google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, July 16, 2015 Rick Papazian

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Jul 16, 2015

Thursday, July 16, 2015 Rick Papazian

Theme: Back-up Plan

19-Across. Seedless citrus fruit : NAVEL ORANGES.

32-Across. Dish named for its French place of origin : QUICHE LORRAINE.

39-Across. Recitation from Matthew : THE LORDS PRAYER.

55-Across. Psychodrama technique ... and a literal hint to what's hidden in 19-, 32- and 39-Across : ROLE REVERSAL. Simple theme, with ROLE appearing backwards in the theme entries. Similar to the FLIP SIDE puzzle I blogged last week.

We first saw Rick about a year and a half ago. That sort of frequency does not allow you to get used to a constructor's style, so I was all over the place with this one. How did you do?

Across 

1. Fictional Carpathian Mountains resident : DRACULA. Bran Castle is for sale.


8. Bat wood : ASH.

11. Embroidered pronoun : HIS. On bath towels.

14. Protects, in a way : ENCASES. Coddles? Cushions? Sandbags? (I can see I'm gonna need a little perp help here.)

15. "Handcuff Secrets" author : HOUDINI. Gimme.

17. "... folks dressed up like __": "The Christmas Song" : ESKIMOS.

18. Quiet : SILENCE.

21. "Later" : BYE.

24. Traditional observance : RITE.

25. Medical tube : STENT.

26. Gauchos' weapons : BOLAS.  I used to have trouble remembering which was the weapon and which was the tie.  BOLAs are shaped sort of like an "A" on the business end.
Bolo ties have an "O" that goes around the neck:


28. "__ so fast!" : NOT.

31. Baja bear : OSA. Spanish.

37. Painter Cassatt : MARY. Gimme - one of my cats is named after her.

38. Entice : BAIT.

45. Comic strip boy with a giant squid pal : LIŌ. Never saw this comic strip. The squid's name is Ishmael.

 
46. North __ : SEA.

47. Work hard : SLAVE.

48. Probably will, after "is" : APT TO.

51. Programmer's glitch, perhaps : LOOP.

54. Car wash option : WAX.

59. Whammy : EVIL EYE.

60. Greets rudely : ACCOSTS.

64. Deeply regret : DEPLORE.

65. "It's better to be looked over than overlooked" speaker : MAE WEST.

66. Logical operators : ORs. Part of that programmer's glitch?

67. Pennant race mo. : SEP.tember.

68. Storehouse : ARSENAL.


Down

1. Low mark : DEE.

2. Med. personnel : RNs.

3. "Egad!" : ACK.

4. Son of Eve : CAIN.

5. Dr. Richard Kimble pursuer : U.S. MARSHAL.

6. Byzantine emperor after Basil I : LEO VI. Sure, I knew that. (Not!)

7. Accounts receivable, e.g. : ASSET.

8. "Oh, I see" : AH SO.

9. Évian evening : SOIR. French.

10. Luau entertainment : HULAS.

11. Contingently follow from : HINGE ON.

12. Tick off : INCENSE.

13. Nogales nap : SIESTA. More Spanish.

16. Trade-in deduction : DENT.

20. Fallon followed him : LENO.  Ugh. Fair warning: DO NOT Google about his recent finger injury.

21. Cookout, briefly : BBQ.

22. "__ rang?" : YOU.

23. Member of college music's Whiffenpoofs : ELI.

27. Pinnacle : ACME.

29. Eyes in verse : ORBS.

30. Drainpipe section : TRAP.

33. Cupid's counterpart : EROS.

34. Old instrument played with a plectrum : LYRE.

35. Jurisdictional atmospheric areas : AIR SPACES. The flight to Cancun used to change by 2 hours, depending on whether the airline could get permission to fly over Cuban AIR SPACE.

36. Font choice: Abbr. : ITAL.ics

39. Topple : TIP OVER.

40. "MASH" nickname : HOT LIPS. Houlihan.

41. Valley : DALE.

42. Deviate from a course : YAW.

43. Perón of Argentina : EVA.

44. Stout in the mystery section : REX. The creator of Nero Wolfe.

45. Rio Grande city : LAREDO.

49. Inform : TELL.

50. "Wonderfilled" treats : OREOS.

52. Store display suffix : ORAMA. So would a cookware store display be called a PANORAMA?

53. First name in wieners : OSCAR.

56. Rochester's bride : EYRE. My first thought is always this Rochester from the old Jack Benney show.

57. Ford, but not Lincoln : VEEP.

58. Actor Rob : LOWE.

61. D.C. VIP : SEN.ator

62. Dept. of Homeland Security org. : TSATransportation Security Administration.

63. After N.Y., team with the most World Series wins : ST. L. I'm guessing St. Louis?

So, there you have it.
Marti

47 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Mostly smooth sailing today. Didn't get the theme until the reveal, but didn't need it to solve.

LIO was a complete unknown that just looked wrong, but the perps were solid once I got LAREDO. MARY Cassatt was another unknown that the perps took care of for me. I resisted putting in HULAS for a while, since it just looked off to me. HULA dancers, sure. But HULAS? I dunno...

Billl V. said...

Had HAWKEYE before HOTLIPS. ACK?, seemed like a stretch.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. I sped through most of this puzzle and had all the theme answers filled in before I got to the unifier.

I got a bit stalled in the SouthWest corner because i was convinced that El Paso was the city on the Rio Grande. It was compounded by the fact that I thought of Hawkeye long before HOT LIPS.

Bat Wood = ASH was my favorite clue.

I am missing something with the Logical Operators = ORS. Can someone explain this please?

Another hot one, so stay cool and hydrated.

QOD: The only way to enjoy anything in this life is to earn it first. ~ Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 ~ Aug. 25, 1995)

Hungry Mother said...

ANDS, ORS, XORS, NOTS

Lemonade714 said...

I liked the reveal asit made the otherwise random theme fill make sense. I did spend a few moments trying to clue TUPELO ROAD but did not think the Mississippi city was known.

I also enjoyed seeing DRACULA, HOUDINI and MAE WEST in the same puzzle. I do think of DEPLORE aa being regret but I did not deplore this fine effort. Thanks Marti and Rick

Mr. Google said...

Logical operators

Avg Joe said...

Overtime needed today. Awk before Ack and Hawkeye nearly did me in. Finally muddled through, but it took about 25 minutes. Very tough for a Thursday.

Ack brought visions of Cathy, which I didn't need. Completely forgot about Bill the Cat. I read this week that Bloom County is making a return, but haven't seen it yet. Now that's good news.

SwampCat said...


Took two stabs to succeed at this one. The first time I tried I gave up almost right away! Then I tried again later and the light somehow went on it got itself solved. Thanks for the workout, Rick!

Marti, I didn't understand half of it until you 'splained it! Thanks.

And thanks to Mr Google, I even got the logical operators...sorta. Perps filled in the CW but it looked weird. Maybe it is more than a Thursday clue. Ah well. We're here to learn.


kazie said...

I've gotten on pretty well so far this week, but was too busy to visit yesterday. Today my major holdup was misspelling the bride as EHRE, and as Whammy does not register to me as an EVIL EYE, it took quite a while to parse that one out. There were many unknowns, but I'm so used to having to rely on perps and wags, they all fell in easily.

Husker Gary said...

Fun puzzle but searched in vain for theme until the reveal. Nerts! ☺

Musings
-If real men don’t eat QUICHE, pass me the lipstick!
-The devastating Emerald ASH boer is wreaking havoc in these states and is headed here
-Lee Corso’s “NOT SO” tagline is known to all college football fans
-A punk robber finds out what happens when you ACCOST a firefighter (1:16)
-This ARSENAL here and SLAVE in same puzzle
-I called my RN’S odd because they woke me at 1 a.m., 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. everyday. I still loved ‘em all!
-“AH SO desu ka” means “Oh that’s how it is”. Omitting the AH seem to be preferred. I always thought AH SO was racist.
-Leave it to Elvis - Got a HULA lulu from Honolulu That rock-a-HULA baby of mine. Ah, pure poetry!
-The DENT stage of corn
-I always thought the TRAP in a drain was a wonderful invention
-Me too on Rochester, Marti!
-Any guesses on what great journey started 46 years ago today at launch pad 39 in Cape Kennedy?

Big Easy said...

'all dressed up like' ALEUTS didn't fit so I had to fill with the un-PC word ESKIMOS. And David Jansen chased that one-armed man for a long time while being pursued by a US MARSHAL.

After I made the long fills but before I completed 55A I tried to find some theme but as usual it was over my head. I initially filled HAWKEYE for HOT LIPS, didn't know what 'Wonderfilled treats' were, and in my mind,Rochester was always saying "Mr. Benny", not married to the Bronte girl. Jack Benny with his violin and Steve Martin with his banjo.

LEO VI & LIO both total unknowns filled by perps. I guessed LYRE thinking 'plectrum' was some type of pluck. MAE WEST used her BAIT to lure a lot of men. From what I have read, it was in the thousands.

HeartRx said...

HG, congrats on your hole-in-one!

And who knew there was so much to learn about corn? The only stages I knew were - grill it, butter it, eat it.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This had some bite, but all ended well. Missteps were: Hawkeye/Hot Lips and Jane/Eyre. Learning moment was St. Louis being runner-up to the Yankees; I guess I never gave it much thought. Never heard of logical operators, or, if I did, it's long forgotten. After filling in Quiche Lorraine, preceded by Navel Oranges, I thought the theme would be food related but, then, The Lord's Prayer erased that notion. After seeing the reveal, the theme was quite obvious.

Thanks, Mr. Papazian, for a very enjoyable and challenging Thursday offering and thanks, Marti, for filling in the blanks so expertly.

Have a great day.

Tinbeni said...

Marti: Excellent, informative write-up & links.

Hand-Up for HAWKEYE before HOT-LIPS appeared.
NOT a fan for "Egad!" as a clue for ACK ...
In fact at one point while solving I noticed I had the bottom completed from NAVEL ORANGES down and only DRACULA and ASH filled in on top.

STL (Yup the St. Louis Cardinals) for the team with the most World Series wins (After the NEW YORK YANKEE'S) was a gimmie.

Husker: Have you used those golf balls (or ball marker)I sent you?
St. Andrews looks beautiful this morning.
Since it is raining ... the Open Championship was perfect background TV while solving.

Cheers!

Tinbeni said...

Husker:
oops, forgot to answer your question ...

I would guess the "great journey started 46 years ago today" was the "First-Man-On-The-Moon" thingy ... Apollo 11.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Rick and Marti!

LEO VI and LIO were all perps, but all in all, an easy Thursday, I thought!

Woke up after only 3 hours of sleep. Yuck. Must go back to land of Nod. Today is swimming day.

Russian friend and former colleague has turned up again. Warns me that he has huge math paper for me to proofread. Ugh. He and family brought a nice dinner last night!

Cheers!

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

This one looked hard but turned out not to be.

Sussed the theme answers but needed he reveal to understand it.

Had U.S. MARINES before MARSHAL, which made no sense.

Lots of bats are made of OAK these days - much more brittle, and break into dangerous shards.

The Freep carries LIO - a highly weird and rather macabre comic - so that was gimme. OTOH, LEOVI was a complete, and soon to be forgotten, unknown.

CAIN or ABEL - always need perps.

Playing with the Plymouth concert Band at Kellogg Park in Plymouth tonight -- 7:30 down beat. And it's free. Stop by if you''re in the area. Afterwards, I'll buy you an ice cream cone.

Michigan Jazz Fest on Sunday at Schoolcraft College. Schoolcraft jazz band kicks it off a noon. Continuous music till 9:00 pm on 6 stages - and it's all FREE. This is a great event. Try to make it if you can. E-mail me for directions. jazzbumpa@gmail.com

Cool regards!
JzB

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks Rick, for a fun puzzle. Also got the NAVAL ORANGE and QUICHE LORRAINE right off the bat, but needed the reveal to put them all together. SW was the hardest.... HOTLIPS or HAWKEYE?

Marti, great write-up today. You were in true form. Loved your "PANORAMA"

Misty said...

Thanks for a challenging but doable Thursday puzzle, Rick, and you too, Marti for your expo.

Lucina said...

Hello, friends!

I, too, offer my thanks for a highly doable and quirky puzzle, Rick. I'll read you all later as I have an appointment to cut my hair.

Hope you're having a delightful day! Prayers, Misty.

Beach Bum said...

I bounced all around on this one. Northwest was the last to fall. Found it nicely challenging -- needed a few perps here and there.

Was surprised to find the word "security" in the clue for TSA, seeing's how that word is also a part of the (albeit abbreviated) answer.

Jazzbumpa: I don't think anyone even makes oak bats. It's the maple ones (which have become trendy) that are prone to shattering.

Mz. Googline said...

For those who are interested in the scientific nature of things - or the macabre -

Mr. Fallon fell and streched and dislocated his left hand ring finger. There was a metal ring on the finger that 'pulled' the joint out and cut out (abraded) the blood supply - the syndrome known as a 'ring avulsion' - requires micro plastic surgery, with the help of a vascular surgeon to reattach the veins, with the help of a vein from his foot ( rather common procedure - ) . Mr. Fallon, in my humble opinion, milked it for all it was worth - thats what talk show hosts do, for a living.

Since the N Y Times motto is 'All the news thats fit to print' and in the interest of complete knowledge, here are some examples of Ring Avulsion .

No need to look, if you are prone to get queasy. On the other hand, you cannot ignore some of the facts of life.

For a cynic, one more reason not to get married ... er, or not to wear a wedding ring ... or any type of ring on your fingers.

CrossEyedDave said...

After slogging through the top half, the bottom half became maddeningly difficult. So much so that I was looking for what was hidden in the theme answers without a clue...

It was the MASH nickname that finally gave me a toehold, at least I had something to work with. Obviously Hawkeye wasn't working, (& embarrassingly I did not have the Lords Prayer to confuse me with that "H".)

TRAPPER John would have fit. Let's see, who else?
Ferret Face? No...
SpearChucker? No...
Lt. Dish? (Periods not allowed...)
Radar O' (Dang! didn't fit)
Hotlips! Of course!
(Hmm, but is it sacrilegious that Hotlips gave me tHe Lords Prayer?)

Also, Lute b/4 Lyre.

Role Reversal!

K-Dub said...

Great puzzle and write-up. Thanks Rick & Marti. The theme fill seem to come easy to me today which made for a speed run, on a Thursday much less.

I always think of Tommy Lee Jones when The Fugitive is mentioned.

"I didn't kill my wife."

"I don't care."

HG - My Japanese is limited but I think "AH SO des ka" is a question. Colloquially, "Is that right?". I always think of Charlie Chan when I hear "Ah so" (and "Number One Son") and agree that it seems racist today.

VirginiaSycamore said...

I only had a couple of nits to pick on this puzzle:

1- The U.S. MARSHALL was chasing Dr. Kimble in the movie version. But in the TV version, which I followed as a teen, it was police lieutenant Philip Gerard, played by Barry Morse


2- I also feel that the programmer's error is more likely to be an infinite LOOP, since a regular loop is ok. But you must be sure the program will always reach a point to end the loop. I had to get from perps because I wanted bug or typo.

That being said, it was a good Thursday puzzle.

P.S. My 32 year old son had seen LIO comics before. My only thought was Beany from Beany and Cecil the Sea Serpent, but that didn't work.

VirginiaSycamore said...

Oops! My link to Wikipedia didn't post.
LT_GERARD

Also, re rings on fingers, I think Michael J. Fox had his finger smashed in Tibet or somewhere and had to be rushed to a hospital to have the ring cut off in India before the circulation to his finger was cut off due to the swelling.

Mr. Google said...

VS: It was in Bhutan. You can read about it in this excerpt from his book.

Lucina said...

Hello, again. Marti, your expo was again and as usual, vivacious, thank you. That's a nice way to tell the difference between BOLAS and bolo; my method to rests on the fact that bola means ball in Spanish.

Strangely, I found myself solving this puzzle more on the downside, filling perps then connecting the missing cells. A quick scan of the theme answers gave me ROLE REVERSALS.

Count me as one who didn't understand logical operators.

Hawkeye never made it to my puzzle as I had other letter already in place.

Husker Gary said...

-Yup, 46 years ago today!
-Tinman, I’m using all those items on the course and never fail to show anyone!!
-Marti, here’s your corn stages

thehondohurricane said...


Late start today and it was a grind, but I finally made it through okay. Thought I was looking at a DNF because I was really hung up in the NW corner. ASSET, CAIN & LEO.. gave me the needed foothold.

Wasn't nuts about SEP, thought it should be SEPt. STL was a gimme, although I gave some thought to the Dodgers. I initially entered El Paso for 45D but it didn't last too long.

Been a long day, was up at 3:30 AM to watch the OPEN. Interesting leaderboard and I'm really happy to see who is at the back of the pack.

Lemonade714 said...

Thanks for the Michael J. Fox excerpt. It did make we wonder if there is some follow research about altitude and Parkinson's....

coneyro said...

Late to the party today. Did not post yesterday because I haven't been feeling too well. Just finished the puzzles from yesterday and today.

The only error was HAWKEYE/HOTLIPS. Perps showed me my boo boo. Otherwise, quite simple.

LIO is a weird comic strip. He's a young boy who lives with his father. He has an assortment of monster pets, and a cat with an attitude. He loves to blow things up and do outrageous experiments. His poor dad has to cope with him. Very amusing in a macabre and disturbing way.

I still remember watching the last episode of "The Fugitive". One of the great moments in TV history.

I also thought of Jack Benny when I saw the ROCHESTER clue. Repeats of his show were on cable awhile back. It was so interesting how everything was so dated, and how people looked so much older than they were. The roles of women have changed so much since then. Sometimes I practically scream at the TV when I watch old shows. They really did think "father know's best". Thank the Lord those days are over.

It's been raining all day here in central Florida. Miserable, muggy, and grey. Only the flowers appreciate it.

Another end of the week is fast approaching. Last weekend the puzzles were easier than usual. Maybe we'll get lucky again. I like to feel smart.

Take care and be well, all....

Anonymous said...

thh: You said, "Wasn't nuts about SEP, thought it should be SEPt". But there were only three squares available!

Do you also think that October should be OCTO? And March should be MARC? And January should be JANU?

Steve said...

I went to meet with some Apple folks in Cupertino a couple of years ago and was amused to see the office address was "One Infinite Loop"

AnonymousPVX said...

Started slow but ended on a roll. As previously noted, tough but doable, typical Thursday fare.

Tinbeni said...

When I was a child and we sang "The Christmas Song" (here in Florida)
"...folks dressed up like ___" (ESKIMOS @ 17-a)
We always sang "BEACH BUMS" ... I thought it was going to be a CSO but it wouldn't fit.

Geez, still raining ... but I bet there is a SUNSET later anyway.

Cheers!

CrossEyedDave said...

I have never seen this "Lio" comic, looks like something I could get into...

&, of course, The Classic Role Reversal...

& something a little weirder...

Jayce said...

Cool puzzle. Easier than I expected it to be. Put HAWKEYE in, took HAWKEYE out. Put TYPO in, took TYPO out. Put DRACULA in; it stayed in. Liked the ROLE REVERSAL theme.
I enjoy quiche if it's well made; some quiches are not so good.
Steve, LW and I drive by One Infinite Loop often.
Jazzbumpa, best wishes to you for successful concerts.
Yes, "So des ka" is a question, as denoted by the "ka". "So des" means "That's the way it is" or sometimes simply "Yes."
Regards to you all.

Anonymous T said...

Hi all!

Hand-up for a) bouncing around all over and b) thinking theme == food.

NW was a SEA of white until the very end (C OR DEE, RNS or drS?). The WEST & south seemed to fill faster. I never went w/ HAWKEYE as I had ORS 'cuz I got LAREDO off the (ASH) bat (Fresh Air re-run was on talking about cartels - 1/2 cheat?). Theme helped me spell NAV(E xOR A)L and revealed 39a.

Thanks Rick for a fun puzzle. Thanks Marti for the writeup - loved seeing Bill the Cat (Ave Joe - where'd you here it's coming back?) and panORAMA... COL (chuckled).

Did no one else try to think of 50 Shades of Gray's author @15a? V8 moment.

W/Os - I though it was spelled LORRAnge and had HINGing for 11d. Took a bit.. Also, eeK b/f ACK.

Liked c/a for 57a - do y'all have a Ford-Lincoln dealership in your area? I wanted V-six for a bit. Leaned why it's called a SOIRée; makes sense now...

Favs - LOOP and ORs - I can WAX poetic on recursive LOOPS, OR not. (Hahtoolah - did Hungry Mom 'splain it?). What Virginia S. said (#2) re infinite; Steve/Jayce it is shaped like an elongated 8?

Runner up: SILENCE xing SIESTA - when everyone but me is out on a Sat.

HG - Forgo the LIPStick; call QUICHE a frittata like my dad does :-)

BYE for now - C, -T

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Late to the party, again. Been extra busy these last few weeks. Enjoyed the puzzle, no speed bumps.

Anon -T from yesterday - loved the NASA images! My hand is way up for thinking that humankind is justified in spending the small fraction of Gross World Product for all manner of scientific exploration, including but not limited to outer space. We're an investigative lot, overall, and it won't do to quash that over money squabbles. Plus, it creates terrific jobs. And terrific images!

Anonymous T said...

I hope I'm not going to get a bunch of ad-troll responses for this...

I just agreed to buy a car from my Bro's friend (trust all around - not the problem). I need to get it from FL to TX. I thought I'd fly & drive, but that's a bad idea (it's an '86 Alpha Spider), AIR travel + U-Haul costs more than a transit company quote. Has anyone had a good door-to-door auto-transit experience? If so, who'd you use? If not, who do I avoid. Any pitfalls I should look for? Thanks Puzzle Pals. Cheers, -T

Argyle said...

Don't get that guy from Vanishing Point.

CrossEyedDave said...

Well, I never thought I would be an Ad Troll, but my suggestion would be to sell it to me & i would keep it in Florida....

Except, you didn't say what color it was...

& if the the interior was tricked out...

But the truth is, "If" I could shoehorn myself into it, it would probably bottom out on the left side. & "if" DW got into the right side, we wouldn't be going anywhere...

Anonymous T, Dreams are great! But to avoid nightmares, after 29 years, you are going to be real familiar with this...

Roll over the #'s to see what you will be replacing, if the body doesn't rust away!

Dang it! I can appreciate antiques, but it would be cheaper to buy a new one!

Anonymous T said...

CED - Candy Apple Red. Inside is tricked out (wooden stick & all) and Bro's Buddy (BB) added a dial to disconnect the battery for when it sits. All fluids flushed, tires pristine, belts good, radiator ?. That's why I'm worried about FL ->TX in AUG. AAA membership may be in my future if Mayflower doesn't come in under $600.

Since this is a BB deal, I'm getting the ride for little $. My bro had the car, sold it to his buddy for $x to get it out of his driveway. The stipulation is Bro get's 1st right of refusal at same ridiculously low $x. $1 has been added to price 'cuz bro's buddy has never lost money on resale. He also included all the web-sites he buys parts from...

And why yes, this is my mid-life crisis. But I did the math; I'll live 'till 90! (as long as the beautiful blond next to me is DW :-))

Cheers, -T

Bill G. said...

Two guys wanted to get into a restaurant with their dogs but the sign said, "No Pets Allowed." The first guy says, Don't worry about it, puts on a pair of sunglasses and walks into the restaurant. The doorman says, No pets allowed. The guy says that he's blind and it's his seeing eye dog. The doorman says But it's a Doberman Pincher. Who uses them as seeing eye dogs? The guy says that's what they gave him, it's the latest kind of seeing eye dog, it's well-trained and does a very good job. He gets in.

The second guy sees the ploy has worked, puts on his sunglasses and walks into the restaurant with his Chihuahua. The doorman says, Don't tell me a Chihuahua is the latest kind of seeing eye dog too? The second guy thinks quickly and responds in an angry voice, You mean they gave me a Chihuahua??

Anonymous T said...

An owner of a Doberman rushes into the bar...

"Who owns that Chihuahua? You owe me $700."

A little guy pipes up "For what?"

"Your dog killed my Doberman...."

"How?"

"It got stuck in his throat"... C, -T

Lucina said...

BillG:
That is so funny!!!!

AnonT:
That one, too.