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

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Dec 3, 2010

Friday December 3, 2010 Pamela Amick Klawitter

Theme: No scotch, just add A RY(e). I am not good at naming these add on themes. By adding ARY to the end of the second word of a common phrase, a new and entirely different phrase emerges, with oodles of frivolity.

20A. Where a witch's influence ends?: SPELL BOUNDARY. Or is SPELLBOUND really one word? I like the imagery of a boundary on spells.

25A. Office employee to avoid?: DEADLY SECRETARY. Deadly secret. I am not really familiar with this as a phrase, though I know there is a movie, and the newspapers use it often, like when describing the Toyota cover-up.

47A. Shuttle evangelist?: SPACE MISSIONARY. Space mission. I think many of our televangelists would be better if sent off in a rocket ship, but that is just me.

53A. Bird in a landfill?: GARBAGE CANARY. Garbage can. My favorite, as it turns a can into a bird.

Well, it is your semi- recovered Lemonade here for your Friday entertainment. This is my first blogging of Ms. Klawitter, but we have had many of her puzzles this year, mostly on Sundays, but last month’s Wednesday effort with all the swapping and trading was fun.

Some really fun clues:

23A. River past Memphis: NILE. Ha ha, fooled you, Memphis used to be the capital of Egypt, before Cairo.

33A. Teen sensation?: ANGST. Great clue, man. For me it was ages 11 to 14.

9D. Treetop rocker: CRADLE. Oh. I LOVE this clue, they get you thinking about music, and rockers and then slip in my favorite lullaby, which was obviously written by someone who did not like kids. I mean what kid wants to hear about falling out the top of a tree?

40D. Item in a stirring picture?: SPOON. Another great clue, simple elegance..

On we go.

ACROSS:

1. Actor Gyllenhaal: JAKE. Did the controversial BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN with Heath Ledger, dated Reese Witherspoon among others, and his sister, Maggie appeared in the DARK KNIGHT which is the Batman movie where Heath Ledger was so fabulous as the Joker. Also, see below for more Batman stuff.

5. Big rolls: WADS. The online dictionary says this goes back to the US in 1778.

9. "Zorba the Greek" setting: CRETE.A wonderful, fun MOVIE .

14. Very top: APEX. Not to be confused with ACME, also four letters beginning with A.

15. Cartoon drooler: ODIE. Poor baby, he gets such bad press because of the CAT.

16. Invoice word: REMIT.

17. Downed shot: BELT. The first shout out to our shot downer, Tinbeni.

18. Eugene O'Neill's daughter: OONA. Also, married to Charlie Chaplin.

19. Lab flask contents, perhaps: ACIDS. Like my stomach tonight, ick.

24. Tim's "Tool Time" sidekick et al.: ALS. Ick, a gratuitous plural, when Lou Gherig’s disease could do it.

34. What a recent ex may need: TLC. Or recent eye surgery patients….

35. With 62-Down, call: SEE A, 62d. See 35-Across: BET. Poker rules, still.

36. Early 16th-century date: MDI.

37. "Also sprach Zarathustra" composer: STRAUSS. I am not the music expert, but is the music used for Space Odedsey:2001 ?

41. Shade on a beach: TAN. A wonderfully tricky clue, as I was trying to think of a three letter word for umbrella. I am a tan freak. We also have, 63A. Sunburn soothers: ALOES, to keep those tans safe.

42. Cookie recipe morsels: NUTS. Okay, I refuse to go back to that discussion, just believe me, there is no gravitational issue.

44. Fitting: APT.

45. Phoenician dialect: PUNIC. Well, while we may not know the clue directly, most of us have been taught about the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage, and the famous pictures of Hannibal crossing the Alps on elephants to attack Rome from the north. Of course, having a son getting his PhD in Roman archaeology may have made this a touch easier for me.

51. Part of a roadie's load: AMP. Okay, here is where I tell my tales of going on the road with bands I represented, traveling by bus, eh, maybe later.

52. __ bomb: ATOM. Well BOOM! BAM!(Forgive me Emeril and BATMAN).

59. Actress Thomas who is now St. Jude's National Outreach Director: MARLO. Danny’s daughter, and the star of That Girl .

60. For all of us: OURS.

61. Certain line crosser: SCAB. Unions were very serious when I was growing up, and while they did much good in the 40’s and 50’s, eventually they became tools of bad people and did much to ruin American Industry.

64. Actor Baldwin: ALEC. My favorite of the brothers.

65. Kate __, a.k.a. Batwoman: KANE. This was very difficult for me, as I never knew of the 2006 change to BATWOMAN who is no longer Kathy Kane, but is a Jewish lesbian! In the continuing saga of clues relating to my life, I collected comic books while in law school and for years after, and had my own store in Gainesville until I had to move to South Florida for a previous eye operation.

66. Air ducts: VENTS.

67. "There you have it!": TA DA. The word of the whole corner!

68. USMC rank: SSGT. They have a lot more SERGEANTS than I knew. Dennis, was this just for you?

DOWN:

1. Setup punch: JAB.

2. Fossey focus: APES. Dian who lived among GORILLAS .

3. Source of the food thickener alginate: KELP. No clue, but with Jake being easy, so was this.

4. Lengthens: EXTENDS. Okay, Lois and Carol and ladies, I know where this one fits in your memory banks.

5. Wild associate?: WOOLLY. Don’t know why but this reminded me of this classic SONG .

6. Sun-dried structures: ADOBES. Unlike the tomatoes…

7. Flintstones' Snorkasaurus: DINO. Their pet; very cute.

8. Linebacker Junior who played in 12 consecutive Pro Bowls: SEAU. He played many years in San Diego, came to Miami for a couple of years and then EXTENDED his career with the Patriots. Sadly, I think he has retirement adjustment PROBLEMS .

10. Changes the actor: RECASTS, and the similar, 31D. Televise again: REAIR. REGURGITATE?

11. Kuwaiti VIP: EMIR.

12. Unlike folks on "Hoarders": TIDY. I have never and never will watch this “reality” show from A&E (Arts? Entertainment?) which exploits the sad life of mentally ill people.

13. Saturn drivers?: ETS. Cute, but drivers?

21. Light melodies: LILTS. Okay ladies, help me here, because this is all I thought of from my YOUTH , am I the only one?

22. Some traffic monitors: NARCS. We had this in a puzzle I blogged recently.

25. Condemns: DAMNS. Most famous ONE . Which leads naturally, even if spelling does not work, to 43D. Like an infamous "A": SCARLET.

26. Become, finally: END UP.

27. Antacid target: AGITA. Fascinated that this ITALIAN SLANG would be an acceptable term.

28. Texas and Tennessee, in Toulouse: ETATS. Well, this is silly, since there are no states in Toulouse named Texas, why not “to Toulouse” to show it is a French answer?

29. Gulager of "The Virginian": CLU. He is still working, now in horror movies at 82 ACTOR and has since 1956, when I first began watching TV; always sounded like he swallowed something wrong.

30. Insurance company named for a mountain: AETNA. A Hartford Connecticut mainstay, the company not the mountain.

32. "The Waltons" handyman Tucker: YANCY. Another one I did not know, but it is Friday. He was played by ROBERT DONNER, a weird looking dude.

38. City on its own bay: TAMPA. Okay Tin man who did you pay today?

39. Sch. in Troy, NY: RPI. And another Spitzboov reference?

46. Exposes: UNMASKS.

48. Make stand out: EMBOSS. Another opportunity ladies?

49. Divine: SACRED.

50. Mississippi source: ITASCA. We have had this river in Illinois, trying to trick us before.

53. 8 on the Beaufort scale: GALE. My first love was GALE, and I thought she was 10.

54. Elvis __ Presley: ARON. My oldest boy's name, spelled wrong,

55. Billy __: GOAT. For you again Tinbeni, I wanted MARTIN.

56. "The Long, Hot Summer" vixen __ Varner: EULA. We just had this back in an October offering from Ed Sessa.

57. Some HDTVs: RCAS.

58. Bright side?: YANG. Please somebody help, I know YIN, and I know YANG represents the bright colors in Feng Shui, so I guess this is what it must mean, but honestly I never saw the clue and would never put YANG in there except the corner was already filled. (From C.C.: Yang is literally "bright" in Chinese. Yin means "shady".)

59. Dallas NBAer: MAV.

Answer grid.

Well peoples, it is good to be at least partially back; enjoy the day and week end; bruised but not broken, Lemonade 714.

Dec 2, 2010

Thursday December 2, 2010 Pancho Harrison

Theme: Wacky Business Slogans. In each theme answer (all phrasal verbs in *ing + adv format), a pun is made about a type of business or job activity. No unifier clue.

17. "So I hear your job as exercise class instructor is __": WORKING OUT.

29. "So I hear your job as a burlesque dancer is __": TAKING OFF.

46. "So I hear your trash removal business is __": PICKING UP.

62. "So I hear your scuba diving business is __": GOING UNDER.

This was kind of fun. I couldn't find one, but there must be a name for these, right? I hear running your muffler business is exhausting. I hear the awning business is kind of shady. I hear the window business is kind of a pain. I hear that sod farm salesmen are easy to get a lawn with.

And the rest:

ACROSS:

1. Thread bearer: SPOOL.

6. Classic name in shoes: MCAN. Thom. Now owned by CVS/Caremark but sold at Kmart (which is owned by Sears) and Wal-mart.

10. Dressed: CLAD. Past participle of clothe.

14. Aquarium concern: ALGAE.

15. Fabled craft: ARGO. Jason and the Argonauts.

16. Old: YORE. Related word: year.

19. Word with belly or blast: BEER. Cerveza, (spanish for beer), sounds so much more refined, doesn't it?

20. "Forget it, comrade!": NYET.

21. Ancient Andean: INCA. From Quechea: "lord, king." Technically, only of the high Inca, but it was used widely for "man of royal blood."

22. Davenport shopper, probably: IOWAN. Right across the river from Moline, Illinois. There are also cities named "Couch" in TX, FL, WV, and MO.

23. Artist Magritte: RENE. Surrealist.

25. Branch honcho: Abbr.: MGR. Manager, as in a bank.

26. Pops (out): FLIES. Baseball?

35. Choice: SELECT. Used in the sense of "quality" (select cuts of meat), not the sense of "option" as it appears, because that would have to be "selection".

37. Big, outmoded piece of equipment: DINOSAUR.

38. Paris pronoun: TOI. You.

39. Accountant, at times: AUDITOR. From Latin, "a hearer", related to audience, "a hearing". Auditing was formerly done and vouched for orally.

41. Airport safety org.: TSA. Transportation Security Administration.

42. Carousing: ON A SPREE. Likely from French esprit, lively.

44. Shiny fabric: SATEEN.

48. Revenge seekers in a 1984 film: NERDS.

49. Dollar sign shape: ESS.

50. Baltic resident: LETT. Of Latvia. The other Baltic states are Lithuania and Estonia.

52. Early afternoon hr.: ONE PM.

55. Disease attacker: DRUG.

57. Helps out: AIDS.

61. Demagogue's delivery: RANT.

64. Wine region south of the Matterhorn: ASTI.

65. "Got it, Daddy-o!": I DIG. Peter, Paul, and Mary.

66. Party person: GUEST.

67. DEA agent: NARC. Because NARCO was too long an abbreviation for narcotics agent.

68. Frosty's button: NOSE. With a corncob pipe and a button nose...

69. Honshu city: OSAKA.

DOWN:

1. Felled, in a way: SAWN.

2. Queen sacrifice in chess, e.g.: PLOY.

3. Shrek or Fiona: OGRE.

4. Yellow ribbon site of song: OAK TREE. Obligatory link.

5. Island welcome: LEI.

6. Lodestone: MAGNET. From Greek Magnes lithos (Magnesian stone). Magnesia, region of Thessaly where magnetized ore was obtained.

7. Hook nemesis, for short: CROC. Characters in Peter Pan.

8. Monterrey water: AGUA. Spanish.

9. "__ a chance!": NOT.

10. Bionic beings: CYBORGS. Portmanteau of "cybernetic organism" could explain how this is possible.

11. MGM co-founder: LOEW. Marcus. On November 3, 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

12. Field of expertise: AREA.

13. "Coming Home" actor: DERN. Bruce. OK, now I recognize who this is.... He always seemed to play the nut-job character.

18. "Delta of Venus" author: NIN. Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell

22. "Everybody is __, only on different subjects": Will Rogers: IGNORANT. I never read a Will Rogers quote I didn't like.

24. Watching "Avatar," say: ESCAPISM. The blue guy (Sam Worthington) without makeup.

25. Cretan king of myth: MINOS.

26. SLR setting: F-STOP. Single Lens Reflex (camera). The F-number indicates "speed". The larger the number, the longer you need for exposure. An F number twice as large as another one takes four times as long to get enough light.

27. Téa of "Spanglish": LEONI.

28. Of a pelvic bone: ILIAC.

30. Gascony good-bye: ADIEU. Gascony, France.

31. Caboodle partner: KIT. The whole thing, tools and possessions. Likely why we have the word "oodles".

32. Lash LaRue film, e.g.: OATER. Alfred (Lash) Larue, a Western film star in the 40s and 50s. He was very skilled with a bull whip, thus "Lash".

33. Joined by melting: FUSED. Parts is parts, Wendy's commercial. Fused at about :23 in.

34. Artist __ Hals: FRANS. Dutch Golden Age painter, mostly portraits.

36. Parts of directions: TURNS. Google maps makes a funny at the driving directions for step 17 of this route. You need to scroll down to see it.

40. MBA, for one: DEG. Master of Business degree.

43. One looking askance: SKEPTIC. "Skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found." [Miguel de Unamuno, "Essays and Soliloquies," 1924]

45. Lockjaw: TETANUS. More properly, trismus, which can be caused by tetanus, but also by MDMA, Meth, Ritalin, radiation therapy, infection, anesthesia, needle prick, several other diseases and drugs.

47. Drop dramatically: PLUNGE. Like a neckline.

51. Breakfast fare: EGG. Only humans habitually eat specifically designated foods at different times of the day.

52. Algerian port: ORAN. Across from Spain.

53. Apollo 13 gp.: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

54. __'acte: ENTR. Between the acts, as during a play. Could be an intermission or just an interlude piece of music.

55. Bygone bird: DODO. Another shout-out to our bloggers?

56. Teddy Roosevelt biographer: RIIS. Jacob. A Danish American social reformer, muckraking journalist, and documentary photographer. Was dedicated to helping the impoverished in NY City.

58. "I have an __!": IDEA.

59. Student's spot: DESK.

60. Arg. miss: SRTA. Argentina, senorita.

62. Cry while showing one's cards: GIN. Rummy.

63. Actor Tognazzi: UGO. I'm not sure a crossword answer gets any more obscure than this, an Italian actor. The only movie I recognized was La cage aux folles, but he was in a lot of films.

Answer Grid.

Al