Theme: "Meditation Break" - OM is added to each common phrase.
23. Illumination in the Sugarhill Gang's car?: RAPPER'S DOME LIGHT. Rapper's Delight. The Sugarhill Gang song.
34. Critique of an overstuffed pillow?: TOO MUCH DOWN. Touch down.
47. Scriptures published in a garage?: HOME BREW BIBLE. Hebrew Bible.
66. Headline announcing a generous Butterball donation by an Oscar winner?: TOM HANKS' GIVING TURKEYS. Thanksgiving turkeys.
85. All-clear announcement near the Colosseum?: ROMAN RIOT OVER. Ran riot over.
99. Trite remark of the future?: BROMIDE-TO-BE. Bride-to-be.
110. Employee's explanation for intentional incompetence?: JUST DOOMING MY JOB. Just doing my job.
I mentioned before that Trent has his own website (Grid Therapy) where he regularly publishes puzzles.
Such
a creative theme. I would never thought of Tom Hanks for Thanks. Talk
about imagination. Quite a few cross-conferences in this puzzle. Might
be Trent's style.
Across:
1. Wafer brand: NECCO.
6. Con: SCAM.
10. Count in jazz: BASIE. Count Basie. First African-American to win a Grammy.
15. Artisan's online marketplace: ETSY.
19. Charity golf tourney: PRO-AM.
20. "Otello" baritone: IAGO.
21. Build up: AMASS.
22. "I like it!": NICE.
26. Michael of "The Lego Batman Movie": CERA. Robin.
27. __ pan: SAUTE.
28. Source of many quotes, for short: ANON.
29. Apple device?: CORER. Really apple.
30. Bones, perhaps: DOG TREATS.
38. Advance: INROAD.
39. Vientiane language: LAO. Our Asian store now carries both pork larb and beef larb.
41. Tirades: SCREEDS.
42. Floor: STUN.
43. "Gosh!": DEAR ME.
46. Toi et moi: NOUS.
51. Vexes: NETTLES.
56. Casual agreement: YEP.
57. Fish bait: LURES.
58. Nobelist Pavlov: IVAN. Died in 1936. Pavlov's dog. Conditioned reflex.
60. Some Indian music: RAGA. Also 89. Tikka masala bread: NAAN.
61. Heredity unit: GENE.
62. Anglican minister: VICAR. Father Charlie is Vicar General. So glad he was able to visit us during Boomer's last days.
64. Porch seats: SWINGS.
72. Snobbish: SNOOTY.
73. Aspect: FACET.
74. Tahiti sweetie: AMIE.
75. Athletic tear spots, for short: ACLS. Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
76. Carnival ride destination: PORT.
77. Schism results: SECTS.
79. Corner PC key: ESC.
82. Cause of some delays: RED TAPE. Social Security is a bit bureaucratic.
91. Least likely to be found: RAREST.
92. Kotb of "Today": HODA.
93. Literal and metaphorical danger spot: THIN ICE.
96. Not quite the worst grade: DEE.
97. Pickleball smashes: SPIKES. And 90. Pickleball barrier: NET.
102. Press corps members: REPORTERS.
105. Cheek colorer: ROUGE.
106. Squat: NADA.
108. Filing jobs, briefly: MANIS.
109. Lhasa __: APSO.
117. Invite information: WHEN.
118. Habitual: USUAL.
119. Bagpiper's garb: KILT.
120. French wine valley: LOIRE.
121. Wall St. index, familiarly: NYSE.
122. Like some rom-coms: SAPPY.
123. Goes: SAYS.
124. Maxwell House alternative: YUBAN. Boomer liked Folgers.
Down:
1. "Sunday Puzzle" airer: NPR. 40. Shapiro of 1-Down: ARI.
2. The Carter __: ERA.
3. "What a __-out!": COP.
4. Crowning achievement: CAPSTONE.
5. Mark in the World Golf Hall of Fame: OMEARA. Used to be very close to Tiger.
6. Blues great __ Monica Parker: SISTA. Learning moment for me.
7. Academy trainee: CADET.
8. In the past: AGO.
9. NYC cultural center: MOMA. The Starry Night is there.
10. "The Jungle Book" bear: BALOO.
11. __ acid: AMINO.
12. Droop: SAG.
13. "Kinda": ISH.
14. Approximate fig.: EST.
15. Make secret, in a way: ENCODE.
16. Steering system part: TIE ROD.
17. Threaded fasteners: SCREWS.
18. Thirst (for): YEARN.
24. Wished for a do-over: RUED.
25. Lay to rest: ENTOMB.
29. Lungs locale: CHEST.
30. Full of gossip: DISHY.
31. Doing a pirouette, say: ON TOE.
32. Oscar the Grouch, e.g.: GRUMP.
33. Hunks: SLABS.
35. AOL rival: MSN.
36. The NCAA's Huskies: U CONN. Women's basketball powerhouse.
37. One of two words with an umlaut in a metal band's name: CRUE. Mötley Crüe.
43. Actor Jacobi: DEREK.
44. Lea grazer: EWE. 48. 44-Down's sound: BLEAT.
45. Call forth: ELICIT.
49. Far from hard-boiled: RUNNY. And 54. Like soufflés: EGGY.
50. __ Rachel Wood of "Westworld": EVAN.
52. Tot's transport: TRIKE.
53. Alley assignment: LANE.
55. Lip: SASS.
59. Evita's land: Abbr.: ARG.
61. Drop without warning, in a way: GHOST. As in text, e.g.
62. Triumphant one: VICTOR. 93. Prize for a 62-Down: TROPHY.
63. "__ seen better": I'VE.
64. Total: SUM TO.
65. Place for a bangle: WRIST. Jade bangles are very popular in
Guangzhou. Real jade can be pricey. Lao Pan gifted Carmen a light green
one for her birthday a few years ago. It cost RMB9,0000 ($1,300).
66. Nicholas II title: TSAR.
67. Previously: ONCE.
68. Orthodontist's creation: MOLD.
69. Airport with a BART station: SFO.
70. Teri of "Oh, God!": GARR.
71. Unspoken: TACIT.
76. Harmony: PEACE.
77. Show scorn: SNEER.
78. Hosp. areas: ERS.
79. Call forth: EVOKE.
80. Meal with vegetables dipped in salt water: SEDER.
81. Boorish: CRASS.
83. "Little Girls" musical: ANNIE.
84. Took care of dinner, say: PAID.
86. Got by: MADE DO.
87. "__ we there yet?": ARE.
88. Cold open?: OH IT'S YOU. I like the clue/answer.
94. Green Monopoly pieces: HOUSES.
95. "That's it for me!": I'M GONE.
97. Playlist unit: SONG.
98. In a rigidly formal way: PRIMLY.
99. Muscle: BRAWN.
100. Handy: ON TAP.
101. "This'll end __": BADLY.
103. Post of propriety: EMILY. Emily Post.
104. Trousers: PANTS.
107. Astronaut's go-aheads: A-OKS.
110. Prime rib au __: JUS.
111. Forever Stamp letters: USA.
112. "Yo": SUP.
113. Actress Wasikowska: MIA. She's an Australian.
_(cropped).jpg)
114. Triangular sail: JIB.
115. British singer Rita: ORA.
116. Big __: London landmark: BEN. Did any of you see our Steve at the Coronation? He's been in the UK for a few days.
I
had a great walk at Springbrook Nature Reserve last Thursday with my
sister-in-law Connie and our friend Tom Pepper, the crossword
constructor based here in Minnesota. Afterwards Tom treated us to a
delicious Thai lunch. I had the most amazing papaya salad, mild version
of course, as I can't handle the hot pepper. Thai chili is something
else.
 |
| C.C. & Connie |
 |
| Tom & C.C., 5/4/2023 |
36 comments:
I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. It was very solvable, and the themed clues made sense, with or without the “om.” My favorite answer? “Home-brewed Bible.” I like the frisky irreverence of this fill. Surprisingly, one of the hardest answers for me to come up with was a simple one: “ewe.” Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Sorry, that should be “home-brew bible”. I added an “ed” on the end, which wouldn’t make sense, in the context of the puzzle.
There once was a competitive VICAR
Who preached every sermon with vigor!
He was challenged by Scratch
To an oratorical match,
And the Vicar emerged as the VICTOR!
Now Catholics are a celibate SECT.
Their clergy's not allowed to have sex.
While an Anglican priest
Can fornicate like a beast,
But VICARS finish up in six secs!
{A-, B-.}
Good morning!
Came out of the gate with NILLA. Have I ever mentioned?... Also made a detour later with IM dONE/GONE. Still, this was a pretty smooth solve. D-o even managed to figure out the theme once he remembered to read the puzzle title. Nice one, Trent and C.C.
FIW, missing the unknown SIScA x SAUcE pan. Too many erasures to list. But I got the theme and it helped me fix TO tHANKSGIVING TURKEYS, which had messed up the dentist's tOLD.
I grew up in a mom-and-pop restaurant/motel/gas station. We never bought food or treats for our dogs; they just got table scraps including t-bone steak bones. Never caused a problem, but I wouldn't give bones, especially cooked ones, to my animals. Except Milk Bones.
Let me get this straight - You go to the alley and are assigned a LANE? After being re-educated by Cornerites (especially Boomer) that you go to the LANEs and are assigned a LANE.
Thanks to CC for another fine Sunday review. Loved the pictures from your outing.
Hi all ~ I’ve kinda gone dark for a spell as far as commenting goes but I do the puzzle everyday and always read the blog and all the comments as that is a part of my daily regimen, so thanks to all who blog and comment, always entertaining!
I did manage a FIR in 34:29 w/out help today, would have been a little quicker, like Jinx I had to change the “c” to a “t” in the SAUTÉ/SISTA crossing. Hand up d-o for starting with NILLA instead of New England Candy Company. All in all a fun and clever grid, thank you Trent.
C.C. ~ thank you for the fine review, lovely photos also! I’m guessing that I’m in the majority here that whenever I see a CW clue that references bowling, I immediately think of Boomer, good memories, (and how he cringed at the term alley).
FIR. Started off badly when I misread the clue for 1A as water brand, not wafer brand. That caused me confusion in the NW. Got the theme at the Tom Hanks clue, and soared on to finish. But I take exception to the answer at 30D. Dishy? Even spell check doesn't like it.
Took 18:39 for me to bring this one hOMe.
I also confidently entered Nilla before Necco, and sauce before saute.
I didn't know today's actress or Sista.
Seemed like a good Sunday puzzle.
Musings
-TOM HANKS… finally hit me with the theme
-Me too: One bad cell: SAU_E/SIS_A. SAUCE looked good and jazz greats aren’t my thing
-Those SECTS usually disagree on how many angels can dance on the head of a pin
-I always think of NYSE being on Wall Street and the Dow Jones as its index
-My recollection of the Carter ERA is gas rationing
-Add DISHY to the box of “gluey” fills
-My dentist no longer makes MOLDS for crowns. His high-tech system takes many measurements and then his laser printer makes them within the hour
-A-OK came to our lexicon during my teen years and was uber cool to say
-“I like the cut of your JIB” means “I like your style”
-Loved the pictures!
Started off easy when I filled in the first line of acrosses, then it got really hard...
I didn't ever see the theme until I was backfilling Tom Hanks near the end.
Meditation Break?
FIW. Went with SAUcE until. I looked up Miss Monica Parker. Went with CLUE. After being corrected here, I checked and found an obscure definition of screed is long writing containing angry or violent criticism, i.e. rant or tirade. WOW!
Figured out the OM addition which helped me parse TOM HANKS ...etc.
Interesting puzzle. Thanks, Trent and C.C. for your review.
A Sunday grinder for me but I got it done. It took a few theme fills for the V8 moment to hit with the added OM. I had no idea who the Sugarhill Gang was or apparently a song named RAPPER'S DELIGHT so DOME LIGHT looked like a normal answer. When I think of HOME BREW I think of a bootlegger, not publishing.
PORT- took a while for that one to make since. Thinking of a ride going to some place in Disneyworld, not the cruise ship with the red tail fin smokestack that I passed yesterday that was docked next to the bridge that crosses the Mississippi. Duh!
CERA, SISTA (learning moment for me too), EVAN. JUS, DEREK, MIA- filled by perps. SEDER was a WAG, as I didn't know it. SAPPY is not a word I know and was thinking of Prime rib du JUR but RAPPY didn't sound very mushy for a romcom.
SPIKES- been playing pickleball for five years and have never heard it called that. Just a smash.
YUBAN- have not seen it at least 30 years. As for Boomer's FOLGERS, all of it is now 'made' in the NOLA facilities.
Alley & LANE- I'd rather be 'Sneaking Sally through the Alley', not bowling.
I liked the OM theme, and it helped me a lot. I figured it out from getting TooMuchDown and JustDoomingMyJob.
The NW starter corner was last to fill, esp. since I started with PLEEB instead of CADET and SOHO instead of MOMA. Plus penciled in INTERS instead of ENTOMB. Once I got DOGTREATS the rest came easily.
My favorite answers were BROMIDETOBE and ROMANRIOTOVER. Very clever!
And I agree--DISHY was a very suspect answer. I'm not sure that's really a word!
om
om
range
Tae Kwan Leap
Whew! FIR. A real workout, but mostly enjoyable Sunday effort. Lots of clever misdirection. I really wanted the VICTOR to get the SPOILS, not just another TROPHY to gather dust. Thought the astronauts go-ahead should have been "over" or "roger". AOK is more of an answer to "how's it going?" Most of the people trivia/trivial people filled with ESP or WAGs and SUM TO felt a little squishy. When I fish, I use bait OR a Lure. Sometimes, I add bait to the LURE. In the '50s, my Uncle used to take me bowling at a place with ten manual LANES. Name of the joint? THE ALLEY! Enjoyed CCs review, too!
Sad to say, DNF. I just could not make the NW work. Didn’t know NECCA, RAPPER, DISHY, GRUMP, though I should have guessed. I had to look up OMEARA and SISTA.
The rest of this puzzle went smoothly. A lot of us have TOM Hanks to thank for discovering the theme answers.
“Yo” SUP. I needed perps for that one.
Always nice to see CC’s picture and write up.
YEP, Trent gave us a good one today and I got the theme and a FIR besides. Thanks! Some entries took a bit of time to figure out which makes the puzzle more interesting, I think.
Thanks, C.C., for reviewing it and adding your comments and pictures. Hope things are going well for you.
Enjoy your Sunday everyone!
Thanks Trent for a bit of a Sunday challenge. I got 'er done despite misreading the theme, which I took to mean parsing "ME DI TA TI ON" and using those strings to "break up" the fill, which I couldn't make work.
And thank you C.C. for a much simpler explanation of how it actually worked. Inserting OM is much more soothing.
Some favs:
20A IAGO. Well IAGO is NOT my favorite, 'cuz he's an evil guy. But I do like OTELLO, a who was good guy, but who was deceived by IAGO into killing his love DESDEMONA (didn't we see her last week?). OTELLO is a Verdi masterpiece and his next to last opera. The last was FALSTAFF, his only comedy and also a masterpiece.
4A HOMEBREW BIBLE. There are actually quite a few Homebrew Bibles for making craft beers in your garage. Here's one.
103A EMILY. She looks kinda SNOOTY.
Cheers,
Bill
Delightful Sunday puzzle, many thanks, Trent. And your Sunday commentary is always a pleasure, C.C. Thanks for that too, and especially for your lovely reminder today, that your pastor visited Boomer on his last days. Brought back a sweet memory.
Well, the puzzle started happily with NICE and LIGHT, and as soon as I saw that DOG TREAT and that EWE, I was looking forward to a herd of critters again this morning, and sure enough, there were some TURKEYS.
But once the BIBLE and the VICAR arrived along with a bunch of CADETS, we were clearly in different territory, with different SECTS and a celebration of a SEDER, although I'm not sure the TSAR would attend any of this to hand out a TROPHY or something.
So, there's not much more I can say, except that I'M GONE.
Have a good week coming up, everybody.
I couldn't open C.C.'s link for Trent's website. Here's his Grid Therapy site.
Hola!
Finally! I finished this puzzle in between watching Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley which I record and of course going to church this morning.
CSO to my sister's granddaughter, MIA.
And to DEREK Jacobi, one of my favorite actors.
Curious to see WHEN/I'M GONE crossing each other!
SFO airport is very familiar to me and since the remodeling is finished, it's really NICE!
The movie, Cat BALOO, comes to mind.
Can someone explain SUMTO, total? SUM alone would mean total but who the "to"?
C.C., thank you for posting your outing photos. You look really nice. And thank you for today's analysis.
I hope your day is going great, everyone!
Thanks, Trent, for the Sunday fun. I had a 1-box FIW at HODA / kODA. "Ok IT'S YOU" seemed OK. My fav themer was the TOM HANKS one.
Big Easy @ 10:52. I was having trouble with PORT, too. Thanks for explaining that one.
Thank you for your write-up, C.C. and for the photos. It sure looks like it was a NICE day! I'm glad you gave the green papaya salad another try. Delish!
Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Trent and C.C.
I saw the OM theme (loved the TOM HANKS GIVING TURKEY), which helped the solve.
Yep, that NW corner was the last to fall. This Canadian thought I had learned Nilla and NECCO wafers, but I started with a mash of Necca. SISTA was a wag.
I noted IVAN crossing EVAN, FACET and TACIT.
We had a plethora of IE, Y, or LY endings with SNOOTY, DISHY (means good-looking to me), BADLY, SAPPY, PRIMLY, EMILY, TROPHY, ETSY, ANNIE and AMIE, BASIE. Maybe even DEAR ME, TURKEY(s), and MANI(S)?
Wishing you all a good evening.
Nice to hear from you today YooperPhil. I thought of you when we returned home recently using the American route through Michigan from the Soo to Sarnia.
Yes, sumto sounded strange to me also...
it didn't add up for me either...
NYSE, the New York Stock Exchange is a forum where certain stocks are traded. It is NOT an index.
The Dow Jones 30 Industrials, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 are the three most quoted indices which track the aggregate price of a basket of stocks.
Let's get it right please editor.
Theme? There was a theme? OMG! Thanks, C.C.
As YooperPhil said, "I do the puzzle everyday and always read the blog and all the comments as that is a part of my daily regimen, so thanks to all who blog and comment, always entertaining!" I will add, always informative, too.
There was an actor named John NETTLES who used to play a character named Tom Barnaby on the British TV show Midsomer Murders.
It took the perp JIB to determine whether that French wine valley was the RHONE or the LOIRE, although I do know that the LOIRE Valley has "Valley" specifically in its name. I like the wines from there, but I can't (and don't) drink alcohol any more.
Um, the NYSE is not an index!
Given as how a person's name can be pretty much anything, I put in SAUCE pan, which makes more sense to me than SAUTE pan. Actually, just what is a sauté pan? Okay, never mind, I googled it and learned there is such a thing.
Good wishes to you all.
Sunday Lurk say...
That's a pretty cute grid. I kinda wish I played but there's so many words on Sundays.
That, and I built a beautiful steak dinner (++ steamed asparagus, roasted Brussel sprouts, baked potatoes, build-your-own "salad bar", hibiscus tea, lemonade, and wine) for lunch before playing in the garden (I put in some sunflower seeds to see if they'll work) and getting my chores done.
MManatee - LOL Tae Kwan Leap.
YooperPhil - good to read you again. Hey, everyone needs a break.
HG - Just for clarification, 'cuz I'm sure you know, The Dow is only 30 companies from multiple sectors. Not a true NYSE index per se. [@6:16 beat me to it as did Jayce when I refreshed.]
Maxwell House is my daily drive. Good to the last drop - even cold. When I get fancy, I go for Chicory coffee.
Waseeley - Iago was voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. He was my favorite ;-)
Lucina - I agree. The new SFO is nice and they have little water-bottle fillers everywhere. You can land there and BART will get you across the Bay w/o a rental car.
I have The Home Brew Bible. In grad school, I'd make my own beer. Some of it was pretty good. DW hated! the smell of hops in the apartment. I'd like to get back into building some but there's so many good craft beers cheaper than I could brew a hit-or-miss.
C.C. - Wonderful pics. You're looking good and even a bit happy. Keep at it. It's always going to hurt but...
Cheers, -T
BART = Bay Area Rapid Transit
Growing up, we kids like to joke about why the Fresno area did not have a rapid transit system.
I know...pretty juvenile. I did say we were kids...
Jayce, good point on the NYSE. It is not the S&P or the Dow.
-T, Dr. Demento used to regularly play the original version (by The Fanatics) of the Tae Kwan Leap bit. I have it somewhere on CD.
Jayce @7:50 PM We've seen all 23 series of Midsommer Murders, some more than once. That county is apparently a very dangerous place to live, but the murderers are very clever. And apropos of WINE, my favorite MO was killing a wine snob by
tying him to the ground and pummeling him to death with wine bottles launched by a trebuchet!
-T @9:33 PM LOL Gilbert Gottfried!
sumdaze - FART was not lost on me. :-)
waseeley - glad you got a giggle out of that. Wait for another classic/modern(ish) twist story come Wednesday. //Sorry folks, I'm on tap again.
MManatee - I will try to find it. I loved Dr. Demento (when I could hear it). Weird Al got his big break from him.
Cheers, -T
Tony, don't forget "Radio Free Oz" and "The Fire Sign Theater."
Great theme — the TOMHANKS gag was my favourite. But like many others, I TOO thought SUNTO was a bit SUMPIN’ too far a stretch!… ====> Darren / L.A.
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