L.A. Times Crossword Puzzle Blogging

Wednesday, January 22, Kurt Krauss

Theme: THEM'S THE BREAKS or LEMEE OUTA HERE or BREAKING FREE.  In each theme answer, the letters of the word FREE are broken, and make bookends for the rest of the letters in the answer.

17 A. *Genealogist's tool : FAMILY TREE.  A graphic representation of parental relationships.  Here's ours.  I misread this as Geologists's tool, and was BAFFLED for a while.

24 A. *"Top Hat" leading man : FRED ASTAIRE.  Stage name for Frederick Austerlitz, actor, singer, dancer and choreographer, most famous for his dancing in 31 musical films.  Here he is with Ginger Rogers. (3:28)





 34 A. *Stewed chicken dish : FRICASSEE. In which the meat is cut up, sauteed, and traditionally served with a white sauce.  Almost, but not quite paprikas.

50 A. *Most serious or least serious : FIRST DEGREE.  Most serious for crimes, least for burns.

Note that the second and third theme entries are each broken differently, while the first and fourth are broken in the same way, making another kind of book end.

And the unifier:  58. Escapes, and, literally, what each of the answers to starred clues does :
BREAKS FREE.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here.  I don't recall blogging one of Kurt's before.  Let's see if we can BREAK FREE some of this fill.



Down

1. Big cat of Narnia : ASLAN.  From the C. S. Lewis classic, The Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe.

6. Salad alternative : SOUP.  Olive Garden choice.  We always get the salad.

10. No more than : MERE.  Also a C.S. Lewis title word.

14. Pope after John X : LEO VI.  His short term lasted only from June 928 to his death in February 929.

15. Facility : EASE. 

16. Iowa State's city : AMES.  College town.

19. Political syst. : GOV'T.  Government.  Note abbrv in cl & ans.

20. Priestly robes : ALBS.  Long white tunics, coming down to the ankles, usually girdled with a cincture.

21. Suffix with Capri : OTE.   A Capriote is a person from Goat Island.

22. Door sign : ENTER.  Sometimes [ironically] with the lead in "DO NOT."

23. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone : LIA. The "Stone of Destiny," where all the Irish high kings were crowned until the 5th century A.D.

27. Abandon : FORSAKE.  Not to be done at High Noon.




29. British throne? : LOO.  AKA toilet or W.C. Word game of thrones?

30. Churchillian sign : VEE.   VEE for Victory in WW II; Winston Churchill, 20th century British statesman and toper.

Source

31. Compound conjunction : AND / OR.  Presented for your edification AND / OR enjoyment.

32. Uppercut target : JAW.  An upward thrust in boxing.  The jaw is the logical target.  Mind your tongue.

33. Take a break : REST.

 38. First Greek consonant : BETA.  Follows Alpha.  Together, they give us the word alphabet.

41. Go a few rounds : BOX.  Watch out for uppercuts.

42. Petting zoo critter : LLAMA.  South American camel analog, beast of burden, food source, and comedian.

  Source

46. Pulitzer poet Lowell : AMY (1874 - 1924)

Vernal Equinox

The scent of hyacinths, like a pale mist, lies

   between me and my book;
And the South Wind, washing through the room,
Makes the candles quiver.
My nerves sting at a spatter of rain on the shutter,
And I am uneasy with the thrusting of green shoots
Outside, in the night.

Why are you not here to overpower me with your

   tense and urgent love?

The scent of hyacinths, like a pale mist, lies
   between me and my book; And the South Wind, washing through the room, Makes the candles quiver. My nerves sting at a spatter of rain on the shutter, And I am uneasy with the thrusting of green shoots Outside, in the night. Why are you not here to overpower me with your
   tense and urgent love? - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/22831#sthash.KxdLSHw9.dpuf

More here.

47. Gloss target : LIP.

 Source

48. Concession speech deliverer : ALSO RAN.  He came.  He saw.  He lost.

53. Former telecom co. : MCI.  Now part of Verizon.  You can see its checkered history here.

54. Toga party hosts : FRATS.  Fraternaties, like Delta House.





55. HDTV brand : RCA makes High Definition TV's.

56. Amazed sounds : OOHS.  Often found with aahs.

57. "Lois & Clark" reporter : LANE.  Clark Kent, Lois Lane.

61. Blues singer James : ETTA.  Nee Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012.





62. Carded at a club : ID'ed.  Abrv. for "Identification," transformed into a verb.

63. Catorce ÷ dos : SIETE.  Fourteen by two leaves seven, in either Spanish or English.

64. Work station : DESK.

65. Billy of "Titanic" : ZANE.  Did he always play someone warped AND / OR crazy?

66. Extra : ADDED.  Here, an adjective, not a bit part player.

Down

 1. "Our Gang" kid with a cowlick : ALFALFA.

Source

2. Circus barker : SEA LION.  

3. Gable's third wife : LOMBARD.  Carole, third of five, and, as the story goes, the great love of his life.  She died in a plane crash on January 16, 1942, returning from a trip selling war bonds.

4. Thrifty alternative : AVIS.  Rental cars.

5. Zilch : NIL.  Usually NADA, but here only three letters were available.

6. Parlor piece : SETTEE.  An upholstered seat for more than one, smaller than a SOFA, usually with a back and arms.

7. Propelled, as a galley : OARED.  Another poor innocent noun, kidnapped and verberized.  Rowed seems more in the language.  But let's all sing:  OAR, OAR, OAR your boat  .  .  .   Or maybe not.

8. Capitalize on : USE.  A bit of a stretch, but OK.

9. Peruvian capital? : PEE.  Ugh!

10. __ cum laude : MAGNA.  Graduation honors.  SUMMA also fits.

11. Eliciting feeling : EMOTIVE.

12. Really looks up to : REVERES.  I really look up to Paul, for his midnight ride.

13. Springsteen's __ Band : E STREET.  Jersey boys.

18. N.Y.C. part : YORK.   New YORK City.  The Big Apple.  

22. DDE's WWII arena : ETO.  European Theater of Operations.

24. Klinger portrayer on "M*A*S*H" : FARR.  Jamie.  Though he's famous and from Toledo, I could not remember his name, and had to rely on perps.  Ah, me.

25. "Ah, me!" : ALAS.  Word spoken by a jilted lad?

26. Porcine moms : SOWS.  Piggies.

28. Cushioned seat : SOFA.  Bigger than a SETTEE

32. Fla. NFL team, on scoreboards : JAX.  The rather hapless Jacksonville Jaguars.

33. Move for the job, briefly : RELOcate.

35. Abbr. referring to a previous citation : IBID.  Short for IBIDEM. Latin for "in the same place."

36. Make do : COPE.  Sort of like "eke out."

37. "What __ can I say?" : ELSE.   Don't ask this question unless you're willing to deal with the answer.

38. Bewildered : BAFFLED.  Bollixed, confused, at a loss.

39. Kuwait or Qatar : EMIRATE.  Last time I had EMIR, a high ranking sheik.   This word can refer variously to his rank, lands, or reign.

40. Ruthless rulers : TYRANTS.   Frex, Joffrey, the First of his Name, from Game of Thrones.

43. Like a Brink's truck : ARMORED.  Brinks hauls money, hence the extra protection. 

44. Jungle explorer's tool : MACHETE.   A big knife for slashing through the vegetation.

45. Ouzo flavoring : ANISEED.    Pimpinella anisum, also called ANISE, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia.  It's flavor is similar to licorice.

47. Capt.'s underlings : LTS.  Even when shortened, captains are still over lieutenants.

48. Game venue : ARCADE.  A room full of game machines.

49. Pipe problem : LEAK.  During the coldest part of January, there always water main breaks in the Detroit Metro Area. 

51. Porterhouse, e.g. : STEAK.  An oversize T-bone containing more of the tenderloin than the loin.  Hope you're hungry.

52. Putting spot : GREEN.   For all you golfers out there.

56. "The Wizard __" : OF ID.  Comic strip.  And a reminder why we don't discuss politics.   Gandolf he ain't.

58. Line of work, for short : BIZ.   Corrupted abrv. of Business.

59. Nutritionist's abbr. : RDA.  Recommended Daily Allowance.

60. Fed. retirement org. : SSA.  Social Security Administration.  Thank you FDR

There it is, and pretty good for a Wednesday.  Hope you were able to crack this one.

In other news, the polar vortex is back.  We're not able to BREAK FREE from winter's grip.

Cool [maybe even freezing] regards!
JzB