Wednesday January 26, 2022 Darryl Gonzalez

Theme:  We'll Get Along Swimmingly or This Puzzle Is All Wet.   You can choose.

It will make more sense if we start with the unifier.

39. '70s-'80s series about the Drummond family ... and what the starts of four long answers are: DIFF'RENT STROKES.  This was 

an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. 

[From IMDB] "

Two black kids from Harlem, Arnold Jackson and older brother Willis, are welcomed into the family of wealthy New York businessman Philip Drummond when their mother, his housekeeper, passes away. The two brothers become part of the Drummond family and learn various lessons about life."  I wasn't a regular watched, but did see this show occasionally.  It was pretty good.

Back to the puzzle: the first word of each theme answer is a specific stroke used in swimming.

17 A. Oxymoronic '80s sci-fi film title: BACK TO THE FUTURE.  This is classic.

The BACK STROKE: Lie on your back and flutter your legs while circling your arms in a windmill motion. You swim on your back and propel yourself backwards. 

28 A. Out-of-the-way access: SIDE ENTRANCE.  Possibly good for sneaking in or out.

Although not one of the official four strokes in competitive swimming, the sidestroke is a great survival technique. This is commonly used by lifeguards because you can hold onto another person and keep them above water while you swim. Lie on your side and scissor your legs to propel yourself forward.

47 A. Place for a pen: BREAST POCKET.  A pocket on the front of a shirt or jacket, located over the chest.

The BREAST STROKE: Float with your stomach facing down, then move your arms in a half-circle motion in front of the body. Bend your legs, then kick back with good timing, and you’ll propel yourself up and forward. This is a great workout and is recommended for those who swim for exercise.

65. Seafood order: BUTTERFLY SHRIMP.  To butterfly a shrimp means to do a lengthwise incision on the front or back of the shrimp in a symmetrical way. Since it should be symmetrical or equally alike, both sides of the shrimp must have the same form when opened – like the shape of a butterfly with wings extended.

The BUTTERFLY STROKE: An excellent workout and common competitive stroke–possibly because it tests a mature swimmer–the butterfly is performed by bringing your arms up above your head, then pushing them down into the water to propel yourself forward. Your legs perform a dolphin kick, in which they stay together and kick simultaneously in a bobbing fashion. 

[Stroke descriptions]

Hi, gang, JazzBumpa on duty.  I'm not much of a swimmer, but lets dive right in to the puzzle.

Across:

1. Natural sand bank: BERM.  A flat strip of land, raised bank, or terrace bordering a river or canal.  I guess it could be sand.

5. Historic times: AGES.  As, free, the jazz AGE.

9. Standing at attention, say: ERECT.  Upright, as a good soldier should be.

14. Diva's solo: ARIA.  From operas and oratorios.  If Game of Thrones were an opera there could be an Arya ARIA.

15. Meter starter: DECI-.  Meaning one tenth of.

16. Cookie maker's tool: MIXER.  To blend all the ingredients

20. "Jeopardy!" contestant: ASKER.  That's the way this show works.   Answers must be in the form of a question.

21. Cub slugger: SOSA.  Samuel Peralta Sosa [b 1968]  is a Dominican American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 and became regarded as one of the game's best hitters. [Wikipedia]

22. Paradise: EDEN.  The perfect place, if you can keep it.

23. Anasazi home setting: MESA.  A table land in the American South-west.  The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado.  [Wikipedia]

25. "__ the season ... ": TIS.  To be jolly, so cheer up, dammit!

27. Crowd no., often: ESTimation.

33. It's its own square: ONE.  Also the loneliest number.

34. Nice water?: EAU.  French.  Do you think it's nice?

35. Lanai greeting: ALOHA.  Welcome to Hawaii

44. Enjoying a scone, maybe: AT TEA.  We have tea at 4:00 every afternoon.  Sadly, though, I have to watch my carbs.

45. Call to Jude?: HEY.

 

 46. RN workplaces: ORS. Operating Rooms.

52. African snake: ASP.  As Cleopatra well knew, as the story goes.  But historians dispute the manner of her death

55. Major NJ airport: EWR.  Newark - Liberty International Airport.

56. Prepare to mail: SEAL.  As an envelope.

57. Small deer: ROES.  These are small deer native to Europe, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments.

59. NYC's __ River: EAST.  A salt water tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end.  Who knew?

61. Salamanca snacks: TAPAS.  Salamanca, in northwestern Spain, is the capital of Salamanca province, part of the Castile and León region.  Appetizers or snacks in Spanish cuisine.

68. Frisky swimmer: OTTER.  Some aquatic creatures are fish.  others are otters.  Either way, they're all wet.

69. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" protagonist: AYLA.  The Clan of the Cave Bear is a 1980 novel and epic work of prehistoric fiction by Jean M. Auel about prehistoric times. It is the first book in the Earth's Children book series, which speculates on the possibilities of interactions between Neanderthal and modern Cro-Magnon humans.

70. Fencing tool: EPEE.  A sharp-pointed dueling sword, designed for thrusting and used, with the end blunted, in fencing.

71. Feature of Mike and Ike candy?: RHYME.  Oblong, chewy, colorful candies coming in many flavors.  The only rhyming aspect I can figure out is in the name.

72. Pour: TEEM.   TEEM means to be full of or swarming with.  I can't relate it to pour.

73. Look after: TEND.  As sheep or children.

Down:

1. Quick Draw's sidekick __ Looey: BABA.

 

 2. Historic times: ERAS.

3. "Casablanca" hero: RICK.  Also classic.

 

 4. Bully's challenge: MAKE ME.

5. Turmoil: ADO.  A state of agitation or fuss, especially about something unimportant.

6. Enjoys the beach, say: GETS A TAN.  Don't forget your sunblock.  You want a TAN, not a burn.

7. Canyon comeback: ECHO.

8. Afternoon break: SIESTA.  Nap in Spanish

9. Long-legged runner: EMU.  Big bird.

10. Serious ceremony: RITE.  By definition

11. Radiate: EXUDE.  

12. Roman goddess of agriculture: CERES.  In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships.  [Wikipedia]

13. Stoke-on-__: English city: TRENT.  Known for its pottery.

18. Plant with a trunk: TREE.

19. Gladly, to Shakespeare: FAIN.  Archaic word meaning done with pleasure.

24. Old-time knife: SNEE.  A large knife.  The word has cognates in other Germanic languages. 

26. Sign of surgery: SCAR.

28. Pop at a counter: SODA.  Pop in some regions, soda in others.  or even soda pop.  What do you say?

29. Down but not out: IN IT.  As, for example, the Chiefs with 14 seconds left.

30. Slick: DEFT.  Said of something done in a neatly skillful and quick manner, as for example Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp, as can be seen here.

31. Babe and a doctor: RUTHS.  Baseball star George Herman Ruth, Jr. [1895 - 1948] and Dr. Karola Ruth Westheimer. [b. 1928]

32. "Do Ya" rock gp.: ELO.  Electric Light Orchestra.

 

 36. "That's enough!": OK OK.  TMI; stop it already.

37. "You are __": mall map info: HERE.

38. Exec.'s helper: ASST.  Assistant.

40. Big mo. for chocolate purchases: FEB.  Thank you, St. Valentine.

41. Steakhouse order: RARE.  Style of cooking.

42. Established method: SET STYLE.  I'd call a standard operating procedure, but OK.

43. Work at a keyboard: TYPE.  As I am doing right now.

48. Pretty pitcher: EWER.  A large jug with a wide mouth.  Might or might not be pretty as a picture.

49. 1994 Peace co-Nobelist with Rabin and Peres: ARAFAT.  Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini [1929 - 2004] popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. 

50. Solemn vow: OATH.

51. Brit's Bordeaux: CLARET.  Unofficial reference to red Bordeaux wines.

52. Garden recess: ARBOR.  A shady garden alcove with sides and a roof formed by trees or climbing plants trained over a wooden framework.

53. TV's "__ Park": SOUTH.

 

 54. Tom of the Traveling Wilburys: PETTY.  Thomas Earl Petty [1950 - 2017] was an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, and was also a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.

 

 58. Stop, as a flow: STEM.

60. Roy Rogers' birth name: SLYE.  Leonard Franklin Slye [1911- 1998] aka Roy Rogers was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebranded Rogers then became one of the most popular Western stars of his era.

62. Plumbing part: PIPE.

63. "Right you are!": AMEN.

64. Went too fast: SPED.

66. Before, to a poet: ERE.

67. Yosemite __: SAM.

This wraps up another Wednesday.  Hope you didn't flounder.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020 Bruce Haight

Leaf Peeping.  In New England people like to travel in the countryside to see and enjoy the colorful fall foliage before the leaves begin to fall.    In today's puzzle the first word of each theme answer r is a type of leaf.  Because the answers are all in the down position, the leaves are all "Falling".

5-Down. Sherlock Holmes portrayer in 15 movies: BASIL RATHBONE.  Basil Rathbone (né Philip St. John Basil Rathbone; June 13, 1892 ~ July 21, 1967) was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.  He got his start as a Shakespearean actor, before moving on to swashbuckler films and his portrayals of Sherlock Homes.

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/a>

11-Down. Wise counsel: SAGE ADVICE.

24-Down. Silicon Valley region: BAY AREA.  This one was the final leaf I found because I didn't see Bay Area as being a particularly long answer.

28-Down. Interpreter of lines: PALM READER.

Here's the unifier:

19-Down. Autumn occurrence, and a hint to the start of the other four longest Down answers: FALLING LEAVES.

Fall Colors in Northern New Hampshire

Across:

1. Meat on a skewer: KABOB.

6. Better mtge. deal: RE-FI.  As in Refinance.

10. Subtle "Look this way": PSST!

14. Gulf of __: Red Sea inlet: AQABA.

15. Horror movie helper: IGOR.

16. Healthy: HALE.

17. Albacore and yellowfin: TUNAs.

18. "Darn it!": SON OF A GUN.

20. Ingredient in some Tibetan cheese: YAK MILK.

22. Genealogy aid: DNA TEST.

23. Pie-mode link: À LA.  I am not keen on ice cream.  I prefer a solitary pie.

24. Cut out early: BAIL.

25. "Heavenly!": AHH!

26. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP.  Also the brand of a very expensive writing instrument.

29. Beatles' meter maid: RITA.

31. Hunk of dirt: CLOD.

33. Lea plea: MAA.

34. Fast-food chain named for its founders, the Raffel Brothers: ARBY'S.  How the Raffel Brothers built Arby's.  The name is the sound of the initials of Raffel Brothers (RB).

36. Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Michael: IRVIN.  Michael Irvin (b. Mar. 5, 1966) played college ball for the University of Miami.  In 1988, he was selected in the NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

39. Splendor: ÉCLAT.

41. Maple extract: SAP.

42. Born yesterday, so to speak: NAÏVE.

43. Female folklore deity: NYMPH.

44. Part of a plug: PRONG.

46. Word with pool or park: CAR.  As in a Car Pool or a Car Park, more commonly referred to as a parking lot.

47. First name in country: REBA.  As in Reba McEntire (b. Mar. 28, 1955).

49. List-ending abbr.: ET AL.  A crossword staple.

50. Finish: END.

51. Crayon shade: HUE.

53. Legendary Greek mount: OSSA.

55. Drink with scones: TEA.

57. Ideal way to work, teamwise: AS A UNIT.

59. "No idea": BEATS ME.

63. Living labyrinth: HEDGE MAZE.

65. Time off, informally: VACAY.  Short for Vacation.

66. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" author Jean: AUEL.  Jean Marie Auel (b. Feb. 18, 1936) wrote a series of novels set in prehistoric Europe.  The Clan of the Cave Bear was the first book in the series.

67. Kitchen cooker: OVEN.

68. Clear the board: ERASE.

69. Nimble: SPRY.

70. Let off steam: VENT.

71. Drops below the horizon: SINKS.

Down:

 
1. Pop singer Perry: KATY.  Katy Perry (née Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson; b. Oct. 25, 1984) was once married to Russell Brand.

2. Water color: AQUA.

3. River border: BANK.

4. Hawaiian-born president: OBAMA.  Barack Obamas (b. Aug. 4, 1961) was the 44th President of the United States.

6. Gamble: RISK.

7. __ trip: EGO.

8. "On Golden Pond" actor or actress: FONDA.  Both Henry Fonda (May 16, 1905 ~ Aug. 12, 1982) and his daughter, Jane (b. Dec. 21, 1937) were in this 1981 film.

9. Dramatically twisty: IRONIC.

10. Awesome, in '90s slang: PHAT.

12. Blizzard remains: SLUSH.

13. Grade for a soph: TENTH.

21. Bandit's hideout: LAIR.

26. "You got that right!": AMEN.

27. Like many doilies: LACY.  Do people still used doilies?

30. Recipe amt.: TBSP.  As in a tablespoon.

32. "... boy __ girl?": OR A.

35. Predicament: SPOT.

37. Lendl of tennis: IVAN. 

Ivan Lendl (b. Mar. 7, 1960).

38. Uncool one: NERD.

40. Copy: APE.  A crossword staple.

45. Kid-lit's __ the Great: NATE.  The first Nate the Great book was published in the early 1970s.  Nate the Great a series of over 24 children's detective novels.

48. "I, Robot" author: ASIMOV.  Isaac Asimov (Jan. 2, 1920 ~ Apr. 6, 1992) was born in Russia.  He was actually born sometime between October 1919 and Jan 1920, but celebrated his birthday on January 2.  His family moved to the United States when he was about 3 years old.

51. Comedy club sounds: HA HAs!

52. Exhaust: USE UP.

54. Ward (off): STAVE.

56. Gaming giant: ATARI.

58. Hideous: UGLY.

This is an Ugly Ugli.

59. Like knees during a squat: BENT.

60. MRI image: SCAN.

61. Face concealer: MASK.  This word has a whole new meaning on today's world.  Masks were also worn during the 1918 pandemic.  Almost exactly a century ago, world was also suffering form a viral pandemic.  The Great Influenza, by John M. Berry is a fascinating history of that pandemic.  I was struck by how little has changed in the past 100 years.  The events of this book are so similar to the events of today.

62. Focus group?: EYES.

64. Buddhist sect: ZEN.

Here's the Grid:

 

Mask Up!

Saturday, July 25, 2020, Joe Deeney

Saturday Themeless by Joe Deeney

Joe Deeney returns with a puzzle that was a real tester for me. As far as times are concerned, I won't show you mine if you don't show me yours.

Joe's reply to my note:

Hi Gary,

Thanks for reaching out. Always good to hear from you, glad you enjoyed the puzzle. I actually hadn't yet heard from Patti and Rich that this was slotted, so good to know it’s coming up.In early 2019, I started playing around with themeless grids with a high number of 10 letter answers. I don't have stats for the LA Times, but on xwordinfo there is a page showing that the max published in the NY Times in a 15x is 14 answers of length 10. This grid is relatively unconstrained and has 16. I have another puzzle in Rich's queue with this same grid layout, and another one with 18 answers of length 10 from the same period of experimentation. The tradeoff with these grids is more answers of length 4 than 5 or 6, but as long as the long fill shines that doesn't bother me so much, though I know for some solvers it's not ideal.

The seed for this puzzle was EXCUSEZ MOI which I had hoped to clue [Pardon my French?] but I guess that required a bit too much of a grammatical stretch for Rich's taste – or maybe it narrowly missed passing the breakfast test. I'm glad the gist of my clue for SHOWER GIFT and ORDER A LIMO remained the same. I've been trying to work ORDER A LIMO into a themeless puzzle for a few years now with essentially that clue - very friendly combination of letters, especially starting and ending with a vowel.

Everyone is healthy and safe here, hope the same for you.

-Joe

Across:

1. "Touché": POINT TAKEN.

11. Small complication?: PROB - See above

15. Agree to take the long way there?: ORDER A LIMO - Getting there is half the fun in a long car on a long route

16. Condominio, por ejemplo: CASA - Hmmm... A type of house and in Spanish

17. Dancer's driver: SANTA CLAUS and 18. First word in a classic poem about 17-Across: TWAS.

19. "Telephone Line" rock gp.: ELO - Here ya go!

20. Prepares (for): GETS SET - A man GETS SET for his 100th birthday jump

22. Stretch (out): EKE.

23. "Dark side" sci-fi group: SITH - Jedi enemies in Star Wars franchise

24. Stuffed grape leaves: DOLMAS - From Trader Joe's

26. Rodeo ride: BRONC - Bronc 1 Cowboy 0

29. Either Bush, in school: ELI - George H.W. and George W. were both Yale grads

32. Spanish wine region: RIOJA - A marks the spot

33. "The Mammoth Hunters" author: AUEL.

34. Like some agreements: PREMARITAL - Also called a pre-nup(tial) 

36. I-9 ID: SSN.

37. Caddies and cozies: TEAWARE.

Antique tea caddy                        A cute little tea cozy

38. Pub pick: IPA - A brew often seen here at the Crossword Pub

39. Towels, e.g., aptly: SHOWER GIFT - Now that's just a fun clue!

41. Katy Perry hit that starts "I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath": ROAR - Her feminist anthem

42. Youngest French Open champ: SELES - Monica now, Monica after being stabbed on court and Monica as a 16-yr-old French Open champ

43. Pueblo pronoun: ESA.

44. Like undercooked eggs: RUNNY.

45. Oscar-winning foreign language film based on a Fugard novel: TSOTSI (South African slang for thug) 

47. Sarcastic retort: I BET.

49. Fix: RIG.

50. TV revenue source: AD SALES.

53. Neon tips?: ENS - NeoN

56. Actor Kapoor of "Slumdog Millionaire": ANIL - This story is of a boy from the slums of Mumbai not Johannesburg 

58. Pierre's polite lead-in: EXCUSEZ MOI - I prefer Joe's "Pardon my French" cluing! 

60. Wee: ITSY.

61. Galileo, notably: ASTRONOMER - One of my heroes but was not a big hit with the Pope!

62. NPR giveaway: TOTE.

63. Great bargains: SWEET DEALS.

A classy way to divide the Across and Down clues!

52. Entr'__: ACTE 

Actually intermission
for My Fair Lady

And now back to our regularly scheduled review:

Down:

1. Prepare for cheese?: POSE - Gotta love this clue too!

Sat CHEESE (fromage?)

2. Spoken: ORAL - There are so many questions I never thought to ask my grandmothers

3. Lic. figure: ID NO.

4. Barclays Center NBAer: NET.

5. Like some flaws: TRAGIC  Hamlet's "To be or not to be" reveals his TRAGIC FLAW of indecisiveness  

6. "Don't play," in music: TACET.

7. Hot, hot, hot: ALL THE RAGE - Name the song with this lyric (*answer at bottom of write-up)

8. Sorento and Sedona: KIAS - Car models 

9. Big birds: EMUS.

10. Barely bested, with "out": NOSED - You may have to look for a while to see that Horse #2 not only didn't win but got third. (**reason at bottom of write-up)

11. Dietary info abbr.: PCT.

12. What an actor may bring to an audition: RAW EMOTION - Stella!

13. Honshu city: OSAKA JAPAN - OSAKA and Hiroshima are both on the island of Honshu and it's a 4-hr drive between them

14. Factor in bonus size, perhaps: BASE SALARY - I had a BASE SALARY every year I taught and my bonus was 0% of that

21. Hall of Famer who was an MVP and Manager of the Year: TORRE - 1971 MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals and A.L. Manager of the Year in 1996 and 1998 for the Yankees

23. Longtime NBC hit: SNL.

25. Only Super Bowl the Eagles won: LII - The NFL is doing their bit to keep Roman numerals alive

26. Victoria-Tasmania divider: BASS STRAIT - The diary of Andrew MacCauley's 35 hr crossing of the Bass Strait in a sea kayak

27. Doesn't stop to think about: RUSHES INTO.

28. Expert on ports?: OENOLOGIST - We see OENO associated with wine here quite often and LOGIST indicates an expert so...

30. Martin's partner: LEWIS - Two reasonable choices

Dean Martin and Jerry LEWIS            Dan ROWAN and Dick Martin

31. Angsty lament: I'M A FAILURE - The sun'll come out tomorrow!

34. Each: PER.

35. "The one way possible of speaking truth": Browning: ART 

37. "Creed" actress Thompson: TESSA - Her IMDB

40. Like spring snow: WET - This beautiful Johnny Mathis song has a lyric of "melt my heart like April snow" @~1:12

41. Sticking point?: RUT.

44. Forward, say: RESEND - What I do when I get a cool video from someone

46. Noodle nuggets: IDEAS - Even my noodle/bean/noggin has good IDEAS sometimes

48. Ply with drink: BESOT - George knew he could get the truth from Elaine with peach schnapps

51. Austin festival, briefly: SXSW - South by Southwest conference and festival. Cancelled this year

53. Austen classic: EMMA - Also my granddaughter 

54. Coward with a knighthood: NOEL - He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1970 twenty-eight years after Winston Churchill vetoed her dad's desire to do so.

55. Knight titles: SIRS - Sir Noel had to wait

57. Caustic chemical: LYE.

59. Muppet friend of Elmo: ZOE - Rhymes with snow. With the diaeresis mark ZOË rhymes with snowy 

* The song about THE RAGE is The Beat Goes On by Sonny and Cher

** If you look closely the winning horse is between horse #2 and the horse at the top of the picture. The winner's nose is sticking out in front of horse #2. Horse #2 was declared the winner but someone spotted that the winning nose didn't belong to #2

Crossword Map Update

After four years,I decided to update my map of our LA Times bloggers. I went through the old map and deleted some names that didn't seem to be active any more. My memory is very suspect and I may have eliminated some people who are still contributing but I know we have some new members who are not included. I have also received requests from others who do not usually post but want to be on the map.

Please email me at gschlapfer@gmail.com if you want to add your name and location or edit what is already there. I am truly sorry if I have omitted anyone and am anxious to get the map up to date.

Gary 

(click on image or open in a new tab to enlarge)