google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday

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Showing posts with label Saturday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saturday. Show all posts

Mar 16, 2024

Saturday, March 16, 2024, Jess Rucks

 Themeless Saturday by Jess Rucks


Jess returns after a six month hiatus and brightens our Saturday with a wonderful puzzle. I sailed through in sixteen minutes and was slowed only to be amazed and amused by her skill. I found Jess on FaceBook and can't tell you what a bright, engaging person she is.

Jess has separated from the Air Force after five years of service where she told me served as an Urdu linguist, not interpreter. She now lives in Colorado Springs with her husband who serves in the U.S. Space Force. This is a picture with her and her then 5-year-old son having a good time on the playground. Jess assures me this is Urdu for, "I hope you enjoyed Jess's puzzle."

                                          مجھے امید ہے کہ آپ نے جیس کی پہیلی کا لطف اٹھایا ہوگا۔


Across:

1. Beach blanket: SAND - 😀 Yeah, I guess beaches are blanketed with SAND

5. __ Men: one-hit junkanoo band of 2000: BAHA.


9. Member of a dazzle: ZEBRA - I'd probably still say herd


14. "Van Helsing" role: IGOR.


15. Smart __: ALEC.

16. Location of the Karnak Temple Complex: EGYPT - A visit to the Karnak Temple Complex is part of Agatha Christie's plot in this Poirot movie.


17. Have empathy: CARE.

18. Pepa or pepper partner: SALT - 😀 The less common of the pairing.


19. "Buona __": NOTTE - Good Night in Italian. I hope Jess will stop in to tell us if شب بخیر is correct in Urdu.

20. Phrase on a shamrock-green T-shirt: KISS ME I'M IRISH - I'd love to buy this for a dear lady we all know on our Crossword Corner!


23. "Almost ready": ONE SEC.

24. Sleeping soundly: OUT.

25. Hermey of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," for one: ELF - Who knew?


28. Comedian who wrote "Cracking Up" and "I Know I Am, but What Are You?": SAMANTHA BEE.


32. Hodgepodge: MISH MASH.

35. Hoity-toity type: SNOOT.

36. Euler's field: MATH - If you're a math peep like I am, you know it is pronounced OY LER. Bonus points for understanding this:


37. Vital organ elements: PIPES - Our good friend Splynter knows a lot about these elements! Be sure to read his comments below the write-up!

    

39. Sound quality: TONE.


40. "Long story short ... ": IN SUM.

42. Motocross need: DIRT BIKE.


44. Cozy aesthetic: COTTAGE CORE.


46. Goof: ERR.

47. Camel kin: TAN.


48. Some event notices: E-VITES


53. "Stop misquoting me!": I DIDN'T SAY THAT.


57. Treadmill options: PACES - It's in here somewhere 



59. Throaty sound: AHEM.

60. Cornstarch brand: ARGO - Also the ship for Jason and the Argonauts

61. Rice brews: SAKES.

62. "American Chopper" argument, e.g.: MEME.


63. Diminutive of Dolores: LOLA - Did anyone else think of Gwen Verdon and Damn Yankees?


64. Aromatic herb: THYME.


65. Robed dignitary: EMIR.

66. Chuck: YEET - A well known synonym for throw is softball circles
Down:

1. Travis Scott's "__ Mode": SICKO.


2. Once more: AGAIN.


3. Like Freya and Hel: NORSE.


4. Word with down or up: DRESS 😀

5. One of two near Everest: BASE CAMP - All who climb 29,00o foot Everest must first make the 8 - 12 day difficult but doable trek up to BASE CAMP at 17,500 feet. This family did make it to BASE CAMP with their kids. 

 

6. Jai __: ALAI - A fav game in Crosswordland 

7. Tiller: HELM - He is "at the HELM" because he has his hand on the tiller


8. Lara Croft, for one: ACTION HERO.

9. High points: ZENITHS - Big brother to cwd regulars acme and apex

10. Super followers?: EGOS.


11. Without any variation: BY THE BOOK.


12. Sch. assignment: RPT.

13. Made a fast stop: ATE 😀 On Easter Sunday, March 31 this year, those of you who fast for lent can stop.

21. Breathable fabric: MESH.

22. Groove: RUT - There can be a big difference 

26. Currency in West Africa: LEONE - This bike in Freetown, Sierra Leone will run you 107,000,000 LEONES or about $4,400.

27. Swanky gala: FETE.

29. Handle for a née-sayer: MAIDEN NAME - I have no issue with keeping a surname after marriage

30. Savory jelly: ASPIC.


31. Start to freeze?: ANTI.

32. Large estate: MANOR.

33. "Too much to get into": IT'S TRICKY.

34. Close: SHUT - klōz not klōs

36. Game for owls: MICE 😀

38. Cord cutter, perhaps: STREAMER 😀


41. "Blue Nude" painter: MATISSE.

A set of three

43. Large group: BEVY.

45. Josh who plays Shakespeare on "History of the World, Part II": GAD.


49. Winner of four FIFA World Cups: ITALY.


50. Paroxysm: THROE.


51. Old quarter back: EAGLE - 😀 In this clue, quarter back is two words. Now the obverse side still has George Washington but the reverse side has hosted an EAGLE and many special images

Old quarter
A example of a new quarter
52. Mink kin: STOAT.


54. Judge: DEEM.

55. Creature feature with giant ants: THEM - Circa 1954

56. Quasi: SEMI.

57. Wash. setting: PST - Washington state is two hours behind me where I'm on CST

58. "That's the spot": AAH - I'll bet that's how you feel after finishing Jess's fun puzzle!


From Splynter:

Hi Gary,

Most of what I do for the company concerns design, drafting and the installation of the components of a pipe organ - chests, reservoirs, windlines, etc.  I am rarely on site when the actual pipes get put on the chests.  I did find some images, but nothing special, see attached.  I had a coworker snap the image, also attached, when we recycled zinc pipes that did not get voiced and reinstalled at a church.  I then took a selfie ( and I really, really wanted to send you a "shelfie", too ) Here are half of the facade pipes from the National Cathedral before we took them down and refurbished them.

Splynter







Mar 2, 2024

Saturday, March 2, 2024, Stella Zawistowski

Themeless Saturday by Stella Zawistowski

The look the face of our weightlifting constructor Stella reflects some of the anguish I felt as I worked my way through the latest of her always always challenging puzzles. After bobbing and weaving through the grid, I had enough letters to start to make sense of her ten-letter fills and finish up. Her top two ten-letter fills were fun to learn. 

As you can see in the grid, I did have one cell where my coin flip failed. My lack of knowledge of three-string Japanese instruments and Rhianna's music was my undoing.

Across:

1. Unplanned adoption: FOSTER FAIL - FAILING at being a FOSTER parent for a pet and then falling in love with and adopting that pet hardly seems like a FAILING to me. 😀


11. Adoption org.: SPCA.

15. Intended to prevent a torrent, perhaps: ANTI-PIRACY - As usual, Stella has a term I have never encountered that fell into place: 
Torrenting is a term used for distributing and downloading unusually large files like those for movies using the BitTorrent protocol. More


16. Name on the highest-grossing concert film in history: ERAS - It has grossed over $250M in gross sales against a $15M budget


17. Certain Central American: SALVADORAN - The lovely custodian at our school is COSTA RICAN and that name went in first.

18. Natural traps: WEBS.

19. Olympic badminton team, e.g.: DUO.


20. Victor Hugo's world: MONDE - MONDE is French for world


22. Sea bream, in a sushi bar: TAI - ... and my culinary education continues


23. Sushi bar list: SAKES - As long as we're at the sushi bar...


25. Snooty creatures?: ANTEATERS. 😀

27. Divine: PREDICT - Carnac's gift was to be able to divine the answers without first seeing the questions.


29. "Awesome!": SWEET  and 
30. "Awesome!": YES.



31. Cheer (up): BUOY.


33. Working days?: STINTS.

34. Practitioner of traditional medicine: HERBALIST.


36. Burlesque: SATIRE 
A BURLESQUE is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.


39. Smallest ratite: KIWI - Ratite: A bird having a flat breastbone without a keel, and so unable to fly.


40. Elle King's "Ex's & __": OHS - A Top Ten album


43. Subject of the 2014 documentary "Game Over": ATARI.


44. Jam: BAD SPOT.

46. Get rich: MAKE A PILE.

50. Melancholy work: ELEGY - I wasn't all that melancholy when dirge didn't work 😀

51. Salt target: ICE.😀


52. Levi's Stadium player: NINER.


53. Word with Days and Holiday: INN. 😀 Motels 

54. Well-thought-out: SANE.

56. "Hubba hubba!": VA VA VA VOOM - We had this recently with only two VA's but I remember it better with three

60. Let out: EMIT.

61. Feature of non-eco-friendly containers: ONE TIME USE - Why our landfills get full

62. Syllables in Rihanna's "What's My Name?": NANA If you need some raunchy lyrics

63. Moved mindfully?: TELEPORTED Star Trek did this a lot. Kirk never actually said, "Beam me up Scotty." Teleporting by mind



Down:

1. Scale tones: FAS - Do, Re, Me, FA, So, La, Ti, Do

2. Rashly: ON A DARE.

3. Name on some church-run hospitals: ST LUKES.


4. Saved to watch later: TIVOED.

5. Org. that regulates HFCs: EPA.


6. Free (of): RID.

7. Step one: FROM A TO B. 😀
8. Noted New York Judge: AARON - Judge is capitalized so...


9. "It's all too much": I CAN'T.

10. Paul of "Hollywood Squares": LYNDE - One of his many zingers: 
Peter Marshall: According to Tony Randall, “Every woman I’ve been intimate with in my life has been…” What?
Paul Lynde: Bitterly disappointed.


11. Compete on "Project Runway," say: SEW.


12. Many a fan of "The Baby-Sitters Club": PRE-TEEN.


13. "Willkommen" musical: CABARET.


14. Sue Bird's WNBA record 3,234: ASSISTS.


21. Home of New York's Museum Mile: EAST SIDE.


23. Northern __ apples: SPY Here ya go


24. Like the Chukchi people of Russia: SIBERIAN.




26. Fool: TWIT.

28. Fix: CURE.

32. Yona of "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic," for one: YAK - No idea.


33. Media personality JoJo: SIWA - No idea.

34. Bring on: HIRE.

35. Let out: LIBERATE.

36. Instrument played with a bachi: SAMISEN A one minute sample


37. Region of Chile used by NASA to test equipment for Mars missions: ATACAMA.


38. Fooled: TAKEN IN.

40. Expand, in a way: OPEN OUT.


41. Upturned feature of some snakes: HOG NOSE.


42. Pen: STY.

45. Shard: SLIVER.

47. Pirouette, essentially: PIVOT.

48. Unworthy of consideration: INANE.

49. Tool box item: LEVEL.


55. Text to someone who's late: ETA.


57. Velvet rope crosser: VIP.

58. "O Deus ego __ te": Catholic hymn: AMO My God, I love Thee, 


59. Scrip spec: MED.



BTW, our newspaper carries the LA puzzle and a second puzzle they call The Daily (Commuter) Crossword that is much easier. For years this puzzle has had Jacqueline Mathews listed as the constructor. Ms. Mathews of Spokane has retired and now the daily constructor has been Stella Zawistowski for several weeks (see "Created by" under the puzzle). Looks like Stella has a steady gig.