Theme: Could I get the scam on the side? As the diner said to the huckster.
The reveal tells us what to look for:
54. Freelance for extra income ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues: SIDE HUSTLE. The first or last word is the hustle, depending on which side of the grid the entry is placed.
16A. *Goof off: FOOL AROUND
24A. *Mecca for sci-fi and superhero fans: COMIC CON. A lot of the attendees take it pretty "seriously", quite the colorful crew:
29A. *Trace-amount precipitation: SNOW FLURRIES. Thankfully rare in Los Angeles. I did my share of cold back in the old country. I'd not heard of "snow" in the context of a hustle before.
39A. *Object of Jason's quest: GOLDEN FLEECE. I always think of the skeleton-fighting scene from the movie "Jason and the Argonauts". Not bad special effects for 1963.
46A. *Make flashy modifications to: TRICK OUT. There's a whole culture of auto trick-outery here in Southern California.
This looks to be the second LAT collaboration between John-Clark and Jeff, the first was just back in May, and very enjoyable this was too. Entertaining theme, fun fill and some nice cluing and misdirection. Let's see what jumps out:
Across:
1. Like challah bread: EGGY
5. Obligations: DEBTS
10. Pistons' org.: N.B.A.
13. Broadway seductress: LOLA. From the musical "Kinky Boots". The Broadway production went dark this April after more than 2,500 performances. The impressarios got their money back on that one!
14. Threepio's pal: ARTOO. Star Wars droids, as we all know.
15. Take the show on the road: TOUR
18. Stunt legend Knievel: EVEL. His son, Robbie, continues the family tradition.
19. Suit parts: VESTS. Could be COATS or PANTS so wait for some help from the crosses.
20. Gross sales, on an income statement: TOP LINE
22. Juices up: FUELS
25. Jessica of the "Fantastic Four" films: ALBA
26. Mysterious power: ESP.
28. Votes against: NOES
33. Burden: TAX. Don't get me started.
34. Co-star/co-creator Issa __ of HBO's "Insecure": RAE. No clue, thank you crosses. I used to get HBO as a "bonus" when I switched providers, but I never watched anything on there, so I cancelled when my free trial was done.
35. Prefix with -gram: ANA. I find it disappointing you can't make an anagram out of anagram. I'm going to start a company called "Garmana" just so there is one.
36. Quick drink: NIP
42. Oil cartel: OPEC
44. Commotion: ADO
45. __ Stefani, returning coach on "The Voice": GWEN. She's great, I loved the third No Doubt album "Tragic Kingdom". Here's the breakout single.
49. Puts on Facebook: POSTS
50. Alerts on the road: HONKS AT. Generally not an alert, more a frustration-reliever.
51. Often-dystopian conflict: WW III
53. "Er, I'd rather not": UM, NO
58. Start of D-Day?: DEES. Two "D"s begin "D-Day". Nice clue.
59. Like Navy SEALs: ELITE
60. Run like heck: TEAR
61. Nursery roll: SOD
62. Intuit: SENSE
63. Watson who played Hermione in Harry Potter films: EMMA
Down:
1. Sprite: ELF
2. Muck: GOO
3. Car storage spot: GLOVE BOX. Very nice, took me a while to see the misdirection here.
4. Sonia Sotomayor's alma mater: YALE LAW
5. Pub flier: DART
6. Greek Cupid: EROS. No more Eros lessons, I think you've all got it now. Class dismissed.
7. Approx. 1,055 joules: B.T.U. British Thermal Units. Rule Britannia!
8. Depp's "Lone Ranger" role: TONTO
9. Genesis city of sin: SODOM
10. Beginner: NOVICE
11. __ Aires: BUENOS. A city on my bucket list to visit. I've worked for companies with an office there, but never managed to swing a trip.
12. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN. Harold Arlen was a musical machine - he wrote the melodies for many, many songs. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th Century's No. 1 song by RIAA and the National Endowment for the Arts.
15. AT&T and Verizon: TELCOS. I think AT&T might be considered a little more than a telco with the acquisition of DirecTV and the takeover of Time Warner.
17. Pack animal: ASS
21. __ gland: organ that secretes melatonin: PINEAL
22. Extreme diet: FAST
23. Forearm bone: ULNA
24. Life-saving proc.: C.P.R. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Long desscription for something you need in a hurry. Thank you, abbreviations.
26. Mideast airline: EL AL
27. Took to court: SUED
30. Monastic garments: FROCKS. I call 'em cassocks, but what do I know?
31. South African capital: RAND
32. Recon target: INFO
36. One may trend on Twitter: NEWS ITEM
37. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE T. The NYPD's Special Victim's Unit is the basis for this version of the franchise.
38. Pilot products: PENS. I've got one next to my laptop as we speak. I love the thin stylus and free-flowing ink.
39. Sticky-toed lizards: GECKOS
40. Wear (away): EAT
41. Chanel fragrance for men: EGOISTE. Seems to be missing a "T" and adding an "E", but that's what you get with product names. I suppose "EGOTIST" doesn't send many positive connotations.
42. Words that begin the line before "Deny thy father and refuse thy name": O ROMEO!
43. Determined precisely, with "down": PINNED
46. Dull sounds: THUDS
47. Caravan stops: OASES
48. Functional: UTILE
49. More, on a score: PIU. Learning moment for me, I think. I know I'm going to forget about it in about 30 seconds time, but at least I've seen it now.
51. Dampens: WETS
52. Roller coaster cry: WHEE! Not me, the only coaster that doesn't scare me to death is the one I put my cocktail on.
55. Racket: DIN
56. Quick flight: LAM. Nice misdirection, I was on the "short HOP" track at first.
57. Eventful chapter: ERA. The penny dropped, I was thinking of novels at first.
Here's the grid in all its "edgy" detail, and I think I'm out of blog.
Steve
The reveal tells us what to look for:
54. Freelance for extra income ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues: SIDE HUSTLE. The first or last word is the hustle, depending on which side of the grid the entry is placed.
16A. *Goof off: FOOL AROUND
24A. *Mecca for sci-fi and superhero fans: COMIC CON. A lot of the attendees take it pretty "seriously", quite the colorful crew:
29A. *Trace-amount precipitation: SNOW FLURRIES. Thankfully rare in Los Angeles. I did my share of cold back in the old country. I'd not heard of "snow" in the context of a hustle before.
39A. *Object of Jason's quest: GOLDEN FLEECE. I always think of the skeleton-fighting scene from the movie "Jason and the Argonauts". Not bad special effects for 1963.
46A. *Make flashy modifications to: TRICK OUT. There's a whole culture of auto trick-outery here in Southern California.
This looks to be the second LAT collaboration between John-Clark and Jeff, the first was just back in May, and very enjoyable this was too. Entertaining theme, fun fill and some nice cluing and misdirection. Let's see what jumps out:
Across:
1. Like challah bread: EGGY
5. Obligations: DEBTS
10. Pistons' org.: N.B.A.
13. Broadway seductress: LOLA. From the musical "Kinky Boots". The Broadway production went dark this April after more than 2,500 performances. The impressarios got their money back on that one!
14. Threepio's pal: ARTOO. Star Wars droids, as we all know.
15. Take the show on the road: TOUR
18. Stunt legend Knievel: EVEL. His son, Robbie, continues the family tradition.
19. Suit parts: VESTS. Could be COATS or PANTS so wait for some help from the crosses.
20. Gross sales, on an income statement: TOP LINE
22. Juices up: FUELS
25. Jessica of the "Fantastic Four" films: ALBA
26. Mysterious power: ESP.
28. Votes against: NOES
33. Burden: TAX. Don't get me started.
34. Co-star/co-creator Issa __ of HBO's "Insecure": RAE. No clue, thank you crosses. I used to get HBO as a "bonus" when I switched providers, but I never watched anything on there, so I cancelled when my free trial was done.
35. Prefix with -gram: ANA. I find it disappointing you can't make an anagram out of anagram. I'm going to start a company called "Garmana" just so there is one.
36. Quick drink: NIP
42. Oil cartel: OPEC
44. Commotion: ADO
45. __ Stefani, returning coach on "The Voice": GWEN. She's great, I loved the third No Doubt album "Tragic Kingdom". Here's the breakout single.
49. Puts on Facebook: POSTS
50. Alerts on the road: HONKS AT. Generally not an alert, more a frustration-reliever.
51. Often-dystopian conflict: WW III
53. "Er, I'd rather not": UM, NO
58. Start of D-Day?: DEES. Two "D"s begin "D-Day". Nice clue.
59. Like Navy SEALs: ELITE
60. Run like heck: TEAR
61. Nursery roll: SOD
62. Intuit: SENSE
63. Watson who played Hermione in Harry Potter films: EMMA
Down:
1. Sprite: ELF
2. Muck: GOO
3. Car storage spot: GLOVE BOX. Very nice, took me a while to see the misdirection here.
4. Sonia Sotomayor's alma mater: YALE LAW
5. Pub flier: DART
6. Greek Cupid: EROS. No more Eros lessons, I think you've all got it now. Class dismissed.
7. Approx. 1,055 joules: B.T.U. British Thermal Units. Rule Britannia!
8. Depp's "Lone Ranger" role: TONTO
9. Genesis city of sin: SODOM
10. Beginner: NOVICE
11. __ Aires: BUENOS. A city on my bucket list to visit. I've worked for companies with an office there, but never managed to swing a trip.
12. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN. Harold Arlen was a musical machine - he wrote the melodies for many, many songs. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th Century's No. 1 song by RIAA and the National Endowment for the Arts.
15. AT&T and Verizon: TELCOS. I think AT&T might be considered a little more than a telco with the acquisition of DirecTV and the takeover of Time Warner.
17. Pack animal: ASS
21. __ gland: organ that secretes melatonin: PINEAL
22. Extreme diet: FAST
23. Forearm bone: ULNA
24. Life-saving proc.: C.P.R. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Long desscription for something you need in a hurry. Thank you, abbreviations.
26. Mideast airline: EL AL
27. Took to court: SUED
30. Monastic garments: FROCKS. I call 'em cassocks, but what do I know?
31. South African capital: RAND
32. Recon target: INFO
36. One may trend on Twitter: NEWS ITEM
37. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE T. The NYPD's Special Victim's Unit is the basis for this version of the franchise.
38. Pilot products: PENS. I've got one next to my laptop as we speak. I love the thin stylus and free-flowing ink.
39. Sticky-toed lizards: GECKOS
40. Wear (away): EAT
41. Chanel fragrance for men: EGOISTE. Seems to be missing a "T" and adding an "E", but that's what you get with product names. I suppose "EGOTIST" doesn't send many positive connotations.
42. Words that begin the line before "Deny thy father and refuse thy name": O ROMEO!
43. Determined precisely, with "down": PINNED
46. Dull sounds: THUDS
47. Caravan stops: OASES
48. Functional: UTILE
49. More, on a score: PIU. Learning moment for me, I think. I know I'm going to forget about it in about 30 seconds time, but at least I've seen it now.
51. Dampens: WETS
52. Roller coaster cry: WHEE! Not me, the only coaster that doesn't scare me to death is the one I put my cocktail on.
55. Racket: DIN
56. Quick flight: LAM. Nice misdirection, I was on the "short HOP" track at first.
57. Eventful chapter: ERA. The penny dropped, I was thinking of novels at first.
Here's the grid in all its "edgy" detail, and I think I'm out of blog.
Steve
