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

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Aug 25, 2012

Saturday, Aug 25th, 2012, Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 37

I do believe that this is Jeff Chen's first themeless (Saturday) puzzle - at least for the LA Times. In fact, we last saw Jeff with his Aug 8th "L.A." puzzle, and his well done "VW" women's initials puzzle in July - and this means he has "batted for the cycle", having a puzzle published every day of the week; S, M, T, W, T, F, and now S. Two grid spanners,

14A. Period, say : PUNCTUATION MARK - straight up definition, though the word has several meanings

47A. Tavern order : I'LL HAVE A COLD ONE - ah, the "old" days for me, but I never asked for a beer quite this way - someone will raise a glass for me tonight, tho it might not be 'cold'~!

and pyramid stacks of 11- and 13-letters, including:

12A. Source of a large reserve supply : NATIONAL GUARD - now I know we have several retired military members here at the blog, but are any of us part of this organization?

51A. Hybrid sport with seemingly incompatible components : CHESS BOXING - never heard of this; requires skill in both areas - chess and boxing, in alternating rounds....I'll bet the later rounds of chess get harder with each left hook you take....

On~ward Orthorunicans~!

ACROSS:

1. Bout with padded weapons : PILLOW FIGHT - can't say I have ever participated, and I was married to a woman with a young child, too; I would like it to be "all out" and have the feather stuffing strewn all over the place~!



16. Score direction: Abbr. : RITARDando - Gradual slowing of the tempo

17. Gull-like bird : TERN

18. Island food in a bowl : POI

19. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer : STYNE - a WAG, but the perps took care of 80% of the fill; I would have to say this one was a Natick for me, crossing nuiT, and a clecho with 9D - how's that for cramming in some CW blog phrases?

20. Some shooters, briefly : SLRs - Cameras, that is

21. Go on (one's way) : WEND

22. Certain hustler's tools : CUES

23. Setting for Ariadne : MAZE - Daughter of Minos - from the labyrinth myth

24. Observation after "Clean your room!" : IT'S A MESS~!!!

29. Pea family trees : CAROBS

31. Student's supper spot : COMMONS

32. "Oh no!" from Poirot : MON DIEU - French

33. Showed contempt for : SPAT AT

34. Where Daniel was thrown : LION'S DEN - First line here, from one of my favoritest bands Monster Magnet

35. Sellout signs : SROs - Standing Room Only

36. President under whom Texas was annexed : POLK - Hey, four letters and a president~! Another clecho, too; 43D. 34th pres. : DDE - Dwight David Eisenhower

37. "__ be in England ...": Browning : "OH TO"

38. Goggle : GAWK

39. Fragment : SHARD

44. Co-star with Betty, Rue and Estelle : BEA - 'Golden Girls' foursome

45. Bartlett relative : BOSC

46. Whistled at, perhaps : HAILED - oh, for a cab, not those legs.... see below

50. Characterized by extremes : FEAST OR FAMINE - seems that way in carpentry; now that I am involved in a large project, everyone seems to need some work done~! (BTW, I am not complaining~!)

DOWN:

1. __ hose : PANTY - ah, Jeff, pantyhose, the perfect clue/ans for me; have to restrain myself and pick just one image~!

2. "Txtng & Drivng ... __ Wait": AT&T ad tagline : "IT CAN" - pretty harsh commercials, but then again, what I see here on the roads of Long Island is far more terrifying....

3. BP unit : LITRE - British Petroleum, and the English spelling

4. Hard to look at, in a way : LOUD - like this outfit

5. Words with diet or dime : ON A

6. Turkey features : WATTLES - seen here

7. Circulars : FLIERS

8. Sikorsky and Stravinsky : IGORs - 'copters and composers

9. '50s-'60s title detective whose show's theme was composed by Mancini : GUNN - Earworm~!

10. Breakfast choice : HAM

11. Figure with two legs askew : TRAPEZOID



12. Matin preceder : NUIT - Ugh, morning & night

13. Queen's mate : DRONE BEE

14. Button on older phones : PRS - the other 'odd' one was WXY



15. Razz : KID

20. Figure (out), in slang : SUSS - Dah~! I left this one out of my little run at 19A~!

21. Districts : WARDS - Did any of you like the movie "District 9"~?

22. Lincoln's place? : CENT



23. Author of the novel "Doctor Faustus" : MANN

24. Suffix with robot : ICS - RobotICS

25. Of the best quality : TOP SHELF

26. "Everyone's a comedian" : SMART ALEC

27. Kid's retort : AM TOO

28. Extinct kiwi relatives : MOAs

29. One who's at home on the range? : COOK

30. Nearest star to Pluto : SUN - Duh~! I thought "hey, Alpha Centauri is no closer to Pluto than to Earth at 4.37 light years....oh wait....

32. Take advantage of : MILK

34. Like the Atkins diet : LOW CARB

36. Leisurely walks : PASEOs

37. "Memoirs of a Geisha" prop : OBI - our Crossword sash

38. State runners: Abbr. : GOV'TS

39. Highly seasoned pheasant stew : SALMI

40. Used for cover : HID IN - remember this hiding spot?

41. During : ALONG

42. Russo of "Tin Cup" : RENE

45. Supporting part : BASE

46. Fraud : HOAX

48. Cry of derision : HAH~!!!

49. Fiscal VIP : CFO - oops, not CPA

Answer grid.

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are two great pictures from Yellowrocks' 2009 trip to Costa Rica (Sorry for the error earlier). The first is of her and her son Alan. The second is of her and their guide & driver.