google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Jan 14th, 2017 Roland Huget

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Jan 14, 2017

Saturday, Jan 14th, 2017 Roland Huget

Theme: None

Words 68 (missing B,F,J,K,Q,Z)

Blocks: 25 

A perfectly symmetrical construction with chunky corners and no way to get from one to the other without going through 15-letter spanners and climbers makes this possibly the most difficult grid to work with;  I have to own up to one Google cheat, but other than that, I call this one a win - no fun-sponge answers, and solid fill throughout.  The last Saturday puzzle from Mr. Huget was nearly an identical grid, and I re-read my write-up and it was a struggle then as well.  Still, I liked the challenge, and I was within my personal allotted time, so one cheat is fair, right~?  Anyway, the four spanners and climbers;

31a. Classic children's story about healing : THE SECRET GARDEN - I'd heard of it, but knew nothing about it, so I went to the the Wiki

36a. '60s TV sidekick : AGENT NINETY-NINE - from Get Smart - one of my favorite openings for a show and theme song - here's the 60's Agent 99; I liked Anne Hathaway in the 2008 movie myself

GET SMART

7d. Find the weakness of : HIT WHERE IT HURTS

8d. Accessory for FDR : CIGARETTE HOLDER - see also 55d. for a WWII contemporary



bONnieWARD~!

ACROSS: 

1. "Yikes!" : "OMIGOSH~!"

8. Whitewash : COVER-UP

15. Ancient Roman coins : DENARII - I took Latin for four years in school, so the couble "I-I" at the end was acceptable

16. "It's not an option for me" : "I HAVE TO." - I have to add a leg image - it's not an option for me

17. Court exhibit, perhaps : DNA TEST

18. Squared up : GOT EVEN - I was not sure if this was a carpentry clue, or an "I.O.U." one

19. Customs : MORES - dah~! Not NorMs

20. '70s org. for 21-Down : WHA - I immediately filled in NHL, as I knew who we were looking for at 21d - and I was wrong~!  The WHA was the World Hockey Association, a league I had never heard of - I grew up with the NY Rangers, the team my dad followed before the birth of the Islanders - who got their start from the legal battles of the NHL with the WHA - the Wiki
 
22. Viking family dog of comics : SNERT - Hägar the Horrible


23. Notable periods : ERAS - a gimme for Saturday

24. Side issue? : THORN - a "thorn in one's side" - har-har

26. Piano __ : TRIO - yeah, this one was vague, at best; I pondered LEGS




27. Hound : NAG - oops, not the 'other' hound - DOG - I have an idea for a new board game that I have been working on all week, and there's a good chance I can produce it if the prototype is good - my friend Mike works with China to produce backyard games and such

28. Little ones : PEE-WEES

30. "Microsoft sound" composer : ENO - perps

34. "What's Hecuba to him, __ to Hecuba": Hamlet : OR HE - OK, the only fill that was "meh", but not too bad when you quote Shakespeare

35. St Ives gallery : TATE - a WAG off  '--TE'


43. Discount tag abbr. : IRRegular

44. One giving a thumbs-up? : HITCHER - Always makes me think of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy




45. Put the kibosh on : NIX - ARGH~! not HEX, not POX

46. Actors Glass and Silver : RONs - both have died; I knew Ron Silver - he was a lawyer on Law & Order, but I had to look up Ron Glass - ah, from Barney Miller, just before my time

48. Total confusion : CHAOS - I mentioned this word last week - and KAOS was in Get Smart, too

49. High seas adverb : THAR - she blows~!

50. Creamer of the LPGA : PAULA - perps and WAG

52. Search result : URL - oops, not HIT

53. "Rocky IV" antagonist Ivan : DRAGO - this was "my time", but Rocky movies were not my thing; 1985 was a good movie year - Back to the Future, A View to A Kill, and a tie-in to 28a. - see here

54. Being tracked, in a way : ON RADAR



56. Think it likely : DARESAY - I pondered DEEMS SO

58. Reference : RESPECT - should this have been reVerence~?  I'm calling blooper

59. Hyundai 1990 launch : ELANTRA - Nailed it, even if it was a WAG

60. Locks : TRESSES

61. Unfair treatment : RAW DEAL 

 DOWN:

1. Leftover : ODDMENT

2. Festival of Lights symbol : MENORAH - big help in the NW

3. Really ticked : IN A RAGE

4. 36-Down areas : GATES - did not work with my NorMs

5. They may be picked out : ORES - ah, a fresh clue for an old fill



6. Family nickname : SIS

9. "Look what I found!" : "O HO~!"

10. Brewery fixtures : VATS

11. What happened : EVENT

12. Venerated : REVERED - still calling blooper at 58a.

13. Womb-related : UTERINE

14. Floatplane feature : PONTOON

21. Six-time Hart Trophy winner : HOWE - either HOWE or HULL

24. Lego line that may include gears and motors : TECHNIC - my favorite collection of Lego sets; I have several kits still in a closet at mom's house, including the "old" helicopter set - here's the latest helicopter, but all the new kits have pre-molded parts that take some of the fun out of building



25. Countermands : NEGATES

28. Capital of Western Australia : PERTH - ooh, good WAG off just the "H"

29. Faun look-alike : SATYR

32. Male issue : SON

33. Cartoon canine : REN

36. Site with scanners : AIRPORT

37. It usually doesn't get a laugh : GROANER

38. Hospital triage pro : ER NURSE

39. Mayberry's home: Abbr. : N. CARolina

40. At the last minute, say : IN HASTE

41. New York county north of Erie : NIAGARA - my one cheat - and living in NY, I shoulda known....



NW corner - polar opposites; I'm in Suffolk, SE

42. 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist, e.g. : EX-ROYAL - hockey is my thing, not baseball

47. Sharp rebukes : SLAPS

49. General direction : TREND

51. Citrus coolers : ADES

53. Main attraction : DRAW

55. Dogfight participant : ACE - Iron Maiden's Aces High




57. Like : À LA

Splynter 


Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear JD, who joined our blog after she retired in 2008. Below is the first picture JD shared with us back when her daughter Shelby got married. Truman was only a baby then. How time flies. You can click here for many beautiful pictures JD shared with us over the years.




30 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIW¡ The cross of natick (and I use that as singular, not plural) W¡A + ¡OWE got me. I wagged B for the intersection, risking Women's Bowling Asso. Bzzt. When I got no ta-da, I zeroed in on that cell being the fault, but H was about the third WAG, so didn't earn any trophy, Hart or otherwise¡

I completed the two top corners fairly easily, the center (except the H) and SW with a lot of effort, and very nearly gave up entirely on the SE.

{A, A-, A, B-.}

OMIGOSH, a COVER-UP, what shall we do?
Our Conspiracy-Theorist-in-Chief is the one in the stew!
Should AGENT NINETY-NINE
The plots un-entwine,
Or should we let KAOS-caused CHAOS ensue?

William Congreve wrote, in The Old Batchelour,
"Married IN HASTE, we may repent at leisure."
I would DARESAY
It's still true today,
At least if the scarcity of pre-nups is a measure!

"Topper" was a novel from the pen of THORN Smith
That had fun exploiting a ghostly myth!
The ODDMENTS of the soul
Of George or Marion may stroll
Thru the cosmos of Cosmo. (Fun ensues forthwith!)

The blond's husband insisted on a DNA TEST
To ensure their PEEWEE babe's genes were the best
Said the doc, "We found out
It's your SON without doubt --
But your wife's DNA wasn't found in the rest!"

Anonymous said...



In reference to prior testimony
In respect to prior testimony
In regard to prior testimony

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Was certain "General direction" was ORDER, and that bollixed up the SE for some time. Anon@5:08, thanx for 'splainin' RESPECT; I couldn't see it, either. I also noticed the CHAOS beneath AGENT NINETY NINE. Still don't understand Piano TRIO. There was lots to like in this one. But at the end, it came down to an alphabet run for W_A/_OWE. Decided it could be H, L or R; I went with the L. Bzzzzzt! DNF!

Back in the day, TECHNICs was a "brand" of Panasonic electronic gear. I think I may still have a TECHNICs turntable in the closet.

Happy birthday, JD? Are you going on a trip to celebrate the birthday?

desper-otto said...

I thought the season was over, but I just learned that the Houston Texans are still technically "alive" with Superbowl dreams. Things are bigger in Texas -- biggest underdogs in 35 years!

Unknown said...

Don't remember Ron Silver on Law and
Order. He did play Alan Dershowitz.
Ron Glass was on Barney Miller.

unclefred said...

Dang!! So sure I wouldn't be able to do this CW I didn't write down a "Start" time. Then slogged away to see how many I COULD get, and next thing u know, it's done! Now I don't know how long it took! Dang! Last to fall was RESPECT. Finally perped in best guess.

BobB said...

Had Ono instead of Eno far too long.

Big EAsy said...

I finished but I think SNERT, PONTOON, PAULA, PERTH, and NIAGARA were the only gimmes for me. I had the most trouble with 1A & 1D, wanting REMNANT for ODDMENT (never heard of), didn't know OMIGOSH was a real word. DENARII was filled by perps, never heard that one either. But 'mucho dinero' is a saying we all say so the DENARII made sense. Let's just say that it HIT WHERE IF HURTS, with much CHAOS, but in the end this puzzle was not a RAW DEAL.

I confidently filled NHL and Bobby HULL and was I ever wrong. HULL, HOWE, ORR, and the man from the original Miller Lite commercials- Boom Boom GEOFFRION are the only hockey players I know. I remember the WHA but had to change it from WHL to accommodate FDR's prop. That was a THORN in my side, which did or didn't help because TECHNIC was another unknown.

The spanners were surprisingly easy to fill with just a few letters. Barbara Feldon, AGENT NINETY-NINE, did commercials for a local furniture store in New Orleans after 'Get Smart' went off the air.

DNA TEST- the only person that it didn't help convict was O.J.

billocohoes said...

Not only nHl instead of WHA, but guessed Bobby Hull for Gordie HOWE.

I would've taken Barbara Feldon over AH for 99 all day.

BunnyM said...

Good morning all!
This was challenging but I always enjoy a good workout and liked the grid. Thanks Roland and thanks Splynter. I enjoyed your fun expo and had to lol @ the RADAR picture 😄Enjoyed the 1985 movie link- that was a great year for films! I also had to Google NIAGARA

My time was just under an hour ( average Saturday for me) with a lot of perps and WAGs and a few I had to Google: DRAGO - it's been years since I've seen any Rocky movies; SATYR, DENARII and HOWE ( I have been to Gordy Howe's restaurant in Traverse City, MI. But not much hockey knowledge on my part, so had no idea about the Hart award or that NHL used to the WHA)

Missteps: had Lores/MORES, Aha/OHO, Taps/VATS, Esteemed/REVERED, Ilk/ ALA
Like desper-otto, still wondering about Piano TRIO

Favorites were THORN and HITCHER - clever 😀

I knew ELANTRA. I have a 2003 model. Only 85,000 miles and runs like a champ. One issue is rust- a lot on the body and the gas tank had to be replaced due to rusting away as did a control arm that snapped in half due to rust. Luckily this happened in a parking lot at low speed! I still cringe when I think of what could have happened- I had just gotten off the highway. I will drive it until it rusts away to nothing if I can because not having a car payment is a wonderful thing. Despite all this, we are a family of Hyundai owners- the warranty they offer is hard to beat.

Have a wonderful weekend my fellow puzzlers!
🐇

Anonymous said...

No religion? I see we are taking the Lord's name in vain again. OMIGOSH is a euphemism for OH MY GOD!

One with thumb up is a HITCHHIKER, not a HITCHER.

CrossEyedDave said...

I was totally mystified by 4d down area = gate,
Then realized I never saw the 4d clue reference "36d" down area.
Am I losing my mind?
Was there a typo omission on the latimes crossword site?

I was about to reload the whole dang thingie
When I realized that if I watched the stupid ad again just
For this it would confirm I had lost my mind...

Ditto on piano trio, but watch any YouTube video and you
Will see four, the page turner never gets any credit...

Rented a Hyundai Santa Fe this trip and was impressed.
Much better than that Jeep Patriot clunker we got last time.

Happy birthday JD,
have to improvise not having access to my PC.

Betsey C. said...

This was a lot of fun. I thought the "thorn" clue was very clever. My only mess-up was "premies" (sp!) for "pee wees".

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Since the grid spanners were so gettable, I’ll forgive ODDMENT ☺ in this worthy challenge
-Rotten Tomatoes (37%) and I didn’t care for this guy playing FDR
-The COVER-UP undoes a politician as much as the deed
-Steve Martin as the harried father in Parenthood - “My whole life is HAVE TO”
-For Androcles, that THORN was a paw issue
-This is a Piano TRIO, not three pianos
-Ever been fooled by this St. Ives riddle? Read the first line carefully!
-Splynter! You could have used this famous non-thumb HITCHER and gotten in some leg.
-DRAGO’s big line – “I will break you”
-I doubt my daughter ever calls her principal Sister Mary Joseph SIS
-I used the TECHNIC materials for years in JH Physics and the kids loved them
-I always forget NIAGARA has four syllables
-EX-ROYAL was my first thought, They really missed him this year
-The MAIN DRAW was The Monkees. Their opening act, Jimi Hendrix, got booed off the stage.
-Happy Birthday to you Judy. I loved the golf maxims you sent me!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Only two look-ups today, DRAGO and ELANTRA. Got everything else including the grid spanners which made the rest easier, so I was satisfied. Some neat clue/answer combinations - HITCHER was a favorite, THORN was good, too.
NIAGARA - We lived in western NY for 20 years so NIAGARA was a gimme. Commuted to my job there for 6 years. A less common clue for NIAGARA, but otherwise obvious. I believe Canadian Eh lives in what is called the NIAGARA Peninsula of Ontario.
THAR - Famous scene in MASH where the doctors want to procure an incubator and the supply officer reads from a long list of available items. He finally says"incubator" and Lt. Col. Henry Blake says: "Thar she blows".

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This one nearly did me in! The SE and NW corners were brutal and I almost gave up but that Irish stubbornness wouldn't give in. The NW fell after I finally realized that the correct fill was Hit not See It Where It Hurts and Sis replaced Pop. If I were to write Oh My Gosh, it would be with a Y not an I, and I would be expressing wonder or surprise, contrary to our religious scolder-in-chief's judgment.

Thanks, Roland, for a super Saturday challenge and thanks, Splynter, for guiding us along so cheerfully.

Happy Birthday, JD, hope it's a fun-filled day.🎂🎉🎁🎈🍾

Have a great day.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

Happy Birthday, JD! It's been fun watching your grandsons grow up over the years.

Like Irish Miss, I found the NW and SE quite challenging. Finally googled DENARII to open up the NW and DRAGO to open up the SE. Had "hit" before URL and nORmS before MORES, but perps took care of those errors. Great clues for THORN and HITCHER.

Excellent write-up and links, Splynter. Thank you.

Enjoy the day!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Had to chip away at this one, and hand up for getting foiled at WHA x Howe. I didn't know a WHA existed. Splendid grid symmetry today!

Morning Splynter, I paused at Reference too. Absolutely love today's leg sample! By chance, I saw the Anne Hathaway version of Get Smart for the first time last week, and thought she was just right for the role.

HBTY JD!

Irish Miss, I'm departing shortly for Albany - looking at a used car there - so I'll wave on the way by.

Northwest Runner said...

Definitely Saturday material. I almost turned the red letters on for the NW having never heard of oddment or denarii. I was thinking maybe something with old and not odd and wasn't sure if odes or ones might somehow work out instead of ores. I remember that bit of Eno trivia from back when Windows 95 came out. Has anyone compiled a list of the various ways he's been clued?

Lucina said...

Happy birthday, JD! I know you'll have fun.

What a fun romp from Roland Huget though I recall his last one was a bear to work. On this one each quadrant, except the NW, filled somewhat quickly. Starting in the NE I was on Roland's wave length almost immediately. Then in the SW it was also a fast sashay and I had the same doubts about RESPECT v. reference. Thank you, anonymous@5:08.

I loved RON Glass and the whole gang in that PD of Barney Miller. The SE slowed my momentum until ELANTRA came to mind then RAWDEAl and the downs flowed like a waterfall. NIAGARA seemed logical for that area near Erie.

In the NW I was certain of OMIGOSH (we use that term so we DON'T take the Lord's name in vain)but finally had to look up DENARII since I was stuck on CENTIMES but I believe that's French.

Finally it all came together except HOWE/WHA where I had WBA/BOWE and no idea about any of it.

Anyway, this was fun. Thank you, Mr. Huget and Splynter.

I hope you all enjoy your day! Book club today.

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks, Roland, for a nice challenge today. FIW with WBA and BOWE..... had no clue! Wouldn't have guessed WHA, either!

Splynter, loved the "RADAR" photo. LOL! Thanks for your input every week!

TX Ms said...

Hand-up for remnent (sp!!) instead of oddment(??) and norms for mores. WEES re hitcher - never heard that expression (is that a new form of hitchhiker?). Vaguely remember The Secret Garden but I've never read it.

H-G, that would be one - "going" to St. Ives, not coming from as was the menagerie?

D-O, read in the sports section today that in the 1969 Super Bowl, Joe Namath and the Jets overcame their 18-point-underdog odds to win over the Baltimore Colts, 16-7. But Rocky Brocky ain't no Joe Namath. I'm wondering if there's ever been a QB in the play-offs with only 16 TDs but with 16!! interceptions? I'll be rooting for Green Bay tomorrow as most Houstonians - we can't stand Dallas. I cannot imagine the horror if we have to watch the Cowboys @ NRG. I also read today that the rivalry between the two cities started in the 1880's with railroads. 'Nuf trivia.

Jayce said...

Nifty looking grid! I thought this puzzle would be harder, but I enjoyed it very much. Especially enjoyed the clue for THORN. Final fill was the W crossing WHA and HIT WHERE ...

I love the Get Smart theme, both as performed in the original TV series and in the movie. It was composed by a guy named Irving Szathmary who is the brother of Bill Dana ("My name is Jose Jimenez") whose birth name is William Szathmary. The version of the theme played in the Steve Carell - Anne Hathaway movie was arranged by Trevor Rabin, a former member of the rock band Yes and a very interesting person. He also composed the other music in that movie, as well as for the movie Snakes on a Plane.

Happy birthday, JD, and best wishes to you all.

Wilbur Charles said...

OMIGOSH!! I actually blew through a Sat. I did 3/4 then did some stuff and tada, THAR was THAR and DRAGO and I DARESAY, DRAW

Paula Creamer was on Feherty the other night, very likable.

HOWE came right away and naturally NHL. But when I got HOLDER I had to recall that Gordy and sons played in that league too. 70s, should have alerted me.

IM, YR etc; that bird is no more "religious" than Ivan DRAGO.

Get Smart got the family together laughing in the innocent part of the sixties.

Thanks Splynter and Roland. Btw, congrats Splynter on that anniversary. I hope you saw my "Fred" story.

Owen well deserved A's. You could have capped COSMOS under a little REFERENCED Wilbur rule, as he was clued this week

WC in the daytime

Roger Waters said...

Husker said:

"-Splynter! You could have used this famous non-thumb HITCHER and gotten in some leg."

I say ditto!(except mine has thumbs)*

*risky click of the day, butt do it anyway!

CanadianEh! said...

I had the rare chance to work on a Saturday CW and was surprised that I was able to complete it with only one Google search for DRAGO. (I must admit that DH helped with ELANTRA.). Thanks to Roland and Splynter.

Like IM and MJ, I found the NW and SE the hardest. I had DENARII (also due to high-school Latin) but was looking for a vowel not the DN combo in DNA TEST. In the SE, I had Star before DRAW, end before NIX, and AHoy before THAR leading to several ink blots.

As Spitzboov said, I am in NIAGARA on the Ontario side but I'll take a CSO. And thanks to my Canadian interest in hockey, I knew HOWE and the WHA.

Sons had TECHNIC and loved it. They divided up their Lego on a Christmas visit and I have 2 Rubbermaids less (or should it be fewer?) in my basement!

HBD JD!
Have a great day. Maybe I should start the Sunday CW!

Yellowrocks said...

IMHO: Goodbye came from the saying "God be with ye." In the 1500’s, religion was an integral part of everyday life. Social customs centered on the Church. People used religious expressions as a matter of course, much as many Christian Fundamentalists do today. After a time these expressions became trite and merely pro forma for many not so religious people. Meanings and customs change over time. As an example, today we greet strangers with, “How are you?” but would be surprised to hear a rundown of their state of health or mind. God be with ye became, in many situations, merely a quite banal leave taking, with nothing to do with God. So now good-bye is not God-centered. I believe the same has happened with golly, gosh, zounds, drat and many other words. Their original meanings are absolutely lost. Today at meetings of church committees you can hear gosh and golly said by the most faithful in the presence of the clergy.
I think protesting these expressions is on the fringe of today’s religion and mores. Indeed, these protests may be considered religious coercion, impugning the faithfulness of others with differing points of view.

Wilbur, what bird?

HBD JD. I hope it was a good one.

Wilbur Charles said...

YR, I loved your explanation. The "bird" is anyone who simply agitates for the sake of agitation, usually anonymously.

It's as clean and neutral an expression that I could come up with. My father used it a lot.

WC

Spitzboov said...

Forgot to mention earlier:

Happy Birthday, JD.

Dudley said...

YR 3:54 - nicely said.