Theme: "Relatively Speaking" - Each theme entry consists of A,
B & C, both AB and BC are common phrases. A is the comparative
form, with two different meanings as shown in each clue.
22. Date night, or a midgame show starring Beyoncé instead of the coach's nephew's garage band?: BETTER HALFTIME.
39. Giving up a lazy Saturday to clean up a beach at sunrise, or waking up to pancakes instead of gruel?: GREATER GOOD MORNING.
56. A chic gray bob and cat eye bifocals, or sleeping until noon and dancing until dawn?: LATER LIFESTYLES.
80. Cardstock instead of newsprint, or the work of a wordy student?: LONGER TERM PAPER.
93. "The copy editor says this needs a capital letter," or a judge saying "Not enough evidence" in a bass-baritone?: LOWER CASE DISMISSED.
116. God's rest on the seventh day, or forty winks on a bunk bed?: HIGHER POWERNAP
Another Sunday debut! Congrats, Kelly! This is her second collaboration with Katie Hale, assistant to Patti Varol.
Sometimes theme is easier for me to understand than to explain in a blog post. Today is that case. So much thoughts went into making this theme work.
Across:
5. Driver's lic. info: DOB. Chinese driver's license. Year first, then month and date. We also put surname first.
8. Nixed, at NASA: NO-GO.
12. Back teeth: MOLARS.
18. Adolescent: TEEN.
19. Concessions purchase: COLA.
20. Very, informally: UBER.
21. Bright red liqueur: APEROL.
25. Stovetop piper: KETTLE.
26. Still going: ACTIVE.
27. Cappuccino topping: FOAM. And 8. Cappuccino topping, perhaps: NUTMEG.
28. Prophetic sign: OMEN.
30. Pliable wood: YEW.
31. English article: THE.
32. "And so forth" abbr.: ETC.
34. Bohr played by Kenneth Branagh in "Oppenheimer": NIELS. Always appreciate the clue angle.
37. Word with bright or big: IDEA.
45. Busy mo. for a 102-Across: APR. 102. Tax prep pro: CPA.
47. Weep: CRY.
48. Brazilian berry: ACAI.
49. Cancel: ANNUL.
50. Ease of movement: FLUIDITY.
53. Target: AIM AT. OK, Wendy and Glen, below are my latest
freestyle and breaststroke. Now I can do bilateral breathing. I'm
working on the fingertip drag drill. Hopefully I can get the high elbow
soon.
55. Food stamp org.: USDA.
59. Classified: RATED.
60. Ethically indifferent: AMORAL.
61. Skip over: OMIT.
62. Fast Amtrak train: ACELA. And 65. Underground systems: METROS.
64. Took first place: WON.
67. Fluffy craft supply: POM POM.
70. Writing tip?: NIB.
73. Adventure game console: ATARI.
75. Soy block: TOFU. Can't live without miso and tofu.
76. "I am enough," e.g.: MANTRA.
78. Snouts: NOSES.
85. Feel (for): ACHE.
86. Spanish diacritic: TILDE.
87. Meetings: SESSIONS.
88. Bite noisily: CHOMP. 92. Wolfed down: ATE.
90. Operatic icon: DIVA.
91. Pub choice: ALE.
99. Flit: DART.
100. Greek fabulist: AESOP.
101. Wallach of "The Holiday": ELI.
105. Scolding sound: TSK.
108. Spring: LEAP.
110. 2-Down, for one: TREE. 2. Canvas for many an arborglyph: BEECH. Arborglyph is a new word to me. Tree carving.
112. Ready at a moment's notice: ON CALL.
114. "Girl on Fire" singer Keys: ALICIA.
120. Sharp grabbers: TALONS.
121. Large barrel: DRUM.
122. Fish caught in pots: EELS. Wish I could eat this every day.
123. Hippocratic __: OATH.
124. Orbital extreme: APOGEE.
125. 18-wheeler: SEMI.
126. "Happy now?": SEE.
127. __ bargain: PLEA.
Down:
3. Midler of "Hocus Pocus": BETTE.
4. Against: ANTI.
5. Play-__: Fun Factory clay: DOH.
6. Norwegian saint: OLAF.
7. Balderdash: BALONEY.
9. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.
10. Jewel: GEM.
11. Cookie used to make Halloween bat-shaped treats: OREO.
12. Manage with whatever's available: MAKE DO.
13. 1968 to now, in professional tennis: OPEN ERA.
14. "__ the games begin!": LET.
15. Highbrow: ARTY.
16. Part: ROLE.
17. Whole lot: SLEW.
19. Heraklion's island: CRETE. Unfamiliar with Heraklion. Looks pretty.
23. Eternally: EVER.
24. Event where pies win ribbons: FAIR.
29. "La Bohème" heroine: MIMI.
33. Prickly plants: CACTI.
35. Like fertile soil: LOAMY.
36. Bolsa Chica State Beach's locale, informally: SOCAL.
38. Single-season bloom: ANNUAL.
39. Actress Pam: GRIER.
40. Take a shot at: TRY FOR.
41. Promposal goal: DATE.
42. Appliance that performs under pressure?: INSTANT POT. Great clue/fill.
43. In the buff: NUDE.
44. Happy: GLAD.
45. Dollar alternative: ALAMO.
46. Give 'em the old razzle-dazzle, say: PUT ON A SHOW. Another great fill.
50. Weak spot: FLAW.
51. Many Oscar contenders: DRAMAS.
52. Not as well: ILLER. Gluey.
53. Sale caveat: AS IS.
54. Hirsute cousin: ITT.
57. Punk offshoot: EMO.
58. Drain: SAP.
59. Plots again: REMAPS.
63. PR focus: COMMS.
66. Ending at, casually: TIL.
67. Bioré target: PORE. Fun to pop on one.
68. Frequently, poetically: OFT.
69. Oaty breakfast mix: MUESLI.
71. Oscar nominee Dunne: IRENE.
72. Xylophone parts: BARS.
74. Abounded (with): TEEMED.
75. Journalist Koppel: TED.
77. Water nymph: NAIAD.
78. Salt formula: NACL.
79. Nueve preceder: OCHO.
81. Singer Redding: OTIS.
82. "Love your skin" body brand: NIVEA. I like their sunscreen. Japanese version.
83. Woody area: GLADE.
84. Actress Witherspoon: REESE.
89. Nutty confection: PRALINE.
90. __ mining: DATA.
91. Current units: AMPERES.
94. Fold: CREASE.
95. Thin strips of land: ISTHMI. Hard to pronounce for me. Chinese does not have TH letter combo.
96. Irked: SORE.
97. Loses speed: SLOWS.
98. German article: EINE.
102. Gondola waterway: CANAL.
103. Tectonic __: PLATE.
104. First Greek letter: ALPHA.
105. "Toodles": TA TA.
106. Thwack: SLAP.
107. 2.2 lbs., roughly: KILO.
109. Univ. conferrals: PHDS.
111. Sport sword: EPEE.
113. Trim, as a photo: CROP.
115. Horologist's piece: COG.
117. Wrath: IRE.
118. Orbit, e.g.: GUM.
119. Fútbol cheer: OLE.
Some extra notes:
1) Dennis sent me this stunning display at his front yard. His
buddy surprised him when he returned from his annual New Jersey trip.
The second one is from the visit on his 80th birthday. He has not aged
one day in all these years since I knew him.
2)
Look who's finally back home! Melissa picked up her husband Jacob on
Oct 20. It's been a long, hard journey. Melissa said "Jacob has been
home a week and already has work through the office of public defense,
and a few other irons in the fire for backup." More pictures here. The first picture below was taken on their way out to dinner his first night home.
29 comments:
I pride myself that I (eventually) saw the “double meanings” of the themed answers before C.C. explained it. Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle, except that it was fair and sussable. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Figured out the "relative" (..ER) theme and noticed the mash-ups of the theme phrases. No need for my trusty Wite-Out this morning. Thanx, Kelly, Katie, and C.C. (You're becoming quite the swimmer!)
Congrats to Melissa Bee and Jacob. It's been a long time coming.
FIR, but erased teapot for KETTLE, and open age for OPEN ERA.
Today is:
NATIONAL CAT DAY (have to ask the Cornerites who serve cats – isn’t this every day?)
NATIONAL HERMIT DAY (wonder if they have conventions)
NATIONAL OATMEAL DAY (I prefer bran flakes and skim milk)
WORLD STROKE DAY (gotta take my Xarelto every day – afib)
DC and Caracas both use the Metro brand subway equipment. I had hoped that the paper ticket I bought in Caracas would work in DC, but it didn't.
DNK about bat-shaped treats, but a 4-letter cookie is kinda obvious.
I have spent many an inebriated night at anchor at the Isthmus of Catalina. Don't think I've ever used the term ISTHMI.
POMPOMs are craft supplies? I once dated a cheerleader who had great POMPOMs, and she was pretty crafty, but I don't remember her doing any DIY projects.
Thanks to Kelly and Katie for the fun romp, and to CC for the concise review. Great to see your swimming progress.
Took 14:55 today for me to be the filler.
Good puzzle. Cute theme. SubG summed it up nicely.
FIR. Several unknowns for me, arborglyth and aperol for example.
I got the theme and understood the answers, but the clues for them seemed a bit of a stretch.
Overall this was an enjoyable Sunday puzzle.
Good morning all. The puzzle was an easy one but there were some terms and fills that were unfamiliar.
'Cardstock'- never heard of it and had not a clue as to how it related to LONGER TERM.
'date night' and BETTER HALF didn't make sense to me.
"I am enough" & MANTRA- didn't make sense but the perps were solid
BEECH-'Arborglyph'- knew it was about trees but had to wait for the perps.
COMMS- no idea about that fill. I wanted IMAGE but what is 'comms' and abbr. for?
COG for"horologist's piece"- no idea, thank you perps
NIVEA- "Love MY skin". I HATE my skin. You don't want my skin with psoriasis, keratoses, basal cells, squammous cells, and an occasional melanoma.
APEROL- a new booze that has no appeal.
NUTMEG & FOAM- don't drink coffee so both were guesses
UBER fun puzzle this morning. Just a few unknowns like APEROL. I too figured if some kind of sweet confection is needed for a 4 letter slot, it has to be OREO.
At first I thought the theme answers would require the names for family members, but I soon figured out the relativity trick.
The NE tip was the last to fall.
I admire CC’s perseverance and attention to details that will allow her to become an accomplished swimmer, the way she became an accomplished CW puzzle creator. Kudos.
Don't worry CC. ISTHMI isn't easy for English speakers to pronounce either
Depends a lot on the cat. I have one with an ego big as all outdoors. Independent and al.oof, except when it is time for dinner. The other is very timid and lovey and startles at loud noises. Affectionate and mild. But they both demand attention.
FIR today. A bit slow getting started, but once the first theme entry fell, everything opened up and just rolled. Only unknown was APEROL. The perp was kind to fill the "P".
The K&K show did a great job with a neat theme and C.C. presented her normal recap.
He who hesitates, gets lost in the shuffle.
Whenever.
An enjoyable Sunday stroll. I really appreciated the low count of proper names, and that the names used were not total obscurities known only to a few. Isthmus and iller brought a touch of nose- wrinkle and Aperol, Arborglyphs, Comms, and Cog took ESP. All in all, a superior crossWORD construction!
A quite fun puzzle today with some learning moments I hope I can retain, such as “arborglyph”. One of the answers is still mystifying, though - what does COMMS mean? I’d appreciate some help.
Thanks, Katie and Kelly for this interesting and doable challenge with minimal “groaners” ; i.e., ILLER. Thanks, C.C. for the great tour and especially for the clip of you swimming. You’re doing so well, and I hope you’re enjoying it too. Someday, maybe we can swim laps together!
Enjoyed the RELATIVE theme; hoped it might relate to physics. But we did have NIELS BOHR, OPPENHEIMER and AMPERE. Impressive construction.
Hand up APEROL seemed wrong. FIR.
CC I am impressed with your swimming skill. I long ago gave up trying to perfect the Australian Crawl (freestyle). I much prefer the side stroke. No need to coordinate breathing and you can look around as you swim.
Here my good friend Danielle wears a heavy falconry glove to protect her from the TALONS of this Kestrel.
This is at our Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Musings
-A fun puzzle for me as we greeted the first snowfall of the autumn
-My fav phrase for a NASA failure is, “No joy”.
-Nice form, C.C.!
-We started getting Joann’s mother food stamps when she was 95. Joann shopped for her and her mother and scrupulously kept her own items separate and only used the stamps for her mother’s.
-Originally POM POMs were POM PONs but persistent mispronunciations led to the change
-I am technically ON CALL and might get called at 10 am to work “as soon as you can get here”
-Do what you must, all I want is my turn AT BAT
-Let the games begin. In 1936, the world heard, “Ich proklamiere die Eröffnung der Olympischen Spiele von Berlin und feiere damit die elfte Olympiade der Neuzeit”
-My aunt Betty was a judge at our county FAIR for over 60 years.
-Good sales staff know how to, PUT ON A GOOD SHOW
-TED Koppel’s leap into national conciseness
-One national cat day at our house? Nope, it’s a holiday in perpetuity.
-Wonderful info on Dennis and Melissa!
PR folks handle communication "comms"; I think that's the answer.
Think index cards. Paper of this weight is designed to last longer than grades like newsprint.
Comms = communications.
Thank You Kelly Richardson and Katie Hale, for a large complex CW that was a joy to solve. Just right, for an EASIER LAZY AFTERNOON...
I think I got the hint of the long answers after solving 2, but it was of little help when solving the others... However, the clues were straightforward and the lower half was solved like clockwork ...
Thank You CC for your explanatory summary on the blog. We all feel, that you will also be an accomplished swimmer, soon.
I couldn't understand a couple of the clues, and eventually I went onto Google to get a better explanation.
1. 76 Across I am enough, e.g. - MANTRA. Apparently, this line which indicates self worth, and confidence in oneself, comes from the sanskrit and also, with variations from the Bible. 'I am enough, I do enough, I have enough' ... apparently, words to live by.
2. 63 Down. PR focus? - COMMS. I guess, Public Relations or Press Releases ... focus on communications?- short form - COMMS.
Have a great week, coming up, all you folks.
I very much liked this puzzle, and CC's writeup as well.
I've heard a former POTUS press secretary say something like "the President needs to get his COMMs team together and tell them to figure out a strategy before any of them speaks in public."
Hola!
Finally I got around to finishing this puzzle after a busy morning (church) and afternoon (credit card problems). Grrr. I hate it when they tell me they will send me a new card! That means the long process of notifying all and sundry about the cancellation. I'm starting to rely less and less on credit cards and using my debit card instead. I know the risks but it's all a hassle anyway.
Melissa, congratulations! I am so happy for you both.
#56 I do see some chic gray bobs at church and envy them. My hair requires a lot of work.
APEROL is totally unknown to me.
I love my INSTA POT though I haven't used it much lately. I'll have to start using it again.
CSO to my beautiful niece IRENE. She could easily win a beauty contest.
I love ABBA and their music.
OLAF or OLAV. I usually wait for the crosses.
I hope all of you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday. Here it is a perfect day of 78 degrees.
Fairly easy fill today... only three gaps. Am I the only solver who dislikes using product ads as clues? It seems that using product names and ads provides free ads to the companies. Anyone agree?
Am I the only one who has never heard of INSTANT POT?
PICARD....that must be a REALLY FAST growing variety! (lol).
Charlie Echo I was thinking that INSTANT POT was an express Cannabis delivery service.
We got to support an eagle in a port of the UAE.
It was either that, as above, …. or be like Instant Coffee ….
…. A powder that would deliver a decoction of delta-9 tetra hydro cannabinol T H C …. Also called Dronabinol .
I wouldn’t be surprised if concentrated THC is already available….. in legal markets…. ;-o)
🤣👍🏽. ====> Darren
For some nice reason, I was tuned into the wavelength of the long answers and just ripped through this one! I don’t time myself, but it felt like a world record for my Sunday efforts.
Very fun theme, some clever clueing and entertaining fun. Thanks for a great puzzle, you two K’s — and lookin’ good in the pool there, C.C. !!
====> Darren / L.A.
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