Friday, July 30, 2021, Michael Dewey and Kevin Christian

  Title: Watch the bouncing I. 

Michael has been publishing puzzles since 2012, mostly here at the LAT. This is his first collaborative effort, but certainly not for Kevin who is not only prolific on his own but with others, and generously stops by to share his insights here at the Corner. Once I accepted the placement of a random I in the middle of the theme fill, I was prepared for the reveal at 52D, which was part of every theme clue. 52D. Chain with an alternate 28-letter name ... and what you need to write five puzzle  answers? : IHOP (4). INTERNATIONAL (13) HOUSE (5) OF (2) PANCAKES (8). I guess the image is to be of the I hopping into the middle. Creative, but still a bit puzzling to me but the solve went well. The only non-theme long fill are BRIBE MONEY and LIKE A CHARM both of which are introduced to major puzzle publications here and are placed symmetrically in the grid. 

The theme:

18A. Item served at 52-Down: POACHED I EGG (11). I have eaten their poached eggs on toast. 

24A. Item served at 52-Down: FRENCH I TOAST (12). They use thick cut French Bread and have many varieties. 

38A. Item served at 52-Down: BANANA I PANCAKES (15). A grid spanner with the central I, and along with their chocolate chip very popular, but now they are pushing strawberry. 

47A. Item served at 52-Down: TURKEY I BACON (12). For those of us who do not eat pork it is a great menu addition.

57A. Item served at 52-Down: HASH I BROWNS (11). Always an iffy choice, but they also have breakfast potatoes, potato pancakes and french fries.

They have a nice 55+ menu if you eat out, and they have kids eat free days but I have not been in about 20 years so my comments may not be relevant or reliable. On to the puzzle.

Across:

1. Surfing venue: WEB. Not a sea, but a sea of words.

4. Tapered off: ABATED. You have to be careful about being too proficient about tapering off.

10. Yankees' foes: JAYS. Or the CUBS, METS, RAYS, REDS ...

14. Nautical pronoun: HER. The HISTORY.

15. Chowder chunk: POTATO. Chowdah again so soon?

16. Wind in the reeds: OBOE. The tuning one.

17. Ring star: ALI. Muhammed.

20. 1988 self-titled country album: REBA. McIntyre.

22. Three, in Bari: TRE. Italian from this CITY in Southern Italy.

23. One of the "Emerging 7" nations: INDIA.

28. Word associated with Denver: MILE. Mile high, both literally and with all the legal marijuana smoked, eaten, etc. First time I flew there was on a learjet and it semi-unreal to watch the altimiter at 7000 feet as we were about to land. 

29. Govt. health org.: CDC. Center for Disease Control. No comment - way too political.

30. Flight: LAM. An ARTICLE for thought? A repeat from yesterday.

33. Kitchen draw: AROMA. Not a storage area, but what brings people there.

35. Mum of Charlotte, George and Louis: KATE. She is tall.

37. Queen's home: HIVE. How nice to have this next to a possible future Queen.

41. Stuntman Knievel: EVEL. 

42. Like Vassar since 1969: COED. Of the original Seven Sisters, 4 are still women's colleges. Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and Wellesley College have so far decided against adopting coeducation. 

43. Lift providers: UBERS. Not LYFT?

44. Mystery writer Josephine: TEY. Her first novel was made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. As a mystery writer, she was a MYSTERY. 

45. "Can I help you?": YES. No way, leave me alone!

46. Orange County city: BREA. Did you lose your LA?

52. More unfriendly: ICIER. Ah ha, maybe that is Tin's idea?

55. Heckle: BOO. Hiss, or Jeckle?

56. One-horse ride: SHAY. According to the dictionary, it derived from the word chaise, French for chair. It also was Tyrion's favorite whore, and when we solved our dance puzzle this week, it reminded me of Lucina and her sashaying.

61. Non-verbal syst.: ASL. American Sign Language.

62. Tony kin: OBIE. Not Tigger but the award for theatrical productions. Broadway / off-broadway

63. Begin to associate (with): FALL IN. Generally a bad crowd,

64. 2016 Olympics host: RIO. And now 5 years later we have the 2020 olympics in Tokyo.

65. Prepare for a pic: POSE. 
                                                
66. Dumpster fire: FIASCO. The LINK.

67. ISP option: MSN. MicroSoft Network

Down:

1. Landing: WHARF. For a boat, silly.

2. Conger chaser: EELER. A big meh.

3. Loot to keep mute?: BRIBE MONEY. I love the clue and the fill, a rhyme and an introduction.

4. Smartphone software: APP.

5. "The Women" playwright Clare __ Luce: BOOTHE. Boy, is the old timey fill. If you do not know her STORY, you must at least read the link. She was a very inflential woman as I was growing up. 

6. Millipede maker: ATARI. the game maker and 13D. 6-Down rival: SEGA.

7. Musical "don't play": TACET. MUSIC

8. E. African land: ETH.  ETH is the three-letter country abbreviation for Ethiopia. so now you know.

9. Buck's mate: DOE. Oh, Deer. More sexual innuendo.

10. Combined: JOINT. There they are cavorting, joined at the hip!

11. In the sack: ABED. What did I tell, sex, sex sex.

12. Hindu ascetic: YOGI. Not Berra, not Bear. The word is from the  Sanskrit - yogi 'one who performs yoga. But historically they were much more. Did you ever read or watch Marvel's IRON FIST in Hindi?

19. Clay pigeon, e.g.: DISC. 

21. __ kingdom: ANIMAL. Why? and why is the Lion the King? 

25. Scottish family: CLAN. Ms. Tey was born Elizabeth MacKintosh.  The MAC meant protestant, but she late in life converted to catholicism. Not talking religion, just history.

26. Group of eight: OCTAD.

27. Port on its own gulf: ADEN.
                                

30. Best way for something to work: LIKE A CHARM. The other special clue fill combo, I hope they are for both MD and KC. 

31. Declare: AVER. I avow that I hate to aver. Or to 33D. Help, as a hood: ABET. Or even to 36D. Imitate: APE a friend. It could lead to an...

32. Untidy situation: MESS.

34. Wild, all-night party: RAVE. Do raves need to be all-night? IDK. 

Maybe. Just don't need a 37D. Writ of __ corpus: HABEAS to get home.

35. Newspaper stand, e.g.: KIOSK. A lovely word like Khaki which comes from Urdu and Persian words meaning “dust,” or “dusty
Kiosk  traces to Persian kushk​, which meant "palace." 

39. Taiwanese laptop brand: ACER. The REVIEW.

40. Street border: CURB. Not to be confused with the Rave credo PLUR.

45. __ Gagarin, first human in outer space: YURI. Back in the day also Misattributed, "I see no God up here."

This has been reported as a remark Gagarin made while in orbit aboard Vostok 1, but there is no indication of it in the official transcripts of his communications. It is similar to the above statements he reportedly made after his return to earth, which might have given rise to this account.

46. Jaime Sommers, TV's "__ Woman": 

47. Chuckle: TEHEE. Tees me me off when then leave off the E.

48. Congo River tributary: EBOLA. What is in a NAME? 

49. Feline complaints: YOWLS. Random.

50. Refuge from the heat: OASIS. This "fertile spot in a desert, where there is a spring or well and more or less vegetation," originally was in reference to the Libyan desert, 1610s, from French oasis (18c.) and directly from Late Latin oasis, from Greek oasis, probably from Hamitic (compare Coptic wahe, ouahe "oasis," properly "dwelling place," from ouih "dwell"). 

51. Early seat belt material: NYLON. Do we really care? Today, seat belt material is usually woven from 100% polyester. Nylon used to be the most popular material, but nylon stretches more than polyester and is more prone to wear and tear. 

53. Mexican resort, for short: CABO. Do you want to VISIT?

54. Sister of Osiris: ISIS. A frequent goddess visitor.

58. Lifelong bud, initially: BFF. Best Friends Forever.

59. Italian counterpart of the BBC: RAI. Much to learn, including Italian. LINK.

60. __-cone: SNO. 

Another week, another grid with single letters highlighted. My mind wandered again, and it had a very good time. Thank you Michael and Kevin, come say hello.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, July 29, 2021, Gary Larson

 

Good morning, cruciverbalists!  Malodorous Manatee here with the post-puzzle recap.

Today, Gary Larson returns to The Los Angeles Times with a very straightforward theme,  As you probably already know from solving the puzzle or, if you have yet to complete the puzzle, from the presence of the gentlemen above, we greet this Thursday with the strains of a traditional BARBERSHOP QUARTET.

Each of the four themed answers contain a word for an item that one might find at a Barbershop.   I believe that they call this a "Partial Entry, Category Member" type of theme.

Here is the reveal, followed by the themed answers:

60 Across:  Where to find the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 49-Across: BARBERSHOP.  Or, if you prefer, BARBER SHOP.  A quick bit of web searching reveals that both one word and two words are acceptable.

17 Across.  One of the only two NBA teams that share an arena: LA CLIPPERS.  The team currently shares Staples Center (used as a clue two days ago) with the Los Angeles Lakers but the CLIPPERS are building a new arena in Inglewood, CA.  Oddly, Inglewood is where the Lakers used to play.  The Phoenix Suns defeated both the Clippers and the Lakers in the NBA playoffs this year.

25 Across.  Hive feature: HONEY COMB.

Jimmie Rogers with Dick Clark

36 Across:  Simplicity-based problem-solving principle: OCCAMS RAZOR.

49 Across:  Nevada state flower: SAGE BRUSH.

While the theme was quite straightforward, some of the clues were less so.  However, we do get quite a few crossword "staples" to ease our way.  Let us, now, take a look at the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Letters in a water molecule diagram: HOH.  We commonly refer to water as Aitch Two Oh.

4. Slip by: ELAPSE.  Ah, the classics:  "As Time Elapses" -  Play it, Sam.   "Funny, How Time Elapses"   - Willie Nelson.  "Elapse Elapsin' Away" - Paul Simon

10. Cook's protector: MITT.

14. Vincent's agent in "Entourage": ARI.  ARI Gold is the name of a character in the television show.

15. Light cotton fabric: MADRAS.  When I was in Junior High School, madras shirts, with their distinctive tartan-esque patterns (and, yes, MADRAS and tartan are not the same), were all the rage.  Bitchen!

16. Actor Sharif: OMAR.  What?  You were expecting Dr. Yuri Zhivago?

19. Web __: PAGE.  Could have been SITE.  Or, FOOT.

Webster Webfoot

20. Happens: OCCURS.  Synonym.

21. Put on weight: GAIN.

23. Getaway: LAM.  From the idiom "Take it on the LAM" meaning to flee or escape.

24. Pre-High Holy Days Hebrew month: ELUL.  The months ELUL and ADAR often appear in crossword puzzles.  Fifty percent vowels.

27. Exit via the jetway: DEPLANE.  An intransitive verb meaning to disembark from an airplane.  DESHIP?  See also 66 Across.

30. Stand for something: EASEL.  Noun or verb?  Verb or noun?  Take a principled position?  Nope.  Something on which to put something such as a painting. 

31. Dazzling displays: ECLATS.  The clue defines the answer.

35. Distribute: METE.  Also, a hockey player - Victor METE.

39. Gaucho's weapon: BOLA.

41. Take on: ASSUME.  ASSUME often takes on a different meaning such as "suppose to be the case without sufficient evidence".  I assume that, in this case, it is used as in "to assume the role of".

42. Engineer Citroën: ANDRE.  I never knew his first name.  Thanks perps.

The Eponymous Citroën Deux Chevaux

44. Mix drinks: TEND BAR.

53. Fayetteville sch.: U OF A.  The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

54. NBC skit show: SNL. Saturday Night Live often airs in our puzzles.

55. Outplay: BEST.  BEST, in this instance, is used as a verb although it can also be used as an adjective, adverb or noun.  If you defeat the reigning  champion did you BEST the BEST?  Could the highlight reel be called "The Best of the Best of the Best"?  Or, do we simply leave that one to the Men In Black?

56. Parodies: SPOOFS.

"Corona Virus Rhapsody", A SPOOF

58. Commotions: ADOS.  Does anyone use, see, or hear this word outside of crossword puzzles?  Shakespeare, of course, being an exception.

62. Tales and such: LORE.

63. Spiny lizard: IGUANA.  An IGUANA also visited us last Thursday.  Same reptilian answer.  Different photograph.  If this keeps up, Thursdays might come to rival Taco Tuesdays.  Nah, it's not alliterative.

64. Mine find: ORE.  Valuable solid material often found in crossword puzzles.

65. "Watermark" musician: ENYA.  Alternatively, an Irish singer who frequently appears in crossword puzzles.

66. Can't abide: DETEST.  The teacher handed out de test to de students.

67. Unmatched: ODD.  There are several ways to define ODD.  The constructor, or the editor, elected to go with a slightly ODD definition of the word.  Now, where did I put that sock?

Down:

1. Like the moon, at times: HALOED.  Okay, another little-used expression but not untrue.

2. Soothsayer: ORACLE.  This could have been clued something along the lines of "Larry Ellison's giant software company".

3. Glitch: HICCUP.  An idiom used to describe a problem that delays or interrupts for a while but does not cause serious difficulties.

4. Qatari leader: EMIR.

Tamin bin Hamad al Thani, Emir of Qatar

5. Relay units: LAPS.  It could have been LEGS of a relay.  While a portion of a relay race isn't always a lap, or laps, it certainly could be.

6. Payroll service initials: ADP.

7. Sauce whose name means "please": PREGO.  E italiano, si?

8. Kitchen wrap: SARAN.  I almost went with The Fugs song "Saran Wrap" here (NSFW,  you can look it up on YouTube when you get home).

9. Nail polish brand: ESSIE.  This marine mammal really needs to up his knowledge of nail polish brands as so many of them have been adorning our puzzles recently.

10. Clean, in a way: MOP.

11. "Beatles '65" song: I'M A LOSER.   Beatles '65, not to be confused with "When I'm 64", is the album title.  But, you knew that.  These days, would the song be IM (instant message) A Loser?

Shindig

12. Pepcid rival: TAGAMET.  Both products are used to treat symptoms associated with excess stomach acid.

13. Show fear, maybe: TREMBLE.

18. Soothe: LULL.  We often hear something along the lines of "a LULL in the action", meaning an interval of relative quiet.  Today we get the verb as in to "LULL someone to sleep" or into a false sense of security.

22. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE.  Alternatively, a TV scientist appearing regularly in crossword puzzles.  Perhaps, someday, we'll see a puzzle with Professor Proton.

Professor Proton

The Door to his Office is Always Open

25. Big wheels: HELMS.  A bit of misdirection.  Semi trucks?  Kahunas?  Children's vehicles?  No, the large steering wheels on ships.  Take the helm!

26. Gear for stealth, briefly: CAMO.  CAMOflage.

28. Former nuclear agcy.: AEC.  The Atomic Energy Commission was referenced in "The Wild West" a song recorded in 1953 by Tom Lehrer.  I have the original issue of this album:

29. Indiana-based sports org.: NCAA.  Were we really expected to know where the NCAA is based?  Easily perp'd especially since there are not all that many sports orgs. and the NCAA appears quite often in xword puzzles.

32. Stubborn equine: ASS.  MULE would not fit.  We can each probably think of a few proper names that might.

33. Word in a court oath: TRUTH.

34. Indistinguishable, with "the": SAME.  Lock-down was great.  I didn't work.  I didn't socialize.  I barely left the house.  SAME as usual, except I didn't feel guilty.

36. Stars and Stripes: OLD GLORY.  Both the clue and the answer are idioms for the American Flag.

37. Word with health or hair: CARE.  A pair, there.  Fair.

38. Type of garden: ZEN.  ZEN gardens were originally created in Japan to assist Buddhist monks with their meditation.

39. Pub brand with a red triangle logo: BASS ALE.

40. Endlessly: ON AND ON.  In lieu of the obvious Stephen Bishop link let's just move on.

43. Wane: EBB.

45. Many old comedy teams: DUOS.  E.G., Abbott and Costello,  Martin and Lewis, Laurel and Hardy, Cheech and Chong.

46. Sarcastic "So sad": BOO HOO.  I almost cried.

47. Manage to pay: AFFORD.

48. Filed, in a way: RASPED.  I have a rasp in my toolbox but I cannot recall ever having said that I had RASPED something.  More often used to describe a harsh, or grating, noise.

50. Bridge term: REBID.  It sounds, to this marine mammal, more like something an amphibian would say.

51. Practice: USAGE.

52. Swaggering gait: STRUT.

56. D.C. group: SENS.  SENatorS  D.C. is the abbreviation for District of Columbia ergo the answer will be an abbreviation.

57. Start to fall?: PRAT.  A PRATfall is a staged, often comedic, fall.  It derives from pratt, meaning buttock.

59. Coral, for one: SEA. Shtick used by constructors playing around with the convention that clues are always started with a capital letter.  Of course we never know if the leading  "cap" is coincidental or part of the clue.  Without the cap, POLYP or a color.  With the cap, the proper noun, Coral SEA.

61. Sweetie, in modern lingo: BAE.  Alternatively, a slang expression appearing far too often in contemporary crossword puzzles.  We don't have to go back to "main squeeze" but . . . .

With that bit of commentary,  let's wrap things up.  For the outro, some Barbershop Quartet music from the 2011 International Barbershop Quartet Champions:

________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, Jeff Chen and Owen Travis

Theme: PLAY IT SAFE

 17. Expand regs to one's advantage: STRETCH THE RULES.

28. Impulsively get involved: JUMP IN HEADFIRST.

35. With 38-Across, take a dangerous risk: SKATE ON.

38. See 35-Across: THIN ICE.

 61. Do the opposite of what those who 17-, 28- or 35-/38-Across do: EXERCISE CAUTION.

Melissa here. Interesting grid, right? Three grid-spanners in a grid with left/right symmetry. Normally if you turn the grid upside-down, the pattern should be the same (180° rotational symmetry). Clever how the first words STRETCH, JUMP, SKATE are all types of EXERCISE, which is the first word of the reveal answer - makes for a tight theme. This appears to be Owen Travis's LA Times debut.

Across:

1. Rural assent: YES'M.

5. Michelle who wrote "Becoming": OBAMA.

10. Rikishi's sport: SUMO. Japanese word rikishi is a term for a professional sumo wrestler.
Rikishi is also the ring name of Solofa Fatu, an American wrestler. Fatu has a twin brother, and he and his twin both have their own twins. What are the chances of that?

14. Beat fast, as a heart: RACE.

15. __ Wiggum, Lisa Simpson classmate: RALPH. From The Simpson's.

16. Bracketology org.: NCAA. Basketball - National Collegiate Athletic Association.

20. SEA postings: ETAS. ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival. SEA is the airport code for Seattle airport. Also referred to as Sea–Tac.

21. Very large: MEGA.

22. Emerald City creator: BAUM. Emerald City is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). 

 23. NBC's "Weekend Update" show: SNL. Saturday Night Live.

26. Exile isle: ELBA.

32. Nanny, mostly?: ENS. Three n's in the five-letter word.

33. " ... a farm, __": EIEIO.

34. AP rival: UPI.

41. Carried: TOTED.

42. Sub detector: SONAR. Sub as in submarine.

43. Mystical old letter: RUNE.

46. Salty margarita glass spots: RIMS.

48. Fishy email asking for personal info, perhaps: SPAM. Spam vs. phishing.

51. Many an April birth: ARIES. Zodiac. An Aries is said to be
a passionate, motivated, and confident leader who builds community with their cheerful disposition and relentless determination. Uncomplicated and direct in their approach, they often get frustrated by exhaustive details and unnecessary nuances.

 53. Lessen in intensity: EASE.

57. Actress Ullmann: LIV. Norwegian actress and film director.

58. Rights activist Carmichael: STOKELY. Born in Trinidad, civil rights leader, antiwar activist, and Pan-African revolutionary, Stokely Carmichael is best known for popularizing the slogan “Black Power.” He adopted the name Kwame Ture after moving to Africa in 1968.

60. "Planet Money" network: NPR. So much good programming on NPR.

64. Ritzy NYC thoroughfare: PARK AVE. Top Ten Secrets of NYC's Park Avenue.

65. Joins the service: ENLISTS.

66. Taste test request: TRY ONE.

67. Can't bear: DETEST.

Down:

1. Jr. and sr.: YRS. High school or college student years, junior and senior.

2. Chow down: EAT.

3. Lets have it: SCREAMS AT. Ohhhh - sneaky.

4. Connect (with): MEET UP.

5. Hobbit enemies: ORCS. From the book The Hobbit.  In Tolkien's works, orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly and malevolent race of monsters.

6. Exclamation from Scrooge: BAH. Charles Dickens's miserly protagonist in A Christmas Carol. Ebeneezer Scrooge is "a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas."

7. Key to some shortcuts?: ALT. Nice clue - computer keyboard. I just got the new iMac - was so pleased that the signature Apple keyboard and magic mouse are now charged wirelessly - no more changing batteries.

8. Meas. with city and highway calculations: MPH. Miles per hour.

9. "If I might interrupt ... ": AHEM.

10. Aptly named baby carrier brand: SNUGLI.

11. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in coll.: UCLA BRUIN. Basketball.

12. Sallie __: MAE.  Originally the Student Loan Marketing Association. The company's primary business is creating, servicing, and collecting private education loans.

13. Western treaty gp.: OAS. Organization of American States. The OAS has 35 members, which are independent states in the Americas. 

18. Suspense novelist Hoag: TAMI.

19. Great Barrier __: REEF.

22. Swindling scheme: BUNKO. I only knew this word from the game (I've never played) - but the spelling for the game is bunco. BUNKO is a swindle in which a person is cheated at gambling, persuaded to buy a nonexistent, unsalable, or worthless object, or otherwise victimized. 

23. Place for a soccer guard: SHIN. Shin guard. 

24. Once known as: NEE.

25. Pain au __: French dessert: LAIT. Translates directly to "milk bread," a humble name for these slightly sweet, elegant, brioche-like rolls. 

 

27. Org. concerned with boxers: ASPCA.

28. Kid: JEST. Verb not noun.

29. Classical prefix: NEO.

30. Exclamation from Homer: DOH. Second clue from The Simpson's.

31. Level: TIER.

36. One of two for 52-Down: TERM.

37. Dot follower, on campuses: EDU. Email address.

39. Doctrine suffix: ISM.

40. Win by a __: NOSE.

44. Locally grown: NATIVE.

45. Like jagged edges: EROSE. Having an irregularly notched or toothed margin as though gnawed. 

46. Volleyball star Gabrielle: REECE.

47. Madagascar, e.g.: ISLAND. Second largest island in the world, after Indonesia.

48. Snoozed: SLEPT.

49. "Inside Out" studio: PIXAR.

50. Looney Tunes animator Tex: AVERY.  The name is a little obscure, but he created well-known characters such as Looney Tunes stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd. 

52. Prez before Jack: IKE. Jack = John F. Kennedy. Ike = Dwight D. Eisenhower.

54. Licorice-like flavoring: ANISE.

55. Parking places: SPOTS.

56. Physicist Mach: ERNST. noted for his contributions to physics such as the study of shock waves.  

58. Read, as a bar code: SCAN.

59. 'Tis the season: YULE. Linguists debate the origin of the word of the word Yule. Some suggest the word is derived from “Iul,” the Anglo-Saxon word for wheel. This makes a connection to a Celtic calendar, the Wheel of the Year. However, in the Norse culture, “Jul” refers to the god, Odin. Odin was celebrated during Yule as well.

 62. "Citizen Kane" distributor: RKO. RKO Pictures - a subsidiary of Radio-Keith-Orpheum, aka: RKO.

63. Chickadee kin: TIT.