L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Mar 10, 2024

Sunday March 10, 2024 Brian Thomas & Kate Chin Park

Theme: "Con Test" - Each common phrase is rephrased as if it's con (convention)-related.

22. Con current?: AIR OF EXCITEMENT.

33. Con tour?: MEET AND GREET.

37. Con quest?: AUTOGRAPH.

54. Con sorts?: COSPLAYERS.

68. Con note?: I LOVE YOUR WORK.

86. Con text?: FAN FICTION.

101. Con figure?: MOVIE STAR.

103. Con script?: GROUP READING.

119. Con form?: CARDBOARD CUTOUT.

Just a perfect title. Also love that all the theme entries are in-the-language phrases. Not easy for this type of theme where the answers have to match the second parts of the con words and have to work within the convention contest.

You can find more of Brian puzzles at his site Puzzles That Need a Home. More of Kate's puzzle at her site Crosswords Schmosswords

Across:

1. Handy smartphone app for a tourist: GPS.

4. Most pancakes: DISKS.

9. Ijeoma Oluo's "So You Want To Talk About __": RACE. OLUO is very crossword-friendly.

13. Lumps in a stack of folded sweatshirts: HOODS.

18. Make a big fuss: RAISE CAIN.

20. Auburn, to Alabama: RIVAL.

21. Skerry, e.g.: ISLET. I did not know the meaning of skerry. Wikipedia info: small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation.

24. Bradbury genre: SCI-FI.

25. Brotherly sort: FRIAR.

26. Blackpink genre: KPOP. Very popular girl group in Asia.

27. December quaff: NOG.

29. River near Shakespeare's birthplace: AVON.

30. Argentine grassland: PAMPA.

41. Hardly any: A DAB.

42. Squeaky toy?: POM. Ha. Squeaky.

43. With 52-Across, some midriff-baring attire: CROP. 52. See 43-Across: TOPS.

44. "Star Trek: TNG" counselor Deanna: TROI.

45. Leg bone: TIBIA.

47. System connecting OAK and SFO: BART.

50. Patella spots: KNEES.

57. Plays chords, in a way: STRUMS.

59. Aristotle's teacher: PLATO.

61. Fictional Amelia who, when asked to remove spots from a dress, cut out all the polka dots: BEDELIA.

62. Maui's Road to __: HANA.

63. Iranian money: RIAL.

64. Chart-topper: HIT.

65. "Shucks!": RATS.

66. "Black-ish" dad: DRE.

73. Tic-tac-toe side: XES.

74. Slitherers in the sea: EELS.

76. Freedom Rider's ride: BUS.

77. Scuffle: FRAY.

78. As concerns: IN RE.

80. Code names: ALIASES.

82. "See what I did there?": GET IT.

84. Drives too fast: SPEEDS.

88. Half of quatorze: SEPT. French for 7.

90. Spousal term of endearment: WIFEY.

92. Toss, slangily: YEET.

93. Performed miserably: STUNK.

95. Put pen to paper: DREW.

97. "Aida" river: NILE.

98. Classic film about a football-kicking mule: GUS.

100. Swing about: SLUE.

108. False move: FEINT.

109. Capital of Italia: ROMA.

110. Lacking freshness: OLD.

111. " ... __ I thought": OR SO.

113. Saint-Saëns's "__ Macabre": DANSE.

117. Conscious: AWARE.

124. Seeds, weeds, and feeds: TENDS. 128. Nave-y bases?: PEWS. Fun clues.

125. Asteroids publisher: ATARI.

126. "Wait, what happened?": I MISSED IT.

127. Come up: ARISE.

129. "Divine Comedy" poet: DANTE.

130. Greek vowel: ETA.

Down:

1. Tennis great Steffi: GRAF.

2. Skating team: PAIR.

3. iPhone speaker: SIRI.

4. Reorganize a hard drive, familiarly: DE-FRAG.

5. Cocktail sphere: ICE.

6. "Yakety __": horn-heavy novelty hit: SAX.

7. Algonquian-speaking people: KICKAPOO. Learning moment for me. We have Ojibwe here.

8. Manicure sound: SNIP.

9. Salt garnish locale: RIM.

10. Letters after Madison or before Maria: AVE.

11. Source of hemp: CANNABIS. Sure hope you don't ever encounter the smell issue.

12. John who completed an EGOT in 2024: ELTON.

13. That fella's: HIS.

14. Name on a Wienermobile: OSCAR MAYER.

15. Tapenade fruit: OLIVE.

16. Crusoe's creator: DEFOE (Daniel)

17. Stay: STINT.

19. Major drama: SOAP OPERA.

20. Two bars and two dots, on a staff: REPEAT.

23. Actor Hardy: TOM.

28. Macroeconomics abbr.: GDP.

31. Actor born Laurence Tureaud: MR T.

32. Components: PARTS.

34. Proclamation: EDICT.

35. Hasbro's "game of unspeakable fun": TABOO.

36. Turn: GO BAD. (Thanks, D-Otto!)

37. "Cathy" cry: ACK.

38. Vessels in a pharaoh's tomb: URNS. Fresh clue angle.

39. Follow the rules: TOE THE LINE. 48. Dadcore jeans specification: RELAXED FIT. Two more great fill.

40. 1960s nonconformist: HIPPIE.

46. HS exam with a cellular energetics section: AP BIO.

49. Lacking freshness: TRITE.

51. Olympic gold medalist Lee: SUNI. She grew up in St. Paul.

53. Tear it up: SLAY.

55. Unleash: LET RIP.

56. Spunk: SASS.

58. Many an Argentine red: MALBEC.

60. Up in the air: ALOFT.

63. Campground sights, briefly: RVS.

64. Rte. 66, e.g.: HWY.

66. The "D" of CODA: DEAF.

67. Baton-passing event: RELAY.

69. Boots: OUSTS.

70. Novelist Leon: URIS. He wrote "Exodus".

71. Like the Resident Evil games: RATED M.

72. Had more than an inkling: KNEW.

75. Rails against failure?: SAFEGUARDS. Love this clue also.

79. Put back: REINSTATE.

81. Crunch cousin: SIT UP.

82. Actor Elliott: GOULD. He was once married to Barbra Streisand.

83. Jaded feeling: ENNUI.

84. Big name in Apple history: STEVE. Jobs.

85. Ward of "Gone Girl": SELA.

87. "See you then!": IT'S A DATE.

89. As per routine: PRO FORMA. Hey, a PRO word in this Con puzzle.

91. "__ outta here!": YER.

94. Skywalker mentor: KENOBI.

96. GameCube successor: WII.

99. Cheap ticket spec: SRO.

102. Final application: END USE.

103. Persona non __: GRATA.

104. Scull mover: ROWER.

105. Bahla Fort visitor, perhaps: OMANI. On the UNESCO World Heritage List.

106. Yosemite peak free soloed in "Free Solo," informally: EL CAP.

107. Miracle-__: GRO.

112. Came out with: SAID.

114. Vertex, in graph theory: NODE.

115. Clubs, but not cabarets: SUIT.

116. Jazz singer Jones: ETTA.

118. Kampala-to-Nairobi dir.: ESE.

120. Unedited, as footage: RAW.

121. OBs, e.g.: DRS.

122. Racket: DIN.

123. Chicago winter hrs.: CST.

OK, an update on my freestyle. What do you think, Wendy? My hand entry is much better, but I need to hold my glide a bit longer.

Here is my backstroke. I'm still mostly pulling with straight arms. Will work on high elbow next.

Mar 9, 2024

Saturday, March 9, 2024, Jamey Smith

Saturday Themeless by Jamey Smith

Jamie knew I would be blogging his puzzle and so he sent me this note: Not that you asked for one, but here’s an updated photo of yours truly. The real star of the shot, I’m sure you’ll agree, is a certain five-letter landmark that makes regular appearances in the cross-world. Thought your readers might appreciate seeing it freed from the grid for a change. Looking forward to your full CC post.

This is my ninth Saturday Themeless Puzzle of Jamey's I have blogged. He is a former Texas University employe and always supplies a puzzle full of charm and learning but today he has no sympathy for me for 27 Down as you will see.

Across:

1. Opportunity to work from home?: AT BAT - How's that for a cute start?

Harmon Killebrew
One of C.C.'s favs

6. News agency that covered Sputnik: TASS.

10. __-town: CHI.

13. Welcome addition: CHERRY ON TOP 😀

16. Kicked things off: LED.

17. Relic: MUSEUM PIECE - PIECES from the Apple MUSEUM all of which were "state of the art" items I owned at one time. 🤔

18. Cinnabar, e.g.: ORE - Cinnabar ORE and mercury refined from such ORE

19. Italian pronoun: ESSA.

20. Endorheic basin between Europe and Asia: CASPIAN SEA - An endorheic basin is defined as a region in which the river network is completely isolated from the world's oceans: the water flowing in the rivers never reaches the sea. Yeah, I knew that! 😀

22. "I'm Yours" singer: MRAZ - A fun listen.

24. Onetime Dodge: ARIES - The K cars were cheap, reasonably reliable and provided cheap transportation. They brought the Chrysler Corporation back from the brink of bankruptcy.

25. Short getaways?: VACAYS - It would be totes adorbs to take your bae with you on a VACAY 😫

28. Source of stability: BALLAST - Loading BALLAST in the bottom of a Viking Longboat for stability

30. Run into a hitch?: ELOPE 😀

31. South Asians living abroad: DESIS.

32. On a roll: HOT.

34. Karate levels: DANS.

35. Langley, Va., campus: CIA HQ.

36. Kellerman who writes Rina Lazarus mystery novels: FAYE - “My series characters are like family to me. They actually talk to me, telling me what to write and what not to write. And when they talk, I always listen” ― Faye Kellerman

37. Pomeranian pick-me-up?: ARF 😀

38. Fair: SUNNY.

39. Delight in: SAVOR.

40. Sequence depicting the passage of time, e.g.: MONTAGE - This is a great one whose ending has become a symbol of a city.

42. Cram: BONE UP - This weekend I have to BONE UP on finding surface areas of geometric solids so I can teach it on Monday. Derivation of the phrase

43. Former: PRIOR.

44. Orange stuff: PULP and 44. Orange stuff: PEELS. How fun!!

45. Expert in creature comforts?: GAME KEEPER 😀

48. __ Voyage: concert residency featuring avatars of a Swedish pop group: ABBA. These concerts feature virtual avatars (dubbed 'ABBAtars'), depicting the group as they appeared in 1979, and utilize the songs' re-recorded vocals from the group themselves in a studio in Sweden specifically for this show. Tickets start at £55 for this amazing experience.

52. Quarter of tetra-: UNI - 1/4 of four is one

53. Möbius strip, for one: ENDLESS LOOP - I loved making these with kids. We traced with a pencil and wound up right back where we started with a line on both sides of the strip without lifting the pencil.

55. With 57-Across, unleash: LET 57. See 55-Across: FLY.

56. Secretive state: STEALTH MODE.

58. Hill workers: ANTS.

59. County south of Suffolk: ESSEX.

In Massachusetts it is the other way around:

Down:

1. Do-It Yourself Tornado Kit company: ACME.

2. "It follows ... ": THUS.

3. White House resident between Eleanor and Mamie: BESS - Mrs. Truman

4. Tour guides?: AREA MAPS.

5. "Ur so right": TRU. K

6. Utah's state gem: TOPAZ - TOPAZ Mountain in western Utah

7. French cordial flavoring: ANIS.

8. Flight segment: STEP 😀

9. Ability to read the room, say: SOCIAL IQ.

10. Narrow escape: CLOSE SHAVE.

11. "I raise my glass": HERE'S TO YOU.

12. Inkling: IDEA.

14. Places that might have pool queues: YMCAS 😀

15. Cultured set: PEARLS.

Real PEARLS feel slightly rough
fake ones feel very smooth

21. Director DaCosta: NIA.

23. Barley kin: RYE.

25. Rig __: Sanskrit text with more than 1,000 hymns: VEDA - More info

26. Security hub: ALARM PANEL.

27. Sheepishness?: CONFORMITY - Wow, Jamey, this is off the charts for trickery! 😳 I told him that and he replied, As for 27-D, all I will say is … baa!

28. "Moneyball" figure Billy: BEANE - Billy BEANE was a radical general manager of the Oakland A's and Brad Pitt played him in this great "inside baseball" movie.

29. Wan: ASHY.

31. [That's right!]: DING 😀

33. U. of Maryland player: TERP - Short for terrapin

35. Ocho x cinco: CUARENTA - Si trabaja ocho horas a cinco dólares la hora, ganará CUARENTA dólares (If you work eight hours for five dollar per hour, you will make forty dollars)

36. Trees with pinwheel-like leaves: FAN PALMS.