L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Sep 6, 2022

Tuesday, September 6, 2022 Kevin Christian and Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre

Yoga Class: The last word of each theme answer is also a yoga pose.

17-Across. * George Plimpton football memoir set in Detroit: PAPER LION. [Name # 1.]

25-Across. * Courtroom hotshot: LEGAL EAGLE.

35-Across. * Informer: STOOL PIGEON. This is my favorite yoga pose.

48-Across. * Cowardly type: SCAREDY CAT.

And the unifier:

57-Across. Asanas found at the ends of the answers to the starred clues: YOGA POSES. Everything you wanted to know about Asana Yoga, but didn't know to ask.

Over a decade ago, C.C. interviewed Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre. You can read the interview here.

Across:

1. "Sorry, rules __ rules": ARE.

4. Dizzying designs: OP ART. Short for Optical Art.

9. __ up on: unites against: GANGS.

14. Villain Luthor: LEX. [Name # 2.] // Change the vowel, and you get 29-Across. Bagel topper: LOX.

15. Prefix with -lithic: PALEO-. Paleolithic. Also known as the Old Stone Age.

16. Love to pieces: ADORE.

19. One awarding stars, perhaps: RATER.

20. "... the __ of defeat": "Wide World of Sports" phrase: AGONY.

21. "Black Panther" director Coogler: RYAN. [Name # 3.] Ryan Kyle Coogler (b. May 23, 1986) has directed a number of films.

23. Excite, with "up": AMP.

24. King or queen, but not prince or princess: CARD.

28. House pest: ANT. Remove a consonant from the Pest and the ANT becomes a house Pet. Yesterday, the ANT was an Unwelcome Picnic Guest.

30. Manage to achieve: ATTAIN.

31. Reciprocal of cosine: SECANT. // And 39-Down. Inverse trig function: ARCSINE. We all remember our high school math class, right?

34. Trace: HINT.

38. Water-to-wine town: CANA. A Biblical reference where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding.

40. Hiking sites: TRAILS.

41. Maker of Zesty Curly frozen French fries: ORE-IDA. Yummers! Actually, I have never tried these, but I do like Ore-Ida's Tater Tots, which appeared in yesterday's puzzle.

44. D.C. stadium: RFK. Formally known as the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. It is currently being demolished. [Name adjacent.]

45. D.C. fundraising org.: PAC.

51. Love, in tennis: ZERO. Why does Love mean nothing in Tennis?

52. Chiding syllable: TSK.

53. Milne bear: POOH. Winnie the Pooh is a fictional teddy bear created by A.A. Milne (né Alan Alexander Milne; Jan. 18, 1882 ~ Jan. 31, 1956) in the 1920s.

54. Puts in order: SORTS.

55. Sibling's daughter: NIECE. Word origin.

60. Scandal-plagued energy company: ENRON. This company disintegrated almost overnight back in 2001.

61. Nebraska city: OMAHA. Hi, Husker Gary! Years ago, when I was first looking for a job, I was offered a job in Omaha. My potential boss told me, however, that moving from the Northeast, I would experience "extreme cultural shock" living in Nebraska. So instead, I moved to the South. No cultural shock there, eh?

62. Mined resource: ORE. Not to be confused with the 41-Across and the Ore-Ida potato products.

63. Patch, as a lawn: RE-SOD.

64. Fruit-hitting-the-floor sound: SPLAT.

65. Big Apple paper, for short: NYT. As in the New York Times.

Down:

1. Llama kin: ALPACA.

2. 1980s president Ronald: REAGAN. Ronald Wilson Reagan (Feb. 6, 1911 ~ June 5, 2004) was the 40th President. Can it really be over 40 years since he began his term as President? [Name # 4.]

3. Commodity sold abroad: EXPORT.

4. The Grand Ole __: OPRY. The home of country music.

5. Chum: PAL.

6. Boxer who said, "It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am": ALI. Muhammad Ali (né Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; Jan. 17, 1942 ~ June 3, 2016) would "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." [Name # 5.]

7. Corp. shake-up: RE-ORG. As in Reorganize. It seems like the banking industry is always undergoing re-orgs.

8. Skater Harding: TONYA. Tonya Maxene Harding (b. Nov. 12, 1970) is best known for her troubles past. In 1994, her ex-husband attacked her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. Tonya was banned from competitive skating and turned to boxing. [Name # 6.]

9. January birthstone: GARNET. I have 3 options for my birthstone.

10. Oral health org.: ADA. As in the American Dental Association.

11. "Why does this keep happening!?": NOT AGAIN. Yup. I'll be out next week again.

12. Unseen troublemaker: GREMLIN. Also the model of a vehicle that was manufactured in the 1970s.

13. Garden of Eden creature: SERPENT.

18. Terminate: END.

22. Mobile's st.: ALA. Mobile, Alabama is on the Gulf of Mexico. The George Washington Tunnel on I-10 runs under the Mobile River, then emerges to join the bridge that spans the Bay of Mobile. The tunnel is a bottleneck on the interstate and there is always a long line of traffic of cars waiting to go through the tunnel. Interesting fact about Mobile: the first Mardi Gras in the Americas was held in Mobile.

25. El Pollo __: southwestern restaurant chain: LOCO. El Pollo Loco is a California-based chain. I was about to say I had never heard of this restaurant, but our local paper recently announced the company is expanding in south Louisiana.

26. Glorify: EXALT.

27. One of the Musketeers: ATHOS. The Three Musketeers is a French historical adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It was written in 1844 and is on my TBR list. The novel, which is set in the 1620s, recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan who befriends Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who are the musketeers. [Name # 7.]

29. Summer sign: LEO. Hi, Leo III!

31. Flight part: STAIR.

32. "Fresh Air" airer: NPR. Fresh Air is a radio talk show hosted by Terry Gross. She has been hosting the show since 1975. [Name # 8.]

33. Small crown: TIARA. Apparently in the British royal family there are strict rules about wearing Tiaras.

35. Tennis shoes: SNEAKERS.

36. Birthday present: GIFT.

37. Caribou cousin: ELK. What's the difference between an Elk and a Caribou?

38. Kevin of "Yellowstone": COSTNER. Kevin Costner (né Kevin Michael Costner; b. Jan. 18, 1955) plays the patriarch in the television show Yellowstone. [Name # 9.]