HERE'S A DOLLAR . . .
Get yourself a fig leaf, man~!
Katherine has had several puzzles published in the LA Times - her last was here, Friday Sep 12. Today we have an odd-sized grid, 14 x 16, which allows for the "passing" of synonyms for "BUCK", as they progress from the start of the first themer, and shift by four letters to the last one - clever. Yes, circles, but I think that it's for clarification purposes, not an anagram-like necessity. I am even more impressed that we have barely a handful of names, most being crossword staples. 16 3LWs, an even 20 of four- and five-letter words, plus two new, unique* fills;
18. Enthralled by the theater: STAGESTRUCK - I have not heard of this ( usually, I'm STAR struck ) but in my search, I discovered a movie, and at least one company that does stage/exhibit production - I would like to work with a company like that, building sets, props, special effects, etc.
31. Green-and-yellow farm playthings for kids: JOHN DEERE TOYS* - I have a similar "toy", but it's a Massey Ferguson; here's the son of my friend Melina on his "tractor"
45. Folks who get creative in court: SKETCH ARTISTS* - I grew up seeing these renderings on the evening news, not knowing the reason why; I believe the first major "televised" court case I can recall, if I am not mistaken ( and I frequently am ) was the OJ trial - and now it's part of an exhibit of courtroom sketches
From a New York Times article
58. Shift responsibility to someone else, and an apt title for this puzzle: PASS THE BUCK
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Ill-fitting: INAPT - this word speaks awkwardly, IMO
6. Ground-breaking tool: SPADE - I showed you all my broken spade in the Sep 10th blog
11. Passed with flying colors: ACED
15. Zenith's opposite: NADIR
16. Stand in art class: EASEL
17. Theater box: LOGE
20. Apple variety: iMAC - the ol' computer/fruit deception
21. Outlets: EXITS - Doors, not electrical receptacles
22. Swimwear brand founded in Australia in 1914: SPEEDO - kinda like a 20th century "fig leaf" - and yeah . . . TMI clothing, IMO
24. Viola clef: ALTO - filled via perps
Relative position of Middle "C"
27. Scallions' kin: LEEKS
30. Squirming: ANTSY
34. Krauss of bluegrass-country: ALISON - Odd spelling; I know she collaborated with Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant on the album Raising Sand in 2007, and again with Raise the Roof in 2021
Please Read the Letter
35. "One more thought ... ": "ALSO . . ."
36. Bubbly drink: POP - Soda, Cola, Coke - depends on your location/dialect
39. Fled: RAN
40. Frozen Four org.: NCAA - College ice hockey
43. Early bloomers: TULIPS
48. Quick bread at tea: SCONE - My parents were born & raised in England - I have had scones
51. Detective story?: ALIBI - and the name of my ex-GF's cat in Florida
52. Boundless: VAST
53. Smoothie fruit: PAPAYA - I mix in "berry medley" with chocolate protein powder, and "tropical" with vanilla - no papaya in my smoothies, but I'd try it
55. Lower back bones: SACRA - plural of sacrum
Why does this image make me think of the movie "ALIEN"~?
57. System operator: USER
64. Spot for curlers: RINK - These curlers
65. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTÉE
66. First Greek letter: ALPHA
67. Intrusive: NOSY
68. Veggies for chips: SPUDS
69. Intel job: RECONnaissance - The etymology of this Frawnche word
DOWN:
1. LiMu business: INSurance - Most insurance advertising is extremely annoying, IMO - I am covered by Geico, and their commercials are the only ones that I can tolerate - and WHY is it such a huge presence in the market~? There's an INS ad every TV break
2. D.C. ballplayer: NATional - baseball for C.C.
3. 1990 accessibility law, for short: ADA - Americans with Disability Act - required knowledge for me as a commercial/residential drafter/designer. The website has this section, which never occurred to me.
4. Statue toppers: PIGEONS - Ah. That kind of "topper"
The caption: "I'm extremely conflicted here."
5. Dino with long teeth and short arms: T-REX
6. Small sofa: SETTEE - Check out the "legs" on this settee
The curvy ones - uh, well, that's not too distinctive
7. Text analyst: PARSER - a bit meh.
8. Tempe sch.: ASU - Arizona State University - the region where my ex-wife now lives - not quite the whole continent away, but close enough....
9. Advent mo.: DECember
10. Community group with lodges: ELKS
11. Extraterrestrial visitors, perhaps: ALIENS
12. Extraterrestrial visitor, certainly: COMET - I just finished "Seveneves" by Neal Stevenson, a science fiction novel with a fair amount of the story involving a comet
13. "Yikes!": "EGADS~!"
14. Wooden duck, e.g.: DECOY
19. "Hush": "SILENCE~!" - I tried 'BE QUIET' first
23. Shareholder dividend: PAYOUT
24. Slightly cracked: AJAR - Again Doors, not minds . . . .
25. Title person in a Kinks hit: LOLA - I was never a fan of the song - this one was better, IMO
Come Dancing
26. Lean: THIN - oops, not TILT - see below
28. Mauna __: alphabetically first of two Hawaiian volcanoes with similar names: KEA - thanks for the hint~! The other is LOA
29. Mo. town: STL - Not "Detroit", which is related to the muscial Motown
32. Party animal?: DONKEY - as in "Pin the Tail On the. . ."
33. Big bird: OSTRICH - our second "Big Bird" of the puzzle - LiMu ads feature an Emu
36. Tuscan tower town: PISA
Saw this on FB under "Dad Jokes"
37. Makes a choice: OPTS
38. Covert summons: PSST~!
41. One step __ time: AT A
42. Knee stabilizer, for short: ACL - the ligament that is prone to injury
44. Suitable for habitation: LIVABLE
45. Snidely critical: SNARKY
46. Sounded like a 59-Down: HISSED - AND - 59. Nile snake: ASP
47. Becomes less intense: ABATES
48. Rebuff: SPURN
49. Label printer maker: CASIO
50. Blossoms: OPENS
54. Gibbons, e.g.: APES
56. Nurture: REAR
60. Early Beatles bassist Sutcliffe: STU
61. Scanned lines on a pkg.: UPC
62. Margaret of "Fire Island": CHO
63. Mo. neighbor: KANsas - who knew that Kansas lived next to Chairman "Moe"~?
Splynter
