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

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Sep 23, 2009

Wednesday September 23, 2009 Bruce Venzke and Stella Daily

Theme: In Fine Fettle - Phrases/name that start with a word indicating good health.

17A. Hydration from underground: WELL WATER. We used well water until I was about 10. Public well. Quite a way from our house. Tough on winter days.

29A. Thunder on a radio show, e.g.: SOUND EFFECT. Music recordings are never referred to as sound effects.

45A. In a rage: FIT TO BE TIED. Extremely angry.

61A. House majority leader of the early 1970s: HALE BOGGS. Unknown figure to me. Wikipedia says he was one of the seven members of the Warren Commission and he dissented from the single bullet theory. It also says he disappeared in 1972 while flying over a remote section in Alaska.

Also a bit of baseball undertone:

66A. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. Inducted in 1937, same year as Cy Young. The first class (1936) includes Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb & Honus Wagner.

69A. Not tagged in time: SAFE. Twins won again! So did the Tigers though. We are still 2 1/2 games behind.

18D. "__ on first?": WHO'S. The classic Abbott and Costello sketch.

Very straightforward puzzle. Quite a few simple multiple-word answers.

Across:

5. Get ready for surgery: PREP

9. Beethoven's "Für ____": ELISE. Her true identity remains a mystery.

15. Victoria or Geneva: LAKE. Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake. LPGA holds its annual Evian Masters on the shore of Lake Geneva. It's played one week before British Open.

20. Horseshoer's workshop: SMITHY

21. "All set!": I'M READY

23. Excuse designed to elicit sniffles: SOB STORY. Asians tend to bottle up their personal woes.

26. Busy pro in Apr.: CPA. His days are numbered!

37. Bird on a dollar: EAGLE. I'd like to be a bird in my next life, chasing autumn all over the world.

40. Undiversified, as a farm: ONE CROP. Waiting for Windhover to comment.

42. Old French money: FRANC. Or ECU/SOU for three letter answers.

44. Head of France?: TETE. Tête-à-tête (tet-ah-tet) = head to head.

49. "The Waste Land" poet's monogram: TSE. Ah, our old days' of "Half a fly"! I bet Wayne R Williams still uses the same clue in his current self-syndicated puzzles.

50. Made a mess of: LOUSED UP

52. Mouth the lyrics: LIP SYNC

56. White Rabbit's cry: I'M LATE. Easy guess. Have never read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

64. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" author: STOWE

Down:

1. Dog's dogs?: PAWS. Dogs is slang for feet. Got me. I wanted PUPS.

2. Utah city: OREM. See this map. So glad that I was not the only one who was perplexed by SLC (Salt Lake City) abbreviation yesterday.

5. Hedonistic fellows: PLAYBOYS. Hugh Hefner even owns a crypt next to Marilyn Monroe.

6. Maze scurrier: RAT

9. Payment from a contestant: ENTRY FEE

11. It sells a lot of build-it-yourself furniture: IKEA. I wonder why IKEA has not gone public, neither has Cargill.

22. Desert Storm ration, for short: MRE (Meal Ready to Eat)

24. Mutton fat: SUET. Beef fat too. LARD is pork fat.

25. Explosive compound: TNT

26. Grain husks separated in threshing: CHAFF. Used to confuse CHAFF with CHAFE.

27. Lab dish inventor: PETRI

28. G sharp's equivalent: A-FLAT. Oh, by the way, why does major key sound happy and minor key sound sad?

30. It's not fiction: FACT. Could be stranger than fiction.

31. "Snowy" wader: EGRET

33. Conical residence: TEPEE. And TENT (35D: Shelter for roughing it).

39. Altar attendants: ACOLYTES. Love fresh fill.

40. Aunt Bee's grandnephew: OPIE. I bet we can find Ron Howard reference in a puzzle on any given day.

43. Tie settlers, for short. OTS (Overtimes)

47. Game often played with a 24-card deck: EUCHRE. Got the answer from Across fills. Wikipedia says EUCHRE, invented around 1860, is responsible for introducing the Jack (Joker) into modern packs.

51. Novelists' creations: PLOTS

55. Attached with thread: SEWN

57. Taj Mahal city: AGRA. "Slumdog Millionaire" was shot in AGRA and Mumbai.

58. "Woohoo, the weekend!": TGIF

59. Being, to Caesar: ESSE. Sum is a first person singular of ESSE, as in "Cogito, Ergo Sum".

62. "La Cage __ Folles": AUX. Ah, one of Lemonade's favorite plays. I like the remake "The Birdcage" starring Robin Williams.

63. Wahine's gift: LEI. What kind of flowers are they wearing?

Answer grid.

A special "Thank you" to Al for the technical help lately.

C.C.

PS: Nice sausage links yesterday, esp Jazzbumpa's "since" and "yikes!". Some exotic ingredients from Kazie. Fun to read. Missed Lois's playful word weaving essay.