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Constructed by: Ella Dershowitz
Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Reveal Answer: Imaginary Friend
Themed answers each include a synonym of “FRIEND”. For down-answers, we must IMAGINE that the FRIEND has disappeared from the grid. Clever …
- 23A “Bring it in, dude” embrace : (BRO) HUG
- 1D Wedding __ : BAND (“B AND B” – B)
- 2D Hindi word for “tea” : CHAI (CHAIR – R)
- 3D Showed up : CAME (CAMEO – O)
- 38A Childhood companion depicted five times in this puzzle, thanks to some Down clues : IMAGINARY (FRIEND)
- 40D __ of luxury : LAP (FLAP – F)
- 41D Number of candles, perhaps : AGE (RAGE – R)
- 37D Twist, as a wet rag : WRING (WIRING – I)
- 27D Web store icon : CART (CARET – E)
- 28D 12/24 and 12/31 : EVE (EVENS – N)
- 29D __ Antonio : SAN (SAND – D)
- 52A Overseas correspondent? : PEN (PAL)
- 53D Finished perfectly : ACED (PACED – P)
- 54D Musical pitch : TONE (ATONE – A)
- 55D Historic British school : ETON (“LET ON” – L)
- 59A “Booksmart” or “Dumb and Dumber” : (BUDDY) COMEDY
- 59D USN officer : LT (BLT – B)
- 60D “How cute!” : AW! (UAW – U)
- 61D Do, __, mi : RE (DRE – D)
- 50D Batting __ : CAGE (CADGE – D)
- 45D Big name in cameras : CANON (CANYON – Y)
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 11m 13s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Email option that protects privacy : BCC
A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.
9 Syrup source : MAPLE
About 75% of the world’s maple syrup comes from the province of Quebec. The US’s biggest producer is the state of Vermont, which produces 5-6% of the world’s supply.
15 Compact cosmetic : ROUGE
Although the cosmetic called rouge (also “blush”) uses the French word for “red”, modern “rouge” might be brown, pink or perhaps orange. Contemporary rouge is usually a talcum-based, colored powder.
17 “Da 5 Bloods” setting, for short : ‘NAM
“Da 5 Bloods” is a 2020 Spike Lee film about four aging veterans of the Vietnam War who go back to Vietnam. Their mission is to find the remains of their fallen squad leader, and to find a stash of gold bars they hid during the conflict. I haven’t seen this one, but am putting it on “the list” …
22 North America’s tallest peak : DENALI
Denali’s summit stands at 20,310 feet, making it the highest mountain peak in North America. Denali means “the high one” in the native Athabaskan language. The peak was known as Mount McKinley for many years, named in 1896 for future president William McKinley. The state of Alaska changed the name back to Denali in 1975, and the federal government followed suit in 2015.
23 “Bring it in, dude” embrace : (BRO) HUG
Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.
32 Pt. of USNA : NAV
The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is located in Annapolis, Maryland. It was founded in 1845 and educates officers for both the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. The motto of the USNA is “Ex Scientia Tridens”, which translates as “From Knowledge, Sea Power”.
33 “Selma” director DuVernay : AVA
“Selma” is a 2014 film about the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the movie stars David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson.
34 “Selma” actor David : OYELOWO
British actor David Oyelowo really hit the big time when he landed the role of Martin Luther King in the 2014 film “Selma”. Oyelowo was born to Nigerian parents, and he spent much of his youth living in Lagos. He comes from royalty, and is an “omoba” (prince) of the Yoruba people from West Africa.
37 Small bird with a big voice : WREN
The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests. Despite their small size, they are known for their loud and complex songs. Male wrens often sing to attract mates and to establish territory, They have been known to attack much larger birds that get too close to their nests.
42 Helgenberger of “CSI” : MARG
Marg Helgenberger is an actress best known for roles she plays on television. She played investigator Catherine Willows on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. Helgenberger also played drug-addicted prostitute K.C. Koloski in the Vietnam War drama “China Beach”.
43 West Coast sch. whose application process may include an audition : CALARTS
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private school located in Santa Clarita, California. CalArts was founded in 1961 by merging the Chouinard Art Institute and the Los Angeles conservatory, a merger that was very much sponsored by Walt Disney.
45 Cynical start? : CEE
The start of the word “cynical” is a letter C (cee).
48 Epiphany trio : MAGI
“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, “magi” is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born. In Western Christianity, the three Biblical Magi are:
- Melchior: a scholar from Persia
- Caspar (also “Gaspar”): a scholar from India
- Balthazar: a scholar from Arabia
The holiday in the Christian tradition known as the Epiphany falls on January 6th. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the Epiphany is known as “Día de los Reyes”, and in others as “Día de Reyes” (Day of Kings).
49 Finishes a gin rummy turn, e.g. : DISCARDS
Gin rummy is a faster variant of standard rummy. It was introduced in 1909 by one Elwood Baker and his son.
56 Aye-aye or dik-dik : ANIMAL
The aye-aye is a lemur that is native to Madagascar. It is the largest nocturnal primate in the world, and has an unusual way of feeding. The aye-aye taps on trees to find grubs, rather like a woodpecker. Having located its meal, it then uses its rodent-like teeth to gnaw into the wood and uses a specially-adapted long and narrow middle finger to pull out the grubs.
Dik-diks are a species of small antelopes that are native to eastern and southern Africa. They are usually less than 15 inches tall at the shoulder. The name “dik-dik” is onomatopoeic, and mimics the sound made by the female of the species when they feel threatened.
59 “Booksmart” or “Dumb and Dumber” : (BUDDY) COMEDY
“Booksmart” is a 2019 comedy film about two high school students breaking out of their relatively bookish ways just prior to graduation. The movie was actress Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, and apparently, the critics loved it.
“Dumb and Dumber” is a 1994 comedy starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two pretty dumb guys, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. There was a prequel released in 2003 titled “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd”, and a sequel in 2011 called “Dumb and Dumber To”.
65 Slow tempo : LARGO
Largo is an instruction to play a piece of music with a very slow tempo. “Largo” is an Italian word meaning “broadly”. The instruction “larghetto” means “play broadly”, and “Larghissimo” means “play very, very slowly”.
66 Future esposa, perhaps : NOVIA
“Novia” is Spanish for “bride, a newly married woman”.
“Esposa” is Spanish for “wife”.
67 Roxy Music name : ENO
Roxy Music is a British band formed by Bryan Ferry, who also served as the lead singer. One of the group’s more famous former band members was Brian Eno, someone who turns up in crosswords far too often …
68 12-year-old, e.g. : TWEEN
The term “tween” is used to describe preadolescence, the years “between” 8 and 12 years of age.
69 Ridley of the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy : DAISY
British actress Daisy Ridley hit the big time when she landed the role of Rey in the movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, a role that she reprised in several subsequent “Star Wars” films. Some might recognize the family name “Ridley”. Daisy’s great-uncle was Arnold Ridley, who played Private Godfrey in the hit Britcom “Dad’s Army”.
Down
4 Exclamation during a polar bear plunge : BRR!
A polar bear plunge is a winter event in which participants plunge into really, really cold bodies of water. Such swims are a New Year’s Day tradition in Canada, and in the US are often used to raise money for charity.
7 Moorehead of “Bewitched” : AGNES
Agnes Moorehead was an actress best remembered for her role as Endora, Samantha’s mother on the sitcom “Bewitched”. Moorehead died in 1974 from uterine cancer. She was one of over 90 out of 220 cast and crew members of the 1956 movie “The Conqueror” who all died from cancer, including co-stars Susan Hayward and John Wayne. There is wide speculation that the people working on the film were affected by radiation from eleven nuclear explosions that had taken place the prior year at the Yucca Flats Nevada Test Site that was located nearby, and upwind.
9 Bullet train technology : MAGLEV
Maglev (magnetic levitation) trains have two sets of electromagnets at the heart of their propulsion systems. One set lifts (repels) the train up off the track. The second set moves the train forward.
Although rail transportation started out its life in Europe, it really came into its own across the vast United States. However, it was the Japanese who developed rail transportation into the exceptional service it is today. A bullet train is any high-speed train that resembles the locomotives developed by the Japanese in the fifties and sixties.
10 Server’s edge, in tennis : AD IN (ADMIN – M)
In tennis, if the score reaches deuce (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the advantage. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. The player calling out the score announces “ad in”, or more formally “advantage in”, if he/she has the advantage. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?
11 Law enforcement org. : PD (PDA – A)
Police department (PD)
Public display of affection (PDA)
13 Dash used in date ranges : EN (ENE – E)
In typography, there are em dashes and en dashes. The em dash is about the width of an “m” character, and an en dash about half that, the width of an “n’ character. An en dash is used, for example, to separate numbers designating a range, as in 5-10 years. The em dash seems to be going out of style, and indeed the application I am using to write this paragraph won’t let me show you one!
19 “The Lion King” lion : NALA
In “The Lion King”, Nala is a lioness and the childhood friend of Simba. By the end of the story, Nala and Simba become wedded. “The Lion King” is inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, with Simba representing the title character, and Nala representing Hamlet’s love interest Ophelia.
21 Option in a classic paradoxical dilemma : THE EGG
What came first? The chicken or the egg?
24 Wrinkled tangelo : UGLI
The ugli fruit is a hybrid of an orange and a tangerine that was first discovered growing wild in Jamaica where most ugli fruit comes from today. “UGLI” is a trademark name that is a variant of “ugly”, a nod to the fruit’s unsightly wrinkled rind.
The fruit called a tangelo is a hybrid between a tangerine and either a grapefruit or a pomelo (which gives it the name). A pomelo is a very large, pear-shaped citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. The Jamaican form of tangelo is known as the ugli fruit.
25 Jennifer Egan’s “A Visit From the __ Squad” : GOON
Jennifer Egan is an author who grew up in San Francisco. Egan’s 2010 work “A Visit from the Goon Squad” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Usually termed a novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is structured in such a way that it is sometimes described as a collection of linked short stories.
27 Web store icon : CART (CARET – E)
The character known as a caret (^) was originally a proofreading mark, one used to indicate where a punctuation mark was to be inserted. “Caret” is Latin for “it lacks”.
29 __ Antonio : SAN (SAND – D)
The city of San Antonio, Texas was named by Spanish explorers. They came upon a Native American settlement in the area on 13 June 1631, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua.
31 Budget carrier HQ’d in Dallas : SWA
Southwest Airlines (SWA) is the world’s largest low-cost passenger airline. I’ve always admired the Southwest operation and found that the company knows how to keep costs under control while maintaining a high level of customer service. One strategy the company used for decades was only to operate Boeing 737 aircraft, which kept maintenance and operating costs to a minimum. Southwest has over 700 Boeing 737s in service, with each plane making about six flights per day.
34 Muscat resident : OMANI
Muscat is the capital of Oman. The city lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.
36 Tolkien monster : ORC
Orcs are mythical humanoid creatures that appear in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. Since Tolkien’s use of orcs, they have also been featured in other fantasy fiction as well as in fantasy video games.
38 Cyberchatted with, briefly : IM’ED
Instant message (IM)
39 Orange tuber : YAM
Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the world than they are in this country, and are especially common in Africa.
45 Big name in cameras : CANON (CANYON – Y)
The Japanese company Canon is largely known in the US for producing quality cameras. The company started out as Precision Optical Industry Laboratory in 1937 making camera bodies. The name was changed in 1947 to Canon.
46 Actor Bana : ERIC
Eric Bana is an Australian actor who enjoyed a successful career in his home country before breaking into Hollywood playing an American Delta Force sergeant in “Black Hawk Down”. A couple of years later he played the lead in Ang Lee’s 2003 movie “Hulk”, the role of Dr Bruce Banner. More recently he played the Romulan villain Nero, in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.
47 Astronomer Halley : EDMOND
Edmond Halley was an English astronomer who lived at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1705 he declared that comet sightings recorded in 1456, 1531, 1607 and 1682 were in fact observations of the same comet returning to fly by Earth at regular intervals. He predicted that this comet would return in 1758. Hally was right, and so the comet was named after him. Sadly, Halley didn’t live long enough to see that his prediction came true.
50 Batting __ : CAGE (CADGE – D)
To cadge is to get something by begging.
51 South Pacific island group : SAMOA
The official name for the South Pacific nation formerly known as Western Samoa is the Independent State of Samoa. Samoa is the western part of the island group, with American Samoa lying to the southeast. The whole group of islands used to be known as Navigators Island, a name given by European explorers in recognition of the seafaring skills of the native Samoans.
55 Historic British school : ETON (“LET ON” – L)
Eton College near Windsor in the south of England was founded way back in 1440 by King Henry VI. Originally known as “The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor”, the school was intended to provide free education to poor boys. Free education today at Eton? Not so much …
57 __ Strauss & Co. : LEVI
Levi Strauss was the founder of the first company in the world to manufacture blue jeans. Levi Strauss & Co. opened in 1853 in San Francisco. Strauss and his business partner were awarded a patent in 1873 for the use of copper rivets to strengthen points of strain on working pants.
59 USN officer : LT (BLT – B)
One might become a lieutenant (lt.) in the US Navy (USN).
60 “How cute!” : AW! (UAW – U)
The United Auto Workers (UAW) was founded to represent workers in auto plants in the Detroit area in 1935. Nowadays the UAW’s membership extends into aerospace, agriculture and other industries.
61 Do, __, mi : RE (DRE – D)
“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
62 Knock : DIS
“Dis” (also “diss”) is a slang term meaning “insult” that originated in the eighties. It is a shortened form of “disrespect” or “dismiss”.
63 “Huzzah!” : YAY!
“Huzzah” is a cheer, originally a sailor’s interjection, possibly accompanying the hoisting of a sail.
Read on, or …
… return to top of page
Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Email option that protects privacy : BCC
4 Hands down : BY FAR
9 Syrup source : MAPLE
14 “There it is!” : AHA!
15 Compact cosmetic : ROUGE
16 Build a new room, say : ADD ON
17 “Da 5 Bloods” setting, for short : ‘NAM
18 Second on a ticket : RUNNING (MATE)
20 Nutrition regimen : DIET
22 North America’s tallest peak : DENALI
23 “Bring it in, dude” embrace : (BRO) HUG
26 Hushes : SILENCES
30 Vanity cases : EGOS
32 Pt. of USNA : NAV
33 “Selma” director DuVernay : AVA
34 “Selma” actor David : OYELOWO
37 Small bird with a big voice : WREN
38 Childhood companion depicted five times in this puzzle, thanks to some Down clues : IMAGINARY (FRIEND)
42 Helgenberger of “CSI” : MARG
43 West Coast sch. whose application process may include an audition : CALARTS
44 Break off : END
45 Cynical start? : CEE
48 Epiphany trio : MAGI
49 Finishes a gin rummy turn, e.g. : DISCARDS
52 Overseas correspondent? : PEN (PAL)
56 Aye-aye or dik-dik : ANIMAL
58 Flight board info : GATE
59 “Booksmart” or “Dumb and Dumber” : (BUDDY) COMEDY
64 No-frills bed : COT
65 Slow tempo : LARGO
66 Future esposa, perhaps : NOVIA
67 Roxy Music name : ENO
68 12-year-old, e.g. : TWEEN
69 Ridley of the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy : DAISY
70 TV room : DEN
Down
1 Wedding __ : BAND (“B AND B” – B)
2 Hindi word for “tea” : CHAI (CHAIR – R)
3 Showed up : CAME (CAMEO – O)
4 Exclamation during a polar bear plunge : BRR!
5 “__ had one job!” : YOU
6 Endow : FUND
7 Moorehead of “Bewitched” : AGNES
8 Restrain : REIN IN
9 Bullet train technology : MAGLEV
10 Server’s edge, in tennis : AD IN (ADMIN – M)
11 Law enforcement org. : PD (PDA – A)
12 __ and behold : LO (LOT – T)
13 Dash used in date ranges : EN (ENE – E)
19 “The Lion King” lion : NALA
21 Option in a classic paradoxical dilemma : THE EGG
24 Wrinkled tangelo : UGLI
25 Jennifer Egan’s “A Visit From the __ Squad” : GOON
27 Web store icon : CART (CARET – E)
28 12/24 and 12/31 : EVE (EVENS – N)
29 __ Antonio : SAN (SAND – D)
31 Budget carrier HQ’d in Dallas : SWA
34 Muscat resident : OMANI
35 Fabric measures : YARDS
36 Tolkien monster : ORC
37 Twist, as a wet rag : WRING (WIRING – I)
38 Cyberchatted with, briefly : IM’ED
39 Orange tuber : YAM
40 __ of luxury : LAP (FLAP – F)
41 Number of candles, perhaps : AGE (RAGE – R)
45 Big name in cameras : CANON (CANYON – Y)
46 Actor Bana : ERIC
47 Astronomer Halley : EDMOND
50 Batting __ : CAGE (CADGE – D)
51 South Pacific island group : SAMOA
53 Finished perfectly : ACED (PACED – P)
54 Musical pitch : TONE (ATONE – A)
55 Historic British school : ETON (“LET ON” – L)
57 __ Strauss & Co. : LEVI
59 USN officer : LT (BLT – B)
60 “How cute!” : AW! (UAW – U)
61 Do, __, mi : RE (DRE – D)
62 Knock : DIS
63 “Huzzah!” : YAY!
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105 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 14 Jul 23, Friday”
Comments are closed.
Clever but a bit far fetched for a Friday ..
A very contrived puzzle. Obtuse for its own sake.
Annoying to say the least…
Stupidest puzzle ever. Beyond dumb!
This is the best comment. This puzzle just sucks!
Ditto !!!!!
A little too clever. One would have to be able to mind read the author. Not fun.
Full of mistakes should not have been published.
Dumbest puzzle you have ever published
Probably the worst puzzle you have had for a long time. It was ridiculous. I didn’t enjoy it!
Yes!! It made no sense at all.
Stupidest one yet. How about a puzzle with real words?
Beyond my comprehension. Just don’t get it.
Beyond my understanding. Just don’t get it.
I agree, this puzzle makes no sense. I hope it’s the last of its kind.
Not a single clue to lead to what we were looking for! Impossible to solve without online explanations
Worst idea ever
This crossword puzzle is the the worst, and the sad thing is it probably took the person a long time to create it. And just too far fetched.
This puzzle is absolutely terrible! Don’t ever do another one of these!
Totally ridiculous puzzle. Not even worth finishing. 🤮
Yuck
This one was a head scratcher. Not fun at all.
I thought this one sucked big time. I didn’t get it at all. Then I read this column and this one still sucked big time and I still don’t get it at all. I’m goin back to bed
Look inside the mind of a crossword setter…a lot of unused space in there.
First time ever! I agree with everyone.
I agree with everyone…really BAD.
DNF, but unlike a lot of people I mostly (4/5) enjoyed the theme — though it did cause four of my five unfilled squares because RUNNING mate just did not come to me and crosses were no help because of the theme. Also missed the cross of OYELOwO and SwA. I was lucky just to get “THE EGG” with the names crossing it.
DNF, but unlike a lot of people I mostly (4/5) enjoyed the theme — though it did cause four of my five unfilled squares because RUNNING mate just did not come to me and crosses were no help because of the theme. Also missed the cross of OYELOwO and SwA. I was lucky just to get “THE EGG” with the names crossing it.
Had a server timeout error so apologies if this appears more than once.
DITTO ON ABOVE
Bad puzzle. Not fun at all.
Couldn’t get buddy so I used idiot
I agree with much of the above.
This is really STUPID. Doesn’t make a lot of sense.
This is about the worst I’ve ever seen, even for a Friday or … even worse, Saturday.
Whoever thinks these up – please get rid of ’em!
Do better.
Most confusing, dumbest puzzle ever!!’
Something I hate to say. WTF?!?!?!
This puzzle doesn’t make sense. I didn’t even bother to finish. Please don’t publish anymore far fetched puzzles like this.
“ H” is for my “imaginary friend!” (RIGHT!)!
Ella, go to ‘ H’ella!
Some people actually look forward to doing the L.A. Times Crossword Puzzle each and every day! Just know that you have ruined my entire Friday, Ms. Dershowitz !
I agree with the legions of others who thought this was the dumbest , least comprehensible crossword puzzle ever!
This puzzle doesn’t make sense. I didn’t even bother to finish. Please don’t publish any more far fetched puzzles like this.
usually I get the joke or word twist. not this time. It made no sense. please do better.
There are no mistakes. Just an unusual theme.
Even having looked at the breakdown here…
Two thumbs down on this one for me.
Too “clever” for its own good.
Understood the theme. Got everything but BUDDY of BUDDY COMEDY. never heard of that before. Google doesn’t show it. It shows BUDDY FILM?
Oh well..
You tried to be clever, but you ended up with a pathetic excuse for a crossword puzzle.
I look for a good puzzle every morning to start the day. This was a disappointment that was clearly meant to amuse the puzzle creator.
Anyone can design a puzzle with a nonsensical “theme”/device, but your goal should be to deliver a smart and satisfying experience to your reader.
This was neither.
You are posting on a blog that has nothing to do with the LA Times.
One of the most ridiculous puzzles I have ever seen. Please, no more like this!
22:29, no errors. Sorry, many of the previous posters are wrong – this was one of the best puzzles ever! It required you to think but everything was there in the clue to 38A….
I agree. I don’t understand why there is so much hate towards this puzzle. I enjoyed the challenge.
I agree with both of you. I assume when I get to Friday-Saturday (and sometimes Thursday!) I’m going to be challenged. I thought this was really clever, and once I got it, I laughed out loud!
Worst puzzle I have ever seen! Please no more junk like this.
The crossword is getting careless in taking the trouble to enter only the correct answers. Today for instance the clue for 52 down is historic British school and the answer given is LETON. The answer is ETON. Happening more and more. Pati and others should ensure that only correct answers are in the crossword. And (for the record) Googling LETON gives only Letonia Pa.
Let On.
And that was the point. Eton – skip the long answer and add the L.
No mistake.
The crossword is getting bad in having letters in answers that are not correct. This is very frustrating and has been getting worse over time. For instance, the answer in today’s crossword to 55 doew(clue Historic British School) is LETON. The correct answer is ETON. To Patti and the people who put the create the crosswords, please take care of this. I understand it is difficult, but …. And for the record Googling Leton just gets Letonia, Pa
Nope. Love the LA Times puzzle every day. But this was just a bunch of misspelled words.
Even after I finally gave up and looked, I thought this is not clever, just stupid.
I totally agree with all the above comments. When I was about halfway through the across section, I thought this was a puzzle I wasn’t going to finish. Sure enough (self-fulfilling prophecy?), after going through the down part, I thought this was one of the worst ever–even for a Friday. The explanation only confirmed my attitude and then, reading what other’s thought solidified my thinking. Anyone that finished it deserves all the accolades they get. Nice to see that, for once, I’m not alone. Not just ridiculous, but, IMHO, STUPID!!!!!
Clever enough, but real reach of a theme and some ridiculous clueing (prime example: 2D). Overall: Time waster.
I did not like this puzzle, especially guessing at letters that ended up being “BUDDY” comedy (which I never heard of). I still don’t understand what is meant by “… thanks to some Down clues”.
C-
Totally agree. Most frustrating and stupid one I’ve ever done.
Hated it—even after reading the explanation! Friday crosswords are hard enuf w/o adding this kind of a twist.
19:25, no errors. Bit of a head-scratcher, I suppose, but with a delightful “aha moment”.
Unfair! Not fun!
Made absolutely no sense to me
No mistakes. A fun challenge. I was on to the theme rather quickly. I disagree with the comment that these were not real words. Each clue that crossed the imaginary friend gave a word with 1 letter shorter than the boxes. Just skip over the long answer. The new word is still a word.
This is a common theme for a puzzle. The Wash Po Sunday puzzle does this sometimes.
Still laugh when I see comments directed to the editor/creator/newspaper here in the blog.
I finished it, but even after reading the explanation a couple times, I STILL don’t get it! Not enjoyable at all. . . . : – /
I finished it, but even after reading the explanation a few times, I STILL don’t get it! Not enjoyable at all . . . . : – /
Absolutely awful. This is the first weekday puzzle that I haven’t finished in the last five years. Stupid, silly and just no fun.
Don’t like it. Didn’t get it despite the explanation. I dont think crosswords should be abstract and incomprehensible. Isn’t the point to be challenging but solvable. This was just flat out annoying and I quickly lost interest.
I’m going to have to disagree with the posted comments. This was a challenging and clever puzzle. All of the answers are real words, names, or abbreviations. Well done.
Bravo! Well said!
I did not understand this one at all. Several of the down answers had an extra letter added which did not make any sense to me. Gave up about a third of the way through in frustration.
Well, I liked it!
No errors. Took a full hour, though.
Way too far out. Not enjoyable
This puzzle is ridiculous! Why do you continue to publish this lame attempt to use puns and inane expectations that no one can achieve w except the twisted writer. STOP allowing this kind of garbage to be printed
This one was a head scratcher. Not fun at all.
I have to remind everyone that’s hopefully reading that this is just a solver’s blog put on by a guy (Bill) that has absolutely no connection to the LA Times.
I can pretty well guarantee you that no one at the LA Times is even reading this blog, or cares one bit about any of what is said here.
The effort spent on these kind of comments is better directed towards the supervising editors of the paper you are doing this puzzle in, urging them to find better options than this one (and right now, that’s not a hard thing to do). You will see how to make these comments in the “Letter to the Editor” section of your paper. (As for an e-mail contact for same with the Los Angeles Times, I don’t know which one would be the proper place)
Absolutely horrible puzzle. I figured it out but I hated it.
“Wow!” is all I can say. But actually, it won’t be. I am completely blown away at the number of commenters who don’t get this theme – albeit a weird one. Cindy H.’s explanation was great. At 55D, of course the answer is Eton. But when you add the “imaginary friend” of “pal”, the new answer is “let on” (not leton). Of course, the friend is not really there, so you have Eton. And, once again – Bill is not the creator of these puzzles!!!
Quite the puzzler! 26:29 – one look up for Halley’s first name because the SW corner and related S central section weren’t falling into place for me.
False starts: LOW>LOT (I wondered about “low” and behold), ENS>ENE, CAGES>CADGE, CPT>BLT, A_W>UAW, R_E>DRE, RAP>DIS, CAREYCOMEDY>BUDDYCOMEDY, (initially, didn’t know the Booksmart movie, and couldn’t figure out the type of comedy).
Got the essence of the theme with IMAGINARY FRIEND and the PEN PAL section. Then came BRO, MATE, and lastly BUDDY.
This had a complex theme, to be sure! Just an added dimension to the puzzle without resorting to cipher gimmicks. And, not only was there the “imaginary friend” answer, but leaving in the those letters results in often-used crossword answers (even if not related to the clue for that “answer.” I can appreciate the cleverness that Ella Dershowitz put into this one.
I see mostly cross words in comments about the puzzle today, but having seen the solution, I think it is quite the clever brain jerker but took too much time to suss out and should have been presented differently. The “down words” that supplied the hidden childhood companions are all legit words or abbreviations that could have been found with appropriate clues. Then Ms D could have asked the successful solver to find 4 examples of the answer to 38A. OR, she could have left the clues as presented but circled the squares holding BRO, MATE, PAL, and BUDDY to highlight which “down words” were affected and which squares were not related to the definition given.
Worst puzzle ever! Dumb! stupid!
Please never pay another cent to Ella Dershowitz for a repeat performance. I suppose I may have learned something about abnormal psychology from this peek into a self-absorbed mind with its utter lack of wit. Shame on y’all!
Happy to see so many calling out this horrible puzzle.
Who signed off on this? Really Awful.
Not fun, not clever, not good. No more of these please.
Agree with all of the above comments. I have been doing the LA crossword from the Washington Post for many, many years and this is the absolute worst Friday crossword I have seen. I always enjoy the normal Friday crosswords because they tend to be a bit more in depth than the Monday through Thursday crosswords. But this one was absolutely ludicrous.
All of the above comments? Some of us liked it … a lot … 😜.
Agree with all of the above comments. I have been doing the LA crossword from the Washington Post for many, many years and this is the absolute worst Friday crossword I have seen. I always enjoy the normal Friday crosswords because they tend to be a bit more in depth than the Monday through Thursday crosswords. But this one was absolutely ludicrous.
I usually ignore the theme cuz I do these
puzzles for the words. Today reaffirms my
instincts. Unfortunately there was no
ignoring the theme today. DNF. Too clever
by half…….Thumbs “down”.
I got a free paper today at the grocery store and was excited to do the puzzle. I was stumped on San Antonio. How could the answer be 4 letters😮? So I peeked at the answers and Bills explanation. Stupidest thing I have seen in a long time. Not going to bother finishing it.
Best crossword I have solved in years. I am so tired of the old school fill in the answer crosswordese puzzles that are hardly imaginative. We need more of these!
I’m glad someone realized that this was a clever puzzle. I can’t believe the number of people that did not understand the theme of this puzzle. There are no misspelled words!
Actually, the kind of twist I love to see on Fridays! I knew something was going on, but wasn’t sure exactly what it was for a long time. Sorry for the haters, Ella. I had fun with it, thanks!
This was an excellent puzzle. I appreciate the original and challenging theme. The “add a letter” and “drop a letter” themes get monotonous. This is perfect for a Friday puzzle.
No. No. No. NO. NO.
We cannot have puzzles with themes that literally make NO SENSE!!!
This constructor will never get a single second of my attention on a grid EVER.
Stupid.
Bring back Norris please
It sucked the big one! Big fail!
I keep coming back to read the new comments and continue to be astounded by the number of people who hated this puzzle or didn’t try to work through it. For those of us Washington Post readers, the Sunday puzzles (Post plus LA Times) this is rather typical. I loved the comment about the ‘aha moment’. Isn’t that the point of a puzzle? Don’t give up so easily!
It seems there are some people who want crossword puzzles to be all definitions, all day, every day. God forbid they should have ever heard of a singer, actor, rapper, author, scientist, politician, current trend, artist, athlete, etc. Maybe they should just sit and read the dictionary.
Now that I’ve thought about it, I apologize for that rant. I hit “post comment” way too soon.
I loved your comment! Not a rant. But so true. I don’t mind if I don’t know an answer. I keep working whatever crosses it. Then confirm with a Google check.
I see absolutely no reason for you to apologize! … 😜.
@ Gail Petrie
Apology accepted
I put it aside yesterday, tried it again today. Really, really frustrating.
Please don’t use this concept again.
This puzzle was very frustrating. almost quit several times.
One problem is that since the “friend” words do not have to complete the down words with which they are associated, there are multiple answers possible. For example, for 23 across my husband and I used “bud hug” which worked perfectly well, and for 59 across we used “corny” comedy which doesn’t work as a friend word, but worked for the down answers.
It might have helped to have the friend clues starred.
But I missed the satisfaction of seeing how a word completes or gives a clue to its neighbors in the opposite direction. That’s one of the pleasures of a crossword puzzle.
Lame. Hated it. I get it but it just wasn’t fun. No way to figure out the down words with the extra letters, on their own. You had to figure out the “friend” word first. That made it frustrating. I feel like you should always be able to figure out the word on its own and not depend on the word that crosses it in order to figure it out. Too frustrating, I’ll skip any like this in the future.
Awful!!!! Makes me want to never do another La Times Puzzle!!! I absolutely hated it!!!!
Why are some answers not explained?