Theme: "Better With Age" - AGE is added to each common phrase.
22. Ancestors infamous for tasteless jokes?: OFFENSIVE LINEAGE. Offensive line.
32. Instruction from the Juicy Juice shipping supervisor?: PACKAGE A PUNCH. Pack a punch.
49. Videobomb in an otherwise Pulitzer-worthy newscast?: FOOTAGE FAULT. Foot fault.
68. Chaos at the spa?: MASSAGE HYSTERIA. Mass hysteria.
89. Evidence of vacuum misuse?: HOOVER DAMAGE. Hoover Dam.
106. Political strategy that relies on folksy sayings?: ADAGE CAMPAIGN. Ad campaign.
120. Neosporin motto?: I'M WITH THE BANDAGE. I'm with band.
I had difficulty parsing PACKAGE A PUNCH. Others are all solid.
Scott Hogan and Katie Hale are a dynamic duo. They've made quite a few Sunday LAT and NYT puzzles.
Great follow-up to the last "Getting Old" puzzle we had a long while ago. Been ages since we last solved a James Sajdak puzzle.
Across:
1. Semaphore gear: FLAGS.
6. Studio output: ART.
9. Baby bird: CHICK.
14. Make a scene: ACT.
17. British semi: LORRY.
18. Gymnast Suni: LEE. Pride of Minnesota. She grew up in St. Paul.
19. Hallowed: SACRED.
21. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR.
25. Org. with a "meatball" insignia: NASA. From their website: In
the "meatball" design, the sphere represents a planet, the stars
represent space, the red chevron is a wing representing aeronautics. No
meatball though.
26. Not fooled by: WISE TO.
27. Bring a suit: SUE.
28. Skyscraper locales: BIG CITIES.
30. Graham who co-founded The Hollies: NASH.
35. Some hip muscles: FLEXORS.
38. "King __": KONG.
39. "Star Trek: Picard" actress Jeri: RYAN.
40. Mars, to the Greeks: ARES.
41. Engage in a linguistic battle, maybe: RAP.
43. "Careful what you __ for": WISH.
45. Manchester United mascot: DEVIL. Fred the Red Devil. The club's nickname is the Red Devils. Learning moment for me.
53. Pacers and Hornets: AMCS.
56. College email ending: EDU.
57. Author Rand: AYN.
58. Everett of "An Ideal Husband": RUPERT.
59. Scratching post fiber: SISAL.
61. Shorten, in a way: CROP. Do I look good in this pair of sunglasses? Tom Pepper's.
62. Tour employee: ROADIE.
64. "So?": AND.
66. Airport screening?: TIMETABLE. Fun clue.
72. Goes it alone: FLIES SOLO.
75. Cyberyuk: LOL.
76. "Dust in the Wind" band: KANSAS.
80. Starring role: LEAD.
81. Arm rest?: SLING. And
83. Overnighter: LODGER. My friend Carmen is finally off her sling. She was in Shenzhen ten days ago.
 |
| Carmen 8/21/2024 |
86. Half of deux: UNE.
87. Purpose: AIM.
88. TV host Kotb: HODA. I think Big Easy knows her first husband.
92. Forbidden: TABOO.
94. Do the hustle?: SCAM. Amazing clue!
96. Fair-hiring letters: EEO.
97. Enthusiastic: AVID.
98. Climate control syst.: HVAC.
101. Brontë sister: ANNE.
103. Can't miss: MUST SEE.
111. Perfectly: TO A T.
112. So very much: A WHOLE LOT.
113. Coconut __: OIL. Have any of you tried coconut sugar?
115. Savanna, taiga, etc.: BIOMES.
119. Brief note: MEMO.
124. Garbed: CLAD.
125. Remote target: TEE VEE. And
126. Remote insert: AAA.
127. Polynesian kingdom: TONGA. East of Fiji. Vanuatu is to the west.
128. Passe: OLD.
129. Atlanta WNBA team: DREAM.
130. Lode load: ORE.
131. "Lah-di-dah" type: SNOOT.
Down:
2. Like a stripped-back recording, briefly: LO-FI.
3. Dog sounds: ARFS.
4. Least experienced: GREENEST.
5. Grammar subject: SYNTAX.
6. Mahershala who was the first Muslim performer to win an Oscar: ALI. For "Moonlight". Won another for "Green Book".
7. Checks an engine, perhaps: REVS.
8. Elevate a golf ball: TEE UP.
9. Forensics drama franchise: CSI.
10. "To All the Boys" novelist Jenny: HAN. Korean-American.
_(cropped).jpg)
11. Some anti-inflammatories: ICE BAGS.
12. Pitcher Kimbrel with more than 400 career saves: CRAIG. See here. Top 5.
13. Many a frat party: KEGGER.
14. Over bidding?: AGAIN. Not auction bid.
15. Sine's reciprocal, in trig: COSEC.
16. Dis: TRASH.
20. Radioisotope activity: DECAY.
21. On the same wavelength: IN TUNE.
23. Underwhelming: SO SO.
24. Water bottle problem: LEAK.
29. Sleeping tablets, at times: IPADS. OK, the screen goes to sleep.
31. Onboarding official, for short: HR REP.
33. Loose hood: COWL.
34. Crafts with yarn: KNITS.
35. Cold treat, casually: FROYO. Never had frozen yogurt, but I'm the best soy yogurt maker in Minnesota.
36. British singer Lewis: LEONA.
37. Ump's call: SAFE.
40. Way over yonder: AFAR.
42. Exemplar: PARAGON.
44. Knows the answer: HAS IT.
46. Conjugated word: VERB.
47. Pedestal dweller: IDOL.
48. Hip-hop's __ Fiasco: LUPE.
50. Diva's big moments: ARIAS. Oh, I don't think I ever mentioned Qinqiang opera before. It's sung in Xi'an dialect.
51. "Seems that way": GUESS SO.
52. Online periodical with the slogan "Cure Ignorance": UTNE.
54. Angela Lansbury role: MAME.
55. Worked for a judge: CLERKED.
60. [Heart eyes emoji]: IT'S LOVE.
61. "Misery" co-star James: CAAN.
63. Sent a private message, briefly: DM'ED.
65. Shipping option: DHL.
67. Prom crown: TIARA.
69. Auction cry: SOLD.
70. Aka follower: ALIAS.
71. "No regrets" hashtag: YOLO.
72. Lacking pop: FLAT.
73. Skywalker twin: LEIA.
74. Poetic measure: IAMB.
77. Elegantly charming: SUAVE. I associate this word with Agnes's Gary Grant.
78. Harmon of "Rizzoli & Isles": ANGIE. Boomer loved her in "Law & Order".
79. Pomegranate bit: SEED.
82. World's second-largest cocoa producer: GHANA. The largest is the Ivory Coast. Also learning moment for me.
84. Judge to be: DEEM.
85. Tiler's supply: GROUT.
88. Ramshackle residence: HOVEL.
90. Potent prefix: OMNI.
91. Mammoth's older relative: MASTODON.
93. "Thank heavens!": OH GOOD.
95. Locked up: CAPTIVE.
99. Nail the final: ACE IT.
100. Settled (down): CALMED.
102. John Legend achievement, briefly: EGOT.
104. Japanese bowlful: SOBA.
105. Corrupts: TAINTS.
106. Repair chain with classic "beep beep" commercials: AAMCO.
107. Reside (in): DWELL.
108. Sports commentator Rashad: AHMAD.
109. Blade shortener: MOWER.
110. Chinese greeting: NI HAO. Ni = You. Hao = Good.
114. "Oh, that way madness lies" king: LEAR.
116. Honduran hand: MANO.
117. Waffle brand: EGGO.
118. Ticket line?: SEAT. Another creative clue.
121. Lapsang souchong, e.g.: TEA.
122. __ and haw: HEM.
123. Boo: BAE.
36 comments:
I don’t have a lot to say about this puzzle. The title gave the gimmick away, and from there it was just a matter of plugging in “age” to various in-the-language phrases. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
The plethora of proper names (d-o only knew CAAN, RYAN, and LEIA) made this one a struggle. Finished the race, but was probably the last to cross the finish line. Thanx, Scott, Katie, and C.C. (You look very stylish in those sun glasses.)
RYAN: Her well-endowed character was named Seven of Nine. Dw dubbed her 44 of D.
AAMCO: I always chuckled at their line, "Half the cars serviced by AAMCO don't need a new transmission." Claude Akins was their pitchman. What about the other 50%?
Took 16:49 today.
Like SubG said, not a lot to say about this.
Crud. I had almost finished my (too long) comments when I searched for RUPERT Holmes to link Escape universally known as "The Pina Colada Song." Anyway, FIW, not picking up on the sleeping IPAD and thinking that Juice Juice would be something mom would put in her tyke's lunch.
Logos that feature a circle are called a meatball. I first heard it when AT&T changed their logo to the blue segmented circle, circa 1985.
"Coconut ___" made me think of Jimmy Buffett's Coconut Telegraph and Harry Nilsson's (Put the Lime in the) Coconut.
Today the best 30 golfers in the PGA will TEE UP for the final round of the FexEx Championship. Last place gets a little over $500,000; first place pays $25 million.
AA (beep beep) MCO does nearly everything automotive these days. Brakes, struts, oil change, air conditioning, tune ups, radiators and mufflers, to name a few. I'll stick with my local, non-franchise shop, thank you very much.
Thanks to Scott and Katie for the fun challenge, except for the nasty crossing of ALI x LEE. That was offset by the sterling "Pacers and Hornets" for AMC, which required me to back out of my NBA misdirection. And thanks to CC for another solid review. Yes, you look good in Tom's shades; I suspect you would look good even in a burlap sack and a welding mask.
Juicy Juice, not Juice Juice. I miss my preview mode.
FIR, but found this to be a tad crunchy. Too many proper names for my liking, and even two crossing, Ali and Lee, just seemed too much.
I got the theme early on and that helped a lot. Although the the "Neosporin motto" didn't seem right to me. Oh well!
It's done so there's that, but this was definitely not enjoyable.
Good Morning:
Even though the title gave away the theme, you still had to think and work a little to complete the themers, which made the solve fun and somewhat challenging. I thought the grid was very clean and free of dreck and, unlike many Sunday grids, not overloaded with obscure/esoteric entries. There were a few perp-dependent pauses for Devil, Han, Lupe, Nihao, and Leona, but only one w/o, Lead/Leak. These two factors led to a smooth, satisfying, and enjoyable solve, as did the very acceptable TLW count of 22. Massage Hysteria and Hoover Damage were my favorite themers. Big CSO to HG at NASA.
Thanks, Scott and Katie, for a pleasant Sunday diversion and thanks, CC, for the professional overview. You always point out some nuances that we lay people don't necessarily see or appreciate. Yes, suave certainly evokes images of Cary Grant, as does debonair, charming, handsome, dashing, etc., etc. Great photo of you and Tom's flattering shades!
Going to a family cookout this afternoon. Hope the weatherman is kind to us.
Have a great day.
Wow, a WHOLELOT of proper names! Scrunched my nose at sine and cosec, since the answer is abbreviated and the clue isn’t, but then I noticed “trig” in the clue. Also seems that that the suit/sue combo breaks some sort of crossword cluing rule, but that’s just me. Theme was very helpful, but with all the proper names, the social media jargon, and all the cutesy-wootsy misdirects, this wasn't much fun. But oh well, FIR.
Long slog to the finish today. Missed only the sleeping tablet since I went for a PACKAGEAIUNCH instead of a PUNCH. Great theme! Takes a lot of imagination to come up with that many theme entries.
Kudos to Scott and Katie for their hard work and a bow to our liege C.C. for her synopsis of their efforts,
Biggest almost miss was trying OHmgOd instead of OHGOOD. Best hits were picking DREAM and sussing BIOMES.
Not many TLWs today, only 20 by my count. That will make IM happy.
Above all, be true to yourself.
Swell.
Correction: 22 TLWs
If I can FIR in one sitting, especially if it's challenging, I enjoy it! I wasn't sure I had accomplished that in the NE corner until C.C. revealed the solution. Yay! I DEEM this puzzle doable, and the long answers got better with AGE.
There are fewer ARFS in our house since one of our old four footed friends passed away this week.
C.C., you would look good in anything. Those shades are cool. Thanks for the blog, and thanks A WHOLE LOT to Scott and Katie for the puzzle.
SubG and Anon were quite succinct in their comments today, so as not to be a sesquipedalianist I will keep this short too. I enjoyed the solve and as usual had to work around the majority of names that I DNK ie: RUPERT, RYAN et al, but I thought the theme and fill were solid with good cluing which gave it about a Friday difficulty level for me. FIR in 46:34. Thank you Katie and Scott for the morning entertainment!
C.C. NI HAO! Thanks for today’s recap! Nice photo, and the glasses are a cool looking accessory, Tom should let you keep them. 😎
Musings
-A late start because I had to read all the info about Husker FB yesterday. I hope it was a sign of good things to come.
-A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle with some laugh-out-loud gimmicks and OH SO clever cluing elsewhere too
-PACK A LUNCH seemed okay but, BAM, IPAD (ILAD?) appeared and I had a “Got ‘er done”.
-Yes, Irish, I told my lovely bride that I want a NASA meatball on my urn
-An EGOT equivalent? Graham NASH is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with Crosby, Stills and Nash and the Hollies and is in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame for his work in that area
-Lookin’ good? YES, C.C.!
-Our school spent $3M on a new HVAC system and Friday it was very cool in my classroom and very hot in the hall
-A declassified MEMO sent to FDR just before Pearl Harbor
-Isn't "Over bidding/AGAIN" from Price Is Right?
-I read that German VERBS are the easiest to conjugate
-The excellent actress Angela Lansbury will be more remembered for Jessica Fletcher than MAME. FWIW, I better remember Rosalind Russell as MAME
Lotsa erasures today (yes I'm old school). Got off on the wrong foot at 1D as FAST works with both work and cash. Didn't know many of the names, and every time I guessed a letter, it was shot down by a perp. Eventually bumbled my way through for the win.
As for the theme, it felt a little weak for a Sunday. Woulda been better on a weak-day.
Happy to see PICARD and JERI RYAN.
desper-otto You can tell DW I am amused by her JERI RYAN nickname.
CC Thanks for the photo. I have face blindness, so it is difficult for me when someone wears sunglasses. But I am in awe of your flat ABS. Good for you!
Enjoyed the AGE theme. Many learning moments for me. I did not realize Angela Lansbury starred in MAME on Broadway. I did not remember that GRAHAM NASH was in the HOLLIES. Never heard of FOOT FAULT.
I was scouting a hike with friends on Friday and took a fall. I had a concussion and an injured wrist. Lots of ICE BAGS for me.
Favorite clue misdirection was BLADE/MOWER. BOO as mysterious to me as BAE. Still don't get AGAIN for OVER BIDDING. Still don't get why "MEATBALL" for NASA insignia.
Here is my article on a tour we were privileged to attend with our Humanist Society at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in February.
The first half of the tour was at Cal Tech. The final bit was about the Europa Clipper, which is scheduled to launch next month. To seek out conditions for life on Europa.
Once I started running into so many proper names I wasn’t familiar with, I had to do something to speed this along. So, I made a list of all the proper names, looked them all up, entered them in the grid, then started over and began to enjoy the CW.
The theme was smooth enough though I had a little trouble with FOOTAGE FAULT. I don’t often see TV written as TEEVEE.
I don’t get BAE as clued. Boo?
NaomiZ is correct, CC would look good in anything. The glasses add glamour.
Speaking of SUAVE. That attribute never applied to women.
Kinda meh. Did finally arrive at the FIR, but the plethora of names was a fun sponge for me. First thought at MEATBALL was "Japanese aircraft marking". Lookin' good behind those Foster Grant's, CC!
I loved the easy theme, but this puzzle was quite crunchy. Fun and satisfying solve.
Package a punch seemed good to me. The orator's s speech packed a punch. Juicy Juice packages a kind of fruit punch.
I hesitated over "I'm with the bandage," looking for a real motto. However the other themers were not in the language either until you remove the AGE. All good, IMO. I almost always use Neosporin with Bandaids.
Jinx, thanks for explaining why the NASA logo is called a meatball.
The hardest fill was lapsang suchsong, MOWER was all perps for blade shortener, very clever.
Decompressing from a week down the shore. Great family time.
Picard, sorry to hear of your fall and concussion. I hope you are okay now.
In modern lingo, Bae is a term of endearment, as is Boo. (I'm only the messenger! 😝
I think the female equivalent of suave would be sophisticated. 😉
How is over bidding meaning again?
We used to refer to those guys who thought they were Joe Cool as "swave, deboner, and chick" instead of suave, debonair, and chic.
Loved this puzzle. I thought the themers were clever and helped me solve other stuff. “Foot faults” refers to tennis errors (probably other sports too). I didn’t know some of the proper names, such as Ryan, Rupert, Craig, but I did know most of the others, and perps were kind. To me, this was a real Crossword Puzzle and not a Crossname or Crosstrivia puzzle as many seem to be lately. I will admit, however, I wrinkled my nose at Boo/BAE. Thanks so very much, Scott and Katie, for a fun, worthwhile, intelligent outing!
Thanks too, C.C. for the great tour. Love the sunglasses - and the whole outfit!
Another Sunday, another crossname puzzle. That made it a slog to almost FIR. I guessed wrong at the cross of KEGGER and RYAN(unknown) with a D for KEGGED and DYAN .But does that addition get better with AGE? You get WISE to some of the gimmicks. But I purposely do not look at the title in the newspaper, which allows me to figure it out. At least I knew Suni LEE and IGOR. I didn't know either DEVIL or LUPE but L was the only logical fill.
I didn't know Graham NASH was in the Hollies but "He ain't heavy, he's my brother" and I saw him at the "Bus Stop"
AAMCO- remember when ZSA ZSA did commercials for AAMCO?
BAE for 'Boo'- never would have got it without perps
UTNE- don't you love it when some publication tries to make themselves more highbrow than you.
IT'S LOVE- I really don't know or care to know any emoji when somebody embeds it in a message. I don't translate pictures well. I wouldn't make a good art critic.
Picard at 12:32 PM: Take it easy! A concussion is no small thing. At our age, falling is a real risk.
Re: "Boo" for BAE -- we've seen a lot of BAE (for baby or babe) in the puzzle, but "boo" must be newer and cooler, because that's what our youngest is calling her man. He is in his 40s and looks exactly like the demigod Maui in Disney's Moana -- not like anybody's baby.
Yellowrocks, NaomiZ Thank you for the kind words and good wishes. In my experience, the second and third nights are the scariest after a concussion. Glad I made it through last night OK.
Can someone please explain how "AGAIN" relates to "OVER BIDDING"? Sorry for being dense.
Even though I don't do Apple, I should add that I thought the IPADS clue was very clever.
DNF but it was fun. The AMCS/SISAL/MAME crossings made that area impossible for me. Also couldn’t get through the BAE/ORE/NIHAO area. Best guess for “Boo” was BAY, which I thought was pretty clever, but nope.
“TEEVEE” is pretty much the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in a crossword all year. IDK (or should I say ayedeekay?) why on earth we’re spelling out those letters.
I enjoyed all the punny theme entries though.
Also today’s puzzle makes me feel bad for my dad, whose local newspaper does not publish the title of the Sunday CW. Without the title today, there’s no hint as to what’s going on with the theme.
To me in bridge when you over bid you bid higher than your hand is worth. You should not have bid again the last time and failed.
Thanks IM☘️ for BAE Boo explanation. I was aware of BAE from previous CWs, but boo is new. I wonder if it comes from the once popular show “Honey Boo-boo”. As one syllable it reminds me too much of Halloween.
Yes, sophisticated is a good equivalent for suave.
Sorry Picard about your fall. Take care.
Just have Ken hit https://www.latimes.com/games/daily-crossword. Free site. Other benefits - no newspaper running wrong paper, cropping out Sunday's theme, or omitting constructor;s names. If a fossil like me can do it, so can he.
...running wrong puzzle, not wrong paper. Have I ever mentioned that I miss preview?
Hola!
Picard, please do be careful. Those falls can be very serious. Remember Liam Neesan's late wife, Natasha Richardson?
This puzzle put me to sleep! And I did not finish it. What I did finish, though, seemed clever.
C.C., you look very chic in those sunglasses as well as in your whole outfit.
I hope you all are enjoying your day. It's getting windy and blustery here.
All the proper names sucked the fun out of this one.
“Foot fault” is a tennis no-no; it’s when your shoe touches the baseline while serving. NYK. 😎
====> Darren / L.A.
Yeah, proper names…ugh. But at least the rest of the puzzle was pretty enjoyable, with a SUAVE theme and some DEVIL-ish clueing!
Coconut OIL…have never cooked food with the stuff, only myself; when I lived in Hawai’i way back when, it was The Right Stuff for tanning — except don’t wear it while surfing, it makes the board slippery as snail snot!
BAE and “Boo” — boo, indeed. I’m not a fan of this current Gen Z (or Gen whatever) cutesy slang. To use an older term, “gag me with a spoon” (thank you, Moon Zappa!). As for TEEVEE, uh…nope. Not even close. No cee-gar.
Used to have a subscription to the Utne Reader back when it was still a print rag. Lots of semi-progressive woo-woo…but still an enjoyable read.
Thanks for the fun word-romp, and to sensationally-shaded C.C. for her analysis. Question on “NI HAO”…a Chinese girlfriend in a previous life used to say “ni hao mah”; is it a derivative, C.C., or does it add something? All I know is “mah” is “horse” in Cantonese. Was she asking if my horse was good? 🤣
====> Darren / L.A.
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