CRISS-CROSS-EYED
This appears to be Sala Wanetick's first solo effort for the LA Times - I found three other puzzles with a co-constructor, Emily Biegas. The grid is size 15 x 16, and the theme is two-word formations known as reduplication. Some really vague clues/answers today, 18 TLWs, just two less than the number of four letter words, and a handful names, some of them totally obscure. The themers;
18. Drag one's feet: DILLY-DALLY
27. Idle banter: CHIT-CHAT
40. Indecisive: WISHY-WASHY
57. Mixed bag: MISH-MASH
69. Tchotchke: KNICK-KNACK - I learned the word "tchotchke" ( CHOCH-key) from the terminal manager at Roadway Express - he was referring to the truckload of Home Interiors goods we had to sort every Friday night
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Loose-fitting: BAGGY
6. Hiker's snack mix: GORP - AND - 32A. Tidbit in 6-Across: NUT - Good Ol' Raisins & Peanuts
10. New England fish: SCROD
15. Tunisian couturier Azzedine __: ALAÏA - Wow. On a Wednesday. Beyond obscure. His Wiki. Name #1
16. Is short: OWES
17. __ Troopa: Mario Bros. turtlelike foe: KOOPA - I grew up with Atari 2600;
this was the "next generation" of video gaming - Name #2
21. Italian sub slice: SALAMI
22. Unleash (on): SIC
23. Management level: TIER
24. Seeking, in ads: ISO - the old newspaper classified dating section - In Search Of . . . .
25. Organic lip balm brand: EOS
34. Drops in on: VISITS
35. Petro-Canada rival: ESSO - Name #3, but a common fill
36. Play areas?: STAGES
39. __ rally: PEP
44. "Silent Sunday Nights" cable network: TCM - filled via perps
47. Hangs loose: CHILLS - how 'bout some Chillaxing music~?
Rapture At Sea
52. "Got it": "OH, I SEE" - a bit meh.
54. Secret agent: SPY
56. Knitting loop: PURL - I used to watch several women in AA meetings knit, to the point where my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked Carol to teach me.
63. Like those on a world cruise: ASEA - Rapture~?
64. Float filler: AIR - I was not sure what "float" this referred to - I am guessing this . . . .
68. Hybrid piece of flatware: SPORK
71. Neutral shade: TAUPE
73. Aerie nester: EAGLE
74. Counterpart of "ser," in Spanish: ESTAR - I had no idea - I used Google translate; both mean "be"
75. "Save me a __!": SEAT
76. Track athlete's asset: SPEED
DOWN:
1. Less photogenic angle: BAD SIDE - my "top side" is bad; the field manager is obsessed with taking pictures of my bald spot
3. Runs fast: GALLOPS
4. __ monster: GILA
5. Self-congratulatory cheer: "YAY ME~!" - cute, but a bit meh.
6. Smallest state in India: GOA - learned by doing crosswords; name #4
7. Parliament birds: OWLS - a 'parliament' being a group of owls - very clever
8. Piece of history: RELIC - this was my nick-name when I worked at Winn-Dixie; I was 27yrs old, roughly 10 years older than the rest of the stock crew - I was actually enamored of the moniker
10. Like some newly rescued dogs: SKITTISH - understandable
12. Fruit from a flowering shrub: ROSE HIP
13. Manage: OPERATE - manage/operate is more Saturday clue/answer, IMO
14. Who __ Nation: New Orleans Saints fans: DAT - I have heard of this; it appears from the Corner map that Hahtoolah and Big Easy might be fans of this NFL team . . . .
19. Pop diva Celine: DION - Name #5, but I knew this one
26. Food that may be served via conveyor belt: SUSHI - I did not understand this clue; when I did an internet search, I discovered that there are restaurants that have sushi dishes going around on a belt - fascinating~!
28. St. __ Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub: IVES - fresh cluing for an old fill
31. Auto club service: TOW - I toyed with AAA first, but that would be the club, not the service
33. Texting farewell: TTYL - text-speak, Talk To You Later
37. Knob-handled stickers: AWLS - stickers has different meanings in different places. I was asked by an associate of the Pipe Organ company to get a couple of "stickers"; growing up on Long Island, "stickers" are the self-adhesive images that went on your books and binders - here in New England, it would seem that they are the "chocks" for under lumber stacks. Go figure. In this clue/answer, the term "sticker" is more like "poke-r"
41. Spot with falling rocks?: ICEMAKER - very clever clue / answer
42. Former home of the Mets: SHEA - name #6, but I grew up a Mets fan on Long Island, so . . . .
43. "Reckon so": "YEP."
44. Actor Holland: TOM - name #7; his IMDb
45. Mexican state bordering Guatemala: CHIAPAS - name #8, no clue; tough for a Wednesday
49. Riffle (through): RUMMAGE
50. Thing: ARTICLE - ITEM was way too short
51. Didn't bring one's A game, say: SLACKED
53. Ethnic group native to Nepal and Tibet: SHERPA
55. "Ew! Gross!": "YUCK~!"
58. Fermented brews often served warm: SAKES - Sock-EEs, to drink with your conveyor belt sushi
59. Shutter hardware: HINGE - Shutters SHUT; I have "fake" shutters that would not come close to protecting the windows on my house
they will come off when I do stucco in the future
61. Prods: POKES - you mean, with a sticker~? Or an awl~?65. Latvia's capital: RIGA - learned by doing crosswords
67. Onesie feature: SNAP
70. Winter hrs. in Tulsa: CST - the clocks are "normal" again
Splynter
7 comments:
Is it considered a
Natick if you made a WAG and got it right?
Because that’s what happened for me at the cross of “Chiapas” and “Estar.” And there were certain other parts of this puzzle that were challenging as well. However, the themed answers were all well-known phrases, so I can’t complain about that. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Easy with a Monday-ish theme. The NW was slightly less breezy than the rest of the grid thanks to ALAIA. I also hesitated a bit on WISHY-WASHY, since I didn't notice that the grid was oversized, and so I expected a central entry with an odd number of letters.
I appreciate the consistency of the themers all featuring Is that change to As.
FIR in 13:17 with the usual perp help, DNK KOOPA, ESTAR, or what a Tchotchke was, or CHIAPAS, (sounds like an item off the Taco Bell menu). Award for the worst esoteric clue/entry possibly ever goes to “Tunisian couturier Azzedine” ALAIA. I’ve eaten a lot of California Rolls, but never off a conveyor belt. I did like the theme fills. Thanks for the puzzle Sala.
Splynter ~ thanks for your recap! I thought of AIR as a “pool float” filler.
FIR. This was quite crunchy for a Wednesday puzzle, more like what one expects on a Friday. And proper names like Alaia didn't help.
Also crossing Chiapas and estar was just cruel. I had to take a WAG at the "s" to finish it out.
Ironically the theme was Monday easy and I got it right off. That helped a lot with the solve.
But overall, not a very enjoyable puzzle.
Two elderly Boston Brahmin women were talking and one woman said to her friend, "I go into Boston every Friday to get scrod." Her friend replies, "I didn't know that word had a past tense!"
🤣
Good Morning! I thought today’s puzzle was pretty late week for a Wednesday, but it slowly came together. Congratulations for your debut, Sala.
The theme was great! All familiar expressions but rarely seen in print. Made me smile.
The SW was the last to fill. CHIAPAS crossing ESTAR was pure perp and WAG.
New to me: ALAIA, KOOPA, TMC, as clued.
Not a fan of the vocalizations: YAY ME, PSYCH, YEP, YUCK. Maybe one or two in a puzzle, but four is too many.
I liked the misdirection clue: ICEMAKER.
Thanks, Splynter. Was that photo of you working or resting? 😄, probably putting together this great recap!
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