google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 21, 2024 Catherine Cetta

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May 21, 2024

Tuesday, May 21, 2024 Catherine Cetta

Standing Ovations:  Notice that each theme clue is a two word phrase where each word contains two OOs.  Also the theme clues are Down, so that the double OOs are "standing".


3-Down. *  Pasta-shaped colorful foam float: POOL NOODLE.

9-Down. *  Totally chill: LOOSEY GOOSEY.

21-Down. *  Celebratory search engine logo: GOOGLE DOODLE.  Here's a Google Doodle from last week:


25-Down. *  "So awesome!": TOO COOL.

And the unifier:

31. Enthusiastic audience reactions, and a feature of the answers to the starred clues: STANDING O'S.  Sadly, I am not as clever as my fellow commentators, so I do not know how to add color to highlight the grid.  Thus, I can not accent the double Os, so I'll insert the grid here so you can look for all the standing Os.


Across:
1. Deeply engrossed: RAPT.

5. Played music at a dance club, say: DJ'ED.


9. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA.  [Name # 1.]


14. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI.  These fictional post-human beings from the 1895 novel, The Time Machine, by H G Wells (né Herbert George Wells; Sept. 21, 1866 ~ Aug. 13, 1946) used to make frequent appearances in the puzzles.  We haven't seen them in a while.

15. Slippery: EELY.

16. "Please specify" list option: OTHER.


17. Many many: A TON.

18. Call on the carpet: TAKE TO TASK.

20. Triangle or quadrilateral: POLYGON.  A Polygon is a plane figure with at least three straight sides and angles, and typically five or more.


22. Holds a grudge against: RESENTS.

23. Fed. ID fig.: SSN.  As in Social Security Number.

24. Give the boot: OUST.

26. Boomer's kid, perhaps: XER.  Generation X (1965 ~ 1980) is the demographic between the Boomers (1946 ~ 1964) and the Millennials (1981 ~ 1996).  

27. Sty emanation: ODOR.  //  And 45-Across. Sty emanations: OINKS.

29. Maker of Regenerist products: OLAY.


31. Bath tourist spot: SPA.

The Ein Gedi Spa on the Dead Sea.

34. First __ equals: AMONG.  Also the name of a 1984 political novel by Jeffrey Archer (b. Apr. 15, 1940).

36. Pogo stick sound: BOING.


37. Toy that resembles a gyroscope: TOP.

38. Rafael who is one of tennis's "Big Three": NADAL.  The Big Three in tennis refers to Novak Đoković (b. May 22, 1987), Roger Federer (b. Aug. 8, 1981) and Rafael Nadal (né Rafael Nadal Parera; b. June 3, 1986), each of whom is considered to be among the greatest players.  [Name # 2.]


39. Healthcare.gov law, for short: ACA.  As in the Affordable Care Act.

40. Chi-town airport: O'HARE.  Ever wonder why the airport code for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is ORD?  It was originally named Orchard Field Airport for the neighborhood in which it was located.  It was renamed in 1949, in honor of aviator Edward "Butch" O'Hare (Mar. 13, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943) who went missing in World War II.   [Name # 3.]

42. Nothing to do with soccer?: NIL.

43. Boo-boo: ERROR.

46. World Cup cheer: OLÉ.  A crossword staple.

47. Wonderland bird: DODO.  Think of Alice.  I understand that just yesterday Alice met a Cheshire Cat.


48. Abbr. on a company sign: ESTD.  As in Established.

49. Promissory note: IOU.

50. "My only __ sprung from my only hate!": Juliet: LOVE.  A reference to a play by Willie the Shakes.  [Name adjacent.]
52. "To a degree": -ISH.

55. Church deliveries: SERMONS.


59. Artist with the 2024 album "Cowboy Carter": BEYONCÉ.  Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (b. Sept. 4, 1981) is married to Jay-Z (b. Dec. 4, 1969), whose given name is Shawn Corey Carter, but is that why she had Carter in the name of the album?  [Name # 4.]


61. Slowpoke's opposite: SPEED DEMON.

63. Petri dish gelatin: AGAR.

64. Ebbing and flowing: TIDAL.

65. Old movie spool: REEL.

66. Answering system limbo: HOLD.

67. Clotted cream accompaniment: SCONE.  Yummers!


68. Site for selling personalized gifts: ETSY.


69. Multitool's multiplicity: USES.

Down:
1. Cuts with a sickle: REAPS.  Sometime it can be pretty grim.


2. Singers between sopranos and tenors: ALTOS.

4. Itsy: TINY.

5. Route around a construction area, say: DETOUR.  There is some major road construction on the interstate in my city for the next [fill in the blank/taking bets] years.


6. Denim pants: JEANS.


7. Rocky Mountain National Park grazer: ELK.


8. One who adds a little color: DYER.


10. Aquatic mammal: OTTER.

11. Better __ ever: THAN.

12. Try out: TEST.

13. Boats like Noah's: ARKS.

19. Austinite, e.g.: TEXAN.


28. Personal code?: DNA.  Cute clue.

30. Story teller?: LIAR.


32. Chorizo meat: PORK.

33. "Planet of the __": APES.

34. __ Domini: ANNO.  Today's Latin lesson.

35. Pigeonhole filler: MAIL.


36. Storyteller: BARD.  THE Bard is Willie the Shakes.



41. Double or triple, maybe: HIT.  Think baseball.

44. 18 holes of golf, typically: ROUND.


48. In equal amounts: EVENLY.

49. "To be clear ... ": I MEAN.

51. Double-reed woodwinds: OBOES.  A crossword staple.

53. Ascend, as a peak: SCALE.

54. Giraffe groups: HERDS.


55. Phased-out jets: SSTs.  These jets used to be a crossword staple.

56. __ fail: EPIC.

57. Upgrade, as decor: REDO.


58. Parched: SERE.

60. Banzai Pipeline island: OAHU.  I am not a surfer, so was not familiar with the term Banzai Pipeline.  Apparently it is a famous surfing spot.


62. Rendezvoused: MET.


חתולה

I will be taking a brief hiatus for the next few weeks.  Fear not, Tuesdays will not be blank.  You will be in good hands.  See you in July.




34 comments:

Subgenius said...

I saw all the “o’s” and wondered if there was going to be a reveal that would tie them all together. There was, even though it seemed rather weak and anti-climatic. But the puzzle was fun anyway, and not at all difficult. FIR, so I’m happy.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I'd call this the Horshack Puzzle. It was so obvious, even d-o managed to find the theme. I always thought LOOSEY GOOSEY referred to an abdominal condition. Enjoyed the outing, Catherine, and the expo, Hahtoolah. (I hope your trip is a good one.)

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased oily for EELY and climb for SCALE.

Today is:
NATIONAL MEMO DAY (I’ll bet social media platforms, email and text messages will soon make the traditional memo moot)
NATIONAL WAITSTAFF DAY (hell’s bells, I was just getting used to “server” instead of “waitress”)
NATIONAL AMERICAN RED CROSS FOUNDER’S DAY (thank you Clara Barton)
NATIONAL STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM DAY (in Plant City, FL, just about anything can be ordered with strawberries)

When I was a kid I had a toy gyroscope. I even learned how it was useful for navigation.

Ha2la's toon was meant in jest, but there are more than 200 frozen bodies on Mt. Everest. Most died on the descent. Guess they were "descaling."

Thanks to CC-2 for the fun Tuesday romp. And thanks to Ha2la for another fine review. Fare thee well.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a pretty straightforward Tuesday offering, with an obvious theme but a surprise reveal. The Os were presented in a couple of fun entries, i.e., Pool Noodle and Loosey Goosey and a familiar phrase, Google Doodle, and the hip Too Cool, giving us a nice mixture of double Os. There were no unknowns but I tripped over ADA/ACA. The clecho cluing, for Odor/Oinks was cute.

Thanks, Catherine, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the commentary and chuckles. As usual, the comics and visuals were top-notch and I had several favorites today: Eely, Arks, Bard, Scale, Herds, and Redo. If I had to pick just one, I think it would be the acrophobic giraffe! Of course, the highlight of the review was the video of the legendary Bob Newhart! Have a wonderful trip!

I hope we hear from Tony soon.

Have a great day.

KS said...

FIR. What can I say, this was a walk in the park. I didn't need the theme, but I did notice the O's. When I got to the reveal it was lackluster at best.
I find that with easy puzzles I make more mistakes mostly because I go through so fast I ignore the perps and miss the cross checks. 36D is a good example. I threw down liar and had to correct it when I saw another place for it at 30D. Oh well.

Yellowrocks said...

This was like an old fashioned Monday puzzle, first fill that comes to mind, as fast as you can write. I needed the reveal to see the standing double o's. No unheard of clues or answers.
Although I sometimes see loosey goosey used as totally chill, I more often see it used as not careful or accurate with the details. Anything is good enough.
Have a good trip, Susan.

Anonymous said...

Took 4:38 too-day.

I accidentally passed today's foreign language exam: "anno" filled in via the perps.

Good thing all those Os weren't in circles.



CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Catherine and Hahtoolah (have a great holiday).
Quick solve today, no inkblots, and I saw the STANDING OS. (Could OBOES have been an Easter Egg? Booboos would have worked.)

You know it is a good day when 1A fills immediately. (Hi YR)
I thought of Arid before SERE but waited for perps.
This Canadian finally remembered ACA. (Even IM erred at first here so I am doubly thankful for my increased American knowledge)

CSO to all our TEXANs.

Wishing you all a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Tornado sirens and strong winds woke us this morning. We took our kitty Lily and headed for the basement. We were spared any damage but we did get a LOTTA rain. Our gauge only goes up to 5” and it overflowed. More rain coming this afternoon. Where’s that ARK?
-In the words of Mr. Kotter’s Horshack, OO, OO what a fun puzzle!
-GOOSEY LOOSEY was a friend of Foxy Loxy in the Chicken Little story
-The STANDING O (or not) game during the State Of The Union speech is fun to watch
-TAKE TO TASK: If the principal asks to see you and then shuts the door when you go in
-Gyroscopes can be used to guide airplanes, rockets and missiles
-NIL has transformed college athletics. Caitlan Clark has a $28M deal with Nike.
-DETOURS are the order of the day for flooded streets here.
-LIAR: School principals are a combination of a detective and a lie detector
-We told the girls our estate is divided EVENLY. They each get a third and Lilly gets a third. :-)
-What Irish said!

RosE said...

Good Morning! I found a little crunch in the middle, but a good Tuesday puzzle. I liked the change-up vertical theme. Nice! Thanks, Catherine.

All the names were familiar to me.

I had to wait for perps for BOING.

Akin cluing for ODOR & OINK; LIAR & BARD

WO: Alot -> A TON; TIDes -> TIDAL.

Thanks, Hah2lah, for another fun recap. Wishing you well on your time away. Safe journeys.

Monkey said...

Enjoyed all those STANDING OS, even including a boo-boo defined as I do unlike the one a few days ago.

What? No obscure names? Wow!

I LOVE SCONES.

Thank you Hahtoolah for the fun recap and happy hiatus.

Houston’s Centerpoint Energy states that by Wednesday night everyone of their customers will have electricity back. Could that be what Tony is waiting on?

TTP said...

Good morning. Thank you, Catherine Cetta, and thank you, Hahtoolah. Yes, enjoy your hiatus.

All of the Os were readily noticed, but the reveal was not. I thought it was cute.

Kevin Costner was brought to tears from the 7 minute standing ovation he received from the notoriously harsh crowd at the Cannes Film Festival.

No ERRORs, but for a brief moment I overthought the clue Austinite and thought we were looking for a common name for a mineral or ore. D'OH! (Minerals are sometimes named for the locality in which the mineral was first found.)

I laughed at the LOOSEY GOOSEY cartoon.

Gotta run.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Easier ‘n yesterday, Juliet’s LOVE is also 0 in tennis (l’oeuf , the egg = NIL)and lots of O’s AMONG the puzzle answers: TOO many TO list. Transition from LOVE to STANDING OVA(eggs)TION.

Inkovers: too cute/TOO COOL, card/BARD.
“Austinite” you mean a citizen of A-town? 😀. Haven’t been visited by the ELOI in a while. Almost filled candles for SERMONS. “Clotted cream” (maybe next time store it in the fridge 😉). SPEEDy Gonzalez too long.

DETOUR made the “sty emanation” ODOR not oink that came later. At least “boo-boo” wasnt the dreadful owie this time 🤨

Lost my 🦜, where has ___? POLYGON
“Slippery” vines: the bane of TV Tarzan Ron ____ EELY
Roots are showing!! , in ____ need of a “little color”…. DYER
“Austinite”: a fun evening for a ___ TEXAN
How most Birthday gifts are presented…. RAPT
“Neap and Spring” could be a book ___ TIDAL

OK OK I’ll stop now😁

Great toons H2LH

Read cervical spine films this AM and now the C6 vertebra is smiling back!!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Easy Tuesday puzzle. Thanks Catherine for the O's standing tall in the grid.

Thanks for the fun expo, Hahtoolah! I always love the comics you choose. Enjoy your trip!

WOs: N/A
ESPs: ELOI (yeah, I know)
Fav: CSO to our dear DODO

IM & Monkey - Thanks for the concern; I did NOT lose power but many of my office mates spent all weekend in the dark.
I was in Sulfur Springs for a Memorial. While it was a sad occasion, there is a plus -- the Girls are home for two weeks!

Youngest will be an Austinite again in the fall (UT) but first will be a Chicagoan for a summer gig at U Chicago.

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

Tehachapi Ken said...

As I was enjoying myself on today's puzzle, it occurred to me that it would be a good example of a crossword for someone in the early stage of learning puzzles.

Not that it was too easy. No. I felt that it had an appropriate amount of crunch for a Tuesday puzzle.

I would point out to the novice that the reveal and all four theme words were clever. And unexpectedly, all five were vertical. I would note that while their verticality is unusual, it is not illegal.

There is the importance of the question mark. For example, 30D, "story teller?" gives us LIAR, while 36D, "storyteller," produces essentially Shakespeare!

The novice needs to know--especially if he/she has designs on eventually becoming a constructor--the role and importance of the vowel. Constructors love words that are rich in vowels, like OREO and OLEO and OBOE.

Constructors are innately clever snd funny, I feel. For example, I would point out to our novice that according to Catherine and Patti, one needs to be vigilant to two entirely different things emanating from a sty. And having spent some time around pigs, I can vouch for both of these emanations!

Finally, the importance to a new solver of perps and wags. First, I would tell them what the heck they are, and then show examples from today's puzzle. Mea culpa (I'm sorry!) from me here, but while I know who Beyonce is, I sure didn't know that one of her songs was ""Cowboy Carter." So just look at the SE section of the puzzle. That 7-letter word of whoever sang that song is surrounded by friendly vertical perps. It's impossible not to come up with BEYONCE.

I could point out other things, Catherine and Patti, but I think I've made your heads big enough. Thank you for a clever and entertaining Tuesday morning.

CrossEyedDave said...

I dunno what it is about the words loosey goosey that rubs me the wrong way...

Anon @ 8:09 LOL!

Anywho, I just don't know how to respond to this puzzle...

Picard said...

I am probably the only person here who never heard the term STANDING O. But I could not miss the STANDING OS in the theme answers. Very amusing now that I understand the term. Merlie likes to use POOL NOODLEs when she swims.

At the Kyoto Aquarium last month I was astonished by the energetic swimming of these AQUATIC MAMMALs.

From Yesterday:
Jinx Thank you for your comments about Burning Man and the modified UHAUL VAN. Way cool that you had the Stompin' '76 insider experience, which I Googled. Yes, I also always search the previous day for people calling out to me. I wish everyone would do that. So many messages seem to get missed by their intended recipients.

NaomiZ said...

Just back from a week away, I was eager to solve a puzzle, and this one gave me lots to enjoy. I was sad that 27 Across, Sty emanation, was ODOR, not "oink," but was granted my wish in plural with OINKS at 45 Across. Very nice! The puzzle was lively and original.

Lately, I tend to think about body parts in terms of how they are failing me. I enjoyed being introduced to the smiling vertebra C6! I will carry that image forward and try to be grateful for all the bits that contribute to a living, moving whole person.

Hope your break is a happy one, Hahtoolah. Many thanks to Catherine for the puzzle, and to Patti for editing.

Charlie Echo said...

An enjoyable crossWORD puzzle today! Once again, spent more time with Ha2la than on the solve!

Big Easy said...

When I noticed POOL NOODLE I guessed the rest would have two OOs. I've heard LOOSEY GOOSEY all my life but GOOGLE DOODLE, while being an easy fill, was unknown. The term STANDING OS-meh.

LOVE, BEYONCE, SCONE (and Clotted cream)- unknown as clued but easy fills after a few perps.

Austinite was an unknown mineral ore; oh, it was a TEXAN.
I can't imagine a HERD of giraffes. They are usually solitary or just a few together.

ELK- I just read that a moose killed a man in Alaska. He was taking photos of moose calves. She was a Mad Mama Jama moose.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thanks to Catherine Cetta for the Monday maze! It had a bit more crunch than the usual Monday puzzles. Vertical themes seem to have more punch for some reason.

My grandchildren love POOL NOODLES although they are so grown up and so busy I hardly see them anymore. This week two will graduate.

I love SCONEs with clotted cream! And I love chorizo! Mmm. Now I'm getting hungry.

Personal code is a new and novel clue for DNA.

Our priests who hail from Africa try really hard to make their SERMONS understood but it is still an EPIC task.

Yesterday was a busy day for me but I did solve the puzzle. After spending the morning counting at church I went to lunch with friends and came home late in the afternoon. Then I fell asleep for a few hours.

Susan, safe travels. Please be careful.

Everyone, enjoy a wonderful day today!



unclefred said...

I cannot remember the last time I managed to FIR in nine minutes. For me, that is VERY fast. Only W/O: MCED/DJED. Everything else I just seemed to know and write in, no problems. Thanx CC, for the very straightforward CW; I need a little ego boost from time to time. Very nice CW. And to top it off we have another terrific Hahtoolah write-up, with the usual wit, humor and cartoons. Thanx for brightening my Tuesday!

Prof M said...

My C6 is permanently fused to my C5 and T1 with some kind of hardware.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Any Cornerites read James Lee Burke? I just read is book Cadillac Jukebox. I liked it, but found it hard to read because of the southern Louisiana dialect Burke used. I'd like to know if his other books are similar before I commit to reading another one.

BTW, RVers use POOL NOODLES on the lower corners of our slide out rooms. It only takes one bleeding skull to learn that trick. Skulls must be especially susceptible to bleeding, and I'm sure my blood thinners don't help the situation.

Prof M said...

Jinx, you can down load free sample chapters from Amazon

Jayce said...

Cool puzzle; I rather enjoyed it. For some reason I laughed at BOING. Other fill I liked include TAKE TO TASK, POLYGON, SPEED DEMON, DETOUR*, and EVENLY.

Fill I wrinkled my nose at (at which I wrinkled my nose) include DJ'ED, XER, and ISH.

* My dad used to get a kick out of telling this really bad dad joke: "So, Clive, how do like the American highway system?" "Oh, pretty good. But that French guy, De Tour, sure made some bad ones."

Good reading you all.

Monkey said...

Junx@ 306. I’ve read some James Lee Burke, but not many because his books are so grim and brutal. Because of the setting, they probably all have southern Louisiana or Cajun dialect. Lots of “local color”.

Monkey said...

Oops! That should be Jinx. I’m so sorry.

Anonymous said...

And excerpts read on Audible.

sumdaze said...

Thanks,
H
A
H
T
O
O
L
A !
Loved all the
C
A
R
T
O
O
N
S !

TTP said...

Nice STANDING Os, sumdaze.   Apropos!

Anonymous T said...

+1 sumdaze!

Lucina - I had Chorizo & Egg taco this (and most) morning(s) for breakfast when I go to the office.

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

AnonT
Yum! That sounds good!

Anonymous said...

With all the pairs of OOs making up the theme phrases, I was reminded of a lovely actress whose name has three pairs, MOON BLOODGOOD. She may not be well known, but I remember her from the movies "Terminator Salvation" and "Eight Below" from about 15 years ago.