Tuesday July 30, 2019 Susan Smolinsky & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: TO ERR IS HUMAN  (65. Start of a Pope line about fallibility ... as shown by 19-, 25-, 42- and 55-Across?) - Each person has ERR hidden in their name.

19. Frequent Fred Astaire partner: GINGER ROGERS.

25. Army doctor for whom a D.C. medical center is named: WALTER REED.

42. Movies Superman portrayer: CHRISTOPHER REEVE.

55. "Glee" star who won "Dancing With the Stars" in 2017: AMBER RILEY.

Boomer here. Susan Smolinsky is Hahtoolah on our blog and this is her first puzzle for the L. A. Times.  No Runs, No hits, 4 Errors.

Hahtoolah (Susan)

Across:

1. Daytime snooze: NAP.  It can only be a nap if you do not snore.

4. Sprinkler liquid: WATER.  Have not had too much to use this year.  Mother Nature is watering our garden.

9. Nursery rocker: CRADLE. Rockabye baby

15. Mine find: ORE.  Lots of iron ore in the Northern Minnesota range near Hibbing, childhood home of Robert Zimmerman.  You may know him as Bob Dylan.

16. Classic Dior style: A-LINE.  Indeed a classic dress, Do you remember these ??

17. Eagerly unwrapped: TORE AT.  This is how we opened packs of baseball cards. 

18. Pronoun for a filly: HER.  Or SHE.

21. Salad veggie: ONION.  In potato salad maybe, I usually don't mix onions with lettuce.

23. River delta deposit: SILT.

24. Salary: PAY.  And it's work all day for the sugar in your tay, down beyond the railway

29. Close bud, in texts: BFF.

31. More loyal: TRUER.

32. Wool clippers: SHEARS.

35. '60s "acid": LSD. "Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies. Lucy in the sky with diamonds".

38. Lewd material: SMUT.

40. Photographed from a plane: AERIAL.  I can never identify any land marks on these aerial photos.

46. Big rig fuel: DIESEL.  There are some pickup trucks manufactured to run on diesel also.  Many stations sell it, but it's a bit more expensive than gasoline, but maybe diesel produces economy mileage.

47. Excursion: TRIP.  See 35A.

48. Lion's lair: DEN.  Also a pack of Cub Scouts.

49. Attached with glue: PASTED.

51. Layered cookies: OREOS.

54. Kid's bleat: MAA.

60. Grounded fast flier: SST.  There once was a plane called a Concorde that could get you to Europe in less than three hours.  Grounded now, but I'll bet some of those millionaire golfers would have been happy to take it to the British Open.

62. "I did it!": TA DA. And 59-Down: "I did it!": YAY ME.

64. What the nose knows: AROMA.

70. Coquettish: COY.

71. Palindrome ending: I'M ADAM.  Once in Las Vegas, I traveled to the Arizona border near lake Mead and there was a big wall in the river.  I asked what it was and it said "____". 

72. Surrounded by: AMONG.

73. Quarterback's asset: ARM.  A good tight end and a couple of wide receivers will help also.

74. Zones for different usage, say: RE-MAPS.

75. Foamy coffee: LATTE.  I never had one, but I heard you can get one at Starbucks for the same price as 2 gallons of diesel.  Probably tastes better but could mess up your carburetor.

76. Caustic solution: LYE.

Down:

1. "Ain't gonna happen": NO HOW.  Slang, but what the heck?  It's a crossword puzzle.

2. Gladiator's milieu: ARENA.  Lots of NBA games will be starting soon.

3. Problem for Pauline: PERIL.

4. Ring Cycle composer: WAGNER. I have heard of Wagner Spray Tech and also Honus.

5. Boxer who proclaimed, "I am the greatest!": ALI.  He was quite a showman.  He left us in 2016.
  
6. Sardine container: TIN.  With a skate key attached to the lid, that you had to turn to open.  "Do you remember these ??"

7. Required H.S. class: ENG.  Odd, I went to high school with a whole bunch of guys and we all spoke English pretty well.  But we still had to take the class.

8. Witherspoon of "Big Little Lies": REESE.  A fantastic baseball shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers, (and a little before my time.)  Pee Wee Reese was elected to Cooperstown in 1984. 

9. PC corner key: CTRL.

10. Classic A&W soda: ROOT BEER.  My father used to make root beer in a basement crock. It was pretty good, maybe not as good as A&W or Hires, but we really liked it. 

11. Neighbor of Uru.: ARG.

12. Like fish and chips: DEEP-FRIED.  I generally bake the fish, and do not prepare greasy French Fries.

13. "Doctor Zhivago" heroine: LARA.  "Although the snow, covers the hope of Spring."

14. Online craft shop: ETSY.  I'll bet Etsy does not have my homemade boondoggle zipper pulls.

20. Clears (of): RIDS.

22. Baseball great Mel: OTT.  Another great player for the New York Giants. A little before my time, his 21 year career ended in 1947.  He was inducted to Cooperstown in 1951.

26. Steal steers: RUSTLE.

27. San __: Riviera resort: REMO. I've never been to Italy, but my sister Connie goes there now and then.  Not sure if she visits San Remo. 

28. Blow, as a volcano: ERUPT. Or explode at umpires like Aaron Boone (Yankees).  A great Billy Martin imitation a couple of weeks ago.

30. Taxi charge: FARE.

33. Creator of Atticus, Scout and Jem: HARPER.  Phillies Right fielder Bryce who left Washington for greener pastures,

34. All but: SAVE.

35. TV screen type: LCD.

36. Be sent via FedEx or UPS: SHIP.  I think Fed Ex and UPS both use trucks and airplanes.

37. Group of star athletes: DREAM TEAM.  Maybe the 1965 All-Star Game, with Mantle and Killebrew.  I am not a big basketball fan.

39. Beat strongly: THROB.

41. Spy novelist Deighton: LEN.

43. "Insecure" Emmy nominee __ Rae: ISSA.

44. Attempt to ensnare, with "for": SET A TRAP.  We had to set traps for mice, mostly in the garage, but once or twice in our basement.  I am not sure how they get in, but since we bought new doors for our home, we don't see the little critters anymore.

45. Land of the banshee: EIRE.

50. June honorees: DADS.  That was a brand of root beer.  Not the stuff Dad brewed in the basement.

52. Breakfast juice flavor: ORANGE.

53. Title for Paul McCartney: SIR.  "To Sir, With love" sung by Lulu in a great movie with Sidney Poitier.

56. Taj __: MAHAL.

57. Bus that makes all the stops: LOCAL.  When I play golf I stop at all 18 greens on the local course.

58. Atlanta university: EMORY.

60. Recipe instruction: STIR.

61. Not all: SOME.

63. Goals: AIMS.  Sign in the men's rest room - "We aim to please, you aim too please."

66. Old food label abbr.: RDA. I think it was an acronym for Required Daily something or other.

67. Thurman of "Pulp Fiction": UMA.

68. Witty remark: MOT.

69. Pantry pest: ANT.  We do not see them in the house, but we have plenty in the driveway.

 
Confidential to TTP.  Several weeks ago we suggested that Twins Jake Odorizzi and Lucas Giolito could be competing for a Cy Young award.  Well, Jake gave up nine runs to the Yankees in four innings, and Lucas coughed up seven runs to the Twins in half a game last week, so I am withdrawing my vote.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Congratulations on your debut, Susan! You're such a joy to work with. So fast and efficient.

Thursday, June 13th 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Fore! I mean Four! Four kinds of golf clubs hidden in the theme entries:

16A. Data-entering devices: INPUT TERMINALS. We called 'em data entry terminals back in the day. The putter is the first club we find in the theme. It's interesting that the clubs go from green-to-tee in theme order.

24A. Like bread knives: SAW-EDGED. It's acceptable to use one for carving ham too. We have some odd conventions. The wedge is the next club. I'm not sure the origin of the term, but surreptitiously using your foot to play the ball is known as using a "Texas wedge".

34A. August Wilhelmj's arrangement of a movement from Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 3": AIR ON THE G STRING. Beloved by producers of commercials everywhere. Here's a nice recording. The iron is the penultimate club.

48A. Part of the Texas/Oklahoma border: RED RIVER. I know this from the college football match between Oklahoma and Texas - it's known as the Red River Rivalry. The final theme club is the driver.

And the reveal:

56A. Layered lunch orders ... or a hint to 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across: CLUB SANDWICHES. So we look for clubs sandwiched in the theme entries, which brings me to ...

... RED RIVER mildly breaks the rules, as DRIVER comes at the end of the entry. I'm going to give C.C. a pass on this one and call it an open-faced sandwich. How's that?

Timely theme this one, the U.S.Open championship begins today. I was in Las Vegas last week and put a couple of for-fun bets on Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas at 5/1 and 20/1 respectively.

Across:

1. Story trajectories: ARCS. Here's a classic example:

Episodic television is interesting, especially if there are multiple seasons. A well-written series has one overarching story arc, each season an arc of its own, and each episode a mini-arc.

5. Wild pig: BOAR

9. Pulitzer columnist Maureen: DOWD

13. Winter expense: HEAT

14. Soothing botanical: ALOE

15. Great Lake bordering four states: ERIE. Pop quiz - which four states?*

19. Brouhahas: TO DOS

20. Semi unit: TON

21. Document to protect confidential info: Abbr.: N.D.A. Non-Disclosure Agreement. I've signed a ton of these in my career.

22. "Really?": THAT SO?

26. Sinful habit: VICE

27. Chin-up targets, for short: LATS

29. Brontë heroine: EYRE. Governess Jane. We studied the novel in literature class at school for our matriculation exams. I don't remember a thing about it.

30. Creative writing deg.: M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts.

31. [I'm shocked!]: GASP!

32. Dim sum go-with: TEA. I love the jasmine tea that comes automatically with dim sum. I love the whole experience. I went for dim sum the first time I was in Hong Kong and was disconcerted to find that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing and sign language got the job done.

40. Scheduled to arrive: DUE

41. "Really": TRUE

42. Pigeon sound: COO

43. Prefix meaning "god": THEO- A learning moment, I didn't know this.

46. Einsteinhaus locale: BERN. He was a patent clerk in Switzerland and this became the most productive years of his career. He was so fast and efficient at his day job, it left him plenty of time to ponder his physics and formulate his theories.

47. Zebra's mother: MARE

51. Concert venues: ARENAS

53. "__ the Walrus": I AM

54. Peeples of "Pretty Little Liars": NIA

55. Horse-and-buggy group: AMISH

60. Sicily's tallest mountain: ETNA. I think of it as Sicily's only mountain, but there are a few.

61. Word with fishing or party: LINE

62. Con's room: CELL

63. Many profs: PHD'S

64. Usually choppy expanses: SEAS. The Mediterranean is usually pretty placid. Yachts tend to avoid the South China Sea if at all possible.

65. Guessing game: I SPY

Down:

1. Tuna at sushi bars: AHI. Food! Can come from either bigeye or yellowfin. It's commonly used in Hawai'i for poke. My favorite sushi is toro, specifically o-toro, which comes from the belly of the bluefin.

2. Enterprise enterprise: RENT-A-CAR. Nice clue.

3. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" author: CAPOTE. 

4. Virile dudes: STUDS

5. Night fliers: BATS

6. "Bravo!": OLÉ!

7. Main arteries: AORTAS

8. Do more lawn work: RE-MOW

9. Scout group: DEN

10. Like a bad spray tan: ORANGY. Check out fashion mogul Valentino next to Anne Hathaway. He needs to have a word with himself.

11. Not as tame: WILDER

12. Marquis of note: DE SADE. I'm not sure if I could name another French Marquis. I can recall a few British ones.

17. "You missed it": TOO LATE

18. Suffix with elephant: -INE

22. "Homeland" rating: TV MA. TV, Mature Audience.

23. Old audio system: HI-FI. I remember when I got my first hi-fi, I was hearing things on my records that I'd never heard before.

24. Pearly gates greeter: ST. PETER

25. Sweetie: DEAR

28. Cigar remnants: ASH

31. Serengeti antelope: GNU

32. Word on an "evacuation route" sign: TSUNAMI

33. Sorbonne summer: ÉTÉ. There won't be many students at the Sorbonne, they'll be on summer break.

35. Trash barge emanation: ODOR

36. Boxer's warning: GRR ...

37. "Let me give you a hand": I CAN HELP

38. Screenwriter Ephron: NORA.

“When I buy a new book, I always read the last page first, that way in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side.” 

When Harry Met Sally

39. "Here __ nothing": GOES

43. __ dips: upper-arm workout: TRICEP. Lats and triceps today. I feel guilty, I should go and work out.

44. Toast topic: HEALTH

45. Mountaineer Hillary: EDMUND. He would have been horrified by the commercialization of Everest.

46. Head-hugging brimless cap: BEANIE

47. Blends well: MESHES

49. Seat winners: INS. I was almost Natick'ed with the "N" here. I just couldn't see "INS" and couldn't recall "NIA".

50. Lab containers: VIALS

52. "Now and Then" actress: RICCI. Here's Christina, "then and now":

55. Bowls over: AWES

57. __-relief: BAS

58. Genetic letters: DNA

59. Underhanded: SLY

*Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Ontario is the province to the north.

I'm off to watch some golf, and some Women's World Cup soccer. Here's the grid!

Steve

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 C.C. Burnikel

What Do The Animals Say?  In today's puzzle, we have 4 pairs of clues and answers.  The first clue asks for a particular animal, and the last word of the second answer provides the animal sound.  What a clever theme from our Corner Hostess!  I think this is one of my favorite themes in recent memory. 

Note: Animals in other countries make different sounds.  Who knew?

1-Across. Animal heard at the end of 30-Across: WOLF.  //  30-Across. Jamaican resort: MONTEGO BAY.

60-Across. Animal heard at the end of 17-Across: SNAKE.  //  17-Across. Suspected 1930s-'40s spy: ALGER HISS.

Alger Hiss (Nov. 11, 1904 ~ Nov. 15, 1996) was an attorney and held a number of positions in the Federal Government, including the Department of Justice and the State Department.  He was accused of spying for the USSR.  Although never convicted of the spying charges, he was convicted for perjury related to the spying charges and was sentenced to 5 years in Federal prison.

19-Across. Animal heard at the end of 46-Across: MOOSE.  //  46-Across. "Humboldt's Gift" Pulitzer-winning novelist: SAUL BELLOW.

Saul Bellow (né Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915 ~ Apr. 5, 2005), was a Canadian-American awarding winning author.  He was the recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, as well as the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  Try as I might, I just cannot get through any of his works.

70-Across. Animal heard at the end of 62-Across: SEAL.  //  62-Across. Canoe material: BIRCH BARK.

The Birch is a hardwood tree with paper-like bark, which is surprisingly water resistant, hence, makes a perfect material for canoes.

Today's theme reminded me of this song that was popular a year or two:

Across:

5. "Give me __": A SEC.  Don't rush me!

9. Texas A&M student: AGGIE.  A student attending the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University, which is located in College Station, Texas, is called an AGGIE.  The main campus is over 5,200 acres.  The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library is located at the campus.

14. Grandstand level: TIER.  There are many tiers to the LSU Tiger Football Stadium, also known as Death Valley.  The original stadium, built in 1924, held 12,000 fans.  It has expanded over the years and now has a capacity of over 102,300.  It is the 7th largest stadium in the world.  Of the 6 stadiums above the LSU Tiger Stadium, 4 are also American college football stadiums.  (The Kyle Stadium on the Texas A&M Campus holds about 400 over LSU's capacity.)

15. Actress Gilbert of "The Conners": SARA.  Sara Gilbert (née Sara Rebecca Abeles; b. Jan. 29, 1975) graduated from Yale University in 1997.  Apparently, she plays Darlene Conner on the television sit-com.

16. Cheating on an ethics exam, e.g.: IRONY.  After I graduated from law school, in addition to the State bar exam, I had to take a separate ethics exam.  I found it amusing that to pay for the privilege of taking the ethics portion of the licensing requirement, the payment had to be made in the form of a certified check or money order.  A personal check was not acceptable.

20. Mediocre: SO-SO.

21. Bandleader Arnaz: DESI.  Probably everyone on the Corner knows that Desi Arnez (né Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III; Mar. 2, 1917 ~ Dec. 2, 1986) was married to Lucille Ball (née Lucille Désirée Ball; Aug. 6, 1911 ~ Apr. 26, 1989) for 20 years.  She was his 2nd wife; he was her first.

23. Baking soda amts.: TSPs.  As in Teaspoons.

24. Selfish types: HOGS.

26. Thrill to pieces: ELATE.

28. Sports gp. with a tour: PGA.  Golfing.

34. TV host Meredith: VIEIRA.  As in Meredith Louise Vieira (b. Dec. 30, 1953).  She is a professional host.  She has been the host of a number of shows, including 60 Minutes and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

36. Blues singer James: ETTA.  Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins; Jan, 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) has become a crossword staple.

37. Brian of Roxy Music: ENO.  Brian Eno (né Brian Peter George Eno; b. May 15, 1948) is another crossword staple.

 Then

Now

38. Prefix with mural: INTRA-.  Think of Intramural Sports.

39. You, in Germany: SIE.  Today's German lesson.

40. New England fish: SCROD.  Who knew this word had a past pluperfect subjunctive?  I learned this from a very proper Boston Brahmin.

42. Sci-fi figures: ETs.  As in Extra-Terrestrials.

43. Brunch, e.g.: MEAL.  Yummers!

45. Enemy of ancient Athens: SPARTA.

49. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE.  As in William Sanford Nye (b. Nov. 27, 1955).  Is he a Scientist or a Comedian?

50. Sunning areas: POOLS.

51. Teller's comedy partner: PENN.  As in the comedy team of Penn and Teller, comprised of Penn Fraser Jillette (b. Mar. 5, 1955) and Raymond Joseph Teller (b. Feb. 14, 1948).  Penn is the gabby one, while Teller remains silent.

53. Norway's most populous city: OSLO.  Oslo is the capital of Norway and is also the home of the Viking Ship Museum.

55. Not out: SAFE.  Think of baseball.

57. "Look what I did!": TADA!

65. Completely full: SATED.

66. Off in the distance: AFAR.

67. Patent's genesis: IDEA.

68. Pages with viewpoints: OP-EDs.  I learned from doing the crossword puzzles that Op-Ed means Opposite the Editorial page.

69. Stretch out in a recliner: REST.

Down:

1. Org. for Naomi Osaka: WTA.  As in the Women's Tennis Association.  Naomi Osaka (b. Oct. 16, 1997) is a professional tennis player who was born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother.  I don't follow sports, so was unfamiliar with her until this past weekend.  She was defeated by Katerina Siniakova, a Czech tennis player, at the French Open.

2. Some Picassos: OILS.

3. Building toy with theme parks: LEGO.  The Smithsonian recently reported on a humorous study wherein a few volunteers swallowed the heads of Lego figurines to see how long they stayed in the body.

4. What an open window allows in: FRESH AIR.  I initially tried Sunlight, which fit in the spaces provided.

5. Campfire residue: ASH.

Anatomy of a Camp Fire.

6. Declared with authority: SAID SO.

7. Highlands language: ERSE.  I generally think of Erse being an Irish language, but Webster's says it is also a Scottish language, hence the Highlands.

8. Walkman insert, once: CASSETTE.  I had one of these once, back in the dark ages.

9. Ready-fire link: AIM.

10. Cave: GROTTO.  I initially tried Gave In, which also fit in the spaces provided.  There is a Grotto in Cullman, Alabama, known as the Ave Maria Grotto.  It was was built on the grounds of St. Bernard Abby by one of the monks.  In addition to the Grotto, there are over 100 miniature reproductions of world famous Catholic religious structures.  The Grotto is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is an interesting place to stop, if you are driving through the area.

11. Jam fruit: GOOSE BERRY.  A Goose makes a Honking sound.  Close, but no cigar, to today's theme.

12. Brit. police rank: INSP.  As Inspector.  Anyone who reads Elizabeth George's mystery series knows about Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley.

13. Places for contacts: EYES.  They come in all colors and designs.  I once had a DWI case where the defendant had been stopped for being high on something.  It didn't help is case that he was wearing contacts that had CANNABIS leaf designs on them.

18. Piglet's little buddy: ROO.  A reference to Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends.

22. "Before ___ you go ...": I LET.

25. "Today" rival, for short: GMA.  As in Good Morning, America, which airs on ABC.

27. Audibly stunned: AGASP.  The dreaded "A" word.

28. Sailing companion of the Niña: PINTA.  Christopher Columbus's three ships were the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María.

29. Sleeps till noon, say: GETS UP LATE.

31. Sam of "Jurassic Park": NEILL.  Sam Neill (né Nigel John Dermot Neill; b. Sept. 14, 1947) was born in Ireland, but now lives in New Zealand.  He played Dr. Alan Grant in some of the Jurassic Park movies.

32. "I left ___ on the fridge": A NOTE.

33. Pointy-eared Jedi master: YODA.  A reference to the Star Wars movies.

34. Competes (for): VIES.

35. "First Blood" tough guy: RAMBO.  Played by Sylvester Stallone.

39. Mexican buffet offering: SALSA BAR.  Not sure I have actually seen a Salsa Bar at a Mexican restaurant, but I'm game to try some varieties of Salsa.

41. Marijuana: CANNABIS.  See 13-Down.

44. Slithery sea creatures: EELS.

45. Fin. neighbor: SWE.  Sweden is the neighbor of Finland.

47. Took a peek: LOOKED.

48. Some Lincoln Center productions: OPERAS.

52. Highest degree: NTH.  My initial thought was a Ph.D.

53. ___ buco: veal dish: OSSO.

54. Easy-peasy thing: SNAP.  Did you find this puzzle to be a SNAP?

56. Marcher's flute: FIFE.

58. Florida's Miami-___ County: DADE.  Lemonade lives a county over from Miami-Dade.

59. ___ rug: AREA.

61. Mag workers: EDs.  As in Editors.

63. Dated PC monitor: CRT.  As in a Cathode-Ray Tube.

64. ___ Kan pet food:  KAL.

Here's the grid:

I'll leave you with a QOD:  Changing mass consciousness is an individual responsibility.  ~  Dennis Weaver (né William Dennis Weaver; June 4, 1924 ~ Feb. 24, 2006)

 
Note from C.C.:

From now on, Hahtoolah (Susan) will be our Tuesday Sherpa. TTP and Lemonade will alternate the Friday blogging duty. Thank you, everyone!