Crossword Puzzle Blogging

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Gail Grabowski

Theme: PANTS (57D: Garment that can follow the starts of the answers to starred clues. Or, as was discussed yesterday, pairs of trousers. Speak of it one day - see it the next?)

17A: *Hilarious Joke: KNEESLAPPER
(I've always heard this said disdainfully of a not-so-hilarious joke.) KNEE PANTS. Fashion comes and goes. Style is forever.

39A: *Worry, slangily: SWEAT IT.
(More commonly: don't sweat, as in "the small stuff.") SWEAT PANTS. Could this be why Dennis goes to the gym every day?

63A: *Frosted Lenten pastry:
HOT CROSS BUNS. HOT PANTS. Of course. Can anyone identify the car? Also these. And this.

11D: *Enduring, as a storm: RIDING OUT
RIDING PANTS. Also known as jodhpurs.

34D: *Freight Bearing Vessel: CARGO SHIP
CARGO PANTS have lots of pockets.

Tight theme with five answers and all the key words at the beginning of the fill.

Hi, Gang -- JazzBumpa here. The timing is only a coincidence, but after yesterday's travails, our intrepid blogger Argyle has a well-deserved day (or, as it turns out, night) off.

I've had my difficulties as well. All Cruciverb functionality related to LA Times puzzles appears to be inoperative - at least as of this writing (sometime 'round midnight PST. I'm in EST!


Across:

1A: Unshiny photo finish: MATTE. Also a finish on wall paint, but without the alliterative word play. And 7D: Brownish photo tint.

6A: Tree with quaking leaves: ASPEN. Populus Tremuloides sounds like a Roman senator

11A: Usually nonmelodic music genre: RAP. No melody, no music.

14A: Not moving: INERT. Also used for something chemically non-reactive. Frequent fill NEON, for example.

15A: Work on a loom: WEAVE. Don't forget the humility mark.

16A: Under the weather: ILL. Because a quick change in the weather can leave you feeling out of sorts - with a SINUS headache, for example.

19A: Narc's Org. DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency. Not headache drugs.

20A: Ages and ages: EONS. Like, forever.

21A: Depression era migrant: OKIE. The Joads migrated from Oklahoma to California, looking for a better life.

22A: Bat one's eylashed, perhaps: FLIRT. Sometimes you make out better at both ends.

24A: Method: Abbr.: SYST. Short for system.

25A: Lincoln wore one: BEARD. Here is the before picture.

27A: Pay hor a hand: ANTE. I saw this more cleverly as "pay to hold hands" over the weekend.

28A: Bank encumbrance: LIEN. This is a charge against real or personal property for the payment of any debt or duty, which must be satisfied before the property is sold.

30A: Sound hear twice in "Gargantuan." HARD G. But only heard once in Pantagruel. Remember the "Hard and Soft G" puzzle from a few months ago?

32A: Command for an attack dog: SIC EM. Strange expression. Does anyone know the origin?

35A: Dressing for romain and such: SALAD OIL.

38A: Palm Pilot or Blackberry, briefly: PDA. Personal data assistant. Like a virtual electronic secretary.

42A: Mex. neighbor: USA. Us, eh?

43A: Hardly geniuses: AIRHEADS. Will this unleash another barrage of blonde jokes?

45A" Contest submission: ENTRY. Or, a crossword fill.

47A: Arrived: GOT IN. Seemed like I just arrived in bed when the alarm went off.

48A: Poet Pound: EZRA. Another alliteration. And a Bible Book.

50A: Old hands: PROS. Professionals. An old hand is experience.

52A: Coerce: FORCE. Don't coerce me, bro!

54A: Infield protector: TARP. A big roll of plastic sheet that's rolled out onto a baseball infield during a rain delay.

58A: Retreats in the desert. OASES. Or maybe only a mirage.

60A: Bring up: REAR. Not bringing up the rear, but nurturing children.

61A: Field of expertise: AREA. Mine is being a grandfather. What's yours?

62A: Jr. high, e.g.: SCH. School abbreviation.

66A: Maneuver among moguls: SKI. Long alliterative clue for a short answer.

67A: One way to read: ALOUD. But only if reading aloud is allowed.

68A: White sheet wearer, on Halloween. GHOST. Usually cute and lovable. Not like these guys.

69A: Sixth Sense for short: ESP. Extra-sensory perception. I just knew it.

70A: Sources of blue eyes, say: GENES. Or as Mendel would say, "The eyes have it."

71A: Shipping weight deductions: TARES. The weight of the containers.


Down:

1D: Studio sound equipment: MIKES. Microphones. An abbreviation that has become a standard word.

2D: Be a thorn in the side of: ANNOY. No obscure crosses to annoy me today.

3D: Prom goers: TEENS. High School Prom. Fashion or style? You decide.

4D: Railroad bridge support. TRESTLE. I can never remember how to spell it.

5D: UFO crew, presumably: ETS. Extra-terrestrials. Great bicycle riders.

6D: Greet the morning.: AWAKEN. Not so much fun at 2:00 a.m.

8D: Part head gear: PAPER HAT. Didn't we just see some of these.

9D: Genesis outcast: EVE. Yes. it was all about Eve.

10D: Spongy ball brand: NERF. Can you get enough?

12D: Tip off: ALERT. Stay alert for the start of basketball season.

13D: One in a buffet stack: PLATE. Get a clean one when you go back for seconds.

18D: Ear part. LOBE. Eeeewww!

23D: "Shane"star Alan: LADD. He made lots of movies. And lots of money.

26D: Surrealist Salvador: DALI. No beard - just a  mustache

(1/06/10 note - I've temporarily disabled the link to the moustache pic, for analytical reasons.
It's all chopped up here to be non-searcable)

http://www.wreckthetapedeck.com/wp  ****

-content/uploads/2009/07/Salvador-Da  ****
l%C3%AD-In-Voluptate-  ****
Mors-photograph-by-  ****
Phillippe-Halsman.jpg")

29D: "That'll do, thanks": I'M SET. Abbreviation in the clue and answer. Nice.

31D: Movie critic at times: RATER. I'll give this clue two thumbs up.

32D: Restful Resort. SPA. A new and alliterative clue.

33D: Deposed Despot AMIN. A bad dude.

35D: Stockholm bound carrier: SAS Scandianavian Airline System International. New to me.

36D: Jerusalem is its cap.: ISR. Israel, of course.

37D: Set (down): LAY. Now a lay me down to sleep (wishful thinking.)

40D: Street urchin: WAIF. I always think of this. Reminds me of granddaughter Emily.

41D: Ralph Kramden's Pal: ED NORTON. From The Honeymooners

44D: Sprinkler attachment: HOSE. I think of it the other way around.

46D: Boris's partner in 'toon espionage.: NATASHA Fatale and Boris Badenov.

48D: Online birthday greetings, e.g.: ECARDS. Greetings froma a distance.

49D: Round number?: ZERO. Literal, in this case.

50D: Outlaw chasing group: POSSE. Euphamism for a lynch mob.

51D: Poolroom triangles: RACKS. Where is the triangle?

53D: Prompt again: RECUE. Or break another rack, perhaps.

55D: Vine covered recess: ARBOR. ANN had one, here in MI.

56D: Get extra value from: REUSE. The ANN ARBOR reuse recycle center.

59: Thick carpet: SHAG. Or a certain haircut.

64D: Bullfight shout: OLE. What, no corrida?

65D: Rank above Cpl.: SGT. As in Sgt. Bilko.

Pretty good puzzle. That's all Folks. I'm going back to bed.

JzB the sleep deprived trombonist.

Cross-posted at L.A. Times Crossword Corner, with additions, corrections, and other subtle improvements.

UPDATE:

Don't believe the time stamp. I finished this thing at quarter to five, a. m.