Theme: "OPPOSITE DAY" - Each theme entry contains a pair of opposite words
43. Backup for a proofreader, perhaps: ANOTHER PAIR OF EYES.
85. 2010 animated film featuring Princess Fiona: SHREK FOREVER AFTER. And 115. 85-Across figure: OGRE.
Reveal:
100. Oxymoron, or what can be found five times in this puzzle: CONTRADICTION IN TERMS.
What a great follow-up to Paul Coulter's "Magnetism" puzzle. Paul's theme hid pairs of opposite words right next to each other (ON/OFF, HE/SHE, IN/OUT, etc.). Here, Will and Beth use the same basic concept but separate each pair, making the hunt a bit more challenging.
This is Will and Beth's second collaboration for the LAT. Both are outstanding constructors.
Across:
1. Option B precursor: PLAN A.
6. Creature in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland": DODO.
10. Winter resort rentals: SKIS.
14. Supermodel Kate: MOSS.
18. Old Renault: LE CAR.
19. Apple tablet: IPAD.
20. Penny: CENT.
21. Each: A POP.
22. Not suitable: UNAPT.
23. Mandala medium, often: SAND. Many Tibetan Buddhist mandalas are painstakingly created from colored sand before being ceremonially dismantled.
24. "__ you asked ... ": SINCE.
25. Count (on): RELY.
30. WNW opposite: ESE.
31. Love, in Italian: AMORE.
32. Asian language: LAO.
33. Handel oratorio: MESSIAH.
37. Former: PRIOR.
38. All excited: ATINGLE.
42. Ginger __: ALE.
46. Lightweight fabric: LINEN. And 120. Woolen cloth: TWEED. Much prefer Japanese crepe fabric. Non-wrinkly.
48. Romance: WOO.
49. "C'est la __!": VIE.
50. Trolley car: TRAM.
51. Celebrity couple: ITEM.
52. Pres. on a dime: FDR.
53. Imrie of "The Thursday Murder Club": CELIA. English actress.
57. Square things: ATONE. Nice clue.
63. 2028 Olympics host: Abbr.: USA. 74. 2024 Olympics host: PARIS.
64. "The Fresh Prince of __-Air": BEL.
65. __ acid: AMINO.
66. Apology starter: MEA. As in "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa".
67. Male swan: COB.
77. Newark's county: ESSEX.
78. Permit: LET.
79. Burden: ONUS.
80. Lasting mark: SCAR.
81. Org. nicknamed "No Such Agency": NSA.
83. Owns: HAS.
84. Nimble: AGILE.
92. Singer __ King Cole: NAT.
93. Game for little batters: TEE BALL.
94. Hazardous gas: RADON.
95. Goes on and on: YAMMERS.
97. Finish: END.
98. OB test: AMNIO.
99. Reuben sandwich bread: RYE. I've become a fan of the New York rye bread sold at our local Hy-Vee.
109. __ of paradise: BIRD.
110. Flared skirt style: A LINE.
111. Voting group: BLOC.
112. Inbox message: EMAIL.
113. Demolish: RAZE.
114. Ice sheet: FLOE.
116. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.
117. Rude one: BOOR.
118. Throw out: TOSS.
119. "Easier __ than done": SAID.
Down:
1. "And also ... ": PLUS.
2. Singer and civil rights activist Horne: LENA.
3. Palm berry: ACAI.
4. City where pizza was invented: NAPLES.
5. __ well: ARTESIAN. Water reaches the surface naturally because of underground pressure.
6. Frisbee, e.g.: DISC.
7. Birthstone between sapphire and topaz: OPAL.
8. Paul who played twins in "There Will Be Blood": DANO.
9. "Most likely ... ": ODDS ARE.
10. Annabella of "Tulsa King": SCIORRA.
11. __ cloth: Ghanaian textile: KENTE. Kente comes from the Akan word kenten, meaning "basket," referring to its woven pattern.
12. Move slowly: INCH.
13. Digital protection device?: STEEL TOE. Clever clue.
14. Figure that comes with strings attached: MARIONETTE.
15. Accepting customers: OPEN.
16. "Deal!": SOLD.
17. Intel gatherer: SPY.
24. Small porch: STOOP.
27. Campus leader: DEAN.
28. Mideast leader: EMIR.
29. Urchin: WAIF.
33. Beach city near Pepperdine: MALIBU.
34. Powerful groups: ELITES.
35. __ Falls Convention: SENECA. The first women's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls in 1848. Learning moment for me.
36. "What a bore": HOW DULL.
37. Soup often garnished with bean sprouts: PHO.
38. Nev. neighbor: ARI.
39. Wrap with tzatziki: GYRO.
40. Tilt: LEAN.
41. "Hanna" star Creed-Miles: ESME.
44. Having trouble deciding: TORN.
45. Physiologist Pavlov: IVAN.
47. Given to moping, maybe: EMO.
52. Sense: FEEL.
53. Unresponsive states: COMAS.
54. Party-planning site: E-VITE.
55. Massachusetts home of the Tanglewood Music Festival: LENOX.
56. Wrinkle remover: IRON.
57. Quaint word of despair: ALAS.
59. Many execs: MBAS.
60. Lasses: GALS.
61. Pardon: AMNESTY.
62. Vivid vegetable: BEET.
67. Pointy tooth: CANINE.
68. Eye-related: OCULAR.
69. Attacks from all sides: BESETS.
70. Figure who manipulates flames in a Nickelodeon fantasy series: FIREBENDER. Refers to "Avatar: The Last Airbender." In that universe, firebenders manipulate fire, one of the four classical elements.
71. Phobia: FEAR.
72. Villainous Count of kid-lit: OLAF.
73. Confused state: FOG.
74. Note-passer's utterance: PSST.
75. Head or heart follower: ACHE. I've been dealing with an awful RA flare-up and can't wait for my infusion next Wednesday.
76. Valuable to collectors: RARE.
81. Annual Player Selection Meeting, informally: NFL DRAFT.
82. Step on the scale?: SOL. Musical scale. Do–Re–Mi–Fa–Sol–La–Ti–Do.
83. Largest Chinese ethnic group: HAN. I'm one.
84. Military encampment unit: ARMY TENT.
86. Philosopher Immanuel: KANT.
87. Winter stoats: ERMINES.
88. "Lovecraft Country" actor Courtney B. __: VANCE. Married to Angela Bassett.
89. Revise: EDIT.
90. Reddish-brown tea: ROOIBOS. Naturally caffeine-free.
91. Work hard for: EARN.
96. Grandma, to some: MEEMAW.
98. "Farewell, amigos!": ADIOS. And
100. "Farewell, amici!": CIAO.
101. Ricelike pasta: ORZO.
102. French greeting: ALLO.
103. Tokarczuk who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature: OLGA.
104. Onigiri wrapper: NORI.
105. Like cupcakes but not muffins, usually: ICED.
106. Compete against the clock: RACE.
107. Slimy mud: MIRE.
108. Toboggan, e.g.: SLED.
109. Texter's "Just a moment": BRB. Be Right Back.
C.C.
There was more than one
ReplyDeletetime where a proper name crossed a proper name, which is a no-no.
Other than that, I didn’t have too much trouble with this fun puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteZipped through this one with nary a scathe in sight. D-o even figured out the theme. Amazing. I remember Courtney B. Vance as "Jonesy," the music-loving sonarman in The Hunt For Red October. Thanx, Beth, Will, and C.C.
Loved him in that too!
DeleteFIR, but napoli->NAPLES, pea->PHO, nori->GYRO, weasels->ERMINES, and nhl draft->NFL DRAFT.
ReplyDeleteA real LA puzzle today with MALIBU, BEL Air and somewhere around 20 A&E items. The A&E drek extracted nearly all the joy out of this solve for me. At least the theme was clever and fun. (Except that SAILED CLOSE TO THE WIND is a compliment to boat, equipment and crew, not a peril. Doing so better than the others is what wins races. Maybe that's why England doesn't win the America's Cup.)
Remember the cornball classic hit by Dean Martin That's AMORE?
I also thought "org. nicknamed 'No Such Agency" for NSA was especially weak. Kinda like cluing "Infernal Revenue Service" for IRS. Nothing wrong with the fill, just awful cluing IM(never to be H)O.
As a high school member of the 4H club, I wanted "head or heart follower" to be "Hands" or "Health."
In his album title track Fruitcakes, Jimmy Buffett sang:
Alright, alter boys
MEA culpa, MEA culpa, MEA maxima culpa
MEA culpa, MEA culpa, MEA maxima culpa
Where's the church, who took the steeple
Religion is in the hands of some crazy-ass people
Television preachers with bad hair and dimples
The god's honest truth is it's not that simple
Thanks to CC for the fun narrative. Hope your RA treatment quickly relieves your RA pain. I think I would ask my rheumatologist if a CBD might be a helpful adjunct.
Jinx---"When an eel feels your knee, that's a mo-o-or-a-a-a-ay"
DeleteLike
DeleteFirst line for that one:
Delete“When you’re deep in the sea, and an eel…” etc 😆
====> Darren / L.A.
What’s an A&E? There’s actually sixteen of ‘em whatever they are.
DeleteDarren/LA - Indeed! I noticed I forgot that after I hit publish. I was going to come back and fix it myself, but as they always say about a dud joke..."if you have to explain it..." Thanks for doing it for me! 😄
DeleteFIR? A & E?
DeleteTook 14:13 today, exact same as yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Actress of the Day (Sciorra or Celia, even though I think Sciorra was in a recent puzzle). I also didn't know the writer (Olga), the actor (Vance), or the oratorio (Messiah).
I agree, as usual, with SubG on his "no-no."
Oh joy, circles!
FIR, pretty smooth sailing despite the aforementioned multiple People Mag proper names. The dead center had me stumped for a while and since NATICK wouldn't fit, I pretty much needed every cross, and good thing the unknown CELIA showed up too. In addition to the already present comment about circles in general, I'm guessing there will be someone weighing in with the fact that their local paper didn't print the circles. This is one case where IMO that would have actually caused a problem.
ReplyDeleteFIR. I had to really work at this one, it was certainly quite crunchy. And circles to boot with way too many proper names, even some crossing which is a big no-no.
ReplyDeleteI had to take a WAG on rooibos to get the win.
Overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteFilling a Sunday grid is no easy task and, inevitably, there will be numerous proper names. Circles, on the other hand, are rarely seen in Sunday grids. So, I think both issues deserve some slack. The theme was well-executed and rose above an easy, rote fill-in-the-blanks exercise, IMO. Rooibos, Fire Ender, and Celia were unknown but perps were fair throughout the puzzle, as was the clean and dreck-free fill.
Thanks, Will and Beth, and thanks, CC, for the insider’s perspective. Hope your infusion provides some relief.
Have a great day.
Easier puzzle than I expected at first, so I DID NOT FALL FLAT ON MY FACE. The theme showed up quickly once I had a few letters filled. I agree, way too many names for my taste. Yes we had SCIORRA recently. OLGA came easily to me since I read her engaging novel with the weirdest title of “Drive your Plows over the Bones of the Dead”. Also I vaguely remembered ROOIBOS from previous puzzles.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I ever heard MEEMAW was watching The Big Bang Theory. ALLO is a greeting in French only when answering the telephone.
Thank you CC for the recap. So, CSO to you at HAN.
IIRC, Pasquale's grandmother in Rose is Rose is called MEEMAW. Haven't read that strip in months, though.
DeleteSailed close enough to the wind to finish in a speedy 19:08, about five minutes quicker than my usual Sunday time.
ReplyDeleteThe much-reviled (by others) "A & E" is right in my wheelhouse, as names I hear once usually stick in my brain forever.
I wish I had that ability. You should be a politician. Or a bartender. Or both!
DeleteThe title pretty much gave away the secret, so it was easy to fill in the opposite circles once I had either one. But are the themers oxymorons? Like "jumbo shrimp" or "small crowd"? Aren't the circled words just antonyms?
ReplyDeleteBefore MARIONETTE landed, I was thinking of a character from the MARIO video games.
Fav clue: Step on a scale.
ROOIBOS looks weird.
Thanks, C.C. Good luck with your RA.
I agree with you R-B concerning the oxymorons. They are not JUST contrary terms, they combine to form an enigmatic statement such as your examples or deafening silence, living death, etc.
DeleteHola! Amazingly I finished this Sunday puzzle very quickly! Thank you, Will and Beth, although only Will is cited in my newspaper. All the names have become familiar, even SCIORRA who appeared very recently. ROOIBOS required every perp and OLGA was a guess. I know MEE MAW only from the comics; I am Nana to my Grands.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, today we will have a birthday party for my great-grandson who is now seven.
I wish you all a very wonderful day!
Musings
ReplyDelete-I really enjoy clever themes that are also helpful
-I was so proud to enter CATS CRADLE for a figure with strings attached but…
-This beautiful MANDALA scene illustrates so wonderfully that no matter how much effort is put forth and how beautiful the result, all is temporary and impermanent.
-WNW/ESE is an easter egg for this theme
-“A” : TINGLE :: “E” : MAIL
-When we toured Germany, hard RYE bread and cheese were staples of each breakfast
-Throw out/TOSS – I will never YEET
-I’m pretty sure what to use when I am asked for a 4-letter berry or gem or a 3-letter soup
-NAPOLI was my pizza birthplace but, ALAS, it was not the Italian spelling
-Recentism did not yield SCIORRA for me and being side-by-side with KENTE was a speed bump
-Those STOOPS in NYC were built elevated to give some refuge from the millions of pounds of horse manure deposited on the streets everyday in the late 19th century
-ROOIBOS? I gotta depend on C.C. to know that!
I loved this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThe Navaho sand paintings are also ceremoniously destroyed after they have been made.
ReplyDeleteHow do constructors concoct these amazing grids?? Not only the complex themers, but a sub-hook inside each one to boot? It’s beyond comprehension for me; well done, Beth and Will! I just wish it could be done without all the (as @John M27 called out) People Magazine dreck — and yes, crossing those is not cool…but I suppose it’s a necessary evil in these complex builds. As Lincoln and Lydgate said, “You can please all of the people some of the time”, etc.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if those of you on the Right Coast had as much trouble with MALIBU as I had with ESSEX County, me being on the Left Coast 😆
I always thought the phrase is SAILEDagainstTHEWIND…but maybe the Brits do indeed just strive make it more difficult for themselves.
Circles? I don’ see no steenkeeng circles (LA Times on paper); but maybe had they been there I’d’ve seen that sub-theme. Thanks for pointing it out, C.C. — and feel better soon! This getting-older scheiß can be for the birds some days — but keep the faith and hang in there, my dear.
====> Darren / L.A.
Actually, I guess Lincoln said “fool”, not “please”…
DeletePerhaps PMD (People Magazine Dreck) will become a useful acronym as in "PMD is NIMW".
DeleteLike it!
DeleteFun & creative theme - after getting the first themer helped speed along the rest of them with the opposites in the circles
ReplyDeleteCouple of gimmes - I have been to Ghana several times on mission trips - and have seen the KENTE cloth weavers which are primarily and traditionally men . I was gifted a stole by one of the chiefs.
My daughter is a big fan of South African ROOIBOS tea= so I have some at my house for her visits.
Thanks CC for the blog and Will & Beth for the puzzle
A LOVE-HATE reaction about this puzzle from me, having to guess proper names crossing other unknowns on the way to a FIR ending. SAND & DANO. CELIA, & LENOX. All unknowns crossing each other. The circles with opposites made the theme entries even easier.
ReplyDeleteThese were other unknowns. KENTE, SCIORRA, MEEMAW, VANCE, SENECA Falls Convention, FIREBENDER, ROOIBOS, OLGA- all mainly filled by perps.
Prof M here, who noticed AMINO and AMNIO.
ReplyDeleteThe circles were actually helpful this time!
ReplyDeleteI loved this gentle, fun puzzle! Circles were clever, names (almost) could be managed. No flashy, show off clues. Enjoyable Sunday romp. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI dunno, opposites?
ReplyDeleteThe explanation of why players eventually plateau really stood out to me. It's a good reminder that changing your strategy is just as important as knowing more words. I've found that looking for pangrams makes each puzzle much more interesting. Sometimes I also browse https://patchesanswer.com/linkedin-pinpoint-answer-today to keep up with similar daily puzzle content.
ReplyDelete