Theme: - "Coming to Terms" - COM is added to each familiar phrase.
Across:
6. Fountain favorite: MALTED.
12. Encountered: MET.
19. In the area of: ABOUT. 26. 19-Across, on a memo: IN RE.
21. The Pac-12's Sun Devils: Abbr.: ASU.
22. Fall lead-in?: PRAT. Pratfall.
27. Title TV role for Sandra Oh: EVE. "Killing Eve".
28. Comme une jeune fille: PETITE. Like a young girl. 112. Miembro de la familia: TIO. All in.
29. Sound from a snorter: OINK.
30. Stairway alternative: RAMP.
31. Oppressive ruler: DESPOT.
33. Won't let go: DETAINS.
36. __ bean: PINTO. Do you like bean burritos?
37. Estimate words: OR SO.
42. Venomous slitherers: ASPS.
45. Text letters often in blue: URL.
47. Way more than drizzle: POUR. And 110. Saturate: DRENCH.
We do need to fix our front bumper, fog light and a few other items. The quote just stunned us, even though TTP warned us before. Thankfully our car is still drivable. We'll
need to stay dry though. Rain probably will rust the stuff inside.
48. Qtys.: AMTS.
49. One may be saved or taken: SEAT.
50. Stew veggies: PEAS.
52. Fishing nets: SEINES.
54. Tough H.S. tests: APS.
61. Old Norse poetic work: EDDA. Prose too.
62. Wild way to run: AMOK.
63. Dismiss contemptuously: SPURN.
64. Novel features: PLOTS.
66. Na+ or Cl-: ION.
67. "The Munsters" matriarch: LILY. There's a new film coming soon.
68. Sheltered from the sun: SHADY.
71. Host: EMCEE.
72. Make special mention of: NOTE.
73. Beer nickname: BUD.
74. Joan __: OF ARC.
75. Name on the "Robot" sci-fi series: ISAAC. Asimov.
76. Miner's finds: ORES.
77. Stuck in __: A RUT.
82. Go beyond dating: WED.
83. Neckwear accessory: TIE PIN.
85. Arid: SERE. Old regular.
86. Prefix with cumulus: ALTO.
87. Achy: SORE.
88. More than just comfortable: RICH. Shutout to our editor Rich Norris. Make sure you solve next Sunday's LAT. It's the last puzzle edited by Rich.
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| Rich and his wife Kim |
91. Weaken: SAP.
92. Source of class struggle?: TEST. Nice clue.
98. Cut: PARE.
100. Opera highlights: ARIAS.
101. Commercial bigwigs: AD EXECS. Many ad agencies have moved their Asian Pacific HQs from Hong Kong to Shanghai.
103. Less verbose: TERSER.
107. Edges: RIMS.
108. Grooming style named for a continent: AFRO.
113. "Hunny" lover: POOH.
118. Besides that: ELSE.
119. Feel bad about: RUE.
120. Court errors: FAULTS.
122. Oolong and pekoe: TEAS.
123. Boot a grounder, say: ERR.
124. Joint effort, briefly: COLLAB. Collaboration.
125. Visionaries: SEERS.
Down:
2. Too good for: ABOVE.
3. Reference library array: TOMES. Here's our local library.
4. Wheel center: HUB.
5. Daze: STUPOR.
6. Apple juice eponym: MOTT.
7. Confront opposite: AVOID.
8. Far from festive: LENTEN.
9. Arboreal apex: TREETOP.
10. Harris and a horse: EDS. This clue make me chuck. Mr. Ed.
11. Happy companion?: DOC. The Seven Dwarfs.
12. 20th-century Chinese ideology: MAOISM. I just linked this
last week. It says "Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought!" No
idea why it's not called Maoism in China, always "Mao Zedong Thought".
13. "Around the Horn" channel: ESPN.
14. Elephant feature: TUSK.
15. Haunted house occupants, it's said: SPIRITS.
16. Titular Verdi bandit: ERNANI. We had this before.
17. Become fond of: WARM TO.
18. Go faster, with "it": STEP ON.
24. Attacks: SETS UPON.
25. Award recipient: HONOREE.
32. Closing pieces: POSTLUDES.
34. Portuguese year: ANO. I only knew it's Spanish for "year".
35. Post-op places: ICUS.
36. Chance-of-rain nos.: PCTS. Percentages.
38. Utah city that's an anagram of an Italian city: OREM. Rome.
40. Admirers, as a group: FANDOM.
41. "Let me clarify ... ": I MEAN.
42. Cigar end, in two senses: ASH. OK, in two senses.
43. Coast: SEASHORE.
44. Examined by touch: PALPATED.
46. Eagerly accepted, as compliments: LAPPED UP.
51. Shaker grains: SALT.
53. Foolish ways: IDIOCIES. Did not know it's plurable.
54. Friendly: AMICABLE.
55. Ferret relatives: POLECATS.
56. Largest of the Inner Hebrides: SKYE.
58. __ wolf: CRY.
59. Just fair: SO SO.
60. Word after scared or bored: STIFF. I'm just shaken when I'm scared.
62. Yale, for five U.S. presidents: ALMA MATER.
65. Big name: STAR.
68. Winter forecast: SNOW.
69. Mashed into a paste: PUREED.
70. French vineyards: CRUS.
71. "__ Beso": 1962 Anka hit: ESO.
73. Scot's tot: BAIRN.
75. Winter road hazard: ICE PATCH. So happy not to see it in our driveway now.
78. Done with, perhaps: TIRED OF.
80. Ensnare: TRAP.
81. Tyke on a trike: TOT.
83. One may stand on them to reach a high shelf: TOES. I have a step stool like this.
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84. Prime time time: NINE.
87. Big hits: SMASHES.
89. Third-century date: CCX. 210. I'm 200.
90. Attentive: HEEDFUL.
93. "Arabian Nights" vehicle: CARPET.
94. Colorful songbird: ORIOLE.
95. Cocktail named for a plant: MIMOSA.
96. __ John: meat brand: FARMER. Learning moment for me.
97. Book predecessor: SCROLL.
99. Fixes the edge of: RE-HEMS.
102. Sealy rival: SERTA.
104. Didn't take well?: STOLE.
105. Down source: EIDER.
106. Valentine's Day gift: ROSES.
108. Traditionally, amount of land plowable by one man in one day with a team of oxen: ACRE. Good to know this, thanks, David!
109. Common par: FOUR.
111. Govt. accident investigator: NTSB.
115. "Brockmire" network: IFC. Independent Film Channel.
116. Confucian path: TAO.
117. "I had no idea": GEE.
Last time I mentioned that Boomer responded very well to his first chemo, but his PSA shot up after the second chemo. Tomorrow we're going to VA Ramsey for one more blood draw to see if the third chemo worked. If his PSA goes down, he'll have his fourth chemo on April 14th. If not, we'll have more scans at the VA hospital in Minneapolis and Dr. Downs and his team will let us know the next steps.
Dr. Downs is retiring
soon. He was just relocated to Houston a few months ago. We were
surprised when he told us the news.
C.C.
31 comments:
Good morning!
Solved this one left-to-right, top-to-bottom, Wite-Out not required. Caught the theme at the first themer, and d-o was off and running. Thanx, D.A.B. and C.C. (Did you mean "chuckle?")
Here's hoping you find that Boomer's PSA has come down and that the Santa Fe repairs come in below estimate.
Some think the TAO is the PATH to bliss,
While others, they may POOH-poo this.
Whichever way
The Hindu pray,
Their SPIRITS surely benefit!
Should a parent let their TOT,
Have his way and run AMOK?
Be a brat,
And a PRAT?
I should think, in general, Not!
{B, B+.}
I wasn't familiar with "comfit" as a food and it took me a while to get "palpated" but I eventually did. It was a fun puzzle and I FIRed, so I'm happy.
A lot to like in this one. Clever.
Musings
-Natick, be gone! COMFIT and IFC are actual things!
-I have filled out HALL PASSES for decades and they never get checked
-Boston streets being paved over cow PATHS is a myth. No livestock would be so stupid!
-My congressman’s SEAT will be taken from him because he had to resign last week
-AD EXECS specialize in pig lipstick
-If you can name an ARIA from ERNANI, I’d doff my hat
FIR, but wasn't sure about IFC. Collab just didn't really click with me, so basically I took a WAG.
Went with silly before STIFF. That got me FRUITBAT. Tried own before IFC. Then tried confab before COLLAB. Perps fixed me up. That dropped SERTA to show me FOR instead of Of THE GODS. All in all. A nice CW for a Sunday.
Awoke at 4AM (EDT) and did the puzzle, luckily the LAT posts it much earlier than the local paper.
Don't remember any difficulties, just a few queries though...
An acre = amount of land plowable by one man / oxen team in a day. (Traditionally)
My house is on a 1/2 acre, and I mow mine plus my neighbors each week.
I have walked this many times with a push fertilizer/seeder contraption (minus house area, of course)
but it seems to me a man/oxen team should be able to plow an area much bigger than an acre in a whole day...
Unfortunately when I tried to Google this, the first 10 pages are all crossword related information...
Four letter elephant feature?
When trunk would not fit, I tried nose...
When "tusk" appeared, I scratched my head wondering...
There are lots of elephants without tusks, shouldn't this clue be more specific?
So again, I researched. I will not link the research here because all of these sites will not let you continue without signing up, or at least accepting their cookies!
(The only cookies I will accept are Oreos...)
But, suffice it to say, I was surprised to learn that tuskless African elephants are a genetic mutation caused by man!
Specifically, poaching...
It is even more interesting to learn that this genetic mutation is often fatal to male elephants...
(Google it yourself if interested.)
Lastly,
CC, re: car repair sticker shock.
There is a fairly cheap fix for this, a sticky, sticker shock fix, if you will...
It's even been known to fix marriages!
Well, there may be one thing it does not work for...
Good morning. I never pay attention to the puzzle's title ( the only day of the week the newspaper publishes the name) but I don't think any regular solver had to COM-BUST ONE'S CHOPS to figure this puzzle out. But 114A made me pause. I'd never heard the word COMFIT. FIT FOR THE GODS was easy but putting the COM just looked strange to me. No problems with very few unknown fills today. EVE, ERNANI, BAIRN, FARMER John (easy guess), IFC
TIO or TIA; OSHA or NTSB; SCORN or SPURN; TIE TAC or PIN; HERMAN or LILY
Good luck Boomer. I know what it's like to have doctor's quit or move. My regular MD moved to NC to work at Duke (they lost last night) and his replacement moved to another medical system. So I'll need a third Primary Care MD in the span of one year.
Thanks, C.C., for the kind words!
Outtakes for today's puzzle:
COMPLAIN CHANT: "It's not fair! It's not fair!" e.g.?
COMPOST SCRIPTS: MSS in an environmentally-conscious theater producer's slush pile?
COMPRESS AGENT: Nurse, sometimes?
FRUIT COMBAT Food fight episode?
WAITING FOR GO DOT COM: Website for drivers stuck at stoplights?
—David Alfred Bywaters
CC and Boomer Good luck with the latest round of tests.
Why is Rich Norris leaving and who will take his place?
Got the "add COM" theme. Can someone explain the deeper meaning/humor of COMING TO TERMS? Sorry if I am being dense, but I don't get the joke.
Impressed with the number of theme entries. Hand up IFC utterly unknown. I think I remember COMFIT from Alice in Wonderland. Does anyone else think the clue for PUREED as MASHED seems wrong?
Here we were in a SALT cave under State Street in Santa Barbara.
The owner claims some magical healing powers. Not sure about that, but it was an enjoyable experience to visit this hidden alien world!
From Yesterday:
Ray O Sunshine You are correct that the cartoonist's name is CHARLES and not CHAS. He simply signed the cartoons CHAS. That really threw me off and bugged me. My grandparents had a book "ADDAMS and Evil" of his cartoons. I recently found a used copy that I treasure.
Lucina Thank you for the very kind words about my family and my photos. Hope you like the one today!
Wilbur Charles Thanks for connecting off line regarding the unusual French name of one of our bloggers.
Re: new doctors...
It is indeed traumatic to have to change "anything" you have become familiar with.
But, even the wise cannot see all ends...
I had a doctor, for many, many years. He had a great bedside manner, and I liked him very much.
But he dropped my insurance, and for a while I kept seeing him even though I could not afford him.
Finally, I went to him in person to explain my predicament, and when I told him I had to switch doctors,
He said, "fine," but don't ever expect to see me again."
I was taken aback by this...
The human being I had thought I knew and trusted turned into something strange in an instant...
But whenever God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window...
I like my new doctor very much.
(& he even says social drinking is ok...)
I should have switched long ago...
Picard,
There is a salt cave under Santa Barbara?
Is it natural, or man made?
(You can't just post a teaser tidbit and leave us hanging!)
I need more info!
So I went looking for myself,
and wouldn't you know it all these sites a just chock full of unappetizing cookies!
So I went looking for advice on cookies that aren't Oreos,
and wouldn't you know it,
the information site on "don't click on all cookies" has cookies!
I learned a new curse word from Larry Niven's "Ringworld" books...
TANJ!
(I use it often now)
It means:
There Ain't No Justice!
Clever, delightful Sunday puzzle, David! Thank you so much for this treat, and for stopping by the blog. And thank you, C.C. for your always helpful Sunday commentary. We will all hope and pray that Boomer gets good check-up news in the coming week.
Some clever neighbors down in the middle-south, with FARMER just above that ACRE that had to be plowed.
Had to laugh at the thought of standing on one's TOES to reach a high shelf.
No problem getting ALMA MATER for what five presidents had in common.
Also laughed that 'didn't take well' turned out to be STOLE.
Owen, so great to have you back with two fun poems!
Have a good week coming up, everybody.
Up by the lake in the Adirondacks. Fireplace going but water not on yet. 🌨Snowing hard with the lake still iced over.
Lurking and loitering and hopefully learning from the clues/answers
Clever theme, but PETSITCOM doesn't follow though.
Nice picture of Rich. Did he make his wife change her sweater?🤣
If a person who "talks" is a talker shouldn't a person who "sees" be a seeer.😃.. Interesting use of LENTEN but kinda makes sense.
Picard, re: CHAS (U R correct, he signed his name that way) but that's an "abbr" for his full name Charles not indicated in the clue.
CED @ 12:10...I won't see it in my lifetime but that is why eventually we will be brought kicking and screaming to national health insurance.
Time to tackle the old NYTimes puzzle.
Positive wishes to Boomer for good test results.
Thank you, C.C., for both the recap and the update.
Puzzling thoughts:
COLLAB/HEEDFUL Natick kept me from finishing correctly
Several write-overs kept me from finishing neatly
I "got" DAB's theme @ COMBUST ONES CHOPS
The FRUIT COMBAT entry made me think of this movie clip from Mrs Doubtfire
Don't know if there are any college basketball fans on this board but yesterday's semi finals for the men's NCAA tournament were worth the hype. Women's finals are tonight
It took a looooong time but I finally FIR today. My last fill was IFC and COLLAB. I was trying all possible versions of shortened phrases, not thinking it could simply be a word that leaves off the ending. IFC was completely unknown so no help to me. The theme was easier to get, though I made the mistake of prefilling the themers with COM at the start after the first one. That caused some WOs later. Thanks, DAB, for the puzzle and for coming by.
Thanks, C.C , for your review and update on Boomer. We hope he gets a good report tomorrow and that you can get the car repairs taken care of. Oh, and thanks for the alteration tip. Was it possible to make adjustments to Boomer's shorts again or was the extra fabric cut away?
Time to get out and enjoy our sunny afternoon now. See you all tomorrow!
CC, another fwanche-ism was SEINE. And…
There's a new series on HBO on a guy who gets laid off and pursues his dream of becoming a professional bowler. Boomer would like that one (Rolling..?)
Wow, ISAAC perped in but I thought "Robot Series" pertained to something new not Asimov's 50s Robot SciFi. Am I the only one that grok's Foundation (ie. A History of Capitalism)
MOTT. Duh. Ouch that V8 can smarted.
I was worried about POSTLUDES and PALPATED. But FIR
PSA seems to go up and down. VA wants another MRI on my prostate.
Owen, #1 gets the full W
Brockmire was as filthy as a smut-com gets. Ironically the story is uplifting. It's about minor league baseball
Fascinating SALT CAVE Pic, Picard
Random thought. After graduation I did roofing, taught French, went to Marine OCS and 'Nam. Toughest thing I ever did was teach. CSO to Gary, Lucina etal.
WC
Thank you DAB - love your puzzles! I'm also a big fan of your website. I got COMfortable with the theme early and it helped with the solve.
And thank you CC for another another illuminatng review. You'll always bat an M in my book.
A few favs:
52A SEINES. I wonder if they use them to catch fish in the SEINE?
86A ALTO. Wow, a new clue for the second letter in SATB.
100A ARIAS. Here's a highlight from 16D sung by Diva Anna Moffo.
114D TAO. The Wiki attributes Taoism to Lao Tzu, not Confucius, but whatever the origin I much prefer it to 12D.
Cheers,
Bill
Word of the Day aestivate
Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive
Meaning: 1. Spend the summer, to summer somewhere. 2. To spend the summer in a dormant state (antonym of hibernate). Bears hibernate through the winter to avoid the seasonal severity; desert amphibians aestivate in the summer for the same reason.
Notes: You may, if it pleases you, omit the initial A in today's Good Word: estivate is as good as aestivate. The ae ligature (æ) is a hold-over from Latin, probably indicating the same pronunciation as the A in bat ([bæt] in our pronunciation guide). The act of aestivating is aestivation and a more Latiny adjective for adjectival summer or summery is aestival. Aestival also forms a seasonal group with hibernal "winter(y)", autumnal "fall(-like)", and vernal "spring(-like)".
In Play: Does summer in the phrase, "I summer on the Côte d'Azur," strike you as beneath the dignity of Côte d'Azur—and the amount of money you spend there? Then try, "I aestivate each year on the Côte d'Azur" and impress your friends even more. If your school is out for the summer but you are the only one of your clique without a job, impress them with, "I will be aestivating this summer." Of course, unless you can aestivate on the Côte d'Azur, you should keep looking for a job.
Word History: Today's Good Word comes from Latin aestivare "to summer somewhere" from aestas "summer" with the same root as aestus "heat". Akin to Sanskrit inddhe "it ignites", Greek aithos "fire", and Old High German eiten "to heat", which gave Modern German Hitze "heat."
For more info see Word of the Day
Bill's comment: Lemony and others should be familiar with this term. In Florida I believe they're called "Snowbirds".
Wonderful puzzle and commentary -- thanks to David and C.C. (aka "200). Prayers continue for Boomer.
I soon caught on to adding COM to familiar phrases to make different ones. Nice theme. I knew the answers, but had to be very careful to write them in the proper cells.
Jordan almonds are an example of a comfit. Jordan almonds are candy coated almonds usually pastel or white. I learned this from the historical novels I read which go on and on about the goodies of the day. The word comfit might be dated, but Jordan almonds are an up to the minute treat at weddings and other celebrations.
Fruit combat, throwing rotten tomatoes? Link text //www.travelawaits.com/2471920/spain-la-tomatina-things-to-know/ I know, I know, the tomatoes do not have to be rotten, but probably many are. Imagine cleaning the streets and the buildings the day after, not to mention the laundry.
Those combusted chops are a bit more than overdone.
CC and Boomer, my prayers are with you for tomorrow. May you have a good report.
Since he signs his name CHAS, I say no harm no foul.
I parsed the title as adding com to terms.
Please click on the blue "link text " and the reference will appear.
Only because this is a Blog dedicated to words and learning,
I give you today's "Pickles..."
C-Moe, I may just tune into Conn vs SC. I watched half of Duke game. Villanova was simply outclassed
Today's Peanuts tickled me
WC
Hola!
A nice workout from DAB, thank you. And thank you, C.C., for elucidating. Is RICH planning to retire? He will be missed!
As usual on Sundays I start the puzzle before going to church then finish after eating when my return. I'll take a CSO at PETITE, not because of being so but because of my clothes size. Being short I require PETITE sizes which sometimes sound contradictory, i.e. 14 PETITE. In my mind PETITE is short and dainty.
I was raised on PINTO beans and they are still one of my favorite foods.
Picard:
That salt mine is spectacular! You both look great, too.
I shall also take a CSO at ASU, one of my ALMA MATERs. The University of San Diego is the other one.
I am in desperate need of replacing my mattress; perhaps a SERTA will do.
Great clue for STOLE.
No fear of an ICE PATCH here.
DNF at COLLAB/FAULTS. I had HEEDING.
Boomer, good luck with your TEST. My prayers for you will continue.
Have a joyful Sunday, everyone!
Hi Y'all! Great Sunday challenge, thanks, D.A.B. Thanks, C.C., for a great expo & Boomer update. Praying for you & him.
The last five doctors I've seen all have moved or retired. I'm getting a complex.
Got the puzzle theme early which helped with some others.
Couldn't remember LILY despite having watched the Munsters years ago.
DNK: ISAAC, ERNANI, or FARMERS Meats.
Wilbur Charles, if you are talking NCAA Men's Basketball, Villanova was outclassed by University of Kansas (KU) not UConn. That was one of the best games I've seen KU play this year. Go Jayhawks! Hope I can stay awake tomorrow to see them play SC.
PK, I was overly terse mixing men's and women's semis. Villanova was outclassed by Kansas. I stopped watching that before the half.
Now the NCAA Women is attractive. One of these Joe Louis vs Rocky Marciano redux ie. The perennial powerhouse, UConn vs The new peoples powerhouse, SC.
Now UNC had a very mediocre first half but is a Comer. I imagine they'll be a 5 or 6pt underdog vs Jayhawks.
Give the points. But take UCONN
Shades of Stubby Kaye, eh?
WC
Anyone try the virtual ACPT puzzles this weekend? Some very easy but others were impossible! A very humbling experience!
Grandson Kenny received his diploma from Villanova in January and now has his first professional job. He was in the pep band and played at the home basketball games and some of the away games. He knows these guys personally We found Saturday's loss to be very disappointing.
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