Theme: "FIVE STARS" - Each phrase that starts with a synonym of "excellent" is rephrased as a glowing review of the work/product/performance associated with people/group/place in the clue.
23. Glowing review for a groundskeeper's work?: FLAWLESS DIAMOND.
41. Glowing review for a preprandial prayer?: AMAZING GRACE.
60. Glowing review for a wrestling team?: PERFECT MATCHES.
69. Glowing review for a cheerleading squad?: GREAT PYRAMIDS.
81. Glowing review for a purchase from a vintage music store?: SPOTLESS RECORD.
96. Glowing review for a bootlegger?: AWESOME SAUCE.
120. Glowing review for a chairmaker?: FIRST-CLASS SEATS.
The cluing is the key in this type of theme. I especially enjoyed the playful imagery of a chairmaker earning praise for FIRST CLASS SEATS and a bootlegger being complimented for AWESOME SAUCE. A fun, consistently executed set.
Across:
1. Boxer's attire: ROBE.
5. Cries and cries: SOBS. Valerie's cat ran away then found his way back home.
9. Stretched to the limit: TAUT.
13. Implant: EMBED.
18. Took a hatchet to: AXED.
19. Freckles, e.g.: TRAIT.
21. Sch. in Sin City: UNLV. Located just east of the Las Vegas Strip.
22. Disney film with the song "Shiny": MOANA. Sung by Tamatoa (Jemaine Clement).
26. Nickname for the NFL's Chargers: BOLTS.
27. Like modern microchips vis-à-vis those of the past: TINIER.
28. "Physician, __ thyself": HEAL.
29. Digital painting?: NAIL ART. 61. Turning points for ballerinas?: TOES. Fantastic clues.
31. Mooched: SPONGED.
33. Oil barrel: DRUM.
35. Repeated word in the unofficial USPS motto: NOR.
36. Owned: HAD.
39. Tennis great Björn: BORG.
45. Hasbro's "game of unspeakable fun": TABOO.
49. Stretch that may be named for a music genre: ERA. The Swing Era, e.g.
51. Ready to serve: RIPE.
52. Moves like lava: OOZES.
53. Grande of "Wicked: For Good": ARIANA.
55. Show stoppers?: ADS.
57. Tangle: SNARL.
59. Chocolate confection: BARK. Chocolate bark.
63. Arab rulers: EMIRS.
65. Odds and __: ENDS.
66. Star on a Christmas tree, often: TOPPER.
67. French bread: PAIN. Pane in Italian. Pan in Spanish.
68. Dorm VIPs: RAS.
73. Loops in via email: CCS.
76. Caustic cleaners: LYES.
77. Far from rude: POLITE.
78. Solo at the Met: ARIA.
79. Decorative pillow covers: SHAMS.
85. Garage: SHOP. I've had two weeks of weed-free days. Amazing. The HOA
finally came hard on that renter in 5505. Sometimes he smoked a storm in
his garage.
86. Welcome at the door: SEE IN.
88. Result of a foul bunt with two strikes: OUT.
89. World's largest subtropical desert: SAHARA.
90. Become overwhelmed: PANIC. 111. "Just be calm ... ": BREATHE.
92. Bouquet holder: VASE.
93. Rooibos, for one: TEA.
95. "Does that make sense?": GET IT.
100. Money in Oman: RIAL. RIEL is the Cambodian currency.
102. Tricksy: SLY.
103. Coq au __: VIN.
104. Nespresso inserts: PODS.
106. Library receipt info: DUE DATE.
115. Younger Gallagher brother: LIAM. Younger brother of Noel Gallagher.
117. Sugar substitute: STEVIA.
118. Indigenous people of Nunavut: INUIT.
123. Metaphorical spot for the undecided: FENCE. On the fence.
124. "This can't be good ... ": UH OH.
125. George of the original "Star Trek": TAKEI.
126. Highway sign unit: MILE.
127. "What a pity": SO SAD.
128. Ditch: LOSE.
129. Nod off: DOZE.
130. Vehicle pulled by huskies: SLED.
Down:
1. Simple flotation devices: RAFTS.
2. Primrose variety: OXLIP. Lovely.
3. Digestive aid brand: BEANO.
4. Gold medal hurdler Moses: EDWIN.
5. Playing both sides?: STEREO. Left side speaker & right side speaker.
6. Med. theaters: ORS.
7. Wingding: BASH.
8. Stood (with): SIDED.
9. Tot's belly: TUM.
10. By and by, quaintly: ANON.
11. Radius neighbor: ULNA.
12. Heat-and-serve option: TV DINNER.
13. Targeted trade ban: EMBARGO.
14. Tie up to a pier: MOOR.
15. One of the Magi: BALTHAZAR. The other two are Caspar & Melchior.
16. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT.
17. Court figs.: DAS.
20. Prom queen's headgear: TIARA.
24. Femur, for one: LEG BONE.
25. Last year's sr.: ALUM.
30. Run-of-the-mill object?: LOG. A log can indeed be run through a sawmill.
32. Famous "Dr." from Compton: DRE.
34. Wetland: MARSH.
37. Some Taiwanese laptops: ACERS.
38. Home office need: DESK.
40. Pop's pop: GRAMPA.
42. Fan pub: ZINE.
43. Some high-ABV brews: IPAS. ABV stands for Alcohol by Volume.
44. Williams of "Good Will Hunting": ROBIN.
45. Narrow: TAPER.
46. Sports center: ARENA.
47. Aviary inhabitants: BIRDS.
48. Lummoxes: OAFS.
50. Take from page to screen: ADAPT. And
54. Word on some Oscars: ACTRESS.
56. One foot forward: STEP.
58. Chairs: LEADERS.
62. Underground vault: CRYPT.
64. Start to behave?: MIS. Misbehave.
67. Avocado centers: PITS.
69. Press room?: GYM. Bench press.
70. Candy wrapped in gold foil: ROLO.
71. Language from which "Alaska" is derived: ALEUT. Google AI says Alaska derives from the Aleut (Unangax) word alaxsxaq (or alaxsxix), meaning "mainland" or "great land."
72. Houseplant sprayer: MISTER.
73. Zagreb resident: CROAT.
74. Wispy clouds: CIRRI.
75. Nobel Peace Prize honoree Anwar: SADAT.
76. __ lazuli: LAPIS.
78. Yearn (for): ACHE.
79. Wrapped garment: SHAWL.
80. Glazed treats from Hostess or Little Debbie: HONEY BUNS.
81. Vast expanses: SEAS.
82. Fibonacci's birthplace: PISA.
83. Get the better of: ONE UP.
84. Aerie newborns: EAGLETS.
85. Pampering places: SPAS.
87. Action-packed: EVENTFUL.
91. Highly sought-after: COVETED. Kevin, our flea-market friend from 2005, owns one of the finest Twins collectibles in the country.
94. Succor: AID.
97. "Mamma __!": MIA.
98. Young horse: COLT.
99. Order from on high: EDICT.
101. Bluey, for one: AUSSIE. The puppy's younger sister is Bingo. Their father is Bandit and their mother is Chilli.
105. Light meal: SALAD.
107. Regards: DEEMS.
108. Be of use to: AVAIL.
109. Library receipt info: TITLE.
110. Simplified: EASED.
112. Costa __: RICA.
113. Chipper greeting: HI HO.
114. Greek god of love: EROS.
116. Fast shark: MAKO. Literally "shark" in Maori.
118. Stipulations: IFS.
119. Prefix with classical: NEO.
121. Her partner, sometimes: SHE.
122. "Oh yeah? __ who?": SEZ.
C.C.
It didn’t seem too
ReplyDeletetough. And the themers were fun.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNeeded my trusty Wite-Out to change those flowers from OXeye to OXLIP and chairs from sEAting to LEADERS. This one took 20+ minutes, which is par for a d-o Sunday effort. Enjoyable. Thanx, Ricky (I wonder how he pronounces Sirois) and C.C. (easy to pronounce).
C.C. is much easier to pronounce than Zhouqin.
DeleteTook 12:58 today to ace this one.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actress of the Day (Ariana), but not today's French lesson (pain). The "Rial/Aid/Tea" section was the toughest area for me.
Cute puns.
FIR. This was a somewhat easy Sunday presentation. The cluing was fair and there were perps when needed.
ReplyDeleteI loved the theme and had fun trying to figure out the answers before filling in the surrounding area.
Overall a most enjoyable puzzle
ReplyDelete"I've had two weeks of weed-free days. " C.C. can BREATHE now. Living next door to a stoner has to be hard.
" Five Stars" and synonym for excellent? I never noticed but I FIR in about 35 minutes. I caught the misdirected clue at AMAZING GRACE, and went back to the NW and filled the unknown OXLIP flower and changed BEENO to BEANO. After that, I went down the 'primrose' path from NW to SE.
Thank you perps, as I was completely unfamiliar with Rooibos (TEA), PAIN for bread, TABOO, Fibonacci, either Gallagher brother (LIAM), "Shiny" (MOANA), Bluey (AUSSIE), or the name of any Magi (BALTHAZAR).
With Aussie and Bluey, I thought maybe that was a nickname for a breed. My granddaughter has a blue-eyed Australian shepherd.
Got Alaska covered with INUIT and ALEUT.
legbone (Femur) and ULNA body parts.
When EDWIN Moses ran the 400m hurdles, the only question was who was placing second. Edwin Moses won 122 consecutive races (including 107 consecutive finals) in the 400-meter hurdles.
FIR, but hand up for oxeye->OXLIP. Also, euro->PAIN, and got it->GET IT. I knew all of the theme phrases except for AWESOME SAUCE. I'm assuming that it's something akin to "thin SAUCE," which I learned from doing crosswords.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience, microchips aren't necessarily getting tinier, but the transistors and other components that make up microchips are getting smaller. This leads to more functions on the same size (and sometimes larger) chip. For example, CPU chips are getting bigger, even as the circuitry they are composed of are getting TINIER.
Fictional LIAM Gallagher was the younger brother of Fiona Gallagher, played by Emmy Rossum in Shameless. Also the only Black sibling of the six kids in the family. LIAM wasn't adopted, in case you were wondering.
Never heard of Bluey. From CCs narrative, I assume it's a cartoon or comic strip character.
The cluing for PAIN was a PAIN.
Thanks to Ricky for the mostly-fun Sunday workout. And thanks to CC for telling us all about it.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI’m a fan of Ricky’s work and this offering shows why. It wasn’t a tough solve but the clever, well-executed theme made it an enjoyable and satisfactory exercise. The themers were strong, solid phrases and the rest of the fill was free from obscurities and the usual Sunday “anything goes” fill. The cluing was user friendly, as were the perps. Snarl next to Bark struck my fancy.
Thanks, Ricky, for a smooth Sunday solve and thanks, CC, for the pro’s analysis and interesting asides.
A while ago, I believe someone mentioned he (pretty sure) was watching The West Wing and I was wondering if he was enjoying it. I’m just finishing Season 1 with 6 more to go. (In that era, there were 22 episodes in a season.) Seven seasons should be a WITP compared to the 15 I watched of ER.
I think Husker said he was watching it. We are, too. Currently half-way through season 7. Enjoying it, and not looking forward to it being over. A number of the shows topics are still super-relevant today.
DeleteFIR. Started out not liking this one since I was spinning my wheels in the NW, and it took me a while to figure out some of the cluing, but I thought it lined out quite nicely and ended up enjoying it. The inclusion of TINIER in the NW didn’t help my original impression, and agree with Jinx. Beyond the technical nit on the size of an actual chip (as opposed to its components), TINIER as a descriptor for something as complex as microelectronics just grated. But overall, a good puzzle.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the smooth solve and the fun and well executed theme. No hang ups as kind perps eased the unknowns. Favorite themer was AMAZING GRACE, but really all of them were nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Ricky for the fun puzzle and to CC for the informative review.
I dunno,
ReplyDeleteI didn't have fun with this one, probably only because it was just not on my wavelength. (Or maybe im just grumpy...) No fault of the constructor...
Things like "playing both sides?" = stereo
Should have been fun wordplay, but for some reason just grates on me...
Why 5 stars? You could title this "10" and be just as cryptic...
I dunno, maybe I can make some fun with a silly theme link...
15:15. Really bland puzzle. Not much to get excited about...
ReplyDeleteIt took me a moment to get a toe hold, but once I did, this puzzle filled steadily, with "aha" moments at every theme answer. FLAWLESS! AMAZING! PERFECT! Ricky Sirois is AWESOME! Thanks for the fun, Ricky and C.C. Glad the cat came back, and a week without weeds is GREAT!
ReplyDeleteI think I misinterpreted C.C.'s "weed-free days," focused as I am on keeping the neighbors' weeds out of my own garden. Not being overwhelmed by the neighbors' fumes is also good.
DeleteI had lots of fun with the them of this puzzle. Delightful. At first I thought I would struggle since the NW gave me problems; I kept thinking of the dog for a boxer, I didn’t know EDWIN, and eventually filled tuLIP. So, that was the last part to fill.
ReplyDeleteThe rest went smoothly with a few unknowns like LIAM, rooibos, TABOO as clued, and AUSSIE as clued. As CC pointed out several clever clues like the one for NAIL ART.
I love coq au VIN. And “Good Will Hunting” was a great movie.
IM☘️ I watched “The West Wing” when it first aired and thoroughly enjoyed it. Quality TV.
Thank you CC for your review and comments. Glad you can BREATHE.
Oops, the E fell off the themE.
Delete