Notes from C.C.:
Today's official LAT puzzle is a re-run of the April 23, 2022 puzzle. Below is Husker Gary's write-up of that puzzle. A few other sites have the wrong puzzle.
Sorry for the confusion. New puzzles will resume tomorrow.
I’m a fairly regular contributor for my hometown (okay, homestate) paper The New York Times, and a member of the in-house constructing team at The New Yorker. For those who may not be aware, The New Yorker recently upgraded their puzzle offerings to 5 puzzles per week (four themeless and one themed) and I contribute 2 each month, typically of the ‘easy’ themeless variety. Those two venues keep me pretty busy. When I’m not making puzzles I volunteer for The League of Women Voters, in a last ditch effort to save democracy.
As for today’s grid, I made it a few years ago, so looking at it with older and wiser eyes there are a few entries in there I’d like to take back if I could. But the long stuff is all pretty fun—perhaps one might be so bold as to say a CROWDPLEASER—so hopefully that’s the part of the puzzle that solvers will enjoy and remember.
Happy solving,
Robyn
Across:
5. Scenery in Road Runner cartoons:MESAS.
1. Cutting-edge name?:ATRA- Ginsu wouldn't work for this cwd regular
14. "Sorry, my hands are tied ... ":WHAT CAN I DO- Probably said by constructors when they have to settle for fill they don't like. 16. Price for hand delivery?:ANTE- Oh, a poker hand! 17. Musical arrangement?:RECORD DEAL- This shows a young truck driver from Memphis signing his first RECORD DEAL with RCA. How did that work out?
10. Polite address:MAAM.
18. Revolution:GYRE- Same root for Elvis' GYRATIONS
20. Class stat:GPA- Research is showing that a H.S. GPA is as good or even better predictor of college success as standardized tests. 21. "Can confirm":IT IS.
19. "I rock!":YAY ME.
26. Bon __:MOT- Example:''I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.'' Clarence Darrow 29. Place:PUT. 30. Unpredictable jerk:SPASM. 31. Checked:ARRESTED- Synonyms for stopped
22. Mystery that may have a stirring message?:SECRET RECIPE-23 products with SECRET RECIPES
34. Aegean capital:ATHENS- The preferred capital in this capital is the Euro
37. Folk dance:REEL- Here's three minutes of the Virginia REEL. I wonder if Yellowrocks has ever danced one.
38. Like all tigers:ASIAN- What could possibly go wrong here?
41. Continues:GOES ON. 43. Run ragged:OVERWORK. 45. "__ Gabler":HEDDA- One critic wrote: "
40. Draft status:ONE -A- In the 60's: Next stop - Vietnam
47. U.N. agency:ILO.
49. Popular performer:CROWD PLEASER- Tiger Woods had no chance of winning on at the Masters last April but his galleries, in person and on TV, were very large
54. Bread machine:ATM- Here's one dispensing €'s "bread" inEurope
53. "Yeah, no":UH UH.
59. Audio brand:BOSE. 60. Bridal store event:SAMPLE SALE.
55. Source of some lumber:PINES.
63. Central German river:EDER- In red below
65. Ms. enclosure:SASE- Viking Press probably stuffed this rejection letter into a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to Alice Walker when they rejectedThe Color Purple.Oops!
64. "Deep breaths ... ":TRY TO RELAX.
67. Pinch at the table:SALT.
66. Unlikely assignment from a math teacher:ESSAY.
Down:
1. A bit off:AWRY - Many of my schemes have oft gone AWRY or "gang aft agley".
3. Somewhat blue:RACYand58. Have a heated exchange?:SEXT- Be careful, the internet remembers everything. 4. Cyclotron units:ATOMS- This cyclotron at Cal Berkley was used to discover Plutonium, Neptunium and other transuranium ATOMS. in the 1950's
2. Australian novelist Astley:THEA-Wikipedia's take on her
6. Wrap:END. 7. Military blockade:SIEGE- The 47- Day SIEGE at Vicksburg, MS gave the Union control of the Mississippi River at the same time the South fell at Gettysburg. 8. Makes fit:ADAPTS. 9. Array for catching rays:SOLAR PANELS - There is a 5 acre "farm" of SOLAR PANELS a quarter mile south of me. 10. Disappearing act?:MAGIC SHOW- I don't think he fooled the kitty
5. Publication credited to the "Usual Gang of Idiots":MAD-Mad Magazine Archivewhere you can find every edition and turn every page.
12. Aweigh:ATRIP- ATRIP is an obscure (to me) synonym for aweigh which both describe when the anchor is no longer touching the bottom. 13. "With Reagan" memoirist:MEESE- He held high positions in Governor and Presidnet Reagan's administrations
11. "I'm waiting ... ":ANYTIME NOW.
23. Relocation option:CUT AND PASTE- I type my daily musings in Word and then CUT AND PASTE them into the blog. 24. USPS assignments:RTES. 25. "Have some":EAT. 26. Helgenberger of "CSI":MARG- A mile from my golf course there is a sign showing she was raised in North Bend, NE
15. Advances slowly:CREEPS.
28. Construction projects guaranteed to get off the ground:TREE HOUSES- Wow!
27. Cookie with the same colors as a crossword:OREO.
33. "Rainbow in the Dark" metal band:DIO-Here ya go 35. Fictional Wolfe:NERO- The author's name dominated this early novel
32. Neither here nor there:ELSEWHERE.
39. Brand with Vanessa Hudgens workout collection:AVIA.
36. Drink that may be served warm:SAKE.
44. Educator Annemarie who co-founded a school in Greater Detroit:ROEPER.
42. Like 2021:ODD.
49. Products with triple the power?:CUBES- 4³ 50. Sitcom whose 1974 pilot episode was titled "Joe":RHODA - Rhoda leaves Minneapolis (and The Mary Tyler Moore show) and moves to NYC where she meets Joe
46. Sites for some rites:ALTARS.
51. Awards won by 50-Down:EMMYS - Valerie Harper
56. Beyoncé voice role:NALA.
52. Climbs:RISES.
57. Airline whose first flight was from Geneva to Tel Aviv:EL AL - It returned Israels's prime minister to Tel Aviv from a conference in Geneva
62. "The Thin Man" star:LOY- Myrna LOY poses withThin Mancostar William Powell and a dog whose name appears here quite often too.
