google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Katie Hale

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Showing posts with label Katie Hale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Katie Hale. Show all posts

May 7, 2024

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Amanda Cook and Katie Hale

Pandemic Etiquette:  Now that it has been a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) downgraded Covid-19 from a health emergency to a health threat and we are not in pandemic mode, do we still have to STAND APART?

17-Across. Generic choice at the supermarket: STORE BRAND.  Store brands are made and sold for a specific retailer and meant to compete with brand-name goods. Store brands tend to be cheaper than name brand goods.

Store Brand for Costco.

25-Across. Emotional condition: STATE O FMIND.


40-Across. Cue a jazz ensemble, e.g.: STRIKE UP THE BAND.


50-Across. Inspire wannabes, maybe: START A TREND.


And the unifier:
63-Across. Stick out from the crowd, and what can be found in 17-, 25-, 40-, and 50-Across?: STAND APART.  No circles were needed in today's puzzle to see that the word Stand is broken Apart in each theme answer.


Across:
1. All __: medium for shouty emails: CAPS.  YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL!


5. Meteorologist's tool: RADAR.

10. Apple tablet: iPAD.
14. Feel sore: ACHE.

15. Adler played by Lara Pulver on "Sherlock": IRENE.  Lara Pulvar (b. Sept. 1, 1980) is an English actress who portrayed Irene Adler on the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes.  [Names # 1 and 2, One fictional, one real.]

16. Overhaul: REDO.

19. Bank lobby conveniences: ATMs.  A crossword staple.
20. Sum: TOTAL.

21. __ deck: cruise ship level: LIDO.

23. Formal neckwear: TIE.


24. Sign at a packed theater: SRO.  Standing Room Only.


29. Become misshapen: WARP.


30. Tortilla chip dip, for short: GUAC.  Yummers!  I love a good Guacamole.


31. Alan of "M*A*S*H": ALDA.  Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H was portrayed by Alan Alda (né Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; b. Jan. 28, 1936).  The television sit-com ran for 11 years: from September 1972 through February 1983.  [Name # 3.]


34. Deciduous 26-Downs: ELMS.  //  And 26-Down. Backyard shade provider: TREE.  Living on Elm Street can be a real nightmare.


37. Schnoz: SNOUT.

43. Hard to pick up: HEAVY.

44. "Scram!": SHOO.

45. Great Basin people: UTES.

46. Sound from a 57-Across: MEOW.  //  And 57-Across. Feline: CAT.  //  And 53-Across. Sounds from big 57-Acrosses: ROARS.


48. Chirpy songbird: WREN.

54. Caspian __: SEA.  The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake and sometimes referred to as a full-fledged sea.  It is a landlocked body of water in Eurasia. The countries surrounding Caspian Sea are five countries: Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan


58. Layered cookie: OREO.  A crossword staple.  You can get the cookie in a variety of flavors, but why?




59. Birth-related: NATAL.

61. Within: AMID.

66. Puerto __: RICO.  Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory.  Its capital is San Juan.


67. Data assortment: ARRAY.

68. Grain tower: SILO.
69. Otherwise: ELSE.

70. Fritter away: WASTE.

71. Big name in ice cream: EDYS.

Down:
1. __ a ballot: votes: CASTS.  This is an election year.  Enough said.


2. Many an A-lister: ACTOR.

3. Camera output: PHOTO.


4. Some hydrating skin care products: SERA.  But do they really work?

5. Tease: RIB.
6. Flight status abbr.: ARR.  As in Arrival time.

7. Handed out a hand: DEALT.
8. "It's the Hard Knock Life" musical: ANNIE.  [Name # 3, fictional.]


9. Clifford of kid-lit, for one: RED DOG.  Clifford The Big Red Dog is a series about the adventures of a girl named Emily Elizabeth and her pet dog, a giant, red-furred dog named Clifford.  Norman Bridwell (1928 ~ 2014) was the author of this series.  The first book in the series was published in 1963.  [Name # 4, fictional.]


10. Gershwin brother: IRA.  A nice, refreshing change from the usual Individual Retirement Account.  Ira Gershwin (né Israel Gershovitz; Dec. 6, 1896 ~ Aug. 17, 1983) was the older brother of George Gershwin (né Jacob Gershovitz; Sept. 26, 1898 ~ July 11, 1937).  The two brothers collaborated on many songs: George composed the music and Ira wrote the lyrics.   [Name # 5.]

George and Ira Gershwin

11. Frilly garment in many a costume drama: PETTICOAT.


12. Online moderator, for short: ADMIN.  As in Administrator.

13. Gave a couple of Advil, say: DOSED.

18. Olaf's creator in "Frozen": ELSA.  The musical Frozen is based on Hans Christian Anderson's story The Snow Queen.  [Name # 5, fictional.]

22. Practical: OF USE.

27. Great grade: A-PLUS.


28. Topknot on a dude: MAN BUN.


29. Formal relinquishing of rights: WAIVER.

31. __ Wednesday: ASH.

32. Cell service initials: LTE.  As in Long Term Evolution.  Everything you wanted to know about LTE but didn't know to ask.

33. Theatrical behavior: DRAMATICS.




35. Dashboard stat: MPH.  As in Miles Per Hour.

36. Writer and abolitionist Harriet Beecher __: STOWE.  Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 ~ July 1, 1896) is best known for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.  [Name # 6.]


38. Arles article: UNE.  Today's French lesson.  Arles is a city in southern France.  It is best known for being the place that inspired Vincent Van Gogh (Mar. 30, 1853 ~ July 29, 1890) to paint many of his works.  It was also an ancient Roman outpost.


39. QB goals: TDS.  Think football: as in Touch Downs.

41. Japanese city whose name means "capital city": KYOTO.  Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu. It's famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses.



42. "Beep beep" maker: HORN.

47. Polish capital: WARSAW.


49. Novelist Ferber: EDNA.  Edna Ferber (Aug. 15, 1885 ~ Apr. 16, 1968) wrote many novels, including Show Boat, which was later adapted into a musical.  [Name # 7.]


50. Cause to jump, maybe: SCARE.

51. Native of Sri Lanka: TAMIL.

52. Eye-catching aquarium fish: TETRA.  Everything you wanted to know about Tetra but didn't know to ask.


54. Serious: STAID.

55. Before the doors open: EARLY.

56. Choir section: ALTOS.

60. Cathedral area: APSE.



62. Mama deer: DOE.

64. D.C. MLBer: NAT.  The Washington, D.C., Nationals are a professional baseball team.



65. Salon supply: DYE.




Here's the Grid:





חתולה


Mar 22, 2024

Friday, March 22, 2024, Katie Hale


Greetings, Cruciverbalists. Anomalous Moderate here with a recap of today's puzzle by Katie Hale.  As was the case with the puzzle reviewed by yours truly this past December 29th, Lisa Simpson leads the way to anagram-ville (well, it's kinda close to being an anagram of Margaritaville).

At five places in the grid Katie has a bit of fun by rearranging the initial three or four letters of everyday vocabulary and thereby produces humorous themed answers.  After the first few of these were figured out by this solver (not in top-to-bottom order) I thought that the theme would also have an electronics angle (STEM, USB, RCA) but this was not to be.

Here are the five he terms, er themers:

18 Across:  Shirts for a coders vs. physicists softball game?: STEM JERSEYS.  (New York) METS JERSEYS has been rearranged.  A tech reference.


24 Across:  Break-even transactions involving vintage TVs and turntables?: RCA WASHES.  CAR WASHES  RCA was an early brand of TVs and other electronic gear (although I do not recall ever seeing an RCA turntable).  A break-even transactions is sometimes referred to as "a wash".  Six of one a twenty-fourth of a gross of the other.

38 Across:  One issuing tickets to the over-50 crowd?: AARP TROOPER.  PARATROOPER  If anyone here needs AARP explained please drop me a line.

51 Across:  Animated image of an apple falling on Sir Isaac?: GIF NEWTON.  FIG NEWTON  A popular cookie morphs into an animated illustration of an aha moment in the history of physics.  Here, now, a GIF:


59. Lab work focused on data storage devices?: USB CULTURES.  SUBCULTURES



This is how all of this appears in the grid:



Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

So, Cars:  Oops, Across:


1. Trailhead posting: MAP.  My hiking friends and I used to rely heavily on the USGS contour maps.



4. Courtroom drama on NBC from 1986 to 1994: LA LAW.  Today's first TV show reference.

9. Lariat: ROPE.  Drop the L from the clue and we could form RIATA.

13. Spring mo.: APR.  APRIL.  This could have been clued with a credit card interest rate reference.

14. Vague afternoon time: ONE-ISH.  Probably not Katie's favorite fill.

16. Multicolored gem: OPAL.  We have all seen some so-so posts on blogs but here are some gems:  emeralds, sapphires, OPALs, rubies

17. "Gotta __!": JET.  New to this solver.  "gotta JET is, apparently, a phrase that means "I have to go (quickly)".

20. Miner concern: ORES.  Often found in crossword puzzles but rarely seen pluralized.

22. Water coolers: ICE.  The use of the plural in the clue lead to a bit of head scratching but, I guess, ICES would not be not used in this context.

23. Water movers: MAINS.  Not the first water conduit that came to mind but the clue is on target.

27. Dead set on: WED TO.  Pairing Dead with WED might be perceived as a slippery slope.

29. Tangy red spice: SUMAC.  Popular in middle-eastern cuisine.

30. "Jingle Bells" contraction: O'ER.



32. CSNY's "__ House": OUR.  It was very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard.




33. Making one's hair stand on end?: TEASING.  A clue to be taken literally.

37. Doesn't take well?: ROBS.   Don't take this wrongly . . .

40. Mark left by a bumper: DENT.  If a plane has a small DENT does that make it an airline fracture?

42. Afternoon rests: SIESTAS.

43. Sprint: RUN.  Did the clue jog your memory?

44. Dudes: MEN.  By definition.

45. Romance novelist Dare: TESSA.  Unknown to this solver although I am aware that Romance Novels exist and I have heard such books referred to as "bodice rippers".



49. Make space on the whiteboard: ERASE.  Clued many ways.

55. "__ you a barrel of laughs": AREN'T.  See also 63 Across.

57. Nintendo character option: MII.  Completely unknown to this solver.  Thanks perps.  MII is a customize-able avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles.

58. Artemis org.: NASA.  With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.  The first manned, excuse me, the first crewed lunar landing is scheduled for 2026.

62. Gov. or sen.: POL.  POLitician.  We often encounter POLs in our puzzles.

63. Barrel of laughs: RIOT.  See also 55 Across.

64. Big-box shop: COSTCO.  I was in one just prior to starting to work on this write-up.

65. 68-Across restroom: LOO.  We often go there in our puzzles.

66. Drummer Ulrich: LARS.  Of Metallica.

67. "Anything Goes" star Merman: ETHEL.



68. U.K. part: ENG.  United Kingdom.  ENGland



Down:

1. Focuses in college: MAJORS.  If marine biology was the right MAJOR for you then your grades were probably above c-level.

2. Brief sketch: APERCU.


3. Comms experts: PR TEAM.  COMMunicationS experts - Public Relations TEAM

4. Rock's __ Lonely Boys: LOS.

5. Opposition parties: ANTIS.  ANTIS is a word not often heard, seen or used.

6. Hanger-on: LEECH.  Idiomatically and literally.  Ugh.




7. Teegarden of "Friday Night Lights": AIMEE.

8. Financial paper, for short: WSJ.  Newspaper.  The Wall Street Journal

9. "The Jetsons" maid: ROSIE.  That's ROSIE in the back.  You know the other names from the theme song.  Another TV reference.



10. What love is, per a "Frozen" song: OPEN DOOR.

11. Earnings report: PAY STUB.  Of a sort, I suppose, for an individual but not for a company.

12. Lapel edges?: ELS.  Lapel begins and ends with the letter L.

15. Take up, in a way: HEM.  See also 37 Down.

19. Playful "grr" alternative: RAWR.  Used to express anger, flirtation or affection.

21. Try to hit: SWAT AT.




25. Lenovo rival: ACER.  DELL and SONY would also have fit the allotted space.

26. Wireless speaker brand: SONOS.  Hand up for ANKER.



28. RN workplaces: ORS.  Registered Nurse.  Operating RoomS.

31. Elton John accomplishment, briefly: EGOT.  Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony.   Elton John is the most recent person to complete this feat and, of all who have done so (less than twenty people) he was the oldest at "completion".

34. Basilica alcove: APSE.  Do you struggle to find domed recesses in cathedrals?  There's an APSE for that.

35. Result of angering a wasp, probably: STING.  Not the ethnic kind of WASP.



36. Fury: IRE.

37. Taken up, in a way: RE-SEWN.  See also 15 Down.

38. University of Michigan city: ANN ARBOR.  Go Blue!

39. Spread out at a cocktail party: PATE.  Not splayed.  An edible spread that might be put out (served).

40. Rap's Dr. __: DRE.

41. "1984" superstate: EURASIA.

44. Maitre d' offering: MENU.


46. Paper clip alternative: STAPLE.  Alternatively:  You shouldn't eat stationery.  It might become a dietary STAPLE.

47. "Time to go already?": SO SOON.



48. Like a watch with hands: ANALOG.



50. Factions: SECTS.


52. "You can't stop me": I MUST.



53. Colin of "1917": FIRTH.  An actor/motion picture reference.

54. Extended family member: NIECE.  In Nice, nièce.

56. "No Scrubs" group: TLC.  A music/"girl group" reference.

59. Clickable link: URL.  Here's One

60. Little piggy: TOE.



61. Mexican lager: SOL.  Aaahhh, a nice cold beer to wrap things up.




________________________________________________________



Notes from C.C.:

Happy 83rd birthday to our sweet Pat (PK on our blog), who's been with our blog for a long time. PK used to be a reporter.
 
Cake from Dave