Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle created by Alan Southworth. Alan made his NYT debut in 2018. I did not find a previous label for Alan on the Corner blog site so this may be his debut in the LAT.
Today's theme is pretty straightforward (as so many of them are once we "grok" them) so let's start with the reveal:
54 Across: "I can't see through you!," and what's needed to complete 17-, 24-, 33-, and 45-Across?: DOWN IN FRONT.
We are asked to mentally add the word DOWN in front of the themed answers completed in the grid in order to derive the correct/complete answers to those clues.
Here are the four places where the gimmick is employed:
17 Across: Said, "Skipping school isn't a big deal," say?: (DOWN) PLAYED HOOKY.
24 Across: Australian-themed amusement park?: (DOWN) UNDER WORLD. Down Under being a nickname for Australia. . .
33 Across: Unused vacation days, essentially?: (DOWN) TIME TO SPARE. Extra downtime.
45 Across: Recession indicator?: (DOWN) TURN SIGNAL. An indicator of an economic down turn.
Here is the completed grid:
Here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Cold nuggets: ICE. Anyone misread this as Gold nuggets?
4. Fluffy accessory: BOA. What’s the difference between a BOA and a Python? A Python doesn’t have feathers.
4. Fluffy accessory: BOA. What’s the difference between a BOA and a Python? A Python doesn’t have feathers.
7. Bus. type: LLC. Limited Liability Company
10. "Last four digits" ID: SSN.
13. Some Argentine reds: MALBECS. MALBEC is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine.
15. Lock insert: OAR. Not a door lock reference. A rowing reference.
16. GPS prediction that accounts for traffic: ETA. Stands for Estimated Time of Arrival, but, much like SSN, now stands on its own.
19. Iran neighbor: Abbr.: PAK. PAKistan
20. Fails to mention: OMITS.
21. Game cube: DIE. Singular of dice.
22. Mother in a stable family?: MARE. Stable as in where horses might reside.
23. Philosopher Descartes: RENE. Along with RENE Magritte, a frequent visitor.
27. __ table: TRESTLE.
29. Online biz: ETAIL. A portmanteau often seen in our puzzles. Electronic retailing.
30. Berry touted as a superfood: ACAI. Frequently consumed in our puzzles.
32. Crewmate of Sulu and Bones: SCOTTY. A Star Trek reference. Remember "The Monster Mash"? Bobby "Boris" Pickett also came up with this in 1975:
Star Drek
36. Learn backward and forward: MASTER.
38. Laura Lippman genre: NOIR.
40. Says grace over, say: BLESSES. Here's one:
Heavenly Father, As we stand before this microwave-made marvel, we bow our heads and ask for a touch of guidance. Bless us with the wisdom to interpret cooking times without triggering popcorn explosions. May our reheated leftovers be as satisfying as the first time around, and may our mealtime excitement far exceed our microwave’s ding. With gratitude for modern convenience and a sprinkle of humor, we pray, Amen
49. __ Scotia: NOVA.
50. Locale of the 2018, 2020, and 2022 Olympics: ASIA. South Korea, Japan, China.
51. Murmur: COO.
52. Group of talking heads: PANEL.
53. Word with school or party: BUS.
57. Not long. for this world?: LAT. Longitude and LATitude. The dot after the long. abbreviation was the tip off.
58. Airbnb alternative: INN.
59. Whistle blower: REFEREE. A clue to be taken literally and not idiomatically.
60. High trains: ELS. Famous ones run through Chicago.
61. Ed.'s pile: MSS. ManuScriptS
62. Having everything one needs: SET. My record collection includes Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, and Tom Petty. It’s almost a full Heartland Rock SET . . . Close, but no Seger.
63. Go on to say: ADD.
Down:
1. Significance: IMPORT. Not as in to bring goods into a country from abroad. Used, here, as a noun.
2. Less windy: CALMER. Also, how we may feel after completing the puzzle.
3. Paige known as the "First Lady of British Musical Theatre": ELAINE. Unknown to this solver. Thanks, perps.
4. Some drones: BEES. Not the kind of drones that deliver packages, spy on us and deliver explosives.
5. Med. condition with repetitive behavior: OCD.
6. Fire proof?: ASH. Not fire resistant. Evidence of a fire.
7. Sarge's superior: LOOIE. Slang. Sergeant and Lieutenant.
8. Luka Doncic, for one: LAKER. A basketball reference.
9. Weep: CRY.
10. Not together: SEPARATE. Apart.
11. Like a clear night: STARLIT. A well known example by Van Gough:
7. Sarge's superior: LOOIE. Slang. Sergeant and Lieutenant.
8. Luka Doncic, for one: LAKER. A basketball reference.
9. Weep: CRY.
10. Not together: SEPARATE. Apart.
11. Like a clear night: STARLIT. A well known example by Van Gough:
12. With nothing to hide: NAKEDLY. Hmmm. Quite the job of teeing things up but we'll keep it safe for work by presenting, instead, a wonderful book that this solver read nearly thirty years ago.
14. Data units: BYTES. A computer reference.
18. Like half the numbers on a 21-Across: ODD.
22. The "Mo" of Motown: MOTOR. Detroit aka MOTOR City.
24. Stomach woe: ULCER.
18. Like half the numbers on a 21-Across: ODD.
22. The "Mo" of Motown: MOTOR. Detroit aka MOTOR City.
24. Stomach woe: ULCER.
25. Not on the rocks: NEAT. A reference as to how alcohol might be served.
26. "You're important to us": WE CARE.
28. Big cat handlers: TAMERS.
31. Cyclotron particle: ION.
32. "__ the tea!": SPILL. Colloquialism for gossiping.
33. Romanov supporters: TSARISTS.
34. Turner memoir: I TINA. Not Nat Turner. Not Ted Turner.
35. Buckwheat noodle: SOBA.
36. Not set in stone: MUTABLE. More often seen as its opposite, IMMUTABLE.
37. Just like always: AS USUAL. Not mutable, I suppose.
41. Catch: SNARE.
42. Hermosillo's state: SONORA. This time the state is in Mexico (although it does border the USA).
43. Leveled (out): EVENED.
44. Like some peanuts and winter roads: SALTED.
46. Clicked images: ICONS. A computer, or cell phone, screen reference. What would happen if we were to click on a Pop Icon?
47. Met Gala interview topics: GOWNS. . . . and who are you wearing?
48. Starter start: NON. A couple of weeks ago we had NAAN Profit.
52. Scoffing sound: PFFT. Punt!
54. Not bright: DIM. I got tired of flipping the little switch on my rear view mirror to DIM the reflected headlights. So I removed the whole mirror. I haven’t looked back since.
55. E-file org.: IRS.
56. Once named: NEE. As in Jacqueline Kennedy NEE Bouvier.
Well, we have now gone completely DOWN the list of clues so that will have to do it for today. Yours truly will once again (what, again?) be taking some time off to travel. First to Japan "just for the halibut" and then to NYC for the Bat Mitzvah of a long-time friend's granddaughter.
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