Monday, July 20, 2020 Evan Kalish

Theme: ASSET MANAGER. (49. Adviser concerned with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across) - The first word of each theme entry is a type of asset.

20. Reused file film: STOCK FOOTAGE.

31. Audiophile's multi-disc holder: CD CHANGER.

44. Flicks with 007: BOND FILMS.

Boomer here.  

Happy Monday everyone. I loved the theme today.  Made me think about money I used to have. Just kidding.  I used to love the 007 films with Sean Connery. Then when they started switching I sort of lost interest.

Across:

1. Dust __: teensy arachnid: MITE.  I used to coach Little League baseball when my son was a player.  But before he made the big time, I remember he was a MITE at age eight.

5. Sleep audibly: SNORE.  I never SNORE, but I know others that can.

10. Female pop star: DIVA.

14. "Now!" letters: ASAP.  I really don't like this acronym.  I'll do it when I have time and I am not A SAP.

15. Bounce off a wall: CAROM.  Remember the old CAROM boards when you needed to knock little rings around with a pool cue.

16. Days of anticipation: EVES.  Christmas EVE is the best one.  Always has been, always will be.

17. iPhone assistant: SIRI.

18. "Long story short ... ": IN SUM.  Is this anything like DIM SUM?  I had it once in Chinatown, San Francisco, USA.

19. Greek god story, e.g.: MYTH.

23. Nintendo console with a similarly named remote: WII.  I hate to admit the hours I wasted on Nintendo.

24. Increase, as the stakes: RAISE.  Fun to try in Poker, but once in awhile the boss may give you one so you can play more poker.

28. "Climb aboard!": HOP IN.  I used to visit the "WILL HOP INN" , A 3.2 beer joint in Minnetonka, MN.  I do not like beer, but they had a great electronic bowling machine there.  10 cents a game.

35. "__ explain!": I CAN.

36. Strand on a desert island: MAROON.  "Minnesota, hats off to thee!"  First line of the Minnesota rouser.  Minnesota Gopher colors Maroon and Gold.  No we are not changing the Gopher name.

37. Musician Yoko: ONO.  I can imagine that when Bryson DeChambeau took a 10 on the fifteenth hole on Jack's course in Ohio last Friday, he probably said something worse than Oh NO.

38. Actress Aniston, in tabloids: JEN.  I don't watch "Friends" anymore, but the longevity of that show of reruns is amazing.

39. When repeated, nothing new: SAME OLD.  You have to repeat this.

40. Wee bit: TAD.

41. Actor Mahershala: ALI. 

42. "People say ... ": I HEARD. It through the Grapevine.

43. Snack: BITE.

46. Tethered fliers: KITES.  This brings back memories.  I would by a paper kite and some string and go to the baseball field and try to get it in the air.  I chose the ball field because there were no kite eating trees.  Charlie Brown should have used a ball field.

47. Tour of duty: STINT.  Yup I had one.  Now I get reasonably priced healthcare at the VA.

48. Tasseled hat: FEZ. Shriners wear these a lot, especially in parades. I have friends who are Shriners.  They do good works especially in hospitals for children.

57. Tree part that yields cinnamon: BARK.  WOW, I never knew that.  I like ground cinnamon but maybe not so much any more.

60. Knighted composer Edward: ELGAR.

61. Wander: ROVE.

62. Haleakala National Park's island: MAUI.  I suppose they HULA there ???

63. Two-wheeled transport with a battery: E BIKE. I remember these too, but no kid in my neighborhood had the $$$ to own one.

64. Agitate: ROIL.

65. Would like: WANT.  "All I WANT for Christmas is my two front teeth"

66. In-the-wall security features: SAFES.  We don't have one.  We have a metal fireproof box for important documents, but the cash all goes in the bank.  I think they have a SAFE.

67. Sale price come-on adverb: ONLY.  A frequent word used on TV commercials.  Sometimes it comes after "BUTT WEIGHT".  Why do they need to know the weight of my rear end, before they cut the price and offer free shipping ?

Down:

1. Sunday service: MASS.  I have not been there since the middle of March.  First the archbishop closed my church for about 8 weeks.  Then when they re-opened, father told everyone over 65 and with health issues to stay home.  They email the MASS to me, but it's not quite the same.

2. "Ya think?": IS IT.

3. Poi plant: TARO.  TARO is a starchy root, not to be confused with TAROT cards that tell your fortune.

4. Underdog's surprising feat: EPIC WIN.  I think the Nationals winning the World Series over the Astros last year was an EPIC.

5. "Star Wars" genre: SCI-FI.  I used to like "The Twilight Zone".

6. Prefix between micro- and pico-: NANO.  I think "Mork from Ork" used to say this twice.  Shazbot.

7. Approximately: OR SO.

8. 10-1 victory, e.g.: ROUT.  300 to 150 in Bowling.

9. Actress Watson: EMMA.  I remember EMMA Boettcher beating James on Jeopardy.

10. Humiliate: DEMEAN.

11. Climbing vine: IVY.  You should see C.C.'s cucumber plant in front of our house.

12. Thoroughly evaluate: VET.

13. Campfire residue: ASH.  Years ago, everyone was allowed to burn trash in a controlled receptacle.  Except on Monday when folks hung out their laundry to dry.

21. Family: KIN.  I have KIN living on Burnikel Road in Siren WI.

22. Large piano: GRAND.  I really enjoyed the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas.  They had a Yellow Brick Road on the floor that led you to a wizard.  I have not been there for awhile.  Parking seems a little scarce.

25. "This fly ball is mine!": I GOT IT.

26. Roman political body: SENATE.

27. Wears away: ERODES.

28. Muslim head coverings: HIJABS.  I don't know much about head coverings, but C.C. and I always wear masks in public buildings like grocery stores.

29. Leopardlike feline: OCELOT.

30. Pressed Italian sandwich: PANINI.

31. Saharan beast: CAMEL.  I wonder if people still smoke these.  I was a smoker 20 years ago, but never CAMELs.

32. Imagine great things: DREAM. "Jeannie with the light brown hair."

33. Colorado-based brewery: COORS.  I may have mentioned that I don't like beer.  Never have.  But these guys have a baseball park named after them.  Go Rockies.

34. Wait to speak to the next available agent, say: HOLD.  Believe me, I get junk sales calls that tell me to hold for a real person.

36. Half a fish: MAHI.

39. Searches (through): SIFTS.  I remember my Mother sifting flour to prepare a cake.  Flour must all ready be sifted now.  Maybe you can get one of those sifter machines at a garage sale.

43. __ World, DC Comics planet of opposites: BIZARRO.

45. Ancestry.com apparatus: DNA KIT.

46. "Jeopardy!" great Jennings: KEN.  I thought James Holzhauer was better.

48. Taxi fees: FARES.  The last time C.C. and I took a taxi was from the Las Vegas Airport to the Orleans.  It could not have been much more than two miles and the fee was way too much.

50. Goes out with: SEES.

51. Idris of "Luther": ELBA.

52. Relieved end-of-week cry: TGIF.  Since I am no longer employed I play golf on Mondays.  TGIM!

53. Produce: MAKE.

54. Hired hood: GOON.  I think they used to call a hockey bad boy a GOON.

55. Malevolent: EVIL.

56. Depend (on): RELY.

57. German luxury car: BMW.  Silly me.  I used to think it stood for British Motor Works.

58. Towing org.: AAA.  I used to have triple A but I never used it.  It seemed to be more than help for car trouble.  Lots of ads for hotels, and restaurants on the highway.

59. Gallop: RUN.  Lots of RUNNING coming this November.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Steve Marron, our Thursday sherpa, made his WSJ debut today. You can solve the puzzle here. It's a puzzle that we've been back and forth for a long time. Thank you for your patience, Steve!

Sunday, July 19, 2020 Yaakov Bendavid & Yoni Glatt

Theme: "Fast x Furious IV" - Four definitions of "Fast" and "Furious".
 
23A. Fast: IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.

53A. Furious: BLOWING A FUSE.

87A. Fast: LICKETY-SPLIT.

120A. Furious: FOAMING AT THE MOUTH.
 
3D. Furious: ON THE WAR PATH.

35D. Fast: AT A GOOD CLIP.
 
 47D. Furious: FIT TO BE TIED.

 67D. Fast: A MILE A MINUTE.

The duo is back. I just blogged the Yaakov Bendavid & Yoni Glatt puzzle last month.

The theme is simpler than last time. Basic definition puzzle. But all the theme entries are in the language. 

Across:

1. Bring up, as a subject: BROACH. Consonant-rich.

7. Longtime Syrian ruling family name: ASSAD. Quite a few names in this grid.

12. Rat on: NAME.

16. Passover mo., usually: APR.

19. Vaquero's home: RANCHO.

20. Ethiopia's Selassie: HAILE. Emperor of Ethiopia (1930 to 1974). Wiki says "The 1973 famine in Ethiopia led to Selassie's removal from the throne. He died on 27 August 1975 at age 83 following a coup d'état".

21. Puritan's conclusion?: ICAL. Puritanical.

22. Sulu portrayer John: CHO.

26. Vehicle in a queue: CAB.

27. Computer connection method: ETHERNET.

28. "Die Lorelei" poet: HEINE (Heinrich). Wiki says "He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of lieder (art songs) by composers such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert."

29. Wound: INJURE. Wish you speedy recovery, Wendybird and Gary! Last time Boomer fell from our stairs and bumped his head into the edge of our bookshelf. Quite scary. He loses his balance easily these days. Side effects from those cancer treatments and oral chemo.

31. Doctor Octopus, to Spidey: FOE.

32. Load: ONUS.

34. "The Flying Dutchman" soprano: SENTA. No idea.

36. Norse pantheon: AESIR.

37. Development site: WOMB.

40. "Groundhog Day" insurance salesman: NED.

42. Specifics, informally: DEETS. Details.

44. Rope fiber: BAST.

45. Carne __: steak dish: ASADA. And 49. Food: EATABLES.

47. Paying passengers: FARES.

51. Based on deduction as opposed to experience: A PRIORI.

56. Gentle attention-getters: TAPS.

57. Series-ending abbr.: ETC.

59. Radiate: EMIT.

60. "Nor to their idle __ doth sight appear": Milton: ORBS.

61. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT.

62. Groups that get busy in Sept.: PTAS.

64. Charm: ENAMOR.

66. Fairy tale figures: HAGS.

70. T, on the NYSE: ATT.  & T.

71. Rootless sort: ROVER.

73. Hit the dirt on a diamond: SLIDE.

74. "So exciting--not": MEH.

75. Half of an alternative to 7-Down: MAHI. And 7. Sashimi staple: AHI TUNA.

77. Former White House family: OBAMAS.

79. Digitally stored: ON CD.

80. Stack: PILE.

81. Cathedral part: NAVE.

83. "No damage": I'M OK.

85. Actor Wallach: ELI.

86. Palindromic magazine: ELLE.

91. As an alternative: INSTEAD.

93. Philanderer first seen in Cervantes: LOTHARIO. In Don Quixote

94. Banjoist's aid: STRAP.

96. Choking up: TEARY.

97. Peak in Thessaly: OSSA.

98. Creator of Horton the Elephant: SEUSS.

101. Gardener's buy: SOD.

102. Rural spread: FARM.

103. Columbus' birthplace: GENOA.

105. Critical times, military-style: D-DAYS.

107. Author Morrison: TONI.

109. Dispassionate: ICY.

112. Vibrant photo: GLOSSY.

114. Region bordering the River Avon: ARDEN.

116. Showman named Phineas: P T BARNUM. He originated "There's a sucker born every minute".

119. Letters on a note: IOU.

123. Balaam's mount: ASS.

124. Cajun mainstay: OKRA.

125. Blake of ragtime: EUBIE. Quite a few names in this grid.

126. Herbal brew: RED TEA. I drink jasmine tea most of the time.

127. Understand: SEE.

128. Hold back: REIN.

129. __-no question: YES OR.

130. Nasty looks: SNEERS.


Down:

1. Bring up to speed: BRIEF.

2. Totaled, as a bill: RAN TO.

4. Have a hankering (for): ACHE.

5. "The Witches of Eastwick" co-star: CHER. Never saw it. Powerful cast.

6. Schmooze (with): HOBNOB.

8. Word in many California city names: SAN.

9. Many a Punjabi: SIKH.

10. Skin cream ingredients: ALOES.

11. Treated like it didn't exist, as gravity: DEFIED.

12. Tony Gwynn's uniform number: NINETEEN. Mr. Padre.

13. Frequent winner: ACE.

14. Polite question opener: MAY I.

15. Kagan on the bench: ELENA. She and ALITO has very crossword-friendly names.

16. Some finger-pointing: ACCUSALS.

17. One in an ancient Jewish sect: PHARISEE.

18. Rehnquist's successor: ROBERTS. John Roberts once clerked for Rehnquist.

24. "Total Recall" director Wiseman: LEN.

25. Klein of fashion: ANNE.

30. Son and brother of George: JEB BUSH.

33. Tennis' Novak Djokovic, for one: SERB.

38. Source of praise in verse: ODIST.

39. Red Guard leader: MAO. The crazy time. Chairman Mao died in Sept 1976. His wife, one of the Gang of Four, was then arrested. The Cultural Revolution slowly drew to a close, theoretically. In Xi'an, things did not return normal until 1984.

41. Editor's "Lose it": DELE.

43. Headed the cast of: STARRED IN.

45. The Binghamton Rumble Ponies, e.g.: AA TEAM.

46. Ancient Greek military power: SPARTA.

48. A little: SOME.

50. Andrews or Vandenberg: Abbr.: AFB.

52. "Tsk tsk" sayers: REPROVERS.

54. Pitching stat: WINS.

55. "Cosmicomics" author Calvino: ITALO.

58. Vena __: CAVA.

63. Big rollers: SEMIS.

65. __ shaft: MINE.

68. Buffy player Sarah Michelle __: GELLAR.

69. Ally of "The Breakfast Club": SHEEDY.

72. Stadium access: RAMP.

76. Like a supermarket before a major storm, perhaps: IN CHAOS. Now you can easily find toilet paper and hand sanitizers in our grocery stores. They also sell masks, 10 in a box. $14/box.

78. Musical fifths: SOLS.

80. Saint at a gate: PETER.

82. Name-linking trio: AKA.

84. LEGO buys: KITS.

87. Kind of situation to avoid: LOSE LOSE.  And 88. "What's the point?!": IT'S NO USE. And 89. "Way to go, bro!": YOU DA MAN. Three great fill.

90. Gentle gait: TROT.

92. __-puf: old laundry product: STA. Unfamiliar to me. Oh, I recently read an article on Buf-Puf sponge. Have any of you used it before?

93. Open galleries: LOGGIAS. New word to me.

95. Pet shelter visitor, maybe: ADOPTER.

99. Draped dress: SARI.

100. Bondi Beach city: SYDNEY.

102. Forensic evidence bits: FIBERS.

104. "Now, about ... ": AS FOR.

106. Seamless flow: SEGUE.

108. Large power: NTH.

110. More cuddly: CUTER.

111. Jewish community orgs.: YMHAS.

113. It helps a team pull together: YOKE.

115. Snatches: NABS.

117. Blessing follower: AMEN.

118. Went by car: RODE.

121. Actress Graynor: ARI.

122. Muchacho's uncle: TIO.

C.C.

Saturday, July, 18, 2020, Jim Peredo

Saturday Themeless by Jim Peredo

Jim and Penny                         Jim in appropriate attire

Today's constructor, Jim Peredo of Lakewood, Wash., is a stay-at-home dad and former communications engineer in the Air Force. He got into crosswords by way of geocaching — posting puzzles online whose answers are geographic coordinates. 

Jim counts himself as a Chamorro (people who live in Guam and people who live on some of the other islands of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean) as both his parents are Guamanian, although he himself has lived in Guam for only a year. Here's Jim's gracious note to me:

Hi Gary,

I’m an occasional constructor and a blogger at Amy Reynaldo’s Diary of a Crossword Fiend. This is my second puzzle in the L.A. Times, the first one being my very first published puzzle back in 2012 (Jul 17).

And I’m happy to say this is my first themeless puzzle. Trying to get a themeless published has been a goal of mine for a long time since I tend to focus on themes. 

This puzzle started out with ABRACADABRA at 1-Across where it stayed through several iterations. I eventually abandoned it to smooth out some of the fill, and it worked for the most part. I tried not to stay married to any particular entry in order to give me the best overall result. I succeeded in some areas better than others, but I’m mostly happy with how it turned out, my favorite entry being, of course, PIEHOLE.

As per usual, a number of clues get altered for the better in the editing process. One clue I’ll note is for MARTINET, which I tried to clue by way of voice actor Charles Martinet, the voice of Nintendo’s Mario. (He’s the one who says, “It’s a-me, Mario!”) But I totally understand the change since his name isn’t so widely known outside of us grown-up Nintendo fanboys and girls. Sorry, Mr. Martinet!

I hope everyone is getting their Saturday off to a good start. I’m happy to be a part of it. 

Jim

Across:

1. Early finisher's luxury: TIME TO SPARE - What I had today since I was on Jim's wavelength. 

12. Word heard before a hike: HUT - Said before the football is hiked

15. Paper Mate introduced one in 1979: ERASABLE PEN.

16. Hearth debris: ASH - What Vape cigs did not have in yesterday's puzzle

17. Mock question of literacy: CAN'T YOU READ.

18. Poe's __ Morgue: RUE - Some say Murder In The RUE Morgue is the first modern detective story and you daily solvers recognize its author as the theme for Jeff Wechsler's Thursday puzzle.

19. Casual greeting: HEY - "How ya doin'?" is another casual greeting and not an inquiry as to anyone's health

20. Struggle with one's sins?: LISP - Pronunciation issues 

21. Vicuña cousins: LLAMAS.

23. __ pit: MOSH - Maybe one of these will form during a RAGE which we had last Saturday

24. Trap: PIE HOLE - Either can be the direct object in this rude sentence, "Shut your ____"

25. Set out: DEPART.

28. Relay: PASS ON and 33. Malicious gossip: DIRT - Ya gotta love Norman Rockwell

29. Some memory triggers: ODORS - The odor of a new box of crayons does it for me!

30. Polite gesture from Alice: CURTSYING.

34. Actions to avoid: DONT'S.

35. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" setting: MOOR - $12,000 will get you this 1902 first edition

36. Trial results: DECISIONS.

38. "Nobody Listens to __ Poundstone": comedy podcast: PAULA.

39. Not on the ball: UNWARY - An intriguing book

40. Spacely Space Sprockets employee: JETSON - George and his 60's cart00n family. If you're too young to know

41. Some pending cases: APPEALS - As long as you have money for the lawyer

43. French bean?: TETE and 53. A, to Amélie: UNE. Combien coûte UNE TÊTE de laitue?(How much is a head of lettuce?)

44. Twist in pain: WRITHE - Keri Strug severely injured her ankle on her first vault but came and back for a gold medal winning vault on that ankle. After that vault she was soon WRITHING in pain but produced an all-time Olympic moment! (Click on Watch On YouTube)

45. Play the sycophant to, with "over": FAWN - Why do Americans FAWN over British royalty?

46. Ms. Pac-Man ghost: SUE - SUE replaces Clyde in the Pac-Man lineup of Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde

49. Hedonist's goal: FUN.

50. Boss's unsettling request: I'D LIKE A WORD - Uh oh!

54. Barcelona star: LIONEL MESSI - He makes $80M/year between playing and endorsements 

55. "__ Miz": LES - Short for this

56. Thurible go-with: INCENSE BOAT - The BOAT (with spoon) holds the incense to be burned in the the thurible that is suspended by the chain. New terms for this guy who married a lovely Catholic woman.

Thurible/Censer        INCENSE BOAT

Down:

1. Modern fixer: TECH - They keep the place running

2. Hymn singer's wrath?: IRAE - A cwd staple

3. Loads: MANY.

4. Part of i.e.: EST - id EST i.e. "that is"

5. Musical family including James and Livingston: TAYLORS - Brothers

6. One behind a violist, maybe: OBOIST.

7. Wintry nuisance: SLUSH.

8. BOLO target: PERP - Be On the Look Out for this alleged PERPetrator 

9. Clint's Clyde, in a 1978 movie: APE - Eastwood called this orang a natural actor but he could only do one take because Clyde got bored easily

10. Dreamers' opposites: REALISTS.

11. Circular, in a way: ENDLESS.

12. Like Pentatonix numbers: HARMONIOUS - Any day is improved with Pentatonix

13. Expected: USUAL 

14. What we have here: THESE.

22. Sailor's shout: AHOY MATE - Graham Bell's suggestion that the phone be answered "AHOY" lost out to Edison's idea of "Hello"

23. Strict disciplinarian: MARTINET - One human and one not

Two MARTINETS

24. Play things: PARTS - Henry "The Fonz" turned down the PART of Danny Zuko in Grease and it went to his friend John Travolta. Winkler said he could dance the part but not sing it.

25. __-Frank: 2010 financial reform bill: DODD - If you must know

26. Singer Brickell: EDIE - Mrs. Paul Simon for 28 years

27. Natural-born quillers?: PORCUPINES.

28. Like Nash poetry: PUNNY - "Hark to the whimper of the sea gull, He weeps because he's not an ea-gull"

30. Brewery in Golden, Colorado: COORS - What movie had a "plot" about the transfer of COORS under a time limit? (*Answer under the grid)

31. Short court plea: NOLO - NOLO Contendre i.e. "I'll take the conviction but admit no guilt"

32. Pop's ma: GRAN.

34. Focused: DIALED IN - Son-in-law using a scope to get my grandson DIALED IN with a pistol

37. One of Kenya's official languages: SWAHILI - Bantu SWAHILI and English are the two working languages of Kenya

38. Honey or sugar: PET NAME better than the 41. Not good at all: AWFUL Bae

40. The Dresden Green and The Graff Pink: JEWELS.

42. Cut back: PRUNE.

43. Occupied: TAKEN 

45. Okay: FINE - His catch phrase

46. Just okay: SO SO - Just SO is very different from Just SO-SO

47. Space bear: URSA - The back quarters of these bears form the asterisms the big and little dipper which are NOT constellations themselves 

48. Change the narrative?: EDIT.

51. "Funky Cold Medina" rapper Tone __: LOC - I love the beat and the lyrics aren't as offensive as some rap songs but you're on your own to find it.

52. Pathological liar's creation: WEB 

*Smokey And The Bandit was about a truck that was "eastbound and down, loaded up (with Coors) and truckin'"

Comments for Jim?