Theme: "GARDEN VARIETY" - Part of a familiar phrase is replaced by the name of a flower.
24. Show off very pale linseed plants?: WAVE THE WHITE FLAX. Wave the white flag.
32. Monarch who wears an oxeye crown?: DAISY QUEEN. Dairy Queen.
53. Finds the best way to get thorns in one's hand?: STRIKES A ROSE. Strike a pose.
70. "If you buy another showy pink bloom, so help me ... "?: NOT A PEONY MORE. Not a penny more.
90. Throw a tantrum in a springtime meadow?: POUND POPPIES. Pound puppies.
111. Fall wedding with a purple theme, perhaps?: ASTER PARTY. After party.
Reveal:
119. FTD Mother's Day slogan, or an alternate title for this puzzle?: SAY IT WITH FLOWERS.
Such
a great reveal. Super consistent. Each theme entry has a one-letter
change. That's a very tight constraint. The workable set is quite small.
I imagine this puzzle went through few clue changes. Katie is a pro at making smooth 21x21s.
 |
| Katie Hale |
Across:
1. Backpack, e.g.: BAG.
4. "__ in Cincinnati": WKRP.
8. Go down: SINK.
12. Most eccentric: ODDEST.
18. Small matter: ATOM.
20. Grateful Dead co-founder Bob: WEIR. Another Grateful Dead guy who shows up from time to time is the bassist Phil LESH.
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21. McFlurry cookie: OREO.
22. Nothing, in Italian: NIENTE.
23. "Tick that off my bucket list" hashtag: YOLO. You Only Live Once.
27. Eventually become: END UP.
29. Mandarin "hello": NI HAO. Ni = You. Hao = Good.
30. Plunder: LOOT.
31. State of the __: ART.
34. Overwhelming desire: LUST.
36. Dramas set in Vegas and Miami: CSIS.
38. "Minaret" novelist Aboulela: LEILA. Sudanese writer. Born in Cairo and raised in Khartoum.
39. Collect copious amounts of: RAKE IN.
41. Swear: AVOW.
43. Like light yogurt: NON-FAT.
45. "That's so nice": AAH.
46. Advantage to get in competition: A LEG UP.
50. Sweetener in some 13-Down: SPLENDA. 13. Sugar-free soda: DIET COLA.
56. God of love: EROS.
57. Prized violin: AMATI. Paganini reportedly lost a valuable Amati violin because of gambling debts.
60. Chest muscles, briefly: PECS.
61. No. 2: VEEP.
62. Creamy drink: LASSI. Yogurt drink.
64. Major artery: AORTA.
67. "The Wild Robot" voice actor Ving: RHAMES. He also plays Luther Stickell in the "Mission: Impossible" films.
69. Caustic solution: LYE.
74. PD call: APB.
77. "Shabbat __": SHALOM.
79. "Same for me!": SO DO I.
80. Poolside need: TOWEL.
82. Baseball dynasty name: ALOU.
84. Farm cart: DRAY.
86. __ nous: ENTRE.
89. Cast a ballot: VOTE.
94. Future attorney's study material: CASE LAW.
96. Clay shaper: POTTER.
97. Old Hollywood studio: RKO.
98. "Fourth Wing" creature: DRAGON. Not famliar with the book, fantasy romance by Rebecca Yarros.
100. Nobel subj.: ECON.
102. Tiny, cutesily: EENSIE.
104. Wild West brothers: EARPS.
107. Farr co-star: ALDA.
109. Thessaly peak: OSSA.
114. Skater Midori: ITO.
115. Ephron who directed "You've Got Mail": NORA.
117. Ancient market: AGORA.
118. Give a start: SCARE.
124. "China Rich Girlfriend" novelist Kevin: KWAN. He also wrote "Crazy Rich Asians"
125. Go places: TRAVEL.
126. Promising letters: IOUS.
127. Shuffle cousin in the Apple family: NANO.
128. Fit of pique: SNIT.
129. Pre-Titans team: OILERS. The Houston Oilers later became the Tennessee Titans.
130. Wolfe created by Rex Stout: NERO.
131. Snapdragon Stadium sch.: SDSU. San Diego State University.
132. Inspo for the Curtis Sittenfeld novel "Romantic Comedy": SNL.
Down:
1. Howled like a wolf: BAYED.
2. Like a composition without a key: ATONAL.
3. Oscar winner Hawn: GOLDIE.
4. Address bar letters: WWW.
5. Reeves of "Speed": KEANU.
6. Saint-Tropez region: RIVIERA.
7. Warm up: PREHEAT.
8. Old Compton Street's district: SOHO. Katie lives in London.
9. Rage: IRE.
10. Fresh: NEW.
11. Department store chain with TV ads starring Ellie Kemper: KOHL'S.
12. Latch __: ONTO.
14. Rock's __ Leppard: DEF.
15. Zhou of China: ENLAI. Zhou Enlai remains one of the most respected political figures in modern Chinese history.
16. Sky lights: STARS.
17. Send a message: TEXT.
19. Meek quality: MOUSINESS.
25. Go down: TANK.
26. Wee bit: IOTA.
28. Traffic cone: PYLON.
33. Post-presentation sesh: Q AND A.
34. "I don't buy it": LIAR.
35. Not hot and not cool: UNHIP. Fun clue.
37. Veer: SWERVE.
40. Snack: EAT.
42. Poughkeepsie college: VASSAR. Notable alumni include Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, who later co-starred in "The Devil Wears Prada."
44. Some group chat members, for short: FAM.
47. Takes unofficial R&R: GOES AWOL. Rare in the Chinese military because penalties are historically very severe.
48. Find purpose for: USE.
49. __ rally: PEP.
50. Trading floor call: SELL.
51. Say grace, say: PRAY.
52. Misses the cut: LOSES OUT.
53. Fathers: SIRES.
54. "Rainbow Connection" singer: KERMIT.
55. Warehouse sound: ECHO.
58. Road trip aid: AAA MAP.
59. Spinning toy: TOP.
63. "Be My Guest With __ Garten": INA. Her voice is so calming.
65. Plus: TOO.
66. Llama habitat: ANDES.
68. Chanced upon: MET.
71. Experienced expert: OLD PRO.
72. Sushi bar tuna order: TORO. The cut from the belly. Melt-in-your-mouth.
73. Hither's partner: YON.
75. Animal rights org.: PETA.
76. Huffed and puffed: BLEW.
78. Looked (for): HUNTED.
81. Cookie sheet holders: OVEN RACKS.
82. iPhone download: APP.
83. Bath facilities: LOO.
85. WWI Belgian battle site: YPRES. Google AI says this city
witnessed four years of near-continuous, intense fighting and over 1
million total casualties across five major battles.
87. Classic TV brand: RCA.
88. More than ready: EAGER.
91. Sommelier's prop: DECANTER.
92. Flatpack furniture chain: IKEA.
93. Long, long time: EON.
95. Dial, Dove, and Irish Spring: SOAPS.
98. Denies any association with: DISOWNS.
99. Go back over: RETREAD.
101. Tuna roll wrap: NORI. We call it "zicai" in Chinese, literally "purple veggie". Nori turns dark green when it's roasted.
103. Palm stem product: SAGO.
105. Shrimp kin: PRAWNS.
106. Drain in a sieve: STRAIN.
107. Pitfall! platform: ATARI.
108. Unwaveringly true: LOYAL.
110. Ballet slipper material: SATIN.
112. Brings home: EARNS.
113. Streisand title role: YENTL.
114. Analogy words: IS TO.
116. Barn birds: OWLS.
117. Plus: ALSO.
120. "__ never been better": I'VE.
121. Plot device?: HOE. Garden plot.
122. Calico coat: FUR.
123. Small amount: SOU.
C.C.
10 comments:
There were quite a few proper names in this
puzzle, and sometimes they crossed.
On the other hand, the themed phrases were easy to figure out, so that helped with the solve.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Got 'er done, despite wearing OVEN mitts as I RETRaced my steps in the SE. Thank you, Wite-Out. Lotsa names to contend with, but the perps were helpful. Thanx, Katie and C.C.
I also had oven mitts.
Took 17:17 on this Mum's Day.
Quite a few unknowns today (including Ossa, Lassi, Kwan, the SNL & dragon clues), but not the Actress of the Day (Goldie).
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers on this corner.
FIW x 2. Missed my WAG @ LASSe x eNA. I was (crossword favorite) at sea after perps forced me to erase latte, and although we see him/her in crosswords frequently, I couldn't pick eNA out of a lineup if my life depended on it. I also changed LEILA x MOUSINESS to LEyLA x MOUSyNESS after all the squares were filled, just because it looked more likely.
The only Compton I know is in South Central LA. After I filled SOHO I figured there must be one in NYC. Should have known Katie would throw in a British locale.
There are a couple of four-letter fills for "no. 2" that came to mind before VEEP. Remember the Bandini ad "we're No. 1 in the No. 2 business?" That led to the expression "we're in deep Bandini here."
I just read that Elwood Hughes, the guy who voiced "You've got mail," “Welcome,” “File’s done,” and “Goodbye” for AOL, was paid a grand total of $200 for doing so. He recorded the phrases on a cassette deck in his living room.
"Go down" had to be TANK, because you can't have blow and BLEW in the same puzzle.
AAA MAPs have gone the way of phone books, telephone operators, record players and buggy whips. I miss the good ol' AAA Trip Tiks.
Thanks to Katie for the Mothers' Day workout. More names than I like, but not much dreck. My favorite was "not hot and not cool" for UNHIP. I really wanted "tepid" there. And thanks to CC for another fun review.
FIR. I had a few missteps here and there but the perps steered me true. Diet coke before diet cola was one and a couple more but nothing too serious.
I figured out the theme with daisy queen and it was clear sailing from there.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Nice to have a timely theme and a neat one at that. The rest was not too difficult, yes more proper names than I like, but perps or memory took care of them.
My personal Natick was way down south where SDSU, NANO, and SOU cross.
I knew NIENTE because of one of my favorite expressions far NIENTE which denotes the sweetness of doing nothing. There’s also a California winery called Far NIENTE.
Thank you CC for your recap and the pic of our constructor.
FIW. I went back and forth with VASSAR/VASSeR/RHAMES/RHeMES, and various combinations involving LE_LA (MOUSeNESS or MOUSINESS? Equally bad IMO). Finally figured out I had SHALaM/TaRO instead of SHALOM/TORO. Way too many proper names and other non-words, but at least “sesh” was a clue and not an answer, so there’s that.
Lol re "blow." Well done.
FIR in 26, perps to the rescue for unknowns LEILA, LASSI, RHAMES, KWAN, and TORO (the clue was bull). I’ll never be able to remember ~ is it sego or SAGO, much like aver or avow, exult or exalt, perps always determine. I liked the theme and reveal, fitting for this Mother’s Day. Thanks for the enjoyable solve Katie, you live in a fun city, love spending time in London! Thank you C.C. for the recap!
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