L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Jul 27, 2021

Tuesday, July 27, 2021 Winston Emmons

Shall We Dance? The last word of each theme answer is a type of dance.

21-Across. * Site of an annual ball drop: TIMES SQUARE. Square Dance. Hi, Yellowrocks!

38-Across. * Comedic climax: GAG LINE. Line Dance.

53-Across. * Ray Kinsella in "Field of Dreams," e.g.: BASEBALL FAN. Fan Dance. Sally Rand (née Helen Gould Beck; Apr. 3, 1904 ~ Aug. 31, 1979) was a famous (infamous?) American fan dancer.

3-Down. * Keg buy in a pub: BEER ON TAP. Tap Dance.

And the unifier:

34-Down. Wedding reception finale, and a feature of the answers to starred clues: LAST DANCE.

Across:

1. Eva of "Green Acres": GABOR. Eva Gabor (née Éva Gábor; Feb. 11, 1919 ~ July 4, 1995) was the youngest of the Gabor sisters. Eva was an actress and socialite, but was probably best known for her role as Lisa Douglas on Green Acres.

6. Smart guy?: ALEC.

10. Mosque leader: IMAM.

14. L.A.'s Staples Center, e.g.: ARENA.

15. "The lady __ protest too much, methinks": "Hamlet": DOTH. Hamlet, Act III, Scene II. Hi, OMK!

16. Zilch: NADA.

17. Frozen rain: SLEET.

18. "The African Queen" co-screenwriter James: AGEE. James Agee (né James Rufus Agee; Nove. 27, 1909 ~ May 16, 1955) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles. Sadly, he died of a heart attack at age 45.

19. Fairly brisk gait: TROT.

20. ESP neighbor, to the IOC: POR. An appropriate, but obscure clue, since the Olympic Games are being played this week. The IOC is the International Olymoics Committee and is based in Switzerland. The official language of the IOC is French. Therefore, ESP is the French abbreviation for Espagne (Spain) and it neighbor is POR (le Portugal).

24. Acrylic fiber: ORLON.

26. Bach composition: SUITE. Bach's Cello Suite # 1 as played by Yo-Yo Ma (b. Oct. 7, 1995).

27. Was understood, finally: SANK IN.

If the Titanic sank today.

29. Halley observation: COMET. The next time Halley's Comet will be seen is 40 years from tomorrow (July 28, 2061). Sadly, I will probably not be around to see it. Hubby saw the last time it passed by, which was a few months before we were married in 1986.

31. Bernie's songwriting partner: ELTON. That's Sir Elton John (né Reginald Kenneth Dwight; b. Mar. 25, 1947) and Bernie Taupin (né Bernard John Taupin; b. May 22, 1950).

32. Hawaii state bird: NENE. This used to be a crossword staple when I began doing the puzzles in the 1980s.

33. Poetry competition: SLAM.

37. Flight tracker info: ETA. A crossword staple. Estimated Time of Arrival.

41. In the style of: À LA. Today's French lesson.

42. Unkempt dos: MOPS. // And 47-Across: Lock on one's head: TRESS.

44. Electrical unit: VOLT.

45. Polite refusal: NO SIR.

49. "To clarify ... ": THAT IS.

50. Less prevalent: RARER.

52. Oscar, for one: AWARD. Anthony Hopkins won one for his role as Hannibal Lector.

56. Quarterback's asset: ARM.

Joe Burrow

59. Como una mujer con mucho dinero: RICA. Hi, Lucina! If I win the Louisiana vaccination lottery, I will be Rica.

60. Best ever, initially: GOAT. The Jeopardy! GOAT.

61. Paddled boat: CANOE. // And 46-Down. Item for a dinghy: OAR.

63. Haphazard way to run: AMOK.

64. Salinger title girl who says, "I'm extremely interested in squalor": ESMÉ. The full name of the book is For Esmé—with Love and Squalor. It is actually a short story in the book that contains several other short stories by Salinger.

65. Florida theme park: EPCOT. EPCOT: the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.

66. Things of little consequence: NITS.

67. Kevin Costner in "Field of Dreams," e.g.: STAR. This movie was released over 30 years ago!

68. Judges: DEEMS.

Down:

1. Shocked sound: GASP.

2. Folksy Guthrie: ARLO. Arlo Davy Guthrie (b. July 10, 1947) is the son of folk singer, Woodie Guthrie (né Woodrow Wilson Guthrie; July 14, 1912 ~ Oct. 3, 1967).

4. Half a pair: ONE.

5. Not good under-the-hood sound: RATTLING.

6. Rhett's last words: A DAMN. A reference to Gone with the Wind.

7. Theater tier: LOGE. Everything you wanted to know about a Loge, but didn't know to ask.

8. Sorbonne summers: ÉTÉS. More of today's French lesson. The Sorbonne is a public research university in Paris, France.

9. Knights or rooks: CHESS MEN.

10. Somehow knows: INTUITS.

11. French Revolution radical: MARAT. Jean-Paul Marat (May 24, 1743 ~ July 13, 1793) was a French political theorist, physician and scientist. He had a skin disease, so spent much time soaking in his bath. While in the bath, he would often allow colleagues and other to come to speak with him. Thus, in July 1793, Charlotte Corday (née Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont; July 27, 1768 ~ July 17, 1793) entered the bath and stabbed him to death. She was beheaded 3 days later. Marat is probably best known today because of Jacques-Louis David's painting, The Death of Marat.

12. Love to pieces: ADORE.

13. Deckhand: MATE.

22. Charged particle: ION. A crossword staple.

23. Montreal's prov.: QUE. Hi, CanadianEh!

25. Old MGM rival: RKO.

27. Apparently are: SEEM.

28. Kind of sax: ALTO. The come in all sizes. The saxaphone is a relatively new instrument. It was invented in the 1840s.

29. Phones in pockets or purses: CELLS.

30. Working the case: ON IT.

32. Oxfam and CARE, for two: NGOs. As in Non-Governmental Organizations.

35. Et __: and others: ALII. Today's Latin lesson. This is becoming a crossword staple.

36. Damages: MARS.

39. Batting stats: AVERAGES.

40. Improved in value: ENHANCED.

43. Barely runs?: STREAKS. Clever clue!

48. Civil War soldier: REB. As in a Rebel.

49. Pan Am rival: TWA. My first plane flight was on a TWA plane. I was just a kid and at the time the airlines gave out wings and other trinkets to children. I still have the little TWA bag. I think it was filled with candy.