Theme: "Workplay" - Each business place is literally rephrased fitting the first word in each clue.
22. Home business?: REAL ESTATE OFFICE.
39. Risky business?: INSURANCE AGENCY.
56. Pressing business?: DRY CLEANER.
70. Core business?: FITNESS STUDIO.
83. Funny business?: COMEDY CLUB.
101. Family business?: FERTILITY CLINIC.
122. Nobody's business?: SHELL CORPORATION.Great to see Sam back with Doug. They're a terrific pair and have collaborated on many puzzles in the past.
I really like this theme type where both the theme entries & and the clues are solid in the language with wordplay involved. Both Sam and Doug are masters at wordplay. I actually read the title as "Wordplay".
Across:
1. FLOTUS after Hillary: LAURA. Bush.
6. Result of a lost front tooth, perhaps: LISP.
10. Winter accessory: SCARF.
15. Docs doing deliveries: OBS.
18. Fairy tale bullies: OGRES.
19. Kuwaiti ruler: EMIR.
20. Gainbridge Fieldhouse player: PACER. The Indiana Pacers.
21. "Sussudio" singer Collins: PHIL.
25. Sword side: EDGE.
26. Ritzy: DELUXE.
27. PJ top, perhaps: CAMI.
28. Change one's story?: EDIT.
29. Handle: NAME.
30. Sift through: CULL.
32. Small stream: RILL.
34. "They set us up!": IT'S A TRAP. 42. Fail to cooperate?: ACT ALONE. 66. Real struggle: HARD TIME. 99. Gymnastics team gear: LEOTARDS. A few favorite fill in Across.
36. Italian "That'll do!": BASTA.
44. Timid souls: MICE.
45. Division I org. based in Arlington, Texas: WAC. OK, Western Athletic Conference.
46. Efficient: LEAN.
47. Diamond with hits: NEIL. Lovely clue.
49. Pita sandwiches: GYROS.
52. Rough and disorderly: ROWDY.
59. Checker's concern: FACT.
61. Loafer, e.g.: SHOE.
62. Souvenir shop staples: TEES.
63. Pop, to baby: DADA. Baba in Chinese.
68. Buckeyes' sch.: OSU.
74. Venn diagram grouping: SET.
75. 1960s sitcom family with a pet dragon named Spot: MUNSTERS.
77. Entreaty: PLEA.
78. Formerly, once: ERST.
80. Amount countable on one hand: A FEW.
81. Partially melted: SOFT. Hmm, frozen durian.
88. Six Flags attractions: RIDES.
90. Afternoon class hour: TWO PM.
93. 127-Across's Bonneville __ Flats: SALT. 127. Bryce Canyon National Park locale: UTAH.
94. Homeowner's overhaul, for short: RENO. Renovation.
95. ICU readout: EKG.
97. Response to something 98-Down: ROAR. 98. Laugh-out-loud funny: RIOTOUS.
107. Scanner brand: EPSON.
108. More than necessary: OVERMUCH. I just use "too much".
109. Wind with keys: OBOE.
110. Unnamed others: THEM.
112. Slimming procedure, for short: LIPO.
113. Gothic governess: EYRE.
115. Guesses from late guests, briefly: ETAS.
117. Lack of pep: ANEMIA.
121. "Hooked on Classics" record label: K-TEL.
125. Make waterproof: SEAL.
126. Doomed, so to speak: TOAST.
128. Run the __: GAMUT.
129. Couture monogram: YSL.
130. Weasel relative: OTTER.
131. Okay: SO SO.
132. Kimberly of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman": ELISE. Oh guess what? She was born in Minneapolis.
Down:
2. "The African Queen" screenwriter James: AGEE.
3. Intercontinental mountain range: URAL.
4. Second thoughts: RELUCTANCE. 38. "More to come": STAY TUNED. 76. Glazed treat: SWEET ROLL. And
79. Some recycling material: SCRAP METAL. And a few favorite Down fill.
5. Like one of the ace community: ASEXUAL.
6. Service that's neither good nor bad?: LET. Tennis.
7. Apple that comes in many colors: IMAC.
8. Lutelike instruments: SITARS.
9. Pump option: PREMIUM.
10. Lotion letters: SPF.
11. Central Perk, e.g.: CAFE. In "Friends".
12. Biting: ACIDIC.
13. Compete in a poetry slam: RECITE.
14. Tool that resembles a "P": FRETSAW.
15. "Fiddlesticks!": OH DARN.
16. Burger with a jingle listing its ingredients: BIG MAC.
17. Grumpy colleague: SLEEPY.
21. Whitsunday, by another name: PENTECOST. Seven Sundays after Easter.
23. Seasoning for French fries?: SEL. French for "salt".
24. North Sea work site: OIL RIG.
31. First part of many forms: LINE A.
33. Like many doilies: LACY.
35. Vegan panna cotta ingredient: AGAR. Never had "panna cotta". But agar is widely used in Chinese/Japanese desserts.
36. Lacking locks: BALD.
37. Laptop using ChromeOS, maybe: ACER.
40. Apt reply to "Does drei times drei equal acht?": NEIN. "Does three times three equal eight?"
41. Brand with a Kids Tactical Vest Kit: NERF.
43. Tiny outfits: ONESIES.
48. What a journalist might bury, in jargon: LEDE.
50. Home of surfing's Triple Crown: OAHU.
51. Slew: SCAD.
53. Teakettles and referees, e.g.: WHISTLERS.
54. Cake stand topper: DOME.
55. Chuck, casually: YEET.
57. What just isn't right?: LEFT. Fun clue also.
58. Hoarse voice: RASP.
60. Had a go at: TRIED TO. 96. Sticks on: GLUES TO. 106. Close by: NEAR TO.
64. ISP option: DSL.Stay away from CenturyLink.
65. "Gimme __": A SEC.
67. Nemo's forgetful friend: DORY.
68. Squad-mate of Tlaib and Pressley: OMAR. The Squad in the Congress. Ilhan Omar.
69. Islamic mystic: SUFI.
71. Easy gait: TROT.
72. "H.R. wouldn't like this" warning: NSFW.
73. New Mexico art community: TAOS.
82. Rishi Sunak, for one: TORY. The UK Prime Minister.
84. Algeria neighbor: MALI.
85. To-be: ELECT.
86. Ctrl+Z action: UNDO.
87. Cap'n's deputy: BOSN.
89. Whole alternative: SKIM.
91. Slightly, on scores: POCO.
92. Argentine grape: MALBEC. Looks sweet.
100. The first "T" in TMNT: TEENAGE.
101. Down-home: FOLKSY.
102. Offers with clickable RSVP's: E-VITES.
103. Overturn: REPEAL.
104. Pain relief brand with an oxymoronic name: ICY HOT.
105. Word with empty or veiled: THREAT.
111. Snarky syllable: HAR.
114. Instead: ELSE.
116. Daycation destinations: SPAS.
118. "Rent" role: MIMI.
119. Promising notes: IOUS.
120. Pay to play: ANTE.
123. Abbr. on a copier tray: LTR.
124. "Think so, eh?": OHO.
C.C.
21 comments:
I would say that there were not a lot of obscurities in this puzzle, which is a good thing. Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about it. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Caught the theme early, and guessed correctly on most of the themers without per assistance. Managed to get YEET, but still don't understand it; is "Chuck" a name, noun or verb? Thanx, Samuel and Doug. Enjoyed your expo, C.C.
Bryce Canyon: We visited there years ago. Guess who came down with the flu on that trip and "toured" Bryce shivering in the car in the parking lot? I told dw she could see enough for both of us.
"perp assistance"
FIR, but erased five for A FEW, stoat for OTTER, meh for LET, penthouse for PENTECOST, and lieu for ELSE.
Today is:
NATIONAL PAPER AIRPLANE DAY (My favorite souvenir from my visit to the new National Air and Space Museum in 1976 was a book on creating paper airplanes)
NATIONAL FAMILY FUN DAY (simply spending time together and doing something everyone enjoys)
NATIONAL BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE DAY (aw man, are they out of key lime pie again?)
I was in project management too long. I can't see LEAN without mentally appending "six sigma" to it.
Superbowl XXI was played in the Rose Bowl, and I volunteered to help put the souvenir seat cushions on the seats. While we were doing that NEIL Diamond practiced the National Anthem, over and over. They all sounded the same to me, but to his ear something must have been just a little off.
If you assign binary digits to your hand's digits, you can count from zero to 31.
"What just isn't right" had to be LEFT, because "jinx in norfolk" wouldn't fit.
Had to wait to get the German version of the heart-o-gram abbreviation, EKG.
Thanks to Samuel and Doug for the fun Sunday challenge. Hey Samuel, maybe you could collaborate with David Alfred Bywaters on a puzzle with a soul theme. It would, after all, be by Sam and Dave. And thanks to CC for another fun explanation.
Took 16:55 today.
I struggled with the yeet/set/dome area.
"overmuch"?
Bryce Canyon National Park is otherworldly. Hoodoos all around you.
Is this THE Sam Donaldson of ABC News, who went toe-to-toe with LBJ and Nixon? Or is he perhaps your father? His full name is Samuel A. Donaldson.
FIR. For me this was a workout. I had no trouble with the theme and the theme answers, in fact it helped me with the solve. But several of the clues had me stumped for a while. I spent way to much time in the center bottom, and have never heard of malbec. The good news is I finally remembered yeet having seen it in too many puzzles.
But it's done so I'm pleased.
I did FIR but I had a HARD TIME with so many unknowns. "ace community", Whitsunday, FRET SAW, YEET, ELISE, TNMT, MIMI, "Vegan panna cotta", BASTA, RSVIs. I've never heard the word OVERMUCH. The theme fills were easy after a few perps were in place with SHELL CORPORATION finally making it. I'd filled HAH, AHA, LET, LIEU, and STOAT in the deep South before changing them to HAR, OHO, LTE, ELST, and OTTER. Only other changes were CHAD to MALI and RATS to DARN.
Squad-mate of Tlaib- Moe was too short and Curly and Larry were too long, so OMAR fit.
As always, C.C. did a great job.
Tehachapi Ken, this is not the Sam Donaldson formerly of ABC News.
Good Morning:
This was a delightful solve with a much appreciated word play theme. While all of the themers were spot on, my favorite was Family Business=Fertility Clinic. The grid was exceptionally clean and junk-free (Yeet is here to stay, I fear) and boasted a minuscule TLW count of 13. The only true unknown was Elise and the only w/o was Et al/Them, which was a rare occurrence as Sunday grids, for me, are usually full of unknown proper names and stumbles over incorrect answers. Diamond With Hits=Neil was my favorite C/A.
Thanks, Sam and Doug, for a smooth, satisfying solve and thanks, CC, for the usual insider's viewpoint and commentary.
Have a great day.
Whew! Took me darn near an hour and a LOT of WiteOut to make it to the FIRnish line today, but I have to say, it was a very enjoyable hour! Clever clues, some nice misdirection, and themes that were sussable. A mighty struggle, but a nice feeling of accomplishment. Had to really stretch the gray matter!
Once I got the cute theme, it was just a matter of struggling with the other fills. Some came quickly, some needed some WAGS and perps. Although I got it, I still don’t understand the chuck/YEET connection. I also don’t know what the ace community is.
FRET SAW came last. At first I had adheres for GLUES TO and stoat instead of OTTER.
I really liked the NEIL Diamond clue.
Bryce Canyon is quite a site. I’ve been twice.
Thank you C.C. I see I’m not the only who misreads titles. I too at first read wordplay, but of course it makes more sense as workplay.
Enjoyed the BUSINESS word play theme. Hand up some obscure clues and answers. MIMI and ACER seemed unnecessarily obscure and proper-namey. Had TOSS for CHUCK. The clue for NEIN seemed to have another layer: Three times three is "NINE" in English. I had forgotten about SPOT in the MUNSTERS. Amused by BALD clue.
Here we hiked into BRYCE CANYON in UTAH.
Hand up it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth to me. Unlike the Grand Canyon, most people in good health can do the full hike through the canyon in just a few hours. I have been there in spring, fall and summer and each season is a unique experience. Snow in spring and fall.
I couldn’t let go of “acedia” for “lack of pep” and don’t know “TMNT” - could someone spell out MNT for me as well? And don’t know Mimi in Rent. I loved the themers. Thanks for a great puzzle and blog❣️
Sophia @ 12:21 ~ TMNT=Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I, too, had no idea what it stood for until Teenage filled itself in. 😉
Musings
-Walked right through this one and agree with Irish, again!
-The PACERS are no longer the #1 draw in the Gainbridge Field house.
-EDIT and UNDO functions in 1964 were done with an eraser
-The RILLS have overflowed in Eastern Nebraska this spring
-The Washington Post FACT CHECKER has a rating of 1 – 4 of these
-The Buckeyes beat the Huskers 15 – 3 in the opening game of the Big 10 Baseball Tournament. Two days later, the Huskers beat the Buckeyes 15 – 2.
-The History Channel is showing How Disney Changed America and Walt’s different take on RIDES
-In trees, ANEMIA (lack of iron) is called chlorosis
-YEET is now slang for throw just as “Chuck” was in my ute!
Such an enjoyable puzzle, albeit very challenging. I made the mistake of putting Three for TWOPM which gave me Edge for POCO and totally screwed me up in that area until I realized I needed MALBEC and TORY, and I unscrewed myself. My favorite clues were Diamond With Hits and Carpenter With Pipes - both of those singers are great favorites. Themers were fun, especially FERTILITY CLINIC and FITNESS STUDIO.
I don’t get Ace Community - anyone?
Thanks so much, Doug and Samuel, and please come back soon.
Thanks, C.C. for the excellent tour. Flip turns yet?
Couldn’t chisel in Flintstones in 75A. AGAR is also used in Petrie dishes.
I felt pleasantly satisfied upon completing this puzzle. Loved the theme.
ETAL --> ANON --> THEM. Remember the movie "Them!"?
JUDY --> PHIL.
SORT --> CULL.
STOAT --> OTTER.
Does anybody remember ROWDY Yates?
TROT gave me TWO PM instead of ONE PM.
Perps revealed whether it was CANON or EPSON.
Learning moment that I will remember: that James AGEE wrote "The African Queen".
Took me a moment to realize ASEXUAL was not AS EXUAL, which of course made no sense.
COPING saw and JIG saw did not fit.
Misspelling CAMI as CAMO hindered discovering that OIL RIG.
Add an I to ELSE and you get ELISE.
Horshack did not say MIMI.
Paraphrases:
"They set us up!": IT'S A TRAP.
"More to come": STAY TUNED.
"Fiddlesticks!": OH DARN.
"Think so, eh?": OHO.
Good reading you all.
Thanks to Sam and Doug! Terrific theme and clues to match the answers.
I was close today but I failed at WAC and ROWDY. Now I see it.
FAVs: Grumpy colleague; NEIL Diamond; Whole alternative; What just isn't right; Change one's story; Checker's concern; and K-TEL. I remember their commercials on cable TV.
Learning moment for Whitsunday & Pentecost. I have toured Australia's Whitsunday's in a tall ship but did not know (or forgot) that they were named for the calendar date of Captain Cook's voyage through the area -- as are many islands.
Thank you, C.C., for your review, all the time you put into The Corner, and your puzzle construction insights!
What a fun theme on today’s puzzle! Still challenging, but once the gag was grokked, it made for some great entertainment. Clever clueing and very few proper names 👍🏽
A couple of minor gripes: first, I think it’s high time to ban the word YEET from future cw’s (FWIW, “chuck” is slang for “discard”, i.e., toss out. YEET:🤮) and second, let’s limit ANTE to a once-a-week appearance (I did four puzzles in the LAT this week & that word showed up in three of ‘em…).
Oh — and saying a lute is like a SITAR is like comparing a grape to a pineapple. About the only thing the two instruments share is that they both have strings…
====> Darren / L.A.
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