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

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Showing posts with label C.C. Burnikel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label C.C. Burnikel. Show all posts

Nov 20, 2022

Sunday November 20, 2022 Doug Burnikel & C.C. Burnikel

Theme:  "Place Setting" - Each theme entry is literally rephrased as if it's a "place".

23A. Park place?: COMMUTER LOT.

25A. Busy place?: BEE COLONY.

39A. First place?: GARDEN OF EDEN.

73A. Hard place?: GRAVEL PIT.

107A. Private place?: MILITARY BASE.

124A. Last place?: SHOE STORE.

126A. Remote place?: SLEEPER SOFA.

38D. Safe place?: BANK VAULT.

54D. Sesame place?: BAGEL SHOP.

Ha, no theme clue change. I'm getting better :-)

COMMUTER LOT & MILITARY BASE are Patti's suggestions. Boomer and I started the brainstorming with MOUNT KILIMANJARO 16 [High place?]. Patti felt it was arbitrary, since it could be any mountain. So, go general if you have similar ideas.

This is the last puzzle Boomer and I made together. These days, he only has enough energy for his Monday blog.

 Across:

1. "Is anybody here?": HELLO. In Chinese, it's just "Wei".
 


6. "Get outta here!": SCAT.

10. Box office receipts: GATE.

14. People with all-access passes: VIPS. Guess how many 4-letter entries in this grid?

18. Short and sweet: BRIEF.

19. Head lights?: HALOS.  Also 88. Surrounding vibe: AURA.

21. "Really?": IT IS.

22. Taquería freebie: AGUA.

27. Patriotic chant: USA USA. We attended the Solheim Cup in Edin a while ago. Very patriotic crowd.

28. Hangout for hog lovers: BIKER BAR. Also 34. They could use a welcome sight: SORE EYES. I like both fill.

30. Shots on the green: PUTTS. Also 69. Duffer's do-over: MULLIGAN.

31. Cost of living?: RENT.

33. To be, in Marseilles: ETRE. Gluey.

36. Hailed wheels: CABS.

42. Bother: ADO.

43. "Barefoot Contessa" host Garten: INA.



44. List that may drop down or pop up: MENU.

45. __ West-Allen: "The Flash" character: NORA.

 

46. Sunflower part: STEM.

48. Semi unit: TON.

49. Beginning stage: ONSET.

51. The Vitamin Shoppe rival: GNC.

53. Many Mecca residents: ARABS.

56. Calligrapher's container: INK POT. We used to bring this to school for Chinese calligraphy.  Abacus too. So ancient.

58. Aria, e.g.: SOLO.

61. Dress seen on Indian runways: SARI. Pretty.

63. Marathon, e.g.: RACE.

65. Vice __: VERSA.

67. Precious rocks: GEMS.

71. Words of empathy: I CARE.

76. Chemically inactive: INERT.

77. Quivers in fear: SHUDDERS. to think.

79. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR.

80. Eye shade: HAZEL.

82. Hindu spring festival: HOLI.


83. Five-star review: RAVE.

85. Mil. truant: AWOL.

87. Volkswagen sedan: PASSAT.

90. In __: before birth: UTERO.

92. Faux __: PAS.

94. Reason for celeb damage control: BAD PR. Also 115. Promo pro: AD REP.

96. Choice on a color chart: HUE.

97. Like a play about a play: META.

99. Often-ignored email: SPAM.

102. Not so hot: MILD.

103. "For You" singer Rita: ORA. Married to Taika Waititi.


104. "__ about that!": HOW.

110. Some PwC employees: CPAS. PricewaterhouseCoopers.

111. League for Guardians and Angels: AMERICAN. Hi there Janice!

113. __-Alt-Del: CTRL.

114. Go a few rounds: SPAR.

116. Closer's goal: SALES.

117. Wasn't honest: MADE IT UP.

120. Translator's challenges: IDIOMS.

128. Girl: LASS.

129. One with star power: IDOL.

130. Thompson of "Westworld": TESSA

131. Director Coen: ETHAN. Going solo now.

132. Where el sol rises: ESTE.

133. Colorful salamander: NEWT.


134. Put into storage: STOW.

135. Entertainer's crew: POSSE.

Down:

1. Spelman, e.g.: Abbr.: HBCU. Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

2. God with wings: EROS.

3. Peru's largest city: LIMA.

4. Madagascar primates: LEMURS.

5. Functional: OF USE.

6. __ shed: SHE.

7. Pasta or bread, e.g., for short: CARB. I used to have the upper left one for breakfast. Youtiao.



8. In a partnership: ALLIED.

9. Rested a while: TOOK TEN.

10. Disco family name: GIBB. The Bee Gees.

11. Totally relaxed: AT EASE.

12. Steering system parts: TIE RODS.

13. Key hit in panic: ESC.

14. Hold in high regard: VALUE.

15. Successful prankster's cry: I GOT YA.

16. Gave up, in a way: PUNTED. I watched a little bit of Vikings' game last Sunday. Very confusing. 


17. States as fact: SAYS SO.

20. Camper's fuel: STERNO.

24. Digressions: TANGENTS.

26. Doubleheader half: OPENER.

29. Corp. shuffling: REORG.

32. Catches some rays: TANS.

35. Target field: RETAIL. This clue probably does not mean much to those who don't know Target Field.



36. __ Field: Mets ballpark: CITI.

37. Unknown author, for short: ANON.

40. Bitterly regrets: RUES.

41. Support group?: FANS.

44. Secured in a slip: MOORED.

47. "Semper Fidelis" group: MARINES.

50. Lady Justice's garb: TOGA.

52. Sleeveless top, briefly: CAMI.

55. Permanent mark: SCAR.

57. Business trip allowance: PER DIEM.

59. Stubbs of the Four Tops: LEVI. Patti's clue. Learning moment for me.



60. Roar __ Roar: "Monsters University" frat: OMEGA. Patti's clue also. Another learning moment for me.



62. Negga of "Passing": RUTH.

64. Med. specialty: ENT.

66. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

68. __ food movement: SLOW.

70. Komodo dragon, e.g.: LIZARD.

71. "Thereabouts": ISH.

72. Jay of "The Green Hornet": CHOU. Taiwanese. His CHOU is the same as my Zhou.

74. Answer an invite: RSVP.

75. "No __!": "Sure thing!": PROB.

78. Steamy: EROTIC.

81. Baked dessert: APPLE PIE. 98. 81-Down order: A LA MODE.

84. All-Star side: EAST.

86. Tibetan priest: LAMA.

89. Tazo products: TEAS.

91. Careless: REMISS.

93. Setting of the Sandra Bullock film "Gravity": SPACE.

95. Talk trash about: DISS.

100. Oil producer?: ARTIST.

101. Fragrant shrubs: MYRTLES.


104. Pain in the neck: HASSLE.

105. Nebraska natives: OMAHAS.

106. "They outplayed us": WE LOST.

108. Consecutively: IN A ROW.

109. Like the most clear sky: BLUEST.

110. Monte __ sandwich: CRISTO.



112. Actress Witherspoon: REESE.

118. Triangular shoulder muscle, for short: DELT.

119. Monterrey jack?: PESO.

121. Sounds amazed: OOHS.

122. Degs. for curators: MFAS.

123. Levelheaded: SANE.

125. Foil metal, once: TIN.

127. Pussy foot: PAW.

Boomer received an Army Black Knights sweatshirt, but we could not figure out who sent it. Must be someone on our blog. Thank you, you!

We had good days and bad days. Mostly good. On Tuesday Father Tom Kadera visited us and gave Boomer the Sacrament of the Sick and the Apostolic blessing. Then on Saturday Tom Pepper braved the snow and wind and helped us install a floating shelf. Tom has a tool bag with all kinds of stuff. Pretty Taskrabbit-y.

C.C. 





Nov 2, 2022

Wednesday, November 2, 2022, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: THE PLAY'S THE THING

3. Academy Award category: BEST ACTRESS. CATS

18. "Great to find that out": GLAD I ASKED. AIDA

20. Eclectic online digest: UTNE READER. RENT

26. Au pair: LIVE-IN NANNY. ANNIE

24. Arrives, and an apt description of the sets of circled letters: SHOWS UP

Melissa here. I'm putting the grid up top, so you can see C.C.'s clever gimmick. The circled letters, read UP, are all Broadway SHOWS.


Across:

1. Flash __: impromptu gatherings: MOBS. One of my all-time favorite flash-mobs, even though it's quite old now. 

 
5. Chew like a squirrel: GNAW

9. Pretzel topping: SALT.

13. Pentathlete's sword: EPEE. The five events in the modern pentathlon—fencing, swimming, horse riding, pistol shooting, and running—were chosen to reflect skills that cavalry soldiers of the 19th-century ought to possess and refine.

14. Low opera voice: BASSO. From Wiki: Basso profondo (Italian: "deep bass"), sometimes basso profundo, contrabass or oktavist, is the lowest bass voice type. Below: Basso Profondo Trio - Song of the Volga Boatmen.

15. Joshua __ National Park: TREE. Two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, come together in Joshua Tree National Park


16. Swell: RISE.

17. "Your work is awesome!": I'M A HUGE FAN. When I met my son's new girlfriend, she said "I'm a huge fan of your work," meaning my son. How can I not love her?

19. Overstep boundaries, perhaps: INTRUDE.

21. Civil rights activist Baker: ELLA. Who was Ella Baker?

22. Beverage brewed in a chawan: TEA. What Makes a Bowl a Chawan?

23. "The Bone Garden" novelist Gerritsen: TESS.

25. City that hosts the State Fair of Texas: DALLAS.

29. Fifth of a nickel: CENT.

31. Round of applause: HAND.

33. Aggravate: IRK. And 40A just a few below ...

34. "I'll handle this": LET ME.

36. __-Free: contact lens solution: OPTI.

37. By way of: VIA.

38. Fact-checker's catch: ERROR.

39. Leave stunned: AWE.

40. Troubled to no end: ATE AT. 1) Annoyed 2) Annoyed greatly 3) Annoyed no end 4) Annoyed persistently 5) Bedeviled 6) Bothered 7) Bothered a lot 8) Bothered a lot 9) Bothered big-time 10) Bothered constantly 11) Bothered deeply 12) Bothered greatly 13) Bothered incessantly 14) Bothered nigglingly 15) Bothered no end 16) Bothered persistently.

42. Thanos, to the Avengers: FOE. Supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

43. Those, in Spanish: ESOS.

45. "Say cheese!": SMILE.

46. QB stats: TDS.

47. Org. fighting for LGBTQ rights: ACLU. What do we want? An end to acronyms! When do we want it? ASAP!

48. Garlic's covering: SKIN. For a few years I lived in Gilroy, just on the other side of the fence from one of the Christopher Ranch garlic processing plants. When they were drying, it would literally rain pieces of the paper skins for days.

49. Emphatic agreement: YES I DO.

51. Washed-out: PALE.

53. Go out for a bit?: NAP. Cute.

56. Light in signs: NEON.

58. Text from a glum chum: SAD FACE. There's an emoji for most everything. 🧄

60. Gala celebrating the Academy Awards: OSCAR PARTY.

64. Heavy burden: ONUS.

65. Like ground chicken: LEAN.

66. Dubai dignitaries: EMIRS.

67. Fully aware of: ONTO.

68. Palm fruit: DATE.

69. Promotional sample: DEMO.

70. Turns blue, maybe: DYES. The image that popped into my head was Violet, from Willy Wonka.

Down:

1. Deserve: MERIT.

2. Offer one's two cents: OPINE.

4. One with a crystal ball: SEER.

5. Go and Go Fish: GAMES.

6. Org. that uses cryptanalysis: NSA. National Security Agency.

7. Arthur in the International Tennis Hall of Fame: ASHE.

8. "__ that be nice!": WOULDN'T.


 
9. Real bargain: STEAL.

10. Bark: ARF.

11. Field for grazing: LEA.

12. Value of a Q tile, in Scrabble: TEN. Trivia: The highest score ever achieved for a single move in a Scrabble tournament was by Cathy Evans of Redbridge, Essex, who played QUETZALS for 365 points during the November 1986 Letchworth Open Scrabble Tournament.

14. Bathroom fixture: BIDET.

27. Sans serif typeface: ARIAL. Font and design geeks will enjoy this documentary all about Helvetica. You can watch the whole thing free here.


28. Go rollerblading: SKATE.


30. Music genre that spawned screamo: EMO. Never heard of screamo.

32. Donkey Kong, e.g.: APE.

34. Southpaw: LEFTY. How Did Lefties Become Known as 'Southpaws'?

35. Wear down: ERODE.

39. Yahoo! alternative: AOL. Not so much an alternative. According to Wikipedia: AOL is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc.

41. "Spare us the details!": Abbr.: TMI. Too Much Information.

44. Served, as ice cream: SCOOPED.

48. Brings down the house: SLAYS.

50. Plain silly: INANE.

52. Four-footed Jetson: ASTRO. The Jetson's family pet.

54. Like a 30-degree angle: ACUTE.

55. Guadalajara cash: PESOS. And 29A CENT.

57. January or June: NAME. Sneaky.

59. Something to chew on: FOOD. And 5A GNAW.

60. Like antiques: OLD.

61. Zooplankton's habitat: SEA.

62. Litter box visitor: CAT. And ASTRO, just above at 52A.

63. Hoop's outer edge: RIM.


Aug 6, 2022

Saturday, August 6, 2022, C.C. Burnikel

Saturday Themeless by C.C. Burnikel 

My favorite honorary
Cornhusker.
Today our wonderful ringmistress steps forward with a lovely Saturday Themeless puzzle. Here are her comments:

This puzzle has quite a bit of clue changes. I'm rusty at making themeless, especially the cluing part. As for the fill, I remember coming up with the upper right stack quickly, then struggling with the connecting Downs to the lower stack.

                  


Across:

1. Includes, briefly: CCS - C'mon, starting a puzzle with your own initials is pretty cool!

4. Bell hooks work whose title comes from a line often attributed to Sojourner Truth: AIN'T I A WOMAN Info on this very interesting woman (including why she uses no capital letters with her name) and 
11. Sojourner Truth forte: ORATION.

 

15. Prune: LOP.

16. Pink flower with a yellow center: PRAIRIE ROSE - The N.D. state flower


17. "Oklahoma!" Tony winner Stroker: ALI - The first wheelchair user to win a Tony. In her speech she dedicated the award to all people who think a disability has to hold you back.

 

18. Mayonnaise-based condiment: TARTAR SAUCE.

19. Jedi on Dagobah: YODA - Oh yeah, there's another Star Wars character that had four letters and ends in an "A"

21. Taskbar lineup: ICONS - Here's the one we bloggers use for our postings


22. Walked: TROD.

23. Negligent: REMISS.

25. Aim: POINT.

27. "Born a __": Trevor Noah memoir: CRIME - The story of his childhood in the twilight of apartheid in South Africa


28. __ pool: STENO.

30. Elements of Byzantine architecture: DOMES - The epitome of this architecture is said to be the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (Constantinople when it was built in the 6th century).


31. Last-minute participant: LATE ENTRY - The owner of this year's Kentucky Derby Rich Strike  found out 30 seconds before the deadline that his horse would be allowed to run. This filly won with 80-1 odds against her.

Notice Rich Strike is wearing #21
in the 20 horse race.

35. Journalist Tarbell: IDA - This muckraker got Standard Oil declared a monopoly that had to be broken up.

 
36. Award with a Journalistic Integrity category: PEABODY - Judy Woodruff was the 2021 winner

38. Quebec street: RUE - There is a McDonalds is at 760 RUE Bouvier, Québec, QC G2J 1A3, Canada

39. Equal-pay issue: GENDER GAP - Our pay scale was the same for all when I was teaching.

41. Whirlpool subsidiary: AMANA.

43. Strike force?: UNION.

44. Jellyfish's lack: BRAIN - Here ya go!


45. Medicare Advantage program: PART C


47. Hawk: PEDDLE.

48. Self-referential: META - META crossword clues refer to the clue itself such as recent 42. Head for Vegas?: LAS.

49. Best possible: IDEAL.


52. Forgets to charge the phone, say: ERRS.

54. "Okay, you got me": I DON'T DENY IT.

57. NPR host Shapiro: ARI All things considered and...

58. Mail with a North Pole return address: SANTA LETTER.

59. __-de-sac: CUL - 18th century Fr. for "bottom of the sack". Today: dead end street.

60. Multipurpose piece: SLEEPER SOFA - How 'bout sofa/bunk beds


61. Problem that often grows with fame: EGO.


Down:

1. Tandoor material: CLAY - CLAY ovens seen in India and Pakistan


2. System with shades of meaning: COLOR CODE - Here are some colors and the HTML CODE




3. Character who debuted in the 1962 comic book "Amazing Fantasy": SPIDERMAN.


4. Germane: APT.

5. Game challenge: I RAISE - Poker

6. Busters: NARCS.

7. Nickname of vodka-maker Beveridge: TITO - A shortening of founder Bertito Beveridge's name


8. Home country of Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi: IRAN His IMDB

9. Flight number: AIR SPEED.


10. Director Anderson: WES.


12. Grieve: MOURN.

13. Broad tie: ASCOT.

14. Sine qua non: NEED.

20. Brest friend: AMIE - Brest is a city in the far west of France


24. "That did me in": I'M SPENT.

26. Minor gridiron gain: ONE YARD - Seattle needed ONE YARD to win a Super Bowl but stupidly decided to pass and the ball was intercepted and the Super Bowl was lost.


28. Nick who's coached four Heisman winners at Alabama: SABAN - My Class of '64 classmate was the pilot for Nick SABAN'S recruiting plane for years


29. Sporty car roof: T-TOP.

30. Unkind remark: DIG.

31. Vacaciones destination: LAGO.

Lago de Sant Maurici 

(Lleida, Catalonia, Spain)

32. Rugged contest: TRAIL RACE - Not a road race!


33. Hallway accent: RUNNER RUG.


34. House call?: YEA.

37. "Spamalot" co-creator: ERIC IDLE - A member of the Monty Python comedy troupe


40. Vaudeville great: DURANTE - Vaudeville, radio, movies and TV


42. Cooked: MADE.

44. Faith: BELIEF.

45. Use the elliptical: PEDAL.


46. Make reparations: ATONE.

47. Check words: PAY TO.

48. Major in transgender activism: MISS - I had/have no idea but C.C. assured me that this was her clue/fill


50. Bucks in a forest: DEER.

51. Treebeard and friends: ENTS - Frequent visitors here

53. Isolated work group: SILO.
55. Touch a touchscreen: TAP.

56. Part of a chorus line?: TRA - Followed by la la...