"It's a Mouse!"
CC's had a bit of a busy week, so she asked me if I would step up and take this chore off her to-do list. TTP had the tougher task -- trying to put my mess into publishable shape. Super job, TTP, you pulled the wool over their eyes, making me look like I knew what I was doing.
Brad Wiegmann is no stranger to crosswords, though he shows up more frequently at "that other newspaper" than in the L.A.T. From what I can tell, he last showed up here on September 5th, 2021.
It's a mouse! (Eek!)
The theme entries end in different spellings, but each has a distinctive "EEK" sound. Your task is to strip
the K sound away to discover the in-the-language seed phrases.
22. One who's a really big fan of promos and trailers?: COMMERCIAL FREAK. Commercial-free
39. Go along with harsh criticism of an ancient Athenian?: AGREE TO DIS A GREEK. Agree to Disgree --
my favorite themer.
46. Annual stint at a Buckingham Palace timeshare?: THE ROYAL WEEK. The Royal We
66. Story about a Disney girl who climbs Mount Everest?: THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAK. The Princess
and the Pea
86. Expensive block for a woodworking apprentice?: PRACTICE TEAK.
93. Poultry dish served in a Punjabi restaurant?: CHICKEN OF THE SIKH. Chicken of the Sea. Second favorite themer.
117. Shop selling gold earrings and bandanas?: PIRATE'S BOUTIQUE. Pirate's Booty
The long themers didn't leave a lot of room for lengthy non-theme answers. Still, there's some nice stuff here.
Across:
1. Unwelcome omens: BAD SIGNS.
9. Sussed (out): DOPED.
14. WWII sea threat: U-BOAT.
19. Pollution legislation goal: CLEAN AIR.
20. NutraSweet developer: SEARLE.
There was quite a controversy about Searle's Aspartame (NutraSweet) product
21. Bankrolls: FUNDS.
22. [Theme answer]
24. Store employee: CLERK. My first gainful employment was CLERKing at the only drug store in our small town.
25. Walk heavily: STOMP. Reminds me of this old New Christy Minstrels song. STOMP appears at the one-minute mark.
26. Untruth: LIE.
27. "Your guide to a better future" site: CNET.
29. Best of the best, initially: GOAT. Greatest of all time.
30. Balance sheet abbr.: YTD. Year-to-Date
32. Styling aid: POMADE. Did you also think of George Clooney in
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Warning:
Strong language.
34. Weighs on: HAUNTS.
36. Main squeeze: BAE. I was surprised to find that this entry has made it into Merriam-Webster.
"US Slang: Sweetheart, baby."
39. [Theme answer]
43. Like granita and 42-Down: ICY. Or Icee
44. Plum kin: SLOE.
45. Completely overhauled: REDONE.
46. [Theme answer]
51. Attributed: CREDITED.
56. Leaf under a petal: SEPAL. If you say so. D-o only attended one day of H.S. Biology class.
57. Fat used in baking: LARD.
58. Lyft alternative: CAB.
59. Lyft offer: RIDE.
60. Apple device that might have a Smart Cover: IPAD.
62. Mauna __: LOA. Still erupting. It's the largest active volcano on earth.
63. Minecraft resources: ORES.
65. Sea eagles: ERNS. Hello again, old cw friend.
66. [Theme answer]
72. Brazos River city: WACO. Made famous by David Koresh as well as Chip and Joanna Gaines.
73. Fellows: GUYS.
74. Trail mix morsel: NUT. Was thinking OAT.
75. Harbor, perhaps: ABET. Verb, not noun.
76. Hardly __: rarely: EVER.
77. Lily of France garment: BRA. Was not familiar with this brand, but Wal-Mart sells 'em.
78. Periods often named for leaders: ERAS.
80. Seal sounds: BARKS. Not root beer.
83. "1984" superstate: EAST ASIA.
86. [Theme answer]
89. Gershwin classic: SWANEE. Seems like a good excuse to link another Gershwin classic:
Rhapsody in Blue performed by Leonard Bernstein
and the New York Philharmonic.
91. "Sunday Night Baseball" analyst, familiarly: A-ROD. Alex Rodriguez, so I'm told.
92. Oscar winner Mahershala: ALI. According to Britannica.com, "American actor who rose to prominence in the 2010s and won an Academy Award for his moving and nuanced performance as the fatherly drug dealer Juan in the film Moonlight (2016)."
93. [Theme answer]
100. Study: DEN.
101. State of rest: REPOSE. Immediately evoked this track from the Chad Mitchell Trio. REPOSE appears at about the 40 second mark.
102. Didn't work out: FAILED.
103. "Not buying it": NAH.
106. Aloha Tower island: OAHU. With 4 letters, it's gotta be either MAUI or OAHU.
107. Dog who visits Oz: TOTO.
110. NFL scores: TDs.
111. Springs: LEAPS. Verb, not noun.
115. Embellish: ADORN. When the truth is embellished, it becomes a 26a.
117. [Theme answer]
122. Mozart's "Così fan __": TUTTE. Opera. According to classicfm.com, "Two soldiers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, bet that their girlfriends will always be faithful; philosopher Don Alfonso persuades them he can prove otherwise. So, in ridiculous disguises, the military men seek to trick Fiordiligi and Dorabella..."
123. Buck horn: ANTLER. Yes, deer.
124. Words said with an eyeroll: I'M SO SURE. Got it, but don't understand it.
125. Informal "What if ... ": S'POSE. D-o's speech tends to be informal. You've probably never noticed.
126. Surgical beam: LASER.
127. Jazz headliners?: NBA STARS. Utah Jazz.
Down:
1. Confidentially informs: BCCS. Blind carbon copy -- archaic, but still used for email.
2. Often: A LOT.
3. Trial version: DEMO. Could'a been BETA.
4. Hagar of Van Halen: SAMMY.
5. Bumbling: INEPT.
6. Needlefish: GAR. Old-timey cw c/a.
7. Actor Cage, informally: NIC.
8. __ Lanka: SRI. Formerly Ceylon.
9. Take down: DEFEAT. Not to write.
10. Lock insert: OAR. Had to Wite-Out my KEY.
11. Pave the way for: PRECEDE.
12. Panache: ELAN. Another cw oldie goldie.
13. Feint on the ice: DEKE.
14. Mixed martial arts org.: UFC. Ultimate Fighting Championship.
15. Tabbouleh wheat: BULGUR. I would've bet it was spelled with an A. D'oh.
16. Low tie: ONE-ONE. About as low as you can get.
17. Cost for an online pop-up, e.g.: AD RATE.
18. "Shame on you!": TSK, TSK.
20. Goo made at home with glue, food coloring, and saline solution: SLIME.
23. Lotion additive: ALOE.
28. Scottish feudal lord: THANE. That was the middle name of one of my college roomies. His last name was Scottish, too.
31. "The Voice" host Carson: DALY. I've never imbibed.
32. Green shampoo: PRELL.
33. Nerdy sort: DORK. Raj of TBBT comes to mind. Howard, too. Also, Leonard. And Sheldon. Not Penny.
35. Like much brandy: AGED. Have you ever heard of un-aged brandy?
36. Routine parts: BITS.
37. Tylenol target: ACHE.
38. See-through devices?: EYEPIECES.
40. Smallest state in India: GOA.
And there's 8d at the bottom of the map.
41. Security checkpoint request: ID CARD.
42. Granita kin: SORBET. When is it SORBET and when is it SHERBET?
44. Pool-heating option: SOLAR.
47. Bond that promotes easy communication: RAPPORT. Not James.
48. Polish Solidarity hero Lech: WALESA. Anyone else try to spell it with a V?
49. Mythical matchmaker: EROS.
50. Lou Grant player: ED ASNER. Do you remember him as the morally conflicted ship captain in Roots? He won an Emmy for the role
52. "To reiterate ... ": I REPEAT. As I said...
53. Goodyear surface: TIRE TREAD.
54. Novelist O'Brien: EDNA.
55. Workstation: DESK.
58. Claritin rival: CONTAC Didn't realize it was still around.
61. Archaeological site: DIG.
64. __ cha beef: stir-fry dish: SHA. The only SHA d-o knows is Sha Na Na.
66. Oh-so-precious: TWEE. British.
67. "__ Nagila": HAVA. Hava Nagila. Have two nagilas, they're very small.
68. Africa's __ Desert: eastern region of the Sahara: NUBIAN.
69. 2021 title role for Peter Dinklage: CYRANO.
He played it without the nose.
70. Vibe: AURA.
71. Died down: EBBED.
79. Unflappable: STAID. I wanted STOIC here.
81. Leaves in smoothies: KALE. You're free to enjoy my share.
82. Hide: SKIN. Noun, not verb.
84. Makes a request: ASKS.
85. Like dessert wines: SWEET.
86. Fur-protesting gp.: PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Who could be opposed to that?
87. Irritate: IRK.
88. Sportscaster Linda: COHN.
90. Sincere attempts: EFFORTS.
93. Dalmatians, e.g.: CROATS. Dalmatia is on the Adriatic coast of Croatia.
94. Be in charge of: HEAD UP.
95. Old Apple app for pics: iPHOTO.
96. Woos: COURTS.
97. Player who doesn't mind making bloopers?: HITTER. Baseball talk, methinks.
98. Church leader: ELDER.
99. Brief meeting?: SESS. Session.
104. Singers below mezzo-sopranos: ALTOS.
105. "Money __": Spanish TV drama: HEIST.
108. Fall birthstone: OPAL.
109. Fey of "Mean Girls": TINA.
112. Bluish hue: AQUA.
113. Copy cats?: PURR. You need to think about this one.
114. Spots: SEES.
116. Once named: NEE.
118. Blonde __: ALE.
119. Recycling __: BIN.
120. Govt. fiscal monitor: OMB. Office of Management and Budget
121. Mex. neighbor: USA. Duh.
Here's the grid:
We're all missing Boomer. C.C. is undoubtedly exhausted after this week. Here's hoping she can get in some relax time this coming week
and will be ready to emcee next week's Sunday puzzle.
Desper-otto out.
27 comments:
FIW. PREparE instead of PRECEDE, geeK instead of DORK, COaN instead of COHN, and BOUTeQUE (UNTIE!), in addition to collateral damage to the perps. Waited for kea/LOA and nik/NIC.
I attended STOMPin' 76 in Galax, VA. It was informally known as "the Bluegrass Woodstock." Since I was there with the TV station I worked for, I had an all access pass. Great fun, at least the parts I remember.
I really wanted Pecos for the Brazos River city, but couldn't add a square.
Hand up for thinking of Rhapsody in Blue as Gershwin's classic. Makes me want to fly UAL.
I lived in LA when solar water heating tax credits were available. By statute, using the subsidized solar to heat pools was prohibited. Everyone I knew that took the tax credit waited a year, then re-plumbed the system to heat the pool.
The promise of recycling BINs didn't come true. No one wants glass, and only a little of the plastic is recycled. Cans get recycled in the USA, but cardboard is shipped to China. If a single food-contaminated piece of cardboard is detected (lookin' at YOU, pizza boy), the entire container is rejected and returned to the USA. One of our seven Tidewater cities, Chesapeake, has dropped out of the program. Others are trying to figure out how to pay for the rapidly escalating costs.
I think of DORK as being a nicer substitute for a vulgar version of Richard, not necessarily a nerd or geek. In Yiddish, a putz.
FLN, Lucina, congrats on the "new" car. Also, IIRC, you have to drive through APACHE Junction to get to Roosevelt Lake from the Phoenix area. We used to have weekend regattas there every year. Too far to drive just for a one-day race.
FIW. Didn't know Linda Cohn or Money Heist. That entire corner gave me fits. The rest of the puzzle went smoothly.
Good morning all. I didn't 'catch' the EEK added until THE ROYAL WE-EEK. Duh! To FIR I had to guess the spelling of either NAH or NAW for the unknown Spanish TV drama. I was expecting a foreign word but HEIST fit just right.
Granita for SORBET, BULGUR for Tabbouleh wheat, SHA cha beef, Linda COHN- perps and guesses to fill those.
BAE and TWEE- all I can say is boo.
If 'iterate' is to repeat, 'reiterate' is to 'repeat repeat'.
SEARLE-more widely known for making the first birth control pills- ENOVID, OVULEN, DEMULEN to go along with Metamucil, Equal, Ambien, Celebrex...etc before being bought by Pfizer.
CONTAC- the old formula-PPA- was taken off the market years ago. I see the photo's package has the ingredients of Phenylephrine (the new Sudafed or Neo-Synephrine), Acetaminophen (Tylenol), and Chlorpheniramine (Chlor trimeton). Nothing new but the advertising.
"Copy cats?" I can't PURR.
PETA- I saw a man with a shirt that had PETA- People Easting Tasty Animals on the back
NBA STARS from the NEW ORLEANS Jazz- the one, the only Pistol Pete Maravich and Karl Malone from the Utah Jazz
KS- I didn't know Linda Cohn or Money Heist either but the perps came to the rescue.
My mother was a pianist and a big Gershwin fan (she named her dog Georgie - George G) and she would shout obscenities at the t.v. whenever those UAL commercials co-opting Rhapsody in Blue would air.
Thanks for a wonderful recap D.O. (and TTP if D.O. is to be believed).
Good morning. Where is everyone ? Digging out ?
Desper-otto gives me too much credit. All I did was copy / paste and add the images that he found.
I still haven't solved the puzzle yet.
Good Morning:
I expected that we might have a fill-in for CC and I’m pleased as punch that I knew it was DO as soon as I read his comment about his younger days clerking at the drugstore. (And where, I wonder, did that expression originate?) Sunday puzzles are usually not my favorites but, every now and then, along comes a pleasant surprise and today is one of those. A fun theme with solid as can be in the language phrases, reinterpreted in a comical fashion, no crossword glue, as CC would say, no obscure or esoteric fill, relatable pop culture and only a sprinkling of same, and a low three letter word count, especially for a Sunday grid. My only w/o was Laird/Thane and there were only three unknowns, Sammy, Cohn, and Heist, as clued. What I really appreciated was that the themers weren’t so obvious that you could plop them right in, you had to wait for perps to get the gist, at least I did. That added a challenge that’s often absent from Sunday offerings.
Thanks very much, Brad, for a very enjoyable solve and thanks, DO, for pinch hitting for CC (that’s a baseball term ðŸ¤). You did a fine job and you struck a nice balance between facts and fun, clips and quips. To use another baseball term, you are an ace reliever.
Thanks also to Coach TTP, who waved you home!
FLN
Bill, I guess we did different puzzles by Moe. Mine was Notables on Stan Newman’s site.
Lucina, congrats on finally getting a car that you’re happy with. Good luck with it. BTW, your comment about yesterday’s puzzle being lame made me do a double take.
Michael, fear not, you have plenty of company in the “aging out” sphere!
1down is an abbreviation!!
Fun EE->EEK theme. Hand up quite a challenge. Theme helped a lot. Proud to FIR.
Glad to see SPRINGS and LEAPS. I was inspired to upload one of my many Madagascar videos.
Here is my video of Dancing Sifaka Lemurs doing SPRINGS and LEAPS.
Note: This is a video. You have to play it to see why they are called Dancing Sifaka Lemurs.
OK... We are heading out the door to the Bay Area for the week!
Musings
-Nice job, D-O, CHICKEN OF THE SIKH was my fav themer
-Somehow that CLERK in London is pronounced CLARK
-Granita was a learning moment
-Foster and Gershwin both used Swanne River in place of the actual Suwanne River
-Our Chef Wendy on Kuai and can’t see Mauna LOA erupting but a friend of hers was only 20 miles away
-I rarely EVER correct people who say “not hardly”
-Minnesota did manage to DEFEAT Indianapolis yesterday despite being 33 points behind at one point
-I learned BULGUR is not a type of wheat but is a wheat product after a certain process
-Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as the THANE of Glamis
-The best way to use a microscope is to keep both eyes open when using the EYEPIECE
-Baseball peeps know, “That blooper base hit looks like a line drive in the box score”
-OMB – What?? Someone is actually in charge of the government’s spending??
Anon@11:03 -- Is that a complaint, or just an observation?
Caught the theme early, which helped. Hardest thing was remembering how to spell “Sikh” but eventually I got it right. In fact, FIR, so I’m happy.
Got the theme early and had fun with it. Clever clue for PURR. Because of past CWs, I knew BAE, and SEPAL came from a long ago science class memory. They say that what you learn as a young one sticks in your brain much better than later knowledge. I can recite poems I had to memorize as a child.
Nice pairing of CAB followed by RIDE.
What a World Cup final game! ⚽️
FIW at 2 crossings. Nevertheless, I liked the puzzle very much and enjoyed all of Brad's clever themers.
FAV non-themer: Leaves in smoothies
Blasts from the past: SAMMY Hagar & PRELL shampoo
Thanks, Do, for helping CC out. Well done!
30-across YTD is an abbreviation that rarely, if ever, appears on a Balance Sheet. A balance sheet is a financial snapshot of a moment in time, not a record of transactions over a passage of time (year-t0-date). "As of" yes; "YTD" never.
I seldom do the CW on the PC, usually using pen and paper. Today I did it on my PC, but there was/is something wrong. Many places where an "R" is supposed to go would light up Red when I entered the "R", and would only accept an "I" in that cell. The "R" where OAR and FREAK cross; SORBET/CREDITED; CLERK/ADRATE; AURA/ERAS; DORK/REDONE; ELDER/ANTLER; IRK/AROD. In addition, the CW insisted on an "I" where the "P" should be in OPAL/PIRATE. So, I finished the CW thinking there was an "I" for "R" gimmick. According to the CW on my PC, I FIR. According to the blog, there is the correct letter where it should be, so FIW. Oy.
Yay, a FIR Sunday puzzle! MY FIR was only possible by taking a break, then looking differently at some of the clues and really seeing what was happening with the theme. But it worked. Thanks Brad for an interesting puzzle today.
Thanks, D Otto, for helping C.C. out today and explaining in your review what we didn't get on our own. Now I get it: PURR, PURR!
My big surprise was that OMB was right, NBA STARS was wanted, and, oh sure, USA is Mex.'s neighbor. I had been thinking of neighbors further to its south and that N and B wouldn't start a word.
I too hope C.C. can rest up this week. Sending thoughts her way.
Such a fun puzzle - challenging but doable with really clever themers.
FLN
I,too, am a Louise Penney/Inspector Gamache devotee, and her new book is being delivered (I hope) by Santa. The only book I didn’t care for was the one set mostly in a monastery.
Boomer’s obituary was lovely -and what a handsome guy. My thoughts are with C.C.
Hi Y'all! Thank you for the clever challenge, Brad. Quit a few unknowns. Who knew EEK could be spelled 7 different ways. Amusing. See, I do like some hard puzzles.
D-otto: Ya done good!
Lucina, good luck with the car! Wish we lived cler. You could have had my 2016 Encore with 600 miles on it. Hasn't been out of the garage for about 3 years.
Picard: those Lemurs are fascinating. Thanks.
Anon at 2:57: I agree that YTD doesn't normally appear on a balance sheet. When I kept books at a car dealership, I used to have a sales report to do that gave total monthly (MO) sales of each kind of vehicle then a second YTD total of each. Sales report is not a balance sheet.
C.C. Thoughts & prayers continue for your comfort.
Lucina, should be "lived closer". Machine monster ate most of that word.
Puzzling thoughts:
Fun puzzle today, and thanks d-otto for doing the recap. I, too was a drugstore CLERK back in my youth. Worked for a small regional chain called Rea & Derrick
FIW as I couldn't figure out a few words in the SW corner
Jinx, APACHE Junction is where we now live. Roosevelt Lake is a fun place to go to, as well as several other lakes along the route
CC, our prayers continue with you, your, and Doug's family
Thank you, Brad, and thank you, Desper-otto.
I finally got to solve the puzzle and read the review. Very nice. A few typos along the way that were caught. I especially like the USGS link to all of those articles.
Unclefred, you might try the link to the WAPO site at the top right of the main page and see if you experience the same problem. Which online site were you using ? I have never heard of anything like that. I have had to replace laptop keyboards a few times over the years, but usually it has been a group of keys not working, and they failed in every app.
Lucina, good to hear that have found a car.
We had a nice visit yesterday afternoon and evening from a grand niece and her family that were in Chicago for the "Harry Potter Magic at Play Experience." As we were talking it dawned on me that my 1993 pickup is a few months older than she is.
C-Moe, I lived just west of 55th Av and just north of Pinnacle Peak. It was a L-O-N-G haul to go to my buddy's place in Scottsdale, then on to the lake. I was surprised how big the lake was. Most of may racing was on Lake Pleasant before they enlarged it, and Roosevelt made it look like a puddle.
Now this was an excellent puzzle. A true crossword puzzle, in which (almost) every answer can be figured out by reasoning. Not a situation in which you have to first off know the answer because it otherwise cannot be DOPED out. Most of the proper names can be solved with help from the fair perps, and even though AROD crossed COHN it was possible to reason that the crossing letter would be "O". Loved it. This puzzle was fun to spend time on.
TTP, I subscribe to the digital edition of the South Florida SunSentinel, and if I click on the "Latest News" tab instead of opening the daily newspaper, it takes me to a page where I can choose "Puzzles", then a page with several puzzles to choose from, then click L.A. Times Crossword. Now, where exactly the SFSS link takes me at that point, I DNK. But yeah, it was indeed the strangest thing. I'm not a good CW solver, so on the rare occosions that I do the CW on my PC, I always turn on red-letter help. And red letters would appear at the cells where the "R" was supposed to go, and Red wouldn't relent until I entered an "I". Very strange.
Ah, I went back to read yesterday's comments and I see why congratulations were extended to Lucina today on her new car, and I extend mine as well. The thing is, if I recall, on Thursday you said you test drove a Nissan Rogue and it felt like an enlarged tin can and wasn't for you. Anyway, I'm glad you like your new car.
Irish Miss @10:00 AM You're right about MOE's puzzle. I'm going to track it down and do it tomorrow.
Just got in from the ceremony for the second Eagle scout in our family, a wonderful young man who came all the way from China to get it!
Finished Brad's puzzle (thank you for that); liked the theme, but had one (well two) mistake: although I knew the SIKH's I spelled it wrong (SIEK). Had I known it I would have spelled Linda's last name correctly, whom I DNK. Like D-O says "I don't imbibe". Oh and thanks for pitch hitting today. Ya done good. The blogger snatchers are gonna to get you one day.
Long day and I'm starting to droop. See y'all tomorrow.
Cheers,
Bill
I'm familiar with OMB, IT'S didn't seem right but I went with OTB. Mr S. is rolling his eyes
I have to get out to buy the Sunday tbtimes to do the xword so I started at c. 3pm. Then at 430 I had an errand to do down by the Villages
Finally resumed about 730. The first leg was slow and when I resumed there was a lot of unk white.
But I got it all except tge stupid error.
D-Otto thanks for stepping in, great job
WC
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