Theme: "Toy Story" - Each common phrase is humorously reinterpreted as if it's a toy.
23A. Spinner for an early riser?: TOP OF THE MORNING.
44A. Classic playset made of cut logs?: LUMBERJACKS.
67A. Equipment for playing catch in a costume?: MASQUERADE BALLS.
93A. Rollerblades that are a dime a dozen?: CHEAPSKATES.
115A. Competitive activity with infinite possibilities?: GAME FOR ANYTHING.
17D. Shapers for kids' goo?: SLIME MOLDS.
73D. Travel version of a stackable building set?: ROADBLOCKS.
I like this playful twist. Reminds me of this "This is not a toy" puzzle I made with Tom Pepper five years ago.
My childhood was stolen. No toys or games. We did kick Jianzi a lot. I was wearing my red scarf just like this little girl does.
Across:
7. Open to change: ADAPTIVE.
15. Irritates: RASPS.
20. Undermines: ERODES.
21. Army training exercise: MANEUVER.
22. Radiant: AGLOW.
25. Waititi of "What We Do in the Shadows": TAIKA. Husband of xword regular Rita Ora.
26. Proton partner: NEUTRON.
27. Finish: END.
28. Fate: KISMET.
29. Future esq.'s exam: LSAT.
30. Punchy salad ingredient: CRESS. This refers to watercress, right?
33. Overused theme: TROPE.
34. Sp. titles: SRAS.
37. Free: LET OUT.
39. James of "Funny Lady": CAAN.
40. __ and cheese: MAC.
43. Unkempt do: MOP.
48. Headline writer: EDITOR.
52. "Enough already!": TMI.
53. Build on: ADD TO.
54. Muse of history: CLIO.
55. Discover: LEARN OF.
57. Japanese dog breed: AKITA.
59. Gamekeeper: WARDEN.
61. Phrase on Texas license plates: LONE STAR.
63. Nickel, e.g.: METAL.
66. Verdon partner: FOSSE. Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse.
71. "A Christmas __": CAROL.
74. "The Hobbit" dragon: SMAUG. I'm a descendant of the dragon. All Chinese are.
75. Homer that scores one run: SOLO SHOT.
79. Likes a lot: ADORES.
81. Arena levels: TIERS.
84. Like a sailboat's mainsail: SCALENE. Scalene triangle with the longest edge along the mainmast.
85. Narrow inlets: RIAS.
86. Louisiana cuisine: CAJUN.
89. Volkswagen convertible: EOS. Not a car person. No idea.
91. Did a do: STYLED.
92. Place to retire: BED. And
98. Study, say: ROOM.
96. Fellow: LAD.
97. Hero: SUB.
99. Tailor, at times: FITTER.
101. "__ cannoli!": HOLY.
102. Rest atop: LIE ON.
104. Step up from nano-: MICRO.
106. Buggy terrain: DUNE.
108. Ethically challenged: AMORAL.
110. Embargo: BAN.
111. Folks who may be up a creek with a paddle: CANOERS. Now I know how to swim, I look forward to canoe someday.
114. Center of power: LOCUS.
120. Bracelet spot: ANKLE.
121. Natives of Wyoming: ARAPAHOS. Google shows that they were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe.
122. Skilled speaker: ORATOR.
123. Honkers: NOSES.
124. Totals: DESTROYS.
125. Meditative genre: NEW AGE.
Down:
2. Part of a press kit?: IRON. Pressing.
3. Carry on: COPE.
4. Nonalcoholic beer brand: O'DOULS.
5. Some driving instructions: LEFTS.
6. Type of plane that doesn't fly: ASTRAL. Astral plane.
7. Hymn ending: AMEN.
8. Three Gorges project: DAM.
9. "Should I take that as __?": A NO.
10. Piece of rpm: PER.
11. Fixes, as a piano: TUNES. My mentor Don G is a piano tuner.
12. Political columnist Molly: IVINS. Quick wit.
13. Hawk: VEND.
14. Indoor rower, for short: ERG.
15. Controls supply: RATIONS.
16. Showing shock: AGASP.
18. Jab: POKE.
19. Smack: SWAT.
24. Monopoly purchase: HOTEL.
28. Polish metropolis: KRAKOW. Poland's second-largest city.
30. Clause separator, at times: COMMA.
31. Puzzle cube creator: RUBIK.
32. Nice season: ETE. Nice, France.
33. Diplomat's skill: TACT.
34. Common sense?: SMELL. Also like this clue: 76. Phone line?: HELLO.
35. Bull rider's sport: RODEO.
36. Like some drones: APIAN.
38. Sound of reproach: TUT.
39. Currency with toonies, briefly: CAD. The code for Canadian $. More here. CNY is Chinese Yuan.
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41. Sign before Taurus: ARIES.
42. Geneticist's research subject, perhaps: CLONE.
45. Like most films: RATED.
46. Social app with a synagogue directory: JDATE.
49. Kevin Bacon horror film with an "Aftershocks" sequel: TREMORS.
50. Marked down: ON SALE.
51. Goes off: ROTS.
54. In an angry manner: CROSSLY.
56. Website help pages: FAQS.
58. Public relations concern: IMAGE.
60. Like ice cubes in water: AFLOAT.
62. Piña colada ingredient: RUM.
64. Muscles worked by planks: ABS.
65. Southeast Asian nation: LAOS.
68. Really enjoy: EAT UP.
69. Ancient civilization remnants: RUINS. So many ruins in my hometown Xi'an. Our city wall. Rectangular. 4-hour walk.
70. Inc. relatives: LLCS.
71. Keto no-nos: CARBS.
72. "So long, mon ami": ADIEU.
77. NBA analyst Shaquille: O'NEAL.
78. Bear in a crib: TEDDY.
80. Pod relative: SCHOOL.
82. Broadcast again: RE-AIR.
83. __ voce: SOTTO.
87. Many moons: AEON.
88. Copier problem: JAM.
90. Firm up: SET.
93. Clothing lines: CREASES.
94. Colonel Sanders's place: KFC.
95. Midsize car: SEDAN.
100. Damon who wrote the stories adapted as "Guys and Dolls": RUNYON.
101. Donkey's call: HEEHAW.
103. Victor's cry: I RULE.
104. 111-Down and Phillips, in a 1960s pop group: MAMAS. And
111. Singer Elliot: CASS.
105. Klutzy: INEPT.
107. Paris possessive: NOTRE.
108. "The Traitors" host Cumming: ALAN.
109. Not stereo: MONO.
110. Show: BARE.
112. Actress Wilson: RITA.
113. Lip-lock, in London: SNOG.
115. Josh of "Wolf Like Me": GAD.
116. Way off: FAR.
117. "Well, lookee here!": OHO.
118. Wizzard singer Wood: ROY.
119. Test for M.A. hopefuls: GRE.
Thank you, Husker Gary, for making my 400th LAT puzzle so memorable. Thank you all for the sweet messages.
C.C.
23 comments:
Less obscure names than usual, I would say (though there was still at least one.) Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Gary put some crunch in our cereal this morning. I liked it -- much better than soggy cereal. Cute theme, well executed. IVINS and RUNYON are some old-timey names; maybe too old-timey. Smith Brothers is another old-timey name; the RICOLA of my early days. I enjoyed the challenge, Gary. Were you good at Jianzi, C.C.?
IVINS: She wrote some hilarious political columns about the shenanigins of the "Texas Ledge", but she's been gone since '07. She created the moniker "Shrub" for Bush the Younger -- George W. Bush.
Damon RUNYON: Back in my ute we watched the Damon Runyon Theater on TV. I looked it up -- it only lasted for one season '55-'56.
I FIR in 26:42, might have been a little faster if I’d looked at the puzzle title. Unlike SubG, there were many names that were obscure to me, TAIKA, ROY, GAD, IVINS, and SMAUG, and others that I knew but not by the clue, CAAN, FOSSE, ALAN and RITA, but perps were kind, so like SubG, I’m happy. Had to change “focus” to LOCUS, not a real common word. A leg of that SCALENE sail is against the mast, the long side is the hypotenuse, I think. Overall, an enjoyable Sunday exercise, thank you Gary. And thank you C.C. for your recap, looking forward to your 401st!
FIR, but etta->CAAN, tallest->SCALENE, dirt->DUNE, slap->SWAT, orion->ARIES, ages->AEON, and papas to MAMAS.
I love it when people who don't know anything about sailing try to cram sailing stuff into a crossword. Jibsails are triangles, but mainsails are not. There is additional material aft of what would be the hypotenuse if it were a triangle, called the "roach," that keeps it from being a triangle. Here's a picture that's worth much more than a thousand of my words.
I DNK until today that SLIME MOLDs are plants.
Where I grew up, a POKE was what city folk called a sack.
So a bear in a crib is a TEDDY. MAMA probably wore a TEDDY one night, which led to the kiddo snuggling the bear in the crib.
I'm ashamed of how long it took me to give up on some kind of wine to go with cheese. Guess you can take a drunk off the floor, but you can't take the floor off a drunk.
Molly IVINS lived in gentler times. She once said "I know: 'Guns Don't Kill People.' But I suspect that they have something to do with it. If you point your finger at someone and say, 'Bang, bang, you're dead,' not much actually happens." These days it gets you suspended or expelled from school, a technical foul in basketball, a 15 yard penalty in football, and a trip to HR in business.
Thanks to Gary for the puzzle that was fun, even with the overload of A&E crapola. At least the perps took care of them. And thanks to CC for the review. I loved canoeing when I was younger, and hope you take it up.
An easy excursion to Canada, eh? AGLOW, AGASP, AFLOAT, AMORAL...haha! And CAD to boot. Gary lives so close to our northern neighbors, he might have crossed the line! LOL
Good Morning:
This was a playful theme that was fun to solve. My favorite themers were Top of the Morning and Cheap Skates, although they were all clever and clued fittingly. Smaug and Scalene were unknowns and I stumbled over Agape/Agasp, but everything else fell into place nicely. Gary gave us some cute cluing, solid fill, and a clean grid, all contributing to a satisfying solve.
Thanks, Gary, and thanks, CC, for your guidance and professional comments. As always, your sharing of your cultural experiences is appreciated.
FLN
Moe, continued best wishes for a second successful surgery and recovery.
Have a great day.
Took 17:24 today to play this one out.
I agree with the prior posters, especially SubG and YooperPhil on the unknowns. I knew today's actress (Rita), but not today's writer (Runyon).
I know “hypotenuse” is not a nautical term, I was just referring to the long side of a SCALENE triangle.
I had ?estro?s for 124A totals and could not suss destroys, DOH!
FIR. I had to really work at this, something I'm not used to on a Sunday. There were a lot of proper names, and several odd clues that made for a hightened level of difficulty.
I got the theme early on, but that didn't help a lot since each theme answer seemed to be a puzzle unto itself.
Overall this was not an enjoyable puzzle.
YP, guess i didn't explain it well enough. A mainsail's shape is not a triangle.
But the clue could have been "like a foretriangle" to keep it nautical,
I keep a daily rip-off calendar "The Far Side" on my breakfast table. This is a comic done by the OTHER Gary Larson. So I always enjoy it when the crossword world''s Gary Larson visits us, as today. I get entertained in two distinctly different ways, being "Larson-double-teamed."
Today's puzzle was a typical enjoyable and clever Larson challenge. There were some peculiar entries to me, like TAIKA, SMAUG, JDATE, GAD, and RITA, but with nearby perps at the ready, these obscurities became easy prey.
As a seasoned constructor, Gary graced us with myriad misdirected clues. Some of my favorite misdirections were "Totals" (DESTROYS), "Place to retire" (BED), "Part of a press kit?" (IRON), and "Honkers," which I figured was probably GEESE. Nope, it was NOSES.
The theme today was cute and playful, with some nice long theme answers, including a couple verticals.
So thanks, Gary, for a fresh and fun Sunday challenge; and of course, C.C., for your helpful and entertaining recap. I look forward to your 401st construction!
IMHO, Gary Larson ranks up there with our dear CC as one of the best CW puzzle constructors. I rejoice when I see his name. I know it’ll be á challenging solve, but á fair one.
Some unknowns this morning: APIAN, SCALENE, TAIKA, though for some unknown reason I entered that one right off, and ROY as clued.
Thank you CC. Loved watching that little girl play that game. I bet it takes quite á bit of concentration.
Rain, rain today. Good day to be inside.
The puzzle's title helped me solve, although at first I was looking for more literal toys, like Lincoln logs. There's no such toy as lumberjacks! When I realized that a toy was only part of each theme answer, I was fine. Sorry you didn't have toys as a child, C.C.! I loved making houses out of cardboard boxes and other found materials for my little dolls and plastic animals.
Watercress is a peppery salad green. I served it to DH and my mother, and DH spat it out. A memorable meal.
Gary Larson introduced us to a lot of entertainers whose names I have already forgotten, but the puzzle was a fun GAME and I had a BALL.
CC Congratulations on publishing your 400th puzzle. Just mind-bogglingly amazing. Sorry you did not have any TOYs.
Creative theme that I struggled fully to grasp. But I realized from the title I needed to look for a TOY in each theme answer. Never heard of that EOS and stuck with GEL before SET. Amused by ROTS, ASTRAL and APIAN clues. FIR.
This lovely lady showed off her skill on CHEAP SKATES.
Why are they CHEAP SKATES? Because she owns the Xanadu SKATE Boutique here in Santa Barbara.
I had COLON for COMMA and I was surprised to see a "Japanese dog breed" starting with N (so, not the usual AKITA). Turns out it was AKITA after all.
Good morning/afternoon. Most of the puzzle filled rapidly, only slowed by the usual unknown proper names. Even with the easy theme fills, I didn't notice the toys. The only trouble was in the deep south, with ALAN, ROY, GAD, and RITA being filled by perps. I couldn't understand SCHOOL related to the POD clue until I read C.C.'s answer; then the V8 hit me.
TAIKA, SMAUG, VERDON, SCALENE (never thought of my sails that way, only triangular), EOS, ASTRAL, IVINS -those all came from perps.
CANOERS- I'd rather be up a creek than down a creek without a paddle. The problem with paddling a canoe on a creek or river, is once you get down river you need to get back upriver to your car. Hence, you need to go in groups so somebody can take the canoes back to the place you set in. Everybody who borrowed it came to the same conclusion. It was such a problem, I gave away my canoe.
Nice catch on all those Eh- words. And about that border - many of you wish!
Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Gary and C.C.
What Irish Miss said (although the solve wasn’t quite as straight-forward for me. But I finally got the Aha (no, it was OHO).
Hand up for geese before NOSES.
I can never remember your ARAPAHOS.
I smiled at ADIEU and HELLO.
Wishing you all a wonderful day.
I learned to canoe as a Boy Scout. We practiced in lakes, then did a 50-miler down the Kentucky river. We carried our food and camping equipment in the canoes, and when we got to the take-out spot on the second day the scout master was there with a trailer. Later, a girlfriend and I frequented Kentucky's Red River Gorge recreation area. There were a couple of folks in the business of renting canoes upriver, then shuttling customers back to the original location by van at the completion of their trip. They generally had some spare capacity and would take us and our canoe back upriver to our car (for a nominal fee.)
I really enjoyed Tom Lehrer's take on hypotnuse. IIRC, it involved a big studio acquiring the movie rights to a book on mathematics and changing the title to "The Eternal Triangle" . . . with Ingrid Bergman playing part of hypotenuse.
Tom Lehrer has a great Boy Scout song, too!
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