Wednesday, February 17, 2016 Todd Gross

Theme: It's all about space.  But what about time, I wonder?  What would Einstein say?  Actually, that's misleading.  Today's theme goes off to a different dimension - or at least in a different direction.

No double meanings in today's straight forward, sideways and up and down theme.  Simply the grid-spanning titles of three 3-D movies.   No - that's not quite right, either.  As we are about to see, it's the THREE D titles of three movies.

So, first the unifier.   63 A. Like some movies ... literally including 17-, 37- and 56-Across : THREE D.   Usually, this designation indicates that the movie is presented in THREE Dimensional format, where interesting or frightening objects seem to jump out of the screen at you.   But here, it's reconsidered to mean movies with the letter D appearing THREE times in the title.

17 A. 1986 movie set partly in the Australian Outback : CROCODILE DUNDEE.   As near as I can tell, this movie was only released in TWO D flat screen format.  And as near as I can recall, it's a movie about a knife.

37 A. 1988 movie set in a Southern California high school : STAND AND DELIVER.  About a math teacher who inspired a tough group of drop-out prone kids to excel in calculus.  Originally released in 2D, it was re-released in 3D in 2012.

56 A. 1996 movie set in Nevada's Area 51 : INDEPENDENCE DAY.  A seemingly invincible alien force attacks earth on July 2nd.  The scrappy earthlings - specifically Americans - figure out a way to win, a mere 2 days later.   A THREE D rerelease was planned in 2012, but cancelled.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here to explore what goes along with this solid [see what I did there?] theme.  Let's dig in. 

Across:

1. Way back when : AGES AGO.  Back in my 'ute.

8. __ top : PAJAMA.  Sleep wear.

14. Winnipeg's province : MANITOBA.  in western Canada.

16. Doubleheader half : OPENER.   In baseball, the first game of two scheduled on the same day, by the same two teams.

19. Shoe parts : INSTEPS.  For each shoe, the part that covers the INSTEP of the foot - the raised area along the top between the toes and the ankle.

20. Loch with a legend : NESS.  A murky lake in Scotland

21. One-named singer : ADELE.

24. Biol. or ecol. : SCI.   Biology and ecology are sciences.

25. Under attack : BESET.  From Old English, meaning surrounded.

26. Co-star of the 2015 film "Joy" : DENIRO.   Robert

28. Boot attachment : SPUR.

30. "Bridge of Spies" actor Alan : ALDA.

31. Onion rings are fried in it : HOT OIL.

34. Worldwide economic org. : IMF.  International Monetary Fund.

40. Tam or trilby : HAT.   A trilby is not quite a fedora.

Popular

41. Pencil tip : ERASER.   True enough - there is a tip at both ends.

42. Time in ads : NITE.  "Night" to the literate.

43. FBI agent : G-MAN.  Government agent.

44. __ of influence : SPHERE.   Also, a round item in THREE D.

46. Start of el año : ENERO.   January begins the year in Spain, and other countries that use its language.

49. Record players, briefly : DJs.  Disc Jockeys - people who play records, not machines.

52. Improve a lawn : RESOD.

53. Roman baker's dozen? : XIII.   Roman numeral.

54. More sudsy : SOAPIER.   

61. Nicks on many albums : STEVIE.  Certain singer, not physical damage.    At the edge of 70, I still love this song.

62. 1967 Temptations hit : ALL I NEED.   After a moment of weakness.

64. Wine competition attendees : TASTERS.

Down:

1. "Better Call Saul" network : AMC.  American Movie Classics

2. Long-nosed fish : GAR.  This fish is native to the eastern U. S., Central America, and the Caribbean islands.   It's skin is so tough that early American farmers covered their plows in gar skin.  Native Americans used gar scales as arrowheads. 

3. "Microsoft sound" composer : ENO.   Brian, a pioneer in ambient music, and collaborator with many recording artists, including David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2 and Coldplay. 

4. Like cannoli : SICILIAN.  Cannoli are desert tubes of fried pastry dough filled with a sweet creamy blend containing ricotta cheese.

5. One making amends : ATONER.  Awkward word, though.

6. Mars and Venus : GODS.   God of war, Goddess of love.   Strange bedfellows.

7. Bios are often part of them : OBITS.  Shortened biographies and obituaries.

8. Vanilla containers : PODS.   Beans on the plant.

9. "The Simpsons" shopkeeper : APU.

10. Star of E! network's "I Am Cait" : JENNER.   Is [s]he trans-jennered?

11. Machu Picchu's range : ANDES.

12. Attorney general under Reagan : MEESE.  Edwin

13. "Give it __" : A REST.  Stop it, already.

15. Novelist Waugh : ALEC.  (1898-1981)  Prolific author.

18. Single show : EPISODE.   Weekly installment of TV series program. 

21. Cookbook measuring words : A DASH.  Of salt or a spice.

22. Fourth of 24 : DELTA.  Letter of the Greek alphabet,  Δδ.

23. Run until : END AT.  Terminal date.

25. Calf father : BULL.  Barnyard parentage.

27. Tara family name : O'HARA.   From Gone With the Wind.

29. Harborside strolling spots : PIERS.   Structures extending from the shoreline into the water. Here's the pier and lighthouse at Petoskey, MI on a stormy day in Oct. 2014.   The lack of strollers is notable.

32. Without end : ON AND ON.

33. NFL scores : TDS.  TouchDowns.

34. Green climbers : IVIES. Vines famous for climbing the walls of university buildings.

35. D.C. underground : METRO.   Commuter train system.

36. Set loose : FREED.

38. Sample in a product pitch : DEMO.

39. Hard-wired : INHERENT.  This means existing in something as an essential part of its nature.  I get it, but it's a very strange way of putting it.

43. Mourn : GRIEVE.  Feel great distress, as from a loss.

45. Summary : PRECIS.  As of a speech or written work.  New word for me.

46. Have a place in the world : EXIST.

47. Critical inning : NINTH.    Baseball.  The NINTH is usually the final inning, and the last chance for a team to score the winning run.  

48. Down for a pillow : EIDER.  Duck feathers.

50. Actress __ Pinkett Smith : JADA.

Married to actor Will Smith

51. Competed in a British bee : SPELT.   "Spelled" spelt as they do it across the pond.

54. Flower starter : SEED.   The beginning of a plant.

55. At Hollywood and Vine, for short : IN L. A.  On a certain street corner in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.  It became famous almost 90 years ago for the concentration of radio and movie related businesses in the area.

57. Crusty dessert : PIE.   Often, but not always, fruit filled.

58. Fourth of 26 : DEE.  English language alphabet, and a clecho.

59. __ Lingus : AER.   Israeli Irish airline.   [My gaffe of the day]

60. Cloth meas. : YDS.  Yards - measure of length, or square yards, measure of area.

That brings to a close today's EPISODE.  Hope you enjoyed the excursion.   See also, C. C.'s interview with Todd Gross, also posted today.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Todd Gross

Theme: "Tennis, anyone?" Scores at a tennis match, from LOVE(zero) to GAME.

18A. Missing someone special : LOVE-SICK

23A. Start of a fictional sea shanty : FIFTEEN MEN

34A. '80s-'90s ABC drama : "THIRTY SOMETHING"

49A. Quick nap : FORTY WINKS

54A. Competitive look : GAME FACE

65A. Where one hears the starts of 18-, 23-, 34-, 49- and 54-Across : TENNIS

Some bonus entries: 64A. Divisions in 65-Across : SETS and 43D. Court figures : JUDGES. The tennis line judge gets yelled at sometimes. We're missing a crossword favorite though, AD IN.

Argyle here. Anchored with a grid-spanner in the middle and the reveal in the lower right, a neat looking grid. Almost like a tennis doubles set up. This is Todd's second LAT puzzle and is quite similar to the first.

Across:

1. Held, as a protest : STAGED

7. Beggar's request : ALMS

11. T-shirt sizes, for short : S M L Small, Medium, Large.

14. Bow user : ARCHER

15. Homebuyer's request : LOAN

16. "Bali __" : HAI. From South Pacific.

17. "Great" Russian emperor : PETER I

20. Modern recording device : TIVO

22. "Now, listen to me ..." : "SEE HERE"

27. Flair : ELAN

28. "Was __ forward?" : I TOO

29. Have on : WEAR

30. Enjoys the shallows : WADES

31. Duke U.'s conference : ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference.

32. Jib or spinnaker : SAIL. On the chance Jeannie is watching, "Is Lo-Li-Ta out of the water yet?"

33. Flab : FAT

40. Time workers, briefly : EDs. Time, the magazine; their EDitors.

41. Topsoil : DIRT

42. Not worth a __ : SOU. Sou is used as slang for a small coin of little value, as in sans le sou. "I'm broke", "without money".

43. Doorposts : JAMBS

46. Male swine : BOAR

47. Poetic black : EBON

48. Layer between the sclera and retina : UVEA. A good image.

51. Interrupt : DISTURB

53. Adam's second : ABEL

56. Black Sea port : ODESSA. I used this map because it shows the Sea of Azov.

60. Before, in an ode : ERE

61. Country south of Iran : OMAN. Map.

62. Discrimination based on years : AGEISM. See 21-Down.

63. Damascus is its cap. : SYR. SYRia. See the map at 61-Across.

Down:

1. Oozy tree output : SAP

2. Italian trio : TRE

3. Performance : ACT

4. Inner city area : GHETTO

5. Weird : EERIE. Anybody see some great costumes last night?

6. Garage entrances : DRIVEWAYS

7. More than most : ALL

8. Not so tight : LOOSER. Like this?(1:31)

9. Expert : MAVEN

10. Bygone knife : SNEE. SnickerSNEE.

11. Protection against spears : SHIELD

12. Gordon of "Oklahoma!" (1955) : MACRAE. Clip.(3:24)

13. Notes similarities (to) : LIKENS

19. Blade cover : SHEATH

21. "__ the loneliest number": old song lyric : ONE IS. Hey, who said OLD; I smell AGEISM here. Here, hear the clip.(2:56)

23. Italian automaker : FIAT. In a filing dated 22 July 2011, Chrysler reported that Fiat held 53.5% interest.

24. Skin irritation : ITCH

25. Centers of attention : FOCI. Not sure what the following means.

Cluster analysis of gaze points determined empirical foci of attention. The comparison between these foci and model-generated saliency centres based on ...

26. Unpleasant smell : MALODOR

30. Measure of power : WATT

32. Conventions, for short : STDs. That's short for STANDARDS. You MIGHT get the other STD at a convention. (My bad!)

33. Interisland transport : FERRY BOAT

35. Dealer's incentive : REBATE. Incentive to sell these Fiats or the following.

36. Sporty Mazda : MIATA. The model was introduced in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show.

37. Literary ID : ISBN. International Standard Book Number. Ha! There are 9, 10, and now 13 numbered ISBN's.

38. Barnes & Noble e-book reader : NOOK. This. Anybody used one?

39. Six-shooters : GUNS. “I know what you’re thinking: 'Did he fire six shots, or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?” from Dirty Harry.

44. Zoo section : AVIARY

45. German physician from whose name a spellbinding word evolved : MESMER. Mesmerize - to spellbind; fascinate.

46. Black-spotted feline : BOBCAT, Here, kitty, kitty.

47. Brennan of "Private Benjamin" : EILEEN. She portrayed Capt. Doreen Lewis in this 1980 film. She was Goldie Hawn's nemesis. Pic.

49. Oil holder : FRAME. Tricky. Oil painting.

50. Golfer's lofted iron : WEDGE

52. Sci-fi subjects : UFOs

55. One-point Scrabble letters : ENs

57. It can be carnal or cardinal : SIN

58. Govt. assistance program : SSI. Supplemental Security Income.

59. Trans __: certain Pontiacs : AMs. The Trans Am was a specialty package for the Firebird, 1969–2002.

Now that you've had your breakfast, here is Fifteen Men(on a dead man's chest) with lyrics.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to Carol and happy 41st wedding anniversary also.

2) Here is a nice photo from our always entertaining & amusing Husker Gary, taken on his last day as a full-time teacher.

Thursday October 15, 2009 Todd Gross

Theme: WRENCH (48D. A type of one begins the answers to starred clues)

20A. *Bakery fare named for their shape: CRESCENT ROLLS. Crescent wrench has a head shaped like a crescent. And it has a adjustable jaw to fit nuts/bolts of different sizes.

29A. *Quixotic reveries: PIPE DREAMS. Pipe wrench is also an adjustable wrench, used to grip and turn pipes. Did you hum "To dream the impossible dream ..." while filling in the answer?

45A. *Playground fixture: MONKEY BARS. Monkey wrench was named after the inventor Charles Moncky. Wikipedia says it's an old type of adjustable end wrench and was popular in the nineteenth century.

54A. *Beat poet who wrote "Howl": ALLEN GINSBERG. Allen wrench is a L-shaped bar with a hexagonal head at both ends. Used to turn screws/bolts with hexagonal sockets.

Man, I just call a wrench a wrench. Had no idea they have so many different names. But the answers were all easily obtainable due to the straightforward clues.

Very smooth puzzle. High Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters). I counted 21. The side by side placement of LOON (36D. Minnesota's state bird) and MANDARIN (37D: Official spoken language of China) just elated me. Mao Ze-dong is Mandarin Chinese. Mao Tse-tung is Cantonese spelling. Maddening differences, aren't they?

Those who solve NY Times regularly is probably familiar with today's constructor Todd Gross. He just made his NY Times debut with a Sunday "Let's Play Bingo" last month. Today's WRENCH is his first LA Times. Congratulations, Todd!

Todd also said Mike Peluso (one of our regular LAT constructors) helped him get this puzzle in "Rich-ready" format. And the puzzle was accepted before our TMS Daily /LAT switch. It's initially intended as a Wednesday puzzle, but moved to Thursday obviously due to this ease-up phase.

Across:

1. Premium movie station: SHO. Also HBO.

4. Hammer-wielding Norse god: THOR. The Norse god of thunder.

8. First voice of Mickey Mouse: DISNEY. Oh, I did not know Walt Disney was the original voice.

15. Will Rogers prop: ROPE. Will Rogers had Cherokee roots.

16. Rallying cry: ONWARD. No idea. Have never heard this word at the ball games.

19. Scrubs, as pots: SCOURED

23. Actress Holmes: KATIE. She is married to Tom Cruise, taller than he is, obviously.

32. 1953 Western hero to whom Joey cried "Come back!": SHANE. "Come back, SHANE".

34. Vacation home, maybe: RENTAL

41. Sunday dinners: ROASTS

43. Certain Sri Lankan: TAMIL. Tamils mostly live in north-eastern Sri Lanka. They speak Tamil of course.

47. Immortal racehorse Man __: O'WAR. The most famous racing horse in history, right?

51. Opie's dad: ANDY. From "The Andy Griffith Show".

52. Coffee dispenser: URN

53. Eagle's nest: AERIE

58. Ohio city north of Columbus: MARION. Got the answer from crosses. Interesting, Wikipedia says both John Dean (Nixon/Watergate fame) and President Warren Harding grew up here. Hmmm...

62. Really digs: IS INTO

64. MMX ÷ X: CCI. 2010 ÷ 10 = 201.

65. Basic doctrines: TENETS

66. One-armed bandit: SLOT. One-armed bandit is a slot machine.

67. "__ Haw": HEE

Down:

2. "Way to go!": HOORAY

3. Little barn fliers: OWLETS. Owls are far-sighted. They have difficulty seeing things up close.

4. Cease-fire: TRUCE

5. L'eggs product: HOSE

6. Good thing to keep when hearing opposing views: OPEN MIND. Keep an open mind. I like the clue. Also like the clue ASSET (53D. It's a good thing). It's all good, as Lois often says.

7. Bureaucratic waste: RED TAPE. I wonder why red tape and red herring are both red.

8. "Take care of it": DO SO. Do you use this phrase in your conversation?

9. "Batt. not __": INCL. Included? I never pay attention to the abbreviations in those packages.

10. Puffed up, as a sprain: SWOLLEN

11. Make queasy: NAUSEATE

12. Throw wide of the mark, say: ERR. Nicely placed beside YDS (13D. NFL gains).

22. Ham holder: RYE. And BUN (46D. Hot dog holder). "Holder" clue echo.

26. Detroit-based financial org.: GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation). Owned by US government now.

27. Capital on a fjord: OSLO. Why the heck is Norway rather than Sweden awarding Nobel Peace?

29. Variously colored flower: PANSY

30. Small weight units: DRAMS. 1/16 of an ounce.

31. One way to lower an APR: REFI. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. I did not even see this clue. The answer emerged all by itself.

39. Traveling show: CARNIVAL

42. Toronto's includes the CN Tower: SKYLINE. The Dubai Tower has surpassed CN Tower as the tallest building in the world.

43. Quotas: TARGETS

44. Leopold's co-defendant: LOEB

49. Snoopy's flying persona, e.g.: AIR ACE. Snoopy the Flying Ace.

50. Baseball's Jackson, a.k.a. "Mr. October": REGGIE. Because he always delivered during World Series games. Despite his performance against the Twins, A-Rod is no Mr. October, nope!

55. Ex-senator Trent: LOTT. Yep, he has his own lobbying business now.

56. Genesis grandson: ENOS. Grandson of Adam/Eve. Son of Seth.

57. Pixar clownfish: NEMO. From "Finding Nemo".

58. Sch. near Harvard: MIT

59. Enzyme suffix: ASE. Pineapple contains some enzyme which breaks own protein, hence pineapple juice is sometimes used to marinade and tenderize meat.

Answer grid.

C.C.