Friday, September 24, 2021, Margit Christenson

 Title: Speak up, no need for all the hemming and hawing.

I am pleased to welcome the debut LAT puzzle from a Nurse Practitioner from New Mexico for whom September seems to be a special month. Her first published puzzle was September 23 2020 a NYT with a picture ( a wonderful mini-me pic with her child) and some comments. And now a year and a day later...

The first thing that jumps out is that this is not a traditional Friday; three themers and a reveal that was more confusing than helpful for me. Also, Fridays average about 32 black squares and this has 38 such squares. It also has some very nice non-theme fill ...SOUP MIX, TENNIES, TOOTSIE, WRITHED, BOATDECK, STUNTMAN, EUROVISION, and LABELMAKER. The ones in green have never been in the NYT, the ones in red have never been in either LAT or NYT. But, this too is a bit outré, as two of the themers are only 8 letters long and you are not supposed to have fill longer than themers.  Which are:

15A. Otolaryngologist's colleagues?: EAR DRUMS (8). A eye, ear,  and throat doctor ends up a musical instrument.

26A. Solid vestment choice?: THE WHITE ALBUM (13). An ALB  (from the Latin albus, meaning white), one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the ankles and is usually girdled with a cincture (a type of belt, sometimes of rope similar to the type used with a monastic habit. The WHITE ALBUM is the ninth studio album and only double album by English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968 was a musical tour de force.

Maybe.

43A. Rodent reduction measure?: VOLUME CONTROL (13).

57A. Minuscule biters, and a clue to understanding 15-, 26- and 43-Across: NO SEEUMS (8). They are all over the place.

Little Devils 

1. Acid: LSD. The drug of choice for a generation. 

4. Pine product: SAP. Pine tree sap is used by the tree to transport nutrients. Pine tree sap uses include glue, candles and fire starting. Pine sap is also used for making turpentine, a flammable substance used for coating objects. (gardening know how).

7. Swell: BULGE. Not a battle this time. 

12. First name in pharmaceuticals: ELI. The HISTORY.

13. Irritated, with "on": WORE. A simple but deceptive clue.

14. 90% of Earth's volcanic rock: BASALT. ROCK

17. Reach for rudely: GRAB AT.

18. Home-away-from-home vacation: R V TRIP. The BEST 

19. Departure notice?: OBITuary.

21. Historic period: ERA. Or you can wash your clothes.

22. PIN points: ATMS. I love this combination.

24. Big name in databases: ORACLE. Greek history and...

30. Water in the Seine: EAU. Oh no not again!

31. Rejoices: EXULTS. Exult means "to rejoice" or "to be openly happy about."

32. Foot specialist?: BARD. Wonderful clue/fill and CSO to our resident poets OKL, Moe and the rest.

35. Like burnt coffee: ACRID. Sometimes, it makes the coffee better.

37. Member of a noted sailing trio: NOD. Are you Winken and Blinken?

38. LGBTQ activist George: TAKEI. Lt. Sulu.

39. Hershey toffee bar: SKOR. Seen it too often

40. Home of The Trop: ST. PETE. The home of the Tampa Bay professional teams.

42. Clean Water Act org.: EPA. 

46. One getting smashed at a bash: PINATA. 

47. Big Island coffee region: KONA.

48. Faux follower: PAS.

49. Servers at affairs: URNS. Coffee or tea I hope and not ashes.

51. Donation drop-off site: TIPJAR. Lame.

55. Afghanistan's national airline: ARIANA. Unkown, not a grande clue.

59. They take things in stride: STOICS.

60. Nice ways to say yes: OUIS. The French silly pun.

61. Patel of "Lion": DEV.

62. __-pop: electronic music genre: SYNTH. The GENRE.

63. Test for M.A. seekers: GRE. Graduate Records Examination.

64. Medium claim: ESP. More - Extra Sensory Perception.

Down:

1. Not a nice look: LEER. No capital N here. 

2. Pole, e.g.: SLAV.  The LINK.

3. Gossip: DIRT.

4. Lipton product: SOUP MIX. PICTURE

5. Branch or limb: ARM.

6. Currency of 25-Down: PESO.

7. It may be closed at last call: BARTAB.

8. Winner of the most medals at the 2020 Olympics: USA. A quick clue after this delayed event. 

9. Tiny office printer: LABEL MAKER. Another best 

10. Screen problem: GLARE.

11. Sundance's sweetie: ETTA. Butch was never jealous. PICTURE
Read all about it. LINK.

13. Squirmed: WRITHED.

14. Certain break-dancers: B-GIRLS. Got me, " a woman who entertains bar patrons and encourages them to spend freely."

16. Attract: DRAW attention.

20. Where hands may be brought together: BOAT DECK. Deck hands work on the boat deck.

23. Double, often: STUNTMAN. The insurance on big stars has gotten too expensive so even the macho morons need stunt doubles.

25. Birthplace of Gloria Estefan: CUBA. Born September 1, 1957, Havana, Cuba. 

26. Poured-over leaves: TEAS. Another nice clue

27. Cybersecurity concern: HACK. Hacking is an attempt to exploit a computer system or a private network inside a computer.

28. 2021 musical contest held in Rotterdam: EUROVISION. This old CONTEST discovered ABBA.

29. Get away to get together: ELOPE.

33. Default result: REPO. 

34. Old phone feature: DIAL. You need the soap to wash your hands after words.

36. Decrease?: IRON. Iron out tension? Got me

38. Sneaks: TENNIES. Cute tennis shoe reference.

40. Hindu teachings: SUTRAS. Kama, kama Chameleon?

41. __ Roll: TOOTSIE. Not Dustin Hoffman?

44. Set in motion: LAUNCH. I love launch parties.

45. Format for much '80s music: TAPE. 

46. Bash: PARTY.

48. Word with hall and press: PASS. I pass on using those examples.

50. Make out, in Britain: SNOG. I heard in 70s and 80s importrd BBC shows.

52D. "Hey __": classic hit: JUDE. See 26A.

53. Iowa college town: AMES. Not to be confused with Ed.

54. Request on an invitation: RSVP. Again, too much too soon.

56. River isle: AIT. Hey a new way to say eight."

58. Collective pronoun: OUR. Last fill and time to say good night.

Thank you Margit, you look and sound like a lovely person and we would enjoy having you join our band of puzzle solvers and wits led by our founder the inimitable Zhouqin Burnikel, the only bite here is some humor. Thank to all who read. Lemonade out.

Wednesday July 8th, 2020 Margit Christenson

Theme: A LONG LEASH (59. Lots of freedom, as illustrated in each set of circles)

17. "Horsefeathers!": BALDERDASH.

27. Imbibes to excess: DRINKS LIKE A FISH.

45. Wee-hours program with James Corden: THE LATE LATE SHOW.

Boomer again, filling in a blog schedule gap. LA Times debut for Margit Christenson. Congratulations!

C.C. has me on a short LEASH but I am happy to be here, I just want to help the ball club (Crash Davis).

Across:

1. More ironic, as a smile: WRYER.

6. Bunyan's blue ox: BABE.  Babe lives at the Paul Bunyan Center in Brainerd, Minnesota..

10. Questlove hairdo: AFRO.  I wonder if Colin Kaepernick will be offered a job this year.

14. "... said __ ever": NO ONE.

15. "Jeopardy!" host Trebek: ALEX.  I sort of backed off from Jeopardy,  I guess they can not tape new shows due to the virus, so they are showing replays.  Last week they showed the one where James got beat.

16. Dull: BLAH.  "The force can't do a decent job 'cause the kids have no respect for the law today ... and BLAH, BLAH, BLAH."  Save the Life of my Child.  - Simon and Garfunkel.

19. "Piece of cake!": EASY.

20. One-celled creature: AMOEBA.

21. Artist's paint holder: PALETTE.

23. Having prolonged success: ON A ROLL.  The only time I was ever "ON A ROLL" was in a bowling center.

26. Air traffic branch of the DOT: FAA.  The Federal Aviation Administration is probably not too busy these days.

32. Actress Chaplin: OONA. Granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin.

33. Instrument from the French for "high wood": OBOE.  "On Base On an Error?"  MLB is opening soon they say.  From a Twins fan - "Miguel Sano tested positive."

34. Cal. column: MON. "Monday, Monday, So good to me". Mamas and the Papas.

35. Sea debris: JETSAM.

37. Eateries' outdoor seating areas: PATIOS.  We have a few here, without problems so far.  It seems that the indoor restaurants and bars have trouble with social distancing.

40. Boater or bowler: HAT.  I am a BOWLER but no one ever called me a hat.  I've been called lots of other names though.

41. Sleeper agent: MOLE.

44. Org. that collects workplace injury data: OSHA.  I remember when Graybar had to reorganize the warehouse stock so nothing heavy fell on my head.

49. "Ouch!": YOW.

50. Take up again: RE-ADOPT.

51. Treatise on verse: POETICS.

53. Confession about the last piece of cake: I ATE IT.

58. Fencing sword: EPEE.  This is not a sign in a men's bathroom.

62. Alan of "M*A*S*H": ALDA.  "The game of life is hard to play, you're gonna lose it anyway."

63. Head of France: TETE.

64. App with pics, familiarly: INSTA. Instagram.

65. Get fresh with: SASS.

66. Canadian gas: ESSO.  "Canadian gas eh"

67. Early fur trader: ASTOR.  John Jacob had a few bucks. 

Down:

1. Org. with the Sun, Storm and Sky: WNBA.  We have the LYNX.  With former star Lindsey Whalen.  She now coaches the Minnesota Gopher Women's team.

2. Go here and there: ROAM.  Montana - Room to Roam.

3. "Life is short" initialism: YOLO. You Only Live Once.

4. "The Neverending Story" author: ENDE. Michael.

5. Adidas subsidiary: REEBOK.  No shoes, but I do have a comfortable pair of stretch pants perfect for bowling.  I also have bowling equipment.  Now all I need is a vaccine.

6. Word that oddly can mean "good" in slang: BAD.  or it could mean "Leroy Brown".

7. Chicken __ king: A LA.  "Oh moon of Alabama, we now must say goodbye". The Doors.

8. Custom-made: BESPOKE.  I used to have these on my beecycle wheels.

9. Sigh, say: EXHALE.

10. Have __ in one's bonnet: A BEE.  I have never owned a bonnet but I have swatted a few bees.

11. Common paint choice for ceilings: FLAT FINISH.  Only for FLAT ceilings.

12. Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer: RASTAS.

13. "I remember now": OH YEAH.

18. Kidnapper's demand: RANSOM.  I have never been kidnapped.  I must not be worth a RANSOM

22. Peruvian pack animal: LLAMA.  Since the Washington team is changing their name, Maybe Chicago NFL team could become the LLAMAs ??  Sorry TTP, I didn't mean it.

24. Neighbor of Greece: Abbr.: ALB.

25. 2016 Olympics city: RIO.  Now they are holding the Covid - 19 Olympiad

27. Attorney General's org.: DOJ.  You may want to pronounce it DODGE.  Oops, no politics.

28. __ v. Wade: ROE.

29. Overwhelmed with diner orders, as a server: IN THE WEEDS.  Where some of my tee shots land.

30. Like Fran Drescher's voice: NASAL.

31. Pics: FOTOS.  This seems to be spelled incorrectly.

36. Pong game maker: ATARI.  I spent hours attacking "PACMAN" back around 1980.  Now he shows up on the computer now and then.

37. Domesticated farm squealer: PET PIG.  Nice to call them pigs.  I think most are not pets, but rather a supply of pork.

38. "What have we here?!": OHO.

39. Carpenter's tool: SAW.

41. The first "M" in the MMR vaccine: MEASLES.  I had measles when I was a kid.  Must have been before the vaccine was invented.

42. Same __ story: OLD.  "Who you callin' OLD."

43. Philosopher __-tzu: LAO.

45. Ambitious, outgoing sorts: TYPE A's.

46. Hubbub: HOOPLA.  Quite a bit going on last weekend.  Celebrating USA's 244th Birthday.

47. Beer named for a Baja city: TECATE.

48. Latin "and others": ET ALIA.

52. High times?: TEAS.  C.C. is the TEA expert in our home.

54. Change for a twenty, maybe: TENS.  I don't think you can get change when spending a twenty,  Everything costs more than that.

55. Toward sunrise: EAST.  Most of the beaches on the EAST coast are closed, but a few are hangin' in there.

56. Analogy words: IS TO.

57. "__ she blows!": THAR.

60. Tie-breakers: Abbr.: OTS.

61. Classical prefix: NEO.

Boomer