Thursday September 13th 2018 Joe Deeney

Theme: TOGA, or another type of "butter" churn!

16A. Rolls off the alley: GUTTER BALLS. Bowling's not my thing, I just don't have the coordination for it.

23A. Swing era dance: JITTERBUG. Ditto me and dancing, that coordination problem again. This picture is captioned "Scandalous Teen Crazes". The scandal!

32A. Smoking hazard: CIGARETTE BURN. I was half-expecting "BUTT" instead of BURN, but of course that wouldn't work with the theme. Mr. Purist says that you shouldn't have any of the same letters of your scramble adjacent to the ones you have scrambled - in this case the "RE" in "CIGARE-" breaks the rule. However, I'm feeling charitable today, so no grumble.

44A. Anticipatory counterargument: PREBUTTAL. A relatively new portmanteau - "pre-emptive rebuttal" usually in politics where you 'fess up to your shortcomings before the opposition point them out. I use the same tactics in a competitive sales situation - I know the FUD that the competition are going to dish, so I get my counters in first (FUD = fear, uncertainty, doubt).

and the reveal:

52A. Dairy implement, and a hint to what's hidden in 16-, 23-, 32-, and 44-Across: BUTTER CHURN

A nice clean theme from Joe, and I counted the grid size twice to make sure we're back to a regulation 15x15 after the last four Thursdays produced an additional square across or down.

Let's see what we've got in the fill - two clunkers and a lot of pleasant stuff!

Across:

1. Minimally: A TAD

5. Oversight: LAPSE

10. "Man With a Plan" network: CBS. In the news this week for reasons they didn't wish for.

13. One and only: SOLE

14. Fads: MANIAS

15. No longer active: Abbr.: RET. As in a retired asset. Most retired people I know are more active than the rest of us who are nose-to-the-grindstone keeping-the-wheels-of-industry-turning. My retired sister probably puts up more air miles than me, and spends her time exploring Mayan ruins in Honduras, hitchhiking through Cuba, yomping up mountains in Montana and generally playing "Where's Waldo?".

18. "__ we there yet?": ARE

19. College Board exam, briefly: AP TEST. Strictly "advanced placement", but one of those "no longer an abbreviation" examples. So is "exam" in the clue. Coincidence?

20. French assent: OUI

21. It's calculated using ht. and wt.: B.M.I. Body Mass Index.

22. Make a face, say: REACT

26. Loan application section: DEBT

27. Badgers: NAGS

28. Staff helper: AIDE

29. "Be My __ Ono": Barenaked Ladies song: YOKO. A nice departure clue for a crossword staple. I didn't fill it in right away because it could have been a lot of different words if you don't know the song.

30. West Coast athletic footwear company: LA GEAR

36. Got close to empty: RAN LOW

37. Area to lay anchor: COVE

38. High style: UPDO

39. Cry related to "hey": AHOY! Often heard in a cove?

40. Opt out: PASS

47. Goldfinger's first name: AURIC

48. Three-time NBA Finals MVP Duncan: TIM. One of the most unassuming people ever to suit up for a professional sports team.

49. __ Butterworth: MRS. Her first name was revealed, to great fanfare in 2009. Joy! No, not the emotion, that's her name. Apparently. What is Aunt Jemima's last name? We should be told.

50. Post-workout lament: I'M SORE

51. Open event gold medalist in the 2016 Chess Olympiad: USA. Apparently there are two categories, "Open" and "Women's". Don't ask me why. Ask FIDE, the World Chess Federation. Also, don't ask me why one is a translation of the other either. Odd bods, those chess folk.

55. Do a 5K, e.g.: RUN. Followed by 50A, probably.

56. Meets up with the old gang: REUNES. Ach. Clang! I know we've seen this before, but it doesn't make it any more pleasant.

57. "Makes sense": I SEE

58. Conclusion: END

59. Increase: ADD TO

60. Typically round-neck shirts: TEES

Down:

1. Norse gods' home: ASGARD. I got stuck on "Valhalla" and couldn't let go for a time. Valhalla is in Asgard. I also got distracted by "Isengard" from The Lord of the Rings. I wonder about what goes on with my synapses sometimes.

2. Head cover: TOUPEE

3. Window-switching keyboard shortcut: ALT-TAB

4. Catch a scent of: DETECT

5. Yellow __: LAB

6. "Fifty Shades of Grey" heroine: ANA. Thank you, crosses, The whole "Grey" genre passed me by.

7. Trial episodes: PILOTS

8. French toast: SALUT!

9. Nail polish brand: ESSIE. I'll take Joe's word for it. Not on my regular shopping list.

10. More like Oscar the Grouch: CRABBIER

11. Hamilton local: BERMUDAN. I read "locale" and was trying to figure out how to cram BROADWAY into a place it patently did not belong.

12. "In the Heat of the Night" Oscar winner Rod: STEIGER. He won the Oscar for Best Actor. Co-star Rod Steiger won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA award for the same thing. I don't know any movie where that's ever happened before or since.

14. B.A. Baracus player: MR. T. The "A" Team.

17. Superlative suffix: EST
-
23. Copacetic: JAKE. I'd not seen this synomym before. From the "Roaring Twenties" according to that font of all knowledge, the Oracle at Delphi. I mean Wikipedia.

24. "Makes sense": I GOTCHA. See "I SEE" above.

25. Old World Style sauce: RAGU. This one:

27. Swed. neighbor: NORW. Not my favorite. SWE and NOR in my book. You don't see DENM or FINL.

29. Retired NBAer Ming: YAO. I think he stands six feet nineteen and can leap the Great Wall in a single bound, even in retirement.

30. Tax: LEVY

31. Japanese prime minister since 2012: ABE. Is he honest? We should be told.

32. Big name in juice pouches: CAPRI SUN

33. Hot: IN DEMAND

34. Amorphous mass: GLOB. Is a globule a little glob, or something else entirely? Discuss.

35. Home Depot purchase: TOOL

36. Burst: RUPTURE

39. Ready to sire: AT STUD

40. Test limits: PUSH IT

41. Excite: AROUSE

42. Yes or no follower: SIRREE!

43. Drama segments: SCENES

45. Sunspot center: UMBRA. Suntan? Burnt Umbra :)

46. Leveled, with "up": TRUED

47. Theater chain initials: AMC. Pioneers of the multiplex and megaplex theaters, both in the USA and around the world.

50. Form W-9 org.: IRS.

53. Explosive stuff: TNT. Boom!

54. Fair-hiring letters: EEO. I always want it to be "Equal Opportunity Employer" which puts me off my stroke somewhat.

I love the window seat on the plane, I can't understand why anyone would want to pull the shade down, it's a beautiful world out there. I'm heading south back to LA from Seattle, and this is the sunset outside. Not the best picture, but I thought it was one to share.

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes yesterday. I was treated to a quite amazing dinner at José Andrés' restaurant here in LA last night. We ate at the kitchen bar with just eight other people and were presented with a twenty (!) course tasting menu served by the chefs who prepared the dishes. Most times I think I could take a stab at reproducing something I've eaten in a restaurant, but this one? Not a chance.

Grid? Gridded!

Steve

Tuesday, August 28, 2018 Joe Deeney

Fish Stories - You should have seen the one that got away ! 

20. Place at the track?: FINISH SECOND.

28. Hard-to-fold bed linens: FITTED SHEETS.

44. Senior British military rank: FIELD MARSHAL.

55. Phrase including hand gestures symbolized by the puzzle circles:  IT WAS THIS BIG. 

OK, these fish weren't hidden very well, especially given the circles, but (and I hope you saw it),  if you count the letters between FI and SH,  you'll notice that the distance is increasing by 2 each time.   The span from the head to the tail of the fish is getting progressively bigger !  Like those "Top this !" fish stories.   Neat !

I believe this to be a debut for Joe Deeney at the LA TIMES Crossword.   I didn't struggle to complete the puzzle, but did have to check or fill in perps to get more answers than usual.

Across:

1. Uneducated guess: STAB.

5. Recreation in which players become characters, for short: RPGS.  Role Playing Games.  Know what they are, but have never been in or played one.

9. Get rid of: SCRAP.

14. Word before or after brand: NAME.  McDonald's is a name brand in the fast food industry.  The Big Mac is a McDonald's brand name.  Not a fan, but McDonald's will do in a pinch.  Haven't had a Big Mac since I was a preteen, so about 50 years.  Eins ist genug !   Test your Drive-Thru Diet.    Anyway, as you know, many brand names get adopted into our everyday language, such as kleenex, scotch tape, popsicles, q-tips and chapstick.

15. Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity chain: IHOP.

 16. Pup: POOCH.

17. Figure skating leap: AXEL.

18. Launched at great speed: CATAPULTED.

22. Calf's suckling spot: UDDER. 

23. Stuntman Knievel: EVEL.  Watched the documentary Being Evel  about him a few weeks ago.  That guy was nuts. 

24. Lioness of film: ELSA.

31. Airport rental: CAR.

34. Have title to: OWN.

35. Mexican pyramid builder: AZTEC.

36. Herb in Italian seasoning: OREGANO.

39. Lively, musically: UPTEMPO.  Unlike "old country," many "new country" hits have more of an upbeat, uptempo, almost pop sound. 

41. Ready to bloom: IN BUD.

42. No. on a grad's résumé: GPA. 

43. Va. winter hours: EST. 

49. Unload for cash: SELL. 

50. Yale students: ELIs.

51. "Better in Time" singer Lewis: LEONA.  No idea. 118M views of this YouTube:


58. Russian ballet company, familiarly: THE BOLSHOI.

61. Deadly shark: MAKO.  Typed in orca.  Typed over with MAKO.  No smudges or wite-out needed.

62. Bad-tempered: SURLY.

63. Mario __: Nintendo racing game series: KART.  Had to let perps solve it.

64. "It's my time to shine!": I'M ON.

65. Leg joints: KNEES.

66. Iowa State city: AMES. 

67. Screwball: ZANY.

Down:

1. Major mess: SNAFU. Situation Normal - All Fouled Up

2. No. on an IRS form: TAX ID.

3. Make changes to: AMEND.

4. "You are beyond __!": "Incredible!": BELIEF.

5. High in calories: RICH. 

6. Early stage of a clinical trial: PHASE TWO.

7. Avenged a wrong: GOT EVEN.   Getting even is not a good way to live a life, but it is a plot line of many westerns.

8. Completely forgot, in slang: SPACED.

9. Created, as a web: SPUN.

10. Portmanteau brand for flu symptoms: COLDEEZE.  Never used it.  May have seen a commercial.  Perps needed.

11. Nonsense: ROT.  URL Rot is one term for when you try to link to a page that no longer exists.

12. Blackjack half: ACE. Had to check perps.  Could have been ten.

13. Scholar's deg.: PHD.

19. Campaign pros: POLS. Politicians.

21. __ Lanka: SRI.

25. "I got this": LET ME. 

26. Dance moves: STEPS.

27. Fancy necktie: ASCOT.

29. Truck weight unit: TON.

30. Fedora, e.g.: HAT.

31. Elaborate dos: COIFS.

32. Golfer Palmer, to fans: ARNIE.   Fierce competitor.  Adored by his fans, who became known as "Arnie's Army."

33. Billy Idol's "__ Yell": REBEL.  I like the song. Probably the only one in this crowd that does.


37. Easily fooled: GULLIBLE.

38. Use an abacus: ADD.

39. FedEx Office alternative: UPS STORE.  The local UPS Store was opened as "Mail Boxes Etc" but then rebranded to The UPS Store.  Officially,  the article The is part of the trademarked name.   

40. Dismissive sound: PAH.  Or a tuba sound.  Hi Abejo !

42. "A Time to Kill" novelist John: GRISHAM.  Most of his book titles start with an A.

45. Kitten cry: MEWL.  I started with meow. 

46. "North to the Future" state: ALASKA. 

47. Actor Mahershala of Netflix's "Luke Cage": ALI.  Remembered his name from the last time.

48. B'way show with the song "Valjean's Confession": LES MIZ.  Never heard of the song, but the perps made it the only possible answer.

52. 44th president: OBAMA.

53. Canon competitor: NIKON.  Canon, hmm. Camera or copier/printer device ?  Epson (printer brand)  will be the answer on another day. 

54. Terrible pain: AGONY.   Also, the name of one of the three hills that basic training soldiers marched up and down at Ft Knox.  The other two were Misery and Heartbreak.  I believe we did a 20 mile and 15 mile night march.  Grueling in combat boots with all the gear. 

56. Hasbro specialty: TOYS. 

57. Oldies, in their day: HITS.  Song hits.

58. "Shame on you!": TSK. 

59. Attila the __: HUN.

60. Bard's "before": ERE.