Wednesday, May 18, 2022, Adrian Johnson

Theme: ROLL WITH IT

 

17. Investment option when leaving an employer: ROLLOVER IRA.

30. London fashion street: SAVILE ROW.

39. Leaving the state without permission, perhaps: PAROLE VIOLATION. Nice grid-spanner.

46. Goal at a film audition: MOVIE ROLE.

64. Dickens orphan, and what is found in each set of circles in this puzzle?: OLIVER TWIST.

Melissa here. Adrian is clever to think of this. The circled letters can be TWISTed to spell OLIVER. Crossword constructor's brains must be always ready to ROLL, to notice names and common phrases that could be used for crossword themes.

Across: 

1. Rapunzel's abundance: HAIR.

5. "Finally!": AT LAST.

11. Fashion monogram: YSL. Yves Saint Laurent.

14. "What __ is new?": ELSE. Yawn.

15. Dazed state: TRANCE. For Scorpions fans.

16. Punk subgenre: EMO.

19. Chem class: LAB. I loved my high school chem class.

20. Link to another story?: STAIR. Love this clue.

21. __ Sutra: KAMA. An ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life.

22. Botch: FLUB. D'oh.

23. Station with an eye on the TV: CBS.

25. Words of regret: APOLOGY.  The Five Worst Ways to Apologize. My pet peeve is #3.

27. __ and reel: ROD. Fishing.

33. Big Apple?: IMAC. Once I went Mac, I never went back.

35. Audio jack abbr.: MIC. I don't refer of the jack itself as a mic - maybe it just means related to the jack?

36. "It's a Wonderful Life" director: CAPRA. Frank Capra on making It's a Wonderful Life. I  know one person who hates this movie. I think there might be something wrong with her.

 43. Low joint: ANKLE. My first thought was a seedy bar.

44. Outer: Pref.: EXO. As in, exoskeleton.

45. Tizzy: SNIT.

50. Country quartet __ Young Band: ELI. Hadn't heard of them. My brother and I were having lunch at a restaurant where the tv was tuned to a daytime talk show doing a segment on celebrity gossip. I did not recognize ANY of the faces shown.

51. Trattoria frozen dessert: GRANITA. Semi-frozen dessert, like a snowcone for adults. What’s the Difference Between Sorbet, Sherbet, and Granita?

53. Delay: LAG.

55. "Darn!": RATS.

56. Physics entity: ATOM. The basic building block of chemistry. It is the smallest unit into which matter can be divided without the release of electrically charged particles. Atom.

59. Goes it alone: SOLOS.

63. Be in the picture?: ACT. Nice.

66. Gym shirt: TEE.

67. Wee: MINUTE. Minute (my NOOT) is an adjective that means very small, tiny, infinitesimal, insignificant. Minute vs Minute.

68. Mardi Gras locale, familiarly: NOLA.

69. Pour hamster food into the dog's bowl, say: ERR. That's not the worst. Once I walked into the kitchen to find my aunt (with dementia) filling the coffee maker with water from the dog's bowl!

70. Guy who writes jokes: GAGMAN.

71. Elitist sort: SNOB.

Down:

1. Like everything in a she shed: HERS.

2. Boatloads: A LOT. The alot is better than you at everything.

3. Land in the agua: ISLA. Spanish agua = water; isla = island. Lucina, can you confirm this: in slang aguas means be careful or look out!

4. Ancient artifact: RELIC.

5. Off-roader, for short: ATV. All-terrain vehicle.

6. Long slog: TREK.

7. Fictional archaeologist Croft: LARA. From the movie and video game Tomb Raider.

8. Critter: ANIMAL. My Texas-born aunt referred to all our pets as critters.

9. Minor injury: SCRAPE.

10. Steeped beverage: TEA.

11. Evergreen wood used for flooring: YELLOW PINE. From lumber.com: Southern yellow pine wood is one of the principal sources of softwood products in the United States. Not only is it strong, stiff, and dense, but it also has the ability to hold nails and other fasteners particularly well, which makes it a great choice for residential and commercial construction.

12. "The Hobbit" dragon: SMAUG. LOTR fans: 16 Things You Didn't Know About Smaug.

13. L, in a hotel elevator: LOBBY.

18. Planets, to poets: ORBS.

22. Ice cream concoctions: FLOATS.

24. "Ditto": SAME.

26. Killer whale: ORCA.

27. TV host Kelly: RIPA.

28. Mideast sultanate: OMAN. 1: a state or country governed by a sultan. 2: the office, dignity, or power of a sultan. Oman.

29. Hypothetical cosmic stuff: DARK MATTER. Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Wikipedia.

31. "Tom & __": biopic about T.S. Eliot and his first wife: VIV.

32. Less approachable: ICIER.

34. Analogy punctuation: COLONS. The colon stands for the phrase is to. Example - hammer : nail :: comb : hair.

37. Make muddy: ROIL. I'm more familiar with the meaning, to make someone annoyed or irritated. But the first definition is make (a liquid) turbid or muddy by disturbing the sediment.

38. Against: ANTI.

40. "Shazam!" actor Zachary: LEVI. Levi was praised for his performance as Billy Batson's alter ego Shazam. The sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods is scheduled to release on June 2, 2023.

41. Good Grips gadget brand: OXO.

42. Lounge around: LOLL. Funny word.

47. Napoli's home: ITALIA. "In Napoli where love is king, when boy meets girl, here's what they say ..."

48. Out to lunch, say: EATING.

49. Sunrise locale: EAST.

51. Rub harshly: GRATE.

52. Indy entrant: RACER. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or simply the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Scheduled this year on Sunday May 29th.

54. Prom wear: GOWNS.

57. Fertility clinic egg: OVUM.

58. Like a podcast about recording a podcast: META. Greek for beyond or transcending. Pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features. Sometimes called "breaking the fourth wall." Ten Incredibly Meta Films about Films Within Films.

60. Detroit pro: LION. NFL team.

61. Capital city served by Gardermoen Airport: OSLO. Capital of Norway.

62. Wild guess: STAB. Good one.

64. "!!!": OMG.

65. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rapper MC __: REN. From Compton. First name LoRENzo.

Saturday, April 2, 2022, Adrian Johnson

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson

This is AJ's fourth solo themeless I have blogged and it was a delight to solve. Our Minnesota native is now doing great work for a startup group called BetterFi who are engaged in rural Tennessee helping residents with payday loan problems. Very cool!

Hi Gary, 

Nice to hear from you again. I first filled this puzzle a little more than a year and a half ago, in September 2020. It was one of the first solo themeless grids I’ve ever put together. The thought process behind this one was simple, because I love pinwheel designs and wanted to make an aesthetically pleasing grid to challenge myself and see how well I could fill it. My favorite entry is GO NUCLEAR at 1A, a fortuitous, rather than intentional, find since the top was not where I began writing this puzzle. From there, the rest of the pinwheel you see here came to life . Once people are done with this one, I hope you check out the universal crossword freestyle that’s out today, also by me :)

Thanks for your time,

Adrian

Across:

1. Lose it: GO NUCLEAR - This was my first thought but, as it turned out, twenty minutes later it was my last fill

10. Malleable: BENDY.

15. One of two in a historic 1869 Utah meeting: IRON HORSE - One of them was from the U.P.'s eastern terminus of Omaha

16. Desensitize: INURE.

17. Coloring of some papers?: MEDIA BIAS - Mere facts take too little time, so BIASED yammering fills the rest of the 24-hr news cycle

18. Former birds only found on Mauritius: DODOS.

19. Fluid obstacles: MOATS - Fun clue 

20. In this way: THUS - Booth may or may not have said this motto of the State of Virginia on that night in 1865

22. French military cap: KEPI.

23. Projection, e.g.: Abbr.: EST - A projection can be called an ESTimate 

24. Fancy, in slang: PRIMO.

25. One-named fashion icon: IMAN - She frequently sashays across crossword runways

26. Lunar dark spot: MARE - This 2021 photograph shows Apollo 11's descent stage casting a shadow in the MARE Tranquillatatis (Sea Of Tranquility) where it landed in July of 1969.

28. 1930s J.B. Rhine coinage, briefly: ESP - Oh, now I get it, J.B. coined the word.

30. Uncanny: ODD.

31. Branch-dwelling rainforest reptile: TREE BOA - Not poisonous but still...

34. Eleventh-hour: DO OR DIE - In football it is sometimes called a Hail Mary pass play as time runs out. This one was successful. 

36. Hardly reputable: SEAMY.

37. Defiant admission: SUE ME.

38. Proves: ATTESTS - I can ATTEST that this is the correct fill

41. Kept on riding: HASSLED 

43. Lab sound: ARF.

44. Quote qualifier: SIC.

45. 2021 Pac-12 champs: UTES - UCLA fit but wasn't right

46. Muck: GOOP.

48. Word before hack or jack: PHONE.

50. "Never to suffer would never to have been blessed" writer: POE.

53. French for "unbleached": ECRU - Saturday cluing for a crossword favorite 

54. Spill the beans: SING and 13. Rat (on): DROP A DIME - Henry Hill SANG and DROPPED A DIME on a lot of racketeers who subsequently went to jail. Henry had to go into witness protection in Omaha and other cities.

Henry Hill and Ray Liotta
who portrayed him in the movie
Goodfellas

55. Herringbone, e.g.: TWILL - The video you see below

57. Paris possessive: NOTRE - Most famous use: NOTRE Dame - Our Lady

59. Required network announcement: STATION ID.

61. Dwarf, with "over": TOWER.

62. Presidential carrier that flew with an all-women crew for the first time in 2009: MARINE ONE - Major Jennifer Grieves can be seen in the cockpit.

63. Gin berries: SLOES.

64. Intelligence boss: SPYMASTER - Surprise!

Down:

1. Very short putt, in golf lingo: GIMME - TAP IN overstayed its welcome 

2. Snack brand with a 2012 100th-anniversary "Daily Twist" campaign: OREOS - What a hoot!

3. Wordlessly greet: NOD AT.

4. Class division: UNIT - Samples

5. Cartoonist Addams: CHAS - Any idea what TV series his work inspired?

6. Throw to a tot: LOB.

7. Horn of Africa country: ERITREA - As you can see there was another 7-letter candidate

8. Tokyo brewer: ASAHI and 11. Ramen morsel: ENOKI - Some Japanese cuisine 

9. Picked up: RESUMED - One amazing thing about Netflix is that it RESUMES a show right where I left off a day, a week or a month ago.

10. Raise a paddle, perhaps: BID.

12. Uncovered subject: NUDE MODEL - What did Picasso's model look like?

14. "You know it!": YES INDEED.

21. Passable: SO SO.

24. Country club employee: PRO.

26. Social media spreader: MEME - I liked this one

27. Tartarus, in Greek myth: ABYSS - Hades or hell. Club Med it ain't!

29. Group that follows a star?: POSSE - Aha, THAT star (look closely)!

31. Users of travelers' checks?: TSA AGENTS - This group that checks travelers, coupled with POSSE just above, took some time but AJ had two fun clues in a row.

32. Back in after going out: RETROCOOL - Bell-bottoms are back!

33. Dine expectantly?: EAT FOR TWO - Oh, expectant mothers! 

35. Actor William of "Boy Meets World": RUSS - The dad

39. Informed advice: TIPS - The great Stubby Kaye, et al.

40. Great divides: SCHISMS.

41. Liszt's homeland: HUNGARY - His birthplace was here in what is now Raiding, Austria which was in HUNGARY until after WWI.

42. Had a fast break?: ATE - Breakfast literally means breaking a night fast

47. Blender button: PUREE.

49. Coming up soon: ON TAP 

50. Cab alternative: PINOT - Cabernet Sauvignon versus Pinot Noir: Which Is Better?

51. QB protectors, in football lingo: O-LINE - It is the job of the Offensive LINE of the KC Chiefs to keep Patrick Mahomes protected 

52. Senior: ELDER.

55. Amy's mid-2000s "Weekend Update" partner: TINA - TINA Fey and Amy Pohler

56. Burdens: WOES.

58. TV drama settings: ERS.

60. South Carolina senator Scott: TIM.

Saturday, January 1, 2022, Adrian Johnson

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson

After collaborating with Jeff Chen in Feb. 2021 this is AJ's third solo Saturday Themeless.

Hi Gary,

Thanks for reaching out. Thrilled to have the first LAT of 2022! I knew I had a few puzzles due to come out around this time, and I'm super excited one of them landed on New Year's Day. Hope you and family are enjoying the holiday season, and that you have a merry Christmas and a happy 2022. I'm now an Americorps fellow in southern Tennessee for the next year, working at BetterFi, a startup that aims to free impoverished families from payday lenders, help them develop credit and provide financial counseling and assistance. It's been great so far. 

Here are some notes: 

Happy New Year everyone! I'm thrilled to be back in the LA Times, and to have the first LAT puzzle of 2022! I hope this puzzle of stacked 12s in a 16x15 grid, a layout I'd never seen or solved before, provides a welcome diversion as we begin 2022. This puzzle was a blast to construct, starting with the "Permanent marker?" clue for TATTOO ARTIST, one of my favorite clue/answer pairings to date. I'm also really pleased with the animal pairing of HAPPY AS A CLAM and ORIGAMI CRANE to open the puzzle. It was surprisingly straightforward to drum up stacks of lively 12s and connect them with fun, engaging fill, though I'm convinced this puzzle is largely a fluke since my other attempts at 12 stacks have flamed out into heaping piles of nothingness. I hope to continue pushing out high-quality, enjoyable and innovative crosswords throughout the year, and can't wait to be back at Crossword Corner again soon! 

Thanks, 

Adrian

Across:

1. Over the moon: HAPPY AS A CLAM "at high tide" finishes the real phrase because clams can only be dug at low tide.

13. Figurehead?: Abbr.: CPA - Their busy time is coming up

16. Japanese art piece that symbolizes good fortune and longevity: ORIGAMI CRANE - How do you do make one?

17. Inlet, to the sea: ARM.

18. Much-photographed event: TOTAL ECLIPSE - Here's me taking a picture of me watching this event as it began in 2017

19. Fairy-tale disruption: PEA - On Broadway it was Once Upon A Mattress

20. Son of Akhenaten: TUT.

21. "To recap ... ": IN SUM.

22. Law school course: ETHICS.

24. Tangents: ASIDES.

26. Throbs: PULSATES - Your head today? Not mine.

28. Drawing game: KENO.

29. Sound of alarm: GASP.

31. Connection point: NODE.

32. Aid in fixing rough borders: EDGE TRIM - They can hide a lot of roughness

35. Dickered: HAGGLED - What MSRP?

38. Program resource: HELP MENU.

40. Last part: BACK END - Tom Hanks made $65M on Forest Gump when he negotiated a BACK END deal to get a percent of the profits from this mega hit.

44. Offer not seen by competitors: BLIND BID 

49. DOL watchdog: OSHA 

50. "My stars!": EGAD.

52. Hill assistant: AIDE - Both in the House and the Senate 

53. "Who, me?": WHAT'D I DO?

56. Papyrus plants, e.g.: SEDGES - Egyptians made paper from the stems of this SEDGE starting in 3,000 BCE

58. Vet: SCREEN - Many candidates do not get sufficiently vetted. Surprise!

59. Island in a popular board game: CATAN - The 3-D version of this board game I have never heard of

62. Dance step: PAS - Hopefully not faux

63. Crew implement: OAR.

64. Iran, for one: ISLAMIC STATE.

67. It may be plucked on a beach: UKE - Yes he could play it too

68. Vader underling: STORM TROOPER.

69. Talking stuffed bear in a 2012 film: TED.

70. Permanent marker?: TATTOO ARTIST - Fun clue, AJ!

Down:

1. Provocative opinion: HOT TAKE - The lifeblood of Twitter

2. Galvanized: AROUSED - His speech galvanized millions

3. Placing in direct competition: PITTING - When the NFL was PITTING its games against the NBA on Christmas Day the NBA got routed

4. __ Tour: PGA - Speaking of which, ratings for the PGA Tour got a big boost two weeks ago when Tiger teamed with his son Charlie in a Father/Relative event.

5. Amy Klobuchar, for one: YALIE.

6. Chorus of approval: AMENS.

7. Unleashes: SICS.

8. Women's Rights Project org.: ACLU.

9. Pinches together: CRIMPS.

10. 2.5 miles, at Indy: LAP - Can you find the four golf holes inside the track that are part of the course outside?

11. Elgort of "The Fault in Our Stars": ANSEL - Two teens with cancer meet in a support group and fall  in love

12. Some contests: MEETS - At the school where I sub, two girls alone will win many track MEETS this spring

13. Building partly burned by Britain in 1814: CAPITOL - Admiral George Cockburn (COH burn),  planned and executed the burning of public buildings in Washington. His portrait shows D.C. afire in the background.

14. Antedate: PRECEDE.

15. Brought together: AMASSED.

23. Get hooked?: HANG.

25. John in court, maybe: DOE.

27. Maintained: UPHELD.

29. __ Age: post-Civil War period: GILDED - After his triumphant Downton Abbey series, this year Julian Fellows is presenting another period piece set in NYC in the 1880's.

30. Gig gear: AMP - "Roadies" have the job of moving and setting up AMPliferS for the gigs

33. It accounts for about 7% of all printed English words: THE.

34. "The Villain in Black" rapper MC __: REN - Google him if you must 

36. "The Phantom Menace" boy: ANI.

37. Cause to race: GUN - A GUN can start a race or if you GUN your engine, you can make the motor race 

39. Wall St. asset: MBA.

40. Gracefully exits: BOWS  OUT - Some athletes "stay too long at the fair"

41. Bread named for how it's baked: ASH CAKE - How do you do that?

42. Blackened: CHARRED - What your ASH CAKE might get

43. "Sexual Politics" author Millett: KATE - Here ya go

45. Witness to a delivery, often: DAD.

46. 2000s Red Sox hero, familiarly: BIG PAPI.

47. Conceives: IDEATES - One of those vowel-laden words I only see here

48. Madeleine or Napoleon: DESSERT.

51. Soap Box Derby entrant: GO CART - (GO KART is an alternate spelling) These are "gravity powered" GO CARTS. My friend had a motorized one in my ute.

54. Dmitri Mendeleev, religiously: DEIST - A list of some famous ones

55. Photo-sharing app, for short: INSTA - Instagram 

56. Triangular pelvic bones: SACRA.

57. Former CNN journalist David: ENSOR.

60. Snowball pile, say: AMMO - Finally, cute cluing for this ominous word

61. Jazz great Puente: TITO - Fred Armisen did a hilarious sendup of Tito on SNL

65. Parking __: LOT 

66. Little one: TOT.