Monday January 6, 2025 Brian Callahan and Jess Shulman

  

Happy first Monday of 2025, everyone! sumdaze here. Brian Callahan has become a popular constructor on The Corner with six solo and five collaborations for the LAT since 2023.  Jess Shulman has two LAT Friday collaborations. It was fun to see them team up on today's puzzle.

I'm going to give it the same title Merle Haggard gave this 1977 song, 

The Running Kind

You may wonder what kind of running we talking about. A look at the three themers will answer that:

17 Across. *New job that's hardly a promotion: LATERAL MOVE.  

28 Across. *Honking collective: GAGGLE OF GEESE.  

45 Across. *Phenomenon of collective false memories: MANDELA EFFECT.  This one was an interesting learning moment for me. Paranormal researcher Fiona Broome named this phenomenon after discovering that she and others possessed strong, yet false, memories about the death of Nelson Mandela.  Britannica article  (See 52-Down.)

Then the unifier:

58 Across. Vice presidential hopeful, and what the first part of the answer to each starred clue can be: RUNNING MATE.

LATE, GAG, and MAN can all be MATEd to (joined with) the word RUNNING to form these in-the-language phrases:

• RUNNING LATE is to be behind schedule.
• A RUNNING GAG is a joke that is repeated several times (often with slight tweaks) throughout a performance or literary piece. (See 14-A & 40-A.)
• The RUNNING MAN is a 1982 Stephen King Novel set in a dystopian United States in the year 2025 (This year!) In 1987 a movie version was released starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

I liked how only a few letters were connected to the unifier. That helped the theme stay hidden until after I completed the grid.

Across:

1. Packs on muscle, with "up": BEEFS.  I quickly threw down BulkS. What is it D-Otto likes to say? I wonder if he made the same error.

6. Aspect: FACET.  

11. Q's keyboard neighbor: TAB.  computer keys

14. Super Breakout console: ATARI.  Super Breakout is the sequel to a 1976 video game -- but all I really needed was "console that begins with the letter 'A'".

15. "Fame" star Cara: IRENE.

16. Three, on a sundial: III.  Roman numerals (as seen in 21-A)

19. Awareness-raising TV spot: PSA. Public Service Announcement

20. "Anything __?": ELSE.

21. WWII soldiers: GIs.  

a WWII GI Joe toy

22. Big, big stars: IDOLS.  This NASA site will teach you about even bigger stars. 😀

24. "Mind. Blown.": WHOA.  

26. Pointy tooth: CANINE.

31. Axton of country music: HOYT.  (1938-1999) This is a 1 min. clip of Axton doing a guest appearance on WKRP Cincinnati:  

"It was Della and the dealer and a dog named Jake and a cat named Kalamazoo."

32. Pie __ mode: A LA.

33. Reader of a quick-start guide: USER.  Great clue! Most tech today comes with a quick-start guide and a website for more details. Gone are the days of thick USER manuals in eight languages.

34. Pair: DUO.

35. Sofía of "Modern Family": VERGARA.  I know who she is but always forget how she spells her last name.  

39. Consumes: HAS.     and     3-Down. Consumes: EATS.

...as in, "He HAS a sandwich for lunch every day."

40. Grocery chain with a Winking Owl wine brand: ALDI.   E&J Gallo produces ALDI's own, in-house brand labeled Winking Owl -- but all I really needed was "grocery chain that begins with the letter 'A'".  

42. Texting titter: LOL.  To titter is to laugh in a nervous, affected, or partly suppressed manner.

43. Future DA's exam: LSAT.  CSO to my big bro who is a definitely amazing District Attorney who passed the Law School Admission Test on his first try!

49. Led: HELMED.  "HEadED" almost fit. It took me a bit to let go of that one....

50. Constellation bear: URSA.

51. "Head over and take a look": GO SEE.

52. "Let You Love Me" singer Rita: ORA.  We often see this clue, OR A version of it, on Mondays.

53. __ prep: weekend activity for some home cooks: MEAL.  DH does this. Every Sunday he preps his lunches for the work week and puts them in containers, ready for the microwave.  

DH's lunches

57. Lip balm in egg-shaped containers: EOS.  

62. Spin bike meas.: RPM.  In Spin class, speed is measured in Revolutions Per Minute.

63. Name with Will and Frankie in sitcom titles: GRACE.  This clue refers to two separate sitcoms:  Will and GRACE (1998-2020) and GRACE and Frankie (2015-2022). It took a bit for the penny to drop because I am unfamiliar with the second show. I was trying to think of a show with Will & Frankie. I finally noticed that titles was plural.

64. Gnats, flies, etc.: PESTS.

65. WNW's opposite: ESE.  compass directions

66. "The Princess Bride" co-star Cary: ELWES.  I should have this name memorized by now but I am still working on it.

67. Spaces: AREAS.  ...as in, "Please clean up your work spaces."

Down:

1. Bundle of hay: BALE.  The woman in this video does a good job of showing how to use hay hooks to move a BALE of hay (1:38 min.). It's true, one of my best birthday presents ever was my very own set of hay hooks. 

2. Latin shorthand in a bibliography: ET AL.  It means et alia which translates to "and others". (See 31-D.)

4. Thoroughfare without tolls: FREEWAY.  I liked the without tolls clueing for FREEway.

You have likely heard that Californians use the word "the" before a FREEWAY name, as in "The 405". This is a Southern California thing. As a native Northern Californian, I can say the only people I know who speak that way are people who have spent time in Southern California. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).

5. Knight's title: SIR.  

6. Befitting an offspring: FILIAL.  Def.:  (adj.) having or assuming the relation of a child or offspring.

7. Upper limbs: ARMS.

8. Corp. leader: CEO.  Corporation and Chief Executive Officer

9. Pt. of SASE: ENV.  Self Addressed Stamped Envelope and ENVelope

10. Enraging, with "off": TEEING.  "Teed off" is an informal English expression to say one is angry. I always thought it was short for "Ticked off". I suppose one might say, "He is TEEING off the entire committee," but something feels off about this one.

11. Show respect, in a way: TIP ONE'S HAT.  If the clue said "Shows", we would answer TIPS ONE'S HAT.

12. Flight selection: AISLE SEAT.  This is my preference.  

13. Slant: BIAS.

18. Awestruck: AGOG.

23. French deity: DIEU.

25. "Love It or List It" channel: HGTV.  I like this show but I would like it more if they were not so adversarial.

26. Pepsi or Coke: COLA.

27. Way off: AFAR.

28. "Heavens to Betsy!": GOODNESS ME.  Both are quaint expressions of surprise or astonishment.

29. Bird on Mexico's flag: EAGLE.  

Mexico's national animal is the majestic golden eagle.

30. Triage ctrs.: ERS.  centers and emergency rooms

31. Toys to play around with?: HULA HOOPS.  This one is for the Cornerites who turned me on to Ted Lasso (Irish Miss, -T, ET AL.). I just finished Season 2 and am next in line for Season 3 at my library. I would not have known about this clip two weeks ago. It's the HULA HOOP scene from Season 2 with Coach Beard (Brenden Hunt) and girlfriend Jane Payne (1:40 min.):  

This episode was quite the outlier. I'm still processing it. Your thoughts?

34. Beaver's construction: DAM.

36. French fashion magazine: ELLE.  A print-version subscription for 2025 (10 issues) costs $25.

37. Map line: ROAD.

38. Some beers: ALES.

41. Not doing much: IDLE.

44. Con artist: SCAMMER.  This article from the FTC gives advice on recognizing phone scams. Another huge red flag is when someone tells you to not tell anyone about your conversation.

46. Come forth: EMERGE.

47. Greek goddesses of vengeance: FURIES.  ESP for me. "Nemesis" also comes up on a Google search but this clue specifies more than one goddess. more info.

48. Actress Drescher: FRAN.  (b. Sept. 30, 1957) In 2023, during the Hollywood writer's strike, we learned that this star of The Nanny (1993-1999) is the president of SAG-AFTRA.  

51. "Chicago" actor Richard: GERE.

52. In the past: ONCE.  Think, "I was a teenager ONCE." It is an interesting word because the clue, "In the future" works, too. Think, "ONCE you get to the stoplight, turn right."

Also, Once is a 2007 movie with an awesome soundtrack.  

If You Want Me  ~  Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard

Many people think they are a real-life couple, but they are not.

Perhaps this is an example of a 17-A  MANDELA EFFECT.

54. Simplicity: EASE.  "Simplicity" is also a brand of sewing patterns -- suggesting how EASy it can be to make your own clothes.  

55. "__ boy!": "Well done!": ATTA.

56. "More or __": LESS.  

59. Bookmarked link: URL.

60. "Yep" opposite: NAW.

61. Report card no.: GPA.  number and Grade Point Average

Today's grid:  

How did you do today? Did you run away with this one or did your luck run out?

Friday, July 21, 2023, Jess Schulman, Shannon Rapp

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap of a puzzle by Jess Shulman and Shannon Rapp.

Let us begin with the reveal:

57 Across:  Business retreat, and an apt title for this puzzle?: COMPANY OUTING.

OUTING is used here as a stand-in for take out.  No, not like in take-out food but as in to remove something. The removal is employed at three places within the grid where our puzzle setters delete the abbreviation for COMPANY (CO) from recognizable names and phrases.  

20 Across:  Melt down in response to some trash talk?: PANIC AT THE DIS.  Before the "outing" PANIC AT THE DISCO.  DIS as in to criticize.  Panic at the Disco was an American pop rock band.

36 Across:  Talent for sliding into someone's DMs?: PING SKILLS.  DM is contemporary talk  for Direct Messaging.  Before the "outing" COPING SKILLS.  PING is a network utility used to test reachability of a host.  Alternatively, PING me."

43 Across:  Little cat with a beachy vibe?: CALI KITTEN.  CALI as in California.  I wish they all could be California cats, I suppose.  Before the "outing" CALICO KITTEN.

Here is how this looks in the completed grid.  It proved impossible to highlight the letters that were not there:

The remaining clues and answers are:

Across:

1. History: PAST.

5. Dreamcast maker: SEGA.  A home video game console.

9. Blessing preceder: ACHOO.  Gezuntheit.

14. "__, Brute?": ET TU.  A Shakespearean reference.

15. God attended by Valkyries: ODIN.

16. Intact: WHOLE.

17. Instagram video: REEL.  A contemporary usage of the word REEL.

18. Compact __: DISC.  They replaced LPs

19. Like some seals: EARED.  Most often fur seals and sea lions.

23. Refill: TOP UP.  As in a cocktail or fuel tank.  Do we TOP UP electric vehicles?

24. Costa del __: SOL.

25. AED pro: EMT.  Automated External Defibrillator was new to this solver but the perps quickly led to Emergency Medical Technician because EMTs appear here frequently.

28. Copy cats?: MEOW.  Not exactly copycats as in persons who imitate.   Literally, copy a cat.

30. Noisy bird: MAGPIE.  See also 33 Down.

33. Colorado's __ Verde National Park: MESA.  Cliff dwellings.

39. Haim of "Licorice Pizza": ALANA.  Unknown to this solver.  As the puzzles get more contemporary I find myself becoming less enthusiastic about some of them.  I also know that time marches on and a puzzle full of references to prior generations of entertainers won't do either.

41. Zodiac lion: LEO.

42. __-garde: AVANT.

46. Peepers: EYES.  If one goes looking online for the old song one is "rewarded" with many references to the horror movies.  The phrase predates both.  Louis Armstrong sang it to an eponymous horse.

Jeepers Creepers

47. Connect: ATTACH.   What can you ATTACH to a ball, a cart or a harp to make it something completely different.  OON.

48. "Star Wars" family name of Han and Ben: SOLO.

50. Bentley of "Yellowstone": WES.

51. Substance that lacks refinement?: ORE.  Nice word play.   No, not the French city.

54. Benchmarks: NORMS.  If Weird Al Yankovic wasn't weird he'd be called NORM Al.

62. Language of Iran: FARSI.   . . . and portions of Los Angeles.

64. Exam with a max score of 180: LSAT.  The law school aptitude test.

65. Sunburn salve: ALOE.  Often applied in crossword puzzles.

66. __ beverage: ADULT.  Alcohol.

67. Entice: LURE.

68. Mario __: game with a Rainbow Road: KART.

69. Captcha target: ROBOT.    A contrived acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart".  It is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to determine whether the user is human.

70. Itches: YENS.  As in desires not allergic reactios.

71. Docs who insert tympanostomy tubes: ENTS.  Our second medical reference with an abbreviated clue (Docs) and answer.  Ear Nose and Throat specialistS

Down:

1. BOLO target: PERP.  Be On The Alert.  PERPetrator not a crossing word in a puzzle.

2. Patronized, as a restaurant: ATE AT.

3. Shorthand pro: STENO.  A somewhat obsolete profession.

4. Dutch market craze of the late 1630s: TULIP MANIA.  Perhaps not what we have been led to believe,

Smithsonian Magazine - September 2017

5. Soft drink: SODA POP.

What Is It Called Across the USA

6. Address plot holes, perhaps: EDIT.

7. General ideas: GISTS.  What do biologists, archaeologists and meteorologists all have in common?  They all get the GIST of their fields.

8. Dried poblano: ANCHO.

9. Amazed: AWED.  A truck loaded with thousands of copies of Roget's Thesaurus crashed yesterday losing its entire load.  Witnesses were stunned, startled, aghast, taken aback, stupefied, confused, shocked, rattled, paralyzed, dazed, bewildered, mixed up, surprised, awed, dumbfounded, nonplussed, flabbergasted, astounded, amazed, confounded, astonished, overwhelmed, horrified, numbed, speechless, and perplexed.

10. Milky spiced tea: CHAI.

11. Tomfoolery: HORSEPLAY.

12. La Liga cheer: OLE.  A soccer reference.

13. Ref. work that once employed J.R.R. Tolkien: OED.  Oxford English Dictionary.  Tolkien was an English author best known for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

21. Snooker stick: CUE.

22. Long-lived trees: ELMS.  Neither Sequoias nor Bristle Cone Pines would fit.

26. Eeyore creator: MILNE.  A Winnie The Pooh reference.

27. Challenges: TESTS.  Both can be used as nouns or verbs so that wasn't at issue.

29. Go limp: WILT.

31. Pseudonym indicator: AKA.  Also Known As

32. "Ish": GIVE OR TAKE.

33. Noisy bird: MACAW.  The second noisy bird today.

34. Thrill: ELATE.

35. Element of a margarita pedicure: SALT SCRUB.  Margarita pedicures are not within my ken.  SALT, however, was not surprising as part of the answer.

37. Aquarium scoop: NET.

38. "So It __ ... ": song on Taylor Swift's "Reputation": GOES.  Is Taylor Swift now channeling Kurt Vonnegut?

40. "For the love of all things dog" org.: AKC.

44. Eatery with a "Happy Face" combo on the kids menu: IHOP.

45. "Don't change a thing": NO NOTES.

49. "Mambo No. 5" singer Bega: LOU.

52. Comeback: RALLY.

53. Follow: ENSUE.

55. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" novelist Kundera: MILAN.  MILAN Kundera passed away on July 11, 2023.

56. Stifled laugh: SNORT.

58. Norse city name that can be translated as "meadow of the gods": OSLO.  Frequently visited in our puzzles.

59. Fly catcher?: MITT.  A baseball reference.

"I Got It"

60. Crocheter's supply: YARN.

61. Understands: GETS.  Can you dig it?

62. Way off: FAR.

63. Fuss: ADO.

Well, coworkers, that will wrap things up for today.  For those of you entertaining guests this weekend, enjoy your COMPANY.

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Friday, March 17, 2023, Jess Shulman and Max Woghiren

 

Good morning Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a Saint Patrick's Day Friday recap.

Today's puzzle comes to us from the team of Ms. Jess Shulman and Mr. Max Woghiren.  Jess made her NYT puzzle debut just about one year ago.  I was not able to find a previous LAT puzzle by either constructor so this may well be their LAT debuts.

I found the theme to be both clever and a bit convoluted (but, hey, it is Friday).  The reveal, which has nothing to do with either St. Patrick's Day or Red Nose Day,  comes at:

63 Across:  "You're blocking the view!," and what is needed to complete the answers to the starred clues?: DOWN IN FRONT.

Actually, we needed two things.  First, it helped to be able to identify the unstated initial (FRONT) word of the three song titles that are the answers to the themed clues.  Second, in order to stop wondering what was going on, it was necessary for one to realize that the dropped words are words that can be substituted for the word DOWN.  In short, a "synonym" for DOWN (is) IN FRONT.

Here are the three themed clues/answers, once again starred for our convenience:

17 Across:  *Bilingual Ed Sheeran song featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B: (SOUTH) OF THE BORDER.  On most maps, SOUTH is DOWN.  DOWN SOUTH refers to being in, or going to, the southern part of the country.

29 Across:  *R.E.M. hit single on "Out of Time": (LOSING) MY RELIGION.  If your team is LOSING the game you are said to be DOWN (by a run or two or a by a touchdown or by a goal, etc.).

REM

47 Across:  *Carl Perkins rockabilly classic popularized by Elvis Presley: (BLUE) SUEDE SHOES.  Perhaps, the most direct application of the theme:  DOWN = SAD = BLUE.

Carl Perkins With Eric Clapton and George Harrison - 1985

Here are the rest of the, proper-noun-abundant, clues/answers:

Across:

1. Scarecrow innards: STRAW.

6. Italian port: GENOA.   Christopher Columbus' place of birth.  And, sometimes, berth.  Also a variety of salami.

11. Get better, maybe: AGE.  Like fine wine.

14. Gear bit: TOOTH.

15. Cheri of "Scary Movie": OTERI.   A not-infrequent visitor.

16. Musical about Henry VIII's many wives: SIX.

19. Fury: IRE.

20. "Oh, come on!": PUHLEASE.  A very appropriate reaction to this one.

21. Aims: GOALS.

23. "Love Stuff" singer King: ELLE.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

24. Tub gunk: SCUM.

Hot Tub Scum

26. Vane point: EAST.  Weather vane.

34. Poetic rhythm: METER.  IAMB did not contain enough letters to fill the squares.

36. Plenty: A LOT.  TONS.  GOBS.  LOTS.  WADS.  Perps dictated which it was.

37. Jazz org.: NBA.

Of the National Basketball Association

38. "¡Ay, Dios __!": MIO.  Today's Spanish lesson.  See 22 Down for the translation.

39. Anthem that ends, "We stand on guard for thee": O CANADA.

42. "Dear old" one: DAD.

David Nelson

43. Over thataway: YON.  Have you ever heard anyone in an oater say "They went YON" ?

44. "Shane" star Alan: LADD.   He went thataway.

Movie Poster - 1953

45. "Spider-Man" trilogy director: RAIMI.  Sam RAIMI.

51. Jet set jet: LEAR.

52. Wrote to online, briefly: IMED.  Instant MessagED

53. Feels bad: AILS.

55. TikTok upload: VIDEO.  A Moe-ku:

    Tik Tok VIDEOs

    Leave me uninterested

    Perhaps I'm just odd

58. Very nearly: AS GOOD AS.  Shouldn't the answer be ALMOST AS GOOD AS?

62. Rita Dove's "__ to My Right Knee": ODE.

66. Decathlon number: TEN.  By definition.

67. Top-flight: ELITE.

68. Under control: TAMED.

69. Put away: EAT.  Idiomatic

70. "I'm out": LATER.

71. Puts one over on: SNOWS.

Down:

1. "Cut it out!": STOP.  My girlfriend got mad at me because I would not STOP singing "I'm A Believer" by the Monkees.  At first I thought that she was kidding.  But then I saw her face.

2. Food sold in blocks: TOFU.  Until recently, I didn't know that TOFU could taste so good.  It never o-curd to me.

3. "American Pastoral" Pulitzer winner: ROTH.  Perhaps better known for Goodbye Columbus and Portnoy's Complaint.

4. Word in several ESPY Award categories: ATHLETE.

5. Cheese shape: WHEEL.

Parmigiano Reggiano - Photo by MM

6. Loosey-__: GOOSEY. Meaning completely relaxed.  The phrase, probably aided in longevity by the rhyme, dates from the first half of the 1900's.  In earlier usage, it sometimes denoted promiscuity (loose morals), diarrhea (loose bowels), and so on but since about 1950 it has mostly stuck to its present meaning.

7. Basic French verb: ETRE.  Today's French lesson - a language in which most verbs are conjugated with AVOIR (to have) or ETRE (to be).

8. Composer Rorem: NED.

Ned Rorem

9. Nickel source: ORE.  The metal not the coin.

10. Wind instrument?: AIR GUITAR.  Some AIR GUITAR players can actually play actual (in this instance left-handed bass) guitars.

11. Much of an atlas: ASIA.

12. Mary Cassatt's "Little __ in a Blue Armchair": GIRL.  A painting (1878).

13. Former couples: EXES.

18. Lip __: BALM.  Hand up for first thinking SYNC.

22. "Srsly?!": OMG.  Seriously?

24. Actress Ward: SELA.

25. Dolt: CLOD.

26. Awards for "Schitt's Creek": EMMYS.  Clued the way it was, any of a shipload of tv shows could have been referenced.

27. Vowel set: A E I O U.  I once fell in love with a girl who knew only four vowels.  She didn't know I existed.

28. "The Favourite" actress Emma: STONE.

30. Total stranger: RANDO.  Oh puhlease!

31. __ folk: INDIE.  INDIE folk has its earliest origins in 1990's folk artists who displayed alternative rock influences in their music,

32. "Becoming" memoirist: OBAMA.  Not Barack.  Not Sasha.  Not Malia.  Michelle.

33. Low point: NADIR.

35. One to emulate: ROLE MODEL.  Hi, Robert.

40. Docket item: CASE.  A trial court reference.

41. Ritalin target: Abbr.: ADHD.

46. Unsuccessful candidate: ALSO RAN.

48. Conk out: DIE.

49. Less taxing: EASIER.

50. Say "cheese" by rubbing one's palms together, e.g.: SIGN.  At first I thought they were talking about smiling for a photo.  But it would not have made any difference because the answer was going to be American SIGN Language in either case.

54. Many apartments in former industrial areas: LOFTS.

55. Rock the __: VOTE.  An organization whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young Americans.

56. Concept: IDEA.

57. Minor progress: DENT.  My friend sailed his boat into the dock at a rapid pace causing a dent in the hull.  He says that it's just a berth mark.

58. Chip in?: ANTE.

59. "__ arigato": DOMO.  Today's Japanese lesson.

60. Over again: ANEW.

61. Norms: Abbr.: STDS.  Not social diseases.  STanDardS.

64. São Paulo greeting: OLA.  Today's Portuguese lesson.

65. Card: WIT.  Not playing cards.  Idiomatic.  

Here is how this all looks in the grid.  Please pay no attention to the yellow/red highlighted squares at 3 Down.  The .puz file solving app that I had to use while away from home does not allow me  to override the app's highlighting of one's "current" place in the puzzle.

. . . . time, now, for a bit of Green Spot.

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