22A. Awesome product component?: CHILL FACTOR.
24A. Awesome mattress covering?: DOPE SHEET.
43A. Awesome plumbing connector?: TIGHT FITTING.
68A. Awesome hobby?: HOT PURSUIT.
70A. Awesome hunting dog?: HIP POINTER.
88A. Awesome entitlement?: RADICAL RIGHT.
113A. Awesome suit fabric?: BOSS TWEED.
115A. Awesome predicament?: SWEET PICKLE.
Each first word has a totally different meaning than "good", awesome!
I'm not familiar with "tight" and "radical" as "good". Is it common or new slang?
Across:
1. Dojo maneuver: CHOP.
5. Guitarist Joe of The Eagles: WALSH.
10. Wilts: SAGS.
14. Start of an incantation: ABRA. Do you have Abra auto repair shop in your area?
18. The last Mrs. Chaplin: OONA.
19. Slow down: BRAKE.
20. Shiraz's land: IRAN.
21. Trickle: SEEP.
26. Step on it: INSOLE. Nice clue.
27. Stuck a fork in: STABBED.
29. Glenn Miller Orchestra singer Ray: EBERLE. Unknown to me. The guy on the left.
30. Immortal name in dance: ASTAIRE.
32. Ultimatum word: ELSE.
33. Staring-into-space experiences: TRANCES.
34. DEA agent: NARCO.
36. Court game word: ALAI. Jai alai.
39. Routine: ACT.
40. Stubborn critter: ASS.
48. Tiny toiler: ANT.
49. Fall collection?: LEAVES. We have quite a collection in our yard.
51. More consequence?: MERRIER. The more, the merrier.
52. Poetic adverb: OFT.
54. "__ & Basie": 1963 jazz collaboration: ELLA.
55. "True Detective" actor McNairy: SCOOT.
56. Bump from the schedule: PREEMPT.
60. Peacock's pride: PLUMAGE. I'll be proud too if I have plumage like this.
64. QVC sister channel: HSN.
65. Shot in the arm: BOOST.
66. Wall St. trader: ARB. Arbitrator. (Correction: It's arbitrager. Thanks, Sandyanon.)
72. Bit of legal advice: SUE.
73. Lose control: GO APE.
74. Chicken dinner choice: LEG. Roasted pigeons are very popular in Guangzhou.
75. Support: ENDORSE.
76. Gallivant: TRAIPSE.
78. Sound: NOISE.
80. Wine choice: ROSE.
81. Originally called: NEE. Wang for me.
82. Tool in a kit: NAIL GUN.
84. Shadowed: TAILED.
86. Low-tech note-taking aid: PAD. Scored a few cute pads during my last Marshalls' trip.
91. Snake's sound: SSS.
92. Zodiac animal: RAM.
93. Vacation spot: ISLE.
94. "Truly, the souls of men are full of __": Shak.: DREAD.
96. "We the Living" novelist: AYN RAND. Never heard of the book.
100. Big drink of water: SWIG.
104. Retail outlets: EMPORIA.
108. Low wind: BREEZE.
109. Like some receptions: CATERED.
112. In a showily pretentious manner: ARTILY.
117. Tennis great Nastase: ILIE.
118. Villain named Julius: DR NO.
119. Points at the dinner table: TINES.
120. Pepsi rival: COKE. Only Pepsi in our home.
121. Picnic staple: SLAW.
122. Cereal grain: OATS. I finally tried oat milk for the first time. It's a bit thin but pretty good with cocoa powder.
123. Mocking sarcasm: SNARK.
124. Arab leader: EMIR.
Down:
1. Movie mogul Harry and sportscaster Linda: COHNS. Wiki said Harry Cohn co-founded Columbia Pictures.
2. Lift: HOIST.
3. Checked out at the library: ON LOAN.
4. Ease, as symptoms: PALLIATE.
5. Ring org.: WBA. Boxing ring.
6. Scythe blade shapes: ARCS.
7. Starbucks serving: LATTE.
8. Bar word meaning "cup" in Danish: SKOAL. The fight song for Vikings is "Skol,Vikings".
9. Sage and thyme: HERBS.
10. Pro or con: SIDE.
11. 2000s Yankee nickname: A-ROD.
12. Sign of something missing: GAP.
13. Unkind look: SNEER.
14. Whitish: ASHEN.
15. Tailgate party recyclable: BEER CAN.
16. Campaign poster word: REELECT.
17. Most pertinent: APTEST.
22. Org. in Clancy novels: CIA.
23. Wheel inventor: FERRIS.
25. Govt. agency that aids entrepreneurs: SBA. Small Business Administration.
28. "Get lost!": BEAT IT.
31. Hosp. readout: ECG. All too familiar to Dennis.
33. Bolivian export: TIN.
35. Units of resistance: OHMS.
37. '80s-'90s Compaq laptop model: LTE. No idea.
38. Prepare sans oil, as a movie treat: AIR POP.
40. Israeli leaders?: ALEPHS. First letter in Hebrew.
41. Betray: SELL OUT.
42. Soldier, at times: SALUTER.
44. Electronics whiz: TECHIE. A few T's on our blog. Tony, TTP and the Hainan Tom (a la Carmen, D-Otto), all vets.
45. "Mending Wall" poet: FROST.
46. Wrinkle remover: IRON.
47. Continues: GOES ON.
48. Supplier of bills: ATM.
50. Seductress: VAMP.
53. Far from fragrant: FETID.
57. It may be skipped: ROPE.
58. Security rounds: PATROLS.
59. Locks: TRESSES.
61. Bellow title hero March: AUGIE. Also unknown to me.
62. One looking for a switch, maybe: GROPER.
63. Those, in Tijuana: ESAS.
65. Coastal California scenic attraction: BIG SUR.
67. Basenji and Borzoi: BREEDS.
69. Flips: UPENDS.
70. Katherine of "Suits": HEIGL.
71. Edible seaweed: NORI.
74. 1970 Kinks hit: LOLA.
77. What's more: AND.
78. Like Miss Congeniality: NICEST.
79. Writer Bagnold: ENID.
83. Trouble: AIL.
84. Prominent, after "on": THE MAP. Took me forever to identify this song. Has anyone heard of Mindme or Ebba? The song is amazing.
85. "... but it'll cost you": AT A PRICE.
86. __ tax: PAYROLL.
87. "The Bourne Identity" malady: AMNESIA.
89. Assist: AID.
90. Test for M.A. seekers: GRE.
92. Yeshiva leaders: RABBIS.
95. One involved in a speculative "bubble": DOTCOM.
97. Fix, as a hem: RESEW.
98. AIDS-fighting drug: AZT.
99. Salon overhaul: NEW DO.
101. Bridge positions: WESTS.
102. Novelist Shaw: IRWIN.
103. Actress Davis: GEENA.
105. Kipling's "__-Tikki-Tavi": RIKKI.
106. Less well: ILLER. Ill is good too.
107. Word of support: AYE.
109. Small change: CENT.
110. Bothers: ADOS.
111. Critter on XING signs: DEER.
114. Notable time: ERA.
116. Word of reproof: TSK.
C.C.
22 comments:
FIRight despite a natick at hEIGL + hIP POINTER. Looked it up, it's a sports injury, nothing like a laser pointer.
His plumage may give a peacock a BOOST,
And also help him to rule the roost.
It will draw in
The fickle hens,
Who'll chase after him in HOT PURSUIT!
Oh, to TRAIPSE about, like Fred ASTAIRE!
A terpsichorean climbing up a stair!
But I get my feet in tangles
Much unlike Bo Jangles,
And when I try to dance, people only stare.
ELLA always had a DREAD late at night,
Any little NOISE would cause her a fright.
At last, at ninety-five
She was STABBED, but still alive,
Shouted out, "See? For ninety years, I've been right!"
{B, A-, B+.}
Good morning!
DNF at the same spot that bothered Owen. My alphabet run led me to TEIGL. Bzzzzt! Sezst lah vye, as they say in Vegas. Thanx, Gary and C.C. (Nope, not an Abra in sight around these parts.)
COKE: I swore off soft drinks several years ago. We forgot that there was a 12-pack of Coke in a narrow cupboard...until it ate through the metal and started oozing out.
ILLER: Right up there with LTE as the chaff in the grist mill.
This puzzle was sweet!
Off to traipse in the fall leaves.
A chill with the breeze.
Iller, aptest, SSS, LTE, really? Also, narcos are the bad guys.
DNF. Used red letters on saps--->SAGS, oomo--->OONA, begone--->BEAT IT, and tea--->TIN (CSO to our favorite imbiber).
I've never herd of a NAIL GUN in a tool kit. Maybe there is a NAIL GUN kit? I have used a Hilti stud gun kit, so maybe it is similar. (The Hilti was fun. Used .22 caliber blanks to fire studs into solid concrete. Wear goggles.)
I still can't believe that there were more than four letters to the fill for "...souls of men are full of____".
Sounds like a defense for recent accusations: "I was not trying to cop a feel, I was just GROPING for the on-off switch." (None of the "headlights were on" misogynistic remarks from me, of course.)
Thanks to Gary for the too-tough-for-me puzzle. Everyone needs stretch objectives. And thanks to CC for the explanation. I'm glad to know that there is something useful to do with pigeons.
CC, please excuse me for jumping in, but I believe that 66A is an abbreviation for arbitrager, not arbitrator.
A Sunday Gary Larson puzzle--bound to be tough for me, but also to be a treat. The southwest corner was the place where I got my start. It was nice to see quite a bit of art and culture, like FROST, and AYN RAND (not a favorite of mine) and ASTAIRE and ELLA, and even GEENA Davis. Fun clues, like having a soldier be a SALUTER. So, many thanks, Gary. And C.C., I loved the picture of that gorgeous PEACOCK--thanks for that too.
Have a great Sunday, everybody.
Musings
-CHILL FACTOR usually is preceded by WIND here
-How I dispose of LEAVES
-One million $4.99 Costco chickens/week are now being processed in our town
-Big drink? GULP, no it ends in G, CHUG, no it starts with S, oh…
-Our friends’ mother is now only getting PALLIATIVE care
-Congressional REELECTION rates. …and the BEAT GOES ON
-The British SALUTER turns his palm toward the SALUTEE
-A song in 1776 talks of the summer in “Foul, FETID, fuming, foggy, filthy — Philadelphia”
-HEIGL wishes she had just kept her mouth shut
-Much more modern LTE (long-term evolution) use
I enjoyed solving this puzzle. It took a while for me to figure out the theme gimmick. Even after solving it, I didn't know what a HIP POINTER is.
Some really COOL fill today, such as AMNESIA, PALLIATE, TRAIPSE, and EMPORIA, to list a few.
At the time, I became pretty familiar with the Compaq computer that looked like a sewing machine case or small suitcase when closed up. It was a well-conceived design. However, I never knew that Compaq made a laptop, let alone what they called it. Like Gary and others the letters LTE connote to me a cellular technology. My wife always says her iPhone is on LITE when we're away from Wi-Fi, because it displays the letters LTE.
Along with probably thousands of others I personally was stung by the DOTCOM bust in May of 2001 when I and quite a few colleagues found ourselves suddenly and unceremoniously no longer employed.
Gary, a few weeks ago I read an article about the Costco chicken factory in your home town.
For those who might be interested, Wang is a very common surname in China. It means King, and is also a pretty common surname in Europe and the U.S. as well. Gayle King of CBS This Morning comes to mind, as does Stephen King, the author. The actor Walter Koenig (King in German) played Ensign Pavel Chekov in Star Trek.
Happy Sunday and good wishes to you all.
Hello everyone.
Somehow, there doesn't seem to be much to comment on today. The theme left me cold and the fill was so-so. Liked Wheel inventor FERRIS. SALUTER seemed kind of dopey; albeit the clue was adequate. Should there have been a '?' after the clue?
BASENJIs are known as a "barkless dog". If they were your 'watch' dog, they would have to POINT to advise of a problem.
Red sky in morning; sailor's warning. Yep, we had a red sky this morning and it's raining again. Totally unforecasted by the weather guessers.
I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED today's puzzle. Lots of good puns and misdirections. I caught the theme on my second pass with BOSS TWEED.
I especially liked the Wheel Inventor = FERRIS and Points at the Dinner Table = TINES.
SCOOT McNairy is a bit obscure. He has a minor role in True Detective, but a more prominent role in Halt and Catch Fire. I knew of him from the latter.
QOD: Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife. ~ John Dewey (Oct. 20, 1859 ~ June 1, 1952), American educational reformer
Hand up HEIGL/HIP POINTER a Natick for me. Correct WAG to FIR. Learning moment about both.
CC thanks for the writeup. I am not sure if I have eaten pigeon LEG, but I am guessing I would like it for the same reason I like quail: I don't like fat and wild animals tend to be lean. Thanks for explaining the MERRIER clue which puzzled me.
I have lots of BIG SUR photos going back to my first arrival in California as a teen. At that time I was too young to rent a car, so I went with a friend who was a Chemical Engineering grad student at Berkeley. We rented the car in his name and made the BIG SUR trip together. We did not get enough sleep and on the way back when I was driving I fell asleep. Saved from a horrific crash by a motorist coming the other way blowing his horn.
Here I photographed my friend Walter at BIG SUR in 1978.
More recently I have been back many times.
Here are some photos of us at BIG SUR three years ago
Notice the interesting activity at the Bixby Bridge!
From Yesterday: AnonT Thank you for the kind words about my Chicago photos.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Gary Larson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
Got through most of this quite easily. Caught the theme with BOSS TWEED. I was bouncing around quite a bit.
Jinx: Regarding Nail Gun and Stud firing guns. Yes, I used to use those as well to fire studs into the floor to anchor frames, etc. We used 22 caliber shells to fire the stud, as you said. One time we were adding positions to the Toll Board at Gibsonia, PA. North Pittsburgh Telephone Company. We fired one into the hole on one of the feet of the Toll Board position and about a dozen hefty behinds lifted all at once off their seats. Well, the Chief Operator ran us out there real quick. We had to come back on night shift to finish that task. After a few years the company did not let us use those guns anymore. Guys were firing them into walls to set studs and sometimes the stud went completely through the wall and into other buildings. We were not trained very well with the use of those. Drilling holes worked out fine, especially with hammer drills.
Liked FERRIS. He was featured in the book "Devil in the While City." Outstanding book on the Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago.
Of course I knew SHIRAZ, Iran.
I read AYN RAND's "Atlas Shrugged." Excellent book, IMHO. It was a long read. Its also took her ten years to write it. Never heard of "We the Living"
Off to my day. Finished the Saturday puzzle this morning. It was pretty tough.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Hola!
Easy pickings today with many familiar words and phrases and even some names I know such as FROST, HEIGL, OONA, AYNRAND, and recalled Joe WALSH. SCOOT is unfamiliar to me.
Israeli leaders, ALEPHS, immediately occurred to me because I have off and on mulled over the Hebrew alphabet since many of the letters often appear in puzzles.
Like Jayce I enjoyed many of the words he mentioned. In fact I liked most of the fill in Gary Larsen's CWD but didn't really understand the theme and still don't know how good relates to most of them. BREEDS crossing HIPOINTER was good.
GROPER reminds me of the device some people who can't bend over use to pick up objects.
BEAT IT/ALAI was my last fill because I couldn't get BEGONE out of my mind.
I just this week read that TIN replaced silver mining in Bolivia after the Spanish extracted all the silver and exported it to Spain.
Thank you, Gary Larsen and C.C. I look forward to your Sunday sharing of Chinese goodies.
I hope you are all relishing this beautiful Sunday! I'm waiting for my daughter and family to come for dinner. We are having ribs tonight.
Good? I had no idea what this puzzle was about. Maybe I'm just not HIP, and not meaning 'good' either. Many A&E fills that had to be filled by perps. COHNS, EBERLE, SCOOT, AYN RAND, DR NO, LTE computer, FROST, AUGIE March, DREAD, HEIGL, and PALLIATE (never heard of that one). But even not really knowing them the puzzle wasn't that hard. Completed after changing DREAR to DREAD; ROMCOM to ROT COM to finally getting DOTCOM.
DEER Xing. A few miles west of Vicksburg on 1-20 there is a BEAR Xing sign. I don't know anybody who has ever seen one of the LA black bears. But apparently they cross the road in that area. But I have seen many DEER crossing the road. Obviously they can't read because it's never near where they are supposed to go.
Keno- I thought the same about NARCO.
Jayce- HIP POINTER is an injury that football players get.
I had VIACOM as that"bubble"(stock).
I had trouble with the whole area with BEGONE/LOVE/DRYPOP needing inkout (or over). Much of the problem being I could not suss MERRIER for "More consequence". Mega duh!!!
I FIR but really struggled with that fill until AIR POPped. Another problem was KELP<NORI. The former led to TAPPED<TAILED. And…
I never grok'ed the theme. At first I thought we'd drop L,F as in CHILD ACTOR. To think we were merely dealing with slang like "awesome" for "good".
Like D-Otto I just don't get themes. Especially easy ones. Also like Lucina the ACAI(oops that was yesterday) ALAI/BEATIT cross was my final tada .
WC
And re. BEGONE I was thinking of Gandalf:
Begone foul dwimmerlaik
Oops, it's not Gandalf it's the slaying of the Nazgul. By the (female) Dernhelm aided by Merry and his elvan blade
WC
Here's the episode with Gandalf and the Balrog
Into the abyss
WC
Thank you Wilbur Charles,
reading Tolkien again reminds me how much I enjoyed it.
(as opposed to the movies, which were great, but some one else's imagination.)
Thank you Picard for the Big Sur photos, love reading the informational signs!
P.S. one foto I was sure I had seen in some publication somewhere...
The puzzle beat me, Emporia? (etc...)
& Swig could have had a better clue...
Sorry if I can't come up with a more upbeat response to this "good" puzzle...
Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Gary & C.C.
I was solving on Cruciverb/Across Lite and had some red letter help. I saw the Good theme (sorta!) but some of the expressions weren't in my wheelhouse. My personal Natick was the cross of SBA and EBERLE (call it Canadian disadvantage for the former, and younger age disadvantage for the latter LOL).
Hand up for Be Gone before BEAT IT, and wanting Kelp before NORI.
I wanted 2D "Lift" to be BOOST before HOIST. BOOST was needed for 65A "Shot in the Arm" (that 2nd vaccine shot is called a Booster.)
EMPORIA sounds like it should be in some TV series about the early settlers (Little House on the Prairie?).
I smiled at MERRIER cluing.
Thanks for the BIG SUR photos, Picard. I need to visit California.
Would that GRE Test for M.A. seekers be a most pertinent APTEST?
I'll show myself out now.
Sunday Lurk Say...
{B+, A, B+}
C.C. - Rad / Radical was popular in the '80s. I still use Tight for mechanical thingies that are super sexy... Think of some of Jay Leno's cars.
CED - LOL; C, Eh! um... :-)
Spitz- I was just reading Munroe's [of xkcd fame] chapter in How To [this is part of the chapter in a tweet] how the Sun provides our eyes refraction through the clouds to show weather to the east. Hence the Sailor's axiom holds.
//click the link underneath to get to this. Oh, wait; I just did it for you :-)
Cheers, -T
Bring out the eraser! I did pretty well with the fill but the theme.......! Thanks C.C. for explaining. Always love Gary’s puzzles, so many what on earth? Followed by Aha!
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