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

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Mar 14, 2015

Saturday, Mar 14th, 2015, Gail Grabowski

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

  This is my second Saturday puzzle from Gail - the last one dates back over three years - Mar 3rd, 2012.   I have seen many of her Sunday constructions for my local paper - Newsday; their "Saturday Stumper" is an accurate description.  Today's offering for the LA Times was much the same.  Lots of cloudy cluing which led to a white-wash grid over the first two passes, and while I got the proper names, it was the NE corner that gave me fits, and I caved in to Google, then red-letters.  Oh well.  Triple 9-letter down corners, triple 10-letter across corners.  Some of the longer fill;

16a. Dating term usually abbreviated : ANNO DOMINI - argh~!  I was looking for something like "IN SEARCH OF", as on a dating SITE

30d. Passing legislation? : ESTATE LAW - My friend from Ohio, Ibby, the woman who got me onto the movie set back in 1997, lost her husband yesterday - Friday the 13th.  I do not know the details, but he did have health issues

50a. Like some sirens : BEWITCHING - not the "SCREAMING" kind, but the female version of "siren"


3d. "Every Breath You Take" band : THE POLICE - they took reggae and made it commercial; this is my favorite pick from them


o-on-onw-onwa-onwar-onward~!

ACROSS:

1. D.C. sports group : NATS - The Washington Nationals - NLE Champs last year - and I'm sure C.C. is excited that baseball is back~!  That means just one month left in regular season hockey....

5. Hit the roof : BOILED OVER - I had "GO I---", tried "-NTO A RAGE", but needed a bigger grid

15. School acronym : ELHI - Elementary and High school

17. MSNBC anchor Wagner : ALEX - did I mention I love the name Alexandra~?  Gail had Alexia in that first puzzle, but that's not as pretty

18. Specialty brokers : LAND AGENTS - ugh.  Got the "AGENTS" part....

19. Head : TOP

20. The Whiffenpoofs of a cappella fame : ELIs - from Yale - and I did not know this

21. Finely contoured : SLEEK - Svelte did not fit

22. Only fair : TWO STAR - ah.  Like a review.  "The hotel food was only fair"

24. Sherry type : PALE DRY - ugh.  I did not see this listed in any of the sites I checked.  So it started as "PALE RED", and then I WAGed the "DRY" part

26. Swap magazines : RELOAD - I had RELOA-, and this just did not dawn on me.  Until now.  The clip of a machine gun - referred to as a magazine

27. Outback order : FILET - my only meh for the day

28. No-brainer? : IDIOT - like how I feel after a particularly rough crossword

29. Gifts for aficionados : BOXED SETS

33. VIP of the USAF : CIC - Commander in Chief

34. Chess grandmaster Spassky : BORIS - Once the "B" showed, it was WAG time

35. Span. title : SRA

36. Joint support : KNEE BRACE

39. Disastrous : FATAL

41. Come (from) : ARISE

42. They're assembled at bars : SALADS - oh, SALAD BAR.  Guess I'm still not that far from a drink

43. Player in eight Super Bowls : PATRIOT - ah - not a proper name at all; the New England Patriots

46. Herbal beverage : MINT TEA

47. Then, in Rennes : ALORS - Frawnche

48. Boring, maybe : LONG

49. Punch line, say : END

53. Kyrgyzstan border range : ALAI - not URAL - that's too far north

54. "Block-Heads" co-star, 1938 : STAN LAUREL - a-ha~! Did not have to Google it~!

55. Temporary place to stay : CAMP - not INNS

56. Project planning datum : TARGET DATE

57. Crimp-haired critters : EWES

DOWN:

1. Bit of cleverness : NEAT TRICK

2. Admitted : ALLOWED IN

4. Pack leader? : SIX - Six-pack, got it

5. It's not a complex number : BALLAD - well, some rock ballads can be - for the guitar player; here's one 'Top 100' List; here's my idea of a tough ballad

When Children Cry - White Lion

6. Happy way to walk : ON AIR

7. Temporary places to stay : INNS - Ah - here it is.

8. City served by Ben-Gurion airport : LOD


9. Author LeShan : EDA - perps

10. Husky follower : DOG SLED

11. They're filled and folded : OMELETS - I figured it was either a Spanish/Mexican dish, or um, that, er, whatsitcalled Italian thingy - Calzone~!  I just could not think of the word, and it was wrong anyway

12. Like some brick walls : VINED - Like, say, Wrigley Field

13. Join : ENTER - Dah~!! Not UNITE

14. Touch-and-go : RISKY - OK, I think of this phrase as more 'delicate' or 'sensitive'

20. Dakota du Sud, e.g. : ETAT - More Frawnche - that's Dakota of the South, of the United States

23. __ Canals : SOO

24. "Angry" adversary in Enid Blyton's "Faraway Tree" series : PIXIE - OK, I cheated.  I had to look this one up, even with "--XIE" - shoulda guessed

25. Dogfish Head products : ALES - sounded like a beer name to me - the Wiki

27. Pressure : FORCE

29. Sound off : BOAST

31. Business identifier : TRADE NAME - I thought it might end with "CARD" at first

32. They go with chips : SALSA DIPS - messed my 'INNS' up

34. Vivacity : BRIO

37. Hoop, for one : EARRING

38. Take offense : BRISTLE

39. Venom source : FANG - ah, not ASPS

40. Flying fig. : ALT - altitude - not ETA, ETD, or ARR. 

42. Unattached : SINGLE - like me~!   :7(

43. L.A.-based brewery : PABST - did not know this

44. Prince Valiant's bride : ALETA - mostly perps

45. "Path __": 2002 LBJ biopic : TO WAR

46. "Woman With a Parasol" painter : MONET


48. Pre-euro currency : LIRA

51. Monopoly token that replaced the iron : CAT - I remember the iron, but did not know it was replaced with a CAT


52. Cabinet dept. created under LBJ : HUD - Housing and Urban Development

53. One on the links : ACE - I pondered TEE, PAR, and PIN before realizing we are talking about a score of ONE

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy 57th Birthday to our thrill-seeker JJM! He loves baseball, so do our TTP  & Abejo. So maybe you three should have a Corner Chicago Gathering.