Theme: "Triple Play" - Second word is the first word with an extra letter, third word is the second word with an extra letter.
23A. Cherries jubilee?: BIG BING BINGE.
35A. "I mean a different cereal box mascot!"?: NO NOT TONY.
52A. Headline after the IT department fixes a bug on Hulu?: TEAM TAMES STREAM.
90A. Beer brewed by the Royal Family?: REAL REGAL LAGERS.
110A. Where NHLers serve penalty time?: IN SIN BINS.
124. Wading bird that a girl can really look up to?: HER HERO HERON
16D. Dolly the sheep, sitting all by herself?: ONE LONE CLONE.
64D. Cheap perfume?: TEN CENT SCENT.
Some of you are aware that I started blogging the Tribune Media Daily back in 2008. Alan had a quote/quip every Thursday. It's always comforting to see his byline.
Across:
6. Tantalizes: TEASES.
12. Mop & __: GLO.
15. Persian Gulf capital: DOHA. Legal to have a beer there.
19. Moby Dick, e.g.: WHALE.
20. Hint at, with "to": ALLUDE.
21. Long time: EON.
22. Unknown author, for short: ANON. We have our Anon-T.
25. Area that separates a nave from a sanctuary: TRANSEPT. See this.
27. Nixed, at NASA: NO GO.
28. Make less strict: EASE.
29. Areas of human development: UTERI.
30. "Macarena" band __ del Río: LOS. Quite a craze then.
31. Topped, in a way: CROWNED.
34. French possessive pronoun: SES. His/Her.
37. Actor Holbrook: HAL.
38. Swill: SLOP.
40. Warn with a horn: TOOT.
42. Brown in the kitchen: ALTON. Host of "Iron Chef America".
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43. Spring flower: IRIS.
45. India's smallest state: GOA.
47. "Trinity" novelist Leon: URIS.
49. Ships with staterooms: LINERS.
57. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE T.
58. All over the place: ERRATIC.
59. Headliner: STAR.
61. Merrie __ England: OLDE.
62. Hold on to: RETAIN.
65. Comedian Silverman: SARAH. So witty.
68. Scrutinized: EYED.
70. All __ sudden: OF A.
71. Tipped off: ALERTED.
73. Neck parts: NAPES.
75. Sea nymph of Greek mythology: OCEANID. Learning moment for me.
77. Junior: SON.
78. Roof with removable panels: T TOP.
80. Defensive trenches: MOATS.
82. Birch family trees: ALDERS.
83. Check mark: TICK.
85. Reggae great Peter: TOSH. Part of the Wailers. We also have 62. Many dreadlocks wearers: RASTAS.
87. Plain: VANILLA.
89. Sailing: ASEA.
96. Security system component: SENSOR.
99. Manitoba First Nations people: CREE.
100. __ trip: EGO.
101. North Carolina college town: ELON. Was it named after someone named Elon?
102. Crook: THIEF.
104. "Yeah, right!": AS IF.
106. Tight-fitting: SNUG.
109. Former owner of Virgin Records: EMI.
113. Game with matchsticks: NIM.
115. Fruit jam in Sacher tortes: APRICOT.
117. Japanese IT services giant: NEC.
118. Mila of "Bad Moms": KUNIS.
119. Useless, batterywise: DEAD. Also 131. Battery terminal: ANODE.
121. Small fruit pie: TART.
122. Knight spot?: CHESS SET. Works without ? in the clue also.
128. River in Tuscany: ARNO.
129. Before, in ballads: ERE.
130. Changed into: BECAME.
132. "Oh, shoot": NUTS.
133. Leb. neighbor: SYR.
134. "... if you know what's good for you!": OR ELSE.
135. Repairs: MENDS.
Down:
2. Sushi-grade tuna: AHI.
3. Official flower of two Southern states: MAGNOLIA. Louisiana and Mississippi.
4. __ grease: ELBOW.
5. Rules: REIGNS.
6. Schoolyard game: TAG.
7. Dresden's river: ELBE.
8. Margaret Atwood's "__ Grace": ALIAS. Unfamiliar to me.
9. Nightly show with free admission: SUNSET.
10. Beats by a whisker: EDGES OUT.
11. "Catch my drift?": SEE.
12. Really bug: GET TO.
13. Golfer Ochoa: LORENA.
14. Winning steadily: ON A ROLL. 17. Climb aboard: HOP ON.
15. Some govt. lawyers: DAS.
18. Nasty anagram: ANTSY.
24. Yule tune: NOEL.
26. Tucci's "Road to Perdition" role: NITTI. Frank Nitti.
29. Lets loose: UNTIES.
31. Gambler's marker: CHIT.
32. Almost unique: RARE.
33. Religious doctrine: DOGMA.
36. "Pagliacci" clown: TONIO.
39. Audre Lorde and Lord Byron, e.g.: POETS.
41. NHL great Bobby: ORR. Boston Bruins.
44. Ink mishap: SMEAR.
46. Like most of the world's people: ASIAN.
48. Make full: SATE.
50. Colorful timber tree: RED FIR.
51. Places: STEADS.
53. Travis of country: TRITT.
54. "BoJack Horseman" voice actor Will: ARNETT.
55. "Get lost!": SCRAM.
56. BLT spread: MAYO. Bánh mì as well.
60. Car manufacturer's woe: RECALL.
63. Plaza Hotel girl: ELOISE.
66. Mil. mail drop: APO.
67. Fling with force: HEAVE.
69. Street of mystery: DELLA. Perry Mason.
72. Way in: DOOR.
74. __ whisper: STAGE.
76. Wise words: ADAGE.
79. Tiny fraction of a min.: PSEC.
81. Catches: SNAGS.
84. Golean cereal maker: KASHI. Never had this.
86. Hound: HARASS.
88. Massey of old films: ILONA.
91. French article: LES.
92. Sven of "Frozen," for one: REINDEER.
93. Kind of microscope: ELECTRON.
94. Dallas quarterback after Bledsoe: ROMO. Tony. Right.
95. Cross mood: SNIT.
97. Farmyard noises: OINKS.
98. Picture puzzles: REBUSES.
103. Fancy duds: FINERY.
105. Intense: FIERCE.
107. Until: UP TO.
108. "Gilmore Girls" actress Lauren: GRAHAM.
110. Early Peruvian: INCAN.
111. India's first prime minister: NEHRU.
112. Compound in fireworks: NITER.
114. Taj __: MAHAL.
116. Joliot-Curie who won a Nobel Prize in chemistry: IRENE. Daughter of Marie Curie.
120. Pols from blue states, usually: DEMS.
123. Brillo rival: SOS.
124. "Succession" network: HBO.
125. Food Network host Drummond: REE.
126. Out of the ordinary: ODD.
127. Early video game letters: NES.
A few extra notes:
1)
Happy birthday to dear Husker Gary, our faithful Saturday sherpa, whose
posts are always so informative and cheerful. Off the blog, he's a
close friend who has bailed me out so many times. Here he is with his
incredible wife Joann. They've been married for over 57 years!
2) Boomer's PSA was 861 last Tuesday (742 last month), at least the
increase was not that sharp. The doctor decided to cut the oral chemo from 200
mg to 150 mg due to the severe side effects. Boomer's hemoglobin and WBC
count were too low. We'll have one more blood draw next week. If his
numbers do not improve, he'll get a blood transfusion.
C.C.
27 comments:
FIWrong. Had aN aLONE CLONE instead of ONE LONE CLONE. Naticks at LORENe+eLTON and ALIAn+nES. Also several WAGs that turned out okay.
Liked the theme, though not sure of the rule for it until I could examine all together after finishing. Still not sure if that's all of it.
When I was about 4 years old, and still thought my parents were my slaves, I overheard my mother tell my Dad to get VANILLA ice cream. As he left to go shopping, I stood in the doorway and screamed "Get plain ice cream, Daddy! Not vanilla! Plain!".
Despite my failure, I still think Sundays are easier than Rich's. And Saturday harder.
Sorry I haven't been around lately. I decided to take a hiatus for a couple weeks or months, but after 3 days I was going batty without my creative outlet! I'm still depressed, but poetry and puzzles turned out to be stress reducers rather than producers.
Notice 1A is GAMER, and the last clue down is also about gaming?
(With apologies to Lewis Carroll)
He took his vorpal WII in hand,
Long time the maxsome Boss he sought.
Then rested he by the N.E.C.
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he sat,
The N.E.S. GAMER came,
With more of the same,
And ate him. That is that!
{B+.}
It took some thought to make a few of these three-word combinations work, but eventually they all did. FIR, so I’m happy.
I quite enjoyed figuring out the themers after I got the gimmick from BIG BING BINGE. My favorite - HER HERO HERON. Took me a while to see that 64D was also theme material (I had ALARMED for ALERTED). I really liked the clues for CHESS SET and especially UTERI - I would've expected the UTERI clue to have a ?, since it's much more stretch-y than the CHESS SET clue.
FIW with a Natick at EMI/ROMO (luckily nowhere else) - I think ELI/ROLO would've been a better crossing.
OR, just do EMO/SNOT instead of EMI/SNIT. I could see a Natick like that in a wide open and tricky to fill area, but that one?
Good morning!
Accidentally worked this one earlier in the week. Thought it weird to have a 21X21 on a weekday. D'oh. Figured out the add-a-letter theme, though wondered about GALL AGERS until the lightbulb came on. Thanx, Alan and C.C. (Hoping for the best for Boomer.)
GOA -- Wasn't familiar with this area of India until the second Jason Bourne movie which began there.
ROMO -- DirecTV must have a sense of humor. Because I'm such a long-time customer (6-digit account number) I usually get a freebie at anniversary time. This year (drum roll, please) it's the full season of out-of-market NFL games. Yup, great choice for d-o, who's never watched an NFL game in his life, and isn't about to start now.
Owen, cute story about that "plain" ice cream.
HBD, Husker. Enjoy 'em while they last. Or not.
Oh, and Happy Birthday, Husker Gary. I’m sure CrosseyedDave will have an appropriate (and witty) cake for you.
Hello All, and my very best wishes on this somber 9/11. God bless all who suffered and died on that very dreadful day, and those who continue to suffer.
I enjoyed the theme of this puzzle. Lots of unknowns. But I got it right.
Best wishes to Boomer. My husband is in your neck of the woods right now visiting our son and family in Blaine. HB to Husker Gary, many more 🥳. On the run. Have a great day.
FIW, missing my WAG at Natick ALIAn x nES. But I got the one at ARNETT x TOSH, so I got that goin' for me. Erased, then steted, LES, and erased for good dubi for DOHA, i bet for AS IF, tort for TART, and aprecot for APRICOT. UNTIE(S)! Far too many unknowns to list, but most perped.
Before covid, I would cough to cover up a TOOT. These days I TOOT to cover up a cough.
Cornerites who don't follow hockey probably don't know that the penalty box is called the "SIN BIN", but they certainly know ORR.
I hope that everyone takes time for reflection on this 21st anniversary of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Thanks to Alan for the fun workout that I was almost worthy of. And thanks to CC for the tour and Boomer update. I was relieved to learn last week that my PSA is 1.25. I now have two BILs with prostate cancer.
Best wishes for Boomer and C.C. as the challenge continues.
Seeing a puzzle from Alan Olschwang did remind me of when I found the Corner. I wonder how many others besides me have commented since 2008.
The theme was clever, but as C.C. mentioned it was a bit inconsistent. To answer your question, in 1889 the new school relocated to a heavily wooded area full of large oak trees. They understood that “Elon” was the Hebrew name for oak; hence, Elon College. The college opened in 1890 with one completed brick building and 76 students.
Some unknowns but easier than many Sundays; I love the DELLA STREET clue/fill
HBD to HG who has become the cornerstone of our blogging team. I will never forget where I was driving to work listening to the Bob and Tom show and switching to Howard Stern who was narrating the events at the WTC. Like many I am sure I thought it was his sick joke, but sadly was not. I will never forget
FIW, had Kasha instead of Kashi, and failed to see the error in the "in san bins"
Good Morning:
I’ve enjoyed many of Alan’s offerings but, sorry to say, not this one. Then again, there are few Sundays that tickle my fancy, so let’s just chalk it up to an individual preference. As usual, the unknowns were all proper names which isn’t surprising, considering the sheer number (44 by my count) of them in the puzzle: Oceanid, Tosh, EMI, Nim, Elbe, and Alias, as clued. My only w/o was Aden/Doha and I guess that’s an indication of the straightforward cluing and fill.
Thanks, Alan, and thanks, CC, for your expertise in dissecting the theme and execution, Your professional insights add another layer of enjoyment to the solve. Thanks, also, for the photo of the beaming Gary and Joann. Best wishes and positive thoughts to Boomer.
Happy Birthday wishes, Gary, hope it’s a very special a day for a very special person. 🎂🎁🎈🎉🎊
Owen, your Muse is still Musing!
May today be one of somber reflection and prayers for all.
Musings
-This wonderfully clever puzzle had great “outs” for unfamiliar proper names
-My “great white whale” is to shoot a golf score below my age. Today I’m 76 so I’m getting closer
-The Macarena is said to be the biggest one-hit-wonder dance craze
-Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain Tonight (4:54) on Cats, Congress, Lawyers and Exercise”
-It seems obvious that Nebraska will not RETAIN favorite son Scott Frost as head FB coach. He will have to slink off with the millions he has been paid and live in infamy as an abject failure.
-EDGES OUT – He is now 5 – 22 in one-score games
-When I was young the only battery-operated device we had was a flashlight and the battery was usually DEAD when we needed it
-Della STREET – The Perry Mason reruns, where he always beats the DA, are like time capsules
-Some yesterday thought ITZA might be INCA
-Thanks for the good wishes! A rookie teacher ran into my room on my 55th birthday insisting I turn on the TV after the first plane hit.
Happy Birthday Husker Gary!
The gimmick was easy to get and fun for the most part. For 110 I hung on to INSINSING far too long and that mistake slowed me down. I finally realized that REBUSES had to be right, so I regrouped and worked it out right.
HB to Husker Gary. He and his wife Joanne must have married in elementary school.
It’s hard to believe 9-11-2001 was so long ago. So much water under the bridge since.
Hi Y'all! Thanks for the challenge, Alan! I thought the theme fills were amusing. Lot of unknowns but got 'er done. NE was last to fill.
Anybody else notice we've had ANTS all week & today we have ANTSY. Reminds me of the ANT invasion I had a few months ago. Used a lot of spray and changed my garbage routine.
C.C., thanks for your input. Still praying for you & Boomer.
Happy Birthday, Gary! You are an inspiration at 76 to all you meet.
Owen KL: Hang in there!
Fun, but challenging, Sunday puzzle--many thanks, Alan. And C.C., your Sunday commentaries are always a treat, thank you for those too. Looking forward to Boomer's comments tomorrow, and meanwhile wishing you both a lovely weekend.
Well, this puzzle had a lot of regal people, and I don't just mean Audre LORD and LORD Byron. No, we had royalty who were CROWNED and had to REIGN their kingdoms, hopefully without any DOGMA to follow or any SENSORS looking over them. I hope their castle has a few MOATS to keep them safe.
Hope the workers have a garden with MAGNOLIAS and IRISes to enjoy, and get nice treats, not SLOP, for dessert after dinner like TARTs with APRICOTS and NUTS, and VANILLA ICE cream.
And hope they also had GAMES to play in the evening, like CHESS, and a chance to hang out with POETS and even movie STARS.
Having said all that, I actually wouldn't mind going there for a visit.
But, meanwhile, I wish you all a happy Sunday!
I liked this puzzle and enjoyed working out the Triple Plays.
ADEN-->DOHA, HOP IN-->HOP ON, BEEP-->HONK-->TOOT, ISR-->SYR, FIXES-->MENDS.
Hand up for hesitating quite a while at ALIAS Grace. I had ALIE- and the only letters I could think of for that blank square were N and S. Since I knew NES was not a French possessive pronoun, it had to be ALIAS/SES.
Not familiar with OCEANID. Was looking for something like sylph or nymph or naiad.
I, too, like SARAH Silverman.
Happy birthday, Gary.
Good wishes to you all and continued hopes that Boomer starts to get better.
Owen, interesting "plain" story. And terrific poem. Loved it. Thank you.
C.C., thank you for the recap. Prayers continue for Boomer and you, of course.
Fun puzzle, Alan, thank you.
And Happy Birthday, Gary!
Hola!
Happy birthday, Gary! My oldest granddaughter shares her birthday with you though she is 50 years younger.
As usual on Sundays my progress is slow but like the proverbial turtle, I eventually get there. I enjoyed the repetitive theme with only two errors at NITTI/UTERO. THE ROAD TO PERDITION was many years ago and I barely remember the story much less the characters. Tom Hanks is the only one in my memory and don't recall Tucci at all. At the time I barely knew anything about him but since then I have seen him in many roles.
Favorite clue, "nightly show with free admission" SUNSET!
Proper names sometimes throw me but I have heard of Travis TRITT and Will ARNETT. Several ARNETT family members are in show business.
Owen, keep on keeping on! I so enjoy your poems.
Misty, I also like your mini narratives taken from the puzzle! They are creative.
CSO to my niece, IRENE.
Enjoy your day, everyone!
Thank you Alan for a crunchy Sunday breakfast, which after a lot of chewing, I managed a FIR. I knew there was a theme in there somewhere and I think it helped.
And thank you C.C. for pointing out how simple the theme really was. I was led astray by the puzzle title and by 1A GAMER, thinking this had something to do with sports. As I suspected though it did include a couple of DOWNERS: 16D and 64D.
Some favs:
23 BIG BING BINGE. I got a V8 from this fill on why Microsoft calls it's browser BING, as it's from the Land of Bing Cherries. Not enough of a V8 to use it however. I'm a confirmed MOSAIC, MOZILLA, FIREFOX freak.
25 TRANSEPT. Funny I knew this word but didn't know exactly where in the church it is. I guess it's needed to give people a way back to their pews after Communion, without having to climb the steps into the Sanctuary. Thanks for the big picture C.C.
35A NO NOT TONY. Sugar frosted flakes aren't good for my waistline or digestion, and between the ESSO/EXXON split and gasflations, the TIGER has definitely left my tank.
90A REAL REGAL LAGERS. Not so timely fill. I'm certain the Queen was partial to British ALES, true crosswordese.
5D REIGNS. And as of now someone new RULES in Britain. God save the King. He's going to need all the help he can get.
I'm sorry to hear that Boomer's numbers are up and down. But I pray that he'll be up and punny as ever in the morning.
Cheers,
Bill
HBD Husker!
On 9/11 I was on the floor of a data center in Miami freezing my butt off, and a colleague came in and got some video up on our monitor screens. He said "Everything will be different from now on". And he was right. God Bless all those souls who died that day. And for the first responders who are still dying from all the toxic wastes they inhaled that day.
Musings 2
-Just back from Lincoln where we met with our kids and their kids for a very nice lunch in a frous-frous café.
-Turns out I am a prophet as Husker coach Scott Frost wore out his welcome and was fired today as I was eating my quiche.
-There will be a different coach in the stadium next year that was represented by the lovely cake CE had for me
-Lucina, my granddaughter was also born in 1996 and one of our memes is that I will always be 50 years older than she is.
-One thing I remember from that day 21 years ago was that on my way home I saw every gas station had long lines to get filled up
-Keep on keepin’ on Owen!
-I appreciate all the kind words and well wishes from you wonderful bloggers, especially C.C.!
Sorry I forgot to wish you a happy birthday this morning, Gary. But so glad you were able to celebrate with a lovely lunch with your family!
Lucina, thank you for your kind words on my comments. I know they're always a bit silly, so it's nice to hear that people enjoy them. Loved your pointing out your favorite SUNSET clue.
Misty, here in Arizona we have frequent colorful, gorgeous SUNSETS! I have a west facing picture window so I can enjoy them almost every might. The most beautiful I have ever seen, though, are in Hawaii.
Misty & Lucina, wish I could see your sunsets. Living in this city neighborhood, I have so many lovely huge trees that I am sky deprived. I miss the gorgeous sunrises & sunsets I saw from atop my hill on the farm. The only good thing about having tons of leaves fall from my trees here in late fall is that I finally get a few months of seeing sunsets & moonrise.
I was having big trouble with Delaware until Phil walked by and suggested TONY for the mascot. But I forgot to change iN to HOP ON.
CLONE and ICE T were V8s
I thought it said Yale tune. Bora?
Baker didn't fit Street of mystery
Owen your my beamish boy today. Solid W
I was running around all day and didn't start until 8pm EDT
Seemed to get harder as pop-cul added up but was a one box Wilbur FIW
WC
FIRight. It's Monday.
Two new l'icks, plus a blast from the past.
SIMPLE SIMON
He was a SHY one,
Told his crew
What to do
So he could simply SPY ON!
ETHEL thought she could REAP the COST
Of a dress that was SHAPED like a cross
Folks who were RUDE
Called it a ROOD,
But their thought didn't cost her a loss!
A favorite of mine from July 19, 2019:
At Wal*Mart, there wasn't a smile,
As GUS pitched his tent on the tile.
He was by healing potions
Of skin creams and lotions --
Doc had sent him to a topical AISLE!
{B, A-, A++.}
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