google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, May 5, 2014 Kevin Christian

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May 5, 2014

Monday, May 5, 2014 Kevin Christian

Theme: You may have a concussion - Are you seeing stars everywhere?

20A. Where to see stars in school : ASTRONOMY CLASS

37A. Where to see stars in the service : MILITARY UNIFORM

53A. Where to see stars in theaters : HOLLYWOOD MOVIE

¡Hola! Argyle here on Cinco de Mayo. This near pangram(missing a Q), has the unifier in the clues today, like a little twist of lime to give it some zest.

Across:

1. Mar. 17th honoree : ST. PAT.

6. Amazed : AWED

10. Gray timber wolf : LOBO

14. Pasta sauce brand : PREGO

15. Sonny's partner : CHER

16. Et __: and others : ALIA. (neuter plural)

17. Word before PG or PG-13 : RATED

18. Sacred : HOLY

19. Bismarck is its cap. : N. DAK

23. "__ will be done ...": Lord's Prayer : THY

24. Summer zodiac sign : LEO. The big cat in the sky.

25. Of the flock : LAIC

26. Actress Taylor, familiarly : LIZ. I had LIV at first. Must have been thinking Tyler.

27. Hearty dish : STEW. Is there a special dish for Cinco de Mayo?

29. Concealed : HID

32. Knives' sharp sides : EDGES

35. "Gone With the Wind" plantation : TARA

36. Yoko from Tokyo : ONO

41. Chinese chairman : MAO

42. Get beaten : LOSE

43. "Honest!" : "NO LIE!"

44. Capone and Capp : ALs

45. Voice below soprano : ALTO

46. Pres. between HST and JFK : DDE

47. __ gin fizz : SLOE

49. Regret : RUE

50. Unit of work : ERG

57. Coffee, in slang : JAVA

58. __ Crunch: cereal brand : CAP'N

59. Tolerate : ABIDE

60. "Um, excuse me ..." : "AHEM..."

61. Fired : AXED

62. Memoranda : NOTES

63. __ avis : RARA

64. One lacking experience : TYRO

65. John of tractors : DEERE

Down:

1. Jack who ate no fat : SPRAT. His wife ate no lean.

2. Garbage : TRASH

3. Trivial, as a complaint : PETTY

4. New __: modern spiritualist : AGER

5. Slate of errands and chores : 'TO DO' LIST

6. Sound evoking "Gesundheit!" : "ACHOO!"

7. Hemingway's "For __ the Bell Tolls" : WHOM

8. Slippery : EELY

9. Launder, as a suit : DRY CLEAN

10. Polynesian porch : LANAI

11. Like some conservative teaching methods : OLD SCHOOL

12. Prejudice : BIAS

13. Mighty tree : OAK. I hear he was just an acorn when he started.

21. Pince-__ glasses : NEZ


22. Attorney's field : LAW

26. Floral necklace : LEI

27. Authority : SAY SO

28. "That's a good point" : "TRUE". Usually followed by "but".

30. Crucifix letters : INRI. (Latin: Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum)

31. Bowl-shaped roof : DOME

32. Actress Thompson : EMMA

33. Rotary phone part : DIAL

34. Handle superficially : GLOSS OVER

35. Home run jog : TROT

38. Prowling feline : ALLEY CAT

39. Extremely popular : IN DEMAND

40. Enemy : FOE

45. "You've got mail" company : AOL

46. Firecracker that doesn't crack : DUD

48. Andean animal : LLAMA

49. Sonata movement : RONDO. English from Italian, from French (a little circle, appropriately)

50. Online party request : EVITE

51. One on horseback : RIDER

52. Canada honkers : GEESE

53. "That's funny!" : "HA-HA"



54. Like crayons : WAXY

55. Abbr. on a phone's "0" button : OPER. (operator) Do they still exist live?

56. Double-reed instrument : OBOE

57. Cookie container : JAR


Argyle


70 comments:

OwenKL said...

A STAR in the sky was smitten
By a STAR, a HOLLYWOOD kitten.
He wanted to date her
To a drive-in theater,
But alas, such a role was forbidden!

For he was a ball of flaming gas
While she was a mortal human lass.
An impossible mix
No one could fix
So their passion never came to pass!

OwenKL said...

He'd live a thousand million years,
In sixty or so she'd leave him in tears.
But a star can't cry
It must remain dry
Or its flame might go out, one fears!

While on Earth, the movie STAR, for her part
Knew the rays from the astral STAR's hot heart
Would wrinkle her skin;
No more parts would she win,
So she refused for the sake of her art!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Smooth Monday solve. Hand up for LIV before LIZ (which I immediately wondered about since LIV isn't short for anything as far as I know). Also got bogged down ever so briefly in the SE when I forgot that Memoranda was plural and couldn't understand why NOTE didn't fit until the light bulb went off. Hey -- it's Monday morning...

OwenKL said...

A story like this should have a moral
It may be, if your relationship's normal
Don't get all sweaty
Over differences PETTY
You're more alike than you know, so don't quarrel!

buckeye bob said...

Thank you for the puzzle, Kevin. Thank you for the review, Argyle.

I thought this puzzle was easy, even for a Monday. I solved it in less than my normal Monday time. I didn’t see many of the Down clues because the Acrosses filled so well, except for the long answers.

Not much to say about the puzzle, so I think I’ll link a song for today.

Monday Monday

Lemonade714 said...

Happy Cinco Dr Mayo. The puzzle was fun, I liked Al Capp and Al Capone being together in a clue. Elizabeth 'Liz' Taylor was such a superstar my whole life.

Thanks Kevin and Argyle, have a good week all.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Very easy Monday puzzle. LEO is a constellation of STARS in the Sky.

My only stumble was to try LOST in lieu of LOSE for Get Beaten.

EMMA Thompson was Great in Saving Mr. Banks.

Nice shout out to our friend JAVA Mama. We miss you, come back!

Also thought of Abejo with INRI.

CHER still look good at nearly 68.

QOD: A man who has never made a woman angry is a failure in life. ~ Christopher Morley (May 5, 1890 ~ Mar. 28, 1957)

Anonymous said...

Paging Dr. Mayo.....Dr. Mayo.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Kevin Christian, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

Hahtoolah, thanks for the I.N.R.I. note. By the way, the constructor's name is Christian.

Zipped through this puzzle pretty easily, of course it is a Monday.

Liked I.N.R.I., as I mentioned above. (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum)

RARA, lots of Latin today.

DEERE is real big in Illinois, especially in Moline.

I have a morphing TO DO LIST. Keeps changing. Plus, mine has tea spilled all over it. (Earl Grey, of course)

My voice is still shot from barking commands at the cornerstone laying ceremony on Saturday. The weather turned out fine, though. Great lunch at the Medical Center.

Lots to do today. Church this morning to work through offering counting logistics with the new Secretary. Off to Evanston tonight for a meeting. Hope to cut the grass in between, if it dries up.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(dstuny may)

Abejo said...

Hahtoolah:

Liked your Q.O.D. That was great, and true.

Abejo

desper-otto said...

Good morning, group!

Zip, zip, done. Hand up for reading "Tyler" and entering LIV. Also had SADA before EMMA showed up. Otherwise, it was a strict read it, write it affair.

Argyle, thanks for 'splainin' INRI. But I'm sure I'll remember to forget it next time.

Later...

Anonymous said...

Not just typos. Errors in syntax and grammar are very common also.

HeartRx said...

Good morning all!

I zipped through this one and didn't even stop to think about any of the clues. All straight-forward and no late-week misdirection.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor was such an icon, as Lemony pointed out. She is one of the few child stars who made the transition to adult roles with ease and grace.

Not much else to say about this one, except thank you Kevin Christian for easing us into the week!

Mari said...

Good morning everybody!

Nice, easy puzzle today. I didn't know the meaning of "TYRO". Otherwise, smooth sailing.

Have a great week!

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

Why are you obsessed with every little mistake Lemonade makes & overlook the hard work he puts on this blog every week?

He has been through a few health problems & has a very bad eye. You have absolutely no heart.

You're being a cyber-stalker!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Nice smooth easy puzzle today. For some reason, ended up filling the right side before the left. No matter. Did not know TYRO but I think we've had it before. No searches no strikethroughs, no nits. And that's NO LIE.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-One letter short of a pangram and one cell short of 3 grid spanners on this just right Monday puzzle
-PG-13 RATED allows one F-bomb as an expletive
-My fav BISMARCK has frosting and raspberry filling
-As you can see, LEO’s head resembles a backward punctuation mark
-How’d you like your team to LOSE by this much?
-Is there a worse way to “teach” than to give NOTES? Print the dang info out and give it to the kids
-This implement invented by John DEERE revolutionized farming but is hardly used any more
-I can golf today after I address my TO DO LIST
-George turns a sneeze response (1:02) into an issue
-I only know LANAI from watching these ladies on theirs in this show
-How many of these OLD SCHOOL rappers do you recognize? I knew cwd’s DR DRE
-SAY SO poster

TTP said...

Good morning all.

LIV cost me the TADA. I handled the clue superficially. You might say I "GLOSSed OVER" the clue. Never saw NEZ down. Doesn't look like making that error will be a RARA AVIS today. It's really a TYRO's mistake.

OOH OOH, I have one !

Where to see stars in crossword puzzle write ups ? Why, at CC's crosswordcorner.blogspot.com of course ! Superbly led off each week by Sir Argyle.

Thanks for linking Nelson. HA HA. I thought of him as well. Some vindication after struggling yesterday or Saturday with Simpson judge (3 letters). I thought I knew most of the characters on the Simpsons. Couldn't remember a judge though.

Thank you Kevin Christian.

Have a great day everyone !

CanadianEh! said...

Fast and easy Monday puzzle. Smiled at Canada Honkers. Hand up for LIV before LIZ. Maybe because we just had LIV a few days ago?!

My mind immediately went to this song for 38|D.
AlleyCat

thehondohurricane said...


Morning everyone,

Nice easy start to the week. No issues, no nits, just a thought.

We tend to rate puzzles on not only content, but the difficulty factor. Got me wondering if a constructor has a harder time creating an easy puzzle than one more complex. Or is it the same. My thinking is a Monday puzzle might be the more difficult.

What say you Marti?








.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

What a nice, easy-breezy start to the week. Thanks, Kevin Christian, for a fun romp and thanks, Argyle, for a fine expo.

Lucina from last night: I did that fun John Lampkin puzzle last Sunday; it was in the NY Times.

Have a great day.

HeartRx said...

Hondo, I've always said that Monday puzzles are the hardest to construct, because of the limited vocabulary you can use. So, words which might be perfectly fine (even encouraged) in Friday-Saturday puzzles are strictly off-limits for Monday ones!

Anonymous said...

I have had my share of LIV and LIZ problems while solving crossword puzzles - fortunately not today. Liv Ullmann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liv_Ullmann who acts in Ingmarr Bergman movies, is another fammous actress

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Easy enough. A few entries - Rara, Tyro, Alia, and Laic were familiar only because of crosswords. I guess that's a benefit of having done the LAT every day for the last six or seven years.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi Gang -

As mentioned, nice easy start to the week. The long downs are a bonus feature.

I remember somebody saying that on the beaches near HOLLYWOOD some people would lay on the stars and look at the sand.

Not much to add.

But I wonder why "double reed instrument" is never bassoon?

Cool regards!
JzB

Mari said...

Hondo @ 8:46 am: Good question. Thanks for answering it Marti.

C6D6 Peg said...

Ridiculously easy, even for a Monday. Would prefer to have a little thinking going on while completing the puzzle instead of just filling in "rote" answers.

Otherwise, theme was fine, so thanks, Kevin.

Nice write-up, Argyle, as usual.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Whatever became of pince nez spectacles?
Or of the Monocle for that matter.

Misty said...

I love a speed run on a Monday morning--many thanks, Kevin! And you too, Argyle, for your always fun expo.

We're back from our little Huntington Beach vacation, where we had a great time. Missed the Corner, but did get to do a rare NY Times puzzle on Sunday. Great fun.

Owen, that has to be the most outlandish romance I've ever seen in a poem. Very imaginative.

Have a great week, everybody!

Lucina said...

Hello, puzzlers.

Thank you, Kevin Christian, for a fun time sashaying through this in one fell swoop, so to speak.

Barry:
Liv is usually short for Olivia.

IrishMiss:
Yes, that puzzle was really clever and fun to do.

I'm sorry I can't actually celebrate Cinco de Mayo because it is such a non holiday perpetuated by American interests. I do applaud the Mexicans who fought valiantly at the battle of Puebla.

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!

JD said...

Good morning all,

Thanks Kevin and Argyle for a speedy Monday. It filled faster than most, but since I misspelled cap'n (capt) , I left a hole in tyro, not knowing rondo either. I KNOW it has been in Puzzles a zillion times, but couldn't see it with that blasted t !

CrossEyedDave said...

WBS pretty much sums it up...

Astronomy Class

I have heard of stars on military uniforms, but really?

Wishing on a (Hollywood) star...

Seeing Stars...

Seeing Stars Better....

Anonymous said...

C.C. said:

"Why are you obsessed with every little mistake Lemonade makes & overlook the hard work he puts on this blog every week?

He has been through a few health problems & has a very bad eye. You have absolutely no heart."

I can't speak for the other anti-lemony anons, but for me its called Karma. Where was jason's heart when he stole all that money from all those retirees? And the other 2 cases of hime stealing from his clients? And that whole cruise ship/teaching scam he helped levy on those poor immigrants.

At least the Florida Bar had the decency to kick him out regardless of his so called hard work.

CrossEyedDave said...

Anon @ 7:24/7:26

You are giving your Mother a bad name...

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, A speed run for me today. I hardly slowed down and didn't have to read the clues because answers were filled in with the across fill.

A quick Monday puzzle always makes me feel really smart.

Thanks for the expo, Argyle. I always enjoy your take on things.

Our Cinco de Mayo celebrations here in San Jose got out of hand and several people were arrested yesterday in a crowd mentality sort of rampage. How some people can take a celebration as a ticket to run wild is beyond my understanding. It spoils the fun for everyone.

Have a great day, everyone.

Chickie said...

Jazz-because Bassoon has too many letters!

Kevin Christian said...

Hi, this is Kevin Christian. Glad you all enjoyed the puzzle!

My original version of this puzzle had 4 themers, with the addition of GOOD HOMEWORK, i.e. teachers put stars on homework that is particularly well done.

My original version also had GENERAL'S UNIFORM instead of MILITARY UNIFORM, in reference to the specific rank being symbolized by stars on the uniform.

See ya!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Kevin, for letting me feel like a genius! A sweet, smooth puzzle today.

Hand up for LIV/LIZ. Maybe I should slow down and really read the clues. Nah!

Have a great week! It's starting off well with sunshine and comfortable temps.

Pat

Ol' Man Keith said...

CED,
Those military decorations (N Korean?) would seem to obviate need for any Kevlar undergarments.

River Doc said...

Happy Monday everybody!

How easy was this puzzle? For the first time EVER, I was able to finish with only one across pass and one down pass....

Don't know about y'all, but my to-do list eventually morphs into multiple to-do lists, that eventually get combined back into one. Call it ebb and flow....

OMK, apparently the monocle is making a comeback among "hipsters"....

CSO at 44A to Cyone...?

Finally, it seemed ironic to me that the Number 1 amateur night for drinkers, ST PATs, appeared right off the bat in the crossword puzzle for the day of the Number 2 amateur night for drinkers, or as we used to call it, Cinco de Drinko....

Suffering from Karma, myself said...


C.E.D. You're the greatest - even better than Muhammad Ali.

I look forward to your links and wait for them, breathlessly. They give me more pleasure than a dozen clue attempts attested to by other bloggers.

To the Anon who hates Lemonade. Let it go. The problem is not him, its you. Remember, Karma works both ways.

Argyle, where o where is your delete button.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! I did this puzzle just after midnight, singing to myself, "Starry Starry Night". Ah, the simple pleasures. Thanks, Kevin, nice of you to stop by! Thanks, Argyle!

Unknown said...

A fun, easy puzzle today (of course, Monday puzzles are always easy).

OwenKL, once again, a great poem.

I was really surprised that so many were confused between LIV and LIZ. She's LIV TYLER, not TAYLOR.

Have a nice rest of your day.

Unknown said...

CED

"You are giving your mother a bad". So true!

Unknown said...

Oops. Left out "name."

Spitzboov said...

Re: MILITARY UNIFORM stars. Also we have stars on gravestones of flag rank servicemen. Here is the headstone of Fleet Admiral Nimitz at the Golden Gate National Cemetery. I understand ADM Spruance ADM Turner and VADM Lockwood are buried nearby. Think about it: 16 stars on one little cemetery knoll. (They all served in the Pacific Theater during WWII)

Maci45 said...

So glad to see Monday! Had a couple I didn't know, TYRO, RARA , ALIA, and for a minute, for Sonny's Partner, I was trying to remember Tubbs' first name on Miami Vice. Oh, and didn't know LAIC, have to add those mentioned to my crossword puzzle drawer in my brain. Which is pretty much a sieve.

Steve said...

Nice start to the week. Thanks for the expo, Argyle and for the learning moment with INRI.

There's no special dish for Cinco de Mayo mainly because it's not really celebrated, especially not in Mexico. I was in Mexico City a couple of years ago on May 5th and was expecting a night of jollities. I was surprised, to say the least, when I went out that evening and it was a regular and peaceful Tuesday night.

I decided to hold a one-man celebration and drank a few "banderas", or "flags". You get three shot glasses - one with tequila (white), one with sangrita, (red) and one with lime juice (green). You shoot them one after the other and "drink the flag".

@River Doc - LOL at "Cinco de drinko".

Steven J. St. John said...

I thought this was a beautiful puzzle. The theme was adequate, but those long downs were all winners and the fill was very smooth. Great construction, KC.

Yellowrocks said...

ANON @12:54
Do you believe in forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, reformation? Can a person not repent and change his life around? Must even the smallest action of every moment of a person's life forever after be condemned. If so why should anyone try to better himself? Your lack of forgiveness and hardness of heart is hurting YOU the most of all. Like the Grinch your heart is two sizes too small. Forgiveness is liberating.

Anonymous said...

Yellowrocks@4:50: Thank you. Very well said.

Pat

Anonymous said...

yeliumclothAnybody else out there from Arizona.Yesterday's Arizona Republic's crossword was by Ronin Stears and completely different than the one on the Corner and the other sites. If it is a new one I think you will like it.

Kerry_in_Carefree

Unknown said...

oops typed the cat chums in the text

K_i_C

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Been busy; no time to write comments. I've enjoyed all the puzzles the last few days, especially last week's NYT Sunday puzzle by John Lampkin. Best wishes to you all.

Argyle said...

LAT had Robin's Sunday puzzle earlier. Dance Partners Is that the one you had?

Anonymous said...

Young, naive Yellowrocks, to answer your questions: no, then, yes.

First of all, Jason's online criminal history spans over four decades and may even be ongoing if you read about his current escapades. This suggests to me not the "smallest action of every moment" but rather a way of life. And, if you read the archives from the earlier days of this blog, you'll see he represented himself as a practicing lawyer even though it is now clear he wasn't. He has never explained himself and quietly changed his profile from "Occupation: lawyer" to "Industry: Law" with nary a peep. This and many other comments show me a lack of remorse for his crimes and his misrepresentations.

You live you non-judging life and I'll live my petty, grumpy existence.

SwampCat said...

I seldom post here, but I have been reading here for years. I just don't understand why anyone like Anon, who is unhappy here , would keep coming back.

Lemonade, I love you! Your comments make me happy! And, no, I do not know anyone here personally. I am just a happy lurker. I don't really care who anyone is. We are all just crossworders who enjoy the puzzles and each other.

Unhappy Anon, why do you come here? I really don't understand. Do you think your hateful comments make a difference to anyone? I can assure you they do not.

And you had a typo in your message, too.

Anonymous said...

Lettuce move on.

SwampCat said...

Indeed. Let us...

Manac said...

Some useless humor

My To-Do List

In Demand

Old School

Alley Cat



What??? Did you really think I would post a cat pic?

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Swell puzzle, Kevin! Great expo, Argyle!

Loved the theme!

Got LIZ immediately. No comparison with Liv.

Am listening to a KUSC (non-commercial classical music) pledge drive. They are giving away a 3 CD set of music of John Williams. They need several more $90 pledges (for a year) to match another donation before 10:00.

I has suddenly turned cold here (about 70 degrees.) My fibromyalgia ridden corpse is not pleased.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Surely you can't be serious.

Thak you Manac for the comic relief.

Anonymous T said...

Hi all!

Wow! And its not even Friday yet...

Happy 5/5 all -- one of 12 days of the year Europe and US write the date the same...

Thanks Kevin for a great puzzle and for stopping by. But, NO LIE, a DNF for me. 1a bOBO? and I guessed the wrong DAK. I can hear HG's HAHA from here.

AHEM...

Thanks for the writeup Argyle!

The NE was the hardest for me, and to be RATED-H for honest, the I in LAIC was a pure WAG.

Fav. clue was 19a - My 1st thought, 4 letter "Who uses donuts for currency?" "Cops."

Hahtoolah - re: QOD - I'm a huge success with DW! :-)

Keith - funny link. DW was ABD for 7 yrs. In her defense (HA!) there were two kids in between.

CED - Different globular cluster. ACHOO!. Warning - don't click if you can't ABIDE some gross.

Quick story - Youngest (11) brought me a 1TB external USB drive and said, "Dad, I need this floppy disk for school." I pulled out an old 5.25" to show her what a floppy was (I don't have an 8" floppy).

Wait, that doesn't sound right...

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

It can't go without saying "The Dude ABIDES". C, -T

J said...

remember when we would post our captchas?

[celeaga]

Anonymous said...

So sorry to be PETTY.

[kingadj]

Burger King said...

Anon@3:01 Stop with the constant attacks on lemony! Leave it alone.

Jeannie said...

Hey! I hit my number!

Bill G. said...

The Anons seem to be over-caffeinated tonight!
Maybe their meds need to be adjusted.

SwampCat said...

You missed it again.