Aloha, Cruciverbalists! Joseph, AKA Malodorous Manatee, here on the Big Island of Hawaii where Valerie and I are visiting friends. Fortunately, the internet knows almost no boundaries so this marine mammal is able to take some time away from the Moorish Idol fish and other denizens of the local reefs and stay connected with his friends here on the Crossword Corner.
Today we have a trio of constructors in what may be their L.A. Times debut as a team. I don't know if the published names are real or if they are using noms de plume but, at four places in the puzzle, they have cleverly managed to work in the letters AKA which, of course is an abbreviation for Also Known As. For the first time that I can recall, the reveal came right at the beginning (if you started at 1 Across):
1. With 60-Across, disguise one's identity ... and what the answers to starred clues subtly do?:
USE AN
60. See 1-Across: ALIAS
The starred clues:
16 Across. *"On the Waterfront" director: ELIA KAZAN. Appropriately, or sneakily, the first starred answer was an ALIAS (or at least a truncation) for Elias Kazantzoglou. This might have led us to think that the themed answers were going to be the names of well-known people using pseudonyms. But, no.
22 Across. *Open-water paddlers: SEA KAYAKERS.
33 Across. *Pungent French beef dish: STEAK AU POIVRE. POIVRE is French for pepper.
44 Across. *Historic Pearl Harbor event: SNEAK ATTACK. December 7, 1941.
54 Across. *"Godspeed" to the cast of "Godspell," say: BREAK A LEG. An ironic "dead metaphor" (origin unknown) used as a jovial encouragement said to actors for good luck before they go on stage. Some say that the phrase dates back to Elizabethan times when, instead of clapping, audience members would bang chairs on the ground. If they liked the show well enough the legs of the chairs would break.
Here is how this all looks within the grid:
And now, for the rest of the story.
6. Common commuter org.: MTA. Metropolitan Transit Authority. Why didn't she simply put a nickle in with the sandwich?
6. Common commuter org.: MTA. Metropolitan Transit Authority. Why didn't she simply put a nickle in with the sandwich?
The Kingston Trio
9. Key with no sharps or flats: Abbr.: C MAJ. A musical reference. C MAJor. A MINor also fits the definition.
13. Gender identity spectrum: NON-BINARY. A relatively recent addition to our vocabulary.
15. Origami bird: CRANE. The standard bearer of the craft.
17. Lena of "The Wiz": HORNE.
18. Switz. neighbor: AUST. AUSTria. It could have been FRAN, GERM, ITAL, or LIEC.
19. XL x XL: MDC. A Roman Numeral math problem: 40 x 40 = 1,600
20. Not so concentrated: WEAKER.
21. MLB's Cards, on scoreboards: STL. A baseball reference. The Saint Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team.
24. "Yikes!": YEESH. Yeesh.
26. Econ. measure: GNP. We never know if it is going to be the Gross National Product or the Gross Domestic Product but two out of the three letters can be quickly entered either way.
27. Madre's sister: TIA. Today's Spanish lesson. Mother's sister. Aunt.
28. Green-sounding Navy jacket: PEA COAT. Originally worn by sailors of European navies. Peas are green (usually). The coats are blue (usually).
32. Sq., for one: RECT. A SQuare is a RECTangle with all sides being of equal length. The abbreviation in the clue yields the abbreviated answer. RECT ? A partial and a bit of a punt.
36. Cache: STOW. Used here as a verb.
37. Vehement: INTENSE.
38. Inner __: EAR.
39. FGs often end them: OTS. Field Goals often end football games that have gone into OverTime.
40. "Am not!" retort: ARE SO. Kids say the darnedest things. "ARE TOO" would not fit. "Bite Me" wouldn't either.
49. French possessive: TES. Another French lesson. We never know if it's going to be MES, CES or TES. . . or MON, SON or TON.
50. Puma rival: ADIDAS. A sports shoe reference. Not an animal kingdom reference.
51. Bobby on ice: ORR. A frequent visitor.
Bobby Orr
52. Siena sweetheart: CARA. Today's Italian lesson.
"CaraMia" - Jay and the Americans - John (AKA Jay) Traynor, Howard Kirschenbaum (AKA Howard Kane), Kenneth Rosenberg (AKA Kenny Vance) and Sandy Yaguda (AKA Sandy Dean)
53. Bride of a title Orkan: MINDY. From the TV show "Mork and Mindy"
56. __ Park, Colo.: ESTES.
57. Orange variety: TANGERINE. Mandarin orange.
58. Slip end?: SHOD. SlipSHOD.
59. "__ La La": Manfred Mann hit: SHA. Doo ___ Diddy. Wha? Wah.
Down:
1. Perturbed: UNEASY. Rattled.
2. Many an "instant" product, e.g.: SOLUTE. A substance dissolved in another substance.
3. Isolate, in a way: ENISLE. We have seen this one several times previously.
4. "Grab __": "You're pinch-hitting": A BAT. Another baseball reference.
5. Beat or neat suffix: NIK. Maynard G. Krebs (beatNIK) or Felix Unger (neatNIK).
6. Miata maker: MAZDA.
1990 Mazda Miata
7. Place to race: TRACK.
8. "Atlas Shrugged" author Rand: AYN. The 1957 novel that became the "bible" of Objectivism. John Galt visited us last Thursday which leads to the question: Who is John Galt?
8. "Atlas Shrugged" author Rand: AYN. The 1957 novel that became the "bible" of Objectivism. John Galt visited us last Thursday which leads to the question: Who is John Galt?
9. Raven's sound: CROAK. Not a frog?
Caw vs Croak
10. Member of a pitching staff?: MARKETER. Not, this time, a baseball reference. A pitchman.
11. "The Vampire Chronicles" author: ANNE RICE. Another author, today. "Claudia, you've been a very very naughty little girl."
12. Taunts: JEERS AT.
14. Newborn's acquisition: NAME. Just ask Jim Croce.
Django Unchained
15. For a song: CHEAP.
20. Jazz trumpeter Marsalis: WYNTON. Also a very good classical trumpeter.
Hummel Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra - 1984
22. Kind of butter used in skin care: SHEA.
23. Showing surprise: AGAPE.
23. Showing surprise: AGAPE.
25. Gush: SPEW. I had better be careful around here.
Mauna Loa
29. Strong watchdogs: AKITAS. What kind of dog wears a uniform and medals? A guard dog.
30. Art able to: CANST. The archaic second-person singular form of can.
31. Tagged, perhaps: OUT. A baseball reference.
32. Camper with a camper: RV'ER. Recreation Vehicle ER
33. Plymouth Colony VIP: STANDISH. Miles STANDISH was hired as the military advisor to the Colony.
34. Excoriated: TORE INTO.
35. "Out of Africa" author Dinesen: ISAK. Yet another author.
36. Bits on some buns: SESAMES.
39. Green-lights: OKAYS.
41. Latin catchall: ET ALII. And Others.
42. Legendary sister of Venus: SERENA. Legendary? Was that to make us think they were looking for something pertaining to the Goddess.
43. Plains tribe: OSAGES. That pluralizing S threw me for a bit.
45. Did sum math?: ADDED. Nice wordplay.
46. Ark document: TORAH. Not the title to Noah's boat.
47. Play area: ARENA. More wordplay. Not STAGE.
48. Jagged little hill: CRAG. Jagged Little Pill?
52. Sigmund contemporary: CARL. First name used in the clue . . first name for the answer. Sigmund Freud / Carl Jung.
48. Jagged little hill: CRAG. Jagged Little Pill?
52. Sigmund contemporary: CARL. First name used in the clue . . first name for the answer. Sigmund Freud / Carl Jung.
Carl Gustav Jung
54. First Korean act to perform at the Grammys: BTS. The BangTan Boys. A seven-member Korean boy band.
55. Hawaii's Mauna __: KEA. An appropriate final entry.
Ski Mauna Kea
. . . and on that note . . . back to the reef . . . to the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a . . .
. . . and the whales
Photo By MM
ALOHA!
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