"As PER Usual"
As PER C.C., it's Anon T subbing on this final August Sunday. September starts in two days and the weather will begin cooling off enough to get back to weekend biking and after work pickleball.C.C. has provided us an Insert Three Letters puzzle that turns normal phrases into a A BIT of whimsy. Let's us play...
23. Bonus for never giving up?: PERSEVERANCE PAY. SEVERANCE PAY - your layoff package. The PERSERVERANCE PAY is what you keep getting to stay w/ the company that just laid off 20% of your team.
39. Big spender?: PRODIGAL PERSON. The parable of the PRODIGAL SON who was a spendthrift PERSON.
58. Device that might buzz during a night out?: SOCIAL BEEPER. A SOCIAL BEE lives in a colony. A BEEPER set to silent mode "buzzes" when it vibrates.
83. Elaborately embroidered falsehoods?: GRAND PERJURY. A GRAND JURY will indict a ham sandwich for PERJURY.
101. Green light for a lunar expedition?: MOON PERMISSION. This is my fav. JFK gave PERMISSION for the MOON MISSION at Houston's Rice University.
JFK's Moon Challenge
119. People who pack picnic lunches?: HAMPER OPERATORS. A picnic HAMPER is another name for a picnic basket and a HAM is an amateur radio OPERATOR.
32. Special offers at a body shop?: BUMPER DEALS. A BUM DEAL the car's BUMPER.
46. Gathering for chile lovers?: PEPPER RALLY. A PEP RALLY for PEPPERs.
Across:
1. Draw of a dim sum cart: AROMA. |
| Yum! |
6. Space balls?: ORBS.
Another Mel Brooks Classic
10. "Sesame Street" basics: ABCS. I grew up on Sesame Street #GenX
14. Zipper alternative: SNAPS. Fasteners.
19. Mushroom with a pitted cap: MOREL.
 |
| Morel Mushrooms |
20. Home of the Nazca Lines: PERU. I first read that as lions and was wondering which NCAA school I was looking for :-)
21. Coachella aesthetic: BOHO. I assume slang for bohemian.
22. Fit to eat, to Muslims: HALAL. Even if you're not Muslim, Halal Guys is yummy.
23. [See: Theme]
26. __ acid: AMINO.
27. Part of a play: SCENE. Act I, SCENE I opens with a dark and stormy night. -Snoopy
28. Fusses over, with "on": DOTES.
29. Some contract negotiators: AGENTS.
30. Nursery arrival: BABY.
33. Win the heart of: ENAMOR.
35. Flight board stats: ETDS. Estimated Time of Departure.
37. Quick meeting?: SESH. Oy! Lazy for session. #KidsTheseDays
38. Actor Simu: LIU.
 |
| Simu Liu |
39. [See: Theme]
42. Recliner part: ARM REST. I kept trying to think if there was a word for the lever on the side of a La-Z-Boy that wasn't, um, lever ;-)
44. Ibiza, por ejemplo: ISLA.
 |
| There it is. |
45. Like draft beer: ON TAP. Anytime I visit a new town, I ask, "Do you have anything local ON TAP?"
47. Totally stoked: HYPED. ampED also fits.
48. UFO engineers: ETS. Extra Terrestrials fly Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon [né Unidentified Flying Objects].
50. Blue-roofed breakfast chain: IHOP. Née International House of Pancakes.
53. Symbol of resistance: OMEGA. Here's how big a nerd I am; I didn't even think uprisings, but went right to ohm.
56. Tick away: ELAPSE.
58. [See: Theme]
61. Kitchen cover-ups: APRONS. Cloche fits for the singular.
63. Just slightly: ABIT.
65. Disc golf obstacle: TREE.
66. Blueprint deet: SPEC.
67. Spearheaded: LED.
68. Actor Sheridan: TYE.
 |
| Tye Sheridan |
70. Cause for a blessing: ACHOO. Gesundheit.
72. Key below ~: TAB. Hand up if you didn't even need to look at your keyboard.
74. Legal addendum?: ESE. Ha! Legalese - aka legal jargon.
75. Think piece?: IDEA. Oops, I had op-ed
77. "This Is Us" director Ken: OLIN.
 |
| Ken Olin |
79. Trade show: EXPO.
81. Spoiled: MARRED.
83. [See: Theme]
86. "Buck-a-shuck" delicacy: OYSTER.
88. "Tropic Thunder" actor Nick: NOLTE. A very funny movie (R-LV) with a surprise in the credits.
Nolte is at 1:05
89. Gooey lump: GLOB.
90. Sock end: TOE.
91. Dining hall offerings: MEALS.
94. Swahili for "lion": SIMBA.
 |
| Simba is presented - Lion King |
96. Washington Spirit player Morgan: ESME.
99. Mollusk often pan-seared: SCALLOP.
101. [See: Theme]
105. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU. Geaux Tigers!
106. Hip-hop's Salt-N-__: PEPA. Female rappers from the late '80's / early 90's.
109. Loads and loads: A TON.
110. Mean: INTEND.
111. Gave the once-over: EYED.
112. Virtual persona: AVATAR. Mine is a gray-shaded "-T" w/ the word "Anonymous" spelled out in the top crossbar.
114. Nonglossy lipstick option: MATTE. Non-glossy anything is MATTE. Or flat. Or eggshell. Or satin. Or, no, that's it... satin is when it starts getting a sheen. It all has to do with how much light is reflected by the (war) paint.
116. Blissful spots: EDENS.
118. Starbucks size: VENTI. I'm the grump that just asks for a large.
119. [See: Theme]
124. Fizzled out: ENDED.
125. Slushy treat: ICEE.
126. Singer India.__: ARIE.
127. Vibe: TENOR.
128. Great balls of fire: STARS.
129. Fuse together: MELD.
130. Give conditionally: LEND.
131. Canary feed: SEEDS.
 |
| Tweety popped his SEEDS |
Down:
1. Electric violin hookup: AMP. Having AMP here nixes ampED at 47a.2. Orange sushi topping: ROE.
 |
| Yummers! |
3. Hockey great Bobby: ORR.
4. Like a bad breakup: MESSY.
5. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC.
6. Anxiety-reducing feature of some tests: OPEN NOTES.
7. Double-check, in a way: REREAD.
8. Garment once called a corselet-gorge: BRA.
9. Optical effects caused by ice crystals: SUNDOGS. A halo caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sundogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22° to the left and right of the Sun [WikiP].
 |
| Sundogs |
10. Help in a burglary: ABET.
11. Girl who lost her sheep: BO PEEP.
12. Morally pure: CHASTE.
13. Vegan milk option: SOY. More like soy juice.
14. Deep carpet: SHAG.
15. Tells all: NAMES NAMES. Dirty rat!
16. Dress shape: A-LINE.
17. Trousers: PANTS.
18. Wade clumsily: SLOSH. I remember the joy of sloshing through puddles in my yellow goulashes. I didn't have to clean up the mess :-)
24. Zigs or zags: VEERS.
25. Color similar to salmon: CORAL. Turn in your man card if you can see the difference ;-)
29. Org.: ASSN.
30. Yawn-inducing: BLAH. Not Bore :-(
31. Light as can be: AIRY.
32. [See: Theme]
34. Nintendo virtual personae: MIIS. You create a Mii AVATAR on your Wii.
36. Bit of moisture: DROPLET.
39. Intellectual stickler: PEDANT. Well, actually... :-)
40. Secular: LAIC.
41. Great Plains people: OTOE.
43. Settle elsewhere, casually: RELO. RELOcate.
46. [See: Theme]
49. Nokcha or sencha: TEA.
51. __ fade: haircut with shaved sides: HI TOP.
 |
| Hi Top |
52. Sculling tool: OAR.
54. Noisy migratory birds: GEESE.
55. Curved: ARCED.
57. Mil. mind game: PSYOP. Psychological Operation. Mess w/ the advisary's head.
58. [Not my error]: SIC.
59. None of the above: OTHER.
60. Smiles brightly: BEAMS.
61. Square up: ALIGN.
62. Pascal of "The Last of Us": PEDRO.
 |
| Vote for Pedro |
64. Folk instrument: BANJO.
Steve Martin
69. Gracefully refined: ELEGANT. [See: Steve above]
71. Clearasil rival: OXY.
73. Gotham City hero: BATMAN.
76. Power source for a warp drive in "Star Trek": ANTIMATTER.
Spock mentions antimatter at 1:08
78. Offline, online: IRL. In Real Life aka Meat Space.
80. "Away from work" letters: OOO. Out Of Office. Could just be WFH that day #ThursdayCallback
82. Casting need: REEL.
84. Promotional sample: DEMO.
85. Lyft alternative: UBER. Rideshares.
87. "You got that right!": YES INDEED.
90. Take for a spin, perhaps: TEST. Do you scare the dealer a bit when you take a test drive? I want to see what the machine will do on a short on-ramp in Houston traffic :->
92. Come up short: LOSE.
93. Tater: SPUD. The Idaho tuber.
95. Hog with tusks: BOAR.
97. Strike down, biblically: SMITE. Old Testament had a lot of smote folks runnin' around.
98. Corundum, for one: MINERAL.
 |
| Corundum |
100. Hackathon participant: CODER. Or just a hacker :-)
 |
| Defcon 34 |
102. Pulpy refuse: POMACE. Pomace, pumace, or marc is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit. [WikiP]
103. Molar cover: ENAMEL. Teeth.
104. Enter via cracks: SEEP IN.
106. Covers a lot of ground?: PAVES. Cute.
107. Special occasion: EVENT.
108. Bear in a bamboo forest: PANDA.
111. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTEE.
113. Lends a hand: AIDS. and ABETs?
115. Pranked with Charmin: TPED. Rollin' the trees.
117. D.C. ballplayers: NATS. The Washington Nationals.
119. "That's the guy!": HIM. Who, me?
120. Minecraft block: ORE.
121. Lowest sudoku number: ONE.
122. Casting need: ROD.
Everyone needs ROD Stewart in their movie, no?
123. Soon-to-be alums: SRS. Seniors ready to graduate get the ask for the alumni fund before getting their diploma. #TrueStory
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid |
WOs: Bore -& BLAH, op-ed -& Idea
ESPs: SUNDOGS
Fav: OMEGA's clue
Y'all have a great Sunday!
Cheers, -T
I enjoyed C.C.’s
ReplyDeleteoffering. I caught the gimmick early, which helped me solve this fun puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeletePOMACE was a learning moment -- pronounced just like "pumice," but very different. MOREL reminded me of my mushroom hunting days back in Iowa. Delicious when fried in a beer batter. When we visit the Texas Roadhouse, I often park at IHOP -- it's right next door and never busy in the evening. Anybody else opt for ANN Sheridan? In the end, it finally dawned on me that C.C. wouldn't include a stray "PER." That changed HYPEr to HYPED and PEDANT appeared. Tada. Nicely done, C.C. Thanx for pinch-hitting today, Dash-T.
Another example of how C.C. has become a crossword legend. Loved it and T’s contribution. No longer anonymous.
ReplyDeleteNice start to my Sunday
FIR, but tons->ATON, vente->VENTI, rainbow->SUNDOGS, oxo->OXY.
ReplyDeleteOne benefit of working the puzzle on paper is that I'm not tempted to cheat by looking at the keyboard.
The only Pascal I'm familiar with is Blaise. To the A&E crowd, he would be about as familiar as TYE Sheridan is to me.
CSO to today's tour guide @ "hackathon participant."
I think I would rather have tennis elbows than space balls.
I learned today that there are solitary BEEs and SOCIAL BEEs. Nearly all types of bees are solitary.
Thanks to CC for the fun Sunday workout. My favorite was "offline, online" for IRL. And thanks to Bayou Tony for another pinch-hit home run. I can imagine the car salesman's pucker factor.
Took 13:41 today to spend my per diem.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actors of the Day (Pedro, Tye, and Alec). It helps that I watched "Asphalt City" this week, which is a movie starring Tye Sheridan and Sean Penn. It's intense. Decent movie.
I didn't know "Esme", or even what the Washington Spirit are. "Pomace" and "sundogs" were new today too.
Good work, C.C.
Tony- you sound like me, except I play pickleball INDOORS. Went bike riding yesterday- brutal in the heat. Carried two bottles of Gatorade.
ReplyDeleteC.C. had a good week. Today's LA Times and a WSJ puzzle earlier in the week. After filling PERSEVERANCE PAY, I noticed the added PER. That's how she gets paid- PERSEVERANCE.
BOHO and Coachella- don't keep up with the drugged out festival in some desert.
I made three changes today. DEW DROP to DROPLET, LEG to ARM REST, and OPEN BOOK to OPEN NOTE.
POMACE, ANTIMATTER, SUNDOGS, ESME, OLIN, OMEGA, HICUT, TYE, PEDRO- did I really know them as clued? The perps did but I didn't.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteIt’s a rare Sunday grid that is both challenging and rewarding, theme wise and execution wise, but today’s offering achieves both of these factors. The title and the first themer set the tone of the gimmick but, in no way, did this knowledge diminish the need for a thoughtful solving effort, as this was not a typical, easy fill-in-the-blank exercise. The cluing and the non-theme fill were more difficult than the usual Sunday fare, IMO, but fair perps led to an enjoyable and satisfying solve.
Well done, CC, and well-explained and analyzed, Anon T. Thanks to you both.
Have a great day.
Pleasant WITP. I caught on to the theme at the first themer, so the rest were fun to put together.
ReplyDeleteLike Tony, bore before BLAH and op Ed before IDEA. My last fill was ELEGANT because I had blob for GLOB and OLIN crossing IRL slowed me down.
A few unknowns like TYE, ESME, SUNDOGS, PEDRO, OLIN, and POMICE.
I had never seen the word corselet-gorge for BRA, but the word for BRA in French is soutien-gorge, literally throat supporter.
Indeed CC is the queen of CW puzzles.
Thank you Tony for a fine review.
Yes, a bra in French is soutien-gorge. A masculine noun. And if I'm not mistaken, a jock strap in French is feminine.
DeleteUn slip de sport. Also masculine.
DeleteI think there's a mischievous side to the august l'Academie Francaise when they deliberate and decide on noun genders.
DeleteA Sunday Funday from our CC! A TON of good themers, not a clinker in the bunch, as PER usual.
ReplyDeleteOYSTERs and SCALLOPs make great MEALS!
I did get hung up for A BIT in the Midwest where the unknown TYE and OLIN crossed PSYOP, but otherwise appreciated the minimal name calling.
Super job, Tony! I, too, wanted something clever for lever, before reaching for ARM REST. And I liked your take on casting ROD.
FIR. For me this was a challenge. There were several learning moments like pomace and sundogs. But the perps were fair.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme early on and that helped a lot.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Loved it❣️ Loved it❣️ Loved it❣️ Challenging moments; wide ranging info; learned some things; & knew some things. Many thx to all. Y’all have a great week❣️
ReplyDelete13:31. Ugh. Way too easy and the theme wasn't amusing in the slightest. Don't even get me started on the fill...
ReplyDeleteDon't do Starbucks so had CENTI which happens to fit with PACES.
ReplyDeleteGood puzzle.
Hola! Great Sunday puzzle from C.C.! I finished in good time but with many, many wite-outs! So much misdirection! I, too, had ANN Sheridan, the only one I know but ALEXA set me straight on TYE. PEDANT is right up my alley. All very clever! Thank you, C.C. and thank you, Tony for subbing. You're a natural! Have a great day, everyone!
ReplyDeleteAcesaround here. I am always delighted to see a CC creation before me and I wasn't disappointed. The theme certainly helped with the solve. Excellent recap AnonT. My only problem, since I don't do Starbucks, was I had paces and centi. Looked OK to me.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe non-clerical parishoners of a church would certainly be LAIC but (probably) not SECULAR!
ReplyDelete