Wednesday, May 1st, 2024, Andrew Walker

  SHOES, BUT SHOES WISELY

Indiana Jones and the Last Crew Suede~?

 A funny farce of footwear fashion; four phrases redefined as types of shoes defines today's theme ( I decided that since we started the week with "F-stop", I'd go with "F-start" ).  Some odd similarities with that Monday puzzle blogged by sumdaze, I noted.  I do believe this is Andrew Walker's first LA Times publication; congrats to you~!  A quick solve for me on this hump-day, with just a few names, all of which are pretty standard crossword fare.  Two eight-letter non-theme Down fills, but we had more than the usual three-letter words in today's grid, which caused a few "meh" moments for me, at least for a Wednesday-level puzzle; Yem Beady.  The theme clues/answers;

17. Shoes for emptying the kiddie pool?: DRAIN CLOGS - not the hair clump type, but these

27. Shoes that prevent slipping in the shower?: WATER MOCCASINS - not the Cottonmouth snake, but these

45. Shoes for attending a gala?: PARTY PLATFORMS - not the political stance, but these

They look precarious

59. Shoes that coordinate with a bright green ensemble?: LIME WEDGES - not the drinks garnish, but these

With lunchmeat~?

And Away We Go, White Rabbit~!

ACROSS:

1. Tea in masala chai, perhaps: ASSAM - the "M" was my last guess , uh, fill

6. Indeterminate but small amount: A FEW - Vague.  Get it~?  har-har~!

10. Partner: MATE - and - 6D. Partner: ALLY

14. Stockpile: CACHE - the noun, not the verb; I was thinking AMASS

15. Mischief-making Norse god: LOKI

16. "Stat!" letters: ASAP - As Soon As Possible - also the name of the band created by former - and current - Iron Maiden guitarist, Adrian Smith ( and Project )

19. Upscale: NICE - meh.

20. Avis rental: CAR

21. " ... hallowed be __ name": THY - Speaking of Iron Maiden . . .

Hallowed By THY Name - live 1984 - 85

22. Matter of will?: ESTATE - I am still waiting on one last bank account, and then my parent's estate will finally be settled

24. __ urchin: SEA

25. Ring-tailed mammal: COATI

33. Place to kick back: SOFA - we had this on Monday, too

34. Cheri who played Judge Judy on "SNL": OTERI - name, but one we're used to ( I think )

35. __ de los Muertos: DIA - Spanish lesson #1, the "Day of the Dead"

36. Catches with a lure: ENTRAPS

39. Main ingredient of 54-Across: LENTILS - didn't know 54A., so I wouldn't know what's in it

41. Barely scrape (out): EKE - crossword staple

42. Minor squabble: SET-TO

44. Plot devices?: HOES - farming plot, that is

49. Aquamarine, for one: BERYL - stumped; I did not know March's birthstone was this mineral - and if we had February/amethyst yesterday, we could have had a three-month run . . . the Wiki

50. Lucy of "Elementary": LIU - name, but pretty common in crosswords; anyone remember her from the movie "Payback"~?

51. "Deadwood" territory: DAKOTA - I start with the Down clues, so half of this was already filled via perps; I have not seen the show/series

54. South Asian stew: DAL - meh.  I'll have to remember this for future puzzles

55. "The Greatest" memoirist: ALI - name, but a standard; Cassius Clay, a.k.a. Muhammad Ali

58. Not protected by defenders: OPEN - made me think of the board game Risk

NOTE: I do believe the rules state that one cannot leave a territory "OPEN",

as seen here in "Siam"

63. Audition goal: ROLE

64. "Family Guy" mom: LOIS - another LOIS appeared on Monday

Crude though it may be, I do like Family Guy

65. Like farm country: RURAL

66. Google Play downloads: APPS

67. "Nasty!": "YUCK~!"

68. Lamp topper: SHADE


DOWN:

1. Current letters: AC/DC - has this ever been clued as "Australian rock band~?"

2. Actress Gilbert: SARA - totally did not remember her, known for her 63A. ROLE in Roseanne; filled via perps on the second pass

3. Rumble remnant: SCAR - street-gang fight, "rumble", like this one from Aerosmith

Lightning Strikes
Neither Joe Perry nor Brad Whitford were the guitarists on this

4. Bigeye or yellowfin tuna: AHI - my first guess, but I waited

5. Plato, to Socrates: MENTEE - STUDENT didn't fit, and spellcheck doesn't care for this, either

7. Egg __ yung: FOO - We had FOO in the clue on Monday - I know this has been clued as "rock band _ Fighters", but I liked it better when Dave Grohl was in Nirvana

8. Heart chart, briefly: EKG

9. Know-it-all: WISEACRE

10. Seth Rogen's "Kung Fu Panda" voice role: MANTIS - never saw the movie

11. Much of an atlas: ASIA - Dah~!  It got me - I had MAPS to start

12. Social sensitivity: TACT

13. Fencing tool: ÉPÉE

18. Leave on the grill too long, maybe: CHAR - BURN ( Monday ) was not well-done enough....

23. Spot on a shirt, say: STAIN

24. The sun, for one: STAR - a G-type yellow dwarf, if I'm not mistaken

25. Foldout bed: COT

26. Wildcat native to the Americas: OCELOT - Cougar~?  I didn't know, had to wait

27. Fictional chocolatier: WONKA - Willy~!

28. Part of a makeover photo spread: AFTER - all of my home projects are stuck in the "BEFORE" phase; I really need to get motivated to finish them - I hope to buy the tractor pictured below at the end of the week - it will help tree-mendously ( eye-roll ) with clearing the chunks of Ash still sitting in my back yard

It costs more than my car....

29. By and large: MOSTLY - I was just talking about "BUY & Large" at work, from Wall-E

Post-COVID future reality~?  I need to get to the gym more often

30. Cool beans or warm fuzzies: IDIOM - IDIOM, ADAGE, AXIOM~?  I can never tell which

31. TV's younger Dr. Crane: NILES - his brother was Frasier, the character/spin-off from Cheers

32. Lip: SASS

33. Leak slowly: SEEP

37. Until now: AS YET

38. Spirited gathering?: PEP RALLY - I was thinking KEG PARTY, or SÉANCE(ish)

40. Drive-__ car wash: THRU

43. "¿Qué __?": Spanish greeting: TAL - meh.  I keep saying I am going to learn Spanish (#2)

46. Steakhouse options: T-BONES

47. Blemish: FLAW

48. Edmonton NHL team: OILERS - they are up 2-1 over the LA Kings in the Stanley Cup playoffs

51. "The Lost City of Gold" explorer: DORA - ah.  I know OF the Explorer the cartoon, but did not know about the city, or, for that matter, that there was a live-action movie . . .

52. Per item: A POP - not EACH.  Meh.

53. Iodine-rich seaweed: KELP - I pondered NORI, waited on perps

54. Home office need: DESK - it does help, that I can tell you

55. Taj Mahal site: AGRA

56. Head up: LEAD

57. Many a Caribbean country: ISLE

60. "Payment forthcoming" note: I.O.U.

61. ASMRtist's need: MICrophone - ASMR, Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and I do get the ticklish sensation - you can try it here

62. "Like I didn't know!": "DUH~!" - Like, we're at the last clue, dude

Splynter