Theme: "Obviously!" - Each common phrase is clued as if IT does not exist.
23A Poorly put together trays?: CRUDITE PLATTERS.
39A. Donkeys who got caught in the rain?: WET BURRITOS.
51A. Pews?: PRIORITY SEATING.
83A. Khaki work uniform?: TITAN OF INDUSTRY.
92A. Request from one who prefers dry mashed potatoes?: ZERO GRAVITY.
115A. Energy supplies that are just OK?: FINITE RESOURCES.
Reveal:
65. "We all see the obvious here, right?," and how to make six long answers in this puzzle match their clues?: IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING.
Sometimes we have themes where letter or letter string appear in the theme entries but ignored in the clues. We could just have wacky theme answers instead. But today is a good example of why the letter should be included. Perfect reveal and rationale.
Got this picture of when I googled Chandi. She's lower left. Looks who's on upper right? Patti!
Across:
1. Luminescent gems: OPALS.
6. Fish head?: CRAW. OK, Crawfish.
10. "Who Let the Dogs Out" group __ Men: BAHA. The only Baha Men song I know.
14. Act extempore: AD LIB.
19. Lear daughter: REGAN. Have to mention our local girl Regan Smith.
20. Breakfast scramble: HASH.
21. Some deleted contacts: EXES.
22. Enlightenment philosopher Thomas: PAINE.
26. Mary-in-mourning piece: PIETA.
27. Marshmallow Man in "Ghostbusters": STAY-PUFT. Learning moment for me.
28. Capital of Tibet: LHASA.
29. Literary whaler: PEQUOD. "Moby-Dick".
30. Start and end of a faceoff?: EFS. Letter F.
31. __ of strength: FEAT.
32. Boyfriend: BEAU.
33. Rap's Snoop __: DOGG.
37. God destined to slay the sea serpent Jörmungandr: THOR.
45. "Snowy" bird: EGRET.
47. Ice rink leap: AXEL.
49. Self-satisfied: SMUG.
50. Bankrupt: RUIN. Verb "bankrupt".
54. Sacred text: BIBLE.
55. Bob in the Basketball Hall of Fame: PETTIT. No idea. Wikipedia says he's NBA's first MVP.
56. Dutch painter Frans: HALS.
57. Pat Benatar's "Love __ Battlefield": IS A.
59. Historic space station: MIR.
60. Stern direction?: AFT. Stern of a boat.
61. Stinging insect: WASP.
62. Dorky one: DWEEB.
64. Picnic pest: ANT.
70. Citrusy suffix: ADE.
71. Piccata bud: CAPER. Lots of buds.
72. Marine mammal in a matrilineal group: ORCA.
73. Anti-fraud org.: BBB.
74. Bear's lair: DEN.
75. Reddit forum for inquiries: AMA. Ask Me Anything.
76. Early educ.: PRE-K.
77. Potent potion: ELIXIR.
81. Purple or green herb: BASIL. Never had purple basil. Cilantro is the only herb used in Chinese cooking.
88. Checkout unit: ITEM.
89. Waffle __: IRON.
90. Identical: SAME.
91. Spine-chilling: EERIE.
96. 95-Down beds, maybe: COTS. 95. Steppes tent: YURT.
98. Talk back to: SASS.
99. Yule tune: NOEL.
100. "No problem!": SURE.
102. Spy org.: CIA.
104. Surreptitious one: SLY FOX.
107. French composer Gabriel: FAURE. Another learning moment.
109. Former police procedural starring Kathryn Morris: COLD CASE.
114. Jazz great Armstrong: LOUIS.
117. "You mean a lot to me": I CARE.
118. "This __ fair": ISN'T.
119. Pool table fabric: FELT.
120. Tempts: BAITS.
121. Yearned (for): PINED.
122. Flight nos.: ETAS.
123. Takes a load off: SITS.
124. "Thus ... ": AND SO.
Down:
2. Impudent: PERT.
3. Tlaxcala water: AGUA.
4. Pop's __ Gaga: LADY.
5. Dig (at): SNIPE.
6. Toque: CHEF'S HAT. Dim sum chef wears this type of tall hat.
7. Paying strict attention: RAPT.
8. Comm. system with visual cues: ASL.
9. Beluga, e.g.: WHALE.
10. Gets feedback from an early audience: BETA TESTS.
11. Weapons thrown at targets, in some social settings: AXES.
12. Greek goddess of childbirth: HERA.
13. Beast of burden: ASS.
14. Seem (to be): APPEAR.
15. Rum cocktail: DAIQUIRI. Named after a Cuban iron mine, according to Wikipedia.
16. In __ of: LIEU.
17. Engrossed by: INTO.
18. Drop of sweat: BEAD.
24. Clump of hair: TUFT.
25. Defrost: THAW.
29. Word that may be replaced by a slash: PER.
31. NPR show hosted by Terry Gross: FRESH AIR. Used to listen to her faithfully at 8:00pm our time.
32. Open carriages: BUGGIES.
33. Lily-Rose __ of "The Idol": DEPP. Just had her last Sunday.
34. Fantasy baddie: OGRE.
35. Determination: GRIT.
36. Location metadata: GEOTAG.
38. Skin care brand: OXY.
40. "Ew, stop sharing": TMI.
41. Steamed bite: BUN.
42. Abolitionist Harriet: TUBMAN.
43. Conditioning, as a bamboo cutting board: OILING.
44. Hägar's dog: SNERT.
46. Like some glasses: TRIFOCAL.
48. Path of __ resistance: LEAST.
52. Gp. concerned with crashes: IT TEAM. Hey, we have IT here. A few other short words also.
53. Swiss instrument traditionally made from red pine: ALPHORN. Ricola.
54. Pastel shade: BABY BLUE.
58. Ocean floor: SEABED.
61. "Raw" org.: WWE.
62. Puckered expression in a selfie: DUCK FACE.
63. Iga Swiatek's org.: WTA.
65. Conceptualize: IDEATE.
66. More on edge: TENSER.
67. __ awareness: SPATIAL.
68. Twistable cookies: OREOS.
69. Birds mummified in ancient Egypt: IBISES.
70. Madison Ave. industry: AD BIZ. 78. Bonus, in 70-Down lingo: XTRA.
76. Ensembles associated with Hillary Clinton: PANTSUITS.
79. "Bearded" flower: IRIS.
80. Marbled breads: RYES.
82. "Try to stop me now!": I'M ON FIRE.
84. Nickname that drops -ing: IRV.
85. French pronoun: TOI.
86. "TBH" kin: IMO. To be honest.
87. Actual expenditures: NET COSTS.
93. Gave a boost: GOOSED.
94. Film critic Reed: REX.
97. Rural tower: SILO.
101. Underwater ecosystems: REEFS.
103. "Mrs. America" Emmy winner Uzo: ADUBA.
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104. Marina space: SLIP.
105. Centers: LOCI.
106. Currency also known as the renminbi: YUAN. Renmin = People. Bi = Currency.
107. Rock, in Rock, Paper, Scissors: FIST.
108. __ Mae Bullock: Tina Turner's birth name: ANNA. Did not know this.
109. Gaul or Breton: CELT.
110. Ocean Spray prefix: CRAN.
111. Base's chemical opposite: ACID.
112. Complete groups: SETS.
113. Provincial petrol provider: ESSO.
115. Old-timey "ugh": FIE.
116. Camping gear co-op: REI. Stands for Recreational Equipment, Inc.
C.C.
30 comments:
It took me a minute, but eventually I did see what the reveal was talking about. Other than that, I don’t have to much to say about this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Went sideways in a few places: DAWG/DOGG, OWLET/EGRET, COUSEY/PETTIT. Still, it was an easy romp through the grid. Didn't notice that IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING was the reveal, and wondered how removing IT equated to "Obviously!" D'oh. Thanx, Chandi and C.C.
Good morning. Thank you Chandi, and thank you, C.C.
I understood at WET BURROS that we were removing the IT to make the regular phrases (e.g. WET BURRITOS) match the clues, but I didn't pay as much attention today as I should have. I was paying more attention to a movie. So many first guesses that were wrong, and too many typos slowed the solve.
In the end, nearly an hour after starting, I had one letter wrong. Still had two valid crossword words, but they didn't match the clues. I had crew and ESL rather than CRAW and ASL.
Oh well. It was an interesting movie.
I had test of strength, show of strength, and finally feat of strength.
Also had bao before bun.
BTW, what food is the chef uncovering in the steamers? (6D picture of toque)
We had YUAN today. Jinx and Lucina were just talking about that last night, IIRC. :>)
FIW, missing with SNIdE x the unknown STAY dUFT.
Today is:
NATIONAL PET PARENTS DAY (the best ones parent rescues)
NATIONAL GREAT POETRY READING DAY (There once was a girl from Nantucket…)
GLOBAL PAY IT FORWARD DAY (an airport towncar driver I used when going to the Atlanta airport always paid his toll and the toll of the car behind him on Georgia 400 (AKA the Atlanta Speedway))
NATIONAL SUPERHERO DAY (my superheroes are nurses, ER docs, military men and women, police and fire / rescue workers. And bartenders)
NATIONAL BRAVEHEARTS DAY (honors the bravery of families dealing with pediatric cancer. Superheroes)
NATIONAL BLUEBERRY PIE DAY (I’d like mine warm, with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream on top please)
Erased torah for BIBLE, OXo for OXY, WWF for WWE, hubs for LOCI, ELIXeR (UNTIE!) and DAIQUaRI (UNTIE!)
I loved that EXES crossed AXES. AXES are cheaper than divorce lawyers, right OJ?
DNK DUCK FACE, but it's an apt description.
Welcome back, OREO. Guess you've been on a short vacation. We missed you.
Thanks to Chandi for the fun Sunday grid. I had some trepidation when I saw the byline, but I thought this one was solid. And thanks to CC for the fun review.
The Boss wrote and performed the sultry song I'M ON FIRE.
Good Morning:
While I admire and appreciate the creativity and craftsmanship of this offering, I can't say I enjoyed the solve. That's my experience with most Sunday puzzles, as I have often mentioned. With few exceptions, the grid is usually laden with obscure proper names and/or references, today's culprits being: Staypuft, Hal's, Faure, Oxy, Fresh Air, Geo Tag, Alp Horn, Yuan, Anna, and Aduba. Surprisingly, though, the TLW words were minimal and the w/os were limited to just Hank/Tuft and Bah/Fie, both positive features of a large grid. The theme was evident early on (even though Wet Burritos was new to me),but the reveal was an Aha surprise and a very apropos phrase, to boot. I was a little surprised that Whale and Pequod weren't specifically crossed-referenced in the cluing.
Thanks, Chandi, and thanks, CC, for the insight and expert analysis. You always expand our understanding of some technical or artistic feature of the puzzles that we might otherwise miss seeing or fail to appreciate.
Have a great day.
FIR, but it was a struggle. This Sunday's presentation had some bite to it.
I figured out before the reveal that "it" was the gimmick, wet burros gave it away. This actually helped me suss out the reveal.
But some of the cluing was really cruel and I did not find this to be enjoyable overall. Even at times the perps were no help and I relied on some intuitive guessing. Then looking at my answer and saying, "I guess so." My opinion, for what it's worth, yuk!
Honestly, there should be a limit on the number of proper names. Ridiculous
I had “ Cap(ti)an of industry” which meant I put the “IT” in rather than taking it out. It almost worked…
I FIR but didn't understand the IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING until C.C.'s explanation. Thank you.
Last fill was a guess for the cross of unknowns FAURE & ANNA.
55. Bob in the Basketball Hall of Fame: PETTIT. No idea. Wikipedia says he's NBA's first MVP.
I KNOW him. He was the VP of a bank (JBT) in Metairie that we used and I met him. He played for the St. Louis Hawks (now Atlanta) but you need a picture from his college team.
And that would be the LSU Tigers.
COLD CASE, FRESH AIR (and Terry Gross), OILING, ADUBA, IMO (TBO unknown), BASIL- got those by perps.
We went to a drive-thru DAIQUIRI shop last night and DW got a 'Cajun Kiss' to go.
Got started at 1A, but lost my rhythm,. So I moved to across the top and down the west side. Then I went shotgun until enough of the theme entries were sussable. Got my theme hint from ZEROGRAVitY. That helped with the solve.
We have a local brewpub named SLYFOX here in PA.
Thanks to Chandi and C.C. for their efforts today.
Missing only a "J" for a pangram.
Best guess is almost always better than I don't know, but beware of safety in your guess.
Mystery.
Wow! Did I love this puzzle. I had to work at IT, but my efforts payed off. For me there were very few unknown names. I knew Terry Gross since I’ve listened to FRESH AIR off and on for many years. I have several FAURE CDs. And of course I knew old Satchmo’s first name. For some reason PETTIT just came naturally. The only name I needed perps for was ADUBA.
I liked the PANT SUITS clue.
Although it filled with perps, I don’t understand SLY FOX as superstitious one?
Thank you C.C. for our constructor’s photo and Patti’s.
Musings
-I had three problems on my mind this morning but I faced each of them head on, got great resolution and am feeling very relieved. I can wrestle a molehill into a mountain very easily.
-I wonder what method Chandi used to come up with all these clever gimmicks
-Around here they’re CRAWDADS you see in the crick
-Those axe throwing places must have a ton of liability insurance
-Oh my, I remembered IGA!
-We’re off to Omaha. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of the damage that was done down there.
Monkey, the LA Times site has the clue "Surreptitious" one. Makes more sense, huh.
Hola!
Whew! Another Sunday puzzle finished before church! That's amazing but a testament to the fact that it was not too difficult. No, not easy, but not exceedingly hard.
The entire eastern slab finished first then I just jumped around until some chunks filled here and there. I totally missed TITAN OF INDUSTRY because I had GI MAN. When I'm in a hurry I don't stop to analyze, I just plow through.
Anyway, I did finish though FIW but it's time to go. Thank you, Chandi and C.C.! OH, some neighbors of my niece are surnamed CHANDI.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Jinx @ 12:16. Thank you, now that makes sense. I print the CW and on Sunday the print is really small, so I must have misread the clue.
Yay! FIR, although my puzzle looks pretty ugly in places as I corrected and rw-corrected my mistakes. Eggs/HASH, then crossed it confidently with agog/RAPT, then got to ASL -wha?? Start over -much black ink. Next mess was Baja/BAHA, then crossed it wirh Juno/HERA AND Lhasa/LHASO… stop, re-think, cross out.
The rest went more smoothly, and it was a fun solve. Thanks, Chandi, for an enjoyable exercise. Thanks C.C. For the great tour.
FLN. I’m surprised no one mentioned my favorite Jane Seymour movie -Somewhere in Time with Christipher Reeves. Such an unforgettable love story.
Also FLN- when we were in Barcelona, we visited Joan Miro’s facility and were told his name is pronounced Jo -Ahn (like wan) and as two syllables with emphasis on the first syllable.
Beautiful sunny day by the beach after lots of chilly, gray weather. Makes me happy!
Enjoy your Sunday, everyone.
Thanks Chandi for wrapping up the week with a puzzle that was pretty easy once I got the a hang of IT.
And thank you C.C. the theme expo and the wrap up.
A few favs:
21A EXES. Here's wait George Strait has to say about 'em.
56A HALS. Here's his Lute Player.
107A FAURE. One of the leading Impressionist composers. I'll bet you recognize his Pavane, accompanied by paintings of Claude Monet, one of the leading Impressionist painters.
109A COLD CASE. Our favorite COLD CASE show is New Tricks, about a bunch of geezer ex cops, working cases that were never solved but never closed. Funny. Intense.
11D AXES. But one social situation throwing AXES at your EXES can get you in a lot of trouble.
42D TUBMAN. Harriet TUBMAN was a key figure in the Underground Railroad transporting slaves to the North. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum has an exhibit about their role in it, including the incredible story of Henry "Box" Brown, who mailed himself North in a wooden box.
68D OREOS crossing 72D ORCA, and ORCS, and OGRES, oh my!
Cheers,
Bill
Waseely @ 1:29. We watched New Tricks, and it is a lot of fun. And I love the theme song.
Monkey @1:49 PM I think we've watched all the episodes 3 times!
Sunday Lurk Say...
FLN - Jinx: Yes, ball-valves! I have them on the other two commodes so it's a no-brainer.
HG - I'm hoping the plumber will just change the valve and leave the toilet to me; I gotta feel I'm still handy / useful :-)
Big-E: One of my jobs in college was at Daquries Unlimited in Monroe (20min East on I-20 from LA Tech / Ruston (for those that don't know)).
We served daiquiris right out the window with scotch-tape over the straw-hole so it wasn't an "open container." LA's booze laws are so funny.
//same with the drinking age. When I was 19 LA pushed the age to 21 except for Private Clubs. Every bar in Shreveport/Bossier became a Private Club with $0.50 membership cards at the door.
DW & I finally figured out how to get from our new(ish) house to Meyer park. We followed the bayou path about 2.5 miles, hit the reservoir rim, yadda, yadda, yadda. Anyway, we did 10 miles on the bike and then I built us a fruit salad of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples, bananas, and watermelon. With a left-over pork-chop on the side, we were sated.
Oh, and the and the wildflowers growing along the bike paths... I think I found where I can get a bouquet for DW :-)
Cheers, -T
Thank you Chandi for a fun Sunday afternoon solve! I sussed the IT gimmick in time to help with 4 of the 6 themers.
FAVs: ZERo GRAVitY; CHEFs HAT crossing CRUDITE, and clue for PANT SUITS
SNERT was in the punchbowl.
Thank you, C.C., for your analysis! Last week you taught me that Lily Rose DEPP was Johnny's daughter. That stuck long enough for me to get it right this week. Yay! Did you notice what Patti is wearing in that pic? If anyone still wonders what her favorite MLB team is....
-T@4:55. Totally with you on the wildflowers. A friend and I hiked in the nearby hills this morning. We saw poppies (of course), lupine, tidy tips, clarkia, brodiaea, goldeneggs, and others.
Bayou Tony - If only these were available back in the day.
LA doesn't have a monopoly on weird alcohol laws. When I lived in Dallas, the restaurants in dry precincts had those "private clubs" too. But the convenience stores didn't do that. To find a 7-Eleven where you could buy beer, you had to look in the store windows. No beer ads = dry precinct.
When I lived in Atlanta, I couldn't buy non-alcoholic beer on Sundays. Turns out it has a trace of alcohol left in.
In my ute, a girlfriend's sister played piano and sang as a hotel lounge act in Indiana. Most people never encountered this odd law, but if you wanted to relocate after you had been seated, by law an employee (usually your waitress) had to carry your alcoholic beverages.
During my first stint in Virginia, people between 18 and 21 could drink 3.2% beer, while those 21 and over could drink any strength suds. Most places used two different color wristbands so the bartender could keep order.
When I lived in Phoenix, it was against the law to serve alcohol while election polling places were open. (I was flying out of Sky Harbor one Tuesday and learned this one the hard way.)
Jinx
Though I'm not a beer drinker, I know about that law of no alcoholic drinks until the polls closed but I don't know if it's still in effect. Back then it was constantly announced on the News but I haven't heard it lately so it might have been repealed.
While on TDY (temp. Duty) at Ft. Campbell, KY in the mid-seventies, a bunch of us went fishing on one of the TVA lakes in Cadiz County. We were warned that the county was dry, and to bring our own booze. I was told that the county was dry because of the Baptist ministers fight against Demon Rum, and the county Sheriff's deputies, who supplemented their income with a little bootlegging!
I almost forgot to link this entertaining video from the Canadian program, "How It's Made" that I saw on the Science channel this morning. Without further ado, in honor of crossword favorite 68D, this time clued as Twistable Cookies: COOKIES!.
Caved after five hours of angst and only half the grid filled. Too many free ads for brand names, a very obtuse "theme", clues way too obtuse,....My advice to Chandi: "Don't quit your day job!"....and, Patti - get another gig!
I thought it was a great puzzle! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I thought it was a great puzzle! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I thought it was a great puzzle! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Alcoholic oddities, part MMXCII: In California (but not, oddly, Oregon) all alcoholic beverages are sold in markets, so one among many culture shocks upon arriving in New York was the discovery of State Stores, open only part time, and the only place for purchase of wine and hard liquor! Pennsylvania's like that as well (or both were in 1980.)
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