google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner

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Jun 3, 2009

Wednesday June 3, 2009 Peter A. Collins

Theme: BROKEN CODES (60A: Crytographers' successes (and what can be found in the circles in this puzzle's long answers)

17A: Colonial fair artisan: GLASSBLOWER (Law)

24A: Reasons for an R rating: SEX AND VIOLENCE (Silence)

38A: Keep an eye on things: HOLD DOWN THE FORT (Honor)

49A: Lickety-split: LIKE THE DICKENS (Ethics)

Are there circles in your paper? There is none in LAT's website.

All the above theme code entries are broken, spanning across several words. Additionally, break the law and break the silence are both common phrases. I liked the layered nuances.

LIKE THE DICKENS is a new phrase to me. Interesting to see SEX AND VIOLENCE after our gratuitous sax and violins discussion a few weeks ago.

What other codes can you think of? Bar code, zip/area code came to my mind. I enjoyed today's puzzle. The theme held my interest.

Across:

1A: Makeshift bookmark: DOG-EAR. Nice crossing with REBIND (6D: Put a new book cover on).

7A: Relax: LAZE. Thought of EASE & REST.

11A: Sta. that might show a Bogie flick: TCM (Turner Classic Movies)

15A: Wash basin partner: EWER

19A: Baja bear: OSO. Alliteration again. Spanish for bear.

22A: Stage awards: OBIES. Or TONYS.

29A: It may be roja or verde: SALSA. Red sauce (SALSA roja) or green sauce (SALSA verde). I wrote down SALAD.

30A: "The Zoo Story" playwright: ALBEE (Edward). He also wrote "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

34A: QB's goof: INT. Ah, I got it this time.

43A: Place to crash: PAD. And DIGS (1D: Home, informally). Nice pair.

44A: Took another plunge? REWED. Great clue.

45A: Seder month: NISAN. I used to remember this month. All I could think this morning is ADAR, the Purim month, which is imediately before NISAN.

47A: Tire gauge meas.: PSI

57A: Look down: MOPE. They are not synonymous to me. The former indicates scoreful disdain.

64A: "The Loco-Motion" singer Little __: EVA. Named after the character from "Uncle Tom's Cabin". I got her name from down fills. Here is the clip.

65A: Mother of Helen of Troy: LEDA. She was seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan.

66A: Tennessee team: TITANS. Is their team named after the Greek gods TITANS?

67A: Trim: SVELTE. Adjective. I was thinking of a verb.

Down:

2D: Clay pots: OLLAS. This one is so pretty.

3D: Maker of PlugIns: GLADE. Do you use air freshener at home?

4D: County north of Ken: ESSEX

5D: Two-time loser to DDE: AES. Ah, loser. I prefer opponent.

7D: Pope during the Battle of Ostia: LEO IV. Easy guess.

9D: 25% of zero?: ZEE. Letter Z is 25% of the word zero. I thought of NIL first.

10D: "Misty" composer Garner?: ERROLL. Have never heard of this composer. His name is so close to Errol Flynn.

11D: Streak beginning?: TWO IN A ROW. Oh, I was picturing someone streaking in public.

12D: Trig ratio: COSEC. This stuff confused me a lot when I was in school.

13D: Long-headed mammal: MOOSE. How long?

18D: Former Fords: LTDS. The cars. I thought of former President Ford.

23D: "Don't take silly chances": BE SAFE

25D: Served past: ACED. Is past an adverb here? I like "Served perfectly".

31D: It stops at each sta.: LOC. No idea. What is LOC?

32D: Reacted to, as sudden bright light: BLINKED AT

34D: Evansville's st.: IND (Indiana). Not familiar with Evansville. For a minute, I thought their Senator Evan Bayh might be from Evansville. Wrong. He was born in Shirkieville, part of Terre Haute, which appears in crossword occasionally.

36D: Dander: IRE

37D: LAX posting: ETD. Or ETA sometimes. Just learned from the Air France crash that the black box emits signals for only 30 days.

39D: Moonfish: OPAH. Still can't believe OPAH is used for sashimi.

41D: The Phantom of the Opera: ERIK. The deformed ghost. I forgot his name.

46D: Quarter horse quarters: STABLE. Nice clue. Reminds me of the Kentucky Derby/Preakness horse General Quarters. I liked his trainer/owner. So fiercely independent and quiet. Do you think he looks cool?

47D: Plumber's piece: PIPE. Neat p, p and P.

48D: Sachet emanations: SCENTS

49D: Three-star mil. officer: LT GEN (Lieutenant General). General would would be four-star I presume?

50D: "Monday __ Friday on my mind": 1967 song lyric: I HAVE. Easy guess. I don't know who sang the song.

51D: Senegal's capital: DAKAR. I checked my map. It's the the westernmost African capital. I wonder what DAKAR means in local language. Beijing means "northern capital" in Chinese. My hometown Xi'An means "western peace".

53D: Situated at a junction: NODAL. Like her knees? I had huge trouble with this answer.

54D: Ran through: SPENT. New meaning of "run through" to me.

63D: Kind of engr.: CIV. Civil engineer.

Answer grid.

C.C.