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

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Jul 7, 2018

Saturday, July 7, 2018, Kyle Dolan

Themeless Saturday by Kyle Dolan

Today celebrates a dessert favorite of my wife of 51 years - The Strawberry Sundae. I think my lovely bride should buy stock in The Driscoll Strawberry Company of Watsonville, California as their products are in our fridge in perpetuity. 

The worst job I ever had in my misspent youth was one my dad got for me without asking - picking strawberries in the hot sun for a dime a pint.

I last had one of Dr. Dolan's themeless wonders in May and this one was just as challenging and fun as that one. Doing puzzles on the computer early in order to get a blog ready lends itself to small errors and I had to correct a cell that would have been okay if I had been using paper and pencil. 



Now let's see what innovative fill Kyle has for us that reflects his job description above.

Across:

1. Shiloh's parents, familiarly: BRANGELINA - Shiloh Pitt-Jolie is the eldest biological child of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie whose portmanteau is BRANGELINA; which ranks right up there with ELHI for me



11. With 15-Across, kind of vehicle: OFF and 15. See 11-Across: ROAD - Hmmm, there's a reason to stay ON ROAD!



14. Regional charm: LOCAL COLOR - We attended a wedding in a vineyard near Venice, Italy where we got a lot of LOCAL COLOR and plenty of a clear liquor that resembled ouzo. 

17. 2005 Cusack/Thornton thriller/comedy, with "The": ICE HARVEST - Rotten Tomatoes says, "Meh"



18. Caramel-filled candy: ROLO

19. Puckish group?: Abbr.: NHL - A wonderful puckish story



20. The Righteous Brothers' "Ebb Tide" wasn't one: DUET - Bobby Hatfield blew the doors off that song alone! It's worth a YouTube visit and so is 34. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE - Sha DAY and so is 8. Ellington's "__ Song Go Out of My Heart": I LET A.

23. Demise: DEATH - The actual quote and 21. "Really?": IS IT SO? Uh, no, IT was not SO.



25. English house symbolized by a red rose: LANCASTER and 50. Any of the 25-Across kings: HENRY - they ruled for 60 years with Henry IV, V and VI


27. Julia of film: RAUL - RAUL is his first name. He took a turn as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family movie

29. The Jungfrau, e.g.: ALP.

30. Cocktail salt site: RIM - Hey a soldier can just make so many sacrifices 



31. Not abundant: SCANT - Civility in today's political discourse on both sides

33. Put away: ATE - If you ATE one of these 28" pepperoni pizzas in less than an hour, you won $100 and a $100 gift certificate to LW Pizza in Long Beach, CA. Oh yeah, the big pizza would also be free.


35. Great reception: STANDING OVATION 

38. Besmirches: TARS 

39. Asian language: LAO ສະ​ບາຍ​ດີ​, ເຈົ້າ​ສະ​ບາຍ​ດີ​ບໍ່​ sa bai di chao sa bai di bo (Hello, how are you?)

40. As a whole: IN ALL.

41. Type of port: USB - Reading left to right on my MacBook Pro you have a charging port, two thunderbolt ports, a USB port and a port for headphones



42. Thrust producer: FIN - Here's a good caudal fin



43. Some code taps: DITS - Go to this Morse Code Translator site, type in your name in the input section, hit the play button to the right of the Translate box. You'll get visual and audio version of your name in DITS and DOTS!

44. Shell-shaped dessert brand: CHOCO TACO and 48. Ice cream alternative, familiarly: FROYO both look good this time of year



47. A bit less than a quart: FIFTH 

51. Stoolie: CANARY - Not all of them are feathered but can still "sing like a CANARY"



52. Ancient Cuzco resident: INCA.

54. Sushi topper: ROE.

55. Shel Silverstein poem "Hug __": O'WAR - A lovely sentiment 
56. Ball attire: DINNER GOWN.

59. Bob Dylan's musical tribute to his wife: SARA - Okay

60. Company with Wienermobiles: OSCAR MAYER 

62. Chilling account: GHOST STORY- The prefect atmosphere 




Down:

1. Obligatory poker bet: BLIND  - In "flop style" poker, the obligatory BLINDS move around the table with The Button from hand to hand



2. Tamiflu manufacturer: ROCHE.



3. Boston-D.C. service: ACELA  - High speed rail

4. "Sorry": NAH - Sorry is in quotes indicating sarcasm 

5. Feigned enthusiastic greeting: GLAD HAND  - Also called "pressing the flesh" or "working the rope line"



6. Brown family shade: ECRU.

7. Apollo 13 astronaut: LOVELL - In the final scene of the movie Apollo 13, Tom Hanks plays Jim LOVELL and Jim LOVELL as seen here is playing the part of an admiral welcoming the astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima


Jim Lovell and Tom Hanks in Apollo XIII
9. Crossword clue features: Abbr.: NOS - This one is NO. 9 Down

10. Constitution's ratification section: ARTICLE VII.



11. Root in perfumery: ORRIS  - Into each puzzle, a little learning must fall. This root is used in some perfumes, incense and gin



12. Track through the woods: FOOT TRAIL - This FOOT TRAIL in Yosemite includes this bridge over Kings River

13. Its worship is often forbidden: FALSE IDOL - A FALSE IDOL is in the zealotry of the worshipper

16. Uniformed greeters: DOORMEN - I don't know if you should be proud or ashamed that you remember the TV series that featured Carlton the DOORMAN

22. Easy mark: SAP.

24. Prefix with gender: TRANS.

26. 29-member org.: NATO.

28. Dalmatian, say, to a Brit: UTILITY DOG - Here is a Dalmatian serving a UTILITARIAN role in a famous venue



31. Store safely: STASH AWAY  - I did STASH AWAY my 1950's baseball cards but when mom and dad moved... 

32. Rich pasta dish: CARBONARA - How 'bout some shrimp CARBONARA? 61. "Woo-hoo!": YAY.



33. Long __: AGO.

34. GDR spy group: STASI - The former headquarters of this brutal and repressive organization is now a museum in Berlin



35. Applies plaster to: STUCCOS.

36. Darling pooch: NANA - A picture of NANA the dog with the Darling children in an illustration by an unknown artist for Scottish author J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan



37. Formicaria: ANT FARMS  - ...and the learning just keeps on happening



42. Supporting: FOR.

43. Prima __: DONNAS - (Prima Doggies)



45. Longtime name in baseball broadcasting: CARAY  - A truly iconic, if not always accurate (or some say sober), broadcaster who was famous for this musical interlude



46. Half of diez: CINCO - La mitad de las diez es CINCO (1/2 of ten is five)

49. Lookout position: TOWER - Testing what can be seen from the guard towers



53. Dead __: very likely thing, to a Brit: CERT - Couldn't find it in here:



57. Sorta relative: ISH.

58. Noir weapon: GAT - Pistol also Rod, Roscoe or Heater

Make a  comment and then get out the ice cream, strawberries, whipped cream (Cool Whip at our house) and a cherry 


DA GRID: