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

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Showing posts with label Brian Callahan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Callahan. Show all posts

Oct 21, 2025

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 Kieran Boyd and Brian Callahan

Baby Animals.

18-Across. Animated Disney film set in an arcade: WRECK IT RALPH.  A KIT is the term used for a baby Fox.  Babies of rabbits, raccoons, minks and groundhogs are also referred to as KITs.


25-Across. Hole in an argument: LOGICAL FALLACY.  Baby animals that can be called a CALF include cattle, elephants, giraffes, whales, bison, moose, and hippopotamuses.


40-Across. Rock group with flashy outfits: GLAM BAND.  A LAMB refers to baby sheep.

53-Across. "Consider this ... ": NOW LET'S SUPPOSE.  An OWLET refers to a baby owl.


And the unifier:
64-Across. Feeling like age is just a number, and an apt description of 18-, 25-, 40-, and 53-Across: YOUNG AT HEART.  The circles spell out the names of a baby animal which is in the "heart" of the answer.



Across:

1. Asian country that dominates badminton in the Olympics: CHINA.

6. Expert who works with both feet and meters?: POET.  Everything you ever wanted to know about poetic feet and meters.

10. Cape __, Massachusetts: COD.  Cape Cod is a hook-shaped peninsula in Massachusetts formed by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last ice age. Extending 65 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape's geography includes diverse features like salt marshes, freshwater ponds, sand dunes, and beaches, all subject to constant change from ocean currents and storms.  The Cape has a very interesting cultural history.


13. Clumsy: OAFISH.

15. Sandwich cookies: OREOS.  A crossword staple.  We learned last Wednesday that the Oreo was preserved in a vault as part of a 2020 publicity stunt.

17. São Paulo salutation: OLÁ.  São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil.  The city was founded in 1554 by Jesuit priests.  It is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world.


20. Brief "I don't need the details!": TMI.  Textspeak for Too Much Information.

21. "Peter Pan" pirate: SMEE.  This pirate makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

22. In really good condition: FIT.

23. Turkey-roasting aid: BASTER.


29. __ fide: BONA.  Today's Latin lesson.  The term means In Good Faith and is used to describe something as real, sincere and real.

30. Replacement car: LOANER.

31. In really good condition: LIKE NEW.

34. Letter between zeta and theta: ETA.  It's Greek to me.


35. Pass over: SKIP.

39. Notable time: ERA.

43. Boise's st.: IDA.  Boise is the capital of Idaho.


44. Ice cream brand: EDY'S.  This ice cream brand along with the OREO are frequently the desserts of choice in the puzzles.

46. Night before: EVE.

47. Knocked to the ground: LAID LOW.

49. Rise: ASCENT.
52. Boring: DULL.

58. Pencil end: ERASER.


59. "Oh wow!": GEE.

60. "__ bien!": TRÉS.  Very Good!  This is today's French Lesson.

63. With 31-Down, "Life of Pi" director: ANG.  //  31-Down: See 63-Across: LEE.  Lee Ann (b. Oct. 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker and he will celebrate his 71st birthday on Thursday.


68. Rob __ cocktail: ROY.  A Rob Roy is a classic cocktail made with Scotch whisky, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters, garnished with a maraschino cherry or lemon peel. 

69. Writer Proulx: ANNIE.  Annie Proulx (née Edna Ann Proulx; b. Aug. 22, 1935) is an American novelist and journalist.  She has written many books, but the only one I have ever read is The Shipping News, which takes place in Newfoundland, Canada.


70. Belgrade's country: SERBIA.  The Danube River runs through Belgrade.


71. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU.  Stu Sutcliffe (né Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe; June 23, 1940 ~ Apr. 10, 1962) was the original bass guitarist with the Beatles.  In addition to playing guitar, he was a painter, which was one reason he left the band.  He began studying art in West Germany.  Sadly, he died at age 21 of a brain hemorrhage.


72. Auction cry: SOLD.

73. County of southeast England: ESSEX.




Down:
1. Ranch ruminants: COWS.  The baby is a CALF.

2. "No __, no foul": HARM.

3. "Doing all right": I FEEL OKAY.  I feel better than just Okay.


4. "Good job!": NICE ONE!

5. Request: ASK.

6. Door: PORTAL.

7. Pop singer Rita: ORA.  Rita Ora (née Rita Sahatçiu; b. Nov. 26, 1990 ) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  She was born in Kosovo.


8. Snakelike fish: EEL.

9. Big enchilada: TOP BANANA.

10. Terra-__ tiles: COTTA.  Today's Italian lesson.  Terra-Cotta is an Italian phrase that means Baked Earth.

Terra-cotta warriors in Xi'an.


11. Native of Veracruz: OLMEC.  Technically the OLMEC were an ancient civilization in Mesoamerica, flourishing from approximately 1500 to 300 BCE along the Gulf Coast of Mexico.


12. No-no for a vegan: DAIRY.

14. Classic LP player: HI-FI.  Short for High Fidelity sound on a record player.

16. Sedimentary rock: SHALE.

19. __-tac-toe: TIC.

24. Some camera shop buys, for short: SLRs.  As in Single Lens Reflex camera.

26. Crew: GANG.

27. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB.  Lisa Anne Loeb (b. Mar. 11, 1968) first made the music scene with her hit Stay.

28. Like some programming errors: FATAL.

29. Feathered friend: BIRD.

32. Subatomic particles with a negative charge: ELECTRONS.

33. "... amber __ of grain": WAVES.  America the Beautiful


36. Core muscles to die for: KILLER ABS.

37. Venerated object: IDOL.

38. Furry foot: PAW.

41. Department store section: MEN'S.


42. First queen of Carthage: DIDO.

45. "Do the Right Thing" pizza place: SAL'S.  Do the Right Thing was a 1989 Spike Lee film that addressed racism in Brooklyn.  Sal Fragione was the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. Non-Italinan  neighbors became upset when they saw that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors.


48. Fluffy cleaners: DUSTERS.

51. Yanked: TUGGED.


53. Approaches: NEARS.

54. "... up to you, though": OR NOT.

55. Japanese cattle breed: WAGYU.  Their babies are referred to as 子牛 or Koushi.

56. Word after "chick" or before "hen": PEA.  A Chickpea is a legume, also known as a garbanzo bean.  A Peahen usually refers to a female peacock.

57. Feathered or furry friends: PETS.

61. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.  Whenever I see Erie in the puzzle, I think of our friend Abejo.


62. Lay's chips in a tube: STAX.


65. __, due, tre: UNO.  Today's Spanish math.

66. Soccer zero: NIL.

67. Tee-__: HEE.

50-Down. "Toodles!": SEE YA.  I will be out next week, but I am confident that you will have a fantastic substitute.


חתולה


Aug 30, 2025

Saturday August 30, 2025, Brian Callahan & Matthew Luter

 Saturday Themeless by Brian Callahan & Matthew Luter

I had a very quick liftoff on Brian and Matthew's puzzle but there were a few, "Gary, we have a
problem" events that took some in-flight adjustments. Eventually, "Crossword base here, the puzzle has landed!" Too much space? 😀

Brian and Matthew are shown below l -> r.

 



Across:

1. Jimmy who plays Senator Bail Organa: SMITS - Five letter Jimmy actors are few and far between. Jimmy joined the Star Wars troupe


6. Luge, e.g.: SLED - 80mph on a lunch tray? Yikes!


10. Focus of a theme park that began in Billund, Denmark: LEGO.


14. Like the Igbo language: TONAL A dialect heard in Nigeria. 
One word can mean many things

15. Upbeat greeting: HI YA and 24. Upbeat greeting: HEY. Sup?

16. Brute: OGRE.

17. Unstable: ROCKY.

18. One reading supertitles, maybe: OPERA GOER - Translations projected above the stage.

Oh, that's what they're singing.

20. "Voyage to India" singer: ARIE and 
7. "New Rules" singer Dua: LIPA - Both are often in concert in our puzzles.
21. Aggressive headspace: BEAST MODE.


22. Places for boxers to be washed: PET SPAS 😀

25. One who is a pro at getting into people's heads?: ENT - This one got me started on CPAP


27. Loved ones: DEARS.

28. Currency of Ont.: CAD - A Big Mac costs #7.81 CAD ($5.66 USD)


29. Emotion that leads to suffering, per Yoda: HATE.


30. Felt for: PITIED.

32. "Def!": TOTES - Using TOTES for totally and Def for definitely is cringy slang for me

33. "What bizarre behavior!": WHO EVEN DOES THAT.


37. Adjust, as a lock: REKEY.


38. Flap on a zebu: DEWLAP - Under his neck


39. "The Demon of Unrest" author Larson: ERIK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


40. Apple platform: IOS - My iPhone uses IOS and my MacBook uses OSX

41. Plagiarizes: CRIBS - Cheating by any other name is still the same


44. Winter libation: NOG.

45. "Yo te __": AMO.

I love you more!
No, I love you more!
46. Dupe: MISLEAD.

48. Letters in the sand?: BEACH READ 😀


51. New York stadium namesake: ASHE - I had to anagram SHEA to get to the correct fill
 
52. Doesn't travel far for fare: EATS LOCAL.

53. Plagiarize: STEAL - Plagiarize redux

54. Small deviation: BLIP.


55. "Crying in H __": Michelle Zauner memoir: MART ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


56. Numerical prefix: TETRA - Carbon TETRAchloride has four chlorine atoms bonded to one Carbon atom.


57. Short diner orders: BLT'S.

58. Amazon Handmade alternative: ETSY.

59. Literature exam component: ESSAY.


Down:

1. Guitar attachment: STRAP - Some are personalized.


2. Tied fast: MOORED - Fast is an adjective here

3. Provoke: INCITE.

4. Looks between one's fingers, perhaps: TAKES A PEEK.


5. Artful: SLY.

6. They're usually around two feet: SHOES 😀

8. Palette array: EYE SHADOW.

9. Flitted: DARTED.

10. Trademarked image: LOGO.

11. Phase of self-surrender in Joseph Campbell's hero's journey: EGO DEATH 
¯\_(ツ)_/¯


12. Mochi option: GREEN TEA.


13. Whitman's "Gliding __ All": OER.


19. Acker of "The Gifted": AMY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  She's on the right


21. Keep moist, in a way: BASTE.

23. Head outside?: PRIVY 😀 A bathroom on a ship is called a head but I doubt if they are outside like this one. 


26. __ cricket: TEST - This is the most prestigious form of cricket. I don't understand that or the game at all.


28. Gives up: CEDES.

29. Baking exercise?: HOT PILATES - The same exercises done in a hotter room. 


31. Family member with a window to the world: INDOOR CAT - The tags on our Lily are superfluous now because she is a strict INDOOR CAT.


32. Pre-1917 rulers: TSARS.

33. Architect Christopher: WREN - A lovely two-minute bio


34. Flashy moves from a selfish hoopster: HERO BALL - A basketball player is said to be playing HERO BALL when he selfishly tries to take over the game especially at the end. I always think of James Hardin.


35. "Fine, you made your point!": OK I GET IT.


36. Castilian hero: EL CID.

40. Text after a long journey: I'M HOME.

42. Plagues: BESETS.

43. Bogart film set in the desert: SAHARA - 1943 vintage


45. Knee pt.: ACL - Tearing it has ended many athletic careers

46. Like brown ale: MALTY - Sounded right

47. Push back: DELAY.


49. Hieroglyphic animals: ASPS.

50. Hearing things: EARS 😀

52. Subside: EBB.

53. Fr. title: STE - An abbreviation. for a female saint