Wednesday, Nov 27th, 2024 ~ Christina Iverson

  THE MIND...

I am a pluviophile

Another 16 x 15 grid for a Wednesday puzzle - but - no circles, then again eight or ten names, depending on how you count, 22 each of TLWs and four-letter words, eight "quoted" clues, and a whopping ELEVEN abbreviations;

18. *Is treated unfairly: GETS THE SHAFT

29. *Biodiverse ecological layer: RAINFOREST CANOPY

49. *Lost control of one's emotions: FLEW OFF THE HANDLE

64. Expression that covers a broad category, or what is found at the end of the answer to each starred clue?: UMBRELLA TERM - Today's $2 word for this phrase is "hypernymy"

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Coastal country with approximately a quarter of Africa's gorillas: GABON - I recall "Survivor" had a season there

6. "Huh, really?": "THAT SO~?"

12. Panda car driver: COP - I did not know this is a British term, despite having parents born & raised in England, but it makes sense; black & white . . . . the Wiki

15. The "A" of the ABC islands: ARUBA - the others being Bonaire and Curaçao

16. Become less intense: EASE UP

17. Singer DiFranco: ANI - name #1 

20. Slump: SAG

21. Skedaddles: SCOOTS

22. Fish out of water: MISFITS - semi-meh.  FishES would have helped

24. Data unit: BYTE

26. "A little assistance here!": "HELP~!"

28. Monogram pt.: INITials - abbr#1

34. Irene who matched wits with Holmes: ADLER - #2; I did not know this character

35. Eateries that might have 1950s decor: DINERS

Hello~? McFly~?

36. Actress Gadot: GAL - #3; I am getting used to seeing her in crosswords now

37. Apple platform: iOS

40. Foot part: TOE

41. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA - #4, crossword staple

44. "You're making me blush!": "STOP IT~!"

47. Sacred song: PSALM

54. Actress Chaplin: OONA - #5 - her IMDb

55. Phone message: TEXT

56. Genesis garden: EDEN

57. Suitcases: LUGGAGE

61. Gutter ball preventer: BUMPER

I think she's cheating . . . .

63. Genetic material: DNA - abbr#2

68. Common breakfast ingredient: EGG

69. Hearty: ROBUST

70. Loads (of): SCADS

71. Poor grade: DEE

72. Real estate and the like: ASSETS

and "the like"  :7))

73. "Aw, shucks": "OH MAN..."


DOWN:

1. "Eww!": GAG

2. "__ you nuts?": ARE

3. "And yet ... ": BUT STILL...

4. More than a little indecent: OBSCENE - "the words he knows are all obscene, but . . . "

We lost Phil Lesh last month - Oct 25th

5. Brussels-based gp.: NATO - Wed-level crossword clue - abbr#3

6. Wobble: TEETER - good WAG on my part

7. Pestered: HASSLED - but ANNOYED was not

8. Volcanic residue: ASH

9. United group: TEAM

10. Certain Muslim: SUFI

11. Makes a selection: OPTS - meh. chooses is  better

12. Vegas venue: CASINO - I have ZERO desire to go to Las Vegas, other than to see the architecture

13. How some bet: ON A TIP - Dah~! Not ONLINE

14. Spot that isn't spotless: PIG STY

19. Hostess brand: HoHo - meh.  I don't like this clue; isn't it a "product", not a brand~?

23. Snorkeler's footwear: FINS - how goes the swimming, C.C.~?

24. Boast: BRAG

25. When repeated, "Blah, blah, blah" kin: YADA - the "Elaine-ism" from Seinfeld

27. Trident-shaped letter: PSI

30. __ pie: dish with corn chips: FRITO - does make sense; we called it "Dip" in Cincinnati

31. Explosive letters: TNT - two blogs in a row for me; abbr#5

32. Corp. suit: CEO - ah; 'suit' meaning the 'person' in the position; the term for this is "metonymy" - and abbr#6

33. Colombian street snack: AREPA

A recipe here - a taco made with a thick corn flatbread

38. "Sounds painful!": "OOF~!"

39. UV-filtering measurement: SPF - Sun Protection Factor - for UV "B" rays, and abbr#7

41. Nightmare: BAD DREAM

42. Fanning of "Super 8": ELLE - #5, More from her IMDb page

43. Prayer ending: AMEN

44. Branded totes and pens, e.g.: SWAG - I am quietly wondering if I will ever get invited to the Pipe Organ convention, and see what swag they are offering. . . . 

45. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT - duh-duh-duh dun....snick - snick - #6

46. Tina Turner's signature song: THE BEST - I can think of others that are "BETTER"

48. Star-bellied Dr. Seuss creature: SNEETCH - I've never heard of these guys, #7

49. Practiced origami: FOLDED - practiced POKER, too

50. Upscale waiting area in an airport: LOUNGE - total WAG

51. Take part (in): ENGAGE

And a Picard Shout-Out~!

52. Rejoices: EXULTS

53. Web design code: HTML - abbr#8

58. Supernatural glow: AURA

59. Engineered foods, for short: GMOs - Genetically Modified Organisms, abbr#9

60. Subsides: EBBS

62. El __, Texas: PASO

65. Regret: RUE

66. Dietary amt.: RDA - abbr#10

67. Early AOL rival: MSN -  MicroSoft Network - abbr#11

Splynter

Savor Stuffing the Stuffing tomorrow~!

Wednesday, Nov 13th, 2024 ~ Jack Maurer

 DIAMETRIC OPPOSITES

 A fresh and enjoyable debut puzzle from Jack Maurer for the LA Times, with four planets ( worlds ) "separated" across the theme answers of  11-, 13- and a 15-letter spanners.  Not quite in planetary order, but a very well constructed crossword.  Yes, we have circles, but thankfully a mere three(ish) names by my count and just 21 TLWs.  4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5 rating.  The theme answers, with some musical interpretation:

16. Focus of some nongovernmental organizations: HUMAN RIGHTS - MARS - Interesting that the God of war be found in the phrase; I considered Human League, their song "Human", and Rage Against the Machine, but settled for this one....

Civil War - Guns N' Roses - lyric @ 1:35

22. The five ways romantic partners connect and communicate, per Gary Chapman: 

LOVE LANGUAGES - VENUS - Very cool that this planet/goddess be found in the phrase; I did an internet search for songs titled "Love Language", but I cannot listen to them - Period.  So I will go with the actual topic in the answer, the Love Languages. . . .

I like to receive Time and Touch; I am good at giving Service and Gifts

36. In succession: ONE AFTER ANOTHER - EARTH - there is only ONE home planet, and this song is close enough . . . .

One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx

46. Musician's calling card: SIGNATURE TUNE - SATURN - the God of time, wealth, and liberation - here is my signature "warm-up" karaoke tune; keep your hands off my wealth. . . .

Keep Your Hands to Yourself - The Georgia Satellites

57. Utterly different, and what can be found in four of this puzzle's answers: W O R L D S APART

Separate Ways ( Worlds Apart ) - Journey

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Roti flour: ATTA - AND - 66A. Org.: ASSN - AND - 55D. Memo abbr.: ATTN: see also 51A.

5. "Stop that!": "DON'T!"

9. Papa: DAD - AND - 25D. Nana: GRAN - it was "granny" when I was growing up

12. Hatchling: CHICK

14. Made noise while throwing tomatoes, maybe: BOOed

15. Alter __: EGO

18. Maker of tools for writing and lighting: BIC - AND - 58. Maker of tools for paring and peeling: OXO - a clever way to clue a couple of 3LWs

19. Opposite of WNW: ESE

20. Splitting target: ATOM

21. Build muscles, with "up": BULK

Yeah, I'll get into shape - I am tired of "round" being my shape

27. Pizzeria purchases: SLICES

29. "A simple yes __ will do": OR NO

30. Bit of help: HINT

31. Gold unit: KARAT

33. "__ asked?": WHO - meh.

40. Signs off on: OKs

41. Reluctant (to): LOATH

42. Bring on board: HIRE

43. Sea swallow: TERN  - Crossword staple

44. Thrills: ELATES

51. Plenty: ALOT - I don't care for "ALOT" and "ATON" in crosswords

52. Idyllic spot: EDEN

53. IRS form expert: CPA - had this one yesterday

56. Actress Wasikowska: MIA - Her IMDb

61. __ milk: OAT - this or "SOY" would have worked

62. Pig Latin rejection: IXNAY - Formed when the N of "Nix" moves to the end + "ay"

63. Transfer, as a houseplant: REPOT - Hey, guess what~?  My mother's last remaining house plant is doing well again after a repot almost a year ago.  Phew.

64. Feature of some lower-priced streaming services: ADS - I pay $4/mo. for Pandora - worth every penny to not be interrupted with overly loud advertising while trying to relax with music

65. Overly curious: NOSY


DOWN:

1. Heating pad target: ACHE - I have a beanbag version that I can microwave for those times when my lower back tightens up

2. In this manner: THUS - "À LA" was too short

3. Social media feeds: TIMELINES - I don't Facebook, Instagram, or SnapChat, etc., and I am banned on Pinterest

4. Legislation from the Obama Era, initially: ACA - Affordable Care Act

5. Religious doctrine: DOGMA

6. "Aah" counterpart: "OOH"

7. Court feature in basketball and tennis: NET - Thanks to HuskerG for the shout-out, as I used to "mind" the net in hockey; Tolland Town is building new pickleball courts at Heron Cove park just around the corner from my house

Love the color palette of this image

8. NFL scores: TDs

9. Clean up, as code: DEBUG

10. Limber: AGILE

11. Prepares to disembark, say: DOCKS

13. Scoundrel: KNAVE

14. Life sci.: BIOLogy

17. Numbered hwys.: RTEs - also in yesterday's puzzle

21. Pixar short featuring a dumpling that comes to life: BAO

The Wiki

23. Twice tetra-: OCTA - 2 x four  = eight in prefixes

24. "Come Away With Me" singer Jones: NORAH

26. Golden Rule preposition: UNTO - do UNTO others, as sumdaze did to us Monday

27. "Git!": "SHOO~!"

28. Clickable text: LINK - Like this

31. Reeves of "The Matrix": KEANU - I was never a huge fan of "The Matrix" films, but my brother and I have this ongoing thing of sending the other a text whenever a "John Wick" movie comes on TV

32. National Gallery collection: ART

33. Waves on rough seas: WHITECAPS - found in the stained glass window of the church where the latest pipe organ installation continues

It's getting close to finished

34. "Take this": "HERE."

35. Raw metals: ORES - is it the raw metal, or is this the rock it be found in~?

37. Pet shampoo target: FLEA - I tried ODOR to start . . . 

38. Legal wrong: TORT - learned by doing crosswords

39. Comparison word: THAN

Or this scene from Men in Black

43. Explosive initials: TNT - Not really "initials" IMO, just an abbr.; Everything you ever wanted to know about trinitrotoluene

44. French summers: ETES - Frawnche

45. __ eclipse: LUNAR - Dah~! Not SOLar - I had a 50/50 chance because I start by doing the DOWN clues first(ly) - aaaaand SOLAR was on Monday as well 

46. Girl Scout Cookie with coconut: SAMOA - Cookie #3 in the lineup below

I see they're called Caramel deLites, too 

47. Trojan War epic with a 2023 translation by Emily Wilson: ILIAD - Her Wiki; born in 1971, like me

48. Animals in some yoga classes: GOATS - they really do have goats in the class

And I thought it was just a pose

49. Swim team event: RELAY

50. Whirlpool: EDDY

54. __ and cons: PROS

57. Come out on top: WIN

59. Some ER workers: RNs  Emergency Room : Registered Nurse

The cure for what ails me

60. Pod unit: PEA - also also yesterday

Splynter

Wednesday, Nov 6th, 2024 ~ Sala Wanetick

  CRISS-CROSS-EYED

This appears to be Sala Wanetick's first solo effort for the LA Times - I found three other puzzles with a co-constructor, Emily Biegas.  The grid is size 15 x 16, and the theme is two-word formations known as reduplication.  Some really vague clues/answers today, 18 TLWs, just two less than the number of four letter words, and a handful names, some of them totally obscure.  The themers;

18. Drag one's feet: DILLY-DALLY

27. Idle banter: CHIT-CHAT

40. Indecisive: WISHY-WASHY

57. Mixed bag: MISH-MASH

69. Tchotchke: KNICK-KNACK - I learned the word "tchotchke" ( CHOCH-key) from the terminal manager at Roadway Express - he was referring to the truckload of Home Interiors goods we had to sort every Friday night

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Loose-fitting: BAGGY

6. Hiker's snack mix: GORP  - AND -  32A. Tidbit in 6-Across: NUT - Good Ol' Raisins & Peanuts

10. New England fish: SCROD

15. Tunisian couturier Azzedine __: ALAÏA - Wow.  On a Wednesday.  Beyond obscure.  His Wiki.  Name #1

16. Is short: OWES

17. __ Troopa: Mario Bros. turtlelike foe: KOOPA - I grew up with Atari 2600; 

this was the "next generation" of video gaming - Name #2

Sort of theme-ish, too

20. "All good here": "I'M SET."

21. Italian sub slice: SALAMI

22. Unleash (on): SIC

23. Management level: TIER

24. Seeking, in ads: ISO - the old newspaper classified dating section - In Search Of . . . .

25. Organic lip balm brand: EOS

30. Cabinet-level div.: DEPartmenT

34. Drops in on: VISITS

35. Petro-Canada rival: ESSO - Name #3, but a common fill

36. Play areas?: STAGES

39. __ rally: PEP

44. "Silent Sunday Nights" cable network: TCM - filled via perps

47. Hangs loose: CHILLS - how 'bout some Chillaxing music~?

Rapture At Sea

48. Presidential terms, maybe: ERAS - did we go back to another era~?

52. "Got it": "OH, I SEE" - a bit meh.

54. Secret agent: SPY

56. Knitting loop: PURL - I used to watch several women in AA meetings knit, to the point where my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked Carol to teach me. 

60. Slangy greeting: 'SUP

I made my own UPS logos, too

62. NYC bus org.: MTA - the Metropolitan Transit Authority - some history

63. Like those on a world cruise: ASEA - Rapture~?

64. Float filler: AIR - I was not sure what "float" this referred to - I am guessing this . . . .

My brother once participated in the parade, holding on to Garfield

66. Out of this world: COSMIC - AND - 11D. Funny pages: COMICS - same letters

68. Hybrid piece of flatware: SPORK

71. Neutral shade: TAUPE

eBay Vintage

72. Easter haul: EGGS

73. Aerie nester: EAGLE

74. Counterpart of "ser," in Spanish: ESTAR - I had no idea - I used Google translate; both mean "be"

75. "Save me a __!": SEAT

76. Track athlete's asset: SPEED


DOWN:

1. Less photogenic angle: BAD SIDE - my "top side" is bad; the field manager is obsessed with taking pictures of my bald spot

My "bad side" at Washington National Cathedral

2. Names on falsified papers: ALIASES

3. Runs fast: GALLOPS

4. __ monster: GILA

5. Self-congratulatory cheer: "YAY ME~!" - cute, but a bit meh.

6. Smallest state in India: GOA - learned by doing crosswords; name #4

7. Parliament birds: OWLS - a 'parliament' being a group of owls - very clever

8. Piece of history: RELIC - this was my nick-name when I worked at Winn-Dixie; I was 27yrs old, roughly 10 years older than the rest of the stock crew - I was actually enamored of the moniker

9. "Gotcha!": "PSYCH~!"

10. Like some newly rescued dogs: SKITTISH - understandable

12. Fruit from a flowering shrub: ROSE HIP

For more, here's the Wiki

13. Manage: OPERATE - manage/operate is more Saturday clue/answer, IMO

14. Who __ Nation: New Orleans Saints fans: DAT - I have heard of this; it appears from the Corner map that Hahtoolah and Big Easy might be fans of this NFL team . . . .

19. Pop diva Celine: DION - Name #5, but I knew this one

26. Food that may be served via conveyor belt: SUSHI - I did not understand this clue; when I did an internet search, I discovered that there are restaurants that have sushi dishes going around on a belt - fascinating~! 

Here's a site about eating at one

28. St. __ Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub: IVES - fresh cluing for an old fill

29. Seasoning amt.: TSP - teaspoon

31. Auto club service: TOW - I toyed with AAA first, but that would be the club, not the service

33. Texting farewell: TTYL - text-speak, Talk To You Later

37. Knob-handled stickers: AWLS - stickers has different meanings in different places.  I was asked by an associate of the Pipe Organ company to get a couple of "stickers"; growing up on Long Island, "stickers" are the self-adhesive images that went on your books and binders - here in New England, it would seem that they are the "chocks" for under lumber stacks.  Go figure.  In this clue/answer, the term "sticker" is more like "poke-r"

Get it~?

38. Sounds of awe: GASPS - Like your reaction to the above image

41. Spot with falling rocks?: ICEMAKER - very clever clue / answer

42. Former home of the Mets: SHEA - name #6, but I grew up a Mets fan on Long Island, so . . . . 

43. "Reckon so": "YEP."

44. Actor Holland: TOM - name #7; his IMDb

45. Mexican state bordering Guatemala: CHIAPAS - name #8, no clue; tough for a Wednesday

Bottom right-hand corner

46. Lose an opportunity: MISS OUT - YOLO, ICYMO

49. Riffle (through): RUMMAGE

50. Thing: ARTICLE - ITEM was way too short

51. Didn't bring one's A game, say: SLACKED

53. Ethnic group native to Nepal and Tibet: SHERPA

55. "Ew! Gross!": "YUCK~!"

58. Fermented brews often served warm: SAKES - Sock-EEs, to drink with your conveyor belt sushi

59. Shutter hardware: HINGE - Shutters SHUT; I have "fake" shutters that would not come close to protecting the windows on my house

The "shutters" on the picture window are absurd -

they will come off when I do stucco in the future

61. Prods: POKES - you mean, with a sticker~?  Or an awl~?

65. Latvia's capital: RIGA - learned by doing crosswords

67. Onesie feature: SNAP

I just don't know who - yet

68. Sault __ Marie: STE - crossword staple

70. Winter hrs. in Tulsa: CST - the clocks are "normal" again

Splynter