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

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Jun 14, 2021

Monday June 14, 2021 Catherine Cetta

Theme: SNOW JOBS (60. Persuasive efforts using insincere flattery ... and a hint to the last words of the answers to starred clues) - The last words can follow "snow".

17. *Emulate Bonnie and Clyde: ROB A BANK. Snowbank.

22. *Highly aware and ready to act: ON THE BALL. Snowball.

37. *Grasps an underlying meaning: CATCHES THE DRIFT. Snowdrift.

52. *Kellogg's cereal morsel: CORN FLAKE. Snowflake.

Boomer here again.  

Ha Ha, I live in Minnesota. I am not able to print the words I use to follow snow.  However I cannot remember the white stuff right now. We have had about 9 days in a row over 90 degrees, and my newspaper tells me that most of the United States is being treated the same way.  I hope you all stay cool!

Across:

1. Rigatoni or ziti: PASTA.  Creamette rigatoni is my favorite.  Add a little hamburger, onion and spaghetti sauce and you have a meal.   
 

6. Poker stake: ANTE.  So many nickel ANTE games I remember in the Caddy Shack at Oak Ridge Country Club.

10. Sandwich known by its initials: BLT.  Delicious!

13. Odysseus' journey, for example: ORDEAL.

14. Sulk: POUT.  There's a strange fish in Minnesota called an EelPOUT.  Not too good to eat. 



15. "Now I __ me down ... ": LAY.  Down to sleep.  Wait, I am  not finished yet!

16. Least wild: TAMEST.  Last Monday on the 5th hole of the course I play we all saw a deer near the edge of bushes.  It seemed pretty tame but the green is only about 50 yards from the Interstate so we hope it stayed safe.

19. Birdbrains: TWITS.

20. Fab competitor: TIDE.  I heard that transit has slowed everything sold in the grocery store.  Time to stock up on soap and toilet paper again.

21. Fairy tale start: ONCE.

24. Does some programming: CODES.  I have started to use eBay a bit again.  I used to sell many baseball cards out there.  But it seems that maybe programmers have too much to drink and not enough sleep.

25. Airline to Israel: EL AL.

26. Dutch cheese town: EDAM.

28. Before now: AGO.  "A long, long time AGO, I can still remember how the music used to make me smile."  "American Pie" - Don McLean.


31. Poe's "Annabel __": LEE.

33. Threat-ending words: OR ELSE.

41. Take for granted: ASSUME.  They say it makes an ASS out of U and ME.

42. Part of GPS: Abbr.: SYS.

43. Carrot chomper's "What's up, __?": DOC.  I have a bowling buddy named "Don".  His job was at the U of M Medical Center Preparing patients for surgery.  So we call him a Gas Passer or sometimes just "DOC" 

44. Rice-A-__: RONI. The San Francisco Treat!

46. Goes kaput, as an engine: DIES.  I imagine a large number of air conditioners met their fate this past week.

49. University VIPs: PROFS.  Some are just "DOCs"

57. D.C. helper: AIDE.

58. Nevada gambling mecca: RENO.  It's also a bowling mecca with a huge bowling stadium.  I used to go each year there was an ABC tournament there.  A nice place to visit but I could not afford to live there.



59. Senseless endeavor: FOLLY.

62. Hairpiece: TOUPEE.  I still have my real hair.  Many of my friends close to my age do not.

63. Pre-1991 map letters: SSR.  This is a Russian thing.  For me, I am now a Super Senior at bowling tournaments.

64. Slender woodwind: OBOE.

65. Prom corsage: ORCHID.  I don't see them much anymore.  In our garden we are growing perennial  Asian Lilies but a rabbit ate all the leaves.  Looks like we will still have flowers soon.

66. Wide shoe sizes: EES.

67. "OMG" or "TTYL": TEXT.  Not sure how the world survived before cell phones.

68. Hawke of "Boyhood": ETHAN.

Down:

1. Shrimp relative: PRAWN.

2. Fess up: ADMIT.  It seems the Majors are admitting more and more fans to the ball games.

3. Simmer with anger: SEETHE.

4. Fez feature: TASSEL.  I never was a Shriner but they do good deeds.

5. PC key used in combinations: ALT.

6. Month that may start with a gag: APRIL.  One sister and one son and his wife all have birthdays in April.  Sometime after the 1st.

7. Noggin: NOODLE.

8. You__: online video site: TUBE.  Years ago we used to bring inner tubes to the lake and pretend we were swimming.

9. Zeta-theta link: ETA.

10. Tasteless: BLAND.  Popcorn without salt.

11. Jousting weapon: LANCE.

12. Little ones: TYKES.

13. "The Simpsons" bus driver: OTTO.

18. Many a Gen Xer parent: BOOMER.  I expect half of you will go to comments and complain how hard it was to answer this clue.  I am not a Gen Xer, I am a Baby BOOMER.  We all know that.

20. Yarns: TALES.

23. Whale's food-filtering system: BALEEN.  I wonder how much those things eat each day.  I remember one munched on a boat in "JAWS".

24. Check the ID of: CARD.  My license expires in 2023.  I wonder if I will still look like my picture.

27. Wears out: DOES IN.

28. Here, in Havana: ACA.

29. Oxygen, e.g.: GAS.  I get my oxygen from the air.  I get gas from a pump for about $2.75 per gallon.

30. NFL tiebreakers: OTS.  Overtimes.  OTs can also be Offensive Tackles.

32. Mars residents, in sci-fi: ETS.

34. It may be flipped: LID.  PANCAKE did not fit.


35. Bay Area hub inits.: SFO.  I have two sisters living there.  They like it, I have visited.  I remember once we had a meal out side overlooking the Pacific and Alcatraz. 

36. And so on, briefly: ETC.

38. Teen's witching hour: CURFEW.

39. Med. care plans: HMOS.  I get my plan at the VA.  It is far better than an HMO.

40. Electric starter?: HYDRO.

45. Fridge of yore: ICEBOX.  Some still refer to their fridge as their ICEBOX.

47. Serious attempt: EFFORT.  Okay, as you read this I am out on the course making a serious EFFORT at Par.  I have given up on birdies.

48. Posture issue: SLOUCH.  I have one of those Copper Fit Waistbands but I still SLOUCH when I putt. 

49. So last year: PASSE.  Hmm!  Last year almost everything was closed.

50. Washer cycle: RINSE.

51. Air freshener targets: ODORS.  I don't want to talk about him.


53. Initial stage: ONSET.  I really don't want to talk about this.

54. Top dog: ALPHA.

55. Fashion's Anne or Calvin: KLEIN.  Calvin Klein is most famous, but there is a company named Klein Tools that makes pretty good stuff.

56. Looked over: EYED.

58. Spa cover-up: ROBE.

61. Write quickly: JOT.  Whenever I JOT, I have trouble reading it later.

62. Digital water tester?: TOE.  I think a finger might be easier but it did not fit in the grid.

Boomer

Happy Flag Day, thank you, Spitzboov & Agnes!

Boomer, 6/14/2021

Jun 13, 2021

Sunday June 13, 2021 Matt Skoczen

Theme: "Get Wise" - Y is added to the end of one word in each common phrase.

23. Irish region named for a literary nobleman?: COUNTY DRACULA. Count Dracula.

31. Commiseration at a cookout?: BARBECUE PITY. Barbecue pit.

51. Sham indignation?: IMITATION FURY. Imitation fur.

67. Excited cry from a gemologist?: AY THERE'S THE RUBY. Ay there's the rub.

85. Dilemma presented by a suspicious peace offering?: TRICK OR TREATY. Trick or treat.

104. Young farm animals' taxi company?: CALVES' LIVERY. Calves' liver.

116. Cues from the Miracles' lead singer?: SMOKEY SIGNALS. Smoke signals. Smokey Robinson.

We've had a few "Why Not" puzzles where Y's are removed. I don't recall Y additions on Sundays. Fun phrases.

Shouldn't it be CALF'S LIVER though? Boomer used to make beef liver with onions. The smell!

Across:

1. Jelly Roll Morton genre: RAGTIME. I don't know Jelly Roll Morton, who was jazz's first arranger, according to Wiki.
 

8. Benjamin: C SPOT.

13. Kind of manner: BEDSIDE.

20. Repertoire: ARSENAL.

21. Riveting WWII icon: ROSIE.  Rosie the Riveter. Read this fascinating story about the real life model.


22. Volatile solvent: ACETONE.

25. Vehicle in a pit: RACE CAR.

26. Works with purls: KNITS. Hi there, Madame Defarge!

27. Easy comparison: ABC.

28. Heartache: SORROW.

30. "Star Wars" antagonist: SITH.

35. Inquire: ASK.

38. Advance with determination: SOLDIER ON.

40. "The Purloined Letter" author: POE.

41. Cream additive: ALOE.

42. __-jongg: MAH. Spelled as Majiang in China. When I lived in Guangzhou, my neighbors often played Majiang until earlier mornings. Noisy.

45. Normandy city: CAEN. Have not seen this entry for a year. 

46. Bro, for one: SIB.

48. Spent: ALL IN.

49. Bouquets: AROMAS.

56. San Juan __: California mission city: CAPISTRANO. Another unknown to me. It's in Orange County.


59. Athlete-turned-sportscaster Rashad: AHMAD. Ahmad Rashād was a Viking.


60. "Weeds" law org.: DEA.

61. Word with rule or show: SLIDE.

62. Wears down: ERODES.

65. USG successor: RBH. OK, Rutherford Birchard Hayes. Ulysses S. Grant.

66. "It's __ a while": BEEN.

71. Short rules?: REGS. Regulations.

74. Female lobster: HEN.

75. Wells' island doctor: MOREAU.  "The Island of Dr. Moreau"

76. Degrade: ABASE.

80. Junior Olympic Games org.: AAU. The Amateur Athletic Union. We also have 17. Games org.: IOC.

81. __ Tranquility: SEA OF.

83. Feature of much commercial maple syrup: ADDED SUGAR. Great fill.

89. "Yeah, right!": OH SURE.

90. Ho-hum feeling: ENNUI.

91. India is home to a plurality of its employees: IBM. No surprise. So many IT talents there, Vidwan!

92. __ Victoria: LAKE.

94. Remote needs: AAS.

95. "Do-Re-Mi" critter: DEER.

96. Three Kingdoms Chinese state: WEI. Luckily the crossings are fair. I always keep Jayce's comment in mind. He likes to solve crosswords, not cross names.


99. Trading post visitors: BARTERERS.

103. Nutrition fig.: RDA.

106. Radio switch: AM FM.

110. Middle Jackson sister: LA TOYA. Janet on the right.



111. Uzbekistan, once: Abbr.: SSR.

112. Farm song letters: E I E I O.

113. Coup member?: SILENT P. The last letter of "Coup".

121. Loom power source: TREADLE. My grandma used to have a loom.

122. White-plumed heron: EGRET.

123. Hot air: PRATTLE.

124. Gave the okay: SAID YES.

125. Framing supports: STUDS.

126. Night flights: RED EYES.

Down:

1. Spaces for spices: RACKS.

2. Rice-__: A-RONI.

3. Astronaut's apparel: G SUIT.

4. 5, in 2.5: TENTHS.

5. QB's concerns: INTS. Interceptions.

6. 5, in 5/8, say: MAY. Chinese calendar adds a leap month every 3 years. Back in 1971, we had two Mays. I was born on May 8 in the second May.

8. Buster of old Hollywood: CRABBE.


9. Game with strikers: SOCCER.

10. Nittany Lions' sch.: PSU.

11. Jed Clampett's find: OIL.

12. Needle: TEASE. See here to calculate your Chinese age. Be warned, you'll be one or two years older!  This also happens in Korea, babies are one-year old when they're born.

13. Hispanic city area: BARRIO.

14. Whist relative: ECARTE. Is it still a popular game?



15. Shill: DECOY.

16. Booyah or bouillabaisse: STEW. Unfamiliar with the stew Booyah.

18. CSI stuff: DNA.

19. Poetic adverb: EER.

24. __ to go: eager, colloquially: RARIN'.

29. On the facing pg.: OPP.

31. Really good time: BLAST.

32. Block ending: ADE. Blockade.

33. Mozart's "__ fan tutte": COSI.

34. Textbook segment: UNIT.

35. Refer (to): ALLUDE.

36. Nighttime shindig: SOIREE.

37. Ugandan neighbor: KENYAN.

39. "The Plough and the Stars" playwright Sean: O'CASEY.



41. TV alien: ALF.

42. Apple offerings: MACS.

43. Depleted sea: ARAL.

44. Southwestern native: HOPI.

47. Song cry heard here, there and everywhere?: BAA. Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

48. Furthermore: AND.

50. Golden touch king: MIDAS.

51. "You __ out?": IN OR.

52. Internet link: MODEM. Sigh. Does not look like CenturyLink will bring fiber to our area soon. Our modem is just too slow to handle our new Blogger format.

53. Sequence of online posts: THREAD.

54. Saturate: IMBRUE. New word to me. I only know IMBUE.

55. Nicole Kidman's island birthplace: OAHU. Gimme! Bruno Mars was born in Honolulu, by the way.

57. Try again: RE-HEAR. Try in court.

58. Playground crack?: ARE NOT.

63. That, to Tito: ESO.

64. Classic Fender, for short: STRAT.

66. One way to get around town: BY BUS.

68. Vincent van Gogh's brother: THEO. Now people just text "u ok?"



69. Actress Lamarr: HEDY.

70. Harsh critic: BASHER.

71. Very violent, perhaps: RATED R.

72. Made: EARNED.

73. Mali neighbor: GUINEA.

77. Río contents: AGUA.

78. Poet Teasdale: SARA. First one to win Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.



79. Cockney toast opener: 'ERES.

81. __ lodge: SKI.

82. "Good" day occurring once a yr.: FRI.

84. "Okey-__!": DOKEY.

86. Snake: CUR.

87. Declines: EBBS.

88. Human rights lawyer Clooney: AMAL. Outshines George Clooney.



92. Skeptical: LEERY.

93. BOS posting: ARR.

96. Rooster feature: WATTLE.



97. Runs off to wed: ELOPES.

98. Boston __: IVY. Boston ivy here, right?



100. Wagered: RISKED.

101. Den furnishings: TV SETS.

102. Jeanne d'Arc, par exemple: SAINTE. Also 108. Dijon daughter: FILLE.

104. Reese's output: CANDY.

105. Relieves: EASES.

107. Rich, as tomato sauce: MEATY. So happy to learn from Moe that there's "Super Firm Tofu". I wonder why House Foods does not make Super Firm. They only go "Extra Firm".



109. Exodus leader: MOSES.

110. It's usually played by a star: LEAD.

112. "Yikes!": EGAD.

113. Mark and Luke: Abbr.: STS. Probably should go the road angle due to SAINTE.

114. "Deathtrap" playwright Levin: IRA.

115. Island garland: LEI.

117. Co. heads: MGT.

118. Okla. campus with a Prayer Tower: ORU.

119. 6-Down is in it: Abbr.: SPR.

120. Hot state: IRE.

C.C.


Jun 12, 2021

Saturday, June 12, 2021, Kurt Krauss

 Saturday Themeless by Kurt Krauss

A nice note from Kurt about himself and this puzzle: I am a retired business executive. I had a very successful career as a management consultant - first as a partner at Booz, Allen & Hamilton and then as the founder and Managing Partner of my own firm, The Mead Point Group, where I served a number of large, national and multinational corporations. I ended my professional career as the Chief Financial Officer of Burson-Marsteller, the then largest public relations and marketing communications firm in the world. I retired at fifty (it's better to be lucky than good) and have spent the past twenty years serving on company boards of directors, writing, constructing crossword puzzles and enjoying life. My first puzzle was published in the New York Times in 2010. Since then, I have had forty-nine puzzles published in the NYT, LAT & WSJ. This will be #50!

This is my first themeless puzzle. They are tough to construct. Rich Norris gave me some help and coaching and I was able to get one over the finish line. Finally!

Kurt's cluing and word selection made for a fun puzzle for me but, as you can see below, I had two vowel coin flips and I missed one where I puta a "Y" instead of the correct "I". On the other one I put in a correct "E". Sigh... 

 

Across:

1. Made a seat-of-the-pants mistake?: BUTT DIALED - I did this to my sister-in-law yesterday and we had a great half-hour conversation

11. Spunkmeyer of cookie fame: OTIS - OTIS bakes here often

15. As it happens: IN REAL TIME 

16. "Hmm ... don't think so": UH NO.

17. It's undeliverable: DEAD LETTER.

18. Tibiae supporters: TALI - The talus (pl. TALI) is shown here below the tibia (pl. tibiae)
19. "Done!": TADA.

20. Symbol on a Heineken label: RED STAR.


22. Request sweetener: PLEASE.

25. Word of agreement: LIKEWISE.

26. Palmer of "The Boys From Brazil": LILLI - As mentioned above, the I or Y coin flip came 
up wrong for me


COUPLED WITH

5. Monetary unit of The Gambia: DALAS- You could get in your 2¢ worth with a DALASI because that is what it is worth in US money. The bill below would pay for a McDonalds combo meal in Banjul, Gambia and you'd get 60 GMD in change


27. Electric __: EEL Yikes!

28. Refuse: WASTE  - Lines 10 and 11 in  Emma Lazarus' The New Colussus,   "Give me your tired , your poor, your huddles masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched REFUSE of your teeming shore."

29. Crazily: AMOK.

30. Filling material: AMALGAM - Some countries have banned this substance because it contains some mercury. The ADA has not banned it in America.


32. Appetite: YEN.

33. Keyboard in a Bach title: CLAVIER - CLAVIER (kluh VEER) is French for keyboard. Bach's original title was 
Das Wohltemperierte Klavier


34. Besides: TOO - If someone gets TOO tired to continue compressions in 54. Hosp. areas: ERS., he might ask someone to 37. Spell: RELIEVE him as he 45. Breaks: RESTS.

38. Soul singer Franklin: ERMA - ERMA and Carolyn provide backup as their sister Aretha sings Respect 

ERMA, Carolyn and Aretha Franklin

39. Hog's little cousin: MOPED - I'm not sure if a MOPED rider would get the motorcycle "wave" from a rider on a Harley (called a Hog).


42. More than a stretch: LIE - When you've  stretched the truth too far

43. Depressing: BLEAK.

44. Showing ingenuity in: CLEVER AT - I could list all our wonderful constructors 

46. Queen of fiction: ELLERY - ELLERY Queen is the main fictional character created in 1929 by 
Manfred Lee and his cousin Frederic Dannay. Queen helps his police inspector father solve baffling murders. 


47. The Acropolis, in its time: CITADEL - A CITADEL is the core, fortified part of a city. While many Greek cities had one, the most famous CITADEL is here on the Acropolis (high point) at Athens. The Parthenon is one of the surviving structures on it.


48. California city name meaning "tar": BREA - The smell of the Tar Pits when we got of the car was overwhelming. 

49. Female gamete: OVUM.

50. Tentacled marine creature: SEA ANEMONE - Most stay attached catching passing food in their tentacles but some can move to escape danger.


55. TripAdvisor rival: YELP A YELP review of our fav small town steakhouse

56. Industry-specific publication: TRADE PAPER - Also called TRADE Journals


57. Span. titles: SRAS.

58. Responds to anxiety, in a way: STRESS EATS - Did you put on the COVID 15?


Down:

1. Nod, maybe: BID 15 auction bidding tips

2. Nice article: UNE - Un chapeau (a hat) is correct because un is used before masculine nouns in French. UNE chapeau would not be right because UNE is used for feminine nouns. You have to memorize the differences.

3. Song syllable: TRA.

4. Address limited to 18 minutes: TED TALK Choose one from this list

6. __-France: Paris region: ILE DE - Literally Island Of France but no one knows exactly why. It is  the most populous of the 18 regions of France.


7. Encouraging start?: ATTA - "ATTA Boys/Girls" are nice but they don't buy any groceries 

8. Started burning: LIT.

9. Old cooking show that often had a Creole theme: EMERIL LIVE - EMERIL and his famous catchphrase


10. Literature Nobelist Walcott: DEREK -  Here ya go. Is NY Yankee DEREK Jeter too easy for Saturday?

11. Lapped, perhaps: OUT SWAM - Getting lapped means that not only is a swimmer ahead of you but that they have caught and passed you

12. In other words: THAT IS.

13. Having the worst record: IN LAST - Sorry Boomer!
















14. Evening do: SOIREE - Here is a place you could celebrate a SOIREE in Paris


21. Big name in Scotch: DEWAR.











22. Latitude: PLAY - Politicians try to leave some PLAY in their positions so as to not get pinned down to specifics

23. Key __: LIME - A pound of conventional LIMES compared to a pound of Key LIMES. Key LIMES take their name from being grown in the Florida Keys but since hurricane wiped them out, Key LIMES are now mostly grown in Mexico.


24. Tar Heel State university: ELON - Last month, ELON University grad Joe West broke the record for most MLB games umpired at 5,376.


25. "Don't bother": LEAVE IT - Not Rover!


27. What an online beep may signify: EMAIL ALERT

30. Bar none: ALL.

31. "Fancy that!": GEE.

33. Relinquished: CEDED 


















34. Ring bearer: TREE - Fun clue! This tree lived from 550 A.D. to 1891 A.D. when it was cut down

35. "The Wire" antihero __ Little: OMAR Here ya go.

36. Oenophile's adjective: OAKY - Wine aged in OAK barrels take some characteristics from the OAK

37. Modifies: REVAMPS.

38. Author/activist Johnson who attended President Obama's inauguration at age 105: ELLA MAE.


39. Real things?: MCCOYS  1957 TV
40. "Food, Glorious Food" musical: OLIVER.


41. "Downtown" singer Clark: PETULA - Love it!


43. They may replace oaths: BLEEPS - Hilarious BLEEPS!


46. White-tailed seabirds: ERNES - Birds of a feather that flock together in crosswords

48. Ordered: BADE I BADE my children to line up for recess

51. Berne's river: AAR.

52. Günter's gramps: OPA Günter's Opa liebt seinen neuen BMW (Günter's grandpa loves his new BMW)

53. Celtic foe: NET - The NETS eliminated the Celtics this year