Saturday, December 2, 2023, Kristian House

 Saturday Themeless by Kristian House 

This is Kristin's seventh LA Times puzzle as a sole and  co-constructor. His first entry was in late 2017 just a month before I started as the regular Saturday blogger in December of that year. I am now starting my seventh year at that post.

Kristian, of Oneta, NY, says he is a "Dad, Math Content Writer, Crossword Puzzle Creator and Supporter of the Infield Fly Rule"

Across:

1. Band that contributes to knee flexion, for short: ACL - Many an athletic career has been ended by an injury to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament

4. Hot breakfast cereal: FARINA.

10. Beaker's syllable: MEEP - Beaker was the lab assistant to the wacky Muppet scientist Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. (Did anyone else think of MEEP being the call of the Roadrunner as he ran from Wiley Coyote?)

14. Ice cream novelties discontinued in 2022: CHOCOTACOS - The Good Humor Company discontinued this item as a cost saving move.

16. Concerning: IN RE.

17. House money, at times: CASH OFFERS 😀 It sure beats waiting for the prospective purchaser to sell his house first.

18. "Now!": STAT.

19. Tarantula legs, e.g.: OCTAD - Any group of eight 

20. Meadows on TV: TIM - A lot of us here probably first thought of Audrey  (addendum link - h.g.)

21. Like the air in a greenhouse: MOIST - Humid means the same thing and has six letters but...

22. Second-largest branch of Islam: SHIISM.

24. Zip: NADA - zero, bupkis, nil, naught, etc.

26. Mens __: REA.

27. Ink spot?: TAT.

28. Landry who was the first coach of the Cowboys: TOM - Always nattily attired 

30. "La Dolce Vita" star: EKBERG.

32. Capitol gains?: SENATE SEATS - It's a close proposition these days

35. Modest reply to a compliment: WHAT CAN I SAY.

36. Reeling feeling: SHAME SPIRAL.

37. Stare daggers (at): GLOWER.

38. Department of the Interior head Haaland: DEB - The first Native American cabinet member.

39. "The Simpsons" character once voiced by Hank Azaria: APU - Hank quit voicing the character because he said it was reenforcing stereotypes and he felt bad about it.

42. Many a Monet: OIL.

43. Doesn't keep: ROTS.

46. Johnson who won the 2020 Masters Tournament: DUSTIN - I didn't get the name of the gentleman on the right who is presenting the jacket. 😀

48. Simmers: STEWS.

50. Shake a leg, quaintly: HIE - I got, "Come here so I can tell you something."

52. Dark times, informally: NITES 😀

53. "Small world": OH HI.

54. Teased: MESSED WITH.

56. "Coming Home" singer Bridges: LEON.

57. "No one's being straight with me!": IT'S ALL A LIE.

58. AAA and BBB: ORGS 😀 - If the AAA doesn't treat you right, report them to the BBB

59. Like some park passes: DAY USE - So you want to go to Disney World...

60. Inclusive word: AND.

Down:

1. Confront: ACCOST - I had ACC_S_ and used another but incorrect word

2. Three-step process?: CHA CHA 😀 The dance characterized by the triplet Cha Cha Cha rhythm is commonly just called the CHA CHA. You're welcome.

3. Flipped: LOST IT - An unfortunate trait of Bobby Knight

4. Some Hamilton Beach appliances: FOOD STEAMERS - A double header

5. Org. for traffic cops?: ATF - Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

6. Host: RAFT - Candidates will be making a RAFT (host) of promises next year.

7. Trap during February, maybe: ICE IN.

8. Kamali who uses silk parachutes in many of her designs: NORMA - This is her 1974 "parachute dress" in international orange.

9. Burro: ASS.

10. Umami-rich paste: MISO - Umami means "savoriness" in Japanese

11. Aggregate: ENTIRETY.

12. Things that get bad marks: ERASERS 😀

13. Collar attachment: PET TAG - We call them Lily's license plates

15. Cardamom-infused brew: CHAI.

21. Rakes it in: MAKES A BUNDLE - What many who go to Vegas delude themselves will happen to them.

23. Lil Nas X album with the hit "Industry Baby": MONTERO - Google if you must

25. Sought-after: DESIRED.

29. Safari runners: MACS - 😀 The browser on my MacBook

31. Canaanite idol: BAAL - Need more?

32. "Killing Eve" actress Fiona: SHAW.

33. Bug: TAP.

34. Oklahoma city: ENID.

35. Completely: WHOLE HOG.

36. Act like a snake: SLITHER.

37. Strike out?: GO SOLO - The story of why Diana struck out on her own is in the 12/1/69 Soul Magazine article

39. __ the Hun: ATTILA.

40. Cobbler pan: PIE TIN.

41. Held back, as tears: UNSHED - An uncommon but easily sussed word

44. __ rhythm: brain waves pattern: THETA.

45. Actress Spacek: SISSY - Was this 47-yr-old movie anyone else's first thought?

47. YouTube star JoJo: SIWA - Go to YouTube and search for her if you must

49. Lands: WINS - A boxer can land a punch, a gymnast can land a vault, a salesman can land a contract, a fisherman can land a fish...

51. Biblical twin of Jacob: ESAU.

54. Central: MID.

55. Half the characters in "Kill Bill"?: ELS - 😀 Last week we had the meta clue for two iotas in Illiad (Iliad in Greek is Ιλιάδα). Today we have four EL'S for half the eight letters in Kill Bill.

Thursday, September 5th 2019 Kristian House

Theme: Two's Company or an enemy! Two-handed games, let's go look:

17A. *Brain trust member: MASTERMIND. Fun game, you try to match the colors and order of four hidden pegs set by your opponent. "Mastermind" is also a long-running quiz show in the UK; the first few seasons were won by university professors, diplomats and such. Then Fred Housego, a London taxi driver, stormed the competition, he won and became a popular figure appearing on TV and radio. Even though he was an emerging media star he still continued to drive his cab.

22A. *Nixon's cocker spaniel: CHECKERS. Not many alternative clues for this one. The only one I can think of is too "British". (the Prime Minister's "official" country residence). Why the PM needs a country residence is beyond me.

38A. *Influential record company named for co-founding brothers Leonard and Phil: CHESS. A great story and anyone lovers of R&B or Rock 'n Roll will know Chess Records. Interestingly, they also had a subsidiary label "Checker" - shame it wasn't the plural to match 22A.

This is their release "Rocket 88" with Jackie Brenston, a single generally accepted as the first "Rock and Roll" release

50A. *Playful question spoiled by caller ID: GUESS WHO? Also guess who:

"Knock knock!
Who's there?
To!
To who?
No, it's to whom.

60A. *The USS Iowa, e.g.: BATTLESHIP. The game used to be simple, played on graph paper, and calling out squares to your opponent, but it's got a little more complicated, battery powered and unnecessary. Does there have to be an app for everything? The battleship "Iowa" found a home here in Southern California in San Pedro harbor.

11D. With 28-Down, words to a cheater ... or an honest hint to the answers to starred clues: TWO CAN PLAY ...

28D. See 11-Down: ... AT THAT GAME

This was nicely done. The five theme entries were clued without any reference to the games, and the down reveal was a nice surprise when it all came together. Great job by Kristian and a lot of fun fill to round things out.

Across:

1. Isla surrounder: AGUA

5. Real cutup: JOKER

10. Italian volcano: ETNA. There's another four-letter volcano in Italy in the Lazio region, Vico, and Lake Vico occupies the caldera,it's  safe to say it hasn't blown its top for quite some time, if it does all that water would be giving Rome a hot shower.

14. TV series that had flashbacks, flash-forwards and multiple timelines: LOST

15. Kemper of "The Office": ELLIE

16. Truant GI: AWOL

19. Meander: ROVE

20. Afflicted with illness, say: STRICKEN

21. Gastric woe: ULCER

25. PC key: ALT

26. Reel Big Fish music genre: SKA

29. Pigs out (on): ODS

30. Flying frenemy of Godzilla: RODAN. "Frenemies" because they usually start out fighting each other in the movies, then team up to defeat a bigger threat to them both.

32. "Beaten" ways: PATHS. Because "Sado-masochistic lifestyle" doesn't quite fit.

34. One who is rotten to the core?: BAD APPLE

37. Quartet member: ALTO

40. Serb or Croat: SLAV

41. Went over again and again: REHASHED

43. Razz: TEASE

44. Geometric given: AXIOM. I thought "postulates" were geometric and "axioms" algebraic, but since I pretty much sucked at high school mathematics so who am I to question the experts?

45. Ox tail?: -IDE

47. Hankering: YEN

48. Toward the stern: AFT

53. 2010 Supreme Court appointee: KAGAN

55. Shows derision for: SNEERS AT

59. Boast: BRAG

62. Toon mail-order company: ACME. He'd get quicker delivery and free returns with Amazon Prime today.

63. Be of use to: AVAIL

64. Sty sound: OINK

65. Swamp stalk: REED

66. "Aw, fudge!": NERTS!

67. Corddry of TV's "Mom": NATE. Crosses all the way, as is my wont with TV-related clues.

Down:

1. Help for the needy: ALMS

2. Animal on the Cubs' 2016 World Series rings: GOAT. I've been to the original Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Michigan Avenue. Simple enough place, cold beer and the "cheezborgers" of Saturday Night Live fame.

3. Space Race inits.: U.S.S.R.

4. Room often with a slanted ceiling: ATTIC

5. Pulled quickly: JERKED

6. Early Mexicans: OLMECS

7. "Hogan's Heroes" colonel: KLINK

8. German article: EIN

9. Crimson, e.g.: RED

10. Bluegrass legend Scruggs: EARL

12. Original: NOVEL

13. At the ready: ALERT

18. Heart sonograms, familiarly: ECHOS

21. Food safety agcy.: U.S.D.A.

23. Paleozoic and Cenozoic: ERAS

24. Retina cells: RODS

26. Exchange barbs: SPAR

27. Curly cabbage: KALE

31. Church area: APSE

33. The Cardiff Giant, notably: HOAX. A great story. The hoax was exploited by one David Hannum, who coined the phrase "there's a sucker born every minute" when he discovered people were paying to see a copy of the giant, created by P.T. Barnum. Hannum sued Barnum, but the case was dismissed by the judge who ruled that Barnum had just faked a fake.

Look him up on Wikipedia. I'd post the picture here, but some of delicate dispositions might be alarmed by the naked giant's nether regions. If the giant is ten feet tall, his well-sculpted "wedding tackle" is around a foot. He puts Michelangelo's "David" to shame.

34. __ Bath & Beyond: BED

35. Zap with a beam: LASE

36. Equally matched: EVEN

38. __ En-lai: CHOU

39. Iron-rich blood pigment: HEME. Slowly figured this out from the related words - hematoma, hemaglobin and so on. In UK English, we complicate matters, originally using the dipthong spelling "hæma..." and then, completely true to the "why don't we complicate spelling?"  edict, the expanded "haema".

42. Portent: SIGN

43. Giggly sound: TE-HEE

45. "Don't you agree?": ISN'T IT?

46. Resides: DWELLS

48. 1556-1605 Mogul emperor: AKBAR

49. Screwball comedy: FARCE

51. Celestial red giant: S-STAR

52. Director Welles: ORSON

54. Like good Scotch: AGED. It never goes bad, unlike wine aged too long, but it disappears, evaporating into the ether, the annual 2% loss known as "the angel's share". That's 29 million gallons of Scotch evaporating out of the barrels of Scottish distilleries every year. Those angels are having a PAR-TEY!

56. LaBeouf of "Transformers" films: SHIA

57. Informal contraction: AIN'T

58. Toll rd.: TPKE. The geek in me knows it as an acronym for Threshold Public Key Encryption.

60. Prohibition: BAN. A good job it didn't happen in Scotland otherwise those angels would have to go find something useful to do.

61. "__ Maria": AVE

That's about it, I think. Music link posted? Check. Picture embedded? Check. Random story about the UK? Check! Grid? Here it is. Check!

Steve

Tuesday, August 20, 2019, Kevin Christian & Kristian House

You Can Bet Your Life.  Each word in the starred theme answer can come After the word Life to give a new phrase or concept.

17-Across. *  Pedigree ancestry: BLOOD LINE.  As in Lifeblood and Life Line.

 Lifeblood.

Life Line

25-Across. *  Suit tailor's concern: JACKET SIZE.  As in Life Jacket and Life Size.

Moses hands out Life Jackets before crossing the Red Sea.

Life Size.

35-Across. *  Nightly ritual for young children: STORY TIME.  As in Life Story and Life Time.

 Life Story.

Life Time.

49-Across. *  Teacher's outline: LESSON PLAN.  As in Life Lesson and Life Plan.

Life Lessons

Life Plan.

And the unifier:
58. "Field of Dreams" subject, and where both parts of the answers to starred clues can go: AFTERLIFE.  (Admit it, your first thought was Baseball, even though it was a letter short.)

Across:

1. New England fish: COD.  More than you ever wanted to know about the Atlantic COD.

4. Seriously injures: MAIMS.

9. Frosh, next year: SOPH.  This year's Freshman is next year's SOPHomore.

13. "Should I take that as __?": A NO.

14. Are: EXIST.

15. Boy Scout unit: TROOP.

19. Luxury Honda: ACURA.

20. "Eight Miles High" band, with "The": BYRDS.

21. Farm building: BARN.

23. Up to, in ads: TIL.

24. The Beatles' "__ Love Her": AND I.

28. Prospective elevator passenger's query: GOING UP?

30. Villain played by Josh Brolin in most "Avengers" films: THANOS.

31. Flock female: EWE.

32. Biblical paradise: EDEN.

34. Olympics segment: EVENT.

38. On the ocean: AT SEA.

41. Red Sox manager Alex: CORA.  José Alexander Cora (b. Oct. 18, 1975) has been the Red Sox manager since 2017.  He played for a number of MLB teams, including, but not limited to, the Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Texas Rangers.

42. Topeka's st.: KAN.  Topeka is the capital of Kansas.

45. "I want to see": SHOW ME!  Missouri is known as the Show Me State.

47. "The Lord of the Rings" wizard: GANDALF.

52. "__ all work out": IT'LL.

53. Barcelona gold: ORO.  Today's Spanish lesson.

54. Field mouse: VOLE.

55. Diviner's deck: TAROT.

56. Opposite of sur: NORTE.  More of today's Spanish lesson.  North is the opposite of South.  Did anyone see the 1983 movie El Norte?  it was about a group of people from Guatemala fleeing from ethnic and political persecution during the Guatemalan Civil War.  They trek north to the United States hoping for a better life.

61. Movie legend Greta: GARBO.  Greta Garbo (née Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; Sept. 8, 1905 ~ Apr. 15, 1990) was a Swedish actress.

62. Appliance with burners: STOVE.

63. Actress Vardalos: NIA.  Nia Vardalos (née Antonia Eugenia Vardalos / Νία Βαρντάλος; b. Sept. 24, 1962) is a Canadian-Green actress, best known for her 2002 movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

64. Cannon of "Heaven Can Wait" (1978): DYAN.  Dyan Cannon (née Samille Diane Friesen; b. Jan. 4, 1937) was one of Cary Grant's 5 wives.  They were married for about 3 years in the 1960s.  There was a 33 year age gap between the two.

65. Sinatra classic with Anka lyrics: MY WAY.  My Way is without the video.

66. PIN requester: ATM.  Cute clue for the Automatic Teller Machine.

Down:

1. Sauerkraut, mainly: CABBAGE.  You, too, can make your own Sauerkraut.

2. "Just this second": ONLY NOW.

3. Desperate: DO OR DIE.

4. Drugs from docs: MEDS.  As in Medications.

5. Rose of Guns N' Roses: AXL.  Axl Rose (né William Bruce Rose, Jr.; b. Feb. 6, 1962) is the lead singer of the band referenced in the clue.

Axl is the one without the had.

6. Three on a sundial: III.

7. "Hardball" cable channel: MSNBC.

8. Rib eye, for one: STEAK.

9. Baseball great Musial's nickname: STAN THE MAN.  Stan Musial (né Stanley Frank Musial; Nov. 21, 1920 ~ Jan. 19, 2013) played for the St. Louis Cardinals for 22 years.

10. Beast fought by 47-Across: ORC.

11. Canadian french fries dish: POUTINE.  I had heard of this dish, which is basically french fries and cheese curds topped with gravy.  It is most closely associated with the cuisine of Quebec.  I had an opportunity to try it for the first time this past spring when I was up near the Quebec border.  It was interesting, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to order it again.

12. Where land and sky seem to meet: HORIZON.

16. Most colorless: PALEST.

18. Chief Norse god: ODIN.  In Norse mythology, Odin is the god of wisdom, poetry, death and magic.

22. Like some mil. officers: RET.  As in Retired.  Fortunately, you don't have to be in the military to retire.

25. Weaponless self-defense: JUDO.

26. Mimic: APER.

27. Goalie's goal: SAVE.

29. "Hurry!": GET A MOVE ON.  My grandmother used that expression a lot.

33. It has both Kings and Queens counties, briefly: NYC.  As in New York City.  I was in Manhattan during the July heat wave.  I had to go through Queens from the airport.

35. Uses needle and thread: SEWS.

36. Roman robe: TOGA.

37. Persian Gulf republic: IRAN.

38. Comparable in duration: AS LONG.

39. "Not Taken" place in a Frost poem title: THE ROAD.

40. "My apologies": SO SORRY!

42. Catastrophic New Orleans hurricane: KATRINA.  Louisiana is still feeling the impact of this storm, which hit the state almost exactly 14 years ago.

43. The whole shebang: ALL OF IT.

44. Cardinals or Falcons: NFL TEAM.

46. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums: ENO.  Brian Eno (b. May 15, 1948) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.

48. Dashboard feature: DIAL.

50. Suffix with proto- or cyto-: PLASM.  As in Protoplasm and Cytoplasm.

51. Southpaw: LEFTY.  Did you ever wonder where the term Southpaw originated?

55. Low card: TREY.

57. Sched. question mark: TBA.  As in To Be Announced.

59. Disabled car need: TOW.

60. "2 Fast 2 Furious" actress Mendes: EVA.  Eva Mandes (née Eva de la Caridad Méndez (b. Mar. 5, 1974) and Ryan Gosling (né Ryan Thomas Gosling b. Nov. 12, 1980) are a family unit.

Here's the Grid:

I'll leave you with a QOD:  If I didn’t do what I do, I wouldn’t be as young as I am.  ~ Robert Plant (né Robert Anthony Plant; b. August 20, 1948), British musician