L.A. Times Crossword Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Matt Skoczen

Theme: REQUESTS.

This will be easier if we start with the unifier.

56. Tot's sassy demand ... or a hint to the start of the answers to starred clues: GIMME.  Slangy way of saying "Give me." and perhaps more of a demand than a request. So the theme answers are all things that can be requested.

Today's more or less appropriate theme song.

          

17. *Lamb Chop, e.g.: HAND PUPPET. Lamb Chop was Sherri Lewis's sheepish companion. [read more here] GIMME a HAND is a request for help.

31. *Start a number: BREAK INTO SONG.  Spontaneously start singing, possibly with no provocation.  GIMME a BREAK is an expression of exasperation, protest, or disbelief.

48. *Sheriff Woody's sidekick: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR.  Iconic characters from Disney's Toy Story universe.

Frenemies

GIMME a BUZZ is a request for a phone call.

64. *Spoken language, in semiotics: SIGN SYSTEM.  Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols.  I suppose this refers to a system like ASL, which uses hand signals to emulate the spoken word.  Somebody help me if I got this wrong.   GIMME a SIGN can be a prayerful request for guidance, or a more mundane request to another person for clarification.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here.  Not really feeling greedy today, so I'll just give you a tour of today's adventure.

Across:

1. Formal ties: ASCOTS.  Neck decorations, not connections.

7. Corp. homes: HQS.  Head Quarters

10. Govt. farming monitor: USDA.  U. S. Department of Agriculture.

14. Symphony type pioneered by Beethoven: CHORAL.  The 4th movement of his 9th and final symphony has a chorus join the orchestra.

 

This takes a half hour - you have been warned!

 15. Agreement that sounds like fun?: OUI.  Wheee - yes!

16. Clogging is one of its two st. dances: N.CAR.  North Carolina.  So - what is the other one?

19. Laura with an Oscar: DERN.  Laura Elizabeth Dern (b 1967) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Her parents are actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd.

20. Holiday aide: ELF.  Santa's helper

21. Back: AGO.  Some time in the past.

22. Decisiveness: SPINE.  Being resolute [or stubborn.]

24. Hunk: SLAB.  Chunk of something, not a buff guy in the buff.

26. DJIA listings: COS.  The 30 Companies listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  For anyone interested, I follow it on my blog every business day.  

29. Candy cup creator: REESE.   Chocolate and peanut butter - oh, my.

35. Forbes competitor: INC.  Business magazines.

36. Legal encumbrance: LIEN.  a right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.

37. Holiday drink: NOG.

38. Lions and tigers and ... not bears: BIG CATS.  The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus Panthera, namely the lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard, as well as the non-pantherine cheetah and cougar.

42. Swap with, as in a player-for-player deal: TRADE TO.  Pro sports team do this.

44. Busy-bee link: AS A.  

45. "TrËs __": BIEN.  It's all good.

47. GPS info: RTE.  Your global positioning satellite system will give you a route. 

52. "Silas Marner" child: EPPIE.  A girl whom Silas Marner eventually adopts. Eppie is the biological child of Godfrey Cass and Molly Farren, Godfrey’s secret wife. Eppie is pretty and spirited, and loves Silas unquestioningly.   [source]

53. Plaza de toros cry: OLE.  An encouraing interjection.

54. Lily pad squatter: FROG.  [ribbit]

57. Sap: PATSY.  A person who is easily taken advantage of, especially by being cheated or blamed for something.

59. Erode, with "away": EAT.

62. Team's lack, in a clichÈ: AN I.  There are no me in team.

63. Scot's swimming spot: LOCH.  The Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Scots word for a lake or for a sea inlet. 

68. Tennis great who wrote "Days of Grace": ASHE.  Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. [1943-1993] was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.

69. First lady not married to a president?: EVE.  Evidently, she was the apple of Adam's eye.

70. 1996 slasher film: SCREAM.

 

 

71. "To __ not ... ": BE OR.  Hamlet's dilemma.

72. Lunch bread: RYE.  For sandwiches.

73. Pasta unit: NOODLE.  For soup, maybe.

Down:

1. Workout aftermath: ACHES.  Don'r over do it.

2. Word of intent: SHALL.  

3. Chitchat: CONFAB.  An informal private conversation or discussion.

4. O'Hare, on tix: ORD.   Read about the airport here.

5. Chorizo snack: TAPA.   A tapa is a hot or cold appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine.  It need not include chorizo.

6. Belt: SLUG.  A powerful punch.

7. Word with hip or bunny: HOP.  Contemporary music or an old-style line dance

8. Hernando's "Huh?": QUE.  Literal, kinda.

9. Has a capacity of, as a diner: SITS.  Seating capacity.

10. Briefs: UNDIES.  Small clothes, in Westeros.

11. 33-Down start, usually: SCENE ONE.  Beginning of the Second Act.

12. Wouldn't dream of it: DARES NOT.

13. Valiant's son: ARN.  From the comic strip.

18. Indented blemish: POCK.  

23. Rotate so the palm faces down or backward: PRONATE.  As defined.

25. __-a-brac: BRIC.  Random non-valuable stuff.

27. Kind of lamp: OIL.  I'm not gas lighting you.

28. Tizzy: SNIT. Todo, when they're at it.

30. French Toaster Sticks brand: EGGO.  A Kellogg's brand of various kinds of frozen waffles, pancakes, french toast and more.

32. Provides with the means: ENABLES.  

33. Intermission follower, perhaps: ACT II. In a play of more than one act.

34. Towel material: TERRY.  A fabric woven with many protruding loops of thread which can absorb large amounts of water.

38. Ruth on a diamond: BABE.  George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935.

39. "Sure, probably": I SUPPOSE.  Tepid agreement.

40. Andalusian vegetable soup served cold: GAZPACHO.   A cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables.

41. Bell-shaped lily: SEGO.  Calochortus nuttallii — known as sego lily — is a bulbous perennial which is endemic to the Western United States. It is the state flower of Utah. 

43. Ignoring, with "to": DEAF.   Nope.  Not listening.

46. Org. with Jets and Flyers: NHL.  National Hockey League, not the USAF. 

49. Instrument laid flat during play: ZITHER.

50. Many a freshman: TEEN.  One between the ages of thirteen and nineteen.

51. Like 70-Across: R-RATED.  Restricted, Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian. This rating means the film contains adult material such as adult activity, harsh language, intense graphic violence, drug abuse and nudity.

55. "Paper Moon" Oscar winner: ONEAL.  Was it Tatum or her dad?

58. River of Flanders: YSER.  The Yser  is a river that rises in French Flanders (the north of France), enters the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows through the Ganzepoot and into the North Sea at the town of Nieuwpoort.

60. YWCA part: Abbr.: ASSN.

61. 1997 Mattel acquisition: TYCO.  You can read about their complicated history here.

63. Chem class part: LAB.  Laboratory, where you can make things that smell bad or go BOOM!

65. Climbing greenery: IVY.  Plant on the walls of college buildings.

66. "Wow!": GEE.  Good Golly!

67. Sellout letters: SRO. Standing Room Only.

So ends another Wednesday.  Hope you enjoyed it.

JzB over and out.