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.
24. [theme]
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" SIEGEL 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. T
he "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 d
erives 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
