Theme: "Make It Count" - IT is added to each theme answer.
23A. Diminutive flower? : PETITE ROSE. Pete Rose, who still thinks he'll make the Hall someday.
25A. Cultural pursuits with limits? : FINITE ARTS. Fine arts.
47A. Musician to feel sorry for? : PITIED PIPER. Pied Piper.
70A. Novel set in a church? : PULPIT FICTION. Do you like "Pulp Fiction"? Too much for my taste.
92A. Indispensable poet? : VITAL KILMER. Val Kilmer, who was in "Top Gun". The clue has to shift away from base phrase and here it refers to Joyce Kilmer.
115A. Departure from the bookstore? : EXIT LIBRIS. Ex Libris.
117A. Giant gods waiting for tickets? : TITAN LINES. Tan lines.
33D. Acerbic fruit? : BITING CHERRY. Bing cherry. Sweet! Tart cherries bite.
43D. Serious transport? : GRAVITY TRAIN. Gravy train.
A rare 146-worder. This does not happen often, as Rich wants constructors to cap the word count at 144 and black squares at 78.
Nine
theme entries with total 99 squares are not easy to deal with, and
you'll see a few strained fill here and there. Gridding is so much
easier when theme answers occupy about 90 theme squares.
Across:
1. Tatters : RAGS
5. Cousin of a Tony : OBIE. The clue works without "a" also.
9. Staples Center player : LAKER
14. Certain candidate's goal : SEAT. And 21. Romney foe : OBAMA. 2012. I crossed the party line and voted Erik Paulsen (from the ritzy EDINA) last Tuesday. He has a super smart aide who helped me deal with the VA bureaucracy last time.
18. On : ATOP
19. Legally binding, as a contract : VALID
22. See 98-Down : TALE. And 98. With 22-Across, extravagant account : TALL
27. Ladder parts : RUNGS
28. Datebook notation : ENTRY
30. Kindle Fire, for one : TABLET. The only iStuff I have is my aging iPod Classic.
31. Overzealous : RABID
34. Scriabin piece : ETUDE. Not familiar with Scriabin, Russian pianist.
36. They may be cut by perps : DEALS
38. Choice group : ELITE
39. Mexican bread : DINERO
41. '50s/'60s character actor Lyle : BETTGER. Totally unknown to me.
46. After all adjustments : NET
50. "Rule, Britannia" composer : ARNE
51. Discoverer of Vinland : ERICSON (Leif). I never heard of Vinland. I thought it's Norse for Finland.
54. French governing body : SENAT
55. Sewer cover : GRATE
56. Prevailed : WON OUT. So, any news on that blue-eyed girl, Splynter? Or the nice AA lady?
57. Brylcreem amount : DAB
60. 401, to Marcus : CDI
61. Randy of country : TRAVIS
62. Czech. neighbor : GER
63. Near East inn : SERAI. Alien to me as well.
65. Shocked : IN AWE
67. Hot condition : IRE
68. "Just a __" : SEC
73. QB's targets : TES (Tight Ends)
74. Sneaky chuckle : HEH
75. Granada grain : ARROZ. Spanish for Rice. Lemonade, has your girlfriend treated you with sticky rice & mango?
76. One needing a lift : SKIER
77. Beatles' "A __ in the Life" : DAY
79. Ominous words : OR ELSE
81. __ milk : SOY. I drink it every day, yet I tried RAW first.
83. Audio receiver? : EAR. Nice clue.
84. Middle of England? : CENTRE. D'Oh! All I could think of was the middle ELL in England.
87. Michelin products : TIRES
88. Pea pokers : TINES
90. "__ Pierce": Kate Winslet miniseries : MILDRED
91. Prefix with space : AERO
96. Brief reply? : ANS (Answer)
97. Met on the sly : TRYSTED. This "Derailed" is terrifying. Tryst is not fun.
99. Party rides : PONIES
100. Ralph of "The Waltons" : WAITE. I can never remember this guy.
102. TD Garden, e.g. : ARENA
105. Everything, in Essen : ALLES. Also 16D. Old, in Oberhausen : ALTE. Alliterative clues.
106. Historical record : ANNAL
107. Miami daily : HERALD
111. Vatican vestment : ORALE. Haven't seen this word in a grid for a long time.
113. Commandment word : SHALT
122. Lhasa __ : APSO
123. Awakens, with "to" : COMES
124. Small silvery fish : SMELT
125. Coastal irregularity : COVE
126. Browning work : POEM
127. Diner "raft" : TOAST. I got sick eating toast at the highly touted Peppermill (Las Vegas). It's buttered without my knowledge. Their fruit plate is huge, enough for four Da Fan Tong, Jayce!
128. Shield border, in heraldry : ORLE
129. Belt : SWAT
Down:
1. Eminem genre : RAP
2. Put away the groceries? : ATE
3. Understood : GOT
4. Enthusiasm : SPIRIT
5. Hot spot : OVEN. Nice clue as well.
6. Entered rudely : BARGED IN
7. Lame answer to "Where's your homework?" : I LOST IT. Too lame.
8. Grafton's "__ for Evidence" : E IS
9. Artist's digs : LOFT
10. Free as __ : A BIRD
11. West of Georgia : KANYE. Got via crosses. I did not know he was born in Atlanta.
12. Former "big four" record company : EMI
13. Coiled menace : RATTLER
14. Attempt : STAB
15. Peerage member : EARL
17. Screen __ : TEST
20. Political pundit Myers : DEE DEE. She was the spokesperson for Paula Broadwell. Remember Broadwell & General Petraeus? Ari Fleischer worked for Tiger Woods for a short period as well. Told you tryst is not fun.
24. Insolence, in modern slang : TUDE
26. Bridge position : EAST
29. Uncool types : NERDS
31. Agree to more issues : RENEW
32. Olds compact : ALERO
35. Flinders in Adelaide, e.g., briefly : UNI. Aussie for "university". I never heard of Flinders though.
37. Help in a burglary : ABET
40. Cartel acronym : OPEC
42. Twelve Oaks neighbor : TARA
44. Having all the pieces : ENTIRE. And45. Pieces of peanut butter? : REESE'S
47. Kitty with no fur : POT. Ha ha.
48. Messages on packages : INDICIA. Learning moment for me. Dictionary says it's "postal markings often imprinted on mail or on labels to be affixed to mail".
49. Atelier figure : PAINTER
52. Iowa campus : COE
53. Do better than : SURPASS
55. Beowulf's foe : GRENDEL. Got via crosses.
57. Passbook entry : DEPOSIT
58. Home of the Pac-12's Wildcats : ARIZONA
59. Hitter's "lumber" : BAT
61. Seesaw complement : TWO. Did you nail the answer immediately or get via crosses? I was confused by "Complement".
63. 35mm camera option : SLR
64. Uncertainties : IFs
66. Studio sign word : AIR
68. Fired on : SHOT AT
69. More spooky : EERIER
71. Press closing : URE. Pressure. I wish it has a ? to indicate wordplay.
72. Clanton gang leader : IKE
78. "Not to mention ..." : AND
80. Some summer births : LEOS. And 104. Spring births, perhaps : ARIES
82. Dog's "Ouch!" : YELP
84. Round fig. : CIR (Circle). I thought of EST first.
85. __-Wreck : RENT-A
86. Ford fiasco : EDSEL
88. Destroyer of some castles : TIDE
89. Scandinavian toast : SKOAL
90. Part of the "M*A*S*H" set : MESS HALL
92. It may be reached : VERDICT. Great clue/answer.
93. Coastal irregularities : INLETS
94. Short, shortened : LIL. Got me again. Saw similar clue before.
95. Leighton of "Gossip Girl" : MEESTER. She had an usual childhood. Read here.
100. Outlet site : WALL
101. Escapades : ANTICS
103. Bellini opera : NORMA
107. Bucket of bolts : HEAP
108. Athlete who's now a National : EXPO. Hey, I got this one!
109. Provoked reaction : RISE. Kind of like "Handled bags" for TOTES clue.
110. Basic building block : ATOM. Not LEGO.
112. Little helper? : ASST."Little" indicates an abbr. answer.
114. Pay for a hand : ANTE
116. Word Casper seldom uses : BOO. The Friendly Ghost.
118. "That's what I think," in chatspeak : IMO
119. This minute : NOW
120. Model/actress Mendes : EVA
121. Collector's goal : SET
C.C.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteGreat offerings, Joel and CC!
Got the theme right away! Very enjoyable.
No problems and no nits.
Was really sick all day. Think what I ate last night was too old. Just began to real better in time to work this puzzle and blog.
That's Val Kilmer, the poet who wrote Trees.
Cheers!
Joyce Kilmer wrote Trees.
ReplyDeleteMorning, all!
ReplyDeleteWell, I got the theme early on (and liked it), but still struggled with the various theme answers. I had GRAVITY BOAT before GRAVITY TRAIN, which messed me up a bit, and just couldn't reconcile VITAL KILMER with the clue, since VAL KILMER is an actor, not a poet (as one of our anonymous friends pointed out, Joyce KILMER was the famous poet). It didn't help matters that the crossing MEESTER was completely unknown and had me second guessing myself even after I agreed to accept that Rich had just messed up terribly on the clue.
The other theme answer that gave me a bit of grief was BITING CHERRY. I had the initial BIT and instantly filled in BITTER based on the clue. Oops.
Elsewhere, I struggled with BETTGER and the crossing of ORALE and NORMA. The first was thanks entirely to the perps and the latter two were thanks to a WAG that the opera would at lease be a common-sounding name (and not, say, NERMA or NARMA).
Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteAccording to our friend Wikipedia:
In 1983, [Val] Kilmer self-published a collection of his own poetry entitled "My Edens After Burns", that included poems inspired by his time with Pfeiffer. The book of poems is difficult to obtain, expensive and even second-hand copies fetch $300 and up.
I still think Rich messed up the cluing...
Indispensable poet? : VITAL KILMER is of course Joyce Kilmer and if you remove the IT of VITAL you get Val Kilmer, in keeping with the theme of changing one answer to another.
ReplyDeleteMY nit is M*A*S*H has a mess TENT, not a mess HALL.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one seemed like a slog, but I still finished in better than normal time. I found several places to go wrong. I wanted GRAVY boats, and with the O and A in place, thought the opera would be TOSCA. Hand up for EST before CIR, and my INLETS started out as FJORDS (should've known better with that J).
ORALE and ORLE used to be staples, but I haven't seen either in some time. SERAI popped into my head right away. It's usually seen as caravanSERAI.
I think VAL KILMER's most memorable role was as Doc Holliday: "I'm your huckleberry." Ralph Waite, more recently, appeared as Jethro Gibbs' father on NCIS. They had a memorial episode about him after he died.
The Week in Review:
ReplyDeleteM 5:39 T 5:31 W 5:56 T 7:58 F 14:27 S 17:24 S 22:02
An enjoyable finish to a fairly typical week, though it took me a few minutes to see that ALLIS should be ALLES; MEESTER being one of several unknowns (BETTGER was another).
See y'all next weekend.
My eyes are still smarting. Our newspaper printed the puzzle in such small type I needed a magnifying glass and fine- point pen to complete the crossword.
ReplyDeleteJCJ@8:10:
ReplyDeleteThe cure for smarting eyes? Solve the puzzle online. Click here for the Mensa site.
I missed one cell on a nattick. MALL/MAITE instead of WALL/WAITE. I never even thought of WALL because I was so sure of MALL.
ReplyDeleteI liked the add IT theme.
At a friend's house I walked out of a viewing of PULP FICTION, pleading a headache. Actually it gave me a headache.
UNI didn't fool me this time.
I loved the 1945 film, Mildred PIERCE, starring Joan Crawford. I have seen it quite a few times. So sad. I am a Joan Crawford/ Bette Davis fan. I didn't think they could improve on perfection so I didn't want to see it on TV.
I learned SERAI from crosswords.
COMPLEMENT can mean the usual number needed to complete something or a part that makes up the whole. I remember it because it is similar to the word COMPLETE.
COMPLIMENT is an expression of respect with an I. "I" either give or receive compliments.
Was Peg's post early this AM legit? I opened it and quickly closed it, thinking it might be tainted. If it was, probably I am infected.
Hi there~!
ReplyDeleteWhich blue-eyed girl, C.C.~!? They both have blue eyes~! Actually, I have not seen the 'original' blue-eyed girl since the spring; unfortunately, the blue-eyed AA girl has not been back to my home group in a month, and I have not seen her at any other meetings, either....but I will "WIN OUT"~!
As for the puzzle, I got the theme early, and loved PULPIT FICTION - you know I love the movie - but even with the explanations here, I still don't like VALID KILMER, and I am not too thrilled with "EXIT LIBRIS" as clued, either.
The whole SSE section just annoyed me, wtih foreign terms, proper names, and a MESS TENT, not a Mess Hall - I agree Argyle.
Splynter
Good morning all ! Thank you CC !
ReplyDeleteThe VERDICT is in. I could not complete this puzzle. For me, this was the hardest puzzle of the week. Some of it was certainly self induced.
Stumbled right out of the gate with TEACUP ROSE for "diminutive flower", and "proving" it with 5 correct perps. Later, I think I made up a new word. PRESSAGE, by adding closer AGE to press. With the incorrect AGE going down, I kept looking at AGROZ going across for Granada grain, and thinking, "That can't be right, can it ?" D'OH !
Don't know what it was today. I'll usually take out fill that I am unsure of. Maybe it was the other clues that were giving me a presage that I wasn't going to complete this one.
BETTGER ??? crossing BARA ??? MEESTER ? Dwelled on SERAI. Left me clueless, but it had to be.
I misspelled GRENDEL as LE rather than EL. That led to entering EST for "round fig.", so I was trying to find something meaningful for MSE-D-ED for completely unknown "_____ Pierce." And so above that, I was trying to fill something in as ELN-RE for Middle of England.
I should have erased all of that and studied it anew.
INDICIA is new to me as well. And I know there the hairless dog, but could not think of the hairless kitty. Finally did. Sphynx. It wouldn't fit.
Small silvery fish, fused, as ore, and stank ? SMELT.
"I read the news today, oh boy, about a lucky man who made the grade."
Chairman Moe (from yesterday) thanks for the "STILLERS" link !
Good morning all!
ReplyDeleteWell, thank goodness I got the theme on the first one, because it was actually some of the theme entries that acted as perps for the perplexing fill!
Hand up for MESS tent before HALL, and GRAVITY boats before TRAIN. MEESTER who? And misspelling GRENDLE then GRENDAL before I finally got it right with GRENDEL. Whew!
So it was kind of a slog for a Sunday. Oh well, tomorrow's should be easier, I hope!
I enjoyed this puzzle and C. C.'s comments.
ReplyDeleteParticularly liked the clue for "skier."
Indicia" was new to me, also. One of the great side effects of solving crosswords is increasing one's vocabulary.
I laughed out loud at VALID (Joyce) KILMER and had an all around good time. No clue on ORALE and didn’t get ASST was an abbr. but so another two-bad-cells Sunday.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-If Pete had just fessed up instead of lying, he’d be in today
-Angry voters kicked many off the GRAVY TRAIN Tuesday
-LOSER would work for LAKER this year
-Most famous movie where a perp CUT A DEAL?
-NET – my sister called me up after her first paycheck and asked me what FICA, etc were.
-Bama WON OUT last night over LSU in a crazy 4th qtr and ovt. with a TE figuring big in the result
-In 1939, that Czech. neighbor came and stayed
-I too better remember Joan Crawford in the MILDRED movie about this Shakespearean quote
-I SMELT out that we had SMELT yesterday as a verb and today as a noun
-Me – “I LOST IT” = rare, “I Misplaced it” = common
-Double peerage Do Wop Song
-Adidas UNI’s (uniforms)
-Three “SHOT AT” venues I’ve been to – Fort Sumter, Dealey Plaza, the Lorraine Motel
-Me tooism, it was a MESS TENT. Can you name the movie with this MESS HALL?
Hello, weekenders!
ReplyDeleteWEES. This felt very much like a slog with no apparent rhythm although most cells were easily filled. Like others, perps kindly gave me the edge on BETTGER, MEESTER and SERAI which started with SINAI and forgot to erase the first I.
WYR said (Yellowrocks)about WALL/MALL, MAITE/WAITE because I didn't dwell on it. I certainly knew WAITE because of his recent demise and appearances on NCIS as has been mentioned.
Flinders in Adelaide was completely unknown, but UNI popped up with ETUDE/DINERO. Hi, Kazie.
ALLES & ALTE now adds to my slowly increasing GERman vocabulary and of course, ARROZ was a given as was ORALE which as C.C. mentioned was once a staple along with ORLE.
ARIZONA took the longest time to finish even though I know the Tucson team; just didn't associate them with the Pac-12.
C.C., thank you once again for an informative analysis.
Have a super Sunday, everyone!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a DNF for me due to orale, indicia, and spelling Meester wrong. Fav clue was kitty with no fur. Nice CSO to Lucina in Arizona.
Nice job, Joel, and great expo, CC.
Have a great day.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWhat Argyle said. I figured it was a Mess Tent, because the M*A*S*H had no buildings. Otherwise a normal Sunday project.
Morning C.C.! Do you mean you were thinking "seesaw compliment" instead of "complement "? Naturally these words get mixed up all the time. I try to remember complement as "complete-ment" to help me along.
I did the puzzle late last night. Most Sunday puzzles I DNF, but only missed a few clues on this one.
ReplyDeleteWinter is here.
Montana
Montana - keep warm up there! I just heard on the radio that the weather has become inconvenient in your part on the country.
ReplyDeleteMontana, I love your new avatar - how appropriate, given your current weather! C.C. and everyone in our midsection, stay warm, stay safe!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that crossword puzzles undermine the intelligent, proper use of the English language by forcing people to stoop to the use of slang that hacks fine words. The use of "TUDE" instead of attitude is sheer laziness and certainly doesn't foster anything positive in our children and society. It does quite the contrary.
ReplyDeleteHG, is that a scene from "No Time for Sergeants"?
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon all,
ReplyDeleteMany wags to almost get me through this little gem today. I knew enough to see answers I didn't know, but knew. There were so many that I did not understand why the answers worked: toast, etude, sera, kanye, ..but then C.C. came thru with much needed explanations. Thank you. This was one of those days where I left the puzzle and came back refreshed after making a birthday cake.
Joel, not so sure I appreciated your theme, but it seems like the speedy solvers were happy.
It looks like winter is descending on many of you in the next couple of days.Stay warm.
Montana et al north of AZ:
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you are now entering the season of ice and snow when for us here it is the time of pleasant temperatures and enjoyable weather. Such are the cycles of time.
Montana, would you please e-mail me. I have a question for you. Thank you.
Whew, slog slog, puff pant. Many unknowns, all but one of which I have already forgotten. I sorta kinda liked the IT theme; I generally like that kind of wordplay anyway.
ReplyDeleteMEESTER made me hear in my mind's EAR, "Meester Keelmer, eet's eenteresting that wee don' need no steenking badges."
Whoa, my brain won't stop. I wonder if a puzzle has ever been constructed in which every answer is a homophone of another answer. Can it be done? That would be a compliment complement! No minor feat for a miner's feet.
I'll say goodbye now.
I did finish puzzle completely due to luck. on the crosses of 51A&52D, 100A&100D, and 111A & 103D. I correctly guessed WAITE & WALL (could have been MALL) anc ERICSON & COE. COE and WAITE were unknowns and I wasn't sure if it was ERIKSON or ERICSON. Luckily TD was an arena and NORMA & ORALE sort of looked correct. This puzzle wan not enjoyable due to the fact of obscure unknown answers AND clues that most people have never heard of. Scriabin piece? ETUDE (and TUDE) Flinders university? UNI. BETTGER, ARROZ, SERAI, PAINTER, GRENDEL (mandatory reading in college for who knows what reason and quickly forgotten), MEESTER, NORMA. EXIT came easily but LIBRIS- my knowledge of Latin is the three 'As' and three 'Vs".
ReplyDeleteC.C.- I don't like butter either and my wife loves it. I tell restaurants to leave it off.
The theme of this puzzle came early with PETITE ROSE as I worked this puzzle NW to SE. But, I think this one had a bit to many proper names in the clues.
DEE DEE Myers- a presidential press secretary most know for an arrest for DWI (or DUI)
Musings 2
ReplyDelete-Yes, BH, that MESS HALL is from No Time For Sergeants featuring Andy Griffith (later Andy Taylor), Nick Adams (later The Rebel) and Don Knotts (later Barney Fife)
-Man I have a hard time spelling Sergeants!
-I have no issue with the adaptability and elasticity of our language. Maybe the use of “Thee” and “Thou” and “SHALT” had their defenders ;-)
-Press secretaries like DEE DEE Myers have a horrible job. They have to go out and support policies they know are bad and take the heat for mistakes. Last week Obama’s had to explain how the recent election was not bad for the president and Nixon’s… (both sides taken)
From Sunday Morning, here's the second part of the story about Lauren Hill, the girl with terminal brain cancer who wanted to play basketball on her college team. This part of the story is about the other team. The other team
ReplyDeleteSplynter,
ReplyDeleteWho's the second blue-eyed girl? The girl who just went to college?
Dudley,
Yes, complement/compliment always get me.