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

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Jun 15, 2013

Saturday, Jun 15th, 2013, Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing V,W,X)

Blocks: 33

   Thought I was doomed on this one, with almost nothing in the Mid-North and NE corners - then one quick change and a solid W.A.G. got me enough to fill the grid - but alas, with two bad entries.  Seemed like a continuation of yesterday's proper names run, too (I count 18+ "*"), and yet another deceptive layout offering just two double stacked 11's inside the edges again, and two vertical 9's;

21. Barbecue sauce additive : LIQUID SMOKE - JACK DANIELS fit, too

25*. "Hard Times" chronicler : STUDS TERKEL - never heard of this guy, and crossing 8D., was one of my bad entries

46. They're often discounted : FLOOR MODELS - I'm all for floor models and demo units - I can live with something being 'Scratched and Dented" before I get it; it adds character, and there's none of the anxiety of being the dumb-ass who does ding it first....

51. Skipped nothing : RAN THE GAMUT - RAN THROUGH fits if I skip something

6. Capricious : ARBITRARY - I thought arbitrary meant "bearer's' discretion"; that's def. #1; turns out that def #4 is this one, meaning "unreasonable"

32. Folk instruments named for a Greek god : PAN FLUTES

T-minus 56hrs 9mins onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Philip II's force : ARMADA - I did not fill this in immediately; I was thinking of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II; you have to understand, my parents were born and raised in England, so the royal family gets a lot of attention

7*. Gaelic name for Scotland : ALBA

11. "Top Gun" fighter : MIG - ah, not "ACE", and once this changed, 11D. revealed itself

14. On-call accessory : BEEPER

15. Saturnine : DOUR

16. Plug extension? : OLA - Plugola - new to me; it's essentially a payment to get one's product prominently mentioned in TV and films

17. Egyptian symbol used as a logo by the band Journey : SCARAB - Cool album cover

 

18*. "__ and the Paycock": O'Casey play : JUNO

19*. Garfield's veterinarian : LIZ - and I believe Jon's occasional date, too

 

20. West end? : ERN - WestERN

24. Rejections : NOs - for those keeping track, I had to scrub the Home Depot mission TWICE because a certain girl was not there two days in a row; I have been holding off on getting a custom paint color made so I have a reason to go back, but it's holding up the completion of the job....

26*. Wizard revealer : TOTO - Toto, the dog, yanks the curtain in the Wizard of Oz

28*. University of Latvia locale : RIGA

29. Whiz : SAIL - As in "I whizzed through that test"

30*. Rockefeller's successor : MONDALE

32. Civil : POLITE

34. Powerful seniors' lobby : AARP - getting awful popular in CWs lately

35*. Mandlikova of tennis : HANA - I remembered her name as ANNA first

36. What a shrug may indicate : APATHY

39*. CIA director before Petraeus : PANETTA

42*. Lagoon of Venice resort : LIDO - Travel tips for those interested

43*. Random House co-founder : CERF

44*. Sam's twin in "Lord of the Flies" : ERIC

50. Miss the mark : ERR

52. Sushi staple : AHI

53. Two after epsilon : ETA

54. Sistine Chapel ceiling depiction : EDEN - not ADAM, not EROS; one place I would like to see in my time

55. Vestiges : TRACES

57. Agnus __ : DEI

58. Graduation party rental : TENT

59. Deerstalker feature : EAR LAP - this hat, of Sherlock Holmes fame

60. WWII spy gp. : OSS

61. Needlework in a parlor : TATS - tattoo parlor, that is

62. Brisk : SPEEDY

DOWN:

1. Cutting, maybe : ABSENT - from school

2. Family game night site : REC ROOM

3. Will, barring obstacles : MEANS TO

4. National Poetry Mo. : APRil

5. Gives everyone a hand : DEALS - card games

7. Deem : ADJUDGE - D'oh~! I put in assuage, and knew that was wrong

8*. Mrs. John Quincy Adams : LOUISA

9. Cake pan trademark : BUNDT

10. Materialized : AROSE

11*. Hawaiian island once used as a quarantine site : MOLOKAI

12. "Thumbs up!" : "I LIKE IT~!"

13. Epitome of grace : GAZELLE

22*. "The Old Curiosity Shop" villain : QUILP - no clue, all perps, the Wiki

23*. Prehistoric toon boss : MR. SLATE - Fred's boss; I confuse him with Mr. Spacely sometimes

27. Partying it up : ON A TOOT - DAH~! not "on a TEAR"

31. Morse code unit : DAH - hey, wait, that's my word~!

33. A : ONE - there are a few ways 'one' could explain this; or is that "a" blogger?

35*. Scheherazade's milieu : HAREM - Learning moment for me

36. Ristorante sauce : ALFREDO

37*. Eponymous workout creator Joseph : PILATES

38*. Keats, in a Shelley title : ADONAIS

39. Hairsplitting types : PEDANTS

40. Cloying sentimentality : TREACLE

41. Space cadet : AIRHEAD

43. Well-expressed : COGENT

45. Like fried wontons : CRISPY

47*. Fictional blockade runner Butler : RHETT

48*. Argonauts' helper : MEDEA

49. Narrow band : STRAP - I tried STRIP first

56. Is for more than one? : ARE

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy 48th wedding anniversary to Bill G and his wife Barbara!


Barbara & Bill

Bill & Barbara

Left to Right: Bill's daughter, grandson Jordan, Bill & Barbara