Theme: PANTS (57D: Garment that can follow the starts of the answers to starred clues. Or, as was discussed yesterday, pairs of trousers. Speak of it one day - see it the next?)
17A: *Hilarious Joke: KNEE-SLAPPER. (I've always heard this said disdainfully of a not-so-hilarious joke.) KNEE PANTS. Fashion comes and goes. Style is forever.
39A: *Worry, slangily: SWEAT IT. More commonly: don't sweat, as in "the small stuff." SWEAT PANTS. Could this be why Dennis goes to the gym every day?
63A: *Frosted Lenten pastry: HOT CROSS BUNS. HOT PANTS. Of course. Can anyone identify the car? Also these. And this.
11D: *Enduring, as a storm: RIDING OUT. RIDING PANTS. Also known as jodhpurs.
34D: *Freight Bearing Vessel: CARGO SHIP. CARGO PANTS have lots of pockets.
Tight theme with five answers and all the key words at the beginning of the fill. The unifying answer PANTS is perfectly placed at the very end of the grid, providing solvers with the precious "Aha" moment.
Hi, Gang -- JazzBumpa here. The timing is only a coincidence, but after yesterday's travails, our intrepid blogger Argyle has a well-deserved day (or, as it turns out, night) off.
I've had my difficulties as well. All Cruciverb functionality related to LA Times puzzles appears to be inoperative - at least as of this writing (sometime 'round midnight PST. I'm in EST!
Across:
1A: Unshiny photo finish: MATTE. Also a finish on wall paint, but without the alliterative word play. And SEPIA (7D: Brownish photo tint).
6A: Tree with quaking leaves: ASPEN. Populus Tremuloides sounds like a Roman senator.
11A: Usually nonmelodic music genre: RAP. No melody, no music.
14A: Not moving: INERT. Also used for something chemically non-reactive. Frequent fill NEON, for example.
15A: Work on a loom: WEAVE. Don't forget Jerome's Navajo humility mark.
16A: Under the weather: ILL. Because a quick change in the weather can leave you feeling out of sorts - with a SINUS headache, for example.
19A: Narc's Org. DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency. Not headache drugs.
20A: Ages and ages: EONS. Like, forever.
21A: Depression era migrant: OKIE. The Joads migrated from Oklahoma to California, looking for a better life.
22A: Bat one's eyelashes, perhaps: FLIRT. Sometimes you make out better at both ends.
24A: Method: Abbr.: SYST. Short for system.
25A: Lincoln wore one: BEARD. Here is the before picture.
27A: Pay for a hand: ANTE. I saw this more cleverly as "pay to hold hands" over the weekend.
28A: Bank encumbrance: LIEN. This is a charge against real or personal property for the payment of any debt or duty, which must be satisfied before the property is sold.
30A: Sound hear twice in "Gargantuan." HARD G. But only heard once in Pantagruel. Remember Don "Hard G" Gagliardo's record-breaking "Hard and Soft G" puzzle from a few months ago? Total 21 G's.
32A: Command for an attack dog: SIC 'EM. Strange expression. Does anyone know the origin?
35A: Dressing for romaine and such: SALAD OIL.
38A: Palm Pilot or Blackberry, briefly: PDA. Personal Data Assistant. Like a virtual electronic secretary.
42A: Mex. neighbor: USA. Us, eh?
43A: Hardly geniuses: AIRHEADS. Will this unleash another barrage of blonde jokes?
45A: Contest submission: ENTRY. Or, a crossword fill.
47A: Arrived: GOT IN. Seemed like I just arrived in bed when the alarm went off.
48A: Poet Pound: EZRA. Another alliteration. And a Bible Book. Hebrew for "Help".
50A: Old hands: PROS. Professionals. An old hand is experience.
52A: Coerce: FORCE. Don't coerce me, bro!
54A: Infield protector: TARP. A big roll of plastic sheet that's rolled out onto a baseball infield during a rain delay.
58A: Retreats in the desert. OASES. Or maybe only a mirage.
60A: Bring up: REAR. Not bringing up the rear, but nurturing children.
61A: Field of expertise: AREA. Mine is being a grandfather. What's yours?
62A: Jr. high, e.g.: SCH. School abbreviation.
66A: Maneuver among moguls: SKI. Long alliterative clue for a short answer. Mogul here refers to the "bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope".
67A: One way to read: ALOUD. But only if reading aloud is allowed.
68A: White sheet wearer, on Halloween. GHOST. Usually cute and lovable. Not like these guys.
69A: Sixth Sense for short: ESP. Extra-sensory perception. I just knew it.
70A: Sources of blue eyes, say: GENES. Or as Mendel would say, "The eyes have it."
71A: Shipping weight deductions: TARES. The weight of the containers. Easy to confuse it with with TRET, the "Old waste allowance".
Down:
1D: Studio sound equipment: MIKES. Microphones. An abbreviation that has become a standard word.
2D: Be a thorn in the side of: ANNOY. No obscure crosses to annoy me today.
3D: Prom goers: TEENS. High School Prom. Fashion or style? You decide.
4D: Railroad bridge support. TRESTLE. I can never remember how to spell it.
5D: UFO crew, presumably: ETS. Extra-terrestrials. Great bicycle riders.
6D: Greet the morning.: AWAKEN. Not so much fun at 2:00 a.m.
8D: Part head gear: PAPER HAT. Didn't we just see some of these.
9D: Genesis outcast: EVE. Yes. it was all about Eve.
10D: Spongy ball brand: NERF. Can you get enough?
12D: Tip off: ALERT. Stay alert for the start of basketball season.
13D: One in a buffet stack: PLATE. Get a clean one when you go back for seconds.
18D: Ear part. LOBE. Eeeewww!
23D: "Shane"star Alan: LADD. He made lots of movies. And lots of money.
26D: Surrealist Salvador: DALI. No beard - just a mustache.
29D: "That'll do, thanks": I'M SET. Abbreviation in the clue and answer. Nice.
31D: Movie critic at times: RATER. I'll give this clue two thumbs up.
32D: Restful Resort. SPA. A new and alliterative clue.
33D: Deposed Despot AMIN. A bad dude. A good alliterative clue.
35D: Stockholm bound carrier: SAS Scandinavian Airline System International. New to me. "Amsterdam bound carrier" is KLM.
36D: Jerusalem is its cap.: ISR. Israel, of course.
37D: Set (down): LAY. Now a lay me down to sleep (wishful thinking.)
40D: Street urchin: WAIF. I always think of this. Reminds me of granddaughter Emily.
41D: Ralph Kramden's Pal: ED NORTON. From The Honeymooners
44D: Sprinkler attachment: HOSE. I think of it the other way around.
46D: Boris's partner in 'toon espionage.: NATASHA. Fatale and Boris Badenov.
48D: Online birthday greetings, e.g.: ECARDS. Greetings from a distance.
49D: Round number?: ZERO. Literal, in this case.
50D: Outlaw chasing group: POSSE. Euphemism for a lynch mob.
51D: Poolroom triangles: RACKS. Where is the triangle?
53D: Prompt again: RECUE. Or break another rack, perhaps.
55D: Vine covered recess: ARBOR. ANN had one, here in MI.
56D: Get extra value from: REUSE. The ANN ARBOR reuse recycle center.
59: Thick carpet: SHAG. Or a certain haircut.
64D: Bullfight shout: OLE. What, no corrida?
65D: Rank above Cpl.: SGT. As in Sgt. Bilko.
Pretty good puzzle. That's all Folks. I'm going back to bed.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Matt and his friends backstage at "The Music Man". He was the train conductor. And he was wearing the conductor hat blue and black and a blue blazer. Matt uses screen name Red state Democrat when posting.
JzB the sleep deprived trombonist.
17A: *Hilarious Joke: KNEE-SLAPPER. (I've always heard this said disdainfully of a not-so-hilarious joke.) KNEE PANTS. Fashion comes and goes. Style is forever.
39A: *Worry, slangily: SWEAT IT. More commonly: don't sweat, as in "the small stuff." SWEAT PANTS. Could this be why Dennis goes to the gym every day?
63A: *Frosted Lenten pastry: HOT CROSS BUNS. HOT PANTS. Of course. Can anyone identify the car? Also these. And this.
11D: *Enduring, as a storm: RIDING OUT. RIDING PANTS. Also known as jodhpurs.
34D: *Freight Bearing Vessel: CARGO SHIP. CARGO PANTS have lots of pockets.
Tight theme with five answers and all the key words at the beginning of the fill. The unifying answer PANTS is perfectly placed at the very end of the grid, providing solvers with the precious "Aha" moment.
Hi, Gang -- JazzBumpa here. The timing is only a coincidence, but after yesterday's travails, our intrepid blogger Argyle has a well-deserved day (or, as it turns out, night) off.
I've had my difficulties as well. All Cruciverb functionality related to LA Times puzzles appears to be inoperative - at least as of this writing (sometime 'round midnight PST. I'm in EST!
Across:
1A: Unshiny photo finish: MATTE. Also a finish on wall paint, but without the alliterative word play. And SEPIA (7D: Brownish photo tint).
6A: Tree with quaking leaves: ASPEN. Populus Tremuloides sounds like a Roman senator.
11A: Usually nonmelodic music genre: RAP. No melody, no music.
14A: Not moving: INERT. Also used for something chemically non-reactive. Frequent fill NEON, for example.
15A: Work on a loom: WEAVE. Don't forget Jerome's Navajo humility mark.
16A: Under the weather: ILL. Because a quick change in the weather can leave you feeling out of sorts - with a SINUS headache, for example.
19A: Narc's Org. DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency. Not headache drugs.
20A: Ages and ages: EONS. Like, forever.
21A: Depression era migrant: OKIE. The Joads migrated from Oklahoma to California, looking for a better life.
22A: Bat one's eyelashes, perhaps: FLIRT. Sometimes you make out better at both ends.
24A: Method: Abbr.: SYST. Short for system.
25A: Lincoln wore one: BEARD. Here is the before picture.
27A: Pay for a hand: ANTE. I saw this more cleverly as "pay to hold hands" over the weekend.
28A: Bank encumbrance: LIEN. This is a charge against real or personal property for the payment of any debt or duty, which must be satisfied before the property is sold.
30A: Sound hear twice in "Gargantuan." HARD G. But only heard once in Pantagruel. Remember Don "Hard G" Gagliardo's record-breaking "Hard and Soft G" puzzle from a few months ago? Total 21 G's.
32A: Command for an attack dog: SIC 'EM. Strange expression. Does anyone know the origin?
35A: Dressing for romaine and such: SALAD OIL.
38A: Palm Pilot or Blackberry, briefly: PDA. Personal Data Assistant. Like a virtual electronic secretary.
42A: Mex. neighbor: USA. Us, eh?
43A: Hardly geniuses: AIRHEADS. Will this unleash another barrage of blonde jokes?
45A: Contest submission: ENTRY. Or, a crossword fill.
47A: Arrived: GOT IN. Seemed like I just arrived in bed when the alarm went off.
48A: Poet Pound: EZRA. Another alliteration. And a Bible Book. Hebrew for "Help".
50A: Old hands: PROS. Professionals. An old hand is experience.
52A: Coerce: FORCE. Don't coerce me, bro!
54A: Infield protector: TARP. A big roll of plastic sheet that's rolled out onto a baseball infield during a rain delay.
58A: Retreats in the desert. OASES. Or maybe only a mirage.
60A: Bring up: REAR. Not bringing up the rear, but nurturing children.
61A: Field of expertise: AREA. Mine is being a grandfather. What's yours?
62A: Jr. high, e.g.: SCH. School abbreviation.
66A: Maneuver among moguls: SKI. Long alliterative clue for a short answer. Mogul here refers to the "bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope".
67A: One way to read: ALOUD. But only if reading aloud is allowed.
68A: White sheet wearer, on Halloween. GHOST. Usually cute and lovable. Not like these guys.
69A: Sixth Sense for short: ESP. Extra-sensory perception. I just knew it.
70A: Sources of blue eyes, say: GENES. Or as Mendel would say, "The eyes have it."
71A: Shipping weight deductions: TARES. The weight of the containers. Easy to confuse it with with TRET, the "Old waste allowance".
Down:
1D: Studio sound equipment: MIKES. Microphones. An abbreviation that has become a standard word.
2D: Be a thorn in the side of: ANNOY. No obscure crosses to annoy me today.
3D: Prom goers: TEENS. High School Prom. Fashion or style? You decide.
4D: Railroad bridge support. TRESTLE. I can never remember how to spell it.
5D: UFO crew, presumably: ETS. Extra-terrestrials. Great bicycle riders.
6D: Greet the morning.: AWAKEN. Not so much fun at 2:00 a.m.
8D: Part head gear: PAPER HAT. Didn't we just see some of these.
9D: Genesis outcast: EVE. Yes. it was all about Eve.
10D: Spongy ball brand: NERF. Can you get enough?
12D: Tip off: ALERT. Stay alert for the start of basketball season.
13D: One in a buffet stack: PLATE. Get a clean one when you go back for seconds.
18D: Ear part. LOBE. Eeeewww!
23D: "Shane"star Alan: LADD. He made lots of movies. And lots of money.
26D: Surrealist Salvador: DALI. No beard - just a mustache.
29D: "That'll do, thanks": I'M SET. Abbreviation in the clue and answer. Nice.
31D: Movie critic at times: RATER. I'll give this clue two thumbs up.
32D: Restful Resort. SPA. A new and alliterative clue.
33D: Deposed Despot AMIN. A bad dude. A good alliterative clue.
35D: Stockholm bound carrier: SAS Scandinavian Airline System International. New to me. "Amsterdam bound carrier" is KLM.
36D: Jerusalem is its cap.: ISR. Israel, of course.
37D: Set (down): LAY. Now a lay me down to sleep (wishful thinking.)
40D: Street urchin: WAIF. I always think of this. Reminds me of granddaughter Emily.
41D: Ralph Kramden's Pal: ED NORTON. From The Honeymooners
44D: Sprinkler attachment: HOSE. I think of it the other way around.
46D: Boris's partner in 'toon espionage.: NATASHA. Fatale and Boris Badenov.
48D: Online birthday greetings, e.g.: ECARDS. Greetings from a distance.
49D: Round number?: ZERO. Literal, in this case.
50D: Outlaw chasing group: POSSE. Euphemism for a lynch mob.
51D: Poolroom triangles: RACKS. Where is the triangle?
53D: Prompt again: RECUE. Or break another rack, perhaps.
55D: Vine covered recess: ARBOR. ANN had one, here in MI.
56D: Get extra value from: REUSE. The ANN ARBOR reuse recycle center.
59: Thick carpet: SHAG. Or a certain haircut.
64D: Bullfight shout: OLE. What, no corrida?
65D: Rank above Cpl.: SGT. As in Sgt. Bilko.
Pretty good puzzle. That's all Folks. I'm going back to bed.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Matt and his friends backstage at "The Music Man". He was the train conductor. And he was wearing the conductor hat blue and black and a blue blazer. Matt uses screen name Red state Democrat when posting.
JzB the sleep deprived trombonist.
