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

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Nov 23, 2014

Sunday, November 23, 2014 Patti Varol

Theme:  "'Tis the Season" - Giving can precede 5 of the theme entries.

23A. Event that kicks off shopping for 119-Across : BLACK FRIDAY

39A. *Space mission team : GROUND CONTROL. Giving ground.

51A. *2003 romantic comedy with multiple story lines : LOVE ACTUALLY. Bill G's favorite movie. Giving love.

67A. *Amy Dickinson, for one : ADVICE COLUMNIST. Giving advice.  Her column "Ask Amy" appears in our Star Tribune, and I read it often. Also like her in "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me".

86A. *Botticelli on display in the Uffizi : BIRTH OF VENUS. With "The". Giving birth.

96A. *Friends for life : BLOOD BROTHERS. Giving blood.

119. Festive time : THE HOLIDAYS

Reveal entry:

101D. Important theme for 119-Across, and a word that can be used with the starts of the answers to the starred clues : GIVING. Great placement, crossing the last theme entry.

Sweet puzzle to kick off our Thanksgiving celebrations. 

This puzzle is very clean, Patti's hallmark, no obscure abbrs. or weird words. She's another constructor who won't dazzle you hot debut entries. Just solid entries one after another.

Across:

1. Unnerving sound on a hiking trail : RATTLE. And 66. Nile cobras : ASPS. My grandma told me to turn my shirt inside out after seeing a snake to avoid bad luck.

7. GI on the run : AWOL

11. Saturate : SOAK. I put in SATE first. Nuts.

15. Passé players, briefly : VCRs. I was thinking has-been ballplayers.

19. On __ basis : A TRIAL. A rare 6-letter partial. Rich allows it occasionally.

20. "Flashdance... What a Feeling" lyricist : CARA

21. Year in Italy : ANNO. And 49. Sicily, to Sicilians : ISOLA. And 11D. City near the Amalfi Coast : SALERNO

22. "Not so fast!" : WHOA!

25. Bygone Fords : LTDs

26. Island east of Java : BALI. There are girls who go to Bali to find love. "Eat, Pray, Love" style.

27. Low voice : BASSO

28. Polish writing : EDIT

29. Verbal shrug : MEH

30. "Desire Under the Elms" playwright : O'NEILL (Eugene)

32. Qualifying suffix : ISH

33. They're often grad students : TAs

35. "Stop" : NO MORE.  And 119D. 35-Across, briefly : TMI

37. Fight (for) : VIE

38. Iron-rich cabbage : KALE. How do you normally prepare kale?

44. Tight-knit group : CLAN

47. End-of-letter letters : ENC

50. Colleague of Ruth and Sonia : ELENA

55. Folks : PARENTS

57. Less cordial : ICIER

58. Cycle beginning : TRI. So is UNI.

59. Goblet parts : STEMS

61. Art in a parlor : TAT (Tattoo)

62. Giraffe kin : OKAPI

63. Unlikely lawyer in a 1992 film title : VINNY. I bet many of you nailed it. "My Cousin Vinny".

65. "Ta ta!" : CIAO

71. Calendar list, briefly : SKED (Schedule)

74. Blowups: Abbr. : ENLS

75. Pink hue : MELON

76. Potala Palace city : LHASA. Gimme for me. Dalai Lama used to live in the Potala Palace, which sounds very romantic in Chinese.


80. Christiane Amanpour's network : CNN

81. Super Bowl XLIV MVP : BREES. I have BR??? in place, so BRADY went in first.

82. Well-chosen : APT

83. Knock for __ : A LOOP

84. Danger sign : RED FLAG

90. Michelob beer : ULTRA

91. Strength : ASSET

94. Fashion monogram : YSL. I know who this girl is just by looking at her bag and cutout shirt.


95. Start to commute? : TELE. Telecommute.

100. Carry on : WAGE. As a war.

102. Large body of eau : MER

103. Keep mum : CLAM UP. Snazzy 6-letter entry.

104. Prefix with gram : EPI

105. Big initials in nutritional supplements : GNC

108. Westernmost Texas county : EL PASO

111. "__-Tiki" : KON

112. Layered cut : SHAG. Hard to pull it off.

114. Vice __ : VERSA

116. Fertilizer ingredient : PEAT

117. Interstate H-1 locale : OAHU

121. Emilia's husband : IAGO

122. 2012 U.S. Women's Open winner Na Yeon __ : CHOI. I forgot her name completely.
K. J. Choi is more familiar. CHOI is the same as Cui in Chinese.


123. Nothing but : MERE

124. Driving force? : ENGINE. Nice clue.

125. Stylish eatery word : CHEZ. Don't you want to be in Chez Lucina's?

126. Spots for holsters : HIPS

127. Footnote word : IDEM

128. Insurance __ : AGENCY

Down:

1. Hebrew for "my master" : RABBI. ADONAI is "my Lord".

2. Map collection : ATLAS

3. Refuse : TRASH. Noun "Refuse"

4. Personal quirks : TICs

5. Sioux language featured in "Dances With Wolves" : LAKOTA

6. Seasonal worker? : ELF

7. Sharp : ACID

8. Getting one's feet wet : WADING

9. Loud speaker : ORATOR. Loud indeed.

10. Nonexpert : LAY

12. Temporarily out, in baseball lingo : ON THE DL. And 42. Coming up soon : ON TAP.  Patti normally does not allow these little "On", "Up", "The" dupes.

13. Far-away connection? : AND. Far and away.

14. State that declared its independence in 2008 : KOSOVO. From Serbia.

15. "Punch buggy" in a car trip game : VW BEETLE. And 85. Skipping nothing : FROM A TO Z.  Two nice 8's.

16. Indian tea : CHAI

17. Bakery purchase : ROLL

18. Put out to sea : SAIL

24. Harbor a grudge against : RESENT

29. Unlikely to speak up : MOUSY

31. Frisco squad : NINERS. Never heard my sisters-in-law call their city "Friso".

34. Novelist Waugh : ALEC

36. Work hard : MOIL. Did you try TOIL again?

38. Bit of inline skating gear : KNEE PAD

40. Massachusetts resort : CAPE ANN

41. Pays to stay : RENTS

43. Stands the test of time : LASTS. Like my Shanghai Tang skirt. I bought it in 1998. I've been wearing that pair of shoes to death too. Lovers come and go, my taste in clothes stays the same, thankfully.


44. Ad writer's award : CLIO

45. Sure bet : LOCK

46. Sports shoe with a Cantilever heel : AVIA

48. Manicurist's concern : CUTICLE. My heart sank after reading Gary's pedi venture.

52. Drought-prone : ARID

53. "Gunsmoke" star : ARNESS (James)

54. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC

56. Not yours, in Tours : A MOI

59. Work on a bust : SCULPT

60. Addressee of two New Testament epistles : TIMOTHY. Got via crosses.

63. Salad dressing ingredient : VINEGAR

64. __ Kippur : YOM

66. Player : ATHLETE

68. Designer Wang : VERA

69. "O, that way madness lies" speaker : LEAR

70. Many a Balkan : SLAV

71. Hit the dirt? : SCRUB. Great clue.

72. Funereal ring : KNELL

73. Put an __: terminate : END TO

77. Super : A-ONE

78. Focus of some searching? : SOUL. Nice clue also.

79. Basilica area : APSE

81. Grass units : BLADES

86. "Borstal Boy" author Brendan : BEHAN. Unknown to me.

87. Particular : ITEM. Not en easy clue.

88. SUNY city on Lake Ontario : OSWEGO. Famous for what?

89. Book jacket part : FLAP

92. Rock 'n' roll era dance : SOCK HOP

93. Rams' home : ST. LOUIS

97. Scarf securer : BROOCH. So pretty.



98. Acted hastily : RUSHED

99. __ of influence : SPHERE

105. Wood pattern : GRAIN

106. Timberlake's old band : NSYNC. I like Justin Timberlake. Extremely talented and down to earth.

107. Jones of song : CASEY

108. Grand-scale tale : EPIC

109. Genesis wife : LEAH. Shout out to our Chickie!

110. Leaf : PAGE

113. "Beg pardon ..." : AHEM

115. Fringe : EDGE

118. Sushi-grade tuna : AHI

120. Pasture : LEA



Indie 500 crossword tournament will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2015 in Washington D.C.  The constructors are all indie crossword constructors: Andy Kravis, Evan Birnholz, Peter Broda, Neville Fogarty & Erik Agard, who made two of my favorite LAT Mondays last year. They're holding a contest for the sixth constructor spot. The payment is $500 and the deadline is January 15th, 2015. Click here for the rules and submission details. Good luck!
 
C.C.