Saturday, November 9, 2024, John Andrew Agpalo

 Saturday Themeless by John Andrew Agpalo

John's third LA Times puzzle turned out to be a pleasant and quick walk in the park for this solver. John's construction had a low word count of only sixty four which yeilded a very desirable count of only six three-letter words. When the long fills appear with ease, it greatly facilitates obtaining a "got 'er done!"

Across:

1. Running tally?: VOTES - I followed a bunch of these Tuesday night.

6. City on the River Clyde: GLASGOW - GLASGOW on the Clyde at night

13. Fast train between Union Station and Back Bay Station: ACELA - This train and its lovely three vowels pulls into our crossword station quite often.

14. Target of a dehumidifier: MOISTURE and 12. Adds 14-Across: WETS - I'll be making the switch in our basement very soon.

15. German city: STADT - The largest in Germany according to their 2018 census

16. Outline in a plaster of paris keepsake: HAND PRINT.

17. "Get lost!": TAKE A HIKE.

19. Mike Trout's team, familiarly: HALOS - Mike Trout has been one of the MLB's best players for years as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, but like the Cubs' Ernie Banks, has never been in a World Series. 

20. Vulcan salute, e.g.: GESTURE.

21. "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" painter: MANET - The Luncheon On The Grass with clothing optional. Our friend Jeffery Wechsler would be so disappointed I don't know my MANET from my Monet. 

22. Hall of Famer Ronnie who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers: LOTT - Some consider Ronnie to be the best safety in NFL history. Here he is separating a receiver from the ball

23. Got completely out of hand: RAN WILD.

25. Colony toiler: ANT.

26. Commits a hoops infraction: GOAL TENDS - If a basketball shot is in or above the basket cylinder, neither the offense or defense can touch it.  Ironically, as our own goal tender Splynter can attest, it is perfectly legal in hockey!

      

                            

30. Incapable of having a bad hair day, say: BALD - Waddaya think?

32. Gives hell?: DAMNS.

33. Catastrophic: DIRE.

34. Deliberate: SLEEP ON IT - The verb not the adjective. My car salesman friend says the chances for a sale go way down when a customer wants to do this.

36. Veto: NIX.

37. Pioneer in "New New Orleans" cuisine: LAGASSE.

39. Tax: LEVY.

40. Quite buff, casually: SWOLE.

42. In proportion: TO SCALE - Gutzon Borglum made a scale model and then transferred those dimensions to the mountain.

44. Airport featured in "Home Alone": O'HARE.

45. Notable name on a case: SAMSONITE - My 1964 H.S. graduation present from Grandma Opal

47. Dish that requires one's level best?: LAYER CAKE - Usually

49. Strikingly real: VIVID - This amazing holographic reproduction of an ABBA concert now playing in London is said to be very VIVID!

50. Supersuit designer who insists, "No capes"!: EDNA MODE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - A cartoon based on Edith Head. If you're interested...

51. "They Called Us __": graphic novel co-written by George Takei: ENEMY - The story of his family's life in Japanese internment camps after Pearl Harbor.

52. [Look below]: SEE NOTE.

53. Levels a theatre, say: RASES - Alternate spelling for RAZES [Look below] 

Down:

1. Seemingly endless: VAST.

2. Like many gazebos: OCTAGONAL.

3. Water heater: TEA KETTLE - Wrapped by a tea cosy not cozy (similar to raise and raze?)

4. Like Meg, among the March sisters: ELDEST - Little Women

5. Occupied, as a table: SAT AT.

6. Missing: GONE.

7. Topper: LID.

8. Lot surface: ASPHALT.

9. High and dry: STRANDED - How hurricanes can leave boats

10. Chicanery: GUILE.

11. Second-guessing phrase: OR NOT.

14. "Let me be clear": MAKE NO MISTAKE.

16. Some characters in Japanese writing: HIRAGANA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

18. "Ben-__": HUR - It took 800 workers 4 months to build this recreation of Rome's Circus Maximus for the 13-minute chariot race scene in the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. [Look Below] Today this land has massive lanes of traffic and shops in Culver City, CA.

1925

Today

21. Wire diameter measures: MILS.

22. Spots for many STEM classes: LABS.

24. "Care for a bite?": WANT SOME - Or not!

27. Cat treat?: NINE LIVES.

28. Rush hour: DRIVE TIME.

29. Alluring: SEXY.

31. Vehicle with gull-wing doors: DELOREAN - It could also be a time machine. 

32. Shiba Inu meme that inspired a cryptocurrency: DOGE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

35. Capital on the Tyrrhenian Sea: PALERMO.

38. What opens and closes safes?: ESS - SafeS

39. Pacific weather phenomenon: LA NIÑA.

40. Veiled criticism: SHADE.

41. Hockey great Gretzky: WAYNE - Also his nickname

43. Tribute band number: COVER - I always went to see the Beatles COVER band at the United Kingdom Pavilion at EPCOT. 

44. LaLiga chants: OLES - LaLiga manages the pro soccer teams in Spain.

45. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE.

46. Freezer brand: EDYS - EDY'S is in the freezer and is not the freezer brand.

48. Private place to sleep?: COT 😀

Friday, December 15, 2023, John Andrew Agpalo

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap.  Our puzzle setter, John Andrew Agpalo (who presented us with a Sunday puzzle back in July of this year) has constructed a grid with ten, count 'em ten, theme-related answers.  Let's start with the unifier:

36 Across:  Exciting but dangerous way to live, and a hint to making the starred clues match their answers: ON THE EDGE.

There are two components to "making the starred clues match their answers".  First, the theme-related answers all "reside" on the perimeter or, if you will, ON THE EDGE of the puzzle.  Second, the prepositional phrase "ON THE" has been omitted from each entry and we have been asked to supply that in our heads as we suss out the appropriate fill.  When we add ON THE ahead of each entry then that clue is appropriately answered.  Initially, attempting to figure out the answers left this solver scratching his head but, once the "AHA" moment occurred, the (mostly idiomatic) answers flowed smoothly.

Here are the themers (all marked with asterisks for our convenience):

1 Across:  *Kerouac novel: ROAD.  We had ON THE ROAD as an answer two weeks ago and, at that time, I stuck to the literary reference and resisted using the following.  I have taken this second reference as a sign that I should yield:

On The Road Again

5 Across:  *Free: HOUSE.  If something is ON THE HOUSE then it is, at least when the phrase used idiomatically, free of charge (but not unlike an ion).  This would not apply e,g, to a rooftop antenna.

10 Across: *Alert: BALL.  ON THE BALL

1 Down:  *Officially: RECORD.  ON THE RECORD.   We might hear also  hear OFF THE RECORD but we don't hear OFF THE HOUSE or OFF THE BALL.

13 Down:  *Keeping watch: LOOKOUT.  ON THE LOOKOUT

39 Down:  *Imminent: HORIZON.  ON THE HORIZON  Looming

50 Down:  *Available for purchase: MARKET.  ON THE MARKET

67 Across:  *Precisely: NOSE.  ON THE NOSE  Exactly

68 Across: *Undecided: FENCE.  ON THE FENCE

69 Across:  *Then and there: SPOT.  ON THE SPOT

This is how all of this appears in the completed grid . . .

. . . .  and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

14. Sea eagle: ERNE.  This type of bird is a frequent visitor.

15. The Ivies, e.g.: OCTAD.   In this case the reference is to the eight universities in the Ivy League.  When solving, we initially do not know if the answer is going to be OCTAD or OCTET but we can go ahead and fill in the first three letters in either case. 

16. Palm smartphone: TREO.  Now discontinued.

Palm Treo 755 P

17. John of "The Suicide Squad": CENA.

18. Running start?: READY SET GO.  Said before a race.  Often, On Your Mark, Get Set, Go.

20. Anthem with English and French lyrics: O CANADA.  Canadian, EH!

22. Eye surgery acronym: LASIK.  Laser-Assissted In SItu Keratomileusis

23. Univ. dorm figures: RAS.  Resident AdvisorS appear often in our puzzles.

24. Jonathan Larson musical: RENT.  Loosely based on La Boheme

26. Powerful Chevy: CAMARO.  Certainly the IROC version but my mom drove a CAMARO with a quite-under-powered straight six.

27. Celtic priest: DRUID.  How did they create the first diagram of Stonehenge?  They DRUID.

29. Skewered snack in peanut sauce: SATAY.

31. __ Malnati's: chain known for Chicago-style pizza: LOU.  Operating mostly in Illinois with a smattering of locations in Arizona, Wisconsin and Indiana.  So, if you had not heard of LOU, you were not alone.

32. King and queen: SIZES.  A reference to mattresses.  Just like two weeks ago only then it was twins.

34. Cassis cocktail: KIR.  Creme de Cassis and white wine.

35. Safari shelter: TENT.  Not a reference to an Apple browser.   A clue that takes advantage of the leading-cap convention to try to fool us.

39. Tough: HARD.  As in difficult.

42. In medias __: RES.

43. Snapped out of a daydream, perhaps: SAT UP.  A bit of a stretch but not too much.

46. Latin for "eggs": OVA.

47. Special talent: FORTE.   I cannot play loud music.  It's just not my FORTE.

49. Jeans fabric: DENIM.

51. Curiosity and Opportunity: ROVERS.  A reference to NASA's Mars exploration devices.
 
53. Scandinavian capital: OSLO.  A frequent destination for solvers.

55. Nashville awards org.: CMA.

56. Words of empathy: I CARE.

57. Rat: TATTLER.  Has anyone actually hear this word used?  Tattle or tattletale, yes.  

59. Boast in a restaurant window: ZAGAT RATED.

63. File's partner: RANK.  RANK and File

64. Poetic paeans: ODES.

65. TikTok aesthetic: E-GIRL.  Outside of this solver's ken.

66. Spanish "east": ESTE.

Down:

2. Vehicles of mine?: ORE CARS.  As in extracting minerals from the earth.  Not possessive. Hand up for first muttering that ORE CARTS would not fit and the clue is plural, dammit.  

3. Fashion icon with a Fantasia fragrance line: ANNA SUI.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

 

4. Campus official: DEAN.  As in DEAN Martin in the movie "Back to School".

5. Throng: HORDE.

6. Scads: OCEANS.

7. "Respect for Acting" writer Hagen: UTA.  A frequent visitor.

8. Teary, maybe: SAD.  Whenever I am sad my friend says "Cheer up man. It could be worse.  You could be stuck underground in a hole filled with water."  I know he means well.

9. Dreyer's partner in ice cream: EDY.  William Dreyer and Joseph EDY.

10. Benchwarmers: B-TEAM.

11. Place to check for prints: ART SALE.  Not fingerprints.

12. Shackle: LEG IRON.

19. Perform amazingly, informally: SLAY.

Stan Freberg -  Saint George and the Dragonet

21. Elizabeth who founded the Red Door salon: ARDEN.

25. Grows fond of: TAKES TO.  Like a duck to water

26. What casino workers are always dealing with: CARDS.  Nice word play.

28. Active wear brand: IZOD.  There is one brand of active wear clothing that I cannot stand.  I guess that I am Lacoste intolerant.

30. Even numbers?: TIE.  The score is even.

33. Houston squad, casually: STROS.  The Houston Asterisks baseball club.  Sorry, Texans, but it is going to take a while longer for this Los Angeles-born son of a Brooklyn-ite to forgive and forget.

35. Head of Québec: TETE.  Québec signals to us that the answer will be en français.

37. R&B singer whose stage name is pronounced like a pronoun: HER.

38. Gal of "Red Notice": GADOT.  Not just any gal, but Gal GADOT, the actress.  Another one of those clues that takes advantage of the leading-cap convention to try to fool us.

40. California roll ingredient: AVOCADO.

41. Wreaks havoc on: RAVAGES.

44. Prepare for take-off?: UNCLASP.   As in prepare to remove an article of clothing.

45. __ cheese: Southern spread: PIMENTO.  Often clued with a reference to olives.

47. Stew (over): FRET.

48. Brand that boasts 24-hour immunity support: ESTER C.

52. Shake an Etch A Sketch, say: ERASE.

54. Stock holder?: LADLE.  Stock, in this case, as in soup.

58. "__ chic!": TRES.  Very stylish.  Not:

60. Call, as a game: REF.  Abbreviated answer but NOT an abbreviated clue.  Odd.

61. Grow old: AGE.

62. __ ear: TIN.  As in tone deaf.  Fitting that we wrap things up with an idiom.

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