L.A.Times Crossword Corner: July 6

Jul 6, 2021

Tuesday, July 6, 2021 Paul Coulter

Summer Grilling. How would you like your steak cooked?

17-Across. Natural's ability: RAW TALENT.

24-Across. Cerium or yttrium: RARE EARTH METAL.

40-Across. Like prisons for not-the-worst criminals: MEDIUM SECURITY.

54-Across. Famous: WELL-KNOWN.

Across:

1. NYC theater award: OBIE. The Obie is the Off-Broadway Theater Award.

5. Jackson 5 hairdo: AFRO.

9. Blue Ribbon brewer: PABST. How Pabst got its Blue Ribbon.

14. Caleb's twin in "East of Eden": ARON. East of Eden is my favorite John Steinbeck (Feb. 27, 1902 ~ Dec. 20, 1968) novel.

15. Bank claim: LIEN. // And 19-Across: Bank offerings: LOANS.

16. Acquiesce: AGREE.

20. Willie Nelson album of pop standards: STARDUST.

21. Has coming: MERITS.

22. Banned bug spray: DDT. DDT is the abbrevation of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. It was first synthesized by an Austrian chemist named Othmar Zeilder (1850 ~ 1911) in 1874. Rachel Carson (1907 ~ 1964) was the first crusader against the use of DDT due to its harmful impact on the environment.

23. Wrap for sandwiches: SARAN.

30. Acted alarmed, as a horse: SHIED.

31. Designer Saarinen: EERO. We had a clue about Eero Saarinen (Aug. 20, 1910 ~ Sept. 1, 1961) just last Tuesday. Eero Saarinen and his father, Elie Saarinen (Aug. 20, 1873 ~ July 1, 1950), were both well known architects from Finland. Eero designed the Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. As I noted last week, Eero appears quite frequently in the crossword puzzles.

32. Pretoria's home: Abbr.: RSA. As in the Republic of South Africa. Pretoria is just one of South Africa's capital cities. The country has 3 capitals, but Pretoria is its administrative one.

33. Under-the-wing fuel containers: PODS.

34. Decrease: ABATE.

36. Like thick, green lawns: LUSH.

37. Suffix with meth-: -ANE. The chemical structure of Methane:

38. Ex-Yankee with 696 career HRs: A-ROD. Alexander Enmanuel Rodriguez (b. July 27, 1975) will celebrated his 46th birthday later this month.

39. French equivalent of the Oscar: CÉSAR. It is a rather odd looking trophy.

44. Scandal-plagued energy giant: ENRON.

45. Musician Brian: ENO. Brian Eno (né Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno; b. May 15, 1948) used to make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles, but we haven't seen him in a while.

Brian Eno ~ then and now

46. Composer Berlioz: HECTOR. Louis-Hector Berlioz (Dec. 11, 1803 ~ Mar. 8, 1869) was quite a prolific composer.

48. Roads that avoid downtown: BY-PASSES.

53. Carrier that added "ways" to its name in 1997: US AIR.

55. ABBA's "__ Mia!": MAMMA.

56. Vowel-heavy baseball family name: ALOU. The family baseball includes brothers and sons: Felipe Rojas Alou (b. May 12, 1935), Matty (né Mateo Rojas Alou; Dec. 22, 1938 ~ Nov. 3, 2011), Jesús (né Jesúu María Rojas Alou; b. Mar. 24, 1942), his sons Moisés (né Moisés Rojas Alou Beltre; b. July 3, 1966) and Luis (né Louis E. Rojas; b. Sept. 1, 1981).

57. Vowel-heavy end of a court game: ALAI. Change the last 2 vowels from the above and you get the game of Jai Alai.fif

58. Holmes smoked them: PIPES. Think of Sherlock Holmes.

59. Chimed: RANG.

60. Confined, with "up": PENT.

Down:

1. Dinghy movers: OARS.

2. Tough tyke to handle: BRAT.

3. "Field of Dreams" setting: IOWA. Field of Dreams came out in 1989.

4. __'acte: intermission: ENTR. Today's French lesson.

5. Hint at, with "to": ALLUDE.

6. Party with a piñata: FIESTA. Also the name of a grocery store in Texas.

7. Cost of living?: RENT.

8. Toronto's prov.: ONT. Hi, CanadianEh!

9. Sicilian seaport: PALERMO. We visited Palermo in 2019. We had to drive down a very, very narrow street to get to our hotel. There was only about 6 inches leeway. It was quite an experience.

10. Ancient Greek meeting places: AGORAE. Today's Greek lesson.

11. FDR advisory group: BRAIN TRUST.

12. Dispatched: SENT.

13. Melanie's "Working Girl" role: TESS. Working Girl was a 1988 rom-com movie that starred Melanie Griffith (b. Aug. 9, 1957).

18. Said further: ADDED.

21. 1984 Olympic slalom champion: MAHRE. Philip Ferdinand Mahre (b. May 10, 1957) and his twin brother, Steven Irving Mahre (b. May 10, 1957) both competed in the 1984 Olympics. They are fraternal twins.

23. Editor's "Let it stand": STET. A crossword staple.

24. French wine region: RHÔNE.

25. Military assistant: AIDE DE CAMP.

26. Dorm, briefly: RES. As in a Residence.

27. Aptly named English novelist: READE. Charles Reade (June 8, 1814 ~ Apr. 11, 1884) was a novelist and dramatist. Rather obscure for a Tuesday, I'd say.

28. Test, as ore: ASSAY.

29. Cowardly Lion portrayer Bert: LAHR. Although he was quite a prolific actor, Bert Lahr (né Irving Lahrheim; Aug. 13, 1895 ~ Dec. 4, 1967) is best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Appropriate, I suppose, since he was a Leo.