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

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Sep 10, 2017

Sunday September 10, 2017 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "Top Choice"- Each theme entry is punnily clued as "Hairdo for....".

22. Hairdo for experts? : WHIZBANGS

24. Hairdo for gadget lovers? : THINGAMABOB. Looks simple. But lots of work involved in this one.
 

36. Hairdo for sportscasters? : FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS. Shown in above picture.

59. Hairdo for certain Germans? : FRANKFURTER BUN. I like messy buns.


81. Hairdo for daring gymnasts? : DOUBLE BACKFLIP. This was once popular in China also.


103. Hairdo for economists? : INFLATIONARY SPIKES


122. Hairdo for wickerworkers? : BASKET WEAVE

125. Hairdo for burglars? : CRIME WAVE

The hair-related words are all last words or last parts of a word. Quite consistent.

So nice to see Pam back. She's a total pro. This is her 29th puzzle on our blog. She mostly focuses on Sunday grids. Interesting. I just checked her label on our blog. She never made a themeless grid. 

Look at her cool hair. 


Across:
    
1. "Dallas" was one : SOAP. And 11. 1-Across plot staple : AMNESIA

5. Like much cheese : AGED

9. Improv style : SCAT

13. They're surrounded by agua : ISLAS

18. Developer's plot, perhaps : ACRE. Boomer and I have been enjoying this 130-acre nature center. Mostly cushioned ground, super friendly to Boomer's legs/hips.


19. Round number? : ZERO. What a great clue.

20. Dingbat : SCHMO

21. Ohno on skates : APOLO

26. Roll at a nursery : SOD

27. Honored athlete : ALL-STAR. When did you get into tennis, Big Easy?

29. John in Dublin : SEAN

30. Flier over Hawaii : NENE

31. It may follow you, but not me : ARE. Also 85. You and me, say : PAIR

32. Tricks : RUSES

34. Old German leader : KAISER

43. Only NFL coach with a perfect season : SHULA (Don)

44. Undistinctive marks : CEEs. And 124. Symbol of peace : VEE

45. "No man __ island ... ": Donne : IS AN

46. "With enough courage, you can do without a reputation" speaker : RHETT. To Scarlett.


50. Sounds of uncertainty : UMs

51. Household hisser : RADIATOR

54. Enzyme ending : ASE

56. Oil-rich fed. : UAE

57. System of values : ETHIC

63. Secretly includes in the 108-Down loop, briefly : BCCs. And 108. It clicks open : EMAIL

65. Ambien maker : SEARLE

66. "__ gonna happen" : AIN'T

67. U2 philanthropist : BONO

70. Work on, as a soundtrack : REDUB. Also 109. Watch again, as a movie : RESEE


74. Having less vermouth, as a martini : DRIER

75. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane : SETH

76. Footnote word : IDEM

77. More work : UTOPIA. Tricky clue. Thomas More.

79. Gossip : DIRT

86. Car shopper's option : LEASE

89. Andorra's cont. : EUR

90. That, in Mexico : ESA. Also 2. Eight, in 14-Down : OCHO. 14. See 2-Down : SPANISH

91. Emphasized, in a way : ITERATED

93. Chihuahua cheer : OLE

95. Prefix with sphere : TROPO. Also 69. Logical opening? : NEURO 116. And Start to bat? : ACRO. All O-ending prefixes.


97. "I'd consider __ honor" : IT AN

100. French honey : AMIE

101. Seaman's shout : AVAST

107. 2017 Masters champ Garcia : SERGIO. Finally won the Masters this year.

110. P.C. Wren protagonist Beau __ : GESTE

111. Energy Star co-creator, familiarly : EPA. Wiki says Energy Star "was created in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy".

112. Skunk River city : AMES

113. VMI program : ROTC

115. Three-layer fishing net : TRAMMEL. Never heard of this word.

119. Changeable border : HEM. Another great clue.

127. Words with wait or state : LIE IN

128. California cager : LAKER

129. Painter Magritte : RENE

130. Tough test : ORAL

131. Disney princess from Avalor : ELENA


132. Neverland pirate : SMEE

133. Binged (on), as junk food : OD'ed

134. Took off : WENT

Down:

1. Wise words : SAWS. My motto: when in doubt, listen to D-Otto. Life or crosswords. But not sports or fashion.

3. Dry as dust : ARID

4. 90-year-old mint : PEZ. I did not know the age. But I see Pez dispenser at the flea market all the time.

5. Rhododendron variety : AZALEA

6. Short title for Lee : GEN'L

7. Bits of work : ERGs

8. Old-fashioned do? : DOST. Not hair do.

9. Ivy, e.g.: Abbr. : SCH

10. Woodworking tools : CHISELS
 
12. Roman wrap : TOGA

13. Sevillian soy? : I AM. Googled afterwards. "Soy" is Spanish for "I am".
 
15. Places to see studs : LOBES

16. On one's own : ALONE

17. Like the designated driver, by design : SOBER

20. Gymnast Kerri who performed an iconic vault in the 1996 Olympics : STRUG. Iconic picture. 


23. Uncivilized : BARBARIC

25. Sarcophagus symbol : ANKH. Sarcophagus is a new word to me. Stone coffin.


28. Grain appendage : ARISTA. Learned from doing crosswords.

31. NBA's Hawks, on scoreboards : ATL

 33. Avoided on the job : SHIRKED

35. "__ Grows in Brooklyn" : A TREE

36. Coll. football's Seminoles : FSU

37. "Alas!" : OH ME. Not AH ME.

38. Toss from office : OUST

39. Calculator feature, for short : LCD

40. First name in Norse navigators : LEIF

41. Half an approval : HEAR. I used to think it's "Here, here".

42. Twisted : GNARLED

47. 1978 Broadway jazz revue : EUBIE. Music by Eubie Blake. Learning moment for me.

48. Tease : TAUNT

49. First of the second nine : TENTH. 10th hole on back nine. Golf. Really miss TTP on the blog.


52. Grows : ACCRUES

53. Switch positions : ONs

55. Clean and then some : STERILE

58. Cold War concern : H-BOMB

60. Much : FAR

61. Mentalist Geller : URI

62. Selassie worshiper : RASTA

64. Put a price on a flight? : SET BAIL. Nice fill/clue.

67. High-end hotel amenity : BIDET. My ex had this in his apartment. I never asked him what's the use.

68. Sussex smell : ODOUR
 
71. 1988 Ryan/Quaid remake : D.O.A.


72. Short lines at the register? : UPC

73. Two-piece suits : BIKINIs

78. Where to see a wake : AFT. Oh, boat.
 
80. Still-life fruit, perhaps : RED APPLE

82. "Ghost Town" (2008) actress : LEONI (Téa)


83. Almost a ringer : LEANER. Horseshoes shot.

84. "Joy of Cooking" writer Rombauer : IRMA. Thinking of our Florida regulars.

87. Seriously overcharge : SOAK. Not bill-related.

88. End of a threat : ELSE

92. "Brat Farrar" novelist : TEY (Josephine).

94. Saturn drivers? : ETs. The planet. Not the car. 

96. Deflategate concern : PIGSKIN

98. Ring duo : TAG TEAM

99. Had dessert, in a way : ATE CAKE. Mid-Autumn Festival is coming. The local Asian store here is already displaying mooncakes. It's normally sold in a pretty tin with a picture of moon goddess Chang'e. Quite pricey. Wish they sell individual one.


102. Itinerary word : VIA

104. Frontier protection : FORT

105. Polecat cousin : OTTER. We also have 114. Hogwarts messengers : OWLS. And 119. Fabled favorite : HARE
 
106. Looked to be : SEEMED

107. Polecat cousin : SABLE
  
117. '60s TV talking animal : MR ED

118. Go for the gold : MINE

 120. Politico Bayh : EVAN

121. Dripping sandwich, maybe : MELT. Have any of you tried Bánh mì?

 
123. Bambi's aunt : ENA
 
126. "That's really something!" : WOW

C.C.