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

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Jul 27, 2014

Sunday July 27, 2014 Ed Sessa,

Theme: "Double Talk"- Clues, all in quotation marks (hence "talk"), serve dual purpose (hence "double talk"), explaining both words in theme answers which are all in the pattern of *ING *

23A. "Uh-oh, there's a ball and glass shards under the window"? : BREAKING NEWS

45A "Give 20% for great service"? : TIPPING POINT. Tipping was new to me when I first arrived in the US.

61A. "You shoulda seen the one that got away"? : FISHING LINE. The Annandale flea market we go on Saturdays are surrounded by many many lakes.

70A. "The children were angels and in bed by eight"? : SITTING BULL

86A. "Hooray, you're up!"? : ROUSING CHEER

112A. "Here's a good way to use your comb"? : PARTING WORDS

17D. "Who's ahead?"? : LEADING QUESTION

43D. "A daily jog is good for you"? : RUNNING ARGUMENT

So, all the theme entries are completely re-interpreted with amusing effect. It takes imagination & humor to execute this type of gimmick. Ed is a pro.

Also I love the fill today. So clean for a 140-worder.

Across:

1. Be a slacker : DOG IT

6. Soft-bodied swimmers : OCTOPI. The meat is chewy.

12. Kin of raspberries : CATCALLS. Not other fruit.

20. One may be seen with glasses : OPERA. Opera glasses.

21. Forgoes : WAIVES

22. Like sloths : ARBOREAL

25. "No sweat" : REAL EASY!

26. Prohibited : BANNED

27. Organ with a drum : EAR

28. Small strings on the Big Island : UKES

30. Presages : BODES

31. Destroys, as illusions : SHATTERS. That's why I disliked Juiced.



33. Forced with a crowbar : PRIED

35. 68-Down maker : DELI. 68. 35-Across order : BLT. I already harvested two tomatoes from our garden.

36. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH

37. Rhone feeder : SAONE

38. "The Great Schnozzola" : DURANTE

41. Taj Mahal setting : AGRA

48. St. leader : GOV. "St" can stand for quite a few things.

49. Dull-edged : BLUNT

51. Trekkie, to some : NERD

52. Get into : DON. Oh, clothes.

53. "__ se habla espaƱol" : AQUI. Here. Spanish is spoken here.

54. Wrigley's Big Red flavoring : CINNAMON

56. Silver lining : UPSIDE

59. Pitch : HURL

60. RR stop : STN

64. Composer Camille Saint-__ : SAENS

65. Link up with : TIE TO

67. "The Dark Knight" director Christopher : NOLAN. I confused him with the creepy X-Men director Bryan Singer.


68. Brazilian dance opener : BOSSA (Nova)

69. Jamboree quarters : TENTS

74. "Enough already!" : TMI

76. Therefore : ERGO

77. Like this answer : ACROSS. So meta.

78. Things : ENTITIES

80. Indian flatbread : NAAN

81. Mauna __ : LOA. "Long" in Hawaiian.

82. Part of a family business name : SONS

84. Unmanned flier : DRONE

85. Copier size: Abbr. : LTR

91. Hold 'em opener : ANTE

92. Most monumental : BIGGEST

94. Aloe targets : SORES

95. Batt. terminal : NEG

97. Sources in a modern bibliog. : URLS

98. Playwright Chekhov : ANTON. Masha, one of  "Three Sisters",  was modeled on his future wife, a stage actress.

99. Mason : STONEMAN

104. '50s first lady : MAMIE

106. Cocktail hour spread : PATE

107. Hieroglyphic serpent : ASP

109. Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan : RACINE. Not familiar with this city. Siren, Wisconsin has a Burnikel Road.


110. Mass approval : AMEN AMEN

115. Beltway : RING ROAD

116. Each : A PIECE

117. Like a good watchdog : ALERT

118. Chant : INTONATE. Only know the noun "Intonation".

119. Headed for the Styx : DOOMED

120. Helps through difficulty, with "over" : TIDES

Down:

1. Lou of Fox Business Network : DOBBS. I used to watch him faithfully in his CNN days.

2. TV book club creator : OPRAH

3. Actress Davis : GEENA

4. "__, Therefore I Am": Dennis Miller book : I RANT

5. Become fond of : TAKE TO

6. Possess : OWN

7. Cockatoo quarters : CAGES

8. '90s "New Yorker" editor Brown : TINA. Sharp wit. She bought this famous cartoon & published it immediately. Like LA Times crosswords, "New Yorker" has a long queue of cartoons.

"No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?"

9. Didn't shop around, maybe : OVER-PAID

10. Benchlike seat : PEW

11. Distributing : ISSUING

12. Liked, with "for" : CARED

13. Greek war god : ARES

14. Not decided, in skeds : TBA

15. Comic with a satiric news show : COLBERT. I prefer Jon Stewart. Who's your favorite comic, Jayce?

16. Colorful ring : AREOLA

18. Zap : LASE

19. Stone and others : SLYS

24. Caesar's "that is" : ID EST

29. Maintain : KEEP

32. Endangered Sumatrans : RHINOS

34. Kim Possible's sidekick __ Stoppable : RON. No idea. Never watched Kim Possible.

35. "An Inconvenient Woman" novelist : DUNNE

37. Three-mo. period : SPR

38. LED component : DIODE

39. Open, for one : TOURNAMENT

40. Bad things : EVILS

41. Kindergarten basics : ABCS

42. People people : GLITTERATI. People magazine.

44. Gothic novelist Radcliffe : ANN

46. Phnom __ : PENH

47. God in both Eddas : ODIN

50. Political family spanning three centuries : TAFTS.  I even remember Bob Taft. Must be some scandals.

53. Cries of discovery : AHAs

55. Mine in Milan : MIO

56. Citrus hybrids : UGLIS. Very juicy.

57. It may contain steps : PLAN

58. Perform, in a way : SING

62. Digging : INTO

63. Have-__: disadvantaged ones : NOTS

64. Reliable, as a citizen : SOLID

66. Prince William's alma mater : ETON

69. Workout wt. : TEN LB

70. Jamboree attendee : SCOUT. Have any of you read "The Mockingbird Next Door"? Harpee Lee called Truman Capote a "psychopath".

71. Some savings accts. : IRAS

72. Prefix with diction : BENE

73. Not posted yet : UNSENT

75. "Understood" : I SEE

77. Puzzled, after "at" : A LOSS

79. La-la lead-in : TRA

82. Script outline : SCENARIO

83. Aptly named Quaker cereal : OHS. I've been enjoying the Test Kitchen steel cut oatmeal D-Otto mentioned on the blog a few months ago. Too bad he does not like it himself.

86. Master again : RE-LEARN

87. Ain't good? : ISN'T. Grammatically.

88. Place for a to-do list : NOTE PAD

89. Garden product word : GRO. Miracle-Gro.

90. Bankruptcy result, briefly : REORG

93. "__ Viejo": Carlos Fuentes novel : GRINGO. Carlos Fuentes said Spanish was the only language he could make love with. That's why he only married Mexican women.

96. Plague : GNAW AT

98. "Duck Dynasty" airer : A AND E

99. Rub ingredient : SPICE

100. Bacteria found in the GI tract : ECOLI

101. Stuck in muck : MIRED

102. Wrestler known as "the Giant" : ANDRE. He was in The Princess Bride.

103. Tweeting locales : NESTS. Not Twitter tweet.

104. Spouse on the Seine : MARI. Husband.

105. Ugandan despot : AMIN

106. Organic fuel : PEAT

108. Poppy prop : STEM

111. Minn. shopping mecca : MOA. Mall of America, where Gary & his wife will visit next month.

113. GI's address : APO

114. Beatty of "Deliverance" : NED. Wish I did not see the movie. 

C.C.