L.A.Times Crossword Corner: June 2025

GENRE FUSION
OR
"I WANNA ROCK GARDEN"

Twisted Sister, "I wanna rock" garden

Splynter here, subbing for our unhappy hostess, who had her infusion done this past week, and was not feeling well. This is my first time blogging a Sunday grid, but not my first Christina Iverson puzzle - her last LA Times contribution was Memorial Day this year; I blogged her Wednesday crossword back in Nov 2024. Since I have no reference to any previous Sunday statistics, I can say that we have no circles, a few names, 50 four- but not foul- letter words, and not only are all the theme answers unique, but two of the 9-letter Downs are unique* as well. I thought this was a well-made, clever crossword - the theme answers are a playful 'expansion' that ties an in-the-language phrase to a musical genre;

23. Title of a memoir written by Madonna's daughter?: MOM AND POP MUSIC

39. Young and adorable Twisted Sister enthusiast?: PRECIOUS METAL HEAD

56. Exclamation upon finding "Honky Tonkin'" in the dumpster?: IT'S A FREE COUNTRY ALBUM

75. Spend every waking moment in one's Rolling Stones-themed bedroom?:

LIVE UNDER A ROCK POSTER - I grew up with Iron Maiden, who had the best merchandising

The Trooper & Aces High, two of their coolest "Eddie" posters

89. Accidentally books the hip-hopper with no rhythm?: GETS A BAD RAP ARTIST

111. Go-to for Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie?: COMMON FOLK SONG

My favorite was not the METAL or ROCK reference, but the one genre I probably like the least -

IT'S A FREE COUNTRY ALBUM~!

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Card game also called contract whist: OH HELL - new one to me; more here

7. Jerks: SPASMS

13. Southwestern people: APACHE

19. Affectionate knuckle rub: NOOGIE

20. Many a social media opinion: HOT TAKE - Essentially, statements that play Devil's Advocate by raising people's ire - e.g., anything political posted here on the Corner

22. Comedy series starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross: MR. SHOW - never heard of this; I do know David Cross, as he appeared in Men in Black 1 & 2

25. Trig function: COSINE

26. Scraped (by): EKED

27. Gawk: GAPE

28. Clarinet kin: OBOE

30. Antlered deer: BUCKS - STAGS didn't work

31. Plus: ASSET - AND - 119A. Column on a record: LOSSES - this second clue stumped me because with the musical references of the theme, I was thinking of "record" as "LP"

33. Premier League team, to fans: MAN U - Manchester United - English soccer/football

35. Taken __: startled: ABACK

37. FD employee: EMT - a change-up on the typical clue for this abbr answer

45. Like fuzzy fruit: MOLDY - ah, not PEACH or KIWIS, but the ones gone bad . . . .

47. Recipe nos.: AMTS

48. Dowser's objective: WELL - WATER was too many letters

49. Confidentiality doc: NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement; I will need this for my board games

50. Actor Rickman: ALAN - He made a compelling villain in "Die Hard"

"Die Hard" IS a Christmas movie in my home

51. Brought forth: BEGAT - there was a lot of Biblical begatting

53. Some nonalcoholic pours: BEERS - Years ago, I drank a half-dozen O'Doul's at a gentlemens' club; all you get are trips to the bathroom and a nagging headache

55. Sound from an enthusiastic diner: MOAN - I guess; I personally don't usually associate a moan with something good - or - food

60. "Thanks a __!": "LOT~!"

61. Count (on): RELY

62. Thakhek locale: LAOS - More like Saturday cluing, filled via perps

63. __ bran: OAT

64. Amazes: WOWS

65. Be a cast member of: ACT IN

67. Scribbles (down): JOTS

69. Hat with a tassel: FEZ - everything you ever wanted to know about "The Fez"

Steely Dan from the album "The Royal Scam"

70. Inventor Sikorsky: IGOR - no, EYE-gor . . . .

71. Smudge on Santa's suit: SOOT

72. Letters on some protective lip balm: SPF - Sun Protection Factor

81. All the __: RAGE

82. Thick-__ boots: SOLED

83. Foil alternatives: ÉPÉES

84. Storybook bear: PAPA

85. German cry: ACH

86. French bean?: TETE - Frawnche for "head"

87. Transparent: OPEN

88. Colorful relative of a violet: PANSY

95. Knock: DIS - as in disrespect

96. Actress Hannah: DARYL - I know her from Blade Runner, Splash and Roxanne - her IMDb

97. Site with a Fashion Finds section: ETSY - the website here

98. Informal attempts: STABS

100. Like a Brit's proverbial milk: SPILT - as opposed to "Spilled"

102. Fashionably __: LATE

104. Prefix with fill or complete: AUTO - curses, Autocorrect~!

There were so many to choose from, but mostly NSFW

106. Italian musical phrase often abbreviated as "a2": A DUE - two players, in unison

109. Immature, in a way: LARVAL - $2 word

115. Playful aquatic mammals: OTTERS

116. One might end on a high note: SOPRANO

117. Bug with pincers and a flat body: EARWIG

118. Gym: PHYS. ED. - semi-meh; gym may be an abbr for gymnasium, but gym class - better

120. Biases: SLANTS

DOWN:

1. "I'll treat": "ON ME."

2. Bit of fishing gear: HOOK

3. "Finally, I can sleep in my own bed!": "HOME AT LAST~!" - appeared one other time in the NYT

4. "Golly!": "EGADS~!"

5. Maya who designed the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery: LIN - her Webpage

6. Actor Heath: LEDGER - I liked him in "A Knight's Tale", and as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" - died at 28yrs old from a prescription drug overdose in NYC - his Wiki

7. Mart: SHOP

8. Catholic leader: POPE

9. Bread box?: ATM - another alternative clue for an over-used fill

10. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU

11. Workers who may use concrete saws: MASONS - I tried PAVERS

12. Slopes habitué: SKI BUM

13. Regal competitor: AMC - Movie theatres

14. The big leagues: PRO BALL

15. Given that: AS SUCH

16. Get cold feet: CHICKEN OUT

17. Beep: HONK - I tried "TOOT"

18. Some flock members: EWES - AND - 42D. Fancy jugs: EWERS

21. System starter: ECO - ECOsystem

24. Party spread: PÂTÉ - "What am I, chopped liver~?"

29. Spot to get a bite: EATERY - can I get some PATE~?

32. Mole: SPY

33. Words to live by: MOTTO - Dah~! Not CREDO

34. Swimming powerhouse in the Olympics, for short: AUStralia - I was not sure where this clue was going; even after it filled via perps, I had to check online; here's a medal count by country

36. Model material: BALSA

37. Drafts folder filler: E-MAIL

38. Very, to Vivaldi: MOLTO - Italian

40. Not forthcoming: CAGEY

41. Big Apple product: iMAC - I tried iPAD

43. Savage of "MythBusters": ADAM - I know him....

44. Savage of "Savage Love": DAN - I do NOT know him

46. Genetic material: DNA

51. Cold __ coffee: BREW

52. Slithering swimmers: EELS

53. "Children of," in temple names: B'NAI - Hebrew

54. Berkshire school: ETON - I was thinking Berkeley, and tried UCLA - hey, I am EAST coast....

55. Degs. for entrepreneurs: MBAs

57. Panicked, perhaps: FROZE - Fight, Flight or Freeze~?

58. Super: ULTRA

59. Game of luck: LOTTO

64. "I don't believe __ met": "WE'VE"

65. Posthumous Pulitzer winner James: AGEE - good WAG on my part

66. Firewood quantity: CORD

67. One might start with a knock: JOKE - As in, "Knock Knock, who's there~?"

68. "My bad!": "OOPS~!"

69. Hit below the belt: FIGHT DIRTY *- I tried SUCKER PUNC, ran out of spaces

70. Ran in place, maybe: IDLED

71. Trademarked element of Play-Doh: SCENT - HA~! I tried "TASTE" first

72. Gives up: STANDS DOWN *- neat contradictory clue/answer

73. "Is __ OK?": response to a request for Coke: PEPSI - in the South, the question is always "What kind of Coke do you want~?" "I'll have a Diet Pepsi."

74. Becomes ragged: FRAYS

75. Weblike fabric: LACE

Ballerina Black Secret Scarlet Lace Tights

76. Milk carton phrase: USE BY

77. Some: NOT ALL - that would be the definition....

78. "How can I ever __ you?": REPAY

79. Abbr. on old phones: OPERator; here's a funny Millennial video

Four minutes to dial a number....

80. Place for a couples retreat: SPA

81. Joplin work: RAG - SCOTT Joplin - The Entertainer kind of rag

86. Steak __: TARTARE - Basically, raw beef - a recipe

87. Batter's stat: OPS - Baseball lingo for On-Base Plus Slugging

88. Gp. that might plan a readathon: PTA

90. Soothing balms: SALVES - ALOES was too short

91. Make more suitable: RETOOL

92. "Resume speed," to a musician: A TEMPO - definition

93. Colon, at times: IS TO - analogy; see 35A.

94. Wraps: STOLES

99. Iraqi port city: BASRA

100. Piggie's favorite dish in the "Elephant and Piggie" books: SLOP - makes sense

101. Line on a trail map: PATH - I followed the advice of two Cornerites, desper-otto & TTP, ordered me a pair of New Balance 608 V5s

The brown ones were $10 less - I'm not picky, and they match my sweatpants~!

103. Bldg. coolers: A/Cs - gotta put my big window unit in; we are going to get close to 100° this week here in Connecticut 😝

104. Green Gables girl: ANNE

105. Blurry craft in tabloid pics: UFOs

107. Storage __: UNIT

108. Quiche need: EGGS

110. Acid letters: LSD

112. Peacock title: MRS. - Definitely Saturday cluing, and a reference to the board game Clue; I had an inkling this was what we were looking for; I also considered "MRT", as Mr. T was in the NBC "Peacock" show "The A-Team"

113. Western treaty gp.: OAS - Organziation of American States - the Wiki

114. Actor Penn: KAL - His IMDb; I knew of him from "House, M.D."

Splynter

Themeless Saturday by Alan Massengill & Doug Peterson

Today is the first full day of Summer as the Solstice occurred at 9;42 pm (CDT) last night when the sun was directly over the Tropic of Cancer. We will have the greatest amount of daylight and, as you see at the left, this is where you will see the sunrise on this day at Stonehenge. For us here in Nebraska, the grackles will soon be moving on from our feeders and will not be missed.

Today's puzzle by Alan (left below) and Doug has a nice wide-open grid with only 27 blocks and 102 open squares. The long grid-spanners were very "gettable" and clever fill added to the fun. Hanging on to LEGIT too long was a speed bump. My potential Natick was at _AVI/_ONCE and for some reason, NONCE made some sense for one-off and the Congratulations window came up.

Across:

1. Ocean spray?: SEA SALT.

8. Sings the blues: ACTS SAD - I chose Buck's version over Ringo's.

15. Flurry: HUSTLE AND BUSTLE.

17. Particulars from behind closed doors: INTIMATE DETAILS - She should know.

18. Capital of Cambodia: RIELS - A Big Mac in Phnom Penh, the uh, capital of Cambodia, costs 23,938 REILS

19. States: AVERS 20. __ service: LIP - He AVERS that he will back me up but it turned out to be LIP service when I needed him.

21. Space that may be kind of a lot: ACRE 😀

22. Signs: OMENS - Get to the basement!

23. Numbers game: KENO.

24. Really chill: ZEN.

25. Highlands estate owner: LAIRD.

26. One duo and two trios: OCTET 😀 (1 x 2) + (2 x 3) = 2 + 6 = 8

27. Works from home?: BATS 😀

28. Command performances?: SALUTES - What a private has to do to a general or...

QEII and the lads
after a command performance

30. Nancy, to Fritzi Ritz: NIECE - 1944 edition

32. Surveyor's support: BIPOD.

33. Game for pick-y people: LOTTERY.

35. CLE team: CAVS.

36. Final challenge, perhaps: ESSAY 😀 I always liked multiple choices better but knew there would probably be an ESSAY question near the end

37. Spark joy in: ELATE.

39. NL players since 2022: DH'S - The National League finally started using it 49 years later.

42. Groks: GETS - We solvers grok and suss

43. No-hit performance?: B-SIDE 😀 - Hanging onto LEGIT too long and not knowing BRITE left me starting at _ S E D E for a while. Richie Valens' La Bamba was once a B-SIDE.

44. Drink choice: NEAT - We veterans here remember Tinbeni who refused to have ice in his scotch

45. "How To Triumph Like a Girl" poet Limón: ADA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The poem

46. New York minute: TRICE.

47. One-off: NONCE

48. "It came back to me so easily!": LIKE RIDING A BIKE.

51. "Let me worry about that": I'VE GOT IT COVERED.

52. Signified: DENOTED.

53. Text-style workers: EDITORS - A fun play on the word textile

Down:

1. Red selection: SHIRAZ - I picked up on the clue for red wine but this wine naif needed a lot of help for this variety

2. Carol Burnett character: EUNICE - Eunice and her Mama had issues

3. Toward a paddle wheel: ASTERN.

4. Steps over a wall: STILE.

5. Element of the Third Pillar of Islam: ALMS.

6. Green span: LEA.

7. Tea ceremony surfaces: TATAMIS.

The mat is called a TATAMI

8. Plus ones?: ADDENDS - This math teacher deserves a time out for trying to see this as someone who is taken as date to an event instead of...

9. Many semi pros: CBERS - I quickly saw semi as a tractor/trailer combo, good buddy!

10. Sounds of contempt: TUTS.

11. Retirement income org.: SSA.

12. Lift provider on a runway: STILETTO - I'll admit my first thought was of supportive underwear.

Can be hazardous

13. Only Top 40 hit for actor/singer Jack Wagner: ALL I NEED - It reached #2 behind Madonna's Like A Virgin

14. Tyrants: DESPOTS.

16. "Give up?" comeback: NEVER - General McAuliffe had a different way to respond to a German demand to give up in 1944.

22. Western: OATER.

23. Trademarked pods: K CUPS - I use them everyday but can't find any strong enough

25. Chabert of "Mean Girls": LACEY - She's on the left below. I did not know her name but her face was instantly familiar as my lovely bride is a big fan of her much different persona as Hallmark's Queen Of Christmas.

26. Fruit in caponata: OLIVE - Yeah, I guess it is a fruit but I usually don't thionk of it as one.

Caponata

27. Almost-ready versions: BETAS.

29. Ease up: ABATE.

30. Plummet: NOSEDIVE.

31. "Don't sit there": IT'S TAKEN - Not a pleasant chore

33. Passport, for one: LEGAL ID.

34. "Guilty as charged": YES I DID - Saying "Guilty as charged" can defuse a tense situation

35. Rhythmic flow: CADENCE - A fun way to keep it.

38. Permissible: LICIT - As I said, I had LEGAL here for way too long.

39. "Taxi Driver" Oscar nominee: DENIRO - His famous line from that movie

40. Cyberwarrior, sometimes: HACKER.

41. Lipizzans, e.g.: STEEDS - Horse lover General George Patton was instrumental in saving a large number of Lipizzans from the advancing Russians in 1945.