Joseph Knecht

Is There an Echo In Here? For all the Star Wars: The Bad Batch fans on the Corner. Today's constructors are Chandi Deitmer   and Darby Ratliff .  Chandi is a licensed social worker who previously published here on November 16., 2022 and has also published in the NYT .  I believe her partner Darby is making her LA Times debut.  Darby is a Doctoral Candidate in American Studies at the Jesuit Saint Louis University, with a particular interest in the intersection of religion and American culture.  Here's a portion of her capsule BIO copied from her LinkedIn profile and a link to her personal blog . Today they invite us to locate an ECHO in each of the three starred themers: 18A. *Person destined for greatness: TH E CHO SEN ONE .    This was by far the most difficult clue for me to illustrate, and in the end I very arbitrarily CHOSE THREE greats, two of whom died this past year: Nelson Mandela   Pelé Queen Elizabeth II 27A. *No

Today's constructor is Damon Gulczynski , a real blast from the past, who last visited us on February 18, 2010 and was reviewed by none other than C.C. Burnikel.  Her review is worth reading if for no other reason than to see some commenters who were members of the fledgling Corner, some whom I know and some I do not.   While he was away it seems that Damon was spending a lot of time at that other newspaper (and thanks to them we have this capsule bio ). Today Damon wants to ask us some Questionable Questions using 2 word clues, which are questions about the question we're asked to fill in.  There's no reveal, but these and only these 5 Across clues end in ? : 17. Trick question?: WAS THIS YOUR CARD?   A question a card sharp might ask:  shuffle and cut the deck, ask the mark to "pick a card, any card", have he/she insert it back in the deck, shuffle again, pick a card, and pop the question.  Don't ask me how it works?   23. Quick question?: DONE ALREADY?

HEDGE HUNTERS Today's puzzle teams veteran Freddie Cheng with media writer and producer Caroline Sommers , who appears to be making her LA Times debut. Their puzzle invites us to do a little landscape gardening with 3 themers that keep the bushes from getting out of control: 20A. *Strawberry's field, once: SHEA STADIUM .  A clever reference to Darryl Strawberr y, the fearsome slugger who played in Shea Stadium for the NY Mets during his heyday.  The clue could also be taken as misdirection to lead us to Strawberry Fields in Central Park , a 5 acre section that memorializes John Lennon, who of course co-wrote and did the lead vocals on this song :   38A. *"Listen, I can explain": HEAR ME OUT . A phrase that often pops out of the mouths of perps  when they're being grilled under bright lights in detective shows. 48A. *Warning that could come with a "Shush!": EARS ARE FLAPPING . ears are flapping Someone is