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

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Jun 19, 2013

Wenesday, June 19, 2013 Gareth Bain

Theme: WEIRD TALES - The first word of each two-word theme answer is an anagram of TALES.  Weird is used to indicate that the letters of TALES have been morphed into some strange new form - a typical trick often used in crossword clues where a verb is used to indicate that the letters have been mixed, altered, or otherwise tampered with.

17A. Get closer to home? : STEAL THIRD.  Our first WEIRD TALE, and a bit of baseball, too.

25A. Electrical device named for its inventor : TESLA COILThis plaything, invented by Nikola TESLA looks like it belongs on The Forbidden Planet.  Tesla was a brilliant engineer and inventor, and might have been a bit Weird, even without the COIL.

36A. Chestnut : STALE JOKE.  I googled "world's oldest joke" and actually came up with it

51A. Dress pants shade : SLATE GRAY.  Perfect with a classic navy blue blazer

And the unifier, 62 A. Classic horror magazine, and a literal hint to the beginning of 17-, 25-, 36-, and 51-Across : WEIRD TALES.



Hi gang, JzB here.  Just home from rehearsal and ready to see what sort of adventure Gareth will lead us on today.

Across:

1. Fictional circumnavigator Phileas : FOGG.  "Around the World in 80 Days."

5. Like weather that makes hair frizz : MUGGY.  Hot and damp.

10. European auto : SAAB.  AUDI and MERC fit.

14. Beach bird : GULL.  Here in the Great Lakes region, we see them in grocery store parking lots.

15. Cool place to live? : IGLOO.  An ice house

16. Et __ : ALIA.  And others, in Latin.  But Kazie et alia knew that.

19. Kitten's plaything : YARN.  I'm not a cat lover, but I've heard such TALES.

20. Fortuneteller's card : TAROT.  Perhaps a tool for divination, or to focus your psychic energies.

21. Near-failing grades : DEES

23. Lo mein additive : MSGMonoSodium Glutamate, used a flavor enhancer, and abundant in Chinese cooking - at least in North America. Back in China, probaly not.  C.C. ? (From C.C.: Widely used in China too. Never gave me headache.)

24. Less valid, excusewise : LAMER.  Less LAME.  Awkward looking and sounding word. 

27. "South Park" baby brother : IKE.  Never watched it, but I still know that Kenny dies.

28. __-wop : DOO.   Easier to show than tell.




30. With 38-Down, "People's Court" rival : JUDGE. And  38 D. See 30-Across : JUDY.  Never watched either of them. 

31. Sacred Hindu work : VEDA.  These revealed texts are the oldest Hindu scriptures and the oldest known Sanskrit literature.

33. Space station for about 15 years : MIR.  Soviet and later Russian long term research station.

35. Approaches evening : LATENS.  Perfectly valid but WEIRD looking word.

39. Spreading Indian tree : BANYAN


42. Puddle gunk : MUD

43. Teen safety org. : SADD.  Students Against Destructive Decisions.

47. Great Lakes natives : ERIES.  Native Americans and eponyms for a Great Lake.

48. Brief swim : DIP

50. Scand. land : NOR.  Time for a rhyme.  Neither SWE NOR FIN worked.  Note Abr. in Cl & Ans.

55. Like Oreos dropped in milk : SOGGY.

57. Eldest March sister, in a 19th-century novel : MEG.  "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

58. Wonka's creator : DAHL. Roald. This British writer and fighter pilot was born in Wales to parents from NOR.

59. Big cheese : NABOB.  Originally a provincial governor of the Mogul empire in India.  Later a person of wealth or prominence.  Later still, members of the press corps out of favor with Spiro T Agnew, erstwhile V.P. and convicted criminal.  The phrase was used by Agnew but coined by William Safire. 

60. Big cheese in Holland : EDAM.  Why do we never get Stilton NOR Limburger?  At least we got a clecho!

65. Taj Mahal city : AGRA. Why do we never get Hyderabad NOR Bangalore?

66. Cousin of "ish" : KINDA. Sorta, more or less.

67. Artist Chagall : MARC.


68. Use a sickle : REAP

69. One going behind your back : SNEAK.  A bold or careless SNEAK might go in front of your back.

70. Naysayer : ANTI.  AKA: Nattering nabob of negativism.

Down:

 1. NFL three-pointers : FGSNational (American) Football League, and Field Goals.  Points earned by kicking the ball through the uprights.

2. DVD extra : OUT TAKE.  Scenes cut from the movie. 

3. Shone brightly : GLEAMEDLike this.

4. Blinding light : GLARELike this.

5. Item in a dugout : MITT.  Fielder's glove - more baseball!

6. "Disgusting!" : UGH.  Tigers lost tonight.  Down three in the ninth inning, one out, two on, Miggy hit into a double play.

7. Soar effortlessly : GLIDELike a goose on the wing.

8. Gets with a tusk : GORES.  Pierces or stabs with a horn or tusk.  Not something we need to see. 

9. High-range song, in more ways than one : YODEL.  High register notes from the Swiss Alps.





10. "Incidentally ..." : SAY.  Oh, BTW  .  .  .

11. Pie order : A LA MODE.  Served with a scoop of ice cream.

12. Libra, for one : AIR SIGN. From the Zodiac.  There are three each of air, earth, fire and water signs.

13. "Manic Monday" band : BANGLESVery 80's.

18. Fauntleroy's title : LORD.  From the children's novel by English  author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886.

22. White co-worker : SAJAK.  Vanna and Pat

24. Actress Tyler : LIV.  Arwen.


25. Work up a sweat : TOIL.  Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

26. Affected preciousness, with "the" : CUTES.  I can see this, but I've never heard it.

29. Muscat's sultanate : OMAN.  Neighbor of Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

32. Hitherto : AS YET.  Up to now.

34. Sleep stage letters : REMRapid Eye Movement, the dreaming stage.

35. Wine city near Sacramento : LODI.  Can anyone in the coven give us the LODI lowdown?

37. Used a stun gun on : TASED.  But, really, bro - don't.

39. Sully : BESMEAR.  As one's reputation.

40. TV news exec Roone : ARLEDGE.  For good or for ill, he gave us Monday Night Football.

41. Horseshoe Falls river : NIAGARA.  On the Canadian side.

44. Luanda native : ANGOLAN.  Luanda is Angola's chief seaport and administrative center.

45. Bespectacled cartoon canine who was once a CEO : DOGBERT. From Dilbert.

46. Oenophile's "sec" : DRY.  Related to the Latin, Spanish an Portuguese words for DRY.

49. Test for jrs. : PSAT.  Pre-SAT.  College admission exam with close to zero correlation with success. Scam? You decide.  Originally it meant "Scholastic Aptitude Test, " later, "Scholastic Assessment Test."  Later still it was announced, quite appropriately, that it stands for nothing.

52. Rubbernecks : GAWKS.  Here, it is a verb, not a plural noun.

53. Deutschland river : RHEIN.

54. Flared dress : A-LINE.


56. "The Audacity of Hope" author : OBAMA.  He went on to a more frustrating career.

59. Third-least populous U.S. state : N. DAK.  Neighbor of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

61. "Do I have to draw you a __?" : MAP.  Really, they're side by side, just to the north.

63. Old vitamin bottle no. : RDARecommended Daily Allowance.

64. Poli __ : SCI.   Political Science.

Quite a journey.  We circumnavigated the globe, had some sports, saw some sights and visited some exotic places.  Hope you enjoyed the journey.

Cool regards!
JzB



Notes from C.C.:

Jazzbumpa (Ron) and his wife Gloria drove down to Florida and visited his stepson Tom and family last month. Below are some pictures. Tom is with the Air Force. Longtime regulars probably remember the tough time for Ron's family when Tom was deployed in Afghanistan.

  
 Lauren -  Here we are with her in costume before her dance recital.

Lauren Dancing - This is her lyrical dance.


Officer Josh -  Gloria's dad was a policeman. We took his hat to Josh, who was quite delighted to have it.


Please click here for more pictures.

Jun 18, 2013

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 Jeff Chen

Theme: A Tribute Puzzle - A puzzle dedicated to Roger Ebert on his birthday.

17A. Longtime employer of 44-/49-Down : CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

29A. Award won by 44-/49-Down : PULITZER PRIZE

41A. Signature 44-/49-Down gesture represented by the clusters of black squares bordering this answer : TWO THUMBS UP

44-/49-Down. Late film critic born 6/18/42 : ROGER : EBERT

Argyle here. I missed the portrait until I started my write-up. Then it dawned on me; all those black squares, the unusual left-right mirror image. I didn't include 41-/45-Down as part of the theme, in part, because they didn't conform to normal crossword symmetry. I hope Jeff stops by with some insight into the construction of today's puzzle.

Across:

1. First network to show "The Wizard of Oz" : CBS-TV. (November 3, 1956)

6. Wee, like Abner : LI'L

9. Jeweler's fitting tool : SIZER. A fitting name.

14. "Easy __!": "Piece of cake!" : AS PIE. That's it! Pie with my coffee this morning.

15. Altar consent : "I DO"

16. Ridiculous : INANE

20. Sci-fi pilot Solo : HAN. (Star Wars)

21. Novelist Deighton : LEN. (crossword staple)

22. Geese formation : VEE

23. ASCAP rival : BMI. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music, Inc., if your interested.

24. Ending for smack : EROO

26. Big name in skin care : NIVEA

28. Chow __: noodle dish : MEIN. Mmm, more food.

32. MPAA criteria, e.g. : STDs. Standards used by Motion Picture Association of America.

33. George Strait's "All My __ Live in Texas" : EX'S


34. Both Bushes, college-wise : ELIs. (Yale)

35. Sound of lament : [SOB]

37. __ alai : JAI

38. Like perennial rivals, constantly : AT IT

40. Hypotenuse, e.g. : SIDE. The square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides - Pythagoras' theorem.

44. Cox's command : ROW. Short for coxswain, and, according to this LINK, they don't yell "Stroke" all the time.

46. Continue despite adversity : PERSIST

47. Lament : RUE

50. More than portly : OBESE

52. Hoosier St. : IND. (Indiana). Perhaps Gary can elaborate on why it's called the Hoosier state.

53. Dental care brand : ORAL B

55. Mother of the Titans : GAEA. Whoa, that's quite the story about her.

56. Half-mast fliers, at times : FLAGs. At sad times, in remembrance.

58. Berlin article : EINE

59. Ambulance team, briefly : EMTs. (Emergency Medical Technician)

60. Santa's helpers : ELVES

61. Ivan the Terrible, e.g. : TSAR

62. Hasty : RASH

63. Bruce better known as Batman : WAYNE. Shh! That's secret.

64. Bug-bugging compound : DEET

Down:

1. Treasure trove : CACHE

2. Equivalents of C's : B SHARPs

3. Daytona 500 mishap : SPINOUT


4. Muscle spasm : TIC

5. Wiener schnitzel meat : VEAL. Enough with the food.

6. Treat like a king : LIONIZE

7. They may be checked for R-rated movies : IDs

8. Blinds with angled slats : LOUVERS

9. imdb.com, e.g. : SITE. Places to be linked.

10. Pasta suffix : INI. (linguini, i.e.)

11. River along the Zambia-Zimbabwe border : ZAMBEZI. Victoria Falls.


12. Foes : ENEMIES

13. Piny ooze : RESIN

18. Mannerly fellow : GENT

19. Tide type : NEAP. Yeah, not the soap.

25. "A picture is worth ...," e.g. : OLD SAW. Origin: before 950(really old); Middle English; Old English sagu; cognate with German Sage, Old Norse saga saga; akin to say. So just an old saying, I guess.

27. Really irritate : VEX

28. Social sphere : MILIEU

30. Elemental variant : ISOTOPE

31. Entertains, as a tot at bedtime : READS TO

36. Mark from Dracula : BITE


37. Triangular sails : JIBS

39. Manila fight nickname : THRILLA. The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

40. Tiny bit : SMIDGEN

41. "The movies won't be the same without 44-Down" and others : TWEETS and 45D. President who wrote the 41-Down quote : OBAMA

42. SEALs' gp. : U.S. NAVY

43. Eulogize : PRAISE

48. Radii-paralleling bones : ULNAE. Oh, didn't I mention yesterday there would be a quiz.

51. Beauty contest accessory : SASH

54. Collecting a pension: Abbr. : RET'D.

56. Handful : FEW

57. Opposite of NNW : SSE





Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few more pictures from JD's trip. She also told me "I did learn that only the Highlanders wore kilts, like our tour guide - who was both Irish and Scottish- and the Lowlanders wear tartans, just the slacks made up of their family's plaid."


Those yellow fields are growing rapeseed which makes canola oil.


We took a ride in a jaunting car through a beautiful park after a boat ride in one of
the 3 lakes in Killarney.
View from the Edinburgh Castle.

One more picture of the handsome Truman who sometimes plays Scrabble on grandma's iPad. Click here, you'll see all how much Truman has grown.