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

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Mar 15, 2009

Thursday March 12, 2009 Donna Hoke Kahwaty / Rich NorrisLA Times

Theme: SPAGHETTI (57A: Noodles, and word that can precede the beginning of 17-, 28-, or 43-Across)

17A: Commute, stereotypically: STRAPHANG

28A:Four-walled play areas: SQUASH COURTS

43A: 19th century communications pioneer: WESTERN UNION

(Note from C.C. This post is blogged by our sweet Santa Argyle. Click here for the LA Times Thursday March 12, 2009 puzzle.)

You can look at 13D link to see SPAGHETTI STRAPS.

You may visit your local produce and pick up some SPAGHETTI SQUASH.

Rent some old Eastwood films to watch SPAGHETTI WESTERNS.

SPAGHETTI is in Aisle 7.

Across:

1A: Goes arduously (through): WADES.

6A: London hrs. GMT. Greenwich Mean Time.

9A: Clarifying words: ID EST. Latin ‘that is’, abbreviated i.e. Do you think asking for a hint it was Latin is too much to ask?

14A: Thomas associate: ALITO. Clarence Thomas has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991; Samuel Alito has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 2006. Associate was the clue that we were looking a judge and not a buddy of Thomas the Tank Engine.

15A: Rock’s — Speedwagon: REO. There were still some of these trucks around when I was a wee lad. Our crossword.corner anthem.

16A: Conical home: TEPEE.

17A: Commute, stereotypically: STRAPHANG. On a subway or bus, when you can’t find a seat, you stand and hang on to a strap. poster

19A: Line to the audience: ASIDE. My first thought was a line up the audience, aisle, instead of a line spoken directly to the audience.

20A: Cut canines: TEETHED.

21A: Joseph Kennedy’s middle daughter: EUNICE. Eunice Shriver, 87, was the fifth of nine children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy and she helped found the Special Olympics as a national event.

23A: Be off: ERR.

24A: Udder parts: TEATS. They're real and they're spectacular.

26A: Pale-green moth: LUNA

28A: Four-walled play areas: SQUASH COURTS. You might find some babies in these play areas.

31A: Sort: GROUP. Sort into groups or group into sorts, works either way.

33A: Frat house empties: KEGS. The kegger parties can get pretty rowdy, or so I’m told.

34A: Take in: EAT. It would have made more sense without the “IN”.

35A: Swedish coin: KRONA. Plural, kronor.

36A: Lith., formerly: SSR. Lithuania, along with Estonia and Latvia, were known as the Baltic States, on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. and were incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as constituent republics in 1940. They became independent again in 1991.

37A: A bridal veil may be attached to one: TIARA.

39A: Hotel addition?: IER. Hotelier is the manager or owner of a hotel or inn. The Cornell University School of Hotel Administration is the place to go if you want to become a hotelier.

40A: Send to the canvas: KAYO. The pronunciation of KO, which stands for Knock Out, from boxing.

42A: One of the Papas: DENNY. The Mamas and Papas L. to R., Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, John Phillips, and Michelle Phillips Creeque Alley with pics from the Monterey Pop Festival.

43A: 19th century communications pioneer: WESTERN UNION. Western Union was founded in Rochester, New York, in 1851 as The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. It changed its name to Western Union Telegraph Company in 1856 at the insistence of Ezra Cornell, one of the founders of Cornell University, to signify the joining of telegraph lines from coast to coast.

46A: Stubborn people won’t give one: INCH. Stubborn Britons won’t give a centimeter.

47A: Clan symbol: TOTEM. A large pole carved with family symbols. Beaver Clan totem.

48A: First name in design: LIZ. Liz Claiborne, with Art Ortenberg and Leonard Boxer, founded in 1976, Liz Claiborne Inc., a fashion company that sells directly to customers. In 1986, it was the first company founded by a woman to be listed in the Fortune 500. She was also the first designer to insist that her collection be placed together on the sales floor. Shoppers no longer went from shirt department to pant department to coordinate an outfit, revolutionizing the way department stores arranged clothing and created the role of fashion merchandising as we know it today.

51A: Minimalist composer Glass: PHILIP. Although his music is often, though controversially, described as minimalist, he describes himself instead as a composer of "music with repetitive structures". sample

53A: Closet article: GARMENT.

56A: Word with pipe or sign: PEACE.

59A: Sailing maneuvers: TACKS. The combination of the aerodynamic force from the sails and the hydrodynamic force from the underwater hull section allows motion in almost any direction, except straight into the wind. Or ask Jeannie.

60A: Big Apple subway div.: IRT. New York City’s Interborough Rapid Transit.

61A: Actress Georgia: ENGEL. Georgia Bright Engel, 60, is an American film and television actress probably best known for sweet Georgette Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She is the one on the right.

62A: Tray filler: ASHES. Ashtray; I was thinking ice cubes.

63A: Seek redress, in a way: SUE. The American way.

64A: Dig deeply?: ADORE. A devious clue.

Down:

1D: Useless venture: WASTE.

2D: Shorten or lengthen, say: ALTER.

3D: More desperate: DIRER. I can’t decide if it is pronounced ‘dire’ or ‘direrer’; I think I’d use more dire.

4D: Pennsylvanie, e.g.: ETAT. A little help that it is French would have been nice. Pennsylvania and state. Something like ‘Pennsylvanie to Tours tourists’.

5D: This year’s grad, two years ago: SOPH.

6D: Like a good egg?: GRADE A. What it looks like without its shell.

7D: “So many ___, so little time”: Mae West: MEN.

8D: As a team: TOGETHER.

9D: “Let’s call ___ evening” IT AN. We may be seeing more of these partial fills now.

10D: “I Spy” TV studio: DESILU. I Spy was a secret agent series, 1965 to 1968. Robert Culp and Bill Cosby were traveling as "tennis bums". In reality, they were spies. Desilu Productions was owned by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

11D: Gourmet: EPICUREAN. A follower of Epicurus (341-270 BC), a famous Greek philosopher, who has been regarded, erroneously, as teaching a doctrine of refined voluptuousness, esp. to the luxuries of the table.

12D: Like a couch potato: SEDENTARY. Accustomed to sitting a great deal and doing little exercise.

13D: Top with a slogan: TEE. This stumped me for quite awhile. Top – a garment worn on the upper torso, also known as a shirt; so a shirt with a slogan on it could be a T-shirt, also known as a TEE; which gives me an excuse to link a sexy picture. The slogan, in case you missed it, is "I'll be using theses to my advantage", and, yes, I know, technically, she isn't wearing a T-shirt. I DON"T CARE.

18D: Distressed: HET UP. Archaic

22D: Search and rescue org.: USCG. United States Coast Guard.

25D: Tries to date: ASKS OUT.

27D: The Charles’ dog: ASTA.

28D: Charlie, to Martin: SON. Martin Sheen is the father of Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. L. to R., Emilio, Charlie, and Martin.

29D: Tremble: QUAKE.

30D: Bone: Pref.: OSTEO.

31D: Stew ingredients: GREEN PEAS.

32D: Personality test creator: RORSCHACH. Is it a Rorschach test or a crossword I tied to do with a fountain pen?

35D: Smallest ratite bird: KIWI. A ratite is any of large, flightless birds. The Ostrich is the largest, next is the Emu, Cassowary, Rhea, and smallest, Kiwi, a chicken-sized bird.

36D: Overview: SYNOPSIS. Precis!

38D: Quaint quarters: INNS.

41D: Introductory humanities class: ART I. It would be ART IOI usually.

42D: Joltin’ Joe: DiMAG. Both are nicknames for Joe DiMaggio. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, DiMaggio was a 3-time MVP winner and 13-time All-Star (the only player to be selected for the All-Star Game in every season he played).

44A: Alan of “Growing Pains”: THICKE. Alan Thicke, 62, is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains.

45D: Prove false: NEGATE.

48D: Abandon one’s inhibitions: LET GO.

49D: Put to rest?: INTER. Rest In Peace

50D: Scrabble 10-pointer: Z TILE. A real Scrabblely answer

52D: Not as much: LESS.

54D: Ostrich relative: RHEA. A kiwi relative, too.

55D: Fix: MEND.

56D: Home-school link, briefly: PTA

58D: “Piece of the Rock” company, on the NYSE: PRU. “Piece of the Rock” is the slogan for Prudential Financial Inc. whose symbol on the New York Stock Exchange is PRU.

Argyle

Mar 14, 2009

Saturday March 14, 2009 Tom Pruce

Theme: None

Total blocks: 29

Total words: 68

I often have millet soup. It's gluten free and safe for me to eat. But the finger millet RAGI (11D: Asian cereal grass) is an exotic new grain to me. Have never seen ONAGERS (62D: Wild asses of Asia) in my life, after living in Asia for over 30 years. They are native to desert areas of Asia like Syria, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, etc.

A bit of Scottish flavor in this grid:

27A: Possess like a Scot: HAE. Guessed this one. Then I remembered I linked Burns "Some HAE meat and canna eat" poem sometime last year.

28A: Scot's negative: NAE

12D: Scott hero: IVANHOE. I wanted ROB ROY. Last time IVANHOE was clued as "Sir Walter Scott hero".

Not a difficult puzzle. Most of the short words are clued very straightforwardly. So that makes the long words obtainable. I filled in lots of blanks before I googled. I think I will struggle mightily with LA Times Saturday themeless. I was only able to fill in a few words last time when Argyle blogged Barry Silk's puzzle. Rich Norris (editor for LA Times crossword) has accepted a few of Barry's puzzles, and they are all themeless. So, be prepared for the struggle.

Oh by the way, Barry's puzzle appeared in NT Times today. Read this interesting interview (Spoiler alert: It contains some answers to the puzzle) conducted by Jim Horne, the official NY Times crossword blogger. "Dr. Pangram" sounds so APT. Want to see how Barry looks like?

Additionally, Mary Elson, the Manging Director for Tribune Media Service, told me yesterday that they have informed all the papers about the puzzle change. I don't know why our local papers have not relayed this important news to us the solvers.

For those who don't have access to TMS Sunday puzzle, have a look at LA Times March 12 Thursday puzzle, Argyle will blog it tomorrow morning.

Across:

1A: Primitive believer: ANIMIST. How is it different from Shamanism?

8A: Land named for Vespucci: AMERICA. The feminized Latin version of his given name Amerigo. Here is how AMERICA is called in Chinese, "the beautiful country".

15A: Puerto Rican boxer Hector: CAMACHO. Googled his name. He looks quite gentle. Is KO a boxing magazine?

17A: Oodles: UMPTEEN

16A: Exquisite: ELEGANT. Anna Wintour is icily ELEGANT.

23A: Byrnes or Roush: EDD. Have never heard of the baseball player EDD Rouse. A HOFer. Wikipedia says he "used a massive 48-ounce Louisville Slugger (the heaviest bat used in baseball)" and he claimed that he never broke a bat in his big league career. Is that a record?

24A: Surveying instrument: ALIDADE. I forgot. This instrument appeared in our puzzle 2 months ago.

29A: Having a harmful effect: DELETERIOUS. I know the meaning of this long word. But it sure was not a gimme to me.

31A: Greenstreet and Pollack: SYDNEYS. Did not know the British actor SYDNEY Greenstreet. He is the bad club owner Signor Ferrari in "Casablanca". The big guy on the right.

36A: Roman transportation: CHARIOT. Driven by two horses. I like this Roman CHARIOT, so finely sculpted.

44A: Explore ahead: RECONNOITER. This is another long word that I can't spell it out without surrounds.

47A: Mdse. identifier: UPC

49A: J. Hancocked?: SGD. My initial answer was OK'D. Look at his autograph. Very clear indeed. No wonder "John Hancock" became an synonym for signature.

53A: Two-headed: DUAL. I don't understand this clue. "Two-headed" conjured up a very unpleasant Greek mythical animal.

57A: Separate metals by melting: LIQUATE. New word to me. I was thinking of ABLATE, which actually means "to remove or dissipate by melting, vaporization, erosion".

Down:

1D: Tapering points: ACUMENS. Not a familiar definition to me.

2D: Date to celebrate: NAME DAY. Hey, Congress just passed a National Pi Day (March 14) resolution.

4D: Groening or Dillon: MATT. Knew MATT Dillon. Loved his "Crash". Have never heard of MATT Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons". Is his named pronounced the same as "groaning"?

5D: Hard water?: ICE

6D: "Cheers" co-star: SHELLEY LONG. Dennis pointed her name last time when I linked this picture.

7D: Uvula neighbors: TONSILS

8D: Film material: ACETATE. Would not have got this material without the crossing help.

10D: Dutch commune: EDE. No idea. This is the best map I could find. The temperature is in C of course.

13D: Horse-man?: CENTAUR. No idea. Holy moly. Horse-man indeed. Reminds me of the part bull, part man Minotaur. Both end in TAUR, prefix for "bull". Those Greek mythology figures can be very absurd.

24D: Operatic soprano Patti: ADELINA. Another google. Italian soprano. Died in 1919. She looks pretty. Verdi called her the greatest vocalist that he ever heard.

25D: Vivid verbal description: DELINEATIONS

37D: Solvent from petroleum: HEPTANE. Its molecule has seven carbon atoms, hence prefix HEPT. I got the answer from across fills.

38D: Stresses: ACCENTS

40D: The Moor of Venice: OTHELLO. His betrayer is IAGO.

41D: Make less severe: ASSUAGE

51D: DCCLI doubled: MDII. 751X2=1502

58D: Sine __ non: QUA. Can you make a sentence for me? I know the meaning of this Latin phrase. Have never used it in conversation or writing.

C.C.