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

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Jun 28, 2014

Saturday, Jun 28th, 2014, Brad Wilber

Theme: BW

Words: 70 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 40

  Today's grid is a bit of a departure from our normal layout, and I liked that.  High block count with 12 in the corners alone, giving us a "circular" pattern.  Brad last stopped in April 26th this year with a Home Improvement mini-theme crossing in the center; today you could say the theme was "brought to us by the letter 'V'" - I count seven.  The first pass did not bode well, but I ended up cruising though to the end - despite drawing a complete blank in the center with the crossing of four proper names. Top and bottom stacks of 11-, 13- and 15 letter spanners:

14a. Fiction involving letters : EPISTOLARY NOVEL - written in the form of correspondence letters, newspaper clippings, diary entries; examples that I know are "Dracula" ( Bram Stoker ) and "Carrie" from Stephen King

55a. Read lots of travelogues, say : LIVE VICARIOUSLY - I like this phrase

RAD, now~!

ACROSS:

1. Cubicle sight : SWIVEL CHAIR

12. 1961 Ben E. King hit : SPANISH HARLEM - link away

16. Hipster persona : MR. COOL

17. Fair : SO-SO

18. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums : ENO - Put it in, took it out, put it back

19. Comportment : MIEN

20. Impact sound : "BAM~!"

21. By and by : ANON - not the ANON we are all too familiar with

22. Pay stub abbr. : YTD - Year-To-Date

23. MIT Sloan degree : MBA - The "Sloan" part had me thinking along the lines of Cancer Doctor ( and part of the proper name block where I drew a blank )

25. Striking action? : ERASURE - Like this

28. Jack-in-the-pulpit family : ARUM - Name #2 in the core of WTF?

30. Entreaty : APPEAL

31. Onetime Bell Atlantic rival : GTE - DAH~! I went with MCI - that's zero % correct

34. 1995 film with the line "Alan, please, last time I played this game, it ruined my life" : JUMANJI - never saw the whole thing - IMDb

36. Not forward : SHY - that's me; I was going nautical first with "AFT"

37. 1994 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee : LENNON - apart from his induction as a Beatle

39. "The Whiffenpoof Song" repetitions : BAAs - link away

40. Veterans : OLD PROS

42. Gag order? : "SHH~!" - Cute

43. Owed : DUE

46. Schmeling rival : BAER - Boxing "Maxes"

47. Wanamaker Trophy org. : PGA - Awarded to the winner of the fourth and final tournament championship; a little history here

49. Reason for an R : GORE - Movie rating

50. Gardner of film : AVA

51. Admitting a draft, perhaps : AJAR - Fresh clue for a crossword staple

53. Like some wallpaper motifs : FLORAL - Actual wallpaper, not that which can be found on one's smart phone - tho you may have a floral motif there, too

58. Altar burners : VOTIVE CANDLES - My first thought, but I was too 36a. to throw it in

59. Political matriarch who lived to 104 : ROSE KENNEDY - I was on the right wavelength, but for some reason, I wanted ETHEL, not Rose

DOWN:

1. Like some rum : SPICED - I just mentioned a "Gilligan's Island", made with spiced rum, last week

2. Got shown : WAS ON

3. Not apathetic about : INTO

4. Baroque instrument : VIOL - I always wanted to know what the difference between a Violin and a Viol was

5. Ex-pat's subj. : ESL - Again, different cluing for a crossword staple; I'm a bit 'meh' about this though

6. Capital where trains provide oxygen masks : LHASA - I knew we were looking for a high altitude city - more here

7. Hog trim : CHROME - "Hog" as in Harley Davidson motorcycles; their stock ticker is "HOG"

8. Robert of "Airplane!" : HAYS - One of my favoritest movies ever; he had a "drinking problem"


9. River through Pisa : ARNO - WAGed it

10. 1969 Peace Prize-winning agcy. : ILO - International Labour Organization

11. Proceeds : REVENUES - the noun, not the verb

12. Nautical pole : SPRIT - MAST, SPAR, YARD, GAFF and BOOM  were all a letter short

13. Image on Israel's state emblem : MENORAH


14. Winged statuette : EMMY - Dah, went with EROS - Bzzzt

15. Uninhabited : LONELY

20. "John Dough and the Cherub" author, 1906 : BAUM - #3 in the crossing of obscure names

21. Well of Souls guardian, in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" : ASP - Great way to clue another crossword staple

23. Sizable : MAJOR - Not LARGE

24. 20th-century maestro __ Walter : BRUNO - Name #4

26. Indian bigwig : RAJAH

27. Imitative : APISH

29. Fairy queen who carried a "whip of cricket's bone," in Shakespeare : MAB - Only 3-letter Fairy Queen I can think of

31. Far-reaching : GLOBAL

32. City with prevalent Bauhaus architecture : TEL AVIV - Some architectural reading

33. Attempt : ENDEAVOR

35. Magellan sponsor : NASA - Magellan, the mission to Venus, ended in 1994 - not the "original" Explorer

38. "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" network : NPR

41. "In the Bedroom" Oscar nominee : SPACEK

43. Hirer of Sinatra in 1940 : DORSEY

44. Mount Narodnaya's range : URALS

45. Hard to capture : EELY

48. Adorn : GRACE

49. Pianist Glenn known for his Bach interpretations : GOULD

51. Alamo rival : AVIS

52. Balderdash : JIVE - another great set of lines from "Airplane~!"

53. Fictional rafter : FINN - Huh - I re-read this during my write-up, and the first thought that came to me is that one of the UPS trucks I load is labeled "FINN", and I wondered how that ever got into a crossword....oh, never mind

54. Underground band? : LODE - Didn't fool me, I knew we were looking for "STRIA" or something of that nature

56. Maginot Line arena: abbr. : ETO - again, a detailed clue for a crossword staple

57. Published : RAN

Splynter