Theme: "GET THE BALL ROLLING" - From left to the right, the letters spell out BINGO.
4. *Request for greater detail: BE A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC.
9. *"Really, Captain Obvious?": GEE YA THINK.
12. *"C'mon, quit pretending to be confused!": OH YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING.
50. *"Free Your Mind" group: EN VOGUE.
74. *Visionary physicians?: EYE DOCTORS.
Reveal:
3. With 70-Down, "Never would've predicted this scenario," and what can be said about the first word of the answer to each starred clue?: THAT WASN'T ON.
70. See 3-Down: MY BINGO CARD.
Did I miss anything extra? I had to google "How to play Bingo". So a Bingo card has the letters BINGO on top. This 14, 27, Free, 56, 66 doesn't make any winning sense to me.
Amie and Wendy have collaborated on a few puzzles for the LAT. This is their first Sunday together.
Across:
1. Rollaway bed: COT.
4. Sweetie: BABE.
8. "Totally ready for the weekend!": TGIF.
12. Muppet who lives in a recycling zone: OSCAR.
17. Letters for a monarch: HRH. His/Her Royal Highness.
18. Nook's format, e.g.: E TEXT.
20. Incessantly: NO END.
21. "Hungry hungry" animal in a kids game: HIPPO.
22. Porto greeting: OLA. Porto is the Portuguese wine capital.
23. Religious platform: ALTAR.
24. Where Penguins play on ice?: ARENA. Pittsburgh Penguins.
25. Raising agent: YEAST.
26. Lotus part: PETAL.
28. Hotel gym, e.g.: AMENITY.
30. Groups of friends: POSSES.
31. Deemed suitable: SAW FIT.
33. Rice dish cooked in a wide pan: PAELLA. Looks delicious.
34. [I didn't get my way!]: POUT.
35. 1990s treaty acronym: NAFTA.
36. Inc., in Britain: LTD.
37. Spots that might smear: ATTACK ADS. Amazing clue.
41. Some send-ups: SATIRES.
43. Question after a photo finish: WHO WON?
44. "The penny drops!": AHA.
46. Dull, figuratively: VANILLA.
48. __ kwon do: TAE.
51. Wash. neighbor: IDA.
52. Exudes: OOZES.
54. __ nous: ENTRE.
55. Disdain: SCORN.
57. Small complaint: NIT.
58. Bring about, as mayhem: WREAK. Only Havoc.
59. Classic muscle car: GTO.
60. Partner: MATE.
62. Conjure up: EVOKE.
64. Fin. neighbor: SWE.
65. Taken together: IN TOTAL.
67. KenKen figs.: NOS.
68. Return from vacation: FLY HOME. Someday I will.
72. Before, in poems: ERE.
73. "Stop hogging it!": LET GO.
75. Mount also known as Kissavos: OSSA.
76. Peruvian singer Sumac: YMA. Have not seen her in our grid for a long while.
78. Accept terms: AGREE.
81. "I don't __ it": BUY.
82. Très très: ULTRA.
84. Soccer star __ Heath: TOBIN.
86. Pure joy: BLISS.
87. Pub brew: ALE.
88. Fair-hiring inits.: EEO.
89. College in Dublin: TRINITY. Ireland's oldest university.
91. "Stop filming!": CUT.
92. Pride event: PARADE.
95. Epiphany figures: WISE MEN.
97. Listen clandestinely: EAVESDROP.
99. Autograph seeker's tool: PEN.
100. Utility bill data: USAGE. Did you know that they charge you a higher rate for your power usage between 5:00pm to 7:00pm?
102. Coats with ganache, e.g.: ICES.
103. Baseless rumor: CANARD.
105. Conditional release: PAROLE.
107. "Good 4 U" singer Rodrigo: OLIVIA.
110. Culinary school dough?: TUITION. Another fun clue.
112. Orgs. that may serve as alternatives to hostels: YMCAS.
113. Recurring theme: MOTIF.
114. Ring around a lagoon: ATOLL.
116. Rapace of "Prometheus": NOOMI. She was also in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".
118. First words of many an alphabet book: A IS.
119. Central Asian mountain range: ALTAI. Extends to China where Xinjiang is.
120. "No __!": SIREE.
121. React to a bad joke: GROAN.
122. Vaccine molecule: RNA.
123. "It's Gonna Be Me" band: NSYNC.
124. Ramona, per Beezus: PEST.
125. Unexpected problem: SNAG.
126. Susan of "The Partridge Family": DEY.
Down:
2. "The Library Book" writer Susan: ORLEAN.
5. Georgia airport code: ATL.
6. Early app edition: BETA.
7. Lead by __: EXAMPLE.
8. Field where accidents are common?: TORT LAW.
10. Cozy lodging: INN.
11. Rx regulator: FDA.
13. Afternoon snooze: SIESTA.
14. Pros who try to stay balanced?: CPAS. Nothing athletic. Pros indicates an abbreviated answer.
15. Abbey space: APSE.
16. Goes bad: ROTS.
19. Buys for, as a birthday dinner: TREATS TO. The nice church couple treated me for a papaya salad. Mild. Still hot for me.
20. Ace: NAIL.
27. Romance: AFFAIR.
29. Nancy Drew's boyfriend: NED.
30. "Un __ Loco": "Coco" song: POCO.
32. Shadow: TAIL.
34. Try to hit, as a cat might a laser beam: PAW AT.
38. Exquisite: TO DIE FOR. Cantonese soup. That red thing is goji berry. Not anything hot.
39. Groggy state: DAZE.
40. Citi Field predecessor: SHEA.
42. Follower of Jah: RASTA.
45. "Fire away": ASK.
46. Relax on the sofa: VEG.
47. Not backing: ANTI.
49. "__ we all?": AREN'T.
53. Brand with a Selena Gomez limited edition version: OREO.
56. __ phone: CELLULAR.
61. Swallowed: ATE.
63. "__ mio": O SOLE.
64. Lead-in to "op": SYS.
66. Some concert merch: TEES.
69. Aspiring J.D.s' exams: LSATS.
71. Give off: EMIT.
77. In __ event: ANY.
78. "Shark Tank" network: ABC.
79. Cause of a sticky situation: GLUE. I've learned to wear a glove every time I use Super Glue.
80. "Poison" singer Ora: RITA.
81. Poetic performers: BARDS.
83. Reaching great heights: TOWERING.
85. Like show-offy pushups: ONE-ARM.
90. Enlist again: RE-UP.
93. Cruising the Caribbean, maybe: ASEA.
94. Uniform adornment: EPAULET.
96. Not alfresco: INDOORS.
98. Vance of "I Love Lucy": VIVIAN.
99. Butter portion: PAT.
101. Stritch of Broadway: ELAINE.
104. Egyptian river: NILE.
106. Input for some plagiarism detectors: ESSAY.
107. Saudi Arabia neighbor: OMAN.
108. Haha alternatives: LOLS.
109. Wee: ITTY.
111. End of a.m.: NOON.
114. Egyptian viper: ASP.
115. Connection: TIE.
117. Goat's bleat: MAA.
C.C.
33 comments:
Well, I got it. But I didn’t
understand the reveal until C.C. explained it. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Never noticed the theme on my way through the grid...and I'm not sure I appreciate it even after the explanation. Only needed Wite-Out to correct "I Don't get/BUY it." Most of my WAGs were golden, so this one went quickly. Thanx, Amie, Wendy, and C.C.
TOBIN: That's the name of my niece's grandson. In Bavarian (which dw speaks) it translates as wild, uncontrolled, running amok.
REUP: I had many nightmares about that 50+ years ago. I'd wake up in a cold sweat immediately upon signing the papers.
FIW, missing my SWAG at the very last cell I filled, with ITsY x ALsAI. Had to be "s" or "T" and as usual, I missed my 50/50 guess.
H. Ross Perot was right about NAFTA, but no one listened.
In a tribute to Darren / L.A. we didn't get hot TAE kwon do today.
Virginia doesn't have Time of Day USAGE as part of electrical billing.
Never heard "THAT WASN'T ON MY BINGO CARD," but I have heard "THAT WASN'T ON MY dance CARD" for an unplanned event.
Not a bad Sunday challenge, but my usual gripe about too much A&E applies. And I don't really care much about themes, but unless there is more than CC (or I) saw, I think this one was unusually devoid of cleverness. But thanks anyway to Amie and Wendy for the mental pump-primer, and to CC for another solid review.
The puzzle title and starred clues were of no help in the solve and I never did figure out the theme, but I did manage a FIR in the slow time of 43:18. As usual it was the unknown names that required all perps, ORLEAN, TOBIN, OLIVIA, EN VOGUE, and of course the renowned NOOMI, which I had to correct from noobi because I thought goats bleated baa and not MAA. Thanks Amie and Wendy for the challenge and C.C. for the expo, especially for explaining the BINGO connection.
FIR. For me this had a some bite to it. There were a number of unknowns for me, especially the proper names.
I had to get almost completely filled in before the theme showed, and even then I didn't get it until I came here.
So overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Yooper, One of the few hard-and-fast rules of crossword puzzles as far as I know. MAA is always used for goats and BAA is always used for sheep. I once thought I determined "secluded valley" as GLEN was a rule too, but lately I've been seeing DALE and DELL as the answers.
FIR. DNK NOS (as clued), YMA (although methinks that should be an Ektorp for me, but it ain’t), ALTAI, EN VOGUE, TOBIN, NOOMI. Perps were kind. SIREE is too much of a non-word to be in a crossword puzzle for my taste, but I can live with it. I have a NIT to pick: The letters in the theme ARE on a Bingo card, so why is the main clue saying NOT on my Bingo card? Am I missing something?
I managed to FIR, but couldn’t figure out the theme, one of the pleasures of á Sunday puzzle, and I still can’t figure it out. I agree way too many A&E names and spoken expressions, á type of clue I really dislike.
So this CW ended up being á chore.
Thank you CC for your efforts at revealing the theme. I’ve never had papaya salad. Sounds refreshing for á summer Time treat.
Oh, I forgot...CC, it's been a while since I've played, but I believe the FREE box on that Bingo card means you need only four numbers to make a Bingo for the diagonals and the middle row and column. So it's a "free" square.
BAH, I hate to clutter this up, but I wasn't as clear as I should have been. I should have said letter/number combinations. So the winning entry shown is B14, I27, FREE, G56, O66. And as it turns out, the caller doen't even need to call out the letter, since any number from 1-15 is going to be in the B-column, etc. (Never knew this!)
John, I believe the caller always say both the letter and the number, e.g. B 7, O 72, N 37, etc. for the sake of accuracy. This would certainly be necessary for new or inexperienced players. Of course, the old pros could probably find the numbers blindfolded! 😂
Musings
-The puzzle was fine but I had to go back to suss out the amazing gimmick. When I solve online, I can’t circle the starred clues which would have helped to see the grouping
-I’d have a ULTRA NIT about NOOMI but it went quietly
-I regretted saying (H)OLA to a Hispanic woman. She started talking to me in Spanish like I knew the language.
-ATTACK ADS would cease if they didn’t work. “Never overestimate the intelligence of the American electorate”
-Coaches famously run “VANILLA” offenses in preseason games so as to not show any new plays
-Elvis turned O Sole Mio into the wonderful It’s Now Or Never
-My granddaughter said she waited in line for a long time to spend $45 for a Taylor Swift TEE at her concert
-73-yr-old Jack Palance did this when accepting his 1993 Oscar
-VIVIAN did indeed Love Lucy but could not stand her TV husband Fred (William Frawley)
Good Morning:
I believe the key to the theme is the letters read B G O N I from right to left, and being scrambled, don’t appear that way on a Bingo card. My personal opinion is that the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, Too many pop culture references, obscure ones, at that, and way too many conversational tidbits for my taste. (Hi, Monkey). Crossword puzzles are supposed to make us think, not mind-read.
Thanks, Amie and Wendy, and thanks, CC, for the insider’s view. I always learn something from your comments, especially when you point out particularly clever clues. The photo of the Paella wins the day!
Have a great day.
Learning moment, altai. but I am still a little confused about the theme...
Good one.
FIR, but with a total lack of enjoyment due to the ugly paraphrase non-clues and the obscure A&E. Didn't even bother with a theme. Yes, IM, definitely not worth the squeeze!
What has 38D answer got to do with exquisite-todie/for? Come on☹️
Just noticed the incorrect right to left. Should be left to right. Sorry.
This one was OK. I figured things out fairly easily. And yes CC I also always put on gloves before I use super glue because I know its going to get on my fingers.
I agree with what Monkey @9:21 AM said, and what Irish Miss @10:25 AM
said.
I finished it, but had no inkling about BINGO. If anybody else saw my newspaper, the stars were almost impossible to see. I remember playing BINGO as a kid but being a no skill game it was hard to keep interested. Before casino gambling came to town, BINGO was a big money raiser for charities. I don't gamble.
E-TEXT was perped; Nook was unknown. So were TOBIN, OLIVIA, NOOMI (my last fill), NSYNC, ORLEAN (I wonder how she pronounces it). Yooper and I are twins on most of those.
OSSA was unknown as clued.
Most of those 'super' GLUE brands are the same. I get a 6-pack from Wal-Mart for $1.00 and use it once. Those caps are useless. I used to try and save the tube after using it but it required cutting on the end of the tube with pruning shears.
Perot- being right about anything is not a qualification to be elected to any office.
I was deeply involved in the solve, and delayed our morning trip to the farmers market by 5 minutes or so in order to finish. When we returned and I'd finished washing and storing fruits and vegetables, I came here to read everyone's reactions, and realized immediately that I had not taken time to decipher the theme. Thank goodness for C.C., who explains it all! The only reason your illustrated BINGO CARD is a winner, is that the "caller" pulled those numbers at random, called them out, and the person with that card happened to have those numbers printed in a straight line. (The cards are not all the same.) BINGO is not a game of skill! At bingo parlors, players pay per game, with hopes of occasionally winning the pot. And the parlor takes a cut.
I liked the puzzle and FIR in spite of not knowing at least five of the proper names, so thanks for keeping me entertained, Amie and Wendy, and many thanks to C.C. for making sense of the theme.
Giant sucking sound!!! Hilarious!!!
Upon completion, I saw the starred first words spelled out BINGO from left to right, but their placement up and down kinda ruined the effect. As noted by John M27, each column has 15 unique numbers: B=1-15, I=16-30, on up to O=61-75. Ideally, the clue numbers would fit the possible ones on the card.
C.C., you didn't miss anything. To win, one must be the first player to get five squares in a row using numbers called from a random drawing, so this really has nothing to do with a BINGO card.
RB, thanks for pointing the up and down placement, which I missed completely, as evidenced by my incorrect theory of a scrambled BINGO. But, IMO, this makes the whole reveal even more confusing. At this point, though, it really doesn’t matter.
This one was a “perp walk” for me.
Some people will describe, say, a delectable dish as sooo good by saying “It’s to die for”…
====> Darren / L.A.
Yyyeah, this one was a slow slog today. In spite of grokking all the theme clues (nice that the reveal clue was early!) I got robbed of a FIR — I wasn’t Jinx-ed by ALTAI & ITTY (WAG’ed that one correctly) but the 50D/67A of ENViGUEand NiS got me; shoulda gone with the “O” if I was logical, but then I got careless and didn’t realize thst group meant a music group, and I blew it. NOT ON MY BINGO CARD today; once again, caught out by A&E stuff… 😖 At any rate, a clever assembly by Amie and Wendy!
I remember that Oscar show where Palance did the one-arm pushups. Impressive — I’m glad I can still knock off a few 2-armed ones at my age! Something to aspire to…NOT.
Thanks for the tasty rerun, C.C. By the way, that sequence on the bingo card that “puzzled” you? It simply shows one of the three ways to win at the game. The NOS meant nothing there.
====> Darren / L.A.
Thanks to Amy and Wendy! I saw the BINGO theme but the unifier isn't a phrase with which I am familiar. FAV was the clue for TUITION.
When I lived in Japan I was surprised at how popular BINGO is in there.
I read that Susan Orlean book. It is a non-fiction account of a disastrous fire at the Los Angeles library in 1986. Perhaps many LAT readers recognize it. She also wrote "The Orchid Thief". I liked that one, too. We have several Floridian Cornerites who might want to read that one.
CED @ 10:44. LOL!
Thanks to C.C.! I do not know how I would explain this theme if it were a Monday. Well done! Is that a LOTUS root in the 38D soup?
FIR but the enjoyment level wasn’t real high.
*NSYNC clue would have been better using “Bye Bye Bye” as its reference point.
I kinda like the idea of millennials and Gen Z using the phrase “That wasn’t on my bingo card” if only because I wonder how many in the age range have actually played it before!
I've had a busy exhausting day and have come to this puzzle very late. But, still, many thanks Amie and Wendy for giving us this Sunday gift. And thank you, too, C.C., for giving us your kind help to understand it better.
I'm afraid I got stuck with BABE and hoped the puzzle would deal mainly with sweet young children, baptized at the ALTAR, long before they were old enough to play in an ARENA. I hoped they would never be exposed to ATTACK ADS or to SATIRE, and would just be able to enjoy VANILLA ice cream. Once they got old enough they might get to drink some ALE and maybe attend a PARADE. Let's hope their parents will be able to save enough TUITION to get them a good education, and give them a chance to relax a little at the YMCA. Let's hope a good life like that is in store for that sweet BABE.
Have a healthy, happy week coming up, everybody.
Absolutely no fun at all. The clues were so obscure. Didn't get theme even with the explanation. Ended up looking up
Answers.... usually I finish the whole puzzle and enjoy the theme but not this one! Horrible experience.... disappointing too because I always look forward to Sunday xword!
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