google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner

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Aug 21, 2008

Thursday August 21, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Lose Out

20A: Start of a quip: A GOOD LOSER IS

28A: Part 2 of quip: ALL RIGHT BUT

39A: Part 3 of quip: IT'S

44A: Part 4 of quip: NOT VERY MUCH

52A: End of quip: FUN TO BEAT HIM

Why "AT HIM"? What does it mean? Why not simply "BE HIM"? So hard for me to grok what he is trying to convey. (Addendum: My bad. It's "TO BEAT HIM", not "TO BE AT HIM". The original Evan Esar quip is: "A good loser is all right, but it isn't so much fun to beat him.")

A slight Russian/East European sub-theme:

21A: Gymnast Korbut: OLGA. OLGA means"Holy" in Russian.

30D: Second cosmonaut: TITOV (Gherman). I've never heard of this name before. Only know Yuri Gagarin. Look, it's autographed.

37D: Buckwheat groats: KASHA. Not familiar with KASHA. The only buckwheat product I like is soba noodle (served cold).

Nothing scintillating about this puzzle. The theme is too STALE (49D: Like old bread) for me. If I were the editor, I would listen to and respect puzzle solvers' opinions and offer quip/quote puzzle once a month at most.

Across:

1A: Time for a shower?: APRIL. How far would you go for true love?

10A: Small town: BURG. What is the average population size for a BURG?

14A: Spyri heroine: HEIDI. Identical clue/answer in his June 26 "Gossip" quip.

18A: Spicy stew: OLIO. So is OLLA (56A: Earthenware pot), which also means "Spicy stew".

23A: Money-managing exec.: CFO. Andrew Fastow's mug always pops into my mind every time I see a CFO clue.

32A: Bologna neighbor: MODENA. Have vaguely heard of this motor racing city (Ferrari 360 MODENA) before, but I don't think I would have got it without the crossing fills. Pavarotti was born here. Wikipedia says MODENA is also "well known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar".

40A: Shepherdess in Virgil's "Eclogues": DELIA. No idea. I've never heard of "Eclogues" and I don't know who DELIA is. Are you familiar with Bob Dylan's DELIA?

50A: Dissemblance: ACT. I got it from down clue. I did not know the meaning of "Dissemblance".

63A: Small monkey: TITI. I forgot again. It appeared in our puzzle before. He has such a long tail.

67A: Pumps, e.g.: SHOES. Silly "In Her Shoes".

Down:

5D: Pasta choice: LINGUINE. What are those green pieces?

6D: Make even: SMOOTH. Beautiful "SMOOTH operator" (Sade), so sensual.

9D: Rose: STOOD UP. I was thinking of this "Rose", Xchefwalt's FLOUR FLOWER.

10D: Elaine of "Seinfeld": BENES. You know something, no soup for you!

12D: Marconi's medium: RADIO. Gimme, after all those Tesla/Edison discussions 2 weeks ago.

31D: Oceanography deg: BMS (Bachelor of Marine Science). Once again, I obtained this answer from the across fills.

35D: Spoken: ALOUD. Are they really synonymous?

53D: Bruhn of ballet: ERIK. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he had a long relationship with Rudolf Nureyev.

55D: Fluttery flyer: MOTH. "I was always the butterfly, and you were always the MOTH. And now it's time to embrace the flame."

59D: Personal question?: WHO. I penned in AGE first.

C.C.

Aug 20, 2008

Wednesday August 20, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: Initial Reactions

20A: F. __: SCOTT FITZGERALD

35A: E.G. ___: MARSHALL

40A: D. H. __: LAWRENCE

53A: T. __: JEFFERSON PARKER

I've never heard of E. G. MARSHALL or T. JEFFERSON PARKER before. I found 35A to be an odd choice since all the other 3 theme entries are all authors.

I thought of T. S. Eliot, A. A. Milne, e. e, cummings, J. D. Salinger, J. R. R. Tolkien & J.K. Rowling earlier, all famous literary names. Of course, we also have O. J. Simpson, J. Edgar Hoover & the crossword stalwart L. Ron Hubbard as non-writer names with intriguing initials. What other interesting names can you think of?

Anyway, I like this puzzle. I like most of the puzzles with 15-letter run-through theme answers. I am very easy to please.

I did not know the meanings of HIC (24A: __ jacet ) and RIGOR (3D: __ mortis). After consulting the dictionary, I don't think I like how these two were clued. Too dark and harsh for my morning. I would prefer a drunk bar-sound choice for HIC and a boot camp experience for RIGOR.

Quite a few obscure words to me today. I took several wild guesses.

Across:

5A: The great unwashed: PLEBS. "The great unwashed" is a new phrase to me. I had no idea that "unwashed" also means the "common folk". I suppose ancient Greeks call ancient Roman PLEBS as "Hoi polloi"?

15A: Isuzu model: RODEO. Not familiar with this model. A risky guess, cowboy style.

17A: Herb of wisdom?: SAGE. "Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, SAGE, rosemary and thyme. Remember me to one who lives there, she was once a true love of mine...". Do you know why they chose those 4 herbs instead of chives/basil?

18A: Circular gasket: O-RING

26A: French stewlike dish: POT-AU-FEU. Hmm, I am not going to link a POT-AU-FEU picture. Dennis hates it. He hates ASPIC too.

39A: Chills and fever: AGUE. This is Paul's Word of the Day today. He selected it because "Mosquito transmission of malaria discoverned on this day in 1897."

43A: Pleasantly diverted: AMUSED. Are you OK with "diverted"?

46A: Of a benefactor PATRONAL. New adjective to me.

63A: Anklebone: TALUS. The plural is TALI.

Down:

1D: Chase group: POSSE. Why? Does the "Chase" here refer to Chevy Chase?

2D: Bananalike plant: ABACA. No idea. This is a ABACA plant. It does not look like a banana to me.

5D: Benefits: PROFITS

6D: Roman body armor: LORICA. Absolutely no idea. See this LORICA.

8D: Automobile pioneer: BENZ. OLDS did not fit.

9D: Wetter and mushier: SOGGIER. I recklessly sank into MUGGIER.

10D: Dweeb: TWIRP. New word to me.

27D: Brown pigment: UMBER. I only knew AMBER. Dictionary says it's called raw UMBER when used in its natural state, and burnt UMBER when used after heating.

30D: Pivot: SLUE. "Who else would the ultimate cowboy fall in love with than the ultimate cowgirl? That's SLUE-foot Sue all right...". I've never heard of that folklore, have you?

42D: Tell the tale: NARRATE

43D: Metrical foot: ANAPEST. Foreign to me also. I might have seen someone mentioned this term in a comment somewhere before, but I could not recall clearly. Can you give me an ANAPEST example?

44D: Supernatural force: MANA. No idea. A variation of MANNA?

47D: Comes clean: OWNS UP

50D: Cut corners: SKIMP

51D: Gilpin and others: PERIS. Gilpin Again? Too lazy to do more research for a different clue? PERI is also "one of a large group of beautiful, fairylike beings of Persian mythology, represented as descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until their penance is accomplished."

53D: Protrudes: JUTS

57D: Like a dipstick: OILY. I kind of like this clue. Very slick!

58D: Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA. I really like her earrings.

C.C.