google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Catherine Cetta

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Showing posts with label Catherine Cetta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catherine Cetta. Show all posts

Dec 14, 2023

Thursday, December 14, 2023, Catherine Cetta

 Tall Tales


Tall tales are often based on real people and real events, but those who tell them reveal a tendency to ...

62A. Embellish the truth, and what the sets of circled letters do?: SPIN A TALE.  

Yes, this puzzle has CIRCLES!  I know that some of you are not big fans of circles (and you know who you are 😁), but try to imagine how you would have described this puzzle's theme without them.  You may  recall today's constructor Catherine Cetta's last puzzle in which she used the phrase CHANGE AGENT to reveal what was obvious to all (but regrettably not to this reviewer 🙁), that the word AGENT had been scrambled into each of the theme fills.  In today's puzzle she has packaged the word TALE in 4 pairs of 2x2 boxes across 2 consecutive fill lines and then SPUN it by a single letter for each successive pair.  IMHO that arrangement wasn't easy to construct. Please post any suggestions in the comments as to how this theme could be described without circles!  Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:


1. Have a ball?: DANCE.  A CSO to Yellowrocks ...
6. Part of the fam: SIB.

9. Parking unit: SPACE.

14. Some foreign language exams: ORALS.

15. "The View" co-host Navarro: ANAANA Violeta Navarro-Cárdenas (née Navarro Flores; born December 28, 1971) is a Nicaraguan-American political strategist and commentator. She appears on various television programs and news outlets, including CNN, CNN en Español, ABC News, and Telemundo. She is also a co-host of the daytime talk show The View, garnering Emmy Award nominations for her work. 
Ana Navarro
16. Super-duper: ULTRA.

17. Fashionable sort?: LATECOMER.

19. Reflexology targets: SOLES.  It sounds like acupuncture without the pinsHere's what a doctor has to say about it.
20. The "you" of "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?": ELSA.

21. Trumpet, e.g.: HORN.  Will a French HORN do?  Here's the 3rd Movement Rondo - allegro from Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, K. 417 ...

22. One of Australia's six: STATE.  Here are Australia's six STATES, two Territories and capital cities.

23. Crow bar?: ROOST. 😀

25. Ship: VESSEL.

26. Store: STASH.

29. Lined up for a cornhole toss: AIMED.

31. Strikes and rebounds: CAROMS.  This guy could teach Isaac Newton a few things about ORB dynamics.  Note that the 8 ball goes in last, as it should.  And get a load of the stunned look on his opponent's face! ...
33. Copy: APE.

34. Moore of "G.I. Jane": DEMI.   Here's what Ebert had to say.  Here's the trailer ...
38. Pointed a finger at: ACCUSED.

40. Welcoming presence: GREETER.

42. "That's the __ ridiculous thing I've ever heard!": MOST.
43. Rowing need: OAR.

45. Deli slice: SALAMI.

46. Penne, essentially: TUBES.  Here's a recipe for PENNE Alla Vodka.
Penne Alla Vodka
48. Stirs up: RILES.

49. Attack: ASSAIL.

53. Emmy-winning journalist Connie: CHUNG.   Constance Yu-Hwa Chung (born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist who has been a news anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S. representative Gary Condit, whom Chung interviewed first after the Chandra Levy disappearance, and basketball legend Magic Johnson after he went public about being HIV-positive. In 1993, she became the second woman to co-anchor a network newscast as part of CBS Evening News.
Connie Chung
55. Begin: START.

56. Televises: AIRSAIR May also be a noun like this one -- originally from Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 D major, BWV 1068.  It was transcribed from the latter by August Wilhelm to the famous Air on a G String, here performed by Rusanda Panfili ...
 
57. Test the weight of: HEFT.

61. Alabama city in civil rights history: SELMA.  While some of the major battles of the Civil Rights Movement were fought here, the modern city of SELMA has made major strides in equal rights for minorities.  Start for example with the fact that the city's current Mayor, James Perkins, is an African American ...
James Perkins
Mayor of Selma, Alabama

62. [Theme reveal]

64. HP rival: EPSON. IMHO,  EPSON's printers might rival HP's, but the former is not a major player in the development and marketing of server farms and enterprise management systems like Hewlett-Packard (full disclosure: I was an HP subcontractor for several years ).

65. Garment edge: HEM.

66. Even: LEVEL.

67. Romanov rulers: TSARS.

68. Mind reader's claim: ESP Extra Sensory Perception.  Scientist J.B. Rhine (September 29, 1895 – February 20, 1980), who coined the term ESP, claimed to have demonstrated it experimentally, but, other scientists were skeptical.

69. Optimal: IDEAL.

Down:

1. Agricultural giant whose mascot is Bobby Banana: DOLE.  He looks like a slippery character to me ...

2. __ Sea: lake documented in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register: ARAL.  Instead of the usual bird's eye view, how about a camel's eye view? ...
Aral Sea
3. 2019 World Series champs: NATS.  The Washington NationalsHere's the story.

4. Takes it on the lam: CLEARS OUT.

5. Keyboard panic button: ESC.

6. Potatoes-and-peas pastry: SAMOSAHere's a recipe.
Samosas
7. Obstacle to progress: INERTIA.

8. Rural sight: BARN.  Here's a BARN with another crossword favorite, a SILO ..
Silo and Barn

9. Doped (out): SUSSED

10. Tracts: PLOTS.

11. Map lover's book: ATLASAn ATLAS is typically a bundle of maps of the Earth or of a region of Earth.  Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic features and political boundaries, many atlases often feature geopolitical, social, religious and economic statistics. They also have information about the map and places in it.  The origin of the term dates to 1595, and interestingly has ties to clue 46D.

12. Island with the ancient Minoan palace at Knossos: CRETEKnossos is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major center of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on the outskirts of Heraklion.

Here is the partially reconstructed palace ...
Palace of Minos
13. Artist's support: EASEL.

18. "Why, what's this!?": OHO.  Meh.

24. Units of resistance: OHMS

25. Zigs or zags: VEERS.

26. Con: SCAM.

27. Chipotle order: TACO.

28. Lines on a flight-tracker map: ARCSHere's a realtime flight-tracker map.  It doesn't show you any ARCS, but it sure shows a lot of planes in the air.

30. EPA concern: MPG.

32. Gangnam District city: SEOULGangnam (lit. South of the Han River), sometimes referred to as the Greater Gangnam Area, is a geographic and cultural region in SEOUL. The region is generally defined as including the city's affluent Gangnam, Seocho districts, and Songpa district which is separated by Tancheon, a tributary of the Han River.  Gangnam Style is also the title of a K-POP song satirizing the affluent lifestyle of the area's populace.  It's sung in Korean and fortunately I couldn't find a translation.😀
Gangnam skyline
34. On cloud nine: DELIGHTED.  How about a little faintly cute D(isney)-POP instead ...
35. Latin abbreviation in a bibliography: ET AL.

36. Spider-Man pointing, e.g.: MEME.  All of my researches point to this 1967 episode as the origin of this MEME ...
37. Spring perennial: IRIS.

39. Smack-__ in the middle: DAB.  And smack DAB in this middle of this puzzle is a DAB puzzle called Fed Up. And here's what David has to say about it ...

"That’s right—I’m fed up!  I’m fed up, for example, with politics, which is actually just an effect of tribalism, which is in turn just an effect of human nature, which is itself just an effect of nature in general, which is after all just an effect of whatever mysterious process created everything for whatever mysterious purpose.  So I’ll just do a crossword." 

I think we all have days like that sometimes. 😀.  Spoiler alert: I've posted David's theme at the end of this review, so don't read past my sign off if you intend to do his puzzle.*

41. Merit: EARN.

44. America's Test Kitchen output: RECIPES.  Like the NYT you need a subscription to get these RECIPES.

46. Giants: TITANSATLAS was a TITAN.

47. __ cocktail: SHRIMP.   Judy Kim is giving away this RECIPE for free.
 
Shrimp  Cocktail

49. Selling point: ASSET.

50. Choreography units: STEPS.

51. Topping for a 27-Down: SALSA.  Here's a recipe for SALSA.  I think Catherine just might  be a foodie!
Salsa
52. Knight's protection: ARMOR.

54. SEAL's org.: USN.  The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting small-unit special operation missions in maritime, jungle, urban, arctic, mountainous, and desert environments. SEALs are typically ordered to capture or kill high level targets, or to gather intelligence behind enemy lines.  Probably their most famous operation was bringing down the leader of the 911 attacks.  See also 34A.
The Navy SEAL Trident
56. Tennis icon Arthur: ASHE.

58. Roof projection: EAVE.

59. Pest that pesters pets: FLEA.

60. "__ me about it!": TELL.  E.g. TELL me if you have a winning hand? 😁

63. Soccer star Krieger: ALIAlexandra Blaire Krieger (born July 28, 1984) has represented the United States at three FIFA Women's World Cups: 2011 in Germany, 2015 in Canada, and 2019 in France. She was part of the defense that held opponents scoreless for a record 540 minutes and helped lead the United States to become 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup champions.
Ali Krieger

Cheers,
Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley 

* All of DAB's theme clues are DOWNS starting with DEF, which when spelled UPwards is FED.

 

Oct 12, 2023

Thursday, October 12, 2023, Catherine Cetta

 

  It's What We Do


Anybody who has worked in IT will tell you that if a program exhibits a new bug the first question you ask is "What changed?".  And if constructor Catherine Cetta's theme for this puzzle bugged you, you need to do the same thing -- or as she puts it in her reveal fill you need to find the ...

58A. Modern innovator, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues: CHANGE AGENT.

Each of the themers contains a word that causes change.  In some cases it's more than one word ...

16A. *Period of connectivity that began in the 1990s: INTERNET AGE.  We all know that AGE changes us, but even more than that it could certainly be argued that the INTERNET AGE is the most powerful change agent in recent times,  beginning in 1965 and accelerating today at an ever increasing pace ...
The Internet

36. *"Let me stop you right there": DON'T GET ANY IDEASIDEAS are among the most powerful change agents and are the basis for many of humanity's innovations, including the sciences, technologies such as the Internet, philosophy, religion, and the arts.  Here are some thinkers having IDEAS ...
The Thinkers
Baltimore Museum of Art


22A. *Place for navel gazers?:ORANGE TREE.  I suppose these mostly just maintain the status quo, but as we saw last Thursday, they help supply us with the oxygen we need to keep going, and their roots change each another.

47A`. *Power source for some superheroes?: MUTANT GENE.  One of the most common causes of GENE MUTATIONS are called  frame shift errors, where the enzymes reading a DNA sequence for a particular gene lose count of the DNA triplets that code for one of amino acids that comprise the protein being synthesized.  

A similar error can occur with humans when they miss the frame of reference for a comment made by someone else.  My favorite example of this is in the 2009 film FRAMED, where the curator of the London Art Museum (played by Trevor Eve) interprets a comment by a young Welsh lad who is referring to DONATELLO (one of the Teenage MUTANT Ninja Turtles) not DONATELLO (the Renaissance artist!).   I've posted this before, but I'm posting it again for the benefit of any of you who haven't seen this delightful film ...*

* After you click on the video link here you should be able to watch it on your TV via the YouTube streaming service.  Or just search YouTube for "Framed Trevor Eve".

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...
 
Across:

1. Stoppers: PLUGS.

6. Facebook verb: LIKE.

10. Food writer Drummond: REE.  AKA the Pioneer Woman.  Here she is just in time for some Spooky Halloween Brownies -- don't be afraid to try them ...

13. Southeast Asian capital: HANOIHANOI  is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. It is located within the Red River Delta of Northern Vietnam.  I think its Opera House showed up on the Corner not long ago  ...
Hanoi Opera House
14. One-over-par score: BOGEY.  I'm sure none of the duffers on the Corner ever get one of those, but this duffer doesn't get this girl in the end ...
15. Sargasso Sea spawner: EELI always thought this was a myth.
.
16. [Theme clue]

18. Maven: PRO.

19. Paper cutters: SCISSORS.  But ROCKS break them.  But PAPER covers rocks.

20. Send via UPS or USPS: SHIP.

21. Billie Eilish's "All the Good Girls Go to __": HELL.

22. [Theme clue]

26. Actress Jessica who co-founded The Honest Company: ALBAJessica ALBA was inspired by the 2008 birth of her first child and her own history of childhood illnesses to create The Honest Company, a an enterprise that provides an alternative to baby products with ingredients such as petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances. The company was launched in 2012 with 17 products and in 2021 it had revenues of 318.6 million.

Jessica Alba
28. Average booster: EASY A.

29. Sprang up: AROSE.

32. Firm: Abbr.: CORP.

33. __ Lanka: SRI.  The actual filming locale for the great series the Good Karma Hospital, which was set in India.  Sadly this show has has ended its run,  but you can still stream it.
36. [Theme clue]

40. Dead __ Scrolls: SEA.  This unabridged video (19 min.) is for all the kids on the Corner who haven't yet discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls (Hebrew w/English subtitles) ...

41. Iraq neighbor: IRANIRANIAN activist Narges Mohammadi, who is currently serving a 10 year prison sentence protesting injustices in her country, was recently awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all".
Narges Mohammadi
2023 Peace Prize Nobelist
42. Down-yielding duck: EIDER.

43. "McSorley's Bar" painter: SLOAN.  Apparently John Sloan spent a lot of time in this bar between 1912 and 1930 as he did a total five paintings of the place during that timeMcSorley's Old Ale House, located in the East Village, Manhattan, opened in 1854 and you can still have a drink there today ...

McSorley's Bar
John Sloan, 1912

45. Fed. food stamper: USDAU. S. Department of Agriculture

47. [Theme clue]

50. Helen of Troy's mother: LEDA.  Here's their story, the origin of a series of events that led to the Trojan War ...
54. The Grand Ole __: OPRY.  Musical opportunities in this puzzle are pretty slim picking, so I thought a little pickin' by the Hillbilly Thomists, live at the Grand Ole OPRY, might be nice.  Here they are sippin', pickin', and preachin' about Bourbon, Bluegrass and the Bible ...

55. Places for hoops and studs: EAR LOBES.  No, not places for tall men.

57. "__ to Dirt": Sharon Olds poem: ODE.  Hear her give praise for the substance that gives us clay and soil.

58. [Theme reveal].

61. "Long," in Hawaiian: LOA.  I didn't know this.

62. Cola with a red, white, and blue logo: PEPSI.

63. Sip: NURSE.

64. Inquire: ASK.

65. Avant-garde: ARTY.  Websters defines ARTY as "showily or pretentiously artistic".  "Avant-garde" may be an adjective for"cutting edge" or a noun describing change agents, especially in the arts -- people like Salvador Dali, Igor Stravinsky, or T. S. Eliot.  But eventually they are accepted and pave way for the next generation.

66. Dissuade: DETER.

Down:

1. Lure with false emails: PHISH.

2. Jousting weapon: LANCEMaryland's State Sport ...
Jousting
3. Up to: UNTIL.

4. Brings up the rear: GOES LAST.  The "derriere-garde", who protect the rear flank.

5. Knight titles: SIRS.

6. Mucho: LOTSA.

7. Three-time French Open winner Swiatek: IGAIGA Natalia Świątek (born 31 May 2001) is a Polish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), having held the position for 75 weeks. Świątek is a four-time major singles champion, having won the French Open in 2020, 2022, and 2023 and the US Open in 2022. She is the first player representing Poland to win a major singles title. She has won a total of 15 WTA Tour-level titles.
Iga Świątek
2019 French Open

8. Barrel of beer: KEG.

9. Word with wash or wear: EYE.

10. Said another way: REPHRASED.

11. Like a haunted house: EERIE.  It's only 19 days until All Hallows Eve! -- make some Spooky Halloween Brownies for the trick-or-treaters (see 10A)  

12. Get to "I do" without the ado: ELOPE.

14. Utterer of "Yogi-isms": BERRALawrence Peter "Yogi" BERRA (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but the last for the New York Yankees.While Yogi Berra’s role in the history of baseball is immeasurable, his ongoing legacy rests also on his enormous contributions to the American language. His so-called Yogi-isms – the unique and witty observations he became famous for – made him a major contributor to the national repository of wisdom, a source cited more often than Shakespeare (in the US at least) ...

Here's YOGI practicing some of
his verbal ASANAS
17. Gaming novice: NOOB.

20. Messy room: STY.

23. Glowing gas: NEON.  For years this neon sign dominated the skyline of the Baltimore Harbor.  But things change.


24. "The Far Side" cartoonist Larson: GARYGARY Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created The Far Side, a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fifteen years. The series ended with Larson's retirement on January 1, 1995.   Here are 15 of the funniest The Far Side comics that will never get old.
Gary Larson

25. Spotted: ESPIED.

27. American __: veterans' group: LEGIONThe American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, in turn, made up of local posts. The organization was formed on March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, by a thousand officers and men of the American Expeditionary Forces and it was chartered on September 16, 1919, by the United States Congress.  Veterans Day this year will be Saturday, Nov 11.

Official Website
29. Commercial intrusions: ADS.

30. Caviar: ROE.

31. Racking up wins: ON A  STREAK.

32. Soda container: CAN.

34. "Insecure" actress Issa: RAE.  She got over her insecurities and eventually became President ...

35. Leb. neighbor: ISR.

37. Q.E.D. part: ERAT.

38. Sharp flavor: TANG. TANG is also the name of a Chinese Dynasty that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum between 690 and 705.  Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture.  The period is especially noted for its ceramics and for the invention of vitrified porcelain.  Below is an inexpensive reproduction of an iconic Tang Dynasty horse that I purchased when my son and I visited China to adopt our grandson.  A premium pair of originals sold at Sotheby's in 2013 for almost $4.2 million.  I spotted this one on a shelf up near the ceiling in a dusty little shop in Guangzhou and when I beckoned to the clerk to get it down for me he said somewhat nervously "You know it's not an original right?".  I assured him that I did!
Tang Dynasty horse
39. Lines of communication?: DIALOGUE.

44. __ of the land: LAY.

45. Dragon roll ingredient: UNAGI.  If you don't like raw fish you can always try UNAGI, which is a type of sushi made with cooked EEL.

46. Desertlike: SERE.  I doubt that the Atacama Desert has become any less SERE since last Thursday.

47. Bucks: MOOLA.

48. Beehives and some buns: UPDOS.  If you're considering tying the knot, here are 11 UPDOS for doing it ...

UPDOS
49. Like the itsy-bitsy spider: EENSY.  He certainly is persistent ...

51. Film critic Roger: EBERTRoger Joseph EBERT  ( June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.  This site has reviews of the movies that led he and his buddy Gene Siskel to get into the review business and this site has Roger's Top 10 Movies of All Time.  Both of  them get my 👍👍.
 
Roger Ebert
52. Slow on the uptake: DENSE.

53. Starlike flower: ASTER.

56. Arrive at the airport safely: LAND.  The feeling you get when you LAND safely (sorry, I couldn't resist) ...

58. IRS form expert: CPA1040 Good Buddy!

59. She/__ pronouns: HER.

60. Fitting: APT.  I think this is an APT point to end this review ...

Cheers,
Bill
 And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Aug 23, 2023

Wednesday August 23, 2023 ~ Catherine Cetta

Palindromes on Parade

Happy Hump Day Cornerites. Today, we get words vertically spelled the same forwards & backwards hidden (oooh, another little puzzle for us to solve - sans circles!) in the starred clues. They...

17d. Move like tides and stock prices, or what the hidden words do in the answers to the starred clues?: RISE AND FALL.

3d. *Forensic expert on many a crime drama: DNA ANALYST. NAAN - Indian bread (not Rupees)

8d. *"Is this a smile on my face?": HOW MAD AM I. MADAM (I'm Adam).

29d. *Warning from the paranoid: TRUST NO ONE. NOON as in high- for a shoot-out.
 
Trust No One

33d. *Like Viola and Sebastian's ship at the start of "Twelfth Night": LOST AT SEA. Shakespeare & STATS.

Cute, eh? I think we need appropriate music here:


They Might Be Giants - I Palindrome I

Across:
1. Remove for security reasons, say: REDACT.
 

7. "Aw, darn it!": OH HELL. Saucy fill (we're allowed to ink that? Sweet.)

13. "Atlas Shrugged" author: AYN RAND. RUSH's 2112 acknowledged her "genius" in the liner notes. I will be kind to the reader and not embed a link as I'm sure no one has 16:08 to listen.

15. Roster newbie: ROOKIE.

16. Trucker in a union: TEAMSTER. I should have been paid OT moving Youngest into her first apartment last week.  Six hours of driving and 3 hours moving her goods in 104F heat.

18. __ manual: OWNERS. I had "online" first. Who else gets into the Catch-22 of needing to access online support when your online thing isn't working in the first place?

19. Five dollar face, for short: ABE. USoA's 16th Prez.

20. Olive center: PIT.

22. Small plateaus: MESAS.

23. Mama's mama: NANA. An anagram of NAAN! :-)

25. "No worries": IT'S OKAY. Don't know if anyone heard about a "suspicious package" found at Defcon. I was there just leaving the Vetcon party (for .mil vets) and going to the ChillOut Zone when we were evacuated.
I must say, panic never ensued. The Goons were assertively polite telling everyone to find a door and the venue evacuated calmly. On the way out, I asked two Goons I know, WTF? One said, "It's now or later. Go. Be safe."  Nerds are the best.
 

27. Tony-winning musical "Dear __ Hansen": EVAN. I handed-out an award?

28. Enjoyed some gum, say: CHEWED.

29. Some ESPN highlights: TDS. Touchdowns are in the short-reel of the Football game on ESPN.

32. Without restraint: WILDLY.

34. "True Blood" star Paquin: ANNA. Another anagram of NAAN!

35. Sleep cycle letters: REM.

36. Final authority: SAY SO. What you have, to tell your kids, when too many "why" questions follow your request.

37. Clinic staffers: Abbr.: RNS. Registered Nurses.

38. Lab rodent: MOUSE. Or wait...

40. Tiebreaker periods, briefly: OTS. Over-Times.

41. Skidded: SLID.
 

SLED

43. Strands in a tree: TINSEL. Oh, Christmas and not a dog treeing a cat who subsequently waits on the fireman.
 
Probably not what she had in mind...

44. Converged: MET. Estimates are there were ~30k hackers who converged at/on Vegas for Defcon.

45. Skor bar center: TOFFEE. Skor is Hershey's go at the Heath toffee bar.

47. Key in a PC reboot combo: CTRL.

48. Taxi money: CAB FARE.

49. Tolkien tree creatures: ENTS. Lord of The Rings reference.

50. Vision: SIGHT.

53. Pro's 35mm camera, maybe: SLR. Single-lens Reflex.
 


54. Pigeon sound: COO.

55. "Spider-Man: __ the Spider-Verse": ACROSS. Marvel (or DC?) movie franchise.
 
Can't remember which Universe, just say "Both"

57. Neighborhood diner?: LOCAVORE. Cute. Not the local grill but someone who dines on near-sourced yummies.

61. Grunts and groans: NOISES.

62. Restored to mint condition: LIKE NEW.

63. Make sympathetic: ENDEAR.

64. Perfectly calm: SERENE.

Down:
1. Lab rodent: RAT.  [from 38a] ...for it.
We have RAT & MOUSE clecho'd in a grid. This calls for
 

I gotta link an interview with the voices

2. Hurricane center: EYE. California is starting to dry out. Last recorded TS in CA was 1934 (so I read).

3. [See: theme]

4. Accessories worn by soccer captains: ARM BANDS.

5. "__ closed!": CASE.

6. Explosive initials: TNT. It's dynamite fill!

7. Spanish gold: ORO.

8. [See: theme]

9. Baklava sweetener: HONEY.

10. Barely gets (by): EKES.

11. Old Italian bread?: LIRA. Not stale focaccia.

12. "More or __": LESS.

14. Profundity: DEPTH.

17. [See: theme].

21. Small dots on a map: TOWNS.

23. California governor Gavin: NEWSOM. There were thoughts he might run for President in 2024. We'll see.

24. Fly: AVIATE.

25. Unwelcoming: ICY.

26. "Detective Pikachu" actor Watanabe: KEN. Pokemon reference.

29. [See: theme]

30. Climate for much of Nevada: DESERT. In Vegas, it was nice to occasionally step outside to warm up from the over-AC'd conference halls.

31. Requires Febreze, maybe: SMELLS. Some of the folks at Defcon needed a spritz.

33. [See: theme]

37. Jazz licks: RIFFS.
 

Charlie Parker & His Trio

39. Quick appraisal: ONCE OVER.

42. High tennis shot: LOB.

43. Shape of a "timeout" hand signal: TEE.

46. CBS News correspondent Barnett: ERROL.

48. Picked: CHOSE. Hand-up if you were always last on playground divvying up.

50. Of sound mind: SANE.

51. Envelope opened with a click, e.g.: ICON. Your email ICON.

52. Sudoku diagram: GRID. This could have been meta-clued as we were solving ;-)

54. Dessert with icing: CAKE.

56. Abbreviation on old Russian maps: SSR. Stealing from my last expo: "Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, is Latin alphabet transliteration of Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР) //yeah, I Googled the translation."

58. Prefix with gender: CIS.

59. Driver's "Star Wars" role: REN.

60. Barnyard female: EWE.

The Grid:
 
The Grid

WO: online -> OWNERS
ESPs: EVAN, KEN, ERROL
Fav: LOCAVORE

There you have it folks -- another Wednesday in 2023's books. Christmas is only 124 days away, so get your TINSEL [43a] now.

Thanks for the fun Catherine!
Cheers, -T
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Apr 17, 2023

Monday April 17, 2023 Catherine Cetta

  

Hello Cornerites!

One of the fun aspects about solving XWD puzzles is the connections we encounter between the puzzle and a our own life events. We have an example of that today. Perhaps many of you were thinking, "Hey, we just talked about that."
You are correct! The L.A. Times Friday, April 7 puzzle featured the clechos 25 Down. Full of beans:  LYING and 30 Down. Full of beans:  PHONY. Pedant the Brit commented, "To me 'Full of beans' means lively, energetic and not lying or phony." AnonT helped to explain with a link to his 3rd favorite reference**, Blazing Saddles. More fun comments followed.

Today, seasoned constructor Catherine Cetta has served up a full puzzle dedicated to this phrase. It is a good reminder of how editor Patti Varol is not only thinking about each day's puzzles, but also about how the puzzles follow each other.

Fortunately for me, I only have to think about Mondays. My title for this Monday is
Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit  ♪♪♪
First, the themed clues:

17. *"Don't be a stranger!": KEEP IN TOUCH.  pinto beans

27. *Vision in the mind's eye: MENTAL IMAGE.  lima beans

43. *Enthusiastic compliment in the fitting room: THAT IS SO YOU.  soy beans

And the reveal:

58. Completely wrong, and what the answers to the starred clues literally are?: FULL OF BEANS.

Here's the scoop:  Each starred clue's answer contains a type of bean, making the phrases "FULL OF BEANS". The circles are there to help identify the beans.
I wondered if there could be an element of insincerity in the comments, adding an extra layer to the "not true" idea. However, MENTAL IMAGE does not seem to fit that idea.

Of course we want AnonT to smile, so here is his Blazing Saddles (1974) link:

Let's sort through the other clues:

Across:
1. Hornets and yellow jackets: WASPS.

6. Meghan Trainor's "All __ That Bass": ABOUT.  (2014)
not a song about fish!

11. Poorly lit: DIM.  

14. Change: ALTER.  When saying "I do", one might ALTER her name at the altar.

15. Italian grandma: NONNA.  
Momento di Tenerezza,(Moment of Tenderness)
paining by Italian artist Gaetano Bellei (1857-1922)
16. Earth-friendly prefix: ECO.

19. Word with baseball or bottle: CAP.  Clues like this make for a fun solve.

20. Former flames: EXES.  A good piece of trivia to know about pop star Taylor Swift is that she is known for writing songs about her high-profile EXES. Here is a list of 30 songs presumed to be about her EXES.

21. Mischievous types: IMPS.

22. Screen symbols: ICONS.  There is a fun double-meaning here if you think of the Silver Screen and a computer screen.

24. "Save Your Tears" singer Grande: ARIANA.

26. Begin: START.

31. Celeb's entourage: POSSE.  
35. Many moons __: AGO.

36. Resting on: ATOP.  "The weathervane is perched ATOP the barn."

37. Poker buy-ins: ANTES.  
38. Prez on a fiver: ABE.

39. Military unit: TROOP.

40. "Watch your __!": STEP.  Mind the gap.

41. Kerfuffle: ADO.

42. Trumpets and tubas: HORNS.  Last Tuesday OMK brought up John Philips Sousa so I thought I'd include this trivia for HORNS:  [The sousaphone was] developed in 1893 at the direction of the American bandleader John Philip Sousa, it was designed so that it is easier to play than a regular concert tuba, whether the player is marching or standing. It was also made to carry its sound above the heads of the rest of the marching band members. Unlike the tuba, which is carried in front of the player, the sousaphone is circular and fits around the player’s body. source
47. Utopias: EDENS.

48. Familiar saying: OLD SAW.  An oft-repeated saying, maxim, or proverb: a clich
éd or hackneyed expression.  Ex:  An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

52. Soul singer Baker: ANITA.

53. "Creations from la cocina" brand: GOYA.  "Cocina" translates to "kitchen", a hint at "food". This brand is featured in the ethnic foods aisle in the store where I shop.
more beans
55. Ninny: TWIT.  Someone who tweets?  

57. Weeding tool: HOE.

61. Curvy letter: ESS.  

62. "August: __ County": Meryl Streep film: OSAGE.  I have not seen this movie but after watching this trailer, I put it on my library queue. A lot of good actors appear in it.

Trailer (2013)

63. Novelist Jong: ERICA.  "Ms. Jong is most famous for her rollicking debut novel, Fear of Flying, which has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide and will have its 50th anniversary next year." (NY Times 9/24/2022)

64. Intersected: MET.  
These 2 circles do not intersect.
Pretty trippy, huh?
65. Lose it: GO MAD.  Speaking of... last week Al Jaffee of Mad Magazine passed away at the age of 102. RIP.  Rolling Stone obit

66. Sign on many doors: ENTER.  
This is one of my favorite Gary Larson comics.

Down:
1. Rouse from sleep: WAKE.

2. Apple : Siri :: Amazon : __: ALEXA.  A lot of SAT questions take this format. Read, "Apple is to Siri as Amazon is to __."

3. Take the helm: STEER.  
He is using his reins to STEER the Texas Longhorn STEER.
4. One side in the cola wars: PEPSI.  the cola wars of the 1980s

5. __ Lanka: SRI.  
SRI Lanka tourism

6. Insect-sized superhero played by Paul Rudd: ANTMAN.  
Paul Rudd seems like he would be a polite guest if you invite him over to dinner...
but maybe not to a picnic.

7. Jazz Age cartoon Betty __: BOOP.  
8. Heavy burden: ONUS.  My old boss, Matt, used to say this word a lot. It seeped into my lexicon.

9. Duke's ACC rival: UNC.  Atlantic Coast Conference and University of North Carolina

10. Island in French Polynesia: TAHITI.  
French Polynesia was made an overseas territory of France in 1946.

11. Interior designer: DECORATOR.  how much an interior decorator costs in 2023
My décor is basically books, plants, and art I like even though it does not match the couch.

12. Melodramatic cry of exhaustion: I CAN'T GO ON.

13. Unkempt dos: MOPS.  
The Beatles helped popularize the MOP top haircut in the 60's.
18. Number of innings in most baseball games: NINE.

23. Chevy muscle car: CAMARO.  GM has said the last of the 2024 model year will come off the assembly line in Lansing, MI next January. npr article

25. Iowa city north of Des Moines: AMES.  
But how far is it from AMES to Please?
26. __-mo: SLO.

28. Definite no-no: TABOO.  (adj.)  prohibited or restricted by social custom.
a TABOO tattoo
29. Mature: AGE.  not necessarily synonymous 😜

30. "Love & Basketball" actor Omar: EPPS.  (2000) 3 1/2 stars on IMDb 
Yesterday he was 109A. "House" actor Omar.

31. Yesteryear: PAST.

32. Precisely: ON THE NOSE.  

33. Most reliable, in a way: STEADIEST.

34. Days of the week, e.g.: SEPTET.  More clues like this one, please!

38. Pop-ups in many free apps: ADS.

39. Dull impact sound: THUD.
Close to Home Comic Strip for July 24, 2000

41. Braying quadruped: ASS.

44. Rather out of it: IN A FOG.  The title of The Foggiest Place in the World goes to an area of the Atlantic Ocean called the Great Banks, lying off the coast of Newfoundland.  source: 8 Facts about Fog

45. Fluctuated wildly: YO-YOED.  
After you listen to this 3 min. clip of a performance by American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, you will have YO-YOED.
Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott - The Swan (Saint-Saëns)

46. Elsa and Anna's snowman pal: OLAF.  
Lt to Rt:  OLAF, Elsa, Anna from Frozen
49. Back of a boat: STERN.

50. Eagerly expect: AWAIT.

51. Show a bit of pain: WINCE.  
Tiger hits a regrettable one.

52. "I can hear you, you know": AHEM.  over-dramatic throat clearing noise 

53. Glitzy genre: GLAM.  
She may be a bit overdressed for her surroundings.
54. Gymnast Korbut: OLGA.

56. Bygone Russian ruler: TSAR.

59. GI entertainers: USO.
USO Bob Hope Christmas show in Vietnam War archival footage (1 min.)

60. Honey-making pollinator: BEE.  It is estimated that pollinators (including 1A. WASPS) are responsible for 1/3 of the food we eat.

Here's the grid:


That's all for today. Now that I am finished, I aM UNGlued from my computer!

** AnonT's 1st favorite reference is Monty Python, 2nd is anything Rush-related, and 3rd is Blazing Saddles. Do I have that correct?  😉