game: SPADES.

34. Nook: ALCOVE.

35. Courtesy car: LOANER.

36. Flibbertigibbet: TWIT.

37. Name on much farm equipment: DEERE.

38. Lens care brand: RENU. Contact lens.

39. Meeting point: NEXUS.

40. Trash: RUIN.

41. Limb lifted in a développé: LEG. Ballet move. Learning moment for me.

43. Unwell: SICK.

47. Romance novelist Banks: LEANNE. Wikipedia says she has written over 60 romance novels since 1991. Stunning.



48. Klutz's cry: OOPS.

49. Fire proof?: SOOT.

51. Streamlet: BROOK.

52. Justice Kagan: ELENA.

53. Washday units: LOADS.

54. Carousel mount, to a tot: HORSY.

55. Sags: DROOPS.

56. Hit with a water balloon, say: DOUSE.

62. Spam or ham: MEAT. No no for my sister-in-law Connie, who does not even eat chicken.

63. Bird feeder filler: SEED.

65. Bell-bottoms features: FLARES.

66. First aid tincture: IODINE.

67. Some low-risk investments, briefly: T-BONDS.

69. Drag one's feet: STALL.

70. Home of Sun Devil Stadium: TEMPE.

71. Egyptian snakes: ASPS.

73. Sheet cakes, in British parlance: TRAYBAKES. Never heard Steve mentioned this term.



74. Going nowhere: IDLE.

75. Apply crudely: DAUB.

76. Gym units: REPS.

77. "Nothing to write home about": MEH.

78. 213 or 323 for Los Angeles, e.g.: AREA CODE. OK, I had to look at Steve's number. Neither for Studio City.

83. Skips, as class: CUTS.

84. Commercials: ADS.

85. Construction fastener: RIVET.

86. French summer: ETE.

87. Most blue: SADDEST.

89. Frequent fliers: JET SET.

90. Tickled pink: ELATED.

91. Declutters, perhaps: TIDIES.

92. Comedian Love: LONI.



95. Worked (up): RILED.

96. Big gulp: SWIG. Just had two big gulps of my kombucha. My favorite.



97. Free software version: DEMO.

98. Texas city where Dr Pepper was invented: WACO.

99. Bibimbap base: RICE. Bap is Korean for "rice".



100. __ mater: ALMA.

101. Almost closed: AJAR.

102. Hawaiian honker: NENE.

103. Oscar winner Blanchett: CATE.

104. Actress Mireille: ENOS.

106. Ask earnestly: BEG.

107. "Kapow!": BAM.

C.C.


26 comments:

OwenKL said...

Do your thoughts end with a sigh
When you think of the flavor of ACAI?
It didn't exist
Before twenty-one-six.
It's really a synthetic, made from SCI-FI!

EVE was taken in by a snake.
He was a lecher, a roue, and a RAKE!
It got humans evicted,
Snake's limbs constricted,
But worst was when his wife learned of his mistake!

{B, B.}

Subgenius said...

I didn’t find this a very difficult puzzle. Although I didn’t remember all the songs (and all the bands), I did remember the majority of them, and that definitely made the puzzle easier to solve. FIR, so I’m happy.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Got the theme early on. The themer clues provided an additional hint, the person/thing referenced was included in one of the song titles: SARA Lee, RAG DOLL, Holly Hobbie, HOUND DOG Mangy Mutt, DESPERADO Cowboy, JUDE Law, BILLIE JEAN King. Clever. SCOTT was a gimme. I listen to him weekly on Saturday Edition. RE-UPS was a source of nightmares for years after. This turned into a Wite-Out-free Sunday. Uncommon. Thanx to the newlyweds and C.C.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, due to trouble in San Ysidro. I had slug, then spot, then gave up and settled for spit, pots instead of WOKS, and test instead of GEST (which I didn't know.) Also erased oxy for OXI (and I'm a big fan of the powder), dodd for DOWD, stock for GOODS, use up for SPEND, and est for ERA.

Guess I'll have to try to remember YEETS. Or not. I'll probably not remember either of today's snowmen either.

AREA CODEs used to be just that. Any place in the North America Numbering Plan was associated with exactly one 3-digit number, except for the 800 series (used for inward Wide Area Telephone Service, or inWATS). With the advent of Signalling System Seven, it became feasible to use more than one "AREA" CODE in a given location. Doing so is more efficient than splitting AREA CODEs, but requires local calls to be made using 10 digits instead of 7, even for calls to a number in the same AREA CODE. Not a big deal these days, since most calls are placed with a single tap.

I found something interesting about the Eagles yesterday while reading Randy Meisner's obit. Eagles members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon as well as Meisner were all former Linda Ronstadt band members.

I wonder whether such prolific authors really write all of their novels. I picture a team of wannabe writers being given outlines and creating content for the spine name author to polish and publish. Anyone know how these factories work for sure? (I'm still hooked on James Patterson books, regardless of who really writes most of the words.)

Thanks to Desiree and Jeff for the fun theme, and to CC for the tour.

Anthony Gael Moral said...

Impressive considering the two songs of the answers are from the same artist(s). And the songs are goodies!

KS said...

FIR. Didn't catch the theme until the two Beatles songs. Several tricky clues and a few unknowns, but I still managed to finish in reasonable time.
I found this just a tad tougher than the usual Sunday fare. Once again, the perps made it so.

Lee said...

Got the theme after 23A and 88A appeared, which helped with the rest of the theme answers. Got stuck in the SW until I sussed SWIG. Had tried pOtS at 105A also. Made a WAG for 73D which brought WOKS into the picture.

I worked back up to the NE and there IFFY and PROW finished off the fill
Never heard of YEETS, but the crosses were solid.

I used to wear bell bottoms back in the 70's, but they slowly went out of fashion. Even had a polyester leisure suit for a while.

Congratulations to the newlyweds for their great puzzle effort and thanks to C.C. for her summation.

Lee said...

Jinx, isn't it strange that the country hasn't gone to 10 cigit dialing and forget about the "1"? All cell phones already do it now.

I still have a land line but make few long distance calls on it. I and my DW also have cell phones and use them for the few call we usually make out of town. The neat thing is making video calls on them. You still don't have that option on a land line.

I was forced to select a LD plan when I changed my calling plan from an all inclusive one. Guess those providers still, get revenue that way

Bob Lee said...

@Jinx - I know someone who writes one of the James Patterson series. They meet, go over the general plot, and then they do all the work. And...they are well off because of it, but have to churn out a LOT of them on very tight deadlines.

Re. today's puzzle, I loved the theme and songs, but never heard the Fleetwood Mac song SARA. But, LOL, I had a girlfriend long ago with the name Sara and everyone would call her Sara Lee.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Loved it! This young couple had to really reach back to other ERAS for these great songs.
-Steven Tyler with DREAM ON is fine, but RAG DOLL belongs to The Four Seasons :-)
-I got the last four without reading the clues after the first title
-ADDS UP
-The MOLES seem to like our 3rd fairway
-I didn’t know YEET, but some girls in a study hall all knew YEET when I asked them
-PLOWS don’t, uh, cut it any more with minimum/no till practices
-I just RE-UPPED to sub again
-My golf group uses Absorbine Jr. for a bug repellant
-DOUSE – A fire truck standard in parades. Last week it was 79° and it was annoying.
-CUTS CLASS, for OCD me? Never.
-Our birdfeeder fill is sunflower SEED chips

Lucina said...

Hola!

Amazingly, I know all those songs! When I drove to work I always had the radio turned on and so am familiar with 70's and 80's songs as well as Golden Oldies.

AREA CODE. We have been warned that ours will soon be split to accommodate the influx of all the new population.

CSO to Bill's TERI.

"I HAVE STANDARDS" is our family's code for their own peculiarities.

I did not realize that MEAD is still available but was under the impression that it was a product of medieval or even from a prior age.

Thank you, C.C. for your usual excellent narrative and to the newlyweds, I wish them a fabulous future.

Have a happy day, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Due to my oft acknowledged ignorance of pop music artists and songs, I found this a difficult solve, even though I finished w/o help in normal Sunday solve time. Some obscure cluing and fill and lots of unknowns, including the majority of the themers, turned the solve in a joyless slog. Props for the artist/song continuity and for the amazingly low (20) number of three letter words in a Sunday grid.

Thanks, Desirée and Jeff, and congratulations on your marriage and thanks, CC, for your guidance and commentary. As always, your food photos are fun and, often, learning moments about different cultural specialties.

FLN

Pat, thanks so much for the update on Squish’s new family. I hope many of the other pooches share her good fortune soon. (It must be bittersweet for you when you have to day goodbye to your furry friends. More sweet, though, knowing they’re going to a good and loving home.) 🤗

Anon T, yes, I do Spelling Bee but I’m finding it frustrating because, while I’ve reached Genius level more often than not, Queen Bee status remains elusive. Missing only two words is the closest I’ve come but I usually miss several words, some I should have gotten and some I’ve never even heard of. Maybe I give up too soon but I have only so much patience and it’s only a game, so I grin and bear it. 😬

Tante Nique, yes, a subscription is required. The 20 word limit offer that you’ve encountered is just a teaser to whet your appetite!

Sandyanon, You’re very brave to concentrate on only five letter words. I take whatever I can get with the four letters! I also play 7 Little words. Do you use the App which offers several plays each day?

I went to a high school graduation party last night for a great-great nephew. The venue was a rooftop setting but, unfortunately, we had to stay inside due to the rainy weather. Of course, being inside wasn’t ideal either due to the frigid A/C setting. I saw lots of family members, particularly great-nieces and nephews which was a treat, as I rarely see some of them due to logistics and their busy lifestyles. Good time had by all! 🥳

Have a great day.

Big Easy said...

Have I seen Fleetwood Mac live? Yes. Aerosmith? Yes. The Eagles? Yes. Missed Elvis, the Jackson Five, and the Beatles. I caught the Double Plays after filling SARA. You'd have to be an Aerosmith fan to really know RAG DOLL (Holly Hobbie was unknown) but 'Walk This Way' for more comments.

Most of the puzzle was easy bit it was an IFFY finish with the unknown YEETS and ILE in the NE almost causing a RUINed finish. I'm glad I knew those oldies because the multitude of unknowns- SCIFI, SCOTT Simon, TERI Polo, DWADE, ERIN, TRAYBAKES, LONI Love, Ann DOWD, TWIT, LEG, LEANNE, SMUDGES, RICE- were filled by perps and WAGS.

YUGO- Fiat's a close second for worst car of all time- F.I.A.T.- Fix It Again Tony. As of late, Range Rover is attempting to win the title.

Lee @ 9:17- you could run over a polyester leisure suit with a tank, wash it, and put it on and not tell the difference. They were indestructible.

Gary- Absorbine Jr. is sold as an arthritis reliever in a different package. Athlete's foot and arthritis from one bottle. And Frankie Valli (without the Four Seasons)is another musical act I've seen live.

C.C. RAID is to kill roaches and is not an insect repellant. Next time OFF comes up as a fill put your Picaridin bottle up.

Anonymous said...

Took 19:14 today.

Very clever theme. I enjoyed it, even not recognizing "Sara."

Didn't know "yeets", the foreign words (idee crossing tray bakes, ile, developpe, banque, etc.), several other proper names (Dowd, Loni, Eve), including today's writer (Leanne).

Yellowrocks said...

FIR yesterday after a long time. Today's was easier, but I had a FIW section. I have seen YUGO but could not recall it and didn't know YEETS. I missed the Y and the G. Oh, Rag Doll. Duh! A galaxy far far away. I don't concentrate well enough with Alan here. When I wait until he goes home I fare better.
Still it was a very enjoyable puzzle.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Bob Lee, funny about your girlfriend's name. One of my favorite waitresses, er servers, was a beautiful young woman named Kendall. I asked her if her parents ever told her not to date anyone with the last name Jackson. (I suspect that happened before I quit drinking, and KJ was a preferred chardonnay.) Also, tell your friend that I'm a fan of his/her work.

I also didn't know SARA from Fleetwood Mac, but I was thinking of Starship's wonderful tune by the same name.

Lee said "Even had a polyester leisure suit for a while." If you don't post a picture, it didn't happen.
Regarding the superfluous "1", I think that the "1+" requirement is a holdover from when toll calls were expensive, partially because interstate tolls helped fund military defense R&D by AT&T. (Transistors and practical vacuum tubes were developed partially for DOD by AT&T.) At one point the old electromechanical switching systems required an initial "1". If the next digit is a "1", it's a call to 114 (information) or repair (116). These later became 411 and 611, and "information" became "directory assistance." If anything except a second "1", it's a toll call and the call would be routed to the appropriate equipment for ticketing and routing. And public utility commissions are loathe to remove any rule that was implemented for consumer protection, no matter how archaic.

Acesaroundagain said...

I enjoyed this one. I knew the songs so it made it easy. Hey CC, I also use that bug repellent. It works and the smell is not offensive. GC

inanehiker said...

This was a amusing theme with lots of fun song references - congrats to Desiree & Jeff for your debut.
I was definitely in the flared bellbottoms and mini-skirts era during my pre-teen/teen years- when the skinny jeans and capris came back into vogue it reminded me of my mom's 60's era pedal pushers and tight pants.

I saw this puzzle on Sporcle today and I totally thought of IM
https://www.sporcle.com/games/Chenchilla/dont-get-short-with-me

Thanks CC for the fun blog

CanadianEh! said...

Superb Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Desiree and Jeff (hello to my fellow-Canadians who stay cool even when wedding plans go awry- they probably said sorry to the venue people!), and C.C.

I almost FIRed with one square empty at the Natick-for-me cross of YEETS and YUGO (I guess you didn’t).
But I did get the DOUBLE PLAY music (not baseball). Clever.

We don’t use the term TRAYBAKES here.
GEST perped, but I am not familiar with the word. I LIUed - “notable deed or exploit”.
FLARES are coming back into style. Hang on to something long enough . . . . Lee, please let’s not bring back the polyester leisure suit.

I smiled to see DEERE and then PLOWS. DH is a retiree.
Interesting to see “Get-up = Outfit” today when the Jumble Answer is “Get Up in his Getup”.

Wishing you all a great day.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Congrats on the debut. This one was a battle but the puzzle eventually fell to the pencil. Toward the very end (in the SW) I was reminded of a moment from junior high school. In French class our text books had "basic dialog" sentences for us to learn. One such sentence was "Bonne Idee" (good idea). When the teach read out Bonne Idee a friend of mine (IIRC, it was Paul Silver) shouted out "I know who that is. She's a stripper at the Largo (Bunny Day)." An indelible memory.

Anonymous T said...

Sunday Lurk say...

This would have been a puzzle right up my alley - I know all the songs & bands.
//Lucina - I'd call it Classic Rock. Golden Oldies are more 50's era to me.
Congrats to the very fetching couple on both the Nups & grid.

{B, A+}

Lee: I was only 7yrs old when polyester suits were hep so my main reference is SNL: Steve Martin & Dan Aykroyd. //I don't think Pop ever had a polyester suit. I'll have to ask him tonight on our standing call.

Jinx - LOL pix or it didn't happen.
Also, I live in a metro area-code area. For 25 years, I've been dialing 10 digits. I am always taken aback a second when I visit Pop & ask for a number and he only gives me 7 digits. Mom even more so as they are still 4 digits!.
Us hackers group ourselves by area-code. I'm in DC713 but visit buddies in DC281 (same city). Again this year at DefCon we'll have the DC-TX party with DC210(San Antonio), DC214 (Dallas), DC 512 (Austin), and other Texas mates. Some DC504 (South Louisiana) guys said on Discord they might show up too!

BigE: -T is trying to Fix It Again his Spider today.

HG - ADD [it] (up) [TV-MA]. The guys still tour; Eldest & I when to their HOU show this Summer and met them afterwards for snaps. They were really cool to Eldest -- welcoming younger fans into the fold.

Cheers, -T

inanehiker said...

-T
are you talking about the DefCon convention that happens in Las Vegas every year?
One of my sons goes there many years

Anonymous said...

Being an old guitar-guy, I loved this one — esp. the clues being quotes, a fun way to stimulate the ol’ thinkin’ organ. Thanks & congrats to the newlyweds!

Y’know, for being a geezer, I hang out with a lot of hip peeps and teens…and have yet to hear anyone say “YEETS”. Methinks it’s more useful as a CW oddity than anything else 😆

Studio City is in the 818 area code, C.C., along with the rest of the “gag me with a spoon” Valley, a.k.a. The Ditch to long-time CA kids like me (and I confess I’m a denizen of 818 myself…).

Got a good grin out of your Fiat gag, @Big Easy — there’s a whole collection of those car gags: Break My Wallet, Fix Or Replace Daily, Another Little F*****g Annoyance…they go on forever (many unusable in polite company, as noted). And don’t get me started on the sub-names for Lucas Electrics 🤣

====> Darren / L.A.

Anonymous T said...

inanehiker - Yes. That DefCon. The Big Daddy for all of us tech-nerds to trade ideas on how to constructively break things. Is your Son going this year? If so, send him my contact info from my Blue profile - I'd be happy to meet him.

Cheers, -T

OwenKL said...

The only themers I knew were Elvis and Beatles, but while surfing just before working this puzzle, I ran across SARA by Bob Dylan, and thought GO YOUR OWN WAY sounded like it would be one of his songs.

Anonymous T said...

Lee - update: Pop did have a polyester suit he bought on the advice from a buddy for a Christmas party in '74. Said he stuck out like a sore thumb :-)
-T