Theme: "C'est le Puzzle" - LE is added to each common phrase.
23. Hypothesis about the origin of oversized bracelets?: BIG BANGLE THEORY. Big Bang Theory.
33. Must-have cookbook in every Maine kitchen?: LOBSTER BIBLE. Lobster bib.
52. "Wait, don't forget the most important hamburger topping!": TAKE YOUR PICKLE. Take your pick.
71. Highlight of a military band's museum tour?: BUGLE COLLECTION. Bug collection.
89. Display models made for a palace renovation?: PLASTER CASTLES. Plaster casts.
105. Silliest cart on a hayride?: CHUCKLE WAGON. Chuck wagon.
121. "Why is my faucet dripping all the time?," e.g.: TRICKLE QUESTION. Trick question.
This is a perfect companion puzzle for the "Elimination" puzzle Ross Trudeau made for us a long while ago.
Pam's style shone through in this grid. Her witty wordplay and fondness for cross-referencing.
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| XWord Info |
Across:
1. Sonoma neighbor: NAPA. Napa Valley is in Napa County.
5. Colt's mama: MARE. And 8. Lambs' mamas: EWES.
9. 22-Across letters: AM FM. 22. Rock medium: RADIO.
13. Unseasoned: BLAND.
18. Yellow shape on Ikea's logo: OVAL.
19. K2 cover: SNOW.
20. Green course, in Germany: SALAT. German for "salad".
26. Marital acquisition: IN-LAW.
27. Deplete: USE UP.
28. Shed: LOSE.
31. Classic Angela Lansbury role: MAME. Also 74. Broadway opener: SCENE I.
36. GI address: APO.
39. Checklist items: TASKS.
42. Use Zelle, e.g.: PAY. Zelle is integrated in my Wells Fargo app.
43. Scuba spots: SEAS.
44. Like some beach reads: TRASHY. What's the nicest beach you've been to?
46. Hill staffers: AIDES.
48. Actor Penn: SEAN.
49. Blockhead: OAF.
55. Two under par: EAGLE.
57. Piece of mind?: IDEA. Also loved these:: 126. Sleep soundly?: SNORE. 9. Fire sign?: ASH.
58. Boss Tweed cartoonist: NAST. Thomas.
59. Mythological ship: ARGO.
62. Scooby Gang leader: FRED.
63. Legal agreement: CONTRACT.
66. Brewery fixtures: TAPS.
69. Postage scale units: OUNCES.
76. Cambodia's continent: ASIA.
77. "You flatter me!": OH STOP IT.
81. Aretha's genre: SOUL.
82. Trade jabs: SPAR.
84. Phanaeng cuisine: THAI. Often spelled as panang curry. So hot.
86. Novelist Jaffe: RONA.
87. Medicare section: PART D.
94. Mimic: APE.
95. Act as an accomplice: ABET.
98. Take a shot: GUESS.
99. Accomplice: COHORT.
100. Like most folklore: ORAL.
101. May honoree: MOM.
102. Number of tiles played for a Scrabble bingo: SEVEN.
104. Farm enclosure: STY.
110. Make a montage, say: EDIT.
112. 2-Down offering: RENTAL CAR. 2. Budget alternative: AVIS.
113. Persia, today: IRAN.
116. Rapper __ B: CARDI.
120. Pre-honeymoon destination: ALTAR.
125. Quick flash of light: GLINT.
127. Hamilton-Burr showdown: DUEL.
128. Alma mater of Bear Grylls: ETON. Did not know Bear Grylls, a British adventurer who hosted "Man vs. Wild".
129. Boot bottoms: SOLES.
130. Tight: SNUG.
131. Cheek: SASS.
132. Hits head-on: RAMS.
Down:
1. Big name in fusion cuisine: NOBU. Known for its misdo-marinated black cod. (Miso. Thanks, D-Otto.)
3. Hill helper: PAGE.
4. Taylor Swift's "Red" or Joni Mitchell's "Blue": ALBUM.
5. Early web portal: MSN.
6. Pool shot considerations: ANGLES.
7. Gold-wrapped candy: ROLO.
10. Whitman of "Good Girls": MAE.
11. Cottontail's kin: FLOPSY. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail are Peter's sisters.
12. French Revolution figure: MARAT.
13. 2032 Summer Olympics host city: BRISBANE. LA next.
14. Covered patios: LANAIS.
15. Improviser's forte: AD LIB.
16. Singer Horan of One Direction: NIALL. I confused him with Liam Payne.
17. Use a divining rod: DOWSE.
21. Gibson of "The Collective": TYRESE.
24. "Who cares?" attitude: APATHY.
25. Contact no.: TEL.
30. __ code: AREA.
32. Club spread: MAYO.
34. Crude outfit?: OPEC.
35. Lie in the sun: BASK.
36. Common web site: ATTIC. Spider web.
37. Madrid museum: PRADO.
38. "The Old __ Bucket": Woodworth poem: OAKEN.
40. Sport that may involve chopping boards: KARATE.
41. Takes a taste: SIPS.
45. "Click It or Ticket" restraint: SEAT BELT. 53. Release, as a 45-Down: UNCLIP.
47. Old-school paper copies: DITTOS. Didn't know this meaning.
48. Sun. message: SER. Sermon.
49. Shrek's sort: OGRE.
50. Bass offerings: ALES.
51. Made a meal for: FED.
54. Use a surgical beam: LASE.
56. Steelers' div.: AFC NORTH.
60. Poe-like: GOTHIC.
61. Avignon approvals: OUIS.
64. "Go, go, go!": RUN.
65. Grows older: AGES.
67. Actor Mahershala: ALI.
68. Nebraska divider: PLATTE.
70. Part of NSFW: NOT.
72. "Bad Monkey" novelist Hiaasen: CARL.
73. Sandpapery: COARSE.
74. Cake by the sink: SOAP. Bar soap.
75. Turn salmon into lox, say: CURE.
78. Some Ralph Lauren casuals: POLOS.
79. Nonreactive, in chemistry: INERT.
80. Appetizing: TASTY.
81. Upscale amenity: SPA.
83. Bldg. unit: APT.
85. Music scholar known for a Beethoven catalog: HESS. Willy Hess. Another learning moment for me.
88. Sorcery: DARK ARTS.
90. Open-mouthed: AGOG.
91. Heavyweight battle: SUMO.
92. Crushed, as an exam: ACED.
93. Some fast-food outlets: SONICS.
96. Fancy party: BALL. Here is a picture of Big Easy and his wife Diane from their annual Woodstock charity dance.
97. Opts for: ELECTS.
100. Pump number: OCTANE.
101. "La Vie en Rose" Oscar winner Cotillard: MARION. So pretty.
103. Stadiums, e.g.: VENUES.
105. Rugged rocks: CRAGS.
106. "Are you listening to me?": HELLO.
107. Up to, timewise: UNTIL.
108. Cautions: WARNS.
109. Zip: NIL.
111. __ tot: TATER.
114. Some M&M's: REDS.
115. Caribbean color: AQUA.
117. Hayworth of "Gilda": RITA. She was married to Orson Welles for a while.
118. Gloom partner: DOOM.
119. Cozy quarters: INNS.
122. Wine label word: CRU.
123. Beer barrel: KEG.
124. Raised trains: ELS.
Constructor Andrea Carla Michaels has been in town for the National Puzzlers' League Convention. She kindly invited me for a walk around Lake Harriet. We stopped by her childhood home, and by sheer luck luck, the current owner's daughters were there and invited us inside. The house, now on the market, is absolutely gorgeous. Afterwards, we rode the streetcar. When we got off, Andrea struck up a conversation with a French couple visiting Minneapolis. She spoke with them in fluent French for about 10 minutes. Stunning. Andrea also speaks Italian.
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14 comments:
Pam Amick Klawitter is one of the queens of Sunday puzzle creation. C.C. is another. This was a joy to start my day. Thank you both
Other than misreading
the initial clue as if it referred to an African nation, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle. I understood that gimmick from the first themed solve, and it went on smoothly from there. FiR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Guess who forgot to read the puzzle title? No matter, it became apparent early on. Once RAH morphed into RUN, SCENE I appeared. The Medicare Part could be A, B, C, or D. Wondered what kind of KARTS they could be. D'oh. Pam provided plenty of names, many of them unusual. (NIALL, HESS, NOBU, TYRESE, I'm lookin' at you.) Pam may be a fan of cross-referencing; d-o is not. Still, this one came together in under 20 minutes -- better than usual. Thanx, Pam and C.C. ("Misdo-marinated" sounds about right.)
FIW, with AMpM x pLOPSY and SALiT x MiRAT. Should have gotten the first one; second was a complete WAG. Also ACDC for the equally wrong AMpM, blink->GLINT, meg->MAE, arenas->VENUES, dens->INNS, and gala->BALL.
I know that brewpubs have TAPS, DNK that breweries have them too.
A late famous NASCAR driver-turned-TV announcer was named Dick Trickle. Sounds like a urologist's case.
Didn't know "Red" or "Blue" were ALBUMS, but would have known "White," the Beatles ALBUM with my favorite track While My Guitar Gently Weeps. I think that song was (crossword favorite) emo before I knew the term.
Hand up for not knowing DITTOS. My (crossword favorite) elhi used a mimeograph machine, which I'm guessing was similar. Sniff the paper, take one, pass the rest.
Someone asked me if ignorance and APATHY was a huge problem in America. I told him that I don't know, and don't care.
I hadn't heard of UNCLIPping a SEATBELT, but there's a Youtube titled "Unclip the troublesome seat belt."
If you've spent much time in Florida, CARL Hiaasen books are a must, unless you have a medical condition that makes it unsafe to laugh.
If you mean those tasty potato morsels, the "tot" in TATER Tot has to be capitalized. Registered TM of (crossword favorite) OREIDA.
FLN - Darren in LA, come to think of it, the white boards weren't magnetic. They had some kind of ferrous material behind the white surface, allowing magnets to stick to them.
Thanks to Pam for another fun Sunday workout. And thanks to CC for the tour through it.
Took 16:04 today without resorting to googLE.
I didn't like the French Revolution figure crossing the German word, neither of which I knew. A foreign cross should be avoided.
I did fair with the Actresses of Today, which included: Rita, Mae, and Marion. And, I didn't know the Landsbury role (Mame). As usual, I struggled with the writers (Carl and Rona).
Good Morning:
I’m a big fan of Pam’s Sunday offerings and although I had some road blocks solving this one, all’s well that ends well. The theme was evident early on, but the individual themers required some thought, which is the way it should be. Lobster Bible struck my fancy as I’m a lover of that crustacean, and Chuckle Wagon was another favorite. There were a few unknowns but perps were fair and a few WAGs also helped. Overall, a pleasant and smooth and enjoyable solve.
Thanks, Pam, for never disappointing and thanks, CC, for always capturing the author’s essence and talents from a pro’s viewpoint. Thanks, also, for sharing some details about your visit with ACM. Talented lady above and beyond crossword construction.
Have a great day.
Le puzzle was delightful this morning. Several nouns, not my favorites, but easy to WAG or get with perps. I too like cross-referencing in CWS. For instance SONIC next to TATER. I remember Sonic’s funny ads with the two guys in á car and one of them claiming to be á Tatertotarian.
Thank you CC for your review and the story of your encounter with the talented constructor.
I remember Howard Wolowitz calling Sheldon a dictator. When called on it, he replied, "That's why I added the tater."
FIR despite also struggling with the proper names. In my book, ALI as clued is an Ektorp. Sandpaper can also be fine, and my teachers always handed out mimeographs, not dittos. I confess though, the term "ditto sheet" seems to be knocking around in the recesses of my mind. Agree that CHUCKLEWAGON was a good one!
Jinx, tap is a term sometimes used for the spigot or valve on a large vessel, like a vat. Of course, like any good noun, it can be verbed, and anything from a maple tree to an iron furnace (smelter) can be tapped to draw off a liquid.
Oh well, getting close to lunchtime, so I gotta git to Eton.
FIR. For me this had some bite to it. There were several unknown proper names and more than one WAG to get the win. Even with a year of German in HS, I did not know salad in German so that was one of my guesses. Tyrese? Hmmmmm.
Fortunately I got the theme early on and that really helped with the solve.
But overall this was not an enjoyable puzzle.
Many thanks to Pam and CC for a fun puzzle and review! My one grumble is about the LA Times …. I still do my puzzles on paper, received daily ~4am. And, today’s paper paper did not have the clues for 123D and 124D! 😕 They did show up in online fillable version, when I went looking. (Times has annoying typos pretty much daily now.) Thx for letting me grouse 😊
Hola! Sunday fun today, thank you, Pam and Patti. Unlike many Sunday puzzles in the past, this one filled nicely and without agony. I don't know German, but SALAT was an easy GUESS. I had wonderful AIDES when I was teaching. it's late now so I must go; after church I'll go to my great-grandson's birthday party. He's six already! Have a lovely day, everyone! What a nice photo of C.C. and Pam.
Wow. This one had some crunch. Took me dang near an hour to muddle my way to a FIR, but I had an enjoyable time getting there! Lots of clever V-8 can misdirection, plenty of helpful perps, and I was lucky with my WAGs. What a difference a day makes! Satisfaction and fun today, versus aggravation and anger yesterday. This is more like it!
Musings
-Pam is so consistently entertaining.
-Two small errors while watching the British Open and solving at the same time. Hey, a good excuse and $4 gets you coffee at Starbucks.
-Scottie Scheffler will soon be rivaling Tiger as the best to ever play the game.
-I enjoyed reading your comments about Erik’s and Chandi’s puzzle yesterday. :-)
-MAE Jamison seems like a better and fairer MAE to me.
-Daughter and her family had a nice meal for $400 at NABU when visiting Malibu.
-One golf partner just tolerates the five seconds of beeps telling him to hook up his seatbelt and rides without it.
-Another 2.5” of rain will make the PLATTE even higher today. Center pivots still sit idle in mid-July.
-There are too many choices – A stale hot dog bun and soggy onion rings from years ago have kept us away from SONIC
-Lovely pix, C.C.! Two amazing people.
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