Theme: "A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT" - A well-known river runs through each theme entry between the letters I & T.
26. Performs for only one side of the audience?: EXISTS STAGE RIGHT. Exits stage right. Crossing 27. Slithering reptile: SNAKE.
35. Support for a fractured fruit?: BANANA SPLINT. Banana split. Crossing 12. Seattle-based retail giant: AMAZON.
69. Sew angry?: RAGE QUILT. Rage quit. Crossing 60. "Slow down" light color: YELLOW.
94. Mass celebrations?: PIETY PARTIES. Pity parties. Crossing 78. __ blue: biology stain: NILE.
110. Needs size EEEEEE shoes?: HAS A PROBLEM WIDTH. Has a problem with. Crossing 100. "Song Sung Blue" Oscar nominee: HUDSON.
Very creative theme. Notice all the rivers are clued in the non-river direction. You can't have GANGES as there's no other way to clue it other than the river itself. So this grid has an extra layer of constraint.
Our first Sunday from Zhou Zhang & Kevin Curry, a true puzzle family. Their kids are crossword constructors also.
Across:
1. Salad follower?: BAR. Salad bar.
4. Like clothes after a spin cycle: DAMP.
8. Dream state, briefly: REM.
11. Savors the sun: BASKS. Spring is finally here.
16. __ carte menu: ALA.
17. Cookies that debuted with a lemon meringue variety: OREOS.
19. French friend: AMIE.
21. Italian fashion giant: ARMANI.
22. Understand: GET.
23. "Don't interrupt!": I'M SPEAKING.
25. Longs for: CRAVES.
29. Puzzle pieces?: ZEES.
30. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis: LEONA. British singer.
31. "Otello" baritone: IAGO.
32. Herd word: MOO.
33. Like mackerel: OILY. Good fat.
34. Natural rope fiber: SISAL.
40. Supermodel Heidi: KLUM.
43. Use a keyboard: TYPE.
44. Caterpillar roll ingredient: EEL. Eel sauce on top. Yummy! We also have 87. California roll ingredient: CRAB.
45. Calendar col.: FRI.
48. Ye __ Apothecary: OLDE.
51. Snoop (around): NOSE.
53. Snoop: PRY.
55. Leave for a minute: STEP OUT.
57. Beach volleyball team, e.g.: DUO. 64. Pair in a ring: TAG TEAM.
58. Kitchen gloves: MITTS.
59. First woman to be head writer on "SNL": FEY. Tina.
61. Applies, as influence: EXERTS.
62. Head of the class: EDUCATOR.
67. Crush it, informally: SLAY. And
68. With competence: ABLY.
71. Wild guess: STAB.
72. Org. that sells "I Read Banned Books" bookmarks: ACLU. I always like the trivia angle.
73. Headache remedy: ASPIRIN.
74. Texas symbol: LONE STAR.
77. Primps: PREENS.
79. High-end camera initials: SLR.
80. Was victorious in: WON AT.
81. Sense of self: EGO.
82. Cobbler container: PIE DISH.
84. Poorly lit: DIM.
86. Flabbergasts: AWES.
88. Donkey: ASS. I'm still searching for my lost donkeys.
89. Gymnast Suni with six Olympic medals: LEE. Minnesotan!
90. Direction in a Steinbeck title: EAST.
92. Hindi film star __ Rukh Khan: SHAH. "King Khan" of Bollywood.
99. Shanghai salutation: NI HAO. Ni = You. Hao = Good.
103. Prop for Zach Galifianakis's talk show: FERN. Super funny show. "Between Two Ferns".
105. "__ out!": YER.
106. Home run run: TROT.
108. Poor skiing condition: SLUSH.
109. Graph lines: AXES.
114. Benefit: UPSIDE.
116. Ability to spot details: TRAINED EYE.
117. Moo __ pork: SHU.
118. Scottish monster, affectionately: NESSIE.
119. Chow for a Clydesdale: OATS.
120. American Red Cross visitor: DONOR.
121. Yoga chants: OMS.
122. Coin receivers: SLOTS.
123. Sound of disapproval: TSK.
124. Apprehends: NABS.
125. "I don't wanna": NAH.
Down:
1. Deli staples with cream cheese: BAGELS.
2. Vronsky of "Anna Karenina": ALEXEI. Anna's lover.
3. Mathematical comparisons: RATIOS.
4. Be good at everything: DO IT ALL.
5. Upper limbs: ARMS.
6. First MLS player to win consecutive MVP awards: MESSI. Leo.
7. Can opener: POP TAB.
8. Zen garden tool: RAKE.
9. Mideast dignitary: EMIR.
10. A maximis ad __: MINIMA. Latin for "from the greatest things to the smallest".
11. Sweater weather sound: BRR.
13. "Now's not the time": SAVE IT FOR LATER. 50. Risky late-night coffee order: DOUBLE ESPRESSO. We seldom see a pair of 14s as fill on a Sunday grid. Lovely.
14. Pay respect, in a way: KNEEL.
15. Actress Spacek: SISSY.
18. Channels that provide ocean access: SEA GATES.
20. Freezer aisle waffles: EGGOS.
21. Playbill word: ACT.
24. Suffering: AGONY.
28. Crosses one's fingers: HOPES.
36. Where a QR code may lead: APP.
37. Toy ball blaster: NERF GUN.
38. "Who cares if they do": LET EM.
39. Holly genus: ILEX. Learned from doing crosswords.
41. Foot or stone: UNIT.
42. Parts of e-bikes: MOTORS.
46. Root vegetable high in vitamin C: RUTABAGA. Didn't know this. Boomer always prepared us boiled rutabaga for Thanksgiving. So hard to cut.
47. Tiny: ITSY.
48. Words of praise: ODE.
49. Rapper in the "Fast & Furious" franchise: LUDACRIS.
52. Thin parts on tanks: STRAPS.
54. Cooler named for a cryptid: YETI.
56. Younger siblings, stereotypically: PESTS.
58. Month that's rarely abbreviated: MAY.
63. Like crosswords: CLUED.
64. Yorkie, for one: TERRIER.
65. Pollution stat: AQI.
66. Makes amends (for): ATONES.
70. Give an expensive coat to: GILD.
71. Adjust, as an alarm: SET.
72. Dad, in Korean: APPA. Mom is eomma.
73. Liability opposite: ASSET.
75. Basketball Hall of Famer Steve: NASH.
76. Actor Corddry: ROB. Was a correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart".
80. Furniture prohibited in many apartment leases: WATER BED.
83. OutKast hit: HEY YA.
85. Small rug: MAT.
87. __ crisp oil: CHILI.
91. Hold back, as information: SIT ON.
93. Gets back to: ANSWERS.
95. Stand firm: INSIST.
96. Sauce made with pine nuts: PESTO.
97. Genesis mountain: ARARAT. Noah's Ark landed here.
98. Convinced of: SOLD ON.
101. Respiratory condition: ASTHMA.
102. "Quiet, you": OH HUSH.
103. Followers of Bacchus: FAUNS.
104. Boot: EXPEL.
107. "Congo Square" singer-songwriter __ Marie: TEENA.
110. Laugh syllable: HEE.
111. Bits of butter: PATS.
112. Game whose board has 42 territories: RISK.
113. "Stay out of this," for short: MYOB. Mind Your Own Business.
115. Put down: DIS.
3 comments:
I didn’t see the gimmick at all until C.C. explained it. All I saw was a random letter between “i” and “t”. Oh well, fortunately, it’s not necessary to understand the theme to solve the puzzle!
Now I get it, of course.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Friendly perps got me through the rough spots on this one. My only WAG was the H at the NASH/SHAH cross, but it was logical. Figured out that the letter between "I_T" should be removed to reveal a common expression. D-o even remembered to read the puzzle title, and went looking for the river. Came up with SNLED. Never noticed the multiple vertical rivers. D'oh. Very clever, Zhou and Kevin. Thanx for 'splainin' it all, C.C.
D'oh!
I prefer the WaPo website rather than the LA Times website when solving. At the WaPo, the clues are listed to the right of the grid. At the LA Times, the clues are shown below the grid. There, you can't see the intersecting clue without clicking the cell.
The one big issue with the WaPo site is that the WaPo website doesn't display the puzzle title, so I didn't have that clue for the theme help.
But I did notice that each of the punny phrases had a single letter between the I and the T. The letters betwixt the I and the T were snled.
Rearranged, that could be LENDS. With the I and T, that could be LENDS IT. Or various other combos, such as END LIST. Rearranging the letters proved fruitless for finding the theme.
Net net, I spent exactly 22:00 minutes solving the puzzle, and at least 25 additional minutes trying to figure out the theme.
I should have opened the puzzle at the LA Times website to see the title, and then it all would have been clear. To me, the joy of solving is not only correctly filling in all of the letters, but also understanding the theme. Oh well. Next Sunday I'll open both sites.
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