Joseph Knecht

This is Barbara Lin's second visit to the LA Times.  Her first was published on Tuesday , May 5, 2020 and was blogged by the little lady, whose big shoes I'm trying to fill today.  At last count Barbara has also had seven puzzles published  in the New York Times, including one on a Sunday .  We often have fill for individual parts of the body's visual system , but today Barbara treats us to a comprehensive EYE EXAM This puzzle was actually quite easy to solve, but it was a bit of a camera obscura when it came to the theme: no stars , no circles , no explicit reveal , and only a peppering of question marks in a couple of short Down clues: a real AnonymousDNLC delight.  However following the rule that themers are generally the longest fill in the puzzle, we discover the five following words and phrases, which have literal meanings, but also a trailing word that is a component of the ...

  Today's constructor is Michael Schlossberg, who last appeared here with his second LAT puzzle on January 23, 2022 .  He has also had puzzles published in the NYT.   Today he warns us about  Some spots you might want to avoid   The key to discovering the theme of this puzzle is a clue within the reveal.  I didn't catch it the first time around and had to get some help (see acknowledgements at the end of the review*). 58A. Product used on four of this puzzle's clues : SPOT REMOVER .  Reveal clue italics added by the blogger .  A careful reading of  the clue indicated that something had been removed from the clues , not the fill , as is often the case.  If we add SPOT back in, the clue becomes an idiom synonymous with the idiomatic fill.  Here are the themers: 17A. Tough: DIRE STRAITS .  Tough spot to be in.  The Greek hero Odysseus, on his long journey home from the Trojan War found himself...