As you know, Patti Varol is not only the LAT crossword editor, she is also an accomplished constructor. Today, she has delivered our paper by HAND with a well-themed crossword on the puzzle page, so let's start with the revealer:
33. Walk with one's sweetie, and what 16-, 23-, 49-, and 58-Across do?: HOLD HANDS. Each of the themed answers actually HOLD HANDS of one type or another. Very nice and straightforward.
16. See 33-Across: CLOCK FACES. When the big hand is on the 2, it means you're late for work.
49. See 33-Across: RANCH HOUSES. Actually, bunkhouses hold the ranch hands, but close enough.
58. See 33-Across: WOOL GLOVES. These were made for ewe.
I loved this theme, very well executed. At first I was bothered by the "See 33-Across" clues. Like many of you, I usually start at the top. This one required jumping down to discover the revealer first. Once the center was done, the rest of the themers fell into place. For most of them, I had the second word then asked myself, "How would these HOLD HANDS?" Each became a little AHA moment. Lots of fun! But what wasn't so fun was all the people's names - about a dozen of them, not counting a half-dozen other proper names. DIOS MIA!
Names of rivers or schools seem fair; a plethora of people do not. The NE corner was particularly troublesome with 2 short names crossing GIRARDI (assuming you don't know this off the top of your head, like me). Ida, Ila, Ima, Ina, Ira, Iva - nope, not one of those. Then Tala, Tama, Tana, Taya. None of those either. I eventually settled on an "M" at the intersection of TARA. Close, but no cigar.
Let's HOLD HANDS as we traverse the grid together.
Across:
1. Former "Top Chef" host Lakshmi: PADMA. Padma Lakshmi is an Emmy-nominated producer, television host, author, and activist. Oh, and she began her career as a supermodel.
6. Imperfection: FLAW.
10. Tennis champion Swiatek: IGA. IGA Świątek was born in Warsaw, Poland, and has won the French Open four times, and the U.S. Open and Wimbledon once each. Her primary weapon is a powerful extreme-topspin forehand that is very difficult to return.
13. Second calling?: ALIAS. Good clue.
14. Untimely?: LATE. Another good clue.
15. Carpentry wedge: SHIM.
16. [theme]
18. "Educated" memoirist Westover: TARA. TARA s an American essayist and historian. Here she is receiving the National Humanities Award in 2023.
19. Creative inspiration: MUSE.
20. "In __ of gifts ... ": LIEU. In LIEU of gifts...No! You may send me gifts!
21. Coffees, casually: JAVAS. "I'll have a cup of JAVA, please," said no one, ever (at least in this century).
22. Branch: ARM.
23. [theme]
25. Marcus partner: NEIMAN. I misread this as Marcus painter. I briefly wondered, "What famous painting is called Marcus?" Note to self: Buy new reading glasses.
 |
Marcus Aurelius |
28. Dove bar: SOAP. When my mom got mad and wanted to wash my mouth out with soap, I suggested this. It didn't help.
29. Pacific resort, casually: CABO. CABO San Lucas is at the southern tip of Baja California. You can get there via Tijuana Taxi or CABO.
32. "__ but a scratch": TIS. Here is King Arthur fighting the Black Knight who says "Ni" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 |
| "We'll call it a draw." |
37. General on a takeout menu: TSO. He's only outranked by King Pao Chicken.
40. Financial services co. for mil. families: USAA. Originally called the United Services Automobile Association, it provides insurance, banking, and investment products exclusively to military members, veterans, and their families.
41. Checkout device: IPAD. Checkout device: BINOS.
44. Down counterpart: ACROSS. This could've had a meta clue, such as "This clue." But it plays nicely into the the next one...
47. Margaret who was the first editor of the New York Times crossword: FARRAR. Her stint ran from 1942 through 1969, and she created many regulations that have become standards, such as limiting the number of black squares in the grid, creating a minimum word-length of three letters, requiring grids to be symmetric and forbidding unchecked squares. Great shout-out to a fellow editor from Patti.
49. [theme]
53. Molecule in some vaccines: RNA. RibiNucleic Acid.
54. "No fooling!": TRUTH. Believe it or not!
55. Mousetrap brand: D-CON.
56. Supermodel Hadid: GIGI. Supermodel? Yes. An Emmy-nominated producer, television host, author, and activist? No.
57. Land measure: ACRE.
58. [theme]
60. Take five: REST.
61. Ponte Vecchio river: ARNO. Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone arch bridge over the ARNO in Florence, Italy.
62. "25" and "30" singer: ADELE. She names her albums after her age at the time of recording. I hope Van Halen doesn't do the same thing. I mean they're old, but not that old.
63. Afore: ERE.
64. 403(b) IDs: SSNS. Social Security Numbers.
65. Early PC platform: MSDOS. The MicroSoft Disc Operating System.
Down:
1. Arcade classic with ghosts: PAC-MAN. The "Ghost Gang" of Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde chased after PAC-MAN, and made my wrist sore in the process.
2. Draws: ALLURES.
3. "¡Ay, caramba!": DIOS MIO. "Oh my gosh!": MY GOD! Spanish exclamations.
4. Spice cookie spice: MACE. MACE is an aromatic spice derived from the covering of the nutmeg seed, offering a warm, delicate, and slightly sharper flavor.
5. "Thought you'd never __": ASK.
6. 14-time WWE Women's Champion Charlotte: FLAIR. Charlotte is the daughter of popular wrestler Ric FLAIR. She is part of World Wrestling Entertainment.
7. Like most sneakers: LACED. These shoes are LACED with alcohol:
8. Devoured: ATE UP.
9. Bentley of "Yellowstone": WES. He's not just another pretty face! Well, okay, he's just another pretty face.
10. "Found a solution!": I HAVE IT. I'd prefer, "I've got it!" but you gotta fit what fits.
11. Yankees manager after Torre: GIRARDI. Joe GIRARDI managed the Yankees from 2008 to 2017, and winning the 2009 World Series. He was born in Peoria, that's why he played.
12. Racks up: AMASSES.
15. Hotel bookings: STAYS.
17. Custard dessert similar to crème caramel: FLAN. My daughter-in-law is of Cuban descent. She says FLAN is popular there because it can be made without baking when power is out, which is often.
21. First mo.: JAN. JANUARY is the first month.
23. Guitar accessory: CAPO. Yay! A guitar-related clue! A CAPO can be clamped onto the neck of a guitar, effectively shortening the strings and raising its pitch.
24. Animal in the Premier League logo: LION. The Premier League is England's highest level of professional association football (aka soccer).
26. __-jongg: MAH. MAH-jongg looks like fun. I'll have to learn how to play it.
29. Pre-iTunes stack: CDS. Pre-CDs stack: LPs - although I cringe when I see records stacked this way. Years ago, my cousin ran a load of them through the dishwasher after a party! I'm still in therapy.
30. Cry with a finger snap: AHA. Vastly better than an "oho" moment.
31. Response to Bo Peep: BAA. That is, if she can find her sheep.
34. Rich: LUSH.
35. Semana parts: DIAS. Parts of weeks are days, en español.
36. Beautiful time of yr. at a botanical garden: SPR. It's almost SPRING! I'm sure those of you up north can hardly wait.
37. Raw preparation: TARTARE.
38. Harder to find: SCARCER.
39. Hosp. caregiver during surgery: OR NURSE. The Operating Room NURSE in a hospital.
42. Got somewhere: ARRIVED.
43. Beverly of the "Vacation" films: D'ANGELO. She was perfect playing the wife of the "expert in exterior illumination," Chevy Chase, in one of my favorite Christmas movies.
45. Largish jazz combo: OCTET.
46. "Quiet, you!": SHH.
47. __ shui: FENG.
48. Hikes: RAISES.
50. Baking soda targets: ODORS.
51. NCAA school with the most first-round WNBA draft picks: UCONN. The women's team at the University of Connecticut is perennially top-ranked, leading many players into the professional Women's National Basketball Association.
52. Pilots' milestones: SOLOS. To get your pilot's license, you must fly so high and SOLO.
56. Mercury and Neptune: GODS. Roman gods and their namesake roamin' planets. "Planets" (from Greek planētēs) means "wanderers," a term used by ancient astronomers for five bright, naked-eye objects (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) that roam across the fixed starry background.
58. Once cost: WAS.
59. Go on the __: LAM.
Be good. RB
