"As PER Usual"
As PER C.C., it's Anon T subbing on this final August Sunday. September starts in two days and the weather will begin cooling off enough to get back to weekend biking and after work pickleball.C.C. has provided us an Insert Three Letters puzzle that turns normal phrases into a A BIT of whimsy. Let's us play...
23. Bonus for never giving up?: PERSEVERANCE PAY. SEVERANCE PAY - your layoff package. The PERSERVERANCE PAY is what you keep getting to stay w/ the company that just laid off 20% of your team.
39. Big spender?: PRODIGAL PERSON. The parable of the PRODIGAL SON who was a spendthrift PERSON.
58. Device that might buzz during a night out?: SOCIAL BEEPER. A SOCIAL BEE lives in a colony. A BEEPER set to silent mode "buzzes" when it vibrates.
83. Elaborately embroidered falsehoods?: GRAND PERJURY. A GRAND JURY will indict a ham sandwich for PERJURY.
101. Green light for a lunar expedition?: MOON PERMISSION. This is my fav. JFK gave PERMISSION for the MOON MISSION at Houston's Rice University.
JFK's Moon Challenge
119. People who pack picnic lunches?: HAMPER OPERATORS. A picnic HAMPER is another name for a picnic basket and a HAM is an amateur radio OPERATOR.
32. Special offers at a body shop?: BUMPER DEALS. A BUM DEAL the car's BUMPER.
46. Gathering for chile lovers?: PEPPER RALLY. A PEP RALLY for PEPPERs.
Across:
1. Draw of a dim sum cart: AROMA. |
| Yum! |
6. Space balls?: ORBS.
Another Mel Brooks Classic
10. "Sesame Street" basics: ABCS. I grew up on Sesame Street #GenX
14. Zipper alternative: SNAPS. Fasteners.
19. Mushroom with a pitted cap: MOREL.
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| Morel Mushrooms |
20. Home of the Nazca Lines: PERU. I first read that as lions and was wondering which NCAA school I was looking for :-)
21. Coachella aesthetic: BOHO. I assume slang for bohemian.
22. Fit to eat, to Muslims: HALAL. Even if you're not Muslim, Halal Guys is yummy.
23. [See: Theme]
26. __ acid: AMINO.
27. Part of a play: SCENE. Act I, SCENE I opens with a dark and stormy night. -Snoopy
28. Fusses over, with "on": DOTES.
29. Some contract negotiators: AGENTS.
30. Nursery arrival: BABY.
33. Win the heart of: ENAMOR.
35. Flight board stats: ETDS. Estimated Time of Departure.
37. Quick meeting?: SESH. Oy! Lazy for session. #KidsTheseDays
38. Actor Simu: LIU.
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| Simu Liu |
39. [See: Theme]
42. Recliner part: ARM REST. I kept trying to think if there was a word for the lever on the side of a La-Z-Boy that wasn't, um, lever ;-)
44. Ibiza, por ejemplo: ISLA.
 |
| There it is. |
45. Like draft beer: ON TAP. Anytime I visit a new town, I ask, "Do you have anything local ON TAP?"
47. Totally stoked: HYPED. ampED also fits.
48. UFO engineers: ETS. Extra Terrestrials fly Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon [né Unidentified Flying Objects].
50. Blue-roofed breakfast chain: IHOP. Née International House of Pancakes.
53. Symbol of resistance: OMEGA. Here's how big a nerd I am; I didn't even think uprisings, but went right to ohm.
56. Tick away: ELAPSE.
58. [See: Theme]
61. Kitchen cover-ups: APRONS. Cloche fits for the singular.
63. Just slightly: ABIT.
65. Disc golf obstacle: TREE.
66. Blueprint deet: SPEC.
67. Spearheaded: LED.
68. Actor Sheridan: TYE.
 |
| Tye Sheridan |
70. Cause for a blessing: ACHOO. Gesundheit.
72. Key below ~: TAB. Hand up if you didn't even need to look at your keyboard.
74. Legal addendum?: ESE. Ha! Legalese - aka legal jargon.
75. Think piece?: IDEA. Oops, I had op-ed
77. "This Is Us" director Ken: OLIN.
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| Ken Olin |
79. Trade show: EXPO.
81. Spoiled: MARRED.
83. [See: Theme]
86. "Buck-a-shuck" delicacy: OYSTER.
88. "Tropic Thunder" actor Nick: NOLTE. A very funny movie (R-LV) with a surprise in the credits.
Nolte is at 1:05
89. Gooey lump: GLOB.
90. Sock end: TOE.
91. Dining hall offerings: MEALS.
94. Swahili for "lion": SIMBA.
 |
| Simba is presented - Lion King |
96. Washington Spirit player Morgan: ESME.
99. Mollusk often pan-seared: SCALLOP.
101. [See: Theme]
105. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU. Geaux Tigers!
106. Hip-hop's Salt-N-__: PEPA. Female rappers from the late '80's / early 90's.
109. Loads and loads: A TON.
110. Mean: INTEND.
111. Gave the once-over: EYED.
112. Virtual persona: AVATAR. Mine is a gray-shaded "-T" w/ the word "Anonymous" spelled out in the top crossbar.
114. Nonglossy lipstick option: MATTE. Non-glossy anything is MATTE. Or flat. Or eggshell. Or satin. Or, no, that's it... satin is when it starts getting a sheen. It all has to do with how much light is reflected by the (war) paint.
116. Blissful spots: EDENS.
118. Starbucks size: VENTI. I'm the grump that just asks for a large.
119. [See: Theme]
124. Fizzled out: ENDED.
125. Slushy treat: ICEE.
126. Singer India.__: ARIE.
127. Vibe: TENOR.
128. Great balls of fire: STARS.
129. Fuse together: MELD.
130. Give conditionally: LEND.
131. Canary feed: SEEDS.
 |
| Tweety popped his SEEDS |
Down:
1. Electric violin hookup: AMP. Having AMP here nixes ampED at 47a.2. Orange sushi topping: ROE.
 |
| Yummers! |
3. Hockey great Bobby: ORR.
4. Like a bad breakup: MESSY.
5. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC.
6. Anxiety-reducing feature of some tests: OPEN NOTES.
7. Double-check, in a way: REREAD.
8. Garment once called a corselet-gorge: BRA.
9. Optical effects caused by ice crystals: SUNDOGS. A halo caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sundogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22° to the left and right of the Sun [WikiP].
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| Sundogs |
10. Help in a burglary: ABET.
11. Girl who lost her sheep: BO PEEP.
12. Morally pure: CHASTE.
13. Vegan milk option: SOY. More like soy juice.
14. Deep carpet: SHAG.
15. Tells all: NAMES NAMES. Dirty rat!
16. Dress shape: A-LINE.
17. Trousers: PANTS.
18. Wade clumsily: SLOSH. I remember the joy of sloshing through puddles in my yellow goulashes. I didn't have to clean up the mess :-)
24. Zigs or zags: VEERS.
25. Color similar to salmon: CORAL. Turn in your man card if you can see the difference ;-)
29. Org.: ASSN.
30. Yawn-inducing: BLAH. Not Bore :-(
31. Light as can be: AIRY.
32. [See: Theme]
34. Nintendo virtual personae: MIIS. You create a Mii AVATAR on your Wii.
36. Bit of moisture: DROPLET.
39. Intellectual stickler: PEDANT. Well, actually... :-)
40. Secular: LAIC.
41. Great Plains people: OTOE.
43. Settle elsewhere, casually: RELO. RELOcate.
46. [See: Theme]
49. Nokcha or sencha: TEA.
51. __ fade: haircut with shaved sides: HI TOP.
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| Hi Top |
52. Sculling tool: OAR.
54. Noisy migratory birds: GEESE.
55. Curved: ARCED.
57. Mil. mind game: PSYOP. Psychological Operation. Mess w/ the advisary's head.
58. [Not my error]: SIC.
59. None of the above: OTHER.
60. Smiles brightly: BEAMS.
61. Square up: ALIGN.
62. Pascal of "The Last of Us": PEDRO.
 |
| Vote for Pedro |
64. Folk instrument: BANJO.
Steve Martin
69. Gracefully refined: ELEGANT. [See: Steve above]
71. Clearasil rival: OXY.
73. Gotham City hero: BATMAN.
76. Power source for a warp drive in "Star Trek": ANTIMATTER.
Spock mentions antimatter at 1:08
78. Offline, online: IRL. In Real Life aka Meat Space.
80. "Away from work" letters: OOO. Out Of Office. Could just be WFH that day #ThursdayCallback
82. Casting need: REEL.
84. Promotional sample: DEMO.
85. Lyft alternative: UBER. Rideshares.
87. "You got that right!": YES INDEED.
90. Take for a spin, perhaps: TEST. Do you scare the dealer a bit when you take a test drive? I want to see what the machine will do on a short on-ramp in Houston traffic :->
92. Come up short: LOSE.
93. Tater: SPUD. The Idaho tuber.
95. Hog with tusks: BOAR.
97. Strike down, biblically: SMITE. Old Testament had a lot of smote folks runnin' around.
98. Corundum, for one: MINERAL.
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| Corundum |
100. Hackathon participant: CODER. Or just a hacker :-)
 |
| Defcon 34 |
102. Pulpy refuse: POMACE. Pomace, pumace, or marc is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit. [WikiP]
103. Molar cover: ENAMEL. Teeth.
104. Enter via cracks: SEEP IN.
106. Covers a lot of ground?: PAVES. Cute.
107. Special occasion: EVENT.
108. Bear in a bamboo forest: PANDA.
111. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTEE.
113. Lends a hand: AIDS. and ABETs?
115. Pranked with Charmin: TPED. Rollin' the trees.
117. D.C. ballplayers: NATS. The Washington Nationals.
119. "That's the guy!": HIM. Who, me?
120. Minecraft block: ORE.
121. Lowest sudoku number: ONE.
122. Casting need: ROD.
Everyone needs ROD Stewart in their movie, no?
123. Soon-to-be alums: SRS. Seniors ready to graduate get the ask for the alumni fund before getting their diploma. #TrueStory
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid |
WOs: Bore -& BLAH, op-ed -& Idea
ESPs: SUNDOGS
Fav: OMEGA's clue
Y'all have a great Sunday!
Cheers, -T
