L.A. Times Crossword Wednesday March 23, 2022 Tim D'Alfonso

Theme: Lacking subtlety, I can't do any better than today's reveal.

58. Music industry advisory ... and a warning that may result from misinterpreting this puzzle's theme?: EXPLICIT CONTENT.  The phrase "explicit content" is written as a warning that media (pictures, films or music) contains adult content. This is often sexual or pornographic. It may be bad language. The explicit content warning is for parents who want to sensor what their children see. 

The  first word of each theme fill gives an example.

17. 42-U.S.-gallon containers: CRUDE OIL BARRELS.  Petroleum, also known as crude oil and oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earth's surface. It is commonly refined into various types of fuels.  Crude can also indicate the use of unrefined language or though processes.

27. Cocktail with a splash of olive juice: DIRTY MARTINI.  I prefer mine to be a crystal clear combination of gin and vermouth, garnished with olives.  Dirty can also mean indecent and vulgar, generally due to sexual content or implication.

44. "Maus" is the only one to win a Pulitzer Prize (1992): GRAPHIC NOVEL.  "Graphic Novel" is a format, not a genre. Graphic novels can be fiction, non-fiction, history, fantasy, or anything in-between. Graphic novels are similar to comic books because they use sequential art to tell a story. Unlike comic books, graphic novels are generally stand-alone stories with more complex plots. Graphic also means giving a vivid picture with explicit detail.

So - here is today's theme song.

Across:

1. Alaskan islander: ALEUT.  A member of a people inhabiting the Aleutian Islands, other islands in the Bering Sea, and parts of western Alaska.

6. Bar flier: DART.  Stay on target.

10. Early garden spot: EDEN.  I've heard it was a nice place.

14. Like the yolk in Eggs Benedict: RUNNY.  The recipe calls for a poached egg and Candian Bacon over an English muffin with Hollandaise sauce.  Simmering the eggs for four minutes should give the right yolk consistency.  It's not clear why this needs to be done with stolen eggs, though.

15. MLB Triple Crown category: RBIS.  Runs Batted In.

16. Govern: RULE. Democracies are governed.  Autocracies are ruled.

20. "Try this": HERE.  Have some.

21. Flying geese formation: VEE.  This formation allows for the greatest energy efficiency for the group.

22. Hall partner: OATES.  Daryl Hall and John Oates are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two write most of the songs they perform, separately or in collaboration.   I was never a fan.

23. Tries to make a point?: SERVES.  

on certain sports like tennis or volley ball. Nice clue.

25. Tilt: LEAN.  Be in a sloping position.  You don't need to be skinny.
 
32. Sierra Nevada resort: TAHOE.  This clue is inexact.  Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, straddling the border of California and Nevada. It’s known for its beaches and ski resorts. 

35. Places for hoops, maybe: EARS.  Hoop ear rings.

They're not always this large - or this pricey.

36. Crime boss: DON.  A person in charge of a criminal organization, aka a crime master, big boss, gang lord, kingpin, godfather, mafia boss, terrorist commander or mob boss.

37. Eagerly excited: AGOG. full of intense interest or excitement 

38. "The Martian" star Matt: DAMON.

40. Word with print or note: FOOT.  Foot prints and foot notes.  Nice!

41. Word of dissent: NAY.

42. Late NBA legend, familiarly: KOBE.  Kobe Bean Bryant [1978 - 2020] was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, where he won championships and other honors.  He, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash into a mountain side in heavy fog. 

43. Mopey states: SULKS.  Being silent, morose, and bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment.

48. Caps, e.g.: HATS.

49. Certain agent's area: REALTY.  Land and/or buildings.

52. Corrective surgery acronym: LASIK.   The acronym for Laser Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis which refers to creating a flap in the cornea with a microkeratome and using a laser to reshape the underlying cornea.

55. Took a load off: SAT.

56. The Beatles' "__ Leaving Home": SHE'S.

I don't recall ever hearing this sad song.

62. Doorstep delivery, at times?: NOEL.  I guess the refers to the old custom of going door to door singing Christmas carols.  Am I missing anything.

63. October birthstone: OPAL.

64. Main line: AORTA.  The main artery of the body, supplying oxygenated blood to the circulatory system. In humans it passes over the heart from the left ventricle and runs down in front of the backbone.

65. One of Snoopy's brothers: ANDY.

Little-known Snoopy facts.

66. Bunyan's blue ox: BABE.

Wikipedia

67. Fishing tool: SPEAR.  Takes a keen eye and a steady hand.

Down:

1. Principal: ARCH.  As in enemy or rival.

2. Fishing gear: LURES.  A type of artificial fishing bait which is designed to attract the attention of predatory fish, using prey-like appearances, movements, vibrations, bright reflections and flashy colors to appeal to the fish's predation instinct and entice it into striking.

3. Habituate: ENURE. Get used to.

4. Expected loser: UNDERDOG.  A competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest.

5. Sheridan of "Ready Player One": TYE.  Tye Kayle Sheridan [b 1996] is an American actor and producer. He is best known for playing the young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the reboot X-Men film series, as well as Wade Watts in Ready Player One and Ben Goudy in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.

6. Most arid: DRIEST.  

7. Fit: ABLE.  Sufficiently skilled to do the job.

8. Bone in the torso: RIB.

9. Screeners at LAX: TSA. Transportation Security Administration.

10. Not on target: ERRANT.  Erring or straying from the proper course or standards.

11. Daft Punk, for one: DUET.  A two-person performing group.

12. Fashion magazine since 1945: ELLE.

13. Condition suffix: -NESS.  As in, frex., smuttiness. 

18. One more time: OVER.  Another repetition.

19. Stadium sounds: ROARS.  Crown noises.

24. Contend: VIE.  Compete with someone for a prize or achievement.

25. ROFL cousin: LMAO.  Text speak for humorous responses.  ROFL is Rolling on the Floor Laughing.  LMAO is the ore anatomical Laughing My Abdomen Off.  YMMV.

26. Bring in: EARN.  As one's paycheck.

28. Coastal Arab country: YEMEN.  Officially the Republic of Yemen, it is a country in Western Asia, on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and shares maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia.

29. One on a fan site: IDOL. A person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.

30. Cozy spot: NOOK.  A corner or recess, especially one offering seclusion or security.

31. DBs' stats: INTS.  In American football a Defensive Back is a defender against passing plays.  If he can grab the ball away from the intended receiver, he is credited with an INTerception.

32. Little kick: TANG.  This involves the taste buds, not the feet

33. Petri dish filler: AGAR.  A gel-like substance used for growing cultures.

34. Georgetown athlete: HOYA.  The team name is derived from the mixed Greek and Latin chant "Hoya Saxa" (meaning "What Rocks"), which gained popularity at the school in the late nineteenth century. The name "Hoyas" came into use in the 1920s. Most teams have their athletic facilities on the main campus of Georgetown University.

38. "Just __!": DO IT.   A trademark of shoe company Nike, and it is one of the core components of Nike's brand. The slogan was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting.   Also, a short motivational speech by Shia LaBeouf.

39. Basics: ABCS.

40. Brit's period: FULL STOP.  That little dot following these words.

42. Bold-sounding trouser material: KHAKI.  This was puzzling, since in my pronunciation, it does not sound like cocky.

43. Coral __: SEA.

45. City famous for cheesesteaks, informally: PHILLY.  I understand the original version is made with Cheese Whiz.

46. Soothsayer: ORACLE.  One who can foretell the future

47. Kill, as a bill: VETO.  A power grants to the President of the United States and a U.N. Security Council Member.

50. "Voila!": THERE.  Indicating a success at something.

51. Gossip spreader: YENTA.  A woman who is a gossip or busybody

52. "Master of None" Emmy-winning writer Waithe: LENA.  [b 1984] An American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi and the BET comedy series Boomerang and Twenties. She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them.

53. Nerve cell part: AXON.  A portion of a nerve cell (neuron) that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body. A neuron typically has one axon that connects it with other neurons or with muscle or gland cells. 

54. Hustled: SPED.  Hied.

55. Guess: STAB.  Informally.

57. Common flag feature: STAR.  On the flags of many countries.

59. Corn throwaway: COB.

60. Pub pick: IPA.  India Pale Ale. A hoppy beer style within the broader category of pale ale. The style of pale ale which became known as India pale ale was widespread in England by 1815, and would grow in popularity, notably as an export beer shipped to India and elsewhere. 

61. "King's Disease" Grammy-winning rapper: NAS.  Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, [b 1973] better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Rooted in the New York hip hop scene, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time.

That's all there is for another Wednesday Folks.  Hope you found it arousing.

Cool regards!

JzB

L.A Times Crossword Wednesday, March 9, 2022 Stella Zawistowski

Theme: FITNESS, NOT FATNESS.  The first word of each theme answer describes a fitness activity, in a phrase that is repurposed from its surface meaning. 

16. Work out like a hairdresser?: PUMP UP THE VOLUME. Play your music louder.  Alternatively, a hairdresser can give you a puffy do.  Also, the verb relates to weight or resistance training. 

30. Work out like a bartender?: LIFT YOUR SPIRITS.  Literally, to make someone more cheerful.  Spirits are alcoholic beverages that one might imbibe festively when the bartender lifts the bottle.  LIFT is what one does with free weights, a type of resistance training.

38. Work out like a fine artist?: SWEAT THE DETAILS.  Pay close attention to, or perhaps worry excessively about the minor aspects of some activity.  This one doesn't quite fit the pattern, since SWEAT is the result of physical activity, not the activity itself.   Oh, well.

57. Work out like a stockbroker?: EXERCISE OPTIONS.  An OPTION is the right to buy or sell a security at a given price within a given time frame.  To complete that transaction is to EXERCISE the OPTION.  In the theme context, EXERCISE is any physical activity designed to improve health and fitness.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here.  I'm not qualified to be a physical training instructor, though I do work out most days.  So lets move forward and work out the rest of this puzzle.

Across:

1. Expand, as bread dough: RISE.  It pumps itself up

5. Lift option: T-BAR.  A type of ski lift to glide you up the hill.

9. Guard's order: HALT.  Stop.

13. Responsibility: ONUS.  The weight of duty or responsibility that must be exercised.

14. It borders It.: AUSTria, home of Hans and Franz.

15. Crown-wearing literary elephant: BABAR.  Elephant King from kiddie lit.

19. Time worth naming: ERA.  As, frex. jazz, occurring 100 or so years ago, when jazz music and dance styles were sweeping America.

20. Late time, in ads: NITE.  Night, mis-spelt.

21. Bills worth a hundo: C-NOTES.  Worth $100; but hundo?!?

22. Enjoy a La-Z-Boy: RECLINE.  I am sitting in my La-Z-Boy recliner with my lap top as I write this,

24. "Didn't hear you" interjections: EHs.  So pump up the volume.

25. A lot, to Auden: OFT. Often, I suppose, but I don't get the reference.

26. Mother of life, in Greek myth: GAIA.  In Greek mythology, GAIA is the personification of the Earth, and one of the Greek primordial deities. GAIA is the ancestral mother of all life. 

27. Needing to be settled: DUE.  As a bill.

35. Evidence of shortages, for short: IOUS.  I owe, I owe . . .

36. Catch, as a flick: SEE.  Watch a movie

37. __ menu: EDIT.  A list of operations available in computer software.

43. Good buddy: PAL.

44. Little winged singer: WREN.  Any of numerous small, active songbirds of the family Troglodytidae, especially Troglodytes troglodytes, of the Northern Hemisphere

45. Slice (off): LOP.  

46. Crew implement: OAR.  Used in the sport of racing human propelled boats, called rowing, or CREW in the U.S. In this sport, the Oars are attached to the boat by oarlocks.

47. Top-flight: CLASSIC.  Of high quality.

51. Training song in "Flashdance": MANIAC.

 

 55. Protagonist of the "Divergent" novels: TRIS.  Never read them.  Divergent is a series of young adult science fiction adventure novels by American novelist Veronica Roth set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian Chicago.  There is a parallel movie trilogy, realized in March of 2014, 2015, and 2016.

56. Exec with the purse strings: CFO.  Chief Financial Officer.

60. Be worthy of: MERIT.  What one has earned.

61. Cons' counterparts: PROS.  For, as opposed to against.

62. Destine for failure: DOOM.  Experience a terrible fate.

63. Partner of ends: ODDS.  Those things in your junk drawer.

64. Avonlea adoptee: ANNE.  Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan girl, who is mistakenly sent to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm in the fictional town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada.   The novel, "Anne of Green Gables," was published in 1908.

65. Numero dopo le sette: OTTO.  The number after seven is eight, especially in Italy.

Down:

1. Rodeo performer: ROPER.  A person who uses a lasso to catch an animal, especially in a rodeo.

2. Accustom (to): INURE.  Accustom (someone) to something, especially something unpleasant.

3. Component of the spice blend za'atar: SUMAC.  Sumac is a spice that is popular in the Middle East. It is related to the poisonous shrub by the same name, but the culinary variety is safe to use and easily identifiable by its vibrant red berries (poisonous sumac is white).1 The berries are turned into a coarse powder and sold as a ground spice.

4. Medium ability: ESP.  A medium is an individual held to be a channel of communication between the earthly world and a world of spirits, by using Extra Sensory Perception.  A 4 foot 2 spiritualist on the lam is a small medium at large.

5. Take advantage of: TAP INTO.

6. Raised landform: BUTTE.  AKA: Mesa or table land

7. Tennis immortal: ASHE.  Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. [1943 - 1993] was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. 

8. U.S. __ 1, East Coast hwy.: RTE.  Route.

9. Saintly symbol: HALO.  A disk or circle of light shown surrounding or above the head of a saint or holy person to represent their holiness.

10. Share a border with: ABUT.  To touch or lean on.  The human butt ABUTS the lower back.  A BUTTE, on the other hand, ABUTS nothing.

11. Tinseled fabric: LAMÉ.  A type of fabric woven or knit with thin ribbons of metallic fiber.  Not to be confused with lame, which might describe a trombonists attempt at humor.

12. Half of seis: TRES.  Six and three en Español.

15. Literally, "tray planting": BONSAI.  The art of growing ornamental, artificially dwarfed trees or shrubs.

17. Bring together: UNIFY.

18. Parental control option: V-CHIP.  A computer chip installed in a television receiver that can be programmed by the user to block or scramble material containing a special code in its signal indicating that it is deemed violent or sexually explicit.

23. Much, casually: LOTSA.  A compressed form of "lots of."

24. Relaxed: EASED.

26. Golfer's target: GREEN.  The smooth grassy area at the end of a golf fairway containing the hole.

27. Gregorius of the Phillies: DIDI.  Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius, OON*, is a Dutch professional baseball shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. He previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and New York Yankees.

* Orde van Oranje-Nassau, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɔrdə vɑn oːˌrɑɲə ˈnɑsʌu]) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina.  The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has earned special merits for society.” [Wikipedia]

28. Either of two Monopoly properties that can't be built on: Abbr.: UTILities -- Water Works and Electric Company

29. Ballpark figs.: ESTS.  Estimates.  "In the ballpark" indicated a reasonable approximation.

30. Have trouble with one's sisters?: LISP.  Or perhapth one'th thithters.

31. Where much of "Children of the Corn" was filmed: IOWA.  

32. Coal, for one: FUEL. Material such as coal, gas, or oil that is burned to produce heat or power.

33. Arena worker: USHER.  A person who shows people to their seats, especially in a theater or at a wedding.

34. Harvests: REAPS.

39. Like many a Broadway musical: TWO ACT.   A two-act play consists of two parts with an intermission in between. This allow for more complex sets, since the stage crew can set up a new scene during the intermission.

40. Bingham of "Baywatch": TRACI. Traci A. Bingham (born January 13, 1968) is an American actress, model, and television personality. Beginning her professional career in the early 1990s, Bingham is best known for her role as Jordan Tate on the NBC action drama television series Baywatch (1996–1998).

[Wikipedia]

41. Conic section: ELLIPSE.  A regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane which does not intersect the base.

Oval

42. Canapé base, often: TOAST.  A canapé is a type of hors d'oeuvre, a small, prepared, and often decorative food, consisting of a small piece of bread, puff pastry, or a cracker wrapped or topped with some savoury food, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite. TOAST is sliced bread browned on both sides by exposure to radiant heat.

47. Sing like Michael Bublé: CROON.  Hum or sing in a soft, low voice, especially in a sentimental manner.

48. Slide (over): SCOOT.

49. Otherwise: IF NOT.  Else

50. "Fun Fearless Female" mag: COSMOpolitan.   An American monthly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, since 1965, has become a women's magazine.

51. Company message: MEMO.  Short for memorandum, a usually brief written message or report .

52. Cut: AXED.  Either literally with an ax, or figuratively, as in sacked or fired.

53. "__ alert!": NERD.   It's used to signify learning, reading, being smart, acting dorky, or “geeking out” to your guilty pleasures.

 

 54. Centenarian fashion icon Apfel: IRIS.  An American businesswoman, interior designer, and fashion icon [b 1921.] In business with her husband, Carl, from 1950 to 1992, Apfel led a career in textiles, including a contract with the White House that spanned nine presidencies. 

55. Fork-tailed flier: TERN.  Seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. There was a boy who went to the shore to throw rocks at them.  He was so efficient he left no TERN unstoned.

58. Relaxing resort: SPA.  A commercial establishment offering health and beauty treatment through such means as steam baths, exercise equipment, and massage.

59. Courtroom affirmation: I DO. Swearing to tell the truth.

So - another Wednesday heads for the shower.  Hope this puzzled exercised your brain, and maybe gave you a lift.  

Cool regards!

JzB