L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Dec 1, 2024

Sunday December 1, 2024 Gary Larson & Amy Ensz

Theme: "Rhyme Scheme" - Each common phrase is humorously rephrased fitting the nursery rhyme in the clue.

21A. Cleanup duty after Humpty Dumpty's accident?: FALL CLEARANCE.

37A. Rental stipulations for a large family's befuddled matriarch?: SHOESTRINGS.

58A. Vessel designed for row-row-rowing gently down the stream?: DREAM BOAT.

72A. Serving dish for Old Mother Hubbard's dog?: BONE CHINA.

90A. Telegram heralding Jack's candlestick feat?: JUMPER CABLE.

110A. Weasel's mindset after being chased by a monkey?: POP PSYCHOLOGY.

14D. Identifying marks for a horn-blowing little boy?: BLUEPRINTS.

70D. Strong flavor from that little Horner kid's Christmas pie?: CORNER KICK.

In case you're not aware of, Gary Larson and Amy Ensz are a couple. Here's an interesting article about Gary, the Bubble Man.

Across:

1. Barrio grocery: BODEGA. Barrio is Spanish for "neighborhood".

7. Breakfast strip: BACON.

12. "I guess that's fine": SO BE IT.

18. Suggestive: EROTIC.

19. Love, in Roma: AMORE.

20. Actress Dahl who founded the Dahlia fragrance company: ARLENE. Unfamiliar with the fragrance.

23. Crept around: SKULKED.

25. Intercontinental mountain range: URALS.

26. Pad: DIGS.

27. Mixes in: ADDS.

29. Nail polish brand in square bottles: ESSIE.

30. German 39-Down: EINS. 69. Spanish 39-Down: UNA. 39. Countdown end: ONE.

31. Color wheel display: TONES.

32. Bring in, as crops: REAP.

34. Place to stay: INN.

35. Mind-altering synthetic drug: LSD.

36. Puts a lid on: SHUTS.

41. Field event: SHOT PUT.

43. Singer Lewis who won "The X Factor": LEONA. British singer.

44. Boost: AID.

45. Crumple (up): WAD.

46. Ranted and raged: STORMED.

48. Poet's below: NEATH.

52. Big bullies: OGRES. And 55. Big bully: MEANIE.

56. Electron stream: BETA RAY.

60. Bogie toppers?: FEDORAS. Humphrey Bogart.

63. Word typically ignored when alphabetizing: THE.

64. Hog's grunt: OINK.

65. City with a van Gogh walking tour: ARLES. Starry, Starry Night.

67. Musical endings: CODAS.

68. Makeshift screwdriver, maybe: COIN.

70. Phylum units: CLASSES.

74. Kerosene: LAMP OIL.

76. Broadcasts again: RE-AIRS.

78. Retreat: OASIS.

79. Use a tiller: STEER.

80. Counsels: ADVISES.

82. ICU caregiver: LPN.

83. Tennis pair?: ENS. Letter N's in Tennis. We see this cluing misguide often.

85. Vegetarian chili bits: BEANS. Boomer loved beans in his chili.

86. Make like new: RESTORE.

94. 100 smackers: C NOTE.

96. British granny: NAN.

97. Go gray, maybe: AGE.

98. Origin: ROOT.

99. Old cars from Sweden: SAABS. 101. Local language in Copenhagen: DANSK.

100. Take different routes: PART.

103. Happy __: MEAL.

106. Currency symbolized by € : EURO.

107. Apple gadget: CORER. Have you tried Cosmic Crisp apples?

108. Arranged like train cars: ENDWISE.

113. Cleared for takeoff, in a way: DE-ICED.

114. Batter's box neighbor: PLATE.

115. "Très chic!": OO LA LA.

116. Button in some shortcuts: ALT KEY.

117. Mélange: SALAD.

118. Elegant strand: PEARLS. Very pretty.

Down:

1. Like a pessimistic broker: BEARISH.

2. Bloom in Hollywood: ORLANDO.

3. Some "Coppélia" characters: DOLLS. Not famliar with "Coppélia", a comic ballet. Coppélia is a mechanical doll.

4. List-ending abbrs.: ETCS.

5. Apt name for a pet fish: GIL.

6. Got the better of, in a contest: ACED OUT.

7. Canal craft: BARGES.

8. Gather: AMASS.

9. Hoodwink: CON.

10. Marine predator: ORCA.

11. __ for Speed: video game series: NEED.

12. Talks back: SASSES.

13. Mork's planet: ORK.

15. Pot-caught fish: EELS. You can find this in the Asian aisle in your grocery store.

16. Finishes, as a cartoon: INKS IN.

17. Driver's setting?: TEEING. Golfer's starting drive.

21. Energy sources: FUELS.

22. "It __ over till it's over": AIN'T.

24. Family rooms: DENS.

28. Emotion before starting an unpleasant task: DREAD.

31. Heavy clonk: THUD.

33. __ disadvantage: AT A.

36. Charley horse, e.g.: SPASM.

37. Typeface flourish: SERIF.

38. Practical HS course, once: HOME EC.

40. Lightbulb, in the comics: IDEA.

42. Fine-tune: TWEAK.

43. Silent film star Chaney: LON. He died in 1930 at age 47.

46. Puts a lid on: SEALS.

47. Cookie brand owned by Mondelez: TATE'S.

49. Stella __: Belgian beer: ARTOIS.

50. Sesame sauce: TAHINI. We have sesame paste in Chinese cooking. We use unhulled sesame seeds.

51. Serengeti scavengers: HYENAS.

52. Near beer brand: O'DOULS.

53. Direct a smile toward: GRIN AT.

54. Make a file more identifiable: RE-NAME.

55. Fable finale: MORAL.

56. Cereal grains: BRANS.

57. Simplify: EASE.

59. Indonesia's "Island of the Gods": BALI.

61. Gillis of old TV: DOBIE.

62. Nose wrinklers: ODORS.

66. African wildcat: SERVAL. Learning moment for me. Cute.

68. Gregorian __: CHANT.

71. Paris Olympics opening ceremony site: SEINE.

73. Thicket: COPSE.

75. Easter basket treat: PEEP.

77. Palm Sunday transport: ASS.

80. Lose power: ABATE.

81. Food blogger Perelman: DEB. Smitten Kitchen blog.

82. Permits: LETS.

84. Last-minute ticket caveat: SRO.

86. Cyberpunk franchise featuring a crime-fighting cyborg: ROBOCOP.

87. Hot: ON A ROLL.

88. Xenon, for one: RARE GAS.

89. Blog post: ENTRY.

90. Emerald alternative: JADE. Cantonese girls love jade bracelets. The real jade is quite pricey, like this one Carmen is wearing. Over $1,000.

91. Country with a border in Lake Victoria: UGANDA.

92. Genetics pioneer Gregor: MENDEL.

93. Spoof genre: COMEDY.

94. Brought about: CAUSED.

95. __ a soul: NARY.

99. Philly transit org.: SEPTA. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

100. Chris Van Allsburg's "The __ Express": POLAR.

102. Loretta of "M*A*S*H": SWIT.

104. Intro courses?: APPS. Appetizers. Nice clue.

105. Dancer Falana: LOLA.

107. Cuba libre mixer: COLA.

109. Picture: SEE. The land I showed last week belongs to the Chinese government. My mom and dad were buried there also. It's very remote, hilly, dense with bushes and tall plants. I'd walk for miles to visit my mom's tomb. The stubbornness in that little girl.

111. Mate: PAL.

112. Soil-turning tool: HOE.

Just got this sweet picture from JD, who joined our blog in 2009 when her oldest grandson Truman was not yet one, now Truman is a senior. The tallest boy is Grady, younger brother of Truman (most right). The youngest boy in the picture is Dylan, who plays the saxophone and is about to get his Black Belt in Taekwondo. The boy in white sweater is Cameron, Dylon's old brother.

Nov 30, 2024

Saturday, November 30, 2024, Kyle Dolan

Themeless Saturday by Kyle Dolan

This is my 17th Saturday puzzle by Dr. Dolan and it took just the right amount of effort for me to earn a satisfying "got 'er done!"

Kyle did write to me to add a comment on his FRERE JACQUES ENTRY. It tells of how great constructors can get an idea and hang on to it until they can use it.

Across:

1. With 46-Across, noncarbonated drink with bubbles: BOBA and 46. See 1-Across: TEA - I learned of this by doing cwds but almost every student in the school where I sub knew of it.

5. K-pop group that visited the White House in 2022: BTS.

8. Tunnel (into): BORE - If you BORE under the English Channel you hope you meet up with the country coming from the other direction and have a Chunnel. They did meet 30+ years ago.

12. Has to pay: OWES.

13. Hilarious types: RIOTS.

15. Market investment opportunities, for short: IPO'S.

16. Was totally satisfying: HIT THE SPOT.

18. Tart shavings: ZEST.

19. One- or two-star flag officer: REAR ADMIRAL - Admiral info

21. Fresh start?: NEO.

22. Dirt found in cubes?: OFFICE GOSSIP - Teacher's lounges are not immune to this phenomenon

24. Poke tuna: AHI.

27. Up to, casually: TIL - I immediately thought of the Mills Brothers. The Mills brother on the right gives a hint of Doo Wop music to come with the bass line.

28. Fruit infused in spirits: SLOES.

29. Place for a seasonal recital?: SANTA'S LAP 😀

33. "Filthy" stuff: LUCRE 😀

35. __ Romeo: ALFA - This 1988 ALFA Romeo Spider Veloce recently went on the auction block with a starting bid of $10,000.

36. Lost all patience: HAD IT.

38. Farm gait: TROT.

39. Places with customs: PORTS.

41. Marriage bureau?: HOPE CHEST 😀 My grandmother used to call a CHEST of drawers in her house a bureau.

43. "If __ Street Could Talk": BEALE - I thought this might be about the famous street in Memphis, TN but it is set in NYC

45. Show whose first host was George Carlin, familiarly: SNL.

47. Children's tune interpreted in Mahler's Symphony No. 1: FRERE JACQUES - I remember singing "Are you sleeping, Brother John?" in grade school. Here is a note from Kyle that he asked me to include about this clue:

Some time ago, I put FRERE JACQUES on a list of themeless seeds I’d developed. I specificallywanted to clue it through its association with Mahler’s First Symphony, where it appears, rather whimsically, as a funeral march in the slow third movement. After about a year of grid development, working through multiple layouts (a few of which were submitted unsuccessfully to various venues), this version finally hit the mark with Patti Varol. Happily, she kept my Mahler reference in the clue! For curious solvers, here is the movement featuring the Frere Jacques tune:

51. Galoot: OAF.

52. Sign of diversion: DETOUR AHEAD.

56. "I don't believe you!": LIAR - In 1965, the Castaways were one-hit-wonders with this title. Here are some TV castaways dancing to that song.

58. Event for seniors: CAREER EXPO.

59. South Asian rice cake: IDLI - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

60. Sole clue for a detective?: TREAD.

61. Bag that may be stolen: BASE 😀

62. Capital city with a Viking Ship Museum: OSLO - That figures

63. Bug: IRK.

64. Home of the Big 12's Cyclones: AMES.

Down:

1. Einstein contemporary: BOHR - Niels Bohr worked on The Manhattan Project but Albert did not because of uncertainty about his political views.

2. Boo-boo: OWIE.

3. Alpha follower: BETA - A different alpha than the car name

4. Jetson family member: ASTRO.

5. Arabic invocation heard in Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody": BISMILLAH - Chief songwriter Freddie Mercury was not Muslim but lived in Zanzibar as a child which is 90% Muslim. BISMILLAH translates to "In the name of Allah".

But I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?
Bismillah, no, we will not let you go
(Let him go) BISMILLAH, we will not let you go
(Let him go) BISMILLAH, we will not let you go
(Let me go) Will not let you go
(Let me go) Will not let you go
(Never, never, never, never let me go)

6. Issue: TOPIC.

7. Supply: STORE - Every school has a STORE room for teacher supplies.

8. Industry, briefly: BIZ.

9. Unspoken shared knowledge: OPEN SECRET - Hollywood is famous for having OPEN SECRETS

10. Comic strip about the Gumbo family whose title was inspired by Gertrude Stein: ROSE IS ROSE.

11. Legally bar: ESTOP - Definition

13. Drum or snapper: RED FISH.

14. Some deer: STAGS.

17. Must, slangily: HAFTA.

20. Hang: LOLL.

23. __ Beach: SOUTH.

24. Short message written in a hurry?: ASAP - or spoken

25. Wraparound hairstyle: HALO BRAIDS - I never saw my grandmother or my aunt Betty with any other hairdo.

26. Plummeting: IN FREE FALL.

30. Language spoken along the Volga: TATAR - If you look closely you can see TATARSTAN with the Volga flowing through it.

31. Hoopla: ADO.

32. Squirt: PIPSQUEAK.

34. First name in jazz: ETTA.

37. Hard to dismiss, in a way: TENURED - After three years of teaching in Nebraska, TENURE makes getting fired very difficult.

40. Arctic transport: SLED.

42. Obvious: CLEAR.

44. Disappearing mode of releasing an album?: EJECT - Release the album from your CD player

47. Large book: FOLIO - This one will cost you around $10M

48. Game company co-founded by Nolan Bushnell: ATARI - Steve Jobs worked for Nolan at ATARI and Nolan later founded the wildly successful Chuck E. Cheese. This autographed poster will cost you $2,700.