L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Rena Cohen

Showing posts with label Rena Cohen. Show all posts

Nov 23, 2023

Thursday, November 23, 2023, Rena Cohen

Double Trouble
Toil and Trouble

November 8th of this month marked the 400th anniversary of the publication of the great dramatist William Shakespeare's 1st Folio, and our editor Patti and constructor Rena Cohen have certainly picked a great way to commemorate it. Today Rena celebrates it with a flourish of 4 starred themers ...

17A. *Naval rank of computer scientist Grace Hopper: REAR ADMIRAL. Grace Brewster Hopper (née Murray; December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy REAR ADMIRAL. Among her many accomplishments, perhaps the most significant was the invention of COBOL, an early programming language still in wide use today. She is also credited with first applying the term "BUG" to an early computer hardware failure (due to a moth stuck in a relay!). Years back Teri saw her speak and she gave every member in the audience a 1 foot length of insulated copper wire -- the distance that electricity travels in a nanosecond.

Dr. Grace Hopper
Rear Admiral, US Navy

23A. *British tennis player who won the 2021 US Open: EMMA RADUCANU. Emma Raducanu MBE (born 13 November 2002) is a British professional tennis player. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on 11 July 2022, and is a former British No. 1. Emma is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. And a CSO to CanadianEh! as Emma was actually born in Canada ...

Emma Raducanu

38A. *Medium that's mostly talk: AM RADIO. I don't listen to AM RADIO. There's too much talk. I only listen to FM RADIO, then just one station: WBJC-FM. The DJ's talk, but not very much. They just play beautiful music 7x24 (and OPERAS on the weekends 😀).

51A. *Drill command: FORWARD MARCH. I've never quite understood this command. Does anyone ever BACKWARD MARCH? Some people walk FUNNY, but these are usually FORWARD WALKS ...

So what does this mysterious collection of themers have to do with Shakespeare? The reveal might help ...

61A. Create tension in a group, and a direction that was followed when forming the answer to each starred clue?: STIR UP DRAMA. Shakespeare's plays weren't presented in the round, so there are no circles to help us figure out the meaning of Rena's theme. But I think this grid should give away the PLOT ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Embryo's environment: WOMB.

5. Draw: APPEAL.

11. Collar: NAB.

14. Bailiwick: AREA. In English, the original French bailie combined with -wic, the Anglo-Saxon suffix (meaning a village) to produce a term meaning literally 'bailiff's village'—the original geographic scope of a bailiwick. In the 19th century, it was absorbed into American English as a metaphor for a sphere of knowledge or activity ...

15. "Me neither": NOR AM I.

16. Largest human cells: OVA. Found in the general AREA of the 1A.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Diarist Anaïs: NIN. Anaïs NIN's writing was considered pretty naughty in her day, but times have changed and her stuff is pretty tame by today's standards ...

20. "The ReidOut" network: MSNBC. Well it used to be the "ReidOut" network, but apparently the show was cancelled. Cancelling seems to be a fad these days. Here's some straight stuff on Joy Reid.

Joy Ann Reid

21. Personal: OWN. As opposed to PWN, which means to OWN a gamer opponent.

22. Fantasy league datum: STAT.

23. [Theme clue]

27. Bouquet garni element: BAY LEAF. You can buy the dried stuff in jar, or make your own.

30. Alprazolam brand: XANAX. XANAX is Pfizer's brand name for the generic anti-anxiety drug Alprazolam. Here are it's uses and side effects.

31. Pop star: IDOL.

32. Ooh and __: AAH. The reaction of many to IDOLS.

34. Preliminary version: DRAFT. Teri checks my review DRAFT every week to ferret out spelling and grammatical errors and point out any dumb stuff that I've included in it.

37. Like many crafts, briefly: DIY. Here's the site I use for developing DIY glazes. The guy who runs it designed the original software and is an expert on glaze chemistry.

38. [Theme clue].

41. Quilting party: BEE. Here's an article on The Quilting Bee Revival: Social Aspects of 1970s Quilting. Teri's sister Rose started back then, but she was never in a BEE. But she is still an expert quilter and seamstress. Hand up if you're a quilter?

42. Stuck-up types: SNOBS.

44. 6-Down, for one: DOG.

45. "Tragically ... ": ALAS.

46. Feature of much of inland Canada: TAIGA. A TAIGA, generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. Another CSO to CanadianEh!

Taiga
aka boreal forest

49. Library patrons, probably: READERS. While reading is certainly a basic skill needed to use a library, modern libraries have branched out into media centers and many other services. Here are some offerings at our local library.

52. [Theme clue].

54. Super bad: EVIL.

55. "Queen Sugar" creator DuVernay: AVA. Queen Sugar is an American drama television series created and executive produced by Ava DuVernay, with Oprah Winfrey serving as an executive producer. DuVernay also directed the first two episodes. The series is based on the 2014 novel of the same name by American writer Natalie Baszile ...

56. Creepy: EERIE.

60. Prefix in many a Scottish surname: MAC. Today's Scottish lesson: "Son of". E.g. Macbeth.

61. [Theme reveal].

64. Civil rights leader honored in Jan.: MLK. Martin Luther King Jr. ( January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, activist, political philosopher, and pacifist, who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Here he relates his dream ...

65. FoodNetwork.com offering: RECIPE. Today we Give Thanks for all of our blessings! And if you're reading this and haven't thawed out your Turkey yet, you're in big trouble 😀

Turkey

T66. Greek Cupid: EROS.

67. Twisty letter: ESS. Two plurals and the most common letter in the alphabet. What's not to like?

68. "Ooh, they DO look alike": I SEE IT. Well I don't.

69. Reject as false: DENY.

Down:

1. Welcoming: WARM.

2. Natural resources: ORES.

3. Intend: MEAN.

4. Need to do some heavy lifting?: BARBELL. Another CSO to puzzler and weight lifter Stella Zawistowski. That BARBELL certainly looks heavy!

Stella Zawistowski

5. "Yes?": AND.

6. Fluffy toy, familiarly: POM. The clue is a CSO to Irish Miss. But in this case the "toy" 44A is a Pomeranian.

Pomeranian

7. Aforementioned: PRIOR.

8. Canal buildup: EARWAX. Not a supply chain problem in Panama. EARWAX (aka cerumen) helps protect the ear by trapping dust and other foreign particles that could filter through and damage the eardrum. Normally, earwax moves toward the opening of the ear and falls out or is washed away, but sometimes excessive earwax can buildup in the ear canal and become hard to remove. This is referred to as impacted cerumen:

Earwax

9. Poet Gorman: AMANDA. Harvard graduate Amanda S. C. Gorman (born March 7, 1998) is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. She rose to fame in 2021 for writing and delivering her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

Amanda Gorman

10. Rapper __ Nas X: LIL. Today's RAP lesson: "Little".

11. Like groceries, often: NONTAXABLE.

12. For the birds?: AVIAN.

13. Language family that includes Swahili: BANTU. The most widely spoken BANTU language by number of speakers is Swahili, with 16 million native speakers and 80 million who speak it as a second language. Most native speakers of Swahili live in Tanzania, where it is a national language, while as a second language it is taught as a mandatory subject in many schools in East Africa, and is a lingua franca of the East African Community.

Bantu Languages

18. Top: ACME.

22. Usurping lion in a Disney franchise: SCAR. Loosely based on King Claudius, the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, SCAR's villainy was additionally inspired by Adolf Hitler.

Scar

24. Shortened title: MAAM.

25. "... we traverse __": AFAR.

26. Cancel: UNDO.

27. DealDash offers: BIDS. DealDash is a company that operates an online auction and shopping platform. It was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The company's platform allows users to bid on and purchase a variety of products, including electronics, home goods, and gift cards. Sounds a lot like eBay. Hand up if you've had any experience with it?

28. Favorable score for a server: AD-IN. Today's tennis lesson. This link will tell you what AD-IN, and several other tennis terms mean.

29. Walk the dog, rock the baby, etc.: YOYO TRICKS. Here's an easy trick called "over the rainbow" ...

33. Ate: HAD.

35. Dread: FEAR.

36. One of Randall and Beth's daughters on "This Is Us": TESS. This Is Us is an American prime time soap opera television series created by Dan Fogelman. The show aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. A lot of the characters have the same birthday. It's complicated. Here's the trailer...

"This Is Us" appeared in Tom and C.C.'s Saturday puzzle. Judging by the comments the series seems to have a following on the Corner. Hand up if you're a fan?

38. China setting: ASIA. It's all about PLATE tectonics. 😁

39. Explorer with Boots: DORA. On the other hand DORI has fins.

40. Disney exec Bob: IGER.

43. Blubber: BAWL.

45. Stuck (to): ADHERED.

47. Prepares for fondue, maybe: GRATES. Cheesy clue. 🙄

48. Sage offering: ADVICE. From a wise guy?

50. Nailed: ACED.

51. Lyon woman: FEMME. Today's French lesson.

52. Track shapes: OVALS.

53. Organizational consultant Kondo: MARIE. Marie Kondo (born 9 October 1984), is a Japanese organizing consultant, author, and TV presenter. She has written four books on organizing, which have collectively sold millions of copies around the world. Her books have been translated from Japanese into several languages, and her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has been published in more than 30 countries.

Marie Kondo

57. Like a winning lottery ticket: RARE.

58. "My turn to sing!": IM ON. Almost done actually.

59. Simple: EASY.

61. __ Lanka: SRI.

62. Wire service inits.: UPI. United Press International. So what's a "wire service"?

63. Caress: PET. Could also be clued: "Beach Boys' ____ Sounds". An album that started a revolution" ...

And here's another one for Jinx ...

Cheers,
Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Mar 31, 2023

Friday, March 31, 2023, Rena Cohen

Good Morning Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the Friday recap.

Today's puzzle comes to us courtesy of Rena Cohen and, in what seems to be an abundance of riches, we get not only starred clues but circles, too, each of which may have been either annoying or helpful depending on your personal proclivities.

Let's start with the unifier:

61 Across: Lifts for one's self-esteem, and what's been given to the answers to the starred clues: EGO BOOSTS.

Ego. Self. Myself. ME. At four places in the puzzle (circled in case any of us found ourselves in danger of having an identity crisis) ME is "boosted" (raised) above the clue/answer on which we are working. The letters ME are then integrated (in sequence - up right down right) into the answer below. A metaphor for the whole self if you will? It would have been fun if synonyms for ID and SUPER EGO had somehow been worked into the puzzle. A picture being worth a thousand words, here is how things look in the grid:

Here are the four themed clues/answers (each starred for our convenience). Without the ME the answers border on gibberish

17 Across: *Brunch station for custom orders: OMELETTE BAR.

23 Across: *TV competition won by singer Noah Thompson in 2022: AMERICAN IDOL.

37 Across: *Many a retired pro athlete: SPORTS COMMENTATOR. Retired (?) football player Tom Brady recently signed on as a COMMENTATOR for the sum of $375 million.

48 Across: *Masquerade: COSTUME PARTY

Across:

1. Lead characters in "Mike & Molly"?: EMS. The leading letter (character) in both names is M.

4. Pockets for falafel: PITAS. What did the hummus say to the PITA bread when she got sick? I falafel.

9. Hawkeye: IOWAN.

14. "That's Not All Folks" memoirist Blanc: MEL. Mel's book title may have included the word "Not" but his epitaph does not:

15. Not quite right: ACUTE. A geometry reference. A right angle is 90 degrees. An ACUTE angle is less than 90 degrees.

16. Evade, as the truth: SKIRT.

19. Gate part: LATCH.

20. Christ the __: Rio landmark: REDEEMER. A very famous statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

21. 400 meters, on a standard track: LAP.

22. Polite assent: YESM. Shortened form of YES Ma'am. What would be a polite dissent? NOM? Nom.

28. Write: PEN. Noun or verb? Verb. T0 write something.

30. "Most likely ... ": ODDS ARE.

31. Checked thoroughly?: MATED. A chess reference. Checkmate.

34. Peak: ACME. We often need to choose between ACME and APEX.

36. Irish actor Stephen: REA. A frequent visitor.

41. Drop off: NOD. To NOD off to sleep. See also 38 Down.

42. Roman moon goddess: LUNA.

43. Actress Spacek: SISSY.

44. Late __: BLOOMER.

47. Shining example: GEM.

51. Former home of the Mets: SHEA. SHEA Stadium 1964 - 2009

55. Asian festival: TET.

Tet 2017 Year of the Rooster - Photo By MM

56. Military shelter: ARMY TENT.

58. Book that's all mapped out?: ATLAS. An ATLAS being a book of maps.

62. Southern twang: DRAWL. What happens to Texans when they stop doing drugs? They suffer with DRAWL.

63. Flower part: SEPAL.

64. "Happy now?": SEE.

65. Burj Khalifa's city: DUBAI. The world's tallest building.

66. Barilla rival: PREGO. A pasta sauce reference.

67. Hurler's stat: ERA. A baseball reference. Earned Run Average.

Down:

1. Georgia school whose unofficial mascot is Dooley the Skeleton: EMORY.

2. Wild brawl: MELEE. The word's origins are French.

3. Bobrun runners: SLEDS. BobSLEDS.

4. Bánh mì spread: PATE.

5. Marvel hero with super cool powers?: ICEMAN. Cool as in cold as in ICE. We shall pass on the Eugene O'Neill inspired jokes.

6. Rutabaga, e.g.: TUBER.

7. Game company featured in "Ready Player One": ATARI.

8. Spanish 101 verb: SER. To be.

9. Christmas or Easter: ISLAND. Nice word play. Not Nice as in the city in France. Nice as in pleasant. Both Christmas and Easter are the names of holidays and ISLANDs.

10. Giraffe kin: OKAPIS. Seen most often in crossword puzzles.

11. Quipster: WIT. Hand up for first thinking WAG.

12. Part of a circle: ARC.

13. Ultimate power?: NTH. A mathematics reference. NTH can mean either unspecified or largest.

18. Disposition: TEMPER.

21. Encumbered: LADEN.

24. Date component, often: COMMA. Not a social setting, E.G. March 31 COMMA 2023.

25. Board game?: DARTS. More wordplay. Think dartboard.

26. Cookies that can illustrate phases of the moon: OREOS. I had not thought of that. . . but OREOS are always a good guess if the clue references cookies.