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

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Apr 20, 2009

Monday April 20, 2009 David W. Cromer

Theme: Again and Again

18A: Start of many a corny joke: KNOCK, KNOCK

27A: Start of a trucker's communication: BREAKER, BREAKER

49A: Start of a sound man's mike check: TESTING, TESTING

65A: Start of a newsboy's cry: EXTRA, EXTRA

Easy guess on BREAKER BREAKER. I did not know how a trucker started his communication.

Is there a special term for this kind of doubled-up phrases?

Smooth sailing today. I had only one error. I penned in THE SHARK rather than THE SHACK for 42D: 2007 William P. Young Christian-themed best-seller. Wikipedia say the book title is a metaphor for "the house you build out of your own pain".

I like how RAP (30D: Music genre in the 'hood) and BLING (31D: Jewelry in the 'hood) parallel each other in the grid.

Another 40 black square grid. It seems to be the most common in LAT. We used to get lots of 38.

Across:

5A: Play-of-color gem: OPAL. Because it changes color when tilted?

9A: To the left, at sea: APORT. What is "To the right, at sea"? A-starboard? Another nautical term I am not clear about is abeam. Dictionary says it's "the right ankle to the keel". Is it like those masts? They seem to be perpendicular to the keel.

16A: Medium for FDR's fireside chats: RADIO. For Obama, it's YouTube. Ashton Kutcher just beat CNN the other day and became the first Twitter to have 1 million followers.

20A: O'Hara's estate: TARA. "I'll always have TARA" & "Tomorrow is another day".

38A: "Metamorphoses" poet: OVID (43BC-AD 17 or 18). A contemporary of Virgil (Aeneid). Learned from doing Xword. "Metamorphoses" is a "narrative poem (often called mock epic) in 15 books that describes the creation and history of the world", according to Wikipedia. And the recurring theme is about love. Amor vincit omnia!

40A: Like milk on the floor: SPILT

53A: CancĂșn cash: PESO. Another alliteration.

55A: Manuscript encl.: SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope)

58A: Remove by percolation: LEACH

67A: City near Sacramento: LODI. This city keeps popping up in LAT puzzle. Wikipedia says it's the birthplace of A&W Root Beer and A&W Restaurants.

69A: High-performance Camaro: IROC. I forgot all about this car. IROC is named after the popular competition International Race of Champions. IROC, IROC, I rock. Maybe I will remember it next time.

Down:

6D: __ colada: PINA. Interesting, Wikipedia says it's the official beverage of Puerto Rico. Where is pineapple originally from? I know China is the leading producer of pineapple in the world now.

8D: Hannibal the Cannibal: LECTER. Rhyming clue. He eats liver and fava beans. Maybe something else. I can't remember. Scary movie, "The Silence of the Lambs".

13D: Casino gratuity: TOKE. New slang to me. It's not related to token, is it?

19D: NASCAR's Petty or Busch: KYLE. Easy guess. I know nothing about NASCAR.

28D: Fastener for Rosie: RIVET. Rosie the RIVETER.

33D: King's tenure: REIGN. Ah, just a normal king. I thought of Larry King first.

39D: Scatter: DISPERSE

51D: "You can't get out of this way" sign: NO EXIT

52D: One whose job is fitting?: TAILOR. Why question mark here? Part of TAILOR's job is fitting.

57D: Ollie's sidekick: STAN. Laurel and Hardy. Learned from doing Xword also. I bet we will see another STAN this week.

59D: Gillette razor: ATRA. Introduced in 1977. P&G acquired Gillette in 2005.

62D: Sheltered inlet: COVE. Like this.

Answer grid.

C.C.