L.A. Times Crossword Wednesday, November 9, 2022 Will Eisenberg and Shannon Rapp

Theme: Get It In Gear!  The first word of each theme fill entry is a choice from the gear selector in an automobile.  In the industry, we call it the PRNDL.  Kudos to the construction crew for getting them in this order.

17 A. Actor who plays Cho Sang-woo on "Squid Game": PARK HAE-SOO.  [Park Pyeong-ho b. 1978] is a South Korean actor who has appeared in many movies and TV shows in his homeland.  But - have any of you ever heard of him?   PARK is the gear selection when you don't want the vehicle to move.

24 A. Travel that largely avoids rush-hour traffic: REVERSE COMMUTE.  This is typically a round trip from a home in the city to a job in the suburbs, the opposite of the more common route.  REVERSE is used to go backwards. Look out behind!

35. Cult-favorite indie band formed by Jeff Mangum: NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL.  An American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum wrote surreal and opaque lyrics that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness.   I am usually quite circumspect in my critiques on this blog.  But having two theme entries that I have to characterize as gratuitous obscurity is, in my humble opinion, beyond the pale.   NEUTRAL is used when the vehicle is idling.

51. Infuriate: DRIVE UP THE WALL.  Make someone irritated, angry or crazy.  I haven't heard this expression in recent decades.  DRIVE is the gear selection for making forward progress.

59. "Plug me in soon!" warning: LOW BATTERY.  Notification from your electronic device.  LOW gear is used for slow progress - to avoid sliding or digging the tires into mud or sand

Hi Gang - JazzBupma here in the driver's seat today.  Let's see where today's journey takes us.

Across:

1. "You crack me up": HA-HA.  Funny.

5. Print sources?: PAWS.  From your pet doggo.

9. Cookie quantity: BATCH.  Often some number of dozens.

14. Bake-off appliance: OVEN.  Sometimes full of cookies.

15. Unseen Beckett character: GODOT.  From the play "Waiting For Godot," who never arrives.

16. Bugler's blast: BLARE.  Sadly, I couldn't find an actual BLARE, so here is some pretty good bugle playing.

19. Ingredient in piccata dishes: CAPER.   Capparis spinosa, the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.

The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning or garnish, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed salted or, alternatively, pickled.

20. "Exile in Guyville" singer Phair: LIZ.   Elizabeth Clark Phair (b. 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area.  Phair's 1993 debut studio album, Exile in Guyville, was released to acclaim; it has been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

21. Clamor: DIN.   A loud, unpleasant, and prolonged noise.

23. Way to go: ROAD.   A place to get your vehicle in gear.

28. Alcorn __: HBCU in Mississippi: STATE.   Alcorn State University is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. 

30. Personal: OWN.  I guess you have to consider a phrase like, "This is my OWN thing."

31. Court clown: JESTER.  AKA: fool.

32. Arcade giant: SEGA.   A Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo.

33. Culture essayist Tolentino: JIA.   Jia Angeli Carla Tolentino (b. 1988) is an American writer and editor.  A staff writer for The New Yorker, she previously worked as deputy editor of Jezebel and a contributing editor at The Hairpin. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine and Pitchfork. In 2019, her collected essays were published as Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion.

34. Letters of urgency: SOS.  Derives from Morse code dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot.  More here.

42. Window boxes?: ACS.  Air Conditioners.   Clever clue.

43. __ kwon do: TAE.   a Korean form of martial arts characterized by punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The literal translation for tae kwon do is "kicking", "punching", and "the art or way of".

44. Sad Keanu or Grumpy Cat: MEME.   A humorous image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by internet users.

45. Toiling away: AT WORK.  

49. Thanksgiving mo. in Canada: OCTober.

50. Needle: TEASE.  Drive up the wall?

54. Copenhagen resident: DANE.  Citizen of Denmark.

55. Kung __ chicken: PAO.    A spicy, stir-fried Chinese dish made with cubes of chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. The classic dish in Sichuan cuisine originated in the Sichuan province of south-western China and includes Sichuan peppercorns. 

56. Orange or peach: HUE.  Colors.

57. Antique mall?: AGORA.   In ancient Greece, a public open space used for assemblies and markets.  Clever clue.

65. Countryman and Clubman: MINIS.  Mini (stylised as MINI) is a British automotive marque founded in 1969, owned by German automotive company BMW since 2000, and used by them for a range of small cars assembled in the United Kingdom, Austria and the Netherlands. The word Mini has been used in car model names since 1959, and in 1969 it became a marque in its own right when the name "Mini" replaced the separate "Austin Mini" and "Morris Mini" car model names

66. "Silas Marner" novelist: ELIOT.  Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot. It was published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.  Mary Ann Evans (1819 – 1880 known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. 

67. Loyal: TRUE.   Giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.

68. Does some onstage improv: SCATS.  To improvise nonsense syllables usually to an instrumental accompaniment : sing scat.

69. Reject: DENY.

70. 38-Down ingredients: EGGS.  Primary component of an omelet. 

Down:

1. Bounce: HOP.

2. "When They See Us" creator DuVernay: AVA.  Ava Marie DuVernay [b. 1972] is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee of an Academy Award and Golden Globe. 

3. Feminine pronoun: HER.  In objective case.

4. Art that may be covered by a boot: ANKLE TAT.  Skin art.

Many more here

5. "The Purloined Letter" writer Edgar Allan __: POE.  Edgar Allan Poe’s stature as a major figure in world literature is primarily based on his ingenious and profound short stories, poems, and critical theories, which established a highly influential rationale for the short form in both poetry and fiction.   More here.

6. Promos: ADS.  Advertisements.

7. Like heavy clogs: WOODEN.  Made of wood.

8. Showing little emotion: STOIC.  not affected by or showing passion or feeling.  Having a wooden heart.

9. "EastEnders" network: BBC.  British Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, based at Broadcasting House in London, England.

10. Startles: ALARMS. 

11. Submit, in an MMA match: TAP OUT.    Submit to an opponent by tapping one's hand repeatedly either on the arena or the opponent's body.

12. Generate: CREATE.  Produce

13. Sheepdog, e.g.: HERDER.   A type of pastoral dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds developed for herding. Their ability to be trained to act on the sound of a whistle or word of command is renowned throughout the world.

15. Steady look: GAZE.   Look steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, or thought.

18. Bee complex: HIVE.    A structure where bees live, either built by people or made by the bees themselves :

22. "Seriously!": NO JOKE.  For realz.

24. Barilla rival: RAGU.   Makers of Italian style sauces.

25. Churns: ROILS.   Disturbs. physically or literally.

26. Paddled, say: SWAM. 

27. Get along well: MESH.   Like gears.

28. W-2 fig.: SSN.   Social Security Number

29. Merch table buy: TEE.  I suppose this is a shirt.  Or possibly a golf accessory, depending on the type of merch.

33. Raise dramatically, as prices: JACK UP.  

34. Bluish gray: SLATE.  Slate is a dark shade of grey that has been mixed with a hint of azure for a cool tone, modern shade. 

36. Steak order: RARE.  Cooked so that the inside is still red

37. Nagging desire: ITCH.  A strong desire to do something

38. Brunch choice: OMELETTE.    A dish made by mixing eggs together and frying them, often with small pieces of other food such as cheese or vegetables; here spelt pretentiously.

39. Aqua kin: TEAL.  Blue-green colors.

40. Two-fifths of Miami?: EMS.  Letters in the word.  Meh!

41. Gymnast Suni: LEE.   Sunisa "Suni" Lee [b. 2003] is a Hmong American artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Gold Medal Flower

45. "Altogether ooky" family: ADDAMS.  

46. Woeful: TRAGIC.   Characterized by, expressive of, or causing sorrow or misery.

47. Actress Ryder: WINONA.   Winona Laura Horowitz [b. 1971] professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, in the 1990s, she rose to prominence for her more varying roles in productions of diverse genres.   Numerous views.

48. Ready to move on: OVER IT.

49. Annette of "Virgin River": O'TOOLE.   Annette O'Toole [b. 1952} is an American actress. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in the television series Nash Bridges, Beverly Marsh in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It, Lana Lang in Superman III, Kathy in the romantic-comedy film Cross My Heart and Martha Kent (the mother of Clark Kent) on the television series Smallville.

50. Pulled tight: TAUT.   Stretched or pulled tight; not slack.

52. Lost color: PALED.  Looked more wan.

53. "Come again?": WHAT?   Please repeat.

58. Burro: ASS.  Beast of burden.

60. Come in first: WIN.  Be victorious.

61. Lad: BOY.   Young boy.

62. Rowing machine, familiarly: ERG.  Is it the Ergatta or the Concept Two RowErg?  Beats me.

63. Hallway runner: RUG.   A long, narrow rug meant to be used in a hallway, galley kitchen, or other area of the home where space is narrow, but long.

64. "You got it": YES.  Correct.

So we arrive at our Wednesday destination.  I was able to say something good about the puzzle and something bad about the puzzle.  Overall, the journey was OK.  Hope you made it to the end with no accidents.

Cool regards!

JzB