Monday September 9, 2024 Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Today we have DOUBLE the fun from collaborators Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas. This is their fourth LA Times puzzle.

Theme:  

Each of the starred clues consists of two words such that the word PARK can be placed after each word to give a new concept. One might say the result is a DOUBLE PARK. Let's take a look:

16 Across. *DieHard product: CAR BATTERY.  

DieHard is a CAR BATTERY brand, not to be confused with the 1988 Bruce Willis film, Die Hard.
CAR PARK is Britspeak for "parking lot".
BATTERY PARK ( a.k.a. "The Battery") is a 25-acre public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City. It faces New York Harbor.

23 Across. *Presence in a pet-friendly workplace: OFFICE DOG.  

On the left is an OFFICE DOG hard at work.
An OFFICE PARK is an area where a number of office buildings are built together on landscaped grounds.
On the right is my dog, Meadow, exploring a DOG PARK when we lived in Colorado.

32 Across. *Los Angeles neighborhood in many John Singleton films: SOUTH CENTRAL.

Unknown to me but a few perps made it easily sussable. This is JS's IMDb page. We have some Cornerites from L.A. Perhaps they can tell us some of the area's better-known landmarks.  

On the left is a map of SOUTH CENTRAL Los Angeles.
SOUTH PARK is an animated TV show that first aired in 1997. It is still running and has been renewed through 2027.
New York's CENTRAL PARK is a world-famous public park, created in 1858 to address the recreational needs of a rapidly growing city. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

44 Across. *University in Muncie, Indiana: BALL STATE.

Again, not on my RADAR; but once I clocked the theme, it fell into place.  

BALL STATE University was founded in 1918.
A BALLPARK is a stadium where ball games are played. It is also a range given in an estimate.
The photo on the left is of Tahquamenon Falls STATE PARK, located in YooperPhil's neck of the woods.

Here is the unifier:

52. Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: DOUBLE-PARK.  This means to park one's vehicle beside a row of vehicles already parked parallel to the curb. The FedEx truck is DOUBLE-PARKed in the picture below.  

Here are the remaining clues:

Across:

1. Roof spots for holiday lights: EAVES.  Martha May Who (Christine Baranski) has the perfect tool for this job. (2 min.)  

How the Grinch Stole Christmas  (2000)

BTW, that is Molly Shannon playing Betty Lou Who.

6. Trims, as grass: MOWS.

10. Highs: UPS.  think "moods"

13. Swindler's accomplice: SHILL.  This is a person who acts as a decoy for a gambler or pitchman so bystanders (prey) are more apt to believe the con.

14. Milky birthstone: OPAL.

15. "The baby is sleeping!": SHH....

18. __ culpa: MEA.  Forgive me if I am repeating myself. "MEA culpa" is a noun which comes to us from Latin meaning, "through my fault".

19. Sinks, as an easy putt: TAPS IN.  

I think this usually refers to a golf ball -- not an alligator!

20. Vampire tooth: FANG.  Here's a quick clip of Vincent Price with Kermit the Frog.  

21. Debtor's letters: IOU.

26. Muzzles: SNOUTS.

29. Learning institution: ACADEMY.

30. Soccer superstar Lionel: MESSI.  Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (b. June 24, 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.  

31. Drippy ice cream choice: CONE.     and     43 Across. Thawed: MELTED.  

37. Et __: and others: ALIA.  The Latin phrase, et alia means "and others".  I was surprised to read Merriam-Webster's entry saying its first known use in English was in 1953.

38. Exposed: BARED.  

40. Lavish: OPULENT.  This would not be a good adjective to describe 20-Down. On the other hand, it fits another crossword favorite, Art Deco.  

46. Nickname of the 34th president: IKE.     and     39 Down. Initials of the 34th president: DDE.

47. Disability Pride Month: JULY.  

48. Keyboard instruments: PIANOS.

51. Stately tree: ELM.

56. Sch. whose alumni include Anthony Bourdain and Roy Choi: CIA.  Both are chefs who attended the Culinary Institute of America. Click here to see about making a reservation at a CIA restaurant.

57. Competent: ABLE.

58. Muppet who sings to his rubber duckie: ERNIE.

59. Full complement of players, in men's lacrosse: TEN.  ESP. I am at a loss when it comes to lacrosse. 😜 I did not even know the clue was asking for a number.

60. Kitchen protector: MITT.  

61. High-end hair dryer manufacturer: DYSON.  "High-end" indeed. Their supersonic hair dryers run from $430 to $600.

Down:

1. Key for exiting full-screen mode: ESC.

2. "I've got it!": AHA.

3. Accomplished musician: VIRTUOSO.     and     11 Down. Young sensation: PHENOM.

A VIRTUOSO excels at the technique of an art. A PHENOM is a young person of phenomenal ability or promise. Mozart was both. Here is Rondo Alla Turca (Turkish March) played on a 48-Across.  

4. "Zootopia" voice actor Idris: ELBA.  He voiced Chief Bogo in this 2016 animated film.

Hi Lucina!

5. High-five sound: SLAP.  

Maverick and Goose  ~  Top Gun ~  1986

6. Repeating design: MOTIF.  This explains it better than I can.

7. Like some sandwiches: OPEN FACE.  They do not have tops. Use your napkin.

8. Two-person card game: WAR.

9. Probably plotting: SLY.  cute

10. Sporting a union label, perhaps: U.S. MADE.  Did anyone else think of these TV commercials from the late 70s/early80s ?

12. Like the coats of most sheepdogs: SHAGGY.  

Underneath all that hair, Old English Sheepdogs weigh 60-100 lbs.

17. General __ chicken: TSOS.  I think my neighbor might be cooking this tonight. Something smells good!

20. Architectural style that flourished after the American Revolution: FEDERAL.  I am linking an article from This Old House plus information on the Hamilton Grange National Monument (as in "Alexander Hamilton").  

Geometrical designs are a common 6-Down of the FEDERAL style.

21. Ideological suffix: -ISM.

22. Singles: ONES.  dollars

24. Symbol: ICON.

25. "No way": CAN'T BE.  Or can it?

27. Most of the time: USUALLY.  

28. Filmography list: TITLES.  You can find these on the IMDb website.

33. Clue: HINT.  I had the "H" so I entered "Help" which did not help with the SW (my trickiest area today).

34. Boulder-hurling weapon: CATAPULT.  Poor Wile E.! He forgot to read the fine print. (2:30 min.)

35. Craftspeople: ARTISANS.  You can find these on the Etsy website.

36. Chive kin: LEEK.  I like to put cooked LEEKs on my pizza.

40. Item: OBJECT.

41. Rocky's best friend in the "Rocky" films: PAULIE.  "Adrian" also has six letters. Paulie Pennino was Adrian's brother.   

this Rocky's friend     ...     not     that Rocky's friend

42. Comedian Tracey: ULLMAN.  Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. She starred in The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-90) and, more recently, as Irma Kostroski on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Perhaps you have heard that The Simpsons famously first appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. 

43. Supper, e.g.: MEAL.

45. Neighbor of Nepal: TIBET.  

49. Necessity: NEED.  "The mother of invention" did not fit.

50. Nashville's Grand Ole __: OPRY.

52. Beaver creation: DAM.

53. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.  Star Wars

54. __ de Janeiro: RIO.  Oklahoma City, U.S.A. is a sister city to Rio de Janeiro.  I wonder what they have in common.

55. "Jeopardy!" host Jennings: KEN.  Both Ken and Idris were in yesterday's puzzle.

CSO to Tehachapi Ken, who I hope is on the mend! 

Feel free to do a double take on today's grid:

Did you enjoy today's walk in the PARK puzzle? Thanks to Sala and Emily for this MEMORIAL THEME!