Theme: WRENCH (48D. A type of one begins the answers to starred clues)
20A. *Bakery fare named for their shape: CRESCENT ROLLS. Crescent wrench has a head shaped like a crescent. And it has a adjustable jaw to fit nuts/bolts of different sizes.
29A. *Quixotic reveries: PIPE DREAMS. Pipe wrench is also an adjustable wrench, used to grip and turn pipes. Did you hum "To dream the impossible dream ..." while filling in the answer?
45A. *Playground fixture: MONKEY BARS. Monkey wrench was named after the inventor Charles Moncky. Wikipedia says it's an old type of adjustable end wrench and was popular in the nineteenth century.
54A. *Beat poet who wrote "Howl": ALLEN GINSBERG. Allen wrench is a L-shaped bar with a hexagonal head at both ends. Used to turn screws/bolts with hexagonal sockets.
Man, I just call a wrench a wrench. Had no idea they have so many different names. But the answers were all easily obtainable due to the straightforward clues.
Very smooth puzzle. High Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters). I counted 21. The side by side placement of LOON (36D. Minnesota's state bird) and MANDARIN (37D: Official spoken language of China) just elated me. Mao Ze-dong is Mandarin Chinese. Mao Tse-tung is Cantonese spelling. Maddening differences, aren't they?
Those who solve NY Times regularly is probably familiar with today's constructor Todd Gross. He just made his NY Times debut with a Sunday "Let's Play Bingo" last month. Today's WRENCH is his first LA Times. Congratulations, Todd!
Todd also said Mike Peluso (one of our regular LAT constructors) helped him get this puzzle in "Rich-ready" format. And the puzzle was accepted before our TMS Daily /LAT switch. It's initially intended as a Wednesday puzzle, but moved to Thursday obviously due to this ease-up phase.
Across:
1. Premium movie station: SHO. Also HBO.
4. Hammer-wielding Norse god: THOR. The Norse god of thunder.
8. First voice of Mickey Mouse: DISNEY. Oh, I did not know Walt Disney was the original voice.
15. Will Rogers prop: ROPE. Will Rogers had Cherokee roots.
16. Rallying cry: ONWARD. No idea. Have never heard this word at the ball games.
19. Scrubs, as pots: SCOURED
23. Actress Holmes: KATIE. She is married to Tom Cruise, taller than he is, obviously.
32. 1953 Western hero to whom Joey cried "Come back!": SHANE. "Come back, SHANE".
34. Vacation home, maybe: RENTAL
41. Sunday dinners: ROASTS
43. Certain Sri Lankan: TAMIL. Tamils mostly live in north-eastern Sri Lanka. They speak Tamil of course.
47. Immortal racehorse Man __: O'WAR. The most famous racing horse in history, right?
51. Opie's dad: ANDY. From "The Andy Griffith Show".
52. Coffee dispenser: URN
53. Eagle's nest: AERIE
58. Ohio city north of Columbus: MARION. Got the answer from crosses. Interesting, Wikipedia says both John Dean (Nixon/Watergate fame) and President Warren Harding grew up here. Hmmm...
62. Really digs: IS INTO
64. MMX ÷ X: CCI. 2010 ÷ 10 = 201.
65. Basic doctrines: TENETS
66. One-armed bandit: SLOT. One-armed bandit is a slot machine.
67. "__ Haw": HEE
Down:
2. "Way to go!": HOORAY
3. Little barn fliers: OWLETS. Owls are far-sighted. They have difficulty seeing things up close.
4. Cease-fire: TRUCE
5. L'eggs product: HOSE
6. Good thing to keep when hearing opposing views: OPEN MIND. Keep an open mind. I like the clue. Also like the clue ASSET (53D. It's a good thing). It's all good, as Lois often says.
7. Bureaucratic waste: RED TAPE. I wonder why red tape and red herring are both red.
8. "Take care of it": DO SO. Do you use this phrase in your conversation?
9. "Batt. not __": INCL. Included? I never pay attention to the abbreviations in those packages.
10. Puffed up, as a sprain: SWOLLEN
11. Make queasy: NAUSEATE
12. Throw wide of the mark, say: ERR. Nicely placed beside YDS (13D. NFL gains).
22. Ham holder: RYE. And BUN (46D. Hot dog holder). "Holder" clue echo.
26. Detroit-based financial org.: GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation). Owned by US government now.
27. Capital on a fjord: OSLO. Why the heck is Norway rather than Sweden awarding Nobel Peace?
29. Variously colored flower: PANSY
30. Small weight units: DRAMS. 1/16 of an ounce.
31. One way to lower an APR: REFI. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. I did not even see this clue. The answer emerged all by itself.
39. Traveling show: CARNIVAL
42. Toronto's includes the CN Tower: SKYLINE. The Dubai Tower has surpassed CN Tower as the tallest building in the world.
43. Quotas: TARGETS
44. Leopold's co-defendant: LOEB
49. Snoopy's flying persona, e.g.: AIR ACE. Snoopy the Flying Ace.
50. Baseball's Jackson, a.k.a. "Mr. October": REGGIE. Because he always delivered during World Series games. Despite his performance against the Twins, A-Rod is no Mr. October, nope!
55. Ex-senator Trent: LOTT. Yep, he has his own lobbying business now.
56. Genesis grandson: ENOS. Grandson of Adam/Eve. Son of Seth.
57. Pixar clownfish: NEMO. From "Finding Nemo".
58. Sch. near Harvard: MIT
59. Enzyme suffix: ASE. Pineapple contains some enzyme which breaks own protein, hence pineapple juice is sometimes used to marinade and tenderize meat.
Answer grid.
C.C.
20A. *Bakery fare named for their shape: CRESCENT ROLLS. Crescent wrench has a head shaped like a crescent. And it has a adjustable jaw to fit nuts/bolts of different sizes.
29A. *Quixotic reveries: PIPE DREAMS. Pipe wrench is also an adjustable wrench, used to grip and turn pipes. Did you hum "To dream the impossible dream ..." while filling in the answer?
45A. *Playground fixture: MONKEY BARS. Monkey wrench was named after the inventor Charles Moncky. Wikipedia says it's an old type of adjustable end wrench and was popular in the nineteenth century.
54A. *Beat poet who wrote "Howl": ALLEN GINSBERG. Allen wrench is a L-shaped bar with a hexagonal head at both ends. Used to turn screws/bolts with hexagonal sockets.
Man, I just call a wrench a wrench. Had no idea they have so many different names. But the answers were all easily obtainable due to the straightforward clues.
Very smooth puzzle. High Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters). I counted 21. The side by side placement of LOON (36D. Minnesota's state bird) and MANDARIN (37D: Official spoken language of China) just elated me. Mao Ze-dong is Mandarin Chinese. Mao Tse-tung is Cantonese spelling. Maddening differences, aren't they?
Those who solve NY Times regularly is probably familiar with today's constructor Todd Gross. He just made his NY Times debut with a Sunday "Let's Play Bingo" last month. Today's WRENCH is his first LA Times. Congratulations, Todd!
Todd also said Mike Peluso (one of our regular LAT constructors) helped him get this puzzle in "Rich-ready" format. And the puzzle was accepted before our TMS Daily /LAT switch. It's initially intended as a Wednesday puzzle, but moved to Thursday obviously due to this ease-up phase.
Across:
1. Premium movie station: SHO. Also HBO.
4. Hammer-wielding Norse god: THOR. The Norse god of thunder.
8. First voice of Mickey Mouse: DISNEY. Oh, I did not know Walt Disney was the original voice.
15. Will Rogers prop: ROPE. Will Rogers had Cherokee roots.
16. Rallying cry: ONWARD. No idea. Have never heard this word at the ball games.
19. Scrubs, as pots: SCOURED
23. Actress Holmes: KATIE. She is married to Tom Cruise, taller than he is, obviously.
32. 1953 Western hero to whom Joey cried "Come back!": SHANE. "Come back, SHANE".
34. Vacation home, maybe: RENTAL
41. Sunday dinners: ROASTS
43. Certain Sri Lankan: TAMIL. Tamils mostly live in north-eastern Sri Lanka. They speak Tamil of course.
47. Immortal racehorse Man __: O'WAR. The most famous racing horse in history, right?
51. Opie's dad: ANDY. From "The Andy Griffith Show".
52. Coffee dispenser: URN
53. Eagle's nest: AERIE
58. Ohio city north of Columbus: MARION. Got the answer from crosses. Interesting, Wikipedia says both John Dean (Nixon/Watergate fame) and President Warren Harding grew up here. Hmmm...
62. Really digs: IS INTO
64. MMX ÷ X: CCI. 2010 ÷ 10 = 201.
65. Basic doctrines: TENETS
66. One-armed bandit: SLOT. One-armed bandit is a slot machine.
67. "__ Haw": HEE
Down:
2. "Way to go!": HOORAY
3. Little barn fliers: OWLETS. Owls are far-sighted. They have difficulty seeing things up close.
4. Cease-fire: TRUCE
5. L'eggs product: HOSE
6. Good thing to keep when hearing opposing views: OPEN MIND. Keep an open mind. I like the clue. Also like the clue ASSET (53D. It's a good thing). It's all good, as Lois often says.
7. Bureaucratic waste: RED TAPE. I wonder why red tape and red herring are both red.
8. "Take care of it": DO SO. Do you use this phrase in your conversation?
9. "Batt. not __": INCL. Included? I never pay attention to the abbreviations in those packages.
10. Puffed up, as a sprain: SWOLLEN
11. Make queasy: NAUSEATE
12. Throw wide of the mark, say: ERR. Nicely placed beside YDS (13D. NFL gains).
22. Ham holder: RYE. And BUN (46D. Hot dog holder). "Holder" clue echo.
26. Detroit-based financial org.: GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation). Owned by US government now.
27. Capital on a fjord: OSLO. Why the heck is Norway rather than Sweden awarding Nobel Peace?
29. Variously colored flower: PANSY
30. Small weight units: DRAMS. 1/16 of an ounce.
31. One way to lower an APR: REFI. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. I did not even see this clue. The answer emerged all by itself.
39. Traveling show: CARNIVAL
42. Toronto's includes the CN Tower: SKYLINE. The Dubai Tower has surpassed CN Tower as the tallest building in the world.
43. Quotas: TARGETS
44. Leopold's co-defendant: LOEB
49. Snoopy's flying persona, e.g.: AIR ACE. Snoopy the Flying Ace.
50. Baseball's Jackson, a.k.a. "Mr. October": REGGIE. Because he always delivered during World Series games. Despite his performance against the Twins, A-Rod is no Mr. October, nope!
55. Ex-senator Trent: LOTT. Yep, he has his own lobbying business now.
56. Genesis grandson: ENOS. Grandson of Adam/Eve. Son of Seth.
57. Pixar clownfish: NEMO. From "Finding Nemo".
58. Sch. near Harvard: MIT
59. Enzyme suffix: ASE. Pineapple contains some enzyme which breaks own protein, hence pineapple juice is sometimes used to marinade and tenderize meat.
Answer grid.
C.C.
