A lesser man would say there is something fishy about this puzzle but not I. Wait a minute...
Our friends Ron (Jazzbumpa) and C.C. used nine fish names as clues to which most of the answers were in-the-language phrases far afield from their piscatorial prompts.
Here's the type of SCHOOL referenced by Ron and C.C.'s title being broken up by the neighborhood bully.
Theme Entries: I thought the fill was pretty straight forward and so I opted to show each type of fish prepared for consumption after, uh, school was out
23. SOLE : ONE AND ONLY - Unique OR Dover SOLE with leeks and shrimp
25. SKATE : GLIDE ON ICE - Sonja Heine specialty OR SKATE with chicory and anchovies
41. FLUKE : STROKE OF LUCK - Winning the lottery OR Pan Seared FLUKE with Warm Wild Mushroom & Lentil Salad, Sunchoke Smear & Lardon
45. BASS : LOW VOICE - Requirement to sing Old Man River OR whole roasted BASS with lemon salt and potatoes
68. RAY : BEAM OF LIGHT - Flashlight emanation OR Stir-fried Stingray With Fermented Black Bean And Chinese Celery
92. PIKE : TOLLROAD - A pay-to-drive thoroughfare OR, while not gourmet, PIKE shore lunch by a lake is incredible!
94. CARP : MOAN AND GROAN - Complaining OR how CARP is prepared and served around here in every small town restaurant
115. SHARK : CARD EXPERT - Also card sharp OR Grilled Shark with Pebre sauce
117. SNAPPER : MOWER BRAND - My mower OR a pan-fried Red Snapper filet served with a basil cream sauce
Across
1. Space exploration vehicle : PROBE
6. Power couple : ITEM
10. Bowled over : AWED
14. Key holders : MAPS - Keys for two MAPS
18. Regatta entrant : RACER
19. __ noho: dance performed while seated or kneeling : HULA
20. Holder of 14 Grand Slam titles : NADAL
22. Sheltered at sea : ALEE
27. Majors won five times by Jack Nicklaus, familiarly : PGAS - Also six Masters, four U.S. Opens and three British Opens. It once looked inevitable that Tiger would catch him...
28. Weapon with a three-sided blade : EPEE
29. Map unit : MILE
30. Words after "If mom finds out" : I'M DEAD
31. Menu list : ENTREES - See theme entries
33. Drive to the airport, say : SEE OFF - Remember when you used to walk clear out to the boarding gate to SEE them OFF?
35. Tot tender : NANNY
36. Investment vehicle, briefly : IRA
37. Horace's "__ Poetica" : ARS - Even I figured out that means The Art Of Poetry
38. Blue Devils' conference : ACC
39. "Have a seat!" : PARK IT
49. Employee's hope : RAISE - Teachers all get RAISES based on experience and advanced hours. Not a nickel for excellence.
50. Book with a year on its cover : ALMANAC - You can buy this Back To The Future 2 prop replica on eBay
52. Interrupt : HORN IN
53. Java neighbor : BALI - The 1.5 mile wide BALI Strait separates BALI on the right and Java on the left
54. Bargain : BUY
55. Grandson of Adam : ENOS - Also known as ENOSH and must have had descendants that could swim
57. U-Haul rival : RYDER
58. How many autographs are signed : IN PEN - Hating fame, he became a recluse and his autograph is now worth $7,500
60. Put a stop to : HALT
62. Actor's aid : CUE
64. U.N. workers' agcy. : ILO
65. Amaze : STUN
71. Singer Redbone : LEON
72. Fire : CAN
73. Cheese companion : MAC - Mark's Bistro in Omaha was judged Omaha's best MAC and Cheese. Where is it in your town?
74. Woes : ILLS
75. Watch company logo : OMEGA - Is any watch worth $5,000?
77. "I'm __ here!" : OUTTA
79. Back : HIND
81. Mop partner? : GLO
82. Within : AMID
85. System based on urgency : TRIAGE - Where I first heard this word
87. Annoyed : NEEDLED
90. Five-time presidential candidate : NADER
97. The Brits call it an identity parade : LINEUP -Kramer stylin' in a LINEUP
99. Recipient of Bart's prank calls : MOE
100. Wide shoe size : EEE - The president got one of Shaq's size 23's. Width? Not listed.
101. Org. that promotes hunter safety : NRA
102. In __: trapped : A SPOT
105. Works one's fingers to the bone : SLAVES
107. Spells during a vacation, perhaps : CAT SITS
109. Old Athens enemy : SPARTA
111. Coll. seniors' tests : GRES
112. Oral history : LORE
113. Org. that fills bowls? : NCAA
119. "I'll buy" : ON ME
120. Cap : LIMIT
121. "Rock of __" : AGES
122. "Counting Sheep" company : SERTA
123. Many an Ivan : TSAR
124. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE - The archetypical African dictator that amassed billions for himself in an oppressive reign in the Congo
125. Legal wrong : TORT
126. Defame : SMEAR
Down
1. Actor's aid : PROP - Like Yorick's skull
2. Infantry combat school decoration : RANGER TAB
3. Saltwater aquariums : OCEANARIA - Oceanarium seems more common
4. Wild thing : BEAST
5. Marine eagle : ERN
6. Wishful words : I HOPE SO
7. Works for a pianist : TUNES - This pianist's guy TUNES with a wrench and a electronic tuner in the middle of the picture
8. Fashion monthly : ELLE
9. Is allowed to : MAY - C'mon, we all played "Mother MAY I", didn't we?
10. Rolling Stones title woman : ANGIE
11. It might be packed : WALLOP - The late Muhammad Ali certainly packed one
12. She played Carmela Soprano : EDIE FALCO
13. Pop : DAD
14. Imperative : MANDATORY
15. Sci-fi staple : ALIEN - I wonder if Sigourney still has nightmares
16. Pie nut : PECAN
17. Run-down : SEEDY
21. Welcoming symbol : LEI
24. "Nothing runs like" it : DEERE
26. Hardly a picky eater : OMNIVORE
29. Popular place to visit : MECCA
32. Acquire abundantly : RAKE IN - After he RAKED IN his chips, Rick asked him to leave
33. Pond gunk : SCUM - The fate of our golf course ponds once the spring runoff ends
34. Back again : FRO
36. State since 1948: Abbr. : ISR - May, 1948 headline
38. Partner : ALLY
40. Elec. bill unit : KWH - Our rate here is 6.7¢/KWH. So I can run my 1,500 Watt heater for 10 hrs for 67¢
42. Singer K.T. : OSLIN - Not k.d. LANGE
43. Animals : FAUNA
44. Ominous peals : KNELLS
46. Small studio production : INDIE - This biggest grossing INDIE netted $51M in 2015
47. Spanish sky : CIELO - I'll bet you can translate "El cielo es azul en España"
48. Company infamous for shredding : ENRON
51. Arguing against : ANTI
54. Tree with delicate bark : BEECH
56. Hard-to-like person : SCHMO
59. Strikers' org.? : PBA
60. Game that reportedly originated in Texas : HOLD 'EM - 2-7 off suit is considered the worst starting hand in this game
61. Indoor gridiron org. : AFL
63. Colorado native : UTE
65. Great guy? : SCOTT - Clever!
66. Prefix meaning "bull" : TAURO
67. Up to : UNTIL
69. Valuable tunnel : MINE
70. Prime minister before Yitzhak : GOLDA - Kiev-born GOLDA became Israel's Prime Minister in the country's 21st year
71. Texas university in Beaumont : LAMAR
73. Belgian surrealist : MAGRITTE - Rene's depiction of a decision we make everyday
76. Sacred Indian river : GANGES
78. Challenge : TALL ORDER
80. "Let’s do it my way" : INDULGE ME
81. Inheritance factor : GENE
83. "Whatever" : I DON'T CARE
84. Heading for an annual list : DEAR SANTA - Asking for world peace AND a Barbie Doll doesn't fool the big guy!
86. Many millennia : EON
88. Capitol tops : DOMES - We will definitely have some here who will know the only U.S. Capitol without a DOME.
89. Land along the Mekong : LAOS
91. Strand under a microscope : RNA
93. DDE rival : AES - Adlai got the silver medal in '52 and '56
95. Least remote : NEAREST
96. Dissuade : DETER
98. __ Island: South Carolina training base : PARRIS
102. Accessory named for a racetrack : ASCOT - Do you remember when Liza shocked the highbrows at ASCOT by yelling, "C'mon Dover, move your bloomin' arse!"
103. Intervals : SPANS
104. Cleveland suburb named for an Italian city : PARMA
106. Iconic sportster : VETTE
107. Quail : COWER
108. Against a thing, legally : IN REM
110. Rose of Guns N' Roses : AXL - AXLE and AXEL also available in our gift shop
112. Target's target, e.g. : LOGO
114. Month before Nisan : ADAR
116. Circle ratios : PI'S
117. Yoga accessory : MAT
118. Some coll. degrees : BS'S
Well, we didn't find NEMO but the ones we did were wonderful. Now observe the daily limit at our own Lake Comment:
GRID
Notes from C.C.:
1) You seriously rock, Gary! Amazing visuals.
2) The fifth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held at the Landmark Center in St. Paul today. You can click here for more details. I just learned that the incredible Eric Maddy is flying in from California to compete. Eric sat in the same table as our own Steve at Crosswords LA a couple of years ago and won the title. He's won many crossword tournaments.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteGreat work, CC, Ron and Husker!
Really enjoyed this puzzle! (NetWord was fun too! Wish that it had a blood!)
No problems.
Good to be feeling a bit better after horrible trek to Rancho Palos Verdes. Back is recovering and am getting sleep after
3 days and nights with virtually none.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Damn spellchecker! That was BLOG.
ReplyDelete{C, B/B-, B}
ReplyDeleteWhen is BASŠ BASS, and when is BASS BASŠ?
Generally we PROBE the context of the case.
But given an opportunity
To sail a tuna sea
What does one call a BASŠ tuna' to his face?
The philodendron was looking both dreary and bleak
So he vowed he would remedy the problem this week!
But he mixed MOP AND GLO
Up with Miracle Grow --
Now the plant's leaves are looking all waxy and sleek!
The linoleum was looking both bleak and dreary
So he vowed he would remedy the problem quite clearly!
But he mixed Miracle Grow
Up with MOP AND GLO --
Now he makes a mess tromping mud out cavalierly!
In his annual DEAR SANTA letter wrote MAC
That his only request was a farm ALMANAC!
He would climb to the sky
On some beans he did buy,
But he needed to know when to plant them out back!
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteGreat write up Gary. Thanks.
My grandson is graduating from high school later this morning, then there is a memorial for one of my work colleagues this afternoon. This will take os off to Ypsilanti and then Sterling Heights. Lots of time in the car today.
Cool regards!
Ron
Clever puzzle, CC and Ron. Outstanding write-up and visuals,Gary. Owen,great poems.IMO A,A,B+,A.
ReplyDeleteOne big nit caused me a DNF. BEECH bark is NOT delicate so I never considered it. "One of the most eye-pleasing attributes of the Beech tree is its strikingly smooth and sleek bark. Even though the tree can live for centuries, its bark will not naturally flake or split." They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
BIRCH bark peels, so I considered it delicate, but maybe the inner bark is not so delicate.
I would not let BIRCH go since the B--CH was solid. I missed the PE in OPEN and the BE in BEAM.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteYep, definitely something fishy going on with today's puzzle, but mostly in a good way. All the theme answers were pretty easy to get except for the very last one. I guess I haven't shopped for MOWERs in a long time, since I've never heard of a Snapper.
Speaking of things I've never heard of, you can add RANGER TAB to the list. I wasn't sure if the neighbor of Java was MALI or BALI and thought perhaps a RANGER TAM was a type of hat similar to a green beret. Oops.
OCEANARIA was also a complete unknown, but at least it was inferrable.
Down in the SE, I got stuck for awhile due to not being able to come up with DEAR SANTA. I had _EAR in place from the perps and understandably went with YEAR. That one I finally fixed on my own, however.
Oh, and with __ND in place at 79A, I confidently went with FUND, thinking that "Back" was a verb. Again, though, I was eventually able to work that one out on my own.
Ah well, close, but no cigar today...
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWow, I was ***not*** on C.C.'s and JzB's wavelength this morning. I went wrong in too many ways to enumerate. It all worked out in the end, but it wasn't pretty. Theme? Nope. Missed it.
IN PEN grates on my brain. In ink, OK. In pen, grrrrrrr.
"I don't care," says dw, followed seconds later by, "Not that!"
I've made it to Java often over the years, but never had the free time for a side trip to BALI. Shucks!
Most fish sold in restaurants as red SNAPPER isn't.
Hi Y'all! When we begin with PROBE, that MAY mean we have to PROBE all the dark recesses of our brains to come up with the right words. Yup! This puzzle was a BEAST er challenge. But mainly I had to MOAN AND GROAN because I kept loosing the whole thing. Drives me WILD. I finally am realizing that something I do with the mouse flips the puzzle off -- like barely move it. I ended up filling the whole grid the last time without touching the mouse and it stayed put. Voila! C.C. & Ron, you gotta know how much I appreciate your work that I would reconstruct the puzzle six times to finish.
ReplyDeleteRegatta entrant not "yacht" but racer. PGAS not "open".
How many autographs are signed? All of (them). Oh, not a number? IN PEN? Duh!
Pay RAISE a gimmee. Gary, sometimes the principal, superintendent and school board think a teacher is excellent while parents and kids cringe when they know they have to be in that room. The powers control the paycheck. I'm sure you were really excellent judging from your informative hard work on the blog. Thanks so much.
All the delicious looking fish dishes today made the little can of sardines I was looking forward to eating seem less palatable. Oh well, easier to prepare.
36a I was wanting some state in the USA. Tried ALAska and HAWaii although I was sure they came in in the late 50's. Sure enough, the year I graduated from high school. I thought ISRael was born earlier than 1948. Been 50 years since reading Leon Uris' "Exodus".
Wanting to beat the heat, I did my grocery shopping at 6:30 a.m. today. Just call me the Lone Shopper. Man, I galloped through that place in record time with more employees there than buyers.
It doesn't matter how much people try to normalize the torture and murder of fish by posting images of delicious fish dishes or making them the theme of crossword puzzles ...
ReplyDeleteIf you eat fish, or any other animal, you are beyond inhumane.
You are a torturer.
And you are a murderer.
Repress THAT.
Morning all!
ReplyDeleteBeen so busy with school and work that I've only been able to check in a few times a week but hoping that will change in another week or two! Fun puzzle today Ron and C.C.! I caught the theme early and was prepared for the multi-word fills too.
The fish pics look great but I probably wouldn't like to eat them - in general I don't enjoy cooked fish but love raw sushi. (Unless I'm standing next to the ocean and it was just caught today, then I'll eat just about anything.) @anon 9:54 - sorry you don't like the pictures, I'm sure someone will post some pictures of salads or something for your viewing pleasure. In fact, here's a link to an old high school friend that is a food stylist. Adam Pearson takes gorgeous photos that always make me hungry! Enjoy!!
Wishing you all the best and will try to drop in to say hi more often :)
t.
DNF. With WAGs, FIR or FIW are always possibilities, but being so baffled that I can't even come up with a WAG is a rarity! All in the SE corner. Turning on the red revealed only one wrong answer: MOWER BlAde. A lot of trial and error finally revealed LAmAR, AmId, dEAR SAnTA, MOWER BrAnd, INrEM, & AdAR.
ReplyDeleteWrote the above last night, but was too tired at 4:30 this morning to do more than post my poems. Now I've read the blog, so will add comments.
Hand up for YACHT before RACER. (I always pronounce that to myself as ya-chat when writing it out, as well as conn-ect-i-cut, as Mm.Defarge and HG mentioned a couple days ago. It's like having a second vocabulary, tho the EU in horse de ovries still gives me pause.)
Never heard of HULAnoho.
ENOS was ancestor to Noah, but since most women weren't worth mentioning in the Bible, Noah's wife & DILs were likely descendants of Cain. Which may explain some things. >;)
No mention of the clechos PROP & CUE? Or anecho(?) of PGA and PBA [Professional Golfer's/Bowler's Associations]?
Magritte is a favorite of mine (tho I first entered JOANMIRO), as he almost certainly shared my affliction of prosopagnosia.
PK: I also do all our groc. shopping at 6am after I drop my wife at work. It's one time of day when I can be sure an electric cart will be available, since I couldn't do it without one!
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteGREAT puzzle, C.C. and Ron. Thank you. My favorite today was Great SCOTT. Loved the theme. GREAT fun.
Thanks for the amazing write up, Gary. GREAT links! OCEANARIA is plural of ocenarium.
Enjoy today. Safe travels, JzB.
Anon at 9:43: I happen to believe in the grand design of life and the food chain. Everything needs a purpose and some fish and animals are to provide food for the others. Domestic food animals wouldn't be allowed to have life at all and be fed and cared for if they weren't to provide food. Most are treated humanely and end life humanely. I am a carnivorous animal and make no excuses to anyone. Don't work yourself into a stroke over pictures of fish prepared to eat. Good grief!
ReplyDelete@anon 9:54 we were in java at the market watching them slaughter puppy dogs. All the Americans' tears reminded me so much of the 4H kids watching their projects get bought at the fair. Food looks so serene neatly wrapped in Saran in little styrofoam trays.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle, Ron and C.C.! Mostly a straightforward solve with just a few pauses here and there but no fatal unknowns. Cheers to SANTA SCOTT!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gary!
Later. You all have a super Sunday!
Forrest Gump drives a SNAPPER. Pic
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ron & C.C. for a great Sunday puzzle. Nice cluing, theme, and teamwork!
ReplyDeleteThanks, H.G., for the great pictures and for filling in on a Sunday!
Good Afternoon:
ReplyDeleteThis was a thoroughly enjoyable offering that I, more or less, sailed through. Did I think I was super smart when seeing Power couple, immediately filling in ACDC! Doh. Also had sloop/racer and birch/beech. Clever theme, fun fill, and satisfying solve=Happy Camper! Fav was Great Scott.
Thanks, CC and Ron, for a pleasant Sunday stroll and thanks, HG, for the whimsical and witty write-up and the stunning visuals. I imagine Steve was in culinary Seventh Heaven!
Did anyone see Room? I read the book years ago and just watched the movie last night. It was very intense and unnerving. (I think it's time for a comedy but good ones are hard to come by.)
Have a great day.
Good afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteWhat Lucina said. Great execution; sterling intro. Bravo Zulus to JzB, C.C., and HG; great visuals.
FLUKE - Part of a whale tail or anchor. USS Oriskany anchor w/ FLUKES just down the road from us.
HG - Looks like the capital bldg at Albany.
Have a good day.
To expand on that; Looks like the capitol bldg. at Albany taken from the south side.(Empire Skate Plaza)
ReplyDeleteJust now visiting the blog after waking to the horrifying news at 7am this morning. After church and reflecting for most of the day I have formed my opinions of this heinous act. I mourn for the victims, the families and for the life we free Americans enjoy every day. I think of my very close friend whose oversees orders were just changed as he landed in Kuwait City yesterday. He and his artillery battalion are headed into harms way in the sunni triangle to "support" operation there within. Is this such a new normal that it doesn't even warrant a mention here? I suspect no one here was impacted personally but I feel violated. Very sad day for the American dream.
ReplyDeleteCarry on puzzlers....
Fun puzzle today and wonderful write-up - but made me hungry!
ReplyDeleteSomeday I want to get up to the Minnesota crossword tournament - but with my trip to ITaly a few weeks ago, it wouldn't work with my work schedule. Hoped to get up there also to see my friend's daughter who is playing "Belle" in "Beauty and the Beast" at the Chanhassen Theater but maybe before it ends in September will make the trek north.
We are having steamy Sunday hear - thankful to be able to cool off with the AC!
Thanks JazzB, CC, and HG!
oops that should be steamy Sunday here!
ReplyDeleteExcellent puzzle. Thanks to Ron and C.C. for it. I can tell a lot of work went into it. Who's idea was the theme?
ReplyDeleteOne little booboo: the word logo in the clue for OMEGA is also the answer at 112D.
I was also shocked, saddened, and angered at the killings in Orlando this morning.
Gary, thank you for the write-up. At first I thought maybe Steve was the writer but I soon recognized your style.
PK, I wish I had half the common sense you have.
Best wishes to you all.
ReplyDeleteWonderful CW today. Maybe I was just on the right wave length but I struggled successfully and loved it. Thanks, JzB and C.C. , for some clever, new fill.
HG, if for nothing else I love you for all those fish dishes! Yum! I think I'll go buy some catfish for supper. And the rest of the write up was good too. Did we have more pictures of food than usual, or am I just hungry? Whatever. It was fun. Thanks.
Jayce, thank you for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteHello, again, puzzlers,
ReplyDeleteAs I am sure all of you are, I'm shocked and horrified by the events in Orlando. My sympathies and prayers reach out to the families and loved ones of all those affected. Though it's a senseless tragedy, it's even more in that it illustrates how those among us, radicalized Americans, can turn against us, as the FBI spokes person noted. I'm sad for Orlando, for all of Florida and I'm so sad for our country.
OwenKL:
FYI: Joan Miro was from Barcelona whereas the clue called for a Belgian surrealist.
Anonymous@9:54
Animals have sustained the human race for eons and they are, in fact, the reason human beings have survived all these many millennia. You and all of us are here because our forebears ate meat and fish which in the beginnings of our history were for the most part the only food available. In your genes you carry the meat sustenance your ancestors passed on you to you.
I also am an unapologetic carnivore who enjoys meat and fish to not only sustain life but to relish it.
oops. "You" should not have been repeated there. Should be "your ancestors passed on to you."
ReplyDeleteFun swim today? Thanks Ron and C.C. and Husker Gary.
ReplyDeleteIt took a while but I got'er done. Then I arrive here and see that I had Sete crossing Parrit and the T is wrong. I guess I don't know my African politicians or American training bases.
Hand up for thinking 36D was referring to American states. Lightbulb moment when I saw ISRael.
107A Catsits took a while to fall into place but then I smiled. It was harder to find somebody willing to Catsit a diabetic cat who needed insulin shots daily.
My pond had alga before SCUM.
42D singer K.T. made me think of fellow Canadian k.d. lang only for a moment because I know the proper spelling is too short!
Beautiful day here.
Sympathy to those in Orlando.
Enjoyed this theme regardless of it being a bit fishy. Thanks Ron and C.C., and Gary for the subbing.
ReplyDeleteThe Orlando tragedy is simply unthinkable. Why!!!
Can't help but hear a Billy Joel song when I hear mention of Parris Island: Goodnight Saigon
Fabulous write up today, Gary! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle smelled pretty fishy to me and growing up on the west coast ,all kinds of
ReplyDeletefish was on our menu-especially "red snapper!" Merci buckets of fish for this puzzle!
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Ron Toth and C.C. Burnikel, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteStarted this morning and then finished this evening. Puzzle was easier than normal, IMHO.
Theme was fine. Clever! The theme took up a large portion of the puzzle. Very good. I think this made the puzzle easier to finish.
OCEANARIA is a new word for me. Makes sense.
MAGRITTE was tough to get.
Tried BIRCH befo BEECH worked.
Getting late. I am about to turn in. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(The versions I wrote last night were all F or D, but I think this is finally polished enough to post. Not surviving was one about Trump, "on whose head his CAT SITS")
ReplyDelete{C.}
An ALIEN saucer hove into sight
From the teacup atop it, a bright BEAM OF LIGHT!
Would the anal PROBE story
Become MANDATORY?
No, they were dumping a SCHMO who disrupted their flight!
Not all LORE is "oral." Think of diaries and family Bibles, for starters.
ReplyDeleteWhere's the "for short" in the clue for VETTE?
Can PI be plural?