Theme: "Do the Dishes" - The last word of each common phrase is replaced by its food homophone.
23A. Score a seafood morsel in a bite of paella?: PULL A MUSSEL. Pull a muscle.
25A. Carefully check some deli stock?: SCREEN LOX. Screen locks.
53A. Hamburgers and hot dogs sold at a NASCAR race?: TRACK MEAT. Track meet.
66A. Ingredient that tends to fly out of the stand mixer?: WILD FLOUR. Wild flour.
82A. Make an unusual choice while making borscht?: SKIP A BEET. Skip a beet.
112A. Sketch the Thanksgiving turkey before it's carved?: DRAW A FOWL. Draw a foul.
114A. Request to a fishmonger for smaller portions?: BREAK MY SOLE. Break My Soul.
41D. "This herb is amazing!"?: GREAT THYME. Great time.
45D. Avoid the downside in a corn investment?: HEDGE MAIZE. Hedge maze.
This theme was inspired by another food idea Steve had. I pervaded him to go with the "verb & food item" so "Do the Dishes" works nicely as a title.
The theme clues went through substantial changes. Patti's are much more imaginative than our originals.
Just FYI, all my future LAT puzzles will have the Zhouqin Burnikel byline.
Across:
1. Saoirse of "Lady Bird": RONAN. Her parents are Irish.
6. Casino request: HIT ME.
11. Go to the polls: VOTE.
15. Ship's staff: CREW.
19. IRS option: E FILE.
20. Lakers legend Shaquille: ONEAL.
21. Nutrient in dried beans: IRON. I eat tofu every day. Plenty of iron. No beans.
22. Letter before kappa: IOTA.
27. City viewed from Holmenkollbakken: OSLO. It's ski jumping hill in Oslo. Never heard of it until I read Steve's clue. He might have skied there.
28. Miles and meters: UNITS.
29. Decree: FIAT.
30. Intel microprocessor: XEON.
31. Kelp and sargassum: SEAWEEDS. Sargassum is brown seaweed.
33. Sour: TART.
35. Mosque leader: IMAM.
37. Certain, for sure: Abbr.: SYN. I love this clue. Patti's also. Certain is a synonym of sure.
38. __ firma: TERRA.
40. Patterns in an aviary: PLUMAGES.
44. Most bashful: SHIEST.
47. Low-pressure technique: SOFT SELL.
49. Numbered hwy.: RTE.
50. No Doubt lead singer Stefani: GWEN.
51. "__ a wrap": THAT'S.
56. Landscaping supply: SOD.
57. Travis or Haggard of country music: MERLE.
58. Polite interruption: AHEM.
60. Court proceeding: TRIAL. So pricey to have a lawyer to handle this probate issue. Gosh. Hope to have this thing wrapped up soon.
61. Restricted zone: NO-GO AREA.
63. Scottish lowland: GLEN.
64. Kind: SORT.
65. Magician Jillette: PENN.
70. Understands: GETS.
72. Repast: MEAL. I got papaya salad from our Asian grocery store for Thanksgiving. So spicy. I just can't handle hot pepper.
74. 50+ group: AARP.
75. Golfing compliment: NICE SHOT.
78. Steam room: SAUNA.
79. Lid woe: STYE.
80. Raga instrument: SITAR.
81. Ming who is the tallest player in the basketball Hall of Fame: YAO. He's 7'6".
84. Stocky dog: BOXER.
85. Little devils: IMPS.
86. "The Long Goodbye" Oscar winner Ahmed: RIZ. British actor.
87. Biometric recognition method: FACE SCAN.
90. Talks back: SASSES.
92. Artists' lofts: ATELIERS.
95. Mike Brady or Phil Dunphy: TV DAD. The latter from "Modern Family".
97. Mauna __: LOA.
98. Scraped (by): EKED.
99. Warthog feature: TUSK.
100. Far from calm: IN A PANIC.
105. Utter delight: GLEE.
107. Picnicker's worry: RAIN.
109. Battle of the brands: AD WAR.
111. Credit alternative: CASH.
116. Aria deliverer: DIVA.
117. Ignored the limit: SPED.
118. Abundant: AMPLE.
119. Noggins: DOMES.
120. "Please don't go!": STAY.
121. Letters on egg cartons: USDA.
122. Speedy: RAPID.
123. Piques: SNITS.
Down:
2. Functional: OF USE.
3. Wafer named for its flavor: NILLA.
4. Admits: ALLOWS IN.
5. Read Across America org.: NEA.
6. Beagle, for one: HOUND.
7. Refuse to bend: INSIST.
8. Reason to hit the books: TEST.
9. Super conductors?: MAESTROS. Steve's clue. I love it.
10. Annex shape, perhaps: ELL.
11. Take a trip to: VISIT.
12. Killer whale: ORCA.
13. Chimichanga wrap: TORTILLA. Never had this.
14. Chemical suffix: ENE.
15. Picture house: CINEMA.
16. Caramel-filled treat: ROLO.
17. Town across the Thames from Windsor: ETON.
18. Spa treatment: WAX.
24. Jack kin: MUENSTER. No cheese for me.
26. Reason to hit the books: EXAM.
29. Campus brothers: FRAT.
32. __ contact: EYE.
34. Bark: ARF.
36. Punishes with a fine: MULCTS. Did this word give any of you trouble?
39. Oldest Haim sister: ESTE. Danielle, Este and Alana Haim.
40. Pricey salon job: PERM.
42. Citation shortener: ET AL.
43. Movie location: SET.
44. In one fell __: SWOOP.
46. Pitched: THREW.
48. Court fig.: STENO.
50. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" channel: GSN.
52. Jai __: ALAI.
54. Retail giant that owns Food 4 Less and Ralphs: KROGER. I don't think we have a Kroger here in Minnesota.
55. Swamps: MIRES.
57. "See ya!": MANANA.
58. Actress Woodard: ALFRE.
59. Pitch in: HELP.
62. Outdo: ONE UP.
63. Aussie greeting: G DAY.
67. Drink with foam art: LATTE.
68. Operating system developed by Bell Labs: UNIX.
69. Ceremonies: RITES.
71. Melodramatic fare: SOAPS.
73. Chem class cost: LAB FEE.
76. Garage cacophony: CAR ALARM.
77. How-__: manuals: TOS.
78. Comedy bit: SKIT.
79. Min. parts: SECS.
80. Movsesian who co-hosts "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend": SONA. Does your paper have the "Movesian" spelling? Patti corrected the error, but your local paper might still have the typo.
82. Sp. woman: SRA.
83. Dangling jewelry: EAR DROPS.
84. Unhappy returns?: BAD KARMA.
85. "Elon Musk" biographer Walter: ISAACSON. I told Steve not to
use Elon Musk, way too divisive. So he went with Steve Jobs. Then Patti
used Elon Musk. Shows you how much I know Patti's preferences.
88. Bowl over: STUN. And 108. Blown away: AWED.
89. Walgreens rival: CVS.
91. Soak (up): SOP.
93. Elbow room: LEEWAY.
94. Furniture chain founded in Sweden: IKEA.
96. Hindu festival of lights: DIWALI. One of Patti's test solvers grew up in India.
99. Actress Swinton: TILDA.
101. Blunt, as truth: NAKED.
102. Supermodel Campbell: NAOMI.
103. Spot of land: ISLET.
104. Game with rooks: CHESS.
105. Sandpaper surface: GRIT.
106. Etna emission: LAVA.
110. "The Idol" actress Lily-Rose: DEPP. Johnny Depp's daughter.
112. Driller's deg.: DDS.
113. Tallahassee sch.: FSU.
114. Watering hole: BAR.
115. Fantasy football stat: YDS.
OK, guys, I finally got a "bent elbow" now. I need to work on rotating my shoulders more so the recovery arm is "over the top" rather than "on the side". I'm going to try Renee's "reach out in front of your nose" idea.
The biggest problem is now my kicks. With a kickboard, I kick like a pro, left/right, left/right, very rhythmic. Without my kickboard, my legs seem to kick randomly. Sometimes I have the mini dolphin kicks mixed in. Sometimes I stop kicking for a second, esp when I breathe. I don't know why. I'm going to wean myself off the kickboard.
C.C.
26 comments:
Good morning!
Went from SEA Grass to Foods to WEEDS. Whew. MULCTS is a term I've heard a time or two...and quickly forgot. Is a MOVESIAN somebody who moves in? Oh, it was misspelled -- still a weird name. Tried ALFiE before AARP corrected my goof. Got 'er done, everything correct, but still didn't realize that all the alternate spellings were foods. [Sigh]. Should'a realized it seeing Steve's name. Thanx, Steve and C.C. (I think you meant "persuaded.")
FIR, but erased core for XEON.
Today is:
NATIONAL ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD DAY (a day to be thankful for what you have, starting with the roof over your head.)
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (raises awareness of the political, economic, social and cultural aspects affecting people with disabilities)
AARP - I've noticed that their TV ads include the character saying "I may not agree with AARP on everything, but...". I suspect that the politicalization of the group has harmed its businesses.
Yeah, I say "nice shot" a lot. I also say "nice lag" when a golfing companion misses a 4-foot putt.
My first thought at "warthog feature" was "Gatling gun." Oh, the animal, not the USAF's awesome A-10 tank-killer.
Pre-COVID, Norfolk restaurants were dabbling in charging fees for paying in CASH. Now they charge for using credit cards. Must be more money in that.
GSN is popular in our house. DW has kinda cooled on the vet shows on Nat Geo Wild.
When I lived in California, I remember a guy talking about his first trip back east to attend a training course. He said "they have K-Marts like we do, but they also have K-Rogers!"
OK Lucina. I thought "hasta" meant "see ya," and MANANA meant "tomorrow." Like "hasta manana" and "hasta luego." Is "manana" used by itself, somewhat like what we say in 'Merican "later" when we mean "see you later?"
Thanks to Steve and CC for the fun Sunday puzzle. Gotta give the devil her due; my favorite today was SYN for "certain, for sure." And thanks to CC for pulling double-duty. (Since I print my puzzle from the LAT site, the spelling was correct.)
First, C.C., let me point out that “wild flour” is a take-off on “wildflower.” You didn’t mention that in your commentary.
And, yes, I did have a problem with “mulcts” and still can’t believe it is a word. Is it some kind of portmanteau or something?
Anyway, after all is said and done, FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR. I found this Sunday fare a bit crunchy. There were a lot of proper names and I find this annoying. Almost like me making a CW and cluing my first pet's name.
Took a WAG at Nilla, especially crossing Ronan. And mulcts was a total unknown.
The theme I enjoyed and brought a smile to me as I navigated the dishes. Almost blew ir on 45D when I had a brain fade on spelling maize. But in the end got everything right, so I'm pleased.
Good Morning:
How nice to see Steve and CC's byline and, surprise, surprise, the theme revolves around food, a subject Steve is well-versed in, preparing it and consuming it with great gusto and glee! A Sunday puzzle should have a cute or clever theme and a medium level of solving difficulty and some fun word play. This offering has all of those components, IMO, and, therefore was an enjoyable and rewarding solve. I needed perps for the usual unknown proper name entries, i.e., Xeon, Riz, Este, Sona, Isaacson, Diwali, and that odd-looking Mulcts, and I went astray at Mast/Crew and Breed/Hound. There were a few Easter Eggs scattered about, including Meal, Nila, and Muenster, plus peripherals, Kroger and USDA.
My favorite C/A was Super Conductors=Maestros and my favorite themer was Ingredient that tends to fly out of the stand mixer=Wild Flour. Speaking of themers, Hedge Maize had me baffled until I Googled it, post solve. I found the fill above average in freshness and effect, especially In A Panic, No Go Area, Bad Karma, Nice Shot, etc. I also liked the clecho cluing for Test and Exam and the low (20), for a Sunday, three letter word count.
Thanks, Steve and CC, for a very smooth and satisfying solve. Nice to see you collaborating again. And thanks, CC, for sharing those insider tidbits about the clues and other observations. You look might fine in that swimming pool! Keep on kickin'!
Jinx @ 7:21 ~ I cancelled my AARP membership years ago due to their annoying habit of sending me renewal notices/bills in June or July when my renewal month was November. It irked me no end, so I said goodbye.
Have a great day.
C.C. & Steve- where in the world did you come up with MULCTS? I wasted 10 minutes going over the cross perps looking for another words. I wanted to fill EXACTS but there was no way. It took a leap of faith to let SYN stay on the page. I was not 'Certain or sure' if it was SHYEST or SHIESTL or EAR or EYE contact. But I did FIR.
I caught the theme immediately, filling A MUSSEL and then guessing PULL. You had AMPLE EXAM-ples of alternate 'spellings' for sayings.
You two or Patti came up with some people I didn't know and as Steve would say; 'thank you perps'. RONAN, RIZ, ESTE, SONA, TILDA, DEPP, ALFRE- unknown by me
There was "No Doubt" the singer named Stefani would be GWEN
Movsesian or Movesian in my paper- still took perps for the unknown
Elon Musk is only "way too divisive" to the liberal press, which doesn't like him. They take everything out of context and amplify it. Walter ISAACSON lives and teaches in New Orleans. A few years ago I was seated in the chair next to him at a Christmas luncheon and didn't know who he was. Another person told me later. Duh!
Took 15:06 today for me to clean my plate.
Good puzzle, with the exception of some more "personal obscurities", e.g., Ronan, Sona, Depp, etc.
I find "break my sole" to be an outlier. The other phrases are familiar.
Mulcts? Huh.
"Certain, for sure: Abbr." = great clue, which I admittedly didn't understand at first.
C.C. did most of the heavy lifting on this one, so credit where it's due. It was a lot of fun to collaborate again, though. We did have a little debate on the "mulcts" fill, but decided that if Patti was OK with it then we were. Happy Sunday!
Jinx, as I've written before, AARP is basically an insurance company masquerading as a non-profit org. Everything they push is related to house much money they can rake in. What they charge "members" is just extra profit.
Subg, try French for mulcts
Almost blew it today when I filled tDS instead of YDS. Most of the theme entries were fairly obvious except BREAKMYSOLE. Finally got the SYN clue when I read it here.
Learn the joy of anticipation.
Sweat
Read the Star Ledger, saw the "do the dishes" puzzle with no byline, and was pleasantly surprised when I opened the LA Times Crossword. I have complained repeatedly to the newspaper that the constructor names were missing, but it fell on deaf ears, or they blamed it on "syndicate", whatever that is.... in response, they now drop the end of the Almanac to make it fit. I often find myself reading half a sentence...
Did mulcts cause me any trouble?
I found it very taxing... but the rest of the puzzle was a pleasure compared to what we have been offered lately.
According to Gary's Blog Map, and blog history, I believe that YellowRocks is near my location. During the Sandy Hurricane, one of our esteemed (past) regulars tracked me down when I was incommunicado for 10 days. I would be glad to return the favor, and track down Yellowrocks, and offer assistance, but I need help. Plus, I am not sure, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I would not want to invade anyone privacy... (what do you think... )?
As far as the puzzle theme, and that included Imps, I am all for it...
P.s. it is funny to ask Alexa to "do the dishes," but you will have to try it for yourself, as there are several possible responses...
A fun puzzle with just enough crunch to make it Sunday worthy. The theme was clever and cute.
Mulcts made me go cross eyed thinking that I’d had one of the perps wrong.
I would love to attend 🪔 Dilwali one year. What a fascinating blend of colors, food, and celebrations.
Thanks Steve and Zhouqin
…..kkFlorida
Musings
-MULCTS and BREAK MY SOLE seem okay and so I’ll claim a “got ‘er done!”
-This 1957 ad has a very familiar face pitching a product full of IRON to cure “tired blood”
-Sour/TART candy uses citric acid from grapefruit, lemons, etc.
-I remember Merle as the Okie From Muskogee
-I have finally recalled ATELIERS from doing cwds
-Very confident kids have no fear of making EYE contact with adults
-Joann spends $100 every six weeks or so in her salon
-CVS tried to get into our town just down the street from Walgreens but the city would not sell them a four foot strip in a park that nobody uses
-I remember HOLI as an Indian festival
-Some local convenience stores charge a nickel less on gas for cash
-NEA and AARP political stands drove me away
My heart did a flip when I saw Zhouqin’s name. I knew I was going to like this puzzle and sure enough I did. Steve modestly gives credit to his talented partner, but I thank him also.
Yes, there were unknown names but perps took care of them. MULCT did not give me any problem since for some strange reason I’m familiar with it. I was however surprised to see it in a CW.
I never think of SAUNA as a steam room since it emits dry heat.
I too had some trouble with BREAK MY SOLE. SOLE is by far my favorite fish and the only kind I would eat as a child.
All in all a satisfying puzzle.
Talk about coincidence: Mulcts appears in today's puzzle in that other newspaper! 🤣
This is what I wrote earlier this morning:
Very nice, Steve and C.C.
Steve? Food? Who'dve thunk it? (●'◡'●)
Did anyone find this puzzle a CAKE WOK?
The theme answers and clues were fun.
I am so tired this morning. And sore. Too much yard work yesterday. Can't keep my eyes open. Back later.
That's when I fell asleep again. Now the game is on. Back later.
I liked this puzzle.
Thanks to Steve and C.C. for a fun Sunday solve! I had a one-box FIW at SY? / MUE?STER. Thanks, C.C., for explaining Patti's too-clever-for me clue (Good one!). I just was not thinking "cheese" for "Jack" today. Oof!
I like how you kept the food spellings for the homophones.
FAV themers were GREAT THYME and WILD FLOUR. Also, Unhappy returns? and Super conductors?
I had MULCTS from the perps and meant to go look at it again later but forgot so it wasn't a problem.
I have seen RONAN Saoirse in a couple of movies and like her acting so I will watch a movie if I see her name in the cast -- even if the movie doesn't fit my preferred genres.
Not sure anyone will see this late post. I was at a Skeptic convention all weekend. Seeing PENN JILLETTE was a coincidence, as I met him at a related convention in 2005.
Here is one of my photos of PENN JILLETTE with his MAGICIAN partner TELLER.
Soon after, I got in an argument with PENN and it got a bit scary. The guy is a giant and really loud.
Hand up I was sure MULCTS was wrong. Wrong. FIR. Hand up plenty of unknown names. I did not know these expressions:
DRAW A FOUL
BREAK MY SOUL
Did not get SYN until I came here.
From Yesterday:
Anon, AnonPVX, Darren Thank you for the validation.
By the way, I love Muenster cheese. Colby Jack, too. And many others.
Thank Yu CC and Steve Marron for a very nice crossword puzzle !! I solved it at 1:46 am this morning, but I wanted to write a nice review, and I can't type very clearly or accurately on my eyePhone... so I waited and then woke late, and urgent Sunday business took over.
Thank You CC for a very nice blog and commentary on the puzzle - from the 'horses' nose, point of view...
I didn't realize that the 'Steve' on the byline, ... is the same Steve guy who used to post and write commentary on this same blog, several years ago !! Very nice to renew the acquaintance !!!!
The puzzle was very nice,.... long and easy, like a true Sunday puzzle should be .... and I am not going to snit about minor words and clues, that I was not familiar with ... like MULCTS etc.,
No idea about MOVESIAN or the other 'correct' spelling ... but it sounds Armenian. I am familiar with the name SONA .... because it means 'Gold' in Hindi... fairly common female first name ... sometimes, short for Sonali, ( 'darling Sona'...).
BTW, the most important Hindu festival of Diwali, just started and ended about 2 weekends ago. It is the equivalent of Xmas, in India, in the way it affects the economy and such.... like the Eid-ul-Fitr in muslim majority countries. Holi, the color throwing festival, is at the other end of the year, but it is not that important for the economy or business etc.
Many businesses in India, start their fiscal year, and books of account, ... on Diwali day ... because it is associated with the Goddess Laxmi (Lakshmi) - the all important (!) Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity ....they also worship their school and college textbooks, their business books, their professional implements ... typewriters, now computers and other accessories, and machine tools and such ... anything that represents wisdom and brings meaning and progress, to their material lives.
After having lived in the US, for such a major portion our lives ... we do not celebrate Diwali .. at all...
JInx, ... and the Anon other, ... AARP may be an insurance org, and there is nothing wrong with that. There are many, any other insurance companies that operate as non-profits ... like TIAA/CREF and others, but they still have to pay taxes on the business portion of their organisation operations.
Like AAA etc. This Section of the Fed Tax Law, was put in place, and enacted, several decades ago .... so non-profits and the like would still have to pay taxes on their 'businesses' .... like normal profit companies, and thus, not have this huge business advantage in escaping the taxes that other busineeses have to pay on a similar operation.
My post is already gargantuan, so I end ... Have a great week, all you folks.
Loved this puzzle. FIR because CC's are always fair. My favorite clue, "Scottish lowland"! OK you know I'm biased. Never heard of "mulct". Nice job swimming. You're getting better and better. Glenn C.
Enjoyed the theme & theme answers. Loved clue/ answer for BAD KARMA. Did not enjoy SO MANY proper names — 16 by my count. Some known but some pretty obscure (to me).
Speaking of obscure, I would have called MULCTS totally unknown … except for the fact that this same word is in today’s NYT crossword! So I’ve known that word for … well, for a couple of hours now (and will likely forget it tomorrow ). Got pretty much the same reaction over on “the other” blog.
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