The Circle of FIFTHS - A minor = C major: C = "B#" - get it~?
This is Yijing Chen's fifth LA Times puzzle - I blogged her debut puzzle here, and today's offering may have led some Cornerites to a Circle of FITs, or even the fifth circle of hell - see 51A. I however, loved this puzzle - I enjoy the extra challenge of trying to figure out the hidden, underlying meaning of a crossword's theme. It took me about 8mins over my usual Friday time to finally figure out just the SW corner alone. Once I caught on to the reveal "NOTES" being the musical Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti vocalizations, it was enough to figure out that the theme answers were completely undefinable from the clues themselves - 45A being the most obscure & difficult to parse; I'm not even sure I am 100% correct, but there is no "sourson" word - the closest I could find was soursop - this fruit. The solution is to take out the duplicate "notes", ( which had to be doubled to match the plural reveal ) and Bob's your uncle. I am sure this construction is going to cause a fair amount of grumbling, but it's Friday, and it does have a theme, albeit a very cryptic one. An over-sized 15 x 16 grid, no outlier letters, several names, no Twurds, sixteen 3LWs, and no circles, but perhaps "*" on the themers would have helped, as they coincided with other same-length fills:
17. Female sib: DOSIDOS - SISter, abbr in the clue, abbr in the answer, no relation to the actual fill of do-si-do, the dance step ( and now I see, a strain of marijuana, plus the Girl Scout cookie ); the same non-relation goes for all of the themers . . .
18. Cozy eatery: CAREFREE - CAFE, not the 'care-free' attitude, e.g.
23. Man of La Mancha: SEMIMINOR - SEÑOR, Español for "man" in the Spanish city - which we also learned from last week's clue/answer "Dulcinea" fiasco; filled mostly via perps, and I did not know what the definition of "Semi Minor" was;
38. The complete set: ALFALFA - ALL - strangely, a sorta dupe from yesterday . . .
45. Big flowerpot: SOURSON - URN - "loses interest in"; almost impossible to fill in without understanding the theme
57. Extemporizes: LAVALAMPS - VAMPS - the "musical improvisation" definition. The green one in my office -
67. Low-level laborer: PETITION - PEON, my first thought, but was obviously too short for the eight-letter fill in the grid
69. "Perfect!," or how to make seven answers in this puzzle match their clues?: NONOTES - D'Oh~! A deer, a female deer - if you were able to "Be Sharp" and remove the doubled Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do pairings ( and I know it's usually referred to as "SOL" ) from the answers, what you're left with are explanations for the clues 😁
ACROSS:
1. Barnyard call: MAA - cows go "moo", sheep go "baa", so this must be goats
4. A pop: PER
7. Compels: FORCES
13. Like some pickup-only deals: IN-STORE
15. Prehistoric hand tool: STONEAXE - A uniquie fill
20. Second singer to be honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award: SINATRA - and the first singer was~? Answer at the end, name #2
22. Some laptops: PCs
25. Ernie's "Sing After Me" duet partner: ELMO - Good guess on my part; not BERT - name #3
28. Monument Valley formation: MESA
30. Winter layer: COAT - I was not fooled, didn't go with SNOW, RIME or HOAR
33. __ Nation: Jay-Z's conglomerate: ROC - name (ish)
36. Novelist Quindlen: ANNA - No clue, more here, name #4
40. Approximately: ABOUT
42. Many a K-pop singer: IDOL
44. Starting lineup: A-TEAM
47. Gaelic speaker: CELT
49. Cornerback Bly in the College Football Hall of Fame: DRÉ - No clue, name #5
50. Was gripping?: HELD - Har-har
51. Breathe fire, say: RAGE - the sin of the Fifth Circle of Hell
53. Inhale, maybe: EAT - slang for eating fast
55. Couple: DUAD - Not being DUET caused all sorts of grief
62. "Thrilla in Manila" boxer: ALI - Crossword staple, name #6
64. Approached bedtime: LATENED - "got late"
66. Wife of Zeus: HERA - name #7
71. Peppers in some mole sauces: POBLANOS - oof. I didn't know the name of this pepper, and it's a unique fill, so new to any crossword - more here
72. Writer/illustrator who often wrote in anapestic tetrameter: Dr. SEUSS - the rhyming 'pace', depicted as da - da - DUM. My blogs are written in all-a-puzzle octalmeter . . . name #8
73. Villainous looks: SNEERS - This fish, my S-i-L calls "Vegas", hovered in the corner of the tank and stared at me the whole time I was down on Long Island . . .
I'm watchin' you . . . Creepy
74. With 27-Across, big name in watercraft: SEA - AND - 27A. See 74-Across: DOO. Their website
75. Therapist's maj.: PSYchology
DOWN:
1. King with a touching story?: MIDAS - the golden touch of mythology - my first thought was ELVIS😜, #9
2. Battery part: ANODE
3. Breakfast tea variety: ASSAM - Dah~! Not PEKOE
4. Pea sheller's discard: POD
5. Canyon former: EROSION
6. Amber, once: RESIN
7. "Seriously?": "FORREAL~?" - Rhymes with . . .
8. "Gorilla Warfare" artist Shaquille: O'NEAL - Name #10, but that's who I figured - not too many people named Shaquille - and his "art"
9. NWSL official: REF - abbr for the National Womens' Soccer League; I ventured a guess at something something Sports League . . . enough to take a WAG
10. Didn't ride solo: CARPOOLED
11. Corp. bigwig: EXECutive
12. Goes out with: SEES - Crossword friendly "E"s and "S"s on the edge
14. Retiring: TIMID - Dah~! Not IN BED, but an obscure definition
15. Shake: SCARE - Friday. Vague.
16. Ink spot, for short: TATtoo - so many ladies at the gym with ink art, but I just don't care for it; to me, it's like graffiti on the Venus De Milo
Yecht - looks "dirty"
21. Digital __: remote tech worker: NOMAD - I have not heard this phrase, but sounds like a great way to work in the 21st century
24. Deep defenses: MOATS - two weeks in a row on Friday
Caerlaverock castle, Scotland
26. MD-to-be's exam: MCAT - Medical College Admission Test
29. Clearance event: SALE
31. Not nearby: AFAR
32. No longer feral: TAME - this guy only gets feral when the FedEx guy pulls up . . .
Told you he was a licker . . .
33. Impetuous: RASH - I went with RUDE, only 25% correct
34. Clarinet kin: OBOE - about the only 'gimme' in the SW
35. "Do my eyes deceive me?": "COULDITBE~?" - Solid, but tough to suss in the Down position, and no crossings to work with either
37. Totenberg of NPR: NINA - I don't listen, more here. Name #11
39. Like some flaws: FATAL
41. Linguistic cousin of Hindi: URDU
43. One of a geographic quintet: OCEAN - Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Antarctic & Arctic
46. Formally decrees: ORDAINS - that's the word I could not think of; I was stuck on ORATES
48. Galena, e.g.: LEADORE - I knew this, but for some reason, put in IRON - that's these ores
52. Bonny landscapes: GLENS
Aye, she's a bonny lass
54. Sierra Nevada lake: TAHOE - Geo name #12
56. Match point?: ALTAR - And I thought I was being clever with "FLAME" = tip, but this is the wedded bliss kind of point - the "location"
58. Sells: VENDS
59. Came together: METUP
60. Olive oil maker: PRESS
61. Flip: SASSY - flip, the adjective, not the verb
62. Intro courses?: APPS - Ah. The restaurant menu appetizers, that is
63. Swimmer Marchand who won four gold medals at Paris 2024: LEON - oof. Friday. Frawnche. Name #13
65. "__ true!": TOO - I had "TIS" to start
68. __-de-France: Paris's region: ILE - Frawnche #2 - guessed it, put it in, took it out, put it right back in, and I shaked it all about . . . 🙄
Happy Birthday to our dear Dave (CrossEyedDave)! He's always there when I need a helping hand with the blog, and he never misses a chance to celebrate our regulars with his wonderful birthday cake pictures. Thank you for your kindness, thoughtfulness, and all the smiles you bring to our little crossword family. We're so lucky to have you in our corner, Dave!
This is my second review of a Jeremy Venook construction; the first one is here, and like that first puzzle, I have a similar "meh" feeling about today's crossword. One could say it was a bit "LAME", and I don't mean the dress. The 'names' theme was disappointing - perhaps due to the fact that I did not recognize two of them, and that they're, well, names, associated with a characteristic of a face; YMMV. In addition, I found the crossings were of little help - I'm looking at you, 9D~! Standard grid, no outliers, no circles, half as many 3LWs as Five-letter ones, two Twurds, and plenty of proper nouns, since that was the "name" of the "game" - the themers and centered reveal;
17. *Two-time Oscar winner with a stoic bearing?: EMMA STONE - Stone Face, usually the more common phrase being stone faced, or having a Poker Face - take it, Lady Gaga~!
😑
Emma Stone, stone face
23. *Nursery rhyme lad with one eye closed?: WILLIE WINKIE - My parents were born & raised in England, yet I've never heard of "Wee Willie Winkie" or the Scottish folk song; in fact, 'winkie' meant the "one-eyed willie" - if you know what I mean. I guess this is the 'winkie face', which Google says should be "winky"
46. *Fictional spy sporting a big yellow button?: GEORGESMILEY - A learning moment for me, this character appeaed when I was just 3yrs old - but I have heard of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", the 1974 novel from author John Le Carré, which became a TV series ( 1979 ) with Alec Guinness as the lead intelligence officer ( after he played Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi in 1977, which I did see ); more here
😄
57. *NFL analyst with a sad demeanor?: HOWIELONG - I know this guy - he's on the FOX network.
A horse walks in to a saloon, the bartender asks, "why the long face~?"
36. Finally meet in person, or how to make the starred clues match their answers: PUTAFACETOANAME My dad insisted when I filled out a job application to "put a face to the name", and speak to a manager instead of just walking out
But Wait - don't drop names -
There's More to make a face over 😖
ACROSS:
1. C in shop class?: CLAMP - this thing; as a woodworker, one can never have enough clamps
Bar Top glue-up
6. Blu-ray precursor: DVD
9. South Asian crepes: DOSAs - Ugh. Crossing another name, double UGH
14. Hispaniola nation: HAITI - this Geo name has appeared in all four of Jeremy's LA Times puzzles
15. Outdoor co-op with an "Uncommon Path" blog: REI - learned by doing crosswords
16. Loosen, as laces: UNTIE - Odd that this counts as Friday-level, considering the rest of the clues
19. Recline atop: LIEON - Twurdish #1
20. Charge: FEE
21. Horn sound: TOOT
22. Briquettes: COALS
26. Talk into a bigger purchase: UPSELL
29. Warped Tour sponsor: VANS - No clue; the Warped Tour Wiki; I knew a handful of the bands from the one in 1998; in 2012, despite having triple the performers, I knew not one of them . . . since it could have been a vehicle 'vans' answer, name #1 ( +4 if you count the themers . . . )
41. Sarge's superior: LOOIE - oof. Friday. Lieutenant. If it weren't for my voracious reading, I would not have gotten this one - also seen in novels as "LOO", "LOOT", "L-T", etc.
42. Hieroglyphic snakes: ASPs
43. Insider's argot: CANT - argot being the 'jargon', lingo and language of a small group, e.g. scientists
44. Check: ARREST
51. Partygoer who might stock up on glow sticks: RAVER - I grew up in the "mosh pit" era
52. Many a Yemeni: ARAB
53. Sweets: BAE - not candy, vague, and cringe, I can't stand this word - two of three Fridays now 😖
56. Carne __ burrito: ASADA
59. Romantic poet who died fighting for Greek independence: BYRON - interesting life, name #2
60. "Eddington" director Aster: ARI - I know none of his work - IMDb, name #3
61. Caused: LEDTO - Twurdish #2
62. Utter, as thou might: SAYST - canceled my SAYTH, which needed to be SayEth anyway - until I checked with our new friend A I, and found this . . .
Archaic spelling of "archaic" . . . uhhh
63. Pewter component: TIN - about 85-99%, according to Wiki
64. Eye sores: STYES
DOWN:
1. Many a cooking show host: CHEF
2. Fabric with metallic threads: LAMÉ - Some of this puzzle may be "lame", but not this dress . . . 🙄
3. Love, in French: AIME - does not rhyme with LAME, more like ay-MUH in the Frawnche
4. NYC transit org.: MTA - I grew up on Long Island, so I'm familiar with this organization; name(ish) and abbr, but here's a video from the B1M on a NYC project ahead of schedule, AND below budget
Park Ave rebuild
5. Flower part: PISTIL
6. Salivate: DROOL - Makes me think of Odie from Garfield
I'm down here with Cooper, who is not a drooler - but he does like to lick
7. Starbucks order: VENTI
8. Drop to 0%: DIE - Ah. Like phone batteries
9. Woman of La Mancha?: DULCINEA - Crossing two themers, and name #4 - Don Quixote's imaginary girlfriend; Why stop at one~? I have a dozen imaginary girlfriends . . . 😁 the Wiki 10. Mirepoix vegetables: ONIONS - Frawnche. no clue, filled via perps
11. Swordfish cut: STEAK - solid WAG on my part, but then again, I know salmon is sold as 'steaks'
12. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI - learned by doing crosswords
13. Intuit: SENSE
18. Per-axle charge: TOLL - I just got a class-action settlement statement from a legal firm in Suffolk County, NY - the state owes me $144 for "illegal" fees on red-light camera tickets - Take THAT~!!
23. Large New Zealand cricket in the name of an Oscar-winning digital effects company: WĒTĀ - zero clue, didn't want one - I have zero interest in "bugs" - I prefer ETymology over ENTOmology - 😝
24. Paperless Post alternative: eVITE - Ugh. I tried eSite, thinking capitalized Post = newspaper, not the Postal, federal mail system , and a Tuesday dupe
25. Baylor University city: WACO - Geo name #5
26. Pros who work at home: UMPs - I think this clue needed an "?" - for home PLATE, that is . . .
27. Really come down: POUR - I tried HAIL, TEEM, PELT - Bzzzzt on all of them . . .
28. College Board exams: SATs
31. Many Highland Games participants: SCOTS - I had CELTS, so I was only 40% correct
32. Fragrant garland: LEI
33. Instance: CASE
34. Boxes in an arena?: AMPS - Boxes being the 3D noun, not the 'sparring' verb kind; I play guitar, and this is still too vague, even for a Friday . . .
35. Annoyance: PEST
37. Like a foul that might earn an automatic ejection: FLAGRANT - PERSONAL fit as well
Half the distance to the goal, automatic first down
38. Super-duper: A-ONE
39. Less than hardly, quaintly: NARY - I tried RARE, got me enough
43. Assertions of faith: CREDOS
44. Jai __: ALAI
45. Fights back: REBELS - the verb, not the noun
46. Snatches: GRABS - reminds me of this scene from Ocean's Eleven
Linus calls it a "smash & grab", but it's
slightly more complicated than that . . .
47. GPA booster: EASYA
48. Egg-producing organ: OVARY
49. Language of a haka chant: MAORI - same language as the bug above 🠉 - name(ish)
50. Conservationist Bindi: IRWIN - No clue, WAG on the "I" crossing the theme name - turns out to be Steve Irwin's daughter - still, it's #6
53. Hair quality: BODY - sadly, my hair quality is "thin", my body, "thick" - I'd prefer the reverse . . .
54. Upfront stake: ANTE - poker [face], not poking
Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center - their labyrinth website page
Author Norman M. Aaronson had an LA Times crossword back in July on a Wednesday here. Today he returns with a puzzle that was, for me, not a very challenging Friday foray, despite a dozen names and a Natick. Four themers with 'a twist' in the clue, and nothing obscure in the answers; I don't know how this one got published so late in the week; perhaps the oversized 15x16 grid~? Not likely - or maybe I was on his wavelength, and most of the fill was in my wheelhouse; YMMV. ALOT of Twurds & names, not so many 3LWs, no circles, no outliers. Four themers, none spanning, no reveal;
18. Story told with a twist: MYSTERY NOVEL - I am currently reading the "Exoskeleton" series from Shane Stadler, an odd horror/sci-fi/existential series, but I am sticking with it
29. Party gift created with a twist: BALLOON ANIMAL
Bah-dum-tiss
50. Cocktail served with a twist: VESPER MARTINI - Ha~! I wondered if this was the James Bond drink, ordered in the 2006 Daniel Craig 007 movie Casino Royale - and a gratuitous scene for our C.C.
My friend, bring me one as well, keep the fruit . . ." - Felix Leiter
66. Feat performed with a twist: PLATFORM DIVE - but can you do the Triple Lindy~?
ACROSS:
1. Big horn: TUBA - "it's not a TUBA~!"
AAAAhnaaald~!
5. "Scoot!": AMSCRAY - Pig Latin for Scram - the 'language' formation "rules"
12. Winery tub: VAT
15. Human rights lawyer Clooney: AMAL - I know who she is, could not recall the spelling, went with AMAN - Bzzzzt~! - name #1
Hey, I think I know that guy with her . . .
16. Bacon strips: RASHERS
17. Kerfuffle: ADO
20. Replayed tennis serve: LET
21. Gnats, termites, and the like: PESTS
22. River deposit: SILT
23. Timothée Chalamet trilogy set on a desert planet: DUNE - Tried reading this Frank Herbert novel back in middle school, but I just couldn't get into it, and I'm a Sci-Fi guy; I did watch some of the "new" series featuring this actor - and I like the dragonfly things . . . name(ish)
23. Believer in a noninterfering god: DEIST - I believe in "The Force" - I was on a 12-step spritual retreat this past weekend, and I walked the labyrinth pictured at the top on the grounds Sunday morning - now I want to make one in my back yard~!
25. Woes: ILLS
26. Thunder sound: CLAP - what's the sound of ONE thunder bolt clapping~? 🙄
One week to "Cooper"town, Irish Miss~!
28. Wild beast also called a wildebeest: GNU
30. Largest city in the Cornhusker State: OMAHA - Geo name #9, and a Saturday sherpa shout-out
31. Sesame Street's resident Grouch: OSCAR - name #10
32. Fit: ABLE
33. Country singer Lovett: LYLE - name #11, knew it
34. Patron saint of Norway: OLAV - name #12, knew it two ( too )
35. Uncommon: RARE
36. Pool equipment: CUESTICKS - Ah, that kind of pool . . . not the Monday one
40. Railroad station: DEPOT
42. This, in Spanish: ESTO - Español #2
43. Mix: STIR
46. "Blue Bloods" actor Cariou: LEN - I remember he played a role on Law & Order, still, name #13
48. Early afternoon hr.: ONEPM - this, or TWO
51. Rummages (through): RIFLES
52. Big grinders: MOLARS - dental, not deli . . .
53. Sealed the victory: ICEDIT - Two words #4
56. Japanese dog breed: AKITA - name(ish)
57. Mars exploration vehicle: ROVER - could be your Akita dog's name, too . . . 😁
