Howard Neuthaler is a former travel agent *checks notes* scratch that,
he's a lawyer, but his puzzle is about taking a trip. Because he's been
busy lawyering, he's pretty new to constructing, and this is his LAT debut. Yay!
"Time now for everybody's favorite guessing game, What's My Line? Brought to you by the Los Angeles Times. It's like news that has been printed on paper!"
17. Starting line?: I BETTER GET GOING. Something said at the outset of a trip.
24. Punch line?: TICKETS PLEASE. Asked by a conductor who will punch your TICKET.
43. Pickup line?: WELCOME ABOARD. Spoken by an attendant as one climbs ABOARD.
56. Trip line?: ADVENTURE AWAITS. A phrase from a traveler as one leaves the station.
I assumed all these phrases referred to train travel rather than by ship or plane, because they have a history of punching TICKETS, although they don't do that anymore. In any case, these lines are phases that one might hear when embarking on a trip. Some are said by the traveler, while others are from crew members. I like that they tell a little story.
Now, if you'll quickly find your seat, we're getting ready to go!
Across:
1. Language in the same family as Hindi: URDU. URDU has 230 million speakers worldwide, primarily serving as the national language of Pakistan and is a recognized official language in India.
5. Balance, for one: SENSE.
10. Spots for STEM classes: LABS.
14. Tap on the nose: BOOP.
15. Opening: WAY IN. This WAY IN is far out.
16. "Aha": I SEE. Hopefully we've seen the last of oho.
17. [theme]
20. Cravings: DESIRES. Yens. I DESIRE lots of yens.
21. Island country whose capital is St. George's: GRENADA.
22. __ and paste: CUT.
23. "Get Out" writer/director Jordan: PEELE. I knew him for years as a comedian, so was surprised when he became a writer and director of horror films. Good ones, too, including an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Get Out.
29. Hoppy beers, briefly: IPAS. The ever popular India Pale Ales.
 |
| Hoppy beer |
30. __ out a win: EKE.
31. Ivan the Terrible and Feodor the Bellringer: TSARS. I knew Ivan the Terrible, but Feodor didn't ring a bell.
34. Scand. land: NOR. Strictly, Scandinavia is comprised of NORway,
Sweden and Denmark. Taken together with Finland, Iceland and the Faroe
Islands, they're as known as the Nordic countries because of shared
heritage and love of colorful crosses.
I35. Vote against: NAY.
36. That, in Spanish: ESO.
38. Poseidon's realm: SEA. The counterpart to this Greek deity is the Roman god Neptune. SEA?
39. "Hello" singer: ADELE. There was a time when I could fill in any 5-letter singer I didn't know as ADELE. Now she's slowly getting bumped by Drake, Kesha, Lorde...and I'm in trouble.
41. "Too cute!": AWW. FuzzyBrain (aka Buster) as a pup.
42. Shade in four-color printing: CYAN.
43. [theme]
47. 49-Across, for one: ASANA.
48. B.A. Baracus player: MR T. I pity the fool that hasn't seen the A Team.
49. Spine-stretching yoga move: CAT POSE.
52. Warm jackets: FLEECES.
56. [theme]
58. Wood used to make some woodwinds: PEAR.
59. Seize without right: USURP.
60. James of "The Godfather": CAAN. In a lighter role, he played a book publisher/dad in Elf.
61. Edges: ENDS.
62. Hammer parts: PEENS.
63. "Bonanza" brother: HOSS. Some people remember there was a third Cartwright brother besides HOSS (Dan Blocker) and Little Joe (Michael Landon). Adam (Pernell Roberts) left the hit show mid-run due to "creative differences." Mom always liked the other two best.
 |
| Little Joe, Hoss and Adam (not pictured) |
Down:
1. Former eBay rival: UBID. UBID was an online shopping site for refurbished and overstock consumer electrionics. It's was valued at $1.8 billion at one point, but went bankrupt after the dot.com bubble.
2. Wrapped garment: ROBE.
3. Carries out: DOES.
4. Baby bumps?: UP TICKS. Trending in the right direction - unless they're talking about my weight.
5. Sugary pitcherful: SWEET TEA.
6. Hearing things: EARS.
7. Big Blue of the NFL, for short: NYG. The New York Giants of the National Football League.
8. Former NPR host Robert: SIEGEL. "Bob" SIEGAL held several news and production roles at National Public Radio, but is best known as a co-host of All Things Considered for many years. This is how I remember him:
9. Daily special, typically: ENTREE.
10. Sub-Saharan female: LIONESS. The Sahara desert spans all of northern Africa, so Sub-Saharan refers to everything south, which is most of the continent.
11. Forbidden City locale: ASIA. Really? That's as specific as you can get? It's like saying the White House is located in North America. Or on Earth.
 |
| Forbidden City in Beijing, China |
12. Big __ National Park: BEND. Big BEND National Park is in western Texas bordering Mexico along over a hundred miles of the Rio Grande. Although huge (like everything in Texas, apparently) it only ranks 14th in area, with 7 of our largest national parks being in Alaska. In the lower 48, Death Valley (#5), Yellowstone (#8) and the Everglades (#10) round out the top 10.
13. Genesis creator: SEGA. This clue always seem like it wants a biblical answer.
18. "Valid point": TRUE.
19. Affogato scoop: GELATO. Affogato is a simple Italian dessert consisting of a scoop of vanilla GELATO or ice cream "drowned" (affogato) with a shot of hot espresso, creating a contrast of hot and cold, and sweet and bitter flavors. Can't believe I've never tried it.
23. Some EMT gear: PPE. Emergency Medical Technicians may wear Personal Protective Equipment.
24. Rock legend Turner: TINA. The "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" was pretty much timeless.
25. Discontinued Apple gadget: IPOD.
26. Hall of Famer Rod with 3,053 career hits: CAREW. Rod CAREW appeared in 18 consecutive All-Star games, basically his entire career. Among many accolades, he was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs in 1977.
27. Chicago hoops squad: SKY. The SKY of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
28. Undemanding class: EASY A. As has been discussed here before, when I was in college, we called this a gut course, or simply a gut.
32. __ admiral: REAR.
33. Zen garden rake target: SAND.
35. Country great Willie: NELSON. When a guitar is played for many years, it collects wear and tear which adds to its mojo. Modern guitar companies sometimes artificially "relic" their instruments for players that can't wait and will pay extra to look cool now. Personally, I dislike this, as every scratch and ding reminds me of a past moment, and is hard earned. Just think about all the stories that Trigger could tell...
 |
| Willie Nelson and Trigger |
36. Feta source: EWE. Feta is a Greek cheese known for its salty, tangy flavor and crumbly texture, and is traditionally made from sheep's milk. But EWE knew that.
37. Worked out in the pool: SWAM LAPS.
40. Ten lords in a Christmas carol, e.g.: LEAPERS. I thought they should be LEAPING.
41. "I'm an open book" sesh: AMA. An Ask Me Anything session.
42. Split a course?: CO-TEACH. Although two teachers could CO-TEACH a classroom, or split it in half for smaller groups, more often one teacher leads instruction while the other circulates to offer individual support. This is known as One Teach/One Assist.
44. Total, as numbers in a ledger: CAST UP. New to me. It derives from the Middle English "casten" ("to throw") combined with "up." It originally meant ejecting/vomiting, which morphed into "throwing up" figures on a page. Etymology isn't always pleasant!
45. Like most straws: ONE USE. Millions of plastic straws are used daily, and even those that are disposed of properly may blow away from landfills and harm wildlife. Unfortunately, paper straws get soggy, so here's an idea. Don't use straws.
46. Concoct: BREW.
49. Wrapped garment: CAPE. I was sari I wrote "toga" first.
50. Arabian port: ADEN. ADEN, Yemen is strategically located at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula and serves as a gateway to the Red Sea. Due to the Strait of Hormuz being blocked, the route to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal gains significance.
51. Spot on the small screen: TV AD. Not a pixel, but an AD spot.
52. Common houseplant: FERN.
53. "Toodles, dahling": CIAO. Because I can't imagine Eva Gabor saying, "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya." Well, maybe in Hooterville.
54. Waze guesses, for short: ETAS. Waze is a navigation app that uses real-time traffic updates to provide Estimated Time of Arrivals.
55. Tax doc IDs: SSNS. Social Secuity Numbers are personal identifications on tax documents.
57. Word on a Paris map: RUE. Rue is "street" in French.
And that's the bottom line.
Be good. RB
22 comments:
It wasn’t the easiest
puzzle in the world, but eventually I did end up solving it.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Ufda. This one wasn't an easy romp. LEAPING (Hi, Rusty) was a gimme, until nothing was working in that area. Tried SARI for that loose garment. Nope, ROBE. Aha, tried SARI for that second loose garment. Nope, CAPE. Grrrrrr. Tough, but fair, offering, Howard. Nice debut. Thanx for 'splainin' it all, Rusty.
Had leaping too and was glad when leapers became clear as I thought it should have been "a-leaping". Liked being forced to think of another wrapped garment. Fun puzzle and good review.
FIR, getting my WAG @ SIEGEL x PEELE. Erased tadpole for CAT POSE, sari for ROBE, lemonade for SWEET TEA, make for BREW, toga for CAPE, and tata for CIAO.
This one was near the edge of my solving ability. If I ruled the world, the name cross would have been Diana Rigg's Mrs. PEEL x Katey SAGAL (Peggy Bundy.)
Thanks to Howard and Rusty Brain for the fun challenge. Fuzzy Brain is tote adorbs.
Oh, and another hand up for leaping before LEAPERS.
FIR. Last to fall was the top center compounded by two proper names crossing, Siegel and Peele, neither of which I knew. So a WAG was applied to fill this area.
I got the theme but it took a while to get the gist of it. Honestly it was not that obvious.
So overall a so-so puzzle.
Was slow going at the top so I went to the bottom and worked my way back up for a FIR in 18:18. Figured out the theme progression after looking them over for a bit, no reveal needed. Two wrapped garments and neither one a sari. CAST UP was a new one to me. I’ve seen DW do many a CAT POSE but never knew they were called that. Clever clue for UP TICKS. Had to change ‘go Dutch’ to CO TEACH. Nice debut Howard, thank you for that, and to RB for the entertaining review!
Good Morning:
UBid, Siegel, and Cast Up (strange expression) slowed me down, as did Sweet Tea replacing Lemonade and the thought-provoking non-Sari Robe and Cape. I wasn’t too keen on Leapers, but some other fill was fresh and lively, to wit, Lioness, Upticks, Swam Laps, Gelato, Co-teach, etc. Overall, this was a Thursday level solve with a cute and unusual theme.
Congrats on your debut, Howard, and thanks, RB, for the entertaining review. The photo of Buster made my day!
Have a great day.
This one goes on my list for possible worst cluing award ceremony. TITT. Not sure which universe this originated in, but it wasn't one I'm familiar with. Rusty summed it up nicely with ASIA? Why not just the Milky Way! Everyone knows the correct answer is CHINA! What a stikeroo this morning. At least I didn't waste the whole. Morning on it.
.
Ooh! I was slow getting the theme but once I finally did, I had a ball. What fun.
Now, the rest didn’t come EASY either. Unknowns like PEELE, SKY, and CASTUP needed perps. And I too tried to insert sari and toga where ROBE and CAPE were needed.
I too wanted LEAPing instead of LEAPERS.
Thank you RB for a nice review and the picture of Fuzzy Brain.
CAST UP?
Yuck
Agree with Charlie Echo, the cluing in this puzzle left a lot to be desired. I found no enjoyment in the process.
If this puzzle were a sports team, ASIA and CASTUP would be its mascots.
Just switch the S and T and you've got CATSUP. Which would be as good an answer as CASTUP.
Musings
-Just enough spice to make my breakfast puzzle interesting
-The SW corner was the last to fall
-PEAR wood? Wow!
-Rod CAREW is a fav of C.C.
-My lords had the adjective LEAPING before the noun LEAPERS
-I’ve never heard of CASTING UP but I remember casting out 9’s
-Spot is one of those words that trigger cwd solvers’ suspicions in a clue
-The Louvre is located at RUE de Rivoli, 750001, Paris, France
Thank you, Howard. Congrats on your LAT debut!
The only error in today's quick solve was that I read Affogato scoop as soup. At least three times. But as the perps came into place, the word appeared to be GELATO. So one more read, and scoop emerged.
Jordan PEELE and Keegan-Michael Key created some of the funniest comedy skits that I have seen. The Key & Peele YouTube channel has plenty of videos.
My mother was a big Willie NELSON fan. I grew to like him as I recorded cassettes of his albums so she could listen to them in the car.
Thanks Rusty, for the great review.
I BETTER GET GOING. I just received yet another replacement keyboard for this old laptop. It's been a saga. Hopefully this new one will install easily and last.
That gelato 🍨 dessert looks delicious. 🤤
A fun-ish puzzle today. I agree that the forbidden city clue should be nominated for vaguest of the month.
However Lioness, sweet tea, and cat pose were fresh fill and clever.
Good to see that Willie and Tina still rate as crossword worthy and have not been left in the editors storage closet.
Thanks Howard and RB
Quite the ADVENTURE but at least a success. Alphabet runs and perps to the rescue. Admire a constructor who can create wall to wall answers and there are two: and from a neophyte. Plus no need for a reveal clue.
Inkover: rte/ETA, cash/CASH Up, leaping(lizards! Me too!)/LEAPERS
Never heard of UBID but makes sense
I’ve seen the horror films directed by Jordan PEELE who with his partner Key as pointed out ironically make an incredible comedy team. One of my favorite comedy routines, the hierarchy of boarding an airplane “Now Boarding”
ES_ : wait for the perp for a gender reveal
COTEACH: wasn’t he leader of a Native American tribe? (Oh wait that was Cochise). A necessary filler answer.
Have a grew day. 😊
Took 7:43 today for me to travel through this puzzle.
As usual, Ms. Irish Miss's summary applies to me too. "Castup" & "Siegel" weren't known (or welcomed) by this solver. I did ok with today's French (rue), Italian (ciao), and Spanish (eso) lessons.
Big Bend National Park is pretty. I don't think of it having a "take your breath away" sight like some of the other more well-known/visited National Parks, but we waded across the Rio Grande to the Mexico side and back -- no customs/ICE or anybody around for miles and miles.
https://youtu.be/y1An1kT5OcA?si=0szSn3KF_ChLk-GC
Pleasant Thursday puzzle, Howard--many thanks! And, Rusty, your comments and pictures are always a pleasure, as I'm sure I've told you many times before. So thank you very much for those too.
Well, it might make not seem to make much SENSE to speak URDU in a LAB, but why not if there's more than one person there who speaks the language? Either way, the LAB seems like a very friendly place, with a sign telling us WELCOME ABOARD and then suggesting that ADVENTURE AWAITS us. They suggest that we wear a ROBE or a CAPE, maybe like TSARS in the old days. And then we're offered an ENTREE with some SWEET TEA to drink and a PEAR for dessert. I think I might like to get a job there. But we then went out in order to buy some TICKETS, PLEASE--so that could visit that sweet LIONESS at the zoo. She always seems to smile when we visit, and before we say CIAO and leave. Then we had to walk on the SAND to get down to the beach, where we SWAM some LAPS. Pretty cool morning, don't you think?
Have a lovely rest of the day, everybody.
Hola! My grid is a mess from using wite-out at LEAPING/LEAPERS, SEEGEL/SIEGEL, ROBE/CAPE but I knew URDU, CYAN, ADELE and almost all the rest. ASANA, of course, I know as well as CAT POSE. I liked the fill for "punch line."
I see SWEET TEA and BREW. And I have never had to CO-TEACH.
ADVENTURE AWAITS has always been a trigger for me; I love to travel!
The only EASY A I can recall is an art appreciation class. Of course, Spanish classes were fairly easy but did involve a lot of writing.
CIAIO everyone! Have a great day!
What happened to the big beautiful wall?
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