Tuesday September 3, 2024 Kelly Richardson

If April Showers bring Mayflowers, what to Mayflowers bring?  The word Shower can follow the last word in each theme to give us a new concept.

20-Across. Winter weather caused by cold air moving over warm water: LAKE EFFECT SNOW.  Snow Shower.

I can't recall hearing the term Snow Shower, but according to NOAA, a Snow Shower is: is a short duration of moderate snowfall. Some accumulation is possible.

32-Across. Hopping African primate: BUSH BABY.  Baby Shower.

39-Across. Malady that causes the sniffles: HEAD COLD.  Cold Shower.  Maybe this is where one has shower thoughts.

51-Across. Mundane musings, or what the last words of 20-, 32-, and 39-Across have in common?: SHOWER THOUGHTS.  I don't believe I have ever heard the expression Shower Thoughts.  According to Collins Dictionary, a Shower Though is "a sudden idea that occurs to a person during an unconnected mundane activity."  It doesn't have to be a thought or idea you had in the shower, however

Across:

1. Many a home in the Italian countryside: VILLA.  A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. 

6. Automotive historian Jay: LENO.  Although best known for being a stand-up comedian and television host, Jay Leno (né Douglas Muir Leno; b. Apr. 28, 1950) is also know for having a huge collection of cars and motorcycles.  [Name # 1.]

10. Friends: PALS.

14. Flawless: IDEAL.

15. Smell: ODOR.

16. Bryce Canyon state: UTAH.

17. Undertaking: DOING.

18. "O patria mia" opera: AIDA.  This opera appears often in the puzzles.  I have given its history on several occasions.

19. Old Roman garb: TOGA.

23. "Downton __": PBS historical drama: ABBEY.  This television show was a favorite Dudley, one of one of our early commenters.

24. Ancient strings: LUTES.

25. Seize: NAB.

28. "Totally sweet!": RAD.

29. Philippine money: PESO.  1 US Dollar is worth approximately 56.16 Philippine pesos.

30. Like many parking garage ramps: ONE WAY.

36. "__-Hero": Taylor Swift hit: ANTI.  I'll spare your ears.  [Name # 2.]

37. Cup on a hook: MUG.

38. Director Kazan: ELIA.  Elia Kazan (né Elias Kazantzoglou; Sept. 7, 1909 ~ Sept. 28, 2003) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  He became a controversial figure in Hollywood for naming names in before House Un-American Activities Committee in the early 1950s.   [Name # 3.]

42. Highway divider: MEDIAN.  In New Orleans, it's called the Neutral Ground.

44. A long, long time: EONS.

45. "Scrunch out the crunch" hair product: GEL.

46. "You should know better": TSK.

47. Begin: START.

49. Principle: TENET.

55. Caitlin Clark's college team: IOWA.  Caitlin Clark (née Caitlin Elizabeth Clari; b. Jan. 22, 2002) now plays professional basketball for the Indiana Fever.  [Name # 4.]

56. Like Big Bend National Park: ARID.  Big Bend National Park is in southwest Texas.  Much of the park in in the  Chihuahuan Desert, hence it is ARID.

57. No-frills font: ARIAL.  This is Arial.  This is Times.  Everything you wanted to know about the origin of the Arial font but never cared to ask.

59. Summer top: TANK.

60. Preserve with salt: CURE.

61. Guts: NERVE.

62. Otherwise: ELSE.

63. Canvas shoe with a Monster High collaboration: KEDS.  I'll pass on these shoes.  [Name adjacent.]

64. Coarse fabric: TWEED.  We saw the Tweed fabric in the Tuesday August 20, 2024  puzzle.  See 20-Across in that puzzle.

Down:

1. TikTok post, briefly: VID.  Short for Video.

2. Object of adoration: IDOL.  Idol has become a frequent Tuesday guest.  See 6-Down in last week's puzzle.

3. Heroine from Alderaan: LEIA.  Alderaan is a fictional planet in the Star Wars franchise.  It was the home planet of Princess Leia, portrayed by Carrie Fischer (Oct. 21, 1956 ~ Dec. 27, 2016).  See 12-Down in last Tuesday's puzzle.  [Name # 5, fictional.]

4. "Sri __ Matha": South Asian national anthem: LANKA.  The name of the anthem translates to Mother Sri Lanka.  Sri Lanka is the tear-drop shaped country at the tip of India.

5. Subject with an "x" factor?: ALGEBRA.  More than you ever wanted to know about Algebra.

6. Lounged around: LOAFED.

7. Enlighten: EDIFY.

8. Lymph __: NODE.

9. Ancient prophets: ORACLES.

10. Finalizes for printing, as a newspaper: PUTS TO BED.

11. Back up an apology, say: ATONE.

12. Burial place of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti: LAGOS.  Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (Oct. 15, 1938 ~ Aug. 2, 1997) was a Nigerian musician and political activist.  Not your usual Tuesday guest.  [Name # 6.]

13. "Killing Eve" actress Fiona: SHAW.  Fiona Shaw (née Fiona Mary Wilson; b. July 10, 1958) is an Irish actress.  Killing Eve is a British spy television series.  [Name # 7.]

21. Modern trading post: EBAY.

22. Bottom: TUSH.  Today's Yiddish lesson.

25. "Barbie" co-writer Baumbach: NOAH.  Noah Baumbach (b. Sept. 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker and is married to Greta Gerwig (née Greta Celeste Gerwig; b. Aug. 4, 1983), who was the other co-writer of Barbie.  Today is his 55th Birthday.  [Name # 8.]

26. Green Gables girl: ANNE.  Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 children's novel written by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  Anne Shirley is an 11-year-old orphan girl Anne Shirley sent by mistake to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who wanted to adopt a boy to help them on their farm.  The story takes place in Prince Edward Island, Canada.  You can visit the Anne of Green Gables museum.  [Name # 9, fictional.]

27. __ carotene: BETA.  Beta Carotene, also written as β-Carotene, is an organic, colored red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, plants, and fruits.

29. Short-muzzled dog: PUG.

31. Not at all sleepy: WIDE AWAKE.

32. __ vase: BUD.

33. Dismounted: ALIT.

34. Lack of objectivity: BIAS.

35. Tug sharply: YANK.

37. Chicago Fire org.: MLS.  Chicago Fire is a soccer team, hence, MLS stands for Major League Soccer.

40. Apple part: CORE.

41. Likely to succeed: ON TRACK.

42. Cafe reading: MENU.

43. Like an ingeniously simple mathematical proof: ELEGANT.  More than you ever wanted to know about Beautiful and Elegant Math proofs.

45. Stardew Valley mine finds: GEODES.

47. Underwater bank: SHOAL.  I grew up near the Isle of Shoals, a group of small islands and tidal ledges located about 6 miles off the east coast between Maine and New Hampshire.

48. Mini cities: TOWNS.  Really?  Towns are just mini cities?

49. Last stop before home?: THIRD.  Think baseball.  Third base is the last stop before running into home base.

50. Purposefully lost: THREW.

51. Location: SITE.

52. "You aren't wrong": TRUE.

53. Tucker out: TIRE.

54. Rescue: SAVE.

58. Captained: LED.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday September 2, 2024 Ajay Bhargava

  

sumdaze here. I believe congratulations are in order for our constructor, Ajay Bhargava, for his LA Times debut! I am 99% sure this is A.B. and this is his puzzle, published in UC Berkeley's newspaper this past July. It looks like he is off to a running start!

Theme:                  Pace Yourself  

The three themed clues are:

20 Across. Exciting end to a baseball game: WALK-OFF HOMER. This is a home run that ends the game. For this to happen, it must be the bottom of the final inning and the home run puts enough points on the scoreboard to beat the other team, who, at that point, will not have another opportunity to score runs of their own.  Fun Walk-Off Home Run Stats  

Here's one for The Corner's biggest Mets fan (1:06 min.):  

Also, in case you missed it, a WALK-OFF bunt recently made the news. Little League World Series Final  

33 Across. Review class notes, e.g.: JOG ONE'S MEMORY.  

43 Across. Grammatical flaw that may be fixed with a semicolon: RUN ON SENTENCE.  

And the reveal:

59 Across. Welcome break in one's routine, or the progression found at the starts of 20-, 33-, and 43-Across: CHANGE OF PACE.

The starts of the three themed clues are each a PACE. Furthermore the PACE quickens from a WALK to a JOG to a RUN. In other words, the PACE CHANGEs.

I especially like the way Ajay used phrases that transform the meanings of WALK, JOG, and RUN. Well done! and BRAVO, Ajay!

Let's trot on ahead to the remaining clues....

Across:

1. "Well done!": BRAVO.  Early in The Phantom of the Opera, Christine sings Think of Me. Raoul recognizes her as his childhood friend. He stands up and yells, "BRAVO!" at 2:19.  

6. Album insert, briefly: PIC.  I had to change my thinking from "record album" to "photo album".

9. Amazon or Adidas: BRAND.  While I do appreciate alliteration, vocalic or otherwise, I did not care for the categorical mismatch in this clue. Perhaps Asics and Adidas would be a better fit.  

14. Discussion theme: TOPIC.

15. Tumult: ADO.  

16. Like some Hitchcock scenes: EERIE.  Here is the Bell Tower scene from Vertigo (1958), starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak (2:23 min.). The scene was filmed at Mission San Juan Bautista, about 45 miles (72 km.) south of San Jose, CA.  

17. Like the taste of 23- and 25-Down: SWEET.  The answers to those clues are PBJS and SUGAR, respectively.

18. Hoop edge: RIM.   

19. Lacking company: ALONE.

23. Collect $200 in Monopoly: PASS GO.  

26. Radial, to a Brit: TYRE.  TYRE is the British spelling of "tire".  

27. "What __ the odds?": ARE.  

Barenaked Ladies  ~  Odds Are  ~  (2013)

28. __-ray: video format: BLU.

29. Valuable mineral: ORE.

31. "Descendants: The Rise of Red" star Rita: ORA.  She plays the villain in this 2024 film available on Disney+.

38. Devoted fan, in slang: STAN.  I think most of us now know this term for a superfan/stalker fan. If not, please see my blog from last Monday #25-D.

39. Settle the bill: PAY.

40. Follow closely behind: TAIL.  Def. (verb) to follow for purposes of surveillance.

Inspector Clouseau was a master at disguise while conducting surveillance of unsuspecting criminals. (2 min.)  

48. Underwater vessel: SUB.  SUBmarine

49. __ Paulo, Brazil: SAO.

50. Barbie's bae: KEN.  The Barbie movie portrayed Ken not so much as her bae but more as a forever #2 to Barbie. He had to work though an inferiority complex.  

I am KENough.

51. Rep for NY-14: AOC.  a lot of abbreviations for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

54. Top Olympic prize: GOLD.

57. Wallet holders: PURSES.  

Hand up if you are a DH who fearlessly holds your DW's purse.

62. 1950s FLOTUS: MAMIE.  Mamie Eisenhower [1896 - 1979] was the First Lady Of The United States from 1953 to 1961. She met future POTUS #34 Dwight D. Eisenhower in Colorado in 1915. They were married the following year. more about Mamie

63. Actor Mahershala: ALI.  He has won two Oscars:  Moonlight (2016) and Green Book (2018).

64. URL letters next to a padlock icon: HTTPS.  Chrome replaced the padlock with the Tune icon.  more about the change

 

68. Put up, as a skyscraper: ERECT.  

69. __ Geo Wild: NAT.  

70. Use the back end of a pencil: ERASE.

Johnny drew a monster.

The monster chased him.

Just in time,

Johnny erased him.

                                                        author unknown

71. Department with quotas, maybe: SALES.

72. Farm pen: STY.  

73. __ boom: SONIC.  The X-1, piloted by Captain Chuck Yeager, was the first plane to fly faster than the speed of sound, thereby creating the first SONIC boom, on October 14, 1947.

"Put the spurs to her, Chuck."

The Right Stuff  ~ Sam Shepard  ~  (1983)

Down:

1. "Mic Drop" K-pop septet: BTS.  This song was released in 2018. Here is the video.

Note:  ATLGranny (I miss her) taught me this memory trick:  Boys That Sing. This is the first time I've watched one of their videos. Now I think they are BTSAD (Boys That Sing And Dance).

2. One of 15 in a typical daily crossword: ROW.  This was my favorite clue today! Most Mon.-Sat. grids are 15 X 15.

3. Donkey Kong, for one: APE.  The first Donkey Kong video game was released in 1981 by Nintendo. The story is that designer Shigeru Miyamoto thought "Kong" meant gorilla in English. He wanted to use "Kong" as the last name and came up with "Donkey" as the first name, which he thought meant "stupid" in English. 

Mario (left) was a protagonist in the original Donkey Kong game.

4. YouTube units: VIEWS.  The BTS video I embedded for 1-Down had 1.4 billion VIEWS. Holy mackerel!!

5. Stop sign shape: OCTAGON.

6. The "P" of PRNDL: PARK.  This one felt familiar but took a while to place...probably because I drive a stick.

7. "D'oh! Why did I do that!?": IDIOT.

8. Snug: COMFY.  

9. Save the day: BE A HERO.  I am happy to share this story from my local news about a 13-year-old boy who recently saved a 7-year-old boy from drowning.  

10. Transfer to a new city, casually: RELO.  RELOcate. In the military it is called a PCS (Permanent Change of Station).

11. Cologne feature: AROMA.

12. SF NFLer: NINER.     and     37 Down. Bronx team, familiarly: YANKS.     and     44 Down. Denver NBA team: NUGGETS.

football, baseball (Yankees), and basketball

13. John __ tractors: DEERE.

21. Legends and such: LORE.

22. Flight booking word: FROM.  

23. Sammies with two spreads: PBJS.  "Sandwiches" is shortened, cluing the initialism for "Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches".

24. So, so much: A LOT.

25. Icing ingredient: SUGAR.  Get ready to dance because here are The Archies with  Sugar, Sugar (1969):  

30. Network that airs Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest: ESPN.  

Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, 39, won the 2024 Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest by stuffing down 58 hot dogs (and buns!) in 10 minutes. Patrick also won the first-ever world poutine eating competition in Toronto.

32. Museo display: ARTE.  "Museo" is a clue that the answer will be a foreign spelling for "art".

34. Heavy burden: ONUS.

35. More, in Spanish: MAS.  "In Spanish" is a clue that the answer will be a foreign spelling for "more". 😜😜

36. Spots on potatoes: EYES.  I liked the clever play on the word spots.  

41. Drink whose logo has frosted letters: ICEE.  

42. Microscope piece: LENS.

45. Woodwind section member: OBOE.

46. California wine valley: NAPA.

47. Deeply moves: TOUCHES.

51. Topmost points: ACMES.

52. "The Parent Trap" actress Maureen: O'HARA.  [1920 - 2015] She played the mom.

My last box was to change O'HARe to O'HARA to make 71-Across work. BTW, O'Hare is the airport in Chicago (ORD).

53. Caravan creature: CAMEL.  Japanese artist Ikua Hirayama [1930 - 2009] created many CAMEL caravan paintings as part of his Silkroad collection.  more

55. Transactions with interest: LOANS.

56. C sharp equivalent: D-FLAT.  

58. In style again: RETRO.

60. Pleasant: NICE.

61. "Bummer": PITY.

65. Sunbather's goal: TAN.  

66. Pitchfork-shaped Greek letter: PSI.  

Upper case (left) and Lower case PSI

67. "Just gimme a __!": SEC.

Here is the completed grid:  

That's all for today. Time to skip on outta here! Have a safe holiday, everyone!

Sunday September 1, 2024 Scott Hogan & Katie Hale

Theme: "Better With Age" - AGE is added to each common phrase.

22. Ancestors infamous for tasteless jokes?: OFFENSIVE LINEAGE. Offensive line.

32. Instruction from the Juicy Juice shipping supervisor?: PACKAGE A PUNCH. Pack a punch.

49. Videobomb in an otherwise Pulitzer-worthy newscast?: FOOTAGE FAULT. Foot fault.

68. Chaos at the spa?: MASSAGE HYSTERIA. Mass hysteria.

89. Evidence of vacuum misuse?: HOOVER DAMAGE. Hoover Dam.

106. Political strategy that relies on folksy sayings?: ADAGE CAMPAIGN. Ad campaign.

120. Neosporin motto?: I'M WITH THE BANDAGE. I'm with band.

I had difficulty parsing PACKAGE A PUNCH. Others are all solid. 

Scott Hogan and Katie Hale are a dynamic duo. They've made quite a few Sunday LAT and NYT puzzles.

Great follow-up to the last "Getting Old" puzzle we had a long while ago. Been ages since we last solved a James Sajdak puzzle.

Across:

1. Semaphore gear: FLAGS.

6. Studio output: ART.

9. Baby bird: CHICK.

14. Make a scene: ACT.

17. British semi: LORRY.

18. Gymnast Suni: LEE. Pride of Minnesota. She grew up in St. Paul.

19. Hallowed: SACRED.

21. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR.

25. Org. with a "meatball" insignia: NASA. From their website: In the "meatball" design, the sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron is a wing representing aeronautics. No meatball though.

26. Not fooled by: WISE TO.

27. Bring a suit: SUE.

28. Skyscraper locales: BIG CITIES.

30. Graham who co-founded The Hollies: NASH.

35. Some hip muscles: FLEXORS.

38. "King __": KONG.

39. "Star Trek: Picard" actress Jeri: RYAN.

40. Mars, to the Greeks: ARES.

41. Engage in a linguistic battle, maybe: RAP.

43. "Careful what you __ for": WISH.

45. Manchester United mascot: DEVIL. Fred the Red Devil. The club's nickname is the Red Devils. Learning moment for me.

53. Pacers and Hornets: AMCS.

56. College email ending: EDU.

57. Author Rand: AYN.

58. Everett of "An Ideal Husband": RUPERT.

59. Scratching post fiber: SISAL.

61. Shorten, in a way: CROP. Do I look good in this pair of sunglasses? Tom Pepper's.

62. Tour employee: ROADIE.

64. "So?": AND.

66. Airport screening?: TIMETABLE. Fun clue.

72. Goes it alone: FLIES SOLO.

75. Cyberyuk: LOL.

76. "Dust in the Wind" band: KANSAS.

80. Starring role: LEAD.

81. Arm rest?: SLING. And 83. Overnighter: LODGER. My friend Carmen is finally off her sling. She was in Shenzhen ten days ago.

Carmen 8/21/2024

86. Half of deux: UNE.

87. Purpose: AIM.

88. TV host Kotb: HODA. I think Big Easy knows her first husband.

92. Forbidden: TABOO.

94. Do the hustle?: SCAM. Amazing clue!

96. Fair-hiring letters: EEO.

97. Enthusiastic: AVID.

98. Climate control syst.: HVAC.

101. Brontë sister: ANNE.

103. Can't miss: MUST SEE.

111. Perfectly: TO A T.

112. So very much: A WHOLE LOT.

113. Coconut __: OIL. Have any of you tried coconut sugar?

115. Savanna, taiga, etc.: BIOMES.

119. Brief note: MEMO.

124. Garbed: CLAD.

125. Remote target: TEE VEE. And 126. Remote insert: AAA.

127. Polynesian kingdom: TONGA. East of Fiji. Vanuatu is to the west.

128. Passe: OLD.

129. Atlanta WNBA team: DREAM.

130. Lode load: ORE.

131. "Lah-di-dah" type: SNOOT.

Down:

1. Word with work or cash: FLOW.

2. Like a stripped-back recording, briefly: LO-FI.

3. Dog sounds: ARFS.

4. Least experienced: GREENEST.

5. Grammar subject: SYNTAX.

6. Mahershala who was the first Muslim performer to win an Oscar: ALI. For "Moonlight". Won another for "Green Book".

7. Checks an engine, perhaps: REVS.

8. Elevate a golf ball: TEE UP.

9. Forensics drama franchise: CSI.

10. "To All the Boys" novelist Jenny: HAN. Korean-American.

11. Some anti-inflammatories: ICE BAGS.

12. Pitcher Kimbrel with more than 400 career saves: CRAIG. See here. Top 5.

13. Many a frat party: KEGGER.

14. Over bidding?: AGAIN. Not auction bid.

15. Sine's reciprocal, in trig: COSEC.

16. Dis: TRASH.

20. Radioisotope activity: DECAY.

21. On the same wavelength: IN TUNE.

23. Underwhelming: SO SO.

24. Water bottle problem: LEAK.

29. Sleeping tablets, at times: IPADS. OK, the screen goes to sleep.

31. Onboarding official, for short: HR REP.

33. Loose hood: COWL.

34. Crafts with yarn: KNITS.

35. Cold treat, casually: FROYO. Never had frozen yogurt, but I'm the best soy yogurt maker in Minnesota. 

36. British singer Lewis: LEONA.

37. Ump's call: SAFE.

40. Way over yonder: AFAR.

42. Exemplar: PARAGON.

44. Knows the answer: HAS IT.

46. Conjugated word: VERB.

47. Pedestal dweller: IDOL.

48. Hip-hop's __ Fiasco: LUPE.

50. Diva's big moments: ARIAS. Oh, I don't think I ever mentioned Qinqiang opera before. It's sung in Xi'an dialect. 

51. "Seems that way": GUESS SO.

52. Online periodical with the slogan "Cure Ignorance": UTNE.

54. Angela Lansbury role: MAME.

55. Worked for a judge: CLERKED.

60. [Heart eyes emoji]: IT'S LOVE.

61. "Misery" co-star James: CAAN.

63. Sent a private message, briefly: DM'ED.

65. Shipping option: DHL.

67. Prom crown: TIARA.

69. Auction cry: SOLD.

70. Aka follower: ALIAS.

71. "No regrets" hashtag: YOLO.

72. Lacking pop: FLAT.

73. Skywalker twin: LEIA.

74. Poetic measure: IAMB.

77. Elegantly charming: SUAVE. I associate this word with Agnes's Gary Grant.

78. Harmon of "Rizzoli & Isles": ANGIE. Boomer loved her in "Law & Order".

79. Pomegranate bit: SEED.

82. World's second-largest cocoa producer: GHANA. The largest is the Ivory Coast. Also learning moment for me.

84. Judge to be: DEEM.

85. Tiler's supply: GROUT.

88. Ramshackle residence: HOVEL.

90. Potent prefix: OMNI.

91. Mammoth's older relative: MASTODON.

93. "Thank heavens!": OH GOOD.

95. Locked up: CAPTIVE.

99. Nail the final: ACE IT.

100. Settled (down): CALMED.

102. John Legend achievement, briefly: EGOT.

104. Japanese bowlful: SOBA.

105. Corrupts: TAINTS.

106. Repair chain with classic "beep beep" commercials: AAMCO.

107. Reside (in): DWELL.

108. Sports commentator Rashad: AHMAD.

109. Blade shortener: MOWER.

110. Chinese greeting: NI HAO. Ni = You. Hao = Good.

114. "Oh, that way madness lies" king: LEAR.

116. Honduran hand: MANO.

117. Waffle brand: EGGO.

118. Ticket line?: SEAT. Another creative clue.

121. Lapsang souchong, e.g.: TEA.

122. __ and haw: HEM.

123. Boo: BAE.