google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner

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Apr 7, 2023

Friday, April 7, 2023, Ella Dershowitz

Theme:

Ooo, baby baby

Puzzling thoughts:

Take a moment to listen to this great oldie from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles ... in the second and third stanza, the lyrics read:

Mistakes, I know I've made a few
But I'm only human
You've made mistakes too, I'm crying . . .
Ooo, baby baby
Ooo, baby baby
I'm just about at the end of my rope
But I can't stop trying, I can't give up hope

That was kind of how today's puzzle hit me. Mistakes? I made MORE than a few ... but yes, I am only human ... did you make mistakes, too??

Crying? There's no crying @ the Crossword Corner!

I WAS just about at the end of my rope ... but I never stopped trying, nor gave up hope ...

"So when did you get the 'AHA' Moe-ment on this puzzle, Chairman?" [you might ask]

After I looked more closely at the circles ... ARRGGHH. Circles. But without the circles, would YOU have figured out the reveal?

55-across. Tiny units of progress depicted four times in this puzzle?: BABY STEPS.

Let's examine the grid first, and then crawl around in the 15x15 square "play pen" of words and circles ...

One BABY STEP at a time will solve this ...

Step #1: 23-across. Fritterlike side with fried catfish: HUSH PUPPY

But, but, but Moe, the entry for 23-across is only five letters? HUSH P is all that I see. Well, if you have circles in your grid, take a couple of BABY STEPS above and to the right, and the PUPPY crawls onto your lap

Step #2: 27. "La La Land" Oscar nominee: RYAN GOSLING. Again, follow the circled letters which take BABY STEPS up and to the right of RYAN G, and the GOSLING waddles into view

Step #3: 45-across. Blue Apron offering: MEAL KIT. The smallest of BABY STEPS belongs to the KIT, as it takes just two circled squares to complete its birth (that foxy lady)

Step #4: 54-across. Roomba target: DUST BUNNY. Easter Sunday is just a couple days away, so what better BABY to greet us than the BUNNY, which hops along four circled squares on its trail

Four "BABIES" (a PUPPY, a GOSLING, a KIT, and a BUNNY), all taking little STEPS to form their names. Out-effin-standing, Ms. Dershowitz!

Across:
1. Home of the College World Series: OMAHA. A CSO to our Saturday blogger, Husker Gary

6. Many Chrome runners: PCS. [according to Microsoft dot com] "... Microsoft Edge is more secure than Google Chrome for your business on Windows. It has powerful, built-in defenses against phishing and malware and natively supports hardware isolation on Windows—there's no additional software required to achieve this secure baseline"
[according to Google] "With Google apps like Gmail, Google Pay, and Google Assistant, Chrome can help you stay productive and get more out of your browser"

9. Dog breed of Tokyo's Hachiko statues: AKITA. [wikipedia dot com says]: "A statue of the AKITA dog Hachikō, remembered for his unwavering loyalty to his deceased owner, is installed outside Tokyo's Shibuya Station, in Japan"

14. Cars sold at auction: REPOS. And the guys who bring them there, perhaps? 1984 original trailer

15. Barrel wood: OAK. Ella must love this word; she used it recently, in 62-down with a different clue - which I explained in depth to Wilbur Charles

16. Western Wyoming county: TETON. Grand TETON National Park is on my bucket list of National Parks to visit

17. Giddy: SLAP HAPPY. Moe-ku:

Snow White felt depressed;
But can get giddy when she
Starts to SLAP HAPPY

19. Urban Dictionary content: SLANG. This. They always have a SLANG du jour on their website

20. "Big __" Delaney: "Sons of Anarchy" character: OTTO. Learing MOE-ment: [fandom dot com] "“Big Otto” Delaney was a member of SAMCRO of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy. Played by American actor and show creator Kurt Sutter, Otto makes his debut on the episode "Giving Back" in the series' first season"

21. Common toothbrush holder: CUP. I hang mine on the wall on its recharging base ... I use a Braun (now known as Oral B) electric toothbrush

22. Pop music's __ Vanilli: MILLI. This could also be clued: "Start for 'meter' or 'second'"

25. Emblems: LOGOS. The one that I saw on my business card for 2-1/2 decades

26. "Ditto": ME, TOO. Last Friday's puzzle had ME, FOUR

28. __ milk: OAT. SOY also fits

29. Recruit with arm-twisting: ROPE IN.

31. Butter used in saag paneer: GHEE. Do I need to clarify this for you?

35. Haggler's concern: PRICE. "Never pay retail"

37. Cupcake: HON. Not sure how this one got by Patti ... perhaps because Ella identifies as a she/her? HON seems a bit non-PC ... too bad this wasn't a four-letter entry ... could've used BABE for this puzzle, no??!! ;^)

38. Past potentates: TSARS. EMIRS fits, too

39. Qdoba snack: TACO. Qdoba serves these on days other than Tuesday

40. Con artist?: FORGER. The world's most famous FORGER??

42. On: LIT. Interesting clue ... "on" as in something that is LIT up?

43. In the running: VYING.

47. Indiana state flower: PEONY.

48. "Stayin' Alive" genre: DISCO. Bee Gees song

49. Any "Gilmore Girls" episode, now: RERUN.

50. Cartoon still: CEL.

51. Silly fool: TWIT.

57. Mid-pirouette, say: ON TOE. Ballerina position

58. Blue-__: pain relief brand: EMU. Johnny Bench was the spokesman

59. Fine-tune: TWEAK. Something I usually do to this blog several days before it goes live

60. Origin of the street food koshary: EGYPT. Another learning MOE-ment

61. Freelancer's job: GIG. Musician's term, usually

62. Swimming holes: PONDS. I wonder how many kids of the current generation actually go swimming in a POND?

Down:
2. Cheesy diner fare: MELT. A Friday clue, for sure; as in, a cheese MELT

3. Not engaged: APATHETIC. Not "SINGLE" [the word I was looking for]

4. "We're here!": HOP OUT. A BUNNY term?

5. Cigar end: ASH. I know all about this as I always enjoy a cigar with a bit of Scotch, Bourbon, Rum, Gin, Wine, or _____. Many times, a portion of the ASH will fall off unexpectedly ... haven't burned anything yet, but have come close

6. __ shop: POP UP. Many of these appear in October, in advance of (32-down. Time for a costume from a boo-tique?:) HALLOWEEN

7. Photographer Kristin: CAPP. I can relate to this CAPP, but not the other

8. Pie in the __: SKY.

9. Part of an online tag: AT SIGN. As in, @ChairmanMoe, for example (not my Twitter name)

10. Breakfast brand: KELLOGG'S. A 1960's jingle: "K-E Double L! O Double Good! Kellogg's Best to YOU!!!"

11. Emphatic letters, for short: ITALS. A CSO to Ray-O-Sunshine!

12. Singer Braxton: TONI.

13. Filmmaker Lee: ANG. Crossword-ese

18. Allergy season sound: ACHOO. "God bless you!"

22. Complain: MOAN. CARP also fits

24. Feeling yesterday's yoga class, perhaps: SORE. ACHY also fits

25. Full of beans: LYING. And its clecho: (30-down. Full of beans:) PHONY. Good ones

26. Name before Wilson or after Rooney: MARA. Lots of proper names in today's puzzle; go figure ...

27. Corp. shake-up: REORG. 3M never went through a REORG that I can recall ...

28. Go (for): OPT.

33. "Black Panther" villain Killmonger: ERIK. A "Marvel"-ous clue

34. Contractor's fig.: EST. With another clecho (of sorts): (1-down. Guesstimate phrase:) OR SO.

36. Spy mission: COVERT OP. Would another clue for this be: "The highest surface of a blanket?" Think about it for a second or two ... BTW, this is a first time use of this word entry in the major crossword publications ... either as COVERT OP or COVER TOP

38. Cinco menos dos: TRES. And yet, another Friday CSO to Lucinda!!

40. Wolfhard of "Stranger Things": FINN. I don't know this guy. Am I your huckleberry today?!

41. "Revenge" star VanCamp: EMILY. Would ___ Dickinson be too easy?? (44-down. "No doubt about it!":) YOU BET.

46. What many modern plays lack: ACT TWO.

47. Annoying: PESTY. Moe-ku 2:

A basil-laced sauce
That rubs you the wrong way, is
A PESTY pesto

48. Correct coding errors, say: DEBUG. I'll leave this quip for Ray-O-Sunshine! ;^)

49. Ladder part: RUNG. STEP also fits

50. Tank: CAMI. Moe-ku 3:

Military brat
Wore an appropriate top:
A camo CAMI

52. Streaming device: IPAD. KINDLE didn't fit

53. Judgy syllables: TSKS. I hope that none of you used a TSK TSK whilst reading my blog ;^)

54. Generic surname: DOE. John or Jane are their first names

55. "I __ to differ": BEG.

56. Indy brand: STP.

And there you have it! Another successful puzzle and blog! Please add your comments below ...