Theme: "EXCHANGE" - Ex is added to a common phrase, then removed from the next one, alternating in order.
22. Student council leader with demanding bake sale goals?: EXACTING PRESIDENT. Acting president.
33. Drama at the salon?: HAIR TENSIONS. Hair extensions.
49. "Halt all Acela trains immediately!"?: STOP THE EXPRESSES. Stop the presses.
65. Wizard at converting spreadsheets to PDF?: EXPORT AUTHORITY. Port authority.
82. Spending one's days reading philosophy and meditating?: PENSIVE LIFESTYLE. Expensive lifestyle.
98. Shocking article proving the conspiracy theory that birds aren't real?: PIGEON EXPOSE. Pigeon pose.
111. Status of an unexpectedly viral research study?: CITED BEYOND BELIEF. Excited beyond belief.
I wonder if Amanda planned to have one more theme entry with EX removed but could not find a workable candidate.
Total 105 theme squares. About our average. This grid was so carefully filled, no obscure names or Abbrs.
Across:
1. Times up: AT BATS.
7. Brightest star in the constellation Lyra: VEGA.
11. Look (like): SEEM.
15. Bowler or boater: HAT.
18. Vegetable in some cakes: CARROT. In Guangzhou, we have taro cakes, traditional Spring Festival treats.
19. "Pronto!": ASAP.
20. __ dish: PETRI.
21. Fútbol cheer: OLE.
25. Accessory that may match a prom date's dress: TIE.
26. Wistful exhalation: SIGH.
27. Coffee or tea: NOUN. Not BREW.
28. Mauna __: KEA.
29. From days past: OLDEN.
31. First name in cosmetics: ESTEE.
37. Fuming: IRATE.
40. Purple bloom: LILAC. We have pink lilacs here.
42. Mailing: SENDING.
43. Skater Harding: TONYA.
44. Had the courage: DARED.
46. Desktop feature since Windows 95: TASK BAR.
54. Nice one: UNE. Nice, France.
55. Fashion: MODE.
56. Landmark Obama legislation, initially: ACA.
57. Kodiak, for one: BEAR.
58. Fruit soda created by Coca-Cola Deutschland: FANTA.
60. Before, poetically: ERE.
61. Bonfire remnants: ASH.
62. Confide in: TRUST.
64. Shimmering threads: TINSEL.
69. Selling points?: STORES.
72. Comes by honestly: EARNS.
73. UFO pilots: ETS.
74. "Harriet the __": kid-lit classic: SPY.
77. Himalayan country: NEPAL. They live in year 2082 now. Nepali calendar is about 56 years and 8 months ahead of the Gregorian calendar.
78. Like an underwatered plant: LIMP. I now have a peony besides my Asiatic lilies. Let's see if it blooms next year.
79. Slick-back product: GEL.
80. Item removed at a TSA checkpoint: SHOE.
81. Raw bar bed: ICE.
87. Put into words: PHRASED.
90. Spud: TATER.
91. Cookies that may be crumbled to make cheesecake crust: OREOS.
92. Claims: ALLEGES.
95. Warble: TRILL.
97. Wetland: MARSH.
101. Like sardines: BONED. My RA doc says I can enjoy all the sardines I want. So I will.
103. Henhouse perch: ROOST.
104. __ for the course: PAR.
105. Croft of "Tomb Raider": LARA.
106. Marcel Duchamp genre: DADA.
110. Be in debt: OWE.
117. Spoil: MAR.
118. Cherish: ADORE.
119. Connection: BOND.
120. Warm-up for a headliner: OPENER.
121. Walk-__: ONS.
122. Vent: RANT.
123. Software issues: BUGS.
124. Cozy eatery: BISTRO.
Down:
1. King toppers: ACES.
2. Hailed ride: TAXI.
3. Gloat: BRAG.
4. Perfect example: ARCHETYPE. Three more great 9's in the Down slots: 7. Inkling: VAGUE IDEA. 79. The Go-Go's and the Bangles: GIRL BANDS. 80. Is on both sides of: STRADDLES. Plus a pair of 10s: 15. Ball Park Franks holders: HOT DOG BUNS. And 71. Donizetti devotees: OPERA-GOERS.
5. Kiddo: TOT.
6. Period of work: STINT.
8. "First Take" network: ESPN.
9. Needle-nosed fish: GAR. Huge.
10. Donkey Kong, e.g.: APE.
11. Steady and measured: SEDATE.
12. Le Tour de France saison: ETE. Did you know that those bikes cost more than $13K?
13. Sea eagle: ERN.
14. Cell division process: MITOSIS.
16. Stitch, for one: ALIEN.
17. Many first-year students: TEENS.
20. Jetties: PIERS.
23. "The Great British Baking Show" co-host Fielding: NOEL.
24. Hit the slopes: SKI.
30. "The Legend of Zelda" protagonist: LINK.
32. Ticket assignment: SEAT.
33. Concerto instrument: HARP.
34. HP competitor: ACER.
35. "It's open!": ENTER.
36. Secrecy docs: NDAS.
37. Words before and after "hi, I'm the problem" in Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero": IT'S ME.
38. Brake disc: ROTOR.
39. Battery part: ANODE.
41. Easygoing: LAX.
45. Premieres: DEBUTS.
47. Stake: ANTE.
48. Genuine: REAL.
50. Shed fasteners: HASPS.
51. Cavern effect: ECHO.
52. Casual band practice: SESH. Session.
53. Puerto Rican rescue mutt: SATO. Learning moment for me. AI
Overview: A Sato is Puerto Rican slang for a mutt or mixed-breed dog,
particularly those that are stray or abandoned on the island.
58. Needs no tailoring: FITS.
59. Whichever: ANY.
61. Skating jump: AXEL.
62. La Brea attraction: TAR PIT.
63. Cry in a horror film: RUN.
64. IMDb search result: TITLE.
65. Pitching stat: ERA.
66. Bridle part: REIN.
67. Doctoral regalia: TAMS.
68. Utah's Capitol __ National Park: REEF.
69. Scissors sound: SNIP.
70. Bay Area industry: TECH.
74. More demure: SHYER.
75. Tops that might have popped collars: POLOS.
76. "I'm embarrassed for you": YEESH.
78. Mantel: LEDGE.
82. Hammer end: PEEN. I fixed this crack, with cement powder and a butter knife.
83. Distillery drums: VATS.
84. Raison d'__: ETRE.
85. Fragrant neckwear: LEI.
86. Not all: SOME.
88. Sudsy pintfuls: ALES.
89. Tiny track racer: SLOT CAR.
93. Connoisseur: EXPERT.
94. Garden shovel: SPADE.
96. Peerage member: LORD.
98. Film trailer, e.g.: PROMO.
99. Sioux City citizen: IOWAN.
100. Sphere: ORB.
102. Bigwig: NABOB.
105. Pine (for): LONG.
107. "It __ over till it's over": AIN'T.
108. Skittish forest creature: DEER.
109. Prefix with futurism: AFRO. Afrofuturism.
112. Wyo. neighbor: IDA.
113. Freight weight: TON.
114. Recede: EBB.
115. Both Y's in IYKYK: YOU. If You Know, You Know.
116. Prefix with Pen: EPI.
I'm sorry that Jayce lost his precious Lotus. As most of you know, Lotus was from Hong Kong and Jayce speaks fluent Chinese. This makes me feel an even closer connection to him in his grief. I'm glad you have a caretaker with you now, and I hope you're surrounded by comfort, kindness, and support during this difficult time.
32 comments:
Sorry, but I didn’t
notice the particular pattern of when the “ex” was added and when it was subtracted from a particular phrase. But C.C. “enlightened” me as to that pattern.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
D-o got the theme EXactly, even without reading the puzzle title. Oops. This was an easy romp. Most of my WAGs were correct. My unknowns were SATO and that Stitch was an ALIEN. Don't think I've heard of a PIGEON POSE (is that a yoga thing?), so exposé fell kinda flat. Still, it was a nice outing, and came together quickly. Thanx, Amanda and C.C.
I really wanted 65A to be an animation-related phrase with CEL, turned into EXCEL-something.
A nice Sunday morning EXercise, solved in 22:06 without too much mental ertion. DNK SATO (did anybody?), MITOSI and AFRO needed perps as I’m not familiar with the never before seen clue that doesn’t reference a hairstyle. I’ve never EXclaimed YEESH, but I’ve seen it in CWs clued in many ways. Thanks for the fun solve Amanda, and to C.C. for the recap.
Jayce ~ I hope you’re holding up okay, I know several people who have lost their spouses in the last couple years, and it’s a process to get through the grief.
FLN ~ I was unaware that there are several hockey teams that offer Zamboni rides during intermission as some sort of promo. I always wanted to take a spin around the rink driving one 😂.
Just an aside ~ I attended a spring training game in Florida earlier this year and the home plate umpire was a woman named Jen Pawol. This weekend she got called up to the Bigs for a regular season series between the Braves and Marlins. The first two games she was on the bases, today she will be calling balls and strikes. Another barrier broken, good for her, and good for ⚾️!
FIW, missing the obvious: coffee or tea is a NOUN. I got so caught up in Fielding's first name that I missed the obvious. (The only Fielding I know is John Larroquette's Dan Fielding in Night Court.)
Why can we see ACA over and over here, but when I mentioned the current guy's landmark legislation (in a pun to wish someone a happy birthday,) I got expelled for the day? Bias much?
This one must have been in the hopper for a while. We don't take our shoes off for TSA any longer. Supposedly due to better scanning equipment, but those who know for sure aren't telling.
BUGS, known in the Microsoft community as "features."
The bowling alley in my little home town had a fairly large SLOT CAR track. Loved to race there, even though I wasn't very good at it.
If YEESH means "I'm embarrassed for you," then as an aside to Patti, YEESH on this clue/fill.
Thanks to Amanda for the mostly-enjoyable Sunday special, and to CC for another fine review.
FIR. Smooth sailing this morning and enjoyable. Theme answers didn’t quite alternate between added and omitted EXs, but close enough. Perps to the rescue for my DNKs (SATO, ITSME, NOEL, AFRO, DADA ---even though the latter crossed, not too many possibilities) and for the DNBIACWPs (do not belong in a crossword puzzle---YEESH, SESH). Originally had CRASHES for 46A, but it didn’t perp. BUGS in 123A seemed an appropriate pairing. Jinx and I think along the same lines wrt Windows. GAR has always been a favorite of mine since as a kid, I saw some pun feature (Mad Magazine?) on baseball players and fish names. Ralph Garr was a pretty decent baseball player in the 60s and 70s and he was featured.
Condolences to Jayce.
Took 19:25 today, as my time was EXtended to figure out what was going on in the lower-right corner.
InEXplicably, I originally entered "excited beyond Relief." Knowing "narob" didn't look right, it still took me EXtra time to correct that cell.
I struggled with: Vega, une, ete, and Noel. "Pigeon pose" means nothing to me either.
Sato? Really?
FIR. This was an easy puzzle for me. "Nice one" was a great clue. Very clever indeed. The other clues were very fair and straightforward.
I got the theme early on with the second long answer and from there the going was easy.
Overall a most enjoyable puzzle.
"Pronto!" = "Stat"! Not asap!
Enjoyable puzzle. No big problems. My only unknowns were SATO, YEESH and NOEL, as clued.
Got the theme very early, so it was fun finding the answers.
Thank you CC for that nice recap.
Good Morning:
The title and the first themer signaled the theme, so the solve was relatively quick and easy. The few unknowns (Sato, Noel, Yeesh, Afro) were perp-aided and some WAGs also helped, (It’s Me, Mitosis). I think my only w/o was Asserts/Alleges which indicates pretty straightforward cluing and fill.
Thanks, Amanda, for a pleasant Sunday solve and thanks, CC, for pointing out the highlights and explaining the theme. Nice picture of you at work! Your tribute to Jayce’s loss of his Lotus was very poignant.
Have a great day.
Musings
-Barry Bonds won the batting title in 2004 with the fewest AT BATS. He set the record for the most walks (232) which do not count as an AT BAT when calculating batting averages
-Most astronomers pronounce VEGA as VEE guh but Chevrolet pronounced its car VAY guh
-The sight and scent of LILACS are a sure sign of spring here on the Great Plains
-We have seen TINSEL used to deter birds in grape fields
-Most big box stores don’t have anyone water their plants in their sale areas and they go LIMP
-ASAP means STAT when my DW suggests I do something
-I don’t think the Gunsmoke script writers would have the SEDATE school “marm” wander into the Long Branch
-Cry in a horror film: “Let’s go down into the basement and see what is making that horrible noise!”
-Oh my, C.C. is truly a very cute jack of all trades
-One film trailer I saw contained the only funny scene in the whole stinking movie. We left after 30 minutes.
-First female ump Jen’s first call yesterday was a bang-bang play at first and she got it right.
-My condolences, Jayce.
Husker - Chevy also had a car called the Nova. Unfortunately, in Spanish, it could be read as "doesn't go" (no va).
What a nice way to start a Sunday morning! A very enjoyable puzzle, with clever cluing (with the exceptions being the clues for ASAP and, especially, YEESH) a lack of cutesy and obscure, and a feeling of accomplishment at the finish line.
That's an urban myth because Nova is one word, not two - like the difference between notable and no table. There was no confusion and the Chevy sold well in Spanish speaking countries.
Re: "in the hopper" Yes, you no longer have to take your shoes off for the TSA, and the line moves a little faster. Methinks that after 20 years of not finding anything in people's shoes (besides stinky socks) they finally gave in.
"Nice one" was my fav as well.
Amanda's puzzle made for a pleasant Sunday solve. My only nit (as pointed out by C.C. and John M27) was the lack of symmetry with an odd number of themers. An 8th one would have balanced out the "add an EX, take an EX" theme, like one EX shifted to the other. Or, at least alternate them from the top down.
Jayce, very sorry for your loss.
This one was fun. i figured the theme early which sped up the solve. I always think too hard with the easy clues, "nouns", "verbs" etc. Geez. Unknowns for me were the same as others. CC, I love the picture with the butter knife, good for you.
Jayce, I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Take care, as best you can under the circumstances.
What a delightful puzzle ... thank you, Amanda! And many thanks to C.C. for explaining it all. Like Irish Miss, I had to change "asserts" to ALLEGES, and DNK SATO, but otherwise, pretty much sailed through. I loved the clues "Nice one" for UNE, "Inkling" for VAGUE IDEA, and "Is on both sides of" for STRADDLES. I was particularly thrilled that the fake conspiracy theory that birds aren't real made it into a puzzle. DH has a favorite tee shirt that says "Birds aren't real" below an image of a bird with a laser eye.
C.C., I doubt many of us would be that adorable while repairing cement.
To Jayce, sincere condolences. I can only imagine.
Just as a head's up? C.C.'s Universal Sunday puzzle is absolutely amazing!
Delightful Sunday puzzle, many thanks, Amanda. And your commentary is always a helpful pleasure, C.C., so thank you for that too.
Well, I'm glad that the guy who seemed to arrive in a TAXI in this puzzle was very SEDATE and not at all irate, and thankfully didn't RANT or BRAG. He seemed pretty brave to take on TASKS in STORES where he earned a good salary that gave him a PENSIVE LIFE STYLE. And I bet his wife ADORED him and took him to a BISTRO and ordered HOT DOG BUNS and lemon ADES and OREOS to celebrate his birthday. Sounds like they had a very kind BOND.
Have a cheerful, lovely Sunday, everybody.
Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Amanda and C.C.
I FIRed in good time, and saw the EXCHANGE theme. I too was looking for the phrase to accept the EX from STOP THE EXPRESSES.
I had Rot before MAR.
Hand up for Asserts before ALLEGES.
I put my Belt back on, and took off my SHOE (but don’t you have to take off both SHOEs?).
In my medical world, anything that must be done Pronto is demanded with STAT, not ASAP. (As we have discussed this before, I was watching for perps to decide.
I groaned at the Nice clue for UNE.
SATI was unknown to me also.
I have been AWOL a few days this week and have missed some announcements.
Belated congratulations to you and your wife on your 50th Anniversary, Ray-o.
Sincere condolences to Jayce. May you find strength and comfort to support you in this loss.
Wishing you all a great day.
Nice one, Amanda!
Hola!
Very nice, Amanda, thank you. I erred on TAMS and SESH so could not figure out why EXPORs AUTsORITY did not make sense until I came and saw the explanation by C.C. I missed LIMP, too.
However, the rest of the puzzle came together well. HAIR EXTENSIONS are not needed in my family. We all have massively thick hair though mine is now thinning.
I am cooking CARROTs and TATERs to go with the roast that is in the oven. All should be ready in about three hours from now.
A PIGEON EXPOSE is the last thing we need here. They are a constant nuisance.
Jayce, I am so very sorry for your loss. I learned that a dear friend from Napa has died. He was a Christian Brother who had been in the Order for over 30 years. I was so looking forward to seeing him on my next trip.
Have a lovely day, everyone and cherish your loved ones.
I liked this puzzle. I usually like the big Sunday puzzles. Nice one!
Speaking of carrots, etc, I am simmering a beef 'n' bean soup with carrots, celery, and onions which I plan to enjoy over the next several days. The house smells heavenly.
Thanks for your condolences. Good reading you all.
Thanks to Amanda for providing fare for a pleasant Sunday PENSIVE LIFESTYLE! Great start with the clue for 1-A! I also like "Nice one" and the clue for RUN.
My usual solving site is not showing the title but I was able to see the EX theme after the grid was filled.
Hand up for ESP on SATO.
D-O@5:25. Yes, a Yoga pose. It strengthens and stretches the hip area.
Thanks to C.C. for her expert tour! That is interesting about NEPAL's calendar. Also, that was such a beautiful share about Jayce and his bride.
Your soup sounds delicious, Jayce. I also like to make a big pot of something and eat on it for a few days.
I have some cross words for yesterday's atrocity. Major suckage !
I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was fun to solve.
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