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

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Dec 14, 2011

Wednesday Dec 14, 2011 Richard F Mausser

(Please click here to solve the LA Times Daily Crossword in old format.)

Theme: Getting Nostalgic - All theme answers are vintage electronics.

17A. *Retro viewer : BLACK AND WHITE TV

28A. *Retro imager : POLAROID CAMERA

43A. *Retro recorder : EIGHT-TRACK TAPE

57A. *Retro dialer : ROTARY TELEPHONE

23D. Word that can bring the ends of the starred answers up to date : DIGITAL

Happy Holidays to all. Boomer here with a retro theme puzzle.

Wow, I have had all of those things in my lifetime. In fact, at one time, All TV was black and white, and all phones had rotary dials. Go back a little farther and they had magneto cranks. Eight track did not last too long, but I had plenty of tapes, and I still have a Polaroid in my desk cabinet. The company was nearly destroyed by Minnesotan Tom Petters. He went to jail, Polaroid went into bankruptcy, but I think they still bring some digital cameras to market.

Across:

1. One of the ABC islands : ARUBA in the Achilles (Correction: Antilles). The others are Bonaire and Curacao. (No I'm not that smart. I Googled it.)

6. Nail remover : CLAW - I first thought of file, because I was thinking of fingernails

10. Loaf, with "off" : GOOF - tough clue, but I get it.

14. Any "Friends" episode, now : RE-RUN - Ever notice how all of their episode titles start with "The One ...." ie: "The one with Smelly Cat."

15. Kunlun Mountains locale : ASIA - We always learn. Now I won't need Google map or GPS to find the Kunluns. (Asia isn't very big, is it??)

16. Toothed whale : ORCA - I though all whales had teeth.

20. Stand-up routine, usually : SOLO ACT - My first thought was comedy, but it didn't fit.

21. Lotion additive : ALOE - Or - What you said when you answered your rotary phone.

22. Demond's co-star in a '70s sitcom : REDD - Classic Mr. Fred (I'm coming Elizabeth) Sanford. My garage looks a little like his yard.

24. Mud nest builders : WASPS - Swallows make the sturdiest mud homes, wasps nests seem more like paper.

33. Aroused : WOKEN - A better clue may have been "Arisen".

34. Forward progress : GAIN

35. New Jersey casino, with "The" : TAJ - Newer casinos are frequently modeled after classic buildings or even entire cities. I prefer the retros - Sands, Dunes, Stardust, etc.

36. __-bitsy : ITSY

37. Tums targets : ACIDS

39. SEAL's school : USNA - Alma mater of former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura.

40. Printer resolution meas. : DPI - This stands for dots per inch, on the retro dot matrix printers that are in your garage next to your rotary phones and black and white TV.

41. Lie flush with : ABUT

42. In need of a tow : STUCK - Has not happened yet here in the Northland. A mild winter so far, but it's still early.

47. Oscar winner Zellweger : RENEE

48. Path to the pins : LANE - A bowling baby boomer should have no trouble with this clue.

49. Drawn-out story : SAGA - not really too drawn out, but for a good story about computers and such, visit "My Nickel's Worth". This week's topic "Outhouse".

52. Hive material : BEESWAX - Always reminds me of Major Frank Burns saying "None of your beeswax"

61. Morales of "Jericho" : ESAI - I remember him better in NYPD Blue.

62. Seward Peninsula city : NOME - Alaska is still a frontier, but I've heard you can see Russia from there.

63. Frozen rope, in baseball : LINER - We could use a few more from Joe Mauer next year.

64. Pounds in London : QUID - British slang for one pound sterling. But quid pro quo is Latin for "this for that" So I guess I can give you this quid for that pound, but what does all that have to do with the Euro?

65. Shih __: Tibetan dogs : TZUS - I actually have a friend who has one of those dogs. Be careful how you pronounce it.

66. Online periodicals : E-MAGS

Down:

1. Wall St. traders : ARBS - Never heard of this. I think it's just a word someone made up for crossword puzzles.

2. Move, in Realtor lingo : RELO - Never heard this term either. Maybe I spend too much time in the bowling center

3. Russian river : URAL

4. Osso __ : BUCO

5. One of more than four million Turks : ANKARAN - Thank heaven for Across clues. This is the first down word I got.

6. Isn't capable of : CAN'T DO - First I had cannot, but Redd bailed me out.

7. Trip starter : LSD - Her I had leg. Never took an acid trip.

8. Bygone Japanese audio brand : AIWA - They made great reel to reel tape decks, another fazed out retro device.

9. Big name in grooming products : WAHL

10. Cheerleader's cry : GO TEAM - Also Rah Rah Rah for Sky - U - Mah

11. It's found in veins : ORE - Also found between CAL and WASH. Just sayin'

12. Last full U.S. DST month : OCT

13. Best-liked, in chat rooms : FAV - Have not heard of a FAV in Facebook. Although I recently heard of an anti-social website - In your face book.

18. Service expert : ACER - Wait. A service expert could be Evert, but nowadays it's a Geek. Acer is one of the device they service. Just sayin'

19. Hawkeye : IOWAN - Yup, just a bit south of me. Also Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce.

25. Frames badly? : SETS UP

26. Horse's strut : PRANCE - Also the strut of one of Santa's Reindeer, Prancer. (The one that ran over Grandma).

27. "I'll give the wheel a final spin" speaker : SAJAK - "Wheel of Fortune". Seems like it has been on as long as "Jeopardy".

28. Meal with a crust : POT PIE - These used to be 20 cents apiece. We would eat them while watching "Dragnet" on the black and white TV.

29. Thumbs-up : OK SIGN

30. Pewter with 80% tin : LEY

31. Paternal palindrome : DAD - Luckily I know what a palindrome is, so when I got the first two letters, it was a slam dunk.

32. Sue Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS

33. Hygienist's request : WIDER - I never heard this from the Hygienist, I have a big mouth.

37. NYC dance co. : ABT - No no no - ABT stand for Amateur Bowlers Tour.

38. Junkyard dog : CUR

39. Hagen of Broadway : UTA

41. Go on __: rampage : A TEAR

42. Place for a belfry : STEEPLE - You don't see many of these any more either. Newer houses of worship have a digital sound of bells - now the bats need a new home.

44. Half a lover's quarrel : HE SAID - (The other half is She Said, which usually prevails, if he knows what's good for him)

45. San Francisco transit features : CABLES - Extremely unique. If you have never ridden a cable car, get out to SF in your lifetime and give it a try. Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

46. Support for a proposal? : KNEE - After the Humphries/Kardashian failure, our next new betrothal here in Twins territory is the recent engagement of Joe Mauer. Word is that everyone was worried that if he got down on one knee, he would not be able to get back up and would miss another three months of the season.

50. Ibsen's "Peer __" : GYNT

51. It covers everything : A TO Z - Or.... You could go see the Wizard AT OZ and he would cover anything.

53. Carpentry leveler : SHIM

54. Words with trophy or prize : WON A - My least favorite clue in this puzzle.

55. Uncommon blood type: Abbr. : A NEG - My second least favorite.

56. Boomers' followers : XERS - Indeed I am an original Baby Boomer. Most Gen Xers want to be Boomers so bad that they lie about their age.

57. Not opt. : REQ

58. Buckeyes' sch. : OSU - Looks like they have a great basketball team this year, as long as they don't trade their jerseys for tattoos or something.

59. __ chi : TAI

60. Ostrich kin : EMU

Answer grid.

Boomer