"What's The Matter"
Welcome to another C.C. Sunday puzzle.Hi All! It's Anonymous -T sitting in for C.C. 'cuz it'd be silly for her to review her own puzzle.
Anyway, today we are given an in-the-language "<word> matter" clue and we need to ink a thing that fits. You'll see:
22. Weighty matter?: HEAVY CREAM. Heavy is a synonym for weighty and Heavy Cream is a thing.
24. Pressing matter?: FRUIT JUICE. In 2008, DW & I were leaf peeping in VT at a 27a -- they served us fresh pressed apple cider at breakfast.
47. Dark matter?: BLACK LICORICE. One of my favorite candies.
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| I get a dozen at a time |
67. Small matter?: FINE PRINT. Fine is a synonym for small. But, in contracts, it's no small matter. Youngest will tell you all about it in few more semesters :-)
87. Private matter?: BASIC TRAINING. Ha! A military Private.
111. Sensitive matter?: TOUCH PANEL. Some Touch Panels are sensitive while others, like the printer at my office, havta be whacked with a knuckle to get it's attention.
115. Grave matter?: BURIAL SITE. Yep.
35. Gray matter?: HUMAN ANATOMY. This was my favorite of the themers. I kept thinking of Poirot's "little gray cells" but "brain" didn't fit. Gray's Anatomy is the reference book of human anatomy. Oh, it's also a TV show with Dr.s hooking up -- I've never seen an episode but it was in the zeitgeist.
40. Laughing matter?: NITROUS OXIDE. N₂O -- aka "laughing gas."
I'm not sure why the title doesn't have a question mark but otherwise, it's a matter of fun. Onward [Apologies to Splynter] to the fill's review!
Across:
1. Caravan's refueling spot: OASIS.
6. Inner ears?: COBS. That's corny :-)
10. Coil in a garden: HOSE.
14. Hinge and Her: APPS. Both are dating apps.
18. Cackling carnivore: HYENA.
19. Reebok rival: AVIA. Sneakers, tennies, running shoes.
20. Peak performances: BESTS. SpeedySolver can tell us his bests.
21. Heartfelt sign-off: LOVE. Love, <your name here> - AI generated love note, maybe :-)
22. [See: Theme]
24. [See: Theme]
26. Capri, for one: ISLE.
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| West of Naples. |
27. Cozy Vermont stopovers: INNS.
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| Here is where DW & I stayed during leaf peeping. |
28. "Well, lah-di-__!": DAH.
Chris Farley's Motivational Speaker
29. Space to maneuver: ROOM.
30. Part of a flight: STAIR.
32. Author with morals: AESOP.
Aesop & Son
34. Beach protection: SUN HAT.
38. Big name in orange soda: FANTA. Not Crush?
R.E.M. - Orange Crush live
41. Coin toss choice: TAILS.
43. Letters before xis: NUS.
45. Encourage a comedian: LAUGH. This fill is why HYENA wasn't clued as a laughing carnivore @18a. When setting a grid, it's easy to miss a dupe like this - that's how you know C.C.'s a pro.
46. "Is that true about me?": AM I.
47. [See: Theme]
51. Nintendo Switch avatar: MII. I guess a MII for your WII :-)
52. Dull learning method: ROTE.
54. Popped the question: ASKED. But the answer is always 42*
55. Dry run: DRILL. Think fire DRILL.
56. Autograph hounds: FANS.
57. Wall paintings: MURALS.
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| Click here for more Houston murals |
59. Dances to an upbeat song: BOPS.
61. Playful mockery: TEASING.
63. Saws logs: SNORES.
64. Copenhagen native: DANE.
65. First woman, in Greek myth: PANDORA. She had a box with all the evils, but, when she opened it, all save hope escaped. Just like Eve, she's blamed for all the evils in the world.
66. Skipjack, for one: TUNA.
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| Click for a Sportsman's Guide to Tuna |
67. [See: Theme]
69. Lens care brand: RENU.
71. Chain known for its Beauty Insider perks: SEPHORA. A makeup store I got dragged to once.
73. Sits in the sun: TANS.
74. Ones who never butter up?: VEGANS.
76. Craft few people practice now: LOST ART.
77. Wave radio maker: BOSE. I kept thinking CC Wave Radio but that's the Skywave.
78. Thrillingly hot: EROTIC.
79. Call alternative: TEXT.
80. Only country with a nonrectangular flag: NEPAL.
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| Click for the Mathematical Properties of the Flag |
82. Control jointly: CO-OWN.
85. Crepe served with sambar: DOSA. Wanna hear a funny? I didn't know this fill but, after completing the puzzle, we went to an Indian restaurant and Eldest ordered it w/o hesitation. DOSAs are delicious.
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| Dosa |
86. "Vive le __!": ROI. Long live the [French] King!
87. [See: Theme]
90. Utility closet tool: MOP.
91. Not on a major label: INDIE. Think music.
93. Vietnamese New Year: TET.
94. "Interstellar" actress Burstyn: ELLEN. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Her Wikipedia page.
95. Liam of One Direction: PAYNE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ibid.
97. __ together: PIECED.
99. Symptoms: SIGNS. Is my failing eyesight a sign of aging? That's what I'm chalking it up to.
101. Moth-repellent wood: CEDAR. I put cedar chips in my sweater storage bags. Living in Houston, I need sweaters about 3 weeks a year so,... [I have sweaters from brick-n-mortars that closed in the '90's].
103. Recycle bin, e.g.: ICON. Cute. An ICON on your "desktop."
106. Result of a good pitch: SALE. Nice clue. I was thinking C.C. would go with baseball's strike or foul and only perps saved me from filling foul.
107. Stack-selling chain: IHOP. International House of Pancakes.
111. [See: Theme]
115. [See: Theme]
117. Lift with a bent elbow: CURL.
118. Unholy things: EVILS. The crossing of apse @104d stalled this fill far too long.
119. Word said with a sigh: ALAS. I could have prefaced above's response w/ this fill :-)
120. Karate rank indicators: BELTS.
121. Distance between markers: MILE. Highways. In some states, especially on long bridges [looking at you I-10 over LA swamps], I've seen 1/10 mile markers.
122. Refuse to admit: DENY.
123. Mixed-breed dog: MUTT.
124. Spot to boop a doggo: SNOOT.
Down:
1. "Well, hello there": OH, HI.2. House calls?: AYES. Think Congress.
3. Mammal that barks and claps: SEAL.
4. Play the market: INVEST.
5. Blurt out: SAY.
6. Pork in a burrito: CARNITAS.
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| Yummers! |
7. Roasting pan holder: OVEN RACK. Not an insulated pot holder.
8. Partiality: BIAS.
9. "Unholy" singer Smith: SAM.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's ok to dupe a clue [see: 118a]
10. Respectful reference in court: HER HONOR. It's remarkable that, coming from a language w/o (I think) gendered pronouns, C.C. "gets it." In college, I worked at a wastewater testing lab w/ a guy from China (a PhD candidate in ChemE) who kept using "its" for him/her. I was befuddled until he explained Chinese doesn't use gendered pronouns (and it's silly that English does, he said).
11. Sch. whose mascot is a buckeye nut: OSU.
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| Brutus Buckeye |
12. Cake mix instruction: STIR. Youngest has been building from scratch since she was 9 yrs old. And her cakes get quite elaborate.
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| Youngest's Mardi Gras Cupcakes |
13. These, in Tijuana: ESTOS. English to Spanish.
14. Smith College graduate: ALUMNA. Smith is an all girls college; ALUMNA is gendered alumni.
15. Introductory food for keiki: POI. Keiki is Hawaiian for offspring. Poi is a taro dish. You do the math :-)
16. Pipe plastic, for short: PVC. Polyvinyl chloride - hard plastic.
17. "What did I say!?": SEE. Oh, I usually ask that question not 'cuz I was right but when someone gets peeved at me :-)
20. Degs. for graphic designers: BFAS. We got a Fine Arts major that didn't go to grad school :-)
23. Org. in many spy thrillers: CIA. Central Intelligence Agency.
25. Unit of energy: JOULE. I know the EEs got this. To everyone else, it's 0.0009478 BTUs.
28. "Being the Ricardos" role: DESI. I 🩷 Lucy.
31. Key above Caps Lock: TAB.
32. "Chores finished!": ALL DONE.
33. Early Boston settlers: PURITANS.
35. [See: Theme]
36. Gerontologist's focus: AGING.
37. "Totally agree!," on social media: THIS. In the Discord channels I frequent, it's an pointy-up finger emoji [☝].
38. Rural businesses: FARMS.
39. Word on receipts: AMOUNT.
40. [See: Theme]
42. Practice depicted in the Japanese film "Flower and Sword": IKEBANA. It's the art of arranging flowers.
44. Mum: SILENT.
48. Young lady: LASS.
49. DJ's stack in the 1990s: CDS. 90's Disk Jockeys with Compact Disks instead of vinyl -- unless they were a Rap DJ that needed to scratch a sample :-)
50. Decked out: CLAD.
53. Sincere: EARNEST.
56. Hot-headed deity?: FIRE GOD.
58. Jumped: LEAPT.
60. __-Bismol: PEPTO. Susan Stamberg's Mother-in-law's cranberry relish recipe results in the hue of Pepto.
62. More tender: SORER. Not a fillet but your own muscles after exercise.
64. Desserts with crushed Oreos: DIRT PIES.
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| Recipe |
65. Natural disinfectant: PINE OIL.
67. __ green: FOREST.
68. Troublemakers: RASCALS.
70. People might sing in it: UNISON. All together now.
72. Flower, in Japanese: HANA. HANAs in 42d Ikebana :-)
74. Kind of circle diagram: VENN.
Don McMillan
75. Garlic __: pungent stalk: SCAPE.
76. "Madam Secretary" star: LEONI.
77. Diner fave: BLT.
79. Voyage: TRIP.
81. With true effort: ACTIVELY.
83. Diamond size: ONE CARAT.
84. Menu with reds and whites: WINE LIST. I'll let Chairman Moe bring one out.
87. Tree with a "copper" variety: BEECH.
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| Everything you want to know |
88. Payment for a flat: RENT.
89. Stat on a transcript: GPA. Grade Point Average.
92. Frozen spike: ICICLE.
96. Up and about: ARISEN.
98. Sussed (out): DOPED.
100. Some toothpastes: GELS.
102. "Narcos" org.: DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration.
104. Cathedral part: NAVE. Apse was right out.
106. Enterprise navigator: SULU. Star Trek.
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| Sulu |
108. County seat of Hawaii County: HILO.
109. "Beetle Bailey" dog: OTTO.
110. Irksome insect: PEST.
111. Old film channel: TCM. Turner Classic Movies.
112. "Okay by moi": OUI.
113. Address with slashes: URL. An internet address.
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| Composition of a URL as per RFC 1738 |
114. "Delta of Venus" author: NIN. NIN means metal's Nine Inch Nails to Splynter & me :-)
115. "Pow!": BAM.
116. Abbr. on barbells: LBS.
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| You can get fake barbells on Amazon :-) |
The Grid:
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| The Grid |
WOs: Pilgrims was started but too many boxes @33d; LPs -> CDs; APSE -> NAVE; BurCH->BEECH; Trek->TRIP.
ESPs: DOSA, SAM as clued, LEONI, ELLEN, DOPED, IKEBANA, NIN and probably others.
Fav: I'm going w/ FANTA 'cuz of this Gabriel Iglesias bit. //Don't watch too long unless you start from the beginning.
Cheers, -T
*HHGTTG [Scientific American]
