Theme: "Three-point Line" - Each theme entry consists of three identical words with three different meanings.
22. Cosmetics case designed to hold a concise agreement?: COMPACT COMPACT COMPACT.
34. Variety of thoughtful people?: KIND KIND KIND.
54. Give the gift of the moment?: PRESENT PRESENT PRESENT.
75. Prevailing attitude about electric flow?: CURRENT CURRENT CURRENT.
92. Precise penalty that works OK?: FINE FINE FINE.
111. Neurosis caused by a group of labyrinthine apartments?: COMPLEX COMPLEX COMPLEX.
All the meanings are distinct of course. Always including both noun and adjective senses. Layered.
Four of the theme entries are grid-spanners. A bit challenging to fill. Yet Joe managed still two pairs of paralleled 10's, all sparkling. Congrats on your first LAT Sunday, Joe!
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| XWord Info |
1. Speed reader?: RADAR. Fun clue to start.
6. "What a shame!": ALAS.
10. Service call: LET.
13. Garden retreat: ARBOR. Our Arb.
18. Marry on a whim: ELOPE.
19. "The Firebird" outfit: TUTU. And 36. "The Firebird" composer Stravinsky: IGOR.
20. Crimson Tide, to fans: BAMA.
21. __ firma: TERRA.
26. Iconic Munch painting: THE SCREAM. Partnered with 108. Out of control situation: GOAT RODEO.
27. "Who am __ say?": I TO.
28. Group that's really on the ball?: OFFENSE. Football, right?
29. Western alliance since 1948: Abbr.: OAS. The Organization of American States.
30. Largest Chinese ethnic group: HAN. I'm one. We also have 55
ethnic minorities, including Koreans, Russians and Mongols. I grew up
loving the Korean pickled veggies.
31. Notre-Dame's river: SEINE.
33. Spills the __: TEA.
38. Freddy Krueger's haunting loc.: ELM ST.
42. Unanimously: AS ONE.
44. Freud's "The __ and the Id": EGO.
45. 48-Across nutrients, for short: CARBS. 48. Quaker grains: OATS.
47. Absorbed, as a cost: ATE.
49. Fireside treats: S'MORES.
52. Langley org.: CIA.
53. "Don't Matter" singer: AKON.
59. __ the line: TOE.
60. Plunder: LOOT.
61. New Mexico art community: TAOS.
62. En __: together: MASSE.
63. Heidi Gardner's show, for short: SNL. Here with Michael Che.
64. Nile viper: ASP.
65. Buds: CHUMS.
67. Chill (out): VEG.
68. Yellowfin tuna: AHI.
70. Matchmaking app that asks "Do you keep kosher?": JDATE.
72. "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" subj.: MPAA.
73. Actress Skye: IONE.
74. Sitting room: DEN.
80. Together, in scores: A DUE.
81. Phoenix cager: SUN.
82. Pacers point guard Haliburton: TYRESE. Learning moment for me. Two-time NBA All-Star.
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83. Othello's false friend: IAGO.
84. "Moonstruck" studio: MGM.
85. Kentucky college that doesn't charge tuition: BEREA. I wonder if it accepts international students.
87. __ de plume: NOM.
88. French city near the Belgian border: LILLE.
90. Nutty green sauce: PESTO.
96. "Notorious" SCOTUS justice: RBG.
98. Punch bowl item: LADLE.
99. Mens __: REA.
100. "20/20" network: ABC.
103. Poolside recliners: CHAISES. Been hot here in Minnesota.
107. Vientiane language: LAO.
114. Santiago's country: CHILE.
115. Succumbs to gravity: SAGS.
116. __ rug: AREA.
117. Speak one's mind: OPINE.
118. Sat for a portrait: POSED.
119. Like some grins: WRY.
120. Hankerings: YENS. Finally tried Yami. They have all kinds of Chinese food for a decent price.
121. Attire worn over pajamas: ROBES.
Down:
2. Word on a postcard from Hawaii: ALOHA.
3. Indoor stadium tops: DOMES.
4. Intro courses?: APPS. Appetizers.
5. Defensive basketball foul: REACH-IN. I don't watch basketball. This is reach-in?
6. Go to: ATTEND.
7. Pixar film set on the Mediterranean coast: LUCA.
8. Elementary building block: ATOM.
9. Dim __: SUM. Also 12. Tex-Mex street fare: TACO.
10. Brief: LACONIC.
11. BP checker: EMT.
13. Extra dough in bread boxes?: ATM FEES. Great fill/clue.
14. The 21st Amendment, e.g.: REPEAL.
15. Fiber source: BRAN.
16. Tolkien monsters: ORCS.
17. Insurance quote: RATE.
20. A dyeing art?: BATIK. Use wax and dye.
23. Paper bird: CRANE.
24. Colorfully blotchy: PIED.
25. Frequently, in verse: OFT.
31. "Bo-ring!": SNORE.
32. Turns into law: ENACTS.
34. Big name in headphones: KOSS.
35. Tidily arranged: KEMPT. Unkempt is more common.
37. Plumbing problem: DRIP.
39. Shakes on it: MAKES A DEAL. And 40. Megaliths in Wiltshire, England: STONEHENGE. And 42. Yankees slugger who wears No. 99: AARON JUDGE. 43. Metal percussion instruments: STEEL DRUMS. Stunning gridwork here.
41. Pitcher's concern?: TENT. Not baseball pitcher. 75. Sleep in a 41-Down: CAMP.
46. Drinks list: BAR MENU.
48. Chooses: OPTS.
49. "Uncle!": STOP.
50. Place where salt and fresh water mix: ESTUARY.
51. Clothing label spot: SEAM.
53. Equine worker: ASS. And 109. Bovine workers: OXEN. Indeed "workers".
55. Fill with delight: ELATE.
56. What poorly written instructions make: NO SENSE.
57. Sudoku figs.: NOS.
58. Champing at the bit: EAGER.
65. PC data base: CPU.
66. Hind counterpart: HART.
67. Sotto __: VOCE.
69. A big fan of: INTO.
71. "We __ Family": ARE.
72. __ Laboratories: Tylenol developer: MCNEIL. Learning moment also. Named after the chemist Robert McNeil, father of this guy.
73. "I'm here!": IT'S ME.
76. Stomping ground: TURF.
77. 123 Sesame Street resident: ERNIE.
78. Gas used in lasers: NEON.
79. Nettle: RILE.
85. Winter team racer: BOBSLED.
86. Illuminating comparison: ANALOGY.
88. Deceive: LIE TO.
89. Wearing chain mail: IN ARMOR.
91. __ Crown: TRIPLE.
93. Red-coated cheeses: EDAMS.
94. Hit's opposite: FLOP.
95. Donnybrook: FRACAS.
97. "My word!": GEE.
100. Deviate from the script: AD LIB.
101. Designer Geoffrey: BEENE.
102. Directs a crew, informally: COXES. Rowing crew.
103. Initials on Yuri Gagarin's helmet: CCCP.
104. Hostess snack: HO HO.
105. Bordeaux buddies: AMIS.
106. Austin festival, briefly: SXSW. South by Southwest.
108. "Chicago" star Richard: GERE.
110. Intel on a campaign rival: OPPO. Opposition.
112. Road runner?: CAR.
113. Install, as tiles: LAY.
C.C.
35 comments:
Not too difficult a
puzzle. I mean, when you have that much “redundancy,” how can you possibly go wrong? Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
The repetitive theme made solving a little too simple, but those vertical stacked tens were impressive, all of them crossing two themers. D-o needed Wite-Out to correct LIsLE to LILLE. Didn't know who sang "Don't Matter", so it took an alphabet run to get that N in TENT. KEMPT reminded me of Clyde Coffee on the air in Madison. On his weather forecasts he always described pleasant weather at "clement." FRACAS reminded me of a '51 movie song that fits today's theme -- In The COOL, COOL, COOL Of The Evening where Jane Wyman rhymed FRACAS with JACKASS -- shocking. Enjoyed your Sunday debut, Joe. Thanx for 'splainin' it all, C.C.
FIW, missing with IONa and not catching it with EAGaR, which even my dumb mass knows how to spel. But I got my WAGs at TYRESE x HART and VOCE, so I've got that goin' for me. Which is nice.
Steely Dan used the Crimson Tide as an example of the winners in the world in their classic hit Deacon Blues.
From the same era we had Hold the Line, from that hit group Toe-Toe. Or something like that.
Wait - ITO can be clued without "OJ's judge?"
I surprised that CC didn't mention that in baseball, the defense is "really on the ball."
My first girlfriend went to BEREA. Back then there was a family income maximum and an agreement for working to qualify for admittance. Don't know whether foreign students were admitted.
I check my own BP every morning. I'm trying to convince my PCP to change my BP control meds - one makes my feet and ankles swell, and the other is a diuretic that was disliked by the hospital docs during my recent trips to the local emergency department. The hospital docs discontinued the diuretic, and I gained 15 pounds of water weight in three days. After I got out I resumed the diuretic until I can see my PCP (in a couple of months.)
I haven't had alcohol in 9+ years, but back in the day the BAR MENU was for simple food like nachos, hot dogs and the like in places that stayed open after the main restaurant kitchen had closed. The other thing was just called the "drink MENU."
How in the wide, wide world of sports is a CPU a "PC data base?" I must be missing the pun.
Thanks to Joe for the delightful Sunday workout, and to CC for another solid review.
Jinx, methinks it's that space between "data" and "base" -- it isn't database.
OK, I didn't even have decaf this morning. I can see how a CPU might be stretched to be the base for a PC, but how does "data" crowbar in?
sorry, didn't enjoy this at all
titt
The difficulty level was easier than a usual Sunday, seeing the title and the first triple repetition was a great aid in the solve, FIR in 24:06. DNK AKON, or MCNEIL, and I’ve yet to commit to memory LUCA or BEENE, although I’ve seen them before. THE SCREAM perped, I immediately knew the painting, but not the artist. Other words were entirely perped, which I didn’t see till the expo. Add LACONIC to the list of words I don’t use or hear others use, but have seen in print. Thanks to Joe for the puzzle and to C.C. for the write-up, you always give a keen insight into the grid from a constructor’s point of view. Also, beautiful yard you have!
FIR. I had almost no problem with this Sunday puzzle and latched onto the theme with the first long answer. That helped greatly with the solve.
There were a few names I didn't know, or care to know, but the perps were fair and I saw my way through. A couple of brain fogs, especially remembering Berea, but it finally came together.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
This must have been an extremely difficult and challenging concept, not only to envision, but to construct, so many props for the author’s ingenuity. There were several clever clues and, also, a clean grid, free of the usual Sunday annoyances of obscure pop culture references and proper names/places. I had a few missteps, e.g., Lounges/Chaises, Bose/Koss, and needed perps for McNeil, Tyrese, and Reach In. Aaron Judge was a gimme for this Yankee fan.
Thanks, Joe, and congrats on an impressive Sunday debut and thanks, CC, for highlighting the author’s talents and achievements, which might otherwise be overlooked by the lay solver.
Have a great day.
At first I thought this one was going to be pretty tough. But once the theme became clear, I flew through it. Never heard the expression ''goat rodeo'', but I like it. Three- letter TV program ''SNL'' is becoming its genre's ''Oreo''.
Tried LIegE before LILLE until perps (I guess Liege is IN Belgium)
A REACH-IN foul is usually called while guarding a player on the floor, not when he’s in the act of shooting
Fun puzzle. Although the redundancy made the long fills easy to get, I enjoyed interpreting them.
The few unknowns like LUCA, TYRESE, KOSS, AKON were rescued by perps. However I left I á few lacunae in the center. MPAA crossing MCNEIL and BEREA got me. Oh, well.
We had SMORES and SNORE. By coincidence, just this morning I used the expression sotto VOCE!
I hope we get more CW from Joe Rodini. I liked this one.
Thank you CC for your recap. Nice pic of you by the ARBOR.
A common reach-in foul often occurs after the offensive player ends his dribble and begins his upward motion into his shot. The defensive player reaches in in an attempt to strip the ball but strikes the wrist or arm. Shooting foul, two shots. James Harden made a living (and reputation as a "foul hunter") drawing such fouls.
FIR. Agree that the repetitive theme answers made things much easier. A bit of a pause at the crossing of IONE (which I should know by now but don't seem to) and VOCE. So all-in-all, I proclaim myself gruntled and am glad to not have been hurt in the fracas.
Clever puzzle, witty clues, and a nice feeling of accomplishment made easier with the gimmick figured out. Got stuck for a bit at AKON(?)TENT, which finally got solved by CAMP.
Musings
-Fun, fun, fun!
-Baseball is a game where the team on OFFENSE is never allowed to touch the ball
What happened to 108 Across? I have not heard of a “ goat rodeo” as an out of control situation! Needed a reference there but no mention.
Apropos of nothing to do with the puzzle, RIP Tom Lehrer.
The puzzle? After Compact cubed, it was too easy to finish. Get the first word and write it two more times. Joe even managed to get TRIPLE in as a fill. DNK TYRESE, AKON, Heidi, LILLE, LUCA, or REA, but the perps took care of them. SNL is always and easy 3-letter fill. I won't LIE TO you guys. I had a little trouble in the SE after I started with ARMORED instead of IN ARMOR. Not knowing LILLE didn't help. I've heard the term GOAT RODEO but really know what it meant. I guess it's similar to herding cats.
REACH IN- do they ever call that anymore? When I was in HS, they would call it if you tried to steal the ball, the whistle would blow, and half the time without touching the opponent. The refs just assumed you touched the other guy.
McNeil- back in the early 70's, very few adults bought Tylenol. Most of the sales were for babies and young children. People would buy Mead-Johnson's TEMPRA drops were for babies and McNeil's 2oz & 4oa Tylenol liquid for older children.
I liked this puzzle, and like many of you, once I figured out the repeating words it became easy to fill them in. Like Monkey, I enjoyed interpreting them.
I'm with Jinx on wondering how the heck a CPU can be a PC data base. It sounds to me like what I call a "trouble in River City" clue.
Nice yard, C.C.
Good reading all your comments.
Great Sunday puzzle debut, Joe--a very happy present for us readers. And we are so lucky to have you as our Sunday commentator, C.C.--a delightful gift for which we are all so thankful.
Well, this TRIPLE word puzzle made me think of a couple who may have ELOPED in their ARBOR, with the bride wearing a TUTU, and with their listening to some lovely music on the radio (not the RADAR), although I hope the sound of that STEEL DRUM was kept as gentle and low as possible. Afterwards the couple may have decided to MAKE A DEAL to take a trip to CHILE, but after checking their budget decided it might be better to go to TAOS. There he offered her a lovely PRESENT, while munching on some SMORES. And they ended up taking a nap near an ESTUARY where no one would be able to hear them SNORE.
Have a lovely, enjoyable Sunday, everybody.
Methinks a GOAT RODEO is similar to a SNAFU.
Hmmm, thinking about it further, didn't Tom Lehrer have a line about a "quite complex complex" in his song about Oedipus Rex? Might that have been the inspiration for today's puzzle?
Hola! For the most part I enjoyed this TRIPLE themed puzzle although by the sixth one I wondered how in the world the constructor found those! Well done, Joe Rodini!
Having those themes span across the grid makes it easier to solve the crosses and that's ok. Sunday's puzzles are often a slog, and this one was a breeze. In fact, I did most of it before leaving for church. Where, by the way, most of the congregation seems to be back from vacation. For a while many of the pews were empty starting in late May.
I don't follow them anymore but it's nice to have the Phoenix SUNS recognized.
At least the country of CHILE is spelled correctly/ I cringe every time I see "chili".
I'll have to look up COXES because I don't understand it.
Have a terrific rest of the day, everyone!
Easy enough to solve on my phone while waiting for a delayed flight, but FIW! In the comments above, "D-o needed Wite-Out to correct LIsLE to LILLE." NaomiZ accidentally left the page with LIsLE uncorrected, and therefore the strange answer RIsE for "Nettle." Still, Joe's puzzle was very enjoyable, including, as Monkey noted, interpreting the various meanings of the repeated words. Many thanks, Joe and C.C.!
Superb Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Joe (congrats on your LAT debut) and C.C. (Lovely photo in the ARBOR.)
Once I saw the TRIPLE theme, those themers filled quickly, and provided perps for the DOWNS.
AKON was unknown to me, as was TYRESE.
This Canadian needed a perp nudge to remember BAMA.
Hand up for Armored before IN ARMOR.
On June 7 2025, we had “goat rodeo” as the clue for HULLABALOO. I was not familiar with it then, but remembered it today. The “herding cats” analogy mentioned by Big Easy is probably better known.
AARON JUDGE was in Toronto earlier this month as the Yankees played our Blue Jays. That 4 game sweep put the Blue Jays at the top of the AL East. Despite today’s loss to Detroit, they are currently at the top of the MLB. We are holding our breath with memories of 1992-93!
Wishing you all a good evening.
It's used as a verb. The coxswain of a rowing team is the non-rowing member yelling "stroke, stroke, stroke"
Agree w/D-O. I worked with a guy who used the term "goat ropin'" for a chaotic situation. I suspect it's the same thing.
Remember the great baseball movie Major League? Remember that the Yankee slugger who struck out at the end of the show, Pedro Cerrano, also wore number 99? For extra credit, do you remember that Cerrano was played by President David Palmer (AKA Dennis Haysbert?)
umm…maybe the data that runs the computer, i.e., the source code?
====> Darren
“Three Point Line”, okay, we’re having a basketball-tilted CW today? Nope (although there were a couple-three round-ball references) and as soon as I’d landed COMPACTx3, I grokked the hook and off we went. Fine grid by Mssr. Rodini on his grand opening; I’ll be looking forward to his next appearance 🤙🏽😎
Only a couple of “wtf’s” in this one — I couldn’t get my head out of “Buds” having to do with flora, putting in “steMS” until perps set me straight. The ATMFEES clue gets the Kewpie doll for Best in Show today; plus not too much pop-culture obscurity, so this puzzle gets an A on my grade sheet. All in all, very enjoyable today, aided and abetted by C.C.’s recap. 🏆
====> Darren / L.A.
Test
Thanks to Joe R. and C.C.! FAVs were "Speed reader?" and "Service call".
BeetlejuiceBeetlejuiceBeetlejuice
🤙🏽😆
Ok puzzle. Don’t care for the repetition.
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