L.A.Times Crossword Corner

May 22, 2024

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024, Rebecca Goldstein

HURDLES

Today's construction makes two Rebecca puzzles in a row for me, AND the second in a row that's 16 x 15. Plus the fourth grid of hers that I have blogged since I started guest blogging last year. Two spanners and two 10-letter theme answers. IMHO there was some meh fill, but that may be due to the fact that I am getting "older" and not keeping up with the world as it races past me. The theme clues/answers:

17. Undercover undertaking: STEALTH OPERATION

36. Winter getaway deal: SKI PACKAGE

43. Meet, Maps, and Drive, e.g.: GOOGLE APPS

62. Bend over backward, or what each set of circled letters is: JUMP THROUGH HOOPS - three synonyms for "jump", which 'bound' from one word to another, while being "circled" by a hoop.

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Pleads: BEGS

5. Clear as day: LUCID - eh, I like this better when referring to dreams

10. Brunch side: HASH

14. "Lunch __ a Skyscraper": iconic New York photograph: ATOP - I did not know it was a publicity stunt; the Wiki

Totally Photoshopped

15. Trip to see Africa's "Big Five": SAFARI - I did not know there was a "set" that should be on one's African safari bucket list; they are listed here on this site

16. Capital city with public transit ferries: OSLO - this strikes me as being "Ektorp", but there's "Norway" it's going to be Swedish 😜

20. Owns: HAS

21. __ Lingus: AER - Crossword staple

22. As of now: TO DATE

23. Toy that may get stuck in a tree: KITE - ah. Not "POM"

C'mon, that's funny~!

25. Sweater pattern: ARGYLE - a shout-out to our dear departed Santa

28. Fully __ nachos: LOADED

30. Apt rhyme for tear: WEAR - "wear & tear"; took me a minute

31. Lovers' quarrel: SPAT - and - 50A. Tizzies: ADOs

35. Garden shelter: ARBOR - my maiden excursion on my new tractor did not go so well; trashed my garage door track, twice, trying to get it out; knocked myself silly when the folding roll bar folded on my head, then when I was out mowing, first the roll bar snapped a branch off my pine tree and then....

38. "Wild" card game: UNO

39. 4-Down sigh: AHH....

41. Country north of Kenya: Abbr.: ETHiopia

42. Unlikely to reprimand: LAX - not the airport this time

47. "Don't cry for me" singer: EVITA

49. Web content std.: HTML - oops, I tried HTTP

51. Soaks in a salt solution: BRINES - meh. Don't care for the 'verb'; salt solutions...better

52. "Even still ... ": AND YET. . .

54. "So I __": "LIED" - OK, "So I LIED" - that's not really my tractor 😁

55. Infinitesimally small: ATOMIC

58. Things put in to power?: AAs - bitty batteries

59. Wheelbarrow groove: RUT - yeah. meh.

67. Novelist Rice: ANNE

68. Vehicles with pedal assist: eBIKES - I have such a short drive to work, I considered buying one of these for the exercise and to save on gas

69. All over the place: AMOK

70. Fridge incursion: RAID

71. Folder contents: FILES

72. Top diving scores: TENS

DOWN:

1. Swinging soiree: BASH

2. Gospel icon James: ETTA

3. Makes a big noise: GOES KABOOM - remember this game~?

4. Relaxation station: SPA

5. Judy Garland co-star Bert: LAHR - you won't find this lion in Africa

Wow - he even signed it to my given name~!

6. Mysterious sight in the sky: UFO - I wondered if this would be the 21st century "UAP" answer

7. Tube top?: CAP - ah, toothpaste, e.g.

8. Intense anger: IRE

9. "Traitor!": DIRTY RAT

10. Choose a spot in an open office: HOT DESK - never heard of this; I have been booted from several desks (workbenches, actually) at my job because I fill two roles - I am a pipe organ technician, but also the next CAD pipe organ design guy; since I painted the CAD office, my co-workers seem to think that my other work space has been 'conceded' . Sigh.

11. Most populous continent: ASIA - Antarctica comes in a close second. . . .

12. Gumball machine opening: SLOT - meh. There's a coin "slot", but the opening is sort of like a hinged gate, if you ask me

13. Make sharp: HONE

15. Camel in a caravan, maybe: STEED - yeah, I suppose. I happen to like camels - I want a stuffed one to add to my Webkins collection; I have two dinosaurs and a dragon; used to play on the computer with my once-step-daughter

and it's HUMP DAY~!

18. Like some job moves: LATERAL - I would have thought splitting my time between two "offices" at work would be considered "lateral". Bzzzt.

19. Early web portal: AOL

24. Eager reply to "Who wants this cookie?": "I DO~!" - I was expecting "ME~! ME~!"

25. Uncomfy, casually: AWKward

26. Hiking gear rental co.: REI- Crossword staple

27. Stops and stares: GAPES

Oh, sorry, I got distracted. . . .a lucid dream about a HOT DESK~?

28. Guffaw: LAUGH

29. "I take it back": "OR NOT. . ."

32. Race car or kayak: PALINDROME - the same spelling, forwards and backwards

33. Banded gemstone: AGATE

34. Home state of Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion: TEXAS - did not know this, nor would I care. I guess I AM getting old(er). Filled via perps.

36. Suspicious: SHADY - I'd link Slim Shady, but the lyrics....

You've Been Warned. . . .

37. Think of fondly: CHERISH

40. Captain cook?: HEAD CHEF - har-har

44. Rented a yurt, maybe: GLAMPED - High living while "roughing it"

45. "The Bells" poet: POE - also did not know this; filled via perps

46. Hollywood hrs.: PST

48. Strive (for): VIE

51. Slight depression, with "the": BLAHS - not the BLUES, but 60% correct

53. Tiny issue: NIT

55. Cracked just a bit: AJAR

56. Mackerel relative: TUNA

57. Potent prefix: OMNI

58. Life times?: AGES

60. Wish __ a star: UPON

61. Tuts: TSKs

63. Squeeze play stat: RBI

64. Menorah liquid: OIL

65. "Aloha 'Oe" instrument, briefly: UKE

66. Granola grain: OAT - four in a row, letters three, that's all you're gonna get from me~!

Splynter

May 21, 2024

Tuesday, May 21, 2024 Catherine Cetta

Standing Ovations: Notice that each theme clue is a two word phrase where each word contains two OOs. Also the theme clues are Down, so that the double OOs are "standing".

3-Down. * Pasta-shaped colorful foam float: POOL NOODLE.

9-Down. * Totally chill: LOOSEY GOOSEY.

21-Down. * Celebratory search engine logo: GOOGLE DOODLE. Here's a Google Doodle from last week:

25-Down. * "So awesome!": TOO COOL.

And the unifier:

31. Enthusiastic audience reactions, and a feature of the answers to the starred clues: STANDING O'S. Sadly, I am not as clever as my fellow commentators, so I do not know how to add color to highlight the grid. Thus, I can not accent the double Os, so I'll insert the grid here so you can look for all the standing Os.

Across:

1. Deeply engrossed: RAPT.

5. Played music at a dance club, say: DJ'ED.

9. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA. [Name # 1.]

14. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI. These fictional post-human beings from the 1895 novel, The Time Machine, by H G Wells (né Herbert George Wells; Sept. 21, 1866 ~ Aug. 13, 1946) used to make frequent appearances in the puzzles. We haven't seen them in a while.

15. Slippery: EELY.

16. "Please specify" list option: OTHER.

17. Many many: A TON.

18. Call on the carpet: TAKE TO TASK.

20. Triangle or quadrilateral: POLYGON. A Polygon is a plane figure with at least three straight sides and angles, and typically five or more.

22. Holds a grudge against: RESENTS.

23. Fed. ID fig.: SSN. As in Social Security Number.

24. Give the boot: OUST.

26. Boomer's kid, perhaps: XER. Generation X (1965 ~ 1980) is the demographic between the Boomers (1946 ~ 1964) and the Millennials (1981 ~ 1996).

27. Sty emanation: ODOR. // And 45-Across. Sty emanations: OINKS.

29. Maker of Regenerist products: OLAY.

31. Bath tourist spot: SPA.

The Ein Gedi Spa on the Dead Sea.

34. First __ equals: AMONG. Also the name of a 1984 political novel by Jeffrey Archer (b. Apr. 15, 1940).

36. Pogo stick sound: BOING.

37. Toy that resembles a gyroscope: TOP.

38. Rafael who is one of tennis's "Big Three": NADAL. The Big Three in tennis refers to Novak Đoković (b. May 22, 1987), Roger Federer (b. Aug. 8, 1981) and Rafael Nadal (né Rafael Nadal Parera; b. June 3, 1986), each of whom is considered to be among the greatest players. [Name # 2.]

39. Healthcare.gov law, for short: ACA. As in the Affordable Care Act.

40. Chi-town airport: O'HARE. Ever wonder why the airport code for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is ORD? It was originally named Orchard Field Airport for the neighborhood in which it was located. It was renamed in 1949, in honor of aviator Edward "Butch" O'Hare (Mar. 13, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943) who went missing in World War II. [Name # 3.]

42. Nothing to do with soccer?: NIL.

43. Boo-boo: ERROR.

46. World Cup cheer: OLÉ. A crossword staple.

47. Wonderland bird: DODO. Think of Alice. I understand that just yesterday Alice met a Cheshire Cat.

48. Abbr. on a company sign: ESTD. As in Established.

49. Promissory note: IOU.

50. "My only __ sprung from my only hate!": Juliet: LOVE. A reference to a play by Willie the Shakes. [Name adjacent.]

52. "To a degree": -ISH.

55. Church deliveries: SERMONS.

59. Artist with the 2024 album "Cowboy Carter": BEYONCÉ. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (b. Sept. 4, 1981) is married to Jay-Z (b. Dec. 4, 1969), whose given name is Shawn Corey Carter, but is that why she had Carter in the name of the album? [Name # 4.]

61. Slowpoke's opposite: SPEED DEMON.

63. Petri dish gelatin: AGAR.

64. Ebbing and flowing: TIDAL.

65. Old movie spool: REEL.

66. Answering system limbo: HOLD.

67. Clotted cream accompaniment: SCONE. Yummers!

68. Site for selling personalized gifts: ETSY.

69. Multitool's multiplicity: USES.

Down:

1. Cuts with a sickle: REAPS. Sometime it can be pretty grim.

2. Singers between sopranos and tenors: ALTOS.

4. Itsy: TINY.

5. Route around a construction area, say: DETOUR. There is some major road construction on the interstate in my city for the next [fill in the blank/taking bets] years.