In today's
Los Angeles Times crossword by Jeffrey Wechsler, the letter R replaces the letter C in five familiar phrases:
Pet peeve? IRKFACTOR
Barista's schedule? PERKINGORDER
Response from a dog on a horse? BARKINTHESADDLE
Satisfying sight to an Istanbul clothing designer? TURKINYOURSHIRT
Jerk in a cove: DORKOFTHE BAY
That last one could have been a Weird Al Yankovic parody of Otis Redding's
Dock Of The Bay but he obviously never thought of it.
"Organization monitoring brownfields" is EPA. The word "brownfield" dates from 1992 and refers to land where a commercial or industrial facility was once located, land which may be contaminated with hazardous waste or pollution such as solvents, paints, pesticides and chemicals. Such land may sit vacant for decades because the cost of cleaning it up is more than the land is worth.
There is no theme in Barry Silk's
New York Times crossword but there are three clever clues:
Junk removal service: SPAMFILTER
Store in the Middle East? OILRESERVES
Round numbers? GREENSFEES
"Violinist's prize" is AMATI. Four generations of the Amati family (1538-1740) produced violins, violas and cellos---or "celli," if you want the proper Italian plural---in Cremona, Italy. Some of their instruments are now worth more than $600,000. If you'd like to own one, you can take part in the auctions on the Amati website:
http://www.amati.com/
