Theme: "BOOK REPORTS" - Each theme entry is humorously reinterpreted as a rave review of a book associated with the profession in the clue.
23. Praise for a Cy Young biography?: PITCH PERFECT.
33. Praise for a meditation guide?: BREATHTAKING.
53. Praise for a rock climber's diary?: GRIPPING STORY.
70. Praise for a mechanic's handbook?: FIRES ON ALL CYLINDERS.
89. Praise for a Hope Diamond history?: AN ABSOLUTE GEM.
102. Praise for a bartender's manual?: FULL OF TWISTS.
119. Praise for a scuba diver's memoir?: DEEPLY MOVING.
Congrats to Ralph Sharaga on his LAT debut. And a Sunday! You picked a great collaborator. I enjoyed how each clue paints a vivid mental picture. Every theme answer sounds like the kind of glowing blurb you'd find on the back cover of a book.
This grid design is a model LAT Sunday: 144 words and 76 black squares. Very clean, with a stunning numbers of long fill.
Across:
1. Fish-cleaning gadget: SCALER. Our local Asian market has live seafood tanks.
7. Extra option: ADD ON.
12. Pricey German cars: BMWS.
16. Muscles worked by planks: ABS.
19. Elaborately showy: ORNATE.
20. Ungainly: GAWKY.
21. Honolulu Museum of Art's location: OAHU.
22. AAA job: TOW.
25. "Voyage to India" singer: ARIE. Her surname is Simpson.
26. "The Mole" host Shapiro: ARI.
27. "How've you __?": BEEN.
28. After the bell: LATE.
29. "Over here": PSST.
30. Mineral in hemoglobin: IRON. 126. 30-Across deficiency: ANEMIA.
31. Slaw, e.g.: SIDE. Sometimes I buy bags of coleslaw, but I stir-fry it instead.
37. Lifesaving pro: EMT.
40. Underground explorer: CAVER.
43. Trade fair: EXPO.
44. Cell service initials: LTE. Long Term Evolution.
45. Baltic capital: RIGA.
47. Toy with a Botanicals line: LEGO. Didn't know this. So pretty.
48. Flyer: LEAFLET.
50. UV-filtering measurement: SPF.
56. By and large: AS A RULE.
58. "Priscilla" writer/director Coppola: SOFIA. Based on Priscilla Presley's book "Elvis and Me".
59. Branch of Islam: SHIA.
60. Can openers: TABS.
62. Showbiz grand slam: EGOT. 22 people have achieved this milestone.
63. Wrath: RAGE.
65. Water or elec.: UTIL.
67. Wild adventure: ESCAPADE.
74. Cross-examination follower: RE-DIRECT.
75. __ & Chandon Champagne: MOET.
76. French denials: NONS.
77. Funds for one's golden yrs.: IRAS.
78. Small recipe amts.: TSPS.
81. Like rams: MALE.
83. Drastic policy change: U-TURN.
86. __ 500: DAYTONA.
92. Raised trains: ELS.
93. Like part of a corkscrew: HELICAL.
95. Luxury shoe brand: TOD'S.
96. Copenhagen resident: DANE.
97. Galahad's title: SIR.
98. "You can leave now": OK GO.
99. Treadmill setting: SPEED.
101. Tyrannosaurus __: REX.
107. Nutrition figs.: RDAS. RDA stands for Recommended Dietary Allowance.
109. Grayish: ASHY.
110. "Muy __": BIEN. Very good.
111. Belfry sound: PEAL.
114. Burkina Faso neighbor: MALI.
117. "Houdini" singer Lipa: DUA.
118. Six-time Emmy winner Tyne: DALY.
123. Hectic hosp. areas: ERS.
124. Designer Gucci: ALDO.
125. Snoring cause: APNEA.
127. Place to get much-kneaded therapy?: SPA. Ha, kneaded.
128. Fromage hue: BLEU.
129. Party spreads: PATES.
130. Zeroes out: RESETS.
Down:
1. Drench: SOP.
2. Baby bed: CRIB.
3. Cost of hand delivery?: ANTE. Poker hand.
4. Shoestrings: LACES.
5. Sharing a common culture: ETHNIC. I belong to the Han ethnic group, the largest in the world,
6. Gym unit: REP.
7. Uttar Pradesh tourist city: AGRA.
8. __ Punk: "Get Lucky" duo: DAFT.
9. Nerdy type: DWEEB.
10. The NBA's Thunder, on scoreboards: OKC. The Oklahoma City Thunder.
11. "The Daily" podcast producer, briefly: NYT.
12. Brag about: BOAST OF. This is super impressive, Splynter!
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13. Heron habitat: MARSH.
14. Shaves (down): WHITTLES.
15. Go after, in a way: SUE.
16. Centipede maker: ATARI.
17. Fifth element on the periodic table: BORON.
18. Batting practice concern: SWING.
24. Natural rolls, in craps: ELEVENS.
29. Tropical fruit: PAPAYA. I like mild green papaya salad. This looks too hot.
30. 1950s prez: IKE.
32. Big name in surrealism: DALI. 38. Big name in surrealism: MIRO.
34. Move, informally: RELO.
35. Bring to bear: EXERT.
36. Flour for some flatbread: ATTA.
37. Crew team's workout machines: ERGS.
39. Chili's rival: TGI FRIDAYS. And 41. Springtime lawn parties: EGG HUNTS. 50. No. 1 hit from the album "Everything's Archie": SUGAR SUGAR. 61. Waistband feature: BELT LOOP. 88. Toy for indoor games: NERF BALL. Love those entries.
42. Bilingual "Sesame Street" Muppet: ROSITA.
46. Beekeeper: APIARIST.
49. Cold yogurt drink: LASSI. Mango lassi.
51. Walks heavily: PLODS.
52. Swanky shindig: FETE.
54. "Your table's ready" device: PAGER.
55. Kite extension: TAIL.
57. Felt contrite: REPENTED.
64. Language suffix: ESE.
66. A.I. tool that generates text: LLM. Large Language Model.
68. MS NOW rival: CNN.
69. Score after deuce: AD OUT.
70. Not domesticated: FERAL.
71. In base eight: OCTAL.
72. Tool with teeth: COMB. I've been using the same comb I bought at Watsons decades ago. Watsons is basically the Walgreens of Guangzhou/Hong Kong.
73. Ingredients for brewers and bakers: YEASTS.
74. Go by train: RIDE.
79. Cram: PACK IN.
80. Hitches: SNAGS.
82. Advanced in years: ELDERLY.
84. Actress Russo: RENE.
85. Ariz. neighbor: NMEX. And
87. Indiana neighbor: OHIO.
90. Oodles: A LOT.
91. No longer mint: USED.
94. "Next one's on me": I OWE YOU.
97. Wily: SLY.
100. Big band singer Vic: DAMONE.
102. Loses color: FADES.
103. Seize illegally: USURP.
104. Sacred city of Tibet: LHASA. Meaning "Place of the Gods" in Tibetan.
105. Spanish diacritic: TILDE.
106. Went on a shopping spree: SPENT.
108. Goalie's stat: SAVES.
112. Fencing blade: EPEE.
113. "Sad to say ... ": ALAS.
115. Soil acidity reducer: LIME.
116. "My heart's just not __": IN IT.
118. Bit of makeup: DAB.
119. Fist bump: DAP.
120. Clean air org.: EPA.
121. Scuff up: MAR.
122. Highway sign: GAS.
Happy 72nd Birthday of Subgenius (Darryl). Wishing you a wonderful birthday filled with happiness, good health, and all the little things that make you smile. Have a beautiful day, Darryl!
I made today's puzzle for the Atlantic. Click here to solve. It's edited by Kelsey Dixon.
C.C.
Not too tough.
ReplyDeleteAll the themers were standard in-the-language phrases. And the puzzle was fun, on the whole.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteFinished in 20 minutes, well ahead of my self-imposed time limit. Stumbled when REGRETTED was too long, but that was the only Wite-Out moment. I always assumed LTE meant "Lite." Vic DAMONE was big in the '50s. Very nice Doug, Ralph (congrats on your debut), and C.C. I enjoyed it.
FIR, but push in->PACK IN, and tap->DAP.
ReplyDeleteCAVER? I've always heard "spelunker."
Three-letter fill for "blah, blah, blah Lipa" is gonna be DUA. Four-letter fill for "blah, blah, blah Tyne" is gonna be DALY. AKA Cagney. Or Lacy.
For "by and large" I wanted "heuristically," but it wouldn't fit.
DNK LLM, but it made me think of LISP, a nearly 70-year-old predecessor.
*Name one thing that's not available at Chili's: A) Caesar salad B) Sirloin steak C) Chili D) Eggrolls
I guess that CNN is a rival of MS NOW, if the goal is second place. Fox News has more prime time viewers than both of them combined.
National Lampoon published a highway sign photo that I took. It was taken on I-15 between Barstow and Las Vegas, and advertised the mountainous filling station Pass GAS. (They also published another of mine in a separate issue: LAX Medical Clinic.)
Thanks to Ralph and Doug for the fun Sunday romp. And thanks to CC for the guided tour.
*Answer: Chili. Chili's doesn't serve chili.