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.
20 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.
A different theme type today in which the THEME splits the long fills. As usual, I ignored the circles but noticed the added letter. After I FIR, I noticed the add was between I&T, then looked at the title in the newspaper and saw the title. Neat.
I had a FIW until I changed HUTSON river to the HUDSON river to make the shoe fit. I went with DW to the movie but didn't know who the actors were.
EEL, SHAH, MESSI, LUDACRIS, and CRAB- took guessing after a perp or two.
SEA GATES was easy to fill but I'm not familiar with the term, only SEAGATE drives.
ALEXEI, NI HAO, APPA, ROB, HEY YA- all perps for those unknowns.
Zach's show and prop-FERN- no knowledge of either. No Netflix.
ASS- one of our close friends has four donkeys who need a new home. Her husband died and she is trying to find a new home for them. Any takers?
FIW, missing with LiONA x ALESiI. Should have gotten the common name LEONA, but don't remember seeing ALEXEI, nor did I know either of the two "celebs." I also missed in the messy SE corner. Never heard of CHILI crisp oil, but it sounds good. That caused me to miss SHAe and combined with sHHUSH, NaHAs. Didn't think anyone who doesn't rule Iran would be named SHAH, and certainly didn't know any Hindi film star or the Shanghai salutation. For me, this corner was construction malpractice that marred an otherwise fun puzzle.
FLN, Tehachapi Ken suggested that I know a lot of nautical terms. That's true, but I've never heard of a SEA GATE (except as a brand of computer drives.) Looking it up, it seems that a SEA GATE is just what its individual words imply - an area where access to/from a body of navigable water can be controlled. The example most in the news these days are the Straits of Hormuz.
Also FLN, I was surprised that so many Cornerites didn't know "dongle." I've dealt with these funny-sounding devices for more than a quarter century. I think of them as anything that plugs into a computer port and provides a function, like a wireless mouse/keyboard transceiver. Not to be confused with cables that connect the computer to such devices, like corded keyboards and mouses.
Thanks to CC for the fun tour of this Sunday stumper.
Took 16:18 today to paddle my way through this one.
For the reason that TTP shared, I didn't/don't see the theme, and thought this was just another "add a letter" theme. Clever now that I learned the extra letter is part of a river, but it was lost upon me to even look for something more without a title.
I knew the Actresses of the Day (Sissy & Hudson), but I didn't know the Korean dad, the Hindi film star, the Chinese salutation, "Bacchus" or its followers, "Nile blue", and the singer "Leona."
Me too! SNLED!
I enjoyed this very much with the rivers flowing from the crossing themers being very clever. I don't think I know the YELLOW river but i knew the rest. I learned NI HAO on the Chinese Airline flights my wife and I have used to travel to Thailand. The flight attendants all thought Oo was Chinese and were disappointed when she didn't speak Chinese. Oreo gets another new clue. I thought PIE DISH was green paint. Finding the theme is part of the fun so I don't read the title until I am done. Thanks (xing kui)
Good Morning:
Without the title, the river theme would go unnoticed, IMO. Props for a double theme, the add a letter feature and the I T/River bonus. The add a letter themers were a cut above the usual forced, sometimes nonsensical phrases used in these type of themes. I seldom enjoy solving such puzzles but I thoroughly enjoyed today’s solve.
Thanks, Zhou and Kevin, for a satisfying Sunday and thanks, CC, for the always informative bird’s eye view of the professional. Your keen observances add another layer to appreciating the constructors skills and craftsmanship.
Have a great day.
FIR. This puzzle had way too many proper names which made filling in certain spots more difficult than it had to be. I had to take WAG to solve the area with Shah (?), and I've never heard of chili crisp oil.
I spotted the fact that I and T were supposed to fit in those stupid circles even before solving the first word. What I didn't see was the river going down between them. My habit of ignoring circles once again paid off.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
I didn't notice the gimmick, and it was no factor in solving the puzzle one clue at a time.
Congrats, I guess, for being clever in a way that wasn't noticeable.
Musings
-What a brilliant puzzle. I finished, read the title and then, BAM, it hit me!!
-I did not know CRAB was in a tuna roll, who ROB Corddry is/was, that SHAH needed that obscure cluing, or what CHILI crisp oil is. Ergo :-), I had three bad cells. :-(
-It was fun to learn that OREOS had a lemon meringue variety in the 1920’s. We can’t just say the 20’s anymore.
-I’m not sure Kohl’s carries any ARMANI clothing.
-I’M SPEAKING: I am prone to say, “I didn’t mean to talk while you were interrupting.”
-It appears mackerels are OILY not BONY
-YER OUT! Not so fast, Mr. Umpire, let’s go to the video!
-Off to Lincoln to celebrate 21st birthday for our youngest granddaughter. Where did those years go?
I used to have a golf buddy who used to carry on whisper conversations while I was trying to putt. I would sometimes back off my putt and apologize for putting while he was trying to speak.
A clever double theme puzzle today.
The title helped suss the rivers inserted between the IT.
The added letters to the clues were clever and not contrived or inane.
My wife adores Shah Rukh Khan and she goes all giggly and weak in the knees when she watches one of his movies. 🍿
He’s a Bollywood hearthrob.
Thanks for a fun offering Zhou and Kevin.
I thoroughly enjoyed solving todays puzzle.
Hola! Thanks to the constructors for a very doable Sunday puzzle. Though I saw the circles I didn't analyze their purpose. So, thank you C.C., for your insight on that. Now that I look closely, I see the rivers. Nicely done!
But isn't it the YALU River? I guess YELLOW is the translation. I'll have to look that up. As for "Song sung blue" I have only heard Neil Diamond sing it, but I was able to suss HUDSON and I presume that's Jennifer.
Have a wonderful day, eveyone!
Oh, I see it's Kate HUDSON. News to me.
I learned that the Yalu River is a different one from the Yellow. Both are in 'China. Fourth grade geography has its limitations.
I loved this puzzle even though I didn't see the rivers until C.C. explained.
Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" was inspired by the second movement of Mozart's piano concerto number 21.
I think the Netherlands has SEA GATES since their mean altitude is so close to SEA level!
====> Darren / L.A.
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