L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Evans Clinchy

Apr 27, 2024

Saturday, April 27, 2024, Evans Clinchy

Saturday Themeless by Evans Clinchy

Evans is a master scrabble player who lives in Tacoma Washington. Obviously he is also a great crossword constructor as you can see by his first LA Times entry we get today. I moved right along in my solve but had a natick at the jumping off point of 1 Across/1 Down. I do not know any New Orleans neighborhoods, old or new, and joining that with uber obscurely clued T-RAP made for some very unsettling final minutes for me. 😖 I guessed at a "K" but I had other equally bad/desperate options. Boo!

Across:

1. One of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans: TREME - Excuse my ignorance Big E!

6. Into footwear?: SHOD - A well SHOD unit

10. Included, in a way: CCED.

14. Settle down: RELAX - Aaron said this in 2014 when the Packers started 1 - 2. They then made the playoffs and massed making it to the Super Bowl by 6 points.

15. Come down: POUR - N.W. Ayers and Son ad agency came up with this slogan in 1914 for Nebraskan Joy Morton's salt company.

16. Barcelona's Fundació Joan __: MIRO - Joan MIRO's foundation has the biggest display of MIRO's works and supports many new artists in Barcelona. More info

17. Homes.com units: APARTMENTS - Our granddaughter is very familiar with this site in her job in D.C.

19. Like a kumquat: OVAL.

20. Fair activities for kids: PONY RIDES.

21. Carrot family plant: ANISE

22. Academic domain: EDU.

23. Took a spill: TUMBLED - The source of Wide World Of Sports' "The Thrill Of Victory, The Agony Of Defeat"

25. Nightie nights?: PAJAMA PARTIES 😀

30. Young egg cells: OVULES.

31. "It's not you, it's me," maybe: LIE.

32. Web-footed divers: AUKS.

35. Struggles with sigmatism: LISPS.

36. Nurse: SIP 😀 Make that drink last!

37. Resolve: SPINE.

38. Swear words: OATH.

39. State on the Arabian Sea known for beautiful beaches: GOA - West coast of India

40. Vandyke kin: GOATEE.

41. World Chess Champion from 2013 to 2023: MAGNUS CARLSEN - Norwegian Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen

44. "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" star: SEYMOUR.

46. Waze suggestion: Abbr.: RTE.

47. Facility for tech-savvy HS kids: AV LAB - Every student in America these days is pretty tech-savvy and goes to an AV LAB.

48. Election map figure: BLUE STATE - Here is the 2020 election by county

54. Long-handled hammer: MAUL - I split a lot of wood with my splitting MAUL

55. Fan attribute: TEAM SPIRIT.

56. Part of YOLO: ONCE.

57. Belgrade native: SERB.

58. Possible warning signs: OMENS.

59. Uses Siri, maybe: ASKS.

60. Holy chests: ARKS - Opening the Lost ARK was not a good decision

61. Cantankerous: TESTY.

Down:

1. Genre of Ariana Grande's "7 Rings": T-RAP - I threw a flag on this play where this ludicrous cluing with TREME seemed unfair for a common word! In case you're interested: "7 Rings" is a trap-pop song with elements of hip hop and R&B that runs for 3 minutes, with Grande rapping the hook and final verse."

2. Used car, perhaps: REPO.

3. Great exuberance: ELAN.

4. Barra of General Motors: MARY.

5. Highs and lows: EXTREMES - For April 27, Nebraska's EXTREMES are 95°F in 1989 and 24°F in 1950.

6. Got the lead out: SPED UP.

7. Give an edge: HONE.

8. Surpass: OUTSTRIP.

9. MRI orderers: DRS.

10. "Help me out here": C'MON BE A PAL.

11. Means of settling some disputes: CIVIL SUITS - OJ was found not guilty (not innocent) in his criminal trial but was found guilty in the CIVIL SUIT charging he caused wrongful death.

12. Take marks off: ERASE - There was a time...

13. Gave out: DOLED.

18. Touchy one?: MIDAS 😀

21. "__ wrong?": AM I.

24. SLC athlete: UTE - In Salt Lake City

25. Game that may be played on horses, bicycles, or elephants: POLO.

26. Brand of slip resistant shoes: AVIA.

27. "Short straw again": JUST MY LUCK.

28. Figures in a dominance hierarchy: ALPHA MALES.

29. Protective cover?: ALIAS.

33. __ sock: KNEE.

34. Spotted: SEEN.

36. Gose or lambic: SOUR BEER - "Sour beer is beer which has an intentionally acidic, tart, or sour taste. Sour beer styles include Belgian lambics and Flanders red ale and German Gose and Berliner Weisse."