Today's
Los Angeles Times crossword is by Alan Olschwang, a retired attorney who has been creating puzzles since 1994, and includes seven three-word phrases, each of which has initials matching the initials of a United States President. The puzzle is clever.....and so is the title, "Presidential Firsts."
On a lark (#35): JUSTFORKICKS
Austria's Railjet, for one (#33): HIGHSPEEDTRAIN
Changes the play at the line of scrimmage (#21): CALLSANAUDIBLE
Words from a returning traveler (#43): GUESSWHOSBACK
Drinking song popularized by the Glenn Miller Orchestra (#36): LITTLEBROWNJUG
D.C. trip highlight (#27): WHITEHOUSETOUR
Could be more productive (#34): DONTDOENOUGH
The Presidents, respectively, are John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Harry S Truman, Chester Alan Arthur, George Walker Bush, Lyndon Baines Johnson, William Howard Taft and Dwight David Eisenhower. Harry Truman served as a Senator from Missouri, 1935-45, then spent three months as Vice-President before succeeding to the Presidency upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt and remaining in office until January 1953. Truman's middle name was simply the letter S. His parents gave him that middle name to honor his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.
Lyndon Johnson is one of only four men who served as a Representative, Senator, Vice-President and President. The others are John Tyler, Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon.
"Snickered" is TEHEED. That is
very awkward. "Papal garment" is ORALE. The word comes from the Latin word for "mouth." I have no idea what the connection is. An orale, more commonly known as a fanon (from the old Germanic word for "cloth") is a round cape worn by the Pope when he is presiding over a Mass. "Half a patio pair" is TONG. But can half of a pair of tongs really be called a "tong"? I don't think so. And if the pin fell out of a pair of scissors, would each half be called a "scissor"? Or is one half of a pair of pants called a "pant"? Is half of a pair of shorts a "short"? Is half of a pair of glasses a "glass"? And why is each of these objects referred to as a "pair" anyway? We can debate these issues in our next linguistics class. I will have you all pair up with one another.
