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

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Apr 21, 2010

Wednesday April 21, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: WHAT'S THAT RACKET? - The last word of each phrase is a synonym for RACKET, meaning loud noise.

17A. Consequence of the subprime mortgage fiasco: REAL ESTATE CRASH

25A. Exit spectacularly: GO OUT WITH A BANG

42A. Punished severely, with "on": LOWERED THE BOOM

55A. Complaint from one trying to concentrate, perhaps, and this puzzle's title: WHAT'S THAT RACKET?

So indulgent in the middle: SHOP, WOK, EAT, WINE, GALLO, CREPE, KEG .. then a GORGE and SPASM at the end.

melissa bee here.

Across:

1. Harpsichord relative: PIANO. A harpsichord looks a lot like a piano, but the sound comes from the strings being plucked, like a harp.

6. Doorframe part: JAMB. The upright pieces that form the sides of the door opening.

10. One of Hammett's Charleses: NORA. Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man series, featured Nick and Nora Charles.

14. Aggressive poker bet: ALL IN. Wiki's explanation.

15. Spooky-sounding lake: ERIE (sounds like "eerie")

16. Musician Clapton: ERIC. Change the world.

20. Start of something? ESS. The letter S in the word Start. Fantastic clue.

21. Accident investigation agcy.: NTSB. National Transportation Safety Board.

22. Lowly assistant: FLUNKY

23. Swindle: ROOK. Synonyms for scam or defraud.

24. Move quickly, as clouds: SCUD. "To run or skim along swiftly and easily." I can never see this word without thinking of Arthur Kent, the scud stud.

31. Get out of bed: ARISE

32. Hunan pans: WOKS. Hunan Food (very hot) is one of the major cuisines in China. From Hunan Province where Mao Ze-Dong was from. "Hunan pan" is a nice rhyming clue for singular WOK.

33. Consume: EAT

35. Cellar stock: WINE

36. Blin, in Blois: CREPE. Dessert anyone? Alliteration. Blois is a city in Central France. Blin is singular of Blini.

38. Chip's buddy: DALE. Disney chipmunks.

39. Frat party staple: KEG

40. Mindless repetition: ROTE

41. Championship: TITLE

46. Guns: REVS.

47. Word after open or seven: SEAS

48. Take big steps: STRIDE. Didn't know stride necessarily implied big.

51. Hit or miss? VERB. Favorite clue/answer, so sneaky.

52. Special __: military force: OPS. Highly trained police or military groups that conduct special operations.

58. Aqueduct feature: ARCH. Like this.

59. Lob: TOSS

60. Narrow canyon: GORGE

61. Cook in the microwave: NUKE

62. Fencer's weapon: EPEE

63. Tic, e.g.: SPASM. i've treated a few of those.

Down:

1. Peel: PARE

2. Martinique et Re'union: ILES. French island in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Nice beaches.

3. "__, poor Yorick!": Hamlet: ALAS. Kenneth Branaugh in my favorite version.

4. Zilch: NIL. Zero.

5. Musically monotonous: ONE NOTE

6. Zippy watercraft: JETSKI

7. Like about 20% of Israeli citizens today: ARAB

8. Univ. near Harvard: MIT. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge.

9. Stud muffin photos: BEEFCAKE. His brother lived next door to my brother in Texas. Everything's bigger there.

10. Chilean poet Pablo: NERUDA. No idea. Interesting guy. Won the Nobel Prize in 1971.

11. Algerian seaport: ORAN. Rote. Yves Saint Laurent was born in ORAN.

12. Game played on a world map: RISK. Have you ever played?

13. Sore: ACHY. Starting to feel like i'm at work.

18. Store in a hold: STOW

19. Clover-shaped suit: CLUBS

23. Artful stratagem: RUSE

24. Engage in retail therapy? SHOP. Not a shopper. I prefer other therapies.

25. Stare in wonder: GAWK. Here.

26. Bay window: ORIEL

27. New Wave band __ Boingo: OINGO

28. Tammany Hall name: TWEED. William Marcy (Boss) Tweed was the political boss of the Tweed Ring and Tammany Hall.

29. "Peachy keen!": NEATO

30. Carlo Rossi winemaker: GALLO

34. Be rife (with): TEEM

36. Sports car named for a small warship: CORVETTE

37. Info in AAA TripTiks: RTES. Routes. TripTiks is a trip planning tool for AAA customers.

38. "That's mine!": DIBS

40. Saxes and oboes: REEDS

41. They usually have strings attached: TEA BAGS. Great clue.

43. Twist in pain: WRITHE

44. Scary African fly: TSETSE. Haven't seen the dreaded 'half a fly' for a while.

45. Frau's spouse: HERR. Courtesy title in German, equivalent to Sir or Lord.

48. Ugly duckling, actually: SWAN. Children's story.

49. Drive-__ window: THRU

50. Pinion partner: RACK. Common steering mechanism.

51. Still life subject: VASE. Like this.

52. Gumbo pod: OKRA

53. Things for hanging things: PEGS

54. Stern's opposite: STEM. From stem to stern.

56. Emulate Kanga: HOP. Kangaroo.

57. Radar gun aimer: COP

Answer grid.

melissa