Monday September 18, 2023 Dan Caprera

  

Hello Cornerites!

Constructor Dan Caprera is back with his 5th L.A. Times puzzle. He is known for fun and clever ideas. Let's see what he has dealt out for us today.

Theme:        Cut It Out  

There are four starred clues. Each has circles that draw attention to the first and last letters of the answers.

16 Across. *LGBT+ organization founded in 1990: QUEER NATION.  QUEEN

Queer Nation NY History page

24 Across. *"Chin up!": KEEP SMILING.  KING

36 Across. *Musical film about a convict who learns to play the guitar in prison: JAILHOUSE ROCK.  JACK  

Of course it was Elvis who played that convict in 1957. This was his third movie.

49 Across. *Completely unapproachable: AS COLD AS ICE.  ACE  

Foreigner sang about this in 1977 on their debut album.

Dan shows his hand with the unifier at

59 Across. Prepare a deck before dealing, and what the answers to the starred clues literally do: CUT THE CARDS.

The names of four playing cards (QUEEN, KING, JACK, and ACE) have been "cut" into two parts.

As they say, "Trust everybody but cut the cards." If you are not a card player, you might want to go here to learn about the how & why of cutting cards.

With that, we'll CUT to the chase and look at the other 73 clues....

Across:
1. Cheese __: Wisconsin snack: CURDS.  I tried these once when I visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Oregon. Did you know they squeak in your mouth? You can learn why they squeak and much, much more here.

6. October birthstone: OPAL.  

I looked at a few charts. There is some disagreement. Apparently this is not as standardized as I thought.
I suggest you buy the one you like best.

10. Solemn oath: VOW.  

13. Turner of "Game of Thrones": SOPHIE.  

This is SOPHIE and SOPHIE's GoT character, Sansa Stark.

14. Lymph __: immune system part: NODE.  You have lymph NODES throughout your body, including your neck, armpits, and groin. From the Mayo Clinic website:  They function as filters, trapping viruses, bacteria, and other causes of illness before they can infect other parts of your body.

15. Amazement: AWE.

18. Bumped into: MET.  "MET" can mean a first-time meeting or it can refer to an encounter with an established friend (both past-tense). Context is the key.

19. Bone parallel to the radius: ULNA.

20. __-mo replay: SLO.  

A Harlem Globetrotter gives a fan a SLO-mo high five. (47 sec.)

21. Open, as a keg: TAP.  and  17 Down. Keg filler: ALE.

23. Use an abacus, perhaps: ADD.  One year I taught a summer school elective course on using an abacus. My students and I became surprisingly proficient. It was fun plus it reinforced basic math concepts in a way that felt "new" so the students were not saying, "This again. Ugh."

29. Sample size?: TASTE.  Cute clue! Think 'Costco'.

31. The North Star: POLARIS.  Great fill, Dan!

NASA website's POLARIS page

32. Hi-__ graphics: RES.

34. Doja Cat genre: RAP.  

Doja Cat doing some gardening chores.

35. Mineral that adds shimmer to cosmetics: MICA.  According to the internet, there is controversy over this ingredient.

40. Glass unit: PANE.  Think windows, not martinis.

41. Name on a 1950s campaign button: IKE.  Since there are no abbreviations in the clue, we were not looking for initials.  

His made the list of Time Magazine's Top 10 Campaign Ads.

42. In a funk: SAD.  If you are in a funk, listening to this song might cheer you up!  

Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry (1976)

43. Part of a bedroom set: DRESSER.  furniture

45. Kidney-related: RENAL.  "RENAL" is an adjective whereas "kidney" is a noun.

news about pig kidney transplant

53. Egg cells: OVA.  "Cells" is plural so we needed the plural of "ovum".

You probably know that the largest ovum today would be an ostrich's egg, but did you know that they are the smallest eggs relative to the size of the adult bird?

54. MyHeritage sample: DNA.  I have not done this. Have you?

55. Bonfire residue: ASH.  

Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) Marshall goes for a walk (1 min.)

featuring Tom Hanks & Kim Cattrall

56. Sink annoyance: DRIP.

57. Sci-fi vehicle: UFO.  "Science Fiction" is abbreviated, so is Unidentified Flying Object.  

63. Clever remark: MOT.  as in "bon MOT"

64. Reflex hammer's target: KNEE.

65. Literary comparison: SIMILE.  See 49A.

66. Body spray with a Dark Temptation scent: AXE.  a FAV among constructors and teenage boys

67. Transgressions: SINS.

68. Fresh: SASSY.  

Down:
1. Might've: COULDA.  Coulda Shoulda Woulda

2. Radically changes: UPENDS.

3. Actress Perlman: RHEA.  She might best be known for her role on the TV show Cheers.

1 minute of some of Carla's best burns

4. N, NE, or NNE: DIR.  DIRection

5. __ of humor: SENSE.

6. Leading the pack: ON TOP.  

The Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las (1964)

7. Finger food at luaus: POI.  dig in

8. "Much __ About Nothing": ADO.  Shakespeare

9. Soup legume: LENTIL.  I eat a lot of LENTILs. Here's why:  

10. Like some "What We Do in the Shadows" characters: VAMPIRIC.  I am unfamiliar with the show but "shadows" and a couple of perps hinted that the answer would have something to do with vampires.

11. Have an open tab, say: OWE.  not an iPAD TABlet

12. Not just damp: WET.  

13. Crouch down: SQUAT.

22. Très chic: À LA MODE.  Def:  (adjective)  1. Fashionable, stylish. 2. topped with ice cream 

a fashionable amphibian

 24. Topple (over): KEEL.  To KEEL over is to turn or upset so as to bring the wrong side or part uppermost. I am picturing a boat with the KEEL facing upwards. I had not thought of it that way before. In Hawaii, the word for overturning an outrigger canoe is to "huli". Also, chicken cooked on a rotisserie is called "huli huli chicken". It's a fun connection.

Another definition is to fall as in a faint.

25. Hot springs: SPAS.   They rhyme with "ahs". Coincidence?

26. Sulks: MOPES.

27. "The Last of Us" actor Offerman: NICK.  You might remember him as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation. Or maybe you've read his book.  

NICK is unlikely to huli his canoe.

28. Agcy. managing federal real estate assets: GSA.  General Services Administration  gsa.gov
I think they are usually closed on Mondays.

30. Tests for fit: TRIES ON.  

33. __ away from: SHIED.

34. Actress McClanahan: RUE.

36. Pickle containers: JARS.  I like gherkins.

37. Often-amusing story: ANECDOTE.  

Sometimes this word is confused with "antidote".

38. Gumbo thickener: OKRA.

39. Hard to come by: RARE.   12 of the RAREst things on Earth (fixed) I have seen #3 at the Honolulu Zoo and I have grown #7 in my garden.

40. Tech replaced by smartphones: PDA.  Personal Digital Assistant

The Golden Age of PDAs was roughly 1992 to 2007.

44. Trousers: SLACKS.

46. Former "All Things Considered" host Michele: NORRIS.  ATC website

I recently read current host Mary Louise Kelly's book, It. Goes. So. Fast. It is mostly about work/life balance but she does tell a few stories about hosting this NPR program.

47. With zeal: AVIDLY.  a good thing

48. Run out, as insurance: LAPSE.  not a good thing

50. Fills fully: SATES.

51. "Kinda": -ISH.

52. Game with grandmasters: CHESS.  

56. River blockers: DAMS.  Here is a 2:30 min. video showing beavers building dams. So cute!!

57. Actress Thurman: UMA.  Here's UMA's dance scene with John Travolta in Pulp Fiction (1994). IMHO, few are in John Travolta's league when it comes to movie dance scenes...Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Urban Cowboy, Pulp Fiction, plus plus.

58. Crafty one: FOX.

60. Mono- kin: UNI-.  Both are prefixes indicating "one".

61. X, at times: TEN.  Roman numeral

The cost of joining the Roman Numeral Society is exactly $499. They wouldn't let me in because I did not have ID.

62. Spy-fi org.: CIA.  

This is the completed grid. I liked that there was a little 'meat' in the SE today.

Now it's time for me to cut out and let you do the talking!

 

 

Notes from C.C.:

I made today's Atlas Obscura "Get So Emotional" puzzle. Click here to solve.

It's edited by Samir Patel, the editor-in-chief of Atlas Obscura.