L. A. Times Crossword Puzzle Blogging

 Wednesday, April 23, 2014 Matt Scoczen

Theme:  Suddenly it all becomes clear, or Bring on the V-8 can. Each two word theme entry starts with the letters A, and AH, respectively, and represents the unifier in a literal way.  Without the unifier, there would have been no AHA MOMENT for me.  I can't think of anything else these four entries might have in common.

 17 A. "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" collaborator : ALEX HALEY.  More famous for ROOTS, perhaps.

 24 A. "The helpful place" sloganeer : ACE HARDWARE.  Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man. 

 36 A. Many a circus employee : ANIMAL HANDLER.  Somebody has to clean up after the elephants.

 53 A. Wayne Manor resident : AUNT HARRIET.  I know nothing about this character.  Do they keep her locked in the attic?

 And the unifier -   62 A. Light-bulb-over-the-head instance, and a hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 53-Across : AHA MOMENT. 

Hi Gang, JzB reporting for duty.   It's been over three months since the Christian Feast of the Epiphany, but that doesn't mean we can't have our own little experiences of sudden and striking realization.  I had one once in a graduate level class on organic photochemistry.  I was spinning my wheels for half the term, then suddenly one day I got it.  Then I couldn't understand why I had ever thought it was hard.  Baffling experience.   Let's see if we can find any startling revelations in today's puzzle.

Across

1. Spice organizer : RACK.  You can alphabetize your spice jars on a wooden structure specifically defined for that purpose.  Or you can randomly place them on a lazy susan, as I do, and hope for the best.

5. 48-Across brand : SOBE.  An abbreviation of SOuth BEach, as in Miami's upscale area.  They make teas, fruit-juice blends and enhanced water beverages, and are owned by PepsiCo.  Along with 48. Iced drink : TEA.

9. Right-angled supports : L-BARS.  Available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

14. K-12, to textbook publishers : EL-HI.  ELementary and HIgh school.

15. Neck and neck : TIED.  As in the score of an even game.   Or this.

Not an expression of affection

16. Slightly moisten : BEDEW.  As if moistened by dew [or whatever.]  Goes back to the 14th century.

19. Green hue : OLIVE.  The only color I allow in a martini.  When Bluto made off with Popeye's best girl, was he OLIVE with envy?

20. Camcorder button : RECord.

21. Google executive chairman Schmidt : ERIC.  Alternate clue, JzB's son. I would have known it then.

22. Had too much, briefly : OD'ED.  OverDosed, as on Easter candy.

23. Antlered animal : ELK.  Cervus canadensis, one of the largest species in the deer family.

28. Mu followers : NUS.  Mind your mus and NUS.  It's all Greek alphabet to me.  Is that news?

29. Pt. of a sentence : PHR.  Phrase.  Seems like an odd abrv.

30. Vote against : NAY.

31. Certain commuter's destination: Abbr. : STN  Station.

32. Belmonts frontman : DION.  DiMucci.  Do you wonder why?

34. 1930s migrants : OKIES  Escapees from the Oklahoma dust bowl.  About 15% of the population of the state fled to California along Rt. 66.

42. Scheherazade's milieu : HAREM. The "forbidden place," home to the many wives [and concubines] of a polygynous household, off limits to men.

43. Designer St. Laurent : YVES.

45. Tech sch. overlooking the Hudson : RPI.  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest technological university in the English speaking world

48. Iced drink : TEA.  Our Tin Man can relax - this is no sacrilege.

49. "Just an update" letters : FYI.  For Your Information.

52. Pipe bend : ELL.

56. Actress Peeples : NIA.   AKA Virenia Gwendolyn Peeples. She was once young and restless.

Source

57. Sasquatch cousin : YETI.  Distant cousins, I presume.

58. "The Dukes of Hazzard" deputy : ENOS.

59. Mt. Sunflower is its highest point : KANsas

60. Antacid, briefly : BROMO Seltzer.

64. When many take morning breaks : AT TEN. TEN AM also fits. 

65. Proofreading mark : DELE.  Delete.

66. Winans of gospel : CECE.  Not always, though.   C.C. - can you sing like this?

67. Calf-roping loop : NOOSE.  Greek cattle require NUS.

68. Sign : OMEN.

69. You might steer one with your feet : SLED.  Downhill racer.

Down

1. Behind, or hit from behind : REAR END Back side [noun] of a car, for example, or collide with one from the back [verb.]

The car is a Nissan Skyline

2. Christian chant : ALLELUIA.   Goes back to Middle English, via late Latin and Greek from Hebrew for a song of praise to God.  Lots of these on Easter.

3. Inspects : CHECKS ON.

4. "Kid-tested" cereal : KIX.  Puffed whole grain corn

Part of a complete breakfast?

5. Pasta or potato, e.g. : STARCH.  Cereal, too, like KIX, Trix or Chex.

6. More slippery : OILIER.

7. Nut-bearing tree : BEECH.

8. Big name in ice cream : EDY.  And a Crossword favorite.

9. Wall St. deal : LBO.  Leveraged Buy Out.  IPO also fits.

10. Subordinate to : BELOW. 

11. Athletic brand founded by Adolf Dassler : ADIDAS.  A new fact to quickly forget.

12. Backslide : REVERT.  To a previous inferior condition.  As in forgetting new facts?

13. Birthplace of Bergman and Garbo : SWEDEN.  Ingrid and Greta.

Ingrid

Greta

18. Accumulation : HEAP.  Pile up, not necessarily involving a rear end.

25. "Eso Beso" singer : ANKA.  Paul.  That kiss.

26. Picnic worry : RAIN.  Ants, too.

27. Turned green, say : DYED.  She dyed from envy, turning OLIVE.

33. Bethesda-based medical org. : NIH.  National Institutes of Health.  American medial research agency, part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

34. Resistance unit : OHM.  Electricity

35. Devious : SLY.

37. Field with roots and logs : MATH.  Clever clue

38. __ rug : AREA.

39. King with three daughters : LEAR.  Regan, Cordelia, and the unfortunately named Goneril.

40. Symbol of balance : EVEN KEEL.

41. Faith : RELIANCE.

44. Italicized : SLANTED.   Some think I have Italicized political views.

45. Sunglass Hut brand : RAYBAN.

 Are they against the Law?

46. Mexico's __ Vallarta : PUERTO.

47. Altogether : IN TOTO.   "What happened to the meat balls I was going to have for lunch," inquired the Wizard.  "I believe they are all together IN TOTO," Dorothy replied.

49. Fireworks highlight : FINALE.   A big end, not to be confused with  REAR END

50. Naval petty officers : YEOMEN.  Maybe Spitz can elaborate.

51. "Make __": Picard catchphrase : IT SO.   Go get 'er done.

54. Movie listing listings : TIMES.

55. Bring up again? : REHEM.  Another clever clue.  A HEM is a narrow cloth edge folded over and sewn to provide a finished look and prevent unraveling. REHEMing a dress or skit would make it shorter.

Por Ejemplo

61. What two heads are better than : ONE.

62. Disturbance : ADO.

63. Intro givers : MCS.  Masters of Ceremonies. 

That wraps up this nicely done puzzle.  Hope your forehead got through it unscathed.

Cool regards!
JzB

L.A.Times Crossword Puzzle Blogging

Tuesday, April 9, 2014 Bernice Gordon

Theme: FANNY BONE.  Well, not really, but you know I wouldn't be able to resist.  What we have is a classic VOWEL PROGRESSION.  Each two-word theme answer begins with the letter combination F_N-, and the blank is filled in with a vowel.  Progressing through the puzzle in order, the theme answer vowels are A, E, I, O, and U, just like the alphabet.  Why? Y not?

17. Waist bag : FANNY PACK.  Not a trash container, but a carrying pouch worn around the waist.  You can read here why it is not called a FANNY PACK outside the U.S.A.

25. Herbal remedy for indigestion : FENNEL TEA.  I did not know that.

38. Renege : FINK OUT.   Slang term.

50. Piece of Le Creuset cookware : FONDUE POT.   Device for melting cheese, into which can be dipped bread chunks on skewers.  Tasty, and you can have fun doing it.

Ridiculously expensive

60. Sense of humor : FUNNY BONE.  And a good joke might tickle it, my theme title not withstanding.

Hi Gang, JzB here to guide your stroll through the alphabet, and this puzzle by Bernice Gordon.   Now 100 years old, she has been publishing puzzles since 1952, when I was the goofy little four-eyed kindergarden kid who hated finger painting.  You can read about her and some of her puzzles, including this one, in this Philadelphia Inquirer article. 

Lets see what we can find, and no JAY walking!

Across

1. Lead-in for bird or walk : JAY.  JAY birds I understand.  I've been told not to JAY walk since at least the first grade, but had to learn that a JAY is a beginner, or someone not very good at something.  So a JAY WALKER is one recklessly crossing a street away from a cross walk. Though this illustration looks dangerous, note that the umpire is calling the runner safe.

Wikipedia Commons

  

4. Nervous and irritable : UPSET.  Like a coach when his team loses to an inferior rival.

9. Thai cash : BAHT.  About 3.1 cents at the current exchange rate.

13. Musician Turner : IKE.  Also famous for his uncertain number of marriages [between 5 and 13] and beating Tina Turner.

14. Words Alice read on a cake : EAT ME.   Eating too much cake can make one too large, as she discovered.

15. Month in Madrid : ENERO.  Specifically, January.  Alliterative clues often hint at foreign language fill.

19. Once more : AGAIN.  

20. "It's __ bet": "No risk" : A SAFE.  I wanted A SURE, but can assure you that was wrong.

21. Everlasting, to a poet : ETERNE.

22. Cal. entry : APPT.   Calendar and appointment.  Note abrv. in cl. and ans. 

27. Custard dishes : QUICHES.  Would you eat one on a train?  Could I egg you on?

30. River in NW France : ORNE. 

31. "The Star-Spangled Banner," e.g. : ANTHEM.

32. Countdown-ending número : UNO.   When launching Spanish rockets [cohetes.]

33. Leveling wedge : SHIM.  A tapered spacer used to provide a better fit or level surface.

37. Pen name : BIC.  Cute misdirection.. BIC is a brand name.

41. Amin of Uganda : IDI. 

42. Twice vier : ACHT.   German, I fear.

44. Word of surprise : GEE.  GEE whiz golly wow!

45. __ Zee: area where the Hudson River widens : TAPPAN.  This wide spot in the river is named for the TAPPAN sub tribe of the Delaware people and the Dutch word Zee, meaning wide expanse of water.  In this region the river is about 5 miles wide.

47. Taj Mahal home : AGRA.  Popular cross word destination.

49. Heavenly higher-ups, in Christianity : SERAPHS.  The highest ranking angels.

54. Chess piece : ROOK. 

55. People with skill : ADEPTS.  Like Bernice.

56. Place to store valuables : VAULT.

59. Station : DEPOT.

64. Old hat : STALE.  Unfashionably out of date, passé.   Fashionably out of date is retro.

65. Popeye creator Segar : ELZIE.  I will never remember this.

66. Type of museum : WAX.  A place exhibiting WAX-constructed human likenesses, typically of the famous and infamous.

67. Kane's Rosebud, e.g. : SLED.  Citizen Kane.

68. Nobel-winning Irish poet : YEATS.   William Butler.  He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923.

69. It may need a boost : EGO.  I suppose a Nobel Prize might do that for you.

Down

1. Peanut butter brand : JIF.  Because it spreads so quickly?

2. Alias, for short : A.K.A.  Also Known As.

3. Hankering : YEN.   I thought about going to Japan, but didn't have the YEN to travel.

4. They may be done by ones who have gone too far : UEYS.  U-turns.  Clever clue for a word with variant spellings

5. Family nickname : PAPA.   A SURE gave me PAPU.  I prefer Bumpa.

6. Support crews : STAFFS.  A SURE got in the way here, as well.

7. Game show personality : EMCEE. Master of Ceremonies, with the initials spelt out.  What do you call that kind of construction?

8. "__War": Shatner series : TEK.  This series of Sci-Fi novels was conceived by William Shatner and ghost written by Ron Goulart,

9. Defeated : BEATEN. Like everyone who played the U. Conn. men's basketball team. 

10. 49-Across, por ejemplo : ANGELES.  Spanish Angels.  "For example" rendered in Spanish hints at the language of the fill.

11. Soul partner : HEART.   Time for a retro musical interlude.  [I thought this was interesting.]

 

 

12. Puzzle video game with three heroes : TRINE.  Check it out.

16. Top draft status : ONE-A.   We've had an all volunteer army since 1973.

18. "Of course!" : NATCH.  Derived from "naturally," I presume.

21. Along the way : EN ROUTE.

22. Red Sea port on its own gulf : AQABA.  Jordan's only coastal city.

23. __ Wars: Rome vs. Carthage : PUNIC.  The PUNICS were the people of Carthage.

24. Tuner's concern : PITCH.  Piano tuner.  You can't tune a fish.

26. Words to Nanette? : NO, NO.  NO, NO, Nanette is the 1925 musical that gave us the songs Tea For Two and I Want to Be Happy.

28. Playboy nickname : HEF.  Hugh Hefner.

29. Political fugitives : EMIGRES. People who have migrated out, usually with a connotation of political or social self-exile.

32. Island instrument : UKE.  Hawaiian Islands, Ukelele.

34. River horse : HIPPO.  Short for hippopotamus, which is Greek for river horse.

35. Snake River state : IDAHO.  River snake is ποτάμι φίδι.

36. Belarus capital : MINSK.

39. Tide type : NEAP.  This occurs just afer the first and third quarters of the moon, when the sun and moon are at right angles relative to the earth, and their gravitational forces work against each other.  Thus, the difference between high and low tide is minimized.

40. Roofer's supply : TAR.  Tiles, shingles, nails and rolled EPDM won't fit.

43. Stage in a frog's life : TADPOLE.  A.K.A. Pollywog, this is the larval stage of toads and frogs.

46. Medicare section for physician services : PART B.  Part A covers hopitalization.

48. Destroyed the inside of, as a building : GUTTED.  My sister just bought a house, and the kitchen will be GUTTED and totally reconfigured.

49. Verse segment : STANZA.  Here, the word "Verse" means a poem.  A group of lines forming the basic metrical unit of a poem is called a STANZA, from the Latin for a stopping place, or, alternatively, a verse.  Confused?  I could be wurst.

50. Hula Hoop et al. : FADS.  Back to my childhood.  Less retro than NO, NO, Nanette, though.

51. "Golden Boy" dramatist : ODETS.  Clifford.  In this 1937 play, the hero is torn between commercial success and artistic fulfillment.

52. India neighbor : NEPAL.  Good place to get high.

53. Small egg : OVULE.  A small or immature ovum.

57. Workbook chapter : UNIT.

58. Strong alkalis : LYES.  LYE is sodium hydroxide (NaOH.)  And that's the truth.

60. "30 Rock" star : FEY.  Tina.

61. Be indebted to : OWE.

62. Pick on : NAG.

63. Outer: Pref. : EXO. 

All done.  Not quite everything from A to Z, but we did travel from A to U.  Hope you enjoyed the journey.

Cool regards!
JzB