Friday, May 26, 2023, Andrew Anker

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a Friday recap In Re:  A puzzle by Andrew Anker.  I was not able to find a preexisting label for Andrew on this blog so it may be his LAT debut.

At four places in the grid, Andrew breaks apart the first word of common two-word expressions.  In each case, the first word starts with the letters RE.  By separating those letters we get "regarding" and, thereby, new meanings.  Here are the four themed answers:

20 Across:  Subject line on an email about bog vandals?: REPEAT OFFENDERS.  Re: Peat Offenders.

25 Across:  Subject line on an email about CPA training?: REFORM SCHOOL.  Re: Form School.  The implication is that what Certified Public Accountants do is fill out (tax) forms.

42 Across:  Subject line on an email about a guide to raising twins?: REPAIR MANUAL.  Re: Pair Manual.  How to raise two (a pair of) children.

48 Across:  Subject line on an email about art studios?: RECREATION AREAS.  Re: Creation Areas.

. . . . and here are the rest of the clues/answers:

Across:

1. Datum from Elias Sports Bureau, e.g.: STAT.  Sports STATistics

5. Take it easy: COAST.  "Phone it in"

10. "Fine, be like __!": THAT.

14. Gyro part: PITA.  Not a gyroscope.  A Greek sandwich.

15. Forget, as a repulsive image: UNSEE.  Often used in a phrase such as "I wish that I could UNSEE that."

16. Field mouse: VOLE.

17. Berserk: AMOK.

18. Sparkling alternative: STILL.  Do you prefer your bottled water with or without carbonation?

19. Somali-born supermodel: IMAN.  A frequent visitor.

23. __ Grande: RIO.  A suitable name for a big river.

31 December 1978

24. Pity party cry: POOR ME.

31. Creme-filled cookies: OREOS.  We are often offered these snacks while doing our puzzles.

32. Sticker: THORN.  Not, in this case, something to apply to your ski or motorcycle helmet.

33. Stroke: PET.  Not a medical reference.  Used as a verb.

36. Glove: MITT.  I used to be one of those chefs that shouts and swears a lot.  Then I discovered oven MITTs.

37. Behr product: PAINT.  Hand up for first thinking STAIN.  Heck, four of the five letters are the same.

38. Lucy van __: "Peanuts" girl: PELT.

39. Green vegetable in minji stew: PEA.   Not a reference to the K-pop NewJeans singer.

40. __ Park, California: MENLO.  Roughly twenty miles south of SFO.

41. __ fries: CURLY.

44. Fantasized: DREAMT.

47. Set as a price: ASK.

55. Cream additive: ALOE.  A soothing substance frequently found in crossword puzzles.

56. Permissible: LICIT.  Legit or LICIT, the perps know.

57. Miranda of "Homeland": OTTO.  Having never watched "Homeland" I initially found myself wondering, after perping the fill, who the heck was OTTO Miranda.  Then it dawned on me that we're talking about Miranda OTTO from LOTR.

58. Buds: PALS.  Not young flowers.

59. Mound: KNOLL.  Grassy KNOLL jokes are not funny.  They're hill areas.

60. Stick in one's __: CRAW.  Idiomatic.

61. Cloverleaf element: EXIT.  Not a plant reference.

62. Know without knowing why: SENSE.

63. "We came to play" sneakers brand: KEDS.

Down:

1. Practice boxing: SPAR.

2. Life partner: TIME.  As in publishing.

 

3. Straddling: ATOP.   Seems a bit off.  Yes, you might straddle a horse but you could also be ATOP a building without straddling said structure.  Then again, could you be straddling something without being ATOP it?

4. Become established: TAKE ROOT.

5. Made to order: CUSTOM.  CUSTOM-made exit signs are all the rage these days.  But I think that they are on their way out.

6. Aware of: ONTO.

7. "Get real!": AS IF.

8. Mirror image: SELF.  What you see in the looking glass.

9. Appear out of nowhere?: TELEPORT.

10. Small-screen fave: TV IDOL.

11. Simpson who demands, "Operator! Give me the number for 911!": HOMER.

12. Rating unit for 29-Down: ALARM. and

29. Cook-off potful: CHILI.

13. Perfect or imperfect: TENSE.  Adjective was too long.

21. Publicizes: AIRS.

22. Halfway to midnight: NOON.  

25. Easy win: ROMP.  ROUT?  The perps know.

26. Lake that drains into the Niagara: ERIE.

27. Crumbly cheese: FETA.  Do we get FETA with our PITA?

28. "Castle" co-star __ Katic: STANA.

30. Lionize: HONOR.

33. Ucayali River country: PERU.  A more obscure reference than something Incan related would have been but, hey, it's Friday.

34. "Heart on My Sleeve" singer __ Mai: ELLA.

35. "Chat soon," in texts: TTYL.  Talk To You Later

37. Pregame motivators: PEP TALKS.

38. Rotten genre?: PUNK ROCK.

Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols

40. Viral post: MEME.  A shortened version of the Greek mimeme itself derived from the Ancient Greek meaning mimema meaning imitated thing.

41. La __ Azul: Frida Kahlo museum: CASA.  A Spanish lesson.  The Blue House.

42. Most prized, perhaps: RAREST.

43. Hall of Famer known as "The Mick": MANTLE.

44. Fall in folds: DRAPE.

45. "Don't get so worked up": RELAX.

46. Common recall trigger: E COLI.

49. Jabber at the table?: TINE.

50. Screen image: ICON.  I showed my grandson an old floppy disk.  He said, "Cool!  You 3-D printed the save ICON."

51. Many Louvre works: OILS.  One would have thought that this answer would be in French.

52. Raison d'__: ETRE.  This one is.

53. Hardly any: A TAD.  A BIT.  A FEW.  SOME.  The perps know.

54. Scatters seed: SOWS.  Not clued as female pigs.

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