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

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Showing posts with label Husker Gary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Husker Gary. Show all posts

Jun 7, 2017

Wednesday, June 7, 2017, Jake Halperin

TITLE: TOMAYTO/TOMAHTO

I was once part of a committee that spent two hours SPLITTING HAIRS (especially about prepositions) on the wording of the our school's mission statement. Two hours spent on a banality which serves no purpose is time I will never get back. I'll bet you've got a story like that too.

Husker Gary here for our midweek odyessy where Jake has taken the word HAIR and SPLIT it in as many unique ways as he could - 1/3, 2/2 and 3/1 as you see below:


Those SPLIT HAIRS provide the beginning and end of theme fills and satisfy the reveal of

59. Make petty distinctions ... and what 17-, 23- and 49-Across literally do? : SPLIT HAIRS - As some think this is


Here is the balance of Jake's theme answers:


17. Handyman's maintenance field : HOME REPAIR - After our recent hailstorm, we have been contacted aggressively by four companies for this HOME REPAIR




23. Ensemble of ringers : HANDBELL CHOIR - Just remember your color




49. Unofficial Caribbean currency equal to 5 gourdes : HAITIAN DOLLAR - 660 gourdes = 152 HATIAN DOLLARS = $10.48 in Port au Prince - Lundi au Jeudi (Monday to Thursday)! 




Now let's see what else Jake has given us with this fun, er enjoyable (Let's not split hairs) puzzle



Across


1. Bygone Apple laptop : IBOOK - Don't like your Apple product? Just wait a minute




6. Verge : CUSP


10. Actress Fey : TINA


14. Italian grandma : NONNA - La NONNA รจ meraviglioso (Grandma is wonderful)


15. Price for part of a deck? : ANTE - Fun cluing for a veteran of the crossword wars




16. "(I've Got __ in) Kalamazoo" : A GAL - Okay, HANDBELL CHOIR, who wants the F#?

19. Story line : PLOT - To whom did Don and Phil sing, "The movie wasn't so hot, It didn't have much of a PLOT" in 1957?


20. 17th-century English poet John : DRYDEN - Not on my literary radar


21. Flexible : LISSOME - Me 50 years ago


26. Cunning plan : PLOY


28. "The Night Manager" actor Hiddleston : TOM - It would appear that Tom is not managing a Motel 6 in Omaha




29. MAX rival : SHO


30. Persistent noise : DIN - One man's DIN...


31. Polishes, as a skill : HONES


33. Team victory cry : WE WON - Like a gazillion people said last year when the Cubs won


37. Botanist's study : FLORA - As opposed the zoologist who studies FAUNA


39. Stat for Clayton Kershaw : ERA - Earned Run Average. All right, get a bat and you try to stay in against Kershaw's curveball which he has HONED to a fine skill.




40. "Same here" : AS AM I - I couldn't hit that curve either


41. Soda machine freebie : STRAW - How you dispose of the wrapper after the straw is dispensed is optional




42. Smooths, as wood : SANDS


44. Sardine container : TIN - Or aluminum




45. Disconnect between generations : GAP


47. Unclogging agent : LYE


48. Fountain of jazz : PETE


54. Bailiff's bellow : ALL RISE


55. Engineer who reinvented the wheel? : FERRIS - He was inducted into their Hall Of Fame 105 years after his Wheel first operated




58. Boxer Oscar __ Hoya : DELA


62. Lacking precipitation : ARID


63. Stride at a track : GAIT - The odd GAIT of Olympic Walk Racing - One foot must always be on the ground at all times




64. One doing sums : ADDER


65. Strengthen, as muscles : TONE


66. See 50-Down : OLDS


67. Orchestra section : REEDS - They are seated in the middle. Woodwinds, if you want to split hairs. ๐Ÿ˜





Down

1. How many TV shows air : IN HD


2. Mannerless sort : BOOR


3. Start of the Boy Scout Oath and the Girl Scout Promise : ON MY HONOR


4. At some point : ONE DAY - Put the word FINE in the middle and you have a great 1963 song


5. Actress Gillan of "Guardians of the Galaxy" : KAREN - Not on my cinematic radar 


6. Cough syrup cover : CAP


7. Italian article : UNA




8. Even now : STILL


9. Possibilities of harm : PERILS


10. Astaire footwear : TAP SHOES


11. Snow structure : IGLOO


12. Watts of "Mulholland Dr." : NAOMI - I saw this on NETFLIX and when I saw there was only a few minutes left, I knew there would be no resolution to all the bizzare parts. I guess that is standard for David Lynch films.




13. Rework : ALTER


18. Put an __: stop : END TO

22. Pair in "America" : SCHWAS - Unstressed vowels - symbol = ษ™ pronounced like the uh's below




24. Skin partner : BONES


25. May birthstone : EMERALD


26. Sharable digital docs : PDFS


27. Bouncy rhythm : LILT


31. Only state which shares a time zone with Alaska : HAWAII - This part of Alaska




32. Panasonic acquisition of 2009 : SANYO


34. Disneyland's Splash Mountain, e.g. : WATER RIDE - Wheeeeee!




35. Filter out : OMIT


36. Back-row bowling pin : NINE - You bowlers know that leaving this for left handers is called a "tap"


38. Clothing industry, casually : RAG TRADE


43. Dutch pottery city : DELFT - It's cluing will probably never be "Hometown of microscope inventor Antonie van Leeuwenhoek" 


46. Complete a Monopoly circuit : PASS GO - Just like teachers, you get money for just completing a circuit/year


48. Veterans Day event : PARADE


49. Threw oneself into : HAD AT


50. Last car made by 66-Across : ALERO


51. Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be __" : ILLIN - Anyone think it's splitting hairs to insist on standard English?


52. Himalayan country : NEPAL - Your trip up Everest starts with a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, Nepal's unsafe airport. But, hey, if you're climbing Everest...




53. Operettist Franz : LEHAR


56. Boiling with rage : IRED - Yeah, but still cute!




57. Union members until 1991: Abbr. : SSRS


60. Can cover : LID


61. "__ only me!" : IT'S - Okay, grammarian hair splitters, would you say, "It's only I"?


The ability to SPLIT HAIRS is part of the fun in this venue. Let's see what you have to say/opine/state/muse...



May 21, 2017

Sunday, May 21, 2017, Agnes Davidson and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: HOLY MOLY


Eleven days ago, it was my privilege to blog a fun Wednesday offering by our blog mistress C.C. and fellow blogger/constructor Agnes Davison - Irish Miss to us regulars (and irregulars for that matter).  (Correction: Davidson.)

Today our own version of Cagney and Lacy present us with nine substitutions where, as you can see in the grid below, an H in one word of a common phrase is changed to an M which results in a silly phrase and accompanied by clever cluing. 


Getting the gimmick early facilitated the solve and a good time was had by all! Let's see what silliness tempered with expertise our friends presented in today's themers, some of which actually exist:

22. Check for doneness? : FEEL THE MEAT (HEAT) - This man does this for a living




24. Drama written in code? :  MORSE (HORSE) PLAY - Here ya go!



36. President's daily delivery? : MAIL (HAIL) TO THE CHIEF - If you send MAIL TO THE CHIEF of the Winnebago tribe in Winnebago, NE, he'll pick it up here


51. North Pole yoga need? : SANTA MAT (HAT)


67. Iditarod trainee? : MUSH (HUSH) PUPPY - How cute is this Siberian Husky?


81. Ace accountant : TAX MAVEN (HAVEN) - A company in Manimajra Chandigarh, India


93. Cat's tail, maybe? : MOUSE (HOUSE) DETECTIVE


110. Spy with a sweet tooth? : DONUT MOLE (HOLE)


112. Burrower servicing borrowers? : MONEY (HONEY) BADGER - A group in an online game called EVE. Nah, I hadn't heard of it either.


Now let's look the rest of C.C.'s and Agnes's High Minded entries


Across

1. Library attention-getter : PSST

5. Secretly kept in the message loop, for short : BCCED - Blind Carbon CopiED- They'll never know you told everyone!

10. Prior president who swore in two subsequent presidents : TAFT - Our 350 lb. president had this bathtub made, became the Chief Justice and swore in Coolidge and Hoover


14. Spicy : RACY

18. Trick : DUPE

19. NutraSweet developer : SEARLE - Aspertame used under the name NutraSweet has been controversial

20. Donor drive target : ALUM

21. Penne __ vodka : ALLA


26. Tylenol result, ideally : RELIEF

27. Juice-and-fish-broth product : CLAMATO  - It sounds like an SNL made- up product

29. Weather Channel concern : STORM

30. Brown on a shelf : DAN - I love Dan's books but in other quarters...


31. USC, for one : SCH

33. Like most cheeseburgers : CALORIC - Dictionary.com -


35. Teeny tiny : WEE

40. Poppycock : ROT

42. IMF division?: Abbr. : INTL International Monetary Fund

43. Vintage vehicle : REO

44. It helps you focus : LENS - In action -


45. Bronco's bailiwick : CORRAL

48. "The Simpsons" disco devotee : STU

49. Chew the fat : JAW

50. Wish were here : MISS - My lovely bride always misses her kitty when we travel

53. Universe of Energy locale : EPCOT - A good dark, cool place to take a nap after you've seen it as many times as I have

55. Cell dweller : CON - Not all CONS are in cells in Joe Arpaio's AZ jail


56. Having a kick : TANGY

58. Preventative power : VETO

59. Foam finger number : ONE

60. "That hurts!" : OUCH

62. The end of its name is also its natl. airline : UAE and 118. Milan moolah : EURO - The UAE airline is the sponsor of the AC Milan Soccer team and this jersey will cost you €89,95
63. Scout rider : TONTO

64. Yoga position : ASANA

69. Mayflower notable : ALDEN - Below is a picture of John Alden's 8th Great Granddaughter Norma Jean Mortenson Baker who became, well, you know...


70. Waits for an agent, maybe : HOLDS

71. The __ Store : UPS - United Parcel Service

72. Minor tiff : SPAT

73. It's only make-believe : ACT - Are you faking it?

74. "That's clear" : I SEE

75. Plants of immortality, to ancient Egyptians : ALOES

77. God in the Vatican : DIO - An expose' of the Vatican's Bank Of God


78. SeaWorld performer : SHAMU

83. Lab gel : AGAR

85. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS - Sue's titling gimmick is always an easy fill

86. Usually single-stranded molecule : RNA 


88. Twists, e.g. : DANCES - Morticia and Lurch gettin' down


89. Scheme : PLOT

90. Had the most points : LED

91. Short cut : SNIP

92. Sun. speech : SER and 98. Yawn-inducing : BANAL  - Verbal Sominex at our church 

96. Sharp criticism : JAB

99. Rulers in a line : DYNASTS - I suppose a DYNASTY would have these

101. You can't live without it : AIR - You can go 3 min without AIR, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. Give or take.

102. Tolkien monster : ORC

103. Taste enhanced by shrimp paste : UMAMI - A tasty clue we've had quite often as of late

105. Make more than : OUT EARN


107. Joined forces : ALLIED

115. Sea once home to 1,100-plus islands : ARAL

116. Dell operator : USER

117. Chews the scenery : EMOTES

119. Bear's advice : SELL - Warren Buffet - "Buy when everyone else is SELLING"

120. Pharmacy pickups : MEDS

121. Big Pharma dept. : R AND D


122. Aligned, with "in" : SYNC


Down

1. Sharable doc format : PDF

2. Court figure : SUER

3. "C'mon, let's go!" : SPEED IT UP - After 50 yrs., I just sit in the car and wait!

4. Like revealing memoirs : TELL ALL

5. Hearty comfort food : BEEF STEW - Dinty Moore in our house

6. Short filmmaker? : CAM - This breakout hit from the Sundance Film Festival was shot with the CAM on an iPhone 5S and this is one of its 89. Movie promoters : POSTERS


7. Exhibit with a baby : CRECHE - The one with Jesus can't be put on public property

8. Its logo contains Hebrew letters : EL AL - "To the skies" in Hebrew

9. Separates : DETACHES

10. Wrapped Mexican fare : TAMALES

11. Many : A LOT OF 113. Weather-sensitive airport stat : ETD'S - A LOT OF ETD'S were altered by 100 mph winds in Omaha last week

12. Public outcry : FUROR

13. Corp. symbols : TMS - 

14. Mesmerized : RAPT

15. Give the green light : ALLOW

16. Limerick neighbor : CLARE - Not much of a common dry land border


17. "I did it!" : YAY ME

19. Pronoun for a skiff : SHE

23. Salon treatment : TINT

25. Accompanist? : ESCORT - When you need a good ESCORT in Louisville, KY...

 

28. Common town ctr. : MAIN ST

32. John of "Star Trek" (2009) : CHO - Only the first generation Star Trek peeps are in my memory bank

34. Twist in a tale : IRONY - I'll bet you know the elements of this short story from the master of IRONY - O'Henry

36. Wrong at the start? : MIS

37. Certain entrance fee : ANTE

38. Speak : ORATE

39. Assure : CLINCH

41. John of "Hairspray" (2007) : TRAVOLTA 

45. Shrewd : CAGEY

46. Change, as a will : AMEND

47. Foamy eye-opener : LATTE

49. First name in virology : JONAS - After contracting polio, FDR started the March Of Dimes that provided much funding for Salk's vaccine that came too late for the president


50. Mop tamer : MOUSSE

51. Acknowledge the general : SNAP TO and 76. Acknowledge the general : SALUTE

52. Tom or Jerry : TOON

54. Denounces : CONDEMNS - SILENT N was a fill for "44 A Solemn ending" on Wednesday 

55. "Off" is often printed on one : COUPON 

57. Live-in nanny : AU PAIR - French for "on par" or "equal to"

61. LaserJet printers : HPS

63. Dash gauges : TACHS

64. Words after make or take : A HIT - If you have to take A HIT to make A HIT, you may need new friends  

65. "That's a shame" : SO SAD - "Dear Dad, No mon, no fun, your Son" "Dear Son, Too bad, SO SAD, your Dad"

66. Siri's Amazon counterpart : ALEXA

67. Grand Canyon rentals : MULES

68. Computer download : UPDATE - After missing several new roads, I paid to UPDATE this system in my car


73. Lines for an audience : ASIDE - Frank does this all the time in House Of Cards


75. Big name in labels : AVERY - We use AVERY 5360 labels for Christmas card address labels

79. One who may cease to exist when underappreciated? : MR NICE GUY - Never made my collection


80. USC part: Abbr. : UNIV

82. Nailed the test : ACED IT

84. Filmy fabric : GOSSAMER - Sinatra sang "A trip to the moon on GOSSAMER wings" was just One Of Those Things

85. Backstabbed : BETRAYED and 96. Biblical backstabber : JUDAS

87. Jungle chest-beater : APE who never 93. Treated very roughly : MAULED Fay Ray

90. Floral ring : LEI

91. Progress : STRIDES  

94. Yoplait competitor : DANNON

95. Cuba libre ingredient : COLA - Hmmm... what brand of COLA should I use?


97. Love, Italian-style : AMORE - "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie"

100. Loop in a cattle drive : NOOSE

104. Think (over) : MULL

106. Arco de Constantino locale : ROMA - Isn't that building to the right famous too? ๐Ÿ˜


108. Versatile NFL defenders : LBS - An average NFL LB weighs 235 LBS

109. "Nebraska" Oscar nominee : DERN - A wonderful movie about small town life and aging


111. Tight-lipped : MUM

114. Mythical bird : ROC

Hoping you don't need the Heimlich Maneuver after my commentary, let's hear from you, the Huddled Masses: