Lemonade is taking a well-earned day off, and our regular
pinch-hitter is in a bit of a pinch, himself. This is my first try at
blogging, so let's see if I can keep 'er 'tween the ditches and get us
safely through to the other end of this bad boy. I believe this is
Joseph Groat's debut in the LAT. If so, “Well done, Joseph!” I hope we
see more of your work in the weeks to come.
Theme: “Tea For Me, Please.” –
T sound is added to each theme entry, changing the original Z-ending
sound into ST. All the key words go through spelling changes. There are
five theme answers, and since it's Friday,
there's no reveal. But there are two giant T's in the grid design.
17a.
Cheater's victory? : FAUX FIRST Faux Furs. I think I've mentioned my
former boss who visited a model home, and then waxed eloquent about the
“faux pas” [sic] wall finishes. I almost peed my pants.
23a. Haunted house nightmare? : GHOST ON A SPREE Goes on a spree.
38a. Chicken strips on browned bread? : FINGERS AND TOAST Fingers and Toes. Too bad that initial T had to remain.
46a.
Facetious tribute for Hollywood's Stone? : ROAST OF SHARON Rose of Sharon – from the Song of Solomon or, perhaps, from the Joan Baez album.
Link:
59a. Big dinner for the tech staff? : USER FEAST User Fees.
Let's see what other treats Joseph has laid out for us...
Across:
1. Fun : JEST Jest as I'll 'splain later, the J was my final fill.
5. Top : ACME
9.
Org. with an eighth note in its logo : ASCAP The American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers. They license the public performance
of music and make sure the folks who wrote it get paid.
14. Title matchmaker of 19th-century literature : EMMA Jane Austen, 1815.
15. Condemn : DOOM
16.
Daughter of Martin and Ida, in '70s TV : RHODA Morgenstern, played by
Valerie Harper. Valerie's got incurable cancer, and was told two years
ago that she had just weeks to live. She's 75 now, and still hangin' in
there. Good for her!
19. Half a '60s quartet : MAMAS
Michelle Phillips and “Mama” Cass Ellliot of the Mamas and Papas.
20. Custard component : EGG
21. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" author : LOOS Anita Loos. It's said she never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
22. Short standards? : REGS Regulations.
28.
Nine of its cast members received Emmy nominations for 1988-89 : L.A.
LAW A creation of Steven Bochco, who also gave us “Hill Street Blues,”
“N.Y.P.D. Blue” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.”
30. Plural medical suffix : OSES As in psychoses. The singular is OSIS.
31. Sean O'Casey's home : ERIN Or will it be Eire or even Erie? Only the perps know for certain.
32. Pretend : FAKE IT
35. Coll. instructors, at times : T.A.'S Teaching Assistants.
41. Touch with a ball : TAG Baseball.
42. 1885 Savoy Theatre premiere, with "The" : MIKADO Gilbert and Sullivan.
43. Embezzle : SKIM I prefer 2%, myself.
44. 2002 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Barry : ZITO More baseball. Dunno.
45. Reflection : GLINT
52. __ Minor : URSA The “Little Bear” or “Little Dipper”
53. Practice with poses : YOGA Not baseball. I do know; that'd be YOGI.
54. PX patrons : GI'S
57. Popcorn, e.g. : MAIZE
61. Pucci contemporary : BLASS Fashion designers Emilio Pucci and Bill Blass.
62. Not happy at all : SORE
63.
Kunis of "Black Swan" : MILA Ukranian actress. Esquire Magazine
declared her to be the “sexiest woman alive” in 2013. She hangs with
Ashton Kutcher.
64. "Piece of cake!" : A SNAP
65. It adjoins the altar : APSE
66. Eclipse, to some : OMEN
Down:
1.
Baja boss : JEFE I had originally entered HEFE, because that's the way
it's pronounced. But HEST just wasn't making it any “Fun.”
2. Kindle download : E-MAG Started as BOOK – Wite-Out, please.
3. Coast Guard concern : SMUGGLING
4. Stress : TAX
5. Parting word : ADIOS Or Adieu? Perps.
6.
Barbizon school artist : COROT French. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot –
not exactly a household name. The National Gallery in D.C. does own
almost 100 of his paintings, mostly landscapes.
7. Meno __: not as fast, in music : MOSSO I tried MOLTO first, but that's a breakfast cereal.
8. ER staff member : EMT
9. Sea section : ARM Bay wasn't working.
10. Note changers : SHARPS Music, not currency.
11. Promising type : COMER She's a real comer.
12. Saw : ADAGE
13. Not at all current : PASSE (I'd put an acute accent mark on that E if I knew how.)
18. Tidal movement : FLOW Throw in Ebb, Neap and Spring, and those are all the tidal words I know.
24.
Loiter : HANG I learned the word “Loiter” at about age 5 at the Post
Office. My uncle, the postmaster, told me to quit loitering and get out
of there.
25. Eternally : NO END
26. Words of accord : AS I DO Can be hard to parse.
27. Paving stone : SETT We had this just a few weeks back.
28. Split : LEFT When bowling, at least two pins must be LEFT to form a “Split.” Right, Boomer?
29. Song often heard in a foreign language : ARIA Not in my house.
32. Ruffle relative? : FRITO A ridgeless snack alternative.
33. Want from : ASK OF
34.
Kipling python : KAA From “The Jungle Book.”
35. About to shoot : TAKING AIM
36. "It's __ to tell ..." : A SIN Anybody try “Hard?”
37. List of charges: Abbr. : STMT Statement.
39. Send out : EMIT
40. City where sidewalks are decorated with Ibsen quotes : OSLO – Norwegian playwright.
44. "Moulin Rouge" (1952) co-star, familiarly : ZSA ZSA The most flamboyant of the three Gabor sisters.
45. Five-time US Open champ : GRAF Tennis, not baseball.
46.
Latin dance : RUMBA Samba, Salsa, Tango, Mambo, ad nauseum. I think
there's a law that the Latin dance names must be 5-letters long.
47. Challenging tests : ORALS I had one of those exams yesterday. “Open wide, please.”
48. Turk, most likely : ASIAN [Meh].
49. Online bulletin board mgr. : SYSOP System Operator.
50. Ones working on beds : HOERS My SIL remarked that when it came to weeds, she was a better puller than a hoer. Nuff sedd.
51. Go along : AGREE
55. Vacation destination : ISLE
56. Baseball Hall of Famer Musial : STAN More baseball, but I actually knew that one.
58. Foresight : ESP
59. Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show network : USA Three-letter soup. Could've been most anything.
60.
Confessional genre : EMO I still don't know exactly what that is, but
if it's a 3-letter genre and RAP or POP won't fit, it must be EMO.
Time to “Split.” Desper-otto, over and out.
