Saturday, February, 13, 2021 Adrian Johnson and Jeff Chen

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson and Jeff Chen

 Adrian Johnson     Jeff Chen

Jeff gave Adrian free rein to comment: Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to be making my crossword publication debut at the LA Times alongside the wonderful Jeff Chen! My name is Adrian Johnson, I’m 21 and I’m an LGBT cruciverbalist from Laramie, WY (any solvers or constructors from WY?). I’m a senior studying International Studies at Macalester College, and during this pandemic I’ve spent a lot of time outside in the wilderness, playing with my very good dog Josie, and worrying about my future. I’m an avid runner and biker but also a big word and trivia nerd. My construction journey began in late 2019 after getting hooked on solving the daily NYT, making a new year’s resolution with a good friend in 2020 that she’d see me in a major publication. I’m thrilled to finally be making good on that promise.

 This puzzle dates to late 2019, right around when I started constructing. At the time, I had little experience filling and writing puzzles, but loved experimenting with the artistic design and aesthetic of grids. One day, I stumbled across this idea for a tic-tac-toe pattern, fixed six fresh, scrabbly entries into place and sent it to Jeff. Having no concept of what I was doing, I asked him “Can this be filled?” and within 2 days he got back to me with a well-filled center, NW and SE corner and we were off to the races. Cluing was a team effort, my favorites that survived the cut are 1-A and 45-A, while I greatly appreciate the additions at 5-D, and 7-D, among others. I was a bit disappointed to see my clue at 11-D “One working to prevent a depression?” go, though I loved “One who’s typically up” as a replacement.

 

Many thanks to go around- to Jeff for the collaboration, to Rich and Patti for the acceptance and the valuable edits and to everyone that’s supported me along the way. You can find more of my puzzles at my blog www.ajxwords.com!

To all constructors, new and experienced alike, my email is open! adrianjohnson435@gmail.com Feel free to reach out if you want some advice, test solving or to collaborate! I’d love to hear from you.

Across:

    
1. Where to find an OR: US MAP - There it is above CA and below WA

6. "The Magic School Bus" network: PBS.

9. Retro finish: SEPIA - My Mother-in-law 

14. Implement associated with its own age: STONE TOOL - A fun clue

16. Impulse conductors: AXONS -They've got a lot of nerve using this word

17. They may work on profiles: PORTRAIT ARTISTS - Add SELF in front of this fill 

19. Jerks that surprise you: SPASMS.

20. Lacto-__ vegetarian: OVO - The terminology stems from the Latin lac meaning "milk" (as in 'lactation'), ovum meaning "egg", and the English term vegetarian, so as giving the definition of a vegetarian diet containing milk and eggs.

21. Fade: TIRE.

22. Prince __ Khan: ALY - Son of AGA Khan and husband to Rita Hayworth

23. Austin festival, briefly: SXSW - South by Southwest

24. Recent delivery: TOT.

25. Sushi bar order: AHI - Not EEL it turns out

26. Consort of Shiva: KALI - Most of the pix of KALI show her dancing on SHIVA

28. Diwali garment: SARI - In keeping with Hindu fills - Diwali is the Hindu Festival Of Light

31. Strip often twisted: LEMON RIND - A martini with a LEMON RIND (twist)

34. Stellar spectacles: NOVAS.

37. Cause of a faux pas, perhaps: LAPSE IN JUDGMENT.

39. Singer Adkins known by her first name: ADELE - Five-letter one named singer? I got this.

40. Draft portmanteau: KEGERATOR - Yeah, now I get it!

41. Parks of Alabama: ROSA - ROSA didn't refuse to give up her bus seat because she was tired, she was "just tired of giving in"

43. __ slicker: CITY - I would have scored it higher than these audiences

44. Possessive pronoun: HIS.

45. Body with arms, usually: SEA - Some arms of the Baltic SEA. Adrian was glad this clue/fill was kept

47. Riga resident: LETT (one arm of the Baltic Sea above is the Gulf of RIGA) and 8. Some Eastern Europeans: SLAVS 

49. "Henry & June" diarist: NIN - Is there another three-letter diarist?

50. Additional characters, in gamerspeak: ALTS - All the gamespeak you could want

52. Chi preceder: TAI - Didn't you think of TAU first. Yeah, I know that would be PHI but with TA_

53. Would consider, after "is": OPEN TO.

56. Seatbelt campaign slogan: CLICK IT OR TICKET.

59. Variety show: REVUE.

60. Together: IN CONCERT.

61. Hostile force: ENEMY.

62. Org. concerned with secrets: NSA - The National Security Agency missed the 9/11 attacks but have prevented many others

63. Sculptor's subject: TORSO.

Down:

1. Org. with red, white and blue trucks: USPS - We know when the mail is here, our USPS truck has had a bad muffler for over a year

2. Pre-sign sign: STOP AHEAD - Clever! Here we truly see, uh, sign language

3. Acting incentive: MORAL IMPERATIVE - Your ENEMY probably has one the exact opposite of yours

4. Not sitting well?: ANTSY - Ever supervise a JH study hall?

5. Wave generator?: PERM - Hand, Palm? Nope hairdo!

6. Hawaiian fare: POI - We had TARO on Wednesday

7. What might cause you to forget your lines?: BOTOX INJECTIONS - I told Adrian and Jeff this was my favorite clue!

9. Couldn't stand, maybe: SAT - A kitty in her lap is my wife's barrier to standing 

10. Turnoff: EXIT - Huh?

11. One who's typically up: POSITIVE THINKER.

12. Opener: INTRO.

13. It can be fixed: ASSET - A very common category at my age 

15. Univ. helpers: TAS - RA'S really slowed me down

18. Tiffs: ROWS - Rhymes with COWS not HOSE

23. Move like a cat burglar: SLINK - Or leave out the word burglar

25. __ breve: ALLA - Music written in 2/2 time (from the Italian for "in the shortened fashion")

26. Jeans parts: KNEES - Flies, loops, cuffs...

27. Radio host Shapiro: ARI - ARI is on our CWD radio station quite often 

29. Sore: ANGRY.

30. Oblong tomato: ROMA - It is meatier than and is widely used in canning and making tomato paste

32. 1952 Winter Olympics host: OSLO - The Summer Games were held 612 miles east in Helsinki which is on one of the ARMS of the Baltic Sea

33. Really liked something, man: DUG IT.

35. Priests, at times: ANOINTERS.

36. They're usually toward the front of an orch.: STRS - My grandson and his French horn are in the back and the STRings are in the front

Lincoln Youth Symphony Orchestra

38. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" title: Abbr.: DET.

42. Some choir members: ALTI - When ALTOS just won't do

45. Stravinsky's "Le __ du printemps": SACRE - The Rite Of Spring

46. Talk show host who voices the adult Dory in "Finding Dory": ELLEN - DeGeneres 

48. Eschew the diner, maybe: EAT IN - Haven't we all been doing a lot of this?

49. Wafer giant: NECCO - The water tower at the New England Cofectionary COmpany

51. Foul film: SCUM.

53. Nebraska native: OTO - Twenty miles from me is the town of Yutan, NE which was named for an OTO chief named Yutan

54. Pub order: PINT.

55. Gustav Mahler's composer brother: OTTO - Gustav and his younger brother OTTO

57. Decoding need: KEY - These CODE "girls" were instrumental in decoding the Japanese code which led to a big victory at Midway Island for America shortly after Pearl Harbor. The story of a group of women not getting credit for far too long sounds similar to another book we had recently.

58. Red Seal record label company: RCA - Enrico Caruso was a breakthrough artist for the Victor Red Seal Records that were later bought by RCA

I told Adrian that our blogmisstress lives just across the Mississippi from him in Minneapolis and I asked him if he knew of C.C. He responded: I have heard of C.C., I'm a big fan of her work (she designed the 2020 puzzle on my birthday last year), and yes, I'm in school in St. Paul, such a vibrant place that I've been fortunate to explore the past few years. I should try to write something with her, it could be a lot of fun. This LAT is my first of three accepted puzzles to run :) (I also have one pending NYT and one Universal), with hopefully more to come in the future.

Friday, February 12, 2021, Jeffrey Wechsler

 Title: Fun in the bathroom

We have a very special guest blogger assisting in today's presentation- the constructor himself Jeffrey Wechsler. First, we have his introduction to his creation and how he happened to let me bully him to help me.

I am always impressed by the time and effort that LA Times crossword reviewers put into their efforts.  I am particularly fortunate to often have Lemonade as a reviewer of my puzzles, as he combines puzzle knowledge, general knowledge, and wit.  Lemonade has come up against a bit of a time crunch between the real world of work and the alternate universe of the crossword puzzle world, so he has asked me to add some commentary on this puzzle.  I can oblige with some backstage info on a few clues, which I will place in red.  I can also note that the theme of this puzzle is of a genre that I enjoy – the creation of puns based on words associated with a given profession.  I previously had puzzles of this sort in the LA Times based on a lumberjack and a pirate (if the latter can be considered a profession) and another example to come within a few months based on the profession of – well, I’m obviously not going to give that away.  The seed phrase for this puzzle’s theme was PIPING HOT COFFEE, which is an evocative phrase by itself, and creates a nice switch of meaning when applied to the plumber’s context.

 Here we will review the theme fill:

17A. Morning beverage for a plumber?: PIPING HOT COFFEE (15). He takes the pipe that is at the center of a plumber's life and by adding the ING created a pun.

26A. Plumber's response about connecting hardware?: FITTING ANSWER (13). This pun is the reverse look at plumbing, as it is the FITTING, not the FITT that creates the pun.

43A. Like a successful plumber's bank account?: FLUSH WITH CASH (13). My favorite exposing the joy of English where FLUSH can be very positive and also not a topic often discussed at the breakfast table. 

56A. Where a plumber learns new moves?: TAP DANCE CLASSES (15). My least favorite even though the water comes from a TAP. I was hoping for a SINKING or a BACKUP.

NB, Jeffrey uses a beginning and an ending grid spanning fill as well as fattening up the puzzle with EMIRATE, GUFFAWS,  I WAS DUE, LAST SET,  MICRONS, PROFFER, SCREAMS, SONNETS, and  THE UNIT. Golly, I feel like Norton from the Honeymooners.

Across:

1. Batting practice structures: CAGES. As I’ve noted in previous comments on clues for some of my past crosswords, editors can alter clues to make them harder or easier, or sometimes to exercise their own creativity.  I frequently skew clues toward the tricky or humorous, but the fate of such clues is very precarious.  My original clue for CAGES was [Many zoos are removing them], a reference to the trend of zoos to create more natural environments for the benefit of the animals, and often of the viewers, who see something that more closely resembles the animals’ setting in the wild. I initially whiffed here and required some perps to get started.

6. Golfer Jon __, 2020 BMW Championship winner: RAHM.  Rich Norris, the fine editor of the LA Times Crossword, is an avid golfer, so this is very much his type of clue.  However, for many solvers, this name might be quite unknown.  My original clue referenced former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel.  More commentary concerning the use of proper names in puzzles and clues may be found here and there in the comments below.

10. Target: GOAL. Simple.

14. Historic mission: ALAMO. As indicated by JW's pass this has become classic crosswordese.

15. One saying "Don't do it!": ANTI. I love the juxtaposition to make these fill so much more fun than just four-letter fill.

16. Say "Do it!": URGE.

20. Everlasting, to a poet: ETERNE. I guess it depends on the poet.

21. Tender: PROFFER. A legal term snuck in here.

22. Condor quarters: AERIE.

25. Greek celebratory cry: OPA. I do love a happy bunch of drunken Greeks.

31. High points: ACMES. More Wile E. 

32. Mists (up): FOGS.

33. Boring: SLOW.  My original clue was [Street sign near schools].

35. Ala. neighbor: FLA.

36. 5G __: mobile standard: LTE. The G stands for generation.

37. Asian language: LAO. My cousin Joe is married to Laotian.

38. Corn __: BELT. I find that they get uncomfortable after wearing them all day.

40. Undecided: TORN.  Although I understand why my clue was changed, I still like it: [Rip on a screen].  That refers to the movie actor Rip Torn (what a great name!) who had a long career but was infrequently a leading actor. Perhaps the editor felt that the actor was not sufficiently famous – or that the clue was a bit too cutesy. Ironically, Rip was one of the two original MIB, though he never appeared with Agent O. (A CSO to my wife?).

41. Crafty: SLICK.

46. Job ad abbr.: EOE. Equal Opportunity Employer - it's the law!

47. Falls hard: POURS. Huh?

48. "Finally, good news": I WAS DUE.  This is a nice, terse clue that conveys the essence of the answer phrase.  I had submitted [“My luck eventually had to improve”].  Brevity is the soul of wit.

52. Studio do-over: RETAKE.

59. Something to think about: IDEA. Har har.

60. Caspian Sea land: IRAN. And so many more.

61. Doles (out): METES.

62. Alluring: SEXY. (Blushing)

63. Kate Atkinson's "One Good __": TURN. One Good Turn is a 2006 crime novel by Kate Atkinson set in Edinburgh during the Festival. “People queuing for a lunchtime show witness a brutal road rage incident - an incident that changes the lives of everyone involved

64. Medium for Michelangelo: STONE. He liked sculpting along with painting.

Down:

1. Loose garment: CAPE. Good to wear in a cage? 

2. Came to rest: ALIT. And its first cousin...

3. Hang open: GAPE.

4. Kuwait, for one: EMIRATE. We are back in the Middle East.

5. Browning's 44 "from the Portuguese": SONNETS.  Regular solvers of the LA Times puzzles probably know that I try to include a reference to Shakespeare in at least one clue in my puzzles, usually a fill-in-the-blank, sometimes a different sort of reference.  My clue here was [Shakespeare’s 154]. Given that Browning’s sonnets, though quite worthy, are lesser known than those of Shakespeare, I wonder if the editor simply thought, “Well, not this time, Jeffrey!” and banished the Bard.  After all, the editor is the one person who constantly sees all my Shakespeare references, whether published or not.  Perhaps my little game occasionally just seems too much. 

6. Bit of a cheer?: RAH. Do they cheer for the golfer "Rah, Rah Rahm?"

7. "Is that __?": A NO.  An entry like this is generally considered a bit substandard – it is either a word in a foreign language (ANO is Spanish for a year, and was my clue) or a partial, which the editor chose this time.  Constructors try to avoid both of these, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem possible.   

8. URL letters: HTTP. We just had a lesson about those letters...

9. Millionth-of-a-meter measures: MICRONS. A micro  NS? 

10. Hearty laughs: GUFFAWS.

11. "Carmina Burana" composer: ORFF.

12. "The African Queen" screenwriter: AGEE.

13. Creepy stare: LEER.

18. "Deadwood" actress Jewell: GERI. 
As many solvers have expressed, too many proper names of individuals sometimes make puzzles much harder; either you know the name or you don’t.  Although prefixes and suffixes are, like partials, not optimal fill, I opted for the prefix route in my clue: [Medical prefix meaning “old”] – as in “geriatric”.  I also have some concerns about lesser-known names.

19. "My bad": OOPS. Sadly a now common word for me.

23. Donations to a fund drive, say: INFLOW. Sounds like a plumbing term.

24. Me time?: EGO TRIP.

26. Bass staff symbol: FCLEF.

27. "__ ears!": I'M ALL.  And speaking of substandard partials, how about this doozy!  Dear solvers: believe me, I try to avoid things like this.  In my defense, however, I must note that my original clue was, I think, more lively and more fun: [Elvis hit, “___ Shook Up]” I am perhaps a bit more negative to the “I’m all ears” phrase because of the presence of EAR as an answer at 57-Down.

28. Emma Thompson role in "Men in Black 3": AGENT O.  Every once in a while, I notice phrases in crosswords that are rather odd, but on consideration, are actually quite clever and ultimately acceptable.  As a constructor,  I view them as a struggle that other constructors had with a particularly intractable arrangement, forcing the creativity juices to flow, and finally coming up with something that fits.  In my mind, I call such an event a “save”.  On seeing inventive phrases such as these, I say to myself “Nice save!” in the constructor’s honor.  In a way, AGENT O was sort of a save.  I was utterly frazzled trying to get something to fit that spot, but finally saw the first part as potentially spelling AGENT.  I had only seen the first “Men in Black” movie and there was no AGENT O.  With fingers crossed, I immediately Googled AGENT O and -- lo and behold; Yes, Virginia, there really is -- an AGENT O!  Now, that was a save! And equally coincidental with JW's Rip Torn comments (subliminal messaging) Oo and I just began watching MIB 3.

29. New York Harbor's __ Island: ELLIS.

30. Raid victim?: ROACH.  This was my clue and I was very happy to see that it was maintained.

31. Andrews, e.g.: Abbr.: AFB. Air Force Base.

34. Asian pan: WOK. I really do not think pans have a nationality.

39. Election time: TUESDAY.  My clue was [When many political decisions are made], making the election concept indirect yet still implicit.

40. 2000s TV series inspired by Army Delta Force operations: THE UNIT.

41. Hollers: SCREAMS.

42. Numbers before closing time: LAST SET.

44. Bubbly quaff: SODA.

45. Launch: HURL.

48. "No kidding": IT IS.

49. 13-time NBA All-Star Dwyane: WADE.  My clue was [Enjoy the kiddie pool].  Again, the current clue references a name that some may not know.  In this puzzle, I felt that RAHM, ORFF, and AGEE (the latter being very common in crosswords) was enough.

50. High point: APEX. And ACME both

51. Neutral shade: ECRU.

53. Concerning: AS TO. More law talk...

54. Excited about, with "on": KEEN. very 1930s. 

55. In __: actual: ESSE.

57. Kernel holder: EAR.  From the CORN BELT? 

58. MSNBC rival: CNN. That's news to me...

Well, another different path from puzzle to paper to the audience; I hope you enjoyed our collaboration. Jeffrey was nice once the kicking and screaming stopped and I so exhausted. Be nice to someone on Valentine's Day even if it is only yourself.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, February 11, 2021, Chuck Deodene

 

Good Morning!  Malodorous Manatee, here.   Another Thursday has dawned, cruciverbalists, and today we get to catch a glimpse of the world through the eyes of five well-known artists.  The glimpse comes via the efforts of constructor Chuck Deodene.  Chuck is a veteran constructor who has had many puzzles previously published in both The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.  Chuck is also a contributor to the Reading For The Oxford English Dictionary Programme.  As such, his task is "to read books (and other texts) and note down potentially interesting instances of word use."

Today's theme:  But Is It Artists?

Let's start at 60 Across: Self-taught creators, in modern lingo, and a hint to each set of circles: OUTSIDER ARTISTS.

This is the reveal and, to this writer, it certainly was an interesting instance of word use in that I had never before come across the term.  It does, however, do a good job of describing the placement of the theme answers.  At five places within the grid, the names of the ARTISTS can be formed by combining the OUTSIDE letters of the answers.

17 Across:  Security perimeter feature: POLICE ROAD BLOCK.  Jackson POLLOCK (1912 - 1956) was an American painter who was a major figure in the Abstract Expressionist Movement.  Loosely translated, this means that our parents thought that we, as children, could create works of art very similar to his.

Blue Poles By Jackson Pollock

26 Across:  Formally begins, as a meeting: CALLS TO ORDER.  Alexander CALDER (1898 - 1976) was an American sculptor best known for his kinetic sculptures powered by air currents or motors.

Alexander Caldwell - Opening Scene "American Masters"

35 Across:  Successfully lured: ROPED IN.  Auguste RODIN (1840 - 19170) was a French sculptor perhaps most famous for his works "The Thinker" and "The Kiss".   It is fascinating to note the change in style between RODIN and CALDER (above) and between RODIN and ARP (below) who were each born less than sixty years after Rodin.

The Burghers of Calais By Auguste Rodin

38 Across:  High-intensity light source: ARC LAMP.  Jean ARP (1886 -1966) was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet.

The Forest  By Jean Arp

45 Across:  Navy Cross recipient, for one: MILITARY HERO.  Joan MIRO (1893 - 1983) was a Spanish painter and sculptor.  He is associated with the Surrealist and Dada movements.

Plate 2 By Joan Miro

Here is how the five OUTSIDER ARTISTS appear in the finished puzzle:

These artists looked at the world differently than most mere mortals.  Certainly, quite differently than many marine mammals.  Now, let's take a look at the rest of the puzzle and see if we are able to spot some potentially interesting instances of word use.

Across:

1. Appreciate: VALUE.  Interesting.  Here Appreciate is not used as in to increase in value but, rather, as in to appreciate something and find it to be of value.

6. Goat of the Alps: IBEX.

10. Fine cotton: PIMA.  PIMA cotton is an extra-long staple cotton grown primarily in the United States.

14. Turing and Cumming: ALANS.  It probably says something about those of us who know who ALAN Turing was but have no idea who Alan Cumming is.

15. Resentful: SORE.  Interesting.  As in "to be SORE (mad) at" someone or something.

16. Screen image: ICON.  Interesting.  We could have seen a clue such as Screen Icon with an answer of STAR.   Name...Image...Icon...Star.  Something like this might make for a good word ladder puzzle.

20. Extraction by rescue copter, e.g.: EVAC.  EVACuation.  Alternatively, and still quite consistent with the clue:

Dad Uses Helicopter to Pull Out Son's Tooth

21. Contented sighs: AAHS.  Onomatopoeia.

Aaaahhhh !

22. Helpful: OF USE.

23. Like the lawn at dawn: DEWY.  Not this Dewey:

Huey, Dewey and Louie

24. Camping gear retailer with an #OptOutside campaign: REI.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. was formed as a Co-op in Seattle in 1938.  Each of the five founding members paid One U.S. Dollar to join.  I purchased my first down sleeping bag from REI in 1971.

25. "Seasons in the Sun" songwriter: BREL.  Jacques BREL wrote this song in 1961 with the title "Le Moribond" - "The Dying Man".   Later it was translated by Rod McKuen.  It has been recorded by The Kingston Trio, The Beach Boys and Terry Jacks, among others.

The Kingston Trio

31. Clutch: HOLD.  Interesting.  At first we might have thought of an automobile part, a type of purse or a critical situation in a sporting event.

Shindig 1964 The Miracles (Live)

You Really Got A Hold On Me

33. Light keeper's view: SEA.  . . .  and often a great view, at that.

34. Afore: ERE.  Interesting.  Two rarely used prepositions.

41. "Much __ About Nothing": "The Simpsons" episode: APU.  Interesting.  Not, as we usually see, "Much Ado About Nothing".  In Episode 23 of Season 7 of The Simpsons TV show, APU Nahasapeemapetilon is caught up in the turmoil when an initiative is placed on the ballot that would require the deportation of all illegal immigrants living in the town of Springfield.

42. Have a good cry: SOB.  Interesting.  It could have been clued as a general term of contempt. 

44. Pocket bread: PITA.  Interesting.  It could have been clued as an annoying or tedious person or thing.

50. "Buy It Now" site: EBAY.

Weird Al Yankocvic's Parody of "I Want It That Way"

51. Best-liked, online: FAV.  Texting slang for FAVorite.

52. Nearly here: NIGH.  Interesting.  Another rarely used word.

56. "That's enough!": CAN IT.

58. Peruse, with "over": PORE.  I always forget if it is PORE over or Pour over in this context.  There is an estate planning device called a Pour-Over will.  The heirs can, hopefully much later, PORE over it.

59. __-deep: very involved: KNEE.  That's how it all begun.  We were knee deep in the Big Muddy but the big fool said to push on.

63. Mystery writer Gardner: ERLE.  Interesting.  We almost always see the full name: ERLE Stanley Gardner.  He created the Perry Mason detective stories.

64. "The Hobbit" soldiers: ORCS.  In "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and in  "The Hobbit" an ORC was a fictional humanoid monster akin to a goblin.

65. Starts a pot: ANTES.  A poker reference.  If we each had a Dime for every time we have seen some form of ANTE in a puzzle . . . . .

66. __ Inn: DAYS.  The hotel chain.

67. Pool strikers: CUES.

Buster Keaton Busts A Pool Cue

68. So-so effort, in sports: B GAME.   One's A-Game is the best.  One almost never hears B-GAME although it's existence is clearly implicit if there is an A-Game.  How far down the grading curve does this go?

Down:

1. Used Juul pods: VAPED.  Juul is a brand name of E-Cigarettes or VAPEs.  Juul asserts that its "mission is to improve the lives of the world's one billion adult smokers."  Even if true, there has been, demonstrably, significant collateral damage.  "Hey, kids, check this out.  Sweet!"

2. "__ Supreme": classic Coltrane album: A LOVE.  Recorded in 1964, it is said that the album was a spiritual declaration by Coltrane that his "musical devotion was now intertwined with his love for God."

3. Old NBC legal drama: L.A. LAW.  We often see Susan Dey in our puzzles and she is usually clued with reference to L. A. LAW.

4. Street performer's vehicle: UNICYCLE.

5. PC key: ESC.  The key generates the ESCape Character - ASCII Code 27 in decimal.  

6. Holy Land nation: ISRAEL.

7. ["You need new glasses, ump!"]: BOO HISS.

Finn The Bat Dog

8. Low nos. for aces: ERAS.  Earned Run AverageS.  The aces in this case are baseball pitchers and "nos." tells us that the answer will be an abbreviation.

9. Crossed (out): XED.  Interesting.  The Thesuarus.Plus site does not mention XED (out).

10. Filch: PILFER.  Interesting.  Both the clue and answer are less-than-commonly-used words for steal.

11. Lukewarm "You hungry?" reply: I COULD EAT.  Interesting.  When used in the expression I COULD EAT a Horse, it is not at all lukewarm.

12. Comfy shoes: MOCS.  Short for MOCcasinS.

13. German tennis player Huber: ANKE.

Anke Huber

18. British peer: EARL.  The one was certainly teed up.  A swing and a . . . solid hit (A Number One Hit in 1962).

Gene Chandler - The Duke of Earl - 1962

19. NYC division: BORO.  Interesting because, although the word can also be spelled BOROugh.

25. Piglet's dad: BOAR.  A BOAR is a male swine.  No sows appeared in today's puzzle.

27. "Just __ water": ADD.   After hearing this line over and over and over again in commercial advertisements the phrase became a synonym for something that was easy to do.

28. Sun __: TEA.  Sun Tzu just could not be made to work.

29. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA.  I always forget if her name is ERMA or Irma.  Or, maybe, Emma.

30. One ab crunch, say: REP.  REPetition.  Working out at the gym.  Walruses.  Go figure.

31. Native Arizonans: HOPI.

Hopi Girls - Circa 1920

32. In a luxurious manner: OPULENTLY.  Interesting.  We rarely see this word in our puzzles.

35. Sheep's dad: RAM.  A RAM is a male sheep.  As with the swine, above, no female sheep appeared in today's puzzle - so one, or more, of each has been added:

Babe and Friends

36. Words of surprise: I SAY.  It is interesting to see this British colloquialism turn out to be the correct answer.

37. Easter lead-in?: NOR.  A bit of misdirection as this clue, despite the capitalization, does not refer to the Christian holiday.  A NOR'Easter "is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean."  The winds that one produces are typically from, you guessed it, the northeast.  The Northeast has been hit by a series of NOR'Easters recently.

39. EMT skill: CPR.  Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation

40. Pride Rock monarch: LION KING.  The TV show "The Critic" once presented a wonderful parody of the scene below employing a cockroach. 

Pride Rock

43. Using coercion: BY FORCE.  Interesting.  I thought the answer was going to be a gerund.

46. Hieroglyphics birds: IBISES.

47. Filmmaker Jacques: TATI.  A French filmmaker probably best known for Mon Oncle and Traffic.

48. Beset: HARASS.  Ah, "Much Ado About Nothing" (See 41 Across) doth sorta make an appearance after all!  Hero:  "Oh, god, defend me.  How I am BESET!  What kind of catechizing call you this?"  Translation from the English to the English:  Oh, God help me!  How I am being attacked!  What kind of game is this?

49. At any time: EVER.  Are we supposed to cover the square(s) if we have EVER done it or cover the square(s) if we have never done it?

A "Never Have I Ever" Bingo Game Card

53. App with pics: INSTA.  We have seen this abbreviated term for the  INSTAgram app before.  Never have I ever used Instagram.

54. Order to a Western posse: GET EM.  Interesting in that this use is exceedingly non-specific.  A posse could be given many other instructions and GET 'EM could be used in many other contexts.

55. "Siddhartha" author: HESSE.  Herman Hesse also wrote Steppenwolf and Demian.  In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in literature.

56. Like dorms for men and women: COED.  I suppose that COED dorms could be quite educational.

57. Radiance: AURA.  My house was once filled with a demonic AURA so I called the local exorcist.  When he entered the house I told him to "Get the hell out of here."

58. Lake Titicaca is partly in it: PERU. . . and it is partly in Bolivia.

61. MRI interpreter: DOC.  Punt!

62. Browser window feature: TAB.

That wraps things up for today's puzzle.  I think that Chuck did employ some potentially interesting word use.

________________________________________________

MM OUT

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 Catherine Cetta

Theme -- I can't do much better than the unifier, so let's start with that.

 56 A. Relatively unknown quality items ... and what can be found in 16-, 26- and 42-Across: HIDDEN GEMS.  Typically something great that most people don't know about.  Here, it's literally precious stones hidden in the theme fill.

16 A. Arose to catch the proverbial worm: GOT UP EARLY.  Arise before dawn - or, in my case, before 9:00 a.m.  Do that that and you might be able to catch an oyster with a perfect PEARL.  This is a small, spherical, usually white object that forms around a grain of sand inside the shellfish.  Pearls are commonly strung together as a necklace.

 

26 A. Award won twice by Adele and Kelly Clarkson: BEST POP ALBUM.   Awards in several categories are distributed annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."  The 2020 winner was Billie Eilish for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?   An OPAL is a soft hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·nH2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. The gemstone opal shows a variable interplay of internal colors, 

42 A. Philanthropist who was a Time Person of the Year co-honoree in 2005: MELINDA GATES.  In 2000, she and her husband Bill Gates co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable organization as of 2015.  Read more about her here.  "AGATE is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, consisting of a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate dates back to Ancient Greece in assorted jewelry and in the seal stones of Greek warriors." [Wikipedia]

Hi, Gang, JazzBumps here. These are all gems of the minor variety; no diamonds in the rough here.  Lets see what else of value we can discover in today's puzzle.

Across:

1. Not imagined: REAL.  No matter how wild your flights of fancy, there is always the REAL world to come back to.

5. On: ATOP.  

9. Arthur of tennis: ASHE.

13. Country quarters: INNS.  Establishments for the lodging and entertainment of travelers, generally smaller than hotels and with fewer amenities.

14. Be behind: TRAIL.  Lag

15. Skier's need, maybe: SNOW.   For several varieties of down-hill or cross-country skiing

18. Presidents' Day event: SALE.  Many holidays really.

19. Ivy League student: ELI.  Specifically at Yale U.

20. Dynamic prefix: AERO.  Designed to reduce air drag and/or wind resistance.

21. Sushi bar brews: SAKES.  A fermented rice beverage

22. Ristorante favorite: LASAGNA.  Layers of noodles, meat and cheese, usually with a tomato based sauce. 

24. "Holy smokes!": ZOWIE.  Golly!

30. Monks' wear: COWLS.  Long, hooded garments with wide sleeves, sometimes, just the hood. 

33. Total drubbing: ROUT.  Like a bad Super Bowl game.

34. Flatow of "Science Friday": IRA.  [b. 1949] A radio and television journalist and author.

 
35. Opposite of home: AWAY.  

36. Dozen dozen: GROSS.  That's 144 of anything.

38. Craftsy etailer: ETSY.  An American e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. 

39. Tiny, for short: LI'L.  Little, for long

40. "Not long": SOON. Li'l bit of time.

41. Guilty and not guilty: PLEAS.  Formal statements by or on behalf of a defendant or prisoner, stating guilt or innocence in response to a charge, offering an allegation of fact, or claiming that a point of law should apply.

46. Spectrum maker: PRISM.  Could be a brand name product or service, but not this time.  A PRISM will divide white light into color components, based on wave length.

Light Weight

47. Comment after a missed shot: NICE TRY.  Condolence or sarcasm?

51. Characteristic: TRAIT. A distinguishing quality of a person or thing.

53. Shred: IOTA.  Tiny amount

54. Tint: HUE. Coloration

55. "I didn't mean to do that": OOPS.  Utterance after an accident.

59. Unmitigated joy: GLEE. Originally, the specific joy of music and singing.

60. Seller, usually: OWNER. Or his/her agent.

61. Its symbol is Fe: IRON.  Elemental metal.

62. Some cameras, for short: SLRS.  Single Lens Reflex.

63. Amorously pursues: WOOS. 

64. Fiddling emperor: NERO.  While Rome burns.

Down:

1. Orion's left foot, some say: RIGEL.  Rigel is a blue supergiant that is the brightest star in the constellation Orion (the Hunter). Due to its measured size and brightness it is expected to end in a supernova one day. 

2. __ Gay: ENOLA.  a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb.

3. Naysayers: ANTIs.  Those with negative viewpoints.

4. Pelican State sch.: LSU.   Louisiana State University.

5. Biblical mount: ARARAT.  Legendary landing place of Noah's Arc. 

6. Tropical root vegetable: TARO.  A food staple in African, Oceanic and South Asian cultures.

7. Squeaky-wheel need: OIL.  Lubricant.

8. Tissue layer: PLY.  A single layer of any multiple layer construction, such as ply wood.

9. Attack: ASSAIL.

10. Hazard in many old Westerns: SNAKE BITE.  

11. Opening: HOLE.   An aperture or gap.

12. Lambs' moms: EWES.  Female sheep.

14. New drivers, typically: TEENS.  People between the ages of 13 and 19, inclusive.

17. Novel units: PAGES.  Not new and unusual things, but the two-sided papers bound into books.

21. Whack at a mosquito: SWAT.

23. With skill: ABLY.  

24. Family outing destinations: ZOOS.

25. Numbered piece: OPUS.  A separate composition or set of compositions by a particular composer, usually ordered by date of publication.

27. Outlet insert: PRONG.  A slender pointed or projecting part: such as a fang of a tooth ora point of an antler, or an electric plug.

28. Celestial bear: URSA.  Either the URSA MAJOR or URSA MINOR constellation.

29. First Black MLB team captain, 1964: MAYS.  Willie Howard Mays Jr., [b 1931] nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid", is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He spent almost all of his 22-season Major League Baseball career playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants before finishing his career with the New York Mets. [Wikipedia]

30. Not nervous: CALM.  Serene.

31. Something Mommy needs to kiss?: OWIE.  Booboo.

32. Computer screen background: WALLPAPER.

36. Odin and Thor: GODS.  In the Aesir.

37. Wander: ROAM.  

38. "Need anything __?": ELSE.

40. Sulky state: SNIT.

41. Pie nut: PECAN. 

43. Flowery van Gogh work: IRISES.   You can see it here.

44. Battery terminals: ANODES.  And Cathodes

45. Solution strength measure: TITER.  Determined by 2 conflicting methods.  Read about it here.

48. "Over __!": THERE.   A 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight.

 

 49. Something from a mill?: RUMOR.  People who start and spread rumors.

50. Type of survey question: YES/NO.  As opposed to multiple guess.

51. Duds: TOGS.  Clothing.

52. Dinner table staple: ROLL.  A small, usually round or oblong individual loaf of bread served as a meal accompaniment (eaten plain or with butter)

53. License plate fig.: ID NO.  Identification Number.

56. "__ come?": HOW.  Said when asking how or why something happened or is the case.

57. Iconic WWII island, briefly: IWO.  An island 750 miles south of Tokyo. It was the site of an iconic WW II battle in February and March of 1945.

Raising the Flag

58. Winning game cry: GIN.   From a card game, not a martini, alas.

So goes another Wednesday.  Hope it was valuable.

Cool Regards!

JzB