Monday April 15, 2024 Micah Sommersmith

 Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here to review Micah Sommersmith's fourth LAT puzzle.

Title:  

We'll begin with the three themed clues:

17 Across. Backyard vegetable patch, e.g.: GARDEN PLOT.  

I know you did not need an illustration for GARDEN PLOT
but tidy veggie patches are my happy places.

26 Across. Configuration before customization: DEFAULT SETTING.  If you restore your electronic device to its DEFAULT SETTINGs, it will reset to the point where it was when it was first taken out of the box.

47 Across. Element of early internet art: ASCII CHARACTER.  American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a common character encoding format for text data in computers on the internet.  ASCII (pronounced "a-skee", where the "a" is like the "a" in "has") is a 7-bit character set containing 128 characters, including the numbers from 0-9, the upper and lower case English letters from A to Z, symbols, and punctuation marks.  

Remember ASCII Art (left)? We've come a long way!

Next, let's read the reveal:

63 Across. Brainstorming breakthroughs, and the ends of 17-, 26-, and 47-Across?: NOVEL IDEAS.

The ends of the themed clues are PLOT, SETTING, and CHARACTER. These are the three main elements of a story. An author combines these IDEAS to write a NOVEL.  

As a former library teacher I recognized today's theme early on. These are the ABC's for writing. I like how Micah found meanings for PLOT, SETTING, and CHARACTER that were completely different from their literature meanings. He deserves a gold star! ⭐

Across:

1. Activist Brockovich played by Julia Roberts: ERIN.  We begin with the first of eight names in today's grid. All, except for one (see below), are clued at a Monday level. Most solvers know them well -- even if they never saw the referenced shows.

This thriller/documentary was release in 2000.

5. Without a cent: BROKE.  

10. Youngsters: KIDS.

14. High-fat, low-carb diet, casually: KETO.

15. Merits: EARNS.

16. Falco of "Nurse Jackie": EDIE.  

Nurse Jackie aired on Showtime from 2009-2015.

19. "__ Enchanted": Anne Hathaway film: ELLA.  

Anne was in her early twenties when she made Ella.
Memory trick:  Switch ends on the A and E.

20. Surveil secretly: SPY ON.  

21. Socialized at leisure: SAT A SPELL.  

Forrest's leisurely chat ended when he learned 

he did not have to take the bus to go visit Jenny.

23. Stretch the truth: FIB.  

(I am going with the NOVEL theme here.)

25. Prefix with pod: TRI-.  Has anyone owned a tri-pod dog? I always smile when I see one. They have the best attitudes! Here is a 60-sec. dogumentary.

34. Tiny criticism: NIT.  Is someone who is a wit at pointing out NITs a nitwit?  😜

35. 24-Down soother: CREAM.     and     24-Down. Unwanted beach souvenir: BURN.  

Ouch!!

36. Hearing-related: AURAL.

37. Tennis great Arthur posthumously awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom: ASHE.

39. Titled: NAMED.  She titled her book ___. / She NAMED her book ___.

41. Mani-__: PEDI.  

42. Hops along happily: SKIPS.  

This clue make me think of the track event hop, skip and jump. The inaugural modern Olympic Games in 1896 had a track event which consisted of two hops and a jump. By 1908 the format was standardized to a hop, a skip, and a jump. Today the event is usually referred to as the triple jump.  

44. Shadowboxes: SPARS.  Were you thinking of the verb or the noun?

Shadowbox the verb is to SPAR with an imaginary opponent as a form of training.

Shadowbox the noun is similar to a frame used for art but it is extra thick so as to display memorabilia, jewelry, coins, or other small objects.  

46. Pen tip: NIB.  I only know this from doing crosswords.

50. Lifesaving skill, for short: CPR.  If you've ever taken a CardioPulmonary Resuscitation class then you know you can sing this (appropriately titled) song in your head to get the timing right.  

Bee Gee's Stayin' Alive  (1977)

51. Gaming console with a gesture-based controller: WII.  

52. Leafy bowlful with hard-boiled eggs: CHEF SALAD.  

Where are the leaves?

58. Bub: FELLA.

62. Civil rights icon Parks: ROSA.

65. Opposed to: ANTI.

66. Bring to mind: EVOKE.  One of the fun things about a good XWD puzzle is it can EVOKE a fond memory.

67. Pull sharply: YANK.  

YANKee Babe Ruth seldom pulled his swings.
(Yeah, I know this one is a stretch but you got it, right?)

68. Breakfast for dinner, say: MEAL.  Here is the ultimate Venn Diagram for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner.  

This looks a bit like an 8-Down.  😃

69. Used needle and thread: SEWED.

70. Concludes: ENDS.  Bonus points to Micah for the position of ENDS in his grid!!

Down:

1. Cardiac readouts, briefly: EKGS.  An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a test to record the electrical signals in the heart. It shows how the heart is beating.

2. Gather crops: REAP.  Jack Johnson offers some social commentary on television in his song Good People  (2005).

We got heaps and heaps of what we sow.

3. Coy response to a compliment: I TRY.  My high school Government class teacher's first name was Coy...but coy he was not.

4. Drift into dreamland: NOD OFF.  

5. Actor/director Stiller: BEN.  Ben was born November 30, 1956 in New York. He is known for starring in movies such as There's Something About Mary (1998), Meet the Parents (2000, 2004, and 2010), and Zoolander (2001).

Here is Ben with his famous parents.
Not only did he follow his mother, Ann Meara, into show business,
he also followed her into in XWD puzzles.

6. Many Megan Thee Stallion songs: RAPS.

7. "Derry Girls" girl played by Louisa Harland: ORLA.  This is "the one" I alluded to in 1-Across.

The TV show Derry Girls is a coming-of-age story set in 1990s Northern Ireland. It aired from 2018 to 2022.

8. Celtic artwork feature: KNOT.  

I did not realize there were so many.

9. North Carolina's Biltmore __: ESTATE.  10 Facts about Biltmore

10. "Don't stop now!": KEEP IT UP.

11. Unoccupied: IDLE.  To be IDLE is to be not occupied or employed; inactive.

12. Pickle herb: DILL.  I love fresh DILL in my summer sandwiches.

13. Official emblem: SEAL.

18. Giant computer of the 1940s: ENIAC.  Computer History Museum

22. Miss, in Mex.: SRTA.  "Mexico" is abbreviated, so it "SeñoRiTA".

26. Once-common storage media: DISKS. 

DISK with a K is the preferred spelling in American English. It is also the spelling used for computer-related objects (like this clue).

DISc with a C is the preferred spelling in British English. It is also the spelling for devices carrying sound.

I see my confusion now. I used to load music discs into my computer.

27. Moral principle: ETHIC.

28. Dog walker's line: LEASH.  Here's another line, "Your dog is cute. Can I have his number?"

29. __ Bay Buccaneers: TAMPA.  football

30. Lipstick mishap: SMEAR. 

31. "Fame" star Cara: IRENE.  (1959 - 2022)  her IMDb page

32. Lowest point: NADIR.  

33. Silver-tongued: GLIB.

34. Astronauts' gp.: NASA.  DH's boss is a former astronaut. He flew on four Space Shuttle missions. Wow!

38. Dumpster fire-level blunder: EPIC FAIL.  Dumpster fire is slang used to describe a catastrophically bad situation.

This was my favorite clue/fill today! I like how the slang in the clue matched the slang in the answer. 

40. __ a blank: DRAW.  I could not remember this one.

43. Tentative tastes: SIPS.

45. Space series genre: SCI-FI.  We could have an interesting discussion here on The Corner as to your favorite television space series. I will start off by nominating Babylon 5  (1993-1998)...but I could also go with Firefly.  

48. Building site sights: CRANES.

49. Camp project with rubber bands: TIE DYE.

52. Make up for procrastination, perhaps: CRAM.  Think "prepare for a big test".

53. Sharpen, as a blade: HONE.

54. " Cómo __ usted?": ESTÁ.  

Spanish 101

55. Adoration: LOVE.  like Pepe La Pew's feelings for Penelope Pussycat  

56. Declare publicly: AVOW.

57. Hockey feint: DEKE.  another one I learned from solving XWDs

59. Incline: LEAN.  We can think of this as a physical slope. We can also think of it figuratively. If one is inclined  to do something, he is leaning towards that action. Similar to 44-Across, it is noun and verb situation.

60. Terra firma: LAND.  Terra firma was first used in English print in 1638 to mean "solid land". Here are other words that entered English print in 1638.

61. Requests: ASKS.  Let's squeeze in one more musical number. This is All I Ask Of You from The Phantom of The Opera.  

64. Went first: LED.  Ironically, this clue for LED went last.

And the grid:

Well, we are now at the end of our book-themed puzzle. It was bound  to happen!

Tuesday, August 1, 2023 Micah Sommersmith

Double Trouble or Double Fun?  Today we have a double reveal.  The FIRST word of each two-word theme answer is a physical PLACE.  The SECOND word of each theme answer relates to LOOKing.

17-Across. *   Google Maps feature: STREET VIEW.

Google Map view of Times Square

21-Across. *   Ultrasound sweep that produces a wedge-shaped image: SECTOR SCAN.  A way to see your innards.

31-Across. *   Observation wheel on the Thames: LONDON EYE.  It looks spectacular, especially at night.

41-Across. *   Local security patrol: CITY WATCH.  It's a Neighborhood Watch where I live.

FIRST Reveal:

50-Across. Top spot on the podium, and what the answers to the starred clues all have?: FIRST PLACE.

SECOND Reveal:

59-Across. Reappraisal, and what the answers to the starred clues all have?: SECOND LOOK.

Across:

1. Scratching post user: CAT.

4. Basketball Hall of Famer Weatherspoon: TERESA.  Teresa Weatherspoon (b. Dec. 8, 1965) is a professional basketball coach.  She is also a former professional basketball player.  In 1997, she was one of the original players in the WNBA; she played for the New York Liberty.  She also played basketball at Louisiana Tech, in Ruston, Louisiana.  Until June of this year, she was also an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans.   [Name # 1.]

10. Healthy aura: GLOW.

14. Even a little: ANY.

15. Spinning one's wheels, literally or figuratively: IN A RUT.

16. Chopped-up fare: HASH.  Anyone here ever had Red Flannel Hash?

19. A single time: ONCE.  Once upon a time ...

20. Jets, Mets, or Nets: TEAM.  Football, Baseball, and Basketball teams respectively, all in New York.

23. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA.    //  And 22-Down. McClanahan of "The Golden Girls": RUE.  Bea Arthur (née Beatrice Frankel; May 13, 1922 ~ Apr. 25, 2009) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  Before becoming an actress, Bea Arthur had enlisted in the Marine Corps.  She died of lung cancer at age 84.  Rue McClanahan (née Eddi-Rue McClanahan; Feb. 21, 1934 ~ June 3, 2010) is probably best known for her role as Blanche Devereaux from The Golden Girls.  She was also the youngest of the four women in the show.  The cast was rounded out by Betty White (née Betty Marion White; Jan. 17, 1922 ~ Dec. 31, 2021) and Estelle Getty (née Estelle Scher; July 25, 1923 ~ July 22, 2008).  [Names  # 2 and 3.]

25. External: OUTER.

26. Grammy winner Carlile: BRANDI.  I was not familiar with singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile (née Brandi Marie Carlile; b. June 1, 1981).  [Name # 4.]

29. Slaw and fries: SIDES.  As in Side dishes.

33. __ and haw: HEM.

36. Acorn droppers: OAKS.

37. Gold unit: KARAT.

39. Pixar film set in Mexico: COCO.  [Name # 5.]

40. Pre-iTunes stack: CDs.

43. __-Bits: letter-shaped cereal: ALPHA.

46. Studio stands: EASELS.

47. Off-limits: TABOO.  When it's spelled Tabu, it's a perfume.

49. Actor Brynner: YUL.  Yup Brynner (né Yuliy Borisovich Briner; July 11, 1920 ~ Oct. 10, 1985) was born in Vladivostok, Russia.  He is best known for his role as King Mongkut in the musical The King and I.   Vladivostok is in the far east of Russia and is a major Pacific port city near the Chinese border.  It is a 7-day journey by the Trans-Siberian Rail to Moscow.  [Name # 6.]

55. Tablet downloads: APPs.

58. Get one's feet wet: WADE.

61. Nutrient in spinach: IRON.

62. Ottawa's country: CANADA.  //  And 51-Down. Symbol on 62-Across's flag: LEAF.  Hi, CanadianEh!

63. French yes: OUI.  Today's French lesson.

64. Dermatologist's concern: WART.  //  52-Down. Dermatologist's concern: ACNE.

65. Conditional statement type, in programming: IF ELSE.

66. British co.: LTD.  The letters LTD after a company's name stands for Limited Company.  Such a company is the type of corporation that limits the personal liability of the corporation's shareholders.  If the company goes belly-up, creditors can only go after the business assets and not the personal assets of the owners.

Down:

1. Acting credits list: CAST.

2. Poker buy-in: ANTE.

3. Supermodel who created "America's Next Top Model": TYRA BANKS.  Tyra Lynne Banks (b. Dec. 4, 1973) began her modeling career at age 15.  She was also the first African-American to be featured on the swimsuit cover of Sports Illustrated.  [Name # 7.]

4. Bind (to): TIE.

5. Sinus docs: ENTs.  ENT = Ear Nose and Throat.

6. "Must-see" review: RAVE.  Barbenheimer is all the rage and getting RAVE reviews.

7. Actor Stoltz: ERIC.  Eric Cameron Stoltz (b. Sept. 30, 1961) has been in numerous movies, including the 1985 film Mask and the 1994 film Pulp Fiction.  [Name # 8.]

8. Bird feeder cake: SUET.

9. "The Testaments" novelist Margaret: ATWOOD.  Margaret Eleanor Atwood (née Nov. 18, 1939) is a Canadian author.  She is probably best known for her 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale.   The Testaments her 2019 the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.  [Name # 9.]

10. CBS sitcom set in a haunted mansion: GHOSTS.  There is both an American version and a British version of Ghosts.  The premise is that a young married couple acquire an old house/mansion that they intend to transform into an inn.  It just so happens to be inhabited by ghosts who died on the property and only the wife can see them.  Each ghost appears just as they did at the time of their death, thus they are from various periods of history.

11. Stick on a horse?: LANCE.

12. Hollywood award: OSCAR.  The award is the Academy Award and the Statuette is called the Oscar.  The origin of the Oscar has several possibilities.  [Name # 10.]

13. "At what time?": WHEN?

18. Fixes, as text: EMENDS.

24. Big fuss: ADO.  Much ADO about Nothing.

26. Coalition: BLOC.

27. Line on a map: ROAD.

Road Map of Tel Aviv.

28. Calligraphy supply: INK.

29. Lebanon neighbor: SYRIA.

30. "__ my peas with honey ... ": I EAT.

32. Apiece: EACH.

33. Spot for a dip while on a trip: HOTEL POOL.

34. OT book after Proverbs: ECCL.  The OT = Old Testament is the hint that we are looking for the book that follows Proverbs in the Christian Bible.  ECCL is an abbreviation for Ecclesiastes.  Both books are also found in the Hebrew Bible, but the order is different.  In the Hebrew Bible, Job follows Proverbs and Ecclesiastes comes after Lamentations.

35. Mineral hardness scale: MOHS.  The Mohs hardness scale is a measure of a mineral's resistance to scratching.  It is named after Friedrich Christian Mohs (Jan. 29, 1773 ~ Sept. 29, 1839), a German chemist and mineralogist who created the scale.

38. "Ready Player One" actor Sheridan: TYE.  Ready Player One is a sci-fi film that takes place in 2045, which stars Tye Kayle Sheridan (b. Nov. 11, 1996).  [Name # 11.]

39. Like some Friday work attire: CASUAL.

42. Method: WAY.

43. Somewhere else: ABSENT.

44. Parking area: LOT.

45. Mag that produces the podcast "The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week": POP SCI.  As in Popular Science.

47. Small crown: TIARA.  There is a very British protocol on wearing tiaras.

48. Zeal: ARDOR.

50. "Just sayin'," in texts: FWIW.  Textspeak for For What It's Worth.

53. Mined fuel: COAL.

54. Stops: ENDS.

56. Sulk: POUT.

57. Lose traction: SKID.

60. Actor Daniel __ Kim: DAE.  Daniel Dae Kim (né Kim Dae-hyun; b. Aug. 4, 1968) is a Korean-born actor best known for his role as Chin Ho Kelly on the remake of Hawaii Five-O.  [Name # 12.]

Here's the Grid:

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