Wednesday, Jan 22nd, 2025 ~ Parker Higgins

CURSES~!

We had National Tin Foil Hat Day last month

Parker Higgins returns with a "conspiracy" construction - he has two previous LA Times puzzles, and I don't recall this one, but the theme was quite unique.   Today we have three incidents of being foiled more than once - I am kinda '"meh" on this one, sorry - having found a clever theme from just two years ago, have we started to run out of ideas~?  No circles - we had those yesterday - 25 TLWs, and a dozen names, pretty much what I would expect for a Wednesday grid.  The themers;

17. "Another layer of wrapping before I'm cooked!?": BAKED POTATO - Aluminum Foil

33. "Another touch point for my opponent!?": OLYMPIC FENCER - Sword Foil

39. "Another literary figure whose qualities contrast my own!?": MAIN CHARACTER - Literary Foil

59. "Another plan thwarted!," or another way to phrase three clues in this puzzle?: FOILED AGAIN

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Saweetie songs: RAPS - A name (#1) to start us off - thankfully, I do the DOWNS first - her Wiki

5. Japanese mat: TATAMI

11. Turf: SOD

14. Burn application: ALOE - I am breaking with tradition, Hahtoolah

15. Preplanned, as some viral videos: STAGED

16. Duo: TWO

19. Gun, as an engine: REV

20. "Fame" singer Cara: IRENE - name #2 , but a Crossword staple

21. Designer Jacobs: MARC - name #3 - the website - and you can have a sack bag for just $550

22. Give over: CEDE

23. Private convos: DMs - Direct Messages - for users on a social media platform, i.e., Facebook, etc. Not my thing

24. Trans- opposite: CIS

26. Queens stadium eponym: ASHE - Shea~? Citi~? Ah - the tennis place - name #4

28. Corn core: COB

29. Throbbed: PULSATED

This is what my knees feel like after squats

35. "Mamma Mia" group: ABBA - Crossword staple, name #5

37. Fish used as currency in medieval England: EEL - 'tis true; at least according to this website

38. Soap unit: CAKE

44. Kids playing in the backyard?: PET GOATS - goat juveniles are kids; seems like a "forced" fill to me; but then again, I had "GOAT YOGA" not too long ago, and that is a "thing"

45. Blue: SAD

46. Remain unsettled: PEND - AND - 12D. Outstanding: OWED

47. Up to, briefly: 'TIL 

48. "Stay With Me" singer Smith: SAM - name #6

51. Hefty alternative: GLAD - Garbage bag wars; name(ish)

53. Bangers partner: MASH - Brit-speak for sausage and potatoes

Here's a recipe link - with gravy~!

56. Computer expert, briefly: IT PRO - Information Technology 'briefly' is "I.T."

58. Untrustworthy paper: RAG - hey, now, MiB read them on a regular basis

Let's check the hot sheets

61. Wide st.: AVE

62. Flowery, as prose: ORNATE

63. Frozen drink with a domed lid: ICEE

64. Some degs.: BAs - Dah~!  My overlooked error was an "M", not a "B" degree

65. Aquarium fighters: BETTAS

66. Muppet material: FELT - and ping-pong balls; more at this museum


DOWN:

1. Overzealous: RABID - Not EAGER

2. First smartphone alert of the day, for many: ALARM

3. Jabs: POKES

4. "I feel __": SEEN - this must be 21st century-speak, as I have said this never

5. Baking amt.: TSP - I wanted to make me some brownies with a peanut butter filling and fudge topping last weekend - went to use the electric beater I got from clearing out the parent's house, and discovered the beaters were NOT in the box - they were kept separately in a kitchen drawer - D'oh~!

6. Small matters?: ATOMS - cute

7. "Toodles!": "TA-TA~!" - I tried "CIAO" first

8. Food thickener: AGAR - LFDC

9. "Lady Bird" Oscar nominee Laurie: METCALF - name #7

10. Words one utters in an altar-ed state?: "I DO." - har-har

11. Transport largely replaced by light rail: STREETCAR

13. Peace sign: DOVE

18. Diversionary tactic: DECOY

22. Risked: CHANCED

25. ThinkPad maker before Lenovo: IBM

Vintage~!

27. NNW opposite: SSE

28. Sounded like heavy metal?: CLANGED - sounded like Heavy Metal~? - let me count the ways - OK, this one has some clever harmonics that sound like bending metal . . .

Blue Öyster Cult - Heavy Metal; The Black & Silver

29. Fishing spots: PIERS - I was recently contacted by two friends from high school for the first time in decades - one of them is the weatherman on TV in Richmond VA, and he has a podcast on fishing - but he prefers upstate NY to the pier

30. Sch. based in Westwood: UCLA - I'm East Coast

31. "A mouse!": "EEK~!"

32. Beats by __: DRE

33. Newspaper section with notable passages?: OBIT PAGES - forced

34. Bog makeup: PEAT

35. Source of feedback for a guitarist?: AMP - Clever clue, but not deceptive - one could argue there's no "abbr" in there, so it should be "amplifier"

36. Hon: BAE - Cringe.  But I did find . . . .

"Bae" clothing line from Shein; I could get to like this . . .

40. Mark against: CON - meh.

41. Went for seconds: HAD MORE - forced - but has been in another puzzle

42. Forensic drama with regional spinoffs: CSI

43. Actress Shire: TALIA - name #8

47. Eta follower: THETA - Greek letters 

48. Elbow room: SPACE

49. Mermaid played by Halle Bailey: ARIEL - name #9

50. "Water Lilies" painter: MONET - two weeks ( for me ) having to guess the "A" or "O"; name #10

51. Snag: GRAB - Ah.  The verb, not the noun

52. Floor material, in a children's game: LAVA - "don't touch the floor~!"; 'composition' or 'make up' would have been a better word than 'material', but I still got it - I would pretend to be Indiana Jones when we had this "exercise" in gym class

54. Casual contraction: AIN'T - I tried Y'ALL

55. Thin strip: SLAT - oops, not LATH

57. "Yay, the weekend!" letters: TGIF

Thank Grover It's Funny~?

59. Car remote: FOB

60. __ Plaines, Illinois: DES - LFDC

Splynter