google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner

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Sep 22, 2026

Tuesday September 22, 2026 Zachary David Levy

Old MacDonald Had a Farm ...  Today provides us with common phrases that contain farm animals.

20-Across. Exhibit A: That awful handwriting: CHICKEN SCRAWL.

26-Across. Exhibit B: That loud guffaw: HORSE LAUGH.

35.-Across Exhibit C: That unruly hair: COWLICK.  A cowlick is a section of hair that grows in a different direction from the rest of the hair.  The hair often stands straight up or sticks out in a stubborn swirl.


44-Across. Exhibit D: That goofy stare: SHEEP'S EYES.  Did you know that sheep have horizontal, rectangular pupils?  The sharpen horizontal contours and give them an incredible field of peripheral vision.


And the unifier:

53-Across. Lacking all refinement, facetiously, or like the person described in 20-, 26-, 35-, and 44-Across?: RAISED IN A BARN.


Here's the Grid so you can see all the farm animals:


Across:
1. Percussion instruments with taut tops: DRUMS.

6. Highest mountain in Japan: FUJI.  Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano.  At 12,389 feet, it is the highest mountain in Japan.  At the top of the mountain there is a vending machine, so hikers can get a cold or hod drink when they reach the top.  The prices of drinks reflect the high altitude, too.  Mt. Fuji was in the news recently when a father left his 7-year-old son part-way up the mountain.  Apparently, the young boy got tired, but the father wanted to continue up the mountain.


10. Use a needle and thread: SEW.

13. Superficial layer: VENEER.

15. Guy known for his first-person perspective?: ADAM.  A Biblical reference.


16. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE.  As in the United Arab Emirates.


17. Composer Shostakovich: DMITRI.  Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (Sept. 25, 1906 ~ Aug. 9, 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist.  He became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926.


18. Harlem Renaissance writer __ Neale Hurston: ZORA.  Zora Neale Hurston (Jan. 7, 1891 ~ Jan. 28, 1960) was an African-American writer and folklorist.  Although she was born in the South, by 1925, she was living in New York City when the Harlem Renaissance was in full swing.  She only lived in NYC for a short time, but quickly became associated with the movement.  She is best known for her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.


19. Bikini top: BRA.

23. "Little Bunny __": FOO FOO.  Apparently, Little Bunny Foo Foo is a children's book about a rabbit who bullies field mice.  It is supposed to teach children about consequences and the importance of being nice to others.

24. Lit __: English major's course: CRIT.  As in Literary Criticism.  It is the reasoned analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of literary works.

25. Arduous: HARD.

31. Belarus capital: MINSK.  Minsk is one of the oldest cities in Europe.


33. Cars: AUTOS

34. "__ Doubtfire": MRS.  Mrs. Doubtfire was a 1993 comedy that starred Robin Williams.


38. Position: JOB.

41. Student: PUPIL.

42. "With any luck": I HOPE.

49. Gave approval to: OK'ED.

50. Out-of-pocket amount: COST.

51. Area of influence: DOMAIN.

58. Omelet ingredient: EGG.

59. Dental exam image: X-RAY.


60. Mystery: ENIGMA.

63. Come out on top: WIN.  //  As opposed to 62-Down. "It's __-win situation": A NO.

64. Snub-nosed dogs: PUGS.


65. Catch, as a fish: REEL IN.

66. Triumphant cry: YES!

67. High-pitched wind instrument: OBOE.  This wind instrument is becoming a crossword staple.


68. "Give it a go": TRY TO.

Down:
1. Netflix format, originally: DVD.  As in Digital Versatile Disc.  They can still be checked out at our public library.

2. Sleep cycle letters: REM.  As in Rapid Eye Movement.  REM is one of the phases of sleep.

3. Horned equines of mythology: UNICORNS.  These mythical creatures were probably never raised in a barn.


4. Procedures: METHODS.

5. Typeface line: SERIF.

6. Unnerve: FAZE.

7. Japanese noodle: UDON.  Yummers!  These noodles often find themselves in the crossword puzzles.


8. Jam holders: JARS.

9. Apple all-in-one computer: iMAC.
The Mac Mini.  Monitor is sold separately.

10. Forester carmaker: SUBARU.


11. Pincered insect: EARWIG.


12. Riches: WEALTH.

14. Canon competitor: RICOH.


21. "Kitchy-kitchy-__": KOO.

22. Some old radios: RCAs.


23. County event with lots of fried food: FAIR.


25. "I wonder ... ": HMM ...

27. Tennis sequence after a serve: RALLY.

28. __ generis: unique: SUI.  Today's Latin lesson.  Sui generis is a Latin phrase that means in a class by itself, in others words: something unique.

29. And so on: Abbr.: ETC.  More of today's Latin lesson.  Etc. is short for the Latin phrase et cetera, which means: and so forth.

30. Norse god of mischief: LOKI.  Loki makes frequent appearances in the puzzle.  Loki is a shape-shifting god who likes to cause trouble.

32. Disposable coffee pod: K-CUP.  The K-Cup, or K-Pod, is the trademarked term, originally designed for the Keurig single-serving coffee maker.


36. Word after photo or special: OPS.

37. Golfer Michelle __ West: WIE.  Michelle Sung Wie West (b. October. 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer. When she was only 10-years-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship.


38. In a playful manner: JOKINGLY.

39. Like an unlocked door: OPEN.  When is a door not a door ...

40. Place to sleep: BED.


41. Furry companions: PETS.

43. Whiter with age: HOARIER.

44. Off-the-wall: SCREWY.

45. Sandwich also known as a grinder: HOAGIE.  How did this sandwich get its name?  We ate Hoagies in a puzzle last week.

46. Endorses digitally: E-SIGNS.


47. Childcare expert LeShan: EDA.  I learned about Eda LaShan (June 6, 1922 ~ Mar. 3, 2002) from doing the puzzles.  She was an American writer, television host, counselor, educator, and playwright. She hosted How Do Your Children Grow? on PBS in the 1970s


48. Clearheaded: SOBER.

52. Impressionist painter …douard: MANET.  Ã‰douard Manet (Jan. 23, 1832 ~ Apr. 30, 1883) was a French modernist painter.  He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.  Not to be confused with Oscar-Claude Monet (Nov. 114, 1840 ~ Dec. 5, 1926), who was a French painter and founder of Impressionism.  Both were French painters with similar sounding names.


54. Trade show: EXPO.

55. Defeat soundly: DRUB.

56. "Othello" villain: IAGO.  A reverence to the play by Willie the Shakes.


57. Nasdaq rival: NYSE.  As in the New York Stock Exchange.

61. Cambridge sch.: MIT.  As in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



חתולה


Sep 21, 2026

Monday, September 21st, 2026 ~ Janice Luttrell

An Odd Flush.

Hearts SUIT Flush

In poker, a flush is all cards of the same suit. Today, we have postfixes that uses SUIT in different contexts.

Good morning solvers! And welcome to another Janice Monday.

Let's start w/ the reveal:

57. Do the same, and what the ends of 17-, 25-, and 42-Across can do: FOLLOW SUIT.

17. "Just act naturally!": BE YOURSELF. SUIT YOURSELF.


Suit Yourself

25. Vietnam War film directed by Stanley Kubrick: FULL METAL JACKET. SUIT JACKET.

42. Quickly resolved legal matter: OPEN AND SHUT CASE. SUITCASE.


Pretty simple gimmick but cute nonetheless. Let's see what else suits Janice's puzzle...

Across:

1. Dot-__: online businesses: COMS. Another financial bubble that pop'd.

5. Capital of South Korea: SEOUL.

10. Clever remark: QUIP.

14. Shape of many a car logo: OVAL.

15. Inner circle: CADRE.

16. Caterer's coffee servers: URNS.


17. [See: Theme]

19. AirPods holders: EARS. Ha! I kept trying to think if there was a name for their little recharger pods.

20. Chocolaty treats that may have walnuts: BROWNIES.

21. Portable device with a touchscreen: TABLET.

23. Baby bear: CUB.

24. __ farewell: said goodbye: BADE.

25. [See: Theme]

33. Between ports: ASEA.

34. Second-string players: B-TEAM. Ask ChatGPT to produce an image...

“I love it when a cookout comes together.”

35. Lamb's mother: EWE.

36. Sow's opposite: REAP.

37. Renewable energy option: SOLAR.

38. Safari park roarer: LION.

39. Gloomy __: pessimistic sort: GUS.

40. Comedian Wyatt: CENAC. Wyatt Cenac was a writer and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from '08 to 2012.  He continues to do standup and other projects.

Wyatt Cenac
41. Annoys: IRKS.

42. [See: Theme]

46. Finishes up: ENDS.

47. Part of FTW and BTW: THE. For THE Win & By THE Way #TextSpeak

48. Talks back to: SASSES.

51. Morton who plays Circe in "The Odyssey": SAMANTHA.

Samantha Morton

56. Help in wrongdoing: ABET.

57. [See: Theme]

59. Genuine: REAL.

60. Face-to-face exams: ORALS.

61. Prefix with skeleton: ENDO.

62. Like a couch potato: IDLE.

63. Move, as a root-bound houseplant: REPOT.

64. Consider to be: DEEM.

Down:

1. Salad with bacon and eggs: COBB.

Yummers

2. "Back to you," in radio lingo: OVER.


Oveur Over

3. BLT spread: MAYO.


Two Airplane! clips FTW!

4. Insincere round of applause: SLOW CLAP.

Colbert is not impressed

5. Book copier of old: SCRIBE.

6. Loosen (up): EASE.

7. Poems of praise: ODES.

8. Address that often starts with "www": URL. Technically, it starts with the scheme which, nowadays, is most oft the protocol HTTPS. I have, however, used ftp:// and gopher:// .

The URL Format

9. Not quite closed: LEFT AJAR. When is a door not a door? When it's AJAR! *rim-shot* 😄

10. Montreal's province: QUEBEC.

11. Eurasian border river: URAL.

12. Memo heading: INRE.

13. Soft "Hey, you!": PSST.

18. E pluribus __: UNUM. Latin.

22. Singer Lambert: ADAM.

24. Laundry whitener: BLEACH.

25. North Dakota city: FARGO.

26. Spend all of: USE UP. No more. It's gone.

27. Rental contract: LEASE.

28. Govt.-issued investments: T-BONDS.

29. Book of maps: ATLAS.

30. Knightley of "Bend It Like Beckham": KEIRA.

Keira Knightley

31. Furry "Star Wars" creatures: EWOKS.

32. Uptight: TENSE.

37. Summons: SENDS FOR.

38. Officially permitted to drive, say: LICENSED.

40. Walking stick: CANE.

43. Big name in milk chocolate: NESTLE.

44. Ultimate: UTMOST.

45. Melt: THAW.

48. South Asian silk dress: SARI.

49. Tucked in for the night: ABED.

50. Barking marine mammal: SEAL.

51. Smack: SLAP.

52. French greeting: ALLO.

53. Song: TUNE.

54. Keep out of sight: HIDE.

55. Tiny particle: ATOM.

58. Mine yield: ORE.


The Grid:
The Grid

WOs: N/A
ESPs: SAMANTHA, KEIRA, ALLO
Fav: SLOW CLAP

Cheers, -T

The turkey just needs to be himSELF. R.I.P. Mitch

Sep 20, 2026

Sunday September 20, 2026 Emma Oxford

 

Theme:  "SOUND CHECK" -The last word of each familiar phrase takes on a new meaning when pronounced differently.

23A. "In the name of that rice wine we drank ages ago"?: FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE. Rice wine sake (sah-keh).
 
38A Bird that makes its home in trash receptacles?: DUMPSTER DOVEThe bird rather than the past tense dove.
  
63A. Business run by a bunch of hens?: CHICKEN COOP. Co-op.

73A. Swiped refills for a mechanical pencil?: TOOK THE LEAD.

96A. One who is always pointing at shooting stars?: METEOR SHOWER. Show-er, one who shows.
 
115A. Anesthetic for a noted Italian chemist?: AVOGADRO'S NUMBER. Numb-er, something that numbs.

17D. Musical instrument made off the coast of South America?: CHILEAN SEA BASS. Not the fish.

48D. Rips caused by large reptiles?: CROCODILE TEARS. 

The last word of each familiar phrase (except 63A) is reinterpreted as a heteronym, right? Same spelling, but a different pronunciation and meaning. I love the CHICKEN CO-OP and its clue.

I think this is our Emma Oxford. Very cool.


 Across:

1. Course most look forward to: DESSERT. Sweet clue!

8. Imposing construction: EDIFICE.

15. Supports: BACKS.

20. Unmasks: EXPOSES.

21. Brunch cocktails: MIMOSAS.

22. Not cool: UNHIP.

25. "Goosebumps" series writer: STINE (R. L.) The Stephen King of children's literature.

Goosebumps' author R.L. Stine talks his career, upbringing and successes -  ABC News

 

26. Remove adverbs and add punctuation, maybe: EDIT.

27. PlayStation maker: SONY.

28. __ Reader: UTNE.

29. Actress Swinton: TILDA.

30. Inventor Handler played by Rhea Perlman in "Barbie": RUTH. I didn't know that she invented the Barbie dolls.


31. "__ we good?": ARE.

32. Vexation: IRE.

33. Church perches: PEWS.

36. Moose kin: ELK.

37. NNW opposite: SSE.

41. Coastal inlets: BAYS.

42. Insta post: PIC.

43. Male turkey: TOM.

44. One of Paul's letters to the Ephesians?: EPSILON. The letter E in Ephesians. The Epistle to the Ephesians was written in Greek.
 
46. Herbal infusion from Peru: COCA TEA. Also 68. Chinese brew: CHA.


50. Rationalist's belief: DEISM.

53. Places to perch: ROOSTS.

56. Estate units: ACRES.

57. Sgt., e.g.: NCO.

59. Shoe designer Jimmy: CHOO. Same character as the Zhou in my name.

61. Pamper: DOTE ON.

62. Many August babies: LEOS.

66. IM pioneer: AOL.

67. Top card in a Broadway straight: ACE. A Broadway straight runs from ten to ace.

69. Frying need: OIL.

70. Pts. that often result in dances: TDS. Touchdown dance.

71. U.K. network: BBC.

72. Mattel game: UNO.

76. Julia of "The Addams Family": RAUL.

78. Simplified language: PIDGIN.

80. Wows: AWES.

81. Not just most: ALL.

82. Worth a second bite: TASTY.

83. Competed in the Figawi, say: SAILED. The Figawi is an annual sailing race from Hyannis to Nantucket. Learning moment for me.

84. Prefix with net or com, but not org: INTER.

86. "OK, got it": YES I SEE.

88. Tempts: LURES IN.

91. Fuel additive brand: STP. Scientifically Treated Petroleum.

93. Young fellow: LAD.

94. [Clears throat]: AHEM.

100. Take advantage of a bear market, perhaps: BUY.

103. Stomach: GUT.

104. "What You Need" band: INXS.

105. Kanga's kid: ROO.

106. Badger: NAG.

107. Figure in Norse mythology?: RUNE. "Figure" here means a written character or symbol.

108. Lies for, maybe: ABETS.

110. Forget about: OMIT.

112. Supermodel Banks: TYRA.

113. Incantation syllables: ABRA.

114. Fish with a big net: TRAWL.

118. New employee: HIREE.

119. Wright of "Black Panther": LETITIA. She played Shuri. 


120. Italian football powerhouse: AC MILAN.

121. Strong point: ASSET.

122. Rival one loves to hate: FRENEMY.

123. Sneaks: WEASELS.

Down:

1. Yields (to): DEFERS.

2. Book that tells the story of Moses: EXODUS.

3. Soft drink with a seasonal Winter Spiced Cranberry flavor: SPRITE. I've never had Sprite. 

4. Quaint truth: SOOTH.

5. Subj. for a non-native speaker: ESL.

6. Manicotti topping: RED SAUCE.


7. Abbr. on a weather map: T-STORM.

8. Posthumous award for Chadwick Boseman: EMMY Boseman won a posthumous 2022 Primetime Emmy for his voice performance as T'Challa in the animated series "What If...?"

9. Run out of power: DIE.

10. "Positive": I'M SURE.

11. Jodie with two Best Actress Oscars: FOSTER.

12. "Love __ Open Door": "Frozen" song: IS AN.

13. Treat on a stick: CAKE POP.

14. Jargon suffix: ESE.

15. Hits 22, perhaps: BUSTS. Blackjack.

16. Not in favor of: ANTI.

18. With gentleness: KINDLY.

19. Holds forth: SPEAKS.

24. Not up to the task: INEPT.

32. Online "I can relate": IT ME. As in "That's me".

34. Chargeable cars, briefly: EVS.

35. Goofballs: WEIRDOS.

38. Morse clicks: DITS.

39. "We have that in common": SO DO I.

40. "KPop __ Hunters": DEMON.

41. Italy's shape: BOOT.

42. Bel __ cheese: PAESE.

45. Circuit: LOOP.

46. Ore. neighbor: CAL.

47. Micronesia's region: OCEANIA.

49. Dried poblano: ANCHO.

51. Most disgusting: ICKIEST.

52. Seashore souvenir: SHELL.

54. Absolutely adorable: TOO CUTE.

55. 1975 TV debut, familiarly: SNL.

58. "Queen of Funk" Khan: CHAKA.

60. In base eight: OCTAL.

64. "Hallelujah" songwriter Leonard: COHEN. I love Jon Bon Jovi's version. 


65. "It's strange ... ": ODDLY.

68. Denounce: CONDEMN.

71. Challah feature: BRAID. These remind me of Chinese mahua.


72. FedEx competitor: UPS.

73. Part of a pricing plan: TIER.

74. Strong string: TWINE.

75. Soil: EARTH.

77. Soap ingredient: LYE.

79. In the doldrums: GLUM.

82. Bygone ruler: TSAR.

85. Canadian fuel giant: ESSO.

87. Class: ELEGANCE.

89. "On the Basis of __": Ginsburg biopic: SEX.

90. "We're done": IT'S OVER.

92. Miyazaki film about a goldfish who longs to be human: PONYO.


94. Kathryn's "WandaVision" role: AGATHA.

95. Fatal flaw in classic myths: HUBRIS.

97. Beginning: ORIGIN.

98. Turn: ROTATE.

99. Polish capital: WARSAW.

100. __ bath: BUBBLE.

101. Hard to believe: UNREAL.

102. Aches (for): YEARNS.

104. Archipelago unit: ISLET.

107. "Groundhog Day" director Harold: RAMIS. He also directed "Caddyshack".

109. Overly precious: TWEE.

111. Bit of dust: MOTE.

112. Printer part: TRAY.

115. Fuzzy 1980s sitcom character: ALF.

116. Low-lit: DIM.

117. Actress Thurman: UMA.

C.C.