google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Howard Barkin

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Showing posts with label Howard Barkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Howard Barkin. Show all posts

Jul 18, 2022

Monday July 18, 2022 Howard Barkin

Theme:  DOLLAR MENU (57. Budget option at a fast-food joint that the answers to the starred clues could all belong to?) - The first word of each food item is also a slang for money.


17. *Fried seafood appetizer: CLAM STRIPS.
 
27. *Sandwiches with leafy exteriors: LETTUCE WRAPS.

43. *Starchy and eggy dessert: BREAD PUDDING.

Boomer here. 
 
I had a great visit with the VA last week.  After a blood draw and X-ray, I met with orthopedics and they gave me a good report on the shoulder.  I need to continue physical therapy and the huge sling is on the shelf for now. Next stop oncology. The doctor prescribed new pills and hope to bring the cancer under control.  
 
Thanks to all for your kind words of encouragement.  Maybe next week I might be able to type this blog with two hands again.
Across:
1. Karaoke devices, for short: MICS.  I was a really good Karaoke singer in the bar after work.  Can you say "Mac the Knife"??
 

5. Chip maker __-Lay: FRITO.  Not my favorite.  I like regular potato chips.

10. Big rig: SEMI.  Why do they call them SEMIs when they are whole trucks?

14. Dept. of Labor div.: OSHA.  I remember when this was passed.  Changed a lot of high storage in warehouses.

15. First name of Yankee manager Boone and Yankee slugger Judge: AARON.  Number 99 in pinstripes.


16. Mimicked: APED.

19. Small container in a chemistry lab: VIAL. Or a test tube.

20. Stage hog: HAM.  Easter dinner with eggs.

21. Blackjack cards: ACES.  Need a face or 10 to go with them.

22. Frozen spike: ICICLE.  We grow a lot of them off our roof in the winter.

24. Savanna antelopes: IMPALAS.  I remember driving a 1965 Chev IMPALA years ago.



26. Emotionally detached: ALOOF.  I sometimes need to buy a LOOF of bread.

31. "Catch those villains!": GET 'EM.

34. Cooking vessels: PANS.  This clue is a SNAP

35. Debtor's letters: IOU.

36. "We try harder" car rental chain: AVIS.  Never used them in Las Vegas.  They seem to try harder to charge more money.

37. Faceplanted off a skateboard, say: ATE IT.



39. Unmitigated joy: GLEE.  Proud member of my high school GLEE club many years ago.

40. Sleep stage letters: REM.

41. Pizazz: ELAN.  ELON is the guy who decided he does not want Twitter.

42. Bridge positions: EASTS.  I never knew my position until I read the column in the paper.

47. Zero: AUGHT.  It's a round number.

48. Takes down, as a flyer: UNTACKS.

52. Know-it-all's taunt: TOLD YA.  Here's my wisecrack. "I have been fighting cancer for 4 years, but now it's starting to fight back."

54. Fashion monthly: ELLE.  My Grandmas name was ELLA.

55. Canyon edge: RIM.

56. Love, in Spanish: AMOR.  Never took Spanish.  My Catholic high school required Latin.

60. Walking aid: CANE.  I have one in the garage.  Hope I can get back to it and leave the rolling walker home.

61. Initial stage: ONSET.

62. Contributes: ADDS.  Two and two are four.

63. Hoops long shot: TREY.  Trey and Trey are six.

64. Honking birds: GEESE.

65. Luxurious: POSH.  A lot of SUVs are in this category,  Also pretty spendy.

Down:

1. Chewy rice cake: MOCHI.
 

2. Ramadan faith: ISLAM.

3. Tourney winner: CHAMP.  In all the years I spent knocking down pins, I never won a tournament.  Maybe top ten a few times,

4. "You Send Me" singer Cooke: SAM.  Darlin' you do OOOHHHOOH

5. Big shot with big bucks: FAT CAT.  Most of them will be in the All-Star game tomorrow. Thanks for your comments on our puzzle yesterday.



6. Least likely to be found: RAREST.  A $20.00 bill on the sidewalk.

7. Colorful eye part: IRIS.

8. Spinning toy: TOP.

9. Like a cellphone in a theater, hopefully: ON SILENT.  Shh!

10. Knight in shining armor: SAVIOR.  Relief pitcher sometimes.

11. Major faceplants: EPIC FAILS.

12. Brunch, e.g.: MEAL.  People say BRUNCH. How come they never say Lupper ?

13. Inactive: IDLE.  Car at a red light.

18. Oregon capital: SALEM.  Also a brand of smokes.
 



23. Dairy farm animals: COWS.  Moo!

25. Gastropub pours: ALES.  I like Canada Dry ginger.

26. Smoothie berry: ACAI.

28. Flip over: UPEND.  Sometimes painful to do in bed.

29. Maya Angelou, for one: POET. She's a poet and don't know it.

30. Seeks damages from: SUES.

31. Attire: GARB.  Are bowling shirts in this category?

32. Happily __ after: EVER.

33. Chance to unwind and read a book, perhaps: TIME ALONE.  Not a book. On the internet.

37. Pack leader: ALPHA DOG. A dog with a Greek letter.

38. Lacking slack: TAUT.  Pull those shoelaces tight.

39. "Born This Way" singer Lady __: GAGA.
 

 

41. Tense and irritable: EDGY.

42. Word near a maze arrow: ENTER.

44. "Sabrina" actress Hepburn: AUDREY.  Famous for "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
 

 

45. Airport serving the D.C. area: DULLES.  Named for John Foster Dulles.  Ike's Sec of State.

46. Arriving after curfew: IN LATE.  Better late than never.

49. Statement of faith: CREDO.

50. "It takes all __": KINDS.

51. Flatten: SMUSH.

52. Social finesse: TACT.  I don't have much... Sorry.

53. "Doctor Zhivago" actor Sharif: OMAR. Also Ilhan OMAR.  Troublesome Rep from Minnesota.

54. "What __ can I say?": ELSE.  I once knew a man named Merle ELSE.

58. Individual: ONE.

59. Atlas page: MAP.

Boomer


Jul 18, 2017

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 Howard Barkin

Theme: Getting your just desserts - No pie, let them eat CAKE.

57A. Simple thing to do ... and what each starred clue's answer ends with?: PIECE OF CAKE

20A. *Moon's alleged makeup: GREEN CHEESE. Cheese cake.

40A. *Indian spiced drink: CHAI TEA. Tea cake.

11D. *Pre-euro Dublin currency: IRISH POUND. Pound cake.

29D. *Loofah: BATH SPONGE. Sponge cake.

Argyle here. Pinwheel grid. Pleasing.

Across:

1. "Get outta here!": "SCRAM!"

6. Computers with Apple cores: MACs

10. Designer Ricci: NINA. Nina Ricci. A fashion house founded by Maria "Nina" Ricci and her son Robert in Paris in 1932. Wiki link

14. Slip 'N Slide maker: WHAMO



15. Peter Fonda's title beekeeper: ULEE. "Ulee's Gold"{1997}.

16. Pesky one: BRAT

17. Insurance giant: AETNA

18. Nat or Natalie: COLE



19. Verdi title princess: AIDA

23. Respectful address: SIR

24. __ Lee: dessert brand: SARA

25. "South Pacific" song: "BALI HA'I"

27. Red ink item: DEBT

30. "Yikes!": "ACK!"

32. Fraidy-cat: WIMP

33. Hedging response: "I MAY"

34. Billy Joel's "__ Always a Woman": SHE'S

36. Actress Deschanel of "New Girl": ZOOEY


39. Cambridge sch.: MIT. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

42. Spanish "a": UNA

43. Old anesthetic: ETHER

45. Lee of Marvel Comics: STAN. He has made several appearances on TBBT.

46. Cutting sound: SNIP

47. Hits the slopes: SKIs

49. Eur. realm until 1806: HRE. (Holy Roman Empire)

50. Puts two and two together: ADDs

51. Hangs crudely, as a dorm poster: TAPES UP

54. 1982 Disney sci-fi film: "TRON"

56. Sis' counterpart, and sometime rival: BRO'

62. Charged atoms: IONs

64. Stepped (on): TROD

65. Heart chambers: ATRIA

66. Fierce anger: RAGE. Partner of "rant".

67. Words following a guesstimate: OR SO

68. Sea birds: GULLS

69. Sketched: DREW

70. Sought-after private of film: RYAN. "Saving Private Ryan (1998)"

71. Overact: EMOTE

Down:

1. Pirate's booty: SWAG

2. One-named "Mask" actress: CHER. "School Registration"



3. Give stars to: RATE

4. Official forgiveness: AMNESTY

5. Animated Disney film with a Polynesian heroine: MOANA. (2016)



6. Spanish girls: MUCHACHAS. Boys are muchachos,.

7. Soothing gel ingredient: ALOE

8. TMZ figure: CELEB. (celebrity) TMZ Wiki link

9. Playground fixture for two: SEESAW

10. Steph Curry's org.: NBA. (National Basketball Association)

12. 1976 Olympics star Comaneci: NADIA

13. Arcade pioneer: ATARI

21. Sound of cymbals: [CRASH!]

22. "My Fair Lady" role: ELIZA

26. "I think," in texts: IMO. (in my opinion)

27. Thin coin: DIME

28. Let off, as steam: EMIT

31. Mets star Hernandez who dated Elaine in a two-part "Seinfeld": KEITH


35. Initiated, as a task: STARTED ON

37. Oklahoma city: ENID


38. Puppy sounds: YAPs. Not YIPS today.

40. Like fresh chips: CRISP

41. Beginning of el año: ENERO. Spanish.

44. Just __ by: barely make it: EKE

46. Holy spot: SANCTUM

48. Beau-to-be, hopefully: SUITOR

51. Classic Ford auto: T-BIRD

52. Wildly cheering: AROAR

53. Sportswear designer Ellis: PERRY. Perry Ellis, American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house in the mid-1970s.

55. No longer a minor: OF AGE

58. Thing, to Tomás: COSA. Spanish.

59. Guthrie of folk: ARLO

60. Bagpiper's attire: KILT

61. Let up: EASE

63. Stitch: SEW


Argyle

Jun 24, 2016

Friday, June 24, 2016, Howard Barkin

Title: Ring around the rosie....

The most recent champion solver of the 2016 ACPT, Howard Barkin bring us his third LAT creation since his DEBUT.  This is another variation with a visual component added to the words in a puzzle. It is not uncommon to have  a single word be the clue for all of the theme answers, but Howard gives us a symbol. Working backwards from the fill, it is easy to see that the little circle is a RING, and each of the three themers are distinct and different types of ring. This all tied up with a nice neat bow with the reveal which by its nature limited Howard to three theme answers. Not sure why, but I clicked with this puzzle and had a really fast Friday time for me. (Not in his less than 4 minute Friday league)Howard has lots of very common words like ARENA, SEE, OLEO, EASE. ERE and ERA. But he also gives us  TROWEL,  LEERER, RAINING,  OARLOCK,  NEW COKE,  DOGLEGS, EASTER EGGS,  ANSWERED TO.  Okay, we had fun so let us see what is

Next....

20A. : CRIMINAL NETWORK (15). Ring has so many connotations, picking only three must have been difficult.

32A. O : BOXING VENUE (11). A reminder of the recent passing of Muhammed Ali, the Champ.

43A. O : WEDDING BAND (11). With this ring, I thee wed...
And the reveal

56A. Site of confused activity, and a hint to 20-, 32- and 43-Across : THREE RING CIRCUS (15).


Across:

1. "I Love Lucy" airer: CBS. Love an easy 1A on Friday.

4. Search, in a way: GROPE. In the darkness, not your neighbor at the movies.

9. "I Love Lucy" role: ETHEL. Plunked this is without hesitation, and I was off.

14. Caucasian native: HUN. We are not talking racially but GEOGRAPHICALLY.  I had no idea about any of this and filled in only because I did 1A, 1D, 2D and 3D to begin.

15. Havens: OASES. Very literal.

16. __ football: ARENA. This is the 29th season for the SPRING indoor football league.

17. Detergent in a red container: ERA.
18. Kind of curl: BICEP. Since I now use mostly dumbbells, this was easy.

19. More miffed: SORER.

23. Inca __: Peruvian soft drink: KOLA. My learning moment. LINK. Not to be confused with 45D. Widely criticized 1985 product introduction: NEW COKE.

24. Taxing people? : IRS. Funny?

25. Meet at the poker table: SEE. I will see your $10.00 and raise you $10.00.

26. Twitter follower, usually: FAN. Stalker, media person...

28. Horseshoe-shaped boat part: OARLOCK.

37. Garden pond fish: KOI. We have had this CARP before many times.

38. Crook's invention: ALIAS.

39. Meteor tail? : ITE. The word, not the phenomenon.

40. Ancient Greek physician: GALEN. Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus, often Anglicized as Galen and better known as Galen of Pergamon, was a prominent Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman empire. Wikipedia

42. Author Deighton: LEN. A spy novelist who gave us many books and movies with The Ipcress File one that comes to mind.

46. Angles for iron users: DOGLEGS. I love the fill, great for all of our golfers, but the clue seems awkward. Howard? Rich?

48. Course for newcomers: Abbr. : ESLEnglish as a Second Language. The course really helped Oo.

49. "... __ the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE.  A return of Will to Friday.

50. Seven-film franchise: SAW. I have not seen any SAW.

52. Smooth over: EASE.

61. Stockpile: HOARD. I think my uncle was one, but not as bad as seen on TV.
62. Sportscast analysis: COLOR. Why are the called color commentator?  Your turn...

63. "Rumour __ It": 2011 Adele hit : HAS.
64. First sign: ONSET. Sadly mostly associated with dementia.

65. In need of change? : BROKE. Very cute, except when you go to buy gas in this town and all the panhandlers wait.

66. Spacewalk initials: EVA. ExtraVehicular Activity? HG, what did you think of Matt Damon and the Martian?

67. Brief copy? : REPROduction.

68. Spoke Abyssinian? : MEWED. I loved this clue/fill as my mind froze. We have done some work with an Abyssinian Church here.

69. "L.A. Law" actress: DEY.

Down:

1. It's always dated: CHECK. More fun cluing.

2. Grand Canyon animal: BURRO.

3. Spiral-shelled creature: SNAIL.

4. View from the Qilian Mountains: GOBI.

5. Coming down: RAINING.

6. Muppet in a can: OSCAR.

7. Strips off: PEELS.

8. "Outside the Lines" airer: ESPN.

9. Hidden DVD features: EASTER EGGS. Love this reference. An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in an interactive work such as a computer program, video game or DVD menu screen. The name is used to evoke the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt. LINK.

10. Garden tool: TROWEL.  Maybe rhyming with VOWEL? Owen?

11. Sub: HERO.

12. U.S. dept. with a windmill on its seal: ENERgy.

13. Escapade: LARK.

21. Classic 20-Across : MAFIA.  No more omerta, maybe no more mafia.

22. Genesis name: ESAU.

27. Was supervised by: ANSWERED TO.

28. R.E.M.'s "The __ Love" : ONE I.

29. St. with a panhandle: OKLAhoma.

30. "Fargo" director: COEN.

31. Warmhearted: KIND.

32. Undisguised: BALD. I never saw this, and would not have gotten as clued? WT...

33. Toast topping: OLEO. Not anymore

34. Word seen under a deer silhouette: XING, Not a word...

35. YouTube clips, for short: VIDS.

36. RR schedule listing: ETD.

41. More capable: ABLER.

44. Hungarian wine region: EGER. Eger is mainly known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings (including the northernmost Turkish minaret) and, above all else, the best Hungarian red wines. When you plan your trip, it looks like a small town for which half a day is more than enough, but 3 days may not even be enough to enjoy it fully, even in the winter. Wikivoyage.
47. Rude sort: LEERER. Snore...

50. Bedroom noise: SNORE. Sorry. You should be...

51. Warmly lit: AGLOW. If only you

53. Yearned: ACHED. For her, with your

54. Polished: SUAVE. ways

55. SAT part that's judged: ESSAY.

56. Wielder of Mjölnir: THOR.

57. Perfect: HONE. People often hone their craft.

58. Grating sound: RASP. You can use a rasp to sharpen (hone) your tools.

59. SALT topic: ICBMInter Continental Ballistic Missile. Back to back days.

60. More than annoyed: IRED. A variation of IRE I have never seen anywhere but crossword puzzles.

I really enjoyed the creativity of the theme as well as the many witty clue/fill combos. There was some meh, but I had fun; thank HB and all of you. Lemonade back at ya.

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