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~!
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
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
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."
The theme was clear from
ReplyDeletethe beginning, and that helped me solve this not too difficult puzzle. One thing: for a while I had “Rus” instead of “Aus” as the “swimming powerhouse” but finally saw that “Mrnu” didn’t make any sense, so I fixed that and got the “congratulatory” flip.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
And, by the way, I hope you feel better soon, C.C. You’re the best!
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteTried LEGEND before LEDGER barged in; guess I confused Heath with John. Is OPS really a baseball thingee? It took 25+ to fill the grid this morning, slightly longer than usual for a Sunday pzl. Enjoyed it, though. Thanx, Christina and our designated hitter, Splynter. (Hope you enjoy those 608's, not GOBs.)
BALSA: I remember older brother spending the better part of a week constructing and painting his rubber-band-powered model airplane. Finally the day came for the maiden flight. The plane soared right against the second story of the bank building across the street. Total loss.
DIE HARD: Yes, Splynter, Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie. Yippee Ki Yay!
Sorry to hear you're under the weather, C.C. I've had several drugs by infusion, but never experienced an adverse reaction.
ReplyDeleteTook 17:20 today for me to find my rhythm and blues.
ReplyDeleteOnce again the foreign words weren't kind to me as I didn't know the Hebrew (bnai), the Italian musical phrase (adue), and the German cry (ach). I didn't know the designer Maya (Lin) or "Mr. Show"/Mrs. How". Took a long time to parse "ate mpo" or "at empo" for "a tempo."
Cute theme. Enjoyable puzzle.
All the themers were also "before and after phrases" similar to what "Wheel of Fortune" does. For example, the first one: Mom and Pop and Pop Music. The 2nd one: Precious Metal and Metal Head.
ReplyDeleteFIR, getting my mild WAGs @ BEERS x BNAI, and MOAN x DAN. ogle->GAPE, tsps->AMTS, awes->WOWS, and obp->OPS.
ReplyDeleteI knew DARYL more for Dancing at the Blue Iguana and Summer Lovers.
The big leagues are PRO BALL, but so are the minor leagues. "The show" is a baseball term used exclusively for the big leagues.
Splynter gave us Steely Dan's The Fez, but missed the opportunity to link their better-known Home at Last.
Thanks to Christina for the fun Sunday exercise, and to Splynter for stepping up to the plate. Hope CC feels better soon.
FIR. I had a struggle with today's puzzle as I found it had a little bite to it. Fortunately the theme became clear from the first long answer and that helped a lot with the solve.
ReplyDeleteBut I did find some of the clues to be more of what you might expect in a Saturday CW.
So overall this was not an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteSunday puzzles are usually either a slog fest or a fun fest for me. Today’s was the latter, with a cute and well-executed theme. The themers were all solid, in the language phrases, nicely transitioned into music genres. Other than Mr. Show, Adam, and Dan, which were unknowns, the fill was pretty straightforward and free of dreck. I was happy to see two of my favorite foods in the grid, Pâté and Steak Tartare. Yummers, as Hahtoolah would say!
Thanks, Christine, for a Sunday treat and thanks, Splynter, for coming to CC’s rescue. You did a great job on your Sunday debut.
Stay cool everyone and have a great day.
CC, feel better soon! ❤️
DeleteApologies to Christina for the misspelling.
DeleteVery nice Sunday from Christina. Got stuck on 1A, which isn't an auspicious start, but once I got over that bridge (instead of OH HELL), I was on my way.
ReplyDeleteBob Odenkirk starred in two of the best TV shows in recent memory: Breaking Bad and it's prequel, Better Call Saul.
RightBrain and I had dinner at Rock n Roll Ribs last night, a great local place owned by Iron Maiden's drummer, Nicko McBrain (no relation!).
I first saw Daryl Hannah in "Splash" with Tom Hanks. Now she is married to Neil Young who is 15 years older.
CC, I hope you feel better soon (my autocorrect just changed that to "fell better soon", which is way different!). And thanks to Splynter for filling in and linking OH HELL that I now want to try.
RB, I liked both series but thought Better Call Saul had more depth beyond the drug focus of Braking Bad. This may have something to do with Bob Odenkirk’s stellar performance in the starring role.
DeleteI stumbled out of the gate, whiffing on several of the early across clues, and wondered if I was headed for abject failure.
ReplyDeleteBut I somehow got on the constructor's wavelength, leading to a walk in the park the rest of the way.
I even knew who Dan Savage is, as his syndicated advice column appeared in a weekly (free) newspaper that populated racks throughout San Francisco in the nineties.
Altogether, a fun puzzle.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A nice diversion on a day where the “feel like” temp will be 110F+.
-How did we ever survive childhood without A/C?
-_RSHOW/A_C yielded to a lucky guess
-An AMC car would have been no competitor to a Buick REGAL but that’s where my mind went.
-NOOGIE – the ones I got as a child from my uncles would qualify as child abuse today
-LAOS: Countries with four-letter names
-Best knock, knock JOKE I’ve ever heard. I jumped the first time a student screamed the punchline.
-Many American industries RETOOLED to win WWII
-In the 50’s a woman who was smoking while wearing a STOLE, white gloves and a hat was common on TV shows
-Get well, C.C.!
Here's one for the Chairman:
DeleteKnock, knock.
Who’s there?
Hike.
Hike who?
Ha ha
DeleteThx - twas a very enjoyable puzzle. I do love music. Sports not so much: two crossed sports clues tripped me - so was reluctant to put in my last (most “sensible”) letter (“a”) at manu-aus crossing.
ReplyDeleteCC - sending best wishes for quick healing.
I liked this puzzle, even though I ran into two personal Naticks: (1) the M crossing AMC and MRSHOW, and (2) the A crossing MANU and AUS.
ReplyDeleteSeveral writeovers: NAVAJO-->APACHE, BRIDGE-->OHHELL, MORE-->MOAN, and RAP-->DIS.
Good wishes to you, C.C.
Sorry to hear the news C.C. I hope that you feel better very soon.
ReplyDeletePrayers for you, C.C.
ReplyDeleteA lovely puzzle by Christina Iverson today, and an excellent review by Splynter. Thanks for filling in for C.C. I sure hope she feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think I'm very clever because I can solve the puzzle, I take another look and am reminded that I'm not nearly as clever as the constructor. It's pretty neat to come up with "Mom and Pop / pop music," and the rest of the Genre Fusion entries, but to place them symmetrically into a grid like this? That WOWS me.
I DNK the card game, the comedy series, the Savages, the batter's stat, Piggie's favorite dish, or the Peacock title, but the puzzle was so well constructed that I FIR on paper, no cheating, and enjoyed it. Many thanks to Christina, to Patti, to Splynter, and to C.C.
Loved this puzzle. Fun theme and although some difficult entries stopped me sometimes, I always managed with p and p as Irish Miss ☘️ would state.
ReplyDeleteI could repeat Jayce’s first paragraph. I had the same problems.
Thank you Splynter for all the good info. CC, best wishes for á speedy recovery.
Hola! My guests went to Sedona for the afternoon, so I had time to solve this puzzle. Thank you, Christina, for the diversion. For some reason I did not finish SPASMS and didn't notice. Everything else filled in good time though not on AUTO. I don't know why Peacock title would be "MRS".
ReplyDeleteC.C., I'm sorry you are not well. Please take care of yourself and get better soon.
Enjoy your day, everyone!
After over 50 years in solving LAT Xword puzzles today's entry "did me in"! Couldn't get a start in any section. Rather than tossing it, I used as a starter in my fireplace. The crackling flames made me feel a LOT better!!
ReplyDeleteI just was not in wavelength for today’s offering; it felt like a Saturday puzzle on steroids! No FIR in the cards for me — the two music notation references did me in (and having EbaY in place of ETSY didn’t help…). I’ve played guitar since I was 10, but can’t read a stitch of music; it’s all been by ear, much easier imho.
ReplyDeleteHand up, too, for being hung out on “stags” for way too long, and thinking NYC for the “ Big Apple product” clue — embarrassing for a 40-yr Mac addict… 😖
side note: today’s puzzle had an answer for a big discourse here on the Corner recently: if a homie knocks some one, did he “diss” them, or DIS them? See 95A 😎
Splynter, great job on the review above — thanks for jumping in! You dropped in some funny refs: IGOR (“EYE-gor”) from one of my favorite movies (“Nice knockers!”🤣) and the Joplin link was most “entertaining”. Tough one to play on guitar! Also while we’re on the subject of music, while I’m also not a big fan of country, it has come a long way since the old days — Keith Urban absolutely rips. Plus I appreciated the racy LACY graphic — OOLALA (from the other day, hee hee!).
C.C., sending you the best vibes I can muster, hoping you get through your ordeal smoothly ❤️
====> Darren / L.A.
PS hmmm, it appears that my closing remark about Saturday’s puzzle re: “DHS” ruffled someone’s feathers… my apologies.
ReplyDelete