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

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Mar 20, 2013

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 Amy Johnson

Theme: Gangster's Gotchas: Four tools in the grab-bag of crime-fighting.

20A. Shot from the side: PROFILE PICTURE. I looked for a picture of Barbra Streisand to illustrate the point, but instead found this rather neat example:


34A. End of Ali's memorable boast: STING LIKE A BEE. Not Ali MacGraw's "Love means never having to sting like a bee"? - no, wait.

42A. Diner’s cell app: TIP CALCULATOR. Please tell me no-one uses this app. I once had lunch with a business associate who got a tip card out of his wallet to calculate the tip on a $99 check.

56A. Makeshift radio antenna: WIRE COAT-HANGER. Almost every car in the UK had one of these when I was growing up. The "disaffected youth" had a habit of breaking off the factory-installed telescopic ones. People got creative with them:


and the unifier:

71A. Agts. who might use the starts of 20-, 34-, 42- and 56-Across: G-MEN. George "Machine Gun" Kelly's nemeses according to the official history of the F.B.I.

Hi everyone! Steve here with Wednesday's offering from Amy Johnson. I liked the theme and I found some fresh cluing and fill. A couple of long downs too, so a lot to like. I think I had just one grumble or gripe and that was it. Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Beavers’ projects: DAMS

5. Eat on the run, as a sandwich: GRAB

9. Dainty drinks: SIPS

13. Thick-furred dog: SPITZ. This one is called Boov:


15. Opera that premiered in Cairo in 1871: AIDA

16. Make ribbing with needles: KNIT. I tried to learn to knit once to make a beanie to ski in. After six months I gave up and bought one.

17. Ski lodge mugful: COCOA. Not my first thought here - Glühwein, Vin chaud, Mulled wine, Hot Toddy. After a day out there I need warming up with something stronger than cocoa!

18. Febreze target: ODOR

19. Wine bucket, e.g.: ICER

23. Bygone full-size Ford: LTD. Pronounced "El-Tee-Dee" and still going strong in some places:


24. Federal air marshals’ org.: T.S.A. I'm very familiar with the Transportation Safety Administration who have limited the size and quantity of items which may be carried through the security checkpoint. For further information, I can contact my carrier or the nearest T.S.A official. Ya think I go through airports much?

25. __ Nashville: country music label: MCA

26. Cosmetics mogul Mary Kay: ASH. I had no idea this was her full name.

29. Physics particles: IONS

32. Celeb with all the answers: TREBEK. I read today that Alex will probably not sign a new "Jeopardy" host contract when his current one expires next year, and Matt Lauer, Anderson Cooper and Dan Patrick are all being mentioned as possible replacements.

37. Green Hornet’s driver: KATO

38. Habit wearer: NUN

39. Sack lead-in: KNAP

47. Like cheerleaders: RAH-RAH

49. __ majesty: high treason: LESE. I'd seen this phrase before but I don't think I knew the definition. Apparently from the Latin and translated as "Injured Majesty". Nice to know!

50. Scheming: SLY. I like that a sly plan could be a scheming scheme.

51. Legal ending: -ESE

52. Lamb’s pop: RAM

54. Billy’s bleat: MAA. Of course, I can always tell if it's a goat or a sheep behind me. Sheep go BAA.

62. Valentine’s Day deity: AMOR. Now this one I have a little problem with. I'd call the deity the god or goddess of love, not the love itself. Cupid or Venus would be the dio or dea dell'amore? What think ye?

63. “Modelland” author Banks: TYRA

64. Scrabble’s blank pair: TILES. Not my Scrabble Blank Stare when I'm looking at a rack of ZXTKQDJ

66. Respond to hilarity: ROAR

67. “A likely story”: I BET

68. Bridge bid, briefly: ONE NO. Slight misstep here when I filled in ONE NT for those No Trumps.

69. Netflix rentals: DVDs These will be joining VHS tapes as "Bygone Rentals" before very long when we're all beaming digital movies directly into our brains, or at least into our Google Glasses.

70. So-so grades: CEEs It's relative. I was delighted when I got my first C in math when I'd been mired in the D-territory for so long I despaired I'd ever get out.

Down:

1. Gallantry-in-combat mil. award: D.S.C. The Distinguished Service Cross.


2. Per: A POP. I like this!

3. Very small: Pref.: MICR. Hmmm. Not convinced. I've been trying to think of something very small where the prefix wasn't actually MICRO and I've drawn a blank.

4. Island seating: STOOL. Kitchen island aha! I was wondering why stools were peculiar to maritime islands.

5. Brit’s joint: GAOL. Oscar Wilde wrote a fine poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" when he was incarcerated there. The nature of the conviction against him forced the publication of the work under the pseudonym "C.3.3" which stood for Cell block C, Landing 3, Cell 3.

6. Hitchhiker’s hope: RIDE

7. Get a pound pooch, say: ADOPT

8. Coffeehouse specialist: BARISTA. A few years ago we'd all have been scratching our heads "wha'?". Now it goes straight in.

9. Satirical miniature: SKIT

10. Officeholders: INCUMBENTS. I was on the filing cabinets or paper trays track for a while.

11. Fillmore’s successor: PIERCE. Franklin following Fillmore; POTUS numbers 13 and 14 respectively.

12. Bolt in the buff: STREAK. Fun clue.

14. Full-figured: ZAFTIG. More learning for me today. I must have seen the word at some time because I did recognize it, but I sure had some non-PC ideas when I had -A--IG. "DAM BIG" was the least offensive.

21. Superstar search show, to fans: IDOL. Not an American Idol fan, I don't think I've ever seen an episode in it's entirety.

22. Atkins no-no: CARB. Funny how some eating plans work for some and not for others. Probably 50% of my diet are carbohydrates.

26. Pose: ASK

27. RR stop: STA

28. “Get lost”: HIT THE ROAD. I think only people called Jack can be told to hit the road.

30. Simone of jazz: NINA.  And a perfect excuse to hear the wonderful voice of the lovely Nina Simone

31. Hard head?: SKULL

33. “__ mouse!” EEK! A I know some purists might not like this partial, but I did for some reason.

35. Bleak film genre: NOIR.

36. Suffix with differ or defer: ENCE

40. Pioneering ISP: AOL.

41. Meddle: PRY

43. Jardin du Luxembourg, par exemple: PARC. A big park in Paris. My favorite is the Parc des Princes, the national soccer and rugby stadium. The landscaping is a little different.

44. Utterly confused: CHAOTIC

45. West Point inits.: U.S.M.A. The United States Military Academy. Looks like a nice, tranquil place to complete your Bachelor's degree and I'm sure the food is good.


46. Primitive shelter: LEAN-TO

47. Wanted poster offer: REWARD

48. “Foundation” author: ASIMOV. I had the "S" and the "V" and I'd struggle to think of any other author that would fit

53. “It could happen”: MAYBE

55. Gerontologist’s concern: AGING

57. Gets the wrong total, say: ERR. And the erring never seems to be in your favor when it happens.

58. Branch locale: TREE

59. Small business owner’s figurative array: HATS. Is there a theoretical maximum to the number of hats one can wear?

60. Ne or Na: ELEM. The elements Neon and Sodium. New game - best word you can make with two elements and a conjunction? Mine's PANDAS for phosporus AND arsenic

61. Artist Magritte: RENE

65. George W., to George H.W.: SON. Four presidents in today's puzzle.

I discovered the phrase "Post Turtle" last week and I'm still laughing about it. I'll leave it at that in case you think I'm implying that one of our 11D or 65D gentlemen prompted me to mention it. See you next time!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear Spitzboov (Al), who served in the Navy in the late 50s. He also  served in the Navy Reserve for 21 years. When he retired at age 60, Al was a Commander. Now you know his love for the Navy! Al made it possible that Boomer and I have the best flag in the neighborhood.

Spitzboov & his lovely wife Betty, US Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT,
August 2012
 
2) Argyle  commented "Oh-oh, one of those words" on yesterday's entry AREEL (54A. Spinning dizzily). I received this email from Don in California. He said:

"I do the LA puzzle every weekday (too "crazy-hard" on the weekend!). I'm a casual reader of your blog who enjoys your daily write-ups and I don't want to post anything. I was wondering what you think of, or how you deal with, puzzles that contain "words" that don't appear to be real words like "AREEL" and are not found in the dictionary. Isn't there some sort of rule that they need to be in the dictionary? It's bad enough with all of the "sayings" that appear constantly like "NODUH".


I did not find AREEL in my Webster's College dictionary, or any online dictionary. But I remember once complaining about ALOP, then someone found ALOP in a dictionary. I'd like to hear your thoughts on Don's email. What words/abbrs do you hate to see in a crossword grid?


Mar 19, 2013

Tuesday, March 19, 2013 Pancho Harrison

 Theme: Double Double-Aught - It's like looking at the business end of a pair of doubled-barrel shotguns.

17A. Play some b-ball : SHOOT HOOPS

25A. Tinted feature of some cars : MOONROOF

37A. Infallible, as a scheme : FOOLPROOF

51A. "The Hustler" setting : POOL ROOM

62A. Cereal with a spokestoucan : FROOT LOOPS

Old Sure-shot Argyle here. It would be hard to miss this theme staring you in the face. Anchored by those seven-letter columns in the corners.

Across:

1. Al who created Fearless Fosdick : CAPP. A Dick Tracy-type who would show up in Dogpatch upon occasion.

5. Sign between Virgo and Scorpio : LIBRA

10. Sailboat's team : CREW

14. Trac II successor : ATRA

15. See eye to eye : AGREE

16. "Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood" : YA-YA. 2002 comedy-drama I plan to watch...someday.

19. Well, in Paris : BIEN. Très bien; words I seldom heard from my French teacher.

20. Brain scan letters : EEG

21. What a red "X" may mean : ERROR. Letter I often saw on my French papers.

22. Charged atoms : IONS

23. Tavern game : DARTS

28. Motley : RAGTAG. and bobtail.

31. __ of speech : FIGURE. Like the entry above.

32. "OMG, stop with the details already!" : "TMI!". "Too Much Information!"

33. Support column : PILING. Often unseen but is what holds up the rest of a structure.

36. Hamilton's bill : TEN

40. Nervous mannerism : TIC

43. Pluto, for a time : PLANET. "I was?"

44. Curvy letter : ESS

47. The Negev's nation : ISRAEL

49. Put under : SEDATE

54. Spinning dizzily : AREEL. Oh-oh, one of those words.

56. __ Linda, California : LOMA

57. "Like, obviously!" : "NO DUH!"

60. Nutritional no. : RDA. (Recommended Dietary Allowance)

61. Smallish iPod : NANO

64. Pac-12 team since 2011 : UTEs. University of Utah.

65. Boxer Mike : TYSON

66. Run amok : RIOT

67. With 5-Down, Cowardly Lion player : BERT. 5D. See 67-Across : LAHR

68. Big name in farm equipment : DEERE. The big green machines; "Nothing Runs Like A Deere"

69. 649,739 to 1 against being dealt a royal flush, e.g. : ODDS. The ultimate hand.

Down:

1. Looked for security cameras, say : CASED. When planning to abet.

2. In the most basic way : AT HEART

3. Usher's handout : PROGRAM. "Can't tell the players without a program"

4. Kung __ chicken : PAO. Peanuts and peppers, oh my!

6. "What hump?" lab assistant : IGOR. A quote from "Young Frankenstein".


7. Ump's plate cleaner : BROOM. (whisk broom, that is.)

8. Copy, briefly : REPRO

9. '50s Dem. presidential candidate : AES. (Adlai Ewing Stevenson II) They are up to Adlai Ewing Stevenson V, now.

10. Bionic Woman, for one : CYBORG. A spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man TV show.

11. Reason for a tarp-covered field : RAINOUT

12. Condemned building, maybe : EYESORE. Or something on this site.
13. Pasty-faced : WAN

18. Skills evaluation : TEST

22. __ Montoya: "The Princess Bride" role : INIGO. "En Garde!"

24. "About time the week ended!" : TGIF

26. Deserving attention : OF NOTE

27. Wetland : FEN

29. Hunky Greek god : APOLLO. What is his connection to Adonis?

30. __ monster: lizard : GILA. Colorful critter with a bad bite.

34. Hosp. staffer : LPN. (Licensed Practical Nurse)

35. Ticks off : IREs

38. "Carmen," for one : OPERA

39. Phobia : FEAR

40. Insider's hint : TIP

41. Cut off from others : ISOLATE

42. Michael Bublé, e.g. : CROONER

45. Drug banned by most pro sports : STEROID

46. Bean container : SEED POD

48. Nearly : ALMOST

50. Writer Roald : DAHL

52. How pastrami may be served : ON RYE. Corned beef gone already!?

53. Caribou cousin : MOOSE

55. Has a long shelf life : LASTS

58. Way in : DOOR

59. __ Reader: eclectic magazine : UTNE. If you haven't learned this yet, study it; it will be back.

61. Much-used pencil : NUB

62. Bouquet dely. facilitator : FTD. (Florists' Transworld Delivery)

63. Gold, in Granada : ORO. Old map of the Granada in Spain.


Argyle