Friday, January 31, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

 Theme:  Risible (rhyming) repetition 

Puzzling thoughts:

Just 12 short days ago, Ricky J. Sirois provided us with a Sunday puzzle: his 4th LAT submission, according to NaomiZ.  And as NaomiZ will be doing the Friday blog in Moe's absence while he heals, believe every word she says!! 😀 

So, let's explore Ricky's 5th LAT puzzle before I take a brief hiatus:

Today's offering, while not as tough as some Friday puzzles I've blogged, did have its Moe-ments.  Every time there is some play-on-words it takes a couple of solved ones before the theme reveals itself.  At least for me ... 

So how did today's theme of repetition come about?  Let's look at the entries:

21-across. Dorothy's musing before heading back to Kansas?: DO I HAVE TOTO?  

I am certainly curious to know how Ricky came to think of the four entries he offered today.  The first is a solid example of how both of the expressions work: "Do I have to?" is a lament that many kids use when they don't want to do something.  And maybe Dorothy didn't want to return to Kansas after spending her wonderful dream in Oz.  But I'm sure that she double-checked before she did return that her dog, Toto was by her side.  

A Moe-ku, perhaps?  Be sure to read this a couple of times to see the double meaning ... 

        "C'mon, Dorothy,

        Ship's leaving; TOTO can't come."
        Her Auntie Em barks

33-across. All-clear before the big dance competition?: GOOD TO GOGO.

Once again, Ricky found a clued entry that exemplifies both meanings.  "Good to go!" is an expression that means everything is ready, or all-clear.  The word go-go is synonymous with a style or type of dancing.  It also was a term used by Inspector Gadget when he wanted to summon something:

42-across. Advice on how to prevent undue interest from influencers?: MAKE IT SO-SO.

One of our regular board influencers is our one and only Picard.  Sometimes a picture captures more than my words can describe!

53-across. Enthusiastic reply from a certain bird impersonator?: INDEED I DODO.

What ultimately led to my rating this puzzle a bit lower was this entry.  If our resident grammarian, Yellowrocks happens to stop by today, I hope she will offer her comments and thoughts about it

The first part of the phrase could be written "I do indeed" as well as "Indeed, I do".  Maybe the word "enthusiastic" in the clue leads us to the proper position of the word, "indeed".  But I digress ... 

The whole concept of "indeed, I dodo" just seemed forced.  A dodo is not just a "certain" bird, but an extinct one.  And unlike the other three entries the plausibility of that phrase just isn't there

How might the fourth entry be a little more plausible?  Here is a possible substitute for 53-across:

"Words from a department store Santa on his first day on the job"? I AM GUNG HO HO

He does check out who's naughty or nice

Today, Ricky had some pretty good mojo.  I give this puzzle ⭐⭐⭐ and 3/4⭐s - congrats!!

The filled grid.  Notice the Natick at 1-down and 13-across

Across:

1. Decoupage, e.g.: CRAFT.  Knowing what the word decoupage means led to solving this

Decoupage: the art or technique of decorating something with cut-outs of paper, linoleum, plastic, or other flat material over which varnish or lacquer is applied

6. Stroller passenger: TOT.  

9. Substance: HEFT.

13. Dark matter?: HUMOR.  I stuck with rumor for too long in this spot.  I didn't get the play-on-words of its perpendicular (1-down. Ring leader?): CHAMP, either.  This was Moe's "Natick", as described in the grid image

14. Had regrets: RUED. I hope I won't rue having my cataracts replaced

16. Largest of seven: ASIA.  Seven = continents - can you name them all?

17. Suspect's story: ALIBI.  Really, I didn't make this up 

18. Plot size: ACRE.

19. Villain in "The Lion King": SCAR.  This guy:

20. Memory unit, informally: MEG.  Gig also fits - I had to erase it when some of the perps solved

24. Undertaking: PROJECT.

26. Persian Gulf nation: IRAN.  Iraq also fits but I used Iran, initially

Persian Gulf

27. Durham sch.: UNH.  My first thought was Duke - a university in Durham, North Carolina.  But since the word school was abbreviated in the clue, I knew the answer must contain initials.  The Wildcats of UNH reside in Durham, New Hampshire

28. Ellipsis trio: DOTS.  Something that C-Moe uses often when blogging ... would it surprise you to know that one of C-Moe's favorite movie theater candy is this?

30. Terr. divided in 1889: DAK.  My preferred clue for this would be: "Oft-injured QB Prescott of the Cowboys"

37. Stack: PILE.

38. Hierarchy levels: RUNGS.

39. Hockey's Bobby: ORR.  Oops - Ricky used one of the dreaded crossword-ese names

40. Civic, for one: SEDAN. Honda also fits, and I had to erase this before completing that section of the puzzle

41. "Ohhhh": I SEE.  Hopefully what Moe will say after he gets some new eyeball lenses

44. School org.: PTA.

45. Lean (on): RELY.

46. Foldable bed: COT.

47. Abbr. on an ESPN crawl: NCAA.  This usually applies to the NCAA as a whole. Right now, you'll see "WCBB" (for example) when ESPN is offering the scores of women's college basketball games on their "ticker" (crawl)

49. School papers: REPORTS.  The business world might refer to "reports" as those who work for their manager

57. One with a platonic partner, for short: ARO.  This was unknown by me but to be fair, it showed up recently in another LA Times puzzle

[ note: I wrote this recap before seeing ARO (in last Saturday's August Miller puzzle, e.g.) and then came back to edit it ... ]

58. Thoroughfare: ROAD. 

59. Leave out: OMIT.

60. Polling booth figure: VOTER.

62. Vegetable in the cabbage family: KALE.  I notice this vege being used in a lot of prepared salad mixes found at the grocery store 

63. Say hello quietly: WAVE.

  

64. __ planner: EVENT. 

65. Pizza joint in "Do the Right Thing": SAL'S. Sal's Pizza is a regional chain in NH and MA (surprisingly, there is none located @ UNH - see 27-across).  Sal's Pizzeria is found in Brooklyn, NY and was a venue in the movie, "Do the Right Thing".  And now you know, because prior to looking this up, I had no clue

66. Souvenir from an animated film: CEL.

67. Worshipper of Jah: RASTA.  I don't know about Jah but I do know that Joboo is for real.  Enjoy this clip! [rated PG-13 for a few choice words]

Down:

2. Help in keeping things straight: RULER.  I am guessing that Ricky/Patti meant one of these?

Notice the straight edge on the RULER

3. Compadre: AMIGO.  Would you use amiga if the clue was "Com-madre"??

4. Keyless key: FOB.  Moe-ku:

        Dick Van Dyke's TV 

        Wife said this before driving:

        "Lob me the FOB, Rob"

5. Weapons for Neptune and Shiva: TRIDENTS.  Many of us are aware of the god, Neptune 

I was unaware of the god, Shiva

6. Aspect: TRAIT.

7. "That sounds painful": OUCH.

8. Mega- squared: TERA.

9. "__ mañana": HASTA.

10. San Diego suburb whose name means "hidden": ESCONDIDO.

11. Italian automaker: FIAT.  Alfa fit but I didn't bite

12. Primary ingredient in poi: TARO.

15. Danny of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": DE VITO.  A series on FX network.  The trailer:

22. Cuatro y cuatro: OCHO. [translation from Spanish to English] Four and four = eight

23. Hosp. sections: ERS.  ORS also fit.  Again, I chose the correct one initially

25. 2022 and 2024 AL MVP: JUDGE.  "Here comes the JUDGE"!  As in, Aaron Judge the center fielder of the NY Yankees

28. Not at all cool: DORKY.

29. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.

31. "Too bad": ALAS.

32. Casino game: KENO.  How to play, courtesy of WikiHow

33. Golf clinic topic: GRIP.  Step-by-step guide to the perfect golf GRIP

34. Depose: OUST.

35. Everybody: ONE AND ALL. Not a phrase that we see a lot of in crossword puzzles

36. Hoped-for result: GOAL. 

37. Sauce made with pine nuts: PESTO.  Here is a simple recipe:

40. Short stay: STOPOVER.

42. Grazing location: MEADOW.

43. Coffee order: ICED.

45. "Run Away With Me" singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE.

48. Gives way: CEDES.

49. Brand of canned chiles: ROTEL. My favorite of theirs, and one I use often in a variety of recipes:

Try this with black-eyed peas

50. Going prices: RATES. 

51. Reznor with two Oscars for Best Original Score: TRENT. His biography, courtesy of Wikipedia

52. "More or less": SORTA.

53. Bothers: IRKS.

54. U.S. weather agency: NOAA.  NOAA and NCAA were a bit too close to each other in the grid for my liking ... 

55. Apple desktop: IMAC.  I am a PC guy (laptop) with an iPhone

56. Deep __: DIVE. 

61. Eggs, biologically: OVA.  Not sure how much they'd charge for an ova, but a dozen hen's eggs were $6.99 this past week, and that was for the "store" brand

I'll close with a -ku:

    Manicurist earned

    Vet School degree. She now can

    Give a pet a cure

The Chairman has left the building ... see you in March or April

Sunday, January 19, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

 Title:  "Rank and File."

The Count on the 9th hole.

Constructor Ricky J. Sirois returns to our favorite page of the L.A. Times for the fourth time, asking us to count in ordinal numbers from first to ninth.  The theme clues and answers, symmetrically placed throughout the Across lines of the puzzle, are:

22. First place: TOP OF THE LINE.

30. Second banana: ASSISTANT MANAGER.

45. Third base: HOT CORNER.  Malodorous Manatee explained this baseball reference in his blog post for Amanda Cook's puzzle on Friday, January 10, 2025.

52. Fourth Estate: PUBLIC PRESS.  In the time of the French revolution, the first estate was the clergy, the second estate was the nobility, and the third estate was the commoners and bourgeois.  A few years later, folks began to refer to the press as the fourth estate.

68. Fifth wheel: SPARE TIRE.

80. Sixth sense: GUT INSTINCT.

91. Seventh heaven: SHANGRI-LA.  Shangri-La is a fictional place in the mountains of Tibet, described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley. Shangri-La has come to mean any earthly paradise.

106. "Eighth Grade": COMING OF AGE STORY.  Eighth Grade is a 2018 American coming-of-age comedy drama film.

117. Ninth circle: CENTER OF HELL.  The Inferno is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem The Divine Comedy, followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himself through Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the Earth.

No circles of hell here, though!  Just a few unknowns that are solvable by perpendicular entries.

Let's wander through the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Headbanging genre: METAL.  An intense sort of rock and roll music.

6. Colts and fillies: FOALS.  Baby horses!  Colts are male, fillies are female.

11. Kept involved via email: CC'ed.  "Carbon copied" (in the days of typewriters), or copied on an email.

15. Broncos org.: AFC.  American Football Conference.

18. Circumvent: EVADE.

19. Fictional teen sleuth Belden: TRIXIE.  Trixie Belden is the title character in a series of mysteries written between 1948 and 1986. The first six books were written by Julie Campbell Tatham; the stories were then continued by various in-house writers from Western Publishing under the pseudonym Kathryn Kenny.

20. Off-color: BLUE.

21. LeBron's team, on scoreboards: LAL.  Los Angeles Lakers.

22. [Theme clue]

24. River crossed by Washington's troops: DELAWARE.

Washington crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, 1851

26. Steps in: ENTERS.

27. Frigg's husband: ODIN.  In Norse mythology, Frigg is the wife of Odin, the king of the gods, and the goddess of marriage and motherhood. 

29. Oscar nominee McCarthy: MELISSA.

30. [Theme clue]

34. Largest organ in the human body: SKIN.

35. Butter servings: PATS.  I worry about the ones we leave uneaten on the cafe table.

36. Yankees great Gehrig: LOU.

37. "Then what happened!?": GO ON.

38. Duane __: pharmacy chain: READE.  Discovered this pharmacy chain in NYC.

39. Make an oopsie: ERR.

40. Skit show featuring Kenan Thompson since 2003, briefly: SNL.  Saturday Night Live.

42. Pinterest pin: PIC.  On Pinterest, users "pin" images they've found online -- like a virtual bulletin board.

45. [Theme clue]

47. Welcomes: SAYS HI.

49. Tibetan priests: LAMAS.

51. Exploit: FEAT.  Exploit used as a noun:  a striking or notable deed; feat; spirited or heroic act:

the exploits of Alexander the Great.

52. [Theme clue]

55. Flamboyantly showy: GARISH.

60. Teri of "Young Frankenstein": GARR.  Sadly, Teri Garr died from complications of multiple sclerosis in October 2024 at the age of 79.

Teri Garr

63. Sign of distress: SOS.  SOS is a Morse code distress signal ( ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ), originally established for maritime use. SOS was not an abbreviation when it was first used. Later, a backronym was created for it in popular usage, and SOS became associated with mnemonic phrases such as "Save Our Souls" and "Save Our Ship."  The phrase "SOS" has entered general usage to informally indicate a crisis or the need for action.

64. Target in mini golf: PAR.  This threw me off.  Isn't PAR also the target in regular golf?

65. Cooling-off period: DETENTE.

66. Something to go by?: ALIAS.

68. [Theme clue]

72. Consumer: EATER.

73. Pipián verde seeds: PEPITAS.  Pipián verde is a traditional Mexican green mole (sauce) that gets its color and flavor from pumpkin seeds.

Pipián verde

75. Rolls on the dirt?: SOD.  Very clever.

76. Blonde brew: ALE.

78. Search meticulously: COMB.

79. Like a drive through the mountains: SCENIC.

80. [Theme clue]

84. Pixar title fish: NEMO.

86. Abdicates: CEDES.

87. Street musician: BUSKER.

91. [Theme clue]

96. Spoil: MAR.

97. Manhattan spirit: RYE.

98. Bird that lays green eggs: EMU.  Yup!

Emu egg

99. Some pajama tops, casually: CAMIS.  Short for camisoles.

100. Suffix that turns adjectives into nouns: NESS.  If I am tardy, please excuse my tardiNESS.

102. Nest egg inits.: IRA.  In a world where many workers don't have company sponsored pensions, it's important to have an Individual Retirement Account or similar plan in place.  

104. Desertlike: ARID.

105. Singer India.__: ARIE.  We've met Ms Arie on this page many times.

106. [Theme clue]

111. Apple AirTag, for one: TRACKER.  Bad guys are dropping these in people's pockets!  If you find one among your things, remove the battery and call the police.

113. Garment worn with a choli: SARI.  A choli is a fitted shirt worn with a wrapped sari.

114. Pays: REMITS.

115. Ireland, in Latin: HIBERNIA.  Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. 

117. [Theme clue]

121. Slithery swimmer: EEL.

122. Roti flour: ATTA.  Roti is an Indian circular flatbread, made with ground whole wheat flour or “atta.”

123. Pelvic exercises: KEGELS.  The life-long assignment of all women who have borne children.

124. Country singer Tucker: TANYA.

125. Pig's pad: STY.

126. "The __ of Summer": Don Henley song: BOYS.

127. Shared account?: STORY.

128. Like San Francisco's Lombard Street: STEEP.  Steep and curvy.

Lombard Street

Down:

1. Joined: MET.  As in, met (or joined) for dinner ...

2. Annual gaming tournament, for short: EVO.  The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, is an annual event that focuses exclusively on fighting-style electronic games. 

3. Carole King album with the song used as the "Gilmore Girls" theme: TAPESTRY.

4. Dreamboat of Greek mythology: ADONIS.  In Greek mythology, Adonis was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity.

5. Some turns: LEFTS.

6. San Joaquin Valley city: FRESNO.  Harder if you're not Californian.

7. Word with can or pan: OIL.

8. Saying that goes without saying: AXIOM.

9. Blair of "The Exorcist": LINDA.

10. Dating: SEEING.

11. Chem. in some calming pet treats: CBD.  Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis plants, and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract.  Medically, it is an anticonvulsant used to treat multiple forms of epilepsy.  Clinical research on CBD includes studies related to the treatment of anxiety, addiction, psychosis, movement disorders, and pain, but at this point there is insufficient evidence that CBD is effective for these conditions.

12. Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto: CLEMENTE.  Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (1934 – 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In December 1972, Clemente died in the crash of a plane he had chartered to take emergency relief goods for the survivors of a massive earthquake in Nicaragua.  He was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Roberto Clemente

13. Graph theory pioneer: EULER.  Leonhard Euler (1707 – 1783) was a Swiss polymath who was active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, geographer, and engineer.  He founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made influential discoveries in many other branches of mathematics such as analytic number theory, complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus.

14. "I agree to those terms!": DEAL!

15. Juneau native: ALASKAN.

16. Gary Larson comic strip, with "The": FAR SIDE.

17. After-hours employee, perhaps: CLEANER.

19. In __ to: deeply engrossed in: THRALL.

23. Vietnamese New Year: TET.

25. Better informed: WISER.

28. 119-Down formula: NaOH.  Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a white, odorless, corrosive solid that is used in many industrial and household products. It is also known as lye or caustic soda.

30. Chimpanzees, e.g.: APES.

31. Gilbert of "The Conners": SARA.  Sara Gilbert is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne.

32. Rapper Shakur: TUPAC.  Tupac Shakur (1971 – 1996) was an American rapper and actor.  He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. His lyrics are noted for addressing social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of African-Americans, but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap.  He was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

Tupac Shakur

33. Makes an oopsie: GOOFS.

38. Take turns: ROTATE.

40. Moo __ pork: SHU.

41. Ballpoint tips: NIBS.

43. Little hellion: IMP.

44. Latin "Seize the day": CARPE DIEM.

46. Parakeet enclosure: CAGE.

48. Graded injury: SPRAIN.  A first-degree sprain is the mildest form of sprain, resulting in minimal tissue damage and quick recovery time.  A second-degree sprain happens when one or more ligaments has been damaged.  A third-degree sprain occurs when the ligament has torn.  These are ordinal numbers through which we would prefer not to progress.

49. Challenge for a speech therapist: LISP.

50. Usher to a table: SEAT.

53. End of a hot streak: LOSS.

54. __ Lanka: SRI.

56. Doesn't keep a poker face: REACTS.

57. Call __ question: INTO.

58. Fruit holder: STEM.

59. Mint, e.g.: HERB.

60. Unaccounted-for times on a résumé: GAPS.

61. Knighted actor Guinness: ALEC.

62. Fragrant, in a bad way: RIPE.  "Ripe" can be used as an adjective to describe a smell that is strong and unpleasant, similar to being stinky.

65. Shop with a meat slicer: DELI.  Delicatessen:  a good place to purchase sliced pastrami or corned beef, if you're into that sort of thing.  DH craves the veggie Reuben sandwich at Canter's Deli in L.A.

67. Result of stirring up a hornet's nest: STINGS.

69. Sun Devils sch.: ASU.  Arizona State University.

70. Source of some coll. scholarships: ROTC.  Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a leadership training and development program that prepares full-time, college-enrolled students for service opportunities in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Space Force.

71. "Shucks!": RATS.

74. Laptop giant: ACER.

77. Genderqueer identity: ENBY.  "Enby" is a term used to describe someone who identifies as non-binary, or outside of the male and female gender binary.  It's pronounced "en-bee."  This is perfect crosswordese, as we are used to spelling out the sounds of letters in our answers.

80. Humanoid creature of Jewish folklore: GOLEM.  A golem is an animated anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. 

81. Secrecy doc: NDA.  Non-disclosure agreement.  Promise not to tell!

82. Typographical flourish: SERIF.

83. Stick at a table: CUE.  Pool table.  Billiards.

85. Smaller side: MINORITY.

88. Portable stove fuel: KEROSENE.  I was finally relieved of pumping kerosene stoves when I married DH.  He is not a camper.  DH says, if the Lord meant for us to go camping, why did he create all these fine hotels?

89. Gulf States title: EMIR.

90. Football film with the tagline "Sometimes a winner is a dreamer who just won't quit": RUDY.  Rudy is a 1993 film about the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who dreamed of playing football at the University of Notre Dame, despite significant obstacles.

91. Lambastes: SCATHES.

92. Abolitionist Tubman: HARRIET.

93. In a friendly way: AMIABLY.

94. Sister's daughter: NIECE.

95. Garage sale caveat: AS IS.

97. Wild parties: RAGERS.

101. After-school treats: SNACKS.

103. Almost never: RARELY.

104. In addition: AT THAT.

106. Italian hundred: CENTO.

107. Welcome: GREET.

108. "Weird Science" band __ Boingo: OINGO.  "Weird Science" is a 1985 song by American new wave band Oingo Boingo.  The song reached No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 21 on the US Dance Club Charts, and No. 81 in Canada.  It is Oingo Boingo's most successful single.

109. Punk kin: EMO.  Emo is an offshoot of punk rock, according to many crossword constructors.

110. Aerates, as flour: SIFTS.

112. The Krusty __: SpongeBob's employer: KRAB.

116. Inserts for some electric toothbrushes: AAs.

118. Rx notation: TER.  Terbinafine is used to treat fungal infections.

119. Caustic chemical: LYE.

120. Swimmer's unit: LAP.

Here's the grid:

C.C. had computer problems, and asked me yesterday to substitute for her today.

Because this review was hasty, please excuse any GOOFS due to my hastiNESS!

-- NaomiZ