Friday, April 22, 2022, Karen Lurie

 Title: No "IT" girl here!

Karen makes a speedy return for her second 2022 LAT puzzle, not long after her February 25, 2022, debut here. In her initial offering she added an "H" to phrases and clued them with wit and charm. Now we have a classic Friday grid that removes the two letter word "IT" from phrases and then clues the resulting new fill. She has a reveal, and uses a symmetrical 10/12/12/10 pattern. The majority of the fill is 4 or letters, leaving me no long fill to highlight. Since the difficulty in the puzzle does not come from long fill lets address the theme and then talk about why this a late week puzzle.

21A. Former spouse who never lets things get awkward?: GRACEFUL EXIT. (10). How nice if you can end a marriage and still get on, even if it is just for the sake of the children. Removing the "IT" in this case does not change much as the understanding ex must have also left nicely.

26A. Outcome when a salon student makes waves?: LEARNER'S PERMIT. (12). On the other hand, when an aspiring stylist is entrusted with the hair of poor soul, the result may be really bad. This is quite different from the ritual of obtaining a driver license.

46A. Luring an academic to the dark side?: TURNING A PROFIT (12). Another school setting, this time your teacher becomes Darth Nihilus rather than running a successful business. 

And the reveal, for real

52A. Taylor Swift hit song about defying the haters, and an apt title for this puzzle: SHAKE IT OFF (10).

On to the rest.

Across:

1. Frito pie ingredient: CHILI. Does anyone make/eat this TexMex dish? Fritos® Pie. I wonder if puzzles will become like game shows where money is paid to promote products...

6. Percussion-based theater troupe: STOMP. They are quite famous.

LINK.

11. Back in the day: AGO. It is not easy to make a three letter fill hard but this not jump into my mind.

14. TV signal part: AUDIO. Video fits as well.

15. SAT prep help, often: TUTOR. We return to education, I taught an LSAT prep course back in the day.

16. Like beach volleyball players: TAN. Another three letter fill that took thinking to fill.

17. Casino array: SLOTS. 

18. See 6-Down: ANISE. 6D. With 18-Across, ingredient in five-spice powder: STAR. Illicium verum is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. wiki.

                        

19. Trellis growth: IVY. More plants. When I was teaching briefly in Gainesville I had a student named IVY CREAM. Were here parents progressive or mean?

20. "Freeze!": HALT. Hands up!

23. Serpentine fish: EEL.  A CSO for C.C.

25. Streisand film based on a Singer story: YENTL. Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Nobel Prize winning author who wrote in Yiddish. The story was published in Mayses fun hintern oyvn (1971; “Stories from Behind the Stove”).

32. Holy __: OIL. I don't think this combination has been used before. COW and SEE are much more likely.

33. Cleared for takeoff?: DEICED. The PROCESS.

34. Low nos. for aces: ERAS. Earned Run Averages. Baseball ace pitchers.

38. Many Egyptians: ARABS. Did you know about 1% of the world's population is Egyptian? 

40. Domino dot: PIP.  "Pip" has been used not only to denote the dots on dominoes, but also the dots on dice, as well as the marks on playing cards and sometimes as a synonym for "dot" in morse code. Information.com.

41. Day of the Dead drink: ATOLE.  A coffee and cornmeal combination part of the TRADITION.

42. Arizona locale for spring training fans: MESA. The city. Hi Lucina and Moe.

43. Suits: BEFITS. 

45. Silent communication sys.: ASL. America Sign Language.

49. "The City & the City" novelist Miéville: CHINA. I no longer read science fiction nor graphic novels, so the author and the book are complete unknowns.  LINK. 

51. WSJ news topic: IPO. Initial Public Offering. 

56. Cause of inflation?: PUMP. Oh, how fun, not a tired old saw, but and old tire needing air!

60. "Nailed it!": YES. Another CSO to C.C.

61. Miyazaki's genre: ANIME.  A master.

62. Binge: SPREE. When you sit at your tv, do you think of it as a spree.

63. Snare: NET.

64. Four-time Australian Open winner: SELES. Monica. She appears often not only because of her tennis but also for being stabbed on court.

65. Piano part: PEDAL. I must stop looking at every 5 letter word as a possible WORDLE

66. Weep: CRY.

67. Utopias: EDENS. The name Eden is of Hebrew origin meaning "place of pleasure." It brings to mind this DISCUSSION.

68. Mature: ADULT. I do not see these as synonyms, C.E.D.? And, 29D. Mature: RIPEN a clecho.

Down:

1. "Hurt" singer: CASH. "Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from its second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994), written by Trent Reznor. Why did he record this in 2002?

2. Dance for a lei person: HULA. Ha ha!

3. TV competition, familiarly: IDOL. This year's superstar find quit mid-season after signing a lucrative deal.

4. Kitten caboodle: LITTER. One of the clue writers really has some home runs today. Kit and Kaboodle is a fun phrase.

5. Apple platform: iOS. No pesky capital is here.

7. Fish in salade niçoise: TUNA. A French delight, which probably does not delight most. 

8. Ear-relevant?: OTIC. This is from the mid 17th century: from Greek ōtikos, from ous, ōt- ‘ear.’

9. Sauntered: MOSEYED.  A popular word in the old westerns on TV but its origin is unknown.

10. Want more: PREFER.

11. Listing: ATILT. An "A" word; do not worry she is just getting started.

12. Chairperson's hammer: GAVEL.

13. Black stone: ONYX.  It is a variety of layered chalcedony that belongs to the quartz family. As indicated by the name, this semi-precious gemstone is characterized by its dramatic black body color. Angara.

21. Series set at McKinley High: GLEE. A jinxed series?  Glee Stars That Have Died · Cory Monteith – Drug Overdose · Mark Salling – Suicide · Naya Rivera – Accidental Drowning?? · Nancy Motes – Suicide and Robin Trocke who died of alzheimers at age 63.

22. Not fulfilled: UNMET.

24. Winds down: ENDS. Meh, winds down is a process.

26. Rich soil: LOAM. And a famous song, Loam Loam on the range.

27. Word on some European postage stamps: EIRE. A touch of Irish trivia too late.

28. "That's a shame": ALAS.  Alack. It applies to author...

30. Octavia Butler's genre: SCI-FI. I used to read lots of sci-fi but in the culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s I never knew this AUTHOR.

31. "Fast Food My Way" chef Jacques: PEPIN. A French chef other than Julia Child. Below is a video from when he was younger, he is now 86.

35. Have a good laugh: ROAR. Yay!

36. Besides: ALSO.

37. Mirror image: SELF. Mirrors reflect backward images; is that how you see yourself.

39. Dyeing art: BATIK. Another clue with a pun to amuse.

41. PDQ: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.  PDQ is an abbreviation of the phrase “pretty damned quick.”

43. Clocked: BRAINED. Apparently this is BRITISH to hit (someone), especially on the head. "someone clocked him for no good reason."

44. "What a long week" sigh: TGIF. An appropriate clue.

47. Trepidation: UNEASE.

48. Burst: POPPED. My balloon? Bubble?

49. Pull (for): CHEER.

50. Impulsive: HASTY. 

52. Out of __: SYNC. I order mine from Amazon so I never run out.

53. Bananagrams piece: TILE.  Bananagrams is an anagram puzzle built for speed — think of Scrabble with no board or complicated scoring. It was developed in Rhode Island. 

54. Sign: OMEN.

55. Own (up): FESS. 
                                    
57. Lahore tongue: URDU. This Pakistani CITY has a very long and complicated history. If you take some time to read the entire wiki article you will understand my comment. I hope our resident expert will stop by and give his input. I learned much I did not know from a Sikh gentleman who worked in a store I frequented.

58. Repast: MEAL. English is so rich from stealing from so many other languages. Re-past is just from the Latin word repascere, which means "to feed." 

59. Hide: PELT. No, I am here with my skin still on.

62. Après-ski option: SPA. Also a choice one can make after, or during solving an LAT Friday crossword. It did not work for me as I kept falling asleep. I trust none of you wonderful people did as you anxiously solved this dynamic, distaff dish. The world continues to spin. Thank you Patti and Karen. Lemonade out.

 

Here's the grid:

Friday, February 25, 2022, Karen Lurie

Title: What the "H" is going on? Of course you can use her reveal if you prefer. I admit hers is better.

Welcome to the LAT debut puzzle from Karen who already has two published puzzles: August 25, 2021 in the American Values Crossword Club (AVCX) and earlier this year the NYT on January13, 2022. She is " a comedy and game show writer" who used the "at home time" of the pandemic to try her hand at making crosswords. Here is the PICTURE she provided the NYT for her publication. An example of her writing is the sadly accurate MEMO  on the workplace. It is extra fun to have this creative female constructor to balance Wednesday's other creative female. I smell change in the air; I hope it is more than nickels.

She presents us with a familiar A/B/B/A theme with a reveal. The other longish answers are limited BAD LUCK,  IN CHECK,  IT'S LATE and RESHOOT but she does include 26 five letter fill, a surprise gift for all the WORDLE players. I solved this after a terrible day where it took me all 6 guesses to get the word. Players, can you pick which one it was? So lets begin the fun...

20A. Aroma of a freshly grilled steak?: NEW CHAR SMELL (12).

I am not sure I would have associated a new CAR smell with food but I used to like charred meat.

32A. Horror film writer's mantra?: PUT A SHOCK IN IT (13). I really like this multi-word variation. Put a sock in it is a colloquial British phrase that originated in the early 20th century. It is generally used when someone is being so noisy as to annoy others.

40A. What Stanford University catchers' gear protects?: CARDINAL SHINS (13). Shin guards were not my first catchers' protective thought, but then I realized they do all that kneeling both on the field and in Church.

55A. "Always dust before you vacuum" and others?: CHORE BELIEFS (12). The parentheses signify the basic nature of this CORE belief which makes perfect sense - I think.

And the reveal:

51D. Cold War concern ... and what created 20-, 32-, 40- and 55-Across?: HBOMB (5). This is a variation of the PHOTOBOMB which has become a ritual in modern life, with the lonely letter jumping into all the phrases. 

Across:

1. Go on or come off: OCCUR. Did the strike go on? Did they get it to come off?

6. Had a bite: ATE. Unless it is a worker's head?

9. Checks: BILLS. Sure they are; a good Friday combination.

14. Prize money: PURSE. This usage goes all the way back to the 1400s when both men and women carried purses.

15. Jorja of the "CSI" franchise: FOX. She is back in the reboot of the CSI: Las Vegas series. Everytime my wife sees her on screen she says the Jorja is "ไม่สวย" No s̄wy. Use your imagination, or ask me.

16. Something bid: ADIEU. More nice Friday misdirection.

17. Agenda entries: ITEMS. Getting a condo board to prepare an agenda and then stay with the items is a challenge.

18. Brief plan for the future?: IRA. Brief suggesting an abbreviation and this is your retirement plan, or part of it. 

19. Artful evasion: DODGE. My favorite was introduced by in Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. A young pickpocket named Jack Dawkins who most people refer to him as "the Artful Dodger" The nickname describes his skill at his trade: his mind is cunning, his fingers are sly, and he's quick on his feet. 

23. Hosp. areas: ERS. Meh.

24. Sweet little sandwich: OREO. Despite the endless clues used for this fill, this version is brand new.

25. Employs a hard sell: PUSHES. I do hate a pushy salesperson.

29. Nemesis, say: FOE. Did she get a bad rap, she was just doing her job. In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia (Ancient Greek: Ῥαμνουσία, romanized: Rhamnousía, lit. 'the goddess of Rhamnous'), is the goddess who enacts retribution against those who succumb to hubris, arrogance before the gods.

30. Third of a game?: TIC. I bet you all got this one

31. "These __ the times ... ": Paine: ARE.  "These are the times that try men's souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country..." Written in Dec. 1776 by Thomas Paine who wrote the COMMON SENSE pamphlets which were so important during the revolution.
They also were just recognized in "Seth Bisen-Hersh's puzzle on Tuesday. The world my be folding in on itself.

36. Paralyze with surprise: STUN.

38. Beige cousin: TAN. They are not allowed to date.

39. García Lorca wrote them to Whitman and Dalí: ODES. This the ONE to Whitman.

45. Stein filler: ALE. My first thought TOKLAS would not fit.

46. Choice word: NOR. Nicely phrased. 

47. Native suffix: ITE. I think I may be related to the WORDNIK site.

48. Laundry room supply: BLEACH. According to CSI it is used to erase traces of blood!

50. Some Drs.: PHDS. Phudee duddee?

52. Small Indian state: GOA. So happy to see my birth twin Vidwan is back; perhaps he will expand on this. 

58. Papier-__: MACHE. Staying in India, papier-mâché was introduced to India in the 14th century by the Persian mystic Mir Syed Ali Hamdani. He was visiting the Kashmir region from Persia, and brought along skilled artisans and craftsmen.

61. 2008 Visa event, briefly: IPO. Initial Public Offering.

62. Be bratty: ACT UP.

63. Worshiper of the rain god Tlaloc: AZTEC. Tlaloc, (Nahuatl: “He Who Makes Things Sprout”). He was the eighth ruler of the days and the ninth lord of the nights.

64. PIN point: ATM. Another cute clue.

65. Mock: TEASE.

66. "Find out": GO ASK. Such simple advice to give your children; parents, you do not need to know everything so stop lying to your kids.

67. Loft: LOB. Tennis or hand grenades?

68. Fruity-smelling compound: ESTER. But she was helluva fun girl at parties.

Down:

1. Express views: OPINE. Just a fancy way to say give an OPINion.

2. More like a puppy: CUTER. Mine is cuter than yours.

3. Teams: CREWS. The mafia likes calling their teams crews as did the recent fat tuesday celebrants.

4. Mil. branch: USMC. United States Marine Corps.

5. Result of a botched line: RESHOOT. Do not say this near Alec Baldwin.

6. Lit: AFIRE. An A word. 

7. Tailor's dummy, e.g.: TORSO.

8. Skills barometer: EXAM.

9. Gambler's concern: BAD LUCK. 

10. Stars watched by many: IDOLS.  Season 20 is on. I am not a Ryan Seacrest fan.

11. Shadow target: LID. Make-up your mind.

12. Part of a journey: LEG.

13. WNBA star Bird: SUE. Another University of Connecticut Husky star. Her story.

21. Land measure: AREA. Perimeter etc.

22. Sweeping: EPIC.

26. Jazz __: dance technique: HANDS.

27. Pennsylvania city on I-90: ERIE. Like Oreo, Erie is also always here. CSO to all of you living near there.

28. Establishes: SETS. The rules, the tone...

29. Back: FUND. The backers fund the play, the business, the action.

30. A whole bunch: TONS. That would be an impressive bouquet.

32. Tomato product: PUREE. You can puree any vegatable or fruit as it is simply a smooth, creamy substance made of liquidized or crushed fruit or vegetables.

 
33. Night light: STAR. How sweet.

34. Shakespearean prince: HAL. Henry V, who grew up once he became King but never quite fit the part..

35. Actress Skye: IONE. Born into fame as singer Donovan's daughter, she has had an interesting LIFE.

36. Healing sign: SCAB. 

37. Unlikely: TALL. For Friday blogs, that is quite true as Chris and I are both vertically challenged but comfortable on an airplane.

41. Under control: IN CHECK.

42. NYC neighborhood above Houston Street: NOHO. North of Howston (houston). Opposite of SOHO.

43. Obscure: HIDE. Children are always trying to obscure things from their parents like the porn, drugs and the positive pregnancy test.

44. "I should probably get going": IT'S LATE. A classic passive/agressive "I want to have sex with you" line. If he/she/they say, "No, no, stay." You are in like Flint.

49. Soreness: ACHES. You may however wake up the next day with much...

50. __-Bismol: PEPTO. Pepto was a marketeer's version of pepsin, a natural substance that aids digestion. Bismol is named for bismuth, the active ingredient that works, by “coating the stomach.” Even though Pepto is now pepsin-less, no one could bear to change the name.

52. Insinuate: GET AT. What are you trying to get at when you say I...?

53. Valuable: OF USE.

54. According to: AS PER.

56. Iranian bread: RIAL. Money in Iran.

57. Street fair treats: ICES. Do we have street fairs in the US?

58. E-__: MAG. Meh 2.

59. Nitrogenous dye: AZO. I hope this clears up any confusion: Azo dyes are prepared in a two step reaction, the first being the synthesis of an aromatic diazonium ion from an aniline derivative. The next step is coupling of the diazonium salt with an aromatic compound 

60. Commuter org. in the Loop: CTA. We are ending today's tour in the windy city exiting a Chicago Transit Authority bus so we can visit TTP and some of our other Northen friends. We have many living in that area over the years and I think Madame DeFarge and WikWak are still dealing with the brutal winters. Good luck to all north of Orlando.

An exciting week of new talent here and some very fun themes and and other clue/fill combinations. I wish the world were having as much fun as we are. I not really know much about Eastern European politics but they produce so many very beautiful people. Good luck to all especially those at the Corner and of course Boomer. Jessie, Pet and Andrew please stop by and tell us about this collaboration.

Lemonade out.