Title: A tribute to our own Melissa B. As we hold our noses and hear the sound change.
This is the LAT debut for Mr. Van Houten, who did have a puzzle published in the David Steinberg's Universal crossword October of last year. Here is the LINK to the FIEND write-up. Oddly we have had a spate of "B" puzzles but this one is not intended as a letter substitution but as a sounds-sort of-like puzzle.
17A. What dogs do to set a tempo?: BARK TIME (8). I like this visual, with a Boston Terrier leading the band.
24A. Bartender's lager-serving skill?: BUD SLINGING (11). Mudslinging was an old fashioned political strategy.
40A. Convenience for a fish traveling around the city?: BASS TRANSIT PASS (15).
52A. Annoyed answer to "How's your jobless roommate working out?"?: BUMS THE WORD (11).
And the reveal:
65A. Malady that accounts for four Across puzzle answers: HEAD COLD.
Across:
1. "__ Is Betta Than Evvah!": 1976 R&B album: ETTA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLPY3HuGkDg
5. "Disgusting!": UGH.
8. "The Real Housewives" series airer: BRAVO. Do you WATCH?
13. Sprat's choice: LEAN. Jack was an early Keto supporter.
14. Slice of pizza?: ZEE. Did you fall for this?
15. Consuming: EATING. True but not my first thought.
19. One making amends: ATONER. Another literally correct fill, but even during Yom Kippur I would not use this word.
20. __ dog: ALPHA. A 2007 movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPWjDJmbrak
21. Uproars: DINS.
23. Miler Sebastian: COE. Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 meters gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. Take that Frank Shorter.
28. "Just __": BECAUSE. Did the quotation marks help you solve? DO you prefer ELVIS; DIDO; or, JANE's ADDICTION?
32. Creepy glance: LEER.
33. Word said with a sigh: ALAS.
34. School subj.: SCIence.
36. Self-service bar offering: SALAD. That is a cop-out
44. Join: ENTER.
45. Excavation: DIG.
46. Green subj.: ECOL.
47. Barflies: SOTS.
50. Works free: LOOSENS.
56. Beer choice: IPA.
57. Prefix with byte: TERA.
58. Name on Re-Nutriv cosmetics: ESTEE.
63. Sport played on a variety of surfaces: TENNIS.
68. V-8, for example: ENGINE.
69. 1979 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee: ORR.
70. Brest bestie: AMIE.
71. Mild oaths: DANGS.
72. Feed bit: OAT.
73. Coffee __: BEAN.
Down:
1. Italy's Isola d'__: ELBA.
2. Blue-green shade: TEAL.
3. Cover during a delay: TARP.
4. Pharaoh's symbol: ANKH.
5. Gun designer __ Gal: UZI.
6. Beloved person: GEM.
7. Follows: HEEDS.
8. Babies leader?: BEANIE.
9. Total mess: RATS NEST.
10. Words on the first of a set, perhaps: ATO.
11. Leonardo's birthplace: VINCI.
12. Situation after a leadoff double: ONE ON.
16. One of the Bradys: GREG.
18. House of Dana fragrance: TABU.
22. Down (with): ILL.
25. Old map abbr.: USSR.
26. Octa- plus two: DECA.
27. Sour __: GRAPES.
28. 1995 Oscar-nominated animatronics film: BABE.
29. Pizazz: ELAN.
30. Credits heading: CAST.
31. Rate: ASSESS.
35. Like Brahms' Symphony No. 2: IND.
37. Tie (up): LACE.
38. "... __ is given": Isaiah: A
SON.
39. PC connections: DSLS.
41. Palomino pace: TROTTING.
42. Missile site: SILO.
43. Hunchbacked assistant: IGOR.
48. Dissertations: THESES.
49. Preacher's msg.: SER.
51. Binged (on): ODED.
52. Quick meal: BITE.
53. Capsize: UPEND.
54. Japanese comics: MANGA.
55. Large mackerel: WAHOO.
59. Union member's nemesis: SCAB.
60. Great work: TOME.
61. Academy award-winning director Kazan: ELIA.
62. Fall site: EDEN.
64. Diarist Anaïs: NIN.
66. History book chapter: ERA.
67. Fine print, say: ART. A little humor to finish the grid.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Friday, January 3, 2020
Kevin Conway
Title: What the 'L is going on here?
Lemonade here beginning 2020 welcoming another new constructor who begins with an "add-a-letter" theme which was easier for me than the reveal. I hope Kevin stops by to explain his take. There are numerous Kevin Conways in the world, so I will wait to hear from him. In my ongoing discussion of solving themed puzzles, I mentioned two weeks ago that first I look to clue/fill 17A. Today I saw -
17A. Lawyer's missing text?: LOST CLAUSE (10) [LOST CAUSE].
Then I look for the mirror fill, here it is:
54A. Another name for the five-second rule of dropped food?: MORSEL CODE [MORSE CODE] (10).
The pun is better in 54 A, and it certainly reveals the theme.
The rest -
22A. Offer from one unwilling to negotiate?: STICKLER PRICE [STICKER PRICE](13) and its mirror -
44A. Military directive?: BATTLING ORDER [BATTING ORDER](13) fit together nicely Then we have the bonus of a reveal:
35A. Calendar period that 17-, 22-, 44- and 54-Across are celebrating?: L-WEEK. My only thought as shown in the Title I chose was HellWeek, the time when pledges make their final pitch for membership in fraternities/sororities. But a reveal that needs a reveal would be new.
The puzzle itself is a classic Friday.
The distribution is fair.
The green highlighted squares show which daily puzzle average is closest to this puzzle for each statistical category.
Across:
1. Sports headwear retailer: LIDS.
5. Joplin's "Me and Bobby __": MCGEE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iX-EcRKXJw
"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no no..."
10. Charlie Brown's "Darn!": RATS.
14. Comic strip dog: ODIE.Garfield's pet.
Not related to 59A. Tributes in verse: ODES.
15. Variety: ARRAY.
16. Poetic black: EBON. 1350–1400; Middle English eban, ebyn ebony < Anglo-French eban(ne), Old French eban, ebaine < Medieval Latin ebanus, for Latin (h)ebenus < Greek ébenos, of Semitic orig.
19. Prepare to fly, maybe: TAXI. On the runway.
20. Type of battery: ALKALINE. ALL you want to know.
21. Coherent: LUCID.
25. Chicago Outfit gangster: CAPONE. Not called the mob nor the mafia in Chicago - just the "Outfit."
27. One for the road: SIGN. Cute clue.
28. Be flexible: ADAPT.
29. Saves up: SETS ASIDE. The way we were taught to save.
34. Hot __: MIC. Another name for a microphone that is turned on, in particular, one that amplifies or broadcasts a spoken remark that is intended to be private.
36. Wooden shoe sailor: NOD. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night. Sailed off in a wooden shoe,— Sailed on a river of crystal light. Into a sea of dew. By Eugene Field.
37. Create opportunities: OPEN DOORS.
40. First owner of the expansion Los Angeles Angels: AUTRY.
Gene Autry was a singing cowboy who became a movie star and rich enough to be awarded the expansion baseball franchise. This time of year his Christmas contribution - he was the first to record Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane), and Frosty the Snowman. Additionally, he co-wrote Here Comes Santa Claus.
42. Travel prefix with méxico and perú: AERO. National airlines.
43. Monks' homes: ABBEYS.
49. Spring time: APRIL. Notice that it is two words.
50. Support: UNDERPIN.
53. Makeshift blade: SHIV. Thank you to the gypsy population, this is from chive, chieve, chife, chiv (“knife”), from Romani chive, chiv, chivvomengro (“knife, dagger") from 1915.
56. Group of online pages: SITE. What a perfect description of so many sites.
57. Of past times: OLDEN.
58. Garage sale term: AS IS.
60. Greet with howls, as the moon: BAY AT. Or is it bays at?
61. Restaurant menu heading: REDS. Whites, or rosés?
Down:
1. Showgirl of song: LOLA. It is actually a very sad SONG.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeplUHZsHfo
2. Worshipped object: IDOL. Originally from Latin idolum ‘image, form.’ Hence the Hebrew law against worshipping graven images.
3. Modern capacity measure: DISK SPACE. Alternatively referred to as disk space, disk storage, or storage capacity, disk capacity is the maximum amount of data a disc, disk, or drive is capable of holding. Disk capacity is displayed in MB (megabytes), GB (gigabytes), or TB (terabytes). All types of media capable of storing information have a disk capacity, including a CD, DVD, floppy disk, hard drive, memory stick/card, and USB thumb drive.
4. Put on, as a high shelf: SET ATOP.
5. Bad intentions: MALICE.
6. Street organ feature: CRANK. Monkey not included.
7. "Oliver Twist" food: GRUEL.
8. Warning service co-coordinated by FEMA: EAS. The Emergency Alert System is used by alerting authorities to send warnings via broadcast, cable, satellite and wireline communications pathways.
9. Part of a needle: EYE.
10. Investment gains: RETURNS.
11. Old calculators: ABACI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E85BSWIkSbg
12. Like guilt-trippers, say: TOXIC. There are so many KINDS.
13. Nasty: SNIDE. My favorite.
18. He played Dirty Harry: CLINT. Unlike John Wayne or other famous western stars, his real name is CLINT EASTWOOD, Jr.
21. Women's links gp.: LPGA. Ladies Professional Golf Association.
23. __ Park, Colorado: ESTES. A very small town at the base of Rocky Mountain Park Northwest of Denver. A gimme since my son moved to Denver. I went there for a moment.
24. Actuary's specialty: RISK.
25. Army gear, briefly: CAMO. Camouflage
is the use of any combination of materials,
coloration, or illumination for concealment,
either by making animals or objects hard to
see (crypsis), or by disguising them as something else (mimesis).
26. Take __: swim: A DIP.
29. Pass out: SWOON.
30. Always, to a poet: E'ER.
31. Put between: INTERPOSE.
32. "Finding __": 2016 sequel: DORY. A blue tang from the earlier Finding Nemo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhvrQeY3doI
33. Dreyer's, east of the Rockies: EDYS. I scream you scream...
35. Loughlin of "Full House": LORI. Perhaps in bad taste, while she remains at the center of the College Admissions Scandal.
38. Indigenes: NATIVES. Indigenous people.
39. Lenovo rival: DELL. More computer talk.
40. Egyptian president __ Fattah el-Sisi: ABDEL.
This MILITARY MAN who is only 5'5" tall.
41. Ride available via mobile app: UBER CAR. I have never heard anyone use this term...just UBER.
43. Passionate: ARDENT.
44. Bartolo in "The Barber of Seville," e.g.: BASSO.
45. Ladybug's lunch: APHID.
46. Overdone: TRITE.
47. Half a stringed instrument: GURDY. Hurdy Gurdy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwyznoWJDHI
48. Southend-__: ON-SEA. Southend-on-Sea is a resort town on the Thames Estuary in Essex, southeast England.
51. "Already taken care of": I DID.
52. Fabled loch: NESS. Do you like this clue better than Eliot?
54. Flash __: MOB.
55. Old ending for "Motor": OLA. We still have a factory here.
Lemonade here beginning 2020 welcoming another new constructor who begins with an "add-a-letter" theme which was easier for me than the reveal. I hope Kevin stops by to explain his take. There are numerous Kevin Conways in the world, so I will wait to hear from him. In my ongoing discussion of solving themed puzzles, I mentioned two weeks ago that first I look to clue/fill 17A. Today I saw -
17A. Lawyer's missing text?: LOST CLAUSE (10) [LOST CAUSE].
Then I look for the mirror fill, here it is:
54A. Another name for the five-second rule of dropped food?: MORSEL CODE [MORSE CODE] (10).
The pun is better in 54 A, and it certainly reveals the theme.
The rest -
22A. Offer from one unwilling to negotiate?: STICKLER PRICE [STICKER PRICE](13) and its mirror -
44A. Military directive?: BATTLING ORDER [BATTING ORDER](13) fit together nicely Then we have the bonus of a reveal:
35A. Calendar period that 17-, 22-, 44- and 54-Across are celebrating?: L-WEEK. My only thought as shown in the Title I chose was HellWeek, the time when pledges make their final pitch for membership in fraternities/sororities. But a reveal that needs a reveal would be new.
The puzzle itself is a classic Friday.
The distribution is fair.
| Stats | Average Values by Day of Week — 15 x 15 only | 21 x 21 only | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This puzzle | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
| Blocks | 34 | 37.5 | 37.3 | 37.4 | 36.8 | 31.4 | 30.7 | 73.9 |
| Words | 72 | 77.0 | 76.8 | 76.3 | 74.8 | 69.6 | 68.9 | 139.3 |
| Open Squares | 83 | 69.3 | 69.4 | 69.7 | 72.9 | 91.3 | 94.7 | 122.7 |
| Scrabble Avg | 1.52 | 1.57 | 1.58 | 1.59 | 1.58 | 1.56 | 1.56 | 1.55 |
| Avg Word Length | 5.31 | 4.87 | 4.89 | 4.92 | 5.06 | 5.59 | 5.66 | 5.28 |
| Freshness Factor™ Percentile | 77.2 | 18.5 | 26.2 | 30.7 | 46.1 | 78.1 | 84.3 | 62.6 |
1. Sports headwear retailer: LIDS.
5. Joplin's "Me and Bobby __": MCGEE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iX-EcRKXJw
"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no no..."
10. Charlie Brown's "Darn!": RATS.
14. Comic strip dog: ODIE.Garfield's pet.
Not related to 59A. Tributes in verse: ODES.
15. Variety: ARRAY.
16. Poetic black: EBON. 1350–1400; Middle English eban, ebyn ebony < Anglo-French eban(ne), Old French eban, ebaine < Medieval Latin ebanus, for Latin (h)ebenus < Greek ébenos, of Semitic orig.
19. Prepare to fly, maybe: TAXI. On the runway.
20. Type of battery: ALKALINE. ALL you want to know.
21. Coherent: LUCID.
25. Chicago Outfit gangster: CAPONE. Not called the mob nor the mafia in Chicago - just the "Outfit."
27. One for the road: SIGN. Cute clue.
28. Be flexible: ADAPT.
29. Saves up: SETS ASIDE. The way we were taught to save.
34. Hot __: MIC. Another name for a microphone that is turned on, in particular, one that amplifies or broadcasts a spoken remark that is intended to be private.
36. Wooden shoe sailor: NOD. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night. Sailed off in a wooden shoe,— Sailed on a river of crystal light. Into a sea of dew. By Eugene Field.
37. Create opportunities: OPEN DOORS.
40. First owner of the expansion Los Angeles Angels: AUTRY.
Gene Autry was a singing cowboy who became a movie star and rich enough to be awarded the expansion baseball franchise. This time of year his Christmas contribution - he was the first to record Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane), and Frosty the Snowman. Additionally, he co-wrote Here Comes Santa Claus.
42. Travel prefix with méxico and perú: AERO. National airlines.
43. Monks' homes: ABBEYS.
49. Spring time: APRIL. Notice that it is two words.
50. Support: UNDERPIN.
53. Makeshift blade: SHIV. Thank you to the gypsy population, this is from chive, chieve, chife, chiv (“knife”), from Romani chive, chiv, chivvomengro (“knife, dagger") from 1915.
56. Group of online pages: SITE. What a perfect description of so many sites.
57. Of past times: OLDEN.
58. Garage sale term: AS IS.
60. Greet with howls, as the moon: BAY AT. Or is it bays at?
61. Restaurant menu heading: REDS. Whites, or rosés?
Down:
1. Showgirl of song: LOLA. It is actually a very sad SONG.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeplUHZsHfo
2. Worshipped object: IDOL. Originally from Latin idolum ‘image, form.’ Hence the Hebrew law against worshipping graven images.
3. Modern capacity measure: DISK SPACE. Alternatively referred to as disk space, disk storage, or storage capacity, disk capacity is the maximum amount of data a disc, disk, or drive is capable of holding. Disk capacity is displayed in MB (megabytes), GB (gigabytes), or TB (terabytes). All types of media capable of storing information have a disk capacity, including a CD, DVD, floppy disk, hard drive, memory stick/card, and USB thumb drive.
4. Put on, as a high shelf: SET ATOP.
5. Bad intentions: MALICE.
6. Street organ feature: CRANK. Monkey not included.
7. "Oliver Twist" food: GRUEL.
8. Warning service co-coordinated by FEMA: EAS. The Emergency Alert System is used by alerting authorities to send warnings via broadcast, cable, satellite and wireline communications pathways.
10. Investment gains: RETURNS.
11. Old calculators: ABACI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E85BSWIkSbg
12. Like guilt-trippers, say: TOXIC. There are so many KINDS.
13. Nasty: SNIDE. My favorite.
18. He played Dirty Harry: CLINT. Unlike John Wayne or other famous western stars, his real name is CLINT EASTWOOD, Jr.
21. Women's links gp.: LPGA. Ladies Professional Golf Association.
23. __ Park, Colorado: ESTES. A very small town at the base of Rocky Mountain Park Northwest of Denver. A gimme since my son moved to Denver. I went there for a moment.
24. Actuary's specialty: RISK.
25. Army gear, briefly: CAMO. Camouflageis the use of any combination of materials,
coloration, or illumination for concealment,
either by making animals or objects hard to
see (crypsis), or by disguising them as something else (mimesis).
29. Pass out: SWOON.
30. Always, to a poet: E'ER.
31. Put between: INTERPOSE.
32. "Finding __": 2016 sequel: DORY. A blue tang from the earlier Finding Nemo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhvrQeY3doI
33. Dreyer's, east of the Rockies: EDYS. I scream you scream...
35. Loughlin of "Full House": LORI. Perhaps in bad taste, while she remains at the center of the College Admissions Scandal.
38. Indigenes: NATIVES. Indigenous people.
39. Lenovo rival: DELL. More computer talk.
40. Egyptian president __ Fattah el-Sisi: ABDEL.
This MILITARY MAN who is only 5'5" tall.
41. Ride available via mobile app: UBER CAR. I have never heard anyone use this term...just UBER.
43. Passionate: ARDENT.
44. Bartolo in "The Barber of Seville," e.g.: BASSO.
45. Ladybug's lunch: APHID.
46. Overdone: TRITE.
47. Half a stringed instrument: GURDY. Hurdy Gurdy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwyznoWJDHI
48. Southend-__: ON-SEA. Southend-on-Sea is a resort town on the Thames Estuary in Essex, southeast England.
51. "Already taken care of": I DID.
52. Fabled loch: NESS. Do you like this clue better than Eliot?
54. Flash __: MOB.
55. Old ending for "Motor": OLA. We still have a factory here.
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