Tuesday, February 11, 2025 Sala Wanetick, and Emily Beigas

A Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits!  The first word of each theme answer describes a style of haircut.

17-Across. *  Vocabulary gone viral: BUZZ WORDS.  We have Nikola Bizumić (1823 ~ 1906) to thank for the buzz cut.  He invented manual hair clippers in the late 1800s.  With the advent of these clippers, barbers could easily chop hair close and fast.

26-Across. *  Tee style: CREW NECK.  What's the difference between a crew cut and a buzz cut?  Buzz cut is the most low maintenance haircut.  Crew cut has a clean fade on the sides.  Crew cut is a grown up buzz cut on top.  Crew cut has just enough length on top for texture.

33-Across. *  "Old Time Rock and Roll" singer: BOB SEGER.  Robert Clark Seger (b. May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.  He is best known for his raspy voice.  When I think of Bob Seger, I immediately think of: 35-Across. "Just take those old records off the shelf / I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself," e.g.: LYRICS.

46-Across. *  New Year's Day sporting event: BOWL GAME.  A bowl cut is a hairstyle where the hair is cut to the same length all around the head, giving it the shape of an upside-down bowl.

52-Across. *  Fluffy carpets: SHAG RUGS.  A shag haircut is a layered hairstyle with choppy layers, volume, and wispy bangs.  This style was popular in the 1970s.

And the unifier:

66-Across. Options package for a new car, and what can be found at the start of the answer to each starred clue: TRIM LEVEL.  I am not familiar with the term Trim Level.  Apparently it means a version of a car model with a specific set of features and options. 

And, We start our puzzle with an Easter Egg:

1-Across. Hairless: BALD.

Across:

5. "A Nightmare on __ Street": ELM.

8. Insurance company with a duck mascot: AFLAC.  The name of the insurance company comes from its original name: American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus.

13. Et __: and others: ALIA.  Today's Latin lesson.

14. French champagne brand: MOËT.  The full name of this champagne is Moët et Chandon, but is generally just called Moët.  The company is one of the world's largest champagne producers and is a prominent champagne house.  The company was established in 1743 by Claude Moët (1683 ~ 1760).

16. Slow-moving tree dweller: SLOTH.

19. Former capital of Japan: KYOTO.

20. Wow: AMAZE.

21. Gabaldon who writes the "Outlander" novels: DIANA.  Diana J. Gabaldon (b. Jan. 1, 1952) is an author and television writer. She is best known for the book series Outlander. This series of book is part historical fiction, part romance, part adventure, part fantasy, and part adventure.  There are about 9 books in the series.  I started to read the first book, but it really isn't my style.

23. [As per the original]: SIC.  We saw Latin abbreviation just last week.  Sic is short for the phrase sic erat scriptum means thus it had been written.  Sic is used in writing to indicate that a quotation is an exact transcription of the original source, including any errors. It's used to show that the author is aware of the errors and is reproducing the quotation as it appears in the original text.

24. __ of luxury: LAP.

28. As thick as __: THIEVES.

32. Exchange: SWAP.

39. Hoppy brew: ALE.  //  And 57-Across. Spot for a pint of 39-Across: PUB.  Ales are becoming a crossword staple.

40. Vulgarly showy: GAUDY.

42. "The Raven" poet: POE.  Edgar Allan Poe (Jan. 19, 1809 ~ Oct. 7, 1849) American writer and poet.   He's best known for his short stories and poems, particularly those involving mystery and the macabre.  His novel The Murders in the Rue Morgue, which was first published in 1841, is considered to be the first modern detective story.

43. Formally adopt, as a treaty: RATIFY.

49. Clown costume part that may honk: NOSE.

51. Oddballs: WEIRDOS.

56. Narc's org.: DEA.  As in the Drug Enforcement Agency.

58. Home city of K-pop's BTS: SEOUL.  K-pop is short for (South) Korean Popular Music.  The band BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean, hence the band is from Seoul, South Korea.

60. Played out: STALE.

64. Smell: AROMA.

68. With 31-Down, Great Barrier Reef locale: CORAL.  //  31-Down. See 68-Across: SEA.  I recently went snorkeling in the Coral Sea.  We had to wear stinger suits to protect us from the stinger jelly fish that are prevalent in the waters in the southern hemisphere summer.

69. Smack: SLAP.

70. Farm grunt: OINK.

71. Between, in French: ENTRE.  Today's French lesson.

72. Mos. and mos.: YRS.  Months and Months become Years.

73. Hush-hush docs: NDAs.  As in Non-Disclosure Agreements.

Down:

1. __ ghanoush: BABA.  Smoky Middle Eastern roasted eggplant dip with tahini, garlic, lemon, olive oil and spices.  Yummers!

2. Grad: ALUM.

3. Superstar Minnelli: LIZA.  Liza Mary Minnelli (b. Mar. 12, 1946) is the daughter of Judy Garland (née Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 ~ June 22, 1969) and Vincente Minnelli (Feb. 28, 1903 ~ July 25, 1986).

4. Wows: DAZZLES.

5. Dramatically maudlin, slangily: EMO.

6. Title for an earl: LORD.  There are five ranks in British peerage.  In descending order those ranks are:, duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.  Below the peerage are honorary ranks that include baronet and knight.  Technically, in British titles, "Lord" is not a specific rank itself, but rather a courtesy title used to address members of the peerage, generally, barons and below, meaning it falls at the lower end of the British nobility hierarchy.

7. First responder: MEDIC.

8. "No such thing as a stupid question!": ASK AWAY.

9. Go by plane: FLY.

10. Baggy: LOOSE.

11. Story in Architectural Digest?: ATTIC.  Clever!  The attic is the top Story in a house.

12. __-full: at capacity: CHOCK.

15. Old Russian rulers: TSARS.  I discussed Tsars in last week's puzzle.

18. Create a tapestry: WEAVE.  Probably the most famous tapestry is the Bayeux Tapestry, which isn't woven, but rather embroidered.  If you want to see the tapestry, to NOW!  The Bayeux Tapestry Museum will be closed for renovation work beginning this September and will not reopen until October 2027.

22. Many a honeymooner: NEWLYWED.

25. Title gal in a Buddy Holly hit: PEGGY SUE.

27. "Tiny Desk Concerts" producer: NPR.  Tiny Desk Concerts are little musical performances that are done in the National Public Radio offices.

28. Ski lift option: T-BAR.

29. Spanish greeting: HOLA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

30. "Yeah, sure": I BET.

34. __ the wrong way: RUB.

36. Apple tablet: iPAD.

37. "¿__ está usted?": COMO.  More of today's Spanish lesson.  I am fine, thank you very much.

38. Views: SEES.

41. __ Jones: DOW.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.

44. Gerund suffix: -ING.  A gerund is any of various nonfinite verb forms that most often functions as a noun.  

45. Sign of movement?: FOR SALE.  Cute clue.

47. Von Trapp sister: LIESL.  Liesl was a fictional von Trapp sibling created for the movie The Sound of Music.  All the names of the real von Trapp children were changed for the film.

48. Rankle: GRATE ON.

50. Award quartets, for short: EGOTs.  As in the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.

52. Word separator: SPACE.

53. Lake along Michigan's thumb: HURON.

54. Scrub, as a mission: ABORT.

55. Cantankerous: SURLY.

59. "Nothing you say is true!": LIAR.

61. Voracious: AVID.

62. Headey of "Game of Thrones": LENA.  Lena Headey (née Lena Kathren Headey; b. Oct. 3, 1973) portrayed Cersei Lancaster in Game of Thrones.

63. Lodge group since 1868: ELKS.  Its full name is the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.  It is an  American fraternal order that was originally formed as a social club in New York City.  It now has more than 750,000+ members at at least 1,920 lodges. 

65. Tarnish: MAR.

67. U.K. lawmakers: MPs.  As in Members of Parliament.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday September 9, 2024 Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Today we have DOUBLE the fun from collaborators Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas. This is their fourth LA Times puzzle.

Theme:  

Each of the starred clues consists of two words such that the word PARK can be placed after each word to give a new concept. One might say the result is a DOUBLE PARK. Let's take a look:

16 Across. *DieHard product: CAR BATTERY.  

DieHard is a CAR BATTERY brand, not to be confused with the 1988 Bruce Willis film, Die Hard.
CAR PARK is Britspeak for "parking lot".
BATTERY PARK ( a.k.a. "The Battery") is a 25-acre public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City. It faces New York Harbor.

23 Across. *Presence in a pet-friendly workplace: OFFICE DOG.  

On the left is an OFFICE DOG hard at work.
An OFFICE PARK is an area where a number of office buildings are built together on landscaped grounds.
On the right is my dog, Meadow, exploring a DOG PARK when we lived in Colorado.

32 Across. *Los Angeles neighborhood in many John Singleton films: SOUTH CENTRAL.

Unknown to me but a few perps made it easily sussable. This is JS's IMDb page. We have some Cornerites from L.A. Perhaps they can tell us some of the area's better-known landmarks.  

On the left is a map of SOUTH CENTRAL Los Angeles.
SOUTH PARK is an animated TV show that first aired in 1997. It is still running and has been renewed through 2027.
New York's CENTRAL PARK is a world-famous public park, created in 1858 to address the recreational needs of a rapidly growing city. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

44 Across. *University in Muncie, Indiana: BALL STATE.

Again, not on my RADAR; but once I clocked the theme, it fell into place.  

BALL STATE University was founded in 1918.
A BALLPARK is a stadium where ball games are played. It is also a range given in an estimate.
The photo on the left is of Tahquamenon Falls STATE PARK, located in YooperPhil's neck of the woods.

Here is the unifier:

52. Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: DOUBLE-PARK.  This means to park one's vehicle beside a row of vehicles already parked parallel to the curb. The FedEx truck is DOUBLE-PARKed in the picture below.  

Here are the remaining clues:

Across:

1. Roof spots for holiday lights: EAVES.  Martha May Who (Christine Baranski) has the perfect tool for this job. (2 min.)  

How the Grinch Stole Christmas  (2000)

BTW, that is Molly Shannon playing Betty Lou Who.

6. Trims, as grass: MOWS.

10. Highs: UPS.  think "moods"

13. Swindler's accomplice: SHILL.  This is a person who acts as a decoy for a gambler or pitchman so bystanders (prey) are more apt to believe the con.

14. Milky birthstone: OPAL.

15. "The baby is sleeping!": SHH....

18. __ culpa: MEA.  Forgive me if I am repeating myself. "MEA culpa" is a noun which comes to us from Latin meaning, "through my fault".

19. Sinks, as an easy putt: TAPS IN.  

I think this usually refers to a golf ball -- not an alligator!

20. Vampire tooth: FANG.  Here's a quick clip of Vincent Price with Kermit the Frog.  

21. Debtor's letters: IOU.

26. Muzzles: SNOUTS.

29. Learning institution: ACADEMY.

30. Soccer superstar Lionel: MESSI.  Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (b. June 24, 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.  

31. Drippy ice cream choice: CONE.     and     43 Across. Thawed: MELTED.  

37. Et __: and others: ALIA.  The Latin phrase, et alia means "and others".  I was surprised to read Merriam-Webster's entry saying its first known use in English was in 1953.

38. Exposed: BARED.  

40. Lavish: OPULENT.  This would not be a good adjective to describe 20-Down. On the other hand, it fits another crossword favorite, Art Deco.  

46. Nickname of the 34th president: IKE.     and     39 Down. Initials of the 34th president: DDE.

47. Disability Pride Month: JULY.  

48. Keyboard instruments: PIANOS.

51. Stately tree: ELM.

56. Sch. whose alumni include Anthony Bourdain and Roy Choi: CIA.  Both are chefs who attended the Culinary Institute of America. Click here to see about making a reservation at a CIA restaurant.

57. Competent: ABLE.

58. Muppet who sings to his rubber duckie: ERNIE.

59. Full complement of players, in men's lacrosse: TEN.  ESP. I am at a loss when it comes to lacrosse. 😜 I did not even know the clue was asking for a number.

60. Kitchen protector: MITT.  

61. High-end hair dryer manufacturer: DYSON.  "High-end" indeed. Their supersonic hair dryers run from $430 to $600.

Down:

1. Key for exiting full-screen mode: ESC.

2. "I've got it!": AHA.

3. Accomplished musician: VIRTUOSO.     and     11 Down. Young sensation: PHENOM.

A VIRTUOSO excels at the technique of an art. A PHENOM is a young person of phenomenal ability or promise. Mozart was both. Here is Rondo Alla Turca (Turkish March) played on a 48-Across.  

4. "Zootopia" voice actor Idris: ELBA.  He voiced Chief Bogo in this 2016 animated film.

Hi Lucina!

5. High-five sound: SLAP.  

Maverick and Goose  ~  Top Gun ~  1986

6. Repeating design: MOTIF.  This explains it better than I can.

7. Like some sandwiches: OPEN FACE.  They do not have tops. Use your napkin.

8. Two-person card game: WAR.

9. Probably plotting: SLY.  cute

10. Sporting a union label, perhaps: U.S. MADE.  Did anyone else think of these TV commercials from the late 70s/early80s ?

12. Like the coats of most sheepdogs: SHAGGY.  

Underneath all that hair, Old English Sheepdogs weigh 60-100 lbs.

17. General __ chicken: TSOS.  I think my neighbor might be cooking this tonight. Something smells good!

20. Architectural style that flourished after the American Revolution: FEDERAL.  I am linking an article from This Old House plus information on the Hamilton Grange National Monument (as in "Alexander Hamilton").  

Geometrical designs are a common 6-Down of the FEDERAL style.

21. Ideological suffix: -ISM.

22. Singles: ONES.  dollars

24. Symbol: ICON.

25. "No way": CAN'T BE.  Or can it?

27. Most of the time: USUALLY.  

28. Filmography list: TITLES.  You can find these on the IMDb website.

33. Clue: HINT.  I had the "H" so I entered "Help" which did not help with the SW (my trickiest area today).

34. Boulder-hurling weapon: CATAPULT.  Poor Wile E.! He forgot to read the fine print. (2:30 min.)

35. Craftspeople: ARTISANS.  You can find these on the Etsy website.

36. Chive kin: LEEK.  I like to put cooked LEEKs on my pizza.

40. Item: OBJECT.

41. Rocky's best friend in the "Rocky" films: PAULIE.  "Adrian" also has six letters. Paulie Pennino was Adrian's brother.   

this Rocky's friend     ...     not     that Rocky's friend

42. Comedian Tracey: ULLMAN.  Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. She starred in The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-90) and, more recently, as Irma Kostroski on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Perhaps you have heard that The Simpsons famously first appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. 

43. Supper, e.g.: MEAL.

45. Neighbor of Nepal: TIBET.  

49. Necessity: NEED.  "The mother of invention" did not fit.

50. Nashville's Grand Ole __: OPRY.

52. Beaver creation: DAM.

53. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.  Star Wars

54. __ de Janeiro: RIO.  Oklahoma City, U.S.A. is a sister city to Rio de Janeiro.  I wonder what they have in common.

55. "Jeopardy!" host Jennings: KEN.  Both Ken and Idris were in yesterday's puzzle.

CSO to Tehachapi Ken, who I hope is on the mend! 

Feel free to do a double take on today's grid:

Did you enjoy today's walk in the PARK puzzle? Thanks to Sala and Emily for this MEMORIAL THEME!