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

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Jan 30, 2016

Saturday, January 30, 2016 Doug Peterson & Patti Varol

Theme: None (90° Turn~?)

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 30

Phew~!  I feel I've not been doing so well lately with my regularly scheduled puzzles, and when my first pass through this one remained about as white as the ground around these parts last week, I figured I was in for another orthorunic beating.  Ironically, it was a Frawnche word (and a sports car) in the Down that helped me gain some traction, and despite a grid with one too many (OK, more like 7 too many) proper names*, I was able to wrap it up - alright, so I cheated on ONE....One 15-letter spanner crossing a 15-letter climber, and some brutal 8- and 6- letter corners - but I have to say, some clever non-fun-sponge cluing;

8. Acted insubordinately : TALKED OUT OF TURN - Once I filled the SE corner, I had enough to suss the "-ED OUT OF..." phrase, and guessed that the 'verb' was TALK

37. Mating setting : CHESS TOURNAMENT - and since we had TURN and "TOURN", I imagine it could make for a "theme"


I found some fascinating chess sets when I went looking for this image; I have always wanted to build my own set, and something original - both indoors and OUT.









 ~!





ACROSS:

1. Entry level? : AGE LIMIT - OK, a little 'meh' on the first clue; I was looking for something a little more clever, like "Ground Floor"

9*. "Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges" co-author : SCALIA

15. Big picture : PANORAMA - I finally saw Star Wars VII - in IMAX 3-D, so that was my thought on 'big picture'

16. Fly-fishing gear : WADERS

17. Wet blanket : BUZZKILL

18. Surfaces : ARISES - dah~!  I was trying to think of a synonym for a horizontal plane, but we're talking verb here

19. Purplish fruit : SLOE

20*. Robert Southey, notably : LAKE POET - my one Google; I had LAKE----, and I suppose if I wasn't feeling a personal urge to get this puzzle solved, I could have put some thought in, and maybe even tried a WAG

22. Got comfy : NESTED

24. Outlying areas : 'BURBS - I was thinking "URBS", yet (su)BURBS did not pop into my mind

27. Juanita's pal : AMIGA - ah.  I had a final "O", but then again, I should have seen it was not Juan but his sister....

30. Leg up : EDGE - legs~?  See 43A.

32. Carrying a grudge : SORE

33. Some trainees : CADETS

35. Fodder bit : OAT

36*. "O Were My Love __ Lilac Fair": Burns : YON

41. Lisbon greeting : OLA - good guess on my part

42. Invoice abbr. : AMounT

43. Forward, in Firenze : AVANTI - oops, had a final "E", and this is why;

LevantE pantyhose

44. Dump, perhaps : SELL - the last time "dump" was in the clues, it messed me up

46*. Michelle of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" : YEOH - the "Y" was my last fill

48*. Zollverein Industrial Complex city : ESSEN - Saturday crossword cluing for a common crossword answer - and I should have WAGed it right away

49. Set of closely related notes : TRIAD - very familiar with this "chord" formation; OK, my guitar cronies, get out your axes and tell my what song this intro, predominantly triads, is from


51. Measure of concern for aerobatic pilots : G-FORCE - waiting for the day this is clued as the good guys from the cartoon "Battle of the Planets"


53. Starbucks order : SOY LATTE

55. Beyond gross : RANK

59. __ call : CATTLE

61*. "Respect for Acting" writer : UTA HAGEN - this one I did get with just --HAG--, but then again, the name makes enough crosswords....

63. Bro : PAISAN

64. Empathize with : RELATE TO

65. Get promoted : ASCEND - pondered something like "RISE UP", but the "P" was not user-friendly

66. Tops in malice : NASTIEST

DOWN:

1. BOLO equivalents : APBs - Be On the Look Out, All-Points Bulletin

2. Caesarean section? : GAUL - har-har

3*. Footwear designer Angiolini : ENZO

4. Pharmacy buys : LOZENGES

5. Exasperate : IRK

6. Submits : MAILS - and a clecho; 26D. Submitted : SENT IN

7. "Gotta run!" : "I'M LATE~!"

9. __ meet : SWAP

10. Evergreen with edible pods : CAROB - ah, similar to cocoa - did not know they were 'evergreens'; I was thinking "what can you eat on a pine, spruce, cedar or yew~?"

11. Parting words : ADIEUs - more Frawnche; see 39D.

12*. Berlioz opera based on the "Aeneid" : LES TROYENS - more more Frawnche; "The Trojans"

13. Land where hurling reportedly originated: Abbr. : IREland - oh, uh, this kind of hurling.  I'm more familiar with the drunken stupor kind....

14. Beast in some fables : ASS

21*. Catherine's husband in "Wuthering Heights" : EDGAR - I know this Edgar


23. "Good __": Alton Brown show : EATS

25*. "Wuthering Heights" author : BRONTË - oops, went with ALCOTT

27. Buttonhole : ACCOST

28*. Composer of an incomplete Tenth Symphony : MAHLER

29. Romantic : IDEALISTIC - ah, not the "intimate" kind of romantic; I was trying to find a link to associate the two clue terms, but it was a little more convoluted than I expected

31. Site of Vulcan's workshop : ETNA - makes sense, but I went looking for a specific reference - found one here

34. Order in the court : STAY

38. 007's watch since 1995 : OMEGA - I'm annoyed that I missed "Spectre" in theatres; gratuitous image for C.C.


39. With, on le menu : AVEC

40. Car with a trident emblem : MASERATI


45*. "Tao Te Ching" sage : LAO TSE

47. Spot in the afternoon : HOT TEA - I got the TEA part; the HOT part was not obvious

50*. Subject of the Robert Shelton biography "No Direction Home" : DYLAN

52. Rational and irrational numbers : REALS


54. Generate interest, in a way : LEND

56*. Miracle Mets star : AGEE - a good WAG

57. Has to spend : NETS - tough to grasp the clue's concept at first, but the answer ties it all in

58. Stomach trouble : KNOT - not ACHE - 100% 100% wrong

59. Pro with schedules : CPA

60. Wireless keyboard inserts : AAs

62. Outline in the Arby's logo : HAT

Splynter