L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Oct 10, 2023

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 Brian Callahan

Not Ready for Prime Time. The first word in each theme answer is an Ordinal, not a Prime number.

16-Across. Junior: THIRD YEAR.

22-Across. Age of Attila's reign: FIFTH CENTURY. Attila the Hun lived sometime around 400 to 450 CE. [Name # 1.]

34-Across. Like some Adventist Protestants: SEVENTH DAY.

48-Across. Almost too late: ELEVENTH HOUR.

And the clue and answer that ties the puzzle together:

58-Across. Popular television programming block, and an apt title for this puzzle: PRIME TIME. Prime Time for television watching is considered to be between 8:00 to 11:00 pm Eastern and Pacific Time / 7:00 to 10:00 Central/Mountain Time. Note, too, as Inanehiker pointed out, that the second word in each theme answer relates to Time.

A Prime Number is whole number greater than 1 that cannot be exactly divided by any whole number other than itself and 1. Three, Five, Seven and Eleven are all Prime Numbers. The numbers in each theme answer are actually Ordinal Numbers, not Prime Numbers. Ordinal numbers indicate the position of something. Thus, the unifier technically incorrect, although the base of the ordinal number are prime numbers.

Across:

1. Chess piece that's often the first to be played: PAWN.

5. [I'm shocked!]: GASP.

9. "I'm Every Woman" singer Chaka __: KHAN. Chaka Khan (née Yvette Marie Stevens; b. Mar. 23, 1953) is known as the Queen of Funk. [Name # 2.]

13. Gobi locale: ASIA. The Gobi Desert is the Fifth (a prime ordinal number) desert in the world. It is located in northern China and southern Mongolia. It's known for its dunes, mountains and rare animals such as snow leopards and Bactrian camels. In the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, the Khongoryn Els sand dunes are said to sing when the wind blows. The park also features the deep ice field of Yolyn Am canyon. Dinosaur fossils have been found at the red "Flaming Cliffs" of Bayanzag.

14. "__ girl!": ATTA.

15. Sweet sandwich: S'MORE. Common dessert around Girl Scout campfires.

18. "No kidding!": THAT SO?

19. Black and blue, say: BICOLOR. Strange clue and answer.

Black and Blue watch face

20. Top: SHIRT.

21. Stomach: GUT.

26. Question that introduces doubt: OR IS IT?

28. Writers McEwan and Fleming: IANs. Both of the Ians are British novelists. Ian McEwan (né Ian Russell McEwan; b. June 12, 1948) is probably best known for his 2001 novel Atonement. I read it, but have no desire to read any of his other books. Ian Fleming (né Ian Lancaster Fleming; b. May 28, 1908 ~ Aug. 12, 1964) is best known for being the creator of James Bond, but he also wrote the children's book Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. [Names # 3 and 4.]

29. Pollen gatherer: BEE.

30. Bagless vacuum pioneer: DYSON. The Dyson vacuum cleaner was invented by, and named after, Sir James Dyson (b. May 2, 1947). [Name # 5.]

31. Japanese box lunch: BENTO. Yummers!

33. Warning with a URL: NSFW. Not Suitable For Work appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle.

37. Ticklish Muppet: ELMO. This puppet is a character on Sesame Street. [Name # 6, fictional.]

40. Came to light: AROSE.

41. Changes direction: VEERS.

45. Campground inits.: KOA. KOA = Kampgrounds Of America.

46. Mashed avocado, for short: GUAC. Yummers! Hubby makes the best Guacamole.

47. Litter box user: PET CAT.

52. Lucy of "Charlie's Angels": LIU. Lucy Alexis Liu (b. Dec. 2, 1968) also starred in the television show Elementary. [Name # 7.]

53. Squander: WASTE.

54. Fingertip-to-fingertip measurement: ARM SPAN.

56. Chooses: ELECTS.

60. Mojave landforms: MESAs. Do you know the difference between a Plateau and a Mesa?

61. Fencing sword: ÉPÉE. A crossword staple.

62. North __ Sea: lake fed by the Syr Darya river: ARAL.

63. Like a cereal bar: OATY.

64. Opinion sampling: POLL.

65. Govt.-issued IDs: SSNs. As in Social Security Numbers.

Down:

1. Gentle touch: PAT.

2. San Francisco street crossing Haight: ASHBURY. The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco was the home of the 1960s counterculture movement.

3. Arm pain from playing too much Nintendo: WIIITIS. Wiiitis an actual medical condition and is the subject of several medical journals!

4. DEA agent: NARC.

5. Bookstore section with Jeanette Winterson and Andrew Sean Greer: GAY LIT. Jeanette Winterson (b. Jan. 21, 1960) is a British novelist and Andrew Sean Greer (b. Nov. 21, 1970) is an American novelist. [Names # 8 and 9.]

6. Tasted, quaintly: ATE OF.

7. Get-go: START.

8. Average: PAR.

9. Target rival: K-MART. I hardly thing that K-Mart is a serious rival of Target. According to an April 2022 article in Forbes, there were only 3 K-Marts in operation. [Name adjacent.]

10. Jacuzzis: HOT TUBS.

11. Talk Like a Pirate Day sounds: ARs. Talk Like a Pirate Day was exactly 2 weeks ago, on September 19.

12. New prefix: NEO-.

15. Lower legs: SHINS.

17. Get by: DO FINE.

18. Official approval: THE NOD.

20. Rip into: SCATHE.

21. Mars, for one: GOD. Roman mythology.

23. Clues: HINTS.

24. One who makes sure fighting between the Sharks and the Jets doesn't get out of hand?: REF. Not a reference to West Side Story, but a reference to the two professional National Hockey League teams ~ the San Jose Sharks and the Winnipeg Jets.

25. Archery wood: YEW.

27. Average: SO-SO.

31. Rip into: BERATE.

32. Cain's oldest son: ENOCH. A Biblical reference. You can read about him in Genesis 4:17-18. After that, he pretty much disappears. [Name # 10.]

33. Russian "no": NYET.

35. Crows about: VAUNTS. Not a Tuesday word.

36. Disinclined (to): AVERSE.

37. __ out a living: EKE.

38. "ur soooo funny!": LOL. Textspeak for Laughing Out Loud.

39. "I'm No Angel" star: MAE WEST. Mae West (née Mary Jane West; Aug. 17, 1893 ~ Nov. 22, 1980) was known for her bawdy double entendres. The video is a little hard to understand, but it has one of Mae's signature lines. [Name # 11.]

42. Oblong pastries: ECLAIRS. Yummers!

43. 1988 Best Picture: RAIN MAN. This movie starred Dustin Hoffman (né Dustin Lee Hoffman; b. Auug. 8, 1937) as Raymond "Rain Man" Babbitt and Tom Cruise (né Thomas Cruise Mapother, IV; b. July 3, 1962) as his younger brother, Charlie Babbitt.

44. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU. [Name # 12, fictional.]

46. Knight's tales: GESTS. Probably the most famous gest is the La Chanson de Roland, or Song of Roland, and epic poem written sometime between 1040 and 1115.

47. Wallop: PUMMEL.

49. Brief holiday?: VACAY.

50. Silent Marx brother: HARPO. Harpo Marx (né Adolph Marx; Nov. 23, 1888 ~ Sept. 28, 1964) was the second oldest of the five Marx Brothers. Although his given name was Adolph, he changed it to Arthur around 1911. [Name # 13.]