Theme: "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?" - Each phrase you might hear during a bad cell connection is humorously reinterpreted in a non-call context.
22. "There's not enough chocolate for the both of us!": I ONLY HAVE ONE BAR.
30. "Our waiter's wearing leopard-print pants!": THE SERVICE IS SPOTTY.
43. "Stop switching lanes so aggressively!": YOU'RE CUTTING IN AND OUT.
65. "We could get separated in this crowd!": I MIGHT LOSE YOU.
83. "Our next flight leaves 10 minutes after we land!": WE HAVE A BAD CONNECTION.
99. "I've been to more enjoyable weddings!": THE RECEPTION IS WEAK.
110. "It sounds like that relationship is over!": YOU'RE BREAKING UP.
This is a fun set. The static is replaced with humor. Super tight theme.
This
marks the fourth collaboration from Katy and Rich, the third Sunday.
Both of them seem to be fond of this type of rephrasing theme.
Across:
1. Facing the pitcher: AT BAT.
6. Closely guarded areas in soccer: SHINS.
11. Korean-style __: BBQ. I just call it Korean BBQ. They often use lettuces and perilla leaves as wraps.
14. Brunch side: HASH.
18. Sunday singers: CHOIR.
19. Window parts: PANES.
20. __ deco: ART.
21. Alexander of "Rizzoli & Isles": SASHA.
25. Up to: UNTIL.
26. Failure: DUD.
27. __ firma: TERRA.
28. Not trans: CIS.
29. Give heart to: ASSURE.
34. Former NPR host Norris: MICHELE. Soothing voice. She's born in Minneapolis.
37. Frosts: ICES.
38. Main ideas: THEMES.
39. Workout reminders?: ACHES.
40. Opera set in Egypt: AIDA.
42. Viewed: SEEN.
51. "My treat!": ON ME.
52. Elderly: AGED.
53. Wax-coated cheese: EDAM.
54. Sandwich choice: WRAP.
56. Spot for a pot: SILL.
58. Following: AFTER.
60. Big batteries: D CELLS.
62. Moody genre: EMO.
69. Board alternative: SKI. OK, snowboard.
70. Coco Gauff's sport: TENNIS.
72. MeTV fare: RE-RUN.
73. German auto: AUDI.
75. __-Cola: COCA.
76. Singer Halliwell: GERI. Ginger Spice.
77. Gentlemen: SIRS.
79. __ terrier: SKYE.
89. Nearly all: MOST.
90. Bygone GM line: OLDS.
91. Drummer Starr: RINGO.
92. Portmanteau pastry: CRONUT. Croissant & donut.
95. Swit co-star: ALDA.
97. Steering committee's output: AGENDAS.
103. Salad slice: RADISH. Have any of you tried watermelon radishes? Very pretty. They taste like daikon radishes.
104. Due-in hr.: ETA.
105. Gets bogged down: MIRES.
106. "__ Twist, Scientist": kid-lit bestseller: ADA.
109. Start: ONSET.
114. Rather wee: TEENY.
115. Spot for the night: INN.
116. Intended: MEANT.
117. Standards flouted by rebels: NORMS.
118. Blind part: SLAT.
119. TV's "Science Guy": NYE.
120. Arm bones: ULNAS.
121. Purple flavor: GRAPE.
Down:
1. Low-pH stuff: ACID.
2. The old you?: THOU.The Ten Commandments are part of my classes.
3. No fighter: BOND.
4. Suffer: AIL.
5. "Have a few samples": TRY THESE. These go well with your Korean BBQ. Banchan.
6. Few and far between: SPARSE.
7. Le __: French port: HAVRE.
8. Like some headsets: IN EAR.
9. Keanu role: NEO.
10. W-2 fig.: SSN.
11. Some pediatric patients: BABIES.
12. Luca of "The Godfather": BRASI. Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.
13. NBA div.: QTR. Quarter.
14. Horse-drawn carriage: HANSOM.
15. Insightful: ASTUTE.
16. Skins' opponents: SHIRTS.
17. Jay and Gloria's oldest grandchild on "Modern Family": HALEY.
21. Leave dangling: SUSPEND.
23. Stiletto, for one: HEEL.
24. Latin "behold": ECCE.
29. Wan: ASHEN.
30. "__ no easy way to say this ... ": THERE'S.
31. Center of a historic boast: VIDI.
32. Declaration of ability: I CAN.
33. Cook dim sum, say: STEAM. Any of you are Costco members? Their Prawn Hacao are amazing.
34. Subway spread: MAYO.
35. Touchscreen image: ICON.
36. Fish used to fish for other fish: CHUM.
40. Chowed down: ATE.
41. "__ be my pleasure": IT'D.
42. Trap: SNARE.
44. Soothes: CALMS.
45. Fruit that sounds unattractive: UGLI.
46. "All aboard!": GET ON.
47. March day for a historic coup: IDES.
48. Face late charges, maybe: OWE.
49. Browser links: URLS.
50. "__ is cheap": TALK.
55. Tire meas.: PSI.
57. Junior's junior: III.
58. Heart parts: ATRIA.
59. Winter bug: FLU. So relieved that my cough is almost gone. Almost a repeat of my ordeal last summer.
60. Drench: DOUSE.
61. Meadow mouthful: CUD.
62. "Yada yada" abbr.: ETC.
63. Copy cats?: MEOW. The clue is 66. Awesome: GREAT.
64. Frost's "__ by the Pacific": ONCE.
67. Sage, for one: HERB.
68. Raw material for some bees: YARN.
71. "Hard pass": NAH.
74. Self-critical remark: I STINK.
76. Noble deed of yore: GESTE.
77. Supply that might be ready to roll: SOD.
78. __ and outs: INS.
80. Ilk: KIND.
81. Lenovo laptop whose screen bends over backward: YOGA. Not famliar with this.
82. Actress Mireille: ENOS.
84. Blanket forgiveness: AMNESTY. Margaret said all my sins will be forgiven when I'm baptized. Sounds like the ultimate Control + Alt + Delete for the soul.
85. __ for: attest to: VOUCH.
86. "Ice Age" bird: DODO.
87. Family: CLAN.
88. Folding: CREASING.
92. French fashion house: CHANEL.
93. Biblical site of long division?: RED SEA. Parting the Red Sea.
94. Get one's bearings: ORIENT.
95. Unify, in a way: ATTUNE.
96. Perjurer: LIAR.
97. "That's a shame": AW RATS.
98. Nerd (out): GEEK.
99. Unlikely gaits out of the starting gate: TROTS. Ha.
100. Garden flower: PEONY.
101. Former Pakistan prime minister __ Khan: IMRAN. He was a pro cricketer.
102. Tuscan city that's home to the oldest bank in the world: SIENA. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Founded in 1472. Learning moment for me.
106. Taj Mahal site: AGRA.
107. Garbage truck destination: DUMP.
108. Sanctuary area: APSE.
110. Yang counterpart: YIN.
111. Big bird: EMU.
112. __ canto: BEL.
113. Scand. kingdom: NOR.
C.C.
For once, I did read the
ReplyDeletetitle before I started, and it was a help solving the puzzle. But I knew what it was all about after the first one or two themers anyway. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCrashed and burned on this one. BAR should've occurred to me...but it didn't. Nor did QTR or BBQ. I've seen The Godfather, but it was years ago, and I didn't remember BRASI. Bzzzzzt. The rest came together quickly, and most of my WAGs were golden. Thanx, Katy, Rich, and C.C.
This puzzle describes my ATT cell voice reception. The data connection is top notch but the voice connection STINKS. But as is usual FOR me, the theme flew over my head until I'd filled THE RECEPTION IS WEAK.
ReplyDeleteThe toughest fill for me was the side by side unknowns YOGA and ENOS. And of course those A&E unknowns HALEY, MICHELE, SASHA.
Isn't IMRAN Khan in jail? I know he was convicted of some trumped up charge, but being a leader in Pakistan usually doesn't end well when somebody else takes over.
How does "No fighter" and BOND relate? I have no idea. I'm not very ASTUTE.
Bond, as in James and Dr. No
DeleteThe CCR song was "Lodi".
DeleteNice start to a Sunday as this puzzle paired well with my morning coffee. Living in a rural area with SPOTTY RECEPTION, I’ve probably said a variant of all the theme phrases while engaged in a call. As is the norm, I needed perps for the unknown names, SASHA, BRASI, IMRAN, MICHELE, ADA, and of course YOGA as clued, but everything came together with for a FIR time of 26:32. EDAM and SKI were all perps, didn’t see them till the expo. A seasick person is said to be CHUMming over the rail 🤮. The theme reminded me of an old CCR song with the line “somewhere I lost CONNECTIONs, ran out of songs to sing”. Thanks Katy and Rich for your fine construction and enjoyable solve. And thanks to C.C. for the further enlightenment. I thought Baptism only absolved Original Sin and prevented an eternity in Limbo? After that, a Confession is needed for absolution, and I’m probably overdue on that.
ReplyDeleteFIR. Brutal SE corner and proper names galore all over. Last fill was GERI/GESTE, which I only got because Beau Geste was floating around in my head. No idea if the two are actually related.
ReplyDeleteFIR. I must say I'm underwhelmed by the number of proper names, especially the crossing of Haley and Sasha. That's just wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut the redeeming factor was a very clever theme which really helped with the solve. It was fun trying to figure all those cell phone references.
So overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
This was a pretty easy fill for me, although some of the names were challenging. Perps helped. I'm always fascinated the the fact that I often struggle with puzzles others find easy and vice versa. Thank you Katy and Rich.
ReplyDelete