google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Richard Liu and Katherine Xiong

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Jan 13, 2026

Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Richard Liu and Katherine Xiong

The Hills Are Alive with a Solfège.  


17-Across. Actress who plays Honey Chandler on "Bosch" and "Bosch: Legacy": MIMI ROGERS.  Mi is the Third musical note on the scale.  Mimi Rogers (née Miriam Ann Spickler; b. Jan. 17, 1956) was Tom Cruise's first wife.  I am not familiar with the Bosch television series.


25-Across. Flightless species last seen in the 1660s: DODO BIRD.  Do is the first note of the musical scale.  A shout-out to our dear friend Dodo.  The dodo is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to Mauritius, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.



56.-Across Musical film starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling: LA LA LAND.  La is the fourth musical note on the scale.  The movie, La La Land, was the center of a controversy at the 2017 Oscars when the presenters mistakenly announced it was the Best Picture winner, when in fact, the winner was Moonlight.

66-Across. Lukewarm critique: SO-SO REVIEW.  So, sometimes written as Sol, is the fifth note of the musical scale.

And the unifier:

38-Across. Type of exam that allows crib sheets, or a hint to 17-, 25-, 56-, and 66-Across: OPEN NOTES.  A Solfège is a system for teaching sight-singing by assigning syllables, such as Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La Ti, Do, to musical notes.

Here's the Grid:


Today's puzzle had two other sound-alikes:  1-Across (SEW) and 28-Across (SOW).

Across:
1. Attaches patches, say: SEWS.  It also sounds like it should fit in with today's theme.


5. To be, en español: ESTAR.  Today's Spanish lesson.

10. Hop, skip, or jump: VERB.

14. State boldly: AVOW.

15. Two-time Nobel Prize winner Curie: MARIE.  Marie Curie (née Maria Salomea Skłodowska; Nov. 7, 1867 ~ July 4, 1934) has the distinction of being (1) the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize;  (2) the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes; (3), along with her husband, was part of the first married couple to be awarded the Prize; and (4) the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes in two different fields.  In 1903, she shared a Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband, Pierre Curie () and Henri Becquerel () for their joint work in radioactivity research.  She was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work in isolating radium and polonium. Interestingly, in 1935, her daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie (Sept. 12, 1897 ~ Mar. 17, 1856), and her husband, Jean Frédéric Joliot (Mar. 19, 1900 ~ Aug. 14, 1958)  ware also awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  They became the second married couple to be awarded the Prize.


16. "Your turn," on a walkie-talkie: OVER.

19. Give in: CAVE.

20. City near Dallas: PLANO.


21. Heritage gp. with roots in China, India, and Samoa: AAPI.  As in Asian American and Pacific Islander.  Who knew?

22. Far from shore: ASEA.

23. Running time: LENGTH.

27. Subj. for some immigrants: ESL.  English as a Second Language has become a crossword staple.

28. Scatter, as seeds: SOW.  Another answer that sounds like it could fit with today's musical theme.

30. Ctrl-Alt-__: PC reboot combo: DEL.


31. Tiebreakers, briefly: OTs.  As in OverTimes.

32. Eyelid malady: STYE.

34. Prefix with day or night: MID-.


36. Family rooms: DENS.

42. Not full-size: MINI.


44. Tailless primate: APE.

45. Buddies: PALS.

49. Ultrasound goop: GEL.


50. Summer zodiac sign: LEO.


53. Smidgen: TAD.

55. Casual shoe, casually: MOC.

59. Like some algebra: LINEAR.
Correct?  You be the judge.

61. X __ xylophone: AS IN.

62. Typical high schooler: TEEN.

64. Science fiction author Jules: VERNE.  Jules Gabriel Verne (Feb, 8, 1828 ~ Mar. 24, 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright.  Some of his work includes: Around the World in 80 DaysJourney to the Center of the Earth, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea


65. Channel: DUCT.

68. Southernmost Great Lake: ERIE.  And a shout out to our old friend Abejo.


69. Used a pen: INKED.

70. Light brown shade: ECRU.

71. Complete groups: SETS.  Beanie Babies were all the rage 30 years ago.


72. Inventor Nikola: TESLA.  Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 ~ Jan. 7, 1943) was an amazing inventor.  

73. Hoarse voice: RASP.

Down:
1. Grocery store freebies: SAMPLES.  Since Covid, we don't see these freebies as often.

2. Most wicked: EVILEST.  I am currently reading East of Eden, by John Steinbeck.  One of the characters, Cathy Ames, is the most wicket character in the novel.  She has no conscience and enjoys creating the destruction of those around her.


3. Feminine: WOMANLY.

4. Attempt to hit a baseball: SWING.


5. Punk subgenre: EMO.  A crossword staple.

6. Very long story: SAGA.

7. Tire pattern: TREAD.

8. Apple gadget in an ear: AIRPOD.


9. Live (in): RESIDE.

10. Words on flash cards, for short: VOCAB.

11. Tax crime: EVASION.  Tax evasion was the crime that tripped up Al Capone (Jan. 17, 1899 ~ Jan. 25, 1947).

12. Changes back (to): REVERTS.

13. Rye and sourdough: BREADS.


18. Decomposes: ROTS.

24. Base after third base: HOME.


26. Merrie __ England: OLDE.

29. Victory: WIN.

33. Long time: EON.

35. Genetic letters: DNA.

37. Mind reader's gift: ESP.


39. Medication form: PILL.

40. Choose (to): OPT.

41. Blue-green shade: TEAL.

42. Use a ruler: MEASURE.


43. Prohibited: ILLICIT.

46. Song that begins "My country, 'tis of thee": AMERICA.

47. Short-term offerings from an auto shop: LOANERS.

48. Make a mess of: SCREW UP.

49. Grassy forest clearings: GLADES.


51. Fails big-time: EATS IT.

52. Tied in a best-of-three series: ONE-ONE.  The double fits with today's theme, but it fails because it is not a musical note.

54. Go in headfirst: DIVE.


57. Buys into a poker game: ANTES.

58. Classroom array: DESKS.

60. "Not a chance!": NEVER.

63. Christmas: NOEL.  This is a December clue.

67. Vitamin fig.: RDA.  As in Recommended Daily Allowance.

That's all for this Tuesday.

חתולה



57 comments:

Subgenius said...

Not too tough.
Although there were a couple of foreign terms and abbreviations that were a little tricky.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.

Splynter said...

Hi there~!

Good catch, Hahtoolah, on the sew, sow, and one-one semi-dupes in the grid; I say again, the Decline of Western Crosswordization . . . .
Loved the comics/cartoons, as always~!

Splynter

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Stumbled here and there: AIR bud/POD, ONE all/ONE, No way/NEVER. That's what Wite-Out's for. I've never heard of an OPEN NOTES exam; OPEN BOOK, yes. Nice diversion, Richard and Katherine. Enjoyed your expo, Hahtoolah. (That LOANERS cartoon reminded me of the lost Fugawi tribe.)

Jinx in Norfolk said...

The Fugawi tribe's canoe was named "Fujimo."

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but ear bud->AIR POD. Oh yeah, can't have "ear" as clue and fill. I blame decaf.

I've taken "open book / OPEN NOTES" exams. They are usually given where the ability to apply knowledge is more important than memorizing facts/formulae.

I would never use X IS for xylophone, except in comedy. Why else would a person use an example that changes the sound into a different letter? I'll stick with NATO and AARL: X is for X-ray.

As a senior in high school, I was president of the MARIE Curie Science Club. I never figured out whether I was elected ironically.

The song may be AMERICA, but America would sing A Horse With No Name.

The buy-in is different than the ANTE. You buy in (exchange cash for chips) before you ANTE.

Thanks to Richard and Katherine for the fun Tuesday romp. And thanks to Ha2la for another fine explanation. My favorite was the protracted discussion with the ruler.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FLN: Bayou Tony, thanks for reminding me that link text shouldn't be obscure. Sometimes I join the "too clever by half" club. At least in my own mind.

KS said...

FIR. I'd never heard of Mimi Rogers, or AAPI for that matter, so I got a slow start on an otherwise easy puzzle.
I saw the theme before the reveal showed itself, however I thought the note was sol, not so. Oh well!
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.

Kat said...

Woke up early this morning and decided to start with the crossword. This one was a nice way to begin the day! I thought that the theme was adorable, and there was some impressive fill. In particular, the runs of parallel 6 and 7 letter words in each corner were so nicely done, with no dreck entries needed to glue things together.

I actually knew AAPI as a colleague chaired the AAPI affinity group at work for several years. They sponsored many interesting activities!

Thank you to Richard and Katherine for the fun puzzle, and to Hahtoolah for the highly entertaining recap. For whatever reason, I always enjoy pirate humor, and the eyepatch cartoon had me laughing.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Overall, I found this easier than yesterday’s solve, AAPI and Estar notwithstanding. Open Notes vs Open Books is new to me, therefore it was a surprise, though apt, reveal. Having seen every episode of Bosch and also the sequel, Mimi Rogers was a gimme.

Thanks, Richard and Katharine, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the usual fun and facts. Favorite comic was the Zodiac exchange of Miss Sagittarius and Mr. Leo!

Have a great day.

Tony Express said...

Loved your write up with the many comics. And with a like Ha La-La, or Ha2-La, your name fits the theme.

Anonymous said...

Musings
-DO, a deer, a female deer…
-MARIE spent hours and hours around radioactive radium and died of the cancer it caused
-LENGTH: These 10 movies were so long, they required an intermission
-Non-LINEAR algebra was harder for me
-Costco still gives out SAMPLES. We call it grazing
-I always gave OPEN NOTE exams. They could prove very hard for kids who had always counted on memorizing
-I had 75 online electronic flash cards for VOCAB before I took my kids on our Florida field trip

Tony Express said...

I remember back in my youth, learning about the Fugawi Tribe. How they were forced to a reservation with marshlands surrounded by tall reeds. And while wandering amoung these grasses, often one would jump up to look around and holler, "We're the fugawi!?" Settlers misunderstood the question and thus ended up naming the tribe, Fugawi . But, could you explain their canoe's name, Fujimo?

Big Easy said...

So we have been given a nonsense fill again. Yesterday it was AAVE; today it is AAPI. Will Ebonics be in the Wed. puzzle? But the puzzle was constructed by Liu and Xiong.

The puzzle was a Monday level offering except the 'make it fit; we need a clue' fill AAPI. ESTAR took a perp from RESIDE to finish. Like d-otto, I changed no way to never.

The OPEN NOTES were easy spots but not as musical tones. I had open book tests in Physical chemistry where the prof even said we could discuss among ourselves if we got stuck on anything or even ask him. Then he would go to his office. The only thing worse was a take home test final I had in geochemistry.

LOANERS- do those even exist these days. Insurance problems. Every dealership will gladly rent you a car through the associated car rental agency nearby.

Tony Express said...

I meant to say, "with a name like Ha LaLa, or Ha 2 La" your name fits the theme.

Monkey said...

Easy enough this morning and a cute theme. I knew AAPI, but it didn’t come to me this morning, but perps filled it. In my 40 some years of college teaching, I’ve given OPEN book tests, I never called them OPEN NOTES.

ERIE is like Oreo. Any 4 letter clue referring to cookie types, I know it’s Oreo; any 4 letter clue about some lake, it’s going to be ERIE.

Hahtoolah, I again enjoyed your review and the many funnies. All well chosen.

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Richard and Katherine, and Hahtoolah (great catch on SEWS and SOW).
I FIRed in good time, but took a minute to go back and see the OPEN NOTES theme (we always called it OPEN book). Too bad the notes were not perfectly in ascending or descending NOTE order.

Perps decided between AVer and AVOW.
CedE changed to CAVE.
My first thought was Wrote but INKED matched the clue better.
Thankfully, PLANO and AAPI perped.

I noted a plethora of 3-letter words - quick count of 17, plus 5 3-letter words pluralized with an S. (Exceeds IM’s acceptable count I believe.)

Wishing you all a great day.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

I thought it was the settlers that said “Where’re the Fugawi”

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Started off like a shot then slowed down as I worked my way south. Finally FIRed. Give the puzzle a better than SOSOREVIEW plus a theme you can sing to.

VOCAB, AAPI huh. CW fill provided by Perfesser Google?

DuDOBIRD? finally realized it wasn’t AIRBuD but POD

State motto of Maryland is the Italian phrase “Fatti maschii, parole femine”
(FAHti MAHski, PAHroh-leh FEMeen-eh) “Manly Deeds, WOMANLY words”

The “running time” of movies lately is absurd, many over 3 hours.

We called them OPEN bookexams. Just the book no crib sheets, NOTES etc.

Up until 5th grade ≈ 1960) our public school Handwriting Superintendent (yes that was a public school position) insisted we use inkwells SET into our DESKS and old fashioned steel nibbed pens. What a mess. INKED fingers, blotched papers and sometimes stained clothes.

Get rid of the stucco: RESIDE
Santa’s really bad kid roster : EVILIST
Pirate ship need: ECRU

H2LH: Don’t know which toon is funnier. Thanks 😊

CrossEyedDave said...

HG is Anonymous? Very curious...

CrossEyedDave said...

Also curious, I have not seen a single one of those long movies. Must be my short attention span...

Anonymous said...

I knew AAPI right away in spite of my German surname.

Anonymous said...

Chief Wild Eagle told a similar story on "F Troop" about how his Hekawi tribe got its name.

Anonymous said...

Tok 3:58 today to sing along.

I didn't know the Actress of the Day (Mimi Rogers), nor AAPI and hesitated at air pod/earbud.

Another themeless puzzle!
(C'mon, let me have this one please.)

CrossEyedDave said...

Ok! It opens with notes! (Plural) a theme I can finally grok! But what really threw me is the learning moment of the word "solfège." (I had no idea there was a word for this...) Which got me thinking (I know...always dangerous...) that I knew "over," as in over to you by radio. And I knew "Roger," as in understood. But what the heck is "Wilco?"

Turns out it is short for "will comply." (Who knew?)

Silly theme link: why you shouldn't leave open notes lying around...

Question?
(Re: measure/ruler etc...)
They say they moon looks larger on the horizon, and smaller overhead due to this illusion. However, why is it that when I look at star constellations, without the horizon in view, they appear smaller directly overhead. This can be seen in a panoramic view across the sky. Each constellation will appear smaller not only when directly overhead, but gets incrementally smaller as it approaches zenith...

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Tony, FUJIMO is an acronym - "Fie (SIC) You Jack, I'm Movin' Out."

Anonymous said...

A fun and clever puzzle today.
I was a “Bosch” fan and never missed an episode. So Mimi Rogers was an easy fill.
Thanks Richard and Katherine.
The recap was funny and informative. I shared the pirate cartoon with my friends. Thanks for your efforts Hatoollah

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Kat, of course you know that a pirate's favorite letter isn't "R." It's "P," because the pirate without a "P" is irate!

RustyBrain said...

Agreed,. Way too many 3LW & 4LW.

RustyBrain said...

Everyone knows they love the "C"!

RustyBrain said...

Thanks, Hahtoolah, for the funnies! Mini bar - LOL. And learned a great new word from you today: solfège. I'll need to use it three times so it's mine.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for being dense. Can someone explain why the NOTES are doubled? Does OPEN have some meaning with this theme?

unclefred said...

Very nice, enjoyable and clever CW. 11 names, DNK 3 but perps were easy. 2 W/Os = move/verb & cede/cave. FIR in 9, faster than yesterday. I zipped through the CW sofast I forgot to look for the theme, dang it. Good theme. Nice CW RL&KX, thanx. Thanx too to Hahtoolah for the terrific write-up and the as always fun cartoons. Hahtoolah, just a FIY: you have a typo at WICKET/WICKED. MIMIROGERS brought to mind Aaron Rodgers, who was a great QB for my favorite team the Packers for many years and won Superbowl 45 in 2011, ironically, against the Steelers. Eventually, he went on to play for other teams. Sad to see his last play as a QB be a pick-6, in the surprising absolute slaughter of the Steelers last night by the Texans. The OPENNOTES fill reminded me of many years ago when I taught HS Chemistry and one of my students, named Gil, dropped a crib-sheet on the floor right at the start of a major test. He tried to step on it so I wouldn't see it, but I did, and took it from him. He surprised me by acing the exam W/O his crib sheet. But it made me think: he spent a great deal of time studying the material to figure out the most important things to put on his cheat-sheet, and in the process, learned the material. From that point forward, I handed out index cards to my students before an exam and allowed them to write whatever they wanted on it, front and back, and use it during the exam. Learning improved. Tragically, Gil got a summer job at a nearby Publix, and while using a floor scrubber, it shorted out and electrocuted him. Very sad. He was a good kid.

sumdaze said...

Those CATfish sitting on the divers' laps cracked me up. Thanks, Hahtoolah!

Misty said...

Delightful puzzle today--not totally easy, not totally hard, but still with lots of manageable fill for us to work out. Started with the word SEWS, which is indeed a VERB about the construction of clothing. But we also got a couple of fun critters in this puzzle--the DODO-BIRDS and that APE . And, of course, there's always people, some of them with names like MARIE and MIMI, and some are PALS, and some a little younger, like that TEEN. And some famous, like Nikola TESLA and Jules VERNE. Well, time for me to sit down at my DESK, and start working up a SOSO-REVIEW about this puzzle, hoping I'd be able to listen to that PIANO playing while doing my job. Oh, and I think it's also time for me to get some BREAD for lunch, hopefully with some delicious topics to choose from. Hey, I'm beginning to really enjoy my day, and am going to need a nap pretty soon, to recover from my busy morning.

So, Cheers!, and have a delightful, sunny, and pleasant day, everybody.

Kat said...

Ha-ha!! Love pirate jokes. Thanks!! :o)

Charlie Echo said...

WILCO...radio-speak for "Will comply".

Anonymous said...

Unclefred: As TTP asked you yesterday: Is there some reason you have no paragraph breaks? Are you aware that it is almost impossible to read such a long solid block of text with no breaks?

Lucina said...

Hola! I'm back from my travels to California and Hawaii where my friends and I had a wonderful time. Too short, of course. I love traveling but these days I'm so slow, I likely won't be going much anymore.
The puzzle was an easy solve which I need to return to my regular rhythm. But first I had to go through all my mail. Most, of course, was junk mail to be discarded with only a very few important ones. I get most of my bills through e-mail.
I hope you all fared well during the past week. It's great to be home.

RustyBrain said...

OPEN because they appear at the beginning of each answer, at their "opening".
Doubled because NOTES is plural.

Anonymous said...

Leaving the game with a pick-six to cap off a horrible performance could not have happened to a bigger d-bag.

Prof M said...

If that sign bar it would have qualified as a Gary Larson Far Side.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back Lucy! Glad you had a great time with your friends, will be nice to have you back in the loop!

Anarkie said...

Fun easy puzzle! Thanks Richard and Katherine!
And thanks for the entertaining write up, Hahtoolah. I can relate to the pill regimen!
And the pirate’s patch was the best!

Prof M said...

Bosch was a very good series, the only weak spot was the actress in the role of his daughter.

Prof M said...

Open notes and open book are two different types of tests. Notes only vs book only.

Jayce said...

Loved it.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Joe Namath played long beyond his great years, but he probably needed the money. He was only making $7,600 per game ($75,000 in today's dollars.) Rodgers made $800,000 per game this year, so he should have been able to make ends meet without doing pantyhose commercials, or by taking his dwindling skills on the road. (I had the same feelings when Emmit Smith peddled his wares in (crossword favorite) ARI.)

Oh, maybe Rodger's motivation came from comparing his salary to Dak Prescott's $3 1/2 million per game. Nice work if you can get it.

Anonymous said...

You are really quite ignorant.

Anonymous said...

I liked how the Bears scored 25 points in the 4th quarter to beat the Packers and eliminate them from the playoffs! Da Bears!

Big Easy said...

To:

"Anonymous
You are really quite ignorant."

I never claimed to be smart but unlike some commenters, I'm not a smart-ass. I certainly don't hide my identity to snipe behind. The text abbr. and acronyms for basically unknown entities are nonsense fills just to finish out the puzzles.

Anonymous said...

Based on your daily comments you are a closed minded dipshit bigot besides being a racist pig. Your not a smart ass. Just an ass.

Anonymous said...

Different Anon chiming in here. Your comment pointing out the Asian surnames of the constructors, if not racist, is racist/adjacent.
You could have made your point about acronyms and left it at that, but, predictably, you just couldn’t help yourself.

unclefred said...

I see I got several replies posted to my comment today.

Anon @2:43, thanx, I will insert paragraph breaks.

Anon @3:21, yeah, Rodgers in his prime was a great QB, but I couldn't agree more that he is and as far as I know always has been a D-bag as a person.

Jinx@5:08, again, I agree. Seems like Rodgers should have money piled up like Scrooge McDuck at this point. Maybe he just enjoys playing. I wonder the same thing about a lot of people. Why is Mike Tyson doing TV ads? Or many others that you would think should have plenty of $$$.

Anon@6:26, yeah, must have been another thrilling game for Bears fans. I hope Da Bears haven't become overconfident now, thinking they will always be able to score 20 or 30 points in the last half. Living in SOFLO for 40+ years, my first team remains the Packers, but my second team is the Dolphins. If both of them are out of it, my third team is Da Bears.

NaomiZ said...

Delightful puzzle, Richard and Katherine! Hahtoolah came up with a great title for it and make me LOL: Edward the So-So, the pirate's eye patch, the rulers, the catfish on laps. Many thanks.

Anonymous said...

This has been a friendly exchange between civilized participants. Let's keep out the comments of angry people. Please!

Anonymous said...

Anon (3:21) here again. Much was made of the 49ers choosing Alex Smith with the first overall pick rather than the immensely talented Rogers.
A story came out later that the 49er VP of player personnel Scot McCloughan, was pushing hard for Rogers, but new head coach Mike Nolan overruled him, saying that Rogers was “too arrogant.”
Nolan had the last word because he outranked McCloughan in the hierarchy at that time.
Nolan turned out to be one of the worst coaches in Niner history, and almost killed Smith’s career by putting him back in play despite a Grade 3 separated shoulder.
Alex developed into a fine QB under Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid.
Rogers had a HOF career and grew more arrogant by the day.

Anonymous said...

Oi