Theme: "EV Charging"
EV (electric vehicle) charging is much in the news these days, with most of us considering how we can support solutions to climate change. In today's puzzle, constructor Zhouqin "C.C." Burnikel brings us a different kind of "EV" plug-in, inserting the letters EV into English phrases to create new phrases that match the clues.
23 Across. Televangelist's weekly staff meeting?: BUSINESS REVIVAL. Business rival.
30 Across. Gadget with all the bells and whistles?: LOADED DEVICE. Loaded dice.
 |
| loaded dice vs loaded device |
51 Across. Series of self-help books for really ambitious copy editors?: REVISE TO FAME. Rise to fame.
89 Across. Rum drink served exclusively in Vegas casinos?: NEVADA COLADA. Nada colada. A nada colada is a non-alcoholic piƱa polada: think coconut cream, pineapple, and lime juice.
100 Across. Blossom on a pair of 501 jeans femme?: FLEUR DE LEVIS. Fleur-de-lis. Also spelled fleur-de-lys. 501 is a classic Levis style with a button fly. 501 jeans femme would be women's 501 jeans, in French. If French 501 jeans for women were to be decorated with a flower, it might be a "fleur-de-lis," the stylized lily shape that represents France.
116 Across. Formally promised that a tax rate was accurate?: LEVIED UNDER OATH. Lied under oath. They made a promise about taxes under oath, but they lied!
37 Down. What winning lottery scratch tickets do?: REVEAL MONEY. Real money.
43 Down. Complete overhaul of a diary passage?: ENTRY REVAMP. Entry ramp.
As you know, an electric grid is a complex network of power plants, transmission lines, and distribution centers that delivers electricity to consumers. Zhouqin "C.C." Burnikel's grid is another modern marvel. How does she come up with these things, and then arrange them symmetrically in the grid?
Since I can't solve that mystery, we'll move on to the rest of the clues and answers ...
Across:1. April, May, and June: NAMES. These days, I meet young women named September and October ... all the months are up for grabs!
6. Some briefs: BVDS. BVD is a brand of men's underwear, which are commonly referred to as "BVDs." The brand was founded in 1876 and named after the three founders of the firm: Bradley, Voorhees, and Day. The brand is currently produced by Fruit of the Loom.
 |
| BVD magazine advertising insert, 1910's |
10. Street __: CRED. Street credibility. Respect earned in one's area.
14. Rack up, as expenses: INCUR.
19. Tea party guest: ALICE.
 |
| The Mad Hatter's tea party from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
20. Senate staffer: AIDE.
21. Expand the staff: HIRE.
22. Bang or whimper: NOISE.
23. [Theme clue]
26. Lavished love (on): DOTED.
27. Car emissions check: SMOG TEST.
28. "Borderlands" director Roth: ELI. Borderlands is a 2024 American science fiction film directed by Eli Roth, based on the video game series developed by Gearbox Software. It stars Cate Blanchett.
21. Expand the staff: HIRE.
22. Bang or whimper: NOISE.
23. [Theme clue]
26. Lavished love (on): DOTED.
27. Car emissions check: SMOG TEST.
28. "Borderlands" director Roth: ELI. Borderlands is a 2024 American science fiction film directed by Eli Roth, based on the video game series developed by Gearbox Software. It stars Cate Blanchett.
29. Martial art created by Morihei Ueshiba: AIKIDO. Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a blend of martial studies, philosophy and religion. His goal was to create an art which could be used to defend oneself while also protecting attackers from injury.
30. [Theme clue]
35. Comes together: MERGES.
40. "When will u b here?": ETA. "Estimated Time of Arrival" in textspeak.
41. Flat fee?: RENT. The monthly fee for a flat (apartment).
42. Chaotic state: MESS.
46. Skating jumps with 1 1/2 air turns: AXELS.
47. Only known warm-blooded fish: OPAH. Opah (AKA moonfish) is often on the menu in Hawaii. In 2015, opah was discovered to have endothermy in which the entire core of the body is maintained at around 5 °C above the surrounding water. This is unique among fish, since most are entirely cold blooded, or are capable of warming only some parts of their bodies.
35. Comes together: MERGES.
40. "When will u b here?": ETA. "Estimated Time of Arrival" in textspeak.
41. Flat fee?: RENT. The monthly fee for a flat (apartment).
42. Chaotic state: MESS.
46. Skating jumps with 1 1/2 air turns: AXELS.
47. Only known warm-blooded fish: OPAH. Opah (AKA moonfish) is often on the menu in Hawaii. In 2015, opah was discovered to have endothermy in which the entire core of the body is maintained at around 5 °C above the surrounding water. This is unique among fish, since most are entirely cold blooded, or are capable of warming only some parts of their bodies.
 |
| Opah or moonfish. They are large. |
49. Service station shops: MARTS.
50. From scratch: ANEW.
51. [Theme clue]
54. "But maybe I'm alone in thinking this?": OR IS IT ME?
56. Vessels on a frozen lake: ICE BOATS.
57. Beltway Series MLB team: NATS. The Beltway Series is the Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry series between the Washington Nationals (Nats) and the Baltimore Orioles. The series is named after the Capital Beltway (I-495) in Washington, D.C. and the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) in Baltimore, Maryland. The teams also refer to the series as "The Battle of the Beltways".
59. Vacationing: ON A TRIP. Sometimes I get a chance to write the Crossword Corner blog post when one of the regular bloggers is on a trip. I have almost as much fun as they do.
60. Cryptology org.: NSA. Cryptology is the art and science of making and breaking codes and ciphers. NSA (National Security Agency) is responsible for creating the systems that protect U.S. communications and for analyzing communications used by foreign powers.
61. Breaks down: ROTS.
63. Some pop: COLAS.
There are so many flavors of Coca Cola, who has time for Pepsi or RC?
65. Secret rendezvous: TRYST.
66. "I'm game!": LET'S.
69. "Go ahead, I'm listening": OK SHOOT.
71. Draft choice?: BEER.
72. Fallon of late-night: JIMMY. Host of "The Tonight Show" on NBC.
66. "I'm game!": LET'S.
69. "Go ahead, I'm listening": OK SHOOT.
71. Draft choice?: BEER.
72. Fallon of late-night: JIMMY. Host of "The Tonight Show" on NBC.
 |
| Jimmy Fallon |
74. Malice: SPITE.
75. Not mucho: POCO. A little Spanish.
77. Defib expert: EMT. An Emergency Medical Technician can perform defibrillation, using electrical current to restore a normal heart rhythm when a person is experiencing a potentially fatal arrhythmia.
80. Fried pastry filled with mashed potatoes: ALOO PIE. Crossword enthusiasts are familiar with aloo, the Indian word for potatoes. Put potatoes in fried dough, and you have aloo pie, which originated in Trinidad and Tobago.
75. Not mucho: POCO. A little Spanish.
77. Defib expert: EMT. An Emergency Medical Technician can perform defibrillation, using electrical current to restore a normal heart rhythm when a person is experiencing a potentially fatal arrhythmia.
80. Fried pastry filled with mashed potatoes: ALOO PIE. Crossword enthusiasts are familiar with aloo, the Indian word for potatoes. Put potatoes in fried dough, and you have aloo pie, which originated in Trinidad and Tobago.
82. Baba ghanoush bread: PITA. Baba ghanoush is a middle eastern dip made of eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini (sesame seed paste). You'll want to scoop it up with pita. Yum!
84. Lack of approval: DISFAVOR.
87. Stuff inside: CONTENTS. Stuff is a noun in this instance. The "stuff inside" an envelope is the contents of the envelope. When it comes to another crossword favorite, Oreos, "double stuf" is an option.
89. [Theme clue]
91. Place for a pad: KNEE.
92. At an impasse: STUCK.
94. "One more thing ... ": ALSO.
95. Directed (at): AIMED.
96. Puts into words: SAYS.
97. Ceramic stewpot: OLLA. A little more Spanish! But "olla" has been adopted into English to mean a wide-mouthed earthenware pot. In Spanish, it's pronouned OY-yah. In English, the pronunciation is all over the map.
98. " Dios __!": MIO. More Spanish! "My God!"
99. Pass by: ELAPSE.
100. [Theme clue]
104. Ninja in a shell: TURTLE. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The stories follow Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtles trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. My son liked the animated series on TV.
99. Pass by: ELAPSE.
100. [Theme clue]
104. Ninja in a shell: TURTLE. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The stories follow Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtles trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. My son liked the animated series on TV.
 |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
108. Kirigami or origami: ART. Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper. Kirigami is a variation that involves cutting the paper so that it stands away from a page.
 |
| Basic Kirigami |
109. Loan repayment figure: INTEREST.
115. Pong Quest developer: ATARI. Video game.
116. [Theme clue]
120. Cookie cutter?: BAKER.
121. Give and take: SWAP.
122. Not again: ONCE.
123. Perez of "Birds of Prey": ROSIE. Rosie Perez is an American actress whose breakthrough came at age 24 in the film "Do the Right Thing" (1989), followed by "White Men Can't Jump" (1992). Perez's performance in "Fearless" (1993) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her starring film roles since include "It Could Happen to You" (1994), "The Road to El Dorado" (2000), "Pineapple Express" (2008), and "Birds of Prey" (2020).
115. Pong Quest developer: ATARI. Video game.
116. [Theme clue]
120. Cookie cutter?: BAKER.
121. Give and take: SWAP.
122. Not again: ONCE.
123. Perez of "Birds of Prey": ROSIE. Rosie Perez is an American actress whose breakthrough came at age 24 in the film "Do the Right Thing" (1989), followed by "White Men Can't Jump" (1992). Perez's performance in "Fearless" (1993) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her starring film roles since include "It Could Happen to You" (1994), "The Road to El Dorado" (2000), "Pineapple Express" (2008), and "Birds of Prey" (2020).
 |
| Rosie Perez |
124. One in a notepad: SHEET.
125. Homes for foxes: DENS.
126. Cereal in party mix: CHEX.
127. Like a disciplinarian: STERN.
Down:
1. Catches red-handed: NABS.
2. Many a school donor: ALUM. A graduate of a particular school is an alum. An alumnus is a male graduate, an alumna is a female graduate, alumni is plural for males or mixed genders, and alumnae is plural for females. Alum saves you from all that gender specificity; the plural is alums.
3. Soybean paste similar to doenjang: MISO. Japanese miso paste is made by fermenting steamed soy beans with salt, grains (usually rice or barley) and koji, a type of fungus. Korean doenjang is made by fermenting steamed soy beans with salt alone. "Soybean paste" was enough to give me "miso."
125. Homes for foxes: DENS.
126. Cereal in party mix: CHEX.
127. Like a disciplinarian: STERN.
Down:
1. Catches red-handed: NABS.
2. Many a school donor: ALUM. A graduate of a particular school is an alum. An alumnus is a male graduate, an alumna is a female graduate, alumni is plural for males or mixed genders, and alumnae is plural for females. Alum saves you from all that gender specificity; the plural is alums.
3. Soybean paste similar to doenjang: MISO. Japanese miso paste is made by fermenting steamed soy beans with salt, grains (usually rice or barley) and koji, a type of fungus. Korean doenjang is made by fermenting steamed soy beans with salt alone. "Soybean paste" was enough to give me "miso."
4. Vaper's choice: E-CIG. Electronic cigarette AKA e-cigarette AKA e-cig AKA vape.
5. No longer in the drafts folder: SENT. An email reference.
6. Deep opera voice: BASSO.
7. Panoramic view: VISTA.
8. Arcade game featuring colorful floor arrows: Abbr.: DDR. Dance Dance Revolution is a music video game series produced by Japanese brand Konami. I did not know (DNK) DDR.
 |
| DDR arcade game |
9. "What did I say!?": SEE!?
10. Minor character: CHILD. A minor is a person under a legal age limit, which varies. In California, anyone under the age of 18 is a minor.
11. Nice beach area: RIVIERA. Nice (pronounced NEESS) is a city on the French Riviera, quite close to the border with Italy. I'm sure it's very nice.
12. Important stretch: ERA.
13. Tierra __ Fuego: archipelago in South America: DEL.
14. Not mainstream: INDIE. Independent -- describing a musical group, record label, or film company not associated with a major corporation.
15. Cozy corner: NOOK.
16. New York's __ Field: CITI. A baseball stadium in Queens, New York City. The naming rights were purchased by Citigroup, a New York financial services company, for $20 million annually.
10. Minor character: CHILD. A minor is a person under a legal age limit, which varies. In California, anyone under the age of 18 is a minor.
11. Nice beach area: RIVIERA. Nice (pronounced NEESS) is a city on the French Riviera, quite close to the border with Italy. I'm sure it's very nice.
12. Important stretch: ERA.
13. Tierra __ Fuego: archipelago in South America: DEL.
14. Not mainstream: INDIE. Independent -- describing a musical group, record label, or film company not associated with a major corporation.
15. Cozy corner: NOOK.
16. New York's __ Field: CITI. A baseball stadium in Queens, New York City. The naming rights were purchased by Citigroup, a New York financial services company, for $20 million annually.
17. Secondhand: USED.
18. Make over: REDO.
24. Snaky fish with transparent babies: EELS.
25. Sanskrit scripture: VEDA.
29. Is a cast member of: ACTS IN.
31. Part of CODA: DEAF. CODA is an acronym for "Child of Deaf Adults."
32. Actor Hawke: ETHAN. Ethan Hawke is an American actor with many film, television and stage credits for acting, directing, and writing. He was married for five years to actress Uma Thurman, with whom he has two children. After the divorce, he married the nanny.
 |
| Ethan Hawke |
33. __ Beach, Florida: VERO. Palm Beach would also fit.
34. Opening remarks: INTROS.
35. County north of San Francisco: MARIN. Marin County is north of San Francisco, just across the Golden Gate Bridge. It includes the giant redwood trees of Muir Woods National Monument and the incredible coastline of Point Reyes National Seashore.
34. Opening remarks: INTROS.
35. County north of San Francisco: MARIN. Marin County is north of San Francisco, just across the Golden Gate Bridge. It includes the giant redwood trees of Muir Woods National Monument and the incredible coastline of Point Reyes National Seashore.
 |
| I took this photo of Caspian Terns and Brown Pelicans at Point Reyes in 2023. |
36. Corporate VIPs: EXECS.
37. [Theme clue]
38. Supremely superficial: GLIB.
39. Fuel sponsor of Hockey Canada: ESSO. Esso is how “SO,” for Standard Oil, sounds when pronounced. The Esso brand is still used outside the USA.
42. __ d'hĆ“tel: MAĆTRE. A maĆ®tre d'hĆ“tel (French for "master of the house") is a restaurant manager responsible for supervising the wait staff, welcoming guests, assigning tables, taking reservations, and ensuring that guests are satisfied.
43. [Theme clue]
44. Tourney rounds: SEMIS.
45. Won every game: SWEPT.
47. Quattro x due: OTTO. Four times two in italiano makes eight.
48. Like surgery rehab: POST OP.
49. "Samesies!": ME TOO.
52. Hearing things?: EARS.
53. Coconut vendor's tool: MACHETE.
55. Completely gratify: SATE.
58. Pig's supper: SLOP.
62. Pass over: SKIP.
64. In disagreement: AT ODDS.
67. Chews the scenery: EMOTES. Strange idiom for overacting.
68. Dating preference: TYPE. The men in my life have been wildly different from one another; I don't have a "type." But DH is the clear winner!
70. Smell awful: STINK.
71. Brown-skinned pear: BOSC.
72. Lowest face cards: JACKS.
73. Rugby star Maher: ILONA. Ilona Maher is an American rugby player. She debuted for the United States women's national rugby union team against Japan in 2018, and represented the U.S. in rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She won a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
71. Brown-skinned pear: BOSC.
72. Lowest face cards: JACKS.
73. Rugby star Maher: ILONA. Ilona Maher is an American rugby player. She debuted for the United States women's national rugby union team against Japan in 2018, and represented the U.S. in rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She won a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
 |
| Ilona Maher |
74. Resolve out of court: SETTLE.
76. "See ya!": CIAO. More italiano.
78. Video game settings: MODES.
79. Fantasy maneuver: TRADE. OK, sports fans! My understanding is that real live sports aren't enough to satisfy you, so you make up fantasy teams of famous players. There are even online calculators that let you analyze the costs and benefits of trading one player for another.
81. Oxford part: INSOLE. Oxford, the shoe style, not the university.
83. Be of use to: AVAIL. We often use the negative: an effort was of no avail.
85. Newborn horse: FOAL.
86. "RRR" actress Bhatt: ALIA. This 2022 Indian film featuring two heroes is so over-the-top, it's spectacular.
76. "See ya!": CIAO. More italiano.
78. Video game settings: MODES.
79. Fantasy maneuver: TRADE. OK, sports fans! My understanding is that real live sports aren't enough to satisfy you, so you make up fantasy teams of famous players. There are even online calculators that let you analyze the costs and benefits of trading one player for another.
81. Oxford part: INSOLE. Oxford, the shoe style, not the university.
83. Be of use to: AVAIL. We often use the negative: an effort was of no avail.
85. Newborn horse: FOAL.
86. "RRR" actress Bhatt: ALIA. This 2022 Indian film featuring two heroes is so over-the-top, it's spectacular.
 |
| Actress Alia Bhatt |
88. Shipmate of McCoy, Spock, and Kirk: SULU. Surnames of crew members on the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series.
90. __ vera gel: ALOE.
93. Group of travelers: CARAVAN.
98. Allocate, with "out": METE.
99. East, in Ecuador: ESTE. Spanish!
100. Tease playfully: FLIRT.
101. Tap problems: DRIPS.
102. Vaughn of "Bad Monkey": VINCE. Vince Vaughn is an American actor known for his roles in film and TV comedies.
90. __ vera gel: ALOE.
93. Group of travelers: CARAVAN.
98. Allocate, with "out": METE.
99. East, in Ecuador: ESTE. Spanish!
100. Tease playfully: FLIRT.
101. Tap problems: DRIPS.
102. Vaughn of "Bad Monkey": VINCE. Vince Vaughn is an American actor known for his roles in film and TV comedies.
 |
| Vince Vaughn |
103. Textbook section: INDEX.
104. Bar pickups: TABS.
105. Snowbasin's state: UTAH.
106. Landscaping tool: RAKE.
107. China fir, e.g.: TREE.
110. Makes a misstep: ERRS.
111. Ginseng, e.g.: ROOT.
112. Lack of difficulty: EASE.
113. Mix with chopsticks: STIR.
114. Subsequently: THEN.
116. Psychedelic drug first synthesized in 1938: LSD.
117. Mama sheep: EWE.
118. Grumpy friend: DOC. Grumpy is one of the Seven Dwarfs in the story of Snow White. Doc is another of the dwarfs.
104. Bar pickups: TABS.
105. Snowbasin's state: UTAH.
106. Landscaping tool: RAKE.
107. China fir, e.g.: TREE.
110. Makes a misstep: ERRS.
111. Ginseng, e.g.: ROOT.
112. Lack of difficulty: EASE.
113. Mix with chopsticks: STIR.
114. Subsequently: THEN.
116. Psychedelic drug first synthesized in 1938: LSD.
117. Mama sheep: EWE.
118. Grumpy friend: DOC. Grumpy is one of the Seven Dwarfs in the story of Snow White. Doc is another of the dwarfs.
 |
| Grumpy and Doc |
119. Granite State sch.: UNH. University of New Hampshire.
Here's the grid:
So ... was this puzzle a tour de force? Or torturous?
NaomiZ
32 comments:
Besides a (as it turned out, correct) WAG at the Natick of “ Ilona” and “aloo pie,” and a few other semi-obscure names, everything else pretty much fell into place. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ALOO PIE? AIKIDO? News to d-o. We also had plenty of strangeness in the clues: Kirigami, Baba Ganoush, Morihei Ueshiba, Doenjang. But it all came together pretty quickly, and d-o even sussed the theme. (Probably would've sussed it sooner if he'd read the title.) Cute. Thanx, C.C. and NaomiZ.
CITI Field: Around here the high school football stadiums are multi-million dollar extravaganzas. They also sell naming rights, primarily to local automobile dealerships.
501 Jeans -- Nope. 505 or 514 for me. Gotta have a zipper fly.
BVDS -- Nope. I prefer their parent brand, Flute Of The Room.
A fine Sunday offering from Zhouqin, and like Naomi I am amazed by her creativity and prolificacy, C.C.’s byline is everywhere! This was one of those puzzles where a title helped immensely with the solve, would have been hard to decipher without it. Had to change Ocho to Octo to OTTO, the E in VEDA/ELI was a WAG for my last fill giving me the FIR in 32:56. Perps needed for DDR, ALIA and AIKIDO, and DNK what CODA meant. ALOO PIE resembles a popular dish in the U.P. called a pastie. Saw a lot of ESSO gas stations in Canada last week. Driving through Kentucky the other day, we passed a sign in Bowling Green proudly proclaiming “Fruit of the Loom World Headquarters”. In the card game Euchre, JACKS are the highest face cards.
NaomiZ ~ nice that C.C. has tasked you with blogging her last couple Sunday entries, you’re a natural at it, and it’s good that you have fun doing it! š
Arrived in Punta Gorda FL yesterday, by some miracle our condo complex was spared of any devastation from Helene and Milton, even though the latter made landfall only 40 miles away. Storm surge of about 8 foot above mean tide on the canal we are on came within 2 feet of encroaching on the ground floor but receded from there. 2 years ago the wind from IAN wreaked havoc on the area, this time the water inflicted the most damage. Lots of boats are now sitting on dry land.
It is always fun to have a C.C. Sunday puzzle to solve. With the bigger grid it takes a creative mind to make the process fun and not a slog. Adding EV to existing phrases is a perfect example of her skill. Also, the "obscurities" are part of the challenge in an otherwise easy puzzle. ALOO for example I know only from VINDALOO not the pie. I agree Naomi you do a very entertaining write up, thank you and the Queen.
So there's another ILONA besides Massey, huh?
ALOO PIE sounds (and looks) like Polish pierogi, though my mom usually boiled them, and only fried them when leftovers.
Good Morning:
I, also, am continually amazed by CC’s imaginative creativity and mastery of the English language, particularly idioms and pop culture references. This was a slightly more difficult Sunday grid than usual, despite the obvious theme, thanks to the title. It required a little more thinking vs just filling in the blank themers and was, therefore, a more satisfying solve. While there were plenty of unknowns and semi-obscure cluing, the perps were fair, so no complaints.
Thanks, CC, for a nice Sunday challenge and thanks, Naomi, for the terrific analysis and commentary. Your write-ups are always interesting and offer many learning moments, as well. Nicely done, once again.
FLN
Sophia and Monkey, the reunion was very nice and, overall, considering our age, everyone looked pretty good. Naturally, everyone’s looks change but a glance at a name tag was enough to spark recognition. It was announced that our class had 362 members of which 147 are deceased. The turnout yesterday was just 50 or so, which I thought was low, but I imagine there are many who are just physically unable to attend. One man came from Georgia, the brave soul!
Have a great day.
Yooper Phil here ~ I’d be amazed if anyone knew the rugby player off the top of their head.
C.C., you do stay busy, eh? I'll bet you enjoyed constructing today's puzzle. I certainly had fun with it at the solving end.
The "EV" idea was clever, and made for some amusing phrases. I especially loved the fleur de lis becoming FLEURDELEVIS. And beyond the theme, you provided several funny clues, like "Flat fee" being RENT, and "Draft choice," BEER.
It's interesting; I had never heard of an opah fish before doing the LAT crossword; now OPAH seems to have found a semi-permanent home here.
Thanks for placing some friendly perps in the vicinity of potential Naticks. In my case, it was up in the north, with DDR, VEDA, and ELI all tangled up, and then on the West side, the ALOOPIE/ILONA crossing.
You showed restraint as a baseball aficionado in including, I think, only one baseball answer in today's puzzle. Later today the National League Championship Series gets underway with the Dodgers hosting the Mets.
Thanks, C.C., for providing us with a fresh, clever, and challenging but fair Sunday morning treat.
Jinx here, not yet taken time to futz around with logon ids. FIW. Got my WAG @ ALOO PIE x ILONA, but missing at oLI x VoDA.
The sport of land yachting started when some ice boat racers decided to swap their skates for wheels so they could practice in the warmer months. I'm getting ready to recycle my land yacht at a scrap metal dealer.
There isn't really a need for NADA COLADA. Pina COLADA translates to "strained pineapple," not "strained pineapple with rum."
My grandparents retired to VERO Beach, because they were fans of Indian River citrus. In the old days the Dodgers called it "Zero Beach" because there was nothing happening in the little town during spring training. These days there is plenty going on, and the Dodgers are long gone.
CARAVAN is what those English and Australian rogues call an RV.
CSO to our goodMonkey.
Thanks to CC for another fun Sunday offering, and to NaomiZ for another terrific review.
FIR. It took me a lot longer to finish today then it usually does on a Sunday. Some of the cluing was more suited to Saturday puzzles and the proper names were my bane. I needn't go into my usual rant about that today.
About half way through the puzzle I got the theme, and that helped with the rest of the solve.
I'm glad I finished, but honestly it was not enjoyable for me.
First, great puzzle C.C. but a Rugby player (ILONA) crossing the unheard of ALOO PIE? That you perps is all I can say. And that was above the clEVer RISE TO FAME. I've nEVer bought a lottery ticket but the R-EV-EAL MONEY let me finish in that area. I'm glad I caught the added EV because it let me guess NEVADA-never heard of a NADA COLADA.
I don't know about other people OR IS IT ME, but LEVIS 501 jeans are a pain in the ass if you need to go to the bathroom.
Just a few other unknowns today- ELI Roth, AIKIDO, ROSIE Perez, DDR, VEDA, ALIA or 'RRR' or Indian ( and most American) film. VINCE.
I did not see the clue for TRADE but I DNK i as clues=d.
61. Breaks down: ROTS.- DECOMPOSES wouldn't fit
" most of us considering how we can support solutions to climate change." You threw it out so I'll comment. The climate always changes over the long haul. CO2 and CH4 cause the 'greenhouse effect'. Nobody wants any pollution and I think EVs are great, but the net effect on the earth's climate will be minimal. After the last Ice Age sea level rose almost 400' before the first human lit a fire.
16:50 to do it but it was absolutely painful.
Took about an hour more or less, on again off again, until I finished. Wanted dolE over METE. Didn't perp. Tried THus, but it became THEN. Otherwise it was water off a duck. Title helped with several of the theme entries.
Nice job by NaomiZ reviewing C.C.'s offering. C.C. has become a grandmaster of the Sunday grid. What will she think of next?
Swamps are homes as well. Just with leaky basement.
Application.
I agree, CC is amazing. I always love her CW because I can trust that although she includes an obscure word or reference, she makes it possible to guess or use perps. For example DDR and AIKIDO.
I did miss A-LOO PIE crossing I-ONA. The theme was really neat although I was a little baffled by NADA COLADA. Now I understand of course.
I thought Samesies was something in a foreign language.
Just yesterday my 10 year old great grand nephew took a sheet of paper and made me a swan.
Thank you NaomiZ for a very informative recap.
Loved the reference to Leo, Mikey, Donny and Raph. Valerie got about 85% of this one and I helped with the balance for which the EV theme was quite helpful.
I second what YP said, above. NZ you're a natural.
Hand up in awe of the many EV theme answers squeezed in by CC. Enjoyed the theme and the many illustrations and comments by NaomiZ Including about EVs and the climate. I usually use an HPV (Human Powered Vehicle) but I am currently riding the bus a lot until my wrist heals.
Big Easy Hand up LEVIS do not fit any human body I know of. Hand up last to fill was WAG of VEDA/ELI to FIR.
Check out this video VISTA from a hike I led last weekend.
Be sure to play the video or you will miss the PANORAMIC VISTAs. It is just 42 seconds long.
Musings
-I first saw the recurring V’s and then the EV’s and then finally the last layer of C.C.’s elegant construction
-R(EV)ISE TO FAME and not remembering CODA cost me two bad cells. I'll get over it! :-)
-FLEUR DE LEVIS was a hoot!
-Schools are desperate to HIRE subs these days
-_LI/V_DA and A_OOPIE/I_ONA required good guesses
-I don’t know where their DENS are but we have foxes that visit our yard almost nightly
-SENT: Have you ever done this and immediately regretted it? Me too.
-NICE and FLOWER are two cwd tricks that did get me in the last few days. The Paillon River is a flower that goes through Nice
-Before they moved to LA, this team held spring training in VERO Beach
-The Dodgers, Guardians, Mets and Yankees are in the MLB SEMIS
From Yesterday:
Hand up it was really tough. Did not know a single proper name in clue or solve. Utterly mystified by PASSER as One who may be sacked. Apparently I was the only one who was stuck with SPAM before SCAM. Quite pleased to FIR.
ALOHA NUI LOA literally means "very great love".
Idk. I’ve been doing xwords quite a few years (like over 40) and today is my first encounter with “Aloo pie”. That was the only square I couldn’t fill so sour grapes I guess…
I'd be amazed if anybody in the US knew the rules of rugby or how they kept score.
There's no better way to start a Sunday puzzle than to see that it was given to us by C.C..Thanks for this gift, C.C., and Naomi's commentary was also a pleasure, thanks for that too.
Well, at first I didn't think the NAMES would refer to ALUMS, unless ALICE is one of those already too. At least I'm pretty sure she's not a CHILD any more, especially if she's involved in some sort of BUSINESS REVIVAL. If she were, that would help her pay her RENT, and maybe even take a vacation on the RIVIERA. Well, none of this is really a part of my day, which started off with feeding my TURTLE (her name is GOPHIE after the species GOPHERUS AGASISSI). She gets a plate of fresh lettuce with a few bits of tiny tomatoes sprinkled here and there. After that I think I'll just SETTLE down and maybe work on an ART project or two.
Have a good day, like mine, everybody.
Coincidentally, I just rewatched the first episode of the BBC classic series Connections with James Burke. He shows that the dawn of civilization was brought on by a major climate change that caused previously lush areas of the world to become desert. Our nomadic ancestors survived by settling along river basins, and learning to irrigate the nearby land and grow crops. The key was the invention of the plow, which (in his series) was the foundation upon all inventions since. Invention -> change -> invention ad nauseam.
(this is Jinx again)
Jeez, I miss Preview. I write like the Pink Floyd song: "We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control."
You are right but misleading. They trained in Vero long after they moved to LA, until 2008. (Jinx again)
Hola!
My daughter and her husband just arrived. Later.
Thank you, C.C., and thank you, NaomiZ
Even though I saw the added EV and guessed that was the game based on the title, it still took some time to solve.
NaomiZ, I liked learning about OPAH. I had no idea that they were a large(r) fish. I thought they were the size of small(er) fish that people might have in their home aquariums.
April, May, and June: NAMES. - I know a number of people named Jason, including our very own. It combines the starting letters of July August September October and November.
Hand up, DNK DDR.
I liked this puzzle, and I think the theme gimmick was extremely clever.
But (there's always a "but"), I absolutely hate those paraphrase clues/answers and I instantly SKIP over one when I come across one. Here's a list of them:
"When will u b here?": ETA
"But maybe I'm alone in thinking this?": OR IS IT ME
"I'm game!": LETS
"One more thing ... ": ALSO
"What did I say!?": SEE (Huh?)
"Samesies!": ME TOO (Yuk)
"See ya!": CIAO.
But (sometimes there's another "but"), I very much did like:
April, May, and June: NAMES
The words TRYST, DISFAVOR, CONTENTS, RIVIERA, MACHETE, STINK, and CARAVAN.
Good reading you all.
Yet another gem from C.C.— wooHOO! Like most of y’all, I’m in awe of her talent in putting these constructions together. Clever clueing, without being cutesy, altho I’d think of something like “Tennis mulligan” for LETS. But lots of cool stuff in this puzzle; I love it when I learn something new and interesting, like the OPAH being the only warm blooded fish. Love it!
AIKIDO was a gimme for me, as I’d trained for 14 years in the discipline. If you feel like being amazed, sesrch on YouTube for Ueshiba videos; you’ll see a doddering old man in his 80’s throwing younger “attackers” around the room like so many potato sacks. The beauty of this martial art to me is that the level of response to an incident can start at a “1” — rather than other forms, which start at, say, 5 with bashing someone, and go worse from there, you can just kinda twist a “problem child” into a knot and escort them out the door without doing physical harm to them.
The only hang up I got on the themers was REVISETOFAME…thanks to the LA Times’ typo in the printed clue saying “Servies” instead of “Series”. Managed to circumvent their eff-up via perps, so got through that one. And as a few others above have noted, the Natick with ALOOPIE and ILONA was quite the buggah, but a good guess saved my arse for a FIR.
Nice review, @NaomiZ — you’re on a roll! And I like your photo of the birds!
====> Darren / L.A.
As is usual on Sunday I enjoyed this slogfest of a puzzle starting with the names, April, May and June. That was clever. I've known an APRIL and a JUNE and have seen May in books. Since my daughter was born in MAY I considered naming her MAYA but decided against it. They were here to hang a large picture for me and I'm really happy with it because it reminds me of Claire who sent it and I will think of her every time I see it. And it's lovely.
I've never heard of ALOO PIE and don't know if it's a real thing.
I hope everyone is well and safe, especially our Florida contingent.
Y'all are very kind. Thanks!
So soon we forget Department: 8D could have been clued as "An old part of Germany" = DDR Deusches Demokratisches Republik.
hands up for SLEDS to BOATS
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