Peter Koetters

Title: Shake that booty

Peter who has had 13 of his 16 major puzzle publications with the LAT, is back after zero 2020 puzzles in one of the papers. I blogged his FIRST and a few others over the years. Today is a simple scramble with the three-letter second word of the phrase being anagrammed to create a different and visually amusing picture. This seemed easy for a Friday but I got lots of sleep while Oo was working. We had some funny ones.

17A. Beneficial tree tapping?: HEALTH SAP. HEALTH SPA. As a Floridian, we have many spas around here; we used to take the sap from the maple trees and boil a whole bunch to make maple syrup. Of course, those who spend a fortune on all those TV ads promising eternal youth...

29A. Wildebeest with a habit?: SMOKING GNU (10). Who knew? 
I do not think they can shoot, but it seems unlikely- for the original words -SMOKING GUN. I do like the picture of cultured wildebeest.

47A. Hoop site?: END OF AN EAR (10). End of Era, not a simple earring.

11D. Hawaiian wedding accessory?: WHITE LEI. Oh my, there are so many inappropriate comments I could make and upset for our current PG-rated blog, but it is a fun twist on a WHITE LIE.  No pictures needed.

37A. Top for a Japanese dish?: SUSHI BRA. Another challenge, but the internet is always there. We also have so many sushi bars in SoFla.

And a reveal:

61A. Reversed, in a way ... and a hint to the creation of five puzzle answers: INSIDE OUT(9). Meh, unnecessary and not helpful for me. But the interspersed 7 letter fill really helped me in getting this done. They are EMINENT, I LOST IT, INHERIT, MATINEE,  REALITY, RIHANNA, and ROTUNDA. 

Now that we have sussed the theme and identified the longer, fill, let's go.

Across:

1. It's found in a lock ... or a loch: OAR. A most enjoyable play on words to start the action. 

4. Founder of one of Israel's Twelve Tribes: JUDAH. Jacob's first wife, Leah, bore him six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Two other tribes, Gad and Asher, were named after sons born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant. Two additional tribes, Dan and Naphtali, were named after the sons of Jacob born of Bilhah, the maidservant of Rachel, Jacob’s second wife. Rachel bore Jacob two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. In modern Judaism, it is the descendants of Aaron - the Cohanim and Levites who survived to matter with everyone else part of ISRAEL. Confused yet?

9. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY. Is it a PYRAMID SCHEME, there are many pro and con links all taking to multi-level marketing "businesses." Tell me your experiences.

14. "WALL-E" FX: CGI. Computer-Generated Imagery; in the joy of blogging, I had the pleasure of the flipbook- the beginning generated movement.

15. __ territory: ENEMY. Not all meanings are related to war. Ask Cubs and White Sox fans.

16. Lake near Squaw Valley: TAHOE. Still one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

19. Leaning: ATILT. A dreaded "A" word.

20. Vex: RILE. Vex comes from the Latin VEXARE to disturb, and they said those six years of Latin study would never come in handy.

21. Come into: INHERIT. Part of my current business, probating estates and seeing who inherits, a word that comes from - you guessed it - the Latin INHEREDITARE. I could go on.

23. Willing subject?: ESTATE. A pun lost because of its juxtaposition making it a really obvious fill.

26. Renowned: EMINENT. Not to be confused with IMMINENT.

32. Wells' Weena et al.: ELOI. Would like another picture of Yvette Mimeux?

33. Mississippi river to the Mississippi River: YAZOO. The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe. It is created by the Tallahatchie River Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo River. Remember the bridge?

34. The Aire runs through it: LEEDS. Alex, rivers for $2,000. LINK. 

35. Common online interruptions: ADS.

38. Domed building: ROTUNDA. Recently in the news, sadly this ONE.

41. "Give or take" ending: ISH.

42. Actress Tierney: MAURA.

44. Projectionist's stack: REELS.

46. Otherwise: ELSE.

52. One-named "Unapologetic" singer: RIHANNA.
RiRi.

54. Pang: TWINGE.

55. "That completely overwhelmed me!": I LOST IT. It has happened to me 4 times in my life. My father, who I adore, and who was a remarkable man was a rageholic and I have at least a piece of that genetic code.

58. Favorable points: PROS. let's argue the Pros and Cons.

59. Range: AMBIT. ambit (n.) late 14c., "space surrounding a building or town; precinct;" 1590s, "a circuit;" from Latin ambitus "a going round, a circuit, circumference." 

64. Garçon's handout: CARTE. A French waiter gives you a menu. 

65. Go on the stump: ORATE. An 1848 dictionary mentioned "to stump it" was a phrase "borrowed from the backwoods," as it referred to speaking from atop a tree stump.

66. Oklahoma native: OTO. Native American tribe.

67. Binge-watching mealtime aids: TRAYS. So you can sit in the tv room.

68. Not cool at all: NERDY.

69. Mint holder: TIN. 

Down: 

1. Earth tones: OCHRES. A word I learned watching my father oil paint.

2. Fair-hiring problem: AGEISM. No problem here though we are trending younger.

3. Venetian marketplace: RIALTO. An interesting HISTORY.

4. Contrail source: JET. This is a trail of condensed water from an aircraft or rocket at high altitude, seen as a white streak against the sky. 

5. John Irving alma mater: Abbr.: UNH. He not only went to the University of New Hampshire, but that is where he was BORN.

6. Lucy's guy: DESI. Do you love Lucy? 

7. "__ Called Ove": 2015 film: A MAN. Based on a novel by Swedish author Fredrik Backman which Tom Hanks has optioned to do an English language version.

8. Honky-tonk line?: HYPHEN. Such a cute clue.

9. Big name in games: ATARI. The first.

10. Play before supper: MATINEE. Another cute clue, not stickball in the backyard.

12. Early internet co.: AOL. I still have my AOL account among my five accounts.

13. Still: YET. Again. 

18. Needing caulking: LEAKY. Maybe that is what I need...

22. LiMu __: ad bird: EMU. Feel free to vent here; not my favorite. 

24. Prom queen topper: TIARA. I would have guessed Prom King but there were not enough letters.

25. Carmaker Ferrari: ENZO. The namesake creation. 

27. Subtle approvals: NODS.

28. Morticia, to Gomez: TISH. 

30. Came down with: GOT. Hopefully no COVID.

31. Melon, e.g.: GOURD. have you ever tried WIKIDIFF?

MELON VS. GOURD all melons are gourds but not all gourds are melons unless you are using eupemisms.

34. Bochco series: LA LAW. 63D. 34-Down actress: DEY.

35. OAS part: Abbr.: AMER.

36. Surrealist friend of García Lorca: DALI.

39. Prefix with con: NEO.

40. Dexterous: DEFT.

43. "Survivor" genre: REALITY. There is precious little reality in reality TV.

45. Wading bird: SNIPE. Didn't we have this?

47. Half of nine?: ENS.

48. One with an anthem: NATION.

49. Plant deeply: ENROOT. meh.

50. Rainforest rodent: AGOUTI.

51. Lie atop: REST ON. See 24D, supra.

53. Score in a score: NOTES. Lovely play on words.

56. Memo intro: IN RE.

57. Old despot: TSAR.

59. Pretend to be: ACT.

60. Deface: MAR.

62. "__ be fun!": IT'D. Was it? I had a great time

Peter Koetters

Title: Over and Over Again

The odd clue ( - ) gave me a hint where I needed to look for the theme, but this was a challenge. It was great to have our LA pediatrician Peter back after a long absence. I blogged his debut puddle- I mean puzzle LINK and he has stopped by to talk with us some after his publications. With no fill longer than 9 letters, nothing jumped out. It was only by focusing on filling the downs that the light bulb came on and I 'saw' his theme in the sea of white. Very few short fill and so many interesting others like UP DRAFT,  NAVARRE,  SPLOTCH,  DEAD SEA,  SLEPT IN,  APHASIA, WHEEDLED,  UNWEANED, STEADIEST,  SLY AS A FOX. Lots of French, many witty clues and much to chew on. Welcome back Peter; we hope you stop by and give us some thoughts.

14A. Art critic's phrase, literally : STYLE (5). OVER
17A. - : SUBSTANCE (9). This CONCEPT  is called form over substance in the writing of legal briefs etc.

30A. Theme park near Dallas, literally : SIX FLAGS (8). OVER
36A. - : TEXAS (5). This THEME PARK was the response to Disneyland; it opened in 1961.

42A. Changes one's ways, literally : TURNS (5). OVER
47A. - : A NEW LEAF (8). This IDIOM appears to date back to the 1600s.

62A. Tumbles out of control, literally : FALLS HEAD (9). OVER
66A. - : HEELS (5). This PHRASE has its origin 700 years ago.

Across:

1. Test : ASSAY. I learned this word watching old westerns on TV when they brought their gold to the assay office.

6. Law degs. : JDS. Juris Doctor.

9. While-__: repair shop sign words : U-WAIT. These days they work on COMPUTERS.

15. Calendar pg. : OCTober. Random.

16. NBA's Jackson et al. : PHILS. Phil Jackson having a hard time succeeding in NY; week fill, Phil.

19. "10" co-star : DEREK. She is now with John Corbett from Cecily, Alaska






20. Send out : EMIT.

21. Pamplona's municipality : NAVARRE. I am confused, not only because I do not know geography but because I thought PAMPLONA is the city for this FESTIVAL..

23. Big stain : SPLOTCH.

25. Israeli border lake : DEAD SEA.

29. "Doubt it" : NAH.

31. "Conan" channel : TBS. Any of you watch him?

34. Dayan of Israel : MOSHE. He was a storybook hero for Israel.

LINK

37. Giants manager before Bochy : ALOU. Felipe, the oldest brother.

39. Like non-oyster months, traditionally : R-LESS. Try explaining this concept to a Thai woman where the letter that looks like "R" sounds like "L."

41. Ration (out) : DOLE.

44. "The Deep" director Peter : YATES. He directed BULLITT as well. The movie was based on a book by Peter Benchley, who also wrote JAWS. Jacqueline Bisset set the gold standard for a wet t-shirt SCENE.

46. Bottom line : NET.

49. Closing sequence : XYZ.

51. They're often numbered : STREETS. Random.

52. Bench warmers? : JURISTS. More legal misdirection.

56. Loss of speech : APHASIA. Aphasia is a communication disorder that results from damage to the parts of the brain that contain language (typically in the left half of the brain).  Growing up around a doctor and a nurse I heard this term when I was very young.

58. Drive-__ : THRU.

59. Before, in Brest : AVANT. Literal French. No Brest milk.

64. "In the Bedroom" Oscar nominee : TOMEI. I never saw this movie, but Marisa is always a pleasure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STbngNl_m2s
LINK

65. Passé : OUT.

67. "Surprise Symphony" composer : HAYDN. Wiki says it better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_ftrysaMHU

68. Big tees : XLS. Not in a world of XXXL.

69. Matrix, e.g. : ARRAY.

Down:

1. Some jennies : ASSES. A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female a jenny or jennet; a young donkey is a foal. Jack donkeys are often used to mate with female horses to produce mules; the biological "reciprocal" of a mule, from a stallion and jenny as its parents instead, is called a hinny. Or...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzOJhcsO4B0

2. Baffle : STUMP.

3. Prophetess : SYBIL. This is not a name but a description. There is much to learn if you like HISTORY and MYTH.

4. Longtime Dodger manager : ALSTON. Along with Tommy Lasorda, this MANAGER led the Dodgers through 4 world championships and the only one won in Brooklyn. If you love baseball you know this man.

5. Still : YET.

6. Whale of a guy? : JONAH. More of the wit in the cluing.

7. Half of MCDX : DCCV. Peter has used Roman Numerals as glue before.

8. Most constant : STEADIEST.

9. Kite aid : UPDRAFT. Soaring!

10. Cajoled : WHEEDLED.

11. Whistle blower? : AIR. Literal but deceptive!!!

12. Key for Fauré? : ILE. French for Island. hmm lots of French.

13. "For shame!" : TSK.

18. Run at the end : ANCHOR. The relay team in the race.

22. "Toy Story" dinosaur : REX.

24. Highland lid : TAM.

26. Ancient Germanic invader : SAXON.

27. Even, in Évian : EGALE. French mostly associated with equal. Liberté, égalité, fraternité (French pronunciation: [libɛʁte eɡalite fʁatɛʁnite]), French for "liberty, equality, fraternity", is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a tripartite motto.W.

28. Valuable team member : ASSET.

30. Field unit : SHEAF.

31. Byes : TATAS. See below.

32. Not sharp : BLUNT.

33. More ticked : SORER.

35. Cunning : SLY AS A FOX. This new stuff, only one other LAT appearance back in 2006.

38. Still breast-feeding : UNWEANED. Boobies next to...

40. __ orientation : SEXUAL.

43. Ignored the alarm : SLEPT IN. Good idea after sex.

45. Civil war site since 2011: Abbr. : SYRia.

48. E. African land : ETHiopia.

50. Dulcimer kin : ZITHER.

52. Crushes an altar ego? : JILTS. Very witty clue. You never know, but this sounds like some of Peter's earlier cluing.

53. Utter : SHEER.

54. Part of a skipping refrain : TRALA. LALA. I hope Linda is well.

55. Like some heads : SUDSY. Beer, both kinds.

57. King anointed by Samuel : SAUL.

59. Sports fig. : ATHlete. There is only one A in athlete.

60. U.S. govt. broadcaster : VOA. The fifth appearance this year in the LAT and the thrid on a Friday.

61. Acker of "Person of Interest" : AMY. She reappears soon enough that I recalled her.

63. Doo-wop syllable : SHA. Na Na after last weeks No no? No!

What a  work out with some of the most fun cluing of the year. If you do not see the visual you lose the joy. I hope you all are having a wonderful December. Lemonade out.