"Rock 'n' Roll"
Good morning! Today we are treated to a puzzle by two veteran constructors - one of which started our little haven on the internet. Let's crank-up the tunes and see what Tom & C.C. really mean by the puzzle's title.
22. Place for a rock: SOLITAIRE RING. ROCKs and ice are slang for diamonds.
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| Solitaire Diamond |
27. Place for a roll: CRAPS TABLE. ROLL the dice on craps.
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| Craps Table |
34. Place for a rock: CURLING MATCH. Curling is a Winter Olympics sport where you push a stone, aka the ROCK (don't confuse that with Dwayne Johnson), to the goal.
 |
| Maybe someone can explain what he's doing |
58. Place for a roll: SUSHI PLATTER.
 |
| Yummers! |
84. Place for a rock: ROSHAMBO GAME. Aka ROCK, paper, scissors.
105. Place for a roll: BOWLING ALLEY. I doubt there's anything coincidental about this Shout-Out to Boomer. In bowling you ROLL a ball towards the pins.
112. Place for a Rock: COMEDY CLUB. Chris ROCK is a standup comedian. He's also had starring ROLes in Movies.
 |
| Chris Rock |
123. Place for a roll: TAPE DISPENSER. A ROLL of Tape.
Across:
1. Bugs: NAGS AT.
Let's keep with the Theme
7. Flat-topped hills: MESAS.
12. Faux wood in a fireplace: GAS LOG.
18. Pass by: ELAPSE.
19. Harding biopic: I TONYA.
21. Chihuahua coin: CENTAVO. 1/100th of a currency.
 |
| One Centavo |
22. [See: Theme]
24. 1984 Jeff Bridges film that begins with a UFO crash: STARMAN.
David Bowie's 1972 Starman
25. Shorthand system: STENO.
26. Just: MERE.
27. [See: Theme]
29. Geometry calculation: AREA.
31. U.S. intel org.: NSA. National Security Agency.
33. "Trainwreck" director Judd: APATOW.
 |
| Judd Apatow IMDb |
34. [See: Theme]
39. Carbon compound: ENOL.
40. Short evening wear?: PJS. Pajamas.
43. Driver's assignment: Abbr.: RTE. Route.
44. Microsoft Office default typeface until 2007: ARIAL.
 |
| Arial Font |
45. Ore-Ida side, familiarly: TOTS.
Napoleon Dynamite
47. Tech company with an exclamation point: YAHOO.
 |
| Yep, it's got an exclamation mark. |
49. Envelope abbr.: ATTN. Attention.
51. Burden: ONUS.
52. Take a break: PAUSE.
55. Hulu alternative: ROKU.
56. Left high and dry: MAROONED.
58. [See: Theme]
61. __ as punch: PROUD. I'm aware of pleased as punch but not proud as punch. I've heard of PROUD as a peacock and love PROUD Mary (I know this is CCR's song but...
Tina's version really ROCKS!)
62. Bring home: EARN.
64. Shopping cart count: ITEMS.
65. Choice words?: ORS.
66. Fit together, as some dolls: NEST.
 |
| Matryoshka HUMOR |
69. Brobdingnagian: GIANT.
71. Barbecue fuel: COAL.
73. Kung __ chicken: PAO.
 |
| Recipe |
76. Booze: SAUCE. Slang for alcohol.
78. Bit attachment: REIN.
80. Dave Barry genre: HUMOR.
 |
| From 2010 |
84. [See: Theme]
87. Natural ability: APTITUDE.
90. Mammal with more gray matter than a human: ORCA. I'm assuming brain cells and not gray hair.
91. Caesar __: SALAD.
92. Nabe in lower Manhattan: SOHO. South of HOuston [St.] is a neighborhood. There's also a Soho [South of Horton] in London which I learned from The Who.
Lyrics
I woke up in a SOHO doorway / A policeman knew my name
He said, "You can go sleep at home tonight / If you can get up and walk away"
93. Miami Heat coach Spoelstra: ERIK.
 |
| Eric Spoelstra |
94. Buy time: STALL.
Panic! At the Disco - STALL Me.
96. Australia's national gemstone: OPAL.
98. In the midst of: AMONG.
100. Pub pintful: ALE.
101. Orecchiette shape: EAR.
102. Asgard god: ODIN.
105. [See: Theme]
108. Actress Jennifer in Capital One commercials: GARNER.
 |
| Jennifer Garner |
110. Letters after nus: XIS. Greek to me.
111. "Othello" villain: IAGO.
112. [See: Theme]
116. Matching: SAME.
118. Put in more chips, say: RAISE.
122. Stretch with no landmarks: OPEN SEA.
123. [See: Theme]
126. Firsthand accounts: MEMOIRS. Here's one I recently read.
 |
| Number One is Walking |
127. Fast and furious: HECTIC.
128. Sharp kitchen tool: PEELER.
129. Tons: OCEANS.
130. Knobs on a pipe organ: STOPS.
131. Respected ones: ELDERS. Pop taught us to respect our elders. Now I am (usually) one.
Down:
1. Loch in hoax photos: NESS.
2. Tons: ALOT.
3. Strong wind: GALE.
4. Word with column or cord: SPINAL.
Given the theme, this fill just screams for the Trailer.
5. Oregon's oldest city: ASTORIA.
6. Cha, chai, or matcha: TEA.
7. Bog down: MIRE.
8. 2021 Marvel movie directed by Chlo Zhao: ETERNALS.
9. Most tender: SOREST.
10. "32 Flavors" singer DiFranco: ANI.
 |
| From NPR's Tiny Desk Concert |
11. Bring into alignment: SYNC.
12. Arrives at: GETSTO.
13. Chess legend Karpov: ANATOLY.
 |
| World Chess HoF Inductee |
14. Milkshake insert: STRAW.
15. Meat common in Greek cuisine: LAMB.
16. Shape of sesame seeds: OVAL.
17. No longer there: GONE.
20. Indian city with a mausoleum: AGRA.
21. House channel: CSPAN.
23. "Just think ... ": IMAGINE.
John Lennon
28. Hairy Halloween costume: APE SUIT. I kept wanting to fill Itt.
 |
| Wednesday and Itt |
30. Disgraced energy company: ENRON. I know many folks that lost their job in the tower next to One Allen. Chevron owns ENRON's old building now.
 |
| The "Crooked E" should have been a clue. |
32. Make a scene?: ACT.
34. Swimmer's woe: CRAMP.
35. __ Pradesh: Indian state: UTTAR.
 |
| There it is! |
36. Fashionably dated: RETRO.
 |
| Groovy, eh? |
37. "All in the Family" spinoff: MAUDE. Spin-off in the '70's starring Bea Arthur.
10:32 of fun.
38. Short trips: HOPS.
40. Part of a magazine spread: PHOTO.
Def Leppard - PHOTOgraph
41. Class clown: JOKER.
42. Some whiskey drinks: SOURS.
46. Largest island in French Polynesia: TAHITI.
 |
| There it is! |
48. Wall flowers, perhaps: ART.
50. Wall or flower: NOUN. Cute.
53. Architect's detail, briefly: SPEC. Specification on a blueprint.
54. Muppet who never says "I": ELMO. He always refers to himself by Elmo.
57. Port city south of Kyiv: ODESA. Two 'S' ODESSA is an oil-town in West Texas.
58. __ Lankan rupee: SRI.
59. Take heat from?: UNARM. Cute.
Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
60. Japan's largest beermaker: ASAHI.
63. Factor in sibling rivalry, often: AGE GAP.
67. Costco rival, familiarly: SAMS.
68. Bulky brass instrument: TUBA.
Bohemian Rhapsody on Euphonium, TUBA, Piano & Drums
70. Bridal bio word: NEE.
72. Instrument for a troubadour: LUTE.
73. Counterpart of poetry: PROSE.
74. Place for a stent: AORTA.
75. Prized statuette: OSCAR.
77. Sanders, for one: COLONEL.
79. "No Logo" author Klein: NAOMI. A Canadian author. I didn't know of this book but I know of her The Shock Doctrine.
 |
| Naomi Klein |
81. Big picture?: MURAL.
82. Black swan of ballet: ODILE. Odile is the black swan maiden and the secondary antagonist in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.
83. Type in again: REKEY. Reenter the data.
85. Rogue computer of sci-fi: HAL. It did tell Dave it was sorry.
 |
| 2001 A Space Odyssey's HAL. |
86. Small amount: A DAB.
88. Hypocritical sorts: PHONIES.
89. Polynesian kingdom with more than 170 islands: TONGA.
 |
| There it is! |
92. Tortilla chip topper: SALSA DIP.
95. Adds, as paper to a copier: LOADS IN. 500 sheets (a ream) at a time.
97. Fish in some omelets: LOX.
99. Series of bad takes: GAG REEL. The bloopers.
103. Appliances with drums: DRYERS.
 |
| Anatomy of a Dryer |
104. Ancient Cuzco dwellers: INCAS.
106. Not tricked by: WISE TO.
107. Gave for a short time: LOANED.
108. Italian city known for salami: GENOA.
109. Oldest of the Pointer Sisters: RUTH.
The Pointer Sisters - I'm So Excited
112. Lombardy lake: COMO.
113. Cartel founded in Baghdad: OPEC. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
114. Widely shared post: MEME.
 |
| A Maude Callback |
115. Sweeties: BAES. #TeenSpeak
117. Karaoke gear: MICS. The first Karaoke machine was the Sparko Box invented by Shigeichi Negishi in 1967. Negishi passed last January at the age of 100. Here's CNN's report.
119. Castaway's home: ISLE. You could be MARRONed there.
120. One who's forward-looking: SEER.
121. Makes a misstep: ERRS.
124. Interest rate fig.: PCT. The percentage rate for your LOAN.
125. Safety gear for ER workers: PPE. Personal Protective Equipment.
 |
| Covid PPE |
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid |
WOs: Gust->GALE, here->GONE, apr->PCT
ESPs: COMO, ROSHAMBO, GARNER, ERIK
Fav: UNARM as clued.
I hope y'all found at least one song to ROCK out to. And, if not, at least enjoyed the rest of the expo.
Cheers, -T
