Theme: "Getting in the Way" - two letters are added to each common phrase. Those letters orderly spell out photobombing.
23. Ode to a much-loved Galaxy?: SOME PHONE LIKE YOU. Someone Like You.
40. Magical ottoman?: ENCHANTED FOOTREST. Enchanted forest.
58. Constantly thinking about escaping?: BREAKOUT OBSESSION. Breakout session.
80. Intention of one without morals?: DOOM THE RIGHT THING. Do the right thing.
98. Must-haves for a fashion doll?: BARBIE NECESSITIES. Bare necessities.
116. Converse with one more party guest?: GO THE EXTRA MINGLE. Go the extra mile.
Another
Sunday debut. Congrats, Julian! Kwan is the Cantonese spelling of
Mandarin Guan. Same character as the Quan (Vietnamese) in Ke Huy Quan, the director
of "Everything Everywhere All at Once".
Hope the circles show up in your local paper. Otherwise, you might have missed the message in this puzzle.
Across:
1. Aural danger for Odysseus: SIREN.
6. Snit: HUFF.
10. Slow Churned ice cream brand: EDY'S. 27. Slush Puppie maker: ICEE.
14. High-and-mighty: SMUG.
18. Edge or Firefox alternative: OPERA. Never used Opera browser.
19. Camembert kin: BRIE.
20. Penn State's Nittany __: LIONS.
22. Fabled second-place finisher: HARE.
26. Actress Kurylenko: OLGA. She's a Bond Girl.
28. Camera type, for short: SLR.
29. Bygone news source: TOWN CRIER.
31. Pessimist's word: CAN'T.
33. Political cartoonist Thomas: NAST. The guy who designed the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey. I wonder why he did not pick up tiger or lion.
36. Had tea, to a Brit: ATE.
38. "Cat __ your tongue?": GOT.
39. Solo homer result: RBI.
47. Unsure sounds: UHS.
48. Restrain, as one's enthusiasm: BATE.
49. Poetic preposition: O'ER.
50. Experienced veteran: OLD TIMER.
51. Traditional fare of Japanese New Year: MOCHI. Sticky rice. Same thing in Chinese Tang Yuan.
 |
| Mochi Soup |
 |
| Tang Yuan |
53. Rockefeller Center's "American Progress" muralist: SERT.
55. Breeze (by): SAIL.
57. Division symbols: OBELI. Plural of obelus.
62. HIIT unit: REP. HIIT = High-Intensity Interval Training .
63. "The Idol" star Lily-Rose: DEPP. Daughter of Johnny Depp. She looks more like her mom.
64. Scrooge outburst: BAH.
65. Word after door or lock: STEP.
66. Computer clickers: MICE. I'm experiencing big Blogger glitch
at this moment. Suddenly I can't save or access the blog Drafts folder.
(One hour later: TTP came to the rescue. I can access the Drafts now,
but picture embed remains a problem. Sigh. Blogger!)
67. Treasure __: CHEST.
69. Give guidance: EDIFY.
71. Slanted: ATILT.
73. Co. founders, often: CEOS.
74. Level in a loyalty program: TIER.
77. Easter preceder?: NOR. Nor'easter.
78. Upper arm muscles, briefly: TRIS.
79. Football stat: ATT.
86. "The Cloister and the Hearth" author: READE. Charles Reade.
88. Learned: WISE.
89. Handle with __: CARE.
90. "Ciao!": LATER.
91. Avenue next to Reading Railroad: ORIENTAL.
93. __ date: DUE.
95. Tennis great with a namesake stadium: ASHE.
97. Kid's cry: MAA.
101. Raiding org.: ATF. And
102. Screening org.: TSA.
103. Equals: ARE.
104. Robe securer: SASH.
105. Unit of speed that's approximately 1.15 mph: KNOT.
106. Latte server: COFFEE BAR.
111. Gingerbread __: MAN.
113. Thought: IDEA.
115. One side of a sports bet: OVER.
122. Rose bowl?: VASE. Sweet clue.
123. SEC athlete in orange and blue: GATOR. Florida Gators.
124. Garish: LOUD.
125. How to play without knowing the score?: BY EAR.
126. "Above all __ ... ": ELSE.
127. Uses a touchscreen: TAPS.
128. Squeezed (by): EKED.
129. Barracks VIP: SARGE.
Down:
2. Stock market debut letters: IPO.
3. Talk about the good old days: REMINISCE. Carmen came here a few weeks ago and bought some delicious snacks. I used to live here. Very old part of Guangzhou.
4. Assemble, as a Lego tower: ERECT.
5. Necklace clasp spot: NAPE.
6. "The Last of Us" network: HBO.
7. Catering dispenser: URN.
8. Cinco de Mayo celebration: FIESTA.
9. Chop down: FELL.
10. State animal of Utah: ELK.
11. Tried a nutrition program: DIETED.
12. Spinning toy on a string: YO-YO.
13. Frosty's makeup: SNOW. Snow on our yard when I woke up this morning, but all gone now.
14. Slow-cooked beef piece: SHORT RIB.
15. Bamako's country: MALI.
16. Push (to): URGE.
17. Climber's backpack filler: GEAR.
21. Apollo or Ra: SUN GOD. RA is the Egyptian sun god.
 |
24. Temporary tattoo medium: HENNA.
25. Raging: IRATE.
30. Second wedding anniversary material: COTTON.
31. Cookie leftover: CRUMB. Carmen bought these. Almond cookies on the upper left.
34. Seeks attention, maybe: ACTS UP.
35. Linen closet item: SHEET.
37. Straight to the point: TERSE.
40. Urban transport options: E-BIKES.
41. "Could be better": NOT BAD.
42. Inflict (upon): FOIST.
43. Skateboard stunt: OLLIE.
44. Chef Lagasse: EMERIL. "Kick it up a notch!"
45. Highlight, as text: SELECT.
46. Absolute rubbish: TRIPE.
52. Underworld king: HADES.
54. Julia of "Leave the World Behind": ROBERTS.
56. Mesopotamian civilization: ASSYRIA.
60. Stand out: SHINE.
61. Moving image?: OP-ART.
66. Baryshnikov nickname: MISHA.
67. Latin for "the rest": CETERA. Et.
68. Balloon filler: HOT AIR.
70. Push and pull, in physics: FORCES.
72. Mr. and Mrs.: TITLES.
73. Ingredient in some vegan brownies: CAROB. I've never had brownies.
75. Hawkeye: IOWAN.
76. Novelist Zola: EMILE.
78. Ph.D. requirement: THESIS.
80. Fitness instructor Austin: DENISE.
81. Jon of "Napoleon Dynamite": HEDER.
82. Persona non __: GRATA.
83. Head of servers?: IT MANAGER. IT service.
84. "Crackerjack!": NEATO.
85. Obtain illegally: GRAFT.
87. Ideal way to graduate: DEBT-FREE.
92. Asian snack steeped in spices: TEA EGG. Five-spice powder. Lesley loved these.
 |
94. "I'm here to help": USE ME.
96. Pronoun duo: HE/HIM.
99. Sonic waiter: CARHOP.
100. Could be better: ISN'T OK. Do dislike this new Blogger format.
105. Tanzania neighbor: KENYA.
106. Sheltered inlet: COVE.
107. Shape of a powerful office: OVAL.
108. Admit, with "up": FESS.
109. Full house, in poker slang: BOAT.
110. Flour for some flatbread: ATTA.
112. Toll unit: AXLE.
114. "That one's mine!": DIBS.
117. Triage ctrs.: ERS.
118. Québec street: RUE.
119. Contribute (to): ADD.
120. Streaming annoyance: LAG.
121. Before, once: ERE.
C.C.
After I finished the puzzle, I was able to put it together and see the “big picture.” And the only thing I really had to replace was “tripe” instead of “trash.” Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one took the requisite twenty minutes. Saw "PHOTOBOMBING" but wasn't familiar with the expression. Most of the many names in this one required perps to complete. My knowledge of current culture diminishes daily. (Hourly?) Cute theme, even if d-o missed the extra level. Thanx, Julian and C.C.
Took 22:34.
ReplyDeleteOh joy, circles!
I didn't know the author, the novelist, or today's actresses (Olga and, "as clued," Roberts).
I knew/sussed today's Spanish (fiesta), Latin (grata), and French (rue) lessons.
I abhor "maa".
FIW. I had trash instead of tripe, and the perps were a mystery especially rep. Also, didn't know Heder and couldn't suss out equals.
ReplyDeleteThe theme was clever, and I had fun with it despite the fact that there were circles, which I despise.
This puzzle had some bite to it as far as I'm concerned, and left me "meh".
Great commentary for a clever Sunday puzzle. A little correction I must note in your discussion of the international variants of the constructor's name Kwan: the co-director of "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is Daniel Kwan, while Ke Huy Quan is the multi-talented Best Supporting Actor winner from that movie.
ReplyDeleteThis had the feel of an extra-long Saturday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteSunday puzzles and add/subtract letters themes are not my favorite solves, but this was a cut above the norm, both theme-wise and execution-wise. The first entry on my comment's notepad was "The Title wasn't helpful". Well, after reading CC's analysis, the title was a perfect hint to the meat of the theme, the extraneous letters spelling out Photobombing, i. e. Getting In The Way, a layer I completely missed. My favorite themers were Enchanted Footrest and Barbie's Necessities. There were the usual unknown proper names, namely, Olga, Reade, Heder, plus the equally unknown Mochi, Obelisk, and Tea Egg. I've never seen Bate without the A or Cetera without the Et, but perps were fair, so no foul on those. I foolishly had Run before the ubiquitous RBI and couldn't let go of Helium for ages, before perps demanded Hot Air. I liked the folksiness of Town Crier and Old Timer, a refreshing antidote to the pesky Baes and Totes Adorbs. 😉
Thanks, Julian, for an enjoyable Sunday solve and congrats on your debut, and thanks, CC, for a great review, particularly for highlighting the Photobombing layer. Enjoyed the photos of all the "goodies." Glad you got to visit with your dear friend, Carmen, but sorry to hear of the dangerous activities that you're being subjected to. I hope a move to a safer location will be possible soon.
Received some happy news this morning that a great niece became engaged over the weekend. The proposal took place in Newport, R. I., a place near and dear to my heart as it was the last place my husband and I visited before he became really ill. Besides the beauty of the place, the magnificent summer"cottages" of the wealthy, and the good food, I remember the ungodly heat wave while we were there. To escape the heat, we went to an air-conditioned theater twice and saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding and The Road To Perdition. The best part of our stay, though, was getting to spend time with Cammie, a darling, lovable Maltese, the pride and joy of the owner's of the beautiful inn where we stayed. Very happy memories, indeed.
Have a great day.
I had to slog through the puzzle just to FIW, misspelling REMINISCE as 'reminiSSe' at the cross of the unknown MOCHI. I notice that the first five circled letter spelled PHOTO but paid no attention to the rest of them. Wouldn't have mattered; never heard of 'photobombing'.
ReplyDeleteChanges were many. HELIUM/HOT AIR, HE HIS/HE HIM (does anybody else think it's ridiculous when you get a letter and below the signature he/his or some other thing is written), ASK ME/USE ME, DEA/ATF.
EBIKES- they go too fast for the average non-bicycle rider. I try to keep my speed under 16mph when I pedal but I have been passed by people doing at least 25mph. I've seen people riding them on sidewalks. Dangerous.
GRAFT- only knew it as a noun, not as a verb. First thought was STEAL but perps would not allow.
Things and people I had no prior knowledge: OLGA, MOCHI, OBELI or OBELUS, KEPP, HEDER, COTTON, TEA EGG.
BE, as a verb GRAFT also means to attach a sprig of one type of plant to another. Typically done with trees, grafting is often used to restrict size by using the root system of a smaller type of tree to a larger one e.g. crabapple roots to a normal apple tree cutting which will result in an apple tree which can be hand picked.
DeleteMy father used to practice grafting by attaching several types of apple tree branches to one tree, just for so. Neat to see a red apple on a green apple tree.
Tough sledding today. FIW. Biggest problem was keeping AsKME rather than USEME. Don't know how ARE is indicative of equals. Also had baE instead of DUE. We have seen so much of BAE lately, thought they went on a date. CARHOP gave me enough to finish the bottom middle.
ReplyDeletePerps were fair but not knowing Jon's last name bollixed up the above section. Knew the issue was to remove the circled letters but didn't see them spelling photobombing . Nice job, Julian. And a nod to C.C. for her omnipresent Sunday review.
Walk a mile in my shoes, but don't wear them out.
Special.
Try “7 and 5 ARE 12”
DeleteGoogle clobbered my post, so I'll just say:
ReplyDeleteToday is:
NATIONAL KINDERGARTEN DAY (nice honor for my level of humor)
NATIONAL YELLOW BAT DAY (commemorates establishment of the 265th Army Security Agency Company (Airborne.) One of the first things this unit dd was uncover intelligence of the coming Tet offensive in Vietnam. The brass mostly poopooed the intelligence, because they knew full well that the NVA always took off time around the holiday.
NATIONAL RENDERING DAY (promotes the repurposing of the ½ of slaughtered animals that we don’t eat)
NATIONAL CHOCOLATE-COVERED CASHEWS DAY (sounds great, but chocolate coating any nuts seems like a good idea to me)
I really liked the theme and I m proud to say I saw the PHOTO BOMBING in the circles. Yes ENCHANTED FOREST was a favorite.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know the majority of the proper names, so I looked some of them up to speed things along.
Is ORIENTAL avenue a Monopoly street? Never heard of it or the station.
I got trapped by Treasure CHEST, I had trove for a long time and thought surely you curb your enthusiasm (which would be a neat nod to the TV show) but not to be. I’m still scratching my head over BATE.
I knew OLLIE from previous CWs.
Do kids still play with YOYOs?
Us OLD TIMERs like to REMINISCE.
Irish Miss ☘️, I’m not calling you an OLD TIMER, but your lovely reminiscence touched me.
Thank you C.C. for the recap and food info.
Just noticed that Mr. Smarty Pants miscorrected my Obeli to Obelisk. 😖
ReplyDeleteValerie and I never saw the photo bombing but were able to work our way through the unknowns (of which there were many). For a Sunday, it might best be described (with a nod to Merl) as "tangled but fair".
ReplyDeleteMonkey @ 11:51 ~ 😘 I should have added that Cammie, the Maltese, helped soothe the void I was feeling by the loss of my beloved Bichon, Fluffy, two months earlier. Another sweet memory is the rapport that we developed with our gracious innkeepers with whom we shared a few dinner engagements. This all happened 22 years ago, yet the memories have never faded.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-The gimmick was fun and even helpful
-I’ll be TERSE because Irish said it better than I could/can
-I remember NAST for coming up with the modern drawing of Santa Claus
-Some hitters are infamous for hitting home runs but getting very few RBI’s
-OBELI looked (looks) odd but had to be
-If C.C. was the constructor, I’ll bet we’d have seen MLB Hall Of Famer TRIS Speaker instead of the lame TRIS for triceps
-AUBURN was my first orange and blue SEC team
-Play without knowing the score/BY EAR was great!
-Bamako is a 15-hr northeast drive to MALI’s more famous city of Timbuktu
-Knowing TRIPE is the inside of a cow’s stomach lining is enough to put off it
-I was very pleased to be able to allow my girls to graduate DEBT FREE
I don’t get the SOS connection with Brosnan and Streep.
ReplyDeleteFor you circle haters, I dare you to look at the NYT Sunday CW!
ReplyDeleteThank you Julian for the Sunday-sized Saturdayish slog. From the comments it seems that this was a walk in the park for a lot on the Corner, but after three passes I was ready to TITT. Before I was about to crash and burn Teri took a look at the white spaces and was able to save my bacon from the flames at the last minute. I had gotten all of the (clever) themers and saw the PHOTOBOMBING, but there were still hangers on clinging to scattered flotsam and jetsam.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you C.C. for making it all look so simple and for all the illustrations -- I can't imagine what Daniel Craig looks so unhappy about. 😁
Favs, hold outs and near misses ...
21A OPERA. I'm a Firefox user, but I really love OPERA too.
90A LATER. This was Teri's big break-thru as I was clueless -- TTFN?, TTYL? GDAY MATE,and ADIEU were all too short, too long or didn't perp.
91A ORIENTAL. Has anyone told told HASBRO that this HAS to go?
101A ATF. Held onto DEA as long as I could.
105A KNOT. I was tied up in KNOTS until Teri figured this on out.
106A COFFEE BAR. Had COFFEE URN until I realized that management would fire any BARISTA who served LATTES in an URN.
125A BY EAR. Cleverest fill.
129A SARGE. E.g. Sargeant Snorkle. But we all know that the real VIP is OTTO.
31D CRUMB. After shrimp salad sandwiches for lunch today, Teri served us each a single Berger Cookie with milk. There was not a single CRUMB left. When we went to China to get my grandson 17 years ago, we took a box of these cookies to give our host as a representative Maryland specialty.
72D TITLES. Since "Mr. and Mrs." were abbreviated I expected the fill to be abbreviated. It wasn't.
83D IT MANAGER. Specialist in controlled CHAOS management. 😀
87D DEBT FREE. A CSO to Husker for getting his daughters through college DEBT FREE.
Cheers,
Bill
108A: what a great punny clue!
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteAs usual I'm late but I do enjoy reading you all and agree with you. This stumper was not the usual Sunday fare and presented more of a challenge than normal. I'm looking at Lily Rose DEPP, HEDER, COFFEE BAR and some others; I had URN for too long. And TEA EGG is a complete unknown for me. Thank you, C.C., for the photo. That helps.
In fact, while working on this I fell asleep on my chair and missed going to church! Aye, aye, aye! That is not good. Bu I must have needed more sleep. That's my story and you know the rest. Sad, but true and it ISN'T OK.
As testimony of my struggles with this puzzle, the whole grid is lit up with wite-out on all my erroneous fill. Anyway, it is a wake up call to my apparent complacency.
IrishMiss
Your reminiscence is very touching. Thank you for sharing.
Have a super Sunday, everone!
FIR -- on paper, no cheating -- and liked it, but never saw the PHOTOBOMBING until C.C. pointed it out!
ReplyDeleteDid Not Know most of the things that stumped others here, and Did Not Care, since perps were fair.
After yesterday's inexplicapble HE/THEY pronouns, it was nice to see HE/HIM at 96 Down, which are two pronouns that go together. SHE finished the puzzle; give a prize to HER. HE finished the puzzle; give a prize to HIM. THEY finished the puzzle; give a prize to THEM. The only thing confusing about THEY/THEM is that today, it can be used as singular for a gender fluid or gender neutral person, as well as for plural people. I wish there was another way to denote gender fluid, because I like having a distinct form for plural people. But then, I was sad when we could no longer be gay (as in happy), I've gotten over it, and gay folks have made better use of it.
Lee at 10:58 asks how "Equals" can be ARE. My teachers used to say, "One and one ARE two."
C.C., you can never move away from the possiblilty of gun violence in this country -- at least not until our polarized populace agrees to solve the problem. It's everywhere.
Thanks to Julian, Patti, and C.C. for the brilliant entertainment.
Sunday stumbles. Thanks for the fun, Julian and C.C.
ReplyDeleteLike waseeley, I almost TITT today, but I persevered and got all the theme phrases.
But I forgot to go back to see the PHOTOBOMB theme.
Here’s an example that involves our Canadian PM.
TrudeauPhotobombsWedding
Wishing you all a great day.
I mostly enjoyed solving this puzzle. I usually like Sunday puzzles. I did hold my nose at MAA and UHS. Absolutely, totally, urgently wanted CURB your enthusiasm but it was not to be; I consider the breath as more something to be BATEd than enthusiasm. I also wanted FBI as the raiding organization since the phrase "the FBI raided..." is so common. I like the fill REMINISCE; it's a NEATO word.
ReplyDeleteGood wishes to you all.
I’m glad others had difficulty getting through this puzzle without lots of head scratching. Tough as it was for me, I did feel a great sense of satisfaction to FIR finally. No “gotcha” clues, and the themers were clever, though I never saw PHOTOBOMBER until C.C. “splained “ it. I will admit to a bit of help from Jack for BOAT and NOT BAD (oddly, I had Net Bad). I still don’t understand OBELI - anyone?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julian, for a long, tough but fair and interesting adventure. Thanks C.C. for the colorful tour. I keep wishing we could have a cookbook of all the delicious dishes you show us.
OK, Blogger Guardians, once again one of my comments got bounced, and I can’t imagine what I did wrong this time. It was last Friday, when Maloderous Manatee was the troop leader. I think I was positive and complimentary, but obviously I expressed myself in some way that is “illegal”. May I understand what/why? Thanks.
Hated all the intersecting names
ReplyDeleteFor the record, a dissertation is still required for a Ph.D. One can earn a thesis for a masters-level degree.
ReplyDeleteFir, on the beach, in ink.
ReplyDeleteget in the way?
Wendybird @4:18 PM. OBELI was pretty obscure and I got it with perps. Merriam-Websters' definition is obscure as well.
ReplyDeleteReally wanted "television" for "Bygone news source". Clue for ATF should probably have said INEPT raiding organization. Waco?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad others liked it, but the middle killed me. Too many foreign terms (including latin) crossing with "celebrities" I never heard of.
ReplyDeleteWendybird, email me your comment that got bounced and I'll try to figure what might have caused it.
ReplyDeleteYUCK! I counted thirteen free ads as clues or answers, I REALLY dislike LAT giving free rides to corporate products or services. Just over four hours on this ad-filled slog. Finished with only two empty"cells" .... pretty good for me! Where do I write to complain about the ads hidden in the LAT Puzzle clues?
ReplyDeleteIt really bothers me!!
Bill, in my lost original post, I mentioned that there is a quaint little fishing village named ORIENTAL in North Carolina about a half hour east of New Bern. Don't think they'll be changing the town's name anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Julian on his debut!
ReplyDeleteFAV: clue for BY EAR
I noticed DIETED crossing ATE.
I found many ways to go wrong on today's solve. Too often I hoped a perp would help only to find that the perp was a name I was not familiar with. Oh, well, I did finish it (wrong) so there's that. Sometimes just filling the grid on a Sunday afternoon feels like an accomplishment.
CanadianEh! @ 3:40. Loved your photobombing Trudeau link!
Thank you, C.C., for your terrific review! If you didn't say anything, one would never guess the extra challenges Blogger gave you this week. I am intrigued by the 5-spice TEA EGG. I'm sorry to hear about your friend Valerie moving. It's hard to lose a good neighbor....
Arrived back home after 4 fun days with the kids in Colorado.
ReplyDeleteCreative theme - I have a friend who also PHOTOBOMBs people's pics at events- after figuring it out on the first 2 themers it definitely helped speed up the solve.
Tom Hanks like PHOTOBOMBING outdoor weddings
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tom-hanks-crashes-wedding-photos-again/
I'm with Bill - ORIENTAL should really be off the Monopoly board - originally with all the streets being actual streets in Atlantic City - ORIENTAL Ave was the street that ran through Atlantic City's Chinatown - but I would think they could find out what the original street was called and change the name on the game.
Mark wants to get me an E-BIKE so we can bike together - currently with him a 6'3" marathoner and me 5'2" walker we don't do very well on bike rides together
Thanks CC for the blog - hope you will be able to see Carmen and your brother sometime soon!
And thanks to Julian for the amusing puzzle
Not sure anyone will see this, but I am still catching up after our Japan travels. I had to comment on this one because I found it fiendishly difficult. Yet I was also in awe of the amazingly creative theme and the extraordinarily difficult construction. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThe area involving unknowns TEA EGG, GATOR, ATTA, CAR HOP was almost totally impossible. To me, SEC is the Securities and Exchange Commission. No athletes there. ORANGE AND BLUE was no help at all.
SONIC must be a regional business that I had no way of knowing. Tried CATNIP thinking it was a cartoon character. Hand up BATE very odd. LIONS clue absurdly obscure.
Very proud to FIR. But I also want to congratulate Julian Kwan for such an amazing construction. I won't blame him for that awful area, as I am sure his original clues were more reasonable.
One more reason I wanted to comment: ORIENTAL AVENUE is still the name of the road in Atlantic City, New Jersey that the Monopoly game is based on.
Not sure anyone will see this, but I am still catching up after our Japan travels. I had to comment on this one because I found it fiendishly difficult. Yet I was also in awe of the amazingly creative theme and the extraordinarily difficult construction. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThe area involving unknowns TEA EGG, GATOR, ATTA, CAR HOP was almost totally impossible. To me, SEC is the Securities and Exchange Commission. No athletes there. ORANGE AND BLUE was no help at all.
SONIC must be a regional business that I had no way of knowing. Tried CATNIP thinking it was a cartoon character. Hand up BATE very odd. LIONS clue absurdly obscure.
Very proud to FIR. But I also want to congratulate Julian Kwan for such an amazing construction. I won't blame him for that awful area, as I am sure his original clues were more reasonable.
One more reason I wanted to comment: ORIENTAL AVENUE is still the name of the road in Atlantic City, New Jersey that the Monopoly game is based on.