google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, December 26th, 2023, Rebecca Goldstein

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Dec 26, 2023

Tuesday, December 26th, 2023, Rebecca Goldstein

 PHYSICS 101

Hi there~! - A quick solve for me today, only four proper names, three of which I had no clue about, and a 'simple' theme/reveal.  Two each of 13- and 9-letter theme answers, with some chunky 8-, 9-, and 10-letter DOWN answers in the mix, again leading to several three-letter fills.  BTW, this puzzle featured many of what I think are 'typical' 4- and 5-letter answers, but with too many choices that potentially "fit".  The clues are marked "*", so you can see what I mean....


18. Make a real mess: SCREW THINGS UP

oops

33. Gymnastics rings position held with the body parallel to the ground: LEVER HANG - I will be able to do this by the end of 2024 - NOT~!

39. Feature of some espadrilles: WEDGE HEEL - I did not know an espadrille was a shoe; but I recognize them now~!


53. Force-multiplying device that can be found at the beginning of 18-, 33-, and 39-Across:

SIMPLE MACHINE - see the links in blue for examples

 
And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Finishes: ENDS

5. Spill the beans: BLAB

9. Chest muscle, for short: PECtoral - doesn't help with the lever hang....

12. In __ of: LIEU

13. Credit card user: PAYER - uh, well, not necessarily....

14*. "It follows logically that ... ": ERGO - THUS, too

15. Maintain: KEEP - I like this kind of KEEP



16. "Me too," more formally: "AS DO I"

17. State of mind: MOOD

21. Chillingly strange: EERIE

22*. "Pronto!": ASAP - or STAT~?

23. Many moons __: AGO

26*. Rightmost computer menu, often: HELP - HOME, FILE, EDIT, VIEW, DRAW - a great clue for a 'common' word - I had to think about the software I use before I could pick the correct one

 
AutoCAD

28. Cloak and __: DAGGER

30. Tortoise's fabled competitor: HARE

36. Norse god of war: ODIN

37. Collaborative sites: WIKIs

38. Another, in Spanish: OTRA

41. Witnessed: SEEN - I have SEEN images of guys wearing the next answer....

42. Swim team swimwear: SPEEDO - which brings to mind the word "UNSEE"....

43. Toward sunrise: EAST

46. Extra sports periods, briefly: OTs

47*. Per person: A POP - EACH, too

50. Chops, as an onion: DICES

57. Japanese noodle: UDON

59. Dog collar dangler: ID TAG

60. Notion: IDEA

61. Come to a stop: HALT

62. "You've got some __!": "NERVE~!"


 
63. Shakespeare's mad king: LEAR

64. "Yellowjackets" network, briefly: SHO - No clue, but I had two-thirds via crossings

65. Mardi __: pre-Lenten festival: GRAS

66. Annoys: IRKS

DOWN:

1. Part of BPOE: ELKS - as usual, I started with the DOWNS clues first, and was on a roll quickly....

2. Nephew's sister: NIECE - check

3. Brand of riding mowers: DEERE - check

4. Ruins at Durrington Walls that once consisted of wooden posts, not stones: SUPERHENGE - ....but here I was denied STONE henge, so it had to be something else

5*. Giant party: BASH - FETE, GALA~?

6. Winona's "Beetlejuice" role: LYDIA - ya know, I have never seen this movie....and I don't plan to

7. Very long time: AEONS

8. Units led by colonels: BRIGADES - I'm not military, nor anyone in my family, but PLATOONS fit, as well; the Charge of the Light Brigade gives me a gratuitous opportunity to link Iron Maiden


 
The Trooper


9. Grow cuttings from a succulent, say: PROPAGATE - succulent~?


10. Alter __: EGO

11. Fish that may be black or blue: COD

13. Dev of "Lion": PATEL - perps

14. Down Under bird: EMU

19. Golfer Michelle __ West: WIE - perps

20. Practice in the ring: SPAR

24*. Bookstore section: GENRE - HOW TO was my first thought

 25. Liver, for one: ORGAN - I do have a "liver", but I deal with a different kind of "ORGAN"

Reinstalled six reed pipes, buried in a corner behind the chamber in the shot;

my 'boss' is packing up on the right

A pain in the a** to get to, I might add

 27. Ballet barre bend: PLIÉ

29. Pepper in extremely hot curry dishes: GHOST CHILI - no clue; the CHILI part filled in, but I WAGed the GHOST half

30. "Can you explain?": "HOW SO~?"

31. Skilled (at): ADEPT

32. Works alone: RIDES SOLO - meh.  Unless you're a cowboy~?

34. __ out a win: almost lose: EKE

35. Disgusting: VILE

37. Extraordinarily large: WHOPPING

40. Dutch cheese: EDAM

44*. "Better late than never," e.g.: ADAGE - AXIOM, IDIOM~?  I always forget which

45. [as per the original]: SIC

48. More mature: OLDER

49. Historic site in Jordan known as the Rose City: PETRA - Dah~! ( see 58D., below ) I shoulda known this from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"


51*. Duck down: EIDER -ha~! I read this clue as 'heads up'; AVOID, EVADE, ELUDE~? - Bzzzt~!

52. Go on tiptoe: SNEAK

54. Picked-off pass, for short: INTerception - football, which is a sport I do like....

55. Big D NBA squad: MAVs -  Thought it was the NUGgetS - but they're DENVER, not DALLAS - I am a total NON-basketball guy

56. Prominent feature of a fennec fox: EARS - I tried TAIL first

na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-NA - BATMAN~!

57*. Hesitation syllables: UHs - ERs, UMs~?

58. Lah-di-__: DAH - or, my clue, the "I shoulda got that" noise, like "D'Oh~!"


Splynter




30 comments:

Subgenius said...

I knew “Stonehenge” of course, but had never heard of “Superhedge.” Other than that, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Almost got snowed in in Minnesota. Switching DITTO with AS__I (DO or AM) broke things open. We had to learn some basic stuff on the rings in high school P.E. I learned that when doing the kip, one should keep hold of the rings and not go flying off into the bleachers breaking one's wrist. LEVER, certainly, but I'm not sure I understand how a Screw or Wedge can be force-multiplying. Enjoyed your puzzle, Rebecca, and your expo, Splynter.

Subgenius said...

Although my comments were brief, as usual, I still managed to create a “typo.” I meant “Superhenge” not “Superhedge” of course.

KS said...

FIR. I found this to be somewhat crunchy for a Tuesday. With answers like Superhenge and lever hang, I had a bit of a struggle. The perps helped with oft times tricky cluing.
The theme was clever, and the long answers made solving the unifier easy. This would have made a nice Thursday puzzle.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased ditto too, as well as OTRo.

Today is:
BOXING DAY (hey Gord, don’t forget to give the servants something today, eh!)
NATIONAL THANK YOU NOTE DAY (sponsored by the USPS)
NATIONAL WHINERS DAY (any day that The View airs)
NATIONAL CANDY CANE DAY (eat them before the ants do)

I found this one to be challenging. For a while, the Chicago area was a snowbank. I guessed at PATEL, and that thawed the brainfreeze.

When will there be an AS DO I movement?

Another word to fill "you've got some _____" is more fitting to MAVS, Cavs or Suns.

Thanks to Rebecca for an interesting puzzle, and for teaching me that those stripper shoes are actually espadrilles. And thanks to Splynter for the solid tour, and for a look inside your specialty.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Pretty crunchy for a Tuesday (Superhenge, Lever Hang, Petra, Lydia) but the perps were fair, so no complaints. I'm not familiar with the term Simple Machine but it filled in easily enough. I went astray at Tell/Blab, As Am I/As Do I, and Fin/Cod. I liked the Ago/Ego duo, the Duck Down=Eider C/A, and the modest number (12) of three letter words.

Thanks, Rebecca, for a smooth solve and thanks, Splynter, for DH duties and the informative review.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas with friends and family. I spent the day at my niece's house where I was reminded that yesterday was the 10th anniversary of my fall in her family room, which resulted in 4 hours in the ER and 15 stitches in my knee. No such mishap this year, just a quiet, enjoyable day with family. 🙏

Happy Boxing Day!

billocohoes said...

18A started as "SCREW THe pooch" but otherwise a smooth solve,

Ray - o - sunshine said...



SIMPLE MACHINE? But I get it: SCREW, LEVER, & WEDGE

Inkovers: Stonehenge/SUPERHENGE (?) As am I/ASDOI, Otro/OTRA

Once again “Pronto!!” does not mean As Soon As Possible and for the umpteenth time (regardless of the video game) ODIN is the Norse king of the gods not the god of war (that’s Tyr where we get Tuesday, Fr: Mardí, Ital: Martedí after Mars the Roman god of war). The computer data base that constructors use needs to be corrected.

Eagerly awaiting Showtime’s season 3 of “Yellowjackets” hopefully the conclusion, interrupted by the writer strike

Cry when mallard hunting : “DUCK, DOWN!”
Application addendum…. ADAGE
As the balloon descended passengers asked where did all the ____ ….? ERGO
Fabled race was close but not won by a ___ …HARE

Happy Boxing Day to Canada Eh and all Brit pugilists 💪🏿. Give ‘em the old one two🥊🥊

Anonymous said...

Took 6:15 today for me to pulley into the station.

The same 4 that Ms. Irish Miss cited were unknown to me.

Oddly, I don't think there was an actress answer today, although I knew Winona. Alas, I did not know "Lydia."

Lee said...

My shot at Me Too was I also, but then I needed the I for BRIGADE, so I went for AlsOI. BZZZT. Finally the perps gave ASDOI. The rest was easy.

Rebecca followed Christmas with aplomb. Nice job, young lady! And a plum job was done on the recap by Splynter.

Darkness never kept a blind man down.

Fingers

inanehiker said...

Nice smooth solve - the basic theme SIMPLE MACHINE is probably one of the first lessons in a physics class - I'm sure HG will attest. There are 6 of them IIRC - the 3 that are in the puzzle as well as inclined plane, wheel and axle, and a pulley.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/simple-machine

The shoe Splynter posted is a wedge but not an espadrille. I love espadrilles- but mine are usually flats or if a wedge a low one. My favorites are closed toes with the top of the shoe usually made of canvas
https://www.ubuntu.life/blogs/news/what-are-espadrilles-and-how-to-wear-them-2020-guide#:~:text=You%20might%20be%20wondering%E2%80%94is,sole%20must%20be%20jute%20fiber.
Espadrille means the sole is made with jute fiber attached on the sides - so it is a definite summer weather shoe
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/clemens-espadrille-wedge-sandal-women/5241157?origin=category-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FWomen%2FShoes%2FEspadrilles&color=403

Thanks Splynter for filling in and Rebecca for the puzzle!

Picard said...

As a physics guy I was delighted to see the SIMPLE MACHINE theme. I am deadly allergic to EIDER DOWN. I wish this "luxury" would permanently go away. But I loved the DUCK DOWN clue!

Splynter Thanks for the illustrations, especially of your ORGAN work.

Here we were at PETRA.

Yes, I have shared this before. I think our rides were cooler than the ones in Indiana Jones.

From Yesterday:
Vidwan Thank you for the comment about my MONA LISA photo. Yes, it is not easy. Credit goes to DW for getting such a perfect photo under such challenging conditions. My photo of her was not as good.

CrossEyedDave said...

simple machine?

Belated happy birthday Yellowrocks!

In case FermatPrime is reading the blog

CrossEyedDave said...

I found the castle keep diagram fascinating....

more research is needed...

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Yes, inanehiker, I taught SIMPLE MACHINES and Mechanical Advantage for forty years!
-Haven’t most women stopped torturing their toes, feet, legs and back with such shoes?
-AS AM I/AS DO I – You’d think I’d guess the right one first more often than I do
-A controversy over swim wear in Alaska
-I had SUPER before I could mistakenly put STONEHENGE
-Groucho sang of this LYDIA
-I knew that PATEL was a very common surname for people of Indian descent
-WIE was the biggest thing in golf in 2004 when she played in PGA events against men at 16 years old and beat a lot of them
-RIDES SOLO – John Wayne into the sunset?
-D-O: A SCREW as a simple machine and
a WEDGE as a simple machine
-My favorite SIMPLE MACHINE was a pulley system where I had a small girl lift a huge boy up into the ceiling

desper-otto said...

Thanx, Husker. I knew they were all simple machines, but I wasn't clear on how the screw or wedge multiplied force. I was thinking of a wood screw and a shoe.

Charlie Echo said...

Quick FIR today. Clever theme, but some nits on the cluing. As others have said, As Soon As Possible is not the same as "Pronto!", and Tyr Ironfist is the War God, not Odin. Also, regiments are commanded byCoroner's. A Brigade is composed of two or more regiments, and commanded by a Brigadier General.

RosE said...

Greetings! It feels like a Monday!! Thanks, Rebecca, for a fun puzzle with a little grit for a challenge.

The North center was the last to fill and gave me the most pause. Surprisingly, the longest filled in first and got me started with BRIGADE. Then I knew it would be BLAB instead of the possible “tell.” Then came the WOs: Ball -> BASH & AS am I -> AS DO I. Perps filled the unknown PATEL and LYDIA.

Best misdirection: “Duck down.” I held onto the “take cover” concept for a long time! 😄.

PROPAGATE: I have a Christmas cactus that defies the rules. I blooms several times a year all year long. It’s about 15 years old and I have propagated four beauties from it.

Thanks, Splinter. Always nice to see you at the Corner and read your reviews.

Charlie Echo said...

Otto-correct strikes again! COLONELS, not CORONERS! Also, "Flies Solo" seems more apt than "rides solo". (YMMV)

RosE said...

Oops - Typo: It (my Christmas cactus) blooms....

Jinx in Norfolk said...

H.Gary, WIE was a phenom indeed, but she never beat anyone on the PGA Tour. She failed to make the cut in all she played, so she tied with all the other "missed cut" players. She may have outscored some in individual rounds, but until Sunday nobody's beat nobody.

CrossEyedDave said...

how they lifted the entire city of Chicago using screw jacks, to install a sewer system.. (8:31)

Note: this caused another problem in the contamination of Lake Michigan, which required reversing the Chicago river. Now that their effluent is being dumped into the Mississippi River, we have a dead apoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the drainage of waste and fertilizer from the Mississippi River. So, simple machine don't solve the problem, they just move it...

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle, Splynter's write-up, and all your comments.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks Rebecca for a nice Tuesday puzzle with a crunch. Theme was, um, SIMPLE.

Thanks Splynter for sitting in for Hahtoolah with a fun review. How did you even squeeze between the walls and those reedpipes much less work on 'em?

WO: GHOST peper [sic]
ESPs: PATEL, PETRA, Theme helped perp LEVER HANG
Fav: Mardi GRAS. Going to be a cold one this year as we have a March Easter.

Sad I missed it 'cuz the perps filled it: EIDER for "Duck down" is whimsy.

Always love that camel pic, Picard. Maybe now I'll remember it was in PETRA.

Fun links to add to Splynter's, CED. Thanks!

Golly, IM... That was over 10 years now? The anniversary of the Watermelon Incident must be coming soon then :-)

Y'all have a great day!
Cheers, -T

Husker Gary said...

Jinx, I never said she won any tournaments but that she did post better scores than some pro male golfers in some events including some major tournament winners while barely missing cuts. She was the absolute talk of the golf and sports world as an adolescent and greatly pumped up TV ratings for golf tournaments.
Here she is playing against PGA pros at 14-yrs-old

Irish Miss said...

Anon T @ 3:20 ~ Yes, I was taken aback that ten years had passed since that happened. The watermelon fiasco happened on Juneteenth, 2020, just as the Pandemic was picking up steam. BTW, I sent you a couple of emails recently that may be in your Spam folder; nothing important.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

H,Gary - I'm waiting for Charlie Woods to become the new phenom. Boys mature slower than girls (some boys never quite mature, as I am frequently reminded,) so Charlie may be 15 or 16 before he can seriously challenge anyone on Tour. His dad may keep him out of the fray, getting him to concentrate on such things as the US Amateur and the Junior equivalent. (I've never been a Tiger fan, but I think Charlie will be a better man.)

CanadianEh! said...

Thanks to Ray-o for the Boxing Day greetings.
Too busy to post, although I did manage to FIR this puzzle this evening after another busy day with family.
Enjoyed it and all your posts.

Lucina said...

Hola!
Oops. I forgot to post this morning after counting. I was tired and took a nap. One big surprise was a $1,000 check!

Also I spent an inordinate amount of time fooling around with my new Smart watch.

However, I finished the puzzle early in the day. Thanks to Revecca Goldstein for the fun.

I am still in a melancholy MOOD mourning the loss of my niece.

In Amsterdam we saw the process of making EDAM cheese. Very interesting. And all the hotels had pillows filled with EIDER down.

GHOST CHILI is new to me. My chile is never ghostly.

I had never heard that COD could be black or blue.

I hope you all have enjoyed your Christmas aftermath.

Have a good evening, everone! Thank you, Splynter.



sumdaze said...

Thanks, Rebecca, for the Physics lesson! I had a few adjustments here and there but things mostly worked themselves out.

Enjoyed your tour, Splynter! I agree with your *fills. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing the Duxbury video. Very cool!

FLN & today: Brilliant pics, Picard!