Sunday August 25, 2024 Jeff Stillman

Theme: "Family Matters" - All theme entries are in the pattern of MA*MA or PA* PA*.

27. NCAA basketball tournament nickname: MARCH MADNESS.

40. Artistic form for Degas: PASTEL PAINTING.

47. Sherwood Forest resident: MAID MARIAN.

64. Works on a car's alignment?: PARALLEL PARKS.

72. Broad appeal to all possible consumers: MASS MARKETING.

84. Chess piece with a clear path to promotion: PASSED PAWN.

94. Sailors qualified to captain any ship: MASTER MARINERS.

107. Decoration for a tropical cocktail: PAPER PARASOL.

Reveal:

122. Half of a 1960s pop group, and what's found in half of this puzzle's long answers: MAMAS.

125. Half of a 1960s pop group, and what's found in half of this puzzle's long answers: PAPAS.

Love the title and execution. Every MA* MA* is followed by a PA* PA*. I did a similar theme for the Crossword Club ages ago. The top themers are MA* MA*. Bottoms are PA* PA*. 

Read here about Jeff. He's mostly focused on weekday puzzles. I think this is his first Sunday for the LAT. Congrats, Jeff!

Across:

1. Pool equipment: RACKS.

6. __ Romeo: ALFA. Just had this last Sunday.

10. Gift card word: FROM.

14. Part of a flight: STAIR.

19. Prefix with linguistic: ETHNO.

20. Prom invitee: TEEN.

21. Oscar winner Malek: RAMI. He won an Oscar for his role in "Bohemian Rhapsody".

22. Potion-making goddess of myth: CIRCE. The sorceress in "Odyssey".

23. Greatly enjoyed: ATE UP.

24. Baker's fat: LARD.

25. Muslim wedding officiant: IMAM.

26. Set, as a security system: ARMED.

30. Last qualifier?: NOT LEAST. Last but not least.

32. Baby goats: KIDS. Also 44. Youngster: TYKE.

33. Barbecue entree: RIBS.

35. Hindu honorific: SRI.

36. Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding": NIA.

37. Theater walkways: AISLES.

45. "Couldn't agree more": SAME HERE.

46. Bio stat: AGE.

50. Clunker: DUD.

52. Ishmael's captain: AHAB.

56. Texting tech: SMS. Short Message Service.

57. Alma mater of Prince Harry and Prince William: ETON.

58. BBC sitcom, to fans: AB FAB.

 

61. Very muscular, informally: SWOLE.

62. You are, in Spanish: ERES.

67. Anticipated: AWAITED.

70. IV part: INTRA.

71. Finds hilarious: ROARS AT.

74. Walnut or apple: TREE.

75. Call forth: EVOKE.

76. Like the legend of Ragnarok: NORSE.

77. Fill to excess: SATE.

79. Selfish sort: HOG.

82. C-SPAN figs.: SENS.

83. Campground letters: KOA. 109. 83-Across visitor, perhaps, briefly: RV'ER.

87. Wash. neighbor: IDA.

89. Workforce: LABORERS.

93. In __ of: LIEU.

98. Managerial groups: BOARDS.

100. Brest friend: AMI.

101. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU.

102. Map app outputs: Abbr.: RTES.

103. Electronics giant: SONY.

104. Saw red: GOT UPSET.

113. Classic wafermaker: NECCO.

114. Red Cross supplies: SERA.

116. Hot stuff: LAVA.

117. Came up: AROSE.

118. Curved connector: U BOLT.

119. Shakespearean king: LEAR.

120. Currier's partner: IVES.

121. River to the North Sea: MEUSE. Unfamiliar to me. Wikipedia says it's "rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea."

123. Fails to be: ISN'T.

124. School session: TERM.

Down:

1. Copier insert: REAM.

2. Chapati flour: ATTA.

3. One-named "Mermaids" star: CHER.

4. Got to work, with "down": KNUCKLED.

5. Title role for Meryl: SOPHIE. "Sophie's Choice". Such a heavy read.

6. Book of legends?: ATLAS.

7. Malleable metal: LEAD.

8. Houseplant with spores: FERN.

9. Thumbelina creator: ANDERSEN. Hans Christian Andersen.

10. Wham-O toy: FRISBEE.

11. Slam (into): RAM.

12. Arabian Sea nation: OMAN.

13. Brunch cocktail: MIMOSA.

14. Taking on a climbing wall: SCALING.

15. Lose steam: TIRE.

16. Italian fashion brand: ARMANI.

17. Traps at a chalet, perhaps: ICES IN. And 39. Good time to go on a run?: SKI SEASON. Skin run.

18. Markdown marker: RED TAG.

28. GPs, e.g.: MDS.

29. Jedi foe: SITH.

31. Three-tone chord: TRIAD.

34. Camera letters: SLR.

37. PIN takers: ATMS.

38. Start and end of Popeye's credo: I YAM.

40. Discomfort: PAIN.

41. "I'm an open book" session, briefly: AMA. Ask Me Anything.

42. Go by bike: PEDAL.

43. Pots, cups, saucers, etc.: TEAWARE. Just want to share with you a few dim sum dishes from Guangzhou. Green Har Gow.

45. "You can't sit here" sign: SRO.

48. Rendezvous request: MEET ME.

49. Bamboozled: AT SEA.

51. Company that operates London river boats: UBER. Uber Boat. New clue angle. Also 64. Boat boarding spot: PIER.

53. Composition of some violin bows: HORSEHAIR.

54. __-Seltzer: ALKA.

55. Vanquish: BEST.

58. "The Sopranos" restaurateur: ARTIE.

59. Farm storage place: BARN.

60. Color guard's charge: FLAG.

61. Showed leniency toward: SPARED.

63. Takes a chance: RISKS IT.

65. Kitchen pests: ANTS. I hate fruit flies. So hard to fully eliminate them.

66. Austrian actress Lenya: LOTTE.

67. Iowa town west of Cedar Rapids: AMES.

68. Surfer's curl: WAVE.

69. Bond villain in a Nehru jacket: DR NO.

73. Eucalyptus eater: KOALA. Eucalyptus leaves do not provide enough energy. Koala sleeps a ton. We also have 78. Burro: ASS.  And 81. Serengeti grazers: GNUS.

77. Lat. and Lith., once: SSRS.

80. Outstanding: OWED.

83. Go-__: KARTS.

84. Like firewood sold at hardware stores: PRE-SPLIT.

85. __ Lingus: AER.

86. Amenity at some McDonald's restaurants: PLAY AREA.

88. Tyrants: DESPOTS.

90. Train board abbr.: ARR.

91. Very small role: BIT PART.

92. Draft status: ONE A.

94. PI played by Selleck: MAGNUM.

95. Microscopic creature: AMOEBA

96. "Abbott Elementary," e.g.: SITCOM.

97. Fiber-rich cereal: MUESLI. What do you have for breakfast these days?

98. Fluffy accessory: BOA.

99. Cloverleaf element: ON RAMP.

103. Involuntary twitch: SPASM.

105. Sch. near Beverly Hills: UCLA.

106. Golfer's stands: TEES.

108. Gutter spot: EAVE.

110. Ladled course: SOUP. This is a typical Cantonese daily soup. Pork ribs with lotus root, corn & dates.

111. Mount of Greek myth: OSSA.

112. Wine dregs: LEES.

115. Dashed: RAN.

C.C.

Saturday, August 24, 2024, Zhouqin Burnikel

 Themeless Saturday by Zhouqin (C.C. ) Burnikel

C.C.'s lovely construction was a treat to work and her stacks took up 108 of the 225 cells in the  grid. Her wit and wisdom are everywhere. C.C. was good enough to share these pictures with us.

 

Tom Pepper, C.C., Daniel Bodily
and Andrea Carla Michaels

Andrea and Daniel had authored the NYT 

puzzle on that day and so Andrea invited 

some local constructors to stroll around 

Lake Harriet.

C.C.'s puzzle contains obscure names or familiar names with obscure cluing that she may or may not have authored and culinary items I'm pretty sure she did. I'll take a "got 'er done".

Across 

1. Price-less event: RED TAG SALE 😀 The items are priced-less but not priceless!

11. [You did what?]:  GASP - 

Someone upset Dr. Bailey! 

15. Square deals: EVEN TRADES - The most uneven "trade" in baseball history is said to be the Yankees getting Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for $100,000. Some felt it "cursed" the Red Sox to not win a World Series for 80 years.

 

16. Actress Shawkat: ALIA.

17. Surprise party request: DON'T BE LATE 😀

18. Lasses: GALS.

19. Two in a million?: ELS - Meta reference to the two "L's" in million

20. Peak performance: A-GAME.

21. Bags: SACKS - We call them sacks around here

22. Tennis great who won 18 Grand Slam singles championships: EVERT.

24. "Queen Sugar" role for Bianca Lawson: DARLA. I remember DARLA from The Little Rascals but have never heard of this one

26. Parabola piece: ARC - Questions on how to find the length of that ARC? 🤔

27. No more than: MERE - Ralph Kramden often told Alice,  "It's a MERE bag of shells" when she thought something was too expensive.

28. Blues and bluegrass: GENRES.

29. Quintana __, Mexico: ROO - If you vacation in Cancún at the tip of the Yucatan peninsula, you are in the Mexican state of Quintana ROO. It was named for Andrès Quintana ROO recognizing his efforts in the Mexican War for Independence 1810- 1821.

30. Tool for making eyelet holes: AWL.

32. Some reunión familiar attendees: TIAS - The accented letter indicates Spanish and I correctly chose  TIAS over TIOS

33. Trifling amount: TAD.

34. Big play ground: STADIUM. 😀

38. Lead up to: PRECEDE.

40. Many a "Derry Girls" teacher: NUN.

41. Lacking a date: STAG.

43. Casual dating letters: NSA - No Strings Attached. This is how one might apply this idea in the digital world.

44. "Twisted Love" author Huang: ANA.

45. Inside looks: DECORS.

47. Connected notes: SLUR - Sinatra famously slid between notes

51. Super gp.?: PAC - When the National Education Association became a very active Political Action Committee, it lost some members. Our state association passed a law saying you had to join all three, local (FEA), state (NSEA) and national (NEA) or none.

 

52. Japanese city known as The Nation's Kitchen: OSAKA - Explanation

53. Social media action: SHARE.

54. Tourney format: PRO-AM - These three famous guys were AMateurs who played in a Winter Bob Hope Classic with PROS in his PRO-AM event

56. Sauce served with biryani: RAITA - RAITA and Biryani

58. Free spot: PSA - How about this Public Service Announcement from the 50's?

59. Eternities: EONS.

60. Elote en vaso: CORN IN A CUP - Our foodie moderator continues with her mini theme. It's pretty easy to translate this Mexican dish.

62. Emmy winner who hosts the "Clear+Vivid" podcast: ALDA.

63. Story that gets lost in time: UNTOLD TALE - How'd they build those pyramids?

64. Smack: SLAP.

65. Brenda Song, once: DISNEY STAR - Speaking of the 50's above, Annette would have worked better for me.

Down:

1. Offset, in a way: REDEEM - A FB player who fumbles hopes to REDEEM himself later in the game

2. Change over time: EVOLVE. If you are 8. Not moving: ADAMANT, your opinions do not EVOLVE.

3. More compact: DENSER.

4. Explosive letters: TNT.

5. Ready to swing: AT BAT 😀

6. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" kid: GREG.

Greg Heffley

7. French course: SALADE.

9. "Don't hold back!": LET 'ER RIP.

10. -babble: ESE - Bureaucratese, computerese, educationese. etc.

11. Totally smitten: GAGA.

12. Separately: ALA CARTE - I just want the sandwich, no fries and no drink.

13. Route that facilitated the spread of Buddhism: SILK ROAD.

14. Face scan alternative: PASS CODE - Do you use any of these most common codes?

21. Gets smart: SASSES - SUSSES? Not so much.

23. Scan: READ - TLDR option.

25. Picks up: LEARNS - The longer we solve the more we pick up.

28. Squat muscles: GLUTES.

31. Sagacity: WISDOM.

34. Chikuzenni vegetables: SNAP PEAS -  Chikuzenni or Nishime is a classic Japanese dish of simmered root vegetables and chicken

35. Tekkamaki: TUNA ROLL - Our constructor/foodie continues

36. Amazon predator: ANACONDA.

37. Kraft supply: MACARONI.

39. "Songwriter" country singer: CASH.

42. Small racers: GO KARTS 😀

46. Spoil, as a barbecue: RAIN ON - Barbara Streisand sang "Don't bring around a cloud to RAIN ON my, uh, barbecue" 😀

48. Purr-fect companion: LAP CAT - Lily surprised my son-in-law.

 

49. "The Little Mermaid" villain: URSULA.

50. Harvesting machine: REAPER - McCormick made the original mechanical one 

53. Like used beach towels: SANDY.

55. Urgent letters: ASAP.

57. Rummikub piece: TILE.

60. Ruminant's mouthful: CUD.

61. Mentions on X: ATS - Applicant Tracking System

Today would have been my late brother's 77th birthday. My sibling's birthdays are engrained in my memory.

        

                   Jimmy, Linda and Gary

                    8/24       10/4      9/11