L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Dec 26, 2020

Saturday, December, 26, 2020 by Kyle Dolan

Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan

As you have probably noticed, Dr. Dolan works at the British Consulate-General in Chicago. He said he will get Boxing Day off on Monday as it comes on Saturday this year. Kyle is from Boston but says he is one of the "local hires" at the consulate in Chicago. He was kind enough to share this with us:

Dear Gary,

Thanks for your note, and I hope you're keeping safe and in good health. Looking forward to reading your writeup of the puzzle.

I made this puzzle over a year ago, and it was accepted by Rich Norris in June of this year. The seed entry was SMART WATCH, which I thought would make a good 1-Across. Overall I'm pleased with how the grid turned out, particularly getting full names EVE ENSLER and ROSA PARKS in opposite corners, as well as the stacked duo of ALL-NIGHTER and SLEEPS EASY--an irony that won't be lost on anyone who's ever crammed for a final exam (raises hand). Rich did make one grid change at the crossing of GLUERS/GAR, which was originally CLUERS/CAR (he wouldn't accept CLUERS).

The published puzzle has 53 clues that are originals or bear a close resemblance to what I submitted, including 14-A, 45-A, 61-A, 30-D, 47-D and 49-D. Interestingly, the clue at 35-Down is Rich's and has a very different connotation compared to my submission, which was [Action film effect].

Best regards,

Kyle

Across:

1. Apple product: SMART WATCH - Dick Tracy's imagined device of my 1950's comics has come to be a real device

11. Collector's frame: CEL.

14. Mozart's Queen of the Night, for one: COLORATURA - COLORATURA the ornamentation of a vocal piece of singing in opera with runs, trills and leaps usually performed by a soprano. If a soprano is as 28. Virtuoso: ADROIT as the fabulous Kathleen Battle, it sounds like this

15. Cover on the road: PAVE.

16. Guacamole, e.g.: AVOCADO DIP.

17. "Agreed!": AMEN.

18. Tiny and unimportant: DINKY - Some DINKY toys of my childhood

19. "The First __": NOEL - Tunes such as these have been put away until around October 1. 2021.

20. Must: NEED.

21. Make a narrow escape?: SEEP

22. In itself: PER SE.

24. Rhapsody, perhaps: OPUS - Numbered works. Beethoven's Symphony Number 9, OPUS Number 125 is considered to be a supreme achievement in musical history.

26. Field pair: OSCARS - Sally has won two OSCARS (Norma Rae and Places In The Heart) but ya gotta love someone who wears high heels to the ceremony and then 23. Slips into: DONS tennis shoes for the rest of the night.

31. Tie with the dealer, in blackjack: PUSH - Dealer and player both have 18

32. La Liga cheer: OLE - I don't remember when this shout of bullfighting ring moved over to soccer (futball) fields as well

34. Like Dorothy Parker's humor: DROLL

35. Red state?: FIT - Here's a FIT being thrown with the resulting red state of a face

36. Any of Florida's Dry Tortugas: ISLET - One of Hemingway's favorite fishing spots

38. Some "SVU" roles: DA'S.

39. Cut out: OMIT.

41. Model builders, at times: GLUERS.

42. Bauhaus founder Gropius: WALTER - What is Bauhaus?

44. Not peripheral: MAIN.

45. Chateau Montelena's home: NAPA - Just northwest of NAPA, CA near Calistoga, CA

46. Ban from practice: DEBAR - My EMBAR fill got banned

48. Spring break destination, briefly: BAJA - BOCA didn't make the cut here

52. Word of resignation: ALAS.

53. __ Eats: UBER - Have bike, will deliver

54. Rambled: RAN ON.

55. Calamitous: DIRE.

56. Obviously full of anticipation: SALIVATING.

58. Art store supply: INKS.

59. It may be pulled before a final: ALL NIGHTER, you thought you had 1. Gobs: SCADS of time

60. Thing in the Roman Senate: RES - RES Nullius means "thing no one owns". Like a wild animal

61. Has a clear conscience, maybe: SLEEPS EASY.

Down:

2. Oddly, trailers may precede one: MOVIE - Show time is 7:00 and you're still in the parking lot? No problem, trailers and ad will push that curtain to 7:20.

3. Like many a horror film victim: ALONE. - Jamie Lee Curtis recreates her mother Janet Leigh's ALONE scene in the shower scene from Psycho

4. Low tide formation: ROCK POOL - An alternate name for a Tidal POOL

5. A server may carry one: TRAY.

6. Gum, after use: WAD

7. Makes up: ATONES.

8. Elizabeth I was the last one: TUDOR - Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth II is a first cousin 13 times removed to Elizabeth I.

9. Really could use, with "for": CRIES OUT.

10. Unfortunate: HAPLESS.

11. Diner patron played by Stephen King in "Mr. Mercedes," e.g.: CAMEO ROLE - Here he is as the scene is being setup where he plays a chef that gets killed.

12. "The Vagina Monologues" playwright: EVE ENSLER.

13. Takes interest, maybe: LENDS.

15. Bear that can bark: PANDA - Rough translation, "Hey Mom, get off me!"

22. Call counterpart: PUT

25. Captain, at times: PILOT - A copy of Samuel Clemens' Steamboat PILOT'S License from 1859

27. Dog topper: CHILI - I had to quit thinking about what garment a well-turned-out pooch might DON

28. Sum up: ADD.

29. Begin to set boundaries: DRAW A LINE.

30. First woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol: ROSA PARKS - A sterling example of DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND

31. Compost bin remnant: PIT.

33. "Cloverfield" characters: ETS - Yikes!

35. Highly energetic sort: FIREBALL - LIVE WIRE was my first choice

37. What a city dweller may do on a building roof: SUN BATHE - Of course I'm going to link to the Drifters's version of the song Carole King co-wrote

40. Jellyfish: MEDUSAS - Hey, I'm not allergic to learning!

41. Pikelike fish: GAR.

43. Burns with a light touch?: LASES - Progressive steps of LASER tattoo removal

44. Oceanic: MARINE.

45. Point from which a recovery can begin: NADIR - I hope Husker FB is there

47. Animated Disney bibliophile: BELLE - from Beauty And The Beast