Tuesday, December 31, 2024, George Simpson, Zhouqin Burnikel

(Notes from C.C.: George Simpson is Big Easy on our blog.)

Theme:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  HAVE A BALL!

Today is the very last day of 2024.  What's on the agenda to mark the last minute of this day?

It's the big reveal:

23 Down. New Year's Eve tradition in the Big Apple, and what can be found in 3-, 8-, 33-, and 37-Down?: BALL DROP.  Yes, folks, if you stay up late enough, you can see the BALL DROP in New York City, replayed in various time zones, even here on the West coast.  Not sure why we watch it, since it happened hours earlier!  Regardless, you'll find two kinds of BALLs DROPping in each of the other theme answers.  

The rest of the theme clues and answers are:

3 Down. Parmesan, e.g.: HARD CHEESE.  Parmesan is a hard cheese.  HARDBALL refers to baseball (the game or the ball itself), or to forceful tactics.  CHEESEBALL can be an appetizer made of blended cheeses, an adjective meaning lacking taste or style, or a person who lacks taste or style.

This snow man is kind of a cheeseball.

8 Down. Speedy way to the top: FAST TRACK.  A course leading to rapid advancement is a FAST TRACK.  A FASTBALL is the most common type of pitch in baseball.  A TRACKBALL is a computer cursor control device.

Trackball.

33 Down. Succotash ingredient: BUTTER BEAN.  Succotash is a dish of corn kernels and lima beans.  BUTTER BEAN is another name for lima bean.  BUTTERBALL is a brand of turkey products, and has less common meanings, too, like chubby person.  BEANBALL is a ball thrown with the intention of hurting another person, specifically by hitting them in the head.

37 Down. Political campaign funding source: SOFT MONEY.  SOFT MONEY is a contribution to a political party that is not designated for a particular candidate, and thus avoids campaign contribution limits.  SOFTBALL is an adaptation of baseball, played with a larger ball, with underhand pitches, and on a smaller diamond.  MONEYBALL has a few meanings, but is most often identified with the 2003 book by Michael Lewis titled Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, and with the 2011 film adaptation of the book.

DH says that he looks like Brad Pitt.  He does not.

Ready?  Let's play ball!

Across:

1. Sound softened by acoustic foam: ECHO.  Acoustic foam is a sound absorption material which reduces echo and improves sound quality within a room.

5. Hole-making tool: AWL.  Aw, it's our friend AWL again!

8. Gemstone surface: FACET.

13. Yonder item: THAT.  Yes, THAT item over yonder.

14. __ gin fizz: SLOE.  Sloe gin is made from ripe sloe drupes which are small fruits closely related to plums.  To make a sloe gin fizz, combine sloe gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add ice; cover and shake, and then strain into a glass. Stir in club soda and garnish with a slice of lemon.

15. Supreme Being of Islam: ALLAH.  Allah is the Arabic word for God, in particular, the God of Abraham.

16. Golf rental: CART.

17. Place for suckers?: CANDY STORE.  The sweet kind of suckers:

19. Grotesque: HIDEOUS.

21. Settle the score: GET EVEN.

22. Mobile home?: CRIB.  My favorite part of a baby's room:  the mobile that hangs over the crib.

23. Visibly embarrassed: BEET RED.

24. Fire pit residue: ASH.

26. "Tra-__": LA LA.  Nonsense syllables standing in for song lyrics.

28. Grads-to-be: SRS.  Those about to be graduates are SenioRS.

29. Much of a sunflower: STEM.  Sunflowers do have very tall stems.

I photographed this sunflower in Slide Rock State Park near Sedona, Arizona.

31. Honolulu hello: ALOHA.

33. __ window: BAY.  A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a "bay" in a room. 

Exterior view of a bay window.

36. Floor plan calculations: AREAS.

38. Org. for Cubs and Tigers: MLB.  Major League Baseball.  Abbreviation in the clue calls for abbreviation in the answer.

39. Waterpark feature: CHUTE.  AKA water slide, flume, or hydroslide.  Great fun for kids.

41. Genre for "Dancing Queen": DISCO.  "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Arrival (1976).

42. Citrus drink suffix: ADE.  LemonADE, limeADE ... even orangeADE.  Fruit juice diluted with water and sweetened with sugar or honey.

43. Toys with strings: KITES.  Because YOYOS didn't work with the perpendicular entries.

44. Mimic: APE.

45. Like most house pets: FURRY.

47. Cardinals great Musial: STAN.  "Stan the Man" (1920-2013) Musial was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman, widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent hitters in baseball history.  He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in MLB.  If you have identified today's blogger, you know that STAN was all perps (perpendicular entries) for me.

Stan Musial

48. High-elev. place: MTN.  A high-elevation place is a mountain.

49. Scandinavian capital with many floating saunas: OSLO.  Imagine a wood-fired sauna, on a boat, with big windows for sightseeing, and refreshing dips in the fjord!  Brr!  Not on my list.  I do not love temperature shocks.

52. Punk music offshoot: EMO.  Thanks to crossword puzzles, I am not completely ignorant of this EMOtional type of punk music.

53. Seafood-based party food: CLAM DIP.

56. Actor Epps: OMAR.  Now, this fellow I remember from "House."

Omar Epps as Dr. Eric Foreman on "House."

58. Empty, as a bottle: POUR OUT.

59. Math course with variables: ALGEBRA.  I wept with frustration through algebra classes, but I find it useful now to be able to solve for an unknown quantity.

62. Opinion survey completed with clicks: ONLINE POLL.

64. Greenish blue: TEAL.

65. Find a new purpose for: REUSE.

66. Knocks firmly: RAPS.

67. Billionth: Pref.: NANO.  The prefix "nano" means one-billionth, or 10-9 .  Teeny tiny.

68. Op-ed piece, e.g.: ESSAY.

69. Signs off on: OKS.

70. Poker pot starter: ANTE.

Down:

1. Engrave on glass: ETCH.

2. Cardamom-infused milky tea: CHAI.  My morning ritual.

3. [Theme clue]

4. Playful marine mammal: OTTER.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium has rescued sea OTTERs on display.  Some of the otters are raising orphaned youngsters for release into the ocean.

5. "Regrettably ... ": ALAS.

6. Got the gold: WON.

7. Perch for potted plants: LEDGE.  Always a challenge to find sunny spots for the indoor plants.  

8. [Theme clue]

9. Takes in, say: ALTERS.

10. Garlic bulb segment: CLOVE.

11. Lop-__ rabbit: EARED.  When my children were young, I purchased a lop-EARED (or floppy-eared) rabbit at a pet store.  The poor thing had ear mites that required immediate treatment.  Apparently, the breeding of rabbits for the cute but unnatural trait of floppy ears has resulted in serious ear and tooth disorders.  In nature, a rabbit needs its upright ears to avoid predators.  Luckily, our "Whiskers" didn't have any of those.

12. Afterward: THEN.

14. Diving acronym: SCUBA.  Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

18. "Wow, that's bad!": YEESH.

20. Squeaky wheel remedy: OIL.

23. [Theme clue]

24. Burrito option: ASADA.  Asada is Spanish for "roasted."  Carne asada is roasted meat.  

25. Bacon piece: STRIP.

27. University in Beaumont, Texas: LAMAR.  A public university and member of the Texas State University System, Lamar University has 17,850 students enrolled in 96 undergraduate, 50 master's and eight doctoral degree programs.  News to me -- all perps.

30. Apple variety: MAC.  Mac, which is short for Macintosh, is Apple Inc.'s line of personal computers. Personal computers were Apple's original business line, but as of the end of 2024 they account for only about eight percent of the company's revenue.

Apple MacBook Pro

32. Does as told: OBEYS.

33. [Theme clue]

34. First-string players: A TEAM.

35. Basic type of question: YES/NO.

37. [Theme clue]

40. He/him/__: HIS.  Male pronouns.

46. Not justified: UNDUE.

48. Actress Tomei: MARISA.  Marisa Tomei is an American actress who gained prominence for her performance in My Cousin Vinny (1992).  She's been in many movies since, and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress three times.

Marisa Tomei

50. Lies around: LOLLS.

51. Shocked letters: OMG.  Oh My Gosh!  😲

53. Ice cream holders: CONES.

54. Doozies: LULUS.

55. Tech support whiz: IT PRO.  Information Technology Professional.  

57. Big name in health insurance: AETNA.

58. Skin opening: PORE.

59. Range crossing eight countries: ALPS.

60. Tirade: RANT.

61. Soothing ingredient in some toners: ALOE.

63. Flooring wood: OAK.

Here's the grid:

Let me know if I've DROPped the BALL anywhere in this review!

Wishing you all the best of years,

NaomiZ

 

Thursday, January 21st 2016 George Simpson & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Legal Eagles. As the unifier tells us:

50A. The end of each answer to a starred clue is a former one : CHIEF JUSTICE

19A. *Whopper alternative (1969-1986) : VEGGIE BURGER. Warren E. Burger. Odd clue/answer in that a Whopper is a brand name and a veggie burger is a generic term.

36A. *Former MLB mascot BJ Birdy was one (1789-1795) : BLUE JAY. John Jay was the first of the Chief Justices.

10D. *Film for which John Houseman won an Oscar, with "The" (1864-1873) : PAPER CHASE. Salmon P. Chase. Meet his brother, Trout, and his sister, Chilean Sea Bass.

25D. *"Jaws" menace (1910-1921) : GREAT WHITE. Edward Douglass White. 

This is the second puzzle from George (a.k.a Big Easy on the blog) and C.C. The Chief Justices tend to stick around for a while - when I looked 'em up I was surprised to find there have only been 17. The longest-serving, John Marshall lasted 31 years. John Routledge managed only six months.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Chinese take-out order? : NO MSG. A naturally-occuring salt of glutamic acid. In studies, scientists have never been able to trigger allergic reactions to MSG, but that doesn't stop people refusing to eat chinese food (and happily eating tomatoes and parmesan cheese which are naturally loaded with it). If you want an umami bomb to amp up your flavors I use a mixture of anchovy paste, soy sauce and Marmite.

6. Co. making many arrangements : FTD. Florists' Transworld Delivery. Of course we all knew that.

9. Basilica recess : APSE

13. Impressed : IN AWE

14. Lab coat discovery? : FLEA. Nice. The dog, not the research facility.

15. Tool with teeth : RAKE

16. Loud cheering consequence : SORE THROAT

18. Informed about : UP ON

21. Help for a breakdown : TOW. See 34D below for an example of a car that looked very much at home on a flatbed. One of my friends commented that it almost looked like it had been designed to be seen from that viewpoint.

22. Affaire de coeur : AMOUR

23. Star followers : MAGI

26. Webby Award candidate : E-MAG. There were 344 Webbys awarded in 2015. That's one heck of long awards banquet.

29. Wrap maker : ALCOA

32. Lot size : ACRE

33. WWII lander : L.S.T. Landing Ship, Tank.

34. Author Greene : GRAHAM

35. Feel sorry about : RUE

38. From __ Z : A TO

39. Barely moves : CRAWLS

41. Roker and Rosen : ALS

42. Tiny time meas. : PSEC. One trillionth of a second.

43. Branch of yoga : HATHA. Thank you, crosses. Apparently hatha yoga was developed by the deity Shiva and the principles were overheard by a fish.

"Darn secret-stealing piscari"

44. "No real damage" : I'M OK

45. Car-collecting star : LENO. He keeps his collection in a hangar at my local airport. You often see him driving around the neighborhood. My favorite is his 1906 Stanley Steamer.

46. George Eliot or George Sand : WOMAN

48. UV index monitor : E.P.A. The Environmental Protection Agency.

54. Hi's wife, in comics : LOIS

55. Broiler with a motor : ROTISSERIE. I bought one of those Showtime rotisserie ovens once. When I found that it took at least half an hour to clean it each time I used it it went to the back of the cupboard and eventually to a yard sale.

58. Start to freeze? : ANTI-

59. Sanctioned : OK'ED

60. Scrub : ABORT

61. Russia is its largest producer : BEET. Food! They get through a lot of borscht, those Russians.

62. National Preparedness Mo. : SEP. National what? Weird concept.

63. Breathers? : NOSES

Down:

1. Grafton's "__ for Noose" : N IS. This is not so much a clue as a giveaway. You may as well just print "NIS" in the grid and have done with it.

2. "Art is my life and my life is art" artist : ONO

3. Sportscaster Albert : MARV

4. Honey : SWEETIE

5. Day one : GET GO

6. Ice __ : FLOE. I watched "Straight Outta Compton" last night, so wanted CUBE here.

7. Leaves holder : TEA BAG

8. Fact : DATUM

9. Peppery salad green : ARUGULA. They call it rocket in the UK. Odd folks, those Brits.

11. Candy bar with a Nordic name : SKOR. Thank you, crossses. A Hershey product apparently. I don't eat much candy.

12. Dusk, to Pope : E'EN

14. Calendar col. : FRI.

17. "The War of the Worlds" author : H.G.WELLS

20. Detroit Lions' lion mascot : ROARY. Nailed it!

23. Time that "went out like a lion," in song : MARCH. From the musical "Carousel". I found this odd as I'm more familiar with the proverb "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb".

24. Upscale Honda : ACURA

27. Spartans' sch. : M.S.U. Michigan State. Showing tremendous invention and creativity, their mascot is called ....... "Sparty".

28. Best crew : A TEAM

30. Like granola : OATEN. OATIER yesterday. Is it National Oat Week?

31. Oil giant that built what is now Chicago's Aon Center : AMOCO. If you want to pick a nit here, strictly speaking it was Standard Oil, not Amoco, that built the skyscraper in 1972. Standard Oil became Amoco in 1985.

34. Leak preventers : GASKETS. The end of my time owning a V12 Jaguar XJS came when I blew a head gasket. It was going to cost $4,000 to rebuild the engine. I passed.

Jag-you-are (as Gary noted yesterday)

36. Fault : BLAME

37. 2001 album that's also a nickname : J-LO. Jennifer Lopez.

40. Response to a ring : WHO IS IT?

42. Medically ineffectual treatment : PLACEBO. It's not really "ineffectual"; to me that implies that it's meant to be effective. It's not meant to work, that's the whole point.

44. Bit of clique humor : IN JOKE.

47. High styles : AFROS. I had UPDOS first and was proud of myself for remembering the term.

49. Galileo, by birth : PISAN. Some say the whole ball-dropping malarkey from the tower is a myth.

50. Frozen yogurt holder : CONE

51. Lone Star State sch. : U.T.E.P. Please welcome the University of Texas, El Paso

52. Caesar of comedy : SID

53. Psyche's beloved : EROS. We had this yesterday. There's a common misconception that this statue in London's Leicester Square is Eros - it's not, it's his brother Anteros, but 99.9% of the population won't believe you.

54. Class where partners may be required : LAB. Crossword purists on other blogs will tell you that it's a heinous crime to have the same word in a clue and in the grid. Rich obviously doesn't mind, and I don't either.

56. Ill temper : IRE

57. "Edge of Tomorrow" enemies, briefly : E.T.S. Never seen the movie, but the crosses filled it in for me.

And .. here's the grid.

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

1)  George (Big Easy) came up with this theme, and I went for a smooth ride. Thanks for the inspiration and fun, George! 

Big Easy and his wife Diane

2) Our blog turns 8-year-old today! Constructor Peg Slay (C6D6 Peg) made a puzzle to celebrate this special occasion. 

Please click here for the PDF file. You should be able to see a Download button on top, to the right of Print.

Click here for Across Lite.

Click here to solve on line. 

Click here for the Answer Grid.

Thank you so much for the puzzle, Peg. My team and I are deeply honored by this amazing tribute. 

Thank you for your loyal support these years, everyone. Thanks for your honest & respectful feedback on each LAT puzzle, your daily random thoughts, your recipes and funny links.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015 George Simpson & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good - Not an ill wind in the bunch.

17A. "American Gothic" artist : GRANT WOOD. You might find an off-key (ill) WOODWIND, I suppose.

21A. Equitable transaction : EVEN TRADE. Winds that trade or tread in one uniform track. (Anglo Saxon, tredde-wind, a treading wind—i.e. wind of a specific “beat” or tread; tredan, to tread.) While a steady wind in one direction may be good for commercial maritime venture it was not the meaning of the TRADE WINDS.

38A. "Now!" : RIGHT THIS SECOND. A SECOND WIND is an exercise phenomenon that has also developed into a metaphor for finding the strength to go on after initial struggles.

55A. Award for seagoing heroes : NAVY CROSS. A CROSS WIND blows across one's direction of travel. Not so good for a sailing ship following the TRADES.

61A. Flying speed boosters ... or, literally, what the ends of 17-, 21-, 38- and 55-Across can have : TAILWINDS

Argyle here. C.C. has company today and I sure she'll tell us about him. Very nice puzzle to debut with. Full spanner and reveal at the bottom, the way it should be, right?

Across:

1. Ways to go: Abbr. : RDs. Roads, not routes.

4. Ltr. addenda : PSS. Is it P.P.S or P.S.S? Well, since addenda is the plural of addendum then this should be considered as the plural of POST SCRIPT, or PSs.

7. None too bright : DENSE. (or am I dense.)

12. Obama's birthplace : OAHU

14. Somewhat surprised greeting : "OH, HI!"

16. Nebraska city : OMAHA

19. Golf course halves : NINES. Front and back or out and in, on a link course.

20. Causing goose bumps : EERIE

23. Scolding sound : [TSK!]

24. Belted weapons : SIDE ARMS. Pistols or swords.

26. Camp beds : COTS

28. Poet __-tzu : LAO

29. Strong coffee : MUD

32. NCAA's __-12 conference : PAC. (The Pacific-12)

33. Italian sparkling wine : ASTI

36. One of two in a typical string octet : VIOLA

41. Beyond rotund : OBESE

42. Round in a pistol : AMMO. For your side arm.

43. Writer LeShan : EDA

44. Conan O'Brien's network : TBS. (Turner Broadcasting System)

45. Org. with Raiders and Vikings : NFL. (National Football League)

47. Folk singer Burl : IVES

49. Retired boxer with a perfect 24-0-0 record : LAILA ALI. Daughter of Muhammad Ali.

52. Serious hostilities : WAR

58. Say "cap'n," e.g. : ELIDE

60. Cheri of "SNL" : OTERI. Still around.

63. Shirk work : DOG IT

64. Easy thing to do : SNAP

65. Wrinkled tangelo : UGLI

66. In la-la land : SPACY

67. __ Arbor, Michigan : ANN

68. One of a D.C. 100 : SENator

Down:

1. Man of many words : ROGET. Roget's Thesaurus was created in 1805 but not released to the public until 1852.

2. Shows some backbone : DARES

3. Protective enclosures for divers : SHARK CAGES. 18 footer.

4. "Bang!" : "POW!"

5. Did a blacksmith's job : SHOED

6. Push rudely : SHOVE

7. "Keep still!" : "DON'T MOVE!"

8. Mideast dignitaries : EMIRs

9. Mom's mom's nickname : NANA

10. Place for a lawn mower : SHED

11. Alleviate : EASE

13. Prefix with lateral : UNI

15. High-mindedness : IDEALISM

18. Word after screen or scratch : TEST

22. Agency under FDR : NRA. (National Recovery Administration)

25. "The wolf __ the door" : IS AT

27. Folk legend Phil : OCHS

29. Sudden changes in disposition : MOOD SWINGS

30. Wrist-to-elbow bone : ULNA

31. Mom's guy : DAD

32. Mr. __: Dr Pepper rival : PIBB

34. Kitchen bulbs : SHALLOTS

35. Tiny Dickens boy : TIM. A Christmas Carol.

37. Java Freeze maker : ICEE

38. Poppycock : ROT

39. Stick-to-it-iveness : TENACITY. There were a lot of nice down words today.

40. Flowerpot filler : SOIL

46. Christmas tree choice : FIR

48. Seaside home selling point : VIEW

49. Like some poetry : LYRIC

50. Yoga pose : ASANA

51. Japanese, e.g. : ASIAN

53. Fluster : ADDLE

54. Lacquer ingredient : RESIN

55. Wordless okays : NODS

56. On the roof of : ATOP

57. 1970s Chevy subcompact : VEGA. Extreme!

59. Sch. with a Brooklyn campus : LIU. (Long Island University)

62. Hosp. worker : LPN. (licensed practical nurse)

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

George Simpson is the Big Easy on our blog. This is his LA Times debut. George came up with this theme and was super fun to work with. He has one more puzzle in Rich's queue. Congratulations, George!

Big Easy and his wife Diane