x x TIMES Crossword Puzzle
The _os _ngles Times building
Splnyter stepping for our Sunday Bloggess C.C., who takes the honor of being today's constructor. I usually skip Sunday's puzzle and work on my Wed blog, but it was a JazzB week, so here we are. My solve had lots of "well, it fits, but it's wrong" answers ⁽⁺⁾ today. No circles, a fair number of names, a balanced spread of 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-letter words, 88 squares ( if my math is correct ) of theme fill - but - they're 'missing' the "L" and "A" from in-the-vernacular phrases, leading to some humorous, unique fill. The themers, and the reveal in the final Across;
23A. *Ensemble for finals week?: (LA)TEST FASHION
28A. *Slug made from an old can?: (LA)TIN QUARTER
58A. *Christmas tree in an atelier?: ARTISTIC F(LA)IR
83A. *Courses full of twists and turns?: (LA)MAZE CLASSES - birthing technique
110A. *Organizer for a nail tech?: MANI(LA) FOLDER
119A. *Treadmill setting for a Roman emperor?: CAESARS PA(LA)CE
32D. *Pride of a jacked security guard?: ANTI-THEFT A(LA)RM
43D. *Thanksgiving stuffing dishes that aren't up to snuff?: SA(LA)D DRESSINGS
130. Mardi Gras city nickname, and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: NOLA - New Orleans, LouisianA, "The Big Easy" ( the 'other' theme title ) or, parsed for the theme, "No L A"
And "L A" We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Layer outside the germ: BRAN - I do the DOWN clues first; I had B - - N to start
5. Like a perennial: HARDY - durable - they keep coming back~!
10. LAPD alerts: APBs - No LA~! #1
14. No. 1 pals: BFFs - Text-speak, Best Friends Forever
18. Sacred flower in Buddhism: LOTUS
I'll take this Lotus - the Turbo Esprit
20. In the know: AWARE - toyed with ALERT⁽⁺⁾ because this cluster was a bit messy with wrong fill
21. Helpful hint: CLUE
22. Ontario lake: ERIE
25. Purple boba tea flavor: TARO
26. Roof overhang: EAVE
27. Hit lists: TOP TENS
30. Playing surface that favors topspin: CLAY - I so wanted FELT here, as in pool tables
33. Video camera button: RECord - I am making a table for my brother for Christmas, and I am thinking about shooting a video of the process - I bought this thing for holding my phone:
34. Bro or stepbro: SIBling
36. Total score: TALLY
37. "Mulan" invader: HUN
38. Maker of off-road vehicles: TONKA - HONDA⁽⁺⁾ fit, and a good 60% correct, but Bzzzt
40. Guitar licks: RIFFS - I am very familiar with this concept - it's good to go back to songs that were once difficult for me to play and now find easier from practice and learning scales
42. Runner-up: LOSER
46. Visiting the area: IN TOWN - I had planned to drive to Cincinnati, OH at the end of the month for the 25th anniversary of "The Golem", the made-for-TV movie I worked on, but now I'm told it's just a showing in a theater - no cast or crew were invited to attend - 12hrs is a long way to drive to sit in a cinema.
48. Mall pizza chain: SBARRO
50. Striped stone: AGATE
51. Egyptair hub city: CAIRO
52. David of "ABC World News Tonight": MUIR - filled via perps
54. LED component: DIODE - Light-Emitting, that is
57. Focalin target, briefly: ADHD - no clue, had ADHG via crossings
61. Greeting to a mate: G'DAY - an Aussie, mate~!
62. Genetic material: DNA
63. Application in some massages: HOT OIL - the subject of massages came up at the gym last week; they are offered in my club, but I have never actually HAD a massage - perhaps I should treat myself this Christmas
64. Creole chef Chase: LEAH - again, filled via perps; more here
66. Holds nothing back: LETS RIP
69. Course track for a future JD: PRE-LAW - "JD" being a learning moment for me - the Wiki
71. Falcons city: ATLANTA - their NFL team
74. Marathon setting: GREECE - I had AVENUE - but this is the city, not the run
75. Person who calls the shots: REFEREE - meh~?
77. Quindim ingredient: YOLK - with YOL -, I WAGed the "K"
78. Kale and cabbage: GREENS
80. Traditional mo. for a Bavarian beer festival: OCTober - happening NOW
81. Sultry growl: RAWR - I recall having this fill just recently, and not too many people cared for it
87. Make airtight: SEAL
89. Strip in the kitchen: STEAK - with - 24D. Cook wear?: APRON - cute misdirections
How's that for an apron - care for some (un)dressing with that salad~?
91. Parks of Alabama: ROSA
92. Crocheted mat: DOILY
93. "Snowfall" actor Damson __: IDRIS - my final fill; good to see an alternative to "ELBA"
95. Like most awards: ANNUAL
97. Mount __: Washington estate: VERNON - my gym is located in Vernon, CT . . .
98. Arizona State's city: TEMPE - my ex is located in Arizona . . .
99. Some choral singers: ALTOs - and my voice is located in the baritone range.
100. Harsh: ACRID
103. Classic muscle car: GTO - "Goat" - here's where the name G T O comes from
104. Doll with neon hair: TROLL
106. Dorm VIPs: RAs - Resident Assistants
108. Hack (off): LOP
109. Secondhand: USED
114. Tofu nutrient: PROTEIN - I have "plateaued" at the gym; my trainer has now dropped my calorie intake to 1900/day, with 30-35% Protein, 30-40% Carbs, and 25-35% Fat
117. 50-50: EVEN
118. Persian greeting?: MEOW - Persian, the cat, that is
123. Religious subgroup: SECT
124. Bend at a barre: PLIE
125. Minor key?: ISLET - Minor = small :: Key = island
126. Underground worker: MINER - the "other" MINOR
It's the key of "B sharp"
127. Inquires: ASKS
128. Straight people, casually: HETS - Clunky, sorta meh; Heterosexuals - don't usually hear it spoken
129. Love, in arias: AMORE
DOWN:
1. Club alternative: BLT - sa'miches
2. Eggs in ikura sushi: ROE
3. Tags on social media: ATS - more commonly "@"s
4. Like some brownies: NUTTY - I like my PB chunky, but not my brownies
5. Light a fire under: HASTEN - ah. Not IGNITE⁽⁺⁾
6. "Doggone it!": "AW HECK~!"
7. Desert rarity: RAIN
8. Smeltery waste: DROSS - SLAG was too short
9. Currency at pachinko parlors: YEN - in retrospect, this makes sense
10. Start of a show: ACT I
11. Nursery nutrients: PLANT FOOD; the set of 8- & 9-letter down fills; 14D. Poses done in a taproom: BEER YOGA; 82D. "Happens to everyone": "WE ALL DO IT"; 88D. Some light cosmetics: LIP TINTS
12. Head-to-toe garments: BURQAS - I had the "K", not the "Q" at first
13. Han River capital: SEOUL
15. Campus group: FRAT - Not ROTC⁽⁺⁾
16. __-second rule: FIVE - I frequently adhere to this phenomenon, despite what Mythbusters proved
The Five-Second Rule tested
17. Oracle: SEER
19. OAK alternative: SFO - I was stumped by this - I am not West coast, so I did not recognize the airport codes of California's Bay Area tarmacs - and now there's controversy . . .
28. Classic Ford: T-BIRD - I had the less-than-classic, but still way-cool, 1986 Turbo Coupe
29. Ristorante menu preposition: ALLA - penne ALLA vodka, e.g.
30. Spanish girl: CHICA
31. Like some eclipses: LUNAR - Not TOTAL⁽⁺⁾
35. Fund that might grow for decades: IRA
38. Like some rear admirals: TWO-STAR
39. "Yeah, right!": "AS IF~!"
Wayne's World
41. Heebie-jeebies: FRIGHT - not CREEPS⁽⁺⁾
44. Sharing a cultural identity: ETHNIC
45. Orangutan: RED APE - I tried BIG APE⁽⁺⁾
47. Warbler lookalike: ORIOLE
49. Scouring brand: BRILLO
52. Wii Sports avatar: Mii - how you appear in the game; this is my Facebook Avatar
53. Golden State sch.: UCLA - No LA~! #2
55. Lentil dish: DAL
56. Product that may reduce dark circles: EYE GEL
59. Castle structures: TOWERS - I loves me a castle, especially with towers
60. Domain: REALM - Not ARENA⁽⁺⁾
65. Capital city in Anatolia: ANKARA
67. Like new tires: TREADED - But what about F1 racing~?
68. Motion detector, e.g.: SENSOR
69. Toast at a Bavarian beer festival: PROSIT - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - crossing IDRIS, a bit of a Natick
70. Go back: RECEDE - Not RETURN⁽⁺⁾
72. Ruthless ruler: TYRANT - Not DESPOT⁽⁺⁾
73. Forever and a day: AGES - Not EONS⁽⁺⁾
76. Put away: EAT
79. TV pioneer: RCA
84. French novelist Émile: ZOLA - seen this name in Crosswords before
85. Cotija-covered corn: ELOTE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
86. Council of clerics: SYNOD
90. Bouillon brand: KNORR - they make sides dishes in bags, too
94. Feudal laborer: SERF
96. Miss. home: USA - I was not fooled by this, but I did hesitate - Mississippi is in the US of A
97. Deadly snake: VIPER - not ADDER⁽⁺⁾
99. Gene arising from mutation: ALLELE
101. End-of-game pitcher: CLOSER - Not RELIEF⁽⁺⁾
102. Revolve: ROTATE
105. Extra pep: OOMPH
107. Twitch: SPASM - I had a SPASM in my last puzzle blog
109. Let fall, as hair: UNPIN
That's a BIG PIN
110. Steep-sided plateau: MESA
111. Urban rtes.: AVEs
112. Giraffe feature: NECK
They're "necking"
113. Fleecy mamas: EWES
"Youse" got to check out this mama in fleece-lined tights~!
115. Move quickly?: RELO - move = relocate :: quickly = abbr
116. Magnet end?: ISM - magnetISM - the beginning of Monster Magnet's album Last Patrol, but the link didn't hold up . . . .oh well
119. "Spy Game" org.: CIA
120. "So I should take that as __?": "A NO~?"
121. Cartoon frame: CEL
122. Dynastic period, e.g.: ERA
Splynter
6 comments:
After a little thought,
I was able to see where the “La” fit in all the answers (hint: it’s not always at the beginning!) and I enjoyed C.C.’s fun puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
About halfway through, I figured out that LA was missing from the themers, but had no idea what that had to do with "Easy Does It". Had I read the full 130a clue, it would've made sense. But some of us never seem to read the full clue. [Sigh] I needed Splynter to 'splain it. I can never remember which L is doubled in ALLELE. KNORR makes an excellent Hollandaise sauce mix, appreciated by this eggs-ben lover. Enjoyed your clever effort, C.C., and your expo, Splynter. (Your video for Magnetism didn't make the trip.)
FIR, getting my WAG @ IDRIS x PROSIT. Fairly easy guess, since we get that Elbow IDRIS person about every third day.
Stepbro is a SIB? You sure 'bout that, Jethro? Halfbro yes, stepbro no.
Finally got GREECE for Marathon, because Florida was too long, and Keys was too short.
Anyone else erase bacon for STEAK?
DNK that BEER YOGA has been a thing for 12 years.
Maybe Lucina will tell us the difference between CHICA and nina. When I lived in LA, it seemed that CHICA was used for a young adult woman.
Nearly all takeoffs still have some tread, and as Splyner wrote, brand new racing slicks have no tread at all. Good fill, weak clue.
I'm guessing that HETS was either desperation, or Patti lifting her leg to leave her mark on the puzzle. It's also a Medicare acronym for HIPAA Eligibility Transaction System.
Thanks to CC for the mostly-fun Sunday endurance test, and to Splynter for the fun tour. I'll bet your brother's table will have nice legs.
Good Morning:
This is not one of my favorite types of themes but CC gets credit for tackling a minus two letter treatment and not just the easier path of only one missing letter. In addition, I think the difficulty level and the cluing and fill were a notch or two above the normal Sunday grid. As Splynter pointed out, there were many entries that required second-guessing, e.g., Bacon/Steak and Amiga/Chica, to name a couple. Hets and Rawr were nose wrinklers but Persian Greeting?=Meow brought a knowing grin. I wasn’t fooled but I was delighted.
Thanks, CC, nice job and thanks, Splynter, nice job, also, in explaining and dissecting the salient points.
Have a great day.
Working top to bottom I got about half the grid filled and remembered to look at the title, which was still no help to me sussing the theme. And like d-o, when I got to 130A I saw “Mardi Gras city nickname…” I just keyed in NOLA and didn’t read the rest of the clue, duh by me. I FIR in 33:36 but never did see the missing LA in any of the fill. BEER YOGA is really a thing? DNK LEAH or PROSIT which crossed the learning moment of the day for me, that there is another person by the name of IDRIS. RED APE was also unfamiliar. I’m a HET, but didn’t know I was referred to that way. A nice way to start the day though, a not too tough puzzle from Zhouqin, and a detailed write-up from Splynter, thank you both.
Took 18:51 today to fill in the __st square.
I didn't know the French writer, the Bavarian toast (prosit), the Creole cook (Leah), "Hets", that burkas were spelled with a "Q", the lentil dish (dal), or Today's Actor (Damson Idris) and/or his show/movie. Also, I associated "Washington estate" with the state of Washington.
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