Theme: "Hidden Figures" - Each set of circled letters is a movie embedded in another movie.
27. Will Smith title role in a beauty pageant movie?: MISS CONGENIALITY. Ali.
37. Salma Hayek Pinault title role in a body swapping movie?: FREAKY FRIDAY. Frida.
45. Jamie Foxx title role in a globe-trotting movie?: EAT PRAY LOVE. Ray.
68. Dev Patel title role in a boxing movie?: MILLION DOLLAR BABY. Lion.
87. Benicio del Toro title role in a crime thriller movie?: JACK REACHER. Che.
96. Angelina Jolie title role in a space robot movie?: THE IRON GIANT. Gia.
Reveal:
110. Multifeed television setting, and what six of this puzzle's answers display: PICTURE IN PICTURE.
When
I first saw the title, I figured "one, two, three, four, etc" were
hidden inside. So pleasantly surprised by Enrique's approach.
I'm not famliar with movie "Lion". Only wish it were a person's name like the other five embedded movies, "Hidden Figures" title would have been perfect.
Clean and sparkly fill, a hallmark of Enrique.
Across:
6. Dalai Lama's homeland: TIBET. This puzzle was probably edited before the Dalai Lama controversy.
11. Greenlighted: OK'ED.
15. Porpoise kin: ORCA.
19. Celebrate wildly: REVEL. Yesterday was the first time Carmen's granddaughter visited her and Lao Pan. They were ecstatic.
20. Still in it to win it: ALIVE.
21. "When in __ ... ": ROME.
22. Go yachting, say: SAIL.
23. "The L Word" co-creator Chaiken: ILENE. Grid-friendly letter combo.
24. Gastric ailment: ULCER.
25. Point after deuce: AD IN.
26. Mojito garnish: MINT. Never had mojito.
30. Fun run dist.: ONE-K.
31. Unpaid TV ads: PSAS.
32. Perched upon: ATOP.
33. TV pioneer: RCA.
34. "I can help however you see fit": USE ME.
35. Drum kit pieces: HI-HATS.
41. "Where __ sign?": DO I.
42. Online icon: AVATAR.
44. Unagi and anago: EELS. You can find frozen unagi at our Asian store.
49. Fencing blade: EPEE.
51. That girl: SHE.
54. [I'm trying to scare you!]: BOO.
55. Orderly: NEAT.
56. Square and Squarespace space?: IT SECTOR. Great clue/fill.
59. Misses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, say: BLOWS IT. Is it weird that I only start to like "Lose Yourself" now?
62. Cause and __: EFFECT.
67. Sophisticated: SUAVE.
72. Luxury car brand: ACURA. Same letter count as LEXUS.
74. Moolah: DO RE MI.
75. Abates: EASES UP.
78. App used for selfie retouching: FACETUNE. I like the before picture though.
81. Tandoori bread: NAAN.
83. "__ Te Ching": philosophical text: TAO.
84. Texter's "Not gonna lie ... ": TBH. To Be Honest.
85. Ritzy: POSH.
91. Extinct bird: DODO.
93. Franklin known as the "Queen of Soul": ARETHA.
95. Sushi garnish: ROE.
100. Overpowering odor: STENCH.
103. Lemon slice: WEDGE.
104. Nonprofit 34-Down ending: ORG. 34. Clickable address: URL.
105. Read quickly: SKIM.
107. Sudsy stuff: SOAP. I got a small sample of this shower gel. Smells amazing.
109. Part of the HOMES mnemonic: ERIE.
115. "I'm down!": LET'S.
116. French for "mine": A MOI.
117. Largish jazz combo: OCTET.
118. Viscounts' superiors: EARLS.
119. "The Sympathizer" Pulitzer winner __ Thanh Nguyen: VIET. This is the same as Chinese "Yue". The Nam is Vietnam just means "south".
120. Global extremity: POLE.
121. Big spender at a casino: WHALE.
122. Beginning phase: ONSET.
123. Ultimate goals: ENDS.
124. "No ifs, __, or buts": ANDS.
125. In a way: SORTA.
126. Comes (from): STEMS.
Down:
2. Hot dog topper: RELISH.
3. "Me and my big mouth!": I'VE SAID TOO MUCH. Great debut entry. Partnered with another great entry: 51. Keeps on keeping on: STAYS THE COURSE.
4. Place to find boxers and bow ties, say: MEN'S SHOP.
5. Comedian Mapa: ALEC. He's of a Filipino-American. Here with his husband and their kid.
6. Shouts "neener neener" at, say: TAUNTS.
7. Volunteer's offer: I'LL GO.
8. __ curls: BICEP.
9. Well-matched: EVEN.
10. Actress Garr: TERI.
11. Brushing, flossing, etc.: ORAL CARE.
12. Type of bear important to the Alutiiq people: KODIAK. They live in the Kodiak Island, right?
13. Throw off: EMIT.
14. Say no to: DENY.
15. Absorption process: OSMOSIS.
16. Drizzled: RAINED.
17. Movie house: CINEMA. My sister-in-law Connie attends all kinds of film festivals.
18. Element of some computer shortcuts: ALT KEY.
28. Vegan milk choice: OAT. I grew up drinking soy milk. Standard breakfast for many: soy milk and youtiao.
29. Part of town: AREA.
36. Broadcast: AIR.
37. Most-loved, informally: FAV.
38. GPS suggestion: RTE.
39. Throw forcefully, in slang: YEET. Learned from doing crosswords.
40. Hidden costs, often: FEES.
42. Pie __ mode: A LA.
43. Action urged by some political ads: VOTE NO.
45. Recede: EBB.
46. Web portal co.: AOL.
47. Indigo plant: ANIL. Pretty.
48. Bigfoot kin: YETI.
50. Stuffed pocket: PITA.
52. Carpool lane letters: HOV.
53. Before, in poetry: ERE.
57. Those, in Spanish: ESAS. Also 77. __ favor: POR.
58. Die shape: CUBE.
60. Transfer, as money: WIRE.
61. Venetian blind part: SLAT.
63. Four-term pres.: FDR.
64. Counter person?: FOE. Love the clue.
65. National Mall tree: ELM. Also the first word of a park
reserve I've been loving lately. Gorgeous trails inside. I spotted a
mama black bear and her two cubs two weeks ago. The trails have since
greened up nicely and one of the cubs was sadly deserted last week.
69. Poems of praise: ODES.
70. Raise, as kids: REAR.
71. Source of misery: BANE.
72. Toward the stern: AFT.
73. Alternative to zin or pinot: CAB.
76. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE.
79. High bun, e.g.: UPDO. And 86. Pony accessories?: HAIR TIES.
80. Midday: NOON.
82. Nickname preceder: AKA.
87. MSNBC political analyst Psaki: JEN. The former White House press secretary.
88. QB passing stat: ATT.
89. "You __ so busted!": ARE.
90. Unrelenting: CONSTANT.
91. Processes: DIGESTS.
92. Mother lode material: ORE.
94. Hearty meat and tomato sauce: RAGU. Boomer loved this.
96. Midday: TWELVE.
97. On these pages: HEREIN.
98. Prepped for publication: EDITED.
99. Yield no further clues, as a trail: GO COLD.
100. Hydrate while down with the flu, maybe: SIP TEA. The Chinese way. Ginger & date tea.
101. Brief "Spare me the details": TMI.
102. Apollo Theater locale: HARLEM.
105. Anoushka Shankar's instrument: SITAR.
106. Posed in a team photo, maybe: KNELT.
108. Annoying ones: PESTS.
110. Family nickname: PAPA.
111. "Time for me to take the stage!": I'M ON.
112. Spats: ROWS.
113. Reverberating sound: ECHO.
114. Business bigwigs: CEOS.
Look
whose selfie landed in my email box last week? Splynter! He does not
comment these days but he still reads the blog. He writes to me when he
spots a mistake in my blog post or just wants to cheer me up.
49 comments:
Once there was a big bullfrog (ribbit, ribbit),
Got himself a construction job (rivet, rivet).
Then he moved East
To become a priest,
And settled in a temple in (TIBET, Tibet).
Sam went to a Saturnalia in ROME,
A time to REVEL when he wasn't at home.
He raised A DIN
When his beer was SKIM!
If he wanted O'Douls he didn't need to roam!
{A-, B.}
Good morning!
It all came down to YEE_/I_SECTOR. Whew, d-o's WAG was correct. The rest of the puzzle was straight-forward, but that pairing was a personal Natick. Good one, Enrique. Thanx for the explication, C.C. (Best to steer clear of a bear cub in the wild. Mama bear is usually not far away.)
Thank you, Enrique Henestroza Anguiano, and thank you, C.C. Good to see you Splynter.
Of the TWELVE movies, I've seen one. That was MISS CONGENIALITY. I have seen a little bit of FREAKY FRIDAY.
I had an RCA with built in PICTURE IN PICTURE. Made it easy to watch two games at one time.
Hand up, never had a mojito.
Two NCH words today. STENCH and CLINCH. Why do I think that's significant?
Both PITA and NAAN today. We were missing ROTI for the trifecta.
Hot dog topper: RELISH. Chicago-style hot dog relish: Most often, it's neon green.
C.C., nice pic of your friends with their granddaughter. My neighbor is there now for a month long visit. IIRC, it was 19 hours nonstop ORD to Taipei, and then another 3 hour flight after a layover. She was so disappointed when couldn't go back for her brother's wedding after Covid started. Now she's an aunt, so she was excited to be meeting her new sister-in-law (in person) and their baby, as well as spending time with her parents and other family. Some things are the same the world over.
I had the same difficulty D-O had with “yeet” and IT sector” but like him got through it. I also had a bit of a struggle with “Alec” and “Ilene” but got through that too. I was aware of all the themed movies, even though I’ve only seen a couple of them. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
From IMDb;
The real name of the boy, Sheru, means 'lion'. Hence the name of the film.
Even with the circles the picture-in-picture wasn't noticed until the reveal. Plus not being a movie buff I wouldn't have known that GIA, LION, or FRIDA meant anything; movies were unknown to me. THE IRON GIANT was also unknown but perps took care of it. The puzzle was easy but it was a FIW. The cross of YEET & IT SECTOR- total unknowns- never hear of either. I've seen PITA spelled PETA and guessed maybe it was ES-SECTOR for the 'S' in Square and Squarespace space.
d-o's and Sub's WAG was correct but mine wasn't. I don't know why SubG struggled with I or A; it was either PRIMP or PREEN for 1D.
ILENE, FACETUNE, TBH, ALEC, VIET- unknowns filled by perps
The KODIAK bear is just a huge sub-species of the brown bear that lives on Kodiak Island.
Baghdad JEN- I won a bet she would be working for either CNN or MSNBC within 18 months.
I have an appointment this Thursday with Thanh Nguyen, my cardiologist. Don't know if his first name is VIET.
FIR, but erased uar for UAE, scan for SKIM, and lime for MINT. I've not tried a mojito, but I had many Modelos back in the day.
I thought I had the same Natick as D-O, thinking that "Square and Squarespace" must be a board game. Go? Free spin? Clue? Gave up and did an alphabet run, and when I got to "T" I immediately vociferated "Eureka!" "Square" - that little dongle you plug into your phone to accept credit cards when you can't justify a real card reader! (Still don't know Squarespace, or Facetune for that matter.)
Like the Eurythmics sang in their great tune Sweet Dreams:
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
A WHALE isn't a big spender - (s)he is a big gambler. Win or lose, WHALEs are cherished and pampered by all the big casinos. A WHALE has a hard time spending anything - food, drink, suite, souvenirs, airport limo, show tickets and the like are all on the house. For some reason the casino bosses think that the house will win big in the long run.
Thanks to CC for another fine and fun review.
Took 13:44 for me to guess incorrectly at Yee_ crossing I_Sector.
My friends SubG and D-O had better educated guesses than I did.
I did guess correctly at the crossing of here_n and V_et. I went with herein instead of hereon, luckily.
I've seen: Million Dollar Baby, Ray, Miss Congeniality, Ali, maybe Freaky Friday (all those adult/kid swap movies blur together), and some of The Iron Giant.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers (and those that provide mother roles) on this Corner!
FIR, but must admit yeet was a WAG. I wasn't sure about IT sector. Got to the unifier half way through and that helped with the solve. It also helped that I was able to throw down 3D, 27A, and 68A with impunity, and was dead on.
Musings
-A no fuss Sunday puzzle
-We’re out the door for Mom’s Day brunch in Lincoln.
Good Morning :
I liked the theme and reveal very much as I’ve heard of all of the movies, except The Iron Giant, and have seen several of them, but not all. I am perplexed, however, because after searching The Iron Giant, I found no mention whatsoever of Angelina Jolie. Ironically, there is mention of Jennifer Aniston. Can anyone shed any light on this? The usual suspects of unknown proper nouns needed perps, i.e., Alec, Ilene, IT Sector, Face Tune, and Viet, and if I never see Yeet again I’ll be very happy. I think Lime/Mint was my only w/o, as I’ve never had a Mojito, either. CSO to Misty at RCA.
Thanks, Enrique, for an enjoyable Sunday solve and thanks, CC, for your usual top-notch pro analysis. Nice photo of Carmen’s joyful encounter.
I’m a little dopey-mopey today as I was up until 1:30 am binge-watching Night Agent, thanks to the recommendation of Ray O! It’s a little over the top in parts but, overall, a suspenseful and riveting thriller. Earlier in the evening, I tried to watch Ticket To Paradise, a fluff rom-com with Julia Roberts and George Clooney, but the DVD was defective. Netflix will send a replacement.
Happy Mother’s Day to all. 💐
IM@9:22AM
I think you will find that Angelina Jolie played Gia in the title role of the movie of the same name; GIA. All of the names embedded in the circles are also movies where the title of the movie was a character in the movie played by the actor/actress mentioned in the clue.
Was familiar with most of the movies, and sussed the two big long clues as well. My downfall was InSETtER. I went with TUBE (don't know where my mind was) and YEEn (no idea for 39 D). Yes, I worked in the IT sector too.
110A was also an easy fill for me as I owned a Sony picture-in-picture TV set for years. They are great for watching two programs at the same time. It is a shame that they went by the wayside when it required a cable box to tune the new digital signals. My newest Sony has a picture in picture feature but the second input must be the f-connector input to the TV (meant for VCR ).Luckily the cable boxes I use have an f-connector output so I have a second cable box connected. The output is only SD, not HD, but it serves the purpose.
FIW, but a good puzzle. Thanks to C.C. for her review.
Hola!
Being a movie lover I've seen all but GIA and I don't enjoy thriller movies so have never watched JACK REACHER movies.
WHALE in that context is new to me.
HAIR TIES are abundant in a house with several girls who have long hair. My granddaughter who had alopecia now has a healthy head of hair. It was falling out in chunks a while back.
One bad cell at YEET. I had YEEP. Neither one makes sense.
My mother always added ANIL to whites when she washed them.
How nice to see a photo of Splynter. Thank you for that, C.C. and thank you for your nicely detailed narrative.
Happy Mothers' Day! Enjoy the day, everyone!
Sandra Bullock is fantastic in MISS CONGENIALITY.
An enjoyable Sunday walk in the park FIW today. Good clues and fair perps laid the obligatory obscure to rest. I had my fingers crossed on the T in YEET. Couldn't see the picture in my picture until CC led me into the light! A happy mother's day to all the moms out there.
Lee @ 10:07 ~ Thank you for pointing the obvious mistake I made, which is baffling as to why it wasn’t as clear to me as all the others were. Interesting discovery, though, that the star of The Iron Giant was Jennifer Aniston, considering later entanglements with Ms. Jolie.
I really liked this puzzle. It was a little like a treasure hunt. A few unknowns but fair perps so FIR.
I knew of most of the movies, long titles and short, though have not seen many. I thought Tom Cruise played JACK REACHER, to DH’s disappointment.
I learned to like mojitos in Key West. I always have a lot of mint growing in the yard, so easy to make.
I read The Sympathiser when it came out. Excellent and complex depiction of a Vietnamese immigrant living in California.
Always enjoy CC’s Asian references.
OKL I particularly likes your first poem.
Oh, dear. My last comment should read like.
Complicated but interesting Sunday puzzle--many thanks, Enrique. And always enjoy your Sunday commentary, C.C.--especially when you remind us of Boomer.
Always love seeing RCA in a puzzle. My Dad got a job there in the fifties when they were just starting color TV--could that be right? Anyway, supported our family for years.
DO, a deer, a female deer. RE, a drop of golden sun. ME, a name I call myself. FA, a long long way to run. SO, a drink with jam and bread. LA, a note to follow SO. TI, a drink with jam and bread: that will bring us back to DOREMIFASOLATIDO. Did I remember that song correctly from the fifties?
Well, time for some breakfast. Have a lovely Mother's Day, everybody.
I read The Sympathizer in February of 2022 when I was reading many books because it was one of my few outlets during the pandemic. It is an excellent book. Thanh Nguyen deserved the Pulitzer for his excellent use of the English language. Many of his sentences were classics, full of meaning and expressing ideas perfectly.
Change: SO, a drink with jam and bread
To read: SO, a needle pulling thread
Otherwise, just right! Thanks for the memory
Interesting puzzle. One bad cell. I guessed ILENA and did not cross check for ALEC which is much better than ALAC.
YEET? But IT sector made sense. About the only sushi ingredient or garnish I do not care for is ROE.
Hello, Splynter, nice to "see" you.
I haven't seen any of these movies, but have heard of all of them except Lion. I, too, checked on the use of LION. Saroo's name means lion, so I feel it is a good answer.
Must of the Fun Runs at our school were FUND RUNS.
Happy Mother's day to all you mothers out there. We had our celebration last weekend along with Alan's birthday. David called just now and Alan is here. I am happy. The Oaks is giving us a Mother's day brunch tomorrow.
Thought of D.O. when I got off to a start stumbling at 1A by entering BELLA. That fouled up the NW for quite a while. I have not seen a single one of the many movies in this CW, and had never even heard of most, which of course didn’t help. In spite of that, with persistence and a LOT of time I managed to FIR. W/Os BELLA:PRIMA, SOY:OAT. YEET??? What???? Never heard of it, was sure it had to be wrong, but was also sure perps had to be correct, so it stayed. I was sure when I came here there would be a V-8 moment, but no, YEET stayed there. Thanx EHA for CW; except no thanx for YEET. PONY ACCESSORY was a clever clue. Thanx C.C. for the terrific write-up. You never disappoint!
I’ve looked and looked, I can’t find a movie with Benicio del Toro as JACK REACHER. I hope someone here can enlighten me.
Tante Nique, see Lee's post at 10:07.
I got the first SO in my DO RE ME FA SO LA TI DO verse wrong: it should be SO, a needle pulling thread, LA, a note to follow SO, TI, a drink with jam and bread.
Do any of you remember the tune that goes with this verse. After half a century, it still buzzes in my head.
I liked this puzzle. Hand up on being stumped by the crossing of YEE- and I-SECTOR and having to do an alphabet run to fill it. I also was given pause by the crossing of AL-C and ILEN- but the guessed "E" worked. I liked many of the clues/answers that showed imagination and creativity. I am happy this puzzle was far less of a cut-and-paste trivia quiz than most.
Excellent write-up, C.C. Thanks. Glad to see Splynter is still reading us. Good wishes to you all.
I am not familiar with all those movies, but I think none of the performers mentioned were actually in the movie named.
Will Smith was not in Miss Congeniality but starred as ALI.
Salma Hayek Pinault was not in Freaky Friday but did star as FRIDA.
Jamie Foxx was not in Eat, Pray, Love but starred as RAY.
Etc.
Jeez, another shooting, this time in Yuma, AZ.
Of course. DO @ 1:40. How dense of me. I let myself get caught. Thank you for responding.
Sure, Misty. Here's an outtake from The Sound of Music, including the lyrics.
My lawyer is Thanh Nguyen. Must be a popular name in South Viet Nam.
I'd never heard of YEET. What a strange word. But IT-SECTOR came easily to me--SquareSpace has been around forever as a web hosting service. Lots of ads for them on YouTube and Podcasts.
I got Do-Re-Mi but had no idea of how it related to Moolah. Moola is slang for Money. Oh well.
I learned the term WHALE in playing app games on my phone. They are the big spenders (P2P-Pay-To-Play) who buy all the gizmos and upgrades in the game so they can easily beat other F2P (Free-To-Play) players. I guess I've learned that 'by osmosis.'
Thank you to Enrique for a pleasant Sunday solve!
Thank you to C.C. for your commentary!
Bob Lee @3:40. I think the money connection is money >> dough >> do-re-mi
sumdaze, you beat me to it. I immediately thought of dough.
My family just left. They were here for brunch which was cooked by my son-in-law. He made a tall stack of pancakes, hashed brown potatoes and bacon. It was lovely. I told them I did not want to go out to eat because we had been out twice this week and that's enough of restaurant food for me. We celebrated two birthdays this past week.
Afterwards we watched CRAZY RICH ASIANS. I love that movie! The setting is beautiful and it is full of life affirming dialog. Not to mention the beautiful Asian people!
Dev Patel was not in Million Dollar Baby but played the starring role of LION.
Benicio del Toro was not in Jack Reacher but starred in a different movie as CHE.
Angelina Jolie was not in The Iron Giant but did star as GIA.
I thought C.C.s opening sentence explained the theme perfectly.
👍
Movie within a movie;
Will Smith title role in a beauty pageant movie?: MISS CONGENIALITY.
The movie pageant movie was Miss Congeniality. The movie inside this movie was Ali. Ali in this movie was played by Will Smith.
Oops. I had TAi/TAO never seeing the obvious POR Favor
I finally remembered HONES was Great Lakes
I'VE SAID TOO MUCH
Sloppy with t/K on the bear led to messing up FREAKY FRIDAY. What's so difficult re. FAV Willy? YEET complete UNK
HOV is up to 3 in vehicle I noticed on my Fla-Boston trip
Glad to hear from Splynter, CC. Tell him to say hello. Does he still solve Saturdays?
Re. O'Douls… I just tried a new one that was bogo.
I liked Piccadilly on my hotdogs but it's vanished from the shelves
So many squares I get Sloppy and don't proofread them all.
WC
Sunday Lurk say...
Hi all!
In cybersecurity, whaling is an Ahab going after the C-Suite (the Whales) with very well crafted phish.
Misty - in second or 3rd grade, our music teacher had us memorize Do-Re-Mi. I can still sing the whole thing forwards and backwards. Lovely Memories.
Oh, and Tammy was in that class... boy did I crush on her ;-)
WC just beat me to R.E.M.'s "I've Said Too Much" (haven't said enough).
Does anyone know about Violens of Hope? (CEO) Bro thinks he stumbled upon one and is trying to get it restored.
All beef hot-dogs are the best food. Mustard, onions & maybe relish. Best dog I ever had was at Wrigley. Play Ball!
If you use catchup after being a toddler, there's something wrong with you :-)
//Thanks for the link, TTP.
Cheers, -T
*violIns- not to be confused with violence. [SNL]
Hi everybody,
Tonight’s dinner was just delivered via DoorDash. It’s from a favorite local restaurant: A big elegant salad, wine-braised beef short ribs with potatoes and vegetables, and chocolate mousse. I will start my dining experience shortly.
On a less significant matter, I think I was one of the first people to complain about circles many years ago. That’s because I was solving on my computer and the CW program (at the time) didn’t display any circles. Now that I get the circles displayed, I’ve got no bitch. I think they add an extra level to many theme possibilities.
I’m sure I had more to say but it all faded out of my sieve-like brain.
Happy Mothers’ Day
Bill G.
~ Mind how you go…
-T, there's worse. I've heard of MAYO on hotdogs. I'm a mustard and relish guy(unless I can get picadilly) but sauerkraut will never hurt.
I'll pass on the chili
WC
WC - sauerkraut with stone mustard is great on a brat but might overwhelm a dog.
Bill G. So nice to see you around The Corner. Sounds like a great dinner.
~I'll mind how I go.
Cheers, -T
-T: In defense of catsup, the fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars ... but in the packaging. Most catsup is available in containers allowing only the 'small flood' possibility of access. Combine this with catsup's notorious ability to polymerize and clog the bottle's neck, and you have catsuptastrophe, right in your very own hot dog..
Wow! Bill's dinner sounds so good! I had no idea of the possibilities from Door Dash. I should try it.
Another full day of angst wrestling with this tangle of themes. Started at one p.m. and tossed it at 12 a.m. WAY too much time trying to fit in three "themes" and too little time writing accurate Def's. I finally got 4/5 of the puzzle filled but crashed on NE corner.
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