Theme: "Position Papers" - Each common phrase is rephrased as if it's a periodical fitting the people in each clue.
23. Periodical for prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges?: FULL-COURT PRESS. A perfect clue to start with.
41. ... for con artists?: SNOW GLOBE.
44. ... for kitchen remodelers?: CABINET POST.
67. ... for aspiring entertainers?: YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY.
88. ... for potato chip aficionados?: CRUNCH TIMES.
91. ... for scuba divers?: DEEP VOICE.
112. ... for clockmakers?: SECONDHAND NEWS.
I feel they all work great except 67A. Noun phrases work the best for this type of "Periodical for..." or "Favorite paper for ...", right?
So nice to see John's byline again. From Boswords
website, John "teaches Math and coaches football and baseball at The
Roxbury Latin School." I had a few email exchanges with John over the years. He's super nice and a true gentleman. He's one of those few who
are skilled at both themed and themeless grids.
 |
| John Lieb |
Across:
1. "Doctor Who" airer: BBC.
4. Comedian Wong: ALI. Her father is Chinese. Wong is Cantonese. In mainland China, we use Wang.
7. North African expanse: SAHARA.
13. Flying disc game: KANJAM. Wikipedia says this game is developed in Western New York.
19. Traffic regulator in a construction zone: FLAGMAN.
21. Chemical cousin: ISOMER.
22. First-string units: A TEAMS.
25. Xterra maker: NISSAN.
26. Yalies: ELIS.
27. Promo: TEASER.
28. Altercations: SET-TOS.
29. Commoner: PLEB.
30. Paint brand sold at Home Depot: BEHR. Exclusively at Home Depot.
31. Canoe material: BIRCH.
34. Foreign policy gp.: NSC.
36. Support: AID.
37. Rooney of "Women Talking": MARA.
38. Guitar accessories: CAPOS.
40. 880 square feet, for a pickleball court: AREA. Oh hi, Big Easy!
46. Drift: TENOR.
47. Captain Nemo creator: VERNE.
49. Geek: DWEEB.
50. Org. created two years before the 1896 Athens games: USOC. Fresh clue angle!
53. Major work: OPUS.
54. Cape __, Massachusetts: ANN. And 88. Cape __, Massachusetts: COD. Must be John's clues.
55. Actor Vigoda: ABE. He was in "The Godfather".
58. "Monday Night Football" channel: ESPN.
61. Pod members: WHALES.
63. Everyone: ALL.
65. Missed the mark: ERRED.
71. Physicist Mach: ERNST.
72. Squeeze (out): EKE.
73. Gaming tile: DOMINO.
74. Retired jets: SSTS.
75. Kama Sutra topic: SEX. Any of you familiar with Shunga? I don't want to link and bring troubles to our blog.
76. Informal greetings: HIS.
78. Sonic the Hedgehog platform: SEGA.
79. Gaming cubes: DICE.
81. Paris river: SEINE.
83. Ohio home of Minor League Baseball's RubberDucks: AKRON. Makes sense. Rubber.
84. Shel Silverstein's "A Light in the __": ATTIC.
95. Granola bar bits: OATS.
96. Sag: DROOP.
97. Private aid gps.: NGOS.
98. "Insecure" star Issa: RAE.
99. Sample on a swab: DNA.
100. Soul singer Baker: ANITA.
102. Gear parts: COGS.
103. Cross products: PENS. I've only used Pilot.
104. Like hot yoga: SWEATY.
108. Venus flytrap snack: INSECT. Carnivorous plant.
110. Sandy sediment: SILT.
111. Margaret Atwood's homeland: CANADA.
116. Spring river phenomenon: ICE RUN.
117. Amp toter: ROADIE.
118. Takes the plunge: RISKS IT.
119. Talks to online: SKYPES.
120. Bays, e.g.: INLETS.
121. Sigma follower: TAU.
122. Show with an early a.m. after-party: SNL.
Down:
2. Offside boundary in hockey: BLUE LINE.
3. Picked in class: CALLED ON.
4. Gremlins, or where some saw "Gremlins": AMCS.
5. Southeast Asian language: LAO.
6. Yet to be delivered: IN UTERO.
7. Instrument that dates to the Mughal Empire: SITAR.
8. Nile vipers: ASPS.
9. Biblical peak: HOREB. Learned from doing crosswords.
10. Alaskans, Hawaiians, etc.: AMERICANS.
11. Hi or low follower: RES.
12. "__ longa, vita brevis": ARS.
13. "Citizen __": KANE.
14. Bickering: AT IT.
15. Jay's home: NEST.
16. "All the President's Men" Oscar winner: JASON ROBARDS. He played Ben Bradlee.
17. Stockpiles: AMASSES.
18. Yahoo! rival: MSN.
20. Smooth-talking: GLIB.
24. Post-injury regimen: REHAB.
28. "Grey's Anatomy" production company: SHONDALAND. Founded by Shonda Rhimes.
29. Bygone: PAST.
30. The Orioles, in box scores: BAL. Baltimore. And 37. Baseball VIPs: MGRS.
32. Broccoli __: RABE.
33. Cost-of-living fig.: CPI.
35. Purr-former: CAT. Agnes-like clue.
39. In stitches: SEWN.
40. Mimic: APE.
42. Hurts: WOUNDS.
43. Increase in complexity, perhaps: EVOLVE.
44. Passionate activists: CRUSADERS.
45. Moral principle: TENET.
48. Fencing sword: EPEE.
51. Yelps of pain: OWS.
52. Charcuterie board accompanier: CHEESE TRAY. Want some?
56. Tuckered out: BEAT.
57. Ice cream brand: EDY'S.
58. Peepers: EYES.
59. Vexed: SORE.
60. "Groundhog Day" town: PUNXSUTAWNEY. What a sparkly fill.
62. "Raiders of the Lost __": ARK.
63. Actor Assante: ARMAND. He's in "Private Benjamin".
64. Wearable wreath: LEI.
66. Met, as a challenge: ROSE TO.
68. Set of principles: ETHIC.
69. Enticing sales acronym: BOGO.
70. Showy carp: KOI.
77. With sharp resolution: IN HD.
78. Having doubts: SKEPTICAL.
80. Cleveland NBAers, for short: CAVS.
82. Nav. rank: ENS.
83. Mine, in Marseille: A MOI.
85. Indefatigable: TIRELESS. There's a guy who swims the whole session with his snorkel on, probably 30 laps non-stop. I think it's cheating.
86. "Things never go my way!": I CAN'T WIN.
87. Copyright symbols: CEES.
89. Rifle: RANSACK.
90. Cyclotron particle: ION.
92. Pre-flood Biblical patriarch: ENOCH.
93. Custardy dessert: EGG TART. Sure miss the smell of freshly baked egg tarts in Guangzhou. Very flaky.
94. Like a negative number squared: Abbr.: POS. John is a math teacher.
101. Battery terminal: ANODE.
102. Hands over: CEDES.
103. Flamingo hue: PINK.
105. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.
106. Together, in music: A DUE.
107. Souvenirs from an island vacation?: TANS.
109. Bit of pique: SNIT.
110. California sch. of Padres legend Tony Gwynn: SDSU. San Diego State University
111. Prefix with gender: CIS.
112. __ Lanka: SRI.
113. Geological stretch: EON.
114. "Candyman" director DaCosta: NIA.
115. Gateway Arch city, for short: STL.
C.C.
30 comments:
I suppose the last word of each themed entry is a reference to a newspaper of some kind; that’s what I got out of it, anyway. And I didn’t find this Sunday puzzle all that difficult, in spite of its usual Sunday length. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
No stumbles, no Wite-Out, no complaints. Zipped right through this one. Learning moment: d-o had no idea how to spell PUNXUTAWNEY. Nicely done John. Thanx for the expo, C.C. (I think 67a is a play on "break a leg" for actors.)
HOREB: Mt. Horeb is a small city SW of Madison.
ARMAND: Armand Hammer was a long-time head of Occidental Petroleum. I remember Armand Assante best from the Fatal Instinct movie spoof back in the '90s.
CROSS: After one year of service a former employer awarded me a CROSS pen with the company's distinctive Z logo. That evening I stopped at a favorite watering hole, and the bartender admired my pen. Her name was Linda Zapp. Never saw that pen again.
FIW. I thought it was KANE, but thought it couldn't be KANJAM. I C the error of my ways. Erased islanders for AMERICANS.
Today is:
NATIONAL DRINK WINE DAY (oh sure, tell me now…)
NATIONAL CRAB STUFFED FLOUNDER DAY (doesn’t this seem a little too specific?)
NATIONAL BATTERY DAY (did I miss it? Was national assault day yesterday?)
POS describes the cars I drove in my ute. POS is also the battery terminal across from the ANODE, which is neg.
ABE is Barney Miller's Phil Fish. Period.
Mickey D's gets a CSO today.
SECOND HAND NEWS is also a great cut from Fleetwood Mac's Rumors album. Inspired by the breakup of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
This theme reminds me of a prank we pulled while on a high school speech tournament at Saint Thomas high school. They were starting a student newspaper, and had suggestion boxes for naming the paper. Since "the pill" was new and the sexual revolution had started challenging the Catholic Church's ban on contraception, a few of us suggested that The Rubber Banner would be quite appropriate.
Thanks to John for the fine Sunday special, and to CC for the solid tour.
Took 16:21 today for me to "digest" this one.
I had NSA before NSC, but Cat had to be. Also had "dives in" before "risks it."
I own KanJam, but still wondered if that was actually the answer. I thought it was a pretty obscure sport/recreation.
I didn't care for USOC/mgrs/ows area, but can easily overlook it because the theme was amusing.
FIR. Struggled with this one. I got the theme early on, but some of the other answers were unknown to me. Shondaland for example? Kanjam and ice run also. All learning moments for me. But the theme was clever.
Good Morning:
Although I'm seldom enamored with Sunday grids, this one grew on me as I solved. With few exceptions, the cluing and fill were straightforward and I only stumbled at Sinai/Horeb. KanJam and a few other unknowns were filled in readily because of the fair perps throughout the grid. I liked seeing the two Capes, Ann and Cod. The Charcuterie Cheese Tray was timely as I attended a birthday party Friday night and one of my nieces brought one that was so huge that it was missing only the kitchen sink!
Thanks, John, for a fun solve and thanks, CC, for the grand tour and the usual mouth-watering food photos. Thanks, also, for that purr-fect CSO.
FLN
YooperPhil, I'm glad you could relate to my far-fetched foolishness comment. I do love alliteration but, sometimes, I think I might go overboard with it. Oh well, I guess I could be guilty of worse habits! 🤣
To those who have Amazon Prime, I highly recommend watching The Holdovers. It's only $5.99 and is well worth the money and your time. Paul Giamatti was outstanding, and both his young antagagonist, Dominic Sessa, and the bereaved cafeteria manager, Da'Vine Joy Randolph give memorable performances. I believe all three are nominated for Oscars, in their respective categories.
Have a great day.
Judging from my time of under 23 minutes I think this CW was fairly easy breezy, even with unknowns as ARMAND, KANJAM and SHONDALAND, perps were kind and really no WAGs today. (And no far-fetched foolishness either IM ☘️😊). Also never heard of EGG TARTS. I used to refer to that plate of appetizers as simply a meat and cheese tray till a couple years ago the word charcuterie seemed to come in vogue out of nowhere (at least where I live in the sticks). Thank you John Lieb for the newsworthy puzzle today, kudos for the Punxsutawney “phill”.
C.C. ~ as per status quo, another fine review today, always enjoy your insight and photos. Also the pic of Big Easy and his wife, If I remember right she was at one time a top tier tennis champion in Louisiana. Also, you know we’re all googling “Shunga” 😂
FLN ~ Happy anniversary to HG and Joann, and a belated happy b/day to the Chairman!
Back on track today with a quick and fun solve.
No time to read the review and comments after waking later than normal. Our winter meeting for this year's golf league starts in an hour.
Later perhaps.
And it appears that you misspelled Punxsutawney in your comment too
A clever and amusing Sunday theme.
I didn’t breeze through because rabi, capo, cpi area took me a while to suss but I did finish without using white-out.
Thanks John for a pleasant Sunday puzzle.
…kkflorida
Hola!
Fun Sunday workout! Thank you, John Lieb and C.C.
I'm still puzzled by the disappearance of not only my photo here but my entire Google account.
KANJAM is an unknown but it emerged along with JASON ROBARDS. That S seemed wrong to me but it fit the space and I'm sure of SSTS. We see it often enough.
BOGO crossing SEGA was problematic for me as was CAPOS/SHONDALAND. Thank you, C.C., for providing the latter.
SECONDHAND NEWS really made me chuckle.
Time to go and I click on this with trepidation after my experience with Google. Have a joyful day, everyone!
My "position" is that today's puzzle was a fun run to FIR, inspite of having to spell PUNXSUTAWNEY and the unknown KAN JAM and SHONDALAND. Thanks to John, Patti, and C.C. for the morning's entertainment.
TonyExpress, you're right. I couldn't find my S with both hands.
As one who works in the NEWS industry and even worked for a paper called the VOICE, I was surprisingly slow to catch on to the theme. FUN!
Hand up KAN JAM, SHONDALAND, ICE RUN among the unknowns. Favorite clue was for AMCS. Never saw GREMLINS or go to an AMC theater, but I got it. FIR.
Just before COVID, we had this close up experience of a lifetime with this WHALE.
We are on alert for yet another storm. All my hikes are on hold indefinitely. Glad we got one in yesterday.
Picard, THIS is an AMC Gremlin.
I FIR before church today on the one Sunday a month Alan stays home. Usually I fill the easy ones early and the remainder when I can concentrate after Alan returns home. I didn't see the periodical names until CC pointed them out. Clever theme.
New to me, but well perped were, Kanjam, Shondaland and Mara. Not very much of the fill was new to me. In utero was my favorite, although it took long before it dawned on me.
My students loved Shel Silvertein's funny poems, especially the books, A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends.
I love crab stuffed flounder and celebrating wine day, but that is not available today.
Sometimes there are specials where I can buy two items at the regular price for one. Those BOGOs are a real deal. Sometimes they are called loss leaders.
Charcuterie boards used to have only meats, but now they have cheeses, fruits and nuts among other things. I like to serve appetizers that way, all on one board.
desper-otto Yes, I am very familiar with the American Motors Corporation GREMLIN. That is why I found that clue so clever and funny.
Drift=tenor?
This was a real learning moment, I had to scroll all the way down to synonyms.
Yesterday, I got confused, and posted rocket cakes for HG's birthday.
"Why didn't some one correct me!"
Rockets are mostly inappropriate cakes for Anniversaries!
(Well, the flaming re-entry, maybe, but not for HG's anniversary...)
my apologies HG & Joan!
Lucina,
I tried to puzzle out your predicament, and did some research into missing blog profiles.
Your not going to believe what it said...
"Try signing out, and then in again!"
For more info, just type into Google, "blogger profile missing"
I liked this puzzle.
Glad I wasn’t the only one re: drift=tenor?
Fun Sunday puzzle, much more relaxing than a Saturday. Barely FIW: had CASES over CAPOS and the perps were unknown.
There were 15 total unknowns for me, with Kanjam headlining the list, but two things that were just totally perplexing:
#1: con artists=snow??
#2: Gremlins… this movie scared the begeezus out of me when I was a little kid… I probably still have ptsd. Dad, why on earth did you let me watch that? (He’s been posting here as “Ken” recently but he usually doesn’t do the Sundays because they’re too big so we might not get a reply)
Ok I got that “some saw” it in AMC Theaters, but why is a Gremlin also an AMC?? — Thank you, Otto for clarifying. It’s a car. Got it.
Even the car is scary-looking [shudders].
Sunday Lurk says...
IM - I don't know if you like dark comedies but DW & I watched Maggie Moore(s) last night.
Jon Hamm, Nick Mohammed, & Tina Fey* star. It's about a guy who's up to his neck in problems, has his wife killed, finds out there's another woman with same name, and has her killed too to confuse the situation. Fey sees 1/2 of this from next-door and Hamm & Nick investigate the whole thing. Darkly funny. I'd link a trailer but it gives away too much at the end.
I enjoyed reading everyone today. And, CED, we didn't correct you 'cuz it was an innocent mistake.
I'm still unsure how to spell the Gobbler's Knob'z rodent or the town s/he lives in.
//funny at 11:57a, D-O!
As of today, I'm married to the Older Woman (for the next 5 months). Tomorrow is our 35th Church-a-Versary (that's when we went to the Alter after the Judge said "you may kiss her" the prior September).
Y'all have a wonderful Sunday!
Cheers, -T
Didn't refresh before posting says...
AZJim - You're giving up your age. Gremlins came out in '84. That you were a kid seeing it (didn't say at AMC or home) puts you around my little (Army) Bro's age.
I thought Gremlins was funny and learnt you to do what you're told and take care of your Mogwai pets. But I was probably 16 when I saw it (on VHS).
AMC's Green Gremlins were about as bad as Ford's Pintos. Bugs' was hilarious.
-T
Edward in Los Angeles: Shunga, the boy-parts are hilarious 🤪
Thanks to John L. for his Sunday puzzle. I had a FIR but was challenged by the NW and by spelling Punxsutawney...and I've been there! I had my cat with me so I got a great pic with her on the stage where they pull out Phil.
Fav: Purr-former
AZ Jim @ 3:20. That AMC clue took me a bit, too. AMC was (is?) an auto company that made a car called a Gremlin. My neighbor had one.
Thanks to C.C. for her expert analysis and fun tour!
‘80 baby so it must’ve been a VHS rental
Not sure if anyone noticed the full scope of the newspaper theme: the last word in every theme answer is also the last word of many newspaper names. I list a few below:
Full Court Press (Fort Meyers News-Press)
Snow Globe (Boston Globe)
Cabinet Post (New York Post, Washington Post)
You Deserve a Break Today (USA Today)
Crunch Times (LA or NY Times)
Deep Voice (Village Voice)
Second Hand News (Valley News, my own local paper)
Tedious fill today. Got the theme early but several clues were what I would call "stretches" to make them fit.
The cool theme and excellent clueing made up for the vast plethora of proper names all over the puzzle. At least the majority of ‘em were semi-known… I think DEEPVOICE was my fave themer.
Hand up for having to look up PUNXSUTAWNEY’s spelling (who th’ hail named that burg, anyway?)
Being a SoCal native and beach denizen, I thought I knew all things Frisbee — but KANJAM is new to me; not surprising, since Wikipedia says it was conjured up in 2006 (and most likely promoted by the kan-maker company…).
====> Darren / L.A.
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