L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Jun 10, 2023

Saturday, June 10, 2023, Amanda Rafkin

Saturday Themeless Puzzle by Amanda Rafkin

Amanda is making her LA Times puzzle debut. She is from Los Angeles and started crosswords the same way as I did, with her mother. Here is a very nice interview With Amanda

Across:

1. Rhyming description of one who's very extra: DRAMA LLAMA.

11. Alternative bands?: AM/FM.

15. Tried: HAD A GO AT IT - I took three attempts at a unicycle and it did not work out!

16. Wedding dress option: SARI.

17. Weary response to a rant: ARE YOU DONE?

18. Not winning or losing: TIED and 50. Nadal's nickname: RAFA - is TIED with Gilles in the match below

19. French military cap: KEPI.

20. Dispatch: SEND.

21. Oft-used tissue: SINEW - Here's a big one

22. Works in a museum: ART.

23. Egg layer: HEN - Here's a HEN with a lot of eggs

24. Catchy song: BOP.

26. Needle pt.: ESE. 😀 Compass needle, of course.

27. Took the reins: LED - but...

28. Muppet who had a cameo on "The West Wing": ELMO.

Allison Janney, ELMO, Stockard Channing

29. Sara's "And Just Like That ... " role: CHE - Some might remember Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy

30. D.C. figure: POL.

31. "We might want to hire a chef": I DON'T COOK. 😀

33. Leaves in tears?: WEEPING WILLOW. 😀 Chad and Jeremy's 60's version of a 1932 song

35. Indiana's conference: THE BIG TEN.

36. Quite a stretch: EON.

37. Olive __: OYL - Popeye joined this cast in 1929 as a minor player

38. Negatives: NOES.

39. Hrs. not observed by most of Arizona: DST.

40. Chemical ending: ENE - Since we already had ESE as a direction, this went as a suffix

41. "So frustrating!": GRR.

42. "__ Sure the Boy I Love": HE'S - We can't get enough 50's and 60's rock and roll! These are The Crystals and Phil Spector's "wall of sound".

43. "Captain Marvel" actor: LAW - He played a character called Yon-Rogg.

46. Connection points: NODES.

48. "The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On" poet Franny: CHOI.

51. Perched on: ATOP.

52. Sarcastic reply to a bogus offer: SEEMS LEGIT - Also "Yeah, right!"

54. Turn signal?: I'M UP 😀 My turn every Saturday.

55. "The underdog is rallying!": UPSET ALERT - NFL fans know Super Bowl III was a huge upset. The Jets were owned by 49. Oil tycoon who once owned the New York Jets: HESS. Leon HESS.

56. Court decisions: LETS. 😀

57. Creative outlets?: ETSY STORES.

Down:

1. Home of the Bengal Classical Music Festival: DHAKA

2. Pinker: RARER.

3. Crack: ADEPT - We have some crack solvers here that are very ADEPT

4. Brief petition: MAY I?

5. Back: AGO.

6. Messed (up): LOUSED.

7. Encumbered: LADEN.

8. Boatloads: A TON.

9. "My whole worldview just shifted": MIND BLOWN

10. Put away: ATE - Some people can really put away the groceries! They usually have 23. Seconds or thirds: HELPINGS.

11. City that a bubbly person might enjoy: ASTI - A city between Turin and Genoa that is famous for its sparkling wine

12. Breed of the Guinness World Records' longest cat: MAINE COON.

13. Charity concert, perhaps: FREE SHOW.

14. Hump day time: MIDWEEK - Geico has had some very clever commercials

21. Scoured: SPOTLESS.

25. W alternative: OMNI.

27. Singer with the children's album "Camp Lisa": LOEB.

28. Noses (out): EDGES.

30. Left a drag show?: PEELED OUT. 😀

31. Cut off: INTERCEPT - Do so at your own peril.

32. Solidify: CLOT.

33. Suggestion made with confidence: WHY NOT ME?

34. Grammy-winning album with the hit "Earfquake": IGOR - I can't post any part of this "song"

35. Surface for digital art: TOE NAIL 😀

39. Rational believers: DEISTS.

42. Like a hygge dwelling: HOMEY. Hygge- It derives from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term, hugga, meaning “to comfort” or “to console,” which is related to the English word “hug.”