Theme: 1A. Squish: MASHed up city names. The middle city name uses parts of the end of the first city name and the beginning of the last city name without adding any extra letters. Of all the cities presented, Pierre, SD and Annapolis, MD are the only ones that are state capitals.
20A. Iowa/Arizona/Maryland tri-city area?: AMES ANNAPOLIS. AMES MESA ANNAPOLIS.
32A. Washington/Georgia/ New Hampshire tri-city area?: TACOMA CONCORD. TACOMA MACON CONCORD.
40A. South Dakota/Nevada/ Virginia tri-city area?: PIERRE NORFOLK. PIERRE RENO NORFOLK.
55A. California/Alaska/ Tennessee tri-city area?: FRESNO MEMPHIS.
What a puzzle. I can't imagine what it must have taken to get all four theme entries to all be 13 letters each with overlapping names, and then fit them symmetrically into a grid with eight other non-theme answers having 9 to 10 letters in them. I needed the short ones today just to get enough traction to get started. The crossing of Narz and Lai was just a guess, and the NW and SE corners did not come easily. Lots of music again today.
ACROSS:
5. Flintstone word: DABBA. Yabba dabba doo. Song written and performed by Hoagy Carmichael on the show.
10. Bairn, e.g.: SCOT. Scottish for baby.
14. Pick of the litter?: ALPO. (Dog food) Trademark applied for by Alpo circa 1985: IT'S THE PICK OF VETERINARIANS AND THE PICK OF THE LITTER
15. Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie __": AMOUR.
16. Horse around: PLAY.
17. Zoo retreat: LAIR. The root is in "lie", as "to lie down".
18. Red and yellow but not green: WARM COLORS. This had me thinking about sea names at first.
22. Sing like Slim Clark: YODEL. Not my favorite kind of music, but hey, to each their own. I had never heard of him, but with a name similar to Slim Whitman, it had to be yodeling.
23. Cut from the staff: AXE.
24. Arterial implant: STENT. A rigid tube implanted to hold a (weakened) passageway open.
27. "__ Town Too": 1981 hit: HER. James Taylor.
29. The Concord Sage's monogram: RWE. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
31. My __, Vietnam: LAI. The mass murder conducted by a unit of the U.S. Army on March 16, 1968 of 347–504 unarmed citizens in South Vietnam, all of whom were civilians and a majority of whom were women, children (including babies) and elderly people. While 26 U.S. soldiers were initially charged with criminal offenses for their actions at My Lai, only William Calley was convicted. He served only three years of an original life sentence, spent on house arrest.
36. K-12: EL-HI. Elementary - High School.
38. It may be precious: METAL.
39. Percolate: OOZE. I don't usually think of upwards percolation, but it does happen, and can cause sinkholes.
43. Like some outlet mall mdse.: IRR. Irregular.
44. Quite a long time: EON.
45. Announcer Hall: EDD. Replaced Ed McMahon on the Tonight Show after Johnny Carson retired and Jay Leno took over.
46. Alberta natives: CREES.
48. Anesthesiologists' work sites, briefly: ORS. Had to wait to see whether it would be ERs.
51. Neapolitan song starter: O SOLE. Mio.
58. Soldier who has completed most of his tour of duty: SHORT TIMER. Or an employee who has given two week's notice. Just wishful thinking these days.
60. Drops off: EBBS.
61. Saarinen who designed the Gateway Arch: EERO.
62. Even a little: AT ALL.
63. Passed-down tales: LORE. Related to "learn".
64. Skating maneuver: AXEL. Named for Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen.
65. Broadway matchmaker: YENTE. Fiddler on the Roof.
66. Oven cleaner chemicals: LYES. Also Butane, Monoethanolamine, Diethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether, and Diethanolamine. Wear a mask and don't breathe any of the vapors...
DOWN:
1. Asia's __ Peninsula: MALAY. Southwest of Vietnam.
2. 2007 Enterprise acquisition: ALAMO. (Rent-a-car companies) Enterprise's slogan: "We'll pick you up."
3. Spotted: SPIED.
4. Paintbrush material: HORSE HAIR. Also sable, squirrel, hog, ox, and goat.
5. Become clear to, with "on": DAWN. It took a while for this answer to, um, come to mind.
6. Radarange maker: AMANA. Now owned by Whirlpool.
7. Cleansing agent: BORAX. Anti-microbial, basic pH, buffer, dispersant. But also toxic, especially if ingested, so use it carefully if you choose to do so.
8. Crash course vehicle?: BUMPER CAR.
9. Not pizzicato: ARCO. Return to the usual smooth method of play.
10. Cheerleader's feat: SPLIT. Ouch!
11. More than a glance: CLOSE LOOK.
12. Crew tool: OAR.
13. Cobb et al.: TYS.
19. "The Daily Planet" reporter: OLSEN. Jimmy, Superman's pal.
21. Pianist Templeton: ALEC. Composer, satirist, popularizer of classical music with a jazz feel. Also blind. Died in 1963, and yet there's a Youtube clip...
25. '70s "Concentration" host Jack: NARZ. Former daytime game show host. Needed all perps for this.
26. Ocean phenomenon: TIDE. From Old English tid, a marking unit of time, in the sense of high water time. To "tide you over" is the sense of "to carry, as the tide does". Also tidings, as news, carried on the tide.
28. Lover boy: ROMEO. Always with the male bias. Why isn't there a term for a lover girl called Juliet?
30. Stout hero Nero: WOLFE. Rex Stout, but as played by Robert Conrad, also stout in stature.
32. Start of a conclusion: THEREFORE. Good play on words for the clue.
33. Anabaptist denomination: MENNONITE. All I got out of researching this was they believed in baptizing adults, not babies, then I lost interest.
34. "From __ Zinc": vitamin slogan: A TO. Centrum brand. Do your own research, but you won't catch me taking these.
35. Time to bundle up: COLD SPELL.
36. Like some proportions: EPIC.
37. NYC commuter line: LIRR. Long Island Rail Road.
41. Odometer button: RESET.
42. Blue Moon of '60s-'70s baseball: ODOM. Apparently was round-faced as a child, he got the nickname in grade school from a friend, Joe Morris.
47. Swashbuckler Flynn: ERROL. I can never remember if this is ERROL or EROLL.
49. __ candle: ROMAN. Fireworks, because scented doesn't fit.
50. Silver fish: SMELT. I remember these. Three scoopfuls with a net to fill a wash bucket, 10 minutes tops. Two hours driving round trip. Hours and hours cleaning and bagging to freeze. Pan-fried in oil with flour, salt, and pepper. They were good, but I was kind of glad the run only happened once per year.
52. "Whoopee!": OH BOY.
53. Vers __: free verse: LIBRE. French.
54. Switchback features: ESSES. Hilly roads.
56. Layover: STAY.
57. Contemporary of Rex and Agatha: ERLE. Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner. Mystery/murder writers.
58. Something fishy: SEA. Until about 2048 or even sooner, unless commercial fishing is controlled and dumping garbage is stopped.
59. Give the evil eye: HEX. Both hag and hex are shortenings of the same words in Old English: hægtesse or Old High German hagazussa.
Answer Grid
Al
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
LA Times, Thu, Dec 23, 2010 Author: John Lampkin
Theme: Seasonal puns, tipped off by a "?" in the clue. Wackiness ensues. No revealing entry in the grid.
20A. Seasonal cheeses?: SUMMER BRIES. Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts.
59A. Seasonal seasoning?: WINTER THYME. Wintertime by The Steve Miller Band.
11D. Seasonal smoked salmon?: SPRING LOX. This one puzzled me a bit as to exactly how it fits in with the theme. There are the Soo locks which open in the spring (closed in winter), and there are types of mechanical locks and latches where the bolt is driven home by a spring. Also spring lock washers. I couldn't come up with a musical connection for this like the others.
35D. Seasonal costume?: FALL GUISE. The Boys (guys) of Fall by Kenny Chesney.
Al here, with John Lampkin continuing his streak for a second Thursday in a row, talk about deja vu. Like Melissa yesterday, I saw several music tie-ins, probably unintended. As per John's style, there are clue echoes present, including one (61D) that the answer is ECHO
ACROSS:
1. Ptolemaic constellation that is now divided into Carina (the keel), Puppis (the poop deck) and Vela (the sails): ARGO. That has to be one of the longest clue descriptions for Jason's ship, ever.
5. Utter: SHEER. Used here as an intensifier (utter delight, sheer delight), not "to say out loud".
10. Exxon forerunner: ESSO. Standard Oil, ess oh (S.O.) Along with ENCO, the combined name would have been the 4-letter EXON, but James Exon was governor of Nebraska, so to avoid problems, they added the second X.
14. Miller's product: MEAL. Cornmeal, for example, ground by a milling stone. I really wanted to put BEER instead.
15. Grade leader?: CENTI. Centigrade (100 gradients or degrees) is now called Celsius (after Swedish Astronomer Anders Celcius), because the desire for name recognition is stronger than being reasonable about having an understandable label.
16. Peak: APEX. Latin for top, peak, summit. Can be clued many ways.
17. West Point team: ARMY. U.S. Military Academy.
18A. Mountain nymph: OREAD. Tree nymph: DRYAD Water nymph: NEREID. Along with clecho 61D. Nymph who loved her own voice: ECHO.
19. Hammock support: TREE.
23. Place purveying potent pints: INN. Nice alliteration in the clue. Along with clecho 65A. Potent pints: ALES.
24. Grab from the shelves: SNAP UP.
25. Miller's salesman: LOMAN. Henry Miller's Death of a Salesman, Harry (Hap) Loman.
27. Dickens's Heep: URIAH. Also a 70's rock band.
30. Fried chicken piece: NUGGET. How they're made.
33. Klutzes: OAFS. OAF "a changeling; a foolish child left by the fairies", is related to ELF.
36. "What's cooking?" elicitor: ODOR.
38. Race with batons: RELAY.
39. Finance major's deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration.
40. Fuming: IN A HUFF.
42. Sitcom planet: ORK. Is Mork & Mindy being rerun on some cable channel lately? It seems to be showing up a lot lately.
43. Pooped: ALL IN.
45. Con __: briskly, on scores: MOTO. Italian musical term.
46. Wheelbarrow feature: AXLE.
47. Empathize: RELATE. As in "I can relate to that".
49. Gallery events: SHOWS.
51. Troll: GNOME. Both are "earth-dwelling spirits", but not really the same. You would get an argument from someone who plays Dungeons and Dragons. Gnomes are small, usually associated with gardens (or Travelocity), and have red pointy hats. Trolls are much larger, hairier, meaner, less intelligent, and seem to densely inhabit blog comment boards.
53. Peak: TIPTOP.
57. Feathered runner: EMU. A ratite (flightless bird) Also related: ostrich, rhea, cassowary, and kiwi. Extinct species: moa and aepyornis.
62. Put down: LAID. Past tense.
64. "__ under pressure": guts, to Hemingway: GRACE.
66. Japanese soup: MISO. Has health benefits due to Omega-3 and vitamin-K content. Tastes good, too.
67. Retirement plans, informally: ROTHS. An individual retirement account, with taxes pre-paid.
68. New kids' block since 1958: LEGO. Examples of Escher structures.
69. Foreshadowing: OMEN.
70. "Cats" poet: ELIOT. T.S. Eliot, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which I'll skip any links for.
71. Musical syllables: TRAS.
DOWN:
1. Stockpile: AMASS.
2. Old air fare?: RERUN. Like Mork & Mindy.
3. Kind of ray emitted by a supernova: GAMMA.
4. Greek mount: OLYMPUS.
5. Venomous arachnid: SCORPION. Rock you like a hurricane.
6. It may be medicinal: HERB.
7. Nuke-testing dept.: ENER. U.S. Department of Energy.
8. Much modern business: ETAIL. Love it or hate it as a crossword answer, it's so much more convenient than trying to find a parking spot during the Christmas rush.
9. Continue the journey, oater-style: RIDE ON.
10. Corrode: EAT.
12. Dated: SEEN. Past tense of (I'm seeing her. I'm dating her.) And clecho 26D. Dating concern: AGE.
13. Paired pullers: OXEN.
21. Ger. setting: EUR. Germany, Europe.
22. Blue toon: SMURF. You'd be blue too, if there was only one female (Smurfette) in your entire village.
28. Sixth-day creation: ADAM. And all the creatures of the land.
29. Seasonal rooftop noises?: HO-HOS. I wanted HOOFS at first, but then thought it was the wrong spelling for hooves. Turns out it is a legit alternate form, but still the wrong answer.
31. British nobleman: EARL. Had to wait for perps, could have been DUKE.
32. Kid: TYKE.
33. "Rubáiyát" poet Khayyám: OMAR.
34. One-time pal of Baker and Charlie?: ABLE. Pre-1954 U.S. Navy Radio Alphabet. Replaced with the NATO phonetic alphabet: Alpha Bravo Charlie
37. Pianist Laredo: RUTH. Introduced by Van Cliburn.
40. Like trailers on the road: IN TOW.
41. Ottoman: FOOT REST. More precisely, a couch with no arms or back, for laying on, which was so-named because of the perception of Eastern (Ottoman empire) culture.
44. "At Seventeen" singer Janis: IAN.
46. Cloverleaf cover: ASPHALT.
48. Political refugee: EMIGRE.
50. Cleverness: WIT.
52. Join: ENROL. Seems odd to see only one L, but is a legit alternate spelling.
54. Tippecanoe's partner, in an 1840 campaign: TYLER. Tippecanoe (William Henry Harrison, who died shortly after being elected), and Tyler, too.
55. Last in a series: OMEGA. Last letter of the Greek alphabet.
56. Sonoran smackeroos: PESOS. Mexican Money. See? I can alliterate, too.
57. Saint with a fire: ELMO. An electrical corona plasma discharge.
58. Hurt severely: MAIM. I always hear the sequence from the old Kung-Fu TV series when I see this word: Perceive the way of nature and no force of man can harm you. Do not meet a wave head on: avoid it. You do not have to stop force: it is easier to redirect it. Learn more ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than check. Check rather than hurt. Hurt rather than maim. Maim rather than kill. For all life is precious nor can any be replaced.
60. "Mon Oncle" director: TATI.
63. Put on: DON.
Answer Grid
-- Al
20A. Seasonal cheeses?: SUMMER BRIES. Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts.
59A. Seasonal seasoning?: WINTER THYME. Wintertime by The Steve Miller Band.
11D. Seasonal smoked salmon?: SPRING LOX. This one puzzled me a bit as to exactly how it fits in with the theme. There are the Soo locks which open in the spring (closed in winter), and there are types of mechanical locks and latches where the bolt is driven home by a spring. Also spring lock washers. I couldn't come up with a musical connection for this like the others.
35D. Seasonal costume?: FALL GUISE. The Boys (guys) of Fall by Kenny Chesney.
Al here, with John Lampkin continuing his streak for a second Thursday in a row, talk about deja vu. Like Melissa yesterday, I saw several music tie-ins, probably unintended. As per John's style, there are clue echoes present, including one (61D) that the answer is ECHO
ACROSS:
1. Ptolemaic constellation that is now divided into Carina (the keel), Puppis (the poop deck) and Vela (the sails): ARGO. That has to be one of the longest clue descriptions for Jason's ship, ever.
5. Utter: SHEER. Used here as an intensifier (utter delight, sheer delight), not "to say out loud".
10. Exxon forerunner: ESSO. Standard Oil, ess oh (S.O.) Along with ENCO, the combined name would have been the 4-letter EXON, but James Exon was governor of Nebraska, so to avoid problems, they added the second X.
14. Miller's product: MEAL. Cornmeal, for example, ground by a milling stone. I really wanted to put BEER instead.
15. Grade leader?: CENTI. Centigrade (100 gradients or degrees) is now called Celsius (after Swedish Astronomer Anders Celcius), because the desire for name recognition is stronger than being reasonable about having an understandable label.
16. Peak: APEX. Latin for top, peak, summit. Can be clued many ways.
17. West Point team: ARMY. U.S. Military Academy.
18A. Mountain nymph: OREAD. Tree nymph: DRYAD Water nymph: NEREID. Along with clecho 61D. Nymph who loved her own voice: ECHO.
19. Hammock support: TREE.
23. Place purveying potent pints: INN. Nice alliteration in the clue. Along with clecho 65A. Potent pints: ALES.
24. Grab from the shelves: SNAP UP.
25. Miller's salesman: LOMAN. Henry Miller's Death of a Salesman, Harry (Hap) Loman.
27. Dickens's Heep: URIAH. Also a 70's rock band.
30. Fried chicken piece: NUGGET. How they're made.
33. Klutzes: OAFS. OAF "a changeling; a foolish child left by the fairies", is related to ELF.
36. "What's cooking?" elicitor: ODOR.
38. Race with batons: RELAY.
39. Finance major's deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration.
40. Fuming: IN A HUFF.
42. Sitcom planet: ORK. Is Mork & Mindy being rerun on some cable channel lately? It seems to be showing up a lot lately.
43. Pooped: ALL IN.
45. Con __: briskly, on scores: MOTO. Italian musical term.
46. Wheelbarrow feature: AXLE.
47. Empathize: RELATE. As in "I can relate to that".
49. Gallery events: SHOWS.
51. Troll: GNOME. Both are "earth-dwelling spirits", but not really the same. You would get an argument from someone who plays Dungeons and Dragons. Gnomes are small, usually associated with gardens (or Travelocity), and have red pointy hats. Trolls are much larger, hairier, meaner, less intelligent, and seem to densely inhabit blog comment boards.
53. Peak: TIPTOP.
57. Feathered runner: EMU. A ratite (flightless bird) Also related: ostrich, rhea, cassowary, and kiwi. Extinct species: moa and aepyornis.
62. Put down: LAID. Past tense.
64. "__ under pressure": guts, to Hemingway: GRACE.
66. Japanese soup: MISO. Has health benefits due to Omega-3 and vitamin-K content. Tastes good, too.
67. Retirement plans, informally: ROTHS. An individual retirement account, with taxes pre-paid.
68. New kids' block since 1958: LEGO. Examples of Escher structures.
69. Foreshadowing: OMEN.
70. "Cats" poet: ELIOT. T.S. Eliot, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which I'll skip any links for.
71. Musical syllables: TRAS.
DOWN:
1. Stockpile: AMASS.
2. Old air fare?: RERUN. Like Mork & Mindy.
3. Kind of ray emitted by a supernova: GAMMA.
4. Greek mount: OLYMPUS.
5. Venomous arachnid: SCORPION. Rock you like a hurricane.
6. It may be medicinal: HERB.
7. Nuke-testing dept.: ENER. U.S. Department of Energy.
8. Much modern business: ETAIL. Love it or hate it as a crossword answer, it's so much more convenient than trying to find a parking spot during the Christmas rush.
9. Continue the journey, oater-style: RIDE ON.
10. Corrode: EAT.
12. Dated: SEEN. Past tense of (I'm seeing her. I'm dating her.) And clecho 26D. Dating concern: AGE.
13. Paired pullers: OXEN.
21. Ger. setting: EUR. Germany, Europe.
22. Blue toon: SMURF. You'd be blue too, if there was only one female (Smurfette) in your entire village.
28. Sixth-day creation: ADAM. And all the creatures of the land.
29. Seasonal rooftop noises?: HO-HOS. I wanted HOOFS at first, but then thought it was the wrong spelling for hooves. Turns out it is a legit alternate form, but still the wrong answer.
31. British nobleman: EARL. Had to wait for perps, could have been DUKE.
32. Kid: TYKE.
33. "Rubáiyát" poet Khayyám: OMAR.
34. One-time pal of Baker and Charlie?: ABLE. Pre-1954 U.S. Navy Radio Alphabet. Replaced with the NATO phonetic alphabet: Alpha Bravo Charlie
37. Pianist Laredo: RUTH. Introduced by Van Cliburn.
40. Like trailers on the road: IN TOW.
41. Ottoman: FOOT REST. More precisely, a couch with no arms or back, for laying on, which was so-named because of the perception of Eastern (Ottoman empire) culture.
44. "At Seventeen" singer Janis: IAN.
46. Cloverleaf cover: ASPHALT.
48. Political refugee: EMIGRE.
50. Cleverness: WIT.
52. Join: ENROL. Seems odd to see only one L, but is a legit alternate spelling.
54. Tippecanoe's partner, in an 1840 campaign: TYLER. Tippecanoe (William Henry Harrison, who died shortly after being elected), and Tyler, too.
55. Last in a series: OMEGA. Last letter of the Greek alphabet.
56. Sonoran smackeroos: PESOS. Mexican Money. See? I can alliterate, too.
57. Saint with a fire: ELMO. An electrical corona plasma discharge.
58. Hurt severely: MAIM. I always hear the sequence from the old Kung-Fu TV series when I see this word: Perceive the way of nature and no force of man can harm you. Do not meet a wave head on: avoid it. You do not have to stop force: it is easier to redirect it. Learn more ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than check. Check rather than hurt. Hurt rather than maim. Maim rather than kill. For all life is precious nor can any be replaced.
60. "Mon Oncle" director: TATI.
63. Put on: DON.
Answer Grid
-- Al
Thursday, December 16, 2010
LA Times, Thu, Dec 16, 2010 Author: John Lampkin
Theme: Classical puns. Beethoven-related subject matter with naughty (altered) meanings. 62A. Naughty—and with 63-Across, composer Beethoven? (born 12/16/1770): LEWD. 63A. Toupee: WIG. (Ludwig)
20A. Naughty object of Beethoven's affections?: IMMORAL BELOVED. Immortal beloved is the name used in three love letters composed by Beethoven.
38A. Beethoven's naughty opus?: EROTICA SYMPHONY. The Eroica (heroic) symphony was originally dedicated to Bonaparte while the revolution was on and idealistic, but when NB later declared himself Emperor, Beethoven became disgusted and went to the table where the completed score lay. He took hold of the title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently with a knife that he created a hole in the paper and later renamed it.
53A. Where to hear Beethoven's naughty music?: BANNED CONCERTS. Band concerts like JZB performs in? Jazz, do you play any "improved" classical works?
Hi all, Al here.
Well, John has managed to blend a little bit of English (cryptic) clue phrasing into today's puzzle. A word like "naughty" can simply mean that the words or the arrangement of letters in a word are not behaving correctly, or can be a play on words. Also scattered throughout the puzzle are some additional bonus clue references to Ludwig Van (which, incidentally, is what we named our first Dodge Caravan, oh, so many years ago).
ACROSS:
1. A whale has a long one: JAW. Yeah, right, his jaw was the first thing that came to mind.
4. Short pencil: STUB.
8. Sign of military respect: SALUTE.
14. Tokyo-born artist: ONO. That kind of blends together, doesn't it? Tokyoko.
15. Lake Titicaca is partly in it: PERU. The rest is in Bolivia, where the city of Copacabana also lies.
16. Previously, previously: ERE NOW.
17. Pure: VIRGINAL. Not naughty.
19. Nursery rocker: CRADLE.
22. X rating in old Rome?: TEN. A naughty Roman numeral. At least it wasn't a math problem.
23. Cringe: COWER. Actually unrelated to "coward", which comes from Old French coart. Cower comes from German kuren or kauren "lie in wait", or similar Scandanavian words kura, kure, to squat and to doze.
24. Dollar bills, e.g.: CASH. Sigh, had ONES at first.
27. Choir male, often: TENOR. As in the finale to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
30. Mil. honors: DSMS. Distinguished Service Medals.
33. Ding Dong relatives: HOHOS.
35. Yoga position: LOTUS. It's not only a yoga position.
37. Swipe: COP. Northern British dialect, "to seize, to catch," possibly from Latin capere "to take".
41. Agcy. concerned with fraud: FTC. Federal Trade Commission.
42. Malaise symptom: NO PEP.
43. __-ground missile: AIR-TO.
44. Nordstrom rival: SAKS. Started in Tennessee, now owns McRae’s, Parisian, Younkers, Herberger's, and Carson Pirie Scott & Co. which included Bergner's and Boston Store.
46. Biblical beasts: ASSES. Sampson slew an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass. Hmmm, isn't that what Congress does?
48. Romeo or Juliet, e.g.: TEEN. Hormones are wasted on the young.
49. Semi-sheer curtain fabric: VOILE. Apparently it can be used for more than just curtains. Ok, this is just wrong...
51. Doctrine: ISM. In Latin a doctor was a "religious teacher, adviser, scholar".
59. ::: COLONS. A colon is Latin for "part of a poem". Meaning evolved from "independent clause" to the punctuation mark that sets it off.
60. Parker and Roosevelt: ELEANORS.
61. "CBS Evening News" anchor: COURIC. Katie. I think someone must have said "Could you turn that up? I can't hear you."
64. Anxiety: UNEASE.
65. Dieter's triumph: LOSS. Clever meaning reversal clue.
66. Boozer: SOT.
DOWN:
1. Rocker Bon __: JOVI. It takes a certain kind of confidence to sing a duet with Luciano Pavarotti.
2. Lively, to Beethoven: Abbr.: ANIM. Animato
3. Low life?: WORM.
4. High point?: SPIRE. From Old English spir "sprout, shoot, stalk of grass. A spear of asparagus.
5. High-rise occupant: TENANT. Apartment dweller.
6. River through southern Russia: URAL.
7. Socket insert: BULB. I confidently entered BALL for this first...
8. Novus ordo __: Great Seal phrase: SECLORUM. Translated, means "A new order of the ages". It was meant to signify the beginning of the new American era, beginning in 1776. The symbolism of the Great Seal explained.
9. Cupid's missile: ARROW. Eros, Amor. Son of Venus (and Mars). With Psyche, had a daughter named Roman: Voluptas (voluptuous) or Greek: Hedone (from which we get hedonism).
10. Like trees in summer: LEAVED. I had to hesitate whether it should be an F or a V.
11. Sign of stress?: UNDERSCORE. Underlined text to be stressed, or emphasized. Also italics or bolding.
12. Squealed: TOLD. Ratted on.
13. She used to be a lambkin: EWE. A pet name perhaps, John?
18. Began to win a lot: GOT HOT.
21. Environmental subgroup: ECOTYPE. a genetically distinct geographic variety, population or race within species, which is adapted to specific environmental conditions.
24. Toque wearers: CHEFS.
25. Heart line: AORTA.
26. Provocation potential, as of a Howard Stern segment: SHOCK VALUE.
28. Passed, as time: ELAPSED.
29. Busybodies' active organs?: NOSES.
31. Three-card con: MONTE.
32. Watch, secret agent-style: SPY ON. Used here as a verb, not James Bond's Rolex 1016 Explorer.
34. Transgression: SIN. Like being naughty...
36. Steamy resort: SPA.
39. Come together: COALESCE.
40. Scary contract hirees: HITMEN.
45. State bordering Arizona: SONORA. Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora in Mexico.
47. Tendons: SINEWS.
50. Longtime civil rights leader Roy: INNIS. National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) since 1968.
52. A plethora: SCADS. Cornish name for a type of fish abundant on the British coast; perhaps a variant of shad. From Late Latin, plethora "fullness" originally a medical word for "excess of body fluid".
53. Timely benefit: BOON.
54. Pocket vibrator, at times: CELL. They might sell more if they had an intensity setting in place of volume.
55. Dairy bar: OLEO. In the dairy case, I suppose, but since it is mostly trans-fat, you shouldn't really eat it.
56. Garden lines: ROWS.
57. Beethoven's "Archduke," for one: TRIO. Piano Trio No. 7 Op. 97 in B-flat major. It was dedicated to the amateur pianist and composition student of Beethoven, Archduke Rudolph of Austria.
58. High-ranking NCO: SSGT. Staff Sergeant.
59. Hosp. heart ward: CCU. Coronary Care Unit. Could also be Critical Care Unit.
Answer Grid
Along with today's puzzle, John has provided some more samples of his photographic composition work. You can see them here.
Al
20A. Naughty object of Beethoven's affections?: IMMORAL BELOVED. Immortal beloved is the name used in three love letters composed by Beethoven.
38A. Beethoven's naughty opus?: EROTICA SYMPHONY. The Eroica (heroic) symphony was originally dedicated to Bonaparte while the revolution was on and idealistic, but when NB later declared himself Emperor, Beethoven became disgusted and went to the table where the completed score lay. He took hold of the title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently with a knife that he created a hole in the paper and later renamed it.
53A. Where to hear Beethoven's naughty music?: BANNED CONCERTS. Band concerts like JZB performs in? Jazz, do you play any "improved" classical works?
Hi all, Al here.
Well, John has managed to blend a little bit of English (cryptic) clue phrasing into today's puzzle. A word like "naughty" can simply mean that the words or the arrangement of letters in a word are not behaving correctly, or can be a play on words. Also scattered throughout the puzzle are some additional bonus clue references to Ludwig Van (which, incidentally, is what we named our first Dodge Caravan, oh, so many years ago).
ACROSS:
1. A whale has a long one: JAW. Yeah, right, his jaw was the first thing that came to mind.
4. Short pencil: STUB.
8. Sign of military respect: SALUTE.
14. Tokyo-born artist: ONO. That kind of blends together, doesn't it? Tokyoko.
15. Lake Titicaca is partly in it: PERU. The rest is in Bolivia, where the city of Copacabana also lies.
16. Previously, previously: ERE NOW.
17. Pure: VIRGINAL. Not naughty.
19. Nursery rocker: CRADLE.
22. X rating in old Rome?: TEN. A naughty Roman numeral. At least it wasn't a math problem.
23. Cringe: COWER. Actually unrelated to "coward", which comes from Old French coart. Cower comes from German kuren or kauren "lie in wait", or similar Scandanavian words kura, kure, to squat and to doze.
24. Dollar bills, e.g.: CASH. Sigh, had ONES at first.
27. Choir male, often: TENOR. As in the finale to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
30. Mil. honors: DSMS. Distinguished Service Medals.
33. Ding Dong relatives: HOHOS.
35. Yoga position: LOTUS. It's not only a yoga position.
37. Swipe: COP. Northern British dialect, "to seize, to catch," possibly from Latin capere "to take".
41. Agcy. concerned with fraud: FTC. Federal Trade Commission.
42. Malaise symptom: NO PEP.
43. __-ground missile: AIR-TO.
44. Nordstrom rival: SAKS. Started in Tennessee, now owns McRae’s, Parisian, Younkers, Herberger's, and Carson Pirie Scott & Co. which included Bergner's and Boston Store.
46. Biblical beasts: ASSES. Sampson slew an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass. Hmmm, isn't that what Congress does?
48. Romeo or Juliet, e.g.: TEEN. Hormones are wasted on the young.
49. Semi-sheer curtain fabric: VOILE. Apparently it can be used for more than just curtains. Ok, this is just wrong...
51. Doctrine: ISM. In Latin a doctor was a "religious teacher, adviser, scholar".
59. ::: COLONS. A colon is Latin for "part of a poem". Meaning evolved from "independent clause" to the punctuation mark that sets it off.
60. Parker and Roosevelt: ELEANORS.
61. "CBS Evening News" anchor: COURIC. Katie. I think someone must have said "Could you turn that up? I can't hear you."
64. Anxiety: UNEASE.
65. Dieter's triumph: LOSS. Clever meaning reversal clue.
66. Boozer: SOT.
DOWN:
1. Rocker Bon __: JOVI. It takes a certain kind of confidence to sing a duet with Luciano Pavarotti.
2. Lively, to Beethoven: Abbr.: ANIM. Animato
3. Low life?: WORM.
4. High point?: SPIRE. From Old English spir "sprout, shoot, stalk of grass. A spear of asparagus.
5. High-rise occupant: TENANT. Apartment dweller.
6. River through southern Russia: URAL.
7. Socket insert: BULB. I confidently entered BALL for this first...
8. Novus ordo __: Great Seal phrase: SECLORUM. Translated, means "A new order of the ages". It was meant to signify the beginning of the new American era, beginning in 1776. The symbolism of the Great Seal explained.
9. Cupid's missile: ARROW. Eros, Amor. Son of Venus (and Mars). With Psyche, had a daughter named Roman: Voluptas (voluptuous) or Greek: Hedone (from which we get hedonism).
10. Like trees in summer: LEAVED. I had to hesitate whether it should be an F or a V.
11. Sign of stress?: UNDERSCORE. Underlined text to be stressed, or emphasized. Also italics or bolding.
12. Squealed: TOLD. Ratted on.
13. She used to be a lambkin: EWE. A pet name perhaps, John?
18. Began to win a lot: GOT HOT.
21. Environmental subgroup: ECOTYPE. a genetically distinct geographic variety, population or race within species, which is adapted to specific environmental conditions.
24. Toque wearers: CHEFS.
25. Heart line: AORTA.
26. Provocation potential, as of a Howard Stern segment: SHOCK VALUE.
28. Passed, as time: ELAPSED.
29. Busybodies' active organs?: NOSES.
31. Three-card con: MONTE.
32. Watch, secret agent-style: SPY ON. Used here as a verb, not James Bond's Rolex 1016 Explorer.
34. Transgression: SIN. Like being naughty...
36. Steamy resort: SPA.
39. Come together: COALESCE.
40. Scary contract hirees: HITMEN.
45. State bordering Arizona: SONORA. Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora in Mexico.
47. Tendons: SINEWS.
50. Longtime civil rights leader Roy: INNIS. National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) since 1968.
52. A plethora: SCADS. Cornish name for a type of fish abundant on the British coast; perhaps a variant of shad. From Late Latin, plethora "fullness" originally a medical word for "excess of body fluid".
53. Timely benefit: BOON.
54. Pocket vibrator, at times: CELL. They might sell more if they had an intensity setting in place of volume.
55. Dairy bar: OLEO. In the dairy case, I suppose, but since it is mostly trans-fat, you shouldn't really eat it.
56. Garden lines: ROWS.
57. Beethoven's "Archduke," for one: TRIO. Piano Trio No. 7 Op. 97 in B-flat major. It was dedicated to the amateur pianist and composition student of Beethoven, Archduke Rudolph of Austria.
58. High-ranking NCO: SSGT. Staff Sergeant.
59. Hosp. heart ward: CCU. Coronary Care Unit. Could also be Critical Care Unit.
Answer Grid
Along with today's puzzle, John has provided some more samples of his photographic composition work. You can see them here.
Al
Thursday, December 9, 2010
LA Times, Thu, Dec 9, 2010 Author: Kurt Mueller
Theme: Add a letter. Not to the answer, but to each successive clue.
16. M: JAMES BOND'S BOSS. Sir Miles Messervy, as per The Man With the Golden Gun.
25. Ma: MRS KETTLE.
37. Max: PHYSICIST PLANCK. The founder of quantum theory.
51. Maxi: LONG SKIRT. You have to be a special kind of person to pull this off.
62. Maxim: PITHY PRINCIPLE. Because "men's magazine" didn't fit...
Hi all, Al here.
A tough theme to continue, I could only go two more steps without resorting to plurals:
Maxima: Nissan Model
Maximal: BeastWars Transformer
I found this puzzle both fun and entertaining, almost Naddoresque in places for the choice of answers like JIM DANDY, CHEAPO, TRIKE, and ZANIER. Also clues that tied together like "little wood", "little butt", "little rascal", and other misdirections. There did seem to be a few names, most not too bad, but the cross of AFT and FROMM did make me have to guess at first, not being one to read classified ads.
ACROSS:
1. Magic: MOJO. Originally meant a lucky charm in the shape of a hand, often worn between the legs, by gamblers and by women (against infidelity). It may derive from the West African Fula word moco’o, a medicine man, or from Gullah moco, meaning witchcraft or magic.
5. Time in a classified ad: AFT. Afternoon, I'm guessing...
8. Syrian president: ASSAD.
13. Surrounded by: AMID.
14. Bud: BRO. Pal, chum, homey, cuz.
15. Little wood: COPSE. Shortening of "coppice", which also has the same meaning: a small grove of trees planted specifically for cutting.
19. So-so connection?: AND. The original use was just to indicate something that is unspecified: "If I want to do so and so, then that's my business!" A similar phrase is "such and such". It has evolved into a euphemism for something unmentionable due to common use, thus acquiring a negative connotation itself: "You dirty so and so!" .
20. __ forces: ARMED. The notion of arms seems to be "that which is fitted together." Meaning "heraldic insignia" (in coat of arms, etc.) originally displayed on shields of fully armed knights or barons.
21. Senate majority leader Harry: REID.
23. Baseball stat.: AVG.
28. More clownish: ZANIER. Originally Zanni, Venetian dialect variant of Gianni, pet form of Giovanni "John." A stock character in old comedies, he aped the principal actors.
31. Doesn't try to reach the green, in golf: LAYS UP. For a safer next shot, use one instead of losing two. Unless you're like me and lose the next two in the pond anyway.
32. Current letters: AC-DC. Also an Aussie hard rock band.
33. Less taxing: EASIER. Like this clue.
43. Most tender: SOREST. I had wondered about the use of "sore" in a few old movies as meaning "very" (I am plumb sore wore out), until the eytmology dictionary pointed out the related German word "sehr", which, oddly enough, means "very".
44. Pace: GAIT. "A walking, or departure", related to gate, from Old Norse gata, a way or path.
45. Low-quality: CHEAPO. Brings to mind bad-smelling cigars.
49. Sumatran swingers: ORANGS.
55. Site of a 1981 sitcom honeymoon: ORK. Mork & Mindy. We've been seeing a lot of them lately.
56. Minute amount: IOTA. The Greek letter "i", which is the smallest letter, so literally the least part of anything.
57. __ badge: MERIT.
59. "Big Blue": IBM. Perhaps the logo, suits, mainframe color, or a combination of all three.
66. Old number?: ETHER. Not a counting number, but to numb your senses, an anesthetic.
67. Instrument on which Jake Shimabukuro can play "Bohemian Rhapsody": UKE. Jake is simply awe-inspiring. I may have also linked his version of Harrison's WMGGW before, but I'm doing it again, just because I think it would have been an even better choice for the clue.
68. Kind of officer or shark: LOAN.
69. Meg and Robert: RYANS.
70. __ Perce tribe: NEZ.
71. Asian beef source: KOBE. Kobe beef fat will actually begin dissolving at 77F degrees, which means the meat will literally melt in your mouth. If prepared as steak, kobe beef cannot be cooked more than medium rare, as it would otherwise liquefy.
DOWN:
1. Goya subject: MAJA. Two paintings, same model and pose, one clothed, one nude.
2. Yemen neighbor: OMAN.
3. Crackerjack: JIM DANDY.
4. Poetic tribute: ODE. From Late Latin, a "lyric song".
5. Common crossword clue letters: ABBR. Why does the word abbreviate need to be so long?
6. "The Art of Loving" author: FROMM. Erich, who presents love as a skill that can be taught and developed. I thought that book was called the Kama Sutra...
7. Cartridge filler: TONER. I started thinking gunpowder, then ink.
8. Coolers, briefly: ACS. Recently saw this clue for air conditioners.
9. One may be choked back: SOB. There, there, just let it all out.
10. Stylish: SPORTY. Concerning cars, I guess.
11. They may be liquid or frozen: ASSETS.
12. Original "Star Trek" studio: DESILU. Was owned by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.
17. Wise one: SAGE. Also an acoustic performance by Greg Lake of ELP.
18. Driller's deg.: DDS. Doctor of Dental Surgery.
22. Bank acct. entry: DEP. Deposit. Could have been INT.
24. Morrow and Damone: VICS.
26. One who lifts a lot?: KLEPTO. Lifting as slang for theft, not like these people.
27. '50s-'60s chief justice Warren: EARL.
28. Microwave: ZAP.
29. Cologne cry: ACH. German interjection. Lieber Augustin was a popular street musician, who, according to legend, fell into a pit filled with bodies of plague victims, late at night when he was drunk. Assuming that he was certain to catch the disease they left him for dead. Augustin did not contract the disease, which may have been owed to the influence of the alcohol. That sounds like a story for Ripley's Believe it or Not...
30. Boil over?: RECOOK. Over as "again", not as spilling onto the stove.
34. __ Jordan: Nike brand: AIR. I tend to avoid celebrity-endorsed products. Does that make me a hipster?
35. Vane dir.: SSE.
36. Part of TGIF: ITS. Thank God It's Friday. A mantra to take you to a happy place.
38. AOL et al.: ISPS. Internet Service Providers. It was pretty short-sighted to call it America on line, but the internet was young and hadn't taken over the world yet, I guess.
39. Culture medium: AGAR. They don't call it "smelly lab" for nothing... Not the agar itself, but the bacteria that gets grown on it.
40. Lover of Yum-Yum in "The Mikado": NANKIPOO.
41. Little butt?: CIG. Abbreviation for cigarette.
42. Gold meas.: KTS. Karats are the purity proportion. Carats are weight.
45. Second-century date: CLI. Well, it had to start with a C. After that, hope for perps.
46. Barrel worker: HOOPER. Someone had to make those metal bands that held the staves together.
47. Thing: ENTITY. That which is. Related to the crosswordese Latin word ESSE: "to be"
48. Hercule's creator: AGATHA. Hercule Poirot, Christie's Belgian detective with the active "little grey cells". David Suchet is my favorite portrayer.
50. Uniformed campus gp.: ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps. I kept reading this as un-informed for some reason.
52. Little rascal: IMP. Originally just meant a shoot or graft of a plant, then transferred to human form with the sense of "newness". Pejorative association with phrases like "imp of Satan" gives us the present day meaning.
53. Chance to see what you missed the first time: RERUN.
54. Early mode of transportation: TRIKE. Cute clue. Early, meaning young, not ages ago. I wanted something else at first, like a horse.
58. Powerful 1966 hurricane: INEZ. Because the date was given to be in 1966, just find a female name that fits the perp letters and move along without further comment.
60. Yak: BLAB.
61. Word on a biblical wall: MENE. The idiom "The writing on the wall", to be able to foresee doom approaching, is a biblical story in the book of Daniel. King Belshazzar and his court praise the gods of gold and silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. A disembodied hand appears and writes "Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin" on the wall. Daniel interprets this to mean God is displeased, and the end of the kingdom is at hand. Sure enough, the king is slain that night. You really had to be careful what you said to people back then, I guess...
63. Cock's mate: HEN. I've never heard it called that before...
64. Jr. and sr.: YRS. School years.
65. Type: ILK. Same. Related word: like
16. M: JAMES BOND'S BOSS. Sir Miles Messervy, as per The Man With the Golden Gun.
25. Ma: MRS KETTLE.
37. Max: PHYSICIST PLANCK. The founder of quantum theory.
51. Maxi: LONG SKIRT. You have to be a special kind of person to pull this off.
62. Maxim: PITHY PRINCIPLE. Because "men's magazine" didn't fit...
Hi all, Al here.
A tough theme to continue, I could only go two more steps without resorting to plurals:
Maxima: Nissan Model
Maximal: BeastWars Transformer
I found this puzzle both fun and entertaining, almost Naddoresque in places for the choice of answers like JIM DANDY, CHEAPO, TRIKE, and ZANIER. Also clues that tied together like "little wood", "little butt", "little rascal", and other misdirections. There did seem to be a few names, most not too bad, but the cross of AFT and FROMM did make me have to guess at first, not being one to read classified ads.
ACROSS:
1. Magic: MOJO. Originally meant a lucky charm in the shape of a hand, often worn between the legs, by gamblers and by women (against infidelity). It may derive from the West African Fula word moco’o, a medicine man, or from Gullah moco, meaning witchcraft or magic.
5. Time in a classified ad: AFT. Afternoon, I'm guessing...
8. Syrian president: ASSAD.
13. Surrounded by: AMID.
14. Bud: BRO. Pal, chum, homey, cuz.
15. Little wood: COPSE. Shortening of "coppice", which also has the same meaning: a small grove of trees planted specifically for cutting.
19. So-so connection?: AND. The original use was just to indicate something that is unspecified: "If I want to do so and so, then that's my business!" A similar phrase is "such and such". It has evolved into a euphemism for something unmentionable due to common use, thus acquiring a negative connotation itself: "You dirty so and so!" .
20. __ forces: ARMED. The notion of arms seems to be "that which is fitted together." Meaning "heraldic insignia" (in coat of arms, etc.) originally displayed on shields of fully armed knights or barons.
21. Senate majority leader Harry: REID.
23. Baseball stat.: AVG.
28. More clownish: ZANIER. Originally Zanni, Venetian dialect variant of Gianni, pet form of Giovanni "John." A stock character in old comedies, he aped the principal actors.
31. Doesn't try to reach the green, in golf: LAYS UP. For a safer next shot, use one instead of losing two. Unless you're like me and lose the next two in the pond anyway.
32. Current letters: AC-DC. Also an Aussie hard rock band.
33. Less taxing: EASIER. Like this clue.
43. Most tender: SOREST. I had wondered about the use of "sore" in a few old movies as meaning "very" (I am plumb sore wore out), until the eytmology dictionary pointed out the related German word "sehr", which, oddly enough, means "very".
44. Pace: GAIT. "A walking, or departure", related to gate, from Old Norse gata, a way or path.
45. Low-quality: CHEAPO. Brings to mind bad-smelling cigars.
49. Sumatran swingers: ORANGS.
55. Site of a 1981 sitcom honeymoon: ORK. Mork & Mindy. We've been seeing a lot of them lately.
56. Minute amount: IOTA. The Greek letter "i", which is the smallest letter, so literally the least part of anything.
57. __ badge: MERIT.
59. "Big Blue": IBM. Perhaps the logo, suits, mainframe color, or a combination of all three.
66. Old number?: ETHER. Not a counting number, but to numb your senses, an anesthetic.
67. Instrument on which Jake Shimabukuro can play "Bohemian Rhapsody": UKE. Jake is simply awe-inspiring. I may have also linked his version of Harrison's WMGGW before, but I'm doing it again, just because I think it would have been an even better choice for the clue.
68. Kind of officer or shark: LOAN.
69. Meg and Robert: RYANS.
70. __ Perce tribe: NEZ.
71. Asian beef source: KOBE. Kobe beef fat will actually begin dissolving at 77F degrees, which means the meat will literally melt in your mouth. If prepared as steak, kobe beef cannot be cooked more than medium rare, as it would otherwise liquefy.
DOWN:
1. Goya subject: MAJA. Two paintings, same model and pose, one clothed, one nude.
2. Yemen neighbor: OMAN.
3. Crackerjack: JIM DANDY.
4. Poetic tribute: ODE. From Late Latin, a "lyric song".
5. Common crossword clue letters: ABBR. Why does the word abbreviate need to be so long?
6. "The Art of Loving" author: FROMM. Erich, who presents love as a skill that can be taught and developed. I thought that book was called the Kama Sutra...
7. Cartridge filler: TONER. I started thinking gunpowder, then ink.
8. Coolers, briefly: ACS. Recently saw this clue for air conditioners.
9. One may be choked back: SOB. There, there, just let it all out.
10. Stylish: SPORTY. Concerning cars, I guess.
11. They may be liquid or frozen: ASSETS.
12. Original "Star Trek" studio: DESILU. Was owned by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.
17. Wise one: SAGE. Also an acoustic performance by Greg Lake of ELP.
18. Driller's deg.: DDS. Doctor of Dental Surgery.
22. Bank acct. entry: DEP. Deposit. Could have been INT.
24. Morrow and Damone: VICS.
26. One who lifts a lot?: KLEPTO. Lifting as slang for theft, not like these people.
27. '50s-'60s chief justice Warren: EARL.
28. Microwave: ZAP.
29. Cologne cry: ACH. German interjection. Lieber Augustin was a popular street musician, who, according to legend, fell into a pit filled with bodies of plague victims, late at night when he was drunk. Assuming that he was certain to catch the disease they left him for dead. Augustin did not contract the disease, which may have been owed to the influence of the alcohol. That sounds like a story for Ripley's Believe it or Not...
30. Boil over?: RECOOK. Over as "again", not as spilling onto the stove.
34. __ Jordan: Nike brand: AIR. I tend to avoid celebrity-endorsed products. Does that make me a hipster?
35. Vane dir.: SSE.
36. Part of TGIF: ITS. Thank God It's Friday. A mantra to take you to a happy place.
38. AOL et al.: ISPS. Internet Service Providers. It was pretty short-sighted to call it America on line, but the internet was young and hadn't taken over the world yet, I guess.
39. Culture medium: AGAR. They don't call it "smelly lab" for nothing... Not the agar itself, but the bacteria that gets grown on it.
40. Lover of Yum-Yum in "The Mikado": NANKIPOO.
41. Little butt?: CIG. Abbreviation for cigarette.
42. Gold meas.: KTS. Karats are the purity proportion. Carats are weight.
45. Second-century date: CLI. Well, it had to start with a C. After that, hope for perps.
46. Barrel worker: HOOPER. Someone had to make those metal bands that held the staves together.
47. Thing: ENTITY. That which is. Related to the crosswordese Latin word ESSE: "to be"
48. Hercule's creator: AGATHA. Hercule Poirot, Christie's Belgian detective with the active "little grey cells". David Suchet is my favorite portrayer.
50. Uniformed campus gp.: ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps. I kept reading this as un-informed for some reason.
52. Little rascal: IMP. Originally just meant a shoot or graft of a plant, then transferred to human form with the sense of "newness". Pejorative association with phrases like "imp of Satan" gives us the present day meaning.
53. Chance to see what you missed the first time: RERUN.
54. Early mode of transportation: TRIKE. Cute clue. Early, meaning young, not ages ago. I wanted something else at first, like a horse.
58. Powerful 1966 hurricane: INEZ. Because the date was given to be in 1966, just find a female name that fits the perp letters and move along without further comment.
60. Yak: BLAB.
61. Word on a biblical wall: MENE. The idiom "The writing on the wall", to be able to foresee doom approaching, is a biblical story in the book of Daniel. King Belshazzar and his court praise the gods of gold and silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. A disembodied hand appears and writes "Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin" on the wall. Daniel interprets this to mean God is displeased, and the end of the kingdom is at hand. Sure enough, the king is slain that night. You really had to be careful what you said to people back then, I guess...
63. Cock's mate: HEN. I've never heard it called that before...
64. Jr. and sr.: YRS. School years.
65. Type: ILK. Same. Related word: like
Thursday, December 2, 2010
LA Times, Thu, Dec 2, 2010 Author: Pancho Harrison
Theme: Wacky business slogans. In each theme answer, a pun is made about a type of business or job activity. No unifier clue.
17. "So I hear your job as exercise class instructor is __": WORKING OUT.
29. "So I hear your job as a burlesque dancer is __": TAKING OFF.
46. "So I hear your trash removal business is __": PICKING UP.
62. "So I hear your scuba diving business is __": GOING UNDER.
This was kind of fun. I couldn't find one, but there must be a name for these, right? I hear running your muffler business is exhausting. I hear the awning business is kind of shady. I hear the window business is kind of a pain. I hear that sod farm salesmen are easy to get a lawn with.
And the rest:
ACROSS:
1. Thread bearer: SPOOL.
6. Classic name in shoes: MCAN. Thom. Now owned by CVS/Caremark but sold at Kmart (which is owned by Sears) and Wal-mart.
10. Dressed: CLAD. Past participle of clothe.
14. Aquarium concern: ALGAE.
15. Fabled craft: ARGO. Jason and the Argonauts
16. Old: YORE. Related word: year.
19. Word with belly or blast: BEER. Cerveza, (spanish for beer), sounds so much more refined, doesn't it?
20. "Forget it, comrade!": NYET.
21. Ancient Andean: INCA. From Quechea: "lord, king." Technically, only of the high Inca, but it was used widely for "man of royal blood."
22. Davenport shopper, probably: IOWAN. Right across the river from Moline, Illinois. There are also cities named "Couch" in TX, FL, WV, and MO.
23. Artist Magritte: RENE. Surrealist.
25. Branch honcho: Abbr.: MGR. Manager, as in a bank.
26. Pops (out): FLIES. Baseball?
35. Choice: SELECT. Used in the sense of "quality" (select cuts of meat), not the sense of "option" as it appears, because that would have to be "selection".
37. Big, outmoded piece of equipment: DINOSAUR.
38. Paris pronoun: TOI. You.
39. Accountant, at times: AUDITOR. From Latin, "a hearer", related to audience, "a hearing". Auditing was formerly done and vouched for orally.
41. Airport safety org.: TSA. Transportation Security Administration.
42. Carousing: ON A SPREE. Likely from French esprit, lively.
44. Shiny fabric: SATEEN.
48. Revenge seekers in a 1984 film: NERDS.
49. Dollar sign shape: ESS.
50. Baltic resident: LETT. Of Latvia. The other Baltic states are Lithuania and Estonia.
52. Early afternoon hr.: ONE PM.
55. Disease attacker: DRUG.
57. Helps out: AIDS.
61. Demagogue's delivery: RANT.
64. Wine region south of the Matterhorn: ASTI.
65. "Got it, Daddy-o!": I DIG. Peter, Paul, and Mary.
66. Party person: GUEST.
67. DEA agent: NARC. Because NARCO was too long an abbreviation for narcotics agent.
68. Frosty's button: NOSE. With a corncob pipe and a button nose...
69. Honshu city: OSAKA.
DOWN:
1. Felled, in a way: SAWN.
2. Queen sacrifice in chess, e.g.: PLOY.
3. Shrek or Fiona: OGRE.
4. Yellow ribbon site of song: OAK TREE. Obligatory link.
5. Island welcome: LEI.
6. Lodestone: MAGNET. From Greek Magnes lithos (Magnesian stone). Magnesia, region of Thessaly where magnetized ore was obtained.
7. Hook nemesis, for short: CROC. Characters in Peter Pan.
8. Monterrey water: AGUA. Spanish.
9. "__ a chance!": NOT.
10. Bionic beings: CYBORGS. Portmanteau of "cybernetic organism" could explain how this is possible.
11. MGM co-founder: LOEW. Marcus. On November 3, 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
12. Field of expertise: AREA.
13. "Coming Home" actor: DERN. Bruce. OK, now I recognize who this is.... He always seemed to play the nut-job character.
18. "Delta of Venus" author: NIN. Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell
22. "Everybody is __, only on different subjects": Will Rogers: IGNORANT. I never read a Will Rogers quote I didn't like.
24. Watching "Avatar," say: ESCAPISM. The blue guy (Sam Worthington) without makeup.
25. Cretan king of myth: MINOS.
26. SLR setting: F-STOP. Single Lens Reflex (camera). The F-number indicates "speed". The larger the number, the longer you need for exposure. An F number twice as large as another one takes four times as long to get enough light.
27. Téa of "Spanglish": LEONI.
28. Of a pelvic bone: ILIAC.
30. Gascony good-bye: ADIEU. Gascony, France.
31. Caboodle partner: KIT. The whole thing, tools and possessions. Likely why we have the word "oodles".
32. Lash LaRue film, e.g.: OATER. Alfred (Lash) Larue, a Western film star in the 40s and 50s. He was very skilled with a bull whip, thus "Lash".
33. Joined by melting: FUSED. Parts is parts, Wendy's commercial. Fused at about :23 in.
34. Artist __ Hals: FRANS. Dutch Golden Age painter, mostly portraits.
36. Parts of directions: TURNS. Google maps makes a funny at the driving directions for step 17 of this route. You need to scroll down to see it.
40. MBA, for one: DEG. Master of Business degree.
43. One looking askance: SKEPTIC. "Skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found." [Miguel de Unamuno, "Essays and Soliloquies," 1924]
45. Lockjaw: TETANUS. More properly, trismus, which can be caused by tetanus, but also by MDMA, Meth, Ritalin, radiation therapy, infection, anesthesia, needle prick, several other diseases and drugs.
47. Drop dramatically: PLUNGE. Like a neckline.
51. Breakfast fare: EGG. Only humans habitually eat specifically designated foods at different times of the day.
52. Algerian port: ORAN. Across from Spain.
53. Apollo 13 gp.: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
54. __'acte: ENTR. Between the acts, as during a play. Could be an intermission or just an interlude piece of music.
55. Bygone bird: DODO. Another shout-out to our bloggers?
56. Teddy Roosevelt biographer: RIIS. Jacob. A Danish American social reformer, muckraking journalist, and documentary photographer. Was dedicated to helping the impoverished in NY City.
58. "I have an __!": IDEA.
59. Student's spot: DESK.
60. Arg. miss: SRTA. Argentina, senorita.
62. Cry while showing one's cards: GIN. Rummy.
63. Actor Tognazzi: UGO. I'm not sure a crossword answer gets any more obscure than this, an Italian actor. The only movie I recognized was La cage aux folles, but he was in a lot of films.
Answer Grid.
Al
17. "So I hear your job as exercise class instructor is __": WORKING OUT.
29. "So I hear your job as a burlesque dancer is __": TAKING OFF.
46. "So I hear your trash removal business is __": PICKING UP.
62. "So I hear your scuba diving business is __": GOING UNDER.
This was kind of fun. I couldn't find one, but there must be a name for these, right? I hear running your muffler business is exhausting. I hear the awning business is kind of shady. I hear the window business is kind of a pain. I hear that sod farm salesmen are easy to get a lawn with.
And the rest:
ACROSS:
1. Thread bearer: SPOOL.
6. Classic name in shoes: MCAN. Thom. Now owned by CVS/Caremark but sold at Kmart (which is owned by Sears) and Wal-mart.
10. Dressed: CLAD. Past participle of clothe.
14. Aquarium concern: ALGAE.
15. Fabled craft: ARGO. Jason and the Argonauts
16. Old: YORE. Related word: year.
19. Word with belly or blast: BEER. Cerveza, (spanish for beer), sounds so much more refined, doesn't it?
20. "Forget it, comrade!": NYET.
21. Ancient Andean: INCA. From Quechea: "lord, king." Technically, only of the high Inca, but it was used widely for "man of royal blood."
22. Davenport shopper, probably: IOWAN. Right across the river from Moline, Illinois. There are also cities named "Couch" in TX, FL, WV, and MO.
23. Artist Magritte: RENE. Surrealist.
25. Branch honcho: Abbr.: MGR. Manager, as in a bank.
26. Pops (out): FLIES. Baseball?
35. Choice: SELECT. Used in the sense of "quality" (select cuts of meat), not the sense of "option" as it appears, because that would have to be "selection".
37. Big, outmoded piece of equipment: DINOSAUR.
38. Paris pronoun: TOI. You.
39. Accountant, at times: AUDITOR. From Latin, "a hearer", related to audience, "a hearing". Auditing was formerly done and vouched for orally.
41. Airport safety org.: TSA. Transportation Security Administration.
42. Carousing: ON A SPREE. Likely from French esprit, lively.
44. Shiny fabric: SATEEN.
48. Revenge seekers in a 1984 film: NERDS.
49. Dollar sign shape: ESS.
50. Baltic resident: LETT. Of Latvia. The other Baltic states are Lithuania and Estonia.
52. Early afternoon hr.: ONE PM.
55. Disease attacker: DRUG.
57. Helps out: AIDS.
61. Demagogue's delivery: RANT.
64. Wine region south of the Matterhorn: ASTI.
65. "Got it, Daddy-o!": I DIG. Peter, Paul, and Mary.
66. Party person: GUEST.
67. DEA agent: NARC. Because NARCO was too long an abbreviation for narcotics agent.
68. Frosty's button: NOSE. With a corncob pipe and a button nose...
69. Honshu city: OSAKA.
DOWN:
1. Felled, in a way: SAWN.
2. Queen sacrifice in chess, e.g.: PLOY.
3. Shrek or Fiona: OGRE.
4. Yellow ribbon site of song: OAK TREE. Obligatory link.
5. Island welcome: LEI.
6. Lodestone: MAGNET. From Greek Magnes lithos (Magnesian stone). Magnesia, region of Thessaly where magnetized ore was obtained.
7. Hook nemesis, for short: CROC. Characters in Peter Pan.
8. Monterrey water: AGUA. Spanish.
9. "__ a chance!": NOT.
10. Bionic beings: CYBORGS. Portmanteau of "cybernetic organism" could explain how this is possible.
11. MGM co-founder: LOEW. Marcus. On November 3, 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
12. Field of expertise: AREA.
13. "Coming Home" actor: DERN. Bruce. OK, now I recognize who this is.... He always seemed to play the nut-job character.
18. "Delta of Venus" author: NIN. Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell
22. "Everybody is __, only on different subjects": Will Rogers: IGNORANT. I never read a Will Rogers quote I didn't like.
24. Watching "Avatar," say: ESCAPISM. The blue guy (Sam Worthington) without makeup.
25. Cretan king of myth: MINOS.
26. SLR setting: F-STOP. Single Lens Reflex (camera). The F-number indicates "speed". The larger the number, the longer you need for exposure. An F number twice as large as another one takes four times as long to get enough light.
27. Téa of "Spanglish": LEONI.
28. Of a pelvic bone: ILIAC.
30. Gascony good-bye: ADIEU. Gascony, France.
31. Caboodle partner: KIT. The whole thing, tools and possessions. Likely why we have the word "oodles".
32. Lash LaRue film, e.g.: OATER. Alfred (Lash) Larue, a Western film star in the 40s and 50s. He was very skilled with a bull whip, thus "Lash".
33. Joined by melting: FUSED. Parts is parts, Wendy's commercial. Fused at about :23 in.
34. Artist __ Hals: FRANS. Dutch Golden Age painter, mostly portraits.
36. Parts of directions: TURNS. Google maps makes a funny at the driving directions for step 17 of this route. You need to scroll down to see it.
40. MBA, for one: DEG. Master of Business degree.
43. One looking askance: SKEPTIC. "Skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found." [Miguel de Unamuno, "Essays and Soliloquies," 1924]
45. Lockjaw: TETANUS. More properly, trismus, which can be caused by tetanus, but also by MDMA, Meth, Ritalin, radiation therapy, infection, anesthesia, needle prick, several other diseases and drugs.
47. Drop dramatically: PLUNGE. Like a neckline.
51. Breakfast fare: EGG. Only humans habitually eat specifically designated foods at different times of the day.
52. Algerian port: ORAN. Across from Spain.
53. Apollo 13 gp.: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
54. __'acte: ENTR. Between the acts, as during a play. Could be an intermission or just an interlude piece of music.
55. Bygone bird: DODO. Another shout-out to our bloggers?
56. Teddy Roosevelt biographer: RIIS. Jacob. A Danish American social reformer, muckraking journalist, and documentary photographer. Was dedicated to helping the impoverished in NY City.
58. "I have an __!": IDEA.
59. Student's spot: DESK.
60. Arg. miss: SRTA. Argentina, senorita.
62. Cry while showing one's cards: GIN. Rummy.
63. Actor Tognazzi: UGO. I'm not sure a crossword answer gets any more obscure than this, an Italian actor. The only movie I recognized was La cage aux folles, but he was in a lot of films.
Answer Grid.
Al
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