Theme: "EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITIES" - A mode of transportation if added to each common phrase.
23. Most popular member of a 1960s television family?: FAVORITE JETSON. Favorite son.
38. "People walk all over me," "No one appreciates my rugged good looks," etc.?: CARPET PEEVES. Pet peeves.
41. Just a hint of flavor in some ice cream?: VANILLA TEASE. Ill at lease.
66. With 71-Across, terse rejection note?: SUBMISSION. 71. See 66-Across: IMPOSSIBLE. Mission Impossible.
95. Part-time gig at a summer camp?: CABINSIDE JOB. Inside job.
98. Perfect nursery gift for a future astronomer?: PLANET MOBILE. T-Mobile.
117. Sign of overwork for a bird of prey?: EAGLE EYESTRAIN. Eagle eyes.
Congrats to Sheldon on his LAT debut!
What a creative take on a common addition theme. So inventive. Great title also.
Across:
1. Does some chiropractic work: ADJUSTS.
8. Story links: STAIRS.
14. Southeast Africa's "Sunshine City": HARARE. Zimbabwe's capital city.
20. __ suit: LEISURE. Popular in the 1970s. Learning moment for me.
21. Move quietly: TIPTOE.
22. Takes a hand in Vegas, perhaps: ELOPES.
25. Keep time with rhythmically: CLAP TO.
26. Actor Guinness: ALEC.
27. Shields on some helmets: VISORS.
28. Clock sound: TOCK. Tick-tock.
30. Pinch: DRIB.
31. "I won't __ words ... ": MINCE.
32. Reading with medium comprehension?: AURA. OK, psychic reading.
33. Pore strip brand: BIORE.
34. National park in Maine: ACADIA.
45. Read quickly: SCAN.
46. Antidiscrimination in the workplace inits.: EEO.
47. Hold firmly: GRIP.
48. Party planners: HOSTS.
49. Den fixture: HDTV.
51. Display an unfair lack of confidence in: SELL SHORT.
54. Great pain: AGONY. Had more intense reaction to my second Shingles shot.
58. Cornstarch brand: ARGO.
62. Acceptable: OKAY.
63. Nebraska city: OMAHA.
64. Less substantial: AIRIER.
73. Expressway entrance: ON RAMP.
74. Smock stain: PAINT.
76. Grilled fruta on some tacos: PINA. Tacos al pastor.
77. "Get outta here!": SCAT.
78. Panna __: Italian dessert: COTTA.
79. High-fiber cereal ingredient: WHEAT BRAN.
84. Heath bar alternative: SKOR.
87. Cut: SAWED.
89. Anderson of "WKRP in Cincinnati": LONI. Born in St. Paul.
90. BOLO kin: APB.
93. __ Games: Fortnite company: EPIC.
101. Brick-and-mortar workers: MASONS.
102. Apply (for): PUTIN.
103. Digital read: E MAG.
104. Bypasses: SKIPS.
107. Pt. of YMCA: ASSN.
108. Spellbound: RAPT.
109. Naval fleet: ARMADA.
111. Sticky stuff: GLUE.
115. Cesar who played the Joker: ROMERO.
120. Summer months in Argentina: ENEROS.
121. Ankle-related: TARSAL.
122. Taken for granted: ASSUMED.
123. Focus group?: LENSES. Camera focus.
124. Register: ENROLL.
125. Catch of the day choice: SEA BASS. Huge.
Down:
1. Italian auto, familiarly: ALFA.
2. "Agreed!": DEAL.
3. "__ Talkin'": 1975 Bee Gees hit: JIVE.
4. Games org. that added a "P" to its initials in 2019: USOC. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
5. California's Big __: SUR.
6. Not even a little important: TRIVIAL.
7. Took hold: SET IN.
8. Missouri city nickname: ST JOE. Jesse James was killed in St. Joseph on April 3, 1882.
9. Subscription level: TIER.
10. Bldg. units: APTS.
11. Part of FWIW: IT'S.
12. Unearth: ROOT UP.
13. Spanish gentlemen: SENORES.
14. "Darn it all to __!": HECK. Do you use this in your daily conversation?
15. Everyone: ALL.
16. Band aide: ROADIE.
17. Rubber-stamp: APPROVE.
18. Pensioner: RETIREE.
19. Anka song with a Spanish title: ESO BESO.
24. Key near F1: ESC.
29. Like a good advertising jingle: CATCHY.
31. Thou squared: MIL.
32. Amount to: ARE.
33. Inclination: BENT.
34. Many sports nos.: AVGS. 44. Inexact fig.: EST.
35. Give a darn: CARE.
36. Source of indigo: ANIL.
37. Tact-ical experts?: DIPLOMATS. Great clue.
38. Purr former: CAT.
39. Breakfast tea variety: ASSAM.
40. Cushion: PAD.
42. Nautical greetings: AHOYS.
43. The Raptors, on schedules: TOR. Toronto Raptors.
50. Unknown qualities: VARIABLES.
52. __ milk: SKIM.
53. Locking device: HASP.
55. Trot or canter: GAIT.
56. Omega, in physics: OHM. Ω (omega) is the symbol for the ohm, the SI unit of electrical resistance.
57. Snooze: NAP.
59. Barbecue bone: RIB.
60. Take shape: GEL.
61. Mine deposit: ORE.
63. "Got this, boss": ON IT.
64. Java's home: ASIA. Java is the 13th largest island in the world.
65. Ain't right?: ISN'T.
66. Brillo rival: SOS. Been loving Scrub Mommy. Prettier than Scrub Daddy.
67. Mom's bro: UNC.
68. Bali garment: BRA.
69. Big day for a co.: IPO.
70. Protein bar grain: OAT.
72. News stands?: OP-EDS. Fresh clue!
75. Sounding congested: NASAL.
78. Black Sea peninsula: CRIMEA.
79. "Wonder Woman" backdrop, briefly: WWI.
80. Lady bird: HEN.
81. Spanish red: ROJO.
82. Soon, quaintly: ANON.
83. Pen tips: NIBS.
85. Eager: KEEN.
86. Take one's pick: OPT.
88. 1860s prez: ABE.
90. Outfits: APPAREL.
91. Guest's guest: PLUS ONE.
92. Some cricket players: BATSMEN.
94. Try for the title: COMPETE.
95. Smoke, briefly: CIG.
96. Deadlock: IMPASSE.
97. Some govt. lawyers: DAS.
99. SF NFL team: NINERS.
100. Luzon peninsula on Manila Bay: BATAAN. Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines.
104. Olfaction: SMELL.
105. "Funny Face" actress Thompson who wrote the "Eloise" books: KAY.
106. Think tank output: IDEAS.
108. Dress for Less discount store: ROSS. Never been to a Ross store.
109. To boot: ALSO.
110. "It's been __!": REAL.
111. Vittles: GRUB.
112. Tibetan monk: LAMA.
113. Informal reversals: UIES.
114. Winds down: ENDS.
116. Fish-to-be: ROE.
118. "So frustrating!": GRR.
119. PreCheck org.: TSA.
Belated "Happy Birthday" to Barry G, hope all's well in your world. Thanks for remembering my birthday.
Thank you to everyone for your sweet birthday wishes.
C.C.
Eventually, I saw all the
ReplyDelete“vehicles” and found this puzzle quite clever.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Welcome Sheldon, I wonder if your parents were big fans of THE BIG BANG THEORY ? A fun Sunday with a new theme and a remarkable number of 3 and 4 letter fill. No real roadblocks just needed persistence to unravel the them. Happy belated birthday to Barry G. the subGenius of his time. We had an amazing amount of fireworks 💥 in our area to accompany those from all the cities nearby. It was a rainy day until it was time to light up the skies which I enjoyed and make endless noise which was not a joy but they stopped at midnight so it was all good. Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend and thanks Sheldon stop by and tell us about yourself
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one ran up against the time limit. ALFA and OMAHA were SO's to Dash-T and Husker Gary. Very clever theme, Sheldon. I remember wearing LEISURE suits to work 50+ years ago. The BATAAN peninsula was just south of our aircraft carrier's home-away-from-home in Subic Bay. LONI had a parade of husbands; Burt Reynolds was the only well-known spouse. This was a nice outing. Thanx for 'splainin' it all, C.C.
Our neighborhood was well-behaved last night. All was quiet once the official fireworks displays had finished. Our cats took the whole thing in stride.
It turns out Sheldon had his first published puzzle in The NY Times in 2021, has had 2 more there and at least one more in the WSJ. He is a pediatrician from Cincinnati. Based on his profession I would speculate he about 49 and I now know he is married.
ReplyDeleteIt’s me—celebrating my 64th birthday today! But thanks for spotting me on my age appreciate any years I can get!
DeleteHappy birthday!
DeleteThank you, Sheldon and C.C.
ReplyDeleteBack on my A game today. Saturday's failure may have been due to only getting 5 hours of sleep the night before. I was about 10 minutes into today's solve when I realized I didn't have the theme title to help me. I didn't bother to open another site to get it. I looked for what was in common to that point. I saw JET, NET and PET. That didn't pan out.
I enjoyed it. No nits.
Great pain: AGONY. "Had more intense reaction to my second Shingles shot." - I would say that reaction may have been bad, but not as bad as having shingles. They were the pits.
I laid down at 5:30 and slept through most of the fireworks, waking up after 10 PM. I learned this morning that we had heavy rains again overnight. About 5 miles north of me, where Abejo lived, 7.64 inches in the last three days. Heat indexes in the hundreds and rain showers every day. Reminds me of Houston.
Today should be better.
FIR. This was a relatively easy Sunday puzzle. I raced through it so fast I never noticed the vehicles in the long answers. I was having too much fun just solving.
ReplyDeleteOverall a very enjoyable puzzle.
I guess I'm an outlier here. Although I FIWed (by some miracle), the theme was pretty lame and the NE corner was an atrocity (DRIB?). I was absolutely shocked to see the "Congratulations!" message pop up.
ReplyDeleteAs in "dribs and drabs"?
DeleteYeah, dribs and pinches, who could miss that.
DeleteThis was the cleverest Sunday puzzle I can remember seeing. Thanks Sheldon and CC.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but zine->EMAG, hombres->SENORES, add->ARE, wee->WWI, and eats->GRUB.
ReplyDeleteROSS would have been better clued as "________ Dress For Less." "Dress For Less" is part of the name of the store, not a prepositional phrase or a slogan.
I worked with a guy in Santa Monica who used to wear a lime green polyester LEISURE suit to the office every couple of weeks.
Big SUR again today. Beautiful area.
CSO to most Cornerites @ RETIREE.
My second-grade teacher's husband was a survivor of the BATAAN death march. He was the school's AV guy, running the film projectors and setting up TVs in the auditorium for special events like World Series games and Mercury space program launches. He was kind of an oddball, and I wondered why our sweet teacher married him. As an adult I learned about the terror of that death march, and the nobility of standing by a loved one after he returns from war a different and broken man.
LONI? Jan Smithers (Bailey Quarters) was my WKRP crush.
Thanks to Sheldon for the fun Sunday workout. And thanks to CC for another solid review.
Your story about that couple was very poignant and well written. It brought me to tears.
DeleteOjai Guy. Jinx. Jan Smithers lives in Ojai Ca., and I shared a hello with her this afternoon. I see her often and I'll pass along your crush .
DeleteMy outlier status continues. Yesterday I blitzed through a puzzle that many others struggled with.
ReplyDeleteSo far today, it seems that most of you found this puzzle to be fairly easy, while I found it to be the most difficult Sunday challenge in memory.
I eventually hacked my way to a FIR in just over 35 minutes, as opposed to my usual Sunday range of 20-24 minutes.
No complaints about the puzzle itself…it was just a case of clarity eluding me in many spots.
I agree that it was tough, but I also think a lot of the cluing was lame.
DeleteThere were definitely more than a handful, for sure. I can usually overcome those with the help of easy perps, but even that wasn’t happening for me today.
DeleteFun puzzle! FIR in decent time!
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty fussy about Sunday puzzles but this one tickled my fancy. The theme was imaginative and executed to a T and the lack of obscurities and pop culture references was refreshing. Add some clever cluing and you’ve got a very enjoyable Sunday solve, IMO. I think the New Stands? clue for Op Eds is outstanding.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sheldon, for a fun solve and for dropping by and thanks, CC, for the inside info and your professional take.
Stay cool, all!
This puzzle had just the right amount of challenge to make it enjoyable. The whole North was the last to fill. Between the JETSON, ST JOE, and HARARE, I was at sea, but I managed to FIR.
ReplyDeleteI loved deciphering the theme answers, I liked the fact there weren’t a bunch of names, BTW Cesar ROMERO goes way back, and there were plenty of clever misdirections.
Thank goodness fireworks shut down after 9:30.
Thank you CC for your recap.
Enero is Spanish for January. I know summer in southern hemisphere is winter in northern hemisphere, but I'm confused about using the name of one month to represent a whole season (~3 months).
ReplyDeleteDo people in Argentina say the plural of January for summer?
Read as "Januaries are winter months in Alaska".
DeleteStill a dud clue.
What does FIW and FIR stand for?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing they both start with "Finished" but can't figure out the rest.
Right and wrong with it
DeleteOh, thank you. That makes sense: Finished it right or finished it wrong.
DeleteCan someone please explain how DRIB relates to PINCH?
ReplyDeleteAs in "dribs and drabs" but it's pretty iffy. No one has ever said a singular drib. Maybe clue it as "_____ and drabs" or the like. It's not like that corner needed to be harder than it was!
DeleteAnon at 2:13PM how does that relate to PINCH? What meaning of PINCH?
DeleteIt's a stretch, but both can mean a small amount, such as a pinch of salt. I don't like this clue either.
DeleteCrossing an African city, an acronym, a Spanish word, and a still-dont-get-the-clue "drib" is downright annoying.
ReplyDeleteI struggled to FIR and never noticed the extra vehicles,. Was I ever on the wrong track trying to guess the theme. FAVORITE SON, PET PEEVES, and others were easy to suss but I kept wondering how VANILLA TEA and CABIN SIDE fit. Duh! It was the JET, CAR, VAN, CAB,..etc.
ReplyDeleteOther than going in the wrong direction, there were only a few unknowns filled by perps.
Two foods, PINA and Panna COTTA, and KAY Thompson (and the show and book).
LEISURE Suit- definitely wrinkle proof.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Back from a hot and humid 18 holes. I can’t imagine anyone starting a round now.
-I really liked VAN ILL AT EASE!
-My double knit LEISURE SUIT was green
I liked this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteLEISURE suit reminds me of that old computer game "Leisure Suit Larry"
that I used to enjoy playing.
A programmer I used to work with called himself Joe JETSON. I've
forgotten his real name.
I do not, and never have, used "Darn it all to HECK!" in daily
conversation or even when talking to myself.
Spent an absolutely wonderful day at my son's house yesterday. Almost
all of the local family was there. Good conversation and good food was
had by all except for my son's stepson, who rarely says anything, and
from whom I actually managed to elicit two words, to wit "Not much."
Good reading all your comments.
Thank you.
Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun Sheldon (congrats on your LA Times debut and Happy Birthday), and C.C.
ReplyDeleteThis CW took a while to finish. I could not remember the middle R in HARARE even with an alphabet run, and resorted to Google. That gave me ROADIE, and fixed cRIB to DRIB. (I was cribbing (pinching info) on an exam instead of adding a DRIB (pinch) of an ingredient to my recipe.
But other than that, perps eventually filled things in. I saw the vehicles and smiled at the themes. Nice work.
Some misdirection in the clues for ELOPES, OPEDS.
BATAAN and ROSS were unknown to me, although I think we may have had ROSS before.
I’ll take a double CSO with TOR and Ottawa-born Paul Anka’s song ESO BESO.
My Spanish did not include ROJO, but it perped. I wanted SENORS but had an extra space. I knew it wasn’t the female senoras, but eventually got SENORES.
I agree that the ENEROS clue was a little strange as plural months.
Belated Happy Birthday to BarryG.
Wishing you all a great day.
So many good ways to clue ROSS - "TV painter Bob," "EDS founder Perot," and "Happy Days mom Marion" to mention a few. And given the holiday weekend, "flagmaker Betsy."
Delete👍🏽🇺🇸💥, Jinx! ===> D.
DeleteBirthday-boy semi-Young Sheldon cooked up a fine “vehicle” today to showcase his talents — nice to have you aboard, sir! I had a good time fleshing out the themers, and found the clueing to be palatable for the most part; my fave today was the “overwork for a bird of prey?” at 117A — I’m visualizing a raptor with reading glasses 🤣. Also “Band aide” for ROADIE was pretty snazzy — I’ve known a few, and (to steal a quote) they’re some of the hardest-working people in show business.
ReplyDeleteBig SUR in the grid again, which is fine by me — it’s one of the most striking pieces of coastline in CA, if not North America (I hear ACADIA N.P. is gorgeous, too, although I’ve never been there).
Being a car guy, my first fill was 1D — which reminded me of a joke collection of what car brands stand for; i.e., ALFA = Another Little (beep)ing Annoyance, Ford = Fix Or Replace Daily, FIAT = Fix It Again, Tony. My chosen marque, BMW, has several: Bring Metric Wrenches, Bugger Might Work, Break My Wallet (and a few more not printable in polite company). Yes, I’m easy to amuse… 😎
Could’ve clued PUTIN as “Vlad, Volod’s nemesis”…
Last night was rather tame on the fireworks front here in The Valley; last year, it sounded like the Tet Offensive, but this time it wasn’t as frenetic, and (thankfully) it thinned off shortly after midnight. Happy 250th, America!
====> Darren / L.A.
.
FORD = Found On Roadside Dead
DeleteIt was fun. Thanks. But Wonder Woman took place at start of WWII. not sure about its Backdrop clue.
DeleteOjai Guy. For a Sunday, this had a friendly flow to it. Many Sunday CWs are like driving in traffic. Enjoyed the solve, and BTW , 51 across has short in it which was old car guys slang for car.
ReplyDelete