google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday August 23, 2020 Ed Sessa

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Aug 23, 2020

Sunday August 23, 2020 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Tutti Frutti" - One word in each familiar phrase is replaced by a sound-like fruit name.

22A. Prime growing month for a citrus fruit?: KUMQUAT MAY. Come what may.

30A. Song sung by a French fruit lover?: MY CHERRY AMOUR. My Cherie Amour.

47A. "No juice in my mojito, please"?: HOLD THE LIME. Hold the line.

62A. Vintner's prospects?: GRAPE EXPECTATIONS. Great Expectations.

79A. One removing fuzz from fuzzy fruit?: PEACH COMBER. Beachcomber.

91A. Fruit farm's cash flow?: CURRANT INCOME. Current income. Total homophone.

107A. Write-up on a fruit?: PEAR REVIEW. Peer review.

Sweet offering from Ed. CURRANT INCOME is a total homophone. The others are all soundalike changes. 

Short write-up today. We let go of the legacy blog format in the middle of last night. Can't imagine what a mess it would be without Anon-T and TTP's converter. Thanks again, guys!

Across:

1. More than a little unkind: MEAN.

5. Tolkien monsters: ORCS.

9. One hanging in a 2000 election: CHAD.

13. Tiny tweet: PEEP.

17. Leaking slowly, as a faucet: ADRIP. Also 73. Visually rapt: AGAZE.

19. Pacific salmon: COHO.

20. Juno's Greek counterpart: HERA.

21. Sassy "Cheers" waitress: CARLA.

24. Culturally affected: ARTY.

25. Broadcast booth sign: ON AIR.

26. Sources of current information: OCEAN MAPS.

27. Recon pro: SCOUT.

28. Take a dip: BATHE.

29. Belgrade resident: SERBIAN.

33. First fruit site: EDEN.

35. Fields for fillies: LEAS.

36. New Balance rival: AVIA.

37. Fast-food chain with a cowboy hat logo: ARBY'S.

41. Starts the show: OPENS.

43. Gulf of __: Arabian Sea arm: ADEN.

44. Comics impact: BAM.

50. Duck Hunt console, briefly: NES.

51. Trait carrier: GENE.

52. Chef lead-in: SOUS.

53. Midwest native: OTOE.

54. Mideast potentate: EMIR.

56. Masters of allusion: POETS.

57. Verse sometimes sung: ODE.

58. Kid's punishment: NO TV.

59. Mosquito mating maneuver: SWARM.

61. Not too sharp, as an image: LOW-RES.

66. Lack on some gowns: STRAPS.

68. Toy line?: LEASH.

69. Temporary pause: LULL.

70. Styron protagonist Turner: NAT.

74. 1987 Best New Artist Grammy winner Watley: JODY.

75. Tortilla dough: MASA.

76. "Carpe diem," in textspeak: YOLO. You Only Live Once.

77. Wood shop tool: VISE.

78. Paul on guitar: LES.

82. Leadoff double?: EFS. Leadoff.

83. Bit of power: WATT.

84. How some items are auctioned: BY LOT.

85. Explorer da Gama: VASCO.

86. Sorority letters: PHIS.

87. Intangible quality: AURA.

88. Drink brand with a lizard logo: SOBE.


96. "Little Shop of __": HORRORS.

101. First African-American major-league coach Buck: O'NEIL.

102. General and private: RANKS.

103. Hip-hop label co-founded by Jay-Z: ROC-A-FELLA. Wow, picture link is not as friendly as the legacy blog.



105. Barrel component: STAVE.

106. Painter Nolde: EMIL.

108. Solution strength: TITER.

109. Busy as __: A BEE.

110. Cream color: ECRU.

111. Kirsten of "Spider-Man": DUNST.

112. Reserved __: SEAT.

113. Fail to make contact with: MISS.

114. VA concern: PTSD. Our local VA has this poster on the wall: "Strong Enough to Serve. Strong Enough to Recover".

115. Chile money: PESO.

Down:

1. Mighty sharks: MAKOS.

2. Draw out: EDUCE.

3. Emmy-winning producer of "The Fugitive" Alan __: ARMER.

4. Muslim face covering: NIQAB.

5. Pump figure: OCTANE.

6. Runaway victory: ROMP.

7. Deep fissure: CHASM.

8. Vegan protein source: SOY.

9. Dances with shuffle steps: CHA CHAS.

10. Medal awardees: HEROES.

11. Keyboard contemporary of Vladimir: ARTUR.

12. Market speculator: DAY TRADER.

13. Hat that originated in Ecuador, strangely: PANAMA.

14. Keats' Muse: ERATO.

15. Yale of Yale fame: ELIHU.

16. Fruit lover's gadget: PARER.

18. Most weak: PUNIEST.

21. Kurt of Nirvana: COBAIN.

23. Make __ dash: A MAD.

27. Play setting: SCENE.

31. Primordial substance, in physics: YLEM.

32. Designer __ Saint Laurent: YVES.

34. Bad blood: NO LOVE LOST.

37. "I get it": AH SO.

38. Crucifix: ROOD.

39. Lawn choice: BLUEGRASS.

40. Abbr. on a teeing ground sign: YDS.

42. Fruit-filled dessert, often: PIE.

43. Circus highlights: ANIMAL ACTS.

44. Self-appointed pub experts: BEER SNOBS. Not sure if D-Otto is one.

45. Pay to play: ANTE.

46. It calls for sweeping action: MESS.

48. Court game: HOOPS.

49. Kitchen add-on?: ETTE. Kitchenette.

51. One may come with a train: GOWN.

54. Apiece: EACH.

55. "I pity the fool" speaker: MR T.

56. Billiards type: POOL.

58. It's at one end of the back: NAPE.

59. Do a vet's job: SPAY.

60. Jazz guitarist Montgomery: WES.

61. Purple hue: LILAC.

63. Wreck with a ball: RAZE.

64. Marked on a ballot: X'ED.

65. Behind: TUSH.

66. File menu option: SAVE.

67. Letters for one with weekend plans: TGIF.

71. Knighted Guinness: ALEC.

72. Snowblower maker: TORO.

74. So-called "river of wind": JET STREAM.

75. "Little Red Book" writer: MAO.

76. Vocalist Sumac: YMA.

78. Placed: LAIN.

79. Compulsive fire starters, informally: PYROS.

80. Jack of old oaters: ELAM.

81. Like plump pets, perhaps: OVERFED.

83. Pequod, for one: WHALER.

84. Belt parts: BUCKLES.

86. Ornamental hedge shrub: PRIVET.

87. "__ Song": John Denver hit: ANNIE'S.

89. "Dang it!": OH CRUD.

90. Dull-sounding critter: BOAR.

91. Runs, moneywise: COSTS.

92. Let loose: UNTIE.

93. Spanish lasso: REATA.

94. Poetic pairs: IAMBI.

95. Build: ERECT.

97. Gun, as an engine: REV UP.

98. NFL pass blockers as a unit, in football lingo: OLINE.

99. Like "Harvard Yard," as spoken by some locals: RLESS.

100. Took care of: SAWTO.

104. Scull crew: OARS.

107. Get-up-and-go: PEP.


Happy birthday to the always cheerful Tinbeni, who's been with this blog for over 10 years. Wish you a very special day, Tinbeni!

C.C.

42 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

HBDTY Tinman; my first toast tonight will be to you.

In a world of tearing down and building up, please forgive the bloggers for their grumbling about change.

I was not impressed by Dr. Ed's theme and thought the inclusion of a homophone only muddied the waters more. Or maybe I really am just grumpy.

Thumper and I will say goodbye for now.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Yay. D-o got the theme, and muddled through to victory. Had to change NOTCHES to BUCKLES and BLURRY to LOW-RES along the way. Vaguely remembered YLEM from former cws. Thanx for the fruity offering, Dr. Ed, and for leading the way, C.C. (No, d-o is not a beer snob. He prefers to think of himself as a connoisseur of the brand that's on sale.)

ARTUR: I guess this one refers to Vladimir Horowitz and Artur Rubenstein. Not sure.

TORO: A good friend left Iowa to take a job at Toro in Bloomington. He had a long career with them.

Looks like SE Texas has dodged a bullet, but Hahtoolah, Swampcat, and B-E are in for a one-two punch later this week. Good luck, guys.

Happy birthday, Tinman!

TTP said...


Happy Birthday, Tinbeni ! First toast is for you !!!


Anonymous T - Dash T - Tony -T did all the work on the "converter" so he deserves all the credit.


OMaxiN said...

Even after correctly filling all theme answers I needed red letters. FIW erring on some proper names.
Thank you Ed an as always C.C.
MO

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Happy Birthday to Tinbeni. Have a great day. Sretan roΔ‘endan.

Got it done without error, but was real lucky with WAGS. Had 'neck' before NAPE. Had a few too many obscure (for me) proper names, to make it a truly enjoyable solve. Theme was fine.
STAVE - We had a STAVE concrete silo to store corn ensilage. Held together with hoops.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

As much as I love Ed Sessa’s work, I share Lemony and Thumper’s opinion of this one. No reflection on Ed’s talents, but Sunday grids are not my favorite and sound a like themes aren’t either. Maybe I’m grumpy, too.

Thanks, Dr. Ed, for your efforts and thanks, CC, for your always informative commentary. Glad that Tony and Tom were so helpful to you.

Happy Birthday, Tinbeni! Hope it’s a very special day. πŸŽ‚ 🎈 🎁 πŸŽ‰ 🎊

I’ve been meaning to ask you all what the price of corn is in your area. I’ve been paying $9.00 a dozen. My niece picked up some for me the other day and also got me a tomato which was $3.38. Imagine that, over $3.00 for one tomato!

Have a great day.

desper-otto said...

IM, I bought some corn this past week at $0.25/ear ($3.00/dozen). It was very good.

Anonymous said...

Not an exciting puzzle but got it done. Ylem and NES were all perps. "in awe" slowly morphed to "agaze".

Thanks to all who support this site. I've no real idea what goes on behind the scenes but I really appreciate your efforts.

HBD to Tin and the first toast.

Warm one in Chi. Stay safe and well.

JB2

Picard said...

TTP, AnonT, CC thanks for the heroic maintenance of the blog. Hope we can still post links and do bold lettering!

Not sure why all the negativity about the theme. I do find such themes challenging, but I still enjoy them. As usual, my Thumper comments would be about the proper names and sports terms.

ANIMAL ACTS are disappearing from the circus as a result of anti-cruelty activists. Much more cruelty in factory farming, but it is illegal to show photos of it.

Anyone else stuck with ROUT before ROMP? FIR!

MY CHERIE AMOUR is one of my favorite songs to play on the flute.

Here was my brother's graduation at HAHVAHD YAHD

On an earlier occasion my parents gave me the family car to pick up my brother. As I got near HARVARD YARD I got totally lost because of all of the one way streets. I stopped to ask a local for directions. When she said the R-LESS HAHVAHD YAHD I thought she was being funny. But that really is how they speak.

SwampCat said...

I laughed at some of the theme entries so I guess I liked them. Thanks Dr Ed. I have a question about LAIN for placed. Shouldn’t it be LAId?

Thanks CC for the pleasant tour!

Tin, have a great day!

D-O, thanks for the good wishes. Not sure exactly where these storms are going but we’ll get wet for sure.

Picard said...

Yay! The link and bold lettering worked!

From Yesterday:
Lemonade thank you for the link to the interview with Graham Nash about the Beatles, making the connection to the BYRDS.

From Friday:
Vidwan somehow I missed your post about ATOMium and RAGA. Thank you for your comments. I think Anoushka Shankar is very beautiful, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Dr. Ed fun all around! I did titration in chem class so “never heard of “ TITER seemed okay
-Constructor Kevin Salat taught me YLEM on 8/1/20 and I remembered today
These OCEAN MAPS of the gulf stream greatly aided early navigation
-Bloody Knife, Bobtailed Bull and Little Brave were three Arikara SCOUTS killed with Custer
-In 1963, the Beatles were the OPENING act for Roy Orbison’s UK tour
A beautiful LULL story
-I can remember the baritone voice at the end of The Fugitive saying it was a Quinn Martin production. Martin ran the production company for which Alan ARMER produced the show
-Hijab – head cover, NIQAB – face cover
-The Alberta Clipper is a JET Stream that can make for very cold Nebraska winter days
-Raise and RAZE are not quite contronyms
-Between neighbor and sister, out free produce runneth over!
-Happy birthday, Tinman! I’m sure your celebration will involve scotch served “neat”
-My thanks to Anon-T as well!! The new version seems buggier than the old version but…

Shankers said...

Apparently lots of late risers this morning. FIR in slightly less than my usual Sunday time. Got titer from perps, but never heard of it. Rless didn't look right at all until the light bulb went on. Nice test anyway.

Bill G said...

Hi everybody.

Happy birthday Tinman!

Thanks Ed, CC, AnonT, Rich and anybody else I forgot.

I had the same question as SwampCat re. LAID/LAIN.

Misty said...

Very clever theme and theme clues this morning, many thanks, Ed. And thank you, C.C., and your helpers--so sorry for your problem this morning.

I'm not sure why I always get started on the northwest corner, but it happened again this morning. Put in PEEP and got CARLA, since I used to be a big "Cheers" fan, and that just helped fill in that whole area, including MY CHERRY AMOUR.

The bottom was tougher, except for the middle where RANKS, EMIL, and A BEE, filled that in. "Masters of allusion" made me laugh for POETS--very cute and funny clue.

Happy birthday, Tinbeni.

And have a happy Sunday, everybody.

Anonymous said...

I generally really enjoy Ed's puzzles, but I also didn't find this one as satisfying as usual. I think it's because there were a LOT of names, many of them obscurely clued. Add in YLEM, NIQAB, and REATA (I've never seen that spelling before; I've only seen riata) crossing the unknown ONEIL, and it was a DNF for me.

I really liked KUMQUATMAY, though!

Anonymous T said...

Sunday Lurk Say...

First toast to Tinbeni! Happy Birthday! *swig*

TTP - Credit goes to you too Bro. You are the nerd-human interface. If it wasn't for you, no one would understand how I meant for them to install / use it.
//plus, early on, you pointed out that CLI (command-line-interface) was not a viable solution and pushed me to learn GUIs* in Python (and Python for that matter). Now I have a GUI pattern (that I keep honing) to code against.

HG - Buggy? Is that new version of Blogger or of Puz2Blog? Email me.

Picard - Two guys that say Hahvahd Yahd giving commencement down the street at MIT. [48m]

D-O: I read SpaceCityWeather this morning... Our LA contingents are in for a hellofva ride.
//and, I'm not going to spring $800 for a generator just yet.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

Cheers, -T
*Graphical User Interface

PK said...

Hi Y'all! KUMQUATMAY the rest of your day be as FRUITful as this amusing puzzle by ED. Thanks. I enjoyed it.

Thanks, C.C., TTP & Tony for your continued efforts to bring us this interesting & fun blog.

Happy Birthday, Tinbeni!

DNK: At least 10 entries including NIQAB. I thought we'd had YLEM recently after perps filled it, but I didn't think anyone would be mean enough to use it so soon and so promptly forgot it. TITER? Okaaay!

Knew MASA from Lucina's tamale making. Thanks.

Good luck all those in the path of storms in LA. My granddaughter is back down there, hoping to finish her senior year at Loyola. Good luck with that!

CanadianEh! said...


Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Ed and C.C.
Thanks to AnonT, TTP for your contributions.
I DNFed today, although I got the theme; but I just could not see PEACHCOMBER. I had Peach Cobbler in my head and it would not fit the space or the clue! (I have a half-bushel of peaches ripening in the basement for canning this week.)
I LOLed at MY CHERRY AMOUR.
I think we have a pangram today also.

I had Hijab before NIQAB (thanks HuskerG for the difference), and Orcas before MAKOS (but didn’t like it with ORCS).
Hand up for Rout before ROMP, blurry before LOW RES, and Laid before LAIN (I agree with SwampCat).
I fought ADRIP but was forced to leave it.

I can never remember SOBE and YMA, but we learned YLEM here a little while ago.
TITER reminded me of University chemistry labs (and not necessarily a good memory!).

The RLESSHarvard Yard made me think of Wilbur C.
I knew Lucina would know MASA even if I required perps.

Happy Birthday Tinbeni! I started to put HOLD THE ICE . . . not LIME,)
Wishing you all a great day. Stay safe.

Hungry Mother said...

I was very busy today, unusual for a retired bum like me, so I worked on it between jobs. I created another one of my inkblot tests, but I got it all right. I struggled with the NW themer, but once I got the idea, it was easy enough. I never time myself when I work in ink on paper. Tip: use thicker photo paper to print the puzzle (I get mine via my subscription to the Naples Daily News electronic edition).

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Ed Sessa! I enjoyed filling this fruit basket and laughed at the puns. Have I mentioned that I love puns? The image of a PEACHCOMBER is a hoot!

I recalled YLEM from some previous puzzle and of course, MASA comes naturally.

CARLA made me laugh when I recalled Cheers. What an entertaining sitcom that was!

It's always nice to recall ALEC Guinness who was a talented and impressive actor.

our high school had several PRIVET hedges.

Happy birthday, Tinbeni! I won't be toasting but I shall think of you and hope you have a wonderful celebration. I feel sure drinks will be involved.

I hope you are all enjoying a pleasant day!

Lucina said...

C.C.:
You are so unassuming and always giving credit to others that I forget to thank you for all your hard work on this Blog! You are a treasure!

SwampCat said...

Anonymous @2:32, thanks for the details. No wonder I enjoyed the puzzle.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Late to the party this morning. As with yesterday, previous posters have covered all the angles (and then some).

Happy birthday, Tinbeni.

Thanks to all in the IT department who keep this blog up and running and up to date.

For you IPA fans, I learned yesterday that there is a Pliny For President brew. This is not a political comment. It's a Pliny the Elder reference that comes in cans and is quite tasty IMHO. I hadn't seen anything like that since Billy Beer (which, IIRC, was a political comment).

A wonderful Sunday to all.

ATLGranny said...

An enjoyable puzzle for Sunday, thanks Ed. With many interruptions, I filled it in, catching onto the fruit exchanges. Unlike recent puzzles, I thought I had FIR but on reading C.C.'s review, found an error so FIW. It seemed to make sense both ways, but....Sigh....it wasn't to be.


KUMQUATMAY was my favorite, reminding me of the kumquats we ate last week, a rare treat.

Happy birthday to Tinbeni!
Thanks to TTP and Anon-T for the Blog update for C.C.
And have a good start to the week, everyone. See you tomorrow.

NaomiZ said...

Very grateful to the folks who work hard to make the blog possible. It adds a lot to the experience of solving the puzzle.

I'm sorry I didn't take time yesterday to say what a delight the Saturday puzzle was, because I have no such feeling for Sunday's, in spite of being an Ed Sessa fan. Anonymous on August 23, 2020 at 12:48 PM has already expressed my sentiments exactly.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle and enjoyed the sound-alike wordplay. Hand up along with SwampCat about the LAIN vs LAID question, the answer to which is: it should be LAID. Hand also up for going with ROUT before ROMP. Like Misty, I liked the clue for POETS.

Technical DNF for me. I had forgotten YLEM and had MA CHERRY AMOUR. I did correctly WAG the P for PHIS instead of a C but it was coin toss.

Desper-otto, I think you are right that ARTUR refers to Vladimir Horowitz and Artur Rubenstein.

So, please tell me more about this "converter." The engineer in me wants to know. (Okay to email me if you prefer.)

By the way, Tony T-Square, to answer your question from last night, the fire(s) to the west of us are about 30 miles away and those to the east of us are about 60 miles away.

Happy birthday, Tinbeni.

Thanks to you bloggers and those who provide technical assistance to you. Good wishes to you all.

Kerry_in_Carefree said...

CLI is compare logical immediate

inanehiker said...

I smiled through all the theme answers - Ed has such creativity in his puzzles! KUMQUAT MAY and PEACH COMBER gave extra chuckles - try to imagine someone combing their peaches to de-fuzz them!

Our sweet corn was 4/1$ the last time I checked - I'm glad it was harvested before the derecho across Iowa or I'm sure the prices would have been much higher!

Happy birthday Tin-beni!
Thanks to CC (and to all the bloggers adjusting to the new computer set up for blogging!)
and to Ed for the puzzle!

Spitzboov said...

Re: LAIN - - I agree with SwampCat, Bill G., Can Eh! and Jayce. I cannot think of, or find an example where it would correctly substitute for 'placed'. Guess I don't know what I'm missing or what the editor sees that I don't. If 'be placed' were used, I think the clue might be OK. The sense would have to be intransitive; IMO.

Ol' Man Keith said...

I don't often post on Sunday. I skip doing the pzl (I only do one a day, a Sunday's my day for a different [not to be named] periodical), and I reserve part of the sabbath for "rest."
But today I'm here to see if OwenKL or Wilbur C. have stopped by.
Not yet.
It has been a few days since we saw them on the Jumble site, and their "poet friends" are worried. We hope they are OK and will soon be checking in to either site.
~ OMK

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

I almost didn’t post; but since it’s Tin’s birthday (and whether he does or does not visit the blog today), this toast is for you! 🍷πŸ₯ƒπŸ₯ƒπŸΈ

OMK, what, am I chopped liver??!!πŸ˜‚πŸ€‘πŸ˜œ

Misteaks: ROUT/ROMP; BENT GRASS/BLUE GRASS; LAID/LAIN

NO LOVE LOST for a few of the entries; but I’ll get over it ...

Dr Sessa: Here is another clue and solve for your theme today ... I’ll frame it in Moe-ku style:

What is Yo Yo Ma’s
Fav’rite after dinner drink?
[It’s] LEMON CELLO

Jayce said...

In X86 processor assembly language, CLI means Clear the Interrupt flag (i.e. allow interrupts to occur).

Different meanings in different contexts, I guess.

Wilbur Charles said...

FIW, iOLO/YOLO. I'd seen YMA clued before. So many boxes, I'll probably find more bad ones. There's another c/PHI. Okay, was it MAO,TAI or LAO. I chose Lao as in Lso-tze Creator of the Tao

This ICEd coffee toast is to my neighbor Tinbeni. Just short of the halfway mark Sun City to Dunellon.

I too had blurry and rout. The first Mexican PESO had to be XED out when the Peruvian came up. Never heard of MASA. Outside of Buck ONEIL, I can't recall other sports clues. I couldn't think of his name although I'm very familiar with the Negro League Star.

Yep, I got my ABs mixed up but KUMQUAT (most excellent fill of a very entertaining Xword). At least I WAG'ed TITER.

Yes, LAId is correct as clued but CURRANT required N.

WC

OMK has already spotted me onerbin Jland.

WC

Wilbur Charles said...

Spoiler Alert, this is about the Mavs/Clipper game today if you have it taped skip the rest



And....btw,. Did anybody catch that Clippers vs Mavericks OT thriller this afternoon,? Rarely does a sporting event rise to the occasion but this was fantastic.

Two mega stars: Doncic and Leonard and Luka heaves in the 3-pointer at the Buzzer for the win.

WC

Steve said...

Happy Birthday, Tin-man!

Puzzle - Thumper.

Jayce said...

To all you who invoked Thumper I ask what exactly was it about the puzzle you didn’t like.

TX Mx said...

Rats - how could I not remember "Y"LEM?! IIRC (yeah, right), didn't we have that answer within the last two weeks? Science was never my strong suit in H.S. (nor were the science teachers in my pop. 1000 hometown).

FLN - Anon-T, your Youngest is quite the creative and talented power-washer. How's she with an artist's paintbrush? Thx for posting the pics.

Unknown said...

It's now 9:25 p.m. here... I started this "puzzle?" at 11:15 a.m. today. Needless to say - like other commenters here, this was a taxing drudge with little enjoyment thrown in. I still can't find "beernobs" LOWRES and too many def answers to list here. If Sessa thinks his clues are "clever", he'd sadly mistaken. Too much reliance on Techie Talk for me. Too many iffy word replacements (PEAR/PEER) and (CHERRY/CHER D'S). Oh, and POOL doesn't even use a BILLIARDS table. You would have known this if you had listened to "The Music Man"!!! My suggestion, Mr. Sessa: Don't quit your day job!!!

Unknown said...

Oops forgot again. It's me, BOBBI!

Lucina said...

I, also, would like to know how Ed's puzzle was difficult. I thought the puns were appropriate considering the title, TUTTI FRUTTI, a bowl of fruit. It was all solvable and whatever I didn't know was easily guessed. In fact, this was one of the fastest Sunday solves for me.

Jo said...

Good puzzle, and I enjoyed it, but.... Yes, 78D “placed” is a transitive verb so answer has to be “laid”, not “lain”. (“Lain” is part of “I lie, I lay, I have lain.” An Intransitive verb.)