google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 19, 2024 Adrian Johnson & Taylor Johnson

Advertisements

Mar 19, 2024

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 Adrian Johnson & Taylor Johnson

The Screaming Meemies!  The word Me is found at the end of one word, and then immediately Repeated again at the beginning of the next word.


17-Across. Permanent patrons: LIFETIME MEMBERS.



23-Across. Line at zero degrees longitude: PRIME MERIDIAN.


44-Across. Drastic actions: EXTREME MEASURES.

And the unifier:

51. "I'll say it again," and what 17-, 23-, and 44-Across literally do?: LET ME REPEAT.

Across:
1. Pose a question: ASK.


4. "__! Humbug!": BAH.


7. Word before brow or blow: LOW.

10. Cal. neighbor: ORE.  Oregon is just north of California.

13. 1950s prez: IKE.  [Name # 1.]  Dwight David Eisenhower (Oct. 14, 1890 ~ Mar. 28, 2969) served as the 34th President of the United States.  He served two terms from January 1953 until January 1961.


14. "My mind is blown!": I'M IN AWE.

16. Guinea pig or teacup pig: PET.




20. "Say cheese!": SMILE.

21. In vitro cells: OVA.  Today's Latin lesson.

22. Impressive spread: ARRAY.

An Impressive Array of Spices in the Old Market in Jerusalem.

26. Ray gun sound: ZAP.

27. Green vegetable in samosas: PEA.  Samosa are fried South Asian pastries with a savory filling, that often includes peas as well as other ingredients, such as spiced potatoes, onions, meat, or fish.


28. Nightclub: CABARET.


32. Uses a buddy system: PAIRS UP.

36. "Beef" Emmy winner Wong: ALI.  Ali Wong (née Alexandra Dawn Wong; b. Apr. 19, 1982) has recently become a frequent guest in the puzzles.  She is probably best known as being an X-rated stand-up comic.  [Name # 2.]


37. Florida home of the Ernest Hemingway House: KEY WEST.  You can visit Hemingway's home, complete with his six-toed cats, any day from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  [Name adjacent.]


39. Con's opposite: PRO.

40. Text status: READ.

42. Avocado center: PIT.


43. Iced dessert: CAKE.


49. Hummus ingredient: TAHINI.  Tahini is a Middle-Eastern condiment that is made from toasted ground sesame seeds.  

50. Entirely: PURELY.

55. Raised, as livestock: BRED.


57. Poker declaration: I CALL.

58. Bits of advice: TIPS.

61. Glissade garb: TUTU.

62. Valparaíso's country: CHILE.  Valparaíso is a port city on Chile’s coast. It's known for its steep funiculars and colorful, clifftop homes.  It's a 14.5 hour flight from my home.


63. Sandwich cookie: OREO.  A crossword staple.

64. Mourn, maybe: WEEP.

65. Shoe bottoms: SOLES.


66. Rip apart: REND.

Down:
1. Isn't 100%: AILS.

2. Pinch pennies: SKIMP.


3. Fermented milk drink: KEFIR.  Everything you wanted to know about kefir but didn't know to ask.

4. Evidence of a vampire attack: BITE MARK.
5. French friend: AMI.  A French boy friend.

6. Shoutout to a parent: HI, MOM!


7. Quarterback Jackson who was the NFL's MVP in 2019 and 2023: LAMAR.  Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (b. January 7, 1997) plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. [Name # 3.]

8. Carry a balance: OWE.

9. Cry at the end of a long road trip: WE MADE IT!


10. "The Phantom of the __": OPERA.  The Phantom of the Opera is a 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux (né Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux; May 6, 1868 ~ Apr. 15, 1927).  It was later made into a musical.


11. Aired again: RERAN.

12. Crafts website: ETSY.


15. "Scream" star Campbell: NEVE.  Neve Adrianne Campbell (b. Oct. 3, 1973) is a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal in horror films.  [Name # 4.]


18. Schuyler sister who married Alexander Hamilton: ELIZA.  Eliza Schuyler (Aug. 9, 1757 ~ Nov. 9, 1854) married Alexander Hamilton (1750s ~ July 12, 1804) in 1780.  He was killed in a duel in his late 40s.  She never remarried and lived until age 97.  [Name # 5.]


19. Prickly shrub: BRIAR.

24. Fencing blade: ÉPÉE.  A crossword staple.

25. Some hoppy brews, briefly: IPAs.  This beverage appears often in the puzzles.  In fact, I provided the history of the brew just last week.

28. "Insert this" symbol: CARET.


29. Name often said in a smart home: ALEXA.  Everything you wanted to know about Amazon Alexa but didn't know to ask.  Alexa appeared in yesterday's puzzle, too.  [Name adjacent.]






30. Winter Olympian with a rifle: BIATHLETE.  A Biathlete competes in a biathlon, which is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

31. Do some screen writing?: TYPE.  Cute clue.

32. Tennis great Sampras: PETE.  Pete Sampras (b. Aug. 12, 1971) is an American is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.  [Name #6.]

33. Attachment on the back of a Jeep: SPARE TIRE.

34. "Did I do that?" TV nerd: URKEL.  A reference to a 1990s television sit-com.  [Name # 7, fictional.]


35. Sonnets, odes, and the like: POESY.   The difference between a poem and a poesy.

38. "Buena Vista Social Club" director Wenders: WIM.  Wim Wenders (né Ernst Wilhelm Wenders; b. Aug. 14, 1945) is a German filmmaker.  Some of his other films include Paris, Texas, which starred Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski, and Wings of Desire.   [Name # 7.]


41. Evaporated: DRIED UP.

43. Art collection custodian: CURATOR.
45. Tonsillitis doc: ENT.  As in an Ear Nose Throat doctor.

46. Copies: MIMICS.

47. Genius Bar computers: APPLES.


48. Bring legal action against: SUE.

52. Sound that rebounds: ECHO.  Hi, Charlie!

53. Banister: RAIL.


54. French fashion magazine: ELLE.

November 1945 issue

55. "Just so you know" shorthand: BTW.  Textspeak for BThe Way.

56. Deeply regret: RUE.  Also the French word for Street.

Street signs in Lafayette, Louisiana.

59. Bic product: PEN.  These were the pens of choice when I was in junior high school.
60. Landscaping roll: SOD.


Here's the Grid:




חתולה




36 comments:

Subgenius said...

To all my friends at the “Crossword Corner:”

Based on certain spiritual/psychological needs of mine at this time, I am going to start “deemphasizing” my role at the Crossword Corner. I am not going to make a “point” about being among the first to respond any more, and there may be days I don’t respond at all. I’ll still be here, for the foreseeable future, but just not in the major “role” I have taken on up to now (a “role” nobody appointed me to, by the way, I just “fell into it.”) Perhaps this explanation is unnecessary, but I felt I owed all you friends something, anyway!

Blessings,
“Subgenius”

Subgenius said...

That said, I DID do the puzzle first thing today (but, like I said, don’t expect it every day). The reveal was quite a surprise to me, but ultimately very satisfying . Other than that, I didn’t find this puzzle very difficult. FIR, so I’m happy.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

"Me! Me!" reminded me of Horshack, but he was known for saying "Ooh! Ooh!" (The mind works in mysterious ways.) This one took a couple of minutes longer than yesterday. Still an easy romp, and Wite-Out-free. Thanx, Adrian, Taylor, and Hahtoolah. (Check your dates for Eliza.)

KEY WEST: We toured the Hemingway House when we visited Key West many years ago.

TAHINI: Inspired quite the conversation in yesterday's comments.

Buena Vista Social Club: It's an interesting album by a Cuban ensemble featuring Ruben Gonzalez. It won a Grammy in '97.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased sent for READ, poems for POESY, and fyi for BTW.

Today is:
SPRING BEGINS (near midnight, but the first full day of spring is tomorrow. Meteorological spring started March 1)
NATIONAL AG DAY (time to plant those seeds in most areas of the Corner)
NATIONAL CERTIFIED NURSES DAY (OK, I know the difference between registered and certified mail, but not between registered and certified nurses)
NATIONAL LET’S LAUGH DAY (Billy Joel would rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun)
NATIONAL BACKYARD DAY (maybe mine will get grass this year)
NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CARAMEL DAY (my heart says yes-yes-yes. My doctor says no-no-no)
NATIONAL 3-D DAY (I’ve got a pair of those old movie 3D glasses around here somewhere)
NATIONAL POULTRY DAY (sponsored by the National Association of Cows)

BIATHLETEs are amazing. Skiing produces adrenaline and high respiration rates, while shooting rewards a calm mind and low respiration rates.

Valparaiso is also a town back home in Indiana. They used to have a pretty good basketball program, but haven't made much noise lately.

Polydactyl cats occur in the eastern US. They appear frequently on The Incredible Doctor Pol.

Off to the dentist. Hopefully, just a cleaning and checkup.

Thanks to Adrian and Ha2La

Whiner said...

I've never heard the word POESY. That's just a comment, not a complaint.

Another comment: how long has it been since we've had a rap or hip hop music answer? That's definitely not a complaint!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Crossword friends, on this sunny first day of Spring! After having a week of near 80F weather, and putting away my winter clothes, today, on the first day of Spring, we are back to winter weather!

QOD: Knowledge is power if you know it about the right person. ~ Edith Watts Mumford (1870s ~ 1940), American author

inanehiker said...

Nice smooth solve - at first I thought the theme was going to be about memes instead of ME ME

Answers included 2 of my favorite musicals: "Phantom of the OPERA" and ELIZA from "Hamilton"
The movie version of Phantom did the same thing Les Miz did - they put more of an emphasis on the leads acting ability than their voice with Gerard Butler playing the Phantom like Russell Crowe playing Javert. Michael Crawford as the original Phantom on London's West End is the voice in my head in those songs.

As a Chiefs fan, I'm glad LAMAR Jackson didn't show too much of his MVP wizardry in the AFC conference championship game this year!

Thanks Susan for another fun blog and Adrian & Taylor for the puzzle!

KS said...

FIR. I didn't get the theme till I got here, and now it seems so obvious.
I too put poems before poesy, as I couldn't imagine a word ending in "urem".
I'm not a fan of vertical puzzles but this one was bearable and had very few proper names. When I saw the long answers, I thought this was going to be like a Saturday puzzle, but more fool me, just your average Tuesday fare.

Anonymous said...

Took 4:07 today from me to see the meme.

I didn't know Wim (or his show/movie), kefir, poesy, or where the non-Indiana Valprasaio was.
I did, however, know today's actress (Neve).
I shared the last two of Jinx's missteps.

SubG: I hope everything is alright. I am confused by your comment but wish you well.
Please don't be a stranger.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a typical Tuesday romp but the theme was well-hidden, at least to me, until the cute reveal. Eliza was the only unknown, but I also stumbled on Wil before Wim. Those successive opening TLWs weren't too reassuring, but the final total of 20 wasn't egregious, just a tad high. Seeing Curator reminded me of Jeffrey Wechsler and how much I miss his word wizardry. Overall, a smooth solve.

Thanks, Adrian and Taylor, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the commentary and chuckles. Today's highlights were Baa Hum Bug, the pregnant avocado, and the poker "kitty." Thanks for keeping my fancy tickled and my funny bone howling!

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph and the day the swallows come back to Capistrano, if that is still an occurrence.

Subgenius, please visit often. 😉

Have a great day.

waseeley said...

Thank you Adrian and Taylor. Didn't know you guys could construct easy puzzles. Thought the theme might have something to do with MEMES but that was before I had my coffee.

Thanks for all the toons and tips Hahtoolah! Favorite clip: OPERA. 😀

14A IMINAWE. An indigenous people?

7D LAMAR. Even though I'm not a big football fan this Baltimoron knew LAMAR. But I didn't know DEMEATRICE.

18D ELIZA. Also the name of one of the very first "AI" programs, named for Eliza Doolittle from George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion.

38D WIM. "Buena Vista Social Club" was a really great band formed in the late '90s. Wenders was the guy behind the camera, but guitarist Ry Cooder was the brains behind the operation. They toured internationally and we were fortunate to see them at the Lyric in Baltimore. Here's a trailer and here's a link to their debut album on Amazon. I highly recommend it.

Gotta go. The IRS is calling.

Cheers
Bill

And blessings to you Subgenius. I pray that all is well.

Tehachapi Ken said...

Thanks, Adrian and Taylor, for a clever and straightforward Tuesday puzzle. No gimmicks and few detestable proper names. Amazingly for me, I actually knew most of the names, and the others had friendly perps lurking nearby.

I've been doing the puzzle at my favorite greasy spoon. It is literally greasy evidently, because my newspaper (containing the puzzle) is all smudgy.

My son, Arizona Jim, will appreciate 57A since he knows his way around a poker table. Actually, I suspect that he will whiz through the whole puzzle.

Adieu, winter! Later today will occur the vernal equinox, which means it's spring! Down below, at the same time, they're going from autumn to winter. Yuck.

Monkey said...

Such a pleasant Tuesday level CW. Nice surprise reveal and the ME ME theme. There were just a few proper names, and they were not an obstacle to completion, well except the URKEL one. That area was the last to fill.

Funny how TAHINI is back in the limelight after yesterday’s discussion.

I loved my visit to KEY WEST a few years ago.

Spring is here, though a little cool this morning but sunny.

I had gotten so used to Subgenius leading the charge every morning, I shall miss that expectation.

Hahtoolah brightened my morning with the chuckles and info. What a great morning.

Parsan said...

Thank you AJ and TJ for an interesting puzzle and thanks to Hahtoolah for explaining the theme. Poems before POSEY, fyi before BTW and Urkle became URKEL.

ELIZA (nickname for Elizabeth) married Alexander Hamilton at her home here in Albany, the Schuyler Mansion. It is a NY State National Historic Landmark, a property that has been preserved and restored to the time of Schuyler-Hamilton marriage. You can visit the home and see the room where the nuptials took place.

Jinx Yes, you are right. Only 2 venues, rather than 4 in past years, are holding the NCAA Elite 8 and each will send 2 teams to the final 4. Thanks for the correction. Go USC (Grandson a Soph.)!

Happy day, all!

desper-otto said...

Tehachapi Ken, methinks you've stolen autumn away from those southern hemispherians.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Touring southern ORE and northern CA made us think we were back in Nebraska
-My neighbor just returned from KEY WEST and remarked how the ocean is so calm there
-For the next eight months, most all media will be PURELY politics
-KEFIR, WIM and POESY?
-LAMAR was a 4.5-point favorite against the KC Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game and lost. He is now 2 – 4 in playoff games.
-Yes, Irish, our constructor friend Jeffrey Wechsler is the former Senior CURATOR at Rutgers' Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
-It has been written – Bic : PEN :: Ford : Car
-Our March came in like a lamb but is resembling a lion upon it exit

Ray - O - Sunshine said...


Nice Tuesday challenge, thought the theme was somehow TIME related .. nope…Ive heard of a teacup chihuahua, but not a pig, so I LIU: “Mini pigs” can weigh well over 75 lbs so you’d need a massive Teacup.

Sonnets, odes, (what about limericks?)😃. Wanted poetry too long so filled poems still wrong.

PRIME MERIDIAN cuz International Date Line wouldn’t fit (cross it and you time travel one day into the future going west and one day behind going east ) “MARTY”!!!

🎶Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome Im CABARET, au CABARET , to CABARET.🎶

Wasn’t there a discussion of Tahini recently and samosas yesterday. I was confused for a minute thinking they meant Mimosas lol.

“ ALEXA gimme a clue to fit my nonsense answer WIM , no not whim… W-I-M.“

Was just an hour NORTH of KEY WEST last week . Have toured Hemingway’s Home in the past with its cats. They wouldn’t hold still long enough to confirm they have 6 toes though

One’s arms and legs…..LIFETIME MEMBERS
“Impressive spread” of taxis…CABARET
One who assesses healing efficacy …CURATOR
Raising livestock can provide one’s ___ and butter….. BRED
How you rig a sports even…..BIATHLETE

After weeks of warmish weather Daffodils were ready to bloom but were buried in snow today.

Anonymous said...

Haven’t used ‘prime meridian’ in forever. A little slower than a regular Tuesday due to poesy, a couple of more obscure personal names, but alls well that ends well! However, seriously, when did cake become an iced dessert versus refrigerated???? Fun, nevertheless.

CrossEyedDave said...

SubGenius,
Pls visit as often as you can, because mornings will be "less happy" without you...
P.s. - can you divulge "how" to always be first on the Blog?

At the risk of repeating myself... I am obliged to post an obligatory Cat Link, with a different segue: hmm, I wonder if this commercial was filmed at The Hemmingway House?

When we were in Key West, dodging wild roaming chickens, (they don't care which side of the road they're on down there...) we passed The Hemmingway House every time we visit. I asked DW, "why don't we ever go inside?" I believe she replied, "I think it's 15 bucks or something ."

That picture of Mary Poppins et al, sliding down the banister, made me me think, "how did they film that without anyone getting hurt?" So I googled, and found this...

F8nally,
I loved the show Family Matters! Good fun!
But it was not until (the unspellable) urkle became "Urkel" that I discovered what versatile actors they were!
in todays puzzle I still tried to spell it "Erkle..."

NaomiZ said...

Anonymous at 10:30 -- a CAKE is "iced" because it is covered in icing (AKA frosting). A slight misdirection.

Nice puzzle, Adrian and Taylor! FIR and enjoyed it, with a few false steps along the way as mentioned by others.

Hahtoolah, I always read the comics before starting the puzzle, and it's nice to find more funnies here when I'm done.

CrossEyedDave said...

Sorry if I'm overposting,
(It's this dang blog I tell ya!)
But here was the missing Mary Poppins banister link:

"I was startled, on the first day, when we were taken to the prop department and a plastercast was made of my bum. It turned out to be for the scene where we slide up and down the banister. The cast was made into a seat that fitted under my clothes. When a button was pressed, off we went like we were on a Stannah stairlift."

The full article can be found here...

Oh well, just as well I have to repeat myself, because it gives me a chance to post Stefan changes back to Steve Urkel...

AnonymousPVX said...


CED… despite the double post I cannot get the “and found this” link to work

RosE said...

Good Morning! Nice puzzle and theme. Thanks, Adrian and Taylor.

WOs: started to enter WE’re home, but corrected to WE MADE IT when the “r” didn’t work. And then a new (to me) word POEMS -> POESY.

TAHINI, hmmm… if I recall a thread from yesterday... Thanks, sumdaze.

I knew all the names I got from the clues, so that was a relief. I didn’t even see WIM until I read the Blog.

TUTU appeared from the perps since Glissade was unknown.

Thanks, Hah2lah. Always fun to read your wit and wisdom.

Charlie Echo said...

An enjoyable Tuesday FIR. POESY and KEFIR were a learning experience. I didn't see ME! ME! until the reveal. Clever! Great 'toons again, Ha2la. Thanks for the shout out! My first thought for Bic was "flick" but it was too long.

Lucina said...

Hola!

This puzzle reminded me of visiting the BUENA VISTA restaurant in San Francisco. It's our favorite place for lunch or breakfast.

ETSY is a good place to buy one-of-a-kind items.

Learning to TYPE is one of the best skills I learned and the most used.

It will be interesting to see if my comments post without incident. Lately I've had to prove my identity.

Have a great day, everyone, and welcome spring!

Yellowrocks said...

I saw the ME ME in the first themer, but I saw just ME in the others. I should look more carefully. ME ME is a much better theme than just ME.
WIM, no clue.
IPAs appeal to me. I like the hoppy taste.
ZAP, another sound spelled as a word.
One of my favorite historical novels is "My Dear Mr. Hamilton," written from the point of view of Eliza. It was extensively researched, often from primary sources. The sections about the founding fathers are well backed up. Much of Eliza's story is deduced from what we know happened with the men, although some of it is actual history. Knowing the historical facts, it seems very plausible.
POESY, the art or composition of poetry. Old fashioned. Not usually pluralized so mostly it does not use the indefinite article, A. Poesy refers more to the craft of writing poetry. Although I quickly guessed the word, IMO POEMS better fits the clue.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Icing (frosting)

Irish Miss said...

Lucina, if you have DVR capability, one of your favorite movies, Moonstruck, is on TCM at 12:00 am Friday morning. 😉

Wendybird said...

Very nice Tuesday puzzle. Pretty easy with enough crunch to keep it interesting. A CSO to our 5 year old greatgranddaughter, Eliza.
I never saw WIM since I got it with perps, but The Buena Vista Social Club is a long time favorite. We also love their “successor”, The Hot Club of San Francisco.
Lucina, we also enjoy the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco, and it’s where I had ny first ever ramos gin fizz.
Like others, I had poetry beforecorrecting to POESY, and I have to shamefacedly take a FIW because I didn’t know URKEL and couldn’t connect icing with frosting in my brain , so kept trying to think of a frozen dessert. Bzzt! Even so, I enjoyed the puzzle. Thank you Adrian and Taylor, and thanks too to Hahtoola for the always amusing tour. Great cartoons!

Looking forward to a possible winner of the TOC tonight on Jeopardy, although I’d like to see the guy in the middle get his 2nd win.

Lucina said...

IrishMiss
Thank you for that information. I shall set my TV on record for Moonstruck.

Anonymous said...

Aha! Thanks!

Brian said...

Hah2lah, I wonder if Kate Middleton had a hand in your final picture of the cat in the bag. LOL

Misty said...

Subgenius, your daily opening has been such a pleasure for such a long time, that we would certainly miss you. But try to make it back as often as possible--we'd be so happy to see you check in.

Delightful puzzle, Adrian and Taylor--much appreciated. And your commentary is always a pleasure, Hahtoolah, thanks for that too.

Loved starting off with I'M IN AWE ---of MY LIFETIME MEMBERS. I am, and thank you! You make me SMILE.

Have a great day, everybody.

Jayce said...

A WIM o weh, the lion sleeps tonight.

I liked this puzzle for the same reasons you all did and stumbled into many of the same traps that many of you did.

Anonymous said...

There is another Hemingway house in Havana Cuba.

sumdaze said...

Thanks to Adrian and Taylor for a fun Tues. outing! The ME ME theme was cute. CAKE took a while to click.
I noticed RUE crossing WEEP.

I had several personal connections to this one: TAHINI from yesterday. I did the Hemmingway House tour but I mostly sat on a bench to accommodate a cat looking for a lap. I spent a day exploring Valparaiso back in 2012. (Where has the time gone?) Finally, I picked up samosas at the farmers market for dinner tonight.

Subgenius @ crack-of-dawn: Thanks for the head's up. I wish you well.

Thanks to Hahtoolah for seeking out all the fun comics! I especially enjoyed the Phantom music. POESY did not look correct. Thanks for explaining that, too.