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

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Sep 22, 2011

Thursday September 22, 2011 Betty Keller

Theme: Fowl Play -Another word is attached to the end of each fowl-starting two-word common expresson. The new phrase is then humorously clued.

17A. Daffy trying to hit the piƱata? : DUCK BLINDFOLDED. Duck blind.

25A. Survey response at the farm? : CHICKEN FEEDBACK. Chicken feed.

43A. Tom fooler? : TURKEY LEGPULLER. Turkey leg.

57A. Loosey's cake-making aid? : GOOSE EGGBEATERS. Goose egg.

C.C. here, filling in another blogging gap.

Love this theme. Tight and fun. Four 15s are quite a lot to place in a grid. Luckily they don't have to be in a particular order. Otherwise, problem could arise, esp if rare letters (Z, Q, J & X) are involved.

Across:

1. Clips for trailers : SCENES. Movie trailers.

7. Fridge incursion : RAID

11. Triangular sail : JIB

14. Kia model : OPTIMA. The "a" in Kia means "Asia". Ki = Rise. So, "rise out of Asia".

15. Dagwood's pesky kid neighbor : ELMO. No idea.

16. Japanese salad ingredient : UDO. Like this. Kind of Sansai (mountain veggie). San = Mountain. Sai = Veggie.

20. Campfire remains : ASH

21. It originates from the left ventricle : AORTA

22. Pops : DADDY

23. "Garfield" waitress : IRMA. Another no idea. Would only nail it if it were clued as "____ la Douce" or "Joy of Cooking".

24. Detective Spade : SAM

33. Stows in a hold : LADES

34. x, y or z : AXIS

35. Many a Louis : ROI

36. Supplies for Seurat : OILS

37. Sends regrets, perhaps : RSVPs

39. Entry in a PDA : APPT

40. Maui strings : UKE. LEIs too. Hi there JD!

41. Waterfall sound : ROAR

42. Not at all good at losing? : OBESE. Losing weight.

47. Only reason to watch the Super Bowl, some say : ADs. True for me.

48. Like a pretentious museumgoer : ARTY

49. Plane parking place : APRON. Sweet fill for our pilot Dudley.

52. Mountaintop home : AERIE

54. Likely result of failing a Breathalyzer test, briefly : DUI

60. Dedicatee of Lennon's "Woman" : ONO

61. Jazz singer Laine : CLEO

62. Blanche Dubois's sister : STELLA. In "A Streetcar Named Desire" . "Hey Stella!".

63. Place with presses : GYM

64. It may be a peck : KISS

65. "Mustn't do that!" : TSK-TSK

Down:

1. Fizz in a gin fizz : SODA

2. PC "brains" : CPUs

3. Make quite an impression : ETCH

4. Beat back? : NIK. Beatnik.

5. Boards at the dock : EMBARKS

6. Strauss opera based on a Wilde play : SALOME. Just learned it's originally written in French.

7. Flat bread? : RENT. Great clue. Flat = Apartment.

8. "M*A*S*H" actor : ALDA

9. Currency-stabilizing org. : IMF. What a club!

10. Thingamabobs : DOODADs. Nice word.

11. Hirsch of "Numb3rs" : JUDD. Have never seen "Numb3rs".

12. Picked from a lineup : ID'ed

13. Shampoo ad buzzword : BODY. Give your hair more body. Get to know Miranda Kerr!

18. Shah's land, once : IRAN

19. New ewe : LAMB

23. Brain freeze cause : ICES

24. Juanita's half-dozen : SEIS. In Chinese, it's LIU, falling tone. The LIU in Lucy Liu is rising tone. 4 tones in Chinese.

25. Leverage : CLOUT

26. 17-syllable verse : HAIKU

27. Slugabed : IDLER

28. Green Bay legend : FAVRE (Brett). Which legend doesn't have a few foibles?

29. Abbr. on food labels : EXP

30. Adrien of cosmetics : ARPEL

31. Small woods : COPSE. Want to take a walk?

32. Bad-check passer : KITER

37. Acuff and Clark : ROYs

38. Actor Mineo : SAL

39. With skill : ABLY

41. Scapegoat in some down-home humor : REDNECK. Fun entry.

42. Downs more dogs than, in an annual contest : OUT-EATS. Those guys must have have a very elastic stomach.

44. "Get Smart" evil org. : KAOS

45. Shirts and skirts : GARB. Rhyming.

46. Mass leader : PRIEST

49. Visibly wowed : AGOG

50. Chincoteague horse : PONY. Chincoteague is new to me, Lois! Wikipedia said it's famous for its Chincoteague ponies.

51. Sufficient space : ROOM

52. Sits in a wine cellar : AGES

53. Inflatable items : EGOS

54. Shoulder muscle, for short : DELT

55. Bing info : URLs

56. Writer Dinesen : ISAK. Author of "Out of Africa".

58. Bulldog booster : ELI. Yale. Jayce's alma mater.

59. Shatner's "__War" : TEK

Answer grid.

Here is a lovely picture from our long absent Moon. She said: "... As before, reading the blog is a daily ritual (except Saturdays, when I don't do the crossword). ... I turned 33 this year and to commemorate the mile-stone, I'm running 3 half-marathons over the course of 6 weeks..." She just completed her second half-marathon last Sunday.

I think she doesn't like hockey, Splynter!

C.C.