Hey, everybody. It's 8:20 p.m. here in Virginia and today's calendar puzzle hasn't been posted to the L.A. Times website yet. If/when it does show up, I'll post the results grid and probably an abbreviated write-up.
[UPDATED Monday Afternoon]
Well, the puzzle is finally available online. An ambitious theme and enjoyable solve (with one exception —
oppugn???), but I'm not going to write it up because ... well ... it's already time to get started on tomorrow's puzzle!
Theme: "Start at the End" — The last word of each theme answer is added to the first word of its clue to make a familiar phrase.
Theme answers:
- 24A: Head start? (SOME LIKE IT HOT) = hothead.
- 37A: Don't start? (MILK AND HONEY) = "Honey Don't." Hadn't heard of this — it's a song by Carl Perkins that has been covered by the Beatles.
- 64A: Jump start? (ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH) = high jump.
- 93A: False start? (TRIED AND TRUE) = true/false.
- 108A: Fresh start? (DOWN ON THE FARM) = farm fresh.
- 17D: Cold start? (NOTHING IN COMMON) = common cold.
- 39D: Kick start? (SHOP TILL YOU DROP) = dropkick.
Everything Else — 1A: Bearing (MIEN); 5A: Squares/such (SHAPES); 11A: "Jailhouse Rock" star (ELVIS); 16A: Christmas and Easter (ISLANDS); 20A: Voight's "Ali" role (COSELL); 21A: Subtlety (NUANCE); 23A: Anchorage, or other anchorage (SEAPORT); 26A: Capitol Hill contingent (SENATORS); 28A: Young wolf (PUP); 29A: Skye caps (TAMS); 30A: Sports fig. (ATH); 31A: Wacky (MAD); 32A: Whoop-de-do (HOOHA); 34A: Given to gab (CHATTY); 36A: "I cannot tell ---" (ALIE); 39A: Makeup mishap (SMEAR); 40A: Korean War battle site (PUSAN); 43A: Marine layer? (ERNE); 44A: El Al destination (LOD); 45A: Hardly forward (SHY); 46A: Call into question (OPPUGN); 48A: Blew over (PASSED); 50A: Egg --- yung (FOO); 51A: Pierre, "par exemple" (NOM); 54A: Ateliers (STUDIOS); 56A: Tears (RIPS); 57A: Like page-turners (GRIPPING); 59A: Crag (TOR); 60A: Distinguished (NOTABLE); 62A: Madrid Mrs. (SRA); 63A: Shere Khan, for one (TIGER); 68A: Nile metropolis (CAIRO); 70A: Downed space station (MIR); 71A: Assembled body (COUNCIL); 72A: Ring ruling (TKO); 75A: Boston dessert (CREAMPIE); 77A: Equinox mo. (SEPT); 78A: Intertwines (ENLACES); 80A: That girl (HER); 81A: A Stooge (MOE); 82A: Elm or Easy (STREET); 84A: Music's Bob and Jakob (DYLANS); 85A: Best (TOP); 86A: Golf goal (PAR); 87A: Barbra's "A Star Is Born" co-star (KRIS); 89A: --- -daisy (OOPSA); 90A: Red Square honoree (LENIN); 96A: Big Apple award (OBIE); 97A: Geneve's nation (SUISSE); 98A: Dog- --- (EARED); 99A: Filmdom's Farrow (MIA); 102A: Balderdash (ROT); 103A: Endowment (GIFT); 104A: Retired flier (SST); 106A: Erudition (LEARNING); 112A: Marx of distinction (GROUCHO); 113A: Going downhill fast (SKIING); 114A: Ducks (ELUDES); 115A: Acetylsalicylic acid (ASPIRIN); 116A: Put on a show (STAGE); 117A: Soprano Farrell (EILEEN); 118A: "Come --- Window" (TOMY); 1D: Bette the Divine (MISSM); 2D: "--- little silhouetto of a man ..." (ISEEA); 3D: Springbok kin (ELAND); 4D: Wine Country county (NAPA); 5D: Symbols for scandium (SCS); 6D: Basketball target (HOOP); 7D: "I thought ---!" (ASMUCH); 8D: Low-tech security features (PEEPHOLES); 9D: Building wing (ELL); 10D: Used a box cutter (SLITTED); 11D: Foe (ENEMY); 12D: San --- Obispo (LUIS); 13D: Tub (VAT); 14D: Take a breath (INHALE); 15D: Nova --- (SCOTIA); 18D: Evince envy (DROOL); 19D: Canoe crew motion (STROKE); 22D: Old anesthetic (ETHER); 25D: "High Noon"'s Jurado (KATY); 27D: Pointed (SHARP); 33D: Michigan Stadium city (ANNARBOR); 35D: Give --- of approval (ANOD); 36D: Adams of "Doubt" (AMY); 37D: Tennyson poem (MAUD); 38D: Arnaz-Ball bailiwick (DESILU); 39D: Kick start? (SHOPTILLYOUDROP); 40D: Mail (POST); 41D: Syllables before speed or snuff (UPTO); 42D: 1966 Heisman winner Steve (SPURRIER); 45D: "--- sez to the guy ..." (SOI); 47D: Cozy corner (NOOK); 49D: John of "The West Wing" (SPENCER); 50D: Author Anatole (FRANCE); 51D: Shot at bedtime (NIGHTCAP); 52D: I can mean this (ONE); 53D: Dept. head (MGR); 55D: Thwart (STYMIE); 57D: Beam (GRIN); 58D: Screen's Babe (PIG); 61D: Friendly "fille" (AMIE); 62D: Semisweet wine (SAUTERNE); 65D: "... nothing without a woman --- girl" (ORA); 66D: Sunflower State capital (TOPEKA); 67D: Kind of quarters (HIND); 68D: Pounder of "The Shield" (CCH); 69D: "You --- here" (ARE); 73D: Olin and Follett (KENS); 74D: Peak in Thessaly (OSSA); 76D: Snappy report (POP); 77D: Taxing (STRESSFUL); 79D: Natural healer (ALOE); 82D: "Je ne --- quoi" (SAIS); 83D: Kind of wave (TIDAL); 85D: Suit accessory (TIE); 86D: Passe "please" (PRITHEE); 88D: Italian liqueur (STREGA); 90D: Byron and Baltimore (LORDS); 91D: Kindle volumes (EBOOKS); 92D: Numskull (NITWIT); 93D: Grass patch (TUFT); 94D: Marquis name (DESADE); 95D: Rises up (REARS); 97D: Scorch (SINGE); 99D: Film opening? (MICRO); 100D: "What does she see ---?" (INHIM); 101D: Torment (AGONY); 103D: Barris game show prop (GONG); 105D: Cherry or chestnut (TREE); 107D: Midi night (NUIT); 109D: Screen's Vardalos (NIA); 110D: QB Manning (ELI); 111D: ISP option (MSN).
How bizarre is it that it hasn't been posted, yet? Anyway, Sundays are when I go old school with a sharpened #2. There's no other feeling quite like it.
ReplyDeleteI have issues.
I live in Puzzle Girl's time zone, It hasn't shown up at 10:20 P.M. Yikes!!
ReplyDeleteI did it old skool, a bit more difficult then it usually is.
ReplyDeleteIt happens regularly now at the LA Times, every 2 or 3 weeks. Either the Bursztyn or Reagle puzzle doesn't get updated until late Sunday night or Monday. Seems the responsibility for updating the puzzles is jobbed to someone outside the paper who does slipshod work.
ReplyDeleteWhen it's the Reagle puzzle, that one is available for free at the Washington Post. I've also had successful searches for the Bursztyn puzzle, but can't recall where I found it.
It's now Sunday, 11:20 PM Eastern time and the Times puzzle hasn't been updated.
I live in LA and it happens very often that the Bursztyn puzzle doesn't get put on line until Monday or Tuesday. I email them every week and complain. Not that that does any good. I've been doing it the old fashioned way and I'm about 3/4 done. However, I cooked an entire Easter dinner today, so I'm a bit behind and a little stuck. It does seen a little more difficult than usual. Thanks for this blog. It's great!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the calendar puzzle. what newspapers is it in?
ReplyDeleteChefbea, as far as I know, the Calendar puzzle by Sylvia Bursztyn appears only in the Sunday L.A. Times. It could be syndicated elsewhere—who knows? I haven't been doing this puzzle, just the other syndicated LAT puzzle—but occasionally I've been hollered at by Crossword Fiend readers who demand to know why my "L.A. Times Sunday crossword" isn't the same as the one in their paper. So here it is...except when the paper fails to post it online.
ReplyDeleteJust did the puzzle on Monday afternoon - it's up online, finally - and came to see if PG had figured out the theme, because I couldn't...
ReplyDeleteAdding the last word of the solution to the first word of the clue yeilds a familiar phrase. So 108A's "Head start?" makes "hot head" (hot being the last word in the solution "some like it hot").
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd I meant to say 24A, above.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought, but I was hoping there was something I was missing. "Honey don't" isn't a common phrase and "true false" needs a slash to be... something, so it wasn't a very good set of theme answers. Not that I could do better. I think S.B. makes fun grids, so it's hardly a waste of my 5 minutes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dan. Can we get another Dan up in here?
"Honey don't" is common enough in my marriage. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'll start signing of as "LA Dan." I don't want to further confuse things as I, too, am a musician with a crossword monkey on his back.
~ "LA" Dan
I thought 5D "Symbols for scandium" SCS was terrible, and there were 15(!) fill-in-the-blank clues, which is a whole lot. But the theme was kind of interesting.
ReplyDelete