Theme: "Where R U?" - Part of each common phrase/word contains the letter (s) U/U's, the other part identifies the position(s) of the U/U's.
23A. U: PERCUSSION SECTION. U is part of PERCUSSION.
43A. U: UNION LEADER. First letter of UNION, hence "leader".https://twitter.com/jpdavidson?s=20&t=dNow059NQxtUA2CBTEU4lw
66A. U: COMMUNITY CENTER. Very center of COMMUNITY.
92A. U: COUNTERPART. Part of COUNTER.
116A. U's: PIECES OF FURNITURE. Parts of FURNITURE.
16D. U: HUNK OF JUNK. Part of JUNK.
71D. U: MID-JANUARY. Very center of JANUARY.
t=dNow059NQxtUA2CBTEiilal
Very creative. We've seen puzzles with different letters in the clues, like this one. But I don't recall a puzzle that uses only one letter. Amazing, as the theme is super constraining.
Of the 7 entries, UNION LEADER, COMMUNITY CENTER & JANUARY point out precisely where the U's are. The others are just parts.
Across:
6. Sheepherding pig in a Best Picture nominee: BABE.
10. Some bowling feats: SPARES. The PT lady we met last Thursday loves bowling.
16. Chef's toque, e.g.: HAT.
19. Maine college town: ORONO. Hahtoolah!
20. Lena of "The Artist's Wife": OLIN.
21. Some Tuscany natives: PISANS.
22. Actress Thurman: UMA.
26. Neither here __ there: NOR.
27. Grand spreads: ESTATES.
28. Unproductive activity: TIME SINK. Also TIME SUCK.
29. Sitcom home of Johnny Fever: WKRP.
30. Embrace: HUG.
31. Made less stringent: EASED.
32. "I'm with you": DITTO.
34. Sound sleepers?: SNORERS. Fun clue.
37. Pet adoption org.: ASPCA.
40. On the up and up?: LOFTY.
46. Eye-related: OPTIC.
48. With 69-Down, MVP of Super Bowl III: JOE. 69. See 48-Across: NAMATH. "Broadway Joe".
49. Posted: SENT.
50. Verizon communications service: FIOS. For Fiber Optic Service.
51. Beatrix Potter's real first name: HELEN.
52. Cougar on a sneaker: PUMA.
53. Orchestra leader: MAESTRO.
56. 100 smackers: C SPOT. 60. Low-risk investments: Abbr.: CDS. Also 54. Govt. security: T BOND.
58. Conference session: SEMINAR.
61. Glacier breakaway: BERG.
63. College football fans sporting a blue "Y": ELIS.
65. Smells awful: REEKS. So nice to have a workable floor drain
again. Ours was clogged. I had a hard time soaking dry the problem area
on Friday. Thankfully I listened to D-Otto and did not use the washing
machine. Otherwise, the whole basement carpet would have been ruined.
70. __ acid: AMINO.
72. Trillion: Pref.: TERA.
73. Stand in line: WAIT.
74. Waze display: MAP.
77. Washer cycle: SPIN DRY.
79. Employee who works a lot?: VALET. Parking lots.
82. Team symbols: MASCOTS. Me and T.C. Bear. 11 years ago.
 |
84. Senate staffer: AIDE.
85. Bar mixers: SODAS.
87. Greek earth goddess: GAIA.
89. Santa __: dry California winds: ANAS.
90. "The Big Bang Theory" astrophysicist with a Yorkshire terrier named Cinnamon: RAJ. Nice trivia clue.
91. Worked (up): KEYED.
95. Leaving nothing out: IN ALL.
97. National Forest northwest of Orlando: OCALA.
99. Wrinkly dog: SHAR PEI. Cantonese. In Mandarin, it's Sha Pi, literally "sand skin".
100. Wayfarer: NOMAD.
102. Break up: END IT.
105. Mai __: cocktail: TAI.
106. "Billions" actor Giamatti: PAUL.
108. Home for a pride: LION'S DEN. Pride of lions.
111. Road trip break: PIT STOP.
115. Old hoops gp.: ABA. American Basketball Association.
118. __ La Table: cookware shop: SUR.
119. Clear up: SETTLE.
120. Nestlé chocolate bar with a bubbly texture: AERO. Helpful "bubbly" hint.
121. Time being: NONCE.
122. Barnyard pen: STY.
123. Dr. Scholl's purchase: INSOLE. Boomer likes this pair of Dr. Scholl's.
124. Prune: TRIM.
125. Discover bit by bit: GLEAN.
Down:
2. God of war pursued by Wonder Woman: ARES. Played by David Thewlis.
3. Civil wrong: TORT.
4. Conspiring: IN CAHOOTS. With.
5. Highway warning: NO U-TURN.
6. Order (around): BOSS.
7. Undefeated boxer Laila: ALI.
8. Flora and fauna: BIOTA.
9. Heath's "Brokeback Mountain" role: ENNIS. Heath Ledger.
10. Zooms: SPEEDS.
11. Snaps: PICS.
12. Hub of bubbly: ASTI.
13. Backup plans for outdoor events: RAIN DATES.
14. Ramen mushroom: ENOKI. Our fridge has been enoki-less for a
while. I could easily get one pack for $0.99 to $1.99 pre-COVID days.
Now it's $4.99 to $5.99. Crazy.
15. Govt.-issued ID: SSN.
17. Love, in Spain: AMOR.
18. Waterproof cover: TARP.
24. Jason of "How I Met Your Mother": SEGEL.
25. Lipstick mishap: SMEAR.
29. GATT successor: WTO. The World Trade Organization.
31. Actor Morales: ESAI.
33. "Waterfalls" pop trio: TLC.
34. Golf legend Sam: SNEAD. Super flexible even in his 70s.
35. Dressed to the __: NINES.
36. Campaign promise: REFORM.
38. Written in verse: POETIC.
39. Certain NCO: CPL.
41. 2011 Literature Nobelist Tranströmer: TOMAS. Swedish poet. Learning moment for me.
42. 12 months: YEAR.
43. Camp Pendleton org.: USMC.
44. "What's up, __?": DOC.
45. Last letter of many plural nouns: ESS.
47. Subject of Newton's first law: INERTIA.
51. Sanctified: HOLY.
52. Santa Monica landmark: PIER.
55. Contrition: REMORSE.
57. Part of a flower: PETAL. So pretty.
59. Track events: MEETS.
62. __ reaction: GUT.
64. Wrap (up): SEW.
66. French film: CINE.
67. The Silver State: NEVADA.
68. Some long-term investments, briefly: IRAS.
70. Bee-related: APIAN.
74. "Hidden Figures" actress Janelle: MONAE.
75. "Pong" company: ATARI.
76. Hushed "Hey!": PSST.
77. Bollywood dress: SARI.
78. Inconsistent nutrition plans: YO-YO DIETS. My friend Carmen
has been into turtle eggs the past few weeks. Turtle eggs are also
called "Wang Ba Dan" in Chinese. Bad curse words. Don't use them.
80. Bigheadedness: EGO.
81. Kind of cross: TAU.
83. Noisy toy gun: CAP PISTOL.
86. Last mo.: DEC.
88. Research org.: INST.
91. Netherlands airline: KLM. In alphabetically order.
92. "On it": CAN DO.
93. Use DoorDash, say: EAT IN.
94. Classification for some violent films: R- RATING. Restricted.
96. "2 funny!": LOL.
98. One paying a flat fee?: LESSEE. That flat.
101. Extraterrestrial: ALIEN.
103. Make more lean: DEFAT.
104. Gather: INFER.
106. "No thanks": PASS.
107. Share a border: ABUT.
109. Quadri- doubled: OCTO. 4/8.
110. Georgia Tech basketball coach Fortner: NELL. Another learning moment for me.
111. Senior moment?: PROM.
112. Song: TUNE.
113. Keiko in "Free Willy," for one: ORCA.
114. Hammer end: PEEN.
116. Inflation fig.: PSI.
117. Ocean State sch.: URI.
Boomer will start his at-home PT tomorrow. Twice a week for six weeks. He'll also have a few OT sessions soon.
We'll
go to the big VA for a consultation with the radiation doctor next
Wednesday. We'll also meet with his oncologist for the next steps. And
an ortho follow-up.
Thank you so much for always thinking of Boomer and keeping him in your prayers.
C.C.
FIWrong. oUR NaTURE < FURNITURE. Actually not bad for a Sunday.
ReplyDeleteCute theme, with easter eggs. NO U TURN probably everyone saw, but also "last letter of many plural nouns". Also, no U's anywhere in the grid that aren't in a themer.
There once was a guide from ASTI,
Who developed a habit quite nasty!
When she traveled to PISA
She'd tell the tourisa
An APIAN field was the Appian Way to Capri!
{C+.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteYay, d-o got the theme. Needed Wite-Out only to change POPS to POCS to PICS. There seemed to be fewer proper nouns than we've seen lately...or at least the perps were kind. This was an enjoyable outing. Thanx, Pam and C.C.
AERO -- Learning moment. Don't think I've ever seen that candy bar. Is it like a Krackel bar?
CAP PISTOL -- Favorite toy of my ute. Are they still made?
SHAR PEI -- It's not just an implement for modifying weather maps.
Hi Y'all! Thanks for an interesting challenge, Pam. Thank you, dear C.C., for all your efforts.
ReplyDeleteNo idea what the U theme meant until C.C. 'splained. Too clever for me, but I filled them with just a few perps.
Lots of unknowns for me but I kept pecking away here and there and finally filled it after 53 minutes. Kept me entertained at 2 a.m.
Lots of tornadic action in Husker's and my states last night. I was watching the weather warnings on TV at 7:p.m. with ominous clouds. Next thing I knew I woke up in my bed after 1:30 a.m. with all my clothes and shoes on, the phone in my pocket and glasses on my nose. The lights & TV were all on. Don't remember going to bed at all. NO alcohol involved. I didn't blow away, thank goodness. Shocking.
FIW. Never heard of GAIA, and butchered Broadway Joe's NAMeTH. Also DNK HELEN, MONAE, SUR, NONCE,ENOKI, SEGEL, TLC, and TOMAS. Erased CPI for PSI and cnote for CSPOT.
ReplyDeleteCSO to me and our late pal Abejo @ Verizon.
The Florida place where I've stayed the most abuts The OCALA National Forest. The RV resort has paths into the forest. One allows golf carts, while the other is for bicycles and hikers only. Electric bikes are allowed on that one only if you have to pedal them to make them go.
My favorite MASCOTS are UGA, the Georgia Bulldog, and Bevo, the University of Texas Longhorn.
Remember the old joke about the disappointed kid, because he got a book from the library titled "How to Hug", only to discover that it was a volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica?
A lipstick SMEAR on your collar is awkward to explain. One on your tighty-whities is impossible.
Is NO U TURN really a warning? Seems to be better clued as "highway regulation". "Bear crossing" is a warning when driving through the OCALA National Forest between Silver Springs and Daytona. I guess NO U TURN could be stretched to be called a warning - that you will get a ticket. It's Sunday, but still I think this one is unfortunate.
Thanks to Pam for the fun Sunday puzzle. And thanks to CC for the explanations and Boomer update. Glad you aren't flooded.
FIR. 119 across had me flummoxed for a while, and then suddenly it became "clear". I had a debate with myself over octo or ocho.
ReplyDeleteSide question for the tech support Cornerites:
ReplyDeleteI use Outlook with POP3 / SMTP, because 1) I like to have access to my emails when I don't have internet access, and 2) it is easy to use my laptop in Florida in the winter, then catch up my desktop when I return home. I have been using several Gmail accounts, but those don't work with Outlook anymore because Gmail insists on 2FA. Before I go out and get my own domain and email host, can you tell me of an email provider that still works with POP3 and SMTP without 2FA?
I didn't have too much trouble with this puzzle. Even obscure names like "Monae" we've had before so I was able to get them. And there weren't a lot of "misleading" clues either. FIR, so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-What a delight in theme (once I got it) and fill! BTW, today’s puzzle had 11 U’s
-Boomer has had quite a few games where he did not have to deal with SPARES
-UMA – This very common cwd fill it had to be in this puzzle somewhere today.
-SNORERS – CPAP has eliminated the one in our bed
-A rookie teacher I met two years ago is named HELEN. I love seeing names like that make a comeback
-This was the time of year when I got very KEYED UP before hiring 360 kids to detassel
-REFORMS you promise will not happen if they do not square with your party leadership are just hot air
-What’s up DOC? What is the minimum age for knowing that?
-Speaking of cartoons, NELL Fenwick was the romantic interest for Dudley Do-Right (and his horse)
-Yes, PK, but that bad weather was south of us nearer you. -This is what hit Beatrice, NE last night
Pam Amick Klawitter is one of our Sunday specialists and always entertains with a doable challenge. Some of the themers took some perps and some thought.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the clues/fill were also challenging for a Sunday. My unknowns like HELEN ,TIME SINK , TOMAS , ENNIS , and NELL all had fair perps; SUR La Table is a brand I never heard of but the phrase is big in learning French.
Sound Sleeper, Walks a Lot, and Flat Fee were all very funny clues.
If I was ever as flexible as Sam Snead I would have been a much better golfer, now I would be able to walk much better
C.C. than you for the updates on Boomer and for your fun USA Today puzzle today.
HG - I'm sure you've seen the old sign in cash-and-carry businesses: "Our credit manager is Helen Waite. IF you want credit, go to Helen Waite."
ReplyDeleteI use imap.gmail.com with port 993, SSL/TLS and Oauth2 for authentication. That way I can see email on my android phone.
DeleteTwo things: one, I use Thunderbird with Gmail and two, there is a "U" not in the theme OwenKL, 118 across is "sur" and 107 down crsses as abut.
ReplyDeleteLee, thanks for the quick reply. Are you using IMAP or Pop3 / SMTP with Tbird? IMAP doesn't work for my purposes.
ReplyDeleteAlso Outlook will work with 2LA if you get a special password if you use AOL. Don't know about Gmail though.
DeleteVery nice, enjoyable theme, although I did have to guess on a number of letters, like loFtY crossing TlC/WTo/tOMAS and OLIn/EnNis and AEro/UrI
ReplyDeleteI laughed at IN CAHOOTS. I hadn't heard that phrase in ages.
Jinx, I don't know if this helps you. You can have Gmail automatically forward messages (and keep it or delete it in the process) to another email id (gmail, aol, etc.). Outlook will auto-forward to Gmail also.
ReplyDeleteLee, You got me! Such a shame, ABUT and SUR could have been ABIT/SIR.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteThis was just right for a Sunday puzzle. I finished in good time before going to church.
Loved seeing LATIN for starters and who doesn't love BABE?
The U's came in handy as they appeared everywhere.
CSO to my cousin PAUL and his son, PAUL, jr.
Thank you, Pam A. K. for an enjoyable Sunday puzzle and many thanks, C.C. for your narrative.
Have a great Sunday, everyone!
FIR. Just right for a Sunday. However I needed CC’s explanation for the theme. I’m afraid I use the expression IN CAHOOTS.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Sunday, everyone; it’s half over already.
Just finished our Sunday paper's 2 week old NYT puzzle ...theme revolving around Abe Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteI was so sure the director of "Crazy Rich Asians" was CHO, ergo a Lincoln "epithet" clue perped as SAVIOR OF THE ONION. 🧅
Wanted to pass along that little known bit of botanical info about "The Great Emancipator"
😊
Fun Sunday puzzle, really enjoyed it, many thanks, Pam. And many thanks for the update on Boomer, C.C. Let him know he's in our thoughts and in my prayers.
ReplyDeletePuzzle was in my field with SEMINAR (have taught many of those), and POETIC (taught that field too) and ORONO, a Maine college I've never visited.
Some fun animal clues too, like that wrinkly SHARPEI, and that pig BABE, and the STY and the ASPCA and the bee-related APIAN, and the reference to that Yorkshire terrier. Okay, the PUMA wasn't a real animal.
My favorite clue was that "employee who works a lot." Knew it had to be a VALET.
Have a fun Sunday, everybody.
Owen, great to get a poem from you this morning! Yay!
ReplyDeleteNice Sunday puzzle which I managed to FIR in 25 minutes and change. Only a few DNK’s, proper names as usual but the perps completed the fill. Thank you Pam A K for your clever construction, I enjoyed the theme which I sussed after about three themed fills. Anyone else notice that the theme answers also resembled many a crossword clue? I thought that aspect gave it a double theme.
ReplyDeleteThank you C.C. for your review today, and also the update on Boomer, keeping him in my prayers for the best outcome of his treatments, and I look forward to his blog tomorrow since nothing seems to keep him down! Also, I hear ya about the price of mushrooms these days, in the store the other day 2 kinds of locally grown ones were $10.99 for 3/4 of a pound.
Bill S ~~ I appreciated the SO the other day, ( I was busy at a convention and couldn’t respond that day), the pic of the musicians, but the guy wasn’t me, never did learn the banjo, but my brother did tell me that he never heard anyone say “Is that the banjo players Porsche”?
Thank you Pam for a pretty smooth Sunday drive. Didn't get the theme, but I did get the puzzle. Lots of clever PIECES OF PUZZLE.
ReplyDeleteThank you C.C. for 'splaining the puzzle, especially the theme, which I'm now beginning to see as I write these words.
Favorite:
6A BABE. Great flick about a pig with a CAN DO attitude. The sound track is pretty good, including the organ finale from Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3.
Others:
46 OPTIC. Rumor has it that Tuesday's puzzle will be very OPTICAL.
53A MAESTRO. The MAESTRO for the Saint-Saëns clip in my comment for 6A was Zubin Mehta.
79A VALET. Nice misdirection.
92A COUNTER PART. Using Pam's pattern, "C": COUNTER POINT. Could refer to Bach's C Major Fugue.
120A AERO. Sounds a little like foaming soap dispensers. Both give you half the Chocolate/Soap for the original price. The new word for this old practice is "SHRINKFLATION".
Cheers,
Bill
Thanks for the update on Boomer, C.C. and for the recap. Both are very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSunday it is. I just read NAMATH'S autobiography and couldn't think of his first name
ReplyDeleteI used to have a dice baseball league and one of my players was Ency(-)Hesp. My new place abuts the Goethe Forest west of Ocala
Misty, I had to wait for the V8 can on VALET. Oh, THE Lot where they pahk the cahs. They got one at Hahvahd. And. ..
Owen, solid W on the poem
The NE held me until I figured out a Toque was a HAT and HUNK OF fell. LOFTY was clever.
FIR on a Sunday. I had a vague idea of the U theme and CC 'splained the rest
.WC
Gary, I just found out my son's family was at a wedding in Marysville, KS. The town got hit by the tornado last night. They had just gone to the VFW for the reception and when the sirens went off everyone evacuated to local basements. The lumber yard across from the VFW had part of its building blown off. Two hours later after the big blow was over, they went back and had the reception. That young couple will have a story for their grandkids. I also had friends at an annual Symphony concert outdoors in the Flint Hills south of Manhattan. 7,000 people had to be evacuated when the tornadoes hit Manhattan. What a night!
ReplyDeleteEating turtle eggs? Is that still a thing? I would think that sort of thing is frowned upon. No?
ReplyDeleteI don’t often do Sunday CWs because they take me too long to complete, but decided to try this one today. I managed to FIR in 50. Many DNK items today, among them FIOS, AERO, NONCE, GAIA….et.al. Only W/O TBILL:TBOND. I figured out the theme had something to do with the “u” in the various words due to the clues, but c.c. had to ‘splain it further for me. I probably would have seen the whole reveal had I looked a bit before coming to the blog. I almost wrote in “PEESTOP” for 111A when I saw it started with “P”. Thanx for the entertainment, PAK, and thanx for the write-up, c.c., and for keeping us posted on Boomer.
ReplyDeleteWe had friends visiting for the weekend from Iraq and so got to the puzzle late. Enjoyed the clever theme, which took a few theme answers to parse and figure out. Overall just a slow and steady solve.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard the word NONCE - so today's learning moment.
I had a chuckle at UncleF's post about a pee stop - my BIL always called a stop on a driving trip that was no food or anything other than bathroom break and gas refill a "Pee and Flee" stop.
Thanks CC and Pam!
Hope all goes well with the various appts and therapies this week!
I liked this puzzle. I felt the Pam Klawitter style shone through for the most part, i.e. the puzzle was recognizable as being hers.
ReplyDeleteI tried to spell Jason's last name as SEGAL until SNORERS forced me to spell it the way he himself does. It also turned out that CALF was the wrong answer for "Glacier breakaway."
Good wishes to you all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ms. Pam A. KlaWitter for a long challenging Sunday puzzle, that I enoyed without getting the theme. ( I never tried very hard at trying to parse the theme.... I was so relieved to have finished it in a decent hour..) The perps were doable, when I got the name Namath, I knew his first name was Joe...
Thank you CC for your review and explanations,.... the theme was certainly very creative and smart !!!
Glad to know dear Boomer is holding up, and your TLC care has been a gigantic factor in his recovery. I continue my prayers and hope things will improve, as time goes by.
I did not know a lot of the names, but Janelle Monae, I remembered, from the movie, and found out, from Wikipedia, that she's a famous singer, as well.
Surprise, I WAS familiar with Sur-la-table ( "On the table", per Google ...)/
Its a fancy over priced store that sells uniquely designed kitchen and dining utensils, .... and expensive knives that you wouldn't feel like using to stab your M.I.L .... and expensive coffee machines, .... and is a half a mile from my house, in a fancy shmancy collection of stores.
OTOH, you get a big cup of cafe-au-lait espresso coffee, for free, just for 'looking around' ... but I dont care to drink coffee, more than once a day,.... in the mornings only.
On Mushrooms, I generally get Oyster and Moonlight mushrooms from the local chinese store, , for my pilafs etc., but the real expensive ones are the dried mushrooms from China ....
.... and the local, fresh Morels - at $ 79.99 per pound... Maybe people buy the latter ones, in an effort to cultivate them in their own back yards.
Have a good week, coming up, you all.
Back from our trip this afternoon, I decided to try the puzzles for yesterday and today after supper, expecting a relaxing evening. Well, I'm still working on yesterday's but finished today's a few minutes ago. Oh no! Reading C.C.'s remarks, I soon found two squares I didn't fill so have a DNF, again.
ReplyDeleteI felt good about finally filling LOFTY, WTO and TLC, after puzzling over them. And I did see the theme early and it was helpful. Thanks, Pam, for a fine Sunday puzzle. Thanks C.C. for both the helpful review and update on Boomer. Hope the week goes well for you both, and for us all as well.
Just finished a Wine Tasting Weekend late last night ...so I started this Sunday Slog this a.m. Still don't understand "theme" ( beyond my intelligence quotient??). Many clues way too esoteric for my feeble brsin but .... ELI is "always plural WITHOUT THE "S"!!! ...as my dad ...a Yale Alum ... would always admonish us. SHAME!!
ReplyDelete