Theme: "SOUND CHECK" -The last word of each familiar phrase takes on a new meaning when pronounced differently.
63A. Business run by a bunch of hens?: CHICKEN COOP. Co-op.
73A. Swiped refills for a mechanical pencil?: TOOK THE LEAD.
96A. One who is always pointing at shooting stars?: METEOR SHOWER. Show-er, one who shows.
115A. Anesthetic for a noted Italian chemist?: AVOGADRO'S NUMBER. Numb-er, something that numbs.
17D. Musical instrument made off the coast of South America?: CHILEAN SEA BASS. Not the fish.
48D. Rips caused by large reptiles?: CROCODILE TEARS.
The last word of each familiar phrase (except 63A) is reinterpreted as a heteronym, right? Same spelling, but a different pronunciation and meaning. I love the CHICKEN CO-OP and its clue.
I think this is our Emma Oxford. Very cool.
Across:
1. Course most look forward to: DESSERT. Sweet clue!
8. Imposing construction: EDIFICE.
15. Supports: BACKS.
20. Unmasks: EXPOSES.
21. Brunch cocktails: MIMOSAS.
22. Not cool: UNHIP.
25. "Goosebumps" series writer: STINE (R. L.) The Stephen King of children's literature.
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26. Remove adverbs and add punctuation, maybe: EDIT.
27. PlayStation maker: SONY.
28. __ Reader: UTNE.
29. Actress Swinton: TILDA.
30. Inventor Handler played by Rhea Perlman in "Barbie": RUTH. I didn't know that she invented the Barbie dolls.
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31. "__ we good?": ARE.
32. Vexation: IRE.
33. Church perches: PEWS.
36. Moose kin: ELK.
37. NNW opposite: SSE.
41. Coastal inlets: BAYS.
42. Insta post: PIC.
43. Male turkey: TOM.
44. One of Paul's letters to the Ephesians?: EPSILON. The letter E in Ephesians. The Epistle to the Ephesians was written in Greek.
46. Herbal infusion from Peru: COCA TEA. Also 68. Chinese brew: CHA.
50. Rationalist's belief: DEISM.
53. Places to perch: ROOSTS.
56. Estate units: ACRES.
57. Sgt., e.g.: NCO.
59. Shoe designer Jimmy: CHOO. Same character as the Zhou in my name.
61. Pamper: DOTE ON.
62. Many August babies: LEOS.
66. IM pioneer: AOL.
67. Top card in a Broadway straight: ACE. A Broadway straight runs from ten to ace.
69. Frying need: OIL.
70. Pts. that often result in dances: TDS. Touchdown dance.
71. U.K. network: BBC.
72. Mattel game: UNO.
76. Julia of "The Addams Family": RAUL.
78. Simplified language: PIDGIN.
80. Wows: AWES.
81. Not just most: ALL.
82. Worth a second bite: TASTY.
83. Competed in the Figawi, say: SAILED. The Figawi is an annual sailing race from Hyannis to Nantucket. Learning moment for me.
84. Prefix with net or com, but not org: INTER.
86. "OK, got it": YES I SEE.
88. Tempts: LURES IN.
91. Fuel additive brand: STP. Scientifically Treated Petroleum.
93. Young fellow: LAD.
94. [Clears throat]: AHEM.
100. Take advantage of a bear market, perhaps: BUY.
103. Stomach: GUT.
104. "What You Need" band: INXS.
105. Kanga's kid: ROO.
106. Badger: NAG.
107. Figure in Norse mythology?: RUNE. "Figure" here means a written character or symbol.
108. Lies for, maybe: ABETS.
110. Forget about: OMIT.
112. Supermodel Banks: TYRA.
113. Incantation syllables: ABRA.
114. Fish with a big net: TRAWL.
118. New employee: HIREE.
119. Wright of "Black Panther": LETITIA. She played Shuri.
120. Italian football powerhouse: AC MILAN.
121. Strong point: ASSET.
122. Rival one loves to hate: FRENEMY.
123. Sneaks: WEASELS.
Down:
1. Yields (to): DEFERS.
2. Book that tells the story of Moses: EXODUS.
3. Soft drink with a seasonal Winter Spiced Cranberry flavor: SPRITE. I've never had Sprite.
4. Quaint truth: SOOTH.
5. Subj. for a non-native speaker: ESL.
6. Manicotti topping: RED SAUCE.
7. Abbr. on a weather map: T-STORM.
8. Posthumous award for Chadwick Boseman: EMMY. Boseman won a posthumous 2022 Primetime Emmy for his voice performance as T'Challa in the animated series "What If...?"
9. Run out of power: DIE.
10. "Positive": I'M SURE.
11. Jodie with two Best Actress Oscars: FOSTER.
12. "Love __ Open Door": "Frozen" song: IS AN.
13. Treat on a stick: CAKE POP.
14. Jargon suffix: ESE.
15. Hits 22, perhaps: BUSTS. Blackjack.
16. Not in favor of: ANTI.
18. With gentleness: KINDLY.
19. Holds forth: SPEAKS.
24. Not up to the task: INEPT.
32. Online "I can relate": IT ME. As in "That's me".
34. Chargeable cars, briefly: EVS.
35. Goofballs: WEIRDOS.
38. Morse clicks: DITS.
39. "We have that in common": SO DO I.
40. "KPop __ Hunters": DEMON.
41. Italy's shape: BOOT.
42. Bel __ cheese: PAESE.
45. Circuit: LOOP.
46. Ore. neighbor: CAL.
47. Micronesia's region: OCEANIA.
49. Dried poblano: ANCHO.
51. Most disgusting: ICKIEST.
52. Seashore souvenir: SHELL.
54. Absolutely adorable: TOO CUTE.
55. 1975 TV debut, familiarly: SNL.
58. "Queen of Funk" Khan: CHAKA.
60. In base eight: OCTAL.
64. "Hallelujah" songwriter Leonard: COHEN. I love Jon Bon Jovi's version.
65. "It's strange ... ": ODDLY.
68. Denounce: CONDEMN.
71. Challah feature: BRAID. These remind me of Chinese mahua.
72. FedEx competitor: UPS.
73. Part of a pricing plan: TIER.
74. Strong string: TWINE.
75. Soil: EARTH.
77. Soap ingredient: LYE.
79. In the doldrums: GLUM.
82. Bygone ruler: TSAR.
85. Canadian fuel giant: ESSO.
87. Class: ELEGANCE.
89. "On the Basis of __": Ginsburg biopic: SEX.
90. "We're done": IT'S OVER.
92. Miyazaki film about a goldfish who longs to be human: PONYO.
94. Kathryn's "WandaVision" role: AGATHA.
95. Fatal flaw in classic myths: HUBRIS.
97. Beginning: ORIGIN.
98. Turn: ROTATE.
99. Polish capital: WARSAW.
100. __ bath: BUBBLE.
101. Hard to believe: UNREAL.
102. Aches (for): YEARNS.
104. Archipelago unit: ISLET.
107. "Groundhog Day" director Harold: RAMIS. He also directed "Caddyshack".
109. Overly precious: TWEE.
111. Bit of dust: MOTE.
112. Printer part: TRAY.
115. Fuzzy 1980s sitcom character: ALF.
116. Low-lit: DIM.
117. Actress Thurman: UMA.
C.C.
The “ Italian chemist”
ReplyDeletewas pretty tough. Otherwise, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle, which was a lot of fun.
FIR, so I’m happy.
FIW, missing with the unknown COCo TEA x the unknown PoESE, and MiTE x AViGADROS NUMBER (which was my favorite clue/answer.) Also vid->PIC, epsitol->EPSILON, tea->(the equally wrong) CHi, pidgon->PIDGIN, egot->EMMY, and cage pop->(equally unknown) CAKE POP. CSO to me at UNHIP.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know the race, but I'm certain about the ORIGIN without looking it up. There's an old sailing joke about navigation. Seems there was once a Polynesian tribe named the Figawi that was renowned for their navigation prowess. Everybody who was anybody in the sailboat community recruited a member of the tribe to be their navigator. Whenever the captain wanted a position fix he'd call out "where the Figawi?"
Robert John's biggest hit was Sad Eyes:
"Looks like IT'S OVER, you knew I couldn't stay
She's coming home today
We had a good thing, I'll miss your sweet love
Why must you look at me that way
IT'S OVER"
Thanks to Emma for the Sunday workout. My favorite was AViDADROS NUMBER, even though I can't spel his name, Least favorite was TWEE, and the overabundance of A&E junk which I've grown to expect. And thanks to CC for your comments.