Monday May 19, 2025 Kathy Lowden

  

Happy Monday, everyone!  sumdaze here with a head scratcher from constructor Kathy Lowden. This is Kathy's fourth LAT puzzle and second one this month!

Theme:         

Use Your Noggin

   I also found this 1966 Soupy Sales song: 

The themed clues are:

16 Across. Picnic side that may contain chickpeas: BEAN SALAD.  

Chickpeas are often called "garbanzo beans" here on the West Coast
but we cannot have bean in the clue and the answer.

33 Across. Potluck dish often made with cream of mushroom soup: NOODLE CASSEROLE.  

This one also has chicken and peas.

40 Across. Tchaikovsky composition excerpted in Disney's "Fantasia": NUTCRACKER SUITE.  

Thank you, Kathy, for giving me a reason to revisit this beautiful film!

And the reveal:

61 Across. Advantage in a race, and what can be found in 16-, 33-, or 40-Across: HEAD START.

Here is an example of someone taking a HEAD START in a race:  

Oops!

Also... BEAN, NOODLE, and NUT are all slang terms meaning HEAD. Plus, they are at the START of each of the answers. The answers have a HEAD START!

After filling the first two themers I thought everything was going to be potluck food but NUTCRACKER SUITE told me otherwise. Maybe using three food nicknames for the human HEAD was purposeful or maybe it just turns out that food words do the job nicely. We might have had GRAPEFRUIT DIET or MELONY G. GRIFFITH (former MD State Senator).

It's time we made some headway on the remaining clues....

Across:

1. __ but not least: LAST.  This clue was first and foremost today.

5. Dino with short arms: T. REX.  Dinosaur is shortened, so is tyrannosaurus rex. Rex means "king" in Latin.  Why T. Rex has Tiny Arms

9. 12-Down, for one: CHEF.     and     12 Down. Food Network Emmy winner Bobby: FLAY.

13. Rights org.: ACLU.

14. Part in a film: ROLE.

15. "And never the twain __ meet": SHALL.  The Ballad of East and West is a poem by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published in 1889.  full poem

18. Inventor Nikola: TESLA.

19. Bus-catching spot: STATION.  

The Hollies   ~   Bus Stop   ~   (1966)

20. "__ away": "RuPaul's Drag Race" catchphrase: SASHAY.  

21. Misdeed: SIN.

22. __ and drabs: DRIBS.  DRIBS and drabs is an informal plural noun that means "small amounts that come or happen over a period of time".  

24. Tennis champion Swiatek: IGA.  I learned this one from Husker Gary. He said IGA is commonly clued this way or as the grocery stores. I think I remember seeing the IGA symbol on the paper bags at the grocery store back in the day. 

27. Hawaiian welcome garland: LEI.  

29. Clickable link: URL.  This is the URL of the page that explains how to post a comment on this blog:

https://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-post-comment.html

30. Gave a snack: FED.  

Bill Murray (well, his stunt double) FED a snack to an orca in
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2005).

37. Farmland measure: ACRE.

38. Tax-collecting agcy.: IRS.     and     62 Down. Syllable of disapproval: TSK.  

I wonder if this cartoonist knows that campaign contributions
are not tax deductible.

39. Landed: ALIT.

45. Clean air org.: EPA.  organization and Environmental Protection Agency

46. Tetris shape: ELL.  as in the letter L  

This example shows an orange ELL shape and
 a dark blue ELL shape in a Tetris game.

47. Tetley drink: TEA.  Tetley is a brand name of TEA.

48. Above, in odes: O'ER.  over

49. Low-power mode: SLEEP.  I liked this clueing angle. SLEEP mode on a computer is a power-saving state that stops all actions. Any open documents and applications are moved to its RAM.

51. Lead-in to gender: CIS-.  "Lead in" leads us to the prefix department.

53. One-on-one students: TUTEES.  This fill has some very useful letters. Last week we had 4-D. Solo scholar:  TUTEE.

56. In a state of shock: REELING.  This clue uses a verb definition of REEL meaning "to waver or fall back (as from a blow)".

60. Extraterrestrial: ALIEN.  

63. Unable to move: INERT.  While three-toed sloths are not completely INERT, they are pretty slow. They have the slowest digestion of any mammal. This 1:55 min. video explains why.  

64. Shrek, for one: OGRE.

65. Yard sale caveat: AS IS.

66. Boys: LADS.

67. A lot (of): TONS.

68. Major or general: RANK.  My friend went to the medical clinic on base and parked in front of a sign that said "General Parking". She thought it meant "parking for the general population", as in "not just for the pooh-bahs". The MPs were not amused.

Down:

1. Scientist's workplace: LAB.  

2. Gets a top score on: ACES.

3. Crosspiece on a bed frame: SLAT.

4. Albacore and yellowfin: TUNAS.

5. Apprentice: TRAINEE.  Which has higher status, a TRAINEE or a TUTEE?

6. Caramel-filled candy: ROLO.  

7. African antelope: ELAND.  ELANDs live in Africa. They can use their horns to bring food on branches within reach. They are both the largest and slowest antelopes in the world. (Don't tell the lions!) 

8. Crossed (out): X-ED.  

9. Game with rooks and pawns: CHESS.

10. Heavenly __ ice cream: HASH.  

It is a lot like rocky road but it has chocolate-covered almonds
instead of walnuts.

11. "__ Enchanted": Anne Hathaway film: ELLA.  

Anne was 22 years old in 2004 when this movie hit the theaters.

15. Horse's home: STABLE.  They are lucky to have a STABLE home life.

17. "Sparkling or __?": STILL.  A server at a restaurant might ask you this question if you request a glass of water. Sparkling water has added CO2 gas which gives it its fizz. 

Translate:  $6 per glass or free?  

20. Gentlemen: SIRS.

23. Baking potato: RUSSET.  

24. Silly: INANE.  CSO to inanehiker!

25. Coffee container at a drive-thru: GO-CUP.  

This???

26. Major artery: AORTA.

28. Eaves dripper: ICICLE.  I liked this one for its similarity to eavesdropper.

30. Shakespearean volume: FOLIO.  This should answer any questions you might have.

31. Top-notch: ELITE.  

32. Dissuade: DETER.

34. NYE month: DEC.  New Year's Eve and DECember

35. Noah's boat: ARK.  

36. French actress/model Ines: RAU.  

In 2017, Ines was Playboy's first transgender playmate.
 Apparently she is also an Iron Maiden fan.

41. Give in: RELENT.

42. Brews that may be pale: ALES.

43. Ebbs: RECEDES.

44. Mast attachments: SAILS.  Masts and SAILS were in the news this past weekend. I had the pleasure of going on board a similar Mexican tall ship when it visited Monterey 20 or so years ago. (Or maybe it was the same one???) I remember the sailors up on the masts when she left the wharf. It was a rousing experience. I am sad that such a positive gesture could end so tragically. (2:10 min.)  

49. Crystal ball consultors: SEERS.  

50. Marinara sauce brand: PREGO.

52. Indian lute: SITAR.

53. Long part of a kite: TAIL.  The TAIL is quite opposite of the HEAD.

54. Arm bone: ULNA.

55. Like a 1-1 score: TIED.

57. Work for: EARN.

58. Mars rover org.: NASA.  

Click to enlarge.

59. Big smile: GRIN.  

61. Like Scotch bonnet peppers: HOT.  I knew that the Scoville Scale tells us how HOT a pepper is but this week I learned what it actually measures. The short answer is it measures the number of sugar and water dilutions required to bring the capsaicinoids level down to that of a bell pepper. The long answer is found here.

SHU = Scoville Heat Units

Here is today's grid:  

That's all for today. It's time to make like a baby and head out....