FOURTH SUNDOWN & INCHES
Actually, it's #5, and Across, but . . .
LA Times assistant editor Katie Hale is back - her last crossword offering was a month ago, on a Monday, here. The last one I blogged was a co-authored puzzle that had too much of a cringe factor ( for me ) to be enjoyable. Today, however, was a pleasant, and partially humorous construction, with four themers, including two grid-spanners, that added our star, the three-letter word SUN, to common phrases, giving them 'solar' power. There were maybe a few too many 2-word entries, especially in the Downs, but it was Friday-level, if not easier. Standard grid, no "outlier add-ons" this week, with 10 names, no circles, and a near-perfect balance of 3-, 4-. and 5-letter words. The themers and reveal;
18. *Action figure at the bottom of a pool?: SUNKEN DOLL - I first thought maybe G.I. Joe~?
I had the 80's "action figures" the same size as the Star Wars ones
23. *Naval officer's very quiet "ahoy there"?: LITTLE BOSUN PEEP - Bosun, how one pronounces "boatswain"
35. *Jokes about miscellaneous items?: SUNDRY HUMOR
48. *Essential for authors who work at the beach?: WRITER'S SUNBLOCK
56. Clean energy option, or a hint to what the answers to the starred clues have?: SOLAR POWER
But Wait There's More~!
ACROSS:
1. "Cor, blimey!": "I SAY~!" - Brit-speak
5. Oxygen co-creator: OPRAH - Oxygen, the network, not the element from THE Creator - name #1
10. Mascaron image: FACE - filled via perps, WAGed the "C" - this architectural detail
14. Drive-__: THRU
15. Tricky tennis serve: SLICE - meh. It's called an "ace" where I play tennis
16. Traffic-dependent figs.: ETAs
17. Azaria of "Brockmire": HANK - I know him from the Simpsons; name #2
20. WSW reversal: ENE
21. Virtual citizenry: SIMS - Another good guess on my part - but I have played Sim City & The Sims
22. Dad's sister: AUNT
28. Outdoor dining spot: PATIO
29. "Oh, now I see": "A-HA~!"
30. TV controller?: FCC - The Federal Communications Commission - I cound not recall what the second "C" stood for
31. 19th Greek letter: TAU
33. Cryptography org.: NSA - Thursday dupe
34. Mineralogist who created a scale: MOHS - this puzzle's themers gave me a laugh, so I'm giving it the "other" kind of star, a 4 / 5⭐ from on the "other" Moe's Scale - name(ish)
38. 2025 WNBA champions: ACES - I follow no basketball at all, tried the SUNS - but knowing the theme after the fact meant it could not be - plus I missed the "W" part of the clue as well . . . 😜
40. Solstice mo.: DECember - Monday, the 21st of this year, 12:50pm on the LA Times coast
41. Live and __ live: LET - in 1973, Wings "used to say . . ."
Live & Let DIE~!, Mr. Bond - James Bond
42. "Starship Troopers" backdrop: WAR - had it, filled it in, then took it out . . . an overdone movie with egregious graphic violence - I loved it. The IMDb
43. Zing: PEP
44. Gives, but not forever: LENDS - I had perps from doing the Downs first, so it was not LOANS
53. Olympic swimmer Torres: DARA - name #3 - her website
54. Cruising: ASEA
59. Snitch (on): NARC
60. "Copacabana" bartender: TONY - had this Barry Manilow reference three weeks ago; name #4
62. Wayfair rival: IKEA - I have bought home items from Wayfair, only shopped once at an Ikea
63. Referendum side: PROS
64. Like some buns: MESSY - Ah. Those kinds of bun
There's a red-haired beauty at my gym,
always on the Stairmaster when I am
65. Join (up): TEAM
DOWN:
1. Networking assistance: IT HELP - 2-word #1 - AND - 51D. 1-Down callers: USERS
2. Grammy winner Twain: SHANIA - name #5
A knock-off of Robert Palmer's video, which has more leg in it
3. "Is This Thing On?" star Will: ARNETT - name #6
4. Big laugh: YUK
5. Activist/actor Davis: OSSIE - learned by doing crosswords, name #7
6. Straight up: PLUMB - the same client with the pantry doors just got a new pocket door installed
7. Classic laundry soap: RINSO - I have heard of this brand, but I used Tide, then switched to soap flakes as suggested by the book "Laundry Love" which I learned of from sumdaze - name(ish)
8. "Jeepers!": "ACK~!" - Dah~! Not "EEK~!"
9. Little laugh: HEE - waited on perps; HEE, HAW or TEE~?
10. Beyond irritated: FED UP - the name chosen for the new merger of Federal Express and UPS 😜
11. Try to make right: ATONE FOR - 2-word #2
12. Pasadena research univ.: CAL TECH - 2-word #3
13. Pre-naturalization test course, for short: ESL - "English as Second Language" - Do you have to take the test/course these days~?
19. Meemaw alternative: NANA - no one in my family has ever used either term for "Granny"
21. "McSorley's Bar" painter: SLOAN - John, name #8
24. "__ Andronicus": TITUS - T.I.L. this is a Shakespeare play, name #9
25. Ceremonial accessory: SASH - I tried VEIL first
26. Rental after closing, maybe: U-HAUL - I was thinking a place to sleep after closing on the sale of a house, but you haven't bought a new one, like "HOTEL"
27. Hardware for Xbox: PCs
32. Cow's milk source: UDDER - this is udderly true . . . 🙄
33. US Open locale: NYC - I figured it was the tennis Open
34. Interstate stopover: MOTEL - so my HOTEL was looking wrong now . . .
35. Fig. for ordering replacement parts: SERIAL No. - 2-words, yeah, but I like this fill, #4
36. Set pieces: REPS - at the gym. I am now 193.0lbs - I took a pic of the scale last Saturday; my trainer allows 3lbs for sneakers and clothes - when I picked up the phone for the image, it added .5lbs~!
Now my trainer thinks I can get down to 160lbs - Yikes~!
37. Peach __: MELBA - Pie & Cobbler didn't fit the dish
38. "So sweet!": "Aww. . ."
39. Side mirror spot: CAR DOOR - I clipped the one on the passenger side on my Dodge Grand Caravan, bought a replacement unit, but to get to the screws I have to strip out half the dashboard - I'm in no hurry, and the mirror isn't actually broken - it's the remote motor that doesn't work - 2-word #5
43. Cider source: PEAR - never heard of cider from pears - it's called Perry; a recipe here
45. Like some cheesecake: NO-BAKE - technically, there's a hyphen, so not a 2-word answer
46. Region with many Nats fans, briefly: D.C. AREA - 2-word(ish)
47. Overview producer?: SKYCAM - Big Brother is watching . . . 😶
49. Canteen stack: TRAYS
50. Perceived to be: SAW AS - aaaand Twurd~!
52. Uncool: NERDY
56. Auto care brand: STP - Crossword staple
57. Actress Grier: PAM - two mentions in three weeks for me, name #10
58. Come up short, maybe: OWE
59. Minor quibble: NIT - "can't you see that man is a nit~!"
No, dagnubbit~!
Splynter
Grid Flow an even 30.0 - and it was the Katie puzzle I blogged
where I first introduced this parameter
It wasn’t too long
ReplyDeleteuntil I understood the gimmick, and that helped me solve the rest of this fun puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThe light came on (sun rose?) at SUNKEN DOLL. I've usually seen BOSUN spelled BOS'N, and it's an enlisted rate not officer rank. Not familiar with NARC as a verb. Thanx, Katie and Splynter. (Are you sure it's not that you're always on the stairmaster when she's there?)
I swear, I randomly go in to do cardio, and each time, she IS there~!
DeleteSplynter
Alas, no lass today . . .
DeleteToo many crossing names for me
ReplyDeleteTitt
Read Casablanca instead of Copa (caffeine hadn't kicked in yet). Put in Rick (though I thought he was the bar owner so it didn't feel right) which made the SW difficult till I got fully awake. Liked the puzzle and the review. Thx to both.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but plain->PLUMB, irate->FED UP, and rick->TONY (thinking Casablanca instead of Copacabana. Also a CSO to our very own Bayou TONY.
ReplyDeleteBad start to the puzzle with Britspeak in clue and fill. Didn't we fight a war 250 years ago so we wouldn't have to talk like that? Otherwise, too much A&E drek for my taste. And as D-O pointed out, BOSUNs are enlisted personnel. (BTW - that job on a ship has been a thing since before Columbus sailed the ocean blue.)
Thanks to Splynter for the always-interesting narrative.
FIR. This was a workout for me as can be expected on a Friday. There were way too many proper names for my liking. That took a lot of the fun out of the solve.
ReplyDeleteWhen i got the reveal I saw the sun come up in the long answers. That helped a lot in solving the NE which was the last to fall. Ken doll was an aha moment for me.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
Agree on too many names.
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis type of theme is not one of my favorites because the cluing is usually forced and, sometimes, awkward. The themers themselves work fine but the strained cluing and a couple of Green Paint entries, i.e., IT Help and Car Door, diminish the overall solving experience, IMO, especially compared to the long ago Fridays that were so challenging and rewarding to solve.
Thanks, Katie, and thanks, Splynter, for a top-notch review and commentary. Any progress on the canine search?
Have a great day.
I got FED UP with all the names and the phrases like 1 A. I did see the SUN in some theme answers but the NE stated mostly blank so I missed the KEN DOLL. What a terrible way to clue PEAR.
ReplyDeleteIn conclusion, this was not my kind of CW.
Thank you Splynter for your detailed review.
Not stated but STAYED.
DeleteThis was tough, but eventually I got everything. I really liked the long answers--very clever.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of NARC. Instead at first I had TELL for Snitch (on), and thus SKYLAB for the Overview producer--because the "Overview Effect" is when astronauts view Earth from space and get a deep connection with humanity and our planet.
My son plays Xbox and he says 27 Down is wrong (PCs). What is he missing?
ReplyDeleteI almost gave up two or three times today with all the names, but kept plugging away and guessing and oddly for me, I actually finished it right. It was not a fun solve however. Bosun is a Navy enlisted man, grade E-4 to E-9.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Gimmick was creative and helpful
-I SAY: One of his many, uh, utterances
-I quickly discarded any chemical ideas about Oxygen creator
-A friend has turned his “drive THRU” liquor store into a “drive THRU” coffee shop
-This cryptographer turned the tide in the war in the Pacific during WWII
-Our nearest IKEA would require a 3 ½ hour drive
-I’m sure your door is PLUMB but why did your customer want what appears to be a bedroom door that you can see through
-Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard all "work" at CAL TECH. Go Beavers!
Hey -
DeleteI don't question what the client asks for - they wanted a book nook with two glass doors for a "sun porch" effect; uh, OK. I am making a hide-away spot for a privacy curtain, as I expect it will come up when I am finished this weekend . . .
Splynter
When did the word "boatswain" come to be pronounced "bosun," wondering minds inquire. Near as I can tell, approximately lebinty-teen centuries ago. Give or take. Actually, we can tell by some 16th century poetry that "bosun" had already taken hold. The very first word of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" (1611) is "Boatswain!"--and we can be confident the actor pronounced it without the t and w. Oh--and as others have pointed out, boatswains are not naval officers; they're just enlisted gobs.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we're asea, the clue for that particular word (54-A), "Cruising," is incorrect. You might be immobile at sea because you're stuck in the Doldrums. Or maybe you just stopped to do some fishing.
I appreciate the shout-out (18-A), but would prefer that I not be at the bottom of a pool.
A Katie Hale offering that was fun and doable. Blimey 😊
ReplyDeleteSome of the clueing was forced and trite to make the theme work.
But overall it was a clever puzzle and most of the Names were known to me.
I had erect before plumb.
We just had a no-bake cherry 🍒 cheese cake last week so that was an easy fill.
The recap was detailed and informative.
Thanks Splynter
I downgrade any crossword, the author AND the editor when a clue is just incorrect, like 23 across.
ReplyDeleteThere is simply no excuse for this, other than not doing your job.
22 minutes to FWH: I looked up some of the unfamiliar names. 18 names by my count (aren't "RINSO" and "IKEA" names?) I DNK 9.
ReplyDeleteYears ago when I played tennis the slice was my standard serve. Difficult to execute, but even harder to return, as the ball bounces in goofy, unexpected directions. My opponents hated it and accused me of cheating.
Thanx KH for the fun. Try fewer names in the future, please.
Thanx too to Splynter for the nice write-up.
Short comments from me today: I've got a severe headache, and am gonna go take an Alka-Seltzer Plus and lie down.
Peace.
I always get a little apprehensive seeing Katie’s byline (as I do when seeing Rebecca G and Erik A), but prefer to see them on a Friday themed than a Saturday. The reveal helped with the solve and. I managed a FIR in 22 minutes, overcoming the unknowns, HANK, TONY, and SLOAN. Thanks Katie for the challenging puzzle, and to Splynter for telling it like it is. Currently en route to Chicago, but am stopped in Green Bay (briefly I hope) as DW had to stop at a Chico’s which we don’t have up in the sticks. 😂
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of puzzles where you can figure out the theme -- with help from a reveal clue, if necessary -- and then use that insight to complete the other theme answers. This puzzle met that standard. It was challenging but doable. FIR and enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteDNK the bartender or the painter, but perps were kind.
Thanks, Katie, and thank you, Splynter. I'm glad you've been inspired by "Laundry Love." My clothes, sheets and towels are cleaner than when I used Tide, and I have gained a reputation for removing stubborn stains with natural household supplies.
Apparently some of the oldsters here weren't smoking weed in high school and hoping their siblings wouldn't NARC on them! All behind me now .... Enjoy the weekend.