U HAUL
This is my third installment blogging an LA Times crossword from Daniel - the one I reviewed almost a year ago had a similar symmetry, being mirrored on the Y-axis. I have a mixed opinion about this one; on the one hand, it's clever, with a meta-clue reveal, but then I seem to think that either the "shape" of the puzzle's symmetry needed to somehow 'reflect' the "U" shape as well - OR - perhaps more than just three "U" entries~? It feels as though the answers to 22- and 42A., 9- & 11-letter fills, might have been part of the theme as well. YMMV. I count eight names, NINE abbrs, with twenty-three 3LWs but no circles in a standard-sized grid. The themers and reveal;
17. *Device whose poles are close together: HORSESHOE MAGNET
31. Ed Sheeran hit, and a phonetic hint to the answers to the starred clues: SHAPE OF YOU - Not my "thing" - all I know about this artist is that at one time he was the biggest name in music - here in the 21st century - with a #1 album and singles ( his Wiki ), but I can't listen to most of the material coming from "musicians" lately; it all sounds digitized and just lacking depth, IMHO. Here's the video, which happens to mention "magnet";
the "attraction" @ 0:59
And Away U Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Deep purple berry: ACAI - Deep Purple "Blackmore" berry
Closer to my "thing"
5. Worker with lots to attend to?: VALET - parking lots, har-har
10. Actor Guinness: ALEC - name #1, but "U" know he portrayed "Obi Wan"
14. Primer, e.g.: COAT - paint, not reading
15. "Who gives a hoot?" response: "I CARE."
"What do U think of her~?" - Luke's respone to Princess Leia
16. "De __": "Gracias" response: NADA - Espaniol #1, translates to "Of Nothing" = U R Welcome
20. Rio Grande city: EL PASO - name #2
21. Fusses with feathers: PREENS
22. Find a valuable deposit underground: STRIKE OIL - Great fill, but how 'bout BIKE LOCKS~?
26. Rage: MANIA
29. Actress Long: NIA - name #3, this actress
30. Compact __: DISCS - CDs
34. "You said it!": "AMEN~!" - "U" said it~?
35. Once-__: quick studies: OVERS
37. Spiced tea: CHAI
38. Snap: PIC
39. Lattice for vines: TRELLIS
41. Starter course, informally: APPetizer - not going smart phone this week
42. Chess piece on f1 or f8: KING'S BISHOP - another great fill, just not what U'd expect
45. Home __: DEPOT - HD is like my second home . . . .
47. Khaki kin: TAN
48. The Most Stuf cookies: OREOS - and there U are, in a crossword again
51. Actor/director Ken: OLIN - name #4
52. Misplaces: LOSES
54. NYSE listing: CORPoration
55. 128 oz.: GALLon - could have saved an abbr here and gone with
a GAL in turkey socks~!
56. Wipe data from: ERASE - Are U sure~?
57. Medication-approving gp.: FDA - Food and Drug Administration
58. Exercise similar to yoga: PILATES
61. Floofy canine breed: SAMOYED - Not sure I would have understood "floofy", but I do the Down clues first, had most of the crossings, and the rest was easy to fill out on this one
I will be seeing my buddy Cooper tomorrow~!
Still no luck with a pet of my own, but I am not giving up
64. Battery terminals: ANODES
65. Spanish title: SENORA - Espaniol #2
66. Cry after a successful team effort: "WE WON~!" - there's no "U" in TEAM . . .
67. Plain awful: LOUSY - probably how the other team feels . . . .
1. Tooth trouble: ACHE
2. "Sweet!": "COOL~!"
3. Lobby group for seniors: AARP - American Association of Retired Peoples - I qualified in February four years ago, at least in terms of age - but - I am a looooong way from being able to retire.
4. "What a terrible thing to do": IT'S A SIN - It's A Song - from Pet Shop Boys, classic 80s, which is more my "thing" - but even better, here's Ghost doing a metal-style cover
5. Helmet attachment: VISOR - I tried SPIKE - hey, it's attached, too...and it's called a pickelhaube
6. German cry of dismay: ACH - Ach~! I put my helmet on upside down~!
7. Southeast Asian language: LAO - spoken in, uh, Laos . . .name(ish)
8. Before, in ballads: ERE
9. Arrangement speed: TEMPO - not how fast U can deliver flowers . . . .
10. Remarkably well-behaved: ANGELIC - I do not recall being referred to as this when growing up
11. Bowling assignment: LANE
12. Garden that needs no improvement: EDEN - Perhaps the fruit should have been kept out of reach~?
13. Pets with toe beans: CATS - I tried DOGS
18. Spanish pronoun: ESTA - Espaniol #3
19. Very dry: ARID - like my humor
23. Wall Street figures: INVESTORS - I was thinking BROKERS
25. Tendency of an eager beaver, maybe: EARLINESS - I'll get up at 4am on Black Friday for these
26. Poster on a subway wall: MAP - my first thought was ADS
27. Friend who likely celebrates Bastille Day: AMI - that friend would be Frawnche
32. Topper in a Super Mario costume: CAP
33. Taste: SIP - don't overdo the spirits this weekend
35. Alternative to com: ORG - internet domains; COMpany and ORGanization
36. Member of the fam: SIS - based on its location in the grid, I figured it was SISter
39. Blast letters: TNT
40. Cable TV abbr.: SHOwtime - abbr #10
43. Cyclotron particle: ION
44. Lumbering Tolkien creature: ORC - or ENT~? name(ish) #5
45. Apt tattoo for a lover of pooches: DOG PAW - I see so many twenty- and thirty-something girls at the gym, covered in tats - legs, arms, whole sleeves - looks "dirty" to me . . . . just my humble opinion
Subtle, and more appealing
46. "Seinfeld" role for Julia: ELAINE - yada yada yada name #6
49. Calls for takeout: ORDERS - I caved in and got General Tso's chicken last Friday
50. "Me time" outing: SPA DAY - I figure my gym trainer is gonna let me slide this weekend 😜
52. Winery discard: LEES
53. Sail the seven __: SEAS - Rhyming answers, LEES and SEAS
59. "Without further __ ... ": ADO - "Let us, tomato . . . . "
60. Decimal base: TEN
62. Voice artist Blanc: MEL - name #7 - Pork Pig's history
Well, not quite . . . . ono more clue
63. Singer Yoko: ONO - name #8
Splynter
Today's puzzle has a "Grid Flow" of 41.8 - by comparison, the Holy Grail puzzle two weeks ago was low - only 15.9 - basically, it's the crossings that give you connectivity to a section with more than a single letter . . . .
And the solution with low Flow:
Just a curiosity
HAPPY THANKSGIVING~!
1 comment:
Well, I got it. And that’s
fine. But what I didn’t get was the theme - I didn’t get that at all until I came on this site. Oh well, FIR, so I’m happy.
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