L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Gary Otting

Jan 9, 2021

Saturday, January 9, 2021 Wayne Bergman and Gary Otting

Themeless Saturday by Wayne Bergman and Gary Otting

Today's constructors are Assistant Attorneys General for the State of Iowa. They started solving puzzles on their lunch break and then began making their own. Here was Gary's gracious reply to my inquiry for information:

Gary - Thanks for reaching out to us!

We’re really excited about our third published puzzle, which is our debut puzzle in the L.A. Times.

This was our first attempt at a themeless puzzle, and we were pretty happy with the result. We didn’t really start with any seed entries in mind. We liked the look of the grid, with only 28 black squares and wide-open areas in the NW and SE. We did want to put in something kind of attention-grabbing at 1A, and the Joey Tribbiani quote seemed to fit the bill. We thought the NW corner turned out very solid. We debated a little about whether or not Yoda quotes could be referred to as YODAISMS (4D), but we ended up leaving it in.

About 67% of our original clues were left in as is or with minimal changes. It’s always interesting to see what clues puzzle editors change or don’t change. It’s not always clear to us if they change a clue to make it harder or to make it easier. For instance, our clue at 37A (PRISM) was [Object on a Pink Floyd album cover]. Rich changed it to [Light refractor]. Was our clue too easy because the Dark Side of the Moon album cover is so iconic, or was our clue too obscure?

Rich also changed our clue for ALEXTREBEK (27D). Our original clue was [“Wheel of Fortune” host on April 1, 1997]. We thought this was an interesting bit of trivia; one that was new to us. (Apparently Pat Sajak hosted Jeopardy that day, while Alex hosted Wheel, as an April Fools’ Day gimmick.) However, we do like the quote Rich ended up using in the clue. We also liked Rich’s clue for 33A REESE: [Piece maker?]. We had considered writing a clue related to the candymaker, something like [Creator of “Not Sorry” candy], but we ended up submitting it with the oft-used reference to Reese Witherspoon.

Here are some of our other clues that didn’t make the cut: 44A MACHINES [Cotton gin and spinning jenny, for two] 60A TARGETAREA [Pimples, vis-à-vis Clearasil] 6D UPROAR [Public reaction to New Coke, e.g.] 37D PREDICTS [Uses a Magic 8-Ball, maybe]

Thanks, and we hope everyone enjoys the puzzle!

Across:

1. "Friends" catchphrase: HOW YOU DOIN' - Joey's pickup line

11. Auctioned wheels: REPO - This TV series ran for eleven years telling of the vagaries of repossessing cars which could then be auctioned off

15. Far from perfect: ERROR PRONE - D-Otto will find 'em!

16. European capital with more than 340 lakes: OSLO - Here are some of them but there doesn't seem to be a Lake Olav

17. Newspaper audience: READERSHIP - The Omaha World Herald lowered my subscription rate from $530 to $190 after I canceled, Huh?

18. Convertible option: T-TOP.

19. City downriver from Las Cruces: EL PASO - Susan, Owen and constructor Pawel Fludzinski live in this "Land Of Enchantment"

20. Temporary fixes: STOP GAPS.

22. Ctrl + I, in much software: Abbr.: ITALics

24. Draft pick: STOUT.

25. Early product promotion with few details: TEASER AD.

29. Summer hire, perhaps: INTERN.

32. Cruise controls: HELMS - Captain Kate McCue was the first woman to take the HELM of a Celebrity Line Super Cruiser

33. Piece maker?: REESE - REESE'S pieces were a tie-in to E.T.

35. Vietnamese soup: PHO.

36. Hawkish god: ARES.

37. Light refractor: PRISM - Wayne and Gary's initial cluing would have worked for me

38. Coagulate: CLOT

39. Show passes, informally: TIX - Pix of six TIX

40. Secret meeting: TRYST - C'mon, no one will ever know...

41. Vocation: TRADE - TRADE schools around here are full

42. Living room piece: SETTEE - Shallower seating area and more upright

44. Factory equipment: MACHINES - OSHA might want a word with the owner here

46. 19th-century English novelist Charles: READE - His most famous work in a less formal medium

48. __ Jim: SLIM - One is edible convenience store fare and the other can get your car open if you lock yourself out in the parking lot at that convenience store

49. Like a "pony" with limited skills: ONE TRICK - Tyson's ONE TRICK was good enough to knock out a lot of boxers but not Lennox

52. Dyson alternatives: ORECKS.

56. Beginning to call?: ROBO - During the campaign they started at 9 a.m. on the dot

57. One may be part of a fresh start: CLEAN SLATE -

59. Knotted up, scorewise: EVEN.

60. Campaign focus: TARGET AREA - My granddaughter is the data director for an organization that works on TARGET AREAS

Emma Craig

61. Sources of furniture wood: OAKS.

62. Relative of a fidget spinner: STRESS BALL - A unique one

Down:

1. Present: HERE - Roll call answer

2. Only unanimous Cy Young Award winner between Dwight and Randy: OREL - Baseball's Hershiser fits between Dwight Gooden and Randy Johnson. In Craig Stowe's puzzle last Saturday, OREL was a Russian city SSW of Moscow

3. Finish (up): WRAP.

4. "Always in motion is the future" and others: YODAISMS - This YODAISM tells you Yoda would not favor "Participation Trophies" on Dagobah

5. Electra's brother: ORESTES - Here 'ya go

6. Hullabaloo: UPROAR.

7. Oz and Howser: Abbr.: DRS - Dr. Oz is a contemporary figure but Wayne and Gary (or Rich) used the "way back machine" for the other Dr.

8. Sounds heard at an unveiling: OOHS.

9. JFK and LBJ, e.g.: INITS - Here are mine. Make yours here too

10. Relative priority in hiring: NEPOTISM - I agree with the critics who said that when director Francis Ford Coppola cast his daughter Sofia in Godfather III, her horrible performance hurt the movie.

11. Some moonshine: ROTGUT - "Grape wine in a mason jar, homemade and brought to school" Roger Miller 1964

12. One may include large gifts: ESTATE PLAN

13. Ripple preceder: PLOP.

14. Cry over spilt milk: OOPS.

21. Corn bread: PONE.

23. Jerry's "Seinfeld" co-creator: LARRY - LARRY David and Jerry long before "the show about nothing"

25. "__ So Raven": 2000s sitcom: THAT'S - A Disney TV entry

26. Like meeting one's doppelgänger, probably: EERIE - W and his doppelgänger Steve Bridges

27. "I'm curious about everything--even things that don't interest me" speaker: ALEX TREBEK - That seems to fit this lovely, humble man who left us way too early

28. Belief in a hands-off god: DEISM - Thomas Jefferson's philosophy

30. __ Island: RHODE.

31. Observes: NOTES.

34. "¿Cómo __?": ESTAS - ¿Cómo ESTAS en este día de invierno? (How are you this winter day?)

37. Forecasts: PREDICTS.

38. Forensic analysis site: CRIME LAB - My grandnephew's wife just finished her training to be a Forensic analyst. She will start at $93,000/yr in Sioux City, Iowa

40. Berlin Wall Speech word: TEAR - No part of "Ich bin ein Berliner" had four letters