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

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Showing posts with label Alan DerKazarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan DerKazarian. Show all posts

Aug 20, 2015

Thursday, August 20, 2015 Alan DerKazarian

Theme: Back to School

39-Across. School area workers, and what the four pairs of intersecting starred answers depict : CROSSING GUARDS.
Eight synonyms for GUARD cross each other in this puzzle.  Here they are:

21-Across. *Former Ford compact : ESCORT. crossing 4-Down. *Hypnotist's prop : WATCH.
23-Across. *Orlando newspaper : SENTINEL. crossing 10-Down. *Janitor : CUSTODIAN.
59-Across. *German __ : SHEPHERD. crossing 49-Down. *Regulation-sized fish : KEEPER.
66-Across. *"Heaven Can Wait" (1978) Oscar nominee Jack : WARDEN. crossing 42-Down. *Lawyer, at times : DEFENDER.

70 theme letters is a whole ton, leaving very little wiggle room to sparkle with the fill.


Across
1. "__ go, into ... " : OFF WE. So yes, off we...

6. Top level : ATTIC.

11. Night school subj. : ESL. English (as a) Second Language.

14. Boggy tract : MORASS.

16. Verdi aria : ERI TU.

17. Poor grade : DEE.

18. Determined : GRITTY. Like him?

19. Terms for a student loan : SEMESTERS. Not the conditions of the loan, but the length of the program it pays for.

24. Egyptian symbol of life : ANKH.

25. March time : IDES.

27. Put in one's two cents : OPINE.

28. Grammar best-seller "Woe __" : IS I.

29. Halifax hrs. : AST. Atlantic Standard Time. (UTC -4:00)

30. Not even : ODD.

32. Low island : CAY.

33. Cinque times due : DIECI. 5 x 2 = 10. It comes out the same, even in English.

36. Abysmal : HORRID.

44. Beat : PATROL.

45. Duma votes : NYETS. The Russian State Duma consists of 450 members, each one having "da" or NYET vote on any given matter.

47. Mayall of "Drop Dead Fred" : RIK. Absolutely no clue. He died last year from cardiac arrest after a run.

50. Arctic bird : AUK. The great AUK is extinct, but other birds of the family alcidae still survive in northern waters.

51. "Too many to list": Abbr. : ETC.

54. __ Fighters: Dave Grohl's band : FOO. Feel free to link away!

55. Millennium-ending year : ONE BC.

57. Month after Shevat : ADAR.

58. Optical device : LENS.

62. Historic Honolulu palace : IOLANI. So pretty!
64. Condense : CAPSULIZE.

68. __ Miss : OLE. Shout out to DH - his Alma mater.

69. Defamatory text : LIBEL.

70. Strip, as of rights : DIVEST.

71. Poetic adverb : E'ER.

72. Rodeo catcher : LASSO.

73. "Star Wars" title : DARTH. It is reserved for Sith Lords.


Down

1. Shocked letters : OMG."Oh My Goodness..."

2. Like much court evidence : FORENSIC.

3. More kittenish : FRISKIER.

5. This, in Toledo : ESTO.

6. JFK's UN ambassador : AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson.

7. Barrette target : TRESS.

8. "Pencils down!" : TIME!

9. Coast-to-coast hwy. : I-TEN.  The southernmost east-west hwy. in the continental US.
11. Blissful : EDENIC.

12. Star sometimes eclipsing Venus? : SERENA. The Williams sisters of tennis.

13. Stahl of "60 Minutes" : LESLEY. I can never remember if it is "ie" or EY at the end.

15. Fertile Crescent land : SYRIA.

20. Reward in a jar : TIP.

22. NFL six-pointers : TDs. Touch Downs.

24. Come to the rescue of : AID.

26. Prefix with biology : ETHNO-.

30. URL ending : ORG.

31. Actress Joanne : DRU. Born Joan Letitia LaCock. (Really!)

34. Steal ... or the one who catches the thief : COP.

35. War of 1812 commodore : ISAAC HULL. No clue.

37. Considered figures carefully? : OGLED.

38. Like some wit or wine : DRY. I like both that way.  ;-)

40. "The Simpsons" disco guy : STU. I don't even have to think about these characters any more.
disco = STU
store = APU
bar = MOE
smart = LISA
etc etc etc...

41. Rankle : IRK.

43. Most unemotional : STONIEST.

46. "Help! We're sinking!" : SOS.

47. '70s-'80s tennis star Tanner : ROSCOE. He was not a huge star, and might be more well known to the police than to any tennis fan.

48. Yoga instructor's direction : INHALE.

52. Mai __ : TAI.

53. Get too close to : CROWD.

56. ER vitals : BPs.

57. Carpentry tools : ADZES.

58. Cocoon dweller : LARVA.

60. Director Kazan : ELIA.

61. Pokes fun at : RIBS.

63. Ascribed, as blame : LAID.

65. "Telephone Line" rock gp. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra. "The British guys with the big fiddles."

67. Last degree : Nth. So we have reached the Nth...

And I'm out!
Marti


Jan 10, 2015

Saturday, Jan 10th, 2015, Alan DerKazarian

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q, Z)

Blocks: 34

 I have not seen this constructor before, but I have seen a grid like this before - and typically not on Saturday.  Very few long-letter fills and simple corners, but a complex array of answers and clues that needed to be mined for hints made this one a healthy challenge.  Have to admit to two bad cells, both relating to "country" music - oh well.  We have two 9-letter crossings, and two 10's crossing 12-letter spanners;

21A. Quantum theory pioneer : MAX PLANCK
10D. Disaster : CATACLYSM

6D. "... forswear thin potations and to addict __ to sack": Falstaff : THEMSELVES - that's a long way to go for a personal pronoun
32A. Facetious Appalachian portmanteau : PENNSYLTUCKY - I am familiar with this type of slanderous nick-name; I lived just north of Cincinnati, near a town called Hamilton; the local yokels were said to be from "Hamiltucky"

30D. Safari coverings : SUN HELMETS - see here

41A. Smart alecks : WISENHEIMERS - learned from watching cartoons

33D. Kind of telescope : NEWTONIAN - see here
53A. Rare pro golf feat : GRAND SLAM - there's some ambiguity on this one; the Wiki

So, what do 10 and 12 have in common, but skips 11~?

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Handhold : CLASP - don't like that we start with a 'meh'; I think of a CLasp as the little thingy that closes a necklace; a handhold is more of a GRasp

6. Part of a comparison : THAN

10. Montreal Protocol concerns : CFCs - here's a little from the UN environment programme

14. "Men in Trees" star : HECHE - Anne; did not know of this TV series

15. Roadside chain, for short : HO JO - Howard Johnson's - they've vanished out my way

16. Take __ at: try to wallop : A RIP - tried "A RUN" - 50% correct

17. Sean who played Samwise Gamgee : ASTIN - that would be the character from "Lord of the Rings", which sadly I could not get in to

18. Dash : ELAN - this could also be "A RUN"

19. Arum family tuber : TARO - a crossword educated WAG

20. Egyptian menace : ASP

23. Glides : SASHAYS

26. Heart part? : COCKLE - I am still looking for the girl who will "warm the cockles of my heart"

27. Texter's "... but that may just be me" : IMO - In My Opinion

28. Fertile deposit : LOESS - WAGed

31. Elizabeth of "Martha Marcy May Marlene" : OLSEN

35. Old blade : SNEE - had this last week

36. Like some grazers : OVINE - I went with VEGAN first, and I like it better

37. Span. girl : SRTA

44. Complexity : DEPTH

47. Inscribed marker : STELA - dah~! I had an "E" at the end first

48. High-tech worker : 'BOT - Robot

49. Taken out, in a way : ON LOAN

51. Back in the day : LONG AGO

56. Daughter of Loki : HEL - unknown to me, hence one bad cell....

57. "We Three Kings" kings : MAGI

58. Joining device : YOKE

59. Ring material : ONION - semi-fooled me, but once the "---ON" was in place

62. Desierto's lack : AGUA - once I figured out this was not a personal name, but Spanish for desert....

63. Ravel's "Gaspard de la __" : NUIT - considered to be one of the most complex solo piano pieces - watch here at about 16:30 to see how he crosses his hands back and forth


64. Nice book : LIVRE - French for "book". Ugh, enough with the  foreign stuff, OK~?

65. Treated : SEEN - like doctors; I was thinking "ON ME"

66. Mdse. containers : CTNs - I C a lt f ctns @ UPS

67. Pool events : MEETS

DOWN:       


1. Chinese tea : CHA

2. Nessman of WKRP : LES

3. Be a team : ACT AS ONE

4. Turkish skewer : SHISH - kebabs~!

5. Friends you may never see : PEN-PALS - I saw that this was part of a popular discussion this week

7. Havana "How do" : HOLA

8. Trojan War hero : AJAX

9. Like some rude jokes, briefly : NON-PC

11. Cookout fare : FRANKS

12. Wait to land, perhaps : CIRCLE

13. Reserved, with "for" : SPOKEN

22. Style : LOOK - here's where I twas thinking "ELAN" first

23. Takes it slow, in a way : SIPS - I don't take it at all - Jan 8th was my 10-yr AA anniversary

24. "Yes!" : AMEN - huh; I had the "M" and "N", so I went with "I'm In"

25. Chuckleheads : YO-YOs

29. Hitch : STINT - Got it this time

34. Songwriter Green : CeeLo - had a huge hit with "F*** You"

38. 1991 "Favorite Album - Country" American Music Award winner : REBA LIVE - Reba TIME~!? Nope.  Reba VIBE~!?  Uh-uh.  Dang. 

39. 1970 sci-fi film starring Joan Crawford in her last big-screen performance : TROG - Never heard of it - IMDb       
Blue Oyster Cult had fun with her, tho ( more piano, too~! )


40. Regarding : AS TO

42. Start of a favorite-meal reminiscence : I HAD

43. 1998 "King Lear" Olivier Award winner : IAN HOLM - I know him from "Alien"

44. Doctrines : DOGMAS

45. Anger : ENRAGE

46. Harass : PLAGUE

50. "This I Promise You" band : *NSYNC - not that I heard the song, but with the "C" in place....

52. Bottled-up type? : GENIE - har-har

54. Boor : LOUT

55. Similar : AKIN

60. Scrap for Fido : ORT

61. Video game letters : NES - Nintendo Entertainment System

Splynter


Note from C.C.:

Please click here for a Caesar coleslaw recipe Yellowrocks (Kathy) sent to me last night. Here is what a savoy cabbage looks like. As Kathy says, you have slice it thinly, the leaf has a kale-like quality.

Jul 19, 2013

Friday, July 19, 2013, Alan DerKazarian

Theme: Where have you BEAN hiding?

Examples of this confusing PLANT, are hidden within six sets of consecutive answers using 14 of the 15 squares available in rows, starting in row 1 and ending with row 15, with the a central reveal telling you what are hidden are types of beans, and they are "jumping" across the black square. It is not common to have a reveal on Friday, but without it, this might have been too hard. A variation on the overlapping fill revealing a hidden word, as here the overlap is between to different answers. A total of 95 squares in the theme, yet in a format that looks like a Saturday themeless, with triple stacks of 9's in the corners. I think the challenge to put this together was amazing, and while I am really confused by 22A and 44D, I think this what appears to be the debut puzzle by, I am guessing, a Dentist from New England who coincidentally went to Tufts, and went to the ACPT this year,  captured your attention and was a bumpy but satisfying ride.

1A. *Seat often against a wall : DIVAN. with  6A. *Antsy : ILL AT EASE. and VANILLA (bean) us revealed. There are many multiple word answers like ILL AT EASE which made the solving harder.

15A. *Microscopic menace : E. COLI. with 16A. *The economy, in many debates : MAIN ISSUE.= :LIMA (bean).

29A. *100 centavos : ONE PESO. with 31A. *River spanned by the Three Gorges Dam : YANGTZE= SOY.  (Or SOYA). Both clues required some knowledge.

43A. *Forage plant also called lucerne : ALFALFA. with 47A. *Garlic avoider, traditionally:  VAMPIRE.= FAVA. I did not know Alfafa (not from little rascals) had another name.

63A. *Cultural artifacts : AMERICANA. with 64A. *Struggling : VYING.= NAVY. Again like Saturday, no gimmes.

65A. *Game piece that can stand on either end : CANDLE PIN, with 66A. *Sycophant : TOADY= PINTO. Another hint to the New England tie, as this form of bowling is popular in few places, though it was a TV regular when I was a child. ARTICLE.

and the reveal

36A. Seed containing moth larva, and what is aptly hidden in each puzzle row whose clues contain asterisks : JUMPING BEAN. Is it un-pc to say Mexican Jumping Bean?


Across:

17. Music genre : METAL. One of my favorites. LISTEN.(3:26).

18. It's not always met : POTENTIAL. Ah, wasted.

19. Cow-horned goddess : ISIS. I like the Brazilian version LINK.

20. Emma of "Dynasty" : SAMMS. One of my favorites.



21. Co-star of Ingrid in "Autumn Sonata" : LIV. ULLMANA.  A 1978 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann and Lena Nyman. It tells the story of a celebrated classical pianist who is confronted by her neglected daughter. It was Ingrid Bergman's last performance in a major theatrical feature film, and the film won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1979 Golden Globe Awards. (per wiki).

22. Bean cover? : HAT. Man, this clue confuse the hell out of me; eventually I thought it was accepted as not conflicting with the theme because it did not relate to vegetable life but an expression for the human head.

25. Long in films : NIA. Very actress intensive. Another LINK.

26. U-boat, e.g. : SUBmarine.

33. Rod Stewart's first wife : ALANA. Another female; Alan where was your mind. Also married to George Hamilton.


35. Subvert : RUIN. She did not ruin his career.

40. Ship's spine : KEEL. Let's keep ours even.

42. Ziggurat features : TIERS. Pyramid like structures built in ancient Mesopotamia and coming to the FUTURE.(1:25)

51. Overtime cause : TIE.

52. Portugese pronoun : ELA. Similar to Spanish and French.

53. Common ___ : ERA.

54. Considerable amount : TON.

55. Work with, as clay : KNEAD. If you need to relax it is good to knead.

57. Cole Porter's alma mater : YALE. An obscure New England fact 41D. 57-Across grad : ELI.

58. UMass athlete : MINUTEMAN. Another one.

62. With 38-Down, Arctic denizen : POLAR. and  38D. See 62-Across : BEAR.

Down:

1. Venus ___ : DE MILO. Poor girl lost her arms. The back STORY. Venus is the Roman Aphrodite.

2. Strands in winter, perhaps : ICES IN. My meh of the day in an otherwise awesome creation.

3. Offered for a special intention, as a Mass : VOTIVE. You buy the candles.

4. Pained cry : ALAS. Another near ALAN word (like Alana).

5. Zippo : NIL. Zilch, nada, bubkis.

6. Rambunctious sort : IMP.

7. Vientiane's land : LAOS. A remnant of the French influence in Indochina, LINK.

8. Long account : LITANY. She had a litany of complaints.

9. Lack of vigor : ANEMIA. Well the cause of a lack of vigor.

10. Heartless guy? : TINMAN. A shout out to our prodigal son, who is loaded with heart.

11. Neighborhood figures?: Abbr. : ESTS. It cost me something in the neighborhood of $200.00.

12. Faulkner's "___ Lay Dying" : AS I. many think this was his best novel.

13. Latin possessive : SUA. In the law, when a judge does something on his own accord, it is called SUA SPONTE.

14. New Zealand longfin, e.g. : EEL.

22. Bridge position : HELM. Sulu on Star Trek.

23. "Stat!" relative : ASAP.

24. Singer Basil or Braxton : TONI. More women.

26. Sci-fi setting : STUN. "Set phasers to stun, Sulu, Spock."

27. Israeli arm : UZI.

28. Son of, to an Israeli : BEN. An odd sort of clecho.

30. Golfer Creamer : PAULA. Is this a sub-theme for the men or what!?!?


32. Apprehend : GRASP. I grasped where he was headed.

34. Picnic pest : ANT.

36. Barcelona boss : JEFE. Also, in the Mexican and Colombian cartels, the chief.

37. Buckle : GIVE. When Shaq sat down the chair....

39. Aretha's singing sister : ERMA. Rough to be Aretha's  SISTER. They say she did this song first.

40. Kit ___ : KAT.  Candy bar of choice in one of the offices where I work.

44. Soup bean : LENTIL. Really?????

45. Take for a ride : FLEECE.

46. TripTik, notably : AAA MAP.

48. Roma's home : ITALIA.

49. WWI French aviator Garros : ROLAND. They named the tennis stadium where they play the French Open after this man.

50. Einstein's "E" : ENERGY=   mc2  

55. Southeastern Turkey native : KURD.  They know whey?

56. "___ California": Red Hot Chili Peppers hit : DANI.


57. It has its ups and downs : YO YO. Fun clues.

58. Bub : MAC.

59. The Beatles' "___ Loser" : I'M A. Someone else can link.

60. Three-time All-Star reliever Robb : NEN. He was one of the many All-Stars the Marlins gave away. His father Dick Nen was a major league first baseman.


61. Bread served with chicken tikka masala : NAN. Love the placement, nen nan.

62. Cpl.'s inferior : PVT. Well I wonder what Alan's private thoughts were when he built this entertaining Friday foray. Mine are: it is time for me to head to the hills, until the next time. I leave you with these two classic BEANS.(0:56) and BEAN.(2:29).

Lemonade peace out. Thanks all.