Theme: "In It to Win It" - W is added to to the start of one word in each theme entry.
29A. Chronicle one's travels? : WRITE OF PASSAGE. Rite of passage.
44A. Pilfer Christmas supplies? : TAKE THE WRAP. Take the rap.
56A. Smith kicking back? : WILL AT EASE. Ill at ease.
82A. Belt or cummerbund? : MIDDLE WEAR. Middle ear.
91A. Roll in one's pocket? : PERSONAL WAD. Personal ad.
108A. Spell caster seen infrequently? : SEVEN YEAR WITCH. Seven-year Itch.
4D. Gingerbread house feature? : WALL YOU CAN EAT. All you can eat.
59D. Experience a links mishap? : LOSE ONE'S WEDGE. Lose one's edge.
No
straying W's in the theme set. Another simple and elegant theme from
Melanie Miller. She loves this type of letter addition/deletion theme.
It would be perfect if we did not have NEWT (81A. Pond denizen). That way, the only W's are the 8 ones in the theme answers.
Across:
1. Side sometimes put on a sandwich : SLAW
5. Literature Nobelist Nelly : SACHS. German poet. Won Nobel in 1966. Stranger to me.
10. Some workers : ANTS. I tried BEES again.
14. Land in the ocean : ISLE
18. Italian tourist city : PISA. Gary was there.
19. Key of two Schubert impromptus : A- FLAT. Always need crossing help.
20. Range restraint : RIATA. Intersecting 11D. Chihuahua youngsters : NINOS. So no REATA dilemma this time.
22. King or queen, e.g. : NOUN. And 102. Kings or queens, e.g. : PLURAL. Great clues.
23. "Stupidity is the same as __ if you judge by the results": Atwood : EVIL
24. Panache : FLAIR
25. Deduce : INFER
26. Fatty __ : ACID
27. Aptly named pet bedding spray brand : DE FLEA. Did not know it's a brand.
32. Garden places : YARDS. I planted kale this year. They're surprisingly easy to grow.
34. Con target : PATSY
35. Cookware cover : POT LID
36. Heat unit : CALORIE
39. Hardly all thumbs : DEFT. Great explanation to Howard yesterday about RAMBO, D-Otto.
40. Liquidation __ : SALE
41. Seek (out) : SCOUT
42. Plymouth pit stop : LOO. Oh, Plymouth, England. We have a Plymouth here in MN also.
50. Classic puppet : PUNCH. Punch and Judy.
51. Grip on a sword : HILT. Or HAFT.
53. Some McFlurry ingredients : OREOS
54. Sénat agreement : OUI
55. Purview : AREA
59. Roller target : LINT
60. "The Silver Chair" setting : NARNIA. "The Silver Chair" is the fourth book in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series, according to Wiki.
62. Big name in polio research : SABIN
63. "Primary Colors" co-star : TRAVOLTA. Watched the movie long time ago.
66. Two-time Emmy winner Stonestreet : ERIC
68. Unhealthy gas : RADON
70. Therapeutic getaways : SPAS
71. Represent : SPEAK FOR
75. Gauged : RATED. I read the clue as "Gouged".
77. __ bar : ENERGY
85. "I wasn't expecting you" : OH HI
86. Jack's predecessor : IKE. I was unaware of Jack Kennedy until I came to the US. Nixon was highly respected in China due to his historical visit.
87. Communications line : CABLE
89. "Gimme a coupla __" : SECS
90. Pry : SNOOP
95. __ resort : SKI
96. Under stress : TENSE
97. "What does __ mean?" : THAT. I asked this question a lot.
98. Chicks' hangout : NEST
100. Waist management aids : CORSETS. Never wore one.
105. Western band : POSSE
107. Word of contempt : PSHAW
111. Tarp hole : EYELET
115. It flows in Madrid : AGUA
116. Class : STYLE
117. Side problem? : THORN. Stumped me. I like this clue.
119. Field protector, maybe : DOME
120. Informal speech : TALK
121. Coach : TUTOR
122. Like the man in the moon : LUNAR. I don't get this clue. What man? There's a girl & a rabbit in the moon, in Chinese myth.
123. Ready for anything : GAME
124. Greatly amuse : SLAY
125. They carry charges : IONS
126. Black shade : EBONY
127. Dutch export : EDAM
Down:
1. Really moved : SPED. And 2. Really enjoy oneself : LIVE. Made me think of Jayce, whom I really really like.
3. "Not a chance!" : AS IF
5. Jungle activity : SAFARI
6. '60s sports org. : AFL. American Football League.
7. Relatives of nails : CLAWS
8. Bangs on the head? : HAIR. I've had bangs since 1984, yet I still could not see the clue!
9. Bumblebee feature : STRIPE
10. Short song : ARIETTA. A short ARIA.
12. Chewy treat : TAFFY
13. Course of action : STEP
14. Distressed : IN A STEW
15. Area served by LAX : SOCAL
16. Fiat in the movie "Cars" : LUIGI. Nice to meet you, Luigi!
17. Nipped in the bud : ENDED
21. Tribe in the 1876 Great Sioux War : ARAPAHO. I know the Sioux Wars, but did not know the Arapaho tribe was involved.
28. Third of eight : EARTH. Third planet.
30. Last president to keep a White House cow : TAFT. New trivia to me as well. Fresh milk.
31. Pump bottoms : SOLES
33. Indian territory : DELHI. I was thinking inside US.
36. Political channel : C-SPAN
37. U.S. auto since 1986 : ACURA
38. Independent sort : LONER
39. Namibian currency : DOLLAR. Their official language is English.
40. Guides : STEERS
43. Many museum hangings : OILS
45. Chain used by campers : KOA. Kampgrounds of America.
46. Once, long ago : ERST
47. Make turbulent : ROIL
48. Reunion attendee : AUNT
49. Bread with tabbouleh : PITA. Do you like tabbouleh?
52. Knight's outerwear : TABARD. Look who's here.
56. Jo in Dickens' "Bleak House," e.g. : WAIF
57. __ pool : TIDAL
58. Modern missives : E-NOTES
61. Exasperate : IRK. I always feel sympathetic for girls who do silly things for love, but not for this prisoner worker who helped the escaped murderer.
64. Simon Says player : APER
65. Airport shuttle, often : VAN
67. Fight against : COMBAT
69. Least worn : NEWEST
71. Cut : SNIP
72. Toy with long hair, briefly : PEKE
73. Vase-shaped vessel : EWER
74. Shallow channel : RILL
76. Spot for lounge chairs : DECK. Marti's looks very relaxing.
78. Avignon's river : RHONE
79. Haunting memory : GHOST
80. "Good heavens!" : YIPES
83. Possible cause of glistening blades : DEW
84. Sports footwear brand : ASICS. Just remember it as BASICS without the B.
87. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" subject : COHAN. George M. Cohan.
88. Wall Street employee : ANALYST
90. Go off on a tangent : STRAY
92. Inconsistent : STREAKY
93. Comebacks : ANSWERS
94. "Too Many Girls" co-star, familiarly : DESI. Not familiar with ""Too Many Girls".
99. Clear up : SETTLE
101. "The Ransom of Red Chief" writer : O. HENRY
102. Exams for sophs and jrs. : PSATs
103. Not bootlegged : LEGAL
104. It may be involved in snoring : UVULA
105. Money order order : PAY TO
106. Wrinkle-resistant fiber : ORLON
107. Mono player : PHONO
109. Case for small tools : ETUI. Oh, hello. Long time no see.
110. Fish used for bait : CHUB
112. Prepare to shoot : LOAD
113. Watson of "Noah" : EMMA
114. Swarm : TEEM
118. Made a break for it : RAN
The fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held today at the Landmark Center. Come join us for fun.
Husker Gary is going to have his important reversal operation tomorrow. Let's send positive thoughts his way. We want to see you very soon on the blog this time, Gary!
 |
| Joann, granddaughter Elise & Gary |
C.C.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteGreat work, Melanie! Loved the theme! Thanks for write-up, CC!
Best of luck to you, Gary!
Went back to this three or four times. But, finally, finally completed it with no cheats.
Many wags. SACHS was all perps. Few letters gave me NARNIA. Took disgustingly long time to get EARTH from EA_ _ _. Marbles must be in short supply now! Had "stand" FOR instead ok SPEAK FOR for a while. Knew TAFT from some other puzzle. Had LUI _ I so then G was pretty obvious.
Cheers!
Took a while just because of the size, and took a while to figure out the gimmick, but in the end I got it all! As for WOs, probably WEES.
ReplyDeleteAn actor well known is Benedict Cumberbatch,
Who looks great in tuxedo, with CUMMBERBUND, natch!
He's Brit as can be;
When he hosts a high tea
Finger sandwiches will be a cucumber batch!
Morning, all (and best wishes to Gary)!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this theme when I thought the W's were all silent and the additions were all going to result in puns (TAKE THE WRAP, WRITE OF PASSAGE). I became less enamored of it once it became clear that the W's were just being thrown in more or less randomly. Ah, well. Once I figured out what was really going on, I was able to make short work of the rest of the theme answers, so it's all good I guess.
Lots of little stumbles today. TRAIN instead of TUTOR, IRE for IRK, etc. Has anybody actually sent anybody an E-NOTE (instead of, say, an email or a text)? Just wondering...
Finished with one stupid error that kept me from getting the *TADA*. Had YIKES instead of YIPES, which left me with SNOOK instead of SNOOP. I knew that SNOOK looked odd as clued, but my brain told me it must just be a weird usage of the word that I could complain about here on the blog later. oops.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteGot the theme early, and that really helped with the solve. Nicely done, Melanie. Still, there were stumbles aplenty. I thought that pet spray was going to be NO FLEA, and I was absolutely certain that the thing that "might be involved in snoring" was APNEA. That slowed things down in SOCAL. RILL was a gimme. I've got two rills to help drain my woodlot, but over the years they've filled in somewhat. I need to get somebody with a small backhoe to come and clean them out. I spent about 30 seconds digging, myself, but that gumbo soil might as well be concrete. No ASICS in my closet -- all my walking shoes are New Balance.
C.C., people here have heard of the "Man in the moon" all their lives. The shadows across the face of the full moon make it resemble a human face.
Got the theme from SEVEN YEAR WITCH. [Loved that movie with Tom Ewell, by the way.] Didn't know Nelly SACHS, LUIGI, or "Too Many Girls" (but -ESI was easy to guess). Was certain of CHUM for 110D (rather than CHUB), which held up the southern part for a bit.
ReplyDeleteVery enjoyable puzzle today, especially the theme entries. Thanks Melanie and C.C. !
The Week in Review: M 4:14 T 6:09 W 8:03 T 18:40 F 44:46 S 17:05 S 27:29
ReplyDeleteMonday: This PB-themed puzzle resulted in a Personal Best (though, on a Monday, that's not much to write home, or here, about).
Thursday: A pair of naticks slowed this one down a bit. Eventually I tried changing SEGAL to SAGAL (MASALA was unknown) and, a few minutes later, PETE to PETR (ABRI was unknown).
Friday: A real head-scratcher. ELCAR was unknown so ELI/ALI was a toss-up but the rest of the perps were good. I searched high and low (well, across and down) and almost threw in the (red) towel before finally thinking that maybe Nigerians don't eat YAK every day. Whew!
See y'all next weekend.
Have a great tournament C.C. and Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteA fine Sunday and write up many little unknowns but all fairly perped. TOO MANY GIRLS was not memorable except as the reason Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz met. The rest was truly history.
I hope you see the man in the moon next time
Enjoy all
Man in the Moon
ReplyDeleteA 1960 "golden oldie" by the Royal Teens starts out with these lines:
Someone shot a rocket through the sky,
And now Mr. Moon has one black eye.
www.youtube.com
Good Morning, C.C. and friends. It is never a good sign when I cannot get 1-Across on the first pass. The only thing I could think of was Mayo (yeah, I know it's not a side, but it is sometime put on a sandwich). I also wanted Duck instead of NEWT.
ReplyDeleteOnce I unlocked WRITE OF PASSAGE, I was easily able to solve the other theme answers.
Nelly SACHS (1891 ~ 1970) and her mother were able to escape to Sweden during the Holocaust. She never returned to Germany and was a resident of Sweden when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1966.
QOD: Work is something you can count on, a trusted, lifelong friend who never deserts you. ~ Margaret Bourke-White (June 14, 1906 ~ Aug. 27, 1971)
Best Wishes for a speedy recovery, Husker.
ReplyDeleteSunday is probably not a day to choose to solve crossword puzzles again, but the theme helped. I filled in enough letters, that I could make an educated guess at the blanks, to finish surprisingly quickly.
Very enjoyable puzzle.
Have a fun day followed by a great week, everybody,
Montana
Yes best wishes Gary and Happy Flag Day to all
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but this took me a little longer than a usual Sunday. it really wasn't that difficult. I'm not always the best with puns.
ReplyDeleteGREAT Hockey game last night if anyone was watching.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle but it was a FIW due to a very careless error. For fight against, I had come at which made communications line caele which looked odd but I let it stand. In retrospect, combat and cable were as plain to see as the nose on my face. ACK! This faux pas didn't diminish the solving experience at all. Clever theme + good cluing = satisfying challenge!
Thanks, Melanie, for a Sunday Sundae and thanks, CC, for 'plainin' it all, as Desi would say.
Best of luck tomorrow, Gary; we will be thinking of you.
I finally watched Nightcrawler with Jake Gylenhaal and Rene Russo. It was the most depressing and dehumanizing movie I have ever seen, except for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.
Have a great day.
Good luck in the tournament C.C. And I hope everything goes well tomorrow Gary
ReplyDeleteHad to struggle with this one in places. Washington and Oregon were real hard to fill. But the theme was reveled early and it helped a lot. Got it done, but in a longer time than typical for a Sunday.
Too bad abuout that stray W. And it could have been easily handled by "Gen ----" and "Word heard at a deli"
What a great challenge! The gimmick was very helpful and clever.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Yes, I was!
-Classic causation premise – What can you INFER?
-Lee Harvey maintained he was a PATSY to the end
-How do I clue OREOS? Let me count the ways.
-ERIC Stonestreet/Cam Tucker – sometimes the right role just finds you
-People who SPEAK FOR pols have to do a lot of verbal tap dancing
-“That dress does wonders for your figure!” “What does THAT mean?”
-A Chinese tarp with many EYELETS
-The Man in the Moon is just a geological formation like this “face” on Mars
-Type of SAFARI shooting I would much prefer
-Our kitty has all her CLAWS and needed them to get up a tree away from a dog last week
-The helmet tells you what team has BUMBLEBEE throwback jerseys
-SOCAL and SOBE are now geographical parts of the language
-Do you remember the pol whose stripper friend jumped into the D.C. TIDAL Basin?
-Thanks C.C., et al! It’s supposed to be simpler that the first one 108 days ago!
Thanks Melanie for a challenge today. I don't do enough work to suss out the theme clues, so I struggled more today than yesterday. Then C.C., in her very informative write up, led me to the path. Thanks to both of you.
ReplyDeleteI wanted something cinch-y for CORSET, forgot Pluto was fired as a planet, so eight?, wanted apnea for UVULA. Lots of WAGS that never worked. One success: with the L for the Fiat, I figured it had to be LUIGI. On the umpteenth run through, everything started to make sense. I love the solve no matter how much I struggle.
Bumblebee STRIPES TEEM in Evanston every time the Hawkeyes come to town in their rugby shirts to cheer on their team against Northwestern.
Good luck, H-G, and best wishes for a VERY speedy recovery!
Have a good day everyone.
Hello, friends!
ReplyDeleteFortunately, this puzzle did not SLAY me and though it was a slow, easy slog, I finished in good time. The SE took longer because O'HENRY eluded me. I'm familiar with most of his works except that one. Finally, I erased O'LEARY and started over. That brought PSHAW and all the rest.
Thank you, Melanie and C.C. for today's fun.
Have a stupendous Sunday, everyone!
Best wishes for you tomorrow, Husker. Hope you'll be back here soon.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Gary! Thoughts and prayers are going your way for a successful procedure and quick recovery.
ReplyDeleteWould the pol be Gary Hart and Ms. Rice? Can't recall her first name.
Donna
ReplyDeleteGood luck tomorrow, HG. Come back soon.
ReplyDeleteI believe the pol in question was chairman of the House Ways and Means committee at the time and he landed on his Fannie. Right?
Right. She was a Foxe.
ReplyDeleteIt is so disappointing to solve so much using WAGS and perps only to be defeated by a FLEA and the knowledge that Pluto is not considered to be a planet anymore. Never heard of DEFLEA And Earth will always be one of NINE in my mind.
ReplyDeleteSACHS, NARNIA, TRAVOLTA, ERIC, TABARD, CHUB, WAIF, O HENRY, DESI, ARIETTA all came from perps.
LOSE ONES WEDGE. I once lost THREE and didn't realize it for a week. Called the course and nobody turned then in.Expensive lesson.
My wife laughed when I showed her PERSONAL WAD,
A DNF for me today and C.C., I don't think anybody has worn a CORSET in the last 100 years.
Yup, it was Wilbur Mills’ girlfriend/stripper named Fanne Fox who plunged into the TIDAL Basin after a tussle in a car with Arkansas Senator Wilbur Mills. No could SPEAK FOR Sen. Mills and put a good face on this one. Wilbur chose to retire rather than try to get reelected.
ReplyDeleteHG
ReplyDeleteMills was a Representative ("Congressman"), not a Senator, and he was re-elected (with 60% of the vote) a month after the Tidal Basin scandal.
MR MILLS.
ReplyDeleteHad the pleasure (?)of meeting Donna and Senator Hart in 1987.
L714: Your second link is to the same page as your first link.
ReplyDeleteYou’re right, the Fanne Fox affair took place one month before the 1974 election and he still won in the post-Watergate democratic wave. It was one month later when he held a press conference from Fanne’s dressing room that he admitted his alcoholism and did not run in 1978. He returned to Arkansas and founded organizations to oppose alcoholism.
ReplyDeleteHow quickly it's forgotten! I didn't even think about Wilbur Mills and Fanne Fox. Thanks, all, for the info.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I knew PITA bread is that yesterday on America's Test Kitchen on PBS they demonstrated how to make tabbouleh (until that moment an unknown for me) and used the PITA.
This puzzle seemed harder and is taking me longer than most Sunday puzzles. I'm only about two-thirds finished now. I'll get back to it in a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteLucina and everybody, did you watch Sunday Morning today? They had a nice feature on the Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ. It is located at a little theater in El Segundo, about five miles north of here. We've been there several times including a Laurel and Hardy collection and a couple of ragtime concerts. It's a great old place.
Back to the puzzle...
Google Guy thanks, not sure how that happened but her is DONNA.
ReplyDeleteher = here
ReplyDeleteI am done
Lucina - I know you love movies so I wanted you to be aware of "I'll See You in My Dreams"' with Blythe Danner and Sam Elliott. I just read Mick La Salle's glowing 4-Star review and immediately thought of you. Mick doles out the 4 stars rather stingily but, in reading his review, you can understand why he choose this movie as a well-deserving recipient.
ReplyDeleteSince Irish Miss could, presumably, send an e-mail to Lucina, I'm puzzled (?) as to why she'd publicly post a personal message here.
ReplyDeleteWhat am I missing?
I had a tough time with this one, totally not on the constructors wavelength. Every clue gave me different images...
ReplyDeleteRite of passage?
Pilfer Xmas supplies?
Will at ease? I don't think so...
Middle wear!
Personal Ad Prudes should only read lines 2 & 4
Uh I forgot what this clue/pic was supposed to be...
Nooo, you can't eat it... it's 5th dimension crap, you'll get fat!
Hmm, 150 yards,,, I am scared to use anything more than a sand wedge...
23D 3 of 8? What was her name?
111A Tarp hole, made me look for an old link I saved While looking for this pic, I got side tracked by these French Canadians who apparently have found a way to camp with a fire inside the tent?
A 1/2 hour of how not to become a plastic wrapped jalapeno popper...
Fun puzzle! I did have to look a few items up, such as Nelly's last name (I wanted BLIGH) and Namibian currency, to open up those areas. Because I originally had COME AT for Fight against, I scratched my head at what COMB AT could mean after I had to change the E to a B. An enjoyable Sunday morning. I love UVULA.
ReplyDeleteWell, here it is about 2 pm and I'm finally finished. I know I'm going to read everybody else's comments and find it was a speed run for them. But not for me. It was really challenging; more so than most Sunday puzzles. I liked it but it was a struggle. I'm sure I would have given up earlier had I not been doing it online and got an occasional red letter. (I started without them but eventually realized I was going to need help if I was expecting to finish.) Like D-O, knowing the theme helped out several times.
ReplyDeleteDear Puzzled Guy, I'm happy to hear from Irish Miss, Lucina, etc. about anything.
Gary, my best well-wishes are heading your way from California! I'm looking forward to your next post in a few days.
Gary,
ReplyDeleteBest of luck tomorrow and
to a speedy recovery.
Husker G...
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts and prayers are with you... and of course, wishing you a speedy recover...
thelma
Gary, good luck tomorrow, I'll be thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteI am hopeful that I was a little influential in your decision not to declaw that precious kitty.
IrishMiss@3:43
ReplyDeleteThank you! I shall certainly check out "I'll See You in my Dreams." During summer the theater is a popular refuge for avoiding the heat and to see a really good movie is a bonus! So few summer ones appeal to me.
Yes, WEES, about the theme. It certainly helped me get it done.
ReplyDeleteThe clue Third of Eight threw me, relied on perps. Answer: EARTH. It's worth noting that presently we have two "minor planets" with probes very near. Ceres and Pluto.
However, Pluto and its system is beginning to look like the most interesting object in our solar system. Next month the New Horizons spacecraft will approach and pass this small system (Pluto with its sister planet/moon Charon, and four smaller moons).
On or about July 14+, New Horizons will go through a complicated series of motions in order to photograph each object in a short period of time. (Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra are the known moons.) NASA and JPL are controlling and monitoring the planned activity, which includes a blackout in order to get as much done as possible.
JPL predicts the likelihood of discovering perhaps two more moons!
More information is on the Sky and Telescope site, and others. New Horizons' cameras will be very, very busy for a relatively short time, then as it passes, it will turn back toward Pluto (and toward the Sun), capturing more images, and with telemetry, sending the images back to JPL as time allows.
Good luck, HG. Had no idea you were still having issues. Godspeed.
Also, congrats to George Barany for his big event today. Hope it was a huge success.
Puzzled Guy @ 4:20 - I am puzzled as to why you would take issue with my post, or anyone's else's, for that matter. This is an open forum, mostly devoted to the daily crossword, but because of the camaraderie and sense of family, sharing and caring of ideas and experiences is an important part of this blog. Was my post so offensive or out of line? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, I wouldn't very much about a grumpy Anon comment. Just let it pass.
ReplyDeleteLemonade, ---- on Donna Rice. Apparently she was an ardent Republican, and when she was confronted about her socalled 'affaire' with the then Senator Gary Hart, who ofcourse was a Democrat, she is reputed to have said ..
In my heart, I want Bush - but in my bush, I want Hart.
In an unrelated matter, I came across this wonderful quote. It charmed me so much, that I thought I should share it. This is a quote by Jamie Raskin, a prof. of constitutional law, and also an elected representative in the Maryland State House. He was giving a speech favoring gay marriage, despite opposition from some religious conservatives. He said,
When people take an oath ( to serve as Federal, state or city officials - ) - they place their hand on the Bible, and swear to uphold the Constitution... they dont put their hand on the Constitution, and swear to uphold the Bible.
BTW, his wife, Sarah Bloom Raskin is the current U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
IrishMiss@9:51
ReplyDeleteWell said!!
Occasional Lurker@11:52
I like that quotation, too. Thanks for sharing.