Theme: "Before Tea" ( "B for T") - T is changed into B in each familiar phrase.
22A. Give orders, even while dreaming?: BOSS IN ONE'S SLEEP. Toss is one's sleep.
42A. Request from one robot to another in "Futurama"?: LOVE ME BENDER. Love Me Tender
70A. One who starts a fight over the last crustacean at a seafood buffet?: SHRIMP BRAWLER. Shrimp trawler.
99A. Decorations for a "Bob the Builder" birthday cake?: BRICK CANDLES. Trick candles.
120A. "Oh, you're not acting so brave now, are you!"?: LOOK WHO'S BALKING. Look Who's Talking?
15D. Maintain forest health with a planned fire?: DO A GOOD BURN. Do a good turn.
69D. Illustrative tools in a neuroscience lab?: MODEL BRAINS. Model trains.
Looks like Laura's LAT debut. Congratulations! You all know Christiana, who used to be Patti's assistant.
Such a great title! I'd be at loss. Slight tweak on a classical pinwheel Sunday design. This one has eight 9-letter fill!
Across:
6. Ratio phrase: IS TO. :
10. Dweeb: DORK.
14. Hubbubs: ADOS. And 78. Bobs and weaves: DOS.
18. Angry: IRATE. And 20. Fencing implement: EPEE. We see IRE, IRA, IRATE & EPEE frequently due to their friendly letter combo.
19. Twosome: PAIR.
21. Dark beer: STOUT. And 29. Light beer: LAGER. And 104. Brewpub handle: ALE TAP.
25. Muse of poetry: ERATO.
26. Tolkien creature: ENT. Tree being.
27. Contributes: ADDS.
28. Swiss chocolatier: LINDT.
30. Tanning bed fixtures: LAMPS.
33. Stripped (of): DIVESTED.
35. Bauxite, e.g.: ORE.
36. "Don't lose hope!": CHIN UP.
38. Mining engineer who became president in 1929: HOOVER. I did not know this.
40. Maine college town: ORONO.
44. In the center of: AMIDST.
47. List unit: ITEM.
48. Flit: DART.
49. Update, as charts: RE-MAP.
53. Vintage ski lift: T BAR.
54. Davis of "Grumpy Old Men": OSSIE.
56. 2022 World Cup city: DOHA. Argentina won the Cup.
58. "Dune" director Villeneuve: DENIS.
60. Ancient character: RUNE.
61. Small battery: AAA.
63. Target of some bark beetles: ELM.
65. Gets there in no time?: TELEPORTS. Nice clue/fill.
67. Rapper will.__: I AM.
74. "Hip Hop Is Dead" rapper: NAS.
75. Episodic option in some games: STORY MODE. Like this.
77. Feel crummy: AIL.
80. Put on board: LADE.
81. Colleague of Sonia and Ketanji: ELENA.
83. Latch (onto): GLOM.
86. Like Wiccans and Druids: PAGAN.
90. Domain: AREA.
91. Diploma word: LAUDE. Here's a typical Chinese diploma.
93. Monogram pt.: INIT.
95. Humorist Barry: DAVE.
96. Not as harsh: MILDER.
102. Via ship, e.g.: BY SEA.
105. Large grinders: MOLARS.
106. Polite title: SIR.
108. Face up to: CONFRONT.
110. Found loathsome: HATED.
111. Poet who wrote, "The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt": PLATH. Sylvia.
113. __-Roman: GRECO.
114. Darling: DEAR.
116. Narrow inlet: RIA.
119. Chateau-dotted valley: LOIRE.
124. Word with circle and tube: INNER. And 16. Word with space and planet: OUTER.
125. Capri, for one: ISLE. My sister-in-law Connie might have visited the place. She spent a few years in Italy and she still goes back there every year.
126. Voting no: ANTI.
127. Pizza slice, say: PIECE.
128. Charge (with): TASK.
129. Really, really overcook: CHAR.
130. Deli array: MEAT. Followed by
131. Introductory course: SALAD.
Down:
2. "East of Eden" brother: ARON. Cal's brother.
3. Old incarnations: PAST LIVES. Buddhists believe in reincarnation.
4. Extra NFL periods: OTS.
5. Outdoor gear giant: REI.
6. Old Apple devices: IPODS. Do you guys listen to Sam Harris?
7. Beachfront property?: SAND. Good clue also.
8. Links: TIES.
9. RN workplaces: ORS.
10. Came through: DELIVERED. Like this guy in black. Always came through. Always comes through. Do you like his bag?
11. First act: OPENER.
12. Swamp grasses: REEDS.
13. Didn't stray from: KEPT TO.
14. Razor brand: ATRA.
17. Put away for later: STORE. D-Otto got me this onsen powder. I have more coming. I'll never run out of this again.
21. Rarely: SELDOM.
23. Was out briefly: NAPPED.
24. Thin shard: SLIVER.
31. Iron deficiency: ANEMIA.
32. Fall flower, for short: MUM.
33. Pentagon org.: DOD.
34. "Mrs. America" political cause, briefly: ERA. The Equal Rights Amendment.
36. Advertising award: CLIO.
37. Red __: spicy candies: HOTS.
38. Protagonist: HERO.
39. Available, in a way: ON THE MENU. The Eucharistic Minister
Bill and his wife invited me to their house for lunch on Friday. I had
Cane's Chicken Fingers for the first time. Boomer would have loved them.
41. Drag racer's fuel, briefly: NITRO.
43. Awful: BAD.
45. Sleigh driver: SANTA.
46. Lock of hair: TRESS.
50. "Enter Sandman" band: METALLICA. I think Splynter likes this band. How are you doing, Splynter?
51. Fresh: ANEW.
52. Caplet: PILL.
55. "Gentle, gentle": EASY.
57. Jungfrau, e.g.: ALP.
59. Germ: SEED.
62. Sighed line: AH ME. Do you actually say this phrase?
64. Many an exec: MBA.
66. Hold (up): PROP.
67. Quran faith: ISLAM.
68. Breakout gaming company: ATARI.
71. Wallpaper unit: ROLL.
72. Inkling: IDEA.
73. Fix unlawfully: RIG.
76. Hide-and-seek word: READY.
79. Prepare to ride, in a way: SADDLE.
82. Ghostery, for one: AD BLOCKER.
84. Cleaning up the mess, say: ON KP.
85. Audio jack abbr.: MIC.
87. Cate Blanchett's "The Lord of the Rings" role: GALADRIEL. Ethereal.
88. Declare: AVER.
89. "Queer Eye" expert Jonathan Van __: NESS.
92. Prior to today, poetically: ERENOW.
94. "The Savages" filmmaker Jenkins: TAMARA. Learning moment for me.
_(cropped).jpg/800px-Tamara_Jenkins_(11327430963)_(cropped).jpg)
97. Artist known for optical illusions: ESCHER. That M.C. guy.
98. __ Speedwagon: REO.
100. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT.
101. "__ so fast!": NOT.
103. Old English: ANGLIC.
104. Ring of color: AREOLA. I can't link this again. Will cause our blog trouble.
106. Go 50-50 on: SPLIT.
107. Massey of old films: ILONA.
109. College newbie: FROSH.
110. Sister's attire: HABIT.
112. Long haul: TREK.
114. Thoroughly cooked: DONE.
115. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA. Ni hao ma?
117. Ancient Cuzco dweller: INCA.
118. Like much cheddar: AGED.
121. Hawaiian-style pizza topping: HAM. And pineapple.
122. Record collector's collection: LPS.
123. Carnival maker: KIA. Why did they stop using Sedona?
A few extra notes:
I
gained access to our account for a few days with a temp code. But the
code
lost its magic yesterday. I really need the post office to hurry up
their piled-up mail and get me my ATM card. The credit card was also a
mess also due to our address "84 1/2 Ave. No." Wells Fargo site does not
allow dash
marks and the local banker was simply too incompetent to solve my
glitches. Very frustrating.
I
do have some good news. My best friend Carmen has improved greatly. She
still has throat problems and body aches from COVID, but she feels good
enough to WeChat me again.
I also found this clip of the musical fountain in the north square of the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, 30 minutes away from where I grew up. The guy who took the clip (and showed up in the end) happened to be my friend David, whom I last saw at the Gare Du Nord back in 2000. Thanks to our own Steve Marron, who's been in London for the holidays, David and I got reconnected. He now works in IT for the UK Cabinet Office.
Here are a couple pictures from David's archive. Both taken millions of years ago. I think the first one is in front of the Centre Pompidou. Pas certain. Does that bold red scene look familiar to any of you? I actually didn't recall having my picture taken with that sword guy, much to David's surprise.
Happy New Year! Wishing you lots of love and laughter in 2023!
C.C.
31 comments:
Happy New Year, dear friends! May your joys be greatly increased in the coming year and your sorrows be much less!
Now, as to the puzzle, you folks might be interested to know that I liked Galadriel (in the LOTR) so much that I even wrote a song about her! Unpublished, of course, but still! Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. The gimmick was obvious from the first themed fill, so that made the puzzle easier to solve. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning! And Happy New Year, all.
Needed to swap STEAM for VAPOR right out of the gate. (Have I ever mentioned...?) Otherwise, my grid was Wite-Out-free. D-o was looking for a generic chateau-dotted valley, not LOIRE. Ghostery had me mystified -- oh, that blue thingey on my toolbar. D'oh! Didn't know that trivia about HOOVER, either. Failed to read the puzzle title, but still managed to GLOM onto the theme...first time this year. Thanx, Laura, Christina, and C.C. (I hope your financial problems are in the rearview.)
Happy New Year~!
Hey Cornerites~! I just stopped in to say hi, and to comment on C.C.'s comment - I do like Metallica, but prefer their founding member Dave Mustaine's offshoot, and - I believe - much better band, Megadeth.
Had to cheat one square, the crossing of elenA and Ad blocker - For some reason, I thought it was an "ID" blocker; made sense at 6am this morning....
Also wanted to mention that my company signed the multimillion $, 4-year contract to rebuild this organ, in the Washington National Cathedral - I am hoping that we can turn it into some sort of Discovery channel series; I'd like to work 'behind the scenes' as I once did half a life ago
My condolences again to you, C.C., and I can sympathize with you - I am still locked out of my mother's old banking accounts because now it has moved to "probate" in NYS, which s**ks; I do have the ability to file paperwork to speed up the process - which will happen once the old house has sold; it's on the market now....
Peace, Richy Splynter
Thanks for the review!! I'm not a regular reader of this blog so I am missing some context, but my condolences to you. Also, is that DLN in the photo for 10 Down? We used to work together!
Happy New Year!
Starting off the year and FIW. Crossing of 2 proper names got me again, Plath and Escher. Still feel this is very bad crossword form!
Good morning Cornerites.
Rabbit, Rabbit 2023.
I'm having herbed pork tenderloin, pork gravy, black eyed peas, and fried cabbage for lunch. Yum!
Happy New Year! May 2023 be a wonderful year for thee.
Thanks C.C. for your notes.
Ðavið
FIR, but erased dolt for DORK, def for DOD (doh!) and stash for STORE. Got my WAG @ PLATH x ILONA, having narrowed it down to e, L, r or y. Had the clue been "Weems and _____" I would have gotten it immediately. They are purveyors of fine maritime navigation tools and other nautical gear. The nicest trophy I received during my sailboat racing career was a yacht lamp like this one.
IS TO seems more like a comparison phrase than a ratio one. TVs are 16 TO 9, not 16 IS TO 9. I guess a ratio could be considered a special kind of comparison, though.
I really like DAVE Barry's books, but I love the books by his pal and former coworker Carl Hiaasen.
I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but think "sheet house" for the unknown "Ghostery".
Three-letter fill for "Carnival maker". Must be Edy or KIA.
I'm afraid that if scientists tried to assemble a model of my brain, they would conclude that the kit was missing a few pieces.
Great to see Splynter chiming in. I wish you good skill on your new project.
Thanks to Laura and Christina for the fun start to 2023. My favorite was "introductory course" for SALAD. And thanks to CC for the fun tour. Good to hear that you are making a little progress through the morass of rules and regulations. After you get everything sorted out, you may want to consider changing from Wells to a credit union, or even a community bank.
Good Morning:
The title and the first themer revealed the theme quickly, which made the solve easy peasy. There were many unknowns, Galadriel for one, but perps were fair, so no real stumbling blocks. As CC mentioned, there were several fun C/As and, for a Sunday grid, a relatively low three letter word count.
Thanks, Laura and Christina, for a nice, smooth start to a new year (congrats on the debut, Laura and thanks for dropping by) and thanks, CC, for guiding us along. Loved the photos and the video of the fountains which are quite beautiful and restful. Good luck with your banking issues. Glad you enjoyed a nice visit with Bill and his wife. Good news about your friend, Carmen.
Thank you for the kind concern and well wishes from yesterday.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year to all 😊
I don't have newspaper access to the Sunday puzzle but like to read the review to figure how I'd do if I did..probably not very well on this one.
Have a great day, week, year
🗓
The TASK at hand today was to solve the puzzle. The T to B theme was evident at BOSS IN ONE'S SLEEP. Elvis was known but BENDER was an unknown I would have never solved without the switch.
Only had to make two changes today. ALAS to AH ME and NERD to DORK. But the SW was hard to finish with ILONA crossing both PLATH and LOIRE, both which crossed ESCHER. At least I knew REO but ANGLIC was new to me and AD BLOCKER was all perps- Ghostery was unknown and all the fills were unknown as clued.
TAMARA, NESS, GALADRIEL, DENIS- perps for those unknowns.
METALLICA- no idea about the song but with M-T-A in place it was an easy guess.
C.C., KIA didn't quit making Sedona- they just changed the name to KIA CARNIVAL. As for "Raising Canes" chicken fingers, the place around the corner from our house does a huge business, but I'm sure it's not as much as last year. Chick-Fil-A opened about 100yds. away, basically next door with a vacant lot between them. Chick-Fil-A has the best trained employees of any fast food restaurant.
Sam Harris- never heard of him
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah ...
I saw "The Fabelmans" yesterday. Steven Spieberg's quasi-biopic film. Excellent. Plus always fun to see movies set in an era when I was a kid.
I frequently Google a film or TV show I've just seen, to get some further insight or clarify something I didn't understand. Spielberg discusses what was true (95%) and what was embellished. (He says the scene in John Ford's office is word for word..)
If you don't have access to streaming you can do something truly nostalgic..see it "at the movies" 😉
🎫 📽🎟
Musings
-LOVE ME BENDER – “What Claire might say to John in The Breakfast Club”
-HOOVER did many great things but being president during the Crash of ’29 sullies his image
-LOOK WHO’S BALKING – New MLB rules this year could increase this offense
-Massive DIVESTITURE helped end apartheid in South Africa in the last century
-RE-MAP – Omaha is growing so fast that my old GPS tells me that address does not exist
-I saw DENI_ and I knew 1) the fill would be an “S” and 2) I would not know that person
-Print for my Sunday newspaper clues has gotten smaller and I saw grinders as girders
-MEAT – Thanks to crosswording, I knew what my daughter meant when she said she was bringing a charcuterie tray to Christmas
-NAPPED – Watching something and then realizing you don’t know how the story took a turn
-Pete Rose did not RIG any baseball games but he knew betting on them was prohibited
-FROSH – We were the last ones at my college to have to wear beanies
-Thanks for stopping by, Laura! We’re a very welcoming bunch.
-C.C. – I appreciate the updates and your pictures are wonderful!!
Ray-O,
Try this link to the LA Times Crossword!
"press here"
It can be glitchy at times, due to the Ad you have to watch first...
Also try the links CC provided - see the last entry on the blog main page under "olio" on left side.
obligatory theme link...
A little trivia:
Did you know that many wars were started about "Tea," and parking lots...
Also,
there is a rumor that beer was created before tea...
Happy new year!
CED
Thanks for the link. I usually do our Sunday papers 2 week old NYT puzzle
Plus you deserve a break from my "comments" 🤐
😉
CC - Hen hau xie xie
Happy New Year every one.
I had to work at this puzzle, but loved it. I got the theme quickly making the solve even more fun.
CC: yes, you are in front of the Pompidou center. I hope your banking problems are soon resolved. I understand your frustration with the rigid (and inhuman) rules of online banking.
Another Sunday FIR, my proofreading has improved! This puzzle was fun, Laura and Christina. Thanks! The theme was obvious by the second one, which helped, and my WOs were concentrated where I had slowdowns: PILL and SPLIT.
Thanks to C.C. for reviewing the puzzle today. It sounds like you've had some good things happening too, along with ongoing financial hassles. Hope all goes better in 2023.
Nice to hear from you, Laura.
And thanks for your update, Splynter! Come again soon.
More smiles from you today, CED.
I've enjoyed all the comments.
Happy 2023 to all!
CC Glad you at least gained intermittent access to your account. I agree that Wells Fargo and Bank of America are the worst banks ever. I recommend using a local bank or credit union for better service.
Good that you reconnected with an old friend. Yes, that is definitely the Pompidou Center. We were there in September. My second time there, but the first time we went inside.
This is one of many photos I took at the Pompidou Center in September.
Yes, I very much enjoy listening to the Sam Harris podcasts. I am proud to say that our little Humanist Society of Santa Barbara discovered him and brought him to speak here in 2004, before he became such a superstar.
Here I photographed DAVE BARRY when I was working as a reporter for the Goleta Valley Voice newspaper.
Many unknown names today. Enjoyed the T->B theme.
From Yesterday:
AnonT Thanks for the comments on MITZVAHs and good deeds. Lucina had asked the question, but I don't think she saw my reply.
Had “PLATO” for “PLATH” which of course made the perp wrong as well. Then again I’ve never heard of “ESCHER” but at least that would have made more sense. Hate it when one square ruins what would have been a “FIR”. So I get a “FIW” for my lapse in concentration. Oh well, life goes on…
Happy New Year! Thanks for the fun, Laura and Christina, and C.C. (thanks for the updates)
I finished online with one red-letter help to clarify that ESCHER/PLATH area (I had Plato).
I did see the B to T theme early in the solve.
Hand up for Grab before GROM, Nerd before DORK.
I smiled at CHAR, MEAT, DONE, SALAD, SHRIMP, AGED cheddar, ON THE MENU along with the STOUT, LAGER, ALE TAP. Let’s party.
Good to see Splynter, D4 here today. Welcome Laura.
Thanks for those photos Picard.
CED- I loved Snoop6 with his tea.
Wishing you all a great day.
Interested in your contract for the Washington Cathedral. I enjoy following Mark Herman who also works on and plays reconstructed organs. Also the gentleman who built the organ for the Disney Hall in LA.
Delightful Sunday puzzle--many thanks, Laura and Christina. And your commentary is always amazing and wonderful, C.C., thank you for that too.
Too busy to make any comments, but just wanted to check in with you all and wish you all a Happy New Year's day, and a healthy and happy year ahead, but lots of great puzzles to solve and lots of fun down the road.
Cheers to you all, and thank you for your great company every Sunday!
FIW. The good news is I am starting 2023 with a lot of room for improvement!
Thank you for your write-up, C.C.! I always enjoy the bits you tell us about China.
Thank you, Laura and Christina, and thank you, C.C.
Yes, Happy New Years to all !
I should have commented much earlier, or made notes while solving. But I had other things on my mind, and then was outside in the muddy front gardens planting bulbs.
I caught the B for T replacement pretty early on, but should have thought a little more about the title before starting.
I know that the L at the intersection of ILONA and PLATH was my last fill, and was for the win. A reasonable guess. The other complete unknown was GALADRIEL, but the perps filled that one in. A few others had clues that left me clueless until crossing letters gave ma an inkling.
Stay in touch, Splynter !
C.C., nice pics. I assume that Tom is holding you handbag because you are taking the picture. Glad your friend Carmen is recovering. Tell Steve hello.
Teri and I just got back from a New Years dinner hosted by my Sister #3 and attended by Sisters 2 & 4 and their husbands. We had a wonderful meal and did a lot of reminiscing. Just stopping by to wish everyone a Happy New Year and to thank Laura & Christine for a first day FIR and also to thank C.C. for her review and all the great pictures at the end. I'm glad you're staying in touch with Boomer's church. They sound like good people.
Cheers,
Bill
Fun one, loved the theme on this week’s puzzle — thanks!
Hang in there, C.C.; it’ll all come out in the wash 😎
====> Darren / L.A.
Sunday Late Lurk Say...
Happy Corner New Year!
Fun of you to visit The Corner, Laura. Don't be a stranger...* you'll find some nice word-nerd folk here.
HG - That's a deep-cut re: Breakfast Club. Charcuterie? My favorite dinner (after pasta). We noshed meat, cheese, olives, & fruit last night while watching Spirited [AppleTV]
Splinter - That there looks like a fun project that will take all your talents... and build new ones. Good luck bud!
Lovely to read you D4H4. We need a post-analysis of the lunch ala BillG. :-)
Nice snaps, Picard. Dave Barry: he's no Mark Twain but a treasure indeed.
C.C. - I'm always thinking loving thoughts to you as you deal with , well , everything.
Wonderful pics, BTW.
Cheers, -T
*I read last night on Twitter that GenX invented the ellipsis in text 'cuz we never know when a thought is over or when to shut up. I also saw that GenZ fears us 'cuz we drank from garden hoses, had keys to the house at 5yrs-old (w/o adults at home!), and could prepare a meal by age 9. Ok, well, that tracks :-)
It's so good to see Splynter comment! I've missed him.
What a fabulous job to work on that beautiful organ!
Moe, so you're saying there's a chance ? :>)
A grind for me with lots of white, lots of Unks but I think I got it all. With …LICA I dredged up METALLICA
For World Cup I thought she wanted Winter Sports but DOHA perped
PLATo wasn't a poet and I finally grok'ed AHME
Splynter would be familiar with "At some of these we balked"
WC
Let 2023 be the year we've been looking for, for the past two years!
A recommendation: if you have accounts of value (banks, CUs, stocks, etc.), go down to the offices and change the paperwork to include whoever the co-signers need to be, so that if something medical happens, or death, there is no trouble waiting for the co-signers. My son and daughter are already enrolled, so there is no bank hassle waiting. (But I need to talk a lawyer about the bureaucracy needed for dying, so that the stress associated with death is, somewhat, minimized.)
FWIW, I just use the Washington Post to download the new puzzle: the address is at the top of the opening page.
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