L.A. Times Crossword Wednesday, June 26, 2019 Dan Schoenholtz

Theme BATTER UP! Not at the ball diamond this time.  Instead, we find ourselves at the kitchen counter with eggs, oil and today's theme.  Let's check it out

17 A. It may be hard to turn down: NICE OFFER.  Not to be confused with an OFFER that you can't refuse.  The circled letters, here shown in red, can be rearranged to spell COFFEE.  Decaf for me, please - no cream or sugar.

26 A. Stockpiled: LOADED UP ON.  Acquired, collected, and kept; amassed. The red letters can be used to spell POUND.  Is this going to the dogs?  Probably not.

41 A. Sitting in an assigned seat, e.g.: TAKING ONE'S PLACE.  "Everyone take your places," is an in the language phrase.  So, have a seat.  Perhaps your cushion is a cushy SPONGE rubber.

51 A. Corporate annual report focus: FISCAL YEAR.  A 12 month period used for accounting and tax purposes that might not line up with a calendar year.  The red letters can spell LAYER - a ply of something in a built-up construction.  So what are we to make of all this?  Let's consult the reveal.

64 A. Baking conveniences, and a hint to this puzzle's circles: CAKE MIXES.  Aha!  Each of the words is also a type of CAKE, MIXED into the clue fill.  And a CAKE MIX is a store-bought combination of ingredients you can use to make a tasty sweet treat. Are you hungry?  I think CAKE is OK, any time of day or night.  Though, to be honest, I prefer cookies.

Across:

1. They may be exchanged in anger: WORDS.  Description of an argument.

6. Jet stream locale?: SPA.  SPA in this case being a whirlpool bath, with jets that stream water onto your aching body.

9. Ziti, e.g.: PASTA.  Per wikipedia, Ziti is an extruded tubular pasta that is smaller than rigatoni, but larger than mezzani.  Pasta is pasta.  Why if comes in so many shapes and sizes is a mystery to me.

14. Scrub, as a launch: ABORT.  From the mission control vocabulary of NASA.  A decision to stop a planned launch after the pre-launch sequence of activities has begun.

15. Short film?: PIC.  An abrv. of [moving] PICTURE

16. Pronouncement platform: ALTAR.  "I now pronounce you man and wife," is one of the kins of pronouncements that can be issued there.

19. Lumps: GLOBS.  Solid or semi-sold masses of no particular size and shape.

20. Small flightless bird: KIWI.

To be perfectly clear

21. "Oye Como Va" songwriter Puente: TITO.  Hey, how is it going?

23. Barnyard noise: MOO. Cow talk.

24. Low-risk investments: Abbr.: CDs.  Certificates of Deposit.

29. Stooped (over): HUNCHED.

32. Beer container: CAN.  E pluribus unum.

33. "It matters to me": I CARE.  Back in the 60's we said, "Give a damn!"

34. "The Green Hornet" co-writer/star Rogen: SETH. [b 1982] Canadian-American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director.

37. Scorch: CHAR.  Burn the surface of something with heat or a direct flame.

44. Editor's retraction: STET.  "Let it stand."  (used as an instruction on a printed proof to indicate that a correction or alteration should be ignored).

45. Picnic pests: ANTS.  Six-legged invaders.

46. Blows off steam: VENTS.  Pssssst.

47. Feverish, say: ILL. Exhibiting symptoms of sickness.

49. Doesn't continue, as an argument: LET'S DIE.  It's hard to know when to let up.  Sometimes continuing is futile.  I was arguing about socialism with some guy on FaceBook.  He wouldn't accept the dictionary definition.  I finally gave up and told him to have a nice day.

56. "Irreverence is easy--what's hard is __": Tom Lehrer: WIT.  Keen mental sharpness and inventiveness.

57. Lime ending: -ADE.  The juice of the lime ends up in a fruity drink.  In my house, it's far more likely to end up in a spicy guacamole.

58. 12-1 MLB victory, e.g.: ROUT.  A lop-sided victory.  Or, from the Tigers' perspective, a lop-sided defeat.

59. Davenport setting: IOWA.  Or my late mom-s living room.  A city and an item of furniture [if you want to couch it in those terms], respectively.

62. Like spinach, say: LEAFY.  As rose bushes are thorny, and trees are barky.

68. Tanning site: SALON.

69. Spy org. called "The Company": CIA.  Central Intelligence Agency.  We learn this vocabulary from a 2003 semi-factual novel by Robert Littell.

70. Hapless: INEPT.  Everybody, get yourself some hap, so you can be EPT.

71. North Sea county: ESSEX.  Located North and East of London, England.

72. __-country music: ALT.  ALTernate.  A loosely defined sub-genre of county/rock music.  Styles can be significantly different in style from mainstream or pop country.

73. "Get it done!": TODAY.  Stat! [Not stet]

Down:

1. Lacking color: WAN. Pale and weak looking.

2. Tokyo sash: OBI.

This white one is an OBI WAN

3. Large python: ROCK SNAKE.  A large, non-venemous, but extraordinarily vicious and dangerous snake living in sub-saharan Africa.

4. German trio: DREI.  The number three.

5. Put away: STOW.

6. Sunscreen letters: SPF.  Sun Protection Factor.  Understand it here.

7. Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA.

Things to know about it [please skip number 9]

8. Sharp: ACRID.  Having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant taste or smell.

9. Taoist temple: PAGODA.

All because of the Shunbashira

10. Every one of: ALL. Don't leave me out.

11. Defeat soundly: STOMP.  In other words, a ROUT.

12. Off-limits: TABOO.  Forbidden.

13. Fiery crime: ARSON.  The crime of deliberately setting fire to property.

18. Computer menu heading: FILE. You can save and print, among other options.

22. Computer fixers: TECHS.

24. Vouchers: CHITS.  IOUs

25. Old European coin: DUCAT. Any of various gold and silver coins.

27. Eats too much of, as junk food: ODs ON.  Over-Dose, trivializing the real meaning.

28. Family tree figures: UNCLES.  What I am to my niece and nephew.

30. Blogger, at times: CRITIC. Or, in my case, almost always.

31. Farm clucker: HEN.  And egg layer.

35. Sinusitis-treating doc: ENT.  Ear, Nose and Throat specialist.

36. Edison contemporary: TESLA.  Nikola Tesla [1956-1943] was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system. [Wikipedia]

38. Manually spiffed up at the carwash: HAND WAXED.  Manual labor.

39. When the duel occurs in "Hamilton": ACT II.

40. Start over: RESET.

42. Big name in California viticulture: GALLO.  Brothers Ernst and Julio.

43. Entry-level GI: PVT. Private.

48. Voice box: LARYNX.  the hollow muscular organ forming an air passage to the lungs and holding the vocal cords in humans and other mammals;

50. Scary-sounding lake: ERIE.  Toledo's lake.

51. Like many a rumor: FALSE.  Fake news?

52. Creative output: IDEAS.  Brain storms.

53. Makes airtight: SEALS.  Closes up.

54. Desert plant with sword-shaped leaves: YUCCA.

New Mexico State Flower

55. Source of net profits?: ETAIL.  Electronic - i.e on-line - retail.

60. Exclude: OMIT. Leave out, elide.

61. Sot: WINO.  Alcoholic.

63. Enemy: FOE.  Not a friend

65. Dennings of "2 Broke Girls": KAT.

But those green eyes  .  .  .

66. AQI monitor: EPA.  The Air Quality index is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency, established in 1970.

67. Muddy pen: STY. Home for swine.

One more in a long line of Wednesday puzzles, but this one takes the cake.   Hope you were able to slice through it without getting frosted.

Cool regards!
JzB