L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Nov 10, 2024

Sunday November 10, 2024 Chandi Deitmer

Theme: "Things That Go Bump in the Night" - Four monsters are hidden under four beds.

24. Thought experiment illustrating special relativity: TWIN PARADOX.

27. Dish garnish: MICROGREEN. Ogre under Twin.

44. Ryan Gosling's role in "The Fall Guy": BODY DOUBLE.

52. Italian blue cheese: GORGONZOLA. Gorgon under Double.

86. Wonderland resident who starts out as a chess piece: WHITE QUEEN.

94. Arrived nonchalantly: STROLLED IN. Troll under Queen.

115. Big name in baking products: KING ARTHUR.

119. Conway Twitty ballad covered by Blake Shelton: GOODBYE TIME. Yeti under King.

Reveal:

66. Common childhood fear, examples of which may jump out at you four times in this puzzle?: THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED.

See the answer grid below.

Each monster has the same letter count as the bed it's hidden. This makes Chandi's theme entry choices super tight.

Across:

1. Dandy: FOP.

4. Taiwanese laptop brand: ACER. Their monitor is pretty good.

8. Repeats a mantra, perhaps: CHANTS.

14. Out of bed: ASTIR.

19. Big day for a startup, briefly: IPO.

20. "__ might say ... ": SOME.

21. Zimbabwe's capital: HARARE.

22. Maestro Zubin: MEHTA. Born in Bombay. We also have 50. Conductor's reference: SCORE.

23. Printer tray abbr.: LTR.

26. Opponent: ENEMY.

29. Plant also known as a strangler fig: BANYAN TREE.

31. Dijon darling: CHERI.

32. Crew team's workout machines: ERGS. Rowing ergometers.

34. Italian hard cheese, briefly: PARM.

35. Humble poker hand: PAIR.

36. Candy with unique dispensers: PEZ.

39. Caesar lettuce: ROMAINE.

42. Like the Vatican's Bramante Staircase: SPIRAL.

48. Add new audio: DUB.

49. Skin opening: PORE.

54. Gobs: LOADS.

56. Shape sometimes made by a comfy cat: LOAF.

57. Couture monogram: YSL.

58. Paris runway spot: ORLY.

59. Routine: ACT.

60. Like sesame seeds in furikake, typically: TOASTED. My favorite is the nori furikake.

63. Not-so-powerful chess piece: PAWN.

74. Floors: AWES.

75. "Well, isn't that fancy!": OOH LA LA.

76. Blonde, brown, or red drink: ALE.

77. Symbol on many a flag: STAR. Chinese flag has five stars.

80. Comic Margaret: CHO.

83. Penicillin origin: MOLD.

84. Singer Zayn: MALIK.

90. JV player's goal: A TEAM.

92. Gin flavorer: SLOE.

93. Buccaneer's cry: ARR.

96. Worth-y things: ASSETS. And 2. Vision-ary?: OPTIC. Nice clues.

98. Evidence board need: PUSHPIN.

100. "Case of the Ex" R&B singer: MYA.

101. Big name in brut: MOET.

102. Diamond overlay?: TARP. Another great clue. Baseball field.

103. Farm-centric org.: USDA.

107. Capital on the Svislach: MINSK.

109. Sound judgment: HORSE SENSE.

118. Newspaper sect.: OBITS.

121. Poem of tribute: ODE.

122. Runs like a gazelle: LOPES.

123. Dig into an issue: GO DEEP.

124. Songwriter Sands: EVIE.

125. Geologic span: EON.

126. Basic question type: YES-NO.

127. Kumquat color: ORANGE.

128. Neptune's domain: SEAS.

129. Retired jet: SST.

Down:

1. Polaroid need: FILM.

3. One looking for on-deck loot: PORCH PIRATE. Hope it's not a problem in your area.

4. Queens neighborhood on the East River: ASTORIA.

5. Women who "don't cry," per a Brooks & Dunn song: COWGIRLS.

6. Leader in Kuwait: EMIR. 10. Like a 6-Down: ARAB.

7. Rapp of "Mean Girls": RENEE.

8. Momofuku founder David: CHANG. Try his chili crunch.

9. Chuckle syllable: HAR.

11. __ colada: tropical mocktail: NADA.

12. Disney movie set inside a computer: TRON.

13. Hot: SEXY.

14. Fervent agreement: AMEN AMEN.

15. Nissan sedan: SENTRA.

16. Lobster __: THERMIDOR. A la Wikipedia, it's a "French dish of lobster meat cooked in a rich wine sauce, stuffed back into a lobster shell, and browned". Never had this.

17. [Puts finger to nose]: IT ME.

18. "My 21st Century Blues" singer: RAYE. British singer.

25. Word in a ratio: PER.

28. Raised: REARED.

30. Speed skater Ohno: APOLO.

33. Mole: SPY.

37. Daring, in a way: EDGY.

38. Hectic spots: ZOOS.

39. "On the Basis of Sex" monogram: RBG. Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

40. Invalid: NULL.

41. Online marketplace: EBAY.

42. Sound of slime hitting the ground: SPLAT. And 65. Collision sound: WHAM.

43. Pupper: POOCH.

44. Extra helping hand: BOOST.

45. Pontificate: ORATE.

46. Leave for later: DEFER.

47. Bus. card address: URL.

51. Refinement: CLASS.

53. Comfort __: ZONE.

55. Put away: STOW.

61. Protozoan cell count: ONE.

62. Spokesowl who celebrates app streaks: DUO. Duolingo's owl mascot Duo.

63. Red carpet designer: PRADA.

64. Trap music city, briefly: ATL.

67. Gas station shop: MART.

68. Vagabond: NOMAD.

69. Wrapped South Asian garment: DHOTI.

70. Former Liberian president __ Johnson Sirleaf: ELLEN.

71. Help for getting to the pointe: BALLET SHOES.

72. Poet Thomas Stearns __: ELIOT.

73. Hockey ruses: DEKES.

77. Trade: SWAP.

78. Drive-__ window: THRU.

79. Taxi spots?: AIRSTRIPS. Aviation "taxi".

80. Corp. leader: CEO. And 81. Leader's spot: HELM.

82. "__ Murders in the Building": ONLY.

85. Go-ahead: ASSENT.

87. Strong coffee: ESPRESSO.

88. Some swabs: Q-TIPS.

89. Caterer's teapot: URN.

91. ABBA jukebox musical: MAMM MIA.

95. Contents of un lac: EAU.

97. Fancy fetes: SOIREES.

99. Rush: HASTEN.

104. Videoconferencing app: SKYPE.

105. Sputter out: DIE.

106. Puts money in: ANTES.

108. Accolades: KUDOS.

109. "__ mackerel!": HOLY.

110. Instrument similar to a suona: OBOE. Chinese instrument. I just call it laba.

111. Breakfast brand: EGGO.

112. American-born Jordanian royal: NOOR.

113. Fizzy drink: SODA.

114. Pristine place: EDEN.

116. Be generous: GIVE.

117. Monopoly payment: RENT.

120. Ask for more puppy chow: BEG.

Happy 78th birthday to Husker Gary's wife Joann and her twin sister Joyce. Here they're with their mom Martha, who passed away in August last year at the age of 100.

C.C.

Nov 9, 2024

Saturday, November 9, 2024, John Andrew Agpalo

Saturday Themeless by John Andrew Agpalo

John's third LA Times puzzle turned out to be a pleasant and quick walk in the park for this solver. John's construction had a low word count of only sixty four which yeilded a very desirable count of only six three-letter words. When the long fills appear with ease, it greatly facilitates obtaining a "got 'er done!"

Across:

1. Running tally?: VOTES - I followed a bunch of these Tuesday night.

6. City on the River Clyde: GLASGOW - GLASGOW on the Clyde at night

13. Fast train between Union Station and Back Bay Station: ACELA - This train and its lovely three vowels pulls into our crossword station quite often.

14. Target of a dehumidifier: MOISTURE and 12. Adds 14-Across: WETS - I'll be making the switch in our basement very soon.

15. German city: STADT - The largest in Germany according to their 2018 census

16. Outline in a plaster of paris keepsake: HAND PRINT.

17. "Get lost!": TAKE A HIKE.

19. Mike Trout's team, familiarly: HALOS - Mike Trout has been one of the MLB's best players for years as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, but like the Cubs' Ernie Banks, has never been in a World Series.

20. Vulcan salute, e.g.: GESTURE.

21. "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" painter: MANET - The Luncheon On The Grass with clothing optional. Our friend Jeffery Wechsler would be so disappointed I don't know my MANET from my Monet.

22. Hall of Famer Ronnie who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers: LOTT - Some consider Ronnie to be the best safety in NFL history. Here he is separating a receiver from the ball

23. Got completely out of hand: RAN WILD.

25. Colony toiler: ANT.

26. Commits a hoops infraction: GOAL TENDS - If a basketball shot is in or above the basket cylinder, neither the offense or defense can touch it. Ironically, as our own goal tender Splynter can attest, it is perfectly legal in hockey!

30. Incapable of having a bad hair day, say: BALD - Waddaya think?

32. Gives hell?: DAMNS.

33. Catastrophic: DIRE.

34. Deliberate: SLEEP ON IT - The verb not the adjective. My car salesman friend says the chances for a sale go way down when a customer wants to do this.

36. Veto: NIX.

37. Pioneer in "New New Orleans" cuisine: LAGASSE.

39. Tax: LEVY.

40. Quite buff, casually: SWOLE.

42. In proportion: TO SCALE - Gutzon Borglum made a scale model and then transferred those dimensions to the mountain.

44. Airport featured in "Home Alone": O'HARE.

45. Notable name on a case: SAMSONITE - My 1964 H.S. graduation present from Grandma Opal

47. Dish that requires one's level best?: LAYER CAKE - Usually

49. Strikingly real: VIVID - This amazing holographic reproduction of an ABBA concert now playing in London is said to be very VIVID!

50. Supersuit designer who insists, "No capes"!: EDNA MODE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - A cartoon based on Edith Head. If you're interested...

51. "They Called Us __": graphic novel co-written by George Takei: ENEMY - The story of his family's life in Japanese internment camps after Pearl Harbor.

52. [Look below]: SEE NOTE.

53. Levels a theatre, say: RASES - Alternate spelling for RAZES [Look below]

Down:

1. Seemingly endless: VAST.

2. Like many gazebos: OCTAGONAL.

3. Water heater: TEA KETTLE - Wrapped by a tea cosy not cozy (similar to raise and raze?)

4. Like Meg, among the March sisters: ELDEST - Little Women

5. Occupied, as a table: SAT AT.

6. Missing: GONE.

7. Topper: LID.

8. Lot surface: ASPHALT.

9. High and dry: STRANDED - How hurricanes can leave boats

10. Chicanery: GUILE.

11. Second-guessing phrase: OR NOT.

14. "Let me be clear": MAKE NO MISTAKE.

16. Some characters in Japanese writing: HIRAGANA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

18. "Ben-__": HUR - It took 800 workers 4 months to build this recreation of Rome's Circus Maximus for the 13-minute chariot race scene in the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. [Look Below] Today this land has massive lanes of traffic and shops in Culver City, CA.