Sunday December 12 2021 Gary Larson

Theme: "Prep Course" - Phrases with prepositions in front are punnily rephrased.

23A. Like members of Gamblers Anonymous?: AGAINST ALL ODDS.

48A. Like a church deacon?: ABOVE THE FOLD.

69a. Like a balloon company with a depleted helium supply?: OUT OF THEIR ELEMENT.

94A. Like one shopping for disposable phones?: AFTER BURNERS.

119A. Like supporters of a Seattle daily?: BEHIND THE TIMES.

18D. Like sausage's main ingredients?: FROM THE GROUND UP.

44D. Like one caught in a storm?: UNDER THE WEATHER

So the first words are all prepositions. Nothing more that coheres the set, right? I'm afraid I'm missing something.

I think Gary Larson has more Sundays than any other regular constructors for LA Times or other papers. Washing Post Sunday is an exception. Amazing!

 Across:

1. Guitarist Paul: LES.  Electric guitar pioneer.

4. Flamboyant Dame: EDNA.

8. Play with a receiver: PASS.

12. Chance to roll the dice, say: TURN.

16. In the archives: ON FILE. Including Peng Shui's original post.

19. Wishes undone: RUES.

20. Specialty: AREA.

21. Customizable cookie: OREO. Also 66. Wafer brand: NECCO.

22. Ship's accountant: PURSER. Come back to us soon, Spitzboov!

26. Tiny racer: SLOT CAR.

28. Resort town NNE of Santa Fe: TAOS.

29. Chopin wrote a "Revolutionary" one: ETUDE.

30. Assembled: MET.

31. Put-__: masquerades: ONS.

34. Former British automaker: RELIANT. No knowledge of this maker. It ceased production in 2002, according to Wikipedia.

38. Autumn flower: ASTER.

40. Like a popular crusader: CAPED.

43. King Cole and others: OLD SOULS. I'm one too. I'm stuck in the 1990s.

47. Federal biomedical agcy.: NIH. National Institutes of Health.

52. Draft status: ONE A.

53. What a shortage suggests: NEED.

55. "This is the truth": I CAN'T LIE.

56. Hang out in the sun: LET DRY.

58. "Splendor in the Grass" screenwriter: INGE (Williams)

59. First name in Israeli statehood: GOLDA (Meir). Raised in Milwaukee.

60. Plagued: GNAWED.

63. Sister of the moon goddess Selene: EOS.

64. Listening aid: EARBUD.

67. "The Far Side" cartoonist Larson: GARY. Same name as today's constructor.

75. Subdue, as a color: MUTE.

76. Sailor's "Stop!": AVAST.

77. Utah national park: ARCHES.

80. Beach tone: TAN.

81. Cheap hooch: ROTGUT. Sounds horrible. 

83. Muff: BOTCH.

87. Rope material: HEMP.

88. Cello-supporting rod: END PIN.

90. Support for a big top: TENT POLE.

92. Boo-boo: OWIE.

93. Aspersion: SLUR.

98. List-ending abbr.: ETC.

99. Saturn moon named for a Titan: HYPERION. Wikipedia info: "The moon is named after Hyperion, the Titan god of watchfulness and observation – the elder brother of Cronus, the Greek equivalent of Saturn – in Greek mythology. "

101. Yoga posture: ASANA.

102. Get a load of: AMASS.

104. American League East city: TORONTO. Blue Jays.

107. Farm clucker: HEN.

108. Back muscle, briefly: LAT.

109. Three-time Tony winner Rivera: CHITA.

112. Sitar music: RAGA.

115. Classic jazz nickname: SATCHMO.  Louis Armstrong.

125. One-dimensional: LINEAR.

126. Seven-time Wimbledon winner: GRAF. We just had AGASSI last week.

127. "Relax, I'll take care of it!": OK OK.

128. European luxury wheels: BMWS.

129. Eye: PEER AT.

130. Soul mate?: BODY. Body and soul. We had to leave the church earlier last night, Boomer was in pain. Don't worry about Monday blog. It's already written and scheduled. He always starts his post as soon as we receive the puzzles.

131. Gear teeth: COGS.

132. Dutch word meaning "farmer": BOER.

133. Bank deposit, perhaps: ORE. Dictionary says bank is "the surface around the mouth of a shaft".  Is this what this clue refers to?

Down:

1. Directory name: LISTEE.

2. Sister of Orestes: ELECTRA. Here they are.

4. Horse-and-buggy, e.g.: ERA.

5. Enjoyed, in slang: DUG. You're just incredible, Husker Gary!

6. Bar order: NEAT.

7. Actor __ Kate Dillon of "Billions": ASIA. Wikipedia says "Dillon is non-binary and uses singular they pronouns". Sorry, I don't know them.

8. So last year: PASSE.

9. Museum focus: ART.

10. Raft, or where you might see one: SEA.

11. Actor Mineo: SAL.

12. Toddler's train sound: TOOT TOOT.

13. Pakistani tongue: URDU.

14. Comedian Foxx: REDD.

15. Wine quality: NOSE.

16. Special or black follower: OPS.

17. Nada, to Noël: NUL. French for "null".

24. Easter opening?: NOR. Nor'easter.

25. Camera option: LENS.

27. Ornate 18th-century style: ROCOCO.

32. Kind of architect: NAVAL. They design ships.

33. Opposite of save: SPEND.

35. WC: LOO.

36. Poorly: ILL.

37. Throw into confusion: ADDLE.

38. "It's the Hard-Knock Life" soloist: ANNIE.

39. Tuscany city: SIENA.

41. Blues singer James: ETTA.

42. FedEx rival: DHL. FedEx Smartpost is so slow.

45. Brown in a Croce song: LEROY.

46. Opines, for instance: SAYS.

49. Beehive, e.g.: BIG DO.

50. Peak in an Eastwood movie: EIGER. The Eiger Sanction.

51. Fight with foils: FENCE.

54. Coming-out: DEBUT.

57. Lawn tool: EDGER. We drove by Kirby Puckett's old house the other day. He lived in Brooklyn Park for a short period.

61. Commonly injured knee part, briefly: ACL.

62. Trouble: WOE.

65. Where embryos grow: UTERI.

66. Annual coll. hoops competition: NIT. National Invitation Tournament.

68. Dried chili pepper: ANCHO. It's called Poblano when fresh.

70. Budgetary excess: FAT.

71. Family-friendly rating: TV-G.

72. __ cuisine: HAUTE.

73. Dimethyl sulfate, e.g.: ESTER.

74. "Politically Incorrect" host: MAHER. Bill.

75. Virile: MANLY.

78. Throws off: EMITS.

79. Technical details: SPECS.

80. New Age pianist John: TESH, who once dated OPRAH (84. Talk show host in the National Women's Hall of Fame)

82. Walking __: ON AIR.

83. Heat meas.: BTUS.

85. Metric weight: TONNE.

86. Bankrupts, with "out": CLEANS.

89. Spruce up: PRETTIFY.

91. Magic org.: NBA. The Orlando Magic.

95. Rock's __ Fighters: FOO. Also 3. Flu fighters: SERA.

96. Old Opry network: TNN.

97. More crude, language-wise: SALTIER.

100. Stable color: ROAN.

103. Rigg co-star on "The Avengers": MACNEE. Patrick

105. Long hikes: TREKS.

106. Muesli morsel: OAT.

109. Longtime NYC punk rock club: CBGB. Stands for Country, BlueGrass, and Blues.

110. Sub: HERO.

111. "If __ a Hammer": I HAD. Peter, Paul and Mary. One of songs in D-Otto's stick.

113. The "Gee" in Bee Gees: GIBB.

114. Water, in some pistols: AMMO.

116. Purina rival: ALPO.

117. Goat quote: MAA. And 123. Fleecy one: EWE. We also have 122. Slop slurper: HOG.

118. Table scrap: ORT.

120. Sleepy cohort?: DOC. The Seven Dwarfs.

121. Ref's ruling: TKO.

124. Ukr., once: SSR. What does Russia wants in Ukraine?

C.C.

I'm happy to tell you that the cool Windhover and his wife Irish are safe and sound. They did have to go the storm cellar on Friday night. He said he still solves crossword every day and sometimes visits the blog for help. Happy belated 76th birthday, Windhover!

Windhover, 12/7/2006

Saturday, December 11, 2021, Beth Rubin and Brad Wilber

 Saturday Themeless by Beth Rubin and Brad Wilber

Hi Gary, 

BETH: Thank you for inviting us to the L.A. Times Crossword Corner! Originally from New York (where Brad now lives - hg), I am a librarian, crossword constructor, writer, and artist living in Los Angeles. My puzzles have been published by Universal, Crosswords Club, and Spyscape. This is my Los Angeles Times debut and my first themeless. 

 

I was fortunate to connect to Erik Agard and Facebook's Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory community just a few weeks into learning how to construct a puzzle. The guidance and mentorship has been stellar. The generosity, humor and creativity of the crossword community continues to inspire me. 

 

It’s been wonderful learning the basics from someone of Brad’s expertise and lovely getting to know him as well. Thanks to Rich for his excellent edits. Hope that you all enjoy the puzzle!

BRAD: When I connected with Beth, I was excited to be collaborating with another librarian. Lots of common ground emerged between us, and not only were we well-matched in puzzle making, Beth became an empathetic sounding board for pandemic life in general.

I gave Beth a starting corner with a seed entry from academia (which I'm keeping under wraps--sorry, themelesses are a cutthroat business!). But when she came back with this beautiful corner with DIPLOMA MILL, I wasn't that interested in doing a collegiate minitheme, so we ditched my corner and re-evaluated. Beth did lots of wonderful experimentation in the middle of the puzzle as we struggled with the joinery of the two stacks of 11s. She brought in the novelist Carl HIAASEN and that proved 

Checking Out With
Beth and Brad

quite important to a clean, fresh grid fill. Librarians for the win! We really tried to get a whimsical verbal expression in the spot where PILED IT ON is (we may try it again next time we work together), but that had to be shelved.

We ended up being quite proud of our work on the clueing: new takes on MUTTS and ION, ETTU, and SIDE ONE. It's such a pleasure being back in the L.A. Times again! Enjoy…

Across:

1. Some chocolate purchases: ASSORTMENTS - If you order from See's Candies you can make your own ASSORTMENT

12. Inflation fig.: PSI - How much air is in your tires?

15. Purveyor of fraudulent credentials: DIPLOMA MILL - An exposé in the St. Louis Star in 1923

´

16. Bit of positivity?: ION - a crossword staple

17. Hair, in many cases: DNA EVIDENCE - "Uh, number 3, can we have a word?"

18. Latin word in many academic mottos: LUX - Light And Truth

                                                    

19. Climber's rest stop: LEDGE.

20. Poetic indicator of relative time: ERE.

21. Juice extractor: PRESS.

23. Pasture palindrome: EWE.

24. Wouldn't share: BOGARTED - Named for BOGART, of whom it is said never took a cigarette out of his mouth. It's when marijuana smokers accusing others of not passing around a joint.

26. Imperious dismissal: LEAVE ME.

28. Surfboard damage: DING.

Before.            and              After

31. Shocked big-time: APPALLED.

34. Official who sings in Hebrew: CANTOR - This movie in all its iterations is about a boy who did not want to be a CANTOR like his father

36. Leverage provider: CROWBAR.

37. Where to find "Octopus's Garden" on "Abbey Road": SIDE ONE.

38. Utah Jazz center Whiteside: HASSAN 

39. Ran into trouble: HIT A SNAG - in 1865, the steamboat Bertrand HIT A SNAG in the Missouri River an hour east of me. It was rediscovered one hundred years later and now its cargo is on display in this beautiful museum

40. Shakespearean last gasp: ET TU and 49. When 40-Across was spoken: IDES - Shakespeare 101

41. Neologists: COINERS - People who invent/coin new words like webinar, malware, blogosphere, etc.

43. Zoom frustrations: TIME LAGS - The TV broadcast of Husker FB games is 10 seconds later than the local radio broadcast.

45. __ rule: MOB.

48. Love of collectibles: VIRTU.

50. "__ Kapital": DAS - Marks and Engels 101

51. Succumbed to stage fright: FROZE.

53. Brown or Rice ending: EDU - Brown (brown.EDU) and Rice (rice.EDU) University web sites 

54. '90s-'00s HBO series with lots of therapy sessions: THE SOPRANOS - Lorraine Bracco played Dr. Jennifer Melfi who was conflicted in trying to counsel Tony Soprano.

57. Comprehend: GET.

58. Impresario's contact: TALENT AGENT - A TALENT AGENT's job is to hound impresarios (people who put on shows, etc.) to get jobs for their clients 

59. Hibachi waste: ASH.

60. Election focuses: SWING STATES - Candidates spend more time in "toss up" states rather than states that are solidly blue or red.

Down:

1. Disorient: ADDLE.

2. Power cord?: SINEW - One use of the SINEW (tendon/ligament) of the Bison was used to make the bowstring to power a bow and arrow

3. Club relative: SPADE - Also hearts and diamonds

4. First name in film designers: OLEG - OLEG Cassini

5. Wander: ROVE.

6. "Eww! Say no more!": TMI.

7. Redesigned: MADE OVER  8. Popped up: EMERGED - A new Lidia EMERGED below

9. Common starting hr.: NINE AM - Not at any job I ever had

10. "I Am Jazz" cable channel: TLC - This reality series focuses on Jazz "Jennings" who was identified as having gender dysphoria and the show follows Jazz's life as a transgender girl 

11. Took a day to consider, with "on": SLEPT.

12. Faulted to excess: PILED IT ON - "I heard you the fourth time!"

13. __-chef: SOUS - Literally "under chief/chef". Here are three SOUS Chefs in training. 

14. "Need You Tonight" band: INXS - If you'd really like to hear that

22. Dermatological symptom: REDNESS.

24. Yoga asset: BALANCE - I can see that

   Dancers Pose/Natarajasana

25. Reels off: RECITES - "Fourscore and seven years ago..."

26. Premise in many John Grisham novels: LAWSUIT - Mr. Grisham was named in a LAWSUIT for libel in 2007 for a non-fiction book he wrote.

27. Idris of "The Jungle Book": ELBA.

29. Actress Gaye of "Ali": NONA.

30. Novelist Iles: GREG.

31. Reason to call a chiropractor: ACHE.

32. Nit, to a Brit: PRAT - and 51. Alpha Phi Alpha, e.g.: FRAT - What would you call a FRAT PRAT?

33. Like a situation in which emotional persuasion trumps factual accuracy: POST TRUTH.

35. Purim month: ADAR.

37. Voice used for "Humpty Dumpty," say: SING SONG.

39. Crime novelist Carl: HIAASEN - I've never heard of Carl but I read a snippet from this fun book that is illustrated by a crossword friend of ours and I might buy it!

42. Yale sobriquet: OLD ELI.

44. Crosses at obedience school?: MUTTS 

45. "Rouen Cathedral" painter: MONET - He did over thirty of them

46. Thinning layer: OZONE.

47. Tops: BESTS.

48. Chevy named for a star: VEGA - This lightweight, rear-wheel-drive vehicle would not fare well in the snow we got last night. 

52. Sitar sequence: RAGA - A pattern of notes, rhythms, etc. in Indian music 

55. Hem partner: HAW - Derivation

56. NBA stat: PTS - Here are the all time leaders. Notice the #1 scorer only made one 3-pointer in his entire career.

FWIW: Today I start my fifth year of writing up the Saturday puzzles for C.C.'s wonderful site. In so doing, I have gained so much knowledge from the puzzles themselves and the wonderful band of bloggers who post here!