Theme: "Big Time" - The first word can follow "Big".
23A. Breakfast order : CHEESE OMELETTE. Big cheese. I use the OMELET spelling. You?
36A. Fruity pastry shop purchase : APPLE TURNOVER. Big Apple.
51A. Unite : BAND TOGETHER. Big Band.
78A. Wedding acquisition, perhaps? : BROTHER- IN- LAW. Big brother.
95A. Stab : SHOT IN THE DARK. Big shot.
111A. 1949 Crosby film set in Ireland : TOP O' THE MORNING. Big top. Unfamiliar with the film.
17D. Fan of Pat and Vanna, familiarly : WHEEL WATCHER. Big wheel.
60D. Ones not at home on the range : CITY SLICKERS. Big city.
Simple
theme. I mentioned before that Rich prefers this type of "words that
can follow/precede" theme on weekdays, unless the theme really excites
him to warrant a Sunday.
Impressive chunks of white spaces in upper left & lower right corners.
Themeless look. This is very hard to pull off with sparkly and clean
fill.
Across:
1. Suffered a setback : RELAPSED
9. Shared spirit : ETHOS. We also have PATHOS (63. Pity-evoking quality)
14. Bit by bit : SLOWLY
20. Swimwear option : ONE PIECE
21. "High waving heather __ stormy blasts bending": Emily Brontë : 'NEATH
22. Tie up : TETHER
25. Writ word : HABEAS. Habeas corpus.
26. NFL lineman-turned-actor Alex : KARRAS. Is he a gimme to you?
27. Powder first marketed as Hudson's Soap : RINSO
28. Burned in a thurible : CENSED
29. Spanish liqueur : ANIS
30. Rolled __ : OATS. I've been having overnight oats every morning since March 31. Pomegranates are now in season. So good with overnight oats.
32. Garage event : SALE
33. Directed : LED
35. Abbr. for old dates : BCE
41. Twistedly funny : WRY. PK is having problem with her iMac, Irish Miss. Hopefully her computer guy fixes her glitch soon.
42. "Absolutely!" : YES SIREE
44. __ bread : RAISIN. Not BANANA or GARLIC.
45. Still-life subject : VASE. I tried EWER first. It showed up later at 76. Still-life subject : EWER
46. Tabasco, por ejemplo : ESTADO
47. Illusions in an act : MAGIC
49. Foppish neckwear : ASCOT
55. Yokels : HICKS
58. Drag, e.g. : RACE. Got via crosses.
61. Delete : ERASE
62. What X may mean : TEN. Also 88. M, on many forms : MALE
64. Bird: Pref. : AVI
65. Bernadette et al.: Abbr. : STES
66. Tammany Hall Tiger artist : NAST (Thomas)
68. U.K. country : ENG
69. Kugel ingredient : POTATO. Never had Kugel before.
71. Middle of Christmas? : ESS
74. Spa feature : SAUNA
76. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT
77. First name in dance : TWYLA (Tharp). Not ADELE.
81. Work for : SERVE
83. Court tie : DEUCE. Oh, tennis.
84. Trypanosome transmitter : TSETSE. The fly is back.
90. Energy output : EFFORT. Did not come to me easily.
92. Concepts : THEORIES
94. 2001 boxing biopic : ALI
98. Richie's dad, to the Fonz : MR. C
99. F1 neighbor on PCs : ESC
100. U. of Maryland player : TERP
101. "No problem" : EASY. And 103. "No problem" : OK BY ME
102. Sandra Denton, in a hip-hop trio : PEPA. Salt-N-Pepa. Got me.
105. Rapper __ Shakur : TUPAC
108. Kitchen gadget : PEELER. D-Otto brought his potato peeler to Florida when he visited his sister. His legendary potato dumplings need serious prep work.
110. Louisiana cuisine : CREOLE
114. Set : HARDEN
115. Stirred : AWOKE
116. Scolds severely : RIPS INTO
117. Newspaper ad, commonly : INSERT
118. Baltimore's __ Harbor : INNER. Aleppo moment.
119. Least seasoned : GREENEST. Also 3. Most skeptical : LEERIEST
Down:
1. "__ baby ... " : ROCK-A-BYE. Got via crosses.
2. Adds value to : ENHANCES
4. Mimes : APERS. Noun "Mimes".
5. Italian coastal city : PISA
6. Understands : SEES
7. Friendly front? : ECO. Eco-friendly.
8. JFK, e.g. : DEM
9. Sign up : ENLIST
10. Many a senior : TEEN. Also 19. Jr. and sr. : YRS
11. They may be tipped : HATS
12. "The Simpsons" bus driver : OTTO. And our Meals on Wheels driver as well. D-Otto volunteers for several causes.
13. Byron's "__ Walks in Beauty" : SHE
14. Mount named for a friend of George Vancouver : ST HELENS. I did not know who George Vancouver is. Now I know.
15. Not quite a ringer : LEANER. Drew a blank. Horseshoe score.
16. Wagering places: Abbr. : OTBs
18. Band heads : LEADERS
24. "Symphony in Black" artist : ERTE
28. Sturgeon delicacy : CAVIAR. This is how I first tried caviar. On sliced baguette.
30. Reveal in a poem? : OPE
31. Taproom quencher : ALE
32. Letters in the sand? : SOS. I like this clue.
34. Easter decorating supply : DYE
36. Opera that premiered in Cairo in 1871 : AIDA
37. Characterized by : PRONE TO
38. Impulse : URGE
39. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee the same year as Clapton and Taylor : RAITT. Got via crosses.
40. Wall recess : NICHE
43. Word from Tonto : SABE. Kemo Sabe.
45. Big name in sporting goods : VOIT. This stumped some last time.
47. Rap sheet routines: Abbr. : MOs. MO = modus operandi.
48. Turn gray, maybe : AGE
50. Rap (with) : CHAT. I did not know "Rap with" means "Chat with". So I was rapping with Boomer. Told him that pumpkin pie should be called "squash pie". Pumpkin is too stringy. What you get in a can is mostly a mixture of various winter squashes.
52. Rap's Dr. __ : DRE
53. Shock source : TASER
54. Tedium : ENNUI
56. Hawaiian coffee district : KONA
57. U.S. Army E-6 : SSGT
58. Spellbound : RAPT
59. Swear to be true : AVOW
63. Hymnal that's often richly illustrated : PSALTER. Learning moment for me.
65. Rating unit : STAR
67. Massachusetts cape : ANN
70. On the safer side : ALEE
72. "Ditto!" : SO DO I
73. Back on the ocean : STERN
74. Champagne word : SEC
75. "Odds __ ... " : ARE
78. Sooner than : BEFORE
79. Sluglike "Star Wars" alien : HUTT. I only know Jabba the Hutt.
80. "Dilbert" intern : ASOK. Learned from doing crosswords.
82. Heated : VEHEMENT
85. Facebook feature : TIMELINE
86. Medusa's hair, after Athena got done with it : SERPENTS. Vivid clue.
87. Dish requiring special utensils : ESCARGOT. Had no idea how to eat these when I first tried.
88. Questel who voiced Betty Boop : MAE, Unknown figure to me.
89. Loser : ALSO-RAN
91. Data-uploading letters : FTP. OK, File Transfer Protocol.
92. 6-pt. scores : TDs
93. Loft filler : HAY
95. Salon appliance : STYLER. Also the name of Sting's wife. I doubt Rich will ever use it though. A bit obscure.
96. Winter warmer : HEATER
97. Apiece : EACH
102. Secure, on a farm : PEN IN
104. Portend : BODE
105. College __ : TOWN
106. Conversant with : UP ON
107. Nose (around) : POKE
108. Vitalian, for one : POPE. Aleppo moment. Did not know Pope Vitalian.
109. Gaelic tongue : ERSE
110. See 111-Down : CHI. And 111. With 110-Down, Eastern discipline : TAI
112. Bit of work : ERG
113. Fallen space station : MIR. Fell to Earth in 2001.
Last
Monday I met with Andrea Carla Michaels, the Monday Queen of NYT
crosswords. We walked around Lake Harriet where Andrea grew up. She
showed me her childhood home,
which is gated now. Andrea now lives in San Francisco, but might move
back to MN someday. She used to be a standup comedian and has so many
interesting stories to tell. Wish you guys were walking along with us. Click here for a few more pictures.
41 comments:
FIR! Also got the theme early (without even noticing the puzzle title) which helped get the rest with minimal perps! A few wrong wags, as normal: COWS > HATS, KEMO > SABE, HUG > TEN, etc.
{C+, B-, C, B+.}
I went to see a robot drag RACE.
YES SIREE, that was my big mistake!
I remember tin Lezzies
And Gay bots in dressies,
But the MALE PEELERS I'd rather ERASE!
Some CREOLE HICKS while at camp
Decided they'd enough of the damp!
But some voodoo MAGIC
Turned out tragic --
Now as a swamp their camp is a champ!
If the LEADERS of the bands
BAND TOGETHER to make their stands
Will the bands collapse
Or be replaced by the brass
With cheap plastic and rubber bands?
An intern named ASOK from Mumbai
Couldn't stop with just ONE PIECE of pie!
The worst of the matter,
He ate the whole platter --
And the forks and the plates and pad thai!
Greetings!
Thanks to Matt and CC!
Words seemed longer than usual and I had several perps and WAGs. In the end, the nada with no cheats.
Very tired. Swum hard today.
Have a great day!
(Today meaning Saturday of course.)
Morning, all!
Slow but (mostly) steady progress throughout today, except for the NW corner which I abandoned at the beginning and really struggled to fill in at the end. I vaguely knew KARRAS, but the name wouldn't come to me without a lot of perp help. Was he in one of the Exorcist movies? And yes, I'm used to seeing OMELET instead of OMELETTE.
Elsewhere, I couldn't recall VOIT to save my life and was sure I had a error somewhere when it appear in the grid via the perps. But, no, everything else was solid, so i went with it.
Never heard of the film TOP O' THE MORNING, but it was easy enough to guess with a little perp help.
Anybody else think it odd to have both STES and ST (HELENS) in the grid?
Good morning all.
I would say. 101. "No problem" : EASY. And 103. "No problem" : OK BY ME.
First guess was often correct today. Sometimes second or third. Even the unknowns all seemed to easily fill with perps.
CC, Alex Karras was a gimme to me. Roosevelt Grier was another ex NFL player turned actor around the same time. Ditto Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, and others.
Good bowlers are often good horseshoe players. I would guess that Boomer is accomplished at horseshoes.
FTP - My original handle here at the blog. First Time Poster. Then STP, followed by TTP.
Jayce, lobster tails sounds like a great desert choice !
Good morning!
Made slow, but steady progress right up to the point when I didn't. I ran into an unscalable wall with PSALTER, ASOK, TSETSE and TIMELINE -- just too many things I didn't know. DNF!
C.C., I was right with you on ADELE and EWER. Anybody else try BLANDEST for GREENEST? Had not heard the expression "Aleppo moment" before -- cute.
I left my OXO potato peeler at home -- figured between Bro and Sis we could come up with a couple. But I did pack my classic Rival Shred-O-Mat in fashionable 70's avocado. You need machinery when you're grating 10 lbs of potatoes.
Barry, I never noticed the ST and STES. Maybe the presence of Karras and Medusa offset that.
There was another ex NFLer Fred something that played a cop or detective in a TV series for a couple of years but his name escapes me at the moment.
Hello Puzzlers -
Slow but steady for me, too. Karras was all perps, as was Twyla. Got a little unsure around FTP, partly because the nearby Styler seemed not to fit the clue (is there a salon gadget called a styler? A little out of my line). Got there eventually.
Morning, C.C., I tend to use Omelet just because it's so familiar. I take it for granted that Omelette is the way we'd see it in France, but haven't had breakfast there recently. :-)
Thanks C.C. and Matt for an enjoyable start to the week.
Is Rinso still around? I seem to remember Rinso as a sponsor for Dagwood and Blondie on the radio. That was a looong time ago!
Have a lovely day, everyone.
Threw in relapsed to start, but couldn't get any of those downs except Dem, so moved on. And so it went. Methodical, but never easy throughout. Never did get the theme because I took "Absolutely = Yessiree" to be part of the theme. IOW another synonym could be "Big Time". That kept me from seeing the trees while I concentrated on the grove. But overall, it was Wednesday level and the were no major stoppages.
Filled in Raitt with only a few perps, but still can't recall who Taylor might be...?
I also had to chortle at Aleppo moment, C.C. Tanks for the walkthrough. Couldn't help but recall Lou Grant at 87d: "I don't speak French. I once ordered escargot, but all I got was a plate full of snails."
Went to the movies last night and saw Sully. A good flick that I'd recommend.
Fred Dryer was a New York Football Giant defensive end in late 60's to early 70's. Ne went on to star in TV show Hunter
OK, so Alex KARRAS played the father on the TV show "Webster." I got him confused with the character Father KARRAS from "The Exorcist." Oops. Not quite an Aleppo moment (thank you for adding that to our lexicon, Gary Johnson), but still...
Good Morning:
I enjoyed this offering and theme very much, although there were a few bumps and hiccups along the way. I had Pope for Vitalia but for some odd reason thought it was the Vatican and Italia combined, not the name of a Pope, just a reference to The Holy See. (Talk about an Aleppo moment, or should that be a Roma moment?). I never heard of that Bing Crosby movie, either, nor have I heard of a Styler, as clued, and Psalter was totally unknown. Does it go with Pepa?
Thanks, Matt, for a challenging but doable Sunday stroll and thanks, CC, for the spot-on summary. Thanks, also, for the update on PK, hope she joins us soon.
Bill V thanks for identifying Fred Dryer; I could see his face but his name escaped me. Alex Karras always reminded me of a lovable teddy bear who, I'm sure, was more like a grizzly on the field!
YR, I'm so sorry to hear of Alan's ongoing health issues.
Barry, how are things going with the commute/office adjustment. Glad you can at least drop in on the weekends.
DO, did that Shred-o-matic raise any eyebrows from the TSA agents?
Have a great day.
Good morning. The rain has stopped, but the big winds still roar here.
I wasn't crazy about today's puzzle. Too many movie, literature and music references for my taste. But I still got it all with one lookup (PSALTER). I did like Alex Karras as Mongo in Blazing Saddles, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.
Is there really a device called a styler? I would have understood "salon employee", but not appliance.
I thought Vitalian must be a brand of some useless dietary supplement.
I guessed that Sandra Denton might be Posh Spice, but guessed Pepa when the perps didn't allow it. Don't know any Spice Girls music, but I like the Salt 'n Pepa song they use in that TV commercial.
Too many other unknowns to list today, but the perps and some educated guesses allowed me to fill them all in.
Hello, all. Thanks to Matt and C.C. for a good start on Sunday morning. Most of the grid was straight forward and EASY. Don't be upset if you didn't know St. VITALIAN (657-72). I'd not heard of him either, but then with 267 popes, who can keep up? Tabasco for ESTADO was a nice misdirection.
D-O:
You apparently don't watch the news if you don't know about "Aleppo moment." Nice shoutout for you at OTTO.
Sadly I had a complete Natick at TERP/FTP. Thank you, C.C. ASOK also eluded me and I left AWOK so failed to enjoy the moment with TSETSE. KARRAS was perped as was OTBS.
KONA stirred up some pleasant memories of the Big Island.
As for OMELETTE, catalogue, dialogue and others, I prefer those spellings since that's how I first learned them, but I'm adapting.
Have a joyful Sunday, everyone!
STYLER is new to me and I'm not sure what it would be except possibly some kind of curling iron. Many varieties of them currently exist. Some are for straightening hair, others for frizzing it and still others for a number of different looks.
Bernadette & Escargot The jerk
Musings
-A piece ‘o cake with Vitalian the only new word for me
-Typical teenager – I told mom I hated her BIG BAND music but now find it fun
-CITY SLICKERS invokes these guys to me
-…and many will remember this Blazing Saddles scene with Alex KARAS
-My brother was the king of RELAPSE – “One drink is too many and a thousand aren’t enough”
-Being a NAST-like political cartoonist today could be fatal in some countries
-My Mr. C. (2:51)
-Joann can spot a lousy GARAGE SALE with a 10-second drive-by
-NFL running backs PRONE TO fumbling usually must find another line of work
-SEC (dry) champagne scale by sugar content
-ALSO RANS had to race against Jesse Owens and Usain Bolt
-AWOKE – Attributed to Yamamoto after Pearl Harbor - “I fear all we have done is to AWAKEN a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve”
-“BIG WHEEL keep on turnin’…” Next line?
Good morning to all!
I found this to be quite a grind today, but finished with only one trip to Mr. G. for "Trypanosome transmitter"=TSETSE. Alex KARRAS and MAE Questel were both 100% perpped. And yes, I use the spelling omelet.
Wonderful expo today, C.C., as usual. Nice photos of you and Ms. Michaels.
Enjoy the day!
IM, I was surprised when the TSA never gave it a second glance. They probably figured it was just geezer junk. [They were right.]
Lucina, I was aware of Gary Johnson's Aleppo gaffe, but hadn't heard it turned into a generic "Aleppo moment" expression.
AvgJoe, that'd be James Taylor.
Thanks for the great puzzle, Matt. Solved it in good time for a Sunday with no cheating but I missed the theme. CC, fine expo. I needed perps for Karras, FTP, Pepa, and tsetse, which rings a bell in retrospect. I use both spellings, omelet or omelette, so I wait for crosses. Potato was my last fill. The only kugel I knew was a sweet dessert pudding which our Jewish friends bring to potlucks. I don't care for it, but most of the other goyim like it. It is made of noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, eggs, etc. Today I learned there are also savory kugels, many made with potatoes.
Not to be forgotten Bubba Smith as Hightower
Doh! Hand me that can, er case of V-8. Thanks D-O.
Amother football player not to be forgotten is that magician who moved out of that little house on the prairie to become Father Murphy.
I loved this Sunday puzzle, Matt--many thanks! After a lot of careful work I got every single thing without looking anything up, except the Natick Lucina also mentioned: TERP/FTP. But that was my only problem, even with a bunch of unknowns, including KARRAS, ESTADO, PEPA, ASOK, and a few others. And Desper-otto, I too tried BLANDEST before GREENEST. But this was a great puzzle because it was both challenging and doable--wonderful!
And, of course, your expo is always great, C.C., and how nice that you had a lovely visit with Andrea.
Have a great Sunday, everybody!
The solving was easy with the exception of HABIAS, PATHOS, and PSALTER (never heard of that one). "Simple Theme"- for you but not me. POTATO was an easy fill from perps because 'Kugel' was unknown. Ditto for PEPA. Double-ditto for Vitalian and POPE. Only one change today- ESTADA to ESTADO. Tabasco- hot sauce made in Avery Island, close toNew Iberia, LA. World's best selling hot sauce.
RAP session- sitting around and talking. JAM session- sitting around and playing musical instruments.
99A- F1 on a PC--ESC. It's on my 'keyboard', not my computer but I guess if you use a tablet computer, it's next to 'F1'.
This was the same puzzle as last week!
I liked this puzzle. It made me think, which I enjoy doing. It also made me realize there are so many things I used to know but had forgotten. RINSO reminds me of Beverly Sills, the terrific opera singer, who as a very young woman sang the jingle "Rinso white, happy little washday song." My memory of Alex KARRAS was refreshed, too. I wanted AGNES (de Mille) before the perps reminded me of TWYLA Tharp, which in turn reminds me of a teacher named Robert Tharp of whom I have fond memories. Quite a trip down memory lane.
Love the term "Aleppo moment." Thanks for coining it, C.C.
Like Jinx in Norfolk, I also thought Vitalian must be a brand of some sort of dietary supplement.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Knowing kugel solely as a sweet noodle dessert precluded the potato answer until I accepted it due to perps. It is tempting to believe that what we know about something is all there is to know. Crosswords force us to live and learn, to keep an open mind. That is a big part of their fascination for me.
The theme wasn't very snappy, but some of the fill was difficult, especially since I was missing down clues in the range 75-81. TSETSE was easy for me after a safari a year ago which visited Zambia.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Matt Skoczen, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., fir a fine review.
This puzzle was easy, for the most part, for a Sunday, which means it was sort of tough. Got hrough it, however. Enjoyed it.
Theme was good. Got through it before I really figured out the gimmick.
Have not seen Q.E.D. for awhile. One of my favorite Latin expressions.
Never had a Kugel, that I know of. Must be good if it made with potatoes grown here.
Had AVER for a hundred years at 59D. Finally changed it to AVOW. Fixed that area. Then TWYLA appeared.
Saw Blazing Saddles many years ago. Funny movie.
TUPAC was unknown. Perps.
Heading back to Illinois tomorrow morning. Keggs and Eggs went fine yeaterday. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
It's not often I finish without red letters but did it today. Only I did have to look up U of M to see the name of their team. So TERP went in.
I don't agree with the clue for Louisiana Cuisine. I was racking my brain trying to put the name of a dish in there such as Gumbo, Ettouffe. Etc.
CREOLE is a style of Louisiana cooking in the southeast part of the state. WE have it here also but more Cajun cooking than Creole.....
Plus Tard from Cajun Country ~!~!
Boo luquette, is blackened fish a Cajun dish? I made it last night. My wife didn't want the fried okra that I had planned, so we had black eyed peas instead. In return, she's cooking up a big pot of gumbo at this moment, which uses up the okra. I don't mind at all; I love (her) gumbo.
Abejo, what's Keggs and Eggs?
Boo & Jayce- Creole can mean basically anything you want it to be. The'creole' influence that came about in the USA was heavily influenced by Antoine's Restaurant years ago. But it can refer to any immigrant influenced style of cooking.
The blackened fish popularized by Paul Prudhomme caused the U.S. Wildlife & Fisheries to ban the offshore fishing of redfish (aka red drum) for years.
Okra- I had chicken gumbo for lunch, spiced up with some 'Tobasco'. My wife prefers 'Crystal' hot sauce.
Hey, Jayce - I was puzzled yesterday (oops, sorry, belated Happy Birthday wishes from this lurker) regarding your BD menu - fried okra?!? You live in San Jose per your profile, but where is the guy originally from, I thought? And then, as a substitution, black-eyed peas?! And then, tonight, gumbo (yum)? Are you a Southern boy? Inquiring minds only, ya know.
SAB E I spelled it like TONTO said it and forgot to revisit RACI. Did anybody DRAG race in the day?
I had a KUGEL in my life. I was told it meant biscuit.
I was trying to rush through. As I said in my Fri GUR I get way behind. finished the weekend thanks to sleeping in
Someone mentioned Wed level. Well, last Wed was Sunday level.
I was listening to NPR before politics took over and a Ms McGonigle has a book about heavy thinking, dopamine and mental health.
She was talking about video games but I'd think it could apply to the latimes xwords, weekend edition.
I actually knew PSALTER, ASOK, Java The HUTT and Dr Dre. But not Pope Valerian, nor TWYLA.
Oh. Fine puzzle, thx CC for the expo and Owen as always. A for creativity
Lurk say:
{C+, B, B-, A}
Jayce - what TX MS said / asked. Where'd a San Jose boy come up with a Cajun menu like that? Sounds perfect :-).
Nice to see you again BooL.
C.C. I started your (last week) NY this afternoon (came w/ today's paper) while waiting on daughter's Chior practice. Sonnova! Now I get the paper jam title. Cute & Creative. Thanks.
Tawnya - taking this doin' nuthin' seriously, eh?
I don't thing anyone answered HG - Proud Mary
Cheers, -T
BMOC stands for Big Man On Campus, not of Christmas........
Sure it does; just google BMOC.
Wrong day Anon@5:38. LOL Santa! :-)
I have little interest in sports, so KARRAS was a total unknown. But I love reading this blog for all that I learn here. I loved Mongo in Blazing Saddles, which was a brilliant movie. Had no idea he had so many different careers!
Hand up for BLANDEST before GREENEST.
RINSO I only know from a line in the musical "Hair". Anyone else know the phrase "Rinso White" in that song "I'm Black"? Apparently Rinso White was already extinct by the time Hair made it big in 1968.
Twyla Tharp I saw a year ago here in Santa Barbara.
Another learning moment for the origin of the Mt St Helens name. I flew over it after it erupted. A vast forest of downed trees.
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