Saturday, Sep 24th, 2016, Ed Sessa

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q)

Blocks: 32

The fourth LA Times Ed Sessa Saturday puzzle this year, and I feel like I am starting to get on his cluing wavelength.  That's not to say I was completely successful today - I had to cave in to red-letters for one answer, but I was 'this' close.  Slowed down by proper names, misdirected on a few of my initial fills, but I call this one a win.  So there.  Triple 9-letter Across corners, and pairs of 9- and 11-letter climbers;

9d. Sandford opponent in a landmark 19th-century case : DRED SCOTT - I learned about this case in grade school, but the Sandford part I don't recall; took some crossings (perps)

11d. Feature of Civil War General Ambrose Burnside : MUTTONCHOPS - and hence the term "Sideburns", which I have been sporting since I was in my 20s - but not this bushy

22d. Explosion surrounding a star? : MEDIA FRENZY - not fooled by the "?", I figured it had to do with paparazzi, cameras, "FLASH", but it was my one correction; I had FLURRY at first

30d. Ordinary people : COMMONERS

~!

ACROSS:

1. Time keeper? : NEWSSTAND - I was hip to this "?" as well, figured it was magazine related, but had to wait on some crossings first

10. Decorative Japanese porcelain : IMARI

15. Foggy : IN A STUPOR - I pondered "IN A ---", but waited on crossings

16. Warms with waves : NUKES - the 'affectionate' term for using a microwave oven

17. Shelled omnivore : BOX TURTLE - again, I pondered "TURTLE", but didn't know if it would start or end the clue

18. Guitar band : STRAP - here, too I gathered this was not an actual "group", but a part of the instrument; however, "strap" did not jump right out at me, and FRET was too short.
Hey, check this guitar out

19. Artful : SLY

20. Not a good sense : DREAD

21. Features of some 'Vettes : T-TOPS

22. Johnny Vander __, only pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters : MEER - I'm sure C.C. knew this one; didn't someone come really close this season, too~?

23. They stir things up : SPOONS - dah~! I had WHISKS

25. Out of one's class : ABSENT - ah, clever misdirection; I was thinking "AT SEA" - that is, being a "30d." among the elite

28. Nut in a cupule : ACORN - didn't know what a cupule was

29. High-end chocolatier : LINDT - ah, so close; I tried "S" and "Z" before the "D"

30. It may lead to an argument : CLOSE CALL - in sporting events, frequently, and baseball more than most, I think

34. Et __ : ALII - typed in "ALI-" and waited....

35. Tusk, in fact : TOOTH - dah~!! Not IVORY

36. Colors : HUES - these are "HUES", too

37. Allow it to go no further : SET A LIMIT

39. Informal qualifier : SORTA

40. Trailers often precede them : FILMS - got it

41. Meal : REPAST

42. Home to Mount Kinabalu : BORNEO - mostly perps

44. Guns : REVS - it was either this or "GATS", and I was right with my first guess

45. Downed, in a way : HEWED - HUE/HEW

46. Sound : NOISE - ah, not the SANE variety of 'sound'

48. Ending with humor : OUS - humorous

51. One-named musician whose last name is Chryssomallis : YANNI - learning moment, tho I am familiar with the artist who ends up as the butt of some jokes - his Wiki

Hey, it's Yanni Halen~!

52. Lasting ability : ENDURANCE

54. Mideast unitarians : DRUZE - all perps

55. Elaborate procedure : RIGMAROLE - 'round here it comes with a second "A" - rigAmarole

56. Best Moment and Best Upset : ESPYs - sounded like awards for sporting events, but it was not working with my "SITH" at 45d.

57. Mental comparison : STEEL TRAP - "he has a mind like a steel trap"

DOWN:

1. Ink dispensers : NIBS - dah~!!! not PENS

2. Hydroxyl compound : ENOL

3. Like fake fruit : WAXY - good first round guess on my part

4. Boomer until 2003 : SST - supersonic airplanes

5. Word after A, B or C : STUDENT - what~? you can't be a "D" student, too~?

6. Castle projection : TURRET - I wanted RAMPART, but it didn't fit; BAILEY did, but it's not really a projection

7. More suitable : APTER

8. Emeril's French Quarter restaurant : NOLA - well, it's in New Orleans, LA, so....

10. Imminent : IN STORE

12. Rubber home : AKRON

13. Gets as a return : REAPS

14. Web connectors, for short : ISPs

24. Like penthouse suites : POSH

25. Troubled word : ALAS

26. Ill humor : BILE

27. Sulky state : SNIT

28. Dr. Alzheimer : ALOIS - perps

31. Pervasive quality : AURA

32. "__ see ... " : "LET'S"

33. Test with arguments, for short : LSAT

35. Five-point K, e.g. : TILE - oh, duh.  Scrabble TILE....

38. "Dancing With the Stars" numbers : LINDIES - I really, really wanted to try LIMBOS, but it was too short

39. A few : SEVERAL

41. Pick up again : RESUME

42. Brown University athletes : BEARS - perps

43. Confess : OWN UP

44. Hill crest : RIDGE

45. Fictional dark side : HYDE - yeah, I wanted SITH, but this is the 'dark side' of Dr. Jekyll

47. Taking care of business : ON IT - oops, I had AT IT

48. __ about : ON OR - and a second two-letter two word answer

49. Golden State sch. : UCLA

50. Bleed : SEEP

53. "Anything you can get away with": Marshall McLuhan : ART

Splynter

Saturday, Sep 17th, 2016, Mark Diehl

Theme: None

Words: 66 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 27

 This is my first puzzle from Mark Diehl, and when I checked, his last and only two contributions to the LA Times were both Saturday constructions, both before my blogging time.  See here and here.  With no experience to go on, I simply plugged away at any clues I might have had a shot at.  Some proper names slowed me down, and ultimately, I had to cheat for one cel with red-letters.  Dang.  Big chunky corners, two 12-letter spanners and two 10-letter climbers;

26a. Formulation in Newton's "Principia" : LAW OF GRAVITY - I knew what we were looking for, but I waited to see where the word "GRAVITY" would fall

See "The Law" @ 2:05

35a. Height is an exception to it : "I" BEFORE "E" RULE - Height, weight, eight - yeah, it's wEIrd.  More of a guideline, really

15d. "Paradise Lost" style : BLANK VERSE - I did not know anything about this style; it has no rhyme, but a steady meter

21d. One whose business is growing : DIRT FARMER - I filled in the "FARMER" part, and waited.  Basically a poor farmer.  We have lots of sod farms here on L.I., and after harvest, it looks like they're in the dirt farming business

dOwNWARD gravity~!

ACROSS:

1. Studio department : CASTING - I contemplated "COSTUME", and that would have been 100% 42% correct

8. Fills with mortar, as tile : GROUTS - don't tell me - I just finished my bathroom, which I built from the plumbing up; I happen to like tiling, as opposed to just installing a plastic surround.  Here's a pic; I noticed that "Picasa" is no longer - it's all about Pinterest now

14. Invite : ASK OVER - and they consistently, politely decline....

15. Traditional slow cooker : BEAN POT

16. 1963 Best Actor : POITIER

17. '70s-'80s sitcom roommate : LAVERNE - ah, yes, the other one was Shirley - and Lenny was their friend, played by Michael McKean, who played David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap fame

18. "By all means!" : "INDEED~!"

19. Central California county : MARIPOSA - the second half was perps, the first half a WAG about a place that I seemed to have heard of before

20. Contract details : TERMS - oops, not ITEMS

21. Slips on : DONS

22. Put down : LAID

23. Latin I word : AMO

24. Pen output : OINK - I did not know which "pen" this was; the writer's ( BOOK, e.g. ) or the farm one; it was the latter

25. __ warning : EARLY - I had -A-L- and thought it was "FALSE" - but FASLE looked wrong....

30. Jokingly : IN SPORT - ooops, not 'in sHort'

31. "Coming Out of the Dark" singer : ESTEFAN - Gloria, half perps and WAGs

37. Stylish beach resorts : LIDOS

40. Sanctuary part : APSE - ah, but which the part of the church~? APSE or NAVE~?

41. Eponymous 2001 album : J.Lo

42. MBA subject : ECON - good WAG on my part

43. Part of a name on the 1989 album "Dr. Feelgood" : CRÜE - Nailed it - I can't help it - these guys defined the whole 80's big hair thing, and the music was good, too.  In fact, the first puzzle Mark Diehl had for the LA Times featured "TEN SECONDS" as an answer - and here's Mötley Crüe's version

44. Congo jungle denizen : CHIMP

46. Sprint and others : TELECOMS - I went with TELCOMS, and found it too short

48. Ice cream baron William : DREYER

49. NSA home : Ft. MEADE

50. "You had your chance!" : "TOO LATE~!"

51. Certain permit holder : LEARNER - driving permits

52. Pitching pro? : AD WOMAN - ooh, nice gender misdirection. 

this is one gorgeous ad woman

53. Mahmoud's PLO predecessor : YASSER

54. Lose freshness : GO STALE

DOWN:

1. First person indicator : CAPITAL I

2. Without dissent : AS ONE MAN

3. Rundown areas : SKID ROWS - Ironically, I thought this was SKI related, but it certainly helped to correctly guess the first 3 letters

4. Revered emblem : TOTEM - popular lately

5. Brown is one of them : IVIES - I knew where this was going, but was reluctant to fill in "IVIES"

6. Triage basis : NEED

7. Lab warning : Grr - the LABrador breed

8. First, second and third : GEARS - and many more, depending on the car.  My crappy work van has a hard time getting out of second gear; I have to get to 42mph.  Reminds me of this song

9. Norah's dad : RAVI - it took a moment to remember Norah Jones' dad is Ravi Shankar;  her Wiki

10. Like solitaire : ONE-PLAYER

11. Hue and cry : UPROAR

12. Uvula neighbor : TONSIL

13. Regular : STEADY

19. Bart Simpson's grandma : MONA - I dredged this one up from the cerebral depths

24. No gentle giant : OGRE

25. Novel ending : ETTE - novelette; I submitted a short story to Dan's Papers Literary Contest, but I didn't win - read more here,  Sep 9th issue, pg 32

27. First book of the Great Plains trilogy : OPIONEERS - no clue, and the "P" was "H" for my first guess

28. Key chain attachments : FOBS

29. "Say no more" : "I SEE."

32. Roller coaster named for a mountain : FUJIYAMA - mostly perps and a WAG - not a big roller-coaster fan

33. Like some storage shelves : ALL METAL - and F%*&ing heavy when they ship thru UPS

34. Wetsuit material : NEOPRENE - nailed it - big help in the SE

36. Sonata, e.g. : OPUS - toyed with "AUTO", since it's a Hyundai

37. Heave : LET FLY

38. Summer beverage : ICE TEA - I've come to accept the missing "D"; look away, Tin~!

39. Middle Eastern stuffed vegetable dishes : DOLMAS - ah, yes, I've had them, and they're good - I get the vine leaf stuffed with rice

43. Software whiz : CODER

44. They're often involved in murders : CROWS

45. Serf of Sparta : HELOT

47. Mr. Peanut trademark : CANE

48. Doofus : DODO

50. Touch and go? : TAG - the game - "you're IT~!"

Splynter

Saturday, Sep 10th, 2016, Debbie Ellerin

Theme: #2~!

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  This is Debbie's second Saturday this year (4/16/16), and a similar solving experience for the second time, too.  A lot of blank space on the first pass, got just enough from WAGs to get a toe-hold in some sections, and even the proper names filled in after the fact.  A non intimidating grid, with just a couple of 10's and paired 9's;

17a. Enjoy all the seasons : BINGE WATCH - I binge watched all the episodes of "The X-Files" on DVD two years ago

48a. Most, with "the" : LION'S SHARE - this I nailed, and was a huge help in the SW

sONgWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Object of Canaanite worship : BA'AL - the Wiki

5. Green Goblin portrayer in "Spider-Man" : DAFOE - I remembered this character and the actor

10. Bolted down : ATE

13. Voice from a loft : ALTO - lots of clues with singing/voices today; I was curious about voice classification and found this - I was told in music class back in high school that I was "baritone" - but I can do some high stuff during karaoke

14. Filing aid : EMERY

15. Corporate bigwig : SUIT - went with EXEC, which messed me up in the NE

16. Put in stitches : SEWN - ah, nothing to do with humor

19. "This American Life" host : IRA GLASS - mostly perps and WAGs

21. Hapless toon : COYOTE - my first thought, but I hesitated

22. Support providers : CORSETS - as a carpenter, GIRDERS was my first thought; this is a much better image

23. What some pros often do : MAKE PAR - amateur mini-golfers can hit the mark, too

24. Groundbreaking invention : HOE -  I thought a "?" would have been appropriate for misdirection - but then again, it really is a ground-breaking invention....

25. Unbranded? : GENERIC - similar to NO FRILLs, as in 1d.

26. Relay link : BATON

29. Friend of Mozart : HAYDN - man, I thought this was right, but hesitated again

30. Army officers: Abbr. : LTs

32. "As if!" : "I BET~!"

33. Longtime CBS head : PALEY - all perps, WAGed the "L"

34. Catchy melody : HOOK - yeah, I tried TUNE but it didn't seem correct

35. Lon of Cambodia : NOL

36. Disguise : COVER

37. Swab : MATEY - not Q-TIP, which didn't fit

38. Doesn't give up on : RETRIES

40. Former SSR : RUSsia

41. Draws out : SIPHONS

 

42. Great expectation : HIGH BAR

46. Thunderstruck : AGHAST

47. Right part of a map? : RED STATE - ah.

50. Vocal support : AYES

51. Canadian singer Murray : ANNE - I remembered her

52. School aide : TUTOR

53. Butter from the farm : GOAT - I was well aware this was going to be "BUTT-er", but BULL did not seem right

54. Dead end? : DEE - clever; deaD

55. Eclipses, to some : OMENS - Columbus used one to his advantage

56. Tots : SUMS - ah, not LADS, which I refrained from filling in; British slang "Tot up" for adding together

DOWN:

1. No-frills : BASIC

2. Olds compact : ALERO

3. Doing battle : AT WAR

4. One not likely to succeed : LONG SHOT

5. Forensic competition : DEBATE - I had the "D", and thought it might be "DNA---" - bzzzt

6. Off the mark : AMISS

7. Boston park, with "The" : FENS - makes sense with Fenway Park in Boston, too

8. Address ending : ORG. - website address

9. It'll turn your head : EYE CANDY - you know what turns my head....

so many to choose from.....

10. Unthinking state : AUTOPILOT - my first thought, with the "A" in place, but EXEC did not agree....

11. Game that's hard to lose : TIC-TAC-TOE - hard to win, too, technically - and saves the day in "War Games" - try typing in "shall we play a game" on Google....

12. It's a real knockout : ETHER - har-har

15. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" singer Leo : SAYER - I didn't know the name of the singer, but I recall the song with the unmistakeable falsetto style

I could do this at karaoke....

18. Gotten up : WOKEN - RISEN~? AWAKE~? argh~!!

20. Spanish province or its capital : LEON

23. Mobster Lansky : MEYER - no clue, all perps

25. Serious blows : GALES - ah, not fists of fury, fits of Fujita; I noticed with the last tropical storm the "F" classification was now "EF" - it's been 'enhanced'

26. Place for a bargain : BIN - bargain bin

27. Early inhabitant : ABORIGINE

28. Game played in whispers : TELEPHONE - a great game where the initial storyteller hears his message retold, often to a humorous end - I found this link

29. Well-to-do types : HAVES - I pondered "ELITE" and "A-LIST"

31. The limit, perhaps : SKY - confirmed my "TUNE" was wrong

33. Indicates : POINTS TO

34. They can also represent pounds : HASH TAGS - the other other use of "#"

36. Vampire repellent : CROSS - pondered STAKE

37. Faces, in slang : MUGS

39. Macbeth, vis-à-vis Glamis : THANE

40. Commuters : RIDERS

41. Mixed dish : SALAD

42. Great blue wader : HERON

 

a wader wailer

43. "Blue __": 1963 and 1977 hit : BAYOU

44. Starters : A-TEAM

45. Takes ten : RESTS

47. Review : RATE

49. "Rattle and __": U2 album : HUM

Splynter

Saturday, Sep 3rd, 2016, Mary Lou Guizzo & Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 26

 Second time this duo has connected on a Saturday (1/9/16), and reviewing the last puzzle, I had my doubts on today's success.  Yet once again there were just enough "I got it" answers to allow me to finish, in good time, and a "ta-DA~!" that came without searching for a bad cell.  Triple 11's in the Across and triple 10's in the Down and a classic pinwheel design with some other chunky fill;

15. "Tristes apprets" from "Castor et Pollux," e.g. : SOPRANO ARIA - I sensed it was going to be "OPERA---" or "---VOCAL" but let it "go to the Downs" before trying something; see the crossing 6d.

13. It has its kinks : GARDEN HOSE - Oh, I so wanted PANTYHOSE to make the puzzle; Lemonade has been spot-on two weeks running now

55. Al Jazeera and Yomiuri Shimbun : NEWS OUTLETS - I know the name Al Jazeera, so I threw in "NEWS---" and waited

25. Betty Crocker brand of instant mashed : POTATO BUDS

HAWKWARD~?

ACROSS:

1. Subject of the 1998 Supreme Court case New Jersey v. New York : ELLIS ISLAND

12. Information __ : AGE

16. Billy's reply? : MAA - dah~!  Sheep go BAA, goats go "MAA"~? - tho we could be talking about a human kid named Billy

17. Group sharing a name with a cranberry cocktail : PINK MARTINI - never heard of the group or the drink

18. Docs' work areas : ERS - "to "E" or not to "E"; that is the question; I went with "O"RS

19. Slip or clip follower : ONS - nice misdirection; needing the plural for a singular clue - slip-ons, clip-ons

20. Rich rocks : ORES - Diamond didn't fit

21. Hot : TRENDY - unsure if this was the "IRATE" or "HIP" definition

23. Satyr's kin : FAUN - one of those "I got it" clues

24. Rear : KEISTER - spelled it wrong; I before E, right~?  wEird....

25. Obvious : PATENT

28. Holiday decor item : PINE CONE - check this out

About $1mil - the site

29. Final announcements : OBITS - eh, could have used an abbr here

30. Comes across : FINDS - dah~! Not MEETS

31. "__ Crossroads": Bone Thugs-n-Harmony song : THA - shoulda known it was not "AT A"

32. Hue : TONE

33. Game with a varying number of cards : BINGO - ah, those cards

34. Like many horses : SHOD

35. __ Nova : ARS - the Wiki

36. Turkestan tents : YURTS - another "I got it"

37. Full moon, e.g. : PHASE - there was a solar eclipse on Thursday, but couldn't see it from my house; the lunar semi-eclipse in two weeks can't be seen from here, either

38. Sports nail-biters : TIE GAMES - OVERTIMES didn't fit

40. Felix __, CIA friend of Bond : LEITER - "I got it" clue - if you get the chance, try this book, a history of the making of the Bond films - great read

41. Siouan tribe : OGLALAS - mostly perps

42. Portrayer of Buddy's father in "Elf" : CAAN - I just can't sit through this seasonal movie; I'm more of "A Christmas Story" buff

43. Acrimonious : BITTER - My high school Latin teacher had this T-shirt;

MELIOR

NON

ACRIOR

44. Prince in "Frozen" : HANS - just saw it on TV; I find most of the CGI animation movies do an excellent job of re-telling classic stories; I'm tired of the endless "superhero" films that have been popular over the last decade

45. Wise chip flavor : BBQ

48. Low número : UNO

49. Actress in "Spy" (2015) : MIRANDA HART - perps and a WAG

52. Wet blanket : DEW - ah.  Not the metaphoric "DUD"

53. "Grown Ups" star : ADAM SANDLER

54. Loan application fig. : SSN

DOWN:

1. 1960s-'70s Orr teammate, to fans : ESPO - Phil Esposito; hockey players on the Boston Bruins - we are almost to the new season~!

2. Prime cut : LOIN

3. OR teammates : LPNs

4. Needle : IRK - Dah~!  Not RIB

5. Apia natives : SAMOANS

6. Suffering from ennui : IN A RUT - reminds me of this song - talk about soprano

Stuck In A Rut

7. "Either/Or" author Kierkegaard : SØREN - another "I know it" clue, as I like to 'dabble' in personality types

8. Muscles strengthened by muscle-ups : LATS - better fit than PECS, which was my other WAG for this clue

9. Shipping nickname : ARI

10. Longtime Seattle Mariners' majority owner : NINTENDO - I did not know this

11. Jersey homes : DAIRIES - clever; cows - not dose guys across the bridge

Local (NY) humor

12. "Couldn't agree with you more!" : "AMEN TO THAT~!"

14. Basic kids' book : EASY READER

22. Key to backing up? : ESCape - that kind of 'key'

23. Regale : FÊTE

24. Some royals : KINGS

26. Indigenous Tasmanians : ABORIGINES

27. Show biz nickname : TINSELTOWN - ah.  A general name; thought it was going to be a proper name

28. Gelato units : PINTS

30. Kindles : FIRES - TABLETS didn't fit

33. Hitchhike : BUM A RIDE - I know two guys who bummed a ride from the Vogons

 Arthur and Ford from HHGG

34. __ splints : SHIN

36. Every Skull and Bones member, until 1991 : YALE MAN

37. Serf : PEASANT

39. Hood's weapon : GAT - I had the "T", so I knew it was that hood, not Robin Hood, and "BOW"

40. Convertible carriage : LANDAU

42. "I'll show you!" : "CAN SO~!"

44. Acting coach's banes : HAMS

45. Bundle in a field : BALE

46. Maverick on TV : BRET - another "I knew it"

47. Game divs. : QTRs

50. Unembellished : RAW

51. Med. number that's better when it's higher : HDL

Splynter