Saturday, March 19, 2022, John Guzzetta

 Themeless Saturday by John Guzzetta

John is a minister currently living in the Tampa, Florida area and wrote this about his construction: 

Happy to have my first themeless Saturday puzzle in the LA Times. I hope solvers enjoy it! The seed entry was 10-Down. The clues are definitely harder than my original submission--I especially like what the editors came up with for 14 across!

Across:

1. Chunk: GOB.

4. Arizona city within the Coconino National Forest: SEDONA - In north central Arizona

10. Medical capacity measure: BEDS.

14. It includes the study of roots: ARITHMETIC - Botany? No. Word derivation? No. Math? Yes! Square roots, cube roots, etc. that today kids do with calculators. 

16. Go: EXIT.

17. Profile: SILHOUETTE.

18. Saharan republic: CHAD - Okay, what number is it? (*answer at bottom write-up)

19. Fireplace accessory: POKER.

20. Get out of the cooler, with "for": POST BAIL - The sponsor for the The Bad News Bears

22. Cautions: ALERTS.

24. "For sure!": YOU BET.

26. Save, in a way: REDEEM.

27. Walking area in a Depression Era novel: WILD SIDE.

29. Pressed: IRONED.

31. "Tundra" series coolers, e.g.: YETIS.

$400 and it's yours!

32. Some four-legged toys, informally: POMS - Just when I thought I would never be fooled by "toy dogs" like POMeranians, this turned out to be my last fill.

35. Ancient Greek physician: GALEN - Here ya go

37. Philippic: RANT.

38. __ horizon: astrophysics boundary: EVENT - Here ya go

40. Patsy: STOOGE - Lee Harvey Oswald went to his grave claiming he was one

42. Fortresses: REDOUBTS 

REDOUBT of the Royal
Fusiliers in Yorktown, Va

44. Binging: ON A JAG.

48. One of Willie Mays' MLB career 140: TRIPLE.

49. It separated from Serbia in 2008: KOSOVO.

50. Something to check before picking up: CALLER ID 

54. Relocation figure: MOVER.

55. Cuba libre mixer: COLA.

56. It features exquisite settings: FINE DINING - Lady Mary and the Dowager Countess survey such a setting at Downton Abbey

58. Arabian Sea nation: OMAN - More geography: Name the # for OMAN (**answer below)

59. Buttering-up: EGO MASSAGE.

60. 2012 U.S. Open champ Simpson: WEBB - The scoreboard here shows WEBB in third place at +1 but the others faltered and he won at that score

61. Breakfast pastry: DANISH.

62. Conducted: LED.

Down:

1. Crèche figure: GASPAR - One of the Three Wisemen in this crèche

2. Camden Yards athlete: ORIOLE.

3. Cheated: BILKED.

4. Like Teller, vis-à-vis Penn: SHORTER.

5. Cassowary kin: EMU.

6. __ dive: DEEP - A thorough investigation

7. "The Simpsons" bus driver: OTTO - His route comes by here frequently 

8. Quibbles: NITS.

9. Radical in vinegar: ACETYL - If you must

10. Nonspecific and terse response to "Why?": BECAUSE REASONS - John's seed entry. It made me think of all the reasons I heard the day the kids twelve-week projects were due.

11. It might be the murder weapon: EXHIBIT A - These may not have been labeled  EXHIBIT A but they are among the most famous EXHIBITS ever

12. Firing on all cylinders: DIALED IN - Kids from small town high schools say they need some time to get there 3-pointers "DIALED IN" when playing in Lincoln's mammoth Pinnacle Arena.

13. Normal: Abbr.: STD.

15. Bad news about options: THERE IS NO PLAN B 

21. Shampoo ad buzzword: BODY.

1960 Breck Ad

23. Pollution portmanteau: SMOG.

25. Check: TEST.

27. Paintball mementos: WELTS - Here are some

28. Prefix with gram or graph: IDEO.

30. Tweed's caricaturist: NAST.

32. Fresh: PERT.

33. Verklempt: OVERCOME.

34. On-campus area for communications majors: MEDIA LAB.

36. Common library area: NOOK.

39. Rock's Jethro __: TULL.

41. Like some garden figures: GNOMISH - Okay

43. Bellyached: BEEFED.

45. Festive: JOVIAL.

46. Retaliate for: AVENGE - 

47. Consumed in large amounts: GORGED - Joey Chestnut's record is 71 Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs eaten in 10 minutes. 

51. European capital on its own gulf: RIGA.

52. Privy to: IN ON.

53. "Give Your Heart a Break" singer Lovato: DEMI - If you'd like

55. Strong-arm: COW - Herding dogs can really COW, uh, cows

57. Brief brief filers: D.A'.S.

*Chad is country #10

**Oman is country #12

Wednesday, December 23, 2020, John Guzzetta

 Theme: THAT'S PROGRESS!

15. Part of a biological hierarchy: TAXONOMIC GROUP.

24. Influential soul label based in Memphis: STAX RECORDS.

41. Waved for transportation: HAILED A TAXI.

53. Rate-rising-with-amount levy that makes its way through four long answers starting at 15-Across: PROGRESSIVE TAX.

The letters TAX are placed progressively (from beginning to end) within each of the four phrases. 

Melissa here. This one was full of fun mis-direction, and stumped me in a few spots. Anyone else?

Across:

1. Cartographer's output: MAP.

4. Monica who won three straight '90s French Opens: SELES.

9. HVAC letters: BTU. HVAC = Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. BTU = British Thermal Unit, which is a form of measurement that measures energy. Some prisons offer HVAC vocational training - although there has been no programming of any kind (nor visiting) in institutions since Spring.

12. News agcy.: UPI. United Press International.

13. Soft palate part: UVULA. I did not know that uvula-piercing was a thing. Don't google. Trust me on this one.

14. Campus housing: DORM.

18. Window over a door: TRANSOM. Well, sort of. Transom Window, to be precise.

They can be so pretty.

19. Zen garden tools: RAKES.

20. Joshua __ National Park: TREE.

21. Wound: OFFEND. Tricky.

28. Muslim sect: SHIISM.

31. "Much __ About Nothing": ADO.

32. Big Ben trio: III.

 33. Give a fine edge to: HONE.

34. Regarding: AS TO.

36. Like the president's office: OVAL.

37. "Happy Days" diner: ALS. Well, sort of. Interesting trivia - the name was actually Arnold's. The diner was originally owned by Arnold (Pat Morita). After Arnold got married and moved to Japan in the last episode of season three, Arnold Gets Married, the diner was sold to Al Delvecchio ('Big Al,' played by Al Molinaro), who remained until the series' end. Al only retained the moniker because he never bothered to change the sign from the previous owner.

 38. Sanjay Gupta's network: CNN.

39. Feel contrition: REPENT. I guess I'm feeling a little nit-picky today. I was always taught that repent means to turn away. I suppose that is only a biblical interpretation - learning moment - dictionary says "feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin."

44. How much to take: DOSAGE.

45. Jesters: WAGS. Another learning moment. WAG is another name for clown.

48. Tuscan home of St. Catherine: SIENA.

50. Perfect example: EPITOME.

56. Debtor's informal notes: IOUS.

57. Brownish gray: TAUPE.

58. Co. concerned with net neutrality: ISP. Internet Service Provider.

59. AC/DC hit with the lyric "Watch me explode!": TNT.

60. Makes do: COPES.

61. Howe'er: THO.

Down:

1. Mixed-breed dog: MUTT.

2. Here and there?: APART. Nice one.

3. "Coco" studio: PIXAR.

4. Images in a beach vacation album: SUNSETS.

5. Salad dressing initialism, to Rachael Ray: EVOO. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Yum-o. Love her rustic and open kitchen.

6. Oaf: LUMMOX. "Clumsy, stupid person."

7. Director Roth: ELI. Horror films.

8. Cul-de-__: SAC. Everything you ever wanted to know about the word cul-de-sac.

9. Request to turn up the volume?: BOOK DRIVE. That's very sneaky. Volume as in publishing or amount, not as in sound.

10. "T" on a test: TRUE.

11. Foul callers: UMPS.

14. Liquid-Plumr rival: DRANO.

16. Layette buy: ONESIE. Baby's first wardrobe.

17. __-Roman wrestling: GRECO.

22. Off-campus housing: FRAT.

23. Bogart's "Casablanca" hat: FEDORA. Classy.

 25. "Brockmire" actress Peet: AMANDA.

26. Primatologist Fossey: DIAN.

27. Riverbed sediment: SILT.

28. Ruler deposed in 1979: SHAH. In Pictures: Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

29. Spanish greeting: HOLA.

30. Like a hastily donned T-shirt, perhaps: INSIDE OUT.

35. Little problem: SNAG. Woops.

36. Drug derived from poppies: OPIATE.

38. Composer Franck: CESAR. New to me. Wikipedia. So beautiful.

 40. Some alimony recipients: EX WIVES.

42. Hungers: LONGS.

43. Starts a hole: TEES UP.

46. "Capisce?": GOT IT. From the Italian capisci, meaning, do you understand?

47. Big shot on the tennis court: SMASH. Ohhhh - as in a type of stroke with the racquet. Ranking the Bad Boys of Tennis.

48. Narrow bit of land at a lagoon entrance, say: SPIT. More misdirection. In geographical terms, "a narrow point of land projecting into the sea."

49. Par-3 club, usually: IRON.

51. Prop for Frosty: PIPE. Timely clue.

52. Trade show: EXPO.

54. And so forth: Abbr.: ETC.

55. Brazil map word: SAO. Portuguese, masculine noun = Saint.

Note from C.C.:

Happy 76th birthday to dear Misty, who's been with our blog for over 7 years. I think Misty got into crosswords because her husband Rowland, who was an avid solver. Here is a picture of them celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary in 2009.

Wednesday December 2, 2020 John Guzzetta

Theme: THE END IS NIGH (36. *Warning on a street prophet's sandwich board ... or a hint to the answers to starred clues) - The ends of four theme entries all have the same pronunciation as "Nigh".

16. *Southeast Asian monarch: SULTAN OF BRUNEI.

28. *Pentateuch peak: Abbr.: MT. SINAI.

 56. *Certain PAC-12 graduates: STANFORD ALUMNI.

46. *Guy who "Saves the World" on Netflix: BILL NYE.

Boomer here again. Filling in another slot. A slim 14x15 grid with lots of 3-letter words.

Good day everyone and happy Wednesday. Thanksgiving is over our shoulder so we can look forward now to vaccine and Christmas.  I'm sure most of you have heard that the new vaccines need be kept at extremely cold temperatures. Be careful if a guy walks into a bar and orders a cold one.    

Across:

1. Tale about Tantalus, say: MYTH.  'Tis a MYTH that the Grinch Stole Christmas.

5. Gear tooth: COG.  Also an acronym for Children's Oncology Group.

8. Sets upon: HAS AT.  Our Gophers could not have at Wisconsin last week due to the virus.  Paul Bunyan's AXE stayed at home.

13. Angelou or Dickinson: POET.

14. Celebrity chef Garten: INA. Many items in her cookbook. 

15. Cause to blush: ABASH.  DanA BASH is on CNN news.

19. Stat: PDQ.

20. Fancy dresser: FOP.

21. Common TV set-top box: DVR.

22. Tokyo okay: HAI.

25. Home of the Oregon Ducks: EUGENE.  They have had nasty air quality there all summer and fall due to all the fires.

27. Place with pillows: BED.  Or Maybe flowers.

30. Award named for Poe: EDGAR.  I think he was famous for "The Pit and the Pendulum".  Now he's famous for a museum in Virginia.

32. Catcher's need: MITT.  Yogi and others were the only ones to wear a MITT.  All others wore gloves.

33. They, in Tours: ILS.

35. PBS URL ending: ORG.

40. Adams of "American Hustle": AMY.  I have a sister of the same name.

41. Concert equipment: AMP.  A measure of current flowing through wire.

42. What 34-Down means in Swahili: LION.  34. He hung out with Pumbaa and Timon: SIMBA.

44. Befuddled: AT SEA.

48. __ constrictor: BOA.  Also fluffy neckware,

49. Smooth musical passage: LEGATO.

51. Roam (about): GAD.

52. Dogspeak syllable: ARF.  I think Dennis' dog says RUFF.

53. Roth __: IRA.  This has some tax benefits but I am too old to cash in.

54. Dr. Mom's skill: TLC.

62. Implied: TACIT.

63. __ choy: BOK.  It kind of looks like cabbage only long not round.  I'm sure C.C. knows more than I. 

64. FBI operation: RAID.  I think you spray it to kill bugs and such.

65. Colorado's __ Park: ESTES.  "A Rocky Mountain Colorado High".  John Denver.

66. Be in the red: OWE.  "I OWE, I OWE, so off to work I go.

67. Big show: EXPO.  No longer Montreal's MLB team.  Now known as the Washington Senators.

Down:

1. AWOL trackers: MPS.  I stayed away from those guys.  Never went AWOL.  You could get an Article 15 and/or lose a stripe.

2. Second person: YOU.

3. __ Aviv: TEL.

4. Start of many Web addresses: HTTP.

5. American literary form inspired in part by haiku: CINQUAIN. A 5 line poem.

"There once was a girl from St. Paul

 Who went to a newspaper ball

Her dress caught on fire

And burned her entire

Front page sports section and all." 

6. Tokyo-born artist: ONO.  John Lennon's Wife.

7. Diplomatic blunder: GAFFE.

8. Wouldn't stop talking about: HARPED ON.  MSNBC and CNN about the virus.

9. __ Dhabi: ABU.

10. Holding back to gain an edge: SANDBAGGING.  I have been SANDBAGGING my golf game for years.

11. Letter sign-off: AS EVER.  AS if I EVER

12. Almost-home base: THIRD.  Could also be last strike of an at bat.

17. Port on its own gulf: ADEN.

18. Skeleton part: BONE.  "Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones."

22. "Let me think ... ": HMM.

23. "They're __ again!": AT IT.

24. "Oh, really?": IS THAT A FACT.  That's a fact, Jack.

26. Radner of "SNL": GILDA.  An original cast member of 'Saturday Night Live" back when I used to watch.  Unfortunately passed of cancer at age 42.

29. List components: ITEMS.

31. Cookout feature: GRILL.  We got rid of ours.  Impossible to keep clean and a hassle sitting on the deck.

37. Ocular surgical procedures: EYELIFTS.  Eye surgery does not look like much fun.

38. Comedic reaction involving a sprayed beverage: SPIT TAKE.

39. Georgetown athlete: HOYA.  Great basketball teams.

43. Outlaw Kelly: NED.

44. Large arteries: AORTAS.  Probably the largest.

45. Prefix with dynamic: AERO.

47. Hang loosely: LOLL.  Durham Bulls - A bunch of "LOLLYGAGGERS". Kevin Costner as Crash Davis.

48. Moisten while cooking: BASTE.  Gave our BASTER a workout last Thursday.

50. Movie legend Greta: GARBO.

55. Medical research goal: CURE.  Or at least a VACCINE please!

57. Nuremberg "never": NIE.

58. Part of DJIA: DOW.  I think his second name was JONES.

59. Highest output: MAX.

60. Something in the air: NIP.

61. Altar promise: I DO.

Boomer