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

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Aug 5, 2024

Monday August 5, 2024 Shaun Phillips and Ben Wildman-Trobriner

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Today we are treated to another Olympic-themed puzzle. What a marvelous surprise! Theme:
USA  FTW!

Beginning with the four themed clues, we have:

16 Across. Performance in the center ring, e.g.: CIRCUS ACT.  
Three Ring Circus by Linda Mears

22 Across. Facetious "do not disturb" sign: GENIUS AT WORK.  This one was my favorite. 
some Wile E. for Charlie Echo

49 Across. Year-end feat for a star student: A-PLUS AVERAGE.  It took me a bit to parse the hyphen. I suppose that lowers my average.

60 Across. Leafy dish that may be topped with vegan ranch dressing: TOFU SALAD.  
recipe  (I would skip Step #2 to save time.)

The reveal is found in Row 8:

38 Across. Olympic delegation cheered on by the chant found in 16-, 22-, 49-, and 60-Across: TEAM USA.  

Bonus points to Shaun and Ben for finding phrases where USA spans two words.
Additional bonus points for including eleven Olympics-themed clues in the fill. I will note them as we go through the other clues. Just a warning, I am taking some liberties here.

Across:

1. Clock front: FACE.  Last Monday's reveal was ON THE CLOCK.

5. Genie's home: LAMP.

9. IRS form experts: CPAS.  "Internal Revenue Service" is abbreviated, so is "Certified Public Accoun
ts".

13. Arkin of "Argo": ALAN.  (1934 - 2023). He was in a lot of notable movies. I wonder if our constructors chose Argo because they advocate alliteration.  #ItTakesOneToKnowOne

14. Genesis twin: ESAU.  He was the elder twin to brother, Jacob.

15. __ kebab: SHISH.  
Its etymology is Turkish. The Western version is a dish of pieces of marinated meat and vegetables cooked and served on skewers. 

18. 1492 craft: PINTA.     and     
20 Across. Ocean crossed by 18-Across: ATLANTIC.  
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean Blue.  

19. Barcelona bar bites: TAPAS.  another amusing alliteration

25. Splashy suits?: SPEEDOS.  [Olympic nod #1. They are seen in the swimming and diving competitions.]

28. "One Kiss" singer __ Lipa: DUA.  If you saw Barbie, you saw Dua in a cameo role, playing Mermaid Barbie. Additionally, her song Dance the Night is on the movie's soundtrack.  

29. Dressed (in): CLAD.  In the above picture, Dua Lipa is CLAD in a mermaid costume.

30. Beaver structures: DAMS.  Beavers are considered a keystone species because they create habitat for so many other animals. This is wonderful time-lapse video showing the wildlife attracted to a pond made from a beaver's DAM. It is from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept. (5:41 min.) Look for the dates in the bottom, right-hand corner. It begins on 3/31/19 and goes through 4/20/20. At the end, there is a list of all the animals in order of appearance. Fittingly, the very first animal listed is Beaver Castor canadensis.   

33. Pride flag letters: LGBTQ.

37. "__ the land of the free ... ": O'ER.   [Olympic nod #2. You will hear it whenever the USA is awarded a gold medal.]

40. 38-Across gymnast Mary __ Retton: LOU.  [Olympic nod #3. She won five medals in gymnastics events at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angles.]

41. Hard-to-find guy: WALDO.  There are seven primary Where's Waldo? books and over 30 variations. The first Where's Wally? book was published in 1987 in the U.K.

43. Guitar clamp: CAPO.  Without a CAPO, the open strings on a guitar are E, A, D, G, B, and E. My teacher taught me the mnemonic Elephants And Donkeys Got Big Ears. Using a CAPO changes those notes, depending on where the CAPO is applied. It allows one to use familiar finger positions to play different chords.

44. 38-Across gymnast Lee: SUNI.  [Olympic nod #4.  Among her many achievements, Suni is on the 2024 USA Women's gold-medal winning gymnastics team.]

45. Dashboard stat: RPM.  "Statistic" is abbreviated, so is "Revolutions Per Minute".

47. Optometry exam: EYE TEST.  I had one the other day. I had to confess to my doctor that I was "meta-ing the test" because I could not tell if the second letter was an O or a D but I looked ahead and saw a for-sure D, so I knew the blurry letter must be an O.

54. Steakhouse order often served au jus: PRIME RIB.  

55. Old enough: OF AGE.  [Olympic nod #5. Have you noticed that the announcers tend to say, "At twenty years OF AGE" instead of "twenty years old"?]

59. __ of humor: SENSE.  


63. Cheered (on): EGGED.  I am fairly sure EGGing someone on is cheering them on to do a bad thing so no Olympic nod this time.
a crocodile hatching from and EGG
Its mother will stay nearby (to EGG it on?)
for several weeks to months.  more on crocodiles

64. Erelong: ANON.  Erelong is a hint that the answer is also archaic. Both are adverbs that mean "before long", "shortly", or "soon".  

65. "Blame It on the Bossa __": NOVA.  This song was a 1963 hit single for Eydie 
Gormé (1928-2013). (Mad Men fans might like this video.)

66. Flue grime: SOOT.  

67. U-shaped stringed instrument: LYRE.  

68. Checkout unit: ITEM.  
(Click to enlarge.)
Sometimes that is me on the right because I have not yet figured out how to
bag my own ITEMs and dig for my credit card at the same time.


Down:
1. Information that's easily verified: FACT.  

2. Shawkat of "Being the Ricardos": ALIA.  She was also in Arrested Development.  IMDb page

3. Gefilte fish fish: CARP.

4. Like some small pets: ENCAGED.  After being ENCAGED, the canary was ENrAGED so it ENgAGED an attorney.

5. "__ Misér
ables": LES.  [Olympic nod #6.  A French rendition of Do You Hear the People Sing? was in the Opening Ceremonies.]  

6. Fit __ fiddle: AS A.  Have you heard, "As fit as a brown trout"? Read more here.

7. Chinese region known as the "Las Vegas of Asia": MACAU.  Vegas vs. Macau

8. Final golf shots, usually: PUTTS.  [Olympic nod #7. "
Golf first became an Olympic sport during the second edition of the modern Games, Paris 1900. It returned for the the 1904 Games in St. Louis, but then took a 112-year hiatus before finally returning to the Olympic program for Rio 2016." Golf Olympic History]  

9. Chitchat: CHIN-WAG.  Merriam-Webster labels this word as "chiefly British" and "informal". It means "a friendly conversation."

10. Spotted bean or horse: PINTO.  In the NE, we have PINTO crossing PINTA, which crossed the ATLANTIC.  

11. Showing signs of life: ASTIR.

12. Rustic cabin: SHACK.  
The B-52's  ~  Love Shack  ~  1989

15. Pancake flipper: SPATULA.

17. Like items at a consignment store: USED.

21. Boy: LAD.

23. Lymph __: NODE.

24. Physicist Newton: ISAAC.  I remember liking this book. I should re-read it. 

25. Flat-bottomed barge: SCOW.

26. Heartfelt request: PLEA.

27. Actor James __ Jones: EARL.  [Olympic nod #8. James Earl Jones narrated introductions to the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics.]

31. Sport in octagonal enclosures, for short: MMA.  Mixed Martial Arts

32. Word before hero or power: SUPER.

34. Red, white, and __: 38-Across's colors: BLUE.  [Olympic nod #9. These are the colors of  the American flag.]
I read once that "red, white, & blue" sounds odd to French people. They say, "blue, white, & red." Fair enough.  

35. Cargo capacity units: TONS.

36. Bow out: QUIT.

38. Athlete in lane four of an Olympic swim trial, for one: TOP SEED.  [Olympic nod #10. An Olympic pool has eight lanes. Lane #4 is preferred because it has less wave resistance. The swimmer with the best time in the preliminary heats merits Lane#4 in the finals. Read more here.]

39. Protein-rich bean: SOYA.

42. Percussionist's kit: DRUMSET.  Putting kit in the clue waved us off the preferred DRUMkit.

44. No Doubt lead singer Gwen: STEFANI.  Before she was on The Voice, Gwen was Just a Girl (1995), singing in a band called No Doubt.  

46. Tarnish: MAR.  like a reputation

48. Self-images: EGOS.

49. Church recesses: APSES.  
The round part is an APSE as viewed from the outside.

50. Spaghetti sauce brand: PREGO.

51. Shoptalk: LINGO.  

52. All-important: VITAL.  
a sign displaying human VITAL signs
(Click to enlarge.)

53. Tree with black wood: EBONY.  

56. "Thanks __!": A LOT.

57. __ birth to: GAVE.

58. Cheese similar to Babybel snacks: EDAM.  
61. The "F" of FWIW: FOR.  FOR What It's Worth

62. French one: UNE.  [Olympic nod #11. France is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics.]

Here is the grid:  
 
I "picked" these Black-Eyed Susans for you.
Enjoy your day!