google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Melissa Brown and C.C. Burnikel

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May 24, 2016

Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Melissa Brown and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "Don't Look, Tinbeni!" - ICE slipped amidst the starred answers.

58A. Unemotional, and a hint to the hidden word in the answers to starred clues : COLD HEARTED

17A. *Menace to society : PUBLIC ENEMY

40A. *Command to an attack dog : SIC 'EM

27D. *Add zest to : SPICE UP

11D. *Beverage-named Denver arena : PEPSI CENTER

25D. *Many a news story, alas : TRAGIC EVENT

not melissa here. She's over here with C.C. giving us a spiffy pinwheel with the theme dead center. Plus, ICE is centered exactly in the heart of the theme entries.

Across:

1. Shoot for the stars : GO BIG or stay at home. Similar to fish or cut bait.

6. Group of musical notes : CHORD

11. Buddy : PAL

14. Get off the couch : ARISE

15. Part of a mechanic's bill : LABOR

16. Green prefix : ECO. Indicating something ecological.

19. Pod veggie : PEA

20. Between Europe and America, say : ASEA. I thought ASIA at first.

21. Permeates : SOAKS IN

23. Three-letter sandwich : BLT. (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) w/ fresh from the garden tomato, oh my!

26. Belmont Stakes racer : HORSE

28. J or D, for J.D. Salinger : INIT. (initial)

29. Musical sense : EAR

30. w/o delay : ASAP. "as soon as possible"

31. Gator kin : CROC

32. Apple desktops : iMACs

34. Fodder holder : SILO

36. Gael, for one : CELT

39. Wild (over) : GAGA

41. Joint for a dummy : KNEE. Not a crash test dummy but a ventriloquist's dummy.

42. The Emerald Isle : ERIN

43. Rodriguez of the Yankees : ALEX. A-Rod

44. Starter for 007's car? : ASTON - Martin

45. First name in perfume : COCO

47. __ Bator : ULAN

49. Conclusion : END

50. Actor Lugosi : BELA

51. Sudden gush : SPURT

52. Dorm VIPs : RAs. (Resident Assistant)

53. Tropical plain : SAVANNA

55. Spat : TIFF

57. Needle aperture : EYE

63. Came in first : WON

64. Pedro's January : ENERO

65. Brings in at harvest time : REAPs. Time to sow what you hope to reap. (like tomatoes)

66. Pecan or almond : NUT

67. Short-straw picker : LOSER

68. Win an Olympics prize : MEDAL. Verb usage.

Down:

1. Opening : GAP

2. Tulsa sch. with a Prayer Tower : ORU. (Oral Roberts University)


3. Highchair user's protector : BIB

4. Cuba, por ejemplo : ISLA. I'm curious; does anyone have plans for a visit?

                           Manzanillo, Cuba

5. Kimono-clad entertainers : GEISHAs. And we all know what sash holds their kimono closed.

6. Maker of Ultra acne treatments : CLEARASIL

7. Sci-fi pilot Solo : HAN. Viral video.



8. Having lots to lose : OBESE

9. Quarterback Tony : ROMO. Dallas Cowboy. I knew ... a name like Tony his last name had to end w/ a vowel. - Anonymous T

10. Low-humidity environment : DRY AIR

12. Crush the midterm : ACE IT

13. Cash advance : LOAN

18. Corp. heads : CEOs. (Chief Executive Officer)

22. Criticizes : KNOCKS

23. Latte-colored : BEIGE

24. Ex-NBA star Odom : LAMAR. He played for several teams.

31. Cousin of org : COM.

33. Corn oil alternative : CANOLA. Good or Bad?

35. Foe in "Batman v Superman" : LEX LUTHOR. Jesse Eisenberg portrayed Lex Luthor.

37. Hotelier Helmsley : LEONA

38. Looks after : TENDS

40. __ Paulo : SAO. Brazil

44. Colony with tunnels : ANT FARM

46. Call off : CANCEL

48. "Acoustic Soul" artist India.__ : ARIE



50. Crawfish habitat : BAYOU

51. After-Christmas specials : SALES

53. Attached using thread : SEWN

54. Texting while driving, e.g. : NO-NO

56. Release : FREE

59. Dr. of hip-hop : DRE. One of the few I remember.

60. Smidgen : TAD

61. Pollution-monitoring org. : EPA. (Environmental Protection Agency)

62. ISP alternative : DSL. An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing and using the Internet. Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines.

Argyle


44 comments:

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Test.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Blogger glitch. All comments made yesterday disappeared.

Dudley said...

Well, that explains a lot!

Morning, C.C.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Good morning, Dudley
I've reported the problem to Blogger. Same thing happened a few few years ago. The comments were back eventually.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Sorry. I wronged Blogger. Argyle accidentally deleted the full page of comments last night.

I'm retrieving one by one. Below posts were cached Tuesday comments.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

I retrieved the wrong comments earlier. They were all from the Spa puzzle I made with Melissa. Wrong cache.

Sorry guys. I tried. Could not get the comments back.

Abejo said...

Good wednesday morning, folks. Thank you, Melissa Brown and C.C. Burnikel, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

Well, I did not get the entire puzzle done on Tuesday. Too busy selling Vidalia Onions. We finished that last night. Then I cooked supper and went to bed after watching the news and Perry Mason.

Puzzle was a solid tuesday level. Got through it fairly easily. Got the theme after coming here.

Took me a little thinking to get A SEA. Simple after I got it.

We have two IMACS. One for my wife and one for me. Our daughter has a MAC laptop.

Wanted ANT HILL for 44D. Held off and got ANT FARM without an inkblot.

When i got here and saw only 6 comments, I thought something may have happened. Looks like it did. Oh well, stuff happens.

See you on Thursday.

Abejo

Anonymous said...

fermatprime @4:09 AM

Greetings!

Thanks, CC, mb and Santa!

Fun puzzle. No problems.

Cheers

Anonymous said...

George Barany @May 24, 2016 at 5:20 AM

What an elegant puzzle by @Melissa Brown and @C.C. -- thanks @Argyle for explaining it. Brings to mind Puccini's final opera, "Turandot," in which the heroic tenor playing a foreign prince needs to solve three riddles posed by the soprano playing the title legendary Chinese princess.

Today marks the 75th birthday of a Minnesota-born musical icon, so here's a riddle for reader's of this blog: Solve
"The Answers My Friend ..."
, constructed with @Robert Mark, and find out who.

Anonymous said...

Posted by OwenKL to L.A.Times Crossword Corner at May 24, 2016 at 5:39 AM

Once a trend starts, an idea SOAKS IN
So it is for our friends of rubicund skin.
They're now peaceful, it's true
But there's no pay for virtue;
So they open casinos -- To get rich, SOAK SIN!

A SEA HORSE is an oddity, so people say.
He swims upright, while other fish lay.
And the way they have sex,
Who's concave or convex,
Is reversed, which leaves the guy in a family way!

Her father was stern in their Southern BAYOU
She was taught to do exactly what told to do.
Like to warn with a KNOCK
If she spotted a CROC --
So 'twas a 'gator that bit her daddy on two!

Coach gave a pep talk to SPICE UP his crew.
Told them GO BIG or go home they must do!
They thought they'd be winner
If they got really bigger --
Instead their hot-air balloon went Ka-Bloo!

{C-, B-, C, B.}

Anonymous said...

Barry G.@May 24, 2016 at 5:48 AM

Morning, all!

Breezed through this one in no time flat. Only write over was DESERT before DRY AIR, but that didn't last very long. Cute theme!

OwenKL@May 24, 2016 at 5:51 AM said...

Oy, I got the theme wrong! Or maybe just noticed a double meaning. The C in the center of each word caught my eye early, so when I got to COLD HEARTED, I thought it just meant C for Cold at the heart of each phrase! Didn't realize the ICE was there until I came here. Must be black ice.
I had POND between America & Europe.

Hungry Mother@May 24, 2016 at 6:09 AM said...

Light entertainment.

desper-otto@May 24, 2016 at 6:29 AM said...

Good morning!

Congrats Melissa Bee and C.C. on your encore Corner Collaboration. Never noticed the theme, but no matter. Only stumble was "Spat" -- I couldn't see beyond the past tense of "spit."

Argyle, your photo of Ulan Bator makes me really not want to visit there. Is that a power plant on the horizon?

We use CANOLA oil (sounds nicer than rapeseed) at our house -- no corn oil.

Always thought CLEARASIL should have called themselves CLEARAZIT.

Dudley@May 24, 2016 at 7:02 AM said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Easy romp today. Impressive grid design! You hafta love the symmetry, particularly the center. Nicely done, MBCC.

Morning, Argyle, was that really a viral video?

Lucina@May 24, 2016 at 7:28 AM said...



Brava, MB and CC! Going BIG has paid off for you.

Thankfully, ENERO saved me from embarrassing myself with LEXLUTHeR. otherwise, it was a quick trot to the finish. I loved the clues for OBESE and KNEE.

Thank you, Argyle; also well done.

Have a happy day, everyone!

desper-otto@May 24, 2016 at 7:32 AM said...


Learning moment: Canola and rapeseed oil aren't exactly the same. Canola is rapeseed with some of the bad stuff bred out of it. The name is short for Canadian Oil. Yeah, I had to look it up.

Madame Defarge@May 24, 2016 at 7:33 AM said...

Good Morning.

Fun run here this morning. Thanks, Melissa and C.C., I needed that.

Thanks for the tour, Argyle. I am in agreement with you @5:25.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary@May 24, 2016 at 7:41 AM said...


Yeah, I tried to find a thread with the first or second words or the first letters of them but loved the ICE theme by two of my favorite ladies here at our corner of the world. Having 5 entries of varied length was, uh, cool also!

Musings
-We got a LABOR bill for $60 for 60 sec. of work: Pushing a knob down that had slipped up
-My BIL REAPS a ton of tomatoes from his 50 plants every year and then can’t give them away
-No DRY AIR here after another 1.5” of rain and more to come. I hope league this morning isn’t CANCELED
-A man I golf with has a standing joke when he hits a ball farther than someone. “That’s a Linda Ronstadt, Blue Bayou (blew by you)!” He then laughs uproariously. It was kinda funny the first five times but then… Personally she can’t hold a candle to Roy Orbison’s version.
-You can’t forget how to spell LUTHOR after you hear Warren Beatty pronounce it (2:07)
-Gotta run for league!!

TTP@May 24, 2016 at 7:47 AM said...

Very nICE puzzle this morning by Melissa and CC.

No bellering Tinbeni ! It had to happen one day.

Had unblocked corner to corner runs in each direction today. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a big X pattern.

MLB.com has an article this morning that the family of Tony Gwynn has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against tobacco industry. Tony Dorsett, long time Dallas Cowboy, had "No comment", while former British Prime minister Tony Blair defends the choices he made. Maybe that vowel-ending thing is a falsism ? Still, the timing was perfect. All in good fun -T.

What Lucina said. Knowing ENERO changed that e to o in LUTHOR.

Argyle, "Dr. DRE. One of the few I remember." What about ? .... Rapper turned actor.... Law & Order SVU ?.... Wait for it... wait.... whaddabout ICE-T ?

Spitzboov@May 24, 2016 at 8:21 AM said...

Good Morning everyone.

Nice puzzle. Easy enough, but just sufficiently gnarly to require some careful considerations. I thought of Tinman as soon as the ICE schtick manifested itself. Some good cluing; like the one for ASTON por ejemplo.
CANOLA - Made from rapeseed oil; rapeseed is a member of the mustard family along with cabbage, capers and turnips. Developed in Saskatchewan where rapeseed is widely grown, hence the name, Canola, for Canada, eh? I've made popcorn with it; tasted pretty good.

BZ to MB and CC. for a fine job.

unclefred@May 24, 2016 at 9:54 AM said...


Loved this CW! Witty, logical, just enough deception to make it interesting. And I beat my usual Monday time on a Tuesday! Gotta love that!! Thanx, MB and CC!! Terrific write-up, too, thanx, Argyle!! Owen, B,B,A,B. Thanx for your wit!!

Bluehen@May 24, 2016 at 10:33 AM said...


A quick, witty, and fun puzzle. Thanks CC and MB. Entertaining expo, Argyle, thank you. No nits, no problems. Beautiful construction.

YellowRocks from yesterday, Right now I'm in a holding pattern until the hip heals more. In probably 2 - 3 weeks the sawbones and I will determine the correct course of action. I could have repair surgery which will have the effect of lengthening the right leg, or I might decide that I can live with one leg a 1/2" shorter than the other. We'll see. I'm getting around better all the time, though I do remind people of Grandpa McCoy. Hmm, I wonder if Medicare will cover the repair surgery?

I have some Canola oil that I occasionally use when sauteeing something very delicate and I want as tasteless a cooking medium as possible, not often. I have a very good bottle of what Anne Burrell calls "My big, fat finishing oil", Columelo Extra Virgin Olive Oil. But my go-to oil for most cooking is Extra Light Olive Oil. It can take higher heat than Extra virgin, doesn't contribute much flavor, and has most of the health benefits of EVOO. My $0.02.

Cya!

Bluehen@May 24, 2016 at 10:46 AM said...

I just read Irish Mist's post about her food preferences. Amen to the butter, white bread, and no sugar. On the rare occasion when I want to sweeten something I use aspartame. Why? For the asspartame, of course.

Anonymous@May 24, 2016 at 10:52 AM said...

IM, the Food Police, aka Ancel Keyes, died. And his theory that "fats are bad" (i.e., butter, whole milk, eggs) should be buried with him. It was a 40 year experiment on diet foisted on America, with no science behind it. Just one man who had an agenda. Science has now disproved him. Mangia!

C6D6 Peg@May 24, 2016 at 10:59 AM said...

Nicely done, MB & CC! Enjoyed the outing!

Thanks, Argyle. I'll have to agree with D-Otto about Ulan Bator pic. Not someplace I'd like to see. Other pics were great!

oc4beach@May 24, 2016 at 11:04 AM said...

Really nice Tuesday run from MB and C.C. I didn't get or even look for the theme until I read Argyle's explanation. Really cool.

Really didn't have any problem filling in the puzzle today. Perps helped a lot.

Does Tin prefer his sunset toast NEAT or on-ICE?

Not using DSL today since I'm at the beach house with no internet service. The Hotspot feature on my cellphone gives me enough data to do the puzzle and read email on my laptop, but not enough to do streaming video.

The rainy weather is supposed to end today and the temperature is supposed to get into the high 70's and mid 80's for the next few days in OC. The sun is out and it looks like summer is here.

Enjoy!

JD@May 24, 2016 at 12:11 PM said...

Good morning all,
Always fun to see a C.C. puzzle, but extra special when it's a co-op with one of our own. Loved it ladies! Was sailing along until I misspelled Clearasil (with a c). Then silo didn't jump out right away which stalled Lex Luthor. Saw the ice, so was looking for cold as....??? .

Nice to see you, Dennis.

I sure hope no one from the Corner texts while driving

Anonymous@May 24, 2016 at 12:20 PM said...


I thought Argyle was very restrained in pointing out that DSL is not an ISP alternative.

Cable or DSL (or mobile) require an ISP: they are physical connections to the Internet; an ISP provides the billing and logistics required to make your internet connection actually connect to the internet.

A "service provider" and the service they provide should not be confused. A doctor or a nurse may provide a flu shot, but neither by themselves is an alternative to a flu shot.

Spitzboov@May 24, 2016 at 12:44 PM said...

D-D @0629 - It looks like a power plant to me. I see 4 cooling towers.
See Power Plant 4 in lower right hand corner of this site.. Coal burning.

Argent@May 24, 2016 at 12:57 PM said...

Argyle and Anon 12:20 PM - "ISP alternative" could be read as meaning one of the alternatives an ISP might offer. That bugged me too until I thought of that! Thanks C.C., Melissa and Argyle.

Misty@May 24, 2016 at 1:36 PM said...

A total delight to open the paper and find a C.C. and Melissa puzzle on a Tuesday morning. I found this one much smoother than yesterday's and just breezed right through it. It helped that I lived in Tulsa for a time, and so got ORU without any problem. What does J.D. in J.D. Salinger stand for? I've always wondered about that? Anyway, can't think of anyone less COLD HEARTED than C.C. and Melissa, so the irony was as much fun as that superb grid. And, of course, thank you too, Argyle--as always.

Have a great day, everybody!

Ol' Man Keith@May 24, 2016 at 2:33 PM said...

Jerome David, according to Wikipedia.
That's for Misty @ 1:36.

Ol' Man Keith@May 24, 2016 at 2:40 PM said...

Interesting pzl, to say the least.
Along the way, I found myself facing small but similar internal battles over spelling. First there was the question of an "E" or "I" in the answer to 20A, "Between Europe and America, say," as the fill might have legitimately been either ASIA or A SEA.
Then I paused over the spelling of LEX LUTHOR. Shouldn't it be LUTHER? Then came the correct spelling for Mr. Bond's vehicle. Somehow, I've always thought it should be ASTIN (maybe to match the ending of Martin?), but I guess we must go with ASTON. (I once played a character named ASTON in a Pinter play, and thought the car was different.)

Husker Gary@May 24, 2016 at 2:44 PM said...

Musings 2
-A very warm 18 today between rain showers. We play a 2-man best ball scramble on the first nine and we never used my partner’s shot once and we/I still shot a 37.
-You mean NED and WARREN aren’t twins. Too bad Auto-Correct doesn’t pick up idiocy!
-Yesterday someone posted the dueling banjo scene from Deliverance on Facebook but (Freudian slip) not Ned’s big scene.
-I wish someone could teach me how to make an entry to our blog from my iPhone. When I hit Publish on my iPhone, what I’ve typed replaces the entire blog of the day.
-I agree, associating Melissa B and C.C. with cold-heartedness is ridiculous!
-Lawn to mow and edge.
- आपका दिन शुभ हो - “Have a nice day” in Hindi NOT Hindu

TTP@May 24, 2016 at 6:04 PM said...

Me too Gary. 22 holes in the bright sunshine, and then cutting the grass in the late afternoon heat. Forecast is for rain and storms off and on for the next four or five days, and temps ten to fifteen degrees above average. Might be a good time to catch up on paperwork and reading.

CanadianEh!@May 24, 2016 at 6:31 PM said...

Wow, GO BIG with Melissa and C.C.
Fun theme and a quick solve with some of our usual crossword friends - ASEA, ERIN,, SIC EM,, NONO.

I have been busy today buying flower plants and veggies to start my summer gardening. I hope to REAP Tomatoes for BLTs!

The bright yellow fields of CANOLA in Saskatchewan are a beautiful sight. I have used canola oil for years.

Nyquist would not fit so my Belmont Stakes racer became HORSE.

Canadians have been able to travel to Cuba and it is a popular tourist destination with generally lower prices. I have never been there but family members and friends have visited. Consensus seems to be that the resorts are OK, food is only so-so, and excursions are limited (Havana visit is popular).

TRAGIC EVENT reminded me of the announcement today that Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip has terminal brain cancer. But he will still travel with the group this summer and can still sing.

Good evening to all.

Anonymous@May 24, 2016 at 7:39 PM said...

Saw a couple of other hidden ICEs today.

Would you like a margarita on ICE or frozen. "Umm you had me 'AT ICE'

You got zits? Try 'RALLAS ICE'

*6d and 12d

Big Easy@May 24, 2016 at 7:41 PM said...

Very late completing this one tonight. Completed it so fast that after I filled COLD HEARTED seeing only 'unemotional' and then started looking for a connection and noticed ICE in the three long fills but no SIC EM. I didn't know PEPSI CENTER but the crosses took care of it.

ISLA-Cuba? NO. I have lots of Cuban friends but I don't pay to go on vacation to see poverty. Going to Vancouver next week.

Congrats to our troika, Melissa, C.C. and Argyle.

Anonymous T@May 24, 2016 at 8:07 PM said...

Hi all!

Wow! Took a while after finishing to SOAK it all IN. WEES - beautifully constructed and well executed. Way to SPICE UP a Tuesday! Thanks Melissa bee and C.C.

Thanks for the write-up Argyle. Enjoyed it but I couldn't watch happy-Chewie 'till the END.

WOs: NO, NO, none today.

ESPs: ULAN & ARIE (xing A was a WAG)

Enjoyed: WON & LOSER in the same puzzle; the Win gets a MEDAL.

Fav: ROMO. Not for the football but the vowel...
TTP - Your exceptions proves the rule :-)

Runners up: c/a's @ 41a & 8d. Cute.

Tin: Glad to hear it wasn't a Total DNF tryin' to keep it DRY :-)

IM & Jayce: I've 4 or 5 oils in my pantry (CANOLA is one) and butter in the fridge. I use EVOO the most and buy Colavita in the 3L can. C, Eh! - I remember flying into Aberdeen and seeing all the rapeseed fields - very pretty.

Dr. DRE was not part of PUBLIC ENEMY - think either could play a CHORD?

Cheers, (ICE, ICE, ICE baby, ICE)-T

Anonymous T@May 24, 2016 at 9:06 PM said...

CanadianEh! I don't know why I typed Aberdeen when I meant Calgary. I saw rapeseed in both places but Calgary is correct for the inbound flt. It was foggy in ABE, imagine that...

Ave Joe - Never heard of Avocado oil. I use peanut for high-flashpoint but some of DW's folk are allergic; that would be a great alternative. Thanks.

Cheers, -T

CanadianEh!@May 24, 2016 at 10:55 PM said...

AnonT- No I doubt there is an airport in Aberdeen Sask! Whatever were you doing there?

Anonymous T@May 24, 2016 at 11:15 PM said...

CanadianEh! - I was in Aberdeen Scotland (there's an Aberdeen Sask?) and Calgary for work. Add the fact I live in Houston and you'd guess right; I GO to work for BIG oil :-) //Actually, we're mid-sized.

OMK - I meant to say hand-up for the same vowel issues. There's two of us :-)

Cheers, -Ton

Lucina@May 24, 2016 at 11:38 PM said...

AnonT and AVGJoe:
Do you have Sprouts stores in your areas? They carry a wide assortment of oils though I hadn't particularly noticed avocado. Next trip I'll check on it. That's where I met the singing poetry lady, BTW.

I also like to keep peanut oil, one or two kinds of olive oil and vegetable which, IMO, has a less invasive taste than canola.