Theme: Holy (rock and) rollers.
 |
| Hank Hill's thoughts on Christian Rock |
I count seven puzzles in these pages co-constructed by Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas. Is today's puzzle divinely inspired? The theme entries are:
20-Across. *Depeche Mode song with the lyric "Reach out and touch faith": PERSONAL JESUS. Released in 1989, this song was inspired by the book Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley. It is surely no accident that Elvis and Priscilla show up in the clue at 3-Down! The song is about how a lover becomes one's source of hope and tender loving care -- a god-like role that people fulfill for one another.
25-Across. *Bon Jovi song with the lyric "Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear": LIVIN' ON A PRAYER. Recorded in 1986 and regarded as Bon Jovi's signature song, this song is about a working class couple struggling to make ends meet. I'll bet many of you can hum a few bars.
44-Across. *Hozier song with the lyric "I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies": TAKE ME TO CHURCH. Irish singer-songwriter Hozier's debut single in 2013. Kind of an anti-religious song, in which a lover offers the only true redemption.
52-Across. Bible camp genre, or what the answers to the starred clues could be mistaken for?: CHRISTIAN ROCK.
The only one of these songs that I knew was LIVIN' ON A PRAYER. Now that I've looked at the lyrics of all three, I realize that our constructors selected songs that are anything *but* traditionally devotional. They have suggested as much with the reveal at 52-Across.
Let's see what other revelations appear in the rest of the puzzle.
Across:1. Included digitally: CC'ED. "Carbon copied" on an email. Some of us are old enough to have used carbon paper between sheets of regular paper on a typewriter to create copies.
5. Ryder Cup org.: PGA. The Ryder Cup is played in odd-numbered years between teams from the United States and Europe. On our side of the pond, it is organized by the Professional Golfers' Association of America.
8. Not quite: ALMOST.
14. Prefix with port: HELI. A heliport is a landing place for helicopters that provides a range of services like maintenance and fueling. A helipad is just a designated place where a helicopter can land safely.
15. "Toy Story" dinosaur: REX. If you could picture this fellow in memory, you could guess his name.
 |
| Rex is the green fellow. |
16. Snicker sound: TEEHEE. Finally! Someone has spelled this correctly in a puzzle!
17. Totalitarian control: IRON RULE.
19. Heartless fellow in Oz?: TIN MAN.
20. [Theme clue]
22. Down: SAD.
23. Power drill insert: BIT.
24. Bird with large green eggs: EMU.
25. [Theme clue]
32. Subj. with a lot of reading: ENG. A subject that involves a lot of reading is English.
33. "Home on the Range" animal: ANTELOPE. "Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play ...."
34. Arab leader: EMIR.
37. "The Marvelous __ Maisel": MRS. Great show, appeared on Amazon Prime Video over five seasons from 2017 to 2023.
32. Subj. with a lot of reading: ENG. A subject that involves a lot of reading is English.
33. "Home on the Range" animal: ANTELOPE. "Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play ...."
34. Arab leader: EMIR.
37. "The Marvelous __ Maisel": MRS. Great show, appeared on Amazon Prime Video over five seasons from 2017 to 2023.
38. Phil or Lil of "Rugrats," e.g.: TWIN.
 |
| Phil and Lil |
39. Vinegar that may be drizzled over caprese salad: BALSAMIC. 'Tis the season to enjoy ripe tomatoes with fresh basil and mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
 | |
42. Undeclared: Abbr.: TBA. To Be Announced.
44. [Theme clue]
48. Afore: ERE.
49. Gender-specific pronoun: HER.
50. In medias __: RES. Latin for "in the middle of things." In fiction, it is the technique of dropping the reader into the midst of the action without preamble.
52. [Theme clue]
56. Narrow waterway: STRAIT.
58. Erodes bit by bit: EATS INTO.
59. Persuade forcefully: COERCE.
60. Toronto-to-Quebec dir.: ENE.
61. Filmmaker Buñuel: LUIS.
62. [Skull emoji]: I'M DEAD.
63. Team ldr.: MGR. Team leader could be a manager.
64. Mark for good: ETCH.
Down:
1. Nail polish nicks: CHIPS.
2. Lucky Charms, e.g.: CEREAL.
3. Jacob who played Elvis in "Priscilla": ELORDI. Jacob Elordi is an Australian actor who portrayed Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s biographical drama Priscilla in 2023. Did Not Know.
 |
| Jacob Elordi |
4. Loud noises: DINS.
5. Trimming: PRUNING.
6. Tartufo ingredient: GELATO. Tartufo is Italian for truffle, a fabulous edible fungus, but is also the name of an Italian frozen dessert that looks sort of like the fungus. The dessert is a gelato ball with a filling, coated in cocoa powder, a hard chocolate shell, or ground nuts.
 |
| Tartufo |
7. Olympic jump: AXEL.
8. Shot: ATTEMPT.
 |
| From Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. |
9. Duty-free time: LEISURE.
10. Word with beer or wine: MENU.
11. Units of resistance: OHMS.
12. __ urchin: SEA.
13. Perfect score in some rating systems: TEN.
18. Bird with small blue eggs: ROBIN.
21. Mom __: JEANS. Denim pants with a high waist, relaxed hip and thigh areas, and tapered legs were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Later, they were ridiculed by younger folks as a style only their moms continued to wear. And then these whippersnappers imitated them in the mid-2010s to the present. Now they are actually marketed as "mom jeans."
 |
| Mom jeans |
26. Sonnets, odes, et al.: VERSE.
27. Drug bust figure: NARCO. "Narco" refers to someone who traffics illegal drugs, deriving from the word "narcotic."
28. Vow locale: ALTAR.
29. Cry of pain: YOW.
30. Prefix with center: EPI.
31. "__ Faire": 2024 HBO docuseries: REN. Ren Faire is a three-part HBO documentary series that explores a succession crisis at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I didn't know this, but I've been to a Renaissance Faire once or twice. I know some folks who still love to dress up for these things.
 |
| Ren Faire costumes are all about the bodice. |
34. SNAP system: EBT. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budgets. Electronic Benefit Transfer allows state welfare departments to issue benefits via a magnetically encoded payment card.
35. Barnyard bleat: MAA. A bleat is the sound of a lamb, kid, or calf calling for its mother. Lambs (baby sheep) are usually represented as saying "baa," kids (baby goats) as saying "maa," and calves (baby cattle) as saying "moo."
36. Kind: ILK.
37. Tick relatives: MITES.
40. Ferrera of "Barbie": AMERICA. America Ferrera played a Mattel employee in the 2023 Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie. She delivered a monologue that resonated with many people.
An excerpt from the monologue:
"It is literally impossible to be a woman. ... Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong. You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. ... You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. ... You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault."
41. Warranted: MERITED.
42. Broadway building: THEATER.
43. Ruins by overcooking: BURNS.
45. __ Mai: city in northern Thailand: CHIANG. Chiang Mai is a major city in northern Thailand, known for its ancient temples, bustling markets, and vibrant cafe scene, all nestled within a backdrop of mountains and natural beauty.
41. Warranted: MERITED.
42. Broadway building: THEATER.
43. Ruins by overcooking: BURNS.
45. __ Mai: city in northern Thailand: CHIANG. Chiang Mai is a major city in northern Thailand, known for its ancient temples, bustling markets, and vibrant cafe scene, all nestled within a backdrop of mountains and natural beauty.
 |
| Chiang Mai |
46. Hybrid pastry since 2013: CRONUT. A Cronut is a trademarked, croissant-doughnut hybrid pastry invented by French pastry chef Dominique Ansel in 2013, featuring a delicate, flaky interior with a caramelized, crispy exterior.
 |
| Cronut |
47. Frenzied: HECTIC.
51. Ambiguous recipe amount: SKOSH.
52. Street __: CRED.
53. Aesop racer: HARE.
54. Swarm (with): TEEM.
55. Peeve: RILE. I'm familiar with the noun, as in "pet peeve" or annoyance, but the first meaning seems to be a verb, to annoy, which matches up with rile, which means to make angry or to upset.
56. Ecol. or geol.: SCI. Ecology and geology are sciences.
57. Colicchio of "Top Chef": TOM. Tom Colicchio co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as co-owner and executive chef. He is the founder of Crafted Hospitality, which includes Craft (NYC and Los Angeles), Temple Court (NYC), Craftsteak (MGM Grand Las Vegas) and Small Batch (Long Island) restaurants. Colicchio is the recipient of five James Beard Foundation Awards and has been the head judge on every season of Bravo reality TV show Top Chef, as well as Best New Restaurant which he executive produces. Sorry to say I DNK any of that, Tom!
 |
| Tom Colicchio |
Here's the grid:
OK, solvers, I have to ask:
Did the puzzle TEEM with unknowns for you, so that it RILEd you up?
Or was it a pleasant LEISURE activity that MERITED praise for the constructors?
Let us know in the comments.
-- NaomiZ
24 comments:
Well, we are told to avoid
politics and religion on this blog, but I guess no one told the authors of this crossword ! Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Sub, I've been avoiding religion for many decades; politics, not so much.
This puzzle turned into a tale of two corners and four unknown songs. In the NW. BCCD kept the unknown ELORDI from appearing. In the SE, EATS AWAY and PINCH kept LUIS and CRONUT in the shadows. Bzzzzt. Sezst lah vye. Thanx, Sala, Emily, and NaomiZ.
Good Morning:
This ended up being a very perfunctory solve for me as I have never heard of any of these songs, nor was I aware that there was a genre called Christian Rock. The solve itself wasn’t difficult, although Elordi, Chiang, and Luis needed perps. Am I the only one who misses the fun word play and the clever, thought-provoking themes of the old guard constructors such as Jeffrey Wechsler, Ed Sessa, John Lampkin, Paul Coulter, etc.
Thanks, Sala and Emily, and thanks, Naomi, for a write-up that was far more interesting than the puzzle. I’m a big fan of Caprese Salads, but I prefer just EVOO on mine. Cronuts are not the least bit appealing to me.
Have a great day.
FIR, but toon->TWIN and pinch->SKOSH. Also erased part of my uncompleted fill TAKE it TO the ???.
I wanted the four-letter word with beer or wine to be "free." Just as well - I'm years past the days when my favorite drink was anything someone else bought.
Remember Night Ranger's big hit Sister Christian? It was written by their drummer, who was watching his younger sister becoming a young woman. They were playing it in clubs before they were hot enough to get a recording contract. The original name was , the sister's actual name, but was misheard by the bass player and the new name stuck.
This would have been a very good TV Guide puzzle, but I didn't think much of it as an LAT offering, being overloaded with A&E fare. But NaomiZ's explanation of REN Faire nearly makes me want to watch the show. I used to go every year when I lived in LA. So thanks for that, and the rest of the informative review.
What happened?
"The original name was , the sister's actual name, but was misheard by the bass player and the new name stuck"
was supposed to read
"The original name was Sister Christy, the sister's actual name, but was misheard by the bass player and the new name stuck."
FIR. This puzzle can be summed up in one word: YUK!
To start there were way too many proper names, most of which were insanely obscure.
Next there were three totally unknown songs, most by rare artists, Bon Jovi excepted.
And finally a very religious based theme, that although it doesn't offend me, might well offend some people.
So overall an incredibly UNenjoyable presentation.
Prototype for ''Juice not worth the squeeze''.
Seemed more like a Saturday puzzle.
Took 5:08 today for me to work my way through the jukebox.
I would've liked to see "Spirit in the Sky" (Norman Greenbaum) or "Like a Prayer" (Madonna).
Luckily, I knew all three songs.
Unluckily, I struggled with the Actress of the Day (America) and the Actor of the Day (Elordi). Huh, is eLORDi a themer?
I didn't know the chef (Tom), the filmmaker (Luis), or the city in Thailand (Chiang). "Yow" & "maa" were clunky. Seemed like a lot of 3LWs.
I'm with Ms. Irish Miss in, um, Missing (sorry) the clever word play. I didn't mind this theme, but felt the fill suffered for it (huh, suffering - maybe there is another Christian theme there). So, yes, the juice was not worth the squeeze today.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was a great show.
Oh! No you’re not the only one. I feel the same.
When I saw all those song titles, I knew this was not á puzzle for me. In addition, lots of proper names, my pet PEEVE, so that left very little for me to enjoy.
NaomiZ was the redeeming value for this morning’s outing. That poor emu will not win beauty contests.
I’ve never heard or seen “skosh” used as a recipe term. Pinch or dash, yes. That was a bad clue.
I still love the distorted guitar sound in "Spirit in the Sky."
I played guitar in folk masses for may years starting in my Catholic high school, but it was always acoustic music, not the amplified rock of today.
Naomi, you managed to highlight everything that I needed. Thanks, you're very good at this.
Musings
-In my quest to become the oldest substitute teacher in Nebraska history, I am AT IT again today. This marks 58 years in front of kids.
-Not knowing two of the songs, the people from the arts or that Thai city was not an issue.
-I’ve seen enough of the insurance EMU to last me a lifetime.
-My wife really hates shows where you are dropped into the middle and then have to do flashbacks. She also does not dig competitive cooking shows.
-Baseball MGR’s are the only “on the field” leaders who wear the same clothing as the players. Sometimes it is not a good look!
-Redux: Me too Irish!
-I want Spirit In The Sky played at my funeral!
DNF. Way outside of my wheelhouse today. The music all fell way past my "music appreciation cutoff date", and the obscure A&E references sank the rest of the enjoyment. I'll Echo IM on this one.
Hola! whew! I'm glad to read comments that affirm my feelings for this puzzle. Although I finished it, I did not enjoy it especially the SW corner. I've never heard of a CRONUT and SKOSH eluded me. My friend Kathy frequently says SKOSH, but I thought she had made it up!
I don't listen to any contemporary music so none of the titles meant anything to me. IMO, song titles, quotations and obscure names do not belong in a crossword puzzle. WORDS, please. i agree with IrishMiss, we need more constructors like those erudite ones of the past. It's sad to see the LA Times puzzle sink like this. Enjoy your day, everyone!
I managed to solve this puzzle until I reached the bottom right corner, where I crashed and burned. I agree with what many of you said about this puzzle. Not much satisfaction or enjoyment. Good reading all your comments.
I was expecting a picture of Tommy Lasorda, but this one is a pretty good representation of that concept. (They can't all look like Tom Landry.)
Does anyone else remember the Levi’s blue jeans line they advertised "With A Skosh More Room?" Probably MOM jeans before that term was coined.
Sounds like my mother has never told you her recipe for, well,... pretty much anything she makes has a "skosh" of something in it. ;-)
I was going to take a Thumper, but, when you throw in the Bible,
I figured, what the hell...
Interesting Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Sala and Emily. And your commentaries are always very helpful, thanks for this one too, NaomiZ.
Well, I started out discouraged by seeing IRON and TIN early in the puzzle, thinking we were going to have to deal with a lot of minerals or something. But as soon as I saw JESUS, I realized that was a different theme, here, one a bit unusual for puzzles, where we rarely see much religion. But here we were LIVING ON A PRAYER, along with the request: TAKE ME TO CHURCH. And although I never put religion and rock music together, getting CHRISTIAN ROCK was intriguing. Starting a puzzle with prayer and religion is interesting, but now it's time for breakfast (after coming home from church). So let's have some CHIPS, and CEREAL, and a CRONUT (whatever that is?), with flavoring like GELATO and BALSAMIC vinegar. Hope we MERITED all that healthy food, and let's look forward to going to the THEATER tonight!
Have a healthy and happy day, everybody.
Well I attempted this one on a wing and a PRAYER, ultimately failing with 11 blank spaces in the SE. ELORDI, and CHAING we’re all perps as were two of the theme songs, I only knew Bon Jovi’s. LUIS was four white squares, couldn’t WAG anything without the verticals, filmmaker Bunuel is about as obscure as it gets for me. To quote an old corny country song, all I can say is “Drop Kick Me Jesus through the Goal Posts of Life”. Thanks to the constructiors ( begrudgingly), and to Naomi Z for for highlighting all I didn’t know. You’re right, perfect time of year for those tomatoes, mozzarella etc just like in your photo.
Post a Comment