Puzzling thoughts:
This appears to be the second collaboration between Gary (not the comic strip artist/author) Larson and Amy Ensz. We saw their first one on Sunday, March 27, of this year. That puzzle used some familar Star Trek (CSO to Picard) terms and names, and the title was "The Final Frontier". Today's puzzle has a few familar phrases/names that were punned when the letters "EL" were omitted
As I alluded to on Monday, this puzzle was not as difficult; perhaps because most of Gary Larson's puzzles are "tight" and contain easy-to-suss entries. Let's see how the 'EL they came up with them!
17-across. *Genetically engineered retriever?: DESIGNER LAB. If you add the letters "EL" to "LAB", the phrase "DESIGNER LABEL" is one we all know and maybe own, despite their being grossly overpriced
24-across. *Colleague of an Idaho farmer?: POTATO PEER. Cute. Add the "EL" and you get "POTATO PEELER
36-across. *Advice to someone who doesn't want more kittens?: FIX THE CAT. Another brilliant play-on-words! The "EL" provides us with "FELIX THE CAT". Remember this cartoon movie?
52-across. *Teaches tricks to circus animals?: LION TRAINS. Tack on an "EL" to LION, and you get: "LIONEL TRAINS". I'm pretty sure I got a set of these back in my youth
And last, but not least: 57-across. *Food and water supplied during a marathon?: RACE RATIONS. Here, the "EL" goes after the second "R" and forms "RACE RELATIONS"
And of course the reveal: 67. Holiday song, and, phonetically, an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: NOEL. No "EL"
Maybe Gary and/or Amy will stop by and offer their comments as to how this one formed. On to the rest of the clues and fill!
Across:
1. __-relief: BAS. I always like it when I can begin filling in a crossword puzzle with 1-across. Given the three-letter entry, "BAS" immediately came to mind. What does it mean? [according to Pigmentti dot com] "Pronounced bah-relief, the term originally stems from the Italian phrase basso-relievo which directly translates to low relief. Artists create a bas-relief by sculpting onto a 2D plane to create and accentuate figures and objects, producing a 3D appearance which can be viewed from all angles with little distortion"
4. Sacks: BAGS. Which crossed with the singular, "4-down. Sack: BED.
8. Loose strands of hair: WISPS.
13. Tonsillectomy doc: ENT. Also, a treebeard in Lord of the Rings
14. Class struggle?: EXAM. TEST also fits
15. Point of contention: ISSUE.
16. Binary pronoun: HER. Along with its "clecho" in 34-down. Binary pronoun: SHE. Now that we have two female editors on the LA Times Crossword Puzzle staff I am guessing that we'll see more "HER's" and "SHE's".
Most people think of pronouns as they fall within the gender binary– with men using he/him/his and women using she/her/hers. However, gender neutral pronouns such as they, ze, xe, and others exist and are often used by non-binary people, who do not associate themselves with genders of man or woman
Of course, I couldn't pass this one without a haiku:
Do women in Penn-
Sylvania prefer drinking
At a HER-SHE bar?
20. Many a Riyadh resident: ARAB.
22. Family chart: TREE.
23. NYC airport near Citi Field: LGA. Citi Field is the home of the NY Mets; LGA is the airport code for LaGuardia
28. Care follower: BEAR. These plush toys
29. Relatively small upright: PIANINO. According to Merrium-Webster dot com: "Definition of pianino:
1 : a small upright piano especially : a 19th-century upright piano of limited range
2 : a coin-operated player piano
This:
30. Tammy of country: WYNETTE.
32. NFL stats: YDS.
33. Socket set: EYES. I initially thought of tools. You?
35. Let up: EASED.
39. Star in astronomy: SAGAN. As in "Carl" SAGAN: Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator
42. Of all time: EVER.
43. Hr. to go: ETD.
46. __ knot: WINDSOR. Does anyone still wear a tie anymore? I used to tie mine in a half WINDSOR, and made sure that the "dimple" was nice and straight! Here are the two WINDSOR knots, along with a four-in-hand:
And for those wanting a refresher course on how to tie them, a video:
49. Successful candidate: ELECTEE.
51. God with good aim: EROS. Cute clue
54. "Better Call Saul" network: AMC. I've not watched this but I hear it's quite good
55. Interminable time: AEON.
56. Nevada city: RENO.
62. Future louse: NIT.
63. Clip: SHEAR.
64. Draft category: ONE-A. I'm sure that a few of us guys who were of age back in the Vietnam War days had this category. I was ONE-A; then TWO-S; then ONE-H
65. New prefix: NEO.
66. Nonsensical: SILLY. I resemble this comment!
68. Start to sneeze?: ESS. The phonetic spelling of the letter "S"
Down:
1. "You should smile more": BE HAPPY. Or an erstwhile Bob Marley "hit" song; try to get THIS tune out of your head today!!
2. Barometer type: ANEROID. Dictionary dot com describes it as: "a device for measuring atmospheric pressure, often specially calibrated for use as an altimeter, consisting of a box or chamber partially exhausted of air, having an elastic top and a pointer to indicate the degree of compression of the top caused by the external air"
3. Soprano Teresa known for her recording of Berg's "Lulu": STRATAS. Another proper name with which I was unfamiliar; a CSO to CanadianEh! Here is a brief biography
5. Body spray brand: AXE. Popular among the younger crowd. I still have a bottle of the "original" Old Spice
6. Beetle juice?: GAS. Say it three times and the price per gallon will increase another thirty cents
7. Clobber, biblically: SMITE.
8. Port producer: WINERY. A CSO to Chairman Moe, I guess ... Port wine is made similar to "regular" wine, but goes through a shorter fermentation period to allow a greater amount of RS (residual sugar) to remain in the must. The wine is then "fortified" by adding distilled alcohol (usually brandy) to add more "proof" to the finished wine. This enables the wine to retain a sweeter flavor as well as to allow it to preserve longer. "Regular" wine is about 13.5% ABV (alcohol by volume), whereas Port is at or near 20%
9. "Amazing Grace" ending: I SEE. Copied from its lyrics:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind but now I SEE
10. Abbreviation on old maps: SSR.
11. Young hens: PULLETS. In my early days of crossword puzzle construction I tried coming up with a puzzle that had punned phrases about fowl. This was one of my entries: PULLET SURPRISE (clue:*what a young hen got when she won an award for literature). The puzzle was rejected ...
12. Data storage company: SEAGATE. Read all about them
18. Got bigger: GREW.
19. Exposed: BARED. One of my limericks from the past:
In the nudist camp's recent enclosure,
If you join there, requires exposure
Of your BARED naked bod.
That is not really odd.
They are just giving you full "dis-clothesure"
21. Shut out: BAN. Also a brand name of a body spray - or deodorant
25. Promotional links: TIE-INS. Do you think there's one for WINDSOR Castle, or knot??!
26. Chalcedony with black and white bands: ONYX. Hard to solve this if you didn't know what the word Chalcedony means
27. One who's well-versed: POET. A CSO to many here at the CC Blog
28. Exhausted: BEAT. What I sometimes am after creating my recaps
31. Not as far: NEARER. CLOSER also fit
36. In things: FADS. Hula Hoop was the first FAD that came to mind
37. Square: EVEN. "Are we square?"
38. Hibernian, e.g.: CELT. If a CELT sleeps for a long period of time, do they Hibernian-ate?
39. __ jar: SWEAR. In the Apple TV show "Ted Lasso", one of the main characters, Roy Kent, has a 6-year old niece Phoebe who maintains a SWEAR tracking notebook for her uncle. Each time her uncle SWEARs, it costs him one quid. At the end of Season 1, Roy's SWEAR "jar" had a value of £1,236 (expletive below)
40. Meteorological concern: AIR MASS. I am leaving this blank for Ray-O-Sunshine to quip!
41. Ristorante dumplings: GNOCCHI. If Anonymous_T is lurking, maybe he can further enlighten us on this Italian dumpling
43. __ Aigner: fashion house known for accessories: ETIENNE. A DESIGNER LABel, for sure
44. Sneaks on the court?: TENNIES. A British term I think - short for Tennis Shoes - and the clue "sneaks" is short for sneakers
45. Classic autos advertised with the Cole Porter song "It's De-Lovely": DESOTOS. I was just a little tot in 1956 so I don't remember this ad
47. Cow owner in a Rockwell painting: O'LEARY. O'LEARY and 19th Century Immigrants in Chicago. There's a common myth that pops up anytime the Chicago Fire of 1871 comes up in conversation: that a woman named Catherine O'Leary was milking her cow when the cow kicked over a lantern, igniting the barn and starting the fire that would destroy much of the city
48. Real hoot: RIOT. A more positive way of clueing this word
50. Caboose, e.g.: CAR. BUTT didn't fit
53. Salad topper: ONION. They'll take your (good) breath away
55. Shrinking Asian sea: ARAL. Crossword-ese
58. Caterpillar roll fish: EEL. Ingredients: What is Caterpillar sushi made of? Known for its unique insect like appearance, the common caterpillar roll contains rice, nori sheets (nori = seaweed), cucumber, EEL (Unagi), and avocado. The interior of the roll includes eel and cucumber and the exterior is rice with the layers of avocado
59. Peace activist Yoko: ONO.
60. Word that indicates a name change: NEE.
61. ESPN reporter Paolantonio: SAL. This guy
Here is the grid:
On a personal note, today marks the 2nd Birthday of my grandson, Elliot. Kinda fitting that the puzzle involves the letters "EL", though I don't think I will call him by that nickname (unless his mom and dad do). Here is a picture of him a week before his birthday. Your Gramps loves you, Elliot!
Sorry, I had to include this as well ... aren't the laughs of little kids contagious??!!
